Asian Military Review - March/April 2011

VOLUME 19/ISSUE 2

ASIA PACIFIC’S

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HLS TECHNOLOGIES REGIONAL NCW

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Contents MARCH/APRIL 2011 VOLUME 19 / ISSUE 2

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Multi-Role Transport Aircraft John Mulberry The addition of multi-role transport aircraft to an armed force’s aerial assets has a true force multiplier effect; transporting troops and equipment, disaster relief and medevac and often with an air-to-air refueling capability giving strategic reach even to tactical aircraft

Front Cover Photo: The US DoD is moving to an all-digital, spectrally efficient fleet of Aerovironment’s RQ-11B Raven Small UAVs, comprising 1,318 of the aircraft to equip the Army and a further 246 airframes for the Marines. A Digital data link alllows four times the number of the analogue Ravens in the same area without affecting datalink quality © Aerovironment

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Advanced Network Centric Solutions for the Asia-Pacific Adam Baddeley The promise of network centric warfare or network centric operations is considerable and seeks to deliver a decisive battlefield advantage from the exploitation of information technology across the battlespace

Adam Baddeley Maritime surveillance is not just about the ability to detect and cue supersonic anti-ship missile, the vast majority of surveillance tasks focus instead on economic exclusion zone surveillance, constabulary tasks and counter-terror

Anti-armour & infantry direct-fire support weapons Doug Richardson Light, shoulder-fired weapons originally designed to defeat enemy armour are also serving as highly-mobile firepower for during fighting in built-up areas, equally at home in breaching a wall as they are in their antitank role

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Maritime Surveillance & Reconnaissance

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ADF: Army Focus John Mullberry The Australian government is transforming the Australian Defence Force into a hardened and networked fighting force implementing a long-term plan for the modernisation and enhancement of the nation’s defence capabilities

MARCH/APRIL 2011

Homeland Security: Emerging Technologies Gordon Arthur Terrorists and fanatics can easily turn homelands into frontlines with asymmetric threats such as weapons of mass destruction and piracy. Narcotics, arms and people smuggling are other areas of concern where new technologies are sought

Protect and Detect: Enhancing CBRN Readiness

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Andy Oppenheimer Even a small-scale chemical or radiological attack would not only be costly in terms of lives lost and but would necessitate expensive cleanup operations and result in increased public fear – the main aim of all terrorists – as well as loss of economic viability

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Index of Advertisers

AGUSTAWESTLAND BOMBARDIER BRIDEX BRUNSWICK CODAN DEFENCE AND SECURITY - THAILAND DSA 2012 DSEI ELBIT ELISRA EUROTORP IDET IMDEX KAMAN L3 WESCAM LEUPOLD NEXTER OPV REVISION ULTRALIFE

25 2nd Cover 59 13 09 55 37 47 07 23 21 57 3rd Cover 4th Cover 17 29 31 53 33 03

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The ongoing military exchanges between Thailand and Cambodia over Preah Vihear, an eleventh century Khmer Temple which left several soldiers and civilians dead in February have shown that despite these words the only real aim of its members is to ensure non-interference. Both countries have breached the Charter but ASEAN has been able to do little.

Perhaps the bar is set too high? NATO bars intervention in internal matters but even at the height of the Cold War its members openly criticised both Turkey and Greece and instituted military and political sanctions.

Germany/Austria/Switzerland/Italy/UK Sam Baird, Whitehill Media Tel: (44-1883) 715 697 Mobile: (44-7770) 237 646 E-Mail: sam@whitehillmedia.com

Singapore Constance Lee, Resonance Pte Ltd., Tel: +65 6325 8318 Mobile: +65 9181 4747 E-Mail: constance.lee@resonance.com.sg

n 2007, ASEAN listed 15 purposes for the organisation in Article 1 of its Charter. For the first of the fifteen it chose that it was to, “maintain and enhance, peace, security and stability and further strengthen values in the region.”

Every member signed up. But what has been achieved when the Charter has been put to the test?

The military aspect dispute is not new, beginning in 2008 although the ambiguity of a 1962 World Court ruling that confirmed that Preah Vihear was Cambodian but left the issue of the surrounding land open.

France/Spain Stephane de Remusat, REM International Tel: (33) 5 3427 0130 E-Mail: sremusat@aol.com

South Korea Young Seoh Chinn, Jes Media Inc. Tel: (82-2) 481 3411/13 E-Mail: jesmedia@unitel.co.kr

Editorial

ASEAN can’t stop irresponsible politicians in both countries using events for their own political gain and seeking to further exacerbate tension by organising demonstrations condemning their respective governments’ ability to protect their territory. Thailand’s gung-ho People’s Alliance for Democracy for example, called for the country to threaten to invade Cambodia, a calculated inflammatory act.

There is still progress. Marty Natlegawa, the foreign minister for Indonesia who holds the rotating chair of ASEAN, conducted shuttle diplomacy between the two capitals and the fact that he was welcomed at all is for some great progress. Others note that this intervention was still seen as an ‘Indonesian’ rather than an ‘ASEAN’ act and therefore prompted distrust of perceived meddling by another country rather than being accepting of any supra-national authority on ASEAN’s behalf.

ASEAN has been effective at helping to mitigate conflict, preventing conflicts from simmering over. What it is not good at it resolving those conflicts once they begin and thus stopping further escalation. Ultimately the ability to stop and resolve military conflicts is the toughest test for an organisation and once again ASEAN has been found wanting and is likely to be a shortcoming that is unlikely to change anytime soon. In the meantime, there are more pressing issues for co-operation; working out the details of a Joint World Cup bid for 2030 for instance. Priorities are important.

Adam Baddeley, Editor

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

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NETWORK

CENTRE WARFARE

Advanced Network Centric

Solutions for the

Asia-Pacific

The promise of network centric warfare or network centric operations is considerable and seeks to deliver a decisive battlefield advantage from the exploitation of information technology across the battlespace. Several characteristics are important to delivering this success but the very term network-centric sets out unequivocally what is the most important. The concept relies on secure robust communications to enable situational awareness and the sharing of that common and trusted operational picture enables the faster tempo of operations.

by Adam Baddeley

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NETWORK

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SERIES OF programmes across the world including throughout the Asia Pacific region are bringing the advanced technology necessary to achieve net centricity into their militaries, both from outside the region but increasingly there is a distinct trend domestically or regionally designed and produced.

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Tactical internet

Extending the capabilities hitherto found only in headquarters to dismounted section and platoon leaders as well as AFV commanders, requires a tactical internet that is secure, reliable and provides data in sufficient volumes to support the high bandwidth applications in the numbers now required. Such networks rely on a new generation of communications that combine modest size weight and power, with the flexibility to host a variety of waveforms to support interoperability.

In June, Harris announced a $99m award to

an Asian country for radio including the RF7800W High-Capacity Line-of-Sight Internet Protocol (IP) data radio which operates the Advanced Networking. Wideband Waveform (ANW2). Harris radio systems will serve as the secure communications backbone for the Australian Defence Forces (ADF) Land 75, Land 125 and Joint Project 2072 communications modernization programs. The order consists primarily of Harris Falcon III AN/PRC152(C) multi-band handheld radios, but also includes Harris Falcon III AN/PRC-117G wideband, AN/PRC-117F multi-band and AN/PRC-150(C) high-frequency (HF) manpack radios to equip an operational, networked Australian brigade in 2013.

The FlexNet radio system has been developed jointly by Rockwell Collins and Thales.

There are currently two customers for the serial production of the radio. In June, Thales and Rockwell Collins introduced a new 1.5 Mb service class for the wideband FlexNetWaveform that offers a greater range of services including imaging, video streaming, file transfer, web-based applications and messaging. The FlexNet family also operates the PR4G voice and data waveform Malaysia operates the Thales F@stnet VHF CNR, produced locally by Sapura for the past three years. The 3kg IP radio operThe IDF’s DAP programme is being eyed by a number of militaries in the Asia Pacific © Elbit Systems

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The US WGS programme has provided a model of access to milstacom that has been adopted

by Australia and offered to others © Boeing

ates from 30-88MHz and is capable of frequency hopping at speeds greater than 300 hops per second and supports simultaneous voice and data, the latter using a 64Kbps waveform. Harris’ Falcon III RF-7800V provides high-speed data connectivity up to 192 Kbps, making it the fastest VHF combat net radio available. The RF-7800V provides continuous coverage in the 30 to 108 MHZ frequency band at up to 50 watts of power in vehicle mounted implementations.

Aselsan’s PRC/VRC-9661 2-30 MHz Transceiver operates across the 30-512 MHz range covering the HF and V/UHF bands.

Software configurable architecture enables the support of various tactical radio waveforms and EPM techniques. The hand held counterpart in the PRC-9651. It is also reported that Pakistan has acquired the radio in $254 million deal signed in 2010.

The next generation of SDRs are also being incorporated as an integral part of future networks that support. Samsung Thales solution for South Korea’s Tactical Information Communications Network (TICN) has multiple layers of capability.

Beginning at the lowest tactical level is the Tactical SDR a local development of the FlexNet 1 radio, operating at up to 2.6Mhz and supporting ad hoc routing. At higher

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NETWORK

CENTRE WARFARE

Orbit satcom solutions have been linked to Indian Navy network centric programmes© Orbit

levels is the High Capacity Transmission Radio support long range transmission at greater than 30km and high data rate transmission at ate of up to 45Mbps, the systems Tactical Mobile Access Point uses WiBro links at rages of up to 10km. TICN consists of a range of additional nodes and switches including a linked PDA device, the Tactical Multi-Function Terminal with ranges of greater than 3Km. Rafael is using its TacMAX 4th generation wireless broadband system in a DRDO programme linked to India’s Tactical Communications System programme with a demonstration expected in 2011. Rafael are working with a number of cellular manufacturers including Motorola Israel to extend tactical links down to small hand held terminals for individual users using a development TacMAX which uses. The current system is designed to support rates of up to 45Mbps and range of 12 km. One of the next stages for the programme will be to develop the systems to include NATO STANAGS via a partner.

Work on the current contract for the Israel Defence Force Digital Army Programme (DAP), led by Elbit Systems concludes broadly with the introduction into service of Torch 600 with work expected to conclude later this year. The Torc2H system of systems is designed is be network agnostics and already

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mation architecture are also starting to be used military networks.

In October, Raytheon launched its Cloud computing initiative known as Green Thunder which uses cloud computing for the rapid collection and dissemination of real-time data based around the existing Distributed Common Ground system (DCGS) enterprise and optimised for low-bandwidth environments at brigade and below.

Another initiative to adapt cloud computing to the militaries needs is Cobham is workign with the US Defense Advanced IBM’s work at NATO Headquarters of Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Wireless the Supreme Allied Commander Network after Next programme © AJB Transformation headquarters on a collaborative project designed reduce includes VHF/UHF soldier radio and CNRs ramp-up time for enhanced technology capaincluding SDR, GRC-408E HCLOS and bilities, while improving important operaMaXess and Bro@dnet wireless broadband tional functions, such as increasing situationsystems. The DAP’s operations centres al awareness and faster decision-making includes both Voice and Radio over IP. The using IBMS work on cloud computing from IDF is still mulling what additional NCW the commercial sector while meeting military capabilities will be included in the next ver- requirement for secure, scalable and robust sion of the systems. networks.

Due to its genesis in the commercial sector, the standard software that enables cloud comCloudy solutions Cloud computing operates by aggregating puting are being largely developed in that secand sharing disparate computing resources, tor. To fully exploit those efforts, defence from networks to servers to storage each organisations such as the US DoD have looked potentially. Starting to be widely used com- to commercial organisations such as the mercially, the benefits of a distributed infor- TeleManagement Forum to support the devel-

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opment and adoption of standards.

Satcom

Satcom On The Move solutions enable secure high cacpacity links to be maintained with command vehicles while moving across country at speed © SWE-DISH

A myriad of Beyond Line of Sight Solutions (BLOS) are now on offer providing theatre as well as world wide coverage with individual, high capacity and on the move capabilities.

ITT has received interest for its on the move Ku band Global Network On the Move – Active Distribution (G-NOMAD) satcom solution from several countries including India, although it is expected to be used by launch customer the US shortly. ITT has acted as the systems integrator, using component subsystems from several off the shelf suppliers including Raysat, easing much of the US export constraint. The system extends to the front line any TCP/IP Network and client/server applications. General Dynamics has two Iridium based satcom solutions on display at AUSA: Blue Tick and Blue Dog, the former using the DoD’s EMSS gateway, the latter using standard Iridium networks.

Australia’s decision to join the Wideband Global Satellite programme in 2007 has

resulted in the funding of a sixth US satellite.

A number of other countries have been approached to join in a similar manner to expand and deepen this world wide network, offering addition.

With demand for bandwidth regularly overtaking availability, making the most of

Harris radio systems will serve as the secure communications backbone for the Australian Defence Forces

available bandwidth is increasingly important. In recent trails SELEX Communications Intelligent Information Dissemination product demonstrated a 90 saving in terms of satcom bandwidth efficiency.

Orbit has been reported to be supplying a 45 inch multi-band naval satcom system for the Indian Navy in a joint programme with the ISRO. The system is designed to provide

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Encryption and information management

Systems Dismounted Battle Management extend network centricity to the lowest tactical echeolons © Elbit Systems

both military and welfare usage via a secure high capacity netcentric intranet.

