Asian Military Review - May 2011

VOLUME 19/ISSUE 3

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Aerospace leadership. Military strength. Malaysia’s partnership with Boeing builds both. The nation’s F/A-18D generated $271 million in offset for 11 Malaysian companies and government organizations. Moreover, joint ventures between Boeing and Malaysian companies are providing technology transfer, training and manufacturing practices. Acquiring Super Hornets would expand Malaysia’s ties to a team of industry leaders making a proven partnership an even greater strategic asset.

Contents MAY 2011 VOLUME 19 / ISSUE 3

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Regional Corvettes & Offshore Patrol Vessels

Front Cover Photo: BAE Systems was awarded the contract for 48 Archer 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled artillery gun systems in March 2010 which will equip Norwegian and Swedish Forces, with numbers split equally.

The Archer will replace Swedish FH-77B and Norwegian 155mm M109 systems, with the first systems due to be delivered later this year © AJB

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Ted Hooton The most popular naval vessels being ordered through-out the world are the corvette and the offshore patrol vessel and yet, as the Asian market demonstrates, they are terms which overlap

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Self Propelled Artillery in the Asia-Pacific Adam Baddeley Self propelled artillery provide the mobility and logistics to travel quickly to a fire point, carrying sufficient ammunition to conduct a sustained fire mission and then rapidly redeploy to avoid potential counter battery fire

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Naval Radar and Sonar Tom Withington In the vast, seemingly endless expanses of ocean, and the crowded littoral waters of the globe in which the world’s navies operate, sensors are the indispensable adornment to their ships which allow their sailors to understand what is happening in their locale

44 Training and Simulation in the Asia Pacific Giles Ebbutt UAVs bring several significant advantages to counter insurgency operations over and above almost every other surveillance technology available for battlespace situational awareness

19 AMR’s Naval Directory Adam Baddeley Naval power has become an indispensable component in the modernisation plans of militaries across the Asia Pacific Region both in ensuring the integrity of their littoral area, protecting key Exclusive Economic Zones and projecting power overseas

UAVs in counter insurgency operations

Asia-Pacific Special Mission Aircraft Martin Streetly Alongside SIGnals INTelligence aircraft, a growing number of AsiaPacific countries are operating ‘special mission’ platforms, with the range including radar surveillance, multi-sensor ocean surveillance and Airborne Early Warning types

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John Mulberry UAVs bring several significant advantages to counter insurgency operations over and above almost every other surveillance technology available for battlespace situational awareness

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Advertising Offices

Australia Charlton D'Silva, Mass Media Publicitas Tel: (61 2) 9252 3476 E-Mail: cdsilva@publicitas.com

Whether that be the strange case of the Raymond Davis’ carjacking, allegations of either collusion with or foot-dragging against the Taliban by the ISI, drone attacks gone wrong in the tribal areas of Pakistan or cross border incursions against militants based in its borderlands, there is a heavy strain on an alliance critical to winning the war in Afghanistan.

That’s not to say that public crises aren’t the only form of difficulty. Lt-Gen Pasha, head of the ISI recently toured Washington to privately rebuild the intelligence relationship between the two countries’ which press reports have suggested resulted in the halting of intelligence co-operation earlier this year.

The US wants to win the war in Afghanistan and ensure stability once it ends major combat operations. To do that it needs the support of its ally Pakistan.

India Vishal Mehta, Media Transasia India Limited Tel: (91) 124 4759625, Fax: (91) 124 4759550 E-Mail: vishal@mediatransasia.com Israel Liat Heiblum, Oreet - International Media Tel: (97 2) 3 570 6527 E-Mail: liat@oreet-marcom.com

ME Asia/ Pakistan/Turkey Kamran Saeed, Solutions Inc., Tel/Fax: (92 21) 3439 5105 Mobile: (92) 300 823 8200 E-Mail: kamran.saeed@solutions-inc.info Russia Alla Butova, NOVO-Media Ltd, Tel/Fax : (7 3832) 180 885 Mobile : (7 960) 783 6653 Email :alla@mediatransasia.com, allbbo@online.sinor.ru Scandinavia/Benelux/South Africa Tony Kingham, KNM Media Tel: (44) 2081 445 934 Mobile : (44) 7827 297 465 E-Mail: tony.kingham@worldsecurity-index.com

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

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The crux of the problem is Afghanistan.

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

USA (East/South East)/Canada Margie Brown, Margie Brown & Associates.

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

uring what is undoubtedly a lull before the latest public crisis in relations between the US and Pakistan, it seems the right time to look at the alliance or perhaps more properly, the marriage of convenience between the two countries.

Reflecting these problems the American Ambassador to Pakistan called for ‘renewal’ of ties between the two countries in April.

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

Pakistan wants to retain influence in Afghanistan. While unwelcome to some it is hardly unexpected or unrealistic. The US is fighting a war after massive domestic loss of life from attacks originating in Afghanistan, thousands of miles away. For Pakistan to want to retain influence in that country with which it has a shared border if only as a safety measure, is hardly unreasonable. Equally, neither is the US demand that the influence it seeks should not be exclusively via the Taliban as was the case prior to 2001.

Pakistan is a weak, almost kleptocractic state and its government has only degrees of control over its institutions. It is not a mature liberal democracy.

Pakistan either cannot or will not take marionette like direction from Washington and no country likes its citizens and soldiers being killed within its own borders by an ally, even by accident. To expect otherwise is unrealistic although neither is the expectation of greater effort on the part of Pakistan’s government either.

What the two allies want can be compatible, irrespective of any local difficulties between the two countries. Furthermore the two are beholden to each other.

The United States needs Pakistan to prosecute its current and future operations in Afghanistan, it also has an interest in ensuring a country with perhaps 100 nuclear warheads does not turn into a failed state and Pakistan needs the US to ensure generous bi-lateral and multi-lateral aid amongst other things. The USPakistan alliance is here to stay but the ride will be bumpy.

Adam Baddeley, Editor

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

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Regional Corvettes &

Offshore Patrol Vessels The most popular naval vessels being ordered through-out the world are the corvette and the offshore patrol vessel and yet, as the Asian market demonstrates, they are terms which overlap.

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ORVETTES AND offshore patrol vessels within the Asian region tend to be vessels of between 60 and 100 metres in length with displacements ranging from 450 to 1,850 tonnes. They will usually carry a 76mm gun and will usually have a helicopter landing deck to embark a small (4 tonne take-off weight) helicopter but the great differences are in their roles which define their sensors and sub-systems.

The offshore patrol vessel (OPV) has essentially a policing and environmental protection role being designed to patrol national waters protecting domestic exploitation of natural resources such as fishing and hydro-carbons. It must intercept and board vessels which may be involved in criminal actions and to this end it needs only a simple I-band (8-10 GHz) surface search/navigation radar as well as a system for the rapid deployment and recovery of a rigid inflatable boat (RIB).

OPVs are also designed to rescue people from danger at sea and also to help defeat environmental pollution by deploying items such as oil-protection booms.

Corvettes are small warships, usually for escort roles, and with threats likely from surface ships and aircraft they require a navigation radar, an E/F-band (2-4 GHz) air/surface search radar which may be augmented by an I/J-band (8-20 GHz) radar. It will usually carry surface-to-surface antiship missiles, possibly augmented by shortrange surface-to-air missiles, and might also have an anti-submarine capability with a hull-mounted sonar and light-weight (324

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The auxiliary ship BRP Dagupan City (LC 551), front, takes the lead followed by the corvette BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS 35), the transport dock ship USS Denver (LPD 9), the frigate BRP Rajah Humabon (PF 11), right, and the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), during Exercise Balikatan 2010 Š US DoD

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mm diameter) torpedoes. Given the sophistication of the roles the corvette is likely to have a combat management system and/or a weapon control system.

Interest in the corvette world wide has risen steadily in the past 20 to 30 years and it arises from the relative demise of the fast attack craft, a fast patrol boat with surfaceto-surface missiles. The majority of Asian navies bought these vessels in the 1970s and 1980s seeing in them a relatively cheap means of countering maritime powers with larger warships, in much the same way as the Egyptian Navy sank the Israeli destroyer Eilat from a fast attack craft in Alexandria Harbour in 1967. Many of those who purchased fast attack craft anticipated a form of guerrilla warfare with vessels operating in archipelagos, from concealed coves or even from harbours.

But it soon became obvious the concept of the fast attack craft had major weaknesses. The relatively small size of the craft meant they could be deployed only in limited sea conditions while their search radars had extremely restricted ranges because of short masts. The Iraqi Navy’s short, but bloody, raid in 1991 also demonstrated two operational vulnerabilities; they were very vulnerable to damage especially missiles and the missile-equipped helicopter could conduct stand-off attacks because the craft lacked a self-defence capability.

The corvette is essentially a fast attack craft which has taken a body-building course. Its greater size permits greater robustness to battle damage and allows a higher mast for greater radar coverage. The increased size also gives the possibility of improved air defences and a role as an antisubmarine platform, although the loss of the Korean corvette ROKS Chon An, allegedly to a heavyweight torpedo launched from a midget submarine, might be interpreted as showing the vulnerability of such craft to underwater weapons.

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The problem for any study on the corvette market in Asia is that the terms corvette and OPV are blurred. The best example is Malaysia’s Kedah class New Generation Patrol Vessels (NGPV) based upon the Blohm & Voss MEKO 100 design with a displacement of 1,650 tonnes. These vessels, as befits their official designation, are being used for OPV duties but they feature shaped hulls to reduce their radar signature and other measures to reduce their infra-red sig-

A corvette famous for all the wrong reasons is the Republic of Korea corvette Chon An (FSG 772), shown here recovered after a torpedo attack resulted in the death of 46 sailors © US DoD

nature. They have a Cassidian (formerly EADS) TRS-3 air/surface search radar and an Atlas Cosys combat management system but apart from the 76mm and 30mm Oto Melara guns they embark no other weapon systems although they can be fitted with sonars, sur-

Philippine navy corvette BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS-37) in the South China Sea during an exercise © US DoD

face-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and an electronic warfare suite.

These ships are clearly corvettes-in-waiting which can be upgraded at relatively little cost when funds become available. Kuala Lumpur is planning to order a batch of Second Generation Patrol Vessels (SGPV) with the first entering service by 2015 and these will be larger than the Kedahs being 99 metres-long with a displacement of 2,200 tons and will be more heavily armed.

China, one of the few Asian navies to retain faith in the fast attack craft and has no corvettes, is steadily expanding its OPV fleet

By contrast the Philippines operates 15 ‘corvettes’, most of Second World War vintage, but none carry missiles. All are effectively OPVs, indeed the three Jacintos were built for this role as the Royal Navy’s Peacock class, and all operate in the policing role. The importance of the OPV has been demonstrated early in this year with a series of incidents off East Asia triggered by fishing disputes.

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China, one of the few Asian navies to retain faith in the fast attack craft and has no corvettes, is steadily expanding its OPV fleet.

The Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) is expanding rapidly to safeguard the nation’s maritime interests and plans another 36 vessels with the latest being the 1,290-ton Haijian (China Marine Surveillance) 75. The fleet will receive seven 1,500-ton, 15 1,000-ton and 14 600-ton ships while the Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Company has received a contract for a 5,418-tonne ship to be called Haixun 01.

Japan’s Coast Guard operates more than 50 OPVs including two 5,200-ton Mizuhos and 10 4.037-ton Soyas and is adding the last of 11 1,300-ton Hateruma class vessels. South Korea’s Coast Guard operates some 18 OPVs of various classes as well as a number of dedicated salvage ships. Seoul intends to replace the Po Hang class corvettes with the Future Frigate (FFX) and has modernised its fast attack craft force to meet potential threats in offshore islands.

Taiwan received two OPVs last year and has plans for what is officially described as a Coastal Patrol Vessel under the Hsun Hai programme. Actually these vessels will be a 40-metres long catamaran corvette with a displacement of 900 tonnes. The vessels are being designed by the United Ship Design and Development Centre and may be scheduled to replace some of the Hai Ou class fast attack craft but for unknown reasons the Navy is delaying plans to build them.

Vietnam has built two BPS 500 (Russiandesigned Project 12418) class corvettes and is acquiring up to 10 Tarantul V (Project 1241.8)

Singapore navy frigate RSS Steadfast (FFG 70), left, and corvette RSS Vigilance (90) stay in close formation during exercises with the US Navy as part of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training Singapore last year © US DoD

class corvettes. Two of these 450-ton vessels have been built in Russia and the remainder will be built in Vietnam augmenting four Tarantul (Project 1241E) class ships acquired in the 1990s. Hanoi is reported to be in discussions with Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding for license production of their Holland class Offshore Patrol Vessels and if agreement is reached the ships will be built at the new joint venture yard Damen Vinashin Shipyard in Haiphong.

Thailand operates a nominal nine

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson leading the Royal Malaysian Navy frigate KD Lekir (FF 26), the corvette KD Kelantan (FFL 175) and the guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) during a passing exercise in the Strait of Malacca earlier this year © US DoD

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‘corvettes’, although the two Chinese-built Pattanis are actually OPVs while only the two Rattanakosins have surface-to-surface missiles. There appear to be no plans to expand the fleet or add OPVs, possibly because attention is being focused upon acquiring submarines.

Neighbouring Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency operates two Lankawi class OPVs and there are plans to expand the fleet. The Royal Malaysian Navy operates the Kedahs and six corvettes including four former Iraqi Assad class ships as the Laksamana class which are unusual in having long range surface-to-air missiles, the Alenia Albatros.

Singapore operates six Victory class corvettes which are capable of Anti-Air, Anti-Surface and Anti-Submarine warfare operations, although a proposed update might delete the anti-submarine capability with this role replaced by the Formidable class frigates.

Across the Straits of Malacca Indonesia operates a fleet of 23 ‘corvettes’, although 16 of them are former East German Parchim I class ships. These vessels, the Kapitan Pattimura class, have no surface-to-surface missiles, a point-defence surface-to-air capability and would be regarded as OPVs but for their hull and variable depth sonar systems, light weight (400mm Russian weapons) and anti-submarine rocket launchers which make them useful anti-submarine

CO RV ET T E S A platforms. More versatile are the Diponegoro class, four Sigma class corvettes built by Damen Schelde which are much more capable multi-role vessels.

They are the favourites for Jakarta’s Nasional Korvet Plan (National Corvette Programme) whose objective is to build up to 20 ships in local yards. Financial limitations (and probably problems with yard capacity)

The very sophistication of corvettes may make smaller navies, in particular reconsider acquiring them

suggest that no more than one ship a year will appear possibly from 2012/2013 but Jakarta is seeking a foreign partner with Damen Shipbuilding the prime candidate although Fincantieri and Russian yards have not been ruled out.

