Asian military review 2012v20n3

VOLUME 20/ISSUE 3

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Contents JUNE 2012 VOLUME 20 / ISSUE 3

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Future Soldier: Asia-Pacific Style

Front Cover Photo: France has ordered 22,588 FELIN systems from Sagem, which now equips five regiments with the system and its component subsystems now being offered in the region.

FELIN's first foreign deployment began last December in Afghanistan, with France’s La Fayette Task Force © Sagem

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Adam Baddeley Rather than an annex to efforts elsewhere in the world, the breadth and scope of soldier modernisation in the Asia-Pacific warrants equal focus as systems developed in the region are being fielded and seeing combat

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Strike & Survive!

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Doug Richardson Aircrew tasked with striking deep into enemy airspace to destroy point targets need air-to-surface weapons that will allow them to remain outside the coverage of enemy medium-range SAMs, but which have the accuracy needed to land within a few metres of their intended aim point

Asian Fast Attack and Special Operations Craft

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Ted Hooton The force structure and inventory of smaller navies are driven as much by geography & operational requirements as financial ones.

For many the fast attack craft, a patrol-boat- based platform has been a major part of the fleet

Distant Eyes: Airborne ISR Martin Streetly In a region that boasts two economic super powers and three of the world’s nuclear weapon capable countries, it would be odd indeed if the nations of the Asia-Pacific region did not take airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance seriously

18 Joint Training and Simulation for Regional Armed Forces Giles Ebbutt As military helicopter usage expands and new aircraft are introduced, training provision has to keep up, with the advantages of and advances in simulation being leveraged to provide the maximum return on investment

42 Area Communications: Unifying the Battlefield

Andy Oppenheimer Weapons containing a CBRN component continue to be a credible, if unpredictable and unquantifiable, threat to both troops and civilians in several theatres

Adam Baddeley Area communications provides the essential glue to connect local pockets of connectivity created around companies, battlegrounds, battalions and brigades, via high capacity links to and from higher echelons of command

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Similar confrontations have occurred in the past and they re-emerge later, sometimes some years later. But what if this isn’t one of those episodic clashes?

Some have speculated that the two could come to real blows by accident, the result of a fracas between some combination of fishing fleets or maritime patrol vessels.

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In contrast, all the Philippines has to offer is a single ex-Hamilton class cutter, formerly part of the US Coast Guard. Another is on the way.

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re you going to Scarborough Shoal, Huangyan Island or Panatag Shoal? Apologies to Simon and Garfunkel and others, but it looks like more and more people will indeed be going there. It began when China blocked an attempt by the Philippines on April 8 to arrest Chinese fishermen who were allegedly taking protected species from the area. It rapidly built up with further fishing vessels as well as patrol vessels from both countries participating in a tense stand-off.

China’s military force will benefit from an 11.2 percent increase in official defence spending this year, doubling the figure in 2006 and it is expected to double again by 2015. In recent months, Major General Luo Yuan, executive director of the China Military Science Society has called for the establishment of a coast guard to strengthen current efforts led by the State Oceanic Administration to enforce China’s claims to the South China Sea. Subsequently, Wu Ping, the deputy head of the China Marine Surveillance agency has also said that China will increase patrols in national waters to protect the nation’s maritime interests. It all builds up to the ways and means to project force without necessarily the use of explicitly naval assets.

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Editorial

China however, appears to have called a halt to what ever strategy it is pursuing calling a moratorium on fishing in order to “replenish stocks” but this comes to an end on August 1st. When this date comes it will be interesting to see what comes next. Will the confrontation recommence or will it go away for a time as before?

If it’s the former it will mark a new strategy is which China has opted to pursue a policy of slowly exhausting its opponents in the South China Sea one by one, picking off the demonstrably weaker such as the Philippines by reducing their ability to protect and pursue their claims to an EEZ, by flooding a contested area with fishing boats backed up by harassment by maritime ‘police’. China may win this battle of endurance and avoid the international opprobrium that would be associated with a naval clash with significant fatalities similar to Johnson South Reef in 1988. If accurate, it’s a sound strategy.

To a degree this should be welcomed. Avoiding military conflict in the South China Sea is a good thing. However the objectives are still the same, seizing the territorial and economic rights without recourse to negotiation, compromise or an international court. That shouldn’t be overlooked.

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

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Elbit Systems have supplied the C4I system for Land 125 Phase 3A © Elbit Systems

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Future

Rather than an annex to efforts elsewhere in the world, the breadth and scope of soldier modernisation in the Asia-Pacific warrants equal focus as systems developed in the region are being fielded and seeing combat.

by Adam Baddeley

Soldier: Asia-Pacific

Style ACMS

Singapore’s Advanced Combat Man System (ACMS) has been the standard bearer for indigenous solutions in the region. Developed by ST Electronics, three battalions were equipped with ACMS by last year although it is unclear whether further roll outs have occurred. Meanwhile, work has begun on a new version of the system, in line with the programme’s technology goals.

At the Singapore Air Show in February, ST Electronics outlined the developmental road map for the system, detailing three variants; Commander, Lite and Fighting. A key element of ST Electronics’ work on ACMS has been a progressive reduction in weight from the 18Kg for the ACMS 1A in 1999 to the 12Kg of the 1B in 2003 with a further 1Kg drop in weight to ACMS 1Be in 2005. The ACMS 1C which weighs 8Kg has formed the basis of the inservice system with the developmental track continuing to feed tech insertion into the equipment.

The current set of equipment appears to correspond with what is referred to as the First Delivery by ST Electronics.

The details of new capabilities for the second delivery would seem to include integration with surveillance sensors, wireless connectivity, smart vests and a fuel cell which are all undergoing experimentation under the developmental track. The second delivery of ACMS also corresponds with the development Three batallions of the SAF are equipped of ACMS Lite. It is underwith ACMS © AJB stood that funding for the

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ACMS Second Delivery is as yet unfunded but may begin within the next two years. The follow-on ACMS 3 is now on the cards and although a date has not been set, it is expected to occur by the end of this decade although some of the capabilities are expected to be sufficiently mature to be added to the system include a sniper detection capability, life sensors, IFF, voice command and target acquisition. The HMD is also moving toward a either a helmet or goggle mounted look up or glance down display.

The current ACMS communications solution consists of the Data-Enabled Digital Radio the Selex SSR+ and second WiFi based Mesh network which does not however operate at the 802.11 prescribed 2.4Ghz standard, for high capacity links to UAVs, Unattended Ground Sensors and Unmanned Ground Vehicles. New elements being developed include a Forward Sensor System and the hand thrown Tactical Throwing Sensor. The ACMS Commander Variants has the same communications solution.

The ACMS weapon sub-system uses six quick-buttons on the vertical foregrip on a much modified SAR21. The quick button allows for target marking, press to talk, changing map resolution, video view, still image capture and video recording.

The weapon subsystem also includes an Integrated Digital Compass.

The new Lite Variant is, as its name suggests in a reduced solution with single radio, chest mounted handheld computer for SA and navigation module with indoor/outdoor navigation and a Dead Reckoning Module.

New items at high TRL levels includes two candidates for the soldier computer the RCD1000 and RCD2000 as well as a refined battery while retaining the existing systems control and hand held display.

For future C2 application, ST Electronics is using Android and iOS, using a software stack for mobile devices that includes an

MKU’s solutions for FINSAS cover both body armour and night vision equipment Š AJB

[Land 125 Phase 4] is currently in its Project Definition stage with a First Pass initial approval expected by late 2013 06

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MODERNISATION operating system, middleware and key applications and exploit commercial type user interfaces which young soldiers are already familiar with. BMS features comprise SA with the display showing friendly forces and offline maps which does not pull data from the server and because of the use of light weight processing, also has low power consumption.

ST Electronics are also exploring the use of 3G and 4G, using mobile base stations and Field Deployable Base Stations both dubbed SIABS ,linking the other soldiers and vehicles and with a high capacity IP Backhaul system.

Irrespective of the soldier system selected Malaysia’s SAKTI programme will use the M4A1 assault rifle Š AJB

In terms of lethality, STK is developing a new assault rifle to replace the SAR-21 based solution currently used with both bullpup and conventional layouts planned.

A Smart Vest is also being developed with cabling woven into the vest as well as a personal area network. Work is also underway to create greater integration with the training systems which for example would used shared components from ACMS to create inputs into the training systems using for example the existing comms to link to backhaul relays to the control centre while the

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Malaysia’s Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence is supporting SAKTI via studies on ergonomics, comfort, vision systems and situational awareness

addition of a Zigbee Body Area Network would link to the ACMS computer and to additional training elements such as a laser transmitter and a laser detector.

Land 125

Australia’s Land 125 Phase 3 Phase 2 has been completed with Phase 3 now being acquired. This consists of three integrated projects: 3A for C4I with Elbit selected for the BMS in 2010; 3B Soldier Combat Ensemble and 3C is the Enhanced Austeyr.

Diggerworks, which was formally opened in August 2011 has been set as the Project lead for Land 125 Phase 4. The project is current-

ly in its Project Definition stage with a First Pass initial approval expected by late 2013.

The programme is likely to include an enhanced C2 SA system.

Australian Special Operations Forces are currently evaluating two new helmets the Ops-Core FAST Ballistic Helmet or the Crye Airframe Helmet. At the end of 2013, the data from the trial will be used to establish a functional performance specification for a subsequent competitive tender.

For the conventional Army, Australia is introducing new suspension and retention systems for its Rabintex Enhanced Combat Helmet in 2011. In terms of uniform, a new Multicam solution has been acquired and deployed in 2012. Australia acquired full rights for the development of a modified Australian pattern to meet local needs. A new TBAS solution has ben deployed, significantly reducing worn weight as did a decision to deploy smallFuture iterations of er, 35 litre packs, and ACMS will use thown the new TBAS system UGVs (c) AJB which replaces previ-

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ously issued body armour and load carriage items. Other key changes designed to reduce weight can be found in Australia’s Standard Operating Procedure for ammunition and equipment carriage in Afghanistan. The default ammunition carriage for a rifleman is now 150 rounds of 5.56mm, two Hand Grenades and One Smoke Grenade. This is rigorously enforced. In 2012, Diggerworks began trials of individual water purification systems for water taken from rivers and irrigation canal aimed at reducing the 3Kg of water currently carried.

Sakti

Malaysia’s marker for soldier modernisation domain is SAKTI (Soldier Advanced Kombat Technology Integrated) currently in its Study phase. A test bed of the systems was deployed as part of a wider exercise in November 2011 with the plan being to expand the number of systems to create an experimental platoon sized unit by late 2012. Not included in the current Five Year Plan, some believe it could be included in the Network Centric Operation Programme Phase 1B after 2014. Phase 1A of the programme is being undertaken by Sapura.

Sapura, working closely with Thales outlined a complete system at DSA 2012 contained within Head Sub-System, Body SubSystem and a Weapon Sub-System. This included a Rifle Control Unit, used to control head and body worn system is similar to the Kord Defence SmartGrip RIC developed in partnership with Thales Australia as well as an secure IP based radio similar to a Thales St@rmille radio. In SAKTI experimentation, the Malaysian Army have used the Thales NORMANS with the St@rmille as the bearer network.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Defense's Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence (STRIDE) is supporting SAKTI via studies on ergonomics, comfort, vision systems and situational awareness and has developed a new camouflage design which will be tested this year. In terms of lethality, Colt is expected to begin local production of the M4A1 for the Malaysian Armed Forces in 2014.

Rifles) paramilitary battalions. The efforts were divided into three phases; the first addresses small arms and protection systems, the second focusing on enhancement to ISR capabilities while the third would deliver a fully integrated system with C4I capability. While the distinct phases have become less apparent in official comments, the order in which capability is delivered remains broadly in place. Phase 1 and Phase 2 of F-INSAS have had their Acceptance of Need documents signed off, the first step toward procurement.