Independently of this Orbit is launching two new maritime satcom solutions the AL7107 and AL-7110 Maritime C-band systems.

The two systems are noteworthy for their compactness the AL-7107 fore example fits a 2.2m aperture terminal dish in a 2.7 radome.

A typical solution today would see a 2.4m solution in a 3.6m radome. Orbit has done this while still remaining compliant with all satcom regulations.

Soldier Modernisation

The advent of the personal radio in military usage from the late 1990s with basic short range voice communications onwards has prompted a range of ongoing developments in communications technology providing ad hoc networking and long range links that also extend to supporting data and video.

A number of soldier systems are advancing in the region. Japan's Advanced Combat Infantry Equipment System has recently been given the go head with prime contractor Hitachi, Australia’s initial capability for its Land 125 capability is already fielding with Elbit selected for the Dismounted Battle Management element of the programme while Singapore’s Advanced Combat Man System has recently fielded a complete system with operational formations.

Harris announced in September a $69m award to an undisclosed Asian country with a key dismounted component. This is based around the Falcon Fighter, an integrated

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body-worn system including the RF-7800S Secure Personal Radio full-duplex voice and data communications linked to Falcon Track Situational Awareness Software. One of the launch customers for the RF-7800S was Brunei in 2008 with Malaysian Pasakau special forces also operating the radio in the region with demonstrations of the radio to a number of countries including India.

The Kongsberg SR600 Broadband Soldier Radio operates between 225-400MHz., providing IP broadband coverage in an established military frequency range. Raytheon’s DH500 offers a lower power, hand held rather than won solution for the Microlight family while remaining greater exportability profile. ITT’s SpearNet radio was selected for Spain’s Cassidian-led soldier modernisation programme and other front line applications by the country’s military.

Ad Hoc networks, in this case the US TTNT allow platforms and users to rapidly move in an out of local networks at will while maintaining connectivity © Rockwell Collins

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

By extending data down to the lowest echelon to achieve network centric solutions, the information assurance challenge has expands exponentially.

Voice communications require the information to be listened to in real time and at the very lowest tactical levels, making it difficult to extract usable intelligence such as location and intent. By inserting data into the equation, situational awareness information can now be sent providing exact position location information to generate the blue force picture, a vital force multiplier and deductive IFF tool. Conversely, extracting that information from an enemy

Samsung Thales’ solution for South Korea’s Tactical Information Communications Network has multiple layers of capability

network would provide the enemy with an exact Red Force picture and consequently the information can be a double edged sword if it is not adequately protected.

The trend to greater security in communications can be seen in the procurement of Selex Communications radios in the region.

Australia acquired the original Personal Role Radio (PRR) in its original form, operating in voice only mode and without encryption instead relying on spread spectrum technology and limited range for protection. In contrast, Singapore relying the company’s SPR as bearer for ACMS uses AES in addition to spread spectrum technology. In dismounted

NETWORK

CENTRE WARFARE

Network centric operations are truly joint © EADS

configuration in Australia’s Land 125 programme, the AN/PRC-152(C) will connect soldiers to the ADF's central Battle Management System being developed by Elbit and serve as a hub for other soldier-car-

ried C4 devices using US type 1 encryption.

The Harris solution also provides built-in AES encryption provides security for all transmissions using a 256-bit key.

Rockwell Collins won a contract in

November from the U.S. Army's Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center to support its Tactical Army Cross Domain Information Solution programme. The company is producing a soldier-worn solution using its MicroTurnstile solution. The system uses a Multiple Independent Levels of Security Advanced Architecture MicroProcessor Version 7 security processor to manage information sharing at the lowest tactical echelons and is capable of addressing all security classifications, from top secret to unclassified addressing the needs of soldiers who are not cleared for access to classified information, without the risk of compromising classified data.

To manage information huge data volumes. PLATH’s is developing a software system for automatic data analysis, developing algorithms for tactical and strategic communication intelligence to highly linked data pattern recognition and artificial intelligence providing the users with hypotheses instead of dealing with huge masses of raw data.

MARITIME S E C U R I T Y

As on land and the air, command and control capabilities are via data fusion, enhancing the effectiveness of hitherto unconnected sensors Š DCNS

Maritime Surveillance

Developments &

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Infiltration by terrorists from the sea is a very real threat put into perspective by the 2008 Mumbai attacks Š AJB

and Reconnaissance: Maritime surveillance is not just about the ability to detect and cue supersonic anti-ship missiles in a large scale blue water engagement.

Actually, for the vast majority of countries on the planet it is just the opposite, focusing instead on economic exclusion zone (EEZ) surveillance,constabulary tasks and counter-terror using systems in the category of maritime safety and security systems, Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) systems and Coastal Surveillance Systems. The threats addressed by maritime safety and security have changed quantitatively and qualitatively from the challenges posed by illegal fishing, smuggling and privacy to providing the first line of defence against terrorism and similar threats. The scale of the challenge is considerable, in 2008, 60,000 ships carried 70 percent of all intercontinental cargo traffic and the figure is growing.

by Adam Baddeley

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HILE Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) receive the lion’s share of the attention in maritime surveillance, it is land based sensors that do the lions share of the work increasingly coupled with command and control (C2) systems to achieve their effect.

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Turnkey solutions

Countries are avidly seeking turnkey solutions that bring together new and existing sensors and fuse their feeds within a command and control networks. France’s Spationav project, developed by EADS Sofrelog is the country’s premier maritime surveillance system integrating sensor feeds from AIS, airborne and land based sensors allowing the Gendarmerie and other bodies to see that information and plan and react accordingly.

Spationav is undergoing regular improvements. Obzerv Technologies Inc. recently won a contract from EADS-Sofrelog for two ARGC-2400 cameras for use in the Spationav programme. At 6km, the ARGC2400 can detect whether the crew of a fast moving craft are carrying rifles or not, allowing a rapid response.

EADS Sofrelog’s maritime security package are in use in a number of harbours in the region including Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Goa, India and Dalian, China, In other areas they provide security management systems for naval facilities at Brest and Toulon and other classified locations as well as coastal monitoring capabilities for the Danish military and a 700km stretch of coastline for the Finland Maritime Authority.

France is continuing to work to improve solutions on its Mediterranean coast with 30 percent of the world’s maritime traffic going through its waters

Sofrelog systems are part of the maritime surveillance component to the 2007 €240m Qatari National Security Shield and the Saudi border surveillance contract covering the complex environment of the Red Sea and part of the Arabian Gulf. In June 2010, EADS Sofrelog and Atlas Maritime Security announced their intention to form a joint

Combinations of sensors are being used in fixed and mobile implementations in the coastal watch role © AJB

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venture in this area.

France is continuing to work to improve solutions on its Mediterranean coast with 30 percent of the world’s maritime traffic going through its waters. In September, the DGA signed a contract with DCNS to begin the €7m SISMARIS programme which provides a compete information systems and sensors co-operative and non co-operative tracking of vessels at day and night and in all weather conditions at distances of three to four days out from ports such as Marseille, roughly from the Straits of Gibraltar to Western Libya. Information generated will be shared with partner organisation including the Centre de Coordination pour la Lutte Anti-Drogue en Méditerranée, Gendarmerie Maritime and CROSS MED (Affaires Maritimes). The SISMARIS programme includes the installation of a complete sensor and detection platform with basic and innovative sensors, high frequency radar and for long range detection and integrates of airborne platform. DCNS leads 13 partners in the programme.

Indra Sistemas has recently been awarded a contract by Portugal for its Sistema Integrado de Vigilância de Comando e Controlo (SIVICC) programme in a €25

MARITIME S E C U R I T Y

award which will replace the Elbit sourced LAOS system and will be integrated with Spain’s Sistema Integrado de Vigilância Exterior (SIVE). Indra was also selected to provide Romania’s maritime surveillance systems cover radar, electro–optic sensors linking via a bespoke communications network to the C2 hub based on Constanza.

The Transas Baltic company in late 2010 has recently signed a contract with Lithuania to provide a sea surveillance information system (SSIS) for traffic tracking and logging and fisheries surveillance using sensors along Lithuania coast, which will use the Transas Navi-Harbor maritime surveillance and information service.

Selex Sistemi Integrati are currently

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upgrading Italy’s Dispositivo Interministeriale di Sorveglianza Marittima (DISM). In a roughly two year deal to improve coastal radar coverage, SSI will supply seven sites with its remotely operated Radar di Avvistamento per la Scoperta di Superficie-Costiero IASR (RASSCI). The RASSCI is an over the horizon radar, building on the capabilities of the Selex Galileo Gabbiano T2000C radar.

Countries in the region are benefiting for outside funding for maritime security. It was recently announced that the US is ELTA's EL/M-2107 is a high resolution advanced miniature radar for security applications including harbour security © AJB

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

donating 16 coastal and 11 shipboard radar systems and C2 posts to Indonesia to cover the Straits of Malacca. The two country plan to extend the network into the Sulawesi Sea and covering roughly 2500km with the overall system centre will be on the island of Batam. Japan has also provided radar to the support maritime security in the same project. The work is funded under US DoD Section 1206 funding to support the international counter-terrorism work. Malaysia has received similar capabilities under the same programme also using US donated radar. In 2008, FLIR Systems announced an order from Malaysia for 12 ThermoVision 2000 (THV2000) long-range thermal imaging sensor systems with a range of up to 20 km for coastal surveillance.

In July 2008, Vietnam’s Marine Police ordered Swedish Space Corp’s MSS 6000 maritime surveillance system which will equip CASA C212-400 aircraft for delivery in 2011. The aircraft will be equipped with Side-looking airborne radar, still and video cameras and other on board sensors in all weather and day and night and airborne AIS automatic identification system for ships linked back to base, using broadband satcom.

In 2008, Indra were awarded work under Spain’s Sea Horse network system, a secure satcom based system linking Spain, Portugal, Mauritania, Senegal and Cape Verde, focused on information exchange between the parties on illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Raytheon’s HFSWR (High-Frequency Surface Wave Radar) is designed to detect and track ships and low-flying aircraft at beyond 200 nautical mile and has been used

by DoD’s CTDPO (Counterdrug Technology Development Program Office) to deliver low-cost, all-weather detection capabilities using polarized HF (High-Frequency) electromagnetic signals which propagate along the sea’s surface rather than stopping at the horizon.

Controp’s Thermal Imaging solutions have been used in a number of coastal surveillance solutions. In late 2010, Controp were awarded a contract to supply their Fox 720 Thermal cameras as a coastal surveillance subcontract to local prime contractor in support of India’s Coast Guard. Complete systems built around Fox variants have also been supplied for similar programmes with DANIS systems covering Sydney harbour since 2010. In Italy, five of Controp’s

MARITIME S E C U R I T Y

Radar solutions such as Cassidian’s TRGS can detect, small fleeting targets at range on land sea and air © Cassidian

CEDAR systems cover the 9km long Gioia Tauro harbour in a port security system led

by IBM Italia, with two systems covering the maritime perimeter, the remainder covering the land facing external fence. The CEDAR system was also used during the Athens Olympics for coastal protection. All the firm’s cameras use Controp’s pioneering continuous optical zoom technology, allowing seamless close in investigation of an object without the operator losing situational awareness by being able to zoom in and out without losing focus.

A key feature of Controp’s surveillance systems such as CEDAR, DANIS and others including the SPIDER family is the inclusion of advanced intruder detection software matched to a panoramic scanning capability. Once set up, the camera only needs three complete sweeps taking less than a minute for long range system over 180 degrees. In a coastal environment, the software is able to

distinguish between the normal movement of waves or sea birds and pick out swimmers or rigid inflatables and automatically alert operators to their appearance.

Controp’s latest camera is the Fox 1400, which equips the SIPDER LR. In recent tests

by Spain’s Guardia Civil, the system was able to identify a rigid inflatable test subject at 20km in poor weather at night. The Fox 1400 has a 1.4m focal plane array but this is ‘folded’ using a proprietary method to reduce the actual length of each camera to just 40cm.

IAI Elta’s work on coastal surveillance was prompted by terrorist attacks from the sea against Israel in the 1970s. In response the company developed ELM-2112 family of multi-mission multi-function radars designed to detect objects with the range

IAI Elta’s work on coastal surveillance was prompted by terrorist attacks from the sea against Israel in the 1970s l

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resolution of approximately 1m and is capable of ground and sea surveillance and supports simultaneous processing and in service with 15 customers including on Israel’s coast. The latest version is the V15 which can detect moving targets at up to 30km.

Co-operation and organisation

Organisational efficiency as much as technology is responsible for ensuring effectiveness in maritime security. Indonesia and Sri Lanka have both recently activated national coast guards. International co-operation is growing too. In July, the South Korean National Marine Police Agency and the Russian Federal Border Service conducted an anti-piracy exercise in the Sea of Japan.

Jakarta is reported to be considering coordinated border patrols with Vietnam along their common maritime borders in the South China Sea. Indonesia has also undertaken joint patrols with the Philippine Navy along their common maritime borders. The IndiaIndonesia Co-ordinated Patrol known as Indido Corpet began on March 5 2010, covering the seas around the Andaman-Nicobar

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MARITIME S E C U R I T Y

The high volumes of cargo required for international trade require large tracts of the oceans to be placed under persistent surveillance © AJB

archipelago, India and Weh Island, Indonesia. The Indonesians also continue to patrol with Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia in the Malacca Straits Sea Patrol.