The very sophistication of corvettes may make smaller navies, in particular reconsider acquiring them. This is believed to have been

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what happened in Brunei which acquired three 1,940-ton Brunei class multi-role ships with local area defence Seawolf air defence missiles. A legal dispute over their capability ended in the yard’s favour and the ships are now up for sale from a subsidiary of Friedrich Lürssen Werft which has sold Brunei three Darussalam class ‘OPVs’ which should be with the Royal Brunei Navy by the end of summer. Bizarrely new ships, which are 80-metres long, feature Exocet MM40 surface-to-surface missiles, a Bofors 57mm gun and Terma Scanter 4100 2D surface search radar augmented by a Thales Sting Mk 2 electro-optical director.

The Australian Customs Service (ACS) operates three OPVs which are converted merchant vessels of various sorts while New Zealand’s Project Protector included two Protector class OPVs based upon a Kvaerner Masa Marine design. They have, however, given some problems and in December, when they were due to deliver scientists and supplies to Campbell Island in the sub-Antarctic and HMNZS Otago was forced to return to

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The Indonesian corvette the KRI Diponegoro © Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding

port after suffering an engine problem The ship has had previous problems with its diesels and gearbox. She had to return to base on her maiden voyage in October because of seawater contamination in the fuel.

In western Asia, Bangladesh acquired two Castle class OPVs from the United Kingdom late last year. HMS Leeds Castle and Dumbarton Castle were renamed BNS Bijoy and Dhaleshwari and were formally commissioned at the beginning of this year. These vessels are being acquired to secure the country’s offshore Economic Exclusion Zone but Exocet surface-to-surface missiles are common in many corvettes © MBDA

Dhaka is also seeking surface combatants.

Several frigates are being sought from Asian yards and there was talk of acquiring a corvette but this now appears to be a reduced priority in favour of submarines.

India has requirements for both corvettes and OPVs. The Indian Navy has some 24 corvettes, mostly of Russian design although most were built in Indian yards. Garden Reach Shipbuilding and Engineering (GSRE) are currently building four multi-role vessels to meet the Project 28 requirement. The first ship, INS Kamorta, was launched in April and it is reported she and her three sisters will be equipped with the Russian 3M54 (SSN-27A ‘Sizzler’) surface-to-surface missile

with 120 nautical mile (220 kilometres) range and Barak local area defence surface-to-air missiles. Most of their electronics will come from domestic sources and all four ships should be in service between 2012 and 2015.

The Indian Navy operates six Sukanya class OPVs and is acquiring four 2,215-ton Saryu class of which the last should join the fleet by the summer of this year.

The Indian Coast Guard operates 14 OPVs and is steadily expanding the fleet with a third 2,230-ton Sankalp and a third 1,840-ton Vishwast scheduled to join the fleet from the Goa Shipyard this year. India is extremely anxious about the shortage of OPVs and appears to regret giving Sri Lanka a Sukanya

In western Asia, Bangladesh acquired two Castle class OPVs from the United Kingdom late last year

class ship a decade ago and two Vikrams in 2009. Colombo may well seek more OPVs in the post civil war phase but currently the only other vessels it has are the SLNS Samudura, a former US Coast Guard Reliance class cutter and the domesticallybuilt SLNS Jayasagara.

The Asian demand for both corvettes and OPVs is likely to grow over the next decade. Both offer cost-effective means of protecting national interests from various threats and there is the added advantage that many nations can build these vessels domestically.

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Self Propelled

Artillery in the

Asia Pacific

Self propelled artillery provide the mobility and logistics to travel quickly to a fire point, carrying sufficient ammunition to conduct a sustained fire mission and then rapidly redeploy to avoid potential counter battery fire.

by Adam Baddeley

HE M109 Paladin continues to be a popular and enduring choice for SP artillery units. None more so than the US who have opted to continue with further development of the system after the cancellation of the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon, in 2009. The result has been the 155 mm 39-calibre M109A6 Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) platform and its associated M992A2 Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle.

The PIM upgrade includes the use of the same powerpack, suspension and tracks as those on the Bradley. The US has recently cut the number of platforms to receive the upgrade from 600 to 440 vehicles and postponed Low Rate Initial Production from 2011 to 2013, allowing the Army more time to look at alternative or more likely supplementary solutions although in the post FCS programme there is no SP programme with PIM designated to provide that capability under US plans. Rheinmetall Weapons and Munitions have developed a modular upgrade for the M109 called the M109L52,

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which includes the complete 155 mm/52 calibre ordnance of the PzH 2000. Ruag Land Systems is also offering a M109 upgrade based on surplus Swiss army examples while GDSBS is upgrading Spain’s fleet of M109A5Es to add a new Digital Navigation Aiming and Pointing System rather than acquire a new platform. Elbit Systems have also introduced an upgrade to the M109 which enhances precision which is now in service.

The French Army operates eight of Nexter’s protected CAESARs (CAmion Equipé d'un Système d'ARtillerie) truck mounted 155mm/39 calibre guns in Afghanistan. Saudi Arabia took delivery of its first CAESAR on a Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG 6x6 chassis in 2009 part of an order made in 2006 for 100 systems. Thailand received six systems in 2009 on a Renault Trucks Defense Sherpa 6x6 truck chassis. A total of 18 rounds are carried on each CAESAR with advanced new rounds allowing ranges of 42km to be achieved. One of the latest iterations of the CAESAR has seen further improvements to

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The 155 mm 39-calibre M109A6 Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) will see 440 vehicles converted to the improved standard Š BAE Systems

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Protected vehicles Air defence systems Weapons and ammunition Turret systems Reconnaissance systems Command and control Simulation and training

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Nexter’s CAESAR has been installed on both a Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG 6x6 and a Renault Trucks Defense Sherpa 6x6 truck chassis © Nexter

its ballistic and mine protection. The platform has also been installed with the Thales Margot 5000 surveillance system which uses a mast mounted Manon sensor.

Soltam’s ATMOS 2000 (Autonomous Truck MOunted howitzer System) provides a truck mounted 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled solution that is compliant with the NATO Joint Ballistic Memorandum of Understanding (JBMoU) with the company’s ammunition can hit targets at 41km as well as older standard rounds. Soltam have used a number of 6x6 platforms with a four man crew. Deployment time is 1.5 minutes to a first shot with three rounds fired within 15 seconds. Soltam has also developed bespoke truck mounted solutions including a 155/39mm calibre solution for Uganda and one for Kazakhstan based on the Russian D30 ordnance.

The German Army’s Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) self-propelled howitzers have

been deployed to Afghanistan with ISAF since the Summer with Dutch forces deploying their systems from 2006.

Another newcomer to the SP market is Rheinmetall’s Rheinmetall Wheeled Gun 52 (RWG-52) which has a strong G-6 155 mm/45-heritage from South Africa, indeed the chassis was designed by local company Industrial Automotive Design. In simple terms the RWG52 uses the PZH2000 system and implements it on a 6x6 chassis. Taking 30 seconds to deploy and fire, rates of six rounds per minute can be sustained with 40 rounds carried on board and like the PzH2000, it is capable of ranges of 42km. with are controls systems necessary to support Multiple Round Simultaneous Impact

The German Army’s PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers have been deployed to Afghanistan with ISAF since the Summer

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engagements. Other platforms for the weapon include the T-72-90 or Arjun MBTs. Solutions using the PzH2000 are not limited to the RWG 52. An earlier solution was the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann developed 155 mm/52 calibre Artillery Gun Module (AGM) which was installed on an adapted M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) tracked chassis. Further work has produced the two man DONAR 155 mm/52 calibre SP artillery system with General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas. This has seen the same ordnance in a new turret and new custom chassis based on the Pizarro 2 infantry fighting vehicle and weighs 35 tonnes.

BAE Systems was awarded the contract for 48 Archer 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled artillery gun systems in March 2010 which will equip Norwegian and Swedish Forces, with numbers split equally. The Archer will replace Swedish FH-77B and Norwegian 155mm M109 systems, with the first systems due to be delivered later this year with completion scheduled for 2013. Based on a Volvo 6x6 all-terrain carrier chassis, the system

ction is our mission

www.rheinmetall-defence.com

REGI ON AL M I L I T A R Y military. South Korea’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration also began a new lightweight 105mm self propelled systems in 2010 and is likely to include Samsung Techwin in the programme.

It has been reported that Myanmar is the first customer for the Yugoimport NORA B-52 155mm/52 calibre self-propelled gun, based on the KamAZ 63501 8x8 truck chassis. The systems carries 36 rounds on board with ranges of 44km claimed. Versions on other platforms and other ordnance including the155/45 mm NORA B M96 are also offered.

Burma recently acquired the first 14 of 44 North Korean-built truck mounted 240mm multiple launchers which will supplemented Chinese 107-mm Type 63 and 122-mm Type

BAE Systems was awarded the contract for 48 Archer 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled artillery gun systems in March 2010 which will equip Norwegian and Swedish Forces © BAE Systems

deploys, fires and automatically reloads from the 21 rounds carried on board with the crew remaining entirely within the armoured compartment during operations.

China produces a range of self propelled solution with 152 mm and 122 mm being the tubed solution of choice. Norinco’s PLZ45, M109 look alike has been acquired by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with range of 50km using a new FB base-bleed, rocket-assisted highexplosive extended-range full bore round having been claimed. A tracked 122mm solution, the SH3 is also offered with roughly half the range. More recently the PLZ52 with 155 mm/52 calibre ordnance has been developed.

In the wheeled domain, China offers the 155mm SH1 6x6 solution and the 122mm SH1.

complete in 2012. Reports from Korea suggest that the K9, in the first stages of service has run into maintenance issues which resulted in damage to the MTU MT 881 Ka500 power packs of 38 of the RoK’s approximately 500 K9s. The K9 is also manufactured in Turkey as the Firtina. In October, Samsung Thales announced an agreement to develop a 2A65 152mm truck mounted self propelled solution in conjunction with Kazakhstan’s

90 designs. China’s MRL solutions continue to improve with solutions such as truck mounted Norinco Type 90B 122 mm 40round MRL. India deploys the 12-round 300 mm BM 9A52 Smerch MRL. The Pinaka multiple launch rocket system and are being maintained locally. Sagem’s Sigma 30 artillery navigation and pointing systems has recently been deployed with two Indian Army regi-

The two man automated DONAR 155 mm/52 calibre SP artillery system uses the same ordnance as on the PzH2 000 © General Dynamics European Land Systems

Regional Procurements

In response to North Korean attacks against the island of Yeonpyeong in November, South Korea is considering the procurement of further Samsung Techwin 155 mm/52 cal K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers under the 2011 defence budget. Roughly 350 K9s are in service from a total of 500 ordered, with deliveries beginning in 2009 and due to

16

It has been reported that Myanmar is the first customer for the Yugoimport NORA B-52 155mm/52 calibre self-propelled gun

l

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

l

REGIONAL M I L I T A R Y ments. Russia has discussed the use of Sigma 30 inertial navigation system for its own Smerch and Grad multiple rocket launchers.

Soltam’s turntable mounted, auto-lay equipped system CARDOM (Computerised Autonomous Recoil Rapid Deployed Outrange Mortar) 120 mm smoothbore recoiling mortar system can engage targets at over 7km, rising to 9.5km with specialist ammunition at rates of fire of up to 15 round per minute. The systems is selected as standard on US Army's M1129 Stryker 8x8 mortar carrier and uses the same ammunition as the company’s M120 mortar. CARDOM is also in service with Kazakhstan on board MT-LB vehicles.

Another mortar solution is ST Kinetics 120 mm smoothbore Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System (SRAMS). Integrated on a range of platforms down to the level of 4x4 light strike vehicles. In Singaporean service it is carried on a version of the ST Kinetics Bronco articulated all-terrain tracked carrier.

SRAMS weighs 1200Kg which includes the recoil mechanism and automatic muzzle

Elbit Systems ATMOS 2000 provides for a range of truck mounted indirect fire ordnance © Elbit Systems

loader. Ammunition is provided by two 23 round carousels on either side of the weapon with addition rounds stored elsewhere.

Ranges of 8.2km have been achieved in testing with high rates of fire.

Singapore recently took delivery of the first of eighteen FMTV Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control 227 mm High

Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) which will equip a single three battery battalion. Singapore’s HIMARS are equipped with six GPS-guided MLRS rockets. HIMARS will supplement the recently introduced Singapore Technologies Kinetics 155 mm/39 calibre Primus self-propelled artillery system with automatic loaders with

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Nexter Systems XXX OFYUFS HSPVQ GS

REGI ON AL M I L I T A R Y

a total of 54 production systems which each carry 26 rounds have been delivered to the Singapore Armed Forces.

Across the border, Malaysia acquired 18 unguided AVIBRAS ASTROS II rocket systems from 2001 from Brazil, Malaysia recently awarded a contract for a further 18 Astros IIs to equip a second regiment to be operational at the end of 2010 or early 2011 and will form a Army’s Rocket Brigade. A third regiment is also planned under the 10th Plan.

Using the SS-80 rocket targets at ranges of 90 km can be engaged. Avibras is now working on an enhanced version of the Astros II, called Astros 2020, which will have a digitized command-and-control system and the ability to fire the latest long-range, autonomously guided Tactical Missiles which have a maximum range of 300 km.

Malaysia has also acquired eight 2R2M 120mm Mortars for use with the Army’s ACV-S 300 mortar carriers IFVs in a $18.7 million deal. A maximum range of 13 km is achieved using a rocket-assisted projectile or 8.1 km using a standard TDA HE projectile.

Singapore is fielding 18 HIMARS to complement the Singapore Technologies Kinetics 155 mm/39 calibre Primus self-propelled artillery system © US DoD

Precision Procurement

The M982 Excalibur 155 mm guided artillery round programme recently saw its unit cost rise when the US scaled back its purchase for Excalibur Block I Increment Ia and Ib rounds considerably. In August, Raytheon was awarded funding to continue development M982E1 Excalibur Block 1b, designed to develop Excalibur to reduce costs, increase reliability with ranges rising to 40km.

Raytheon will begin production of Excalibur 1b shells in 2012. Canada and Australian have both acquired Excalibur, initially for use in Afghanistan.

Rather than introduce new rounds, existing dumb rounds are having an intelligent upgrade to enable precision engagement. The US Army selected ATK to produce such a weapon with its Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) for the 155mm rounds. This adds a GPS based navigation and fixed canard guidance which simply screws Elbit System’s turntable mounted, auto-lay equipped CARDOM into the existing rounds fuze (Computerised Autonomous Recoil Rapid Deployed Outrange well with a an accuracy of Mortar) 120 mm smoothbore recoiless mortar system can engage sub-50m, with the company targets at over 7km - © Elbit Systems demonstrating a 21.1 meter CP at over 20km range using conducted with eighteen M549A1 rounds in a Competitive fly-off. IAI’s TopGun Course Correction Fuze uses four canards to achieve a claimed CEP of less than 20m. TopGun is at TRL8 and is being developed by MAFAT and IAI with a first shooting planned for February. By comparison, the CEP of an

18

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

unguided 155mm rounds at 40km is 361m and 91m at 10KM, Elbit have introduced an upgrade to the M109 which enhances precision which is now in service. IAI Tamam are responsible for integrating the PLGR and AMANP INS unit for IDF M109s. IAI are now participating in the Asian market with their latest TMAPS INS systems developed with the IDF and has an accuracy of less than 1mil and is also entirely ITAR free.