This has yet to occur for Phase 3.

Needless to say delays have been encountered for example a test-bed or prototype of the Phase 3 solution which was due to be fielded at around 2020, was due to be ready in 2012-13.

Clothing is outside of the coverage of F-INSAS as is Rolta are working with Rheinmetall and Cobham for F-INSAS related work © AJB

F-INSAS

India’s soldier modernisation efforts are encompassed in the Future Infantry Soldier As a System (F-INSAS) programme.

Originally this would, by 2020 have covered all the Army’s 359 infantry battalions and 66 associated Rashtriya Rifles (RR or National

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CBRN detection and protection for the dismounted soldier.

Two key Indian programmes in Phase 1 are the 44,000 requirement for a CQB Carbine an RFI for which was issued in mid 2011, bids have now been submitted with the customer undertaking the Technical Evaluation which should lead to a request for samples for trials later this year. A larger 66,000 requirement for an Assault Rifles was issued with an RFI in 2011 with responses due to be submitted in April. The requirement calls for a weapon along with a reflex sight, laser pointer and dayscope with around 7000 Underbarrel grenade launchers. It is thought that the expected bidders include Arsenal, Beretta, Ceska, Colt, Israel Weapon Industries and Sig Sauer.

Beretta’s 9mm MX-4 was ordered by India’s Border Security Force

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MODERNISATION with an order for 34,000 personal weapons made in February 2011 which has recently been completed.

In regards to body armour a first RFP for a modern, light weight systems with NATO STANAG 3+ protection was issued and then retracted due to issues with the methodology adopted with a new RFP expected in Q2 or Q3 this year. It is a ‘Buy India’ projects with 189,000 systems required, rising to a total requirement for 350,000. In addition an RFP for a new helmet with passive hearing protection was issued in January and will provide protection against 9mm rounds.

While the debate on whether India should use public-owned or private companies is not new, Phase 1 of F-INSAS is partly by necessity but also partly by design an open competition. There is now more internal debate on Phase 2 on whether the hightechnology element of Phase 2 should be run via a competitive process. The requirement covers a wide range of capabilities with F-INSAS related RFIs of I2 weapons sight and Uncooled TI Weapons sights with

industry expecting movement on the area early next year.

Acquisition of night vision equipment continues outside the programme. Two examples being an ongoing requirement to provide I2 weapon sights for the AK47 for Indian special forces for which trials have recently taken place and the uncooled Hand

Phase 1 and Phase 2 of F-INSAS have had their Acceptance of Need documents signed off, the first step toward procurement. This has yet to occur for Phase 3

Held Thermal Imager programme, led by the Director General Mechanised Infantry.

This programme is currently in trials and evaluation with the decision expected by the end of the year.

In terms of situational awareness in

Phase 3, there is currently a debate on whether this capability should be met via India’s BMS programme which is on the cusp of issuing Expression of Interest and will be fielded sooner. This approach is favoured by the Mechanised Infantry but not by dismounted formations and in any case it would address C4I rather than the ‘simpler’ Situational Awareness and few of the other integrated capabilities that are conceived under Phase 3.

Others

Japan’s Advanced Personal Armament System programme has the delivery of first system scheduled for later this year with Hitachi as the prime, the HMD by Shimadzu, an NEC IR camera and a Brentronics power solution namely their 10.8V SMP battery.

New Zealand’s efforts have moved up a gear with the Network Enabled Army concept added to the Defence Capability plan in 2011.

Pakistan has completed testing of Aselsan’s PRR last Summer but is now seeking a radio with greater anti-jam capabilities.

PR EC I SI ON E N G A G E M E N T

A Sagem AASM rocket-powered ‘smart’ bomb falls away from a Rafale trials aircraft © DGA

Strike &

Survive!

Aircrew tasked with striking deep into enemy airspace to destroy point targets need air-to-surface weapons that will allow them to remain outside the coverage of the enemy’s medium-range surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), but which have the accuracy needed to land within a few metres of their intended aim point.

by Doug Richardson

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n any chart of enemy air defences, a feature that will catch the attention of pilots is the location of SAM sites. A suitably-sized circle drawn around each of these locations will indicate the region that the attacker should stay clear of. Typically such circles will be around 25km

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for systems such as the S-125 (SA-3 ‘Goa’) and Kub (SA-6 ‘Gainful’) or around 40km for systems such as the Improved Hawk or earlymodel Buk (SA-11 ‘Grizzly).

The most basic air-to-surface weapon that will allow this sort of standoff range is the glide bomb.

Rafael Advanced Defense System’s SPICE (Smart Precise Impact and Cost Effective) is an add-on kit to convert standard bombs into glide weapons steered by GPS/INS guidance and an electro-optical terminal seeker exists in two variants – SPICE 2000 based on a 2,000lb Mk 84 bomb, and SPICE 1000 based on a 1,000lb class bomb body. These have maximum range of 60+km and 100km respectively.

A datalink allows aircrew to positively identify a target, conducting a more accurate attack than would be possible with unaided GPS/INS guidance. It also allows the weapon to be used even if GPS performance is degraded by jamming.

India and Singapore are believed to be two of the three unidentified export customers announced by Rafael.

Spice 1000 introduced the use of pop-out wings, mounted below the warhead. Rafael is now studying how similar wings could be installed on SPICE 2000 in place of the four large constant-chord wing surfaces currently used. This would extend the range, probably to around 100km.

In December 2003, the Pakistan press reported that test launches of a 120 km range stand-off weapon designated H-4 had been conducted. This weapon is understood to have been procured for use on the PAF’s F-16, Mirage 3 and Mirage 5 aircraft. This range matched that announced for Denel Dynamics’ Raptor II air-to-surface missile. A 60km range H-2 weapon also described in Pakistani press

SAGEM is reported to be negotiating with India on a possible contract that would supply the company’s Armement Air-Sol Modulaire ‘smart’ bombs

reports could be a version of Denel’s Raptor I. Powered bombs are another potential way of achieving stand-off range. The only one known to be in service in the region is the Boeing AGM-130. Although South Korea announced a plan to acquire 116 Boeing AGM-130 in 1996, a subsequent FMS contract announced in 2001 covered only 42 munitions.

SAGEM is reported to be negotiating with India on a possible contract that would supply the company’s AASM (Armement AirSol Modulaire) ‘smart’ bombs to arm the IAF’s Sukhoi Su-30MKIs, Mirage 2000Hs, upgraded Jaguar IS/IBs, and the planned Indian Navy MiG-29Ks. This process has been under way for some time, but no order has been announced.

The AASM consists of a guidance unit, a warhead, and a tail kit incorporating folding fins and a solid-propellant rocket motor. The weapon exists in four variants – the original AASM 250, followed by AASM 125, 500 and 1000. In all cases, the numerical part of the designation corresponds to the warhead weight in kilogrammes.

While the baseline weapon uses GPS/INS guidance to provide an all-weather accuracy of 5 to 10m, an imaging infra-red (IIR) terminal-guidance seeker is available to provide an accuracy of typically 3 to 5m. A version incorporating a semi-active laser (SAL) seeker is expected to be available for delivery in 2012.

A millimetric-wave seeker is reported to be under development, along with a datalink that would allow the missile to be updated or

Rafael’s SPICE 1000 (front) and 2000 (rear) were developed to deliver heavy warheads from outside the range of enemy defences © Doug Richardson

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retargeted in flight.

If released from high altitude, AASM 250 has a maximum range of 55km. This falls to 15km for a low-altitude release.

Several patterns of guided missile that combine the required stand-off range and good terminal accuracy are already in service in the region.

India is understood to have ordered 30 Popeye television (TV) or imagining infrared (IIR) air-to-surface missiles from Rafael (now Rafael Advanced Defense Systems) in 2001.

First deliveries were reported in 2006.

Thought to arm the Mirage 2000H, these missiles are designated Crystal Maze, and may be a lighter-weight derivative of the Popeye 2 (Have Lite) specifically designed for use on the Mirage 2000. It is reported to carry an 80kg warhead over a range of 80-100km.

Under an FMS contract announced in 2001, South Korea acquired 42 Lockheed Martin AGM-142 (Popeye) missiles. The US company builds the AGM-142 under licence both for the Israeli Air Force and for some export customers.

If these missiles, and the 51 AGM-142E ordered by Australia, are the standard AGM142 variant, they can deliver a 1,360 kg warhead over ranges of up to 80 km. The Australian missiles entered service on that country’s F-111G fleet in 2006, but these aircraft were retired in 2007. The current status

of Australia’s AGM-142s is unknown.

In 2004 South Korea became the first export customer for the Boeing AGM-84H SLAM Expanded Response (SLAM-ER). This is a longer-ranged version of the earlier AGM-84E SLAM, which was the first landattack derivative of the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.

The main changes needed to create the SLAM had been to replace the Harpoon's active radar seeker with the WGU-10/B imaging infrared (IIR) seeker used in the AGM-65D

Now that India has selected the Rafale to meet its MMRCA requirement, it remains to be seen which missiles it will select to arm its new fighter

This demonstration flight shows the high accuracy of the AGM-130 rocket-powered glide bomb © Boeing

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Israel Military Industries Delilah cruise missile has been promoted at recent defence exhibitions © Doug Richardson

Maverick air-to-surface missile, and the addition of a GPS receiver and a datalink.

SLAM-ER introduced a new wing assembly adapted from that used on the Tomahawk cruise missile, a heavier warhead, and an improved fuze and datalink.

These changes increased the range from the 95km of SLAM to 280km.

The new missile was cleared for use on South Korea’s new F-15K Slam Eagle fighters, being launched from that aircraft for the first time in March 2006.

Taurus Systems is reported to be marketing its KEPD 350 cruise missile to South Korea and three other counties, but so far the only export order to be announced is from Spain, which plans to acquire 43 to arm its

PR EC I SI ON E N G A G E M E N T

upgraded EF-18 (F/A-18) Hornets, then the Eurofighter Typhoon.

As we closed for press in April 2012, India was reported to be about to begin a series of flight tests of its planned Nirbhay land-attack cruise missile. Understood to be under development by the Aeronautical Development Establishment at Bangalore, this could be deployed in surface and air-launched forms.

Nirbhay is believed to be 6m long with a diameter of 520mm, and to weight around 1,000kg at launch. It is expected to be subsonic, and to have a range of 600km or more while carrying a 450kg warhead. Mid-course guidance is reported to be INS/GPS, with a radar or IR terminal seeker being used in the final stages of flight.

The equivalent Pakistani programme is the Ra'ad (Hatf-8). What was probably the first flight test was reported in August 2007 from a PAF Dassault Mirage IIIEA. Further flights were reported in 2008 and 2011.

The missile is 4.85m in length, has a fuselage of rectangular cross-section, and deploys fold-out wings of approximately 8.2m span.

The tailplane features end-mounted fins.

Ra’ad is understood to weigh 1,100kg and to have a maximum range of 350kg with a 500kg class payload.

The Raduga Kh-59MK2 is a specialised landattack version of the Kh-58ME standoff weapon © Allocer via Wikipedia Commons

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This frame from a trials video shows Pakistan’s Ra'ad (Hatf-8) cruise missile during an early flight test © Pakistan MoD

A ventral air intake feeds a small turbojet or turbofan (probably of Chinese origin) mounted in the rear fuselage.

Mid-course guidance is likely to be INS/GPS. Although the nose of the trials missiles seem to be solid, according to reports in the Pakistani press, the operational missile will have a nose-mounted imaging infrared seeker for terminal guidance.