India and the Maldives also recently signed an agreement with to establish a network of coastal surveillance radars linking them with the Indian Coastal Command and allowing Indian naval and coast guard vessels to patrol Maldivian waters.

The porous nature of India’s maritime borders was brought home in the Mumbai attacks in November 2008. In response, rectifying deficiencies have been brought about by fast tracking existing but delayed plans and the introduction of new systems and platforms. In October 2009, India’s Defence

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Minister A.K. Antony announced plans for a significant increase in the size of the Coast Guard with the establishment of nine new stations and 46 coastal radars. In term of platforms, Antony announced the acquisition of seven offshore patrol vessels, 20 fast patrol boats and 41 interceptor craft as well as additional aircraft. As well as conventional platform India is also acquiring further hovercraft signing a deal Griffon Hoverwork in late 2010, adding 12 8000TD medium hovercraft, allowing the systems to marshy, swampy regions on the western

In July, the South Korean National Marine Police Agency and the Russian Federal Border Service conducted an anti-piracy exercise in the Sea of Japan ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

and eastern coastlines of India. India’s Coast Guard has also been designated the lead national agency in co-ordinating the introduction of an AIS systems with state governments.

Harbours

Harbours provide a location of vulnerability and necessity for maritime surveillance, their location providing perhaps the prime location for terrorist attack. Norwegian firm Kongsberg in 2008 received a $22.75 million from Aselsan to prove underwater detection systems or the Turkish Navy’s Aksaz and Foça naval bases. Finland’s Navy has acquired systems for assessment from Patria and its Sura lightweight surveillance system and from TietoSaab Systems in the same timeframe. Kongsberg Meseotech’s DDS 9000 acoustic diver detection system provides an automated means to detect divers using network of ten sonar nodes.

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Australian Defence Force:

Army Focus The Australian government has made no secret of its desire to turn the Australian Defence Force (ADF) into a hardened and networked fighting force. The threats faced by Australia, both within the shifting and rebalancing Asia-Pacific region, and as part of ongoing operations within the Middle East, are rapidly changing, and the ability to meet these threats has required a long-term plan for the modernisation and enhancement of the nation’s defence capabilities.

by John Mullberry

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In June 2010 approval was granted for the upgrade of the ASLAV vehicles as part of Land 112 Phase 4 Š Australian DoD

HE PAST decade has seen a significant push toward this goal, to ensure that the ADF is of sufficient size and has the correct equipment to meet the challenges of increasingly demanding strategic conditions, increasing the size and firepower of the land force, improve protection provided to troops and allow them to communicate better on the battlefield. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is in the process of carrying out a number of programmes to meet these goals for its land forces, and the same can be said for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Throughout the last decade the battlefield has become more complex and the face of warfare itself has changed dramatically. Troops deployed in the Middle East are facing an increasingly flexible enemy in some of the most extreme conditions and environments ever experienced. As a result, the technology and knowledge required to face these threats are forcing a significant rethink of both the equipment and technology required for success.

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Fully networked

One of the most central aspects of the process currently being undertaken by the ADF to upgrade and modernise the Australian armed forces is to become fully networked. In an increasingly digitized battlespace, the ability to not just gather data but to turn that data into actionable information and disseminate it around the battlefield is vital component of mission success. In order to drive through the goal of becoming a fully networked armed force, the

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government began a process of careful selection of land, sea and aerial platforms to modernise the ADF, and enhance its capabilities to that of a modern military.

In 2004, the Minister for Defence announced that the M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management (AIM) Main Battle Tank (MBT) had been selected as a replacement for the army’s former in-service tank, the Leopard AS1 MBT. The vehicles were purchased under a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) agreement with the US Government, with the first delivery of 18 M1A1 tanks along with four M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System (HERCULES) armoured recovery tanks, which were delivered to the Army in September 2006. The remaining 41 tanks ordered were delivered in-country in March 2007 along with two armoured recovery vehicles.

The initial operating capability of a 41 tank squadron, as well as supporting equipment, training, support and ammunition entered service in July 2007 with the 1st

Armoured Regiment. The M1A1 provided the basis for a strong, modernised and forward-looking army, bringing high levels of protection, mobility, improved fire control system components and – importantly excellent interoperability in the network centric battlefield.

With a crew of four personnel and a cruising range of 440 – 480 km, the M1A1 is armed with a 120mm smooth bore smoothbore gun and 50 cal and 7.62mm machine guns. The M88A2 HERCULES support vehicles, seven of which were ordered in total, are fully tracked heavy armoured vehicles armed with a 50 cal machine gun that performs hoisting, winching and towing as required during recovery operations and evacuation of heavy tanks and other combat vehicles.

Two other vehicle acquisition programmes have significantly enhanced the Australian land force’s networked defence capabilities. In 1990, the government began a decade-long programme to procure and upgrade 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicles

The ADF’s heavy armour capability is provided by the M1A1 main battle tank © Australian DoD

known as the Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) programme. The programme was begun in order to source a vehicle that was able to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance activities over long distances with minimal logistics support, and was conducted in four phases. Initially 15 Light Armoured Vehicles were procured from the US Marine Corps (USMC) for a concept evaluated of wheeled reconnaissance; this was followed by a contract for 113 vehicles issued by the DMO, with delivery running through to 1997, and in 2000 a further 144 ASLAVs were ordered and the phase two vehicles were upgraded to Phase 3 standard with enhanced simulation, surveillance and remote weapon stations.

In June 2010 approval was granted for the upgrade of the ASLAV vehicles as part of Land 112 Phase 4, which will see the vehicles enhanced as part of a AU$302.8 million project that will improve armament, provide

The ADF is set to replace its existing Scan Eagle UAV with the Textron-AAI Shadow 200 © Australian DoD

One of the most central aspects of the process currently being undertaken by the ADF to upgrade and modernise the Australian armed forces is to become fully networked 20

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greater protection for troops and help cater for difficult and dangerous environments such as those in Afghanistan, bringing the highest combat protection and capability in the future to the ASLAV. The work will also increase protection against Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), ballistic fragmentation and blast protection, as well as improvements to the vehicle’s suspension, driveline and engine, ensuring the vehicle is able to fulfil its role for the remainder of its service life.

The Army has also deployed the Bushmaster armoured vehicle in six variants: troop transport, ambulance, direct fire, mortar, engineer and command. The initial delivery of Bushmaster vehicles took place in 2004 and over 680 vehicles are now in place with the ADF. The Bushmaster is a highly mobile vehicle with very high ballistic, mine and IED blast resistance, providing solutions for a wide variety of mission roles and applications including logistical support. In 2006 it was announced that the vehicles would be fitted with Raven R-400 remote weapon stations (RWS) from Recon Optical and Electro

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ADF Chinook helicopter from the Townsville based 5th Aviation Regiment deploys on exercise © DoD

Optic Systems for added troop protection.

Thales Australia also released a new capability known as intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) Osprey to enhance the situational awareness of deployed ADF troops within various operational theatres. The system includes Kylmar optronics, Thales UK rangefinders and the Thales Sophie MF multi-functional thermal imaging device that have been integrated into a four metre Will-Burt Stiletto mast. By removing a single seat from the vehicle and carrying out minor modifications to the rear hatch the complete sensor package can reside in the vehicle. It works to reduce the ISTAR physical signature of the vehicle, enabling it to carry out increased surveillance and reconnaissance missions with greater secrecy and less risk of detection.

The ADF’s Tiger attack helicopters are now in service © Australian DoD

Critical battlefield intelligence

One of the most important aspects of improv-

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In June 2010 approval was granted for the upgrade of the ASLAV vehicles as part of Land 112 Phase 4, which will see the vehicles enhanced as part of a AU$302.8 million project the battlefield in built-up urban areas or mountainous terrain, and the ability for UAVs to build up a picture of the operating theatre to search for suspicious objects and insurgents has enabled missions to be carried out more safely.

ing the ADF’s networked capabilities has been the ongoing programme to expand unmanned aerial vehicle (UAS) technologies.

The RAAF operates the Heron UAS in Afghanistan, and last year entered into an agreement with the US government for the provision of the AAI-Textron RQ-7B Shadow 200 UAS as part of the JP129 tactical UAS procurement programme. The RQ-7B Shadow is a latest-generation combat proven system used by the US Army and Marine Corps for reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting and assessment, allowing brigade commanders to gain an advanced awareness of their surrounding in uncertain environments. The operating environment in Afghanistan has proved to be a particularly difficult one and the use of UAVs has quickly become one of the safest and most effective way to detect threats within the battlespace at no risk to human life. The ability for deployed troops to obtain a clear picture of

The Shadow 200 can see targets up to 125 km away from the brigade tactical operations centre, and recognise tactical vehicles up to 8,000 feet above the ground at more than 3.5 km slant range, in all light conditions. The system transmits imagery and data directly to the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System, All Sources Analysis System, and Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System in near real time, and provides targeting data for precision weapons.

The ADF has also deployed the Kestrel Land Moving Target Indicator (Land MTI) technology aboard its Heron UAS in Afghanistan. The software automatically detects targets in electro-optical and infrared aerial full motion video captured by UAVs,

REGI ON AL

Australia has been one of the main supporters of coalition operations in Afghanistan © Australian DoD

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such as vehicles and dismounts in urban and mountainous terrain that are too small for the human eye to detect reliably. Technology such as this that uses artificial intelligence to perform routine and repetitive tasks takes the responsibility off the UAV operator, who will easily become fatigued while watching large quantities of raw data. The system will flag the targets and alert the operator, allowing wider areas to be covered by the UAV itself.

Rotorcraft

The Australian Army’s rotary assets have undergone a period of significant transformation over the past decade, with a number of acquisition and upgrade programmes being undertaken to enhance and upgrade airborne defences. One of the more problematic programmes has been the MRH-90 helicopter programme which has suffered delays of 12 months for the Navy’s aircraft and 18 months for the Army’s aircraft. The aircraft were originally ordered as part of a rationalisation programme to replace the Navy’s Sea

King and the Army’s Black Hawk fleets, but delays, caused by a series of issues including engine failure, transmission oil cooler fan failures and poor availability of spares, has resulted in a review being called by the Minister of Defence earlier this month. The review will be a full diagnostic review supported by external specialists to provide recommendations to the government on the actions necessary to fully implement the important project – only 13 of the 46 MRH-90 helicopters have been delivered to date, which currently being used for testing and initial crew training.

Project AIR87 is also seeking to deliver a new Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) capability to the Army by the end of 2011 by way of the Eurocopter Tiger Helicopters, 22 of which have been ordered to replace the Bell 206B-1 Kiowa and UH1-H Iroquois gunship helicopters. The aircraft will be fitted with the M299 launcher for Hellfire II missiles and will also be armed with 70 mm Hydra rockets, the Nexter 30

ADF forces patrol in Afghanistan © Australian DoD

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The ADF has also deployed the Kestrel Land Moving Target Indicator technology aboard its Heron UAS in Afghanistan mm cannon and four Stinger air-to-air missiles. A full operational capability is expected to be reached in December this year.

Although Australia has considered a possible deployment to Afghanistan for the Tiger ARH when the aircraft reach operational status, it is more likely that the ADF’s main rotary contribution will remain with the Boeing CH-47D Chinook aircraft currently deployed there in support of coalition operations. Early in 2010 the Minister for Defence announced that second pass approval had been granted to a major project to acquire seven CH-47F Chinook helicopters for the ADF at a cost of around $755 million under Project AIR 9000 Phase 5C. The aircraft will eventually replace the

existing CH-47D Chinooks which have become increasingly difficult to support since being replaced by the newer F version. The new aircraft will act as the central component of the ADF’s medium-lift helicopter capability, and are capable of performing a wide range of roles including troop transport, frontline MedEvac and disaster relief and humanitarian roles. The strengthened airframe, improved deployability and digital systems supporting safer flying of the F model will being supportability and operational benefits to the ADF. The fleet are scheduled for entry into service during 2014 and will be based at Townsville, and operated by ‘C-Squadron’ of Army’s 5th.

All of these procurement plans have the objective of strengthening the capabilities of the ADF to deploy on current operations. As a result the focus is very much on the requirements of the Army. There are also a number of recapitalisation efforts underway for the RAAF and RAN but the outcomes of these, such as the new air warfare frigates and new fighter fleet are further out.

ANTI -ARMOUR S U P P O R T

W E A P O N S

Anti-armour & support weapons

infantry

Although 18 nations in the region have equipped their armed forces with anti-tank and direct-fire weapons, the anti-tank guided missile is used by only ten of these; India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

by Doug Richardson

ANY OF these nations still have substantial stocks of recoilless guns. Indeed for five of these countries; Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Sri Lanka – recoilless guns are their sole antitank and direct-fire weapon.

In a traditional rifled or smoothbore gun, all of the hot gas created by the propellant is used to drive the projectile out of the barrel. In a recoilless gun (often referred to as a recoilless rifle, even in cases where the barrel is

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smoothbore), a large portion of the gas is allowed to escape to the rear, creating a momentum that will approximately balance the recoil created by the firing of the projectile.

As a result, the weapon does not need a recoildamping mechanism or a heavy gun carriage.

While weapons of this sort are relatively inexpensive compared to anti-tank missiles, they have the tactical drawback of having significant noise and flash, while the hot gases expelled rearwards can create a highly visible cloud of dust and debris. While they can be fired from a light mount such as a tri-

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Despite its age, the 105 mm M40 recoilless rifle is still in service with 15 nations in the region © Bukvoed / Creative Commons

pod or from the infantryman’s shoulder, the larger-calibre weapons are usually mounted on a jeep or similar small vehicle so that they can change location quickly after firing.