Other precision rounds include the SMArt 155 mm developed by Diehl and Rheinmetall acquired by Australia, Greece, Switzerland and the UK and the Bonus topattack PGM developed by Nexter Systems (France) and BAE Systems Bofors which in

Malaysia recently awarded a contract for a further 18 Astros IIs to equip a second regiment

service with France and Sweden. The KBP Instrument Design Bureau’ 155mm laser guided round is in service with India with the Bofors 155 mm FH-77B artillery systems and has been used operationally in Kashmir.

Elisra are currently developing version 13 of software for the Divisional Artillery Command and Control System variant developed for Switzerland under the country’s INTAFF programme which was fielded in 2001. The new software will be delivered later this year and provide a new MMI and NATO MIP interoperability. Switzerland also acquired the company’s V-STAR terminal in 2009 to support the integration of UAV imagery into INTAFF teams. The systems is also in service with several African and Asian customers and the company are in the process of developing a 3D mapping improvement to the system.

AMR NAVAL DIRECTORY 2011

Prepared by Adam Baddeley l

MAY 2011

l

19

REGIONAL NAVAL DIRECTORY

aval power has become an indispensable component in the modernisation plans of militaries across the Asia Pacific Region both in ensuring the integrity of their littoral area, protecting key Exclusive Economic Zones and in many cases projecting power independently at great distances from home.

As with all AMR Directories, this one has also been compiled from a range of open sources from around the world, AMR’s correspondents and discussions with industry and military personnel throughout the year. AMR would like to thank those who have scratched their heads and provided answers to our questions. We would therefore like to encourage readers over the next twelve months who can add information to either contact us in person at the year’s shows and exhibitions or by e-mail.

N

AUSTRALIA

Royal Australian Navy

Destroyers

3 Ordered

Frigates

8

4

Hobart Air Warfare Destroyers; est. cost $8bil and due to enter service 2014-17, problems with hull block reported ANZAC class (Meko); Project Sea 1442 Phase 4 will upgrade comms Adelaide (FFG-7)

Submarines

6

Minewarfare

6 2 2

Collins class; 3 operational Huon class (Gaeta) MSA CDT

Replenishment and Support

1

1

Amphibious

2

6 1 2 Ordered

1

Light Forces

14

Success AOR (Durance class) Sirius tanker

Kanimbla class (Newport); Training and helicopter support,Manoora decommissions in February Balikpapan LCH Tobruk LSH Canberra class; first hull launched February 18th 2011, 27,800 tonne ships enter service 2014-16 ‘HMS Largs Bay’; arrives in late 2011 ready for operation in 2012 andallows early retirement of HMAS Tobruk and Kanimbla Armidale PB

NOTES: Under the 2009 Defence White Paper, Australia will replace all patrol boats, minehunters and hydrographic vessels with 20 multi-role vessels (MRVs) with

the first scheduled to enter service around 2019. with an est cost of $1.5bil under Project Sea 1180. Project Sea 1000 programme for 12 new Future Submarines / Evolved Collins subs under the 2009 White paper and due to enter service from 2025 under threat. Off the shelf buys ruled out earlier this year.

HMS Largs Bay bought from RN earlier this year for $105m, ready for operations in 2012. Interest in partnering on RN Type 26/Global Combat Ship due for 2024-2030 to replace ANZAC frigates and est. cost of $10bil. The $1.5bil Project Air 9000 Phase 8 competition for 24 naval helo decision expected soon on replacing 16 ageing S-70B2 Seahawks by 2018.

BANGLADESH Bangladesh Navy

Frigates

1

1 2

1

2

Light Forces

2

5

HMAS Glenelg, the last of the Armidale patrol boats. Australia will replace all patrol boats, minehunters and hydrographic vessels with 20 multi-role vessels © AJB

1

1

2

2

3

5

4

20

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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

l

BNS Bangabandhu; two AW109 helicopter being purchased, negotiations for three more freigates underway Khalid Bin Walid (ROK DW2000H design) Osman (PRC Jianghu class) Umar Farooq (UK Salisbury class) replaced

by Castle class OPVs Abu Bakr class (UK Leopard Class) replaced

by Castle class OPVs ex RN Castle class OPVs sold 2010 commissioned in April 2011 Kapatakhaya OPV (UK Island class) Mahumnati PB (ROK Sea Dragon class) Nirbhoy PB (PRC Hainan class) Salam/Barkat (PRC Haizhui class) Karnaphuli PB (Yugo.

Krajievika class) Durdharsha FAC (PRC Huangfen class) Durbar Missile FAC (PRC Hegu class) BN vessels (PRC

REGIONAL NAVAL DIRECTORY

4

4

MCM

4

1

Huchuan class) Shaheed Daulat FAC (PRC Shanghai II class) Titas FAC (ROK Sea Dolphin class)

The Chinese navy guided missile destroyer Qingdao © DoD

Shapla Class (UK River class) Sagar (PRC T43 class)

Amphibious Warfare

2 3 1

3

Shah Poran LCU LCT (PRC Yuchin class) ex-RN survey ship HMS Roebuck LCVP

NOTES: Dhaka aims to have a submarine with fully equipped base by 2019/2020.

Reported to be interested in three Po Hang Frigates from South Korea and two F-22P frigates from China. Recent complaints against Myanmar vessels entering Bangladesh’s EEZ.

BRUNEI

Royal Brunei Navy

Light Forces

3

3

3 4

4

Darussalam OPV built at Lürssen, first two ships due to arrive in Brunei in May, third in August Waspada Missile FAC, to be replaced by Darussalams, with two transferred to Indonesia Perwira PB Ijhtihad PBs commissioned in March and August 2010 LCU

NOTE S: The three BAE Systems built Nakhoda Ragam corvettes remain for sale

CAMBODIA

Royal Cambodian Navy Light Forces 4 Stenka class, Soviet era acquisition 5 Schmel class

N ot e s : Extremely modest forces supplemented by a mixture of Soviet and Chinese sourced patrol boats and amphibious forces.

CHINA

People’s Liberation Army Navy Aircraft Carriers 1 Shi Lang; former RFS Varyag being refurbished at Dalian, operational for training in 2011-2012 2 ‘Indigenous Carriers’; reports of both being built at Changxingdao yard in Shanghai Destroyers

4

2 2 2 1

2

13

Frigates 8+4 Ordered

2 14 23

Submarines 2+2 Ordered 1 2+2 Ordered

l

Taizhou/Hangzhou class (Ru. Sovremenny class) Shenyak/Type 051C class Langzhou/052C class Guangzhou/Type052B Shenzen/Type 051B, better known as Luhai Harbin, better known as Luhu class Zuhai, better known as Luda, class Jiangkai II/Type 054A class, up to 26 required Jiangkai I/Type 054 Jiangwei I/Jiangwei II Jianghu I/II/III Type 094 Jin class SSBN Type 092 Xia class SSBN Shang/Type 093-class MAY 2011

l

5 Ordered 8+2 Ordered 5 5+5 10 2 14 8 Light Forces 18

5

50

95 90

SSN Han/Type 091-class SSN, troubled design being replaced by Shang Song Type 039A, completion of deliveries expected by end 2010 Song-class Yuan Type 41 Kilo Project 636 Kilo Project 877EKM Ming-class Romeo-class, training and reserve only Houxin class missile FAC, production ongoing Huijan class missile FAC, production ongoing Houbei class missile FAC, production ongoing Hainan PB Huchuan Hydrofoli FAC

Minewarfare 23 T43 mineweepers Amphibious forces

2

6 Planned

Kunlunshan(Yzhao/Type 071-class LPD, second vessels launched Nov 2010 Type 081 Helipcopter carriers built at Dalian and Wuchang yards

21

REGIONAL NAVAL DIRECTORY

20

4 Ordered

INDIA

Submarines 10 6 Ordered

Yuting class LST, construction contnuing 28 Yudao/Yulin LSMs Replenishment vessels 1 Nanyun clas AOR 2 Dayun-class Indian Navy

Aircraft Carriers

1

1 Ordered 1 Ordered

Destroyers 3 3 Ordered 5

4 Ordered Frigates

3+3 Ordered

3

4

4

1+2 Ordered Corvettes

6

4 4 2 12 2 4

22

INS Viraart (UK Hermes) due to leave service in 2018 INS Vikramaditya (Ru Admrial Gorshkov) delivery expected in early 2013 Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, completion in 2015, two more planned Delhi-class Im. Delhi/Project 15A Rajput-class (Ru Kashin/Kashin II) Imp. Kolkata/Project 15B-class

Talwar class; deliveries to begin in 2011, 3 new Imp. Talwar have been ordered with increased costs from $1.2bil to 1.5bil. INS Tarkash expected to be in service later this year Brahmaputra class/ Project 16A Godvari/Project 16 (UK Leander) Nilgiri (UK Leander) INS Vindhyagiri damaged in collision with MV Nordlake in January Shivalik/Project 17A Suyanka; Dhanush short-range ballistic missile fired from the INS Suvarna in March Khukri/Type 25 Kora/Type 25A Durg/Nanuchka class Veer/Tarantul I class Prabal/Tarantul IV class Abhay/Pauk II class

4

1+5 Ordered

1

2 Light Forces

5+10 Ordered 4 4 4 MCM 12

6 2 Ordered

8 Planned

Kamorta/Project 28 stealth ASW frigates, Kockums building two superstructures, four further ships planned

2

Sindhughosh/Kilo Scorpene, 1st due to enter service in 2015 requirement for a further 12 SSK’s under in two further phases under Project 75 I, first phase valued at $11billion Shishumar/Type 209/1500 Arihant SSBN, due to enter service in 2015 INS Chakra/Project 971 Akula II, leased from Ru. in 2009 delivery delayed until 2011 DSRV; RFI issued early 2011 T-80/Super Dvora II-class Trinkat/SDB Mk5 pb SDB Mk2/3M PB Sankalp NOPV, last vessel completed in December Pondichery/Ru. Natya/Project 266M class upgrading with Thales equipment Mahe-class (Yevgenya) Osprey class, ex-USN vessels Minesweepers in a $1.4bil programmer launched in late 2010

Amphibious Warfare

1

Jalashwa/US Trenton LPD Polnocny Shardul LST Magar-class LST LCU

5 3 2 6

Replenishment and Support

2

Fleet carriers Jyoti and Aditya

l

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

l

Ordered Deepak class Fleet Tankers; $210m order, 1st vessel INS Deepak commissioned Jan. 2011

NOTES: Project 17B Frigates being planned, last Foxtrot sub, INS Vagli decommissioned in December. Plans for second floating dock in Andamans RFI for $200m LPD issued in February, deadline for proposal in March.

INDONESIA

Indonesian Navy

Frigates

5

4 1

Corvettes 4 16

Submarines

2

Light Forces

4

4 4 4

Ahmad Yani (Ne. Van Speijk) Fatahillah Ki Hajar Dewantara; training duties only

Diponegoro/Sigma class Pattimura/Parchim class Cakra/Type 209/1300; Daewoo refurbishment in ROK underway Mandau-class Missile FAC (PSMM Mk.5) Kakap clas PB (PB57) Singa FAC (FPB57) Todak class FPB57; being

Guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS McCampbell maneouvre with Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy destroyer Guangzhou (168) off the coast of North Sulawesi, Indonesia Š DoD

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REGIONAL NAVAL DIRECTORY

7 3

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Kurama and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Gridley and USS Stockdale in January 2011. The cornerstone of Japan’s defence on land, sea and air is via US military might © DoD

12 Light Forces

minesweepers Uwajima minsweepers Hirashima costal minesweepers Sugashima coastal minesweepers

6

Hayabusa PB

3 2 2 2 3

Osumi class LST I-Go Yura class Mashu class AOE Towada class AOE

Amphibious and support

8

7

MCM

2 2 9

Amphibious 1 3+1 Ordered

6

2

coverted to carry C802 ASMs Siada class (Aus. Attack class) Type 35/36 Class

Pulau Rengat (Tripartite) T43 Pulau Rote (GDR Kondor class) Tanjung Dalpele LSD Makassar LPD; third and the first locally built vessel commissioned Nov 2009, the last Banda Aceh handed over in March 2011 Teluk Gelimanuk LST (GDR Frosch I class) Teluk Sirebong (GDR Frosch II)

Replenishment and Support

1

1

Arun oiler (UK Green Rover) Tanjung Dalpele; transport hospital ship

NOTES: Cancellation of order for two Amur 950 and Kilo submarines but Navy have said they have a need for 39 submarines.

Indonesia has a requirement for around 20 frigates largely based on Damen’s SIGMA 10514 design and built by PT Pal.