According to Pakistan’s Interservices Public Relations service, the missile has a low probability of detection due to the use of unspecified stealth features and the materials from which it is constructed.

Reports that India is evaluating the Israel Military Industries Delilah family of airbreathing vehicles have never been confirmed. Originally developed as an airlaunched decoy, it forms the basis for a lightweight cruise missile. Given a launch weight of only 187kg, it is hardly surprising that war-

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

head weighs a mere 30kg.

INS/GPS guidance is used for mid-course navigation, with an imaging infrared or electro-optical imaging seeker being used to home onto the target. A datalink back to the launch aircraft provides man-in-the-loop control.

Now that India has selected the Rafale to meet its MMRCA requirement, it remains to be seen which missiles it will select to arm its new fighter. Since a range of MDBA designs have already been cleared for use on Rafale, and the European company has recently won a major Indian order for MICA air-to-air missiles as part of an upgrade to its Mirage 2000 fleet, it is temping to predict that further orders might follow.

AASM might be an attractive weapon for use at relatively short range, but if India is looking to obtain a deep-strike air-to-surface capability, MBDA’s Storm Shadow/SCALP EG cruise missile might be a candidate.

Combat proven in operations against Iraq and Libya, the missile has achieved only a single announced sale outside of Europe.

This was for the Black Shaheen variant for the UAE, but there is evidence that export controls on this sophisticated weapon are being relaxed.

A November 2009 US diplomatic cable recently released by Wikileaks has confirmed earlier reports that Saudi will be acquiring Storm Shadow missiles from the UK. The

P RE C I S IO N E N G A G E M E N T

Turkey’s SOM cruise missile could be a viable choice for nations wishing the ability to penetrate sophisticated air defences © Doug Richardson

cable quotes Lt General Abdulrahman AlFaisal, Commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force, as saying that Storm Shadow is, “a missile with a longer range and greater lethality than the SLAM-ER”.

For nations in the region who have not yet joined the small club of operators equipped with stand-off missiles for precision attack, there are only a handful of designs further to those already described.

Air arms equipped with fighters of Russian manufacture, or planning to purchase these, could find the Raduga Kh-59ME (AS-18 ‘Kazoo’) of interest. China uses this weapon on its Su-30 aircraft, as does Venezuela.

The original 40km range Kh-58 (AS-13 'Kingbolt') was a rocket-powered weapon, and although offered for export, attracted no orders. The follow-on Kh-58M (Kh-58ME is the export version) was first shown publicly two decades ago, and uses an under-

slung air-breathing powerplant that provides a maximum range of 115 km with a 280-320 kg warhead.

Mid-course guidance is inertial with command updates, and a TV seeker is used for the final attack phase. A two-way datalink is maintained with the missile via an APK-9 pod carried by the launch aircraft. An operator is able to monitor the imagery from the missile’s nose-mounted seeker, and place a marker on the desired impact point. The resulting steering commands are relayed to

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the missile, providing a circular error probable (CEP) of 2-3m.

One long-term candidate could be Turkey’s Tübitak-SAGE SOM (Stand-Off Missile), which successfully completed its first guided flight in August 2011. This weighs 1,300 lb (590 kg) and carries a 500 lb (230 kg) warhead. It is almost entirely of Turkish design; the only major imported subsystem is the weapon’s Microturbo jet engine.

For the first flight, SOM flew under GPS/INS guidance, but a nose-mounted imaging infrared seeker is planned for terminal guidance. According to Tübitak-SAGE, this will have a higher resolution than existing systems, and will be able to take snapshots of waypoints at intervals along the flight path. The resulting images will be compared with the missile's predicted position and used to update the navigation system.

Tübitak-SAGE does not have the capacity to undertake mass production, and the choice of a manufacturer could be made some time in 2012.

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The helicopter is an increasingly key element in military operations today, providing mobility, flexibility, rapid response and fire power in ground operations as well as reach, endurance and persistence in the maritime environment.

Helicopters provide troop transport; fire support; logistic support; medevac; an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) or anti-submarine warfare platform; liaison; search and rescue; and a myriad of other roles.

by Giles Ebbutt

Joint Training &

Simulation: Virtual and Constructive

Training for Regional Armed Forces 18

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A FFMS for the EC725 and its civilian variant the EC225 will be installed at the Eurocopter Malaysia Simulation Centre (EMSC) near Kuala Lumpur © Eurocopter/Anthony PECCHI

he advantages of the helicopter brings are not limited only to military operations. The offshore oil and gas (O&G) industry has long relied on the helicopter for support, and it remains a vital part of the industry’s logistics.

As military helicopter usage expands and new aircraft are introduced, training provision has to keep up, with the advantages of and advances in simulation being leveraged to provide the maximum return on investment.

As with other military tasks, when it comes to training helicopter aircrew significant economies can be achieved by centralisation and the use of surplus capacity. There are further advantages to be gained from the fact that some civilian helicopters are variants of the military version – or vice versa, depending on your point of view – and therefore it is possible to offer both military and civilian platform

T The RSAF Chinook simulator from CAE © CAE

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The FFMS in the Indian HATSOFF will eventually offer four different cockpits in a roll-in/roll-out configuration. The FFMS has a 6DOF motion platform with 3DOF vibration. © CAE

training in the same site.

This policy is apparent in a number of projects in the Asia-Pacific region where helicopter training is being centralised in dual military-civilian centres, established not by militaries but by aircraft and simulator manufacturers who provide training on a service basis.

Eurocopter is in the process of establishing the Eurocopter Malaysia Simulation Centre (EMSC) near Kuala Lumpur, which will offer EC225 and EC725 training. The EC725 is the military Super Puma Mk II, and its civilian counterpart is the EC 225, which is the major civilian platform in use in Malaysia’s offshore O&G industry. The EMSCE provides a range of courses and training packages including SAR, NVG and medevac training. The Centre will be equipped with a full flight simulator with a six degree of freedom (6DOF) motion platform and a 3DOF vibration platform to provide the aircrews with high fidelity motion and vibration cues, and will have an 80° vertical and 210° horizontal field of view.

It will also have a specific capability to simulate hoisting operations.

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The Centre, which is a joint venture between Eurocopter and its local partner Boustead is due to achieve full operational capability in January 2013, a month after the first of 12 EC 725s is due to be delivered to the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Eurocopter’s aim, according to a company representative at the 2012 Singapore Air Show, is to provide a 225/725 training facility for the entire AsiaPacific region, “from Japan to Australia”.

Eurocopter has also invested in its facilities at the Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore, known as the Eurocopter South East Asia Training Centre, and by February 2012 had reportedly trained nearly 120 pilots since the centre opened in January 2011. The facility includes a Thales full-flight simulator

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for the AS365 N3+ Dauphin helicopter.

CAE also have a considerable presence in Singapore on the military front and has had for sometime. In 2004 it provided a CH47SD Chinook simulator for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and in 2008 it was awarded a contract for the design and manufacture of S-70B Seahawk and AS332 Super Puma helicopter simulators which are due to be delivered in the near future.

The Seletar project has been developed as a single full-flight and mission simulator (FFMS) with a roll-in/roll-out cockpit design, which enables multiple cockpits representing various helicopter types to be used in the simulator. CAE has designed and manufactured the cockpits for both the Seahawk and Super Puma helicopters. When one cockpit is being used in the FFMS, the other will connect to a ground docking station to be used as a fixedbase flight training device. CAE has also developed an S-70B mission crew station (MCS) to replicate the back-end of the helicopter for training Naval sensor operators.

The S-70B FFMS and MCS can be linked to provide a comprehensive S-70B mission training system for both flight and tactical skills.

The S-70B/AS332 FFMS have been designed to Level D standards, the highest qualification for flight simulators and will feature CAE’s next-generation visual solution, including the CAE Medallion-6000 visual system and liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) projectors on a 220°by 60° collimated out-ofthe-window display. In addition, the simulator will include a 3-DOF vibration platform on top of the 6-DOF motion system.

Due to be delivered shortly are two M-346 advanced lead-in fighter trainer FFMS as part of the M-346 ground-based training system for the RSAF, in a contract awarded to CAE by Boeing Training Systems and Services and announced in early 2011. The two simulators will feature a cockpit configuration to train the pilot and weapon systems officer (WSO), as well as the capability to network the simulators for joint training. Boeing's Constant Resolution Visual System (CRVS) will be powered by CAE Medallion-6000 image generators running databases based on the CAE-developed Common Database (CDB) standard.

CAE is also designing and manufacturing a C130H FFMS for IGTEC, a Malaysia-based aerospace technology company. IGTEC will

TRAINING AND SIMULATION

be establishing a regional simulation centre near the Subang International Airport in Malaysia to support training for regional operators of the C-130 Hercules aircraft. CAE will deliver the C-130H simulator to the new training centre at the end of 2012.

Most recently, CAE announced during the 2012 Singapore Air Show that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) for the establishment of a Multi Purpose Training Centre in Brunei. The first phase of the project will consist of the development of a helicopter simulator training facility, although details of what aircraft types are not yet available, to serve both military and civilian markets with a particular focus in the offshore O&G role for the latter.

Given that in November 2011 the Brunei MoD awarded a contract to Sikorsky for 12 Blackhawk S-70i to replace the Royal Brunei Air Force’s current fleet of Bell 212 and BO105, for delivery between 2013 and 2015, it would seem a reasonable assumption that S70i will be provided in the new centre.

Subsequent phases will cover the development of facilities for crisis management training for public safety and security and additional facilities for defence forces. In due course the facility may also offer fixed wing aircraft training.

Further west in India the development of the Helicopter Academy to Train by The Instructor Operating Station for the RAAF C-130J Hercules FFMS, recently upgraded by CAE © CAE

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The Boom Operator simulator from CAE for the RAAF MRTT © CAE

Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF), jointly owned by CAE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), continues. This contains a roll-on/roll-off cockpit FFMS with four cockpit modules: a HAL Dhruv (Army/Air Force variant); a HAL Dhruv (Civil variant); a Bell 412; and a Eurocopter Dauphin. The “mothership” simulator platform has the same features as that being developed for Singapore, which is a common 6DOF motion system, 3DOF vibration platform and visual display system. The visual system is five-channels

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

with a 220°horizontal by 60° vertical field of view. Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) projectors relay the out-the-window 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.

All but the military HAL Dhruv cockpits had been delivered by February 2012 and both the civilian HAL Dhruv and the Dauphin have been certified to Level D. The Indian Army/Air Force glass cockpit variant of the Dhruv is expected to be delivered later in 2012.

One of the major helicopter training contracts being pursued in the region is for the Australian military Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS). This is Phase 7 of Project Air 9000, which has encompassed the modernisation and replacement of the entire Australian military helicopter fleet. Originally intended as two separate projects for the Navy and the Army, they were subsequently combined to form a joint HATS. According to the Australian 2011 Department of Defence Capability Plan the project, “aims to deliver a system that encompasses elements of live, synthetic and classroom aviation instruction, to overcome the broadening gap between the current rotary

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The Dauphin cockpit in the Indian HATSOFF FFMS © CAE

training systems and the advanced operational helicopters in the current and planned future ADF inventories.” The plan estimates that acquisition costs will be between A$500,000 and A$1 billion and in the higher end of that band, so it is not surprising that a number of consortia are jostling for position and have declared their intention to bid.

Agusta Westland have teamed with CAE and BAE Systems, and will offer a system based on a light twin-engined helicopter, probably a variant of the AW109, with CAE responsible for the design of the overall synthetic programme, the manufacture of training devices including simulators, and classroom and simulator instruction. Agusta had previously teamed with Boeing, but this agreement lapsed.

CAE recently completed an upgrade to the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) C-130J Hercules FFMS to provide additional tactical training capabilities, which included a new radar warning receiver (RWR) simulation.