The most common recoilless gun used in the region is the US-developed 105 mm M40 recoilless rifle. This is used by Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan,

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S U P P O R T

W E A P O N S

direct-fire directRafael’s Spike LR introduced Singapore to the era of the fire-and-forget anti-tank missile © Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

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nel tracer round that dispensed flechettes is probably no longer in use.

There is little point in cataloguing the full range of recoilless guns used throughout the region. However, some recoilless weapons are worthy of note.

The long-established Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle has five users in the region – India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.

First introduced by what was then Bofors (now part of Saab Dynamics) in 1946, it is still in production, having been gradually improved over more than half a century, a process that shows no signs of stopping.

The current M3 version uses a barrel consisting of a rifled steel liner, around which is wound a laminate of carbon fibre and epoxy.

The rear-mounted gas venturi is also made of steel, but the remainder of the weapon is made from aluminium or plastic. These measures reduced the length from the 1.13 m of the earlier M2 to 1.07 m, and trimmed the weight from 14.2 kg to only 10 kg.

Recently Saab Dynamics announced that it is developing an even lighter M4 variant expected to be available from 2015 onwards.

This will be less than 1 m long and will weight less than 7 kg. It will use a fire-control system based on a thermal imager, an image

Since first entering service in 1970, Raytheon’s BGM71 TOW heavy wire-guided missile has evolved into a family of ever more lethal designs © Raytheon

Pakistan makes its own variant of the RPG-7, and has developed and fielded its own custom-designed projectiles

Pakistan has developed an airbursting anti-personnel round for the RPG-7 © Pakistan Ordnance Factories

Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.

The M40 entered service in the mid-1950s and is still fielded in substantial numbers around the world. It was the first recoilless weapon to incorporate a spotting rifle for the gunner - a gas-operated magazine-fed semi-

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automatic, whose bullet flew a trajectory that matched that of the full-calibre round.

Available rounds include the M344 and M344A1 high-explosive anti-tank and M346A1 high-explosive plastic with tracer (HEP-T). These have a maximum range of 3,000 m. A shorter-range M581 anti-person-

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intensifier, a low-light charge-coupled device, an eyesafe laser rangefinder, a ballistic computer, and a means of transferring data such as ammunition type, propellant temperature, range setting and firing mode between the fire-control unit and the ammunition.

New high-explosive, multipurpose, infrared smoke, illumination and anti-personnel rounds are planned, along with a 4.5 kg guided round. A drawing of the latter shows three pop-out canard control surfaces, three pop-out tail surfaces, and some form of nose-mounted sensor.

Cambodia and Singapore have adopted the 67 mm Armbrust, a weapon designed to overcome the main limitations of the recoilless gun – the conspicuous launch signature that results from muzzle flash and back blast.

The venting of hot gases to the rear of a recoilless weapon not only creates an imme-

ANTI-ARMOUR

S U P P O R T diately-recognisable back blast, but can be dangerous in confined spaces.

Armbrust uses a propellant charge located between two pistons. When the weapon is fired, the front piston propels the projectile forwards and out of the tube, while the other drives a countermass of shredded plastic out of the rear of the tube. Both pistons are trapped at their respective ends of the launch tube, preventing the release of hot propellant gases.

Ambrust was developed by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm , who later sold the manufacturing rights to Chartered Industries of Singapore (now ST Kinetics).

Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand all use the M72 LAW 66 mm anti-tank rocket. In US service this has been replaced by the Swedish-developed AT4 84 mm recoilless weapon, which has also been adopted by Taiwan.

The well-proven RPG-7 grenade launcher and its Chinese Type 69 equivalent still have their adherents, being used by Cambodia, North Korea, Laos, Pakistan, Seychelles, and probably Vietnam. North Korea even has stocks of the older RPG-2.

Pakistan makes its own variant of the RPG-7, and has developed and fielded its own custom-designed projectiles. These include the RPG-7AP, which closely resembles the Chinese air-burst anti-personnel grenade for the Type 69-1. On impact, the RPG-7AP projectile is propelled upwards by a jump mechanism, and the warhead is detonated at a height of about 2 m, scattering its payload of 850 steel balls.

Recoilless guns have not vanished from the inventory of nations that have adopted guided anti-tank missiles. Being essentially shoulder-fired light artillery, the more modern types still serve a source of highly-mobile firepower during fighting in built-up area (FIBUA) operations. For example, they can be used for wall-breaching, creating a way into a building not predictable by the defenders.

Although it seems safe to predict that some of the countries that current operate only recoilless guns may procure guided missiles in the future, sales of modern recoilless weapons such as the Carl Gustaf are likely to continue, particularly if the Swedish weapon’s guided round completes development and closes the gap between guided and unguided systems.

Pakistan makes its own variant of the RPG-7, and has developed and fielded its own custom-designed projectiles. In its ground-based form, it is used by South

W E A P O N S

This 84 mm diameter guided missile is proposed as a future ‘smart’ round for the Saab Dynamics Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle © Saab Dynamics

Korea, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. In the helicopter-mounted role, TOW is used by South Korea (AH-1, MD500), Japan (AH-1), Pakistan (AH-1), Philippines (MD500), Taiwan (AH-1), and Thailand (AH-1).

First fielded by the US in 1970, TOW shows no sign of ending its production run of more than 40 years. A series of successive models has introduced improved performance and more lethal warheads, including payloads designed for ‘bunker-busting’.

The National Development Complex of Pakistan is known to have developed a tandem warhead for installation on that country’s TOW missiles, but no details are available.

For decades, TOW used a traditional trail-

ing-wire command link, but in 2001 Raytheon made the first test firings of a wireless version. Elimination of the wire allowed the range to be increased from the wire-limited 3,750 m to 4,500 m. All current production rounds are wireless, and some patterns of older wire-guided missile can be converted to the wireless configuration.

Although content to rely on the TOW as its helicopter-launched missile, Japan largely equips its Self-Defense Forces with anti-tank missiles of local origin. The most modern of these is the Type 87 Chu-MAT semi-active laser guided missile. Fired from a container/launcher tube mounted on a low tripod, this has a range described as ‘medium’.

The Type 99 Jyu-MAT is an older weapon

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developed during the 1970s by the Sun Yatsen Scientific Research Institute, and is probably still in service.

Like all first-generation weapons, Malyutka requires a high degree of operator training. The Tula KBP 9K111 Fagot (AT4a/4b 'Spigot') is similar in concept to MILAN and uses SACLOS guidance. It entered service in the early 1970s and India is among the known export users.

India faces the problem that it needs to dispose of up to 12,000 Soviet-era Malyukta and Fagot anti-tank missiles that have been in service for up to 20 years, almost twice their designed life of 10 years. The 9P135 series of firing posts of the Fagot system will probably have a longer career with India than the Russian missiles they were originally designed to fire. Bharat Dynamics has developed the Flame-V and Flame-G adaptor kits that allows these to fire the MBDA MILAN 2 missile.

The KBP Instrument Design Bureau 9K115Metis (AT-7 ‘Saxhorn’) SACLOS system is much smaller than the Fagot, but at the price of reduced range. The original version could engage targets out to 1,000 m, but this was increased to 1,500 m in the Metis-M (AT13) variant. The latter uses the improved 9M131 missile in place of the earlier 9M115.

South Korea obtained its Metis-M systems in partial repayment of outstanding debt dating back to the Soviet era. In 2004, it received

MBDA sees its digitised MILAN ER as evolutionary route for existing users of the MILAN system © Doug Richardson

India’s Flame upgrade allows 9P135 series firing posts originally used with the Russian Fagor missile to fire the MBDA MILAN 2 © Doug Richardson

that has been in service since 1984. Deployed in ground and vehicle-based forms, it uses semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) guidance via a trailing wire. Some reserve units may still operate the Type 64 MAT wire-guided missile, a 1950s design also known as the KAM-3.

Japan is reported to be working on a new XATM-4 heavy anti-tank missile and a new XATM-5 lighter missile similar in concept to the US Javelin. However, like the earlier Japanese designs, these are unlikely to be offered for export.

MBDA’s Milan is built under licence in India since 1973, and also serves with Indonesia, Pakistan, and Singapore. This SACLOS system has been in service since the first deployment of the original Milan 1 in

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1972, and the latest version is the MILAN ER, which started trials in 2006. Firing posts for this new digitised version first entered service with South Africa, which ordered Milan ER firing posts for its existing missiles. No MILAN ER missiles were included in the order, but MBDA hopes that the new missile will enter production in 2011. The identity of the second MILAN ER customer has not yet been announced.

The Kolomna KBM 9K11 Malyutka (AT-3 'Sagger') wire-guided missile first entered service with what was then the Soviet armed forces in 1963. Export customers included India, North Korea, and Vietnam.

Taiwan’s Kuen Wu 1 closely resembles the Malyutka but has a larger and differently shaped warhead. This Malyutka clone was ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

The only regional export success for China’s Red Arrow series of anti-tank missiles seems to have been Pakistan

a second batch reported to have included dozens of 9P151 launch units fitted with 1PN86V1 Mulat-115 8-13 µm thermal imaging sights and several thousand 9M131 missiles. The latter can carry a thermobaric warhead optimised for attacking bunkers and similar targets, but these were not supplied to South Korea.

In 2001 Malaysia ordered an undisclosed quantity of Metis-M systems, but is it not known whether that country adopted both the tandem HEAT and thermobaric warheads, or the system’s optional thermal sight.

Malaysia is the only regional operator of the MBDA Eryx short-range anti-tank missile system. This 136 mm diameter wire-guided missile is fired from a compact firing unit that tracks an infra-red beacon on the missile

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S U P P O R T and generates guidance commands. The principle is no different to that of longerrange SACLOS weapons, but the maximum range is only 600 m.

The latest version of Eryx has a tandem warhead. It can penetrate 900 mm of rolled homogenous armour (RHA) or 2.5 m of reinforced concrete.

A Mirabel thermal imager can be mounted on the launcher to allow firings at night or in poor visibility, but Sagem Défence Sécurité has teamed with MBDA to develop a new thermal night sight based on an uncooled sensor.

The only regional export success for China’s Red Arrow series of anti-tank missiles seems to have been Pakistan, which builds the Red Arrow 8 under licence as the Baktar Shikan. Like the Chinese original, this is a SACLOS weapon using a trailing-wire guidance link. It is in service with Pakistan and Malaysia.

The National Development Complex of Pakistan has developed tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads intended to allow the missile to attack targets protected by

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China’s Red Arrow family of anti-tank missiles has scored few sales successes in the region, but Pakistan manufactures the Red Arrow 8 version under the designation Baktar Shikan © Norinco

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ANTI -ARMOUR S U P P O R T

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This Metis M system used by South Korea has the improved 9M131 missile and a fire unit fitted with the Mulat 115 thermal imager © Doug Richardson

MBDA’s Eryx was displayed at Eurosatory 2010 complete with a new uncooled Sagem night sight © Doug Richardson

Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA). The modified missile is reported to be able to penetrate 800 mm of conventional steel armour or more than 460 mm of armour protected by ERA. In 1999, it was announced that the Rafael Spike-LR fibre-optic guided missile had been selected by Singapore. The system is locally manufactured by Singapore Technologies Dynamics, while Smart Systems Pte Ltd has been established by Chartered Ammunition Industries and Rafael to act as the prime contractor for Singapore’s systems.

Spike LR can be launched in either a fireand-forget mode or in a fire-observe-andupdate mode. Its trailing fibre-optic link allows the gunner to observe seeker imagery while the missile is in flight, allowing him to correct the aim, switch to another target, or abort the attack.

The Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin

anti-tank missile has enjoyed major sales successes round the world, but to date its only sale in this region has been to Taiwan. Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile whose staring imaging infra-red seeker is locked onto the target prior to launch. Once the missile has been fired, the gunner is free to take cover or to reload. The missile flies a high trajectory, and attacks a tank from above.

Although designed and fielded as an antitank weapon, Javelin proved a useful bunker-attack weapon during military operations in Iraq, and is now being used by US and UK forces operating in Afghanistan as a direct-fire weapon against enemy positions.

India faces the problem that its Milan 2 and 2T anti-tank missiles have a maximum range of 2,000 m, well below the 3,000 m reported for Pakistan’s Baktar Shikan systems. In August 2010 Defence Minister A K The Lockheed Martin Javelin has already been adopted by Taiwan © Lockheed Martin

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Antony told the Indian parliament that the country intended to buy what he termed a “third-generation anti-tank guided missile”, and that the Indian Ministry of Defence planned to send a letter of request to the US Government covering a proposed Foreign Military Sales contract.

Since the published procurement plan mentions only the United States, this suggests that the Indian Army could be planning

India faces the problem that its Milan 2 and 2T anti-tank missiles have a maximum range of 2,000 m, well below the 3,000 m reported for Pakistan’s Baktar Shikan systems

to adopt either the Javelin or one of the latest versions of TOW. In its standard form, Javelin has a maximum range of only 2,500 m, well below that of Pakistan’s Baktar Shikan. An extended-range variant has been under study for almost a decade, but has yet to be funded.

By the end of last year, the only Indian request for anti-tank missiles that had been notified to Congress was for AGM-114L-3 Hellfire Longbow and 542 AGM-114R-3 Hellfire II missiles, part of a larger request for 22 AH-64D Block III Apache helicopters being offered as a candidate in India’s planned procurement of a new anti-tank helicopter.