JAPAN

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Helicopter Carrier

24

2

Destroyer

2 4

2 1 2 2

5 6 7 9 2 Ordered 3 Ordered Frigates

2 6

Submarines 3+4 Ordered

11 2 MCM

2

3

l

Hyuga class ‘DDH’, 2nd vessel fitting out in 2011

Atago Kongo class; to receive SM-3 for BMD Hatakaze class Tachikaze class Shirane, to be replaced by ‘22DDH’ Haruna class; being withdrawn to be replaced

by Hyuga class Takanami class Murasame class Asagiri class Hatsuyuki class ‘19DD’; to replace Hatsuyuki ‘22DDH’; 1st vessel laid down in 2010 Yubari Abukuma

NORTH KOREA

Korean Peoples Navy

Frigates

2 1

Submarines 25 4 20-25 4-8 40-50

Light Forces 18

Najin class Soho

Romeo class Whiskey class Sang-O class costal subs Sang-O II coastal subs Yugo, midget subs Soju Missile FAC (Ru. I-Osa class)

The ROKS Dokdo (LPH 6111) is first of two new LPX class of amphibious landing ships of the Republic of Korea Navy

Soryu class; next three vessels scheduled from 2011-13 Oyashio class; life to be extended by five years to boost sub numbers Harushio class; training only Uraga, MCMC support ships Yaeyama class

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

NOTES: Tokyo plans to expand its submarine fleet from 16 to 20-22 boats and the number of destroyers from 47 to 48. The two Atago and four Kongo class ships will receive the Standard Missile-3 interceptor.

l

REGIONAL NAVAL DIRECTORY

12 10 9 24 6 18 62 52 13 18 12 12 37 88 4 15

Osa class Misile FAC Komar class Missile FA Sohung class P6 Hainan class An Ju class torpedo boat Chaho class Chong Jin class Shanghai II class Sinpo/Sinnam class Tae Chong class Iwon class Sin-Hung class Ku Song Sariwan class SO1 ex-Soviet

8 16 100 7 70

Hantae class LSMs Hungnam class LSMs Nampo class LCPs Hanchon class LCMs Songjong class hovercraft

Amphibious Forces

NOTE S: Declining serviceability across the board.

vessels planned for 2019-26 King Kwanggaeto (KDX-1)

3

Frigates

8

3 + 3 Ordered

Corvettes

22

Light Forces

Ulsan-I FFX 3; being produced by Hyundai Heavy Industries, 13 further frigates in two batches planned Po Hang; Cho-An lost in 2010, to be replaced by later Ulsan–Is FFX

2+12/16 Ordered Yoon Young Ha-Ham missile FAC 80 Chamsuri/’Sea Dolphin’ PB; to be replaced by Yoon Young Ha-Ham Submarines

3+6 Ordered

SOUTH KOREA

Republic of Korea Navy Destroyers 2+1 Ordered Sejong Daewang (KDX-3); 3rd KDX-3 to be commissioned in 2012 after being launched in March, plans for three more ships postponed 6 Chungmugong Yi Sun Shin (KDX-2); 6 more Aegis equipped KDX-2A

Ulsan class; to be replaced

by FFX programme

6

3 7

MCM

3+4 Ordered

l

Son Won Il KSS-2 (Type 214); Batch 1 production

by HHI complete, two of six in next batch being built by Daewoo Chang Bogo Type 209; 3 vessels withdrawn, remaining vessels to be replaced Tolograe midget subs Cosmos midget subs Yangyang-AM (I-Kang Keong) MCMV

MAY 2011

l

6 8

Ganggyeong MCMV MSC being withdrawn

4 4 1

Dokdo LHD; third vessel planned Alligator Go Jun Bong LST LSMR

1 1 2

Chung Jess Submarine support vessel T-AGOR ships

Amphibious 1+1 Ordered

Replenishment and Support

MALAYSIA

Royal Malaysian Navy

Frigates

2 2 1

Corvettes

Lekiu class Kasturi class (FS1500) Hang Tuah (Uk Type 41); training only

4

Laksamana class

6

Kedah class (Meko A100M); last Kedah commissioned on Nov 28th SGPV, 99m long 2200 tonnes more heavily armed than Kedahs Handalan Missile FAC Perdana Missile FAC Jerong Gun FAC Sri Tiga FAC Kris class PB

Light Forces

6 4

4 6 2 15

25

REGIONAL NAVAL DIRECTORY

1 The Pakistan Navy is moving from acquiring second hand Western designs such as the PNS Khaibar an ex- RN Type 21 frigate to new build Chinese ships © AJB

Pakistan Navy

PAKISTAN Frigates

3+1 Ordered

6 1 Submarines

3

MCM

4

CB90

Perdanan Menteri Class (Scorpene) Mahamiru (Lerici) Minehunters

Amphibious and Support

1

1

2

TLDM Bunga Mas Lima Auxiliary Gunga Mas Lima; helicopter capable support ship Sri Indera Sakti Class; Combat Support Ship

NO TE S: Plans for Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS) postponed in December in favour of securing six 99-metre-long Second Generation Patrol Vessels

MYANMAR

Myanmar Navy

Corvettes

8 8

Anawratha class Aung Zeya

6

Houxin Missile FAC

Light Vessels

26

14

2 3 1 2 2

Larkana class Quwwat class Jalalat II class

3

Mujahid (Tripartite)

1 1

Moawin (Ne. Poolster) Nasr (PRC Fuqing)

MCM

‘5 Series’ Local Gun/Missile FAC Indaw class Hainan class PGM PB PB90

1 10 12 3

Replenishment and Support

NOTES: In Feb 2011 PNS Alamgir was damaged after ramming pier. Plans to acquire four Jiangkai I (Type 054) ASW frigates and six Chinese Type 041/Yuan class submarines.

NEW ZEALAND

Royal New Zealand Navy Frigates 2 ANZAC class; Platform Systems Upgrade on HMNZS Te Mana completed in late 2010 Light Vessels

2

4 2

PHILIPPINES

Philippines Navy

Protector OPV; HMNZS Otago suffered engine failure in Antarctic visit in December Inshore Patrol Vessels Rotoiti PB

Replenishment and Support

1

Canterbury; part of Project Protector Endeavour Fleet Tanker; due to be replaced by 2016 confirmed in November White Paper

1

l

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Zulfiquar (F-22P); third vessel PNS Saif entered service in November, last vessel due to be handed over in June Tariq (UK Type 21) Almgir (FFG-7); transferred to Pakistan Khalid (Agosta 90B); all vessels to receive MESMA AIP Hashmat (Agosta 70) SX 404 Midget-sub

Light Forces

12 Submarines 2

Manawanui Dive Support Vessel

l

Frigates

1

Corvettes

BRP Rajah Humabon (US Cannon); to be replaced

by USCG Hamilton

2 6

Rizal (US Auk) Miguel Malvar (US PCE)

1

Mariano Alvarez (US Cyclone) Emilio Jacinto (UK Peacock) Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Class

Light Vessels

3

2

REGIONAL NAVAL DIRECTORY

22 2 3 8 2

Jose Andrada Class PC 394 (USCG Cutter) Conrado Yap Class Tomas Batillo Class (ROKN Chamsuri PKM Class) Kagitingan Class

NOTES: The Philippine Navy is acquiring acquire a Hamilton class US Coastguard cutter. New patrol vessels and other naval equipment needed for Spratlys with $180m allocated in next five years.

SINGAPORE

Republic of Singapore Navy Frigates 6 Formidable class (Fr. mod.

La Fayette) Submarines

4

2

Conqueror (Ne. Sjoor-men class) Archer (Swe. Vastergot-

Light Forces 6 11

land class) Victory class Fearless class

MCM 4 12

Bedok (Landsort) FB31-42 PB

4 1

Endurance LPDs Perseverance LSL

Amphibious

NOTES: Work on replacement design for Fearless class patrol Vessels underway.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan Navy Light Vessels 1 P621 (USCG PB) 4 OPV various sources 2 Nandimithra Class (Saar 4) 3 Rana PB

2

3 6 6 10

Prathapa (PRC Lushun Class) Weeraya (Shanghai II)FAC Ranasir (Haizhui) Parakramabahu class PB P430 (ROK ‘Killer’) FAC P463 (Super Dvora Mk II) Super Dvora Mk. III Colombo FAC

2 1 1

Yunnan LSM Yuhai LCT M10 Hovercraft

3 7 1

Amphibious

TAIWAN

Republic of China Navy

Destroyers

4

Kee Lung (US Kidd-class)

8

Cheng Kung (Mod. US Perry)

Frigates

REGIONAL NAVAL DIRECTORY

6

8

Light Forces 12 35

2 2 9

Submarines

2

2 MCM

2 5

4

4

Kang Ding (Mod. Fr. La Fayette) Chi Yang (US Knox)

Ching Chinag OPV Hai Ou (Dvora) Missile FAC Lung Chiang Missile FAC Sui Kiang Missile FAC PCL coastal PB 19+10 Imp. Hai Ou/ Kunh Hua VI Hai Lung/Sea Dragon (Mod. Ne. Zwaardvis) Hai Shih (US Guppy II) training Osprey Minehunters Yung Feng (MWV-50) minehunters Yung Yang (US Aggressive) Adjutant minesweepers

Amphibious and Support

2

1

1 1

Chung Ho LST (US Newport News) Shui Hai (US Anchorage class) LSD Yuen Feng transport Wu Yi AOE-530 oiler

NOTES: Guppy class subs becoming dangerous to operate and Hai Lungs almost contantly on patrol. Coastal patrol Vessels corvettes class have been delayed due to design issues. Still seeking eight deisel electric subs but official denials that they have approached Russia.

THAILAND

Royal Thai Navy

Aircraft Carrier

1

Chakri Nareubet

2

Phutthayofta US Knox class Naresuan(PRC Jianghu Type 25T); class, upgrade inc. Sea Giraffe and 9Lv CMS planned to begin in 2012 Chao Praya (PRC

Frigates

2

4

28

RSS Forimdable is the first in a six strong class of stealth frigates based on the French Navy’s La Fayette design © AJB

1 Corvettes

2 2 3

Light Vessels 2 3 3 3 2 3 6 3+3 MCM

2 2 2 1

Jianghu 053) Makut Rajakumarn; training vessel

VIETNAM

Vietnamese People’s Navy

Frigates

5 1 +1 Ordered

Rattanakosin-class Tapi (US PF103 class) Khamronsin class corvettes Pattani class OPV Hua Hin PM Khamrosin-class Chonburi Gun FAC Rajcharit Missile FACM Prabbrorapak Missile FAC Sattahip PB T-991 Lat Ya (Gaeta) Bangrachan (M48) Bangkaew (Bluebird) Thalang

Amphibious and Support Force 1 Ordered Endurance class LPD 1 Similian (PRC Fusu AOR) 2 Sichang LST 3 Griffon 100TD Hovercraft

NOTES: Feb The RTN plans to acquire as many as six ex-German Navy Type 206A boats in a $257m deal.

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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

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Petya II Class Dinh Tien Hoang; Project 11660 KBO-200 Gepard commissioned 2011

Corvettes and Light Forces 6 Tarantul I 1241-RE 3 Tarantul Project 1241.2 4+4 Ordered Tarantul/Project 1241.8 Missile FAC 2 Svetlak PB 1041.2 8 OSA II FAC 5 Turya FAC 4 SO1 PB 14 Zhuk PB 2 Poluchat PB Submarines 6 Ordered

2

Kilo Project 636M; Ordered in December worth around $2.8billion Midget subs

2 2 4 5

Yurka minesweeper Yevgenya minesweeper Sonya Minesweepers K8 Minesweepers

Mine Warfare

NO TE S: Report that Vietnam may be interested in Damen Schelde Holland class OPVs Plans to invite Russia back to Cam Ranh.

AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING

special

Asia-Pacific

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Mission Aircraft

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AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING

Alongside SIGnals INTelligence aircraft, a growing number of Asia-Pacific countries are operating ‘special mission’ platforms, with the range including radar surveillance, multi-sensor ocean surveillance and Airborne Early Warning (AEW) types. Taking these categories in order, the Republic of Korea is currently operating a quartet of ‘Peace Krypton’ Hawker 800RA radar surveillance aircraft as part of its indigenous intelligence capability in its stand-off with its northern neighbour, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. As such, these four aircraft are equipped with a Lockheed Martin-sourced synthetic aperture radar and have been in service with the Han-Guk Kong Goon (Republic of Korea Air Force) since 2001 monitoring the border between the two Koreas.

by Martin Streetly

The JASDF operates a fleet of 13 E-2C Hawkeye aircraft in the AEW & C role © US DoD

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APAN’S OP-3C Orion weapon system exemplifies the region’s specialist multi-sensor ocean surveillance platforms and takes the form of five Kawasaki-built P-3C Update II.5 maritime patrol aircraft that have been modified for surface ship ‘imaging’ duties. Role modifications include the installation of forward and side-looking radars, a BAE Systems AN/ALQ-78A electronic support system (now likely to have been superseded by newer equipment), a Goodrich DB-110 electro-optic/Infra-Red (IR) camera system, an IR search and track system, a Global Positioning System navigation capability and satellite communications. Operated by the Nihon Kaijyo Jietai’s (Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force) 81 Kokutai (81 Air Squadron) based at Iwakuni, the OP-3C entered service during the early part of 2002 and are believed to operate in concert with the service’s Kawasaki EP-3 SIGINT aircraft.

Turning to AEW provision in the region,

J

Japan’s Nihon Koku Jietai — and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) continue to operate or have in the recent past operated E-2Cs in the AEW&C role

the Republic of China, the People’s Republic of China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand are all known to operate, to be acquiring and/or to be developing such a capability. In order, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has acquired a fleet of six Northrop Grumman E-2T Hawkeye AEW and Control (AEW & C) aircraft that are operated by the country’s 2nd Electronic Warfare Squadron based at Pingtung-South. Built around the Ultra High Frequency (UHF – 300 MHz to 3 GHz) band Lockheed Martin AN/APS-145 radar, the type entered Taiwanese service during November 1995 and the country’s four original E-2Ts are understood to have been progressively brought up to the latest E-2C Hawkeye 2000E standard.

Staying with Asian-Pacific Hawkeyes, Japan’s Nihon Koku Jietai (Japanese Air SelfDefence Force -JASDF) and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) continue to operate (or have in the recent past operated) E-2Cs in the AEW&C role. In the first instance, the JASDF flies a total of 13 E-2C Group O AEW&C aircraft that are assigned

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AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING

Pakistan is procuring four, rotodome-equipped, Y-8 AEW & C aircraft under the ZDK-03 designation © Chinese Internet

to its Hiko Keikai Kanshitai (Air Warning Surveillance Unit) at Misawa, while the RSAF’s No 111 Squadron (based at Tengah) is transitioning from the E-2C Group O to the Israeli Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Gulfstream G550-AEW Conformal AEW (CAEW) aircraft. Here, the transition was originally scheduled to have been completed Alongside its E-2Cs, the JASDF operates a quartet of E-767 AWACS aircraft © US DoD

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by the end of 2011, while the JASDF’s E-2 fleet has been progressively updated with various packages that are known to have included the AN/APS-145 radar (in place of the Group O’s AN/APS-138 sensor); the E2C Hawkeye 2000’s Mission Computer Upgrade (MCU), Advanced Control Indicator Set (ACIS) and Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) interrogator; a 15-ton cooling system; an upgraded Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) and the

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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

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Northrop Grumman AN/ASN-139 CAINS II inertial navigation system. Elsewhere in the region, Northrop Grumman is also known to be offering a variant of its latest Hawkeye configuration (the AN/APY-9 radar equipped E-2D) to meet an Indian Navy requirement for a fixed-wing AEW & C platform with which to augment its existing Ka31 radar picket helicopters (see following).

Returning to the original alphabetic schemata, the People’s Republic of China has undertaken an indigenous AEW&C aircraft programme that has resulted in the Il-76 based KJ-2000 (allocated the NATO Reporting Name ‘Mainring’) and a trio of Y8 based capabilities that have entered service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force/Navy (PLAAF/PLAN) and have been sold to Pakistan. Of these, the KJ-2000 is reported to be flown by an aircrew of five, to have accommodation for a mission crew of at least 10 and to be equipped with a surveillance radar that has been developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic

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AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING

Technology (NRIET). While undoubtedly of Chinese origin, very little of substance has emerged concerning the KJ-2000’s radar.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that a prototype sensor began flight testing during 2003; that its development programme was launched circa 2001/2002; that it entered service with the PLAAF during 2007; that NRIET made use of its experience with the shipboard H/LJG-346 active phased array radar in the development of the airborne sensor and that Israeli know-how in the areas of transceiver module technology and composite material production process specification was of value to the Chinese AEW&C radar development effort (at one time, China was close to receiving an Il-76 AEW & C platform that was equipped with an Israeli electronically steered radar). If correct, these various suggestions point to the KJ-2000’s trio of

fixed, electronically-steered antenna arrays being made up of active transceiver modules, although this is by no means certain.