The FFMS includes CAE’s Interactive Tactical Environment Management System (ITEMS) for creating complex tactical environment scenarios, as well as Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) functionality so the C-130J FFMS can be networked with the C-130H FFMS co-located at RAAF Base Richmond.

CAE is also developing an A330 MultiRole Tanker Transport (MRTT) FFMS for the RAAF, as well as other training devices

including a part-task trainer and CAE Simfinity integrated procedures trainer. The training suite will be sited at RAAF Amberley in Queensland.

Australian Aerospace (AA), a subsidiary of Eurocopter, will base its bid on the EC135 light twin-engine helicopter, but has not yet selected a partner. “Discussions are proceeding with a number of potential industry bid subcontractors” the company said.

AA is currently assembling and delivering 46 MRH-90 multi-role helicopters for the

One of the major helicopter training contracts being pursued in the region is for the Australian military Helicopter Aircrew Training System

Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and 22 Tiger ARH armed reconnaissance helicopters for the Army. For the training package for these platforms it is teamed with Thales; the latter is providing the FFMS capability for the Tiger 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 Oakey, Queensland, the FFMS platform uses two modules to replicate the air-

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craft’s front and rear cockpits which are mounted on separate, synchronized 6DOF motion platforms. The CPT has the same cockpit and mission systems simulation as the FFMS, but with a reduced field of view visual system and no motion platform.

Thales is also supplying FFMS for the MRH-90, 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.

For the HATS contract Thales is teamed with Boeing Defence Australia which is the prime contractor. This consortium has also selected the EC135 platform as the basis for its bid. Boeing is the incumbent contractor for the Army Aviation and Training Support scheme which it will continue to operate until the HATS is operational. In August 2011 it announced that it was providing a Kiowa Helimod simulator leased from Ryan Aerospace for this scheme. The Kiowa is used as an initial trainer for the Tiger, MRH90 and CH-47D Chinook prior to conversion to these aircraft types.

Raytheon Australia, which is currently involved in RAN helicopter training, is teamed with Bell Helicopter Textron and will offer the Bell 429 for HATS. Finally, Lockheed Martin has teamed with Bristow Helicopters, but this grouping has yet to announce which platform they will use.

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TACTICAL COMMUNICATIONS

Area Communications: Unifying the

Battlefield Area communications provides the essential glue to connect local pockets of connectivity created around companies, battlegrounds, battalions and brigades, via high capacity links to and from higher echelons of command. A number of communications programmes in the region are seeking that exact capability.

by Adam Baddeley

TCS

India’s much delayed Tactical Communications Systems (TCS) programme is now moving to its two year Design, Development and Prototyping phase, leading to an L1 decision. The customer is selecting between a number of different bidders.

The three individual bidders are Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), ITL and Wipro with two Special Product Consortia (SPC): TATA, HCL and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Rolta, ECIL and Selex also bidding.

The customer is understood to be mulling The GRC-245 family of relays play a major role in deployed networks Š Ultra Electronics

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a down select to two or three of the competitors for the Design Development and Prototyping phase. The Indian Ministry of Defence will then fund 80 percent of the next phase which will see prototype testing before an L1 decision is made. BEL will almost certainly make it through and the consensus on the floor of DEFEXPO 2012 was that the Tata led SPC was the most likely to join it along with the Rolta team.

The final selections to the next phase have in many cases still to be made but displays at DEFEXPO indicated likely combinations of equipment and partners. Tata’s solution was shown in truck mounted shelter systems sporting an Ultra Electronics

High Capacity Radio HCLOS solution, the latest iteration of the AN/GRC-245 family, supporting 100Mbps full duplex links with ECCM measures as well as a WiMAX solution on board. Other elements to the solution being shown included the Rafael TacMax, an undisclosed troposcatter sys-

The [Indian] customer is understood to be mulling a down select to two or three of the competitors for the Design Development and Prototyping phase l

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Part of the Tata solution for India’s TCS programme © AJB

tem along with a Raytheon EPLRS XFI based gateway into the Army’s Battlefield Surveillance System. Within the broader tactical communications field, Tata also had on show the shelter mounted Mobile Communications Terminal based on Harris wideband and narrow band Combat Net Radios with an RF7800W for backhaul.

Rolta’s solution is based heavily on Selex relays including the Band 3+ (1.35-2.7Ghz) MH 513 relay, a band IV link in 4.5Ghz, Band 1 225-400, using Selex’s WRS 504.

A number of overseas suppliers includ-

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capability in May-June along with some negotiations and outlining of long term support and local IP issues.

There are three teams bidding for the programme; Raytheon Australia and General Dynamics C4 Systems are together, BAE Systems Australia is teamed with Thales Australia and Lockheed Martin with Elbit Systems.

The Raytheon-General Dynamics solution is based around the WIN-T Increment 2 including the use of the Network Centric Waveform and Highband Networking Waveform solution with some of the On the Move capabilities in the US systems, either removed or included as an option. This includes for example providing two options; either the Harris RF Communications RF7800W or the WIN-T Increment 2’s Harris Highband Networking Radio.

Thales are packaging their area communication system at the Di@ne Deployable Tactical Internet which is used as the basis French Army’s RITA Combined-arms battlegroups or GTIAs and command post. It has also provided Australia’s DLAN system deployed in Afghanistan. BAE Systems is the incumbent in the in service Parakeet systems and will leverage expertise from its role as prime contractor on the UK’s Falcon programme.

Lockheed Martin is offering its integration experience on the WIN-T programme and other programmes with Elbit providing key transmission systems.

Tata demonstrated its Mobile Communications Terminal at DEFEXPO this year © AJB

ing BAE Systems, General Dynamics C4 Systems and Thales are understood to be seeking a partnership with BEL on TCS focusing on integration support as well as equipment issues.

JP2072 Phase 2

The Area communications element to the overarching JP2072 is Phase 2B. Australia’s

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Phase 2B of JP 2072 Battlefield Telecommunications Network, high bandwidth capacity systems and Local Area Network will provide IP connectivity from HQ to lower echelon units providing a similar capability to the Warfighter Informtion Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 1/Joint Network Node (JNN). Teams responded to the Request for Tender in late February based on which the customer will down select to the Offer Definition Activities phase, leading to a initial demonstrations of

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Tata also had on show the shelter mounted Mobile Communications Terminal based on Harris wideband and narrow band Combat Net Radios with an RF-7800W for backhaul TICN

Korea is working to begin fielding of its Tactical Information Communication Network in 2014 with Samsung Thales, LIGNex1 and Huneed working together to produce the systems which will provide a similar capability both to the US WIN-T programme as well as the JTRS HMS and the now defunct GMR programmes Key capabilities include High Data Rates at long distance with ECCM capabilities, the use of WiMAX/WiBRo and IP base

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to parties in two Asian countries with ranges of 20km shown and to link high capacity feeds down to milspec rugged terminal weighing roughly 1Kg to a Smartphone type design which are due by the end of the year.

WIN-T

BAE Systems is leveraging its expertise from the UK’s Falcon programme into Australia’s JP2072 Phase 2B © BAE Systems

backbone switching. At the higher level this includes the High Capacity Transmission Radio with high data rate transmission of 45Mbps and long distance transmission of

greater than 30km. In addition to the programmer, Korea is also exploring technology from outside its borders. This includes Rafael’s TacMAX, a cellular based solution is designed as a fast, deployable wireless, military network with data rates of up to 45 Mbps per sector. In January, demonstrations of the system capabilities were made

The US WIN-T programme is playing both a direct role and indirect role in all by setting the bar for other programmes and in the case of Australia a version of this being offered to meet the JP2072 Phase 2B requirement.

General Dynamics C4 Systems is the overall prime on the programme which also involved key partners BAE Systems, Harris GCSD, L-3 and Lockheed Martin.

Increment 2 of the system was deployed to the NIE 12.1 as a unit to test integration at the brigade level and the capabilities it offers at that echelon. There the overall network was topped off by the Network Operations and Security Center. This managed the

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deployed WIN-T network which comprised three tactical communications nodes at Brigade and Battalion Headquarters and then three commanders’ vehicles, known as Points Of Presence and below that are ten Soldier Network Extensions.

At the follow on NIE 12.2 later this year, that will function as the IOT&E which is the gateway to Full Rate Production and fielding.

Long range satcom testing will see a full brigade set at White Sands using 2nd Brigade 1st Armoured Division which will then link to the Headquarters of the 101st Air Assault Division at Fort Campbell.

The On the Move capabilities tested in Increment 1 have included an initial test of a new Tactical Communications Node (TCN) known as TCN Light being developed under the later Increment 3 part of the programme with the NIE providing an initial set of data for the user on its progress. In the Increment 2 test, eight of the current truck mounted TCN will be tested and after the necessary testing is completed two TCN Lights will be substituted directly into the network.

Increment 1 of WIN-T, formerly known as the JNN and originally developed as a stop gap for troops deployed in Iraq when it was found that while the legacy Mobile Subscriber Equipment did not provide sufficient capability, WIN-T could not deliver in time and a modified JNN which was brought into WIN-T and renamed. In NIE 12.2 the Increment 1 capabilities which have the key differentiation of being an on the halt or on the pause capability will be given an initial set of equipment.

A Sustainment Brigade at Fort Riley will also have WINT Inc 1 assets with the Increment 1b solution which comprises the MPM1000 Network Centric Waveform modem and an additional router to cope with the colorless core used in Increment 2.

Korea is working to begin fielding of its Tactical Information Communication Network in 2014 with Samsung Thales, LIGNex1 and Huneed working together Others

Recent developments within and without the region includes Cassidian’s 2011 contract for the upgrade of the UK’s legacy Cormorant system from ATM to IP standards, due to be completed in 2014. The company’s new Tactical IP Node has also completed development with the more compact and tri-service Next Generation IP Node being the next development. Security for such high capacity links is also provided

by Cassidian with the UAE using the company’s family of EctoCryp products within a

Ultra Electronics’ new UltraMove solution is a turnkey solution, designed to provide on-the-move IP voice, data and video services in a portable transit case © Ultra Electronics

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new C4I network.

Ultra Electronics have long provided a large proportion of the HCLOS requirements in service around the world, not least through the US ACUS Mod programme which equips programmes such as WIN-T Increment 1 and 2 with the GRC-245 family.

As a complete solution, Ultra Electronics’ new UltraMove solution is a turnkey solution, designed to provide on-the-move IP voice, data and video services in a portable transit case. This integrates a number of COTS based standards as well as military solution; Wi-Fi 802.11 mesh, WiMAX802.16e wireless base station hotspots, NSA Suite B security support for applications such as FTP, VoIP and video as well as HCLOS solutions and interoperability access to CNRs. The system was deployed by Canada to the US Empire

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Challenge exercise in 2011 and this was used to test its suitability in a representative scenario for Afghanistan. These included sending video from an overhead Tactical UAV to a convoy moving at speed via a Forward Operating Base using a 12Mbps WiMAX link to a single vehicle and then between vehicles using an UltraMove WiFi Mesh network with a throughput of 6Mbps achieved. In terms of HCLOS support, the latest iteration of the AN/GRC-245 HCLOS radio, the HCR was used at the event, the same radio being used on Tata’s stand as part of its TCS solution. Using an omni directional antenna at the base, the vehicle successfully linked to a compact, flat sector antenna, taking just 90 seconds to begin receiving data. At 5km, throughput of 100Mbps was achieved and at 15km, 34Mbps was achieved.