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Emerging Technologies

The year 2010 witnessed a steady chain of bombings and terrorist attacks in countries like Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Israel and Pakistan. However, two incidents that received the most Western media attention were an attempted car bombing in New York’s Times Square on 1 May, and the seizure of two bombs timed to detonate aboard aircraft on 29 October. The former plot by Faisal Shahzad was foiled by observant civilians and emergency services, with US authorities believing this attack was perpetrated by the Pakistani Taliban. In the latter incident, for which Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular claimed responsibility, 300-400g of explosives was concealed in toner cartridges aboard aircraft en route from Yemen to the US. These two incidents underscore the need for constant levels of homeland security (HLS) alertness.

by Gordon Arthur

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ERRORISTS AND fanatics can easily turn homelands into frontlines with asymmetric threats such as weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Piracy, cyber-terrorism, narcotics, arms and people smuggling are other areas of international concern. This article examines some emerging and maturing HLS technologies that military and security forces have at their disposal to counter such threats.

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Surveillance and communications

An up-to-date picture of the enemy has always been a vital tool for military commanders, and in this modern age much effort is invested in obtaining high-resolution imagery that can be instantly shared via digital networks. Such assets range from US Air Force (USAF) U-2S spy planes monitoring North Korea to systems like the vehiclemounted Long-Range Advance Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3) used in

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The lighter-than-air aerostat is an interesting surveillance development, this asset mimicking WWI binocular-equipped artillery spotters in balloons. Aerostats filled with helium are tethered balloons that look down upon facilities such as forward operating bases (FOB). This technology is being adopted by the USA, with 31 Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems (PGSS) to be deployed in Afghanistan. Equipped with wide-area sensors, these SkyKite aerostats from Neany Incorporated are connected to TerraSight Ground Stations to warn troops on the ground of threats. Similarly, Thailand bought a $9.7 million airship from Aria International for use in its restive south. Thailand’s manned aerostat contains advanced surveillance and communication systems.

India’s state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a medium-sized aerostat equipped with a day/night electro-optical and communication intelligence (COMINT)

A US Army RG-31 Mk5A 4x4 MRAP in Afghanistan. Note the SPARK mine-roller, as well as the Warlock Duke Counter-Remote Control IED Electronic Warfare system © Gordon Arthur/Carl Schulze

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The compact but still experimental Chinese ASN-211 Flapping Wing Aircraft mimics a bird’s or insect’s motion in flight © Gordon Arthur

payload for surveillance. Trials concluded on 25 December 2010, and electronic intelligence (ELINT) and radar payloads are also planned. DRDO envisions an application in all three military branches. India is also investing in Pakistani border surveillance where infiltration attempts regularly occur.

In September 2009, Raytheon successfully demonstrated its Battlefield Surveillance System (BSS) to the Indian military.

Porous borders like those in India, Indonesia and the Philippines are an endemic problem. The Philippines is addressing this issue by establishing Coast Watch South in the Mindanao archipelago. This is a chain of 17 radar-equipped coastal stations backed by patrol boats and helicopters. The USA and Australia are assisting Manila with technology and funding in this concerted effort to intercept cross-border criminals, pirates and terrorists. The US also maintains the 650-man Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P) in Mindanao, a restive region permeated by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members.

JSOTF-P acts in an advisory role to the Philippine military and police, and it operates high-tech surveillance and intelligencegathering equipment. An example is the CChampion Maritime Support Vessel. This 220-foot ship arrived in Zamboanga in February 2008 to act as a mobile base. Indeed, a Philippine Navy rear admiral used MSV CChampion as his command post during Operation Tuparin on Basilan in August 2009. The US also operates intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets like Raven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmarked surveillance aircraft in Mindanao.

The US is pioneering the use of persistent wide-area airborne surveillance systems that employ high-resolution cameras and high-

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volume data-transmitting capacities. They are basically security cameras mounted in aircraft, and at present two services field such assets - the US Army’s Constant Hawk and US Marine Corps’ (USMC) Angel Fire platforms. Constant Hawk, which incorporates a pattern analysis system, is mounted in C-23 Sherpa aircraft in Iraq, and in C-12 Huron aircraft in Afghanistan. BAE Systems provided the first Airborne Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance System (AWAPSS) to the US Army in September 2009. A fruit of the Pentagon’s Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), AWAPSS gives 24-hour situational awareness exceeding that of Constant Hawk aircraft. Seven such systems are destined for use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

AWAPPS simultaneously collects 100megapixel images in the visible and infrared

wavebands. By loitering over a named area of interest, the system builds up a database of the location and associated human activity.

Communication systems can revolutionise the efficiency of military and security forces. In July 2010 the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory conducted an experiment during the biennial RIMPAC exercise in Hawaii. The aim was to enhance the effectiveness of a USMC company performing counterinsurgency missions by integrating new technology. Golf Company of 2-3 Marines was equipped with TrellisWare TW220 tactical handheld radios that created a mobile, self-forming multi-channel communication network. As well as voice communication, the TW-220 automatically provided leaders with position location information

The US is pioneering the use of persistent wide-area airborne surveillance systems that employ high-resolution cameras and high-volume data-transmitting capacities

(PLI) so they could digitally track each Marine in real-time. TrellisWare radios dovetailed with the Distributed Tactical Communications System (DCTS), an overthe-horizon iridium network that provided headquarters with users’ grid locations.

These communication systems gave com-

With an armed MAARS robot aboard, GUSS performs a mission for 2-3 Marines during the RIMPAC war-fighting experiment in Hawaii © Gordon Arthur

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India’s six-wheeled GMR carries automatic weapons for remotecontrolled firing. This asset would have been useful in the 2008 Mumbai attack © Gordon Arthur

manders superior situational awareness because they knew exactly where their men were at all times. Vince Goolding, Director of the Warfighting Lab’s Experimental Division, enthused: “We think this new communication equipment’s a game-changer.”

Unmanned platforms

No mention of HLS technology would be complete without mention of unmanned platforms. Even cash-strapped Indonesia recognises the utility of UAVs. At the recent Indo Defence show in Jakarta, BPPT displayed the 8.5kg BPPT-04C Sriti with 40km range. This UAV will soon be inducted for maritime patrol duties. The USA regularly employs unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) in places like Yemen and Afghanistan. CIA Special Activities Division MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers armed with Hellfire missiles regularly track and exterminate targets, with 709 people killed in northwest Pakistan in 2009 alone. China, too, is getting on the UAV bandwagon. China’s largest UAV producer is ASN Technology Group, and at Airshow China in November 2010 it displayed the ASN-211 Flapping Wing Aircraft. With an 800mm wingspan and weighing just 220g, its compact size lends itself to frontline reconnaissance. The company also showed a scale model of the 800kg missile-carrying ASN-229A Reconnaissance and Precise Attack UAV capable of travelling at 180km/h and staying aloft for 20 hours. China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) portrayed the jet-powered WJ-600 UCAV locating a US aircraft carrier and transmitting its coordi-

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nates to an anti-ship missile battery.

Technology is allowing UAVs to become smaller. Micro Air Vehicles (MAV) are cheap and pose less of an airspace collision hazard.

AeroVironment Incorporated produces the Wasp MAV, essentially a flying wing incorporating GPS and a miniature day/night electro-optical video camera. The 430g Wasp Block III serves with the USAF in the battlefield air-targeting role.

India, facing both national and internal security threats, is pursuing UAV programmes. Thus far DRDO has produced four Nishant UAV systems with 160km range for the Indian Army. Launched from a truck and recovered via a parachute and airbag-assisted landing, the 365kg Nishant can operate from unprepared areas. Its gimballed payload includes a daylight TV camera, laser rangefinder and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system. Border surveillance is one of its primary duties. DRDO is also developing the 1,800kg medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) Rustom. With 20m wingspan, Rustom is likely to be converted into a UCAV in the future. The Indian Army is also preparing to induct the Netra MAV from ideaForge. Weighing just 1.5kg and with a 1.5km range, the rotary-winged Netra is ideal for counterinsurgency (COIN)

Singapore takes seriously the threat of attack in its port or in the busy Malacca Strait through which 60,000 cargo vessels ply annually ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

and counterterrorism missions.

Unmanned platforms are not all airborne either. At Defexpo 2010, India displayed DRDO-designed ground vehicles like the GMR Gun-Mounted Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and Daksh ROV. In 2009, the Indian Army ordered 20 Daksh bomb disposal robots for defusing improvised explosive devices (IED), with DRDO currently creating a more compact Mk.2 version. The sixwheeled GMR carries a 7.62mm machine gun and 30mm grenade launcher. It is touted for use in situations like those encountered in the 2008 Mumbai attack. The remote-controlled GMR offers a force-escalation option, with operators protected during the apprehension of terrorists, for instance.

During RIMPAC, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory also trialled a remote-controlled 6x6 all-terrain vehicle (ATV) called Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate (GUSS). Soldiers are required to carry enormous amounts of equipment, and autonomous vehicles can help alleviate their burden. GUSS has an 800kg payload and it can operate via a handheld controller or a ‘follow-me’ mode. This Virginia Tech product can also medevac patients, a task that would normally tie up four soldiers. The USMC also trialled the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS) from QinetiQ. Like the GMR, this remote-controlled tracked robot can engage targets with a mounted M240B machine gun.

Singapore takes seriously the threat of attack in its port or in the busy Malacca Strait through which 60,000 cargo vessels ply annually. Singapore has one of the most advanced HLS regimes in the world, and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) already operates unmanned surface vehicles (USV) like Rafael’s Protector. ST Electronics, a Singaporean company, is developing the 9m-long Venus USV with 40-knot top speed. The modular USV can be configured for mine countermeasure, force protection, anti-submarine warfare, electronic warfare, maritime surveillance or precisionfire missions. As navies seek smaller and faster craft for coastal and port protection, USVs represent a cost-effective solution.

Detection and protection

Aircraft have always been a magnet for terrorists, necessitating ever-more sensitive scanners, metal and explosive detectors.

While the 25 December 2009 “Undie Bomber” incident was a catalyst for more intrusive X-ray scanners to be installed in

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many airports, scientists are working on other technologies too. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working on Future Attribute Screening Technologies (FAST) to identify potential bombers through their involuntary physiological behaviour.

Using non-invasive cameras and heart-rate detectors, it will monitor factors like heartbeat, respiration, skin temperature, pupil dilation and blinking. This experimental FAST technology has obvious airport and border security applications.

Technology as simple as armoured vehicles also goes a long way to protecting personnel during counterinsurgencies. The USA has invested heavily in a fleet of 16,000+ MineResistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. MRAPs are often fitted with special counter-IED equipment to disrupt electronic signals. In like manner, to deal with internal security woes, Indian companies have developed various armourprotected troop carriers. BAE Systems, in tandem with Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, is offering the 6x6 Mine Protected Vehicle India (MPVI). Ashok Leyland has a 4x4 Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV) that offers STANAG 4+ mine-blast protection, while there is also an up-armouring kit available for the Indian Army’s Stallion truck fleet.

Cyber-security

Cyberspace has become the latest warfare domain. In May 2010, President Obama established Cyber Command (CYBER-

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ST Electronics of Singapore is developing the Venus USV, a modular design that can be configured according to different missions © Gordon Arthur

COM) as a fully fledged command structure.

Part of CYBERCOM’s remit is to “conduct full-spectrum military cyberspace operations…and ensure US/Allied freedom of action in cyberspace and deny the same to our adversaries.” Despite this move, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned in October 2010 that America’s cyber-infrastructure is “unnecessarily” at risk because agencies like the Department of Ashok Leyland’s 4x4 MPV accommodates eleven occupants, and the Indian armourprotected vehicle has a gross weight of 13 tonnes © Gordon Arthur

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Defense (DoD) and DHS are “moving slowly” to implement cyber-strategy. Attacks like those of Stuxnet demonstrate the vulnerability of HLS and computer networks. Cyberwarfare does not require expensive military hardware or hordes of troops, so it appeals to terrorist as well as national entities.

The weak link?

The case of British ATSC ADE 651 handheld bomb detectors underscores the dangers of over-reliance on technology. Widely fielded in Iraq, the equipment’s detection capability was found to be non-existent. Security and military forces may have all the technology in the world, but they need to be well-organised and well-trained to take advantage of it.

In May 2002 the Australian Army organised the Incident Response Regiment (IRR) composed of 300 military and civilian experts ready to respond to WMD incidents. The New Zealand Army also stood up the Counter-Terrorism Tactical Assault Group (CTTAG) (since renamed 2nd Commando Regiment) specifically for counterterrorism duties. A tragic example of ill-prepared security forces unfolded in Manila in August 2010 after a rogue policeman seized a tour bus carrying 22 Hong Kong tourists.

During the ensuing police assault, eight tourists died. The Manila SWAT team that botched the hostage rescue demonstrated gross ineptitude. Countries may field the best technology in the world, but HLS standards will only be as good as the operators behind it.

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CBRN SYSTEMS

Current research efforts are aimed at making suits more wearable in extremely hot while still conditions offering full CB protection – an ongoing challenge © UK Ministry of Defence

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Enhancing CBRN

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While IEDs (improvised explosive devices) continue to be the weapons of choice by insurgents and terrorists in military and civilian arenas, the use of a CBRN component in an IED or other means of toxic attack is a growing threat. In military operations, CBR contamination hampers progress, and in any scenario even a small-scale chemical or radiological attack would not only be costly in terms of lives lost and long-term health effects, but would necessitate expensive cleanup operations and result in increased public fear – the main aim of all terrorists – as well as loss of economic viability.