The enigmatically titled ‘38th Institute’ has been reported as the source of a phasedarray radar that has been applied to a Y-8 transport aircraft based AEW&C capability that is possibly designated as the KJ-200. The putative KJ-200 has almost certainly entered operational testing (if not service) with the

The PLAAF’s KJ2000 AEW & C weapon system is based on the Il-76 airframe © Chinese Internet

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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

PLAAF and is characterised by a plankshaped antenna housing that is mounted nose-down above its host’s centre fuselage.

Similar in design to the antenna housing used with Saab’s S-band (3.1 to 3.3 GHz subband) Erieye AEW radar, it is tempting to conclude that the KJ-200 makes use of the same sort of active technology.

Elsewhere in the Y-8 AEW&C community, China has developed a second such aircraft which features a conventional rotating rotodome to house its radar antenna and which (under the ZDK-03 designation) is being exported to Pakistan. Here, the capability was demonstrated to the Pakistani Air Force during 2006, an event that was followed by a $278 million contract for four ‘improved’ ZDK-03 aircraft that was placed during 2008, with delivery to take place during the period 2011 to 2014. The remaining AEW orientated Y-8 (the Y-8J) is flown by the PLAN and is equipped with Thales UK (formerly Racal) 10 GHz Skymaster multi-mode maritime surveillance and AEW radar. Reported to have been first

AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING

flown during November 1999, the nose geometry of the Y-8J is such as to suggest AEW coming a poor second to front hemisphere maritime surveillance as the platform’s primary role. Altogether, China procured at least six Skymaster radars during the mid-1990s and the JASDF has intercepted aircraft of this type over the Sea of Japan as recently as the spring of 2011.

Elsewhere within its inventory, the PLAN has received its first three Kamov Ka-31 radar picket helicopters which unconfirmed sources suggest are operated by the service’s 4th Independent Aviation Regiment that is homeported at Changzhi Wangcun (Wangzun) airbase in China’s Shanxi Province. Equipped with the L-band (1 to 2 GHz) Nizhniy Novgorod Electrical Equipment Institute (NNIIRT) E-801 Oko (Eye) radar, the PLAN is expected to have received a further six Ka-31s by the end of 2011, with the Indian Navy acquire a second tranche of five such helicopters to add to the nine Ka-31s that are already assigned to the service’s Naval Air Squadron 339 home-based at Indian Naval Air Station Kunjali-II. In Indian service, the Ka-31s are

flown from the aircraft carrier Viraat and Talwar class frigates.

For its part, the Indian Air Force has procured the Russo-Israeli A-50EkhI AEW&C platform and is expecting to receive an indigenous capability based on the EMB-145 airframe circa 2013/14. In order, the A50EkhI is based on the Beriev A-50 AEW & C

The Indian Air Force has procured the Russo-Israeli A-50EkhI AEW&C platform and is expecting to receive an indigenous capability based on the EMB-145

airframe (using the Il-76TD transport as its basis) and is equipped with the Elta Systems EL/W-2090 AEW & C mission suite. Here, the EL/W-2090 forms part of Elta’s family of CAEW architectures and incorporates an Lband, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) 3-D radar together with IFF, communications and electronic intelligence, self

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Pakistan’s Saab 2000 AEW & C aircraft will work with the country’s F-16 fighters © Saab

protection and communications sub-systems. As of this writing, India has procured three A-50EkhIs (with options on two more) and appears to wish to acquire additional CAEW-equipped aircraft. Whether or not these would be A-50s or CAEW G550s remains to be seen.

Perhaps of more interest is India’s EMB145 AEW&C programme which mates a locally produced S-band (2 to 4 GHz) active electronically steered radar with the airframe of Embraer’s ERJ-145 regional airliner. Other onboard systems include an IFF interrogator, radar and communications band electronic support capabilities, a self-protection suite, a mission system control architecture, a data handling and display system, datalink and in-flight refuelling provision and a communications sub-system. Looking specifically at the radar, the sensor’s transceiver element takes the form of Astra Microwave Products’ Transmit-Receive Multi-Modules (TRMM) that each incorporate eight 3.2 kg, 243 x 242 x

35

AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING 40 mm S-band transceiver units that drive the S-band portion of combined 9.9 kg, 704 x 900 mm L- (IFF) and S-band (radar) Integrated Antenna Array (IAA) tiles. In turn, the IAAs form the side panels of an 8.24 m long, plankshaped Active Array Antenna Unit (AAAU) that is mounted on pylons above the host aircraft’s rear fuselage. Cooling appears to rely on air passing through an AAAU long duct and the radar’s operating modes are said to include search, track-while-scan, priority tracking and high performance tracking.

Again, the radar is thought to offer 240° coverage in azimuth and a target detection range of between 250 and 370 km. As might be expected, this ambitious effort has run into developmental problems which could delay the programme by up to three years. Nonethe-less, India is keeping faith with the programme and is set to receive the prototype airframe for fitting out with its mission system by the end of 2011.

Returning to the article’s alphabetic coverage, Japan’s E-2Cs are supported by a quartet of Boeing E-767 AEW & C aircraft that are based on a militarised Boeing 767-200ER airliner airframe and are equipped with Northrop Grumman’s AN/APY-2 surveillance radar. Effectively the American Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) architecture mounted in a Boeing 767 rather than a Boeing E-3, the JASDF’s four E-767s are assigned to the service’s Hiko Keikai Kanseita (Air Warning Control Squadron) at Hamamatsu and have most recently received the Radar System Improvement Program (RISP) upgrade for The Royal Thai Air Force has ordered two Saab 340 AEW aircraft © Saab/Peter Liander

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The RSAF is replacing its E-2C GroupO AEW & C aircraft with four G550-AEW CAEW platforms © Michael J Gething

their radars. RISP improves the AN/APY-2’s effectiveness against aircraft and cruise missiles and includes new pulse compressed waveforms, an improved man-machine interface, new adaptive signal processors, enhanced data sampling and range/velocity resolution, better electronic counter-countermeasures provision and improved system maintainability/reliability.

Alongside the ZDK-03, Pakistan has procured as many as five Saab 2000 AEW&C aircraft that are equipped with the Erieye active phased array pulse Doppler radar, Saab’s HES-21 self-protection and electronic support system, an IFF capability and five Saabsourced operator stations. In terms of programmatics, Pakistan signed a ‘provisional contract’ for an ‘airborne surveillance system’ with Saab during October 2005.

Initially, six aircraft were ordered, with the number being thought to have dropped to five following contract re-negotiations dur-

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

ing 2007. The first Pakistani Saab 2000 AEW & C aircraft was handed over on 8 December 2009, at which time the Pakistan Air Force was understood to be intending to assign the type to its No 3 Squadron at Islamabad.

Elsewhere in the region, the Erieye radar also forms the primary sensor aboard the Saab 340 AEW & C platforms that Thailand has procured/is procuring. Forming part of a wider deal that includes a ground-based air defence network and the JAS-39 Gripen multi-role combat aircraft, the first of two Saab 340 AEW & Cs (the second aircraft

The RSAF is receiving four IAI Gulfstream G550-AEW CAEW aircraft to replace its existing E-2C Group O AEW&C platforms

being ordered on 23 November 2010) was handed over to the Royal Thai Air Force on 13 November 2010.

As noted earlier, the RSAF is receiving four IAI Gulfstream G550-AEW CAEW aircraft to replace its existing E-2C Group O AEW&C platforms. As its designation suggests, the G550-AEW is based on the Gulfstream G550 long-range business jet and is equipped with the Elta Systems EL/W2085 mission suite that includes a dual-band (L-/S-band) AESA AEW radar, an integrated IFF sub-system, communications and electronic intelligence/electronic support provision and six operator stations. The first indication of a Singaporean G550-AEW procurement came in a speech given by Singapore’s then Minister of Defence Teo Chee Hean during April 2007. The first such aircraft was handed over on 19 February 2009 at which time, the type’s assignment to the RSAF’s No 111 Squadron was confirmed.

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N A V A L SONAR AND RADAR

In the vast, seemingly endless expanses of ocean, and the crowded littoral waters of the globe in which the world’s navies operate, sensors are the indispensable adornment to their ships which allow their sailors to understand what is happening in their locale. Just over a century ago, the only two sensors available on a warship were the eyes and ears of her crew. Today, they carry a formidable array of sensors including radar, sonar and electro-optics.

by Tom Withington

Naval Radar & Sonar:

Detection Above & Below the

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N A V A L SONAR AND RADAR EVERAL naval surveillance radar remain in production around the world, including Saab’s Sea Giraffe family which began development in 1970.

The Sea Giraffe family currently comprises the AMB and LT variants; the former of which can equip vessels of all sizes from frigates to patrol boats. The Sea Giraffe LT is the two-dimensional version of the AMB, although it has the option of being upgraded into a fully-fledged Sea Giraffe AMB system.

Saab has designed the Sea Giraffe to operate as a true multi-mission radar to perform littoral, as well as blue water operations according to Bo Wallander of the company’s Electronic Defense Systems business area. He says that, compared to rival systems, the Sea Giraffe offers a, “very high target update rate, excellent performance in clutter; detection and tracking of very small targets on, or just above; the water surface, a low radar top weight and a very affordable solution in terms of low cost ownership.” Saab is not Scandinavia’s only naval radar specialist.

Denmark’s Terma produce the Scanter radar family which comprises the X-band Scanter-4100 and Scanter-6000 products. X-band provides a good trade-off between antenna size and radar weight. This provides smaller vessels with radar that they can comfortably accommodate, but which can still provide

S

Terma of Denmark produce a range of naval surveillance radars in their Scanter family which are optimised for small-sized vessels. One of the types to be outfitted with the Scanter system is the Royal Danish Navy’s Flyvefisken class patrol vessels © Thomas Withington

detection ranges of up to 185 km.

Although geographically a world away from the Nordic regions, Israel is home to Elta Systems which also produces an X-band radar in the form of the EL/M-2228 medium-range surveillance system. Like Terma’s Scanter family, this radar is designed for small- and moderate-sized vessels. The EL-2228 is being replaced by the firm’s EL/M-2258 S-band Advanced Lightweight Phased Array product which is equipping the Israeli Navy.

In terms of sonar products, Italy’s Selex Galileo offers a selection of products including the OTS-90 Low Frequency Long Range Sonar which can be integrated with a sonobuoy system using a single acoustic processor. Production of the OTS-90 commenced in 2003, and is deployed on the NH Industries NH-90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) of the Koninklijke Marine (Dutch Navy) and the Marina Militare (Italian Navy).

It is also worth mentioning that, although not ship-based radar, Selex Galileo is responsible for the Seaspray family of airborne maritime surveillance products.

Operating in the X-band with synthetic aperture and inverse synthetic aperture modes; Seaspray boasts a low probability

of intercept. It comes in three different configurations; Seaspray 5000E, which weighs under 45 kg and is optimised for light naval helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft; Seaspray 7000E which weighs under 80 kg and can equip heavier platforms. Finally, the Seaspray 7500E which is designed for large naval helicopters such as the AgustaWestland AW101 and large fixedwing aircraft such as the US Coast Guard’s HC-130H surveillance platform.

Thales, meanwhile, is one of the world’s leading naval radar and sonar houses. The company’s product line includes the I-Mast, which integrates a ship’s disparate radar and communications antennae into a single structure; helping to reduce the vessels’ visual and radar signature, and easing maintenance and construction. The I-Mast’s sensor package includes the SeaMaster-400 E/F-band 250 km range non-rotating four-face phased array volume search radar, which is in turn derived from the firm’s SMART-L, SMART-S Mk.2 and APAR radar products. The I-Mast also includes a SeaWatcher-100 X-band 40 km range active phased-array radar for surface threat detection, and Thales’s Gatekeeper electro-optical system.

Thales’s SMART-L L-band radar product line provides up to 400-km of surveillance and 70 º elevation. Full Doppler processing allows for clutter suppression, and

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N A V A L SONAR AND RADAR

Lockheed Martin’s AN/SPY-1 surveillance radar has sold widely around the world to customers in Norway, Spain, Japan and South Korea, along with the US Navy itself. The company is now modernising the system via the AN/SPY-1K programme © US DoD

instant velocity measurement. Moreover, the radar’s signal processing capabilities gives it good performance against stealth targets, particularly in littoral areas. SMART-L is joined by the firm’s SMART-S S-band radar which has a range of around 250 km and 70º elevation. Furthermore, the radar includes two operating modes; one for surface fire control and a second which can be used for the guidance of helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Thales is joined by Cassidian which maintains three naval surveillance radars in production with its TRS-3D C-band radar family. The TRS-3D entered production in 1994, and this three-dimensional radar design can be used for tracking air and sea targets, fire control and helicopter guidance. Cassidian has sold the radar to the Danish, Finnish, German, Malaysian and Spanish navies. It is also supplying the TRS-3D as part of the US Coast Guard’s Deepwater programme, and for the US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship initiative. Meanwhile, the Deutsche Marine (German Navy) is receiving the TRS-4D variant to equip their F-125 class of frigates. The TRS-4D employs Gallium Arsenide semiconductors and electronic beam scanning, allowing for the installation of four fixed panels onto the vessel. That said, the firm notes that the TRS-4D is also available with a rotating

antenna. Joining the TRS-4D, which commenced production in 2010, Cassidian’s new TRSS X-band radar is the latest addition to the TRS-3D family for medium-range sea and air surveillance. Like the TRS-4D, the TRSS is available with a rotating antenna or with four fixed antenna faces.

Away from continental Europe, the UK’s BAE Systems enjoys a healthy performance on both side of the Atlantic. The company maintains a robust portfolio of naval surveillance radar products. Leading the pack is its’ Advanced Radar Target Indication Situational Awareness and Navigation (ARTISAN) threedimensional radar which will be installed on the Royal Navy’s forthcoming Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, and retrofitted

Thales’ SMART-S product offers an S-band surveillance radar with a 250 km and 70º elevation. The radar’s two operating modes allow it to be used for fire control and also for air traffic control functions such as helicopter guidance © Thales

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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

onto the force’s Type-23 frigates and amphibious support ships. The ARTISAN family includes the ARTISAN-3D Compact E/Fband radar with an instrumented range of around 200 km, a maximum elevation of 70º and the ability to track around 800 targets.

Similar performance characteristics are found in the ‘vanilla’ ARTISAN radar which has a slightly heavier antenna weight of 1000 kg when including an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) antenna. Other versions of the ARTISAN include the mechanically-rotated variant weighing 1150 kg (including the IFF antenna).