A staple of several area communications systems is the Harris’ RF-7800W Broadband Ethernet Radio, providing wireless IP links over a Band IV link between 4.4-5GHz. Stated performance is 108MHz at 50km range and point to multi point communications at up to 54Mbps at 20km range using an OFDM waveform. In terms of security, the radio supports either external bulk encryptors or AES 256 and the system has US FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certification. In addition to being integrated into other system, the radio is for example part of the brigade equipment set-up for the US Army’s Capability Set 13 and operates with WIN-T. Harris have made it major part of their own systems solution known as ITACS (Integrated Tactical Area Communications System) in which Harris integrated its own products such as the RF-610 Tactical Network Access Hub as well as non-proprietary solutions.

To meet the needs of the Slovakian military for area communications links, BAE Systems began work on the Mokys systems in 2006 using a combination of the then Ericsson HCLOS relays with the BAE Systems VRC-99 radio providing 10Mbps wireless links at lower tactical echelons immediately above the level of Combat Net Radios. Other team members include Rohde and Schwarz, Cisco Systems and Northrop Grumman.

To meet the needs of the TASMUS system Aselsan has recently added the GRC-5218 HCLOS radio, an III+ 8Mbps ECCM relay.

Selex have provided a number of systems with their relays. Brazil returned to the company to provide enhancements to their in-

Rolta’s solution for TC makes use of Selexsourced relays (c) AJB

service SISTAC system, first deployed in 1998, for a recent upgrade.

Elbit launched their TMR Core, mTMR and TMR Max products at DSEi designed to provide manoeuvre users with VoIP, data dissemination as well as real-time and ondemand video streaming.

Malaysia’s Sapura is currently beginning Phase 1A of the country’s Network Centric Operations (NCO) programme which will tie

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together existing systems. The follow on Phase 1b, due to begin from 2014 will add new capabilities. At DSA, Thales had on show a version of the TRC4000 HCLOS developed with Sapura that implements a local encryption solution for Malaysia.

With RUAG’s openACCESS node, all existing networks to become IP-capable through the insertion of the openACCESS node which acts as a hub. In service in Switzerland, it has also in service with another European military and a North African customer.

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Fast At T he force structure and inventory of smaller navies are driven as much by geography and operational requirements as financial ones. For many the fast attack craft, a patrolboat- based platform under 450 tonnes displacement used for launching surface-to-surface missiles in over-the-horizon engagements, has been a major part of the surface combatant fleet in the Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) role but as economies grow there has been a move to secure maritime lines-of-communication with larger combatants.

Yet many navies must defend extensive coastlines with relatively shallow and reeffilled waters together with individual islands or even archipelagos and for these conditions, fast attack craft are a valuable platform.

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There not only conventional threats but also unconventional ones and when faced with insurgency some require special craft to support their special forces. The fast attack craft, like the Colt revolver, was an early equaliser for small navies against larger ones and, indeed, was behind the evolution of the concept in the former Soviet Union which sought to balance the overwhelming superiority of the US Navy and its allies in major surface combatants. The concept was to have a fastmoving coastal defence missile battery concealed in the radar ‘clutter’ of coasts and islands and the first fast attack craft were

South Korea’s Chamsuri patrol equip the navies of Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and The Philippines, as well as the Republic of Korea Navy © US DoD

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ttack Special Operations modified motor torpedo boat designs.

The concept was spectacularly proven in October 1967 when two Egyptian fast attack craft in Alexandria harbour sank an Israeli destroyer, INS Eilat, some 14 nautical miles (26 kilometres) away. The Soviet Union had exported its fast attack craft to a few friends and allies, notably China, Indonesia and North Korea, to that time but the Eilat incident provoked an unprecedented surge in

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The face of Asian navies is gradually changing and yet, as the French say, ‘everything changes and nothing changes.’

by Ted Hooton

Craft

demand with Russian vessels exported to India, one of whose craft sank the Pakistani destroyer PNS Khaibar off Karachi in December 1971, as well as North Vietnam but western yards and missile manufacturers were quick to meet the demand.

The Russian vessels suffered the problems of being first generation systems; they had noisy, hot, unreliable diesel engines which needed to be run-up for an hour before

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departure. The electronics were outdated lacking the latest computer technology while the missiles were liquid-fuelled.

The second generation craft which emerged such as CMN’s with Exocet and Friedrich Lürssen’s FPB range equipped with Exocet or Harpoon had efficient engines which could bring the craft to operational status almost instantly, their electronics benefiting from transistor technology for improved

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The Exocet is synonymous with FACs and operators include Malaysia and Thailand © MBDA

performance and greater reliability allowing weapon control systems to evolve into combat direction systems. The missiles were lighter because they had solid-propellant motors but this meant they could be treated as ammunition with little routine maintenance cutting life-cycle costs and while their warheads were smaller than those of Russian missiles their guidance and sensor systems were superior allowing them to strike a ship in the centre of its radar signature. Moreover the western craft also benefited from a larger calibre gun which made them more versatile platforms, although curiously many Asian navies, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand have opted for the Bofors 57mm gun rather than the Oto Melara 76mm gun which can be used for ASuW, Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) and Naval Gunfire Support (NGS) roles and was selected

by South Korea for the Yoon Young-ha (PKAA) class, by Taiwan for the Lung Chiangs and Thailand for the Chon Buris.

The 1970s and 1980s were the glory years for fast attack craft but their limitations were sharply defined from the 1990s onwards. The small size of these craft makes them vulnerable to damage and even in peacetime they are under threat; Singapore for example lost to collisions RSS Courageous and Independence in 2003 and 2009 respectively. But it was their operational survival which came under question, for they especially underline the Second World War maxim that warships cannot survive without air support where the enemy has

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air superiority. Low masts limit the height at which search radars may be deployed which in turn restricts surveillance range so fast attack craft have little warning of incoming air threats.

The limited deck space means that while medium calibre guns may be available for air defence their range is limited and there is no space for a surface-to-air missile system, although some craft have embarked a manportable surface-to-air missile team.

Consequently the fast attack craft is vulnerable to stand-off attacks by both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, with the latter increasingly deployed in larger surface combatants

and armed with air-to-surface missiles. These can be launched beyond the range of the victim’s air defences and the fast attack craft simply lacks the structural strength to reduce damage from blast or fire. Because they offer greater capability and better prospects of damage control many Asian navies decided to abandon fast attack craft and focus upon larger surface combatants; corvettes at a minimum and frigates for preference, and these include Brunei, India, Japan and Singapore.

Some navies must decide whether or not to upgrade their fast attack fleets and Malaysia is typical for its four Handalan (Swedish Spica-M) and four Perdana (La Combattante II) class fast attack craft have 30-year-old electronics which are more difficult to maintain. Moreover, their Exocet missiles have rocket propellant which is deteriorating leaving Kuala Lumpur with the dilemma, should they refurbish these engines or buy the jet-engined Exocet Block III and if they do would the necessity of updating the ships and their electronic systems be costeffective? The questions are relevant, especially as the Royal Malaysian Navy cannot afford the larger vessels it needs and is having difficulty upgrading its Kedah class offshore patrol ships to full corvettes. It seems more likely that Kuala Lumpur will follow the example of both India and Japan and abandon fast attack craft while focussing upon protecting international maritime lines of communication rather than coastal waters.

But many Asian navies are still committed to protecting such waters for reasons ofnational security or economic interest and a surprising number are upgrading or An artist's impression of the latest Exocet, the MM 40 Block 3, with turbo-jet engine and increased range which is available to upgrade Asian FACs © MBDA

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modernising their fleets. In four cases this is because the navies need to secure extensive coastal waters which include island chains and this provides the requisite shield of land-based air cover.

Both China and Taiwan are modernising their fast attack craft fleets. Beijing updated its fleet from the late 1980s and currently has 33 craft; 11 of the 205-ton Huangfen (Type 021), which are updated Russian Osa’s with Russian-influenced HY-2 (CSS-N-2 ‘Seersucker’) missiles, six 520-tonne Huajian (Type 037/2) with Exocet-type YJ-1 (CSS-N4 ‘Sardine’) and 16 of the 478-tonne Houxin (Type 037/2) also with YJ-1. Since 2004 Chinese yards have been producing the radical and ‘stealthy’ 220-tonne Houbei (Type 022) class with wave-piercing catamaran

hull and centre bow which reportedly features water jet propulsors. These feature the YJ-83 (CSS-N-8 ‘Saccade’) missile which reportedly has a data link allowing thirdparties to target the weapon.

Beijing’s claim to Taiwan has been vigorously denied by Taiwan since 1949 and to protect its island territories has relied upon the diminutive 47-tonne Hai Ou class, based upon Israel’s Dvora class and armed with

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the Hsiung Feng I missile which is also based upon the Israeli Gavriel missile once also used by Singapore’s fast attack craft.

The 47 Hai Ous have been augmented by a dozen Jin Chiangs, with a displacement of 680 tonnes making them the largest fast attack craft in Asia (Jane’s Fighting Ships describes them as patrol craft) armed with both Hsiung Feng I and II missiles and two 270-tonne Lung Chiangs which are unusual in having gas turbine propulsion giving a top speed of 36 knots. In 2003 the first of a new class, the 180-tonne Kwang Hua 6, appeared armed with Hsiung Feng II and it was reported this would be expanded to 27 but now there seem to be doubts about this plan. There are reports that Taiwan will also adopt a catamaran hull form for a 40-metre-

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craft under the Hsun Hai armed with supersonic Hsiung Feng III missiles.

The two Koreas remain formally in a state of war and while this is largely ‘cold’ the embers of hatred have been fanned into flames with several naval clashes.

Pyongyang’s navy is largely armed with twodozen Soviet-era 210-tonne Osas (Project 205) and 85-tonne Komars (Project 183) firing the lumbering sub-sonic SS-N-2 ‘Styx’ and these have been augmented by a dozen 265-tonne Sojus, which are improved Osas, but retain the old weapon systems. It is possible these will be augmented by a new class of hovercraft, the Kongbangs, which have been designed for amphibious warfare but some of which have received ‘Styx’.

South Korea at one time had Paek Ku (PSSM 5) class fast attack craft armed with a surface-to-surface version of the Standard Missile 1 (SM 1) surface-to-air missile but these were paid off some years ago and replaced with corvettes. Clashes early in the century led to a requirement for new fast attack craft and patrol boats, the PKGs. The

fast attack craft version, PKG-A, or Yoon Young-ha class are gas-turbined vessels with a displacement of 570 tonnes and are armed with Harpoons. The requirement is reported to be for 17 hulls of which five have been completed and four are under construction, and it appears these vessels will be the first frontline warships to receive female commanders.

The only other Asian navy currently with a fast attack craft requirement, for obvious

The C-802-armed PNS Shujaat is the fourth of the Jalabat FAC class © Gordon Arthur

The only other Asian navy currently with a fast attack craft requirement, for obvious geographic reasons, is Indonesia which is seeking 24 new craft by 2024

geographic reasons, is Indonesia which is seeking 24 new craft by 2024, especially to operate in the waters of western Indonesia and North Sulawesi. Indonesia currently operates four Korean-built 270-tonne Paek Kus with Exocet as the Dagger class and four locally-built 447-tonne Lürssen PB 57s as the Todak (or Nav V) class which can be armed with an export version of the YJ-1, the C-802, although currently only KRI Hiu and Layang have had these weapons temporarily installed and the class tends to be used in the

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The JDS Kumataka (PG 826) is the fourth of six Hayabusa class vessels commissioned between 2002-4 and armed with four SSM-1B antshipping missiles © Gordon Arthur

conventional patrol boat role.

To meet Jakarta’s new requirement PT Palindo Marine has built two KRC-40 class 40-metre craft, KRI Clurit and Kujang which have a top speed of 30 knots and feature Chinese C-705 missiles with a range of 40-92 nautical miles (75-170 kilometres) which will be built in Indonesia. A third is under construction and another six to be completed by 2014. Indonesia is also reported to have ordered four X3K class carbon composite trimarans from Lundin Industry Invest, operating under the trade name North Sea Boats, with the first scheduled to emerge in April or May of this year and the remainder by 2014.