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in-one alpha spectrometers for use in mobile environmental laboratories and counting room applications.

HE ESCALATING crisis in December 2010 between the North and South Korean governments, following the North’s shelling of Yeonpyeong island on 23 November has been punctuated by Pyongyang’s increasing bellicosity and brinkmanship with warnings of ‘nuclear retaliation’, bringing the two countries closest to war since 1953. Despite a recent climb down of the North Koreans to let inspectors from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to re-inspect its Yongbyon nuclear facility, the fear persists that the DPRK could test-fire long-range missiles or conduct new underground nuclear tests.

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Biowatch systems

Sporadic threats

Other CBRN attempts are sporadic and often not reported. Insurgent attempts to poison food and water supplies to troops in theatre in Afghanistan along with IEDs laced with organophosphate, a nerve agent precursor chemical, are causing in serving troops and civilians classic symptoms produced by nonconventional components. Soldiers in military operations around the world also have to face endemic infections, toxic industrial materials (TIM) and toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), such as the chlorine tanker attacks in Iraq in 2006.

Civilian readiness - equipping, training and readying first-responder services – against CBR incidents requires the two main planks of defence – protection (suits, boots and masks) and detection (both stand-off for early-warning and hand-held scanners) are fully tested, cost-effective, easily trainable, and deemed suitable for multiple response.

Detection – steady progress

Sophisticated systems are expected to pro-

Remploy MkIV protective suits have been the mainstay of UK Ministry of Defence procurement for personal protection for nearly 20 years ©Remploy

vide accurate and precise information to responders so that they may take appropriate action both before an incident occurs and after CBR release. Detectors must be readily portable, and speed and efficiency of detection guaranteed in order to minimise injury and cost to the mission. Companies and research departments are striving to improve functionality — improved sensitivity, selectivity, and performance. Equipment must be easily portable, compact, lightweight and flexible.

While chemical and radiological detection is still the most advanced, the latter shows gaps in capabilitiy to detect specific alpha emitters such as plutonium and polonium, as highlighted by the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko by polonium-210 in London, where during the operation to scan premises for alpha radiation only type of detector fit the bill. ORTEC produces high-purity germanium and high-resolution radiation detectors. These have required expensive and unwieldy cooling systems, but in March 2010 Ortec introduced smaller, allThe Ametek Ortec Micro-Detective is a state-of-the-art radiation monitor which can detect alphaemitting radioisotopes such as plutonium and polonium ©Ametek

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Biological sentinel or ‘bio-watch’ systems, including stand-off biological perimeter monitoring systems, have been installed in many high-profile premises in urban centres and work in varying degrees of effectiveness, but shortfalls still exist in precision and specificity. Pathogens – both military BW and naturally occurring - must be gathered, concentrated and analysed rapidly to prevent sickness and fatalities as well as the spread of infection. Aerosol sampling can collect particles from the air of between 1 and 10 microns, the particle size that will lodge in the lungs.

A white-powder hoax attack on a facility such as a postal sorting office will result in shutdown while the material is sampled, the premises decontaminated (for reassurance, even if the material is found to be benign) and costly downtime for staff and services before they can reoccupy their workplace. Sentinel systems are increasingly deployed where many vulnerable targets exist, such as major sporting and state events. Smiths’ SmartBio™ Sensor is a portable bio-threat detector launched in May 2010 to protect indoor and Concept permeable systems for the civil responder ©Cosalt

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outdoor public venues through perimeter monitoring. It continuously samples the air, trapping bio-aerosol particles on a sensor surface. An onboard computer detects and classifies the organisms, which are retained for confirmatory analysis and archiving.

Since viral diseases can spread rapidly, researchers are looking for easier and faster ways to directly detect viruses, using technologies that use directed beams of light to seek specific contaminants continuously, in real time and across a

broad spectrum of threat agents. A team at the University of Twente, The Netherlands has developed an ultra-sensitive sensor which can detect various viruses and measure their concentration almost in real time.

The sensor can be incorporated into a handheld device to screen people quickly in hospitals and emergency clinics in order to control outbreaks of diseases such as SARS and avian influenza.

Combination detectors

The envisaged ‘Holy Grail’ is a broader detection range, a more rapid monitoring speed, a real-time capability, and reduced falsealarm rates – often in one

piece of equipment. Many products cover a large range of toxins and radioisotopes.

Research proceeds apace into the various detection technologies: mass spectrometry, ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy (also viewed as promising to detect liquid explosives), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), dose

Detectors must be readily portable, and speed and efficiency of detection guaranteed in order to minimise injury and cost to the mission

Mark IV Remploy Protection Suit in service with the UK MoD is state-of-the-art tailored PPE for CBRN missions © Remploy

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meters, traditional Geiger-Müller detectors, and scintillation detectors. Additional advances include semiconductor integrated circuit (IC), telecommunications and information systems. Lasers are also being applied to stand-off detection of trace materials which are often hard to pick up.

Also with funds at a premium the demand to provide long-term detection on low power in portable, real-time detectors is driving government and private research efforts. Smiths Detection’s combination device, the HGVI, is a hand-held multi-sensor gas and vapour identifier which detects TICs and CWAs, as well as gamma radiation (but not alpha).

PPE – combining protection with comfort

Both civilian and military personal protective equipment (PPE) must be not only fully protective but also as light and comfortable as possible. Civilian first response involves not only terrorist incidents, but also raids on premises which may contain toxic materials. First responders must be able to don PPE and respirators as quickly as possible and move around in difficult, cramped conditions of heat stress which is less well tolerated during search and rescue of civilians.

When conditions are unknown, tactical teams don PPE at “Level A” for skin, respiratory, and eye protection.

Operatives must be reassured that a tactical vest, web gear, and duty belt worn on top of the PPE will not compromise the PPE suit’s integrity, and tactical teams require regular medical checks. The fit of PPE must be exact and Demron-W is a full-body, radiation-protection fabric for military and first responders, government, healthcare and industrial workers ©Radiation Shield Technologies

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as well as heat stress, limited dexterity, vision and communication must be factored into training and acquisition of PPE equipment.

The Remploy CR1 (Civil Responder One) ensemble, deployed with UK police and fire services, combines activated carbon technology with a breathable barrier membrane for protection against TICs, CWAs and BWAs and can be worn for 48 hours. Its new Swift Responder (SR3) single-garment fully integrated carbon suit promises high protection levels and can be donned in less than five minutes. Remploy PPE is now deployed with services in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Thailand.

There is a trend towards combining permeable materials – which allow greater comfort in long periods – with full protection, by adding an extra layer to the PPE suit. Permeable textiles are laminated to a film or membrane that brings additional protection properties to the structure or they are combined, either by lamination or in a free standing state, to an activated carbon sub-system. Both systems of protection are used in combination.

With advanced membranes, a wide envelope of CBRN protection can be achieved in a single-skin system – which represents a significant advance in materials science, as well as reducing the body burden.

Achieving the right balance between comfort and protection remains the prime challenge for companies, especially where the IED mission is combined with the need for CBRN protection – adding to the already cumbersome bomb suit burden.

Along with aiming for full CBRN detection within one single system, providing multi-hazard protection against all NBC, IED and ballistic threats, as well as against ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

infrared radiation and heat requires novel fabrics and filters. Demron, a fabric made by Radiation Shield Technologies is an advanced radiopaque, nano-polymeric compound fused between layers of fabric, and has attained National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Class 2 Certification for the 1994-2007 Standard on Protective Ensembles for First Responders to CBRN Terrorism Incidents.

Demron is incorporated into bomb suits, radiation torso vests and crew protection radiation blankets, including person-protection armour. It was adopted in April 2010 by the New York City Fire Department as part of a chemical PPE upgrade and is in service with first responders in South Korea, China and Australia.

The original PPE – gas masks

Respirators have advanced significantly in the post-Cold War era. They may incorporate SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) and must comply with standards set by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety

CBRN SYSTEMS

The envisaged ‘Holy Grail’ is a broader detection range, a more rapid monitoring speed, a real-time capability, and reduced false-alarm rates – often in one piece of equipment

UK police officers in CBRN/Public Order PPE at the Metropolitan Police Specialist Training Centre in 2008 © Metropolitan Police

and Health (NIOSH)-CBRN, CE and NATO. Avon Protection Systems developed the C50 CBRN mask for military and police deployment. It boasts outstanding field of vision and sighting position for shouldermounted weapons. Two filters (mountable on the right or left side) promise superior airflow and reduced user breathing resistance.

Donning time — which must be swift - with pre-adjusted buckles on the C50 is less than nine seconds.

Respirator fit is all-important for its effectiveness and requires testing. The Germany company TSI GmbH makes a Respirator Fit Tester, PORTACOUNT®, which tests the fit quantitatively and computes the fit factor using microscopic particles in ambient air.

Escape Hoods and disposable respirators, some manufactured and distributed by South Korean firms, offer immediate and disposable protection during rapid response. They

differ from traditional air purifying respirators as they are small and light enough to be carried at all times. However, they do not last for the longer periods of protection or the allround CBRN protection provided by a full respirator. The single-use EH20 CBRN Escape Hood from Avon Protection deployed by the UK’s police, fire and rescue services can be donned in 30 seconds and protects the face from splashes of toxic agent – TICS, CWAs, bacteria and viruses - as well as airborne threats. Of importance is the unobtrusiveness of these protective masks, which in emergencies can alleviate public fear and panic.

training, South Korea has developed a welladvanced CBRN defence and resilience programme. Lying in the shadow of a belligerent and CBRN-enhanced enemy neighbour has galvanized readiness against not only traditional warfare agents believed to comprise North Korean stocks but also against TICs and chemical precursors. CBRN defence is also moving into civilian arenas, including hazmat training and pandemic flu response planning.

As well as an increasing number of largescale air raid drills in 2010 – the most extensive since 1975 - the South Koreans are readying their population against North Korean CBRN threats. A CBRN rescue drill held in December 2010 in Paju, South Korea involved the movement of hundreds of residents simulating chemical contamination by rescue workers in CBRN PPE to nearby underground car parks and then ferried to local hospitals. Air raid drills always involve

South Korean readiness

With training and help from their main ally the United States - in CBRN equipment and Monitoring of radiologically contaminated item.

With the growing threat of CBRN IEDs, response in the field and in civilian arenas will increasingly require PPE and accurate, speedy detection © British Nuclear Group

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The Portsmouth CBRN Air Unit provides sentinel protection against biothreats outside or inside buildings. High pressure fans pull air through the filter bank and over pressurise the CPZ to prevent ingress of CBRN agents © Portsmouth Aviation Ltd

the donning of respirators but many have access only to cotton masks.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)

Singapore has attained a high level of national security through close and lasting alliances with Australia, the UK, and the US. The Singaporean government has set a Gold Standard in countering terrorism. Within the Home Affairs Ministry responsible for disaster response contingencies and civil defence, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has direct responsibility for co-ordinating first response and disaster relief. Most relevant to CBRN defence is the SCDF Operations Civil Emergency Plan, for response to a domestic

disaster by all relevant agencies.

Within the Singapore Armed Forces, the 39th Battalion of the Chemical Biological Radiological Explosive (CBRE) Defence Group collaborates with overseas CBRN forces to develop effective training on how to respond to incidents involving CBRE weapons, as in 2007 when the CBRE group and Singapore Armed Forces together with its Australian counterparts conducted a two-day simulation of biological and other attacks.

SCDF first responders are equipped with detectors to identify suspect materials and substances, as well as individually issued radiological dosimeters for personal monitoring. A customised vehicle is fitted with integrated detectors and software for widearea monitoring. Radiological or chemical agents, particularly widely available TICs, are screened during inspection of sealed containers to identify liquid and bulk solid contents, including chemical warfare agents and industrial reagents.

Many biohazards are hoaxes, known as ‘white powder’ attacks. Here members of the US Mountain Home Air Force Base (AFB) Bioenvironmental Response Team approach a car covered in white powder, later identified as fire extinguisher residue ©DoD

The Avon AA1000 SCBA has an integrated clamshell backframe containing the pneumatic and electronic components to provide emergency response personnel with a comfortable, easy to use package. It also features an electronic, integrated personal alert safety system © Avon

The SCDF’s biodetection and verification equipment utilises state-of-the-art technologies including DNA fluorescence, immunoassay and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to enable quick field sampling and identification at site. The main regular threat comes from “white powder” incidents, which require field detection and identification at incident sites.

Increasing crossover between IED and CBRN defence will produce equipment

SCDF first responders are equipped with detectors to identify suspect materials and substances, as well as individually issued radiological dosimeters for personal monitoring

which will need to be designed for missions to deal with CBRB improvised devices and non-explosive distribution of toxic materials.

These requirements will in the coming years provide a formidable challenge for companies working to produce the best protection and detection for our troops in the field and civilian first responders facing a growing range of dangers.

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TACTICAL AND STRATEGIC AIRLIFT

The addition of multi-role transport aircraft to an armed force’s aerial assets has a true force multiplier effect. As well as being multi-role in and of itself, with the ability to transport troops and equipment, carry out humanitarian disaster relief and medevac, the aircraft expands and enhances the role of other aerial platforms with air-to-air refueling capability giving strategic reach even to tactical aircraft.