BAE Systems also produces the S-band SAMPSON next-generation multifunction radar optimised for the Royal Navy’s Type-45 destroyers. This radar boasts robust resistance to electronic countermeasures, and good detection of stealth targets.

Along with radar, the firm is in the sonar business. On 21st December, BAE Systems won a $14 million contract to supply four AN/SQQ-32(V)4 high-frequency, wideband mine-hunting sonar systems to the US Navy.

This product has been developed to replace the existing AN/SQQ-32(V)3 sonar used on the US Navy’s Avenger class mine countermeasures ships which will notably improve the US Navy’s ability to detect stealthy mines in littoral areas.

Looking towards North America, ITT Corporation has an impressive pedigree as one of the United States’ leading naval radar suppliers. The company provides the 470 km range AN/SPS-48 three-dimensional S-band radar. A number of US Navy vessels use the AN/SPS 48 including the Wasp and San

N A V A L SONAR AND RADAR Antonio class landing helicopter docks, and the Nimitz class aircraft carriers. Despite the long life of the AN/SPS-48; entering service in the 1960s; it is receiving an added lease of life via the Radar Obsolescence Availability Recovery programme which should extend its service life beyond 2050 through the addition of a solid state transmitter and open architecture processing.

Like ITT’s AN/SPS-48 radar, Lockheed Martin’s AN/SPY-1 S-band phased array equips several US Navy combatants. The company is presently developing the AN/SPY-1K variant optimised for small corvette-sized frigates. In addition, the AN/SPY-1 is in service around the world in various guises including the AN/SPY-1F used on the Royal Norwegian Navy’s Fridtjof Namsen class frigates. The AN/SPY-1F has a smaller antenna compared to the AN/SPY-1D (upgraded to AN/SPY-1D status – see below) radar deployed on the Armada Española (Spanish Navy) Alvaro de Bazan class multi-purpose frigates; the Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyers (DDGs) of the US Navy, plus South Korea’s King Sejong the Great and Japan’s Atago class DDGs. These latter two vessels, plus those of Spain, use the AN/SPY1D variant optimised for littoral operations.

Saab has designed the Sea Giraffe to operate as a true multi-mission radar to perform littoral, as well as blue water operations

Selex Galileo’s OTS-90 dipping sonar is in use on the NH Industies NH-90 NATO Frigate Helicopter.

The system is seen here during a demonstration in Sydney with the famous opera house and harbour bridge in the background © Selex

Lockheed Martin is also responsible for the AN/BQQ-10 submarine sonar system installed on the US Navy’s Virginia class submarines. The company won an $84 million contract on 11th January this year to install the system on these boats, although additional orders, if exercised, could take the value of this contract to $2.1 billion.

Raytheon is responsible for, among other products, the Dual Band Radar. According to the firm, this combines the attributes of its AN/SPY-3 multi-function X-band radar with its’ S-band Volume Search Radar; the latter of which equips the US Navy’s Zumwalt class destroyers and also the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier expected to join the fleet in circa 2015. Moreover, the firm is involved in the US

Navy Air and Missile Defence Radar (AMDR) to equip the Arleigh Burke class DDGs with a new S-band radar. In September 2010, the firm was awarded a $112.3 million contract, under Phase-II of the programme, to develop an S-band radar, and radar suite controller technology demonstrator.

Along with surveillance radar, Raytheon is involved with sonar products, chiefly the AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar which is deployed onboard the US Navy’s Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters. The company claims that; “the AN/AQS-22 is the only inservice dipping sonar with multi-frequency operation,” adding that this; “enables the AN/AQS-22 to adapt its performance to varying environmental conditions.” Entering production in 2006, the AN/AQS-22; “permits a longer detection range over a wider area, reducing the number of helicopters required to perform active anti-submarine warfare screening.”

In terms of additional airborne systems, Raytheon builds the AN/AQS-20A minehunting sonar, which the company says is; “the only system in service with proven single pass detection of volume and bottom mines.” Both the Sikorsky MH-53E and the MH-60S are able to deploy the AN/AQS32A, and this product has been integrated with the AN/WLD-1 Remote Minehunting Although it is one of the oldest radar in US Navy service, ITT’s AN/SPS-48 surveillance system is receiving a new lease of life via an upgrade which will radically modernise the radar and provide it with many more years of service © US DoD

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Raytheon’s AN/AQS-22 is deployed on board the Sikorsky MH-60R naval helicopters and its manufacturer claims that this sonar is the only dipping sonar available capable of performing multi frequency operation © Lockheed Martin

System for the US Navy. Low rate initial production commenced in 1999, and since 2001, 30 systems have been produced. The AN/AQS-20A is teamed with the AN/ASQ235 Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS) which outfits the MH-53E to destroy mines once they have been detected by the aircraft’s sonar. Integral to the AN/ASQ-235 are four BAE Systems Archerfish unmanned mine neutralisation vehicles which are manoeuvred towards the mine from the helicopter to ensure its destruction.

Back on the surface, Raytheon also manufacturers the ship-mounted AN/SQS-60 midfrequency sonar, which forms part of the US Navy’s Zumwalt class’s AN/SQQ-90 advanced undersea warfare capability. The

full AN/SQQ-90 suite includes the AN/SQS60 hull-mounted sonar and also the AN/SQS61 hull-mounted high frequency sonar, plus the AN/SQR-20 multi-function towed array sonar and handling system.

All of the companies discussed above are looking hard at how they will develop and improve their products in the future. Cassidian believes that, as far as radar is concerned; “the trend is clear: smaller, lighter systems which are more powerful in terms of resolution; and more versatile in the areas of air defence, sea surveillance and detection of asymmetric threats.” Raytheon, in particular, is exploring the possibilities that Gallium Nitride could offer to tomorrow’s surveillance radar. This material, which can be used as a semiconductor, oper-

Thales’s I-Mast design takes the innovative step of consolidating a ship’s communications systems and radar and integrating them into a single mast to reduce the topside footprint of a ship’s disparate antennae © Thales

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ates at higher temperatures and voltages compared to the Gallium Arsenide used in existing radar. Raytheon notes that the latter product has: “unique properties that can enhance the capabilities of existing radar systems to allow them to maintain the same level of capability, but with a smaller footprint, which reduces costs.”

As regards the future development of sonar systems, Selex Galileo believes that improvements in sonar data sharing will be an important. A statement released to the author by the company noted that the technological emphasis is likely to be placed on; “greater integration and sharing, and the exchanging of tactical data among all the different platforms present in the maritime warfare scenario.”

TRAINING AND SIMULATION

Training &

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Simulation in the

Asia Pacific USTRALIA HAS long had a considerable flight simulation capability, which it continues to develop as new platforms are acquired or upgraded. In early 2011 a major upgrade to the Australian Army's S-70A Black Hawk full-flight and mission simulator (FFMS) was completed and entered service with the Australian Army. CAE Australia, prime contractor under the Management and Support of the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) Aerospace Simulators contract, upgraded the Black Hawk FFMS with electronic warfare (EW) capabilities. The EW upgrade included the addition of a new missile warning system, countermeasures dispensing system, and missile warning sensors.

CAE also recently completed a visual upgrade of the simulator by adding its Medallion (TM)-6000 image generator, the company’s latest generation of image generator.

Simulators for a number of aircraft in service with the ADF are provided by Thales.

Among these is the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) AP-3C Orion Advanced Flight Simulator, which has Level 5 status and provides full flight performance, flight

There are live, constructive and virtual military simulation capabilities and facilities available to most militaries across the Asia Pacific region, produced both by external and local firms which, as simulation becomes increasingly sophisticated and an intrinsic part of the training process, the provision of new simulators to match new equipment and upgrades to existing facilities is a constant and ongoing process.

by Giles Ebbutt

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(Facing Page) An MRH-90 full mission simulator under construction at the Thales factory in Paris, prior to its being transported to Australia © Mario Guerra/Thales

The Australian Army's S-70A Black Hawk full-flight and mission simulator (FFMS) was recently upgraded by CAE Australia © CAE

deck and tactical training capabilities.

Thales is also providing the FFMS capability for the Australian Army’s Eurocopter Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) together with two Cockpit Procedure Trainers (CPT) under a A$150 million contract. Delivered in 2007 and based at the Army Aviation Training Centre at Oakley, Queensland, the FFMS platform uses two modules to replicate the aircraft’s front and

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rear cockpits which are mounted on separate, synchronized 6-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) motion platforms.

The simulators are equipped with Thales’s Computer Generated Forces software, SETHI, which simulates a realistic tactical environment for the aircrew. Nine channels feed a 240°view together with channels for generating sensor images. These infrared, TV and image intensified sighting systems

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are displayed by the ThalesVIEW visual image software, which draws on a visual database also developed by the company.

The CPT has the same cockpit and mission systems simulation as the FMSS, but with a reduced field of view visual system and no motion platform.

Thales is also supplying FFMS for the Australian MRH-90 helicopter, in conjunction with CAE Australia which is the prime contractor. Two of these have been ordered for delivery in 2012, one to be installed at Oakey and the other with 5th Aviation Regiment at Townsville, Queensland, The Australian Army uses both live and virtual simulation to support its training.

Project Land 134 CTC- Live Simulation (LIS) is a transportable Combat Training Centre The out-of-turret view in the ASLAV CPT © Thales

Range Instrumentation and Information System provided by Cubic. This includes direct and indirect fire simulation, plus medical modelling, via wireless medical tags worn by the players and is based on Cubic’s MILES laser technology together with its PCRange Instrumentation System which provides exercise control capabilities and streamlines the development of After Action Reviews (AAR) on personal or laptop computers. It is installed at the CTC in Townsville, but also supports exercises at various training locations elsewhere in Australia. It has a mobile Exercise Control with analyst stations, an expandable AAR trailer and portable ground relay stations.

To train personnel on the Australian Army Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) the ADF awarded an A$15 million contract to Thales in 2001 to supply Crew Procedure

Trainers (CPT). The CPT is housed in an ISO standard transportable container and provides realistic training for ASLAV commanders and gunners in a fully immersive environment with a complete suite of simulated sights, periscopes and out-of-turret visuals, plus a driver position which provides full interaction with intercom, radio, steering wheel and pedals. There is no motion platform.

The CPT is PC-based with a COTS computing architecture. 13 image generators provide 18 different views, including all weapon sights, 360° periscope and 180° out-of- turret vision plus night vision simulation. The simulator turret includes feed chutes and ammunition boxes for the ASLAV's M242 Bushmaster 25mm chain gun and the coaxial MAG 58 7.62mm machine gun.

The instructor station can create scenarios as required and the tactical environment model provides simulation of large, complex environments. The visual database enables rural and urban training using ThalesView and SETHI. The CPTs can be linked to permit collective training for platoons.

The first CPT was delivered in 2006 with a The CAE India ASTT in use with the Indian Navy at Mumbai © CAE India

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The Arjun MBT turret trainer produced by CAE India © CAE India

further eight by late 2008, spread across the School of Armour, and cavalry regiments at Darwin and Brisbane. By the end of that year they had had over 10,000 hours of operational use with over 1.2 million simulated rounds of ammunition fired across the three sites.

Finally, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has recently acquired a new bridge simulator at HMAS Watson, the RAN principal maritime warfare training establishment. The bridge simulator facility was originally

The Indian Navy (IN) has been using an Action Speed Tactical Trainer at its warfare training establishment at Mumbai since 2002

acquired from Atlas Electronik in 1987 and subsequently upgraded by Kongsberg in 1996. The 2010-2011 upgrade, also by Kongsberg, has provided a considerable increase in capability.

The existing main bridge full mission simulator has been upgraded and a second one added; both of these have a 240° view.

Four part mission simulators with 180-210° view have been added, together with 10 PC desktop simulator trainers for the navigation

faculty. The simulators replicate the full range of maritime operations likely to be experienced while on the bridge of a warship and can be reconfigured to match most classes of ship in the RAN’s current fleet. New functionality includes boat operations, interdiction and docking and beaching evolutions pertinent to the new Landing Helicopter Dock ships, the first of which is due to enter service in 2014.

The Indian Navy (IN) has been using an Action Speed Tactical Trainer at its warfare training establishment at Mumbai since 2002.

This was originally developed by Macmet, now part of CAE India, and is used for tactical and continuation training, for the development of tactics and doctrine and to support procurement, particularly during project definition.

A PC-based system operating on a LAN it uses almost entirely COTS hardware and consists of 16 cubicles, 12 with four Windows-based Multi-Functional Consoles,

two with five and two with six. All current IN combat systems can be simulated. Each cubicle also contains a tactical communication post, a plotting table, an LED display, an intercom, a public address system, a network printer, an LCD projector, an air plot screen, a fleet disposition board and EMCON/EEP state boards.

Up to 250 entities can be tracked at any time and up to five games can be played simultaneously in one environment, which is 2048 nm square. Originally provided as a generic geographic database, the IN has added further classified material.

A second ASTT with the same capability is being installed at the IN base at Kochi, with a third elsewhere in the pipeline, and these will be networked together.

The Scenario Toolkit And Generation Environment (STAGE) from CAE subsidiary Presagis, a simulation and training environment development tool, allows the ASTT to be linked to other simulators or ships and aircraft.

The Indian Army is acquiring nearly 1000 locally produced T-90 “Bhishma” main battle

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Interior of the T-90 Bhishma MBT turret trainer developed by the CAE India/Tata Technologies consortium © CAE India

tanks (MBT) over the next decade to add to the more than 600 T-90 it has already acquired from Russia as well as its current T72 and locally developed Arjun MBT fleet. To support the training on the both the Arjun and Bhishma the Indian Army will procure a new suite of simulators.

CAE India has developed Arjun and, twinned with Tata Advanced Systems, T-90 Bhishma training systems for the competition. These both include three simulators: a driver trainer, a gunner trainer and a gunnery crew trainer which can be housed in a container and deployed to different locations.

The simulators support individual initial and continuation skills training, crew training and, by networking crew trainers, low-level collective tactical training. The synthetic environment is created with Medallion-6000 image generation and CAE’s STRIVE computer generated forces software which is injected into all optics; the Arjun simulator also includes a 220°x 40° open hatch visual display. The simulators are mounted on 6-

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DOF motion platforms and have a comprehensive sound simulation system.

Neither system has yet been accepted by the Indian Army, although prototypes of both have been delivered for trials and testing. Zen Technologies, who have supplied a number of different simulators to the Indian Army including a BMP-II Integrated Missile Simulator with replica turret, are also understood to be competing.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will benefit from CAE’s recently-inaugurated aerospace and defence complex in Bangalore, which provides training for both military and commercial pilots on a range of aircraft in three full-mission simulators.