Fast attack craft can also be used to deliver special forces exploiting their size and speed but this concept has limitations Iraqi documents indicate that Osa (Project 205) class fast attack craft which were used in the seaborne assault against Kuwait in 1990 carried up to 90 special forces troops, and while these involved only short voyages along rivers and in coastal waters the decks of the 209-tonne, 37.5-metre long craft must have been extremely crowded

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FACs suffer from a lack of effective air defence weapons. One solution is the use of mountings such as this Simbad for Mistral short-range missiles © MBDA

and vulnerable to shore fire.

Fast attack craft, and patrol boats, are large which limits their ability to operate in shallow waters as well as making them vulnerable to fire from land when they approach to close to the shore while they are also noisy and for this reason several navies prefer to have special craft for inserting or

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One of the PLAN’s four Type 037-II Houjian Class FACs © Gordon Arthur

One of the four Laksamana Class small missile corvettes operated by the Royal Malaysian Navy © Gordon Arthur

Israel’s Dvora class patrol boat is one option, and has been selected by Sri Lanka which acquired half-a-dozen Super Dvora Mk III

Singapore Technologies Marine have built twelve Fearless class 55m patrol vessels for the Singapore Navy © US DoD

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recovering special forces.

Israel’s Dvora class patrol boat is one option, and has been selected by Sri Lanka which acquired half-a-dozen Super Dvora Mk III. This is the first water-jet powered version of this craft which has the option of articulating surface drives (ASD), used in Sri Lankan vessels, and the 72-tonne, 27.4-metrelong craft can attain speeds of more than 48 knots. It can carry up to 18 troops and can feature an electro-optic sensor for covert surveillance and observation. India has seven Super Dvora Mk II, nominally as patrol

boats, while Pakistan has four Thai-built military assault craft which can carry 18 troops.

Singapore operates six 12.5-tonne dieselpowered fast intercept craft with 14.5 metrelong multi-step planning hulls and five are reportedly operated by their special forces.

Thailand is the only other navy to feature purpose-built craft for special operations with the Marsun yard designing and building four 25-tonne, 18.3-metre-long Seal Assault Craft. These are diesel-powered craft with twin shafts capable of travelling 370 nautical miles at 35 knots with 16 troops and they feature both a bow door and a loading ramp aft for a rigid inflatable boat.

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AIRBORNE ISR SURVEILLANCE

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Distant Eyes: Asia-Pacific

Airborne ISR Surveillance In a region that boasts two economic super powers and three of the world’s nuclear weapon capable countries, it would be odd indeed if the nations of the Asia-Pacific region did not take airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) seriously.

Accordingly, AMR research points to at least eleven of the region’s countries possessing such a capability, with multiple aspects of the technology (fixed-wing aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and aerostats) being represented within the various inventories.

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aking these 11 countries in alphabetic order, the Australian military operates leased Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron UAVs in support of its operations in Southwest Asia; may operate single examples of COMmunications INTelligence (COMINT) equipped C-130 and P-3C aircraft (Project ‘Peace Mate’) and is still considering future acquisition of a Global Hawk class UAV for strategic surveillance.

Elsewhere, the Australian Department of Defence has announced that it has ordered long lead items to facilitate conversion of at least six of its F/A18F fast jets to partial EA-18G Growler standard in order to provide them with an electronic combat capability. Such a programme would provide Australia with a state-of-theart ELectronic INTelligence (ELINT) capability as well as the potential for soft- and hard-kill electronic warfare operations.

Moving north, the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Air Force and Navy are understood to operate a wide range of ISR aircraft, with Chinese industry developing an increasing sophisticated surveillance UAV capability. Looking at the Air Force first, AMR believes that the service operates (or has operated in the recent past) four radarequipped Tu-154M/D aircraft in the ground surveillance role together with a fifth such platform fitted out for SIGnals INTelligence (SIGINT) collection. For tactical reconnaissance, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) makes use of the JZ-6 and JZ-

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The JMSDF’s Iwakuni-based 81st Kokutai is equipped with five examples of the EP-3 SIGINT aircraft shown here © JMSDF

8 fast jets (with the latter being equipped with an external sensor pod) and is understood to have acquired at least one radar-equipped Augur/RosAeroSystems Au-21 Puma aerostat with which to monitor activity along the coastline of Fujian province in south eastern China. For its part, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has trialled what appears to be a radar-equipped Z-8 helicopter aboard its new aircraft carrier and operates a fleet of Shaanxi Y-8 based SIGINT collectors that have been developed under the ‘Gaoxin’ (‘High New’) programme. Here, identified sub-variants comprise the Y-8CD, Y-8G and Y-8JD (also known as the Y-8(DZ)), all of which were first identified during the mid- to late-2000s. In terms of Chinese UAV activity, AMR’s 2011 Regional UAV Directory identi-

Despite its poor quality, this is one of the few photographs of a Chinese SIGINT-configured Tu154M/D known to exist © Chinese Internet

fied at least 10 unmanned surveillance platforms as being under development by at least five indigenous manufacturers.

China’s fellow regional super power – India – operates a range of ISR assets that include a heterogeneous collection of ageing An-32, Boeing 707, Gulfstream, Il-76MD and

The PLAN operates the Y-8JD (also known as the Y-8(DZ)) in the SIGINT collection role © Chinese Internet

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HS 748 aircraft that are flown by the Indian Air Force on behalf of the country’s secretive external intelligence agency. Here, the capability is be partially recapitalised via the acquisition of three ERJ-145 airframes that are to me modified for the intelligence gathering role. Elsewhere, India has acquired a pair of TCOM aerostats that are equipped with the Elta Systems EL/M-2083 radar and are used for border surveillance and airborne early warning, while its Defence Research and Development Organisation is working on a family of indigenous surveillance aerostats that could eventually have a sensor range of some 250 km. Within the UAV field, both the Indian Army and Navy operate the IAI Searcher platform, with the latter Service having also acquired the same contractor’s Heron air vehicle. Alongside such bought-in capabilities, Indian industry is working on a series of UAV programmes, with the previously cited 2011 Regional UAV Directory listing the DRDO as currently developing six such vehicles.

As befits a country that counts as close neighbours both North Korea and the PRC, Japan fields a substantial airborne ISR capability that is operated by both its Air and Maritime Self-Defence Forces (JASDF/JMSDF). Taking these two services in order, the JASDF’s tactical reconnaissance capability is vested in a series of podded sensors that are carried by the service’s F-15J, RF-4EJ and RF-4EJKai fast jets. Here, available equipments include the Lockheed Martin AN/APY-12 Phoenix Eye ground surveillance radar (carried by the F-15J), a LOROP camera system (RF-4EJ), the Thales/Mitsubishi Analyseur de Signaux TACtiques (ASTAC) ELINT system (RF-4EJ and RF-4EJKai) and the Thales SLAR 2000 side-looking airborne radar (RF-4EJ).

Alongside these aircraft, the JASDF also operates a quartet of YS-11EB SIGINT collectors whose days may be numbered as the Service draws down its YS-11 fleet.

Airborne SIGINT is also undertaken by the JMSDF whose air arm operates five Kawasaki EP-3 platforms in the role. Elsewhere, the service also makes use of the Kawasaki OP-3C aircraft which appears to be equipped for multisensor ocean surveillance and surface ship ‘fingerprinting’. As with the JASDF’s YS-11s, the JMSDF intends to replace its P-3C inventory, with the Kawasaki P-1 scheduled to replace the Orion in Japanese service at some time in the future. Accordingly, it remains to be seen whether or not ‘special mission’ versions of the

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The JASDF’s tactical reconnaissance capability is based on podded sensors carried by the F-15J, the RF-4EJ (shown) and the RF-4EJKai © JASDF

P-1 emerge to replace the JMSDF’s EP-3 and OP-3C aircraft or whether the Service will maintain the existing platforms into the future.

Again looking to the future, Japan could be a potential Global Hawk UAV customer although this possibility may have become more remote in view of the type’s problems at home and South Korea’s about turn on procuring the capability.

The ongoing ‘Cold War’ between North and South Korea has meant that the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) maintains tactical and strategic surveillance capabilities with which to watch the activities of its volatile northern neighbour and to support the American forces that are garrisoned in country as a guarantee of United States support for South Korea’s sovereignty. On the tactical front, the RoKAF operates a mixed fleet of camera-equipped RF-4C and RF-5A fast jets alongside a strategic capability that is vested in four Hawker 800RA radar surveillance and four Hawker 800SIG SIGINT collection aircraft. Elsewhere, the RoK Army has recently procured a Worldwide Aeros Corporation aerostat that is equipped with a Selex Galileo Seaspray 7500E radar and is to be used to monitor activity along the northern side of the cease fire line between the two Koreas.

Looking to the future, South Korea well understands that it is soon going to have to pick up a greater share of its own defence than hitherto and is in the process of modernising its airborne surveillance capability as a part of this construct. Most recently, the country has announced that it is acquiring a pair of Dassault Falcon 2000 “reconnaissance aircraft” with which to replace a “number of [its] ageing RC-800 [the local designation for the Hawker 800RA and 800SIG] assets”. While not confirmed, it is believed that these two aircraft will replace the existing Hawker 800SIG

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platforms circa 2017. Again (and as noted earlier), South Korea has abandoned plans to acquire the Global Hawk surveillance UAV on cost grounds but is still understood to have an interest in acquiring an unmanned high-altitude long-endurance capability.

Moving on to Malaysia, AMR understands the Royal Malaysian Air Force as operating a pair of RF-5E TigerEye photo reconnaissance fast jets while one or other of the country’s military services has leased three ALUDRA Mk 1 battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance UAV systems for coastal surveillance. Here, AMR sources suggest that

The JASDF also operates a quartet of YS-11EB SIGINT collectors whose days may be numbered as the Service draws down its YS-11 fleet

the ALUDRA UAVs may have been withdrawn from service and may be replaced with an ALUDRA Mk 2 vehicle that was under development during 2011.

On the sub-continent, Pakistan finds itself beset by internal instability and continued difficulties with its neighbour India while at the same time attempting to recapitalise its air force and naval air arm. In terms of ISR assets, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) continues to operate the Mirage IIIRP (and, possibly, Mirage 5DR) fast jets in the tactical

reconnaissance role and has made considerable use of UAVs in its on-off campaign against Taliban infiltration in the country’s tribal areas that border Afghanistan. Starting in 2009, the PAF has deployed the Selex Galileo Falco UAV to provide optronic and electronic surveillance of the volatile and porous Afghan-Pakistani border. Elsewhere, the Pakistan Navy is known to have fielded the Uqab-II UAV to monitor coastal activity and the charmingly named East-West Infinity concern has developed indigenous SIGINT payloads for both UAV and aerostats under the ECOM WisperWatch designator.

Further south, the Republic of Singapore Air Force is reported to have acquired a C-130 transport that has been outfitted with a COMINT collection capability together with four Fokker 50UTA transport aircraft that photographic evidence strongly suggests have all been equipped with a SIGINT suite at various times during their careers. Readers are cautioned that Singapore has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of these electronic ‘ferret’ platforms. Elsewhere (and on more solid ground), the service is known to have acquired a number of IAI Searcher UAVs and has most recently (2007) ordered examples of the Hermes 450 unmanned air vehicle.

The island nation of Sri Lanka is another Searcher UAV operator and has in the past operated a pair of King Air 200 business aircraft outfitted for radar and multi-sensor (including SIGINT) surveillance respectively.