By enabling fighter jets and other transport aircraft to exceed their otherwise limited range, the multi-role transport aircraft plays a central and vital role within an aerial fleet, effectively increasing the force’s capabilities.

by John Mulberry

Alenia Aeronautica is looking to sell its C-27J into the Asia-Pacific market, (L-3)

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HE NATIONS of the Asia-Pacific are particularly reliant on such capabilities. With many countries within the region occupying vast ground and maritime areas, the movement of troops, equipment, and the conduct of disaster relief missions often requires strategic transport abilities even within national boundaries. Add to this the strong reliance many poorer nations have on their richer neighbours to assist in humanitarian missions beyond their own extensive borders, and it is clear why the multi-role transport aircraft market is strong and flourishing within this region.

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Airbus Military

One of the most advanced multi-role tanker aircraft available to the world’s air forces at present is the Airbus Military A330 Multi-Role Ranker Transport (MRTT) aircraft. The aircraft is the only certified new-generation multi-role aircraft available, having received its military certification from the Spanish military certification authority Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Aerospacial in October 2010. The aircraft has achieved a number of important milestones in quick succession, having carried out successful wet and dry contacts in different weapons configurations in a major exercise with the Portuguese Air Force during November 2010; and the Future Strategic Transport Aircraft (FSTA) for the UK´s Royal Air Force successfully completing dry contacts with an F-18 fighter using the FSTA’s Fuselage Refueling Unit in December.

Airbus Military is already deep into the delivery process for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), with Airbus Military commenting last month that ‘final hand-over will take place once the lengthy review of all related documentation and activities are complete’. Australia will be the first operator of the A330 MRTT, having ordered five aircraft in total to replace the RAAF’s Boeing 707 tanker transporters.

The A330 MRTT has a number of air transport options. It features a wide-body fuselage with an optimised Airbus 5.64m cross-section, and is able to transport up to 300 troops or a payload of up to 45 tonnes/99,000 lbs of standard commercial containers, pallets, or military vehicles in cargo formation, or up to 130 stretchers in Medical Evacuation formation.

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The main deck can be optionally configured for cargo transport with the installation of a large door to allow the carriage of bulky equipment, or alternately a total of 34 463-L military pallets. No additional fuel tanks are needed on the aircraft, so the lower deck forward, aft and bulk cargo hold payload capacity are unaffected by the aerial refuelling equipment.

The A330 MRTT features a number of airto-air refuelling (AAR) systems, and has a 111 tonne / 245,000 lb basic fuel capacity.

Options include the Fuselage Refuelling Unit (FRU), a hose and drogue system that trails from the rear fuselage of the aircraft providing a higher fuel transfer rate and can be used with large receiver military aircraft such as the A400M that prefer centreline refuelling; a Cobham 905E under-wing hose-and-drogue pod system that is able to refuel two probeequipped receivers such as the Eurofighter aircraft; and

A400M is now preparing to enter service following teething problems © Airbus Military

the Airbus Military Aerial Refuelling Boom System (ARBS), which is the only new generation boom to allow the fastest fuel transfer rate of 4600 litres/min. Also available is the Universal Aerial Refuelling Receptacle Slipway Installation (UARRSI) used to receive fuel from another tanker.

The RAAF aircraft, known as the KC-30A, are being delivered with the ARBS and digital under-wing refueling pods. The aircraft are configured with a Link 16 real-time data link for airborne connectivity, along with a directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) system, among other defensive systems. The maiden flight of the third missionequipped RAAF aircraft was carried out in October, during which the aircraft reached an altitude of 41,000 feet and performed a series of pre-planned trials of test equipment,

The C27J comes into land at the Paris Airshow © AJB

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handling qualities, performance and systems in a full range of mission situations. Between them, the first two aircraft have carried out more than 1,300 aerial refuelling contacts and transferred more than one million pounds of fuel. The third aircraft was converted to its tanker/transport configuration by Qantas Engineering in Brisbane, Australia; and the scope for in-country production and outfitting is likely an attractive feature to many potential customers, including the US Air Force, to whom the A330 MRTT is currently being offered as the KC-45.

The other emerging Airbus Military interest in the Asia-Pacific is the A400M which is yet to be ordered by any nation other than Malaysia due to its severe and lengthy programme delays; while its C-295 is being considered by the RAAF to replace their fleet of DHC-4 Caribou, and the CN235 is in use with the air forces of Indonesia and Malaysia.

Boeing

India’s bid to find a new multi-role tanker for its Air Force saw the Indian Defence Ministry order six of the A330 MRTT aircraft in 2009, beating out Russia’s United Aircraft (UAC) who offered an advanced version of their Ilyushin Il-78 Midas tanker. Following a lengthy stop-start process, the order was cancelled in early 2010 due to the predicted expense of the induction of a new type of aircraft into the Indian Air Force (IAF), and a further request for proposal to fill the requirement was re-launched.

India is seeking a total of six aircraft for its multi-role tanker requirement. The IAF

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already operates a large number of Russian aircraft in its inventory, including the Il-78 which lost out to the A330 MRRT for the original contract. Boeing has been named as one of three potential contenders, but has as yet failed to confirm whether it will make a serious offer on the contract, with the US KC-X programme currently forming the focus of its work in this market at this time, and the outcome of this competition is likely to affect Boeing’s production capabilities for the aircraft.

Boeing’s other focus within the AsiaPacific market is the KC- 767 aerial refueling tanker being supplied to the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF). Known as the KC-767 International Tanker by Boeing, the aircraft was designed as a fuel-efficient, long-range aircraft specifically sized for diverse air-to-air refueling, cargo, troop and passenger transport, and aeromedical evacuation missions.

Japan is one of only two customers worldwide for the aircraft along with the Italian Air Force, and the JASDF version is known as the KC-767J. Initially rolled-out in 2005, the aircraft made its maiden aerial refueling transfer flight in December 2008. Japan ordered the aircraft in 2003, with the first two delivered in 2008, the third in 2009, and the final trans-

system. According to Boeing the aircraft is ‘right-sized’ for optimum fuel offload and range, and the high-tech boom operator station and advanced boom is enabled by camera systems. New wing air refueling pods and centreline hose drum unit, as well as integrated avionics and communication systems, ensures that the aircraft offers maximum operational flexibility with full NATO and EU interoperability.

Japan is also assessing the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to fulfil a military airlift requirement, with the aircraft’s populari-

ty within the Asia-Pacific region growing as armed forces look seek a large strategic airlifter with significant versatility. In November 2010 it was announced that India has reached a preliminary agreement with the US to acquire 10 C-17 aircraft, and South Korea was also known to be considering the aircraft for its large transport requirement in 2008. Australia also acquired the aircraft as its new heavy multi-role transport and strategic airlift in 2008 as part of its Air 8000 phase 3 project.

The C-17 Globemaster III is the largest tacThe first C-130J to enter service proudly displayed at Aero India 2011 in February. Six have been ordered and six more are expected to be added to meet India’s requirements © AJB

One of the most advanced multi-role tanker aircraft available to the world’s air forces at present is the Airbus Military A330 Multi-Role Ranker Transport

ferred in the first quarter of 2010. All four aircraft have achieved full operational capability with Boeing announcing in 2010 that the fleet has completed Operations Evaluation (OPEVAL) and were ready to begin aerial refueling and transport missions for the JASDF. The aircraft is a military derivative of the Boeing 767-200ER commercial aircraft, and has a number of interior configurations. It can be configured as convertible freighter for transporting solely passenger or freight loads; convertible combination for either freight, passenger or both simultaneously; or dedicated freight or passenger; all while maintaining its tanker capability for refuelling. Japan’s aircraft are convertible tanker/freight configurations.

The aerial refueling system on the KC-767J is an advanced aerial refueling boom with advanced remote aerial refueling operator

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tical airlift aircraft in production, able to carry huge loads of up to 160,000 lbs (three times that of the C-130, including a cargo of heavy-tracked vehicles such as the US Army Main Battle Tank in two side-by-side rows or three Bradley infantry fighting vehicles) distances of up to 2,400 nautical miles – a range extended by the aircraft’s ability to refuel in flight. The aircraft’s suitability for transport into emerging theatres is assisted by its ability to take off from a 7,600 ft airfield, and land on small, unpaved airfields in all light and weather conditions in 3,000 ft or less. The aircraft is also very well suited for humanitarian and peacekeeping missions, being able to drop a single 60,000 lb payload followed by

One of the most widely deployed multi-role transport aircraft in the world is the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules and C-130J Super Hercules

sequential drops of 110,000 lbs, even in unpredictable conditions. Most recently the C-17 was widely deployed by the air forces of the US, the UK, Australia and Qatar to provide humanitarian relief to Pakistan where Monsoon floods killed more than 1,600 people and left another 2 million homeless in

While capable of operating from austere airfields the Hercules can precisely drop cargo when required © Australian DoD

2010. The aircraft also delivered aid to Chile in March 2010 from the UK and Qatar, and transported a US Air Forces Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) team into the country; as well delivering more than 10,005 tons of disaster relief into Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake.

Lockheed Martin

One of the most widely deployed multi-role transport aircraft in the world is the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules and C-130J Super Hercules. The aircraft is operated by a large number of operators within the AsiaPacific, and its mission flexibility and reliability has been highlighted recently by the RAAF’s current deployment of the C-130 air-

The C-17 can land on small austere airfields © AJB

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craft to provide food and medical supplies to areas of the country devastated by the worst flooding in decades.

As well as disaster relief and humanitarian missions, the C-130J, now the only version in production with Lockheed Martin, is capable of combat delivery, special operations, and air-to-air refuelling. In the C-130J, Lockheed Martin has focused on delivering true multi-role performance, and has delivered an aircraft capable of meeting almost any airlift mission requirement in even the harshest environmental conditions. Powered

by Rolls Royce AE2100D3 engines and with Dowty R391 six-bladed composite propellers, the aircraft is able to handle short, high-elevation airstrips with maximum pay-

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‘The first flight of the Indian Air Force’s first C-130J transport’ © Lockheed Martin

load, while carrying 33 per cent more payload than the original C-130.

Recent contracts won within the AsiaPacific region for Lockheed Martin include the Republic of Korea, which has ordered the stretched-fuselage version of the C-130J to meet its heavy lift requirements; and India, who has selected the C-130J under a Foreign

Military Sale (FMS) with the US; while Singapore is currently updating its C-130H fleet with Rockwell Collins CNS/ATM technology to extend the fleet’s service life.

In its aerial and ground refueling variant, the aircraft is known as the KC-130J Super Tanker. Both Singapore and Indonesia operate versions of the aircraft, which is capable

of refueling helicopters, vehicles and fuel caches at 4,018 lbs per minute on the ground.

In the air, it is capable of delivering a 27,000 lb fuel offload capacity to fixed and rotary wing aircraft via its external tanks and standard probe and drogue system, or an additional 24,392 lb fuel offload via a specially configured internal fuselage tank. The external fuselage tank is optional and operates independently to the standard tank allowing greater mission flexibility; without it cargo can be carried on the same mission.

The importance for any armed force of fielding a flexible and capable multi-role transport aircraft fleet cannot be undervalued. The need for an air force to be able to deliver troops, cargo and humanitarian relief into emerging and unpredictable theatres on a quick-deploy basis, as well as providing the ability to refuel aerial platforms in flight and land assets on the ground, gives an air force a resourcefulness and versatility that is truly force multiplying.

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Asia Pacific Procurement Update AUSTRALIA First Pass Approval given for ADF programmes

The Australian Minister for Defence has given the green light to three upcoming defence capability programmes, granting First Pass Approval to plans to provide the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with a new deployable air traffic management and control systems, and to modernise the communications capability of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) Anzac class frigates. The consolidation of the F/A-18A/B Hornet structural refurbishment programme has also been approved.

As part of Project AIR 5431 Phase 1 the ADF will be given a new capability to safely manage airspace in deployed locations both at home and internationally with the new deployable air traffic management and control systems. The government has capped the cost at between AU$100 million and AU$150 million and final approval will be granted in the 2012-13 to 2014-15 period.

During the same period the government will decide on the AU$300 million to AU$500 million project to acquire new Anzac Frigate communications equipment as part of the RAN’s comprehensive communications modernisation project known as Project SEA 1442 Phase 4. A total of eight frigates will be upgraded to enable faster transfer of infor-

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mation between the RAN’s ships.

The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) F/A18A/B Hornets will be refurbished under a consolidated combined programme, at a saving of more than AU$500 million than the previously planned programmes. The programme will deliver the same enhanced capability, ensuring the Hornets remain as a key element of the RAAF’s air combat capability for the remainder of their service life at the end of the decade when the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will be introduced into service; while also increasing the overall operational availability of the fleet during this time.

Thales to support Australia’s Maritime Tactical Wide Area Network

Thales Australia has been awarded a five year contract to support the Australian Department of Defence’s Maritime Tactical Wide Area Network. Under the agreement, Thales Australia will provide a range of engineering, maintenance, supply and help desk support for the system.

The in-service support contract is part of Project SEA 1442 Phase 3 for the programme, which has introduced an Internet Protocol (IP) based Maritime Tactical Wide Area Network (MTWAN) into the Royal Australian Navy. This will provide the founASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

The Royal Australian Air Force’s F/A18A/B Hornets will be refurbished under a consolidated combined programme, at a saving of more than AU$500 million © DoD

dation for future maritime communication systems integration and implementation, and is a major milestone in the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF’s) plans for a Network Centric Warfare concept.