Also in Bangalore is India’s first advanced helicopter training centre, the Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF), jointly owned by CAE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). This contains a roll-on/roll-off cockpit full mission simulator, which enables cockpits simulating various mission types to be used. The “mothership” simulator platform encompasses a common 6-DoF motion system, vibration platform and visual display system. The visual system is

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

five-channels with a 220°horizontal by 60° vertical field of view. Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) projectors relay the out-thewindow scenes from a CAE Medallion-6000 image generator.

There is also a Level 5-equivalent Flight Training Device (FTD) which is a “docking station” to which any of the RORO cockpit modules can be attached, effectively converting the cockpits not being used in the fullmission simulator into an FTD. The docking station has its own three-channel, 150 x 40 degree visual system and independent computer complex. This will enable training on a second helicopter type when the full-mission simulator is in use.

In early 2011 the cockpit simulator for the civil variant of the HAL Dhruv helicopter was delivered to add to the existing Bell 412, and this will be followed later in the year by the military version to support IAF/Indian Army training and by the Eurocopter Dauphin.

Much of the simulation capability for the Singapore Armed Forces is supplied by the Training and Simulation division of ST Electronics. The Armoured Gunnery and Tactical Simulator (AGTS) is roll-in/roll-out system with changeable modules representing

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the turrets, interiors and armaments of a number of different armoured vehicles, including the AMX-13 SM1 light tank and the Bionix IFV. The simulator consists of a suite of spaces with projection screens, into which the training modules are placed, with the screens providing up to 360°out-of-hatch views.

The simulator provides individual and crew training, and individual modules can be networked together to provide tactical training, with a mix of vehicle types if required.

When withdrawn from the simulator the modules can be used for basic crew station familiarisation.

ST Electronics has also supplied the Full Mission Ship Handling Simulator at RSS Panglima - Changi Naval Training Base (CNTB), the principal training establishment of the Republic of Singapore Navy. The simulator, which has a 270° field of view and can be adapted to replicate a number of different platforms, provides training in ship handling, seamanship, navigation, basic radar operation techniques and team level training for watch keepers.

For the RSAF ST Electronics developed the Air Distributed Mission Trainer, delivered in 2006. This system allows fighter-controller interaction as part of a simulated network within a synthetic environment, enabling a number of aircraft to conduct simultaneous missions. It consists of six “mini-domes” into which replica cockpits from different aircraft

Much of the simulation capability for the Singapore Armed Forces is supplied by the Training and Simulation division of ST Electronics

types can be rolled in and out. In order to augment the number of pilots in the same synthetic environment, six fly-boxes are available. These are lower fidelity stations where pilots can participate in the same virtual battle. These fly-boxes can also be configured to Ground / Air Controlled Intercept (GCI/ACI) Stations. The CGF within the syn-

thetic environment are programmed with a rule-based artificial intelligence and can be “taught” air combat tactics.

In Thailand local firm Amornmas has developed its Small Arms Laser Training System (SALTS), which is a small scale laser training system for indoor use in use by the Thai armed forces. A laser transmitter is attached to the weapon and fired at the target board. A sensor at the target detects the laser shots, calculates and reports results on the shooter's screen. Depending on the weapon, both sound and recoil effects can be included.

Amornmas has also developed the Focuss2 simulator for forward observer training.

This is a simple large-screen projection system for indoor use on which either real terrain or computer generated imagery can be displayed. The system can simulate the firing of up to 20 artillery or mortar units simultaneously with appropriate visual and sound effects. Each fire mission can be recorded and then played back for AAR. Focuss-2 is in service with the Thai Army.

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UAVs in

Counter Insurgency Operations

The Australian Heron Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) detachment arrived in Afghanistan in July 2009 to provide a high resolution ISR in support of operations © ADF Commonwealth of Australia

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The road to protect deployed forces during counter insurgency operations within Afghanistan and Iraq has been a long one. The challenge is not over yet. The greatest threat to ground troops is without doubt the improvised explosive device (IED). As weapons of choice go, this one is able to not only cause serious injury and casualties, but to impede almost every aspect of Coalition operations within the field. Overcoming this threat – a bloody symbol of the asymmetrical and adaptable nature of insurgent warfare – will prove to be one of the greatest challenges faced by armed forces involved in the Middle East.

by John Mulberry

MAJOR part of this challenge has been to enhance the intelligence gathering capabilities of engaged forces. The ability for deployed troops to understand their surrounding, and for battle commanders to have advanced situational awareness is fundamental to successful operations in theatre. One way that armed forces have been tackling this issue is through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the use of which has been growing throughout the past decade as

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Imagery Analyst, Leading Seaman Neil Richards, monitors Heron's flight imagery from the intelligence control room at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan © ADF Commonwealth of Australia

forces seek more intelligent and covert ways to gather data on the battlespace.

Eyes in the sky

UAVs bring several significant advantages to counter insurgency operations over and above almost every other surveillance technology available for battlespace situational awareness. As the industry has advanced UAVs have gone from being able to provide a short

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amount of surveillance at short range, to being able to carry out 24 hour persistent surveillance, providing not simply information on what is happening in the battlespace, but the technology to build up patterns of behaviour and activity within the area. In other words, rather than just being able to see where IEDs are deployed, the technology is available to see who planted that IED and where they went afterwards, as well as to pick up anom-

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VEHICLES tures extended range satellite communications (SATCOM), fully redundant avionics, and automatic takeoff and landing (ATOL) systems with retractable landing gear.

The Heron TP, as a multi-purpose and multi-system UAV, is able to perform long range operations (36 hours) with multiple operational configurations and a large internal volume for a variety of payloads of around 1,000kg, including EO/IR/LRF, SAR, MPR, ELINT, COMINT and ESM. It is a much larger vehicle, with a length of 14 m, wingspan of 26m, and maximum take-off weight of 4,650 kg; and is capable of carrying out missions in all weather conditions.

Powered by a 1,200 hp Turbo Prop engine, it flies above commercial traffic at 45,000 ft, allowing for highly covert operations. It features line-of-sight data links, triple, fully redundant, state-of-the-art avionics and SATCOM for extended beyond line of sight range.

Smarter data

In November 2010 the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) began operation of the Kestrel Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) in Afghanistan on its Heron UAVs. Produced by Sentient Vision, the Kestrel software provides commanders with real-time Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) imagery processing for the detection and tracking of small moving targets within the observation area, such as dismounts and camouflaged vehicles. The system automatically processes EO and IR full motion video (FMV)

The ScanEagle UAS is also being used by US forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terror Š US Marine Corps

alies in the overage area that pose a threat to operations occurring within that space.

One of the most advanced systems in use with the Coalition to date is the IAI Heron UAV. Both the governments of Canada and Australia have deployed the system in support of military operations, with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) extending their contracts during 2010. Both countries operate the Heron UAV under a lease agreement with McDonald Dettweiler and Associates

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(MDA), with Canada exercising their first option to extend their agreement in May 2010 for the timeframe January through June 2011; and Australia extending in July 2010 for the timeframe January through December 2011.

The IAI Heron UAV family consists of the Heron 1, a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAS for strategic and tactical missions; and the Heron TP, an advanced, multipurpose MALE UAS with an extended performance envelope and a variety of payloads capability. The Heron 1 is 8.5 m in length and 16.6m in wingspan, with a maximum take-off weight of 1,250 kg. It accommodates payloads of up to 250 kg, and has demonstrated 52 hours of continuous flight. It can collect data simultaneously via its four sensors, and fea-

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The RAAF is operating the Heron-equipped GMTI from Kandahar Air Field

in order to detect items within the battlespace that can be easily missed by the human eye – greatly reducing the effects of human error and fatigue on collected data. It works by automatically highlighting movement within the field-of-view in difficult ground environments, such as shadowy, mountainous or urban terrain, that might otherwise be unobvious to ISR analysts, greatly enhancing the ISR capabilities of the UAV in operation. The system is plug-and-play, able to detect targets moving as slowly as 2 km/hr, and as small as 2x2 pixels, and sub-pixel target detection under optimal conditions. It provides realtime after action for forensic analysis and can track target Geolocation.

The RAAF is operating the Heron-

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equipped GMTI from Kandahar Air Field, where it is being used for ISR missions including counter-IED, battle damage assessment and mission overwatch. By automatically detecting moving targets too small or slow for human eyes to spot – which becomes especially important during long observation periods - software such as the Kestrel GMTI give a much clearer picture of the ground to battlespace commanders. Live imagery is able to be analysed live in both the Tactical Operations Centre (TOC) and with Remote Video Terminals (RVTs), effectively multiplying the capabilities of the UAV itself by enabling the coverage of wider areas without detriment of value of the data, quickly transforming that data into actionable intelligence.

Not only are systems such as the Kestrel GMTI enhancing the abilities of the UAVs they are carried by, they are also acting as a force

In August 2010 it was announced that Sentient Vision had also demonstrated and deployed the Kestrel MTGI on the ScanEagle UAV

multiplier for the forces deploying them. By reducing the reliance on human operators to scan through collected data in order to produce intelligence, the system reduces the amount of personnel required to operate UAV systems effectively, reducing pressure on resources and increasing productivity. The Kestrel MTI is also able to carry out convoy

route reconnaissance, with the potential to counter one of the biggest challenges faced by deployed forces, that of the safe transport of supplies, troops and equipments. By helping to increase the safety of these convoys – a major insurgent target for IEDs – the system is helping to keep more personnel out of harm’s way, while keeping costs low. Being able to interface with the UAV in the field without needing to change Ground Control Station hardware or support equipment is also a major benefit for armed forces that need greater capabilities without hitting defence budgets.

Operational flexibility

In August 2010 it was announced that

Watchkeeper will bring UK forces engaged in Afghanistan increased network-centric capabilities © Thales

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Kestrel software provides commanders with real-time ISR imagery processing © Sentient

Sentient Vision had also demonstrated and deployed the Kestrel MTGI on the ScanEagle UAV, which has been on tactical aerial reconnaissance deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan for the Australian land forces since 2006. The ScanEagle is a longendurance autonomous UAV that was developed by Insitu and Boeing. As well as being used by the US Navy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terror, the system is used by the ADF in long endurance ISR missions. Capable of flying above 16,000 feet, the UAV has also demon-

U NMANNED AERIAL strated the ability to provide persistent lowaltitude reconnaissance, which enables the UAV is required to loiter individually or in groups over trouble spots and provide data or communications relay.

For a vehicle of the ScanEagle’s size (4 ft long with a 10 ft wingspan), the payload and endurance combination of the system is largely unmatched by any other unmanned system. It features advanced stealth characteristics at very low altitudes with low acoustic, visual, and infrared range signature, an advanced muffler, a modular design, low personnel requirements and 24-hour endurance. As a standard payload the systems carries either an inertial stabilized EO or IR camera, gimballed to allow the operator to track both stationary and moving targets.

Earlier this month it was announced by Insitu Pacific and Selex Galileo that they would be collaborating on rapid integration of Selex Galileo’s high-resolution syntheticaperture radar (SAR) PicoSAR into the Integrator UAV in order to meet the needs of the ADF. The Integrator UAV, also known as

the Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS), builds on the design of the ScanEagle, which it is expected to supplement persistent maritime and land-based reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) missions. The US Navy signed a two-year deal with Insitu in mid2010 for the design, development and integration of the system, and it is highly likely

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Project Watchkeeper will be delivered to the British Army by Thales UK © Thales

that existing ScanEagle users will be interested in the enhanced capabilities offered by the new system.

Integrator features multi-function ball turret enabling sensors to be selected and changed during the mission, while cross-

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Canada and Australia operate the Heron UAV under a lease agreement with MDA © MDA

queued data keeps track of data; and the common ground support equipment supports mixed-fleet operations. Equipped with PicoSAR’s active electronically scanned array (AESA) and GMTI technology, Integrator will deliver among the highest-resolution SAR imagery available on any tactical UAS currently in service. Most importantly, the system is rapid-deploy for close-range targets, and with a focus on rapid payload integration, the UAV will bring significant flexibility to the operational capabilities to warfighters, enabling them to meet shifting requirements in unstable environments.

Network centric warfare

As the UAV market available advances, many armed forces are keen to field increasingly more capable UAV technology. Last year it was revealed that the ADF was to purchase 18 RQ-7B Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems (TUASs) and supporting systems for Australian troops operating in Afghanistan.

When the system comes into operation it will bring latest-generation combat-proven (by the US Army and Marine Corps) capabilities to the ADF, including advanced avionics technology, the ability to see targets up to 125 km away from the brigade tactical operations centre, and recognise tactical vehicles up to 8,000

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feet above the ground at more than 3.5 km slant range, day or night, keeping more troops protected against threats.

One of the biggest current upgrade programmes is the British Armed Force’s handover of Programme Lydian to Programme Watchkeeper, which is due to be complete by the end of 2011. Programme Lydian has seen the Elbit Systems’ Hermes 450 UAVs deliver aerial Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) for forces engaged in Afghanistan under a leasing agreement with the Thales UK and Elbit Systems’ joint venture UAS Tactical System (U-TacS). For the past three years the service has been operated on a fly-by-the-hour basis and is scheduled to run until the draw down of the Hermes 450 and handover to Project Watchkeeper is complete.

Project Watchkeeper will be delivered to the British Army by Thales UK, and will provide enhanced capabilities over the Hermes 450 system, including EO/IR imaging and synthetic aperture radar/ground moving target indicator (SAR/GMTI). The Watchkeeper

One of the biggest current upgrade programmes is the British Armed Force’s handover of Programme Lydian to Programme Watchkeeper ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

UAV has been flight tested in the UK at ParcAberporth and Salisbury Plains, and has carried out extensive trials for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). One of the most important features the Watchkeeper will bring to UK forces engaged in Afghanistan is the increased network-centric capabilities of the system. Rather than simply having a UAV payload collecting data with its sensors and feeding them to the GCS for analysis, the Watchkeeper is a wholly networked system that brings together the UAVs themselves, sensor-suites and ground-based exploitation segments to deliver a clearer picture of the battlespace to commanders, faster. The GMTI can persistently monitor activity with the field of view and build up patterns of activity to enhance the safety of deployed troops within the area, and to help analysts understand what is happening during that space over greater periods of time.

While programme such as Project Watchkeeper and RQ-7B Shadow TUAS are building on lessons already learnt by Coalition forces involved in the Middle East, perhaps the most vital feature of these systems is their ability to help warfighters carry out smarter counter insurgency operations.

By enabling sophisticated aerial ISR to be carried out at lower risk to personnel and delivering intelligence rather than data these UAV systems are making operations more efficient, and are ultimately saving lives.

REGIONAL NEWS A N D

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

Asia Pacific Procurement Update AUSTRALIA CAE completes Australian Army helicopter simulator upgrade

CAE Australia has completed major upgrade work on the Australian Army’s S-70A Black Hawk full-flight and mission simulator (FFMS) that will enhance training capabilities and ensure concurrency with the Army’s fleet of Black Hawk helicopters.