The Hawker 800SIG SIGINT aircraft is operated by the RoKAF’s 39th Tactical Reconnaissance Group and is used to monitor activity along the border between the two Koreas © L-3 Communications

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Singapore is one of three Asia-Pacific countries known to operate the IAI Searcher UAV © Singapore MoD

One or other of these aircraft was destroyed during the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (better known as the Tamil Tigers) insurgency that was crushed in 2009 and it is not known whether a replacement has (or will be) acquired. Moving east, Taiwan’s Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) is known to operate a single C-130H transport aircraft that has been modified for SIGINT collection under the designation C-130HE. As such, this aircraft is equipped with the Airborne Electronic Surveillance System (AESS) that has been developed jointly by Lockheed Martin and

Taiwan’s Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology. Elsewhere, AMR believes that the RoCAF has acquired a number of Thales ASTAC ELINT pods for use aboard its Mirage 2000-5 multi-role fighters.

The last country on the list – Thailand – operates a selection of airborne ISR assets that includes a pair of Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) IAI Arava 201 transports that have been equipped (by Israeli contractor Elta Systems) for SIGINT collection, two IAI Searcher UAV ‘systems’, half a dozen Diamond DA42-based electro-optical surveillance aircraft and the

Royal Thai Army’s Worldwide Aeros Corporation Sky Dragon surveillance airship.

Of these, the Searcher ‘systems’ each comprise four air vehicles, a ground-control station, launch and recovery equipment, a ground data terminal and a remote video terminal.

The Sky Dragon saga presents an altogether sorrier picture in that the capability (which was acquired to monitor Islamist insurgent activity in Thailand’s Pattani Province) has been subject to the failure of its prime contractor to obtain export clearance from the United States government for its electro-optical sensor system, “significant” leaks in its envelope (which necessitated the vehicle’s return to America for repairs), programme overruns and vulnerability to ground fire at its operating altitude of 945 m (3,100 ft). All told the Thai Sky Dragon programme is estimated to have cost the country between $1.7 million and $10.8 million.

CBRN SYSTEMS

During the eleven-year campaign in Afghanistan and in other conflicts, the weapon of choice for insurgents continues to be the IED (improvised explosive device) in all its variants.

However, weapons containing a CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) component are also factored into military planning for force protection as they continue to be a credible, if unpredictable and unquantifiable, threat to both troops and civilians in several theatres.

by Andy Oppenheimer o soldiers were affected in this incident, but attacks on civilians – most notably girls’ schools in early 2010 - and on Afghan troops and police have caused serious injuries and included the use of organophosphates, which is a precursor to nerve agents and produces similar symptoms. Serving military personnel have told the author about IEDs incorporating organophosphates and other widely available household chemicals such as insecticides and rat poison, and about food poisoning attacks through insurgent infiltration into ISAF bases.

The asymmetric nature of the Afpak conflict means that, while military-grade CBRN may not currently be available to insurgents, they are inventive enough to incorporate precursor and industrial chemicals into IEDs, civilian-use radioisotopes into RDDs (radiological dispersal devices), and also launch non-explosive forms of attack

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The Remploy Cougar and Panther NBC suits © Remploy

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CBRN in the Field: Prepare for the Worst

using common poisons and pathogens.

From the Gulf Wars on

Operation Desert Storm was the last major military campaign where CBRN defence was a prime factor in planning and reconnaissance as — unlike the Second Gulf War — the Iraqis actually possessed chemical and biological weapons (CBW) in varying stages of development. At the height of the Iraq insurgency attacks involving chlorine were carried out from January to March 2007.

Over 200 Iraqi civilians were inflicted with chemical injuries when tankers carrying chlorine were hijacked and blown up.

Following Saddam Hussein’s massacre of Kurds at Halabja in the 1980s with true CW, the Iraqi insurgents could guarantee their attacks would cause maximum terror.

Although successive UN inspection teams and occupying US forces have cleared much of Iraq of CW ordnance, the sheer number of abandoned chemical shells may provide the means for ICDs (improvised chemical devices) in a still very volatile country.

Concerns also abound about possible use by government forces – or insurgents - of Syria’s substantial arsenal of CBW. But Iran is uppermost as the main threat in the region, as it is

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Aero Sekur NBC suit made from composite materials, which has a lightweight gas alarm fitted to alert the wearer to a CBRN attack © Aero Sekur

suspected of developing CBW as well as its nascent nuclear weapons and extensive missile programmes. Added to this will be the need to protect any forces operating from the air or on the ground following an attack on Iran, which it is feared could produce radioactive contamination on a potentially wide scale.

Facing up North Korea

In the Far East, the prime concern is North Korea’s growing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons capabilities and its proximity to the ROK’s capital Seoul, which is within range of an airborne CBW attack.

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The Aero Sekur sniper poncho © Aero Sekur

South Korean defence authorities have begun holding civil defence drills, and have distributed guidebooks to all ROK military units outlining countermeasures and symptoms of 13 bio-weapons, including plague, anthrax, typhoid, and – the biggest killer historically – smallpox, suspected to be in the DPRK’s BW arsenal.

This year will therefore see a series of joint

In the Far East, the prime concern is North Korea’s growing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons capabilities

US/ROK CBRN training exercises, beginning in January 2012 when the US Army Aberdeen Proving Ground held a capabilities exercise on detection and protection equipment and procedures for visiting soldiers from the South Korean CBRN Defence Command.

Head of its Chemical and Environmental Analysis Branch, Maj. Jun Yoo, said: "I have spent some time outside the military working in labs so being able to see these operations helped me learn a lot and I will use this knowledge in my lab in Korea.”

Detection – small is beautiful Leading

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companies

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Smiths

Detection and Bruker Daltonics have developed chip technology to enhance miniaturisation of detectors, with around 210,000 Smiths chemical agent detectors (CAD) in service with military forces worldwide. The Smiths LCD (Lightweight Chemical Detector) is a new, small and lightweight CWA detector for soldier/squad protection in the 21st century. Weighing less than 0.45kg, the LCD serves as an unobtrusive compact detector, constantly sampling the

air for traces of nerve, blister, TICs, or blood and choking agents. The unit can be deployed on fixed or mobile platforms, including vehicles, ships, aircraft and fixed site installations and is in service with the UK and US armed forces and many other countries.

Advanced systems are based on Raman spectroscopy for rapid, accurate identification of unknown chemicals directly in the field. Thermo Scientific’s FirstDefender RM

Republic of South Korea CBRN Defense Command are instructed by the US 22nd Chemical Battalion on CBRNE response team equipment during a capabilities exercise at Aberdeen Proving Ground's Warrior Training Center in December 2011. The CAPEX was part of a weeklong visit by 10 Korean soldiers to the 20th Support Command (CBRNE) ©US Army

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Members of the US Army 4th CST (Civil Support Team) using a new CDC surface sampling method to collect environmental samples in order to assess contamination after a simulated BT event ©US Army

uses chemometric algorithms to determine automatically the presence of mixed and contaminated chemicals, and can operate directly through sealed glass or plastic containers.

Its twin handheld, the TruDefender FT, uses fluorescence to identify unknown chemicals directly in the hot zone and is suited to use by military personnel.

Radiation detection is well advanced and instruments must be able to differentiate from naturally occurring radiation from possible terrorist threats, and to measure all three types of ionising radiation – gamma (the easy one), beta, and alpha. Bruker Radiation Sentry detection systems can be carried on portable backpacks and vehicle-, aircraft- or helicopter-mounted systems. The challenge continues for readily available systems to detect alpha – which is short-range radiation – emitted by uranium oxides, plutonium, americium-241 and other radioisotopes.

Bio-surveillance on military operations includes obtaining information on disease patterns in local populations and at military bases, where food poisoning outbreaks, such as the one described above in Nangarhar province, are common. Intelligence gathering is a vital adjunct to the advanced bio-detection suites installed on board recce vehicles, most notably the Bruker Daltonics biological suite for continuous monitoring of the external air for aerosolised particles, which is installed on the widely deployed Fuchs NBC reconnaissance vehicle.

The NBC suite consists of an onboard mass spectrometer which analyses the particles and a totally sealed analysis chamber for processing and identification of samples using ELISA (Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay) and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) techniques. The US equivalent, the Long Range Biological Stand-off Detection System (LRBSDS), uses LIDAR technology to detect, track and map particles larger than one micron in large area aerosol clouds at a maximum range of 30 km.

Diagnostic tools

Of prime importance is shortening the time between a bio-alarm and the response, so much research is devoted to speedier sampling, analysis and diagnosis. Military operations are frequently conducted in austere

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environments, where laboratory facilities may be rudimentary or non-existent. To test blood samples, the micro-array is an advanced diagnostic tool which can provide a picture, through gene expression or protein production in white blood cells, of what the cells are doing in response to invasion. This will thereby point to the nature of the invader. As microassays contain many thousands of genes, however, a big challenge is for them to indicate signs of bioterrorist-related illnesses in the pre-symptomatic stages. And with all CBRN systems for force protection, they must be portable and ruggedised.

Protective equipment against chemical hazards includes the ChemTox point-of-care diagnostic test produced by ProQares and Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc. and is being used in many European and Asia Pacific countries. It is designed to detect human exposure to Soman, Sarin, Tabun, and VX in the blood, as well as low-level chemical nerve agent exposure, in ten minutes with a fingerstick blood sample.

For military systems, advances in highly

sensitive personal force protection devices and integrated sensing technologies have resulted in miniaturisation of testing systems. In 2011 UK company, Magna Parva with the University of Leicester launched at DSEi a man-portable ‘lab in a box’, Exolab, to enable repeatable, rapid, low-cost preparation of solid or liquid samples in military operations. Exolab is designed to integrate all sample preparation processes necessary for complex measurement – such as for DNA analysis or immuno-assays that are state-ofthe-art techniques used for disease and CBW detection. Stages can be plugged in or out and samples re-routed through the system for re-agent addition, mixing, thermal cycling, centrifugation and incubation.

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The Argon DS3 monitor detecting simulated contamination on a ‘casualty’ during NATO Exercise Clean Care, November 2011 © Argon Electronics (UK) Ltd

Suits, boots and masks

Advances in composite materials for military NBC protection have produced an integrated range of respirators and NBC/combat suits for ground defence apparel. Aero Sekur has developed a lightweight, low-cost gas alarm incorporated into the suit to alert the wearer to an NBC attack. Another revolutionary development is technology to embed sensors into combat apparel materials.

Many companies make masks for the military, such as the Avon ST53 Mask, which combines the Avon FM53 with innovative modular breathing apparatus technology to provide positive pressure SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) and PAPR (powered air-purifying) capability. The air cylinder is compact and portable on the waist. A twin exhalation valve enables the wearer to use the respirator at negative or positive

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US Soldiers with 181st Chemical Company conduct a mass casualty decontamination exercise and are evaluated on how quickly the Soldiers set up the decontamination site, prepare themselves with the proper gear and start receiving casualties at the Yakima Training Center © DoD

pressure, which means troops can enter different threat environments without having to change equipment. The ST53 has interchangeable nose-cups for maximum comfort and fit – of considerable importance for forces operating in hot climates, as is usually the case – and it is interoperable with all field communications systems. From February 2012 Avon has supplied the Malay Police with the C50 configurable mask for its civil riot upgrade programme.

For PPE (personal protection equipment), the Mark IV suit by Remploy, developed in conjunction with the UK MoD, is in service with the US Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, Indonesian Special Forces, Australian Defence Force, and Thailand’s CTOC. The latest Remploy suits designed specifically for the military, the Coumil and Panmil, build on the designs of the Cougar and Panther PPE and have a lighter-weight carbon lining for greater comfort for a total weight of 2.1 kg. They offer protection against liquid chemical splash, vapour and biological hazards and are fire retardant.

The abiding means of force protection is collective. COLPRO is provided on vehicles for troops on the move entering areas where CBRN reconnaissance is necessary, or where there is an ongoing threat. It is also installed as heavy-duty, high-performance ventilation and air filtration systems for inflatable field shelters and tents in army camps, and for ship-based protected environments. A leading COLPRO system, by Utilis working with NATO, consists of three zones: access module (CCA); an isolation airlock, and a clean zone (TFA), which can be set up as a camp,

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command post, hospital or as a storage enclosure for vehicles or equipment.

According to US Army Brigadier (retd) General Dean R. Ertwine, who became Vice President for Army Science And Technology at Battelle, CBRN preparedness in Desert Storm 1 was not just due to physical force protection, countermeasures, training, medical material and equipment, “National philosophy against the use of chemical weapons was ‘You don’t ever want to use chemical weapons against us because we’ll retaliate - not necessarily in kind, but in a worse way.’” That is, coalition troops could operate effectively whether or not they had to encounter chemical warfare. However, in Gulf War II, while CBW again did not occur, troops endured exposure to chemicals from uncovering caches of legacy weapons in ammunition sites.

All-hazards approach

Preparedness is also being geared as much towards small-scale attacks as for the longpredicted mass-casualty, high-tech CBRN incident associated more with Cold-War weapons capabilities. A ‘pick-and-mix’ deployment of conventional and unconventional weapons is more likely from insur-

For military systems, advances in highly sensitive personal force protection devices and integrated sensing technologies have resulted in miniaturisation of testing systems l

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US Navy chief EOD technician in NBC PPE demonstrates the proper collection procedure of a biological sample at a suspect clandestine BW agent production facility in San Diego ©US Army

gents and terrorists. This opens up a new era of force protection - against toxic industrial chemicals (and also particulates from depleted uranium weapons) given the number of troops suffering from ‘Gulf War Syndrome’ and similar chronic illnesses and symptoms, many of them long term. Immediate decontamination of affected areas, troops and equipment may not always be possible in the fog and heat of war.

Attention in bio-defence is also turning increasingly to protection against indigenous diseases along with new, modified strains from laboratories, and to dealing with civilian or troop exposure to misplaced radioactive materials. On top of this, the predicted epidemic of soldiers returning with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) alone will test resources and future capability – therefore, preparedness against injurious substances, whatever the source, is paramount.

This also reflects the ‘all-hazards’ approach increasingly applied to homeland CBRN defence – which may be needed in military operations as we enter a new and increasingly unstable period of conflicts.

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The crash of two IAF Mirage 2000 aircraft in quick succession led to the grounding of the fleet © AJB

Asia Pacific Procurement Update SOUTH ASIA

India’s defence budget has increased by 17 percent to $37.6 billion from $31.8 billion in 2011. The increase is designed to accommodate payments for 126 MMRCA aircraft and the 197-strong Light Utility Helicopter requirement as well as other large scale programmes. M.M. Pallam Raju, the Indian minister of state for defense has criticised HAL’s project management for dropping behind delivery schedules for the Indian Air Force.

Six contractors; Singapore Technologies Kinetics Limited, Israeli Military Industries, Rheinmetall Air Defence, Russian firm Corporation Defence and two Indian firms T S Kisan and Company and RK Machine Tool have been barred for doing business with India’s Ministry of Defence for the next decade for their alleged involvement in corruption at the Ordnance Factory Board in 2009. Mazagon Docks and Gujarat based Pipavav shipyard have had approval from the government for their proposed naval shipbuilding joint venture announced in 2011.

The Indian Armed Forces have taken delivery of the first batch of Akash surface-

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to-air missiles to the Indian Air Force and the TAL indigenously developed lightweight torpedo for the Navy. Both weapons were produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited with both the company and the Defence Research and Development Organisation jointly developing the systems.

The Admiral Gorshkov/INS Vikramaditya has completed work at the Severodvinsk White Sea shipyard is ready to begin a three and a half month set of sea trials in the Barents Sea ready for formal handover to the Indian Navy on December 4th. The Indian Coast Guard Ship Rajshree, first in the series of eight inshore patrol vessel designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers has been commissioned. The INS Teg, the first of three Indian Talwar class guided missile frigates, which are modified Krivak III class frigates ordered by India in a $1.6 billion deal agreed in 2006, has passed sea trials and has been commissioned. The second and third vessels INS Tarkash and INS Trikand, also built by Kalingrad’s Yantar Shipyard are in mooring trials and due to be completed by early 2013. The vessels will be the first Talwar class vessels to operate the Brahmos missile. India has taken the INS ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Chakra, the former Nerpa, a Russian Akula 3 nuclear submarine into service under a ten year lease. Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei launched their new Flash Black, Next Generation Lightweight Torpedo at DEFEXPO. Cassidian has appointed Peter Gutsmiedl as the first Chief Executive Officer of its India operations.

A second Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 has crashed in the space of two weeks. The two aircraft went down in Madhya Pradesh province and Rajasthan province respectively. The Indian government grounded the fleet temporarily.

The Indian Army has ordered 100, 155mm, .52-caliber artillery pieces from the Ordnance Factory Board, the first artillery gun contract for nearly 20 years. An upgraded BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher at the Chandipur range in the eastern state of Orissa.

A Bangladesh Air Force L-39 jet trainer has crashed near Dhaka with both pilots surviving.

ITT Exelis has won a $54 million contract to supply its pod based Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare System on board Pakistan Air Force F-16s.

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SOUTH EAST ASIA

The Vietnamese Navy has inducted two new Svetlyak Project 10412 patrol boats in March; the “HQ-264” and “HQ-265”. They have been allocated to Command Brigade 127 in the South West of the country. A Russian destroyer, tanker and a support ship visited Ho Chi Minh city after participating in the counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden. Vietnam’s Aerospace Association has placed a $10m order with Russia’s Irkut Engineering to build a 100kg UAV to help develop expertise in the area in Vietnam.

France and Ind onesia are to sign a defense cooperation agreement which includes the areas of peacekeeping, piracy and counter-terror, building on a strategic partnership signed in July. Indonesian troops from the 13th Infantry Brigade joined with Indian troops from the 19th

Madras Infantry Battalion at India’s Counterinsurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram state for platoon level training. Coinciding with the Prime Ministerial visit by the UK’s David Cameron to the country, the UK has permitted British companies to sell defence products to Indonesia.

PT Dirgantara Indonesia has delivered three Bell 412EP for use by Indonesia’s Army and Navy. The Indonesian Air Force is to permanently station combat aircraft at the Timika air base in the eastern Papua region.

Northrop Grumman and Indonesia’s PT Industri Telekomunikasi have teamed to offer the S-Band longrange former’s AN/TPS-78 for programmes in Indonesia. Indonesia has ordered six Eurocopter EC 725 helicopters to equip Air Force combat search-and-rescue role with delivery starting in 2014.

ARINC has completed its upgrade of Air The USS Independence (LCS-1) will deploy to Singapore in March next year for a ten month tour © DoD

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Force C-130H Hercules. Taiwan has offered to donate a squadron of F-5E/F aircraft to Indonesia. Taiwan plans to retire the aircraft by 2020.

The Royal Thai Navy has stepped back from plans to spend up to $681 million acquiring decommissioned submarines from Germany with Navy chief Admiral Surasak Runroengrom saying that the Navy would no longer lobby for their acquisition. Atlas Elektronik has established a new Naval Support Centre as a joint venture with Suprom Chaiyakul of Prompaiboon Associates supporting the Royal Thai Navy. Thailand is to receive six AN/APG-68(V)9 radars from Northrop Grumman as part of its F-16 upgrade, part of an $87.7 million contract that includes order for the radar from Iraq and Oman.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has announced a new programme to establish a maritime domain awareness capability, combining new radar systems as well as naval and air assets.

China has recently transferred two exPLA(N) Jianghu-2 Type 053H1 frigates to the Myanmar Navy. Vice Adm. Nyan Tun, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Navy has visited China’s Naval Academy at Dalian.

The visit of Singapore’s Defence Minster counterpart Ng Eng Hen to Washington for talks with US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta saw the announcement that Littoral Combat Ships would operate from Singapore on a rotational rather than a permanent basis. Dutch security teams, operating on board merchant vessels in the region will operate out of Singapore thanks to a deal signed by the two governments on February 29th.

The governments of Thailand and Malaysia have agreed to boost co-operation in the area of their mutual border the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Meanwhile Indonesia has reinforced its border with Malaysia in East Kalimantan with a battalion of additional troops and additional checkpoints.

Republic of Singapore Air Force personnel will train in Italy beginning in May with six student pilots joining the 61st Wing in Lecce to undergo basic and advanced flight training on MB-339CD aircraft.

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Japan has ordered the first four of a planned 38 strong F-35A fleet © DoD

EAST ASIA

South Korea is to establish a new submarine command in 2015 with initial funding to begin work, allocated in the 2012 budget. The Navy is also preparing to embark on a programme to design and build a new 3000 tonne submarine design. South Korea’s Navy has begun in earnest work on its new naval base, on the southern island of Jeju. It is due to be completed in 2015 when it will have the facilities to host twenty warships and submarines.

Reported problems with the Northrop Grumman ALQ-135M electronic countermeasure suites on board Korea’s F-15K fleet has led to $56 million being allocated to buy six further systems to maintain availability. Deliveries of the F-15K Slam Eagle to South Korea have concluded with the last two of a total order for 61 aircraft, landing at Daegu air base in April. The Korean military has opted to use MTU diesels rather than a local engine in an initial batch of the new K2 Black Panther main battle tank. The last of four Dirgantara Indonesia/Airbus Military CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft has been delivered to the South Korean Coast

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Guard. Deliveries began in May 2011.

China’s military force will benefit from an 11.2 percent increase in official defence spending which will bring the total to $106.4 billion, doubling the figure in 2006 and it is expected to double again by 2015.

Others, including the US believe that China’s true defence spending is at least fifty percent higher. Shanghai’s HudongZhonghua Shipyard has launched the latest PLA Navy Yuzhao-class ship. The 20,000ton Type-071 amphibious transport dock is the fourth to be launched since 2006. Major General Luo Yuan, executive director of the China Military Science Society has called for the establishment of a coast guard to strengthen current efforts led by the State Oceanic Administration to specifically to enforce China’s claims South China Sea, said to reflect the view of the hawkish wing in the Chinese military. China’s Ministry of Defence has said that its new carrier will begin its first operational patrol later this year, with commissioning expected in August. The carrier has taken part in four sea trials in the Yellow Sea since its first one last August 2011. It said that trials of the J15, the platform’s key aircraft component were progressing well. Wu Ping, the

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deputy head of the China Marine Surveillance agency has said that China will increase patrols in national waters to protect the nation’s maritime interests.

Jap an has ordered four F-35A Joint Strike Fighters with an option for 38 planes which in total would be $10 billion. It follows the aircraft’s selection to meet Japan’s F-X competition in December. China and Japan have begun plans to improve cooperation at sea, creating a multilayered bilateral mechanism for maritime crisis management. The UK and Japan have signed a co-operation accord to enable the joint development of defence systems with naval vessels and helicopter projects being touted as amongst the first to be considered. Japan’s Ministry of Defense has ordered an EC225 utility helicopter with delivery in February 2015, replacing an aircraft lost in the 2011 Tsunami.

Taiwan is building a new airbase at Pingtung for new 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft.

Analysts and governments have become concerned about a new North Korean missile, spotted near Pyongyang and thought to be a development of the Taepo Dong-2 missile but with 50 percent greater reach.

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HMAS Collins transits through Cockburn Sound at sunrise. The HMAS Collins and Australia’s five other troubled submarines in the class will be replaced by a 12-strong successor fleet © Commonwealth