According to the company, Thales Australia’s work on the programme will deliver cost-effective support and ensure high levels of performance. It will also bring the potential for future system upgrades as new technologies become available.

The SEA 1442 project evolved from a simple radio replacement project to providing a Local Area Network/Wide Area Network (LAN/WAN) at sea and finally, to include the entire Maritime Tactical Communications System. Phase 3 is providing an enhanced ADF maritime communications capability with the introduction of the MTWAN to a number of Major Fleet Units, while the next phase is intended to enhance the MTWAN, with expansion into Fleet units not equipped during earlier phases; the integration of capabilities being delivered to maritime platforms by other approved communications projects; and the possible replacement of radios, antennae and other systems to enhance maritime communications.

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The first of six C-130Js ordered under a Foreign Military Sale with the US government in 2008, have been delivered to the Indian Air Force © AJB

INDIA India’s P-81 aircraft underway

Boeing has begun construction of India’s first long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft at the Spirit AeroSystems facilities in Wichita, Kansas in the US, taking the programme out of the design phase and into the build phase.

Boeing is supplying the Indian Navy (IN) with eight P-81 aircraft as part of the first international contract for the aircraft, which is based on the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the US Navy. The schedule for delivery of the aircraft will see the initial aircraft in-country within 28 months of the January 2009 contract signing, and the remaining seven aircraft delivered by 2015.

The P-81 is a long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations. It is a military derivative of the Next-Generation 737-800 combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the future battle space.

The aircraft will provide India with the ability to meet maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare requirements now and into the future. The open systems architecture, advanced sensor and display technologies, and a worldwide base of suppliers,

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parts and support equipment, will give the aircraft room to grow into future requirements, while providing speed, reliability and persistence to meet current requirements.

In mid-2011, the aircraft fuselage will be sent from the Spirit AeroSystems facility to Boeing Commercial Airplanes facility in Renton, Washington, for final assembly where all aircraft structural features unique to the P-8 will be incorporated in sequence during fabrication and assembly, ahead of installation of mission systems and complete testing at Boeing Field in Seattle, and delivery to the IN.

India purchases Mi 17-V5 helicopters

Indian Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has confirmed that it has entered into a contract with Russian helicopter group, M/s Rosoboronexport for the supply of 80 Mi 17-V5 helicopters over two years ago.

The agreement between the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and M/s Rosoboronexport was signed on 5th December 2008, with the delivery scheduled due to commence in March 2011. The contract is worth US $1.345 million and also includes associated spares and equipment.

The Mi-17 medium multi-purpose helicopter is a modernised version of the Mi-8 rotorcraft. The Mi-17-V5 is a transport version. It is intended for cargo transportation

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inside the cabin and by the external sling.

Among other things it can be used for the transportation of 36 passengers, cargo of weight up to 4,000 kg, up to 36 troops with full kit, 12 casualties in MedEvac formation.

The external sling allows transporting cargo of up to 4.5 tons and with overall dimensions from 5 to 65m at a distance up to 500 km and at a speed up to 150 km/h.

The sling can be up to 100 m long. It can be used for the transportation of large cargo, water carrying and the building of highrise construction.

The Indian armed forces will use the helicopters for Special Heliborne Operations, air-maintenance, transportation of troops and equipment, search and rescue, casualty evacuation and in armed helicopter roles.

First C-130J delivered to Indian Air Force

The first C-130J built for the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been delivered by Lockheed Martin in a ceremony attended

by Lorraine Martin, Lockheed Martin's vice president for C-130 Programs.

The aircraft is the first of six C-130Js ordered under a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) with the US government in 2008, and will be the first time Lockheed Martin’s C-130J has been operated by the Indian Armed Forces.

As part of the package Lockheed Martin will provide six aircraft, three years of initial support, training of aircrew and maintenance technicians, spares, ground support and test equipment, servicing carts, forklifts, loading vehicles, cargo pallets, and a team of technical specialists who will be based in India during the three year initial support period. Operational equipment designed to increase Special Operation capabilities will also be provided in accordance with the IAF’s requirements.

India has ordered the stretch-fuselage version of the C-130J, and the aircraft will be equipped with an Infrared Detection Set (IDS), to enable the aircraft to perform precision low-level flying, airdrops, and landing in blackout conditions. Self protection systems and other features are also included to

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ensure aircraft survivability in hostile air defence environments. The aircraft has also been equipped with an air-to-air receiver refuelling capability for extended range operations as requested by India.

The first two aircraft will be flown into India in early 2011, with the remaining aircraft scheduled for delivery by the end of the year. The fleet will be based at Hindon Air Force Station, and will greatly enhance the IAF’s heavy lift and tactical transport capabilities.

Meggitt to provide subsystems for Indian Hawk Jet Trainer

Prime contractor BAE Systems has awarded two contracts to aerospace, defence and energy company Meggitt to provide subsystems for India’s Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer programme.

Under the agreements, worth an approx-

SOUTH KOREA Boeing begins ROK F-15K Slam Eagle deliveries

The republic of Korea (ROK) has taken delivery of three F-15K Slam Eagles at the Daegu Air Base on November 8 as part of the contract between the ROK Air Force (ROKAF) Next Fighter II and Boeing.

Under the contract Boeing is delivering twenty-one F-15Ks, and the remaining 15 aircraft will be delivered to the ROKAF by the end of March 2012. The contract follows the delivery of 40 Next Fighter I F-15K aircraft that was completed in October 2008.

The F-15K is an advanced variant of the combat-proven F-15E Strike Eagle, the next-generation multi-role strike fighter that forms the backbone of the US Air Force (USAF). As the newest variant of the F-15E, the F-15K is equipped with the latest technological upgrades, and is more lethal, survivable and maintainable than its predecessor. The aircraft will bring a superior air combat capability to the ROKAF. The procurement programme is part of an extensive project to modernise the ROK’s military equipment.

The only US-produced fighter capable of long-range precision strike missions without escort in all light and weather con-

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imate £5 million, Meggitt will supply a range of cockpit display equipment and electro-mechanical instruments, including pressure gauges, pressure transducers, accelerometers, cabin altimeters, hydraulic pressure indicators and altitude pressure switches. The work will be carried out in the UK between early 2012 and mid 2014.

The nose, main wheels, brakes and brake control systems of the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer will also be provided by Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems Corporation (MABS) in separate agreement worth over £8 million. They will also provide associated spares for the aircraft, and Meggitt is also in the process of transferring technology for equipment support into India.

India awarded BAE Systems the contract for 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft in July 2010, 40 of which will be used by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and 17 of

ditions, the aircraft possess a Honeywell advanced display core processor (ADCP), even-colour liquid-crystal displays, two upfront control panels (flat-panel), joint helmet-mounted cueing system (JHMCS), and wide-field-of-view head-up display; BAE Systems ALR-56C(v)1 early warning receiver and Northrop Grumman ALQ135M jammer; and the Raytheon AN/APG63(v)1 radar with air-to-air and air-toground modes of APG-70 radar with additional sea-surface searching/tracking, ground-moving target tracking, and enhanced high-resolution ground mapping for long-distance target identification.

Six of the new F-15K Slam Eagles will take place in an advanced aerial combat training exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada in the US in late 2011.

ROK orders ARTHUR weapon locating system

The Republic of Korea’s (ROK’s) prime contractor for Defence Acquisition Programme Administration, LIG Nex1, has submitted an order to Saab for the ARTHUR weapon locating system that provides the accurate location of artillery weapons within a 60 km range, enabling timely and accurate counter-battery fire.

The ROK ordered the ARTHUR system in

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which will be used by the Indian Navy (IN). The aircraft are to be built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) incountry under licence.

The Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer is the latest version of the world’s most successful advanced jet training aircraft, and was developed to provide training for future pilots of 4th and 5th Generation aircraft such as Typhoon, F-35 Lightning II and F18. The aircraft is equipped with the latest cockpit displays and sensors and is able to demonstrate air-to-air and air-to-ground combat and tactical formation flying and perform extended missions through the use of an air-to-air refuelling (AAR) probe and external wing tanks.

Over 70 Indian Air Force pilots have undergone interim pilot training at Royal Air Force (RAF) Valley, a programme delivered in partnership with the RAF.

2007, making this the second unit for the ROK armed forces. The main production for the programme will be carried out at LIG Nex1 under a localisation agreement between Saab and LIG. LIG Nex1is an advanced precision electronic systems developer and producer, whose products include missile, underwater weapon systems, radars, electronic warfare, avionics, tactical communication systems, fire control systems, naval combat systems, and electro-optics.

The ARTHUR system is a standalone Cband medium-range weapon-locating system that detects and locates enemy fire. It utilises a passive phased-array antenna technology for optimised battlefield performance, and features comprehensive built-in test and high degree of automation, and a man-machine interface developed with extensive user co-operation and feedback.

Applications include counter-battery operations, fire control, peace-enforcement missions and force protection by suppressing enemy rockets, artillery and mortars (RAM).

For training purposes at full-size exercises, Arthur has a built-in simulator that creates realistic scenarios. At base, training can be done with a Classroom Trainer (CLT) able to create large scenarios, in the current area of operation, involving three or more radars.

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Singapore inauguration of six Sikorsky S-70B naval helicopters into 123 Squadron, a derivative of the SH-60B Seahawk, shown here in USN service © DoD

SINGAPORE Singapore armed forces move towards 3rd generation fighting force

The transformation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) into a 3rd generation fighting forces has taken a significant step forwards with the inauguration of six Sikorsky S-70B naval helicopters into 123 Squadron.

The S-70B naval helicopter will serve as the country’s first naval helicopter, and will enable 123 Squadron to provide crossservice interoperability between the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). In cooperation with the RSN’s frigates, the

JAPAN Japan selects UH-60J search and rescue helicopters

The Japan Ministry of Defence has selected the UH-60J search and rescue helicopters to fulfil the Japan Air Self-Defence Force’s (JASDF’s) requirement for a new fleet of advanced helicopters, ushering in a new phase of major weapon system procurement processes.

The UH-60Js will replace 40 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) that have been in operation with the JASDF since 1991. The aircraft will be supplied by MHI, and produced under a licence from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

The contract is worth an estimated $2.3 billion to MHI, who will deliver the aircraft

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new helicopter fleet will provide the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine missions at increased ranges as part of a wide array of networked SAF assets.

The S-70B helicopter is an international derivative of the US Navy SH-60B Seahawk. The S-70B model is a blend of field proven technology and state-of-theart airframe, avionics and mission equipment. It features an advanced, highly reliable Rockwell Collins glass cockpit. This system is integrated with a Rockwell Collins flight management system including a superior navigation and communication suite; and the weapons management system has a flexible open architecture capable of integrating indigenous weapons and mission equipment.

The aircrafts’ flexible mission package includes dipping sonar, electronic surveillance measures, FLIR, multi-mode radar, aircraft survivability equipment, and the ability to fire Penguin and Hellfire missiles.

Multi-mission capable, the S-70B can also perform search and rescue, medical evacuation, surveillance, vertical replenishment and utility missions.

Personnel from the 123 Squadron have already undertaken an intensive training period with the US Navy from March to November 2010 as part of the Peace Triton detachment stationed in San Diego. for gradual introduction of service over the next 20 years. MHI will also provide logistics support for the programme over the same time period.

The contract is the first to be conducted by new evaluation bid selection process to promote transparency and fairness during major weapon systems procurement processes by the Japanese Ministryof Defence.

The new aircraft fleet will bring the JASDF enhanced capabilities for carrying out humanitarian relief and search and rescue missions. The UH-60J platform will be upgraded with a removable aerial refuelling probe, enabling airborne refuelling for the fleet for longer mission times. The aircraft will also receive satellite communications and a collision avoidance system.

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THAILAND Sweden begins Saab aerial defence package delivery to Thailand

The Royal Thai Air Force has taken delivery of the first elements of the Saab integrated air defence system that Thailand ordered from the Swedish FMV under direct government-to-government contract signed in 2008.

A Saab 340 Erieye Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and a Saab 340 for transport and training was delivered, as part of the total package that will include six Gripen aircraft (4 JAS 39D and 2 JAS 39C) with associated equipment and services, a Saab 340 aircraft with airborne radar surveillance system, a Saab 340 for transport and education and an integrated Command and Control system with data links.

Extensive logistical support will also be provided under the agreement and Sweden will assist Thailand during the Gripen and Erieye system introduction to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF).

The contract will give Thailand an advanced network-based defence system that will make Thailand’s aerial defence capabilities among the most advanced in the Asia-Pacific region.

The AESA technology Erieye radar is a multi-role radar that detects and automatically tracks air and surface targets over a huge area, extending over 900 km. It is designed to track the smallest of objects, such as cruise missiles and jet-skis, even among heavy clutter and in jamming environments. Flying at high altitude, Erieye covers a much wider area than a conventional ground based sensor system can. The effective surveillance area is more than 500,000 sq km horizontally and 20 km vertically, and the system detects air targets at a range of up to 450 km.

The Thailand government signed a further agreement with the Swedish FMV in late 2010 for a further six Gripen fighters of the latest C version, along with an additional Saab 340 with Erieye radar and the Swedish missile RB 15F. Delivery of all components is expected to be complete by the end of 2013.