The work, completed on-schedule, is part of the Management and Support of the Australian Defence Force's Aerospace Simulators (MSAAS) contract, of which CAE Australia is the prime contractor. The FFMS has now entered service with the Army.

The upgrade work performed by CAE Australia has enhanced the system’s electronic warfare capabilities, including the addition of a new missile warning system, countermeasures dispensing system, and missile warning sensors. The work follows a recently completed upgrade of the simulator by adding the CAE Medallian-6000 image generator for visual training. The Medallion-6000 is based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) graphics processors from NVIDIA Corporation and delivers a range of new features and capabilities for the military simulation market including increased sustained polygon capacity of more than 100,000 polygons, meaning more realistic three-dimensional (3D) content and terrain detail; use of next-generation shaders to improve realism, such as dynamic shadows; and 3D volumetric cloud layers for

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enhanced training cues in adverse weather.

The Army’s S-70A Black Hawk FFMS upgrade will better will enhance the Army’s ability to carry out comprehensive helicopter training for its pilots, including training for landing, takeoff, weapons delivery, night flight, formation flight and cockpit familiarization in normal, adverse and emergency situations.

RAN’s first Landing Helicopter Dock launched

The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) first Canberra class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) has reached an important milestone with the launch of the hull in Spain by shipbuilding company Navantia at a ceremony attended by RAN Chief of Navy ViceAdmiral Russ Crane, Agent-General for Victoria Sally Capp and other Australian and Spanish dignitaries.

Under contract to BAE Systems, Navantia has constructed the hull up to the flight deck at the Ferrol Dockyard, Spain. The hull will now undertake a 23,150 kilometre journey to the Williamstown Dockyard, Victoria, in August 2012 where BAE Systems will consolidate the ship and integrate the combat system.

When complete, Ship 1 of the Canberra class LHDs will be the RAN’s biggest ever warship at 27,000 tonne. Under the contract with the Defence Materiel Office, BAE Systems Australia is to deliver two LHDs between 2014 and 2015 as part of JP2048 Phase 4A/4B of the Australian Defence ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

The total package for the RAAF’s fifth C-17 is estimated at $300 million © DoD

Amphibious Ships project.

The warships will greatly enhance the RAN’s ability to deploy land forces for combat operations and amphibious disaster relief; as well as for humanitarian, disaster relief and peacekeeping operations. The vessels will carry up to 1,000 personnel each, 150 armoured vehicles, and will each have six helicopter landing spots with provisions for a mix of troop lift and armed reconnaissance helicopters.

Australia requests fifth C-17

The Australian Government has requested the possible sale of a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from the US government, in a bid to discharge its unspent defence budget by the end of the 2010/2011 budget year.

The RAAF already flies four C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, and a fifth is being considered at an estimated cost of $300 million. Also requested as part of a potential purchase package is up to four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 engines, one AN/AAQ-24V(13) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) System, spare and repair parts, supply and test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical documentation, United States Government and contractor engineering, logistics, and tech-

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nical support services, and other related elements of logistics support.

A number of defence programmes, including the Airborne Early Warning Aircraft, the Air Warfare Destroyer programme, the Multi-Role Helicopter project and the Air-to-Air Refuelling Capability programme have experienced problems over the past year, which has led to a $528 million surplus in the current budget.

Australia’s C-17 fleet is based at RAAF Base Amberley. A fifth aircraft would significantly increase the RAAF’s ability to respond to humanitarian and disaster relief emergencies in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as enhance the country’s ability to rapidly deploy troops and equipment in support of coalition operations.

US Congress has been notified of the possible sale by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which would take place under the Foreign Military Sale route.

Australia orders Falcon III tactical radios for army

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has placed an order with Harris Corporation for Falcon III tactical radios as part of a networked battlefield communications system in Australian Army vehicles, bringing their networked Adaptive Army goals a step closer.

In a contract worth AUD $11 million, Harris is to supply the DoD with Falcon III PRC-152 handheld radios as well as the RF300M Trimline Vehicular Adapters for installation into a number of ground vehicles, including the Army Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles.

The radio systems — one of the most widely deployed systems in the world — will provide the framework for the integrated battlespace communications systems sought by the Australian Army. They provide interoperable tactical voice and data communications for both ground-to-ground and ground-to-air applications, linking vehicles, soldiers and commanders into a seamless communications network.

With a single channel power amplifier, the low-profile Falcon III RF-300M-TV Trimline Vehicular Amplifier is specifically designed to be fitted into vehicles where space is at a premium, with a single AN/PRC-152(C) serving as the dismountable handheld transceiver.

The TVA supplies 50 watts from 30 to 90 MHz, 20 watts from 90 to 512 MHz, and 50 watts for satellite communications, giving

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increased communications reliability in longrange applications. Users are able to switch between ground, ground-to-air, or SATCOM communications by selecting the required network on the radio, with separate VHF, UHF, and SATCOM ports with automatic port switching.

Boeing, Thales to pursue Helicopter Aircrew Training System for ADF

Boeing Defence Australia and Thales Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to submit a bid for the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF’s) Project Air 9000 Phase 7 – Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS).

Phase 7 of the programme will provide a rotary wing training capability for Navy and Army, to meet the future rotary wing training needs of the ADF. It will see the delivery of a system that encompasses elements of live, synthetic and classroom aviation instruction, to overcome the broadening gap between the current rotary training systems and the advanced operational helicopters in the current and planned future ADF inventories.

Boeing and Thales signed the MoU at the 2011 Australian International Airshow. The companies already have a long history of partnerships, including working together of F-111 programme, the Boeing 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control Wedgetail Operational Flight Trainer, and the C-17 Globemaster III aircrew training simulators.

The ADF is expected to issue the HATS request for proposal (RFP) later this year, and a number of other teaming agreements have already been made public, including AgustaWestland, CAE and BAE Systems, who will offer a light twin helicopter type and associated aircraft support services; and Lockheed Martin and Bristow Helicopters, who announced their intention to provide a comprehensive student-centred training design with a demonstrated cost-effective helicopter support capability earlier this month.

The contract will also include through-life support for the HATS including ongoing operation, maintenance and support of the HATS aircraft, potentially an Aviation Training Vessel, simulation and training systems and devices, and all associated facilities; all of which are intended to be conducted in Australia.

The contract is expected to be awarded during 2012.

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INDIA First C-130J inducted into Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has inducted the first of six C-130 J Super Hercules into service at a ceremony at Hindon Air Force Station, India, attended by senior representatives from the Indian and US governments on February 5.

The induction marks the first time India has fielded a Lockheed Martin C130 aircraft, and the first time in over two decades that the IAF has flown a US aircraft, since the Lockheed Super Constellation was retired. The contract for six units was placed in late 2008 under the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) route between the Indian and US governments. A further five aircraft are due for delivery by the end of 2011.

The contract includes six aircraft, 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-country for an initial three year support period. Equipment to meet India’s specific operating requirements is also included in the package, in order to increase the Special Operations capabilities of the aircraft.

The aircraft are equipped with an Infrared Detection Set (IDS) to allow low level precision flying, airdrops and landing in blackout conditions. Selfprotection and other systems have also been included to ensure aircraft survivability in hostile air defence environments; and air-to-air receiver refuelling capability for extended range operations have also been included.

Designed to operate out of austere, high elevation airstrips in hot conditions the C-130J is well suited to India’s operational needs and will significantly enhance the IAF’s troop, cargo and equipment transport capabilities.

Textron to supply India with Sensor Fuzed Weapons

Textron Defense Systems is to provide the Indian Air Force (IAF) with CBU105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) under

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MALAYSIA HeiTech Padu Berhad and Thales Nederland sign MoU

The IAF’s CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon acquisition is expected to equip Jaguar squadrons © DoD

a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) between the governments of the US and India. The contract is worth USD $257 million, with $126 million funded immediately.

Designed with redundant technologies to meet current clean battlefield standards and eliminate risk to civilians and non-combatants, the Textron Defense Systems’ SFW is the only air-delivered weapon that meets the strict unexploded ordnance (OXO) criteria for cluster munitions, and is the first combat-proven clean weapon in the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) inventory. This requires less than one per cent UXO in intended operational environments as set by the US Secretary of Defense in June 2008.

The SFW contains Textron Defense Systems’ BLU-108 submition and smart Skeet warheads equipped with dual-mode passive infrared and active laser sensors.

The weapon is designed to ensure safety mode activation if the warhead does not detect a valid target over its lofted trajectory. The weapon has three safety modes, the first two modes together deliver more than 99 per cent reliability, and work by enabling the Skeet to self-destruct after eight seconds from launch or within a 15 metre altitude above the ground. The third mode automatically renders the Skeet inoperable via self-deactivation within minutes of hitting the ground.

Embraer unveils India’s 145 AEW&C platforms

Embraer has unveiled the first EMB 145 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft it is building for the

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Indian government at a ceremony held at its headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil.

The aircraft is the first of three AEW&C platforms being built for India.

The aircraft will now undertake intensive ground and flight tests ahead of transport to India where it will receive equipment being developed by India’s Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).

The EMB 145 AEW&C platform is based on the Embraer ERJ 145 regional jet, and features an in-flight refuelling system, SATCOM capability, a significant increase in electrical and cooling capacities, and a comprehensive set of aerodynamic and structural changes. The DRDO is currently developing advanced electronic systems for the jet in coordination with the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS).

The EMB 145 AEW&C will bring advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to the Indian defence forces, with its ability to detect, track and identify targets in its patrol area and forward these data so as to give friendly forces an accurate and comprehensive operational picture. It features high-performance, multi-mode active phased-array AEW radar, a powerful command and control system and a comprehensive set of support systems like ESM, self-protection and communications, including data-links; and is capable of detecting and tracking both sea and airborne targets, over land and water, all with an impressive instrumented range.

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The Malaysian defence industry has received a significant boon with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between HeiTech Pedu Berhad and Thales Nederland for the development of a Malaysian Naval Combat Management System.

Under the agreement, HeiTech Padu will be involved in Thales Nederland’s Tacticos Combat Management System that is currently being built for the modernisation of the modernisation of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN). The system of the same name being offered for the RMN’s Second Generation Patrol Vessel will also be developed and produced in Malaysia by both companies under a transfer of technology arrangement and a sophisticated joint software development environment.

The Thales Tacticos Combat Management System integrates the ship’s sensors and information of other parties for real time situational awareness, and is known for its reliability and ability to integrate with virtually anything. It has become one of the world’s most widely used combat management system in service with well over 50 navies (both NATO and non-NATO) on more than 130 platforms of all types.

The system performs surveillance and picture compilation using the onboard sensors and tactical data links.

Anti Air warfare, anti submarine warfare and electronic warfare are supported by threat evaluation, manual and automatic sensor and weapon assignment and kill assessment. Further support services include decision making support, planning tools, built-in training and maintenance support.

Malaysia’s fledgling defence industry is expected to benefit from the MoU, with the companies announcing that an in-country support facility for the system will be established immediately.

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TAIWAN CAE to provide P-3C training devices from US Navy

The United States Navy has issued a contract to CAE for the design and manufacture of a suite of P-3C Orion training devices for the Taiwan Navy. The Taiwanese government has ordered the equipment for the fleet of 12 P-3C aircraft obtained under the US government in 2007.

The contract with CAE was awarded under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, and will see CAE design and manufacture a P-3C operational flight trainer (OFT) and a P-3C operational tactics trainer (OTT). The P3C OFT will be a Level D equivalent flight simulator and used to train the pilots and co-pilots of Taiwan’s P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The P-3C OTT will be used to train the sensor operators in the P-3C aircraft.

The Taiwan Navy ordered the P-3C Orion fleet in order to enhance their ability to carry out maritime patrol and reconnaissance, search and rescue, drug interdiction, economic zone patrol, airborne early warning and electronic warfare. In 2007 Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract to upgrade the fleet with new mission system avionics and service life extension kits to extend the aircrafts’ service life for an additional 15,000 flight hours.

The system upgrades include installation of electronic support measures, acoustics, communications, electro-optic and infrared systems, and new data management software and hardware, controls, displays and mission computers. The service life extension kits include new outer wings, centre wing lower surfaces, horizontal stabilizers, horizontal stabilizer leading edges and nacelle components. In January 2011 Lockheed Martin was further awarded a contract for new avionics components.

The CAE training devices are scheduled for delivery to Taiwan in 2014.

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A number of factors, including that the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) current fighter jet fleet, which includes the F-4 Phantom and F-5, are nearing the end of their service life, is forcing the government to overcome current delays on the acquisition programme. Many of South Korea’s nearest neighbours have already unveiled plans to enhance their aerial defence capabilities in light of North Korea’s growing unpredictability, including Japan’s plans to buy Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets, and China’s J-20 stealth fighter development programme.

Possible options for the South Korean government are the US F22, which is currently unavailable for foreign purchase; the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle, and the Eurofighter Typhoon. The preferred option is believed to be the Lockheed Martin F-35.

Also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the F-35 integrates advanced very low observable stealth into a supersonic, highly agile 5th generation fighter. The capabilities built into the F-35 provide the pilot with unprecedented situational awareness and unmatched lethality and survivability; and the aircraft features network-enabled mission systems, sensor fusion, supportability and maintainability.

The preferred option for South Korea’s ‘stealth bomber’ requirement is expected to be the Lockheed Martin F-35 © DoD

SOUTH KOREA South Korea outlines stealth bomber plans

The South Korean Defence Ministry has announced plans to purchase stealth bombers in an effort to bolster the country’s self defence capabilities in the face of North Korea’s military growing military capabilities.

As part of the ongoing F-X fighter programme, the Defence Ministry is already purchasing 60 high performance fighters from the US in an as-yet to begin third phase of the programme. Current timelines have the programme beginning during 2011 with purchasing to take place during 2015.

THAILAND Thailand receives Gripen fighter jets

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has taken delivery of six Gripen fighter jets from Sweden, following the flight from Sweden to their new home at Wing 7 in Surat Thani in Southern Thailand on 22 February.

The delivery brings the initial order between Thailand and Sweden to a close. In 2008 Thailand ordered a complete air defence system, consisting of six Gripen aircraft (four Jas 39D and two 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. The first part of the system was delivered in late 2010 by the FMV, and Swedish pilots and technicians will now help

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the RTAF introduce the system into service.

The agreement also includes logistical support and training for RTAF pilots, as well as simulators. The contract also includes technology transfer, and Sweden will transfer the latest technology in advanced military aircraft to Thailand.

The Gripen fighter aircraft is capable of performing an extensive range of air-to-air, air-to-surface and reconnaissance missions employing the latest weapons. The aircraft is the world’s most agile fighter for close combat, with a highly developed secure and multi-frequency data link, providing total situational awareness for the pilot in all roles.

Under an additional agreement initiated in 2010, the FMV will deliver an additional six Gripen fighters of the latest C version, as well as a Saab 340 with Erieye radar and the Swedish missile RB 15F, during the period 2012 – 2-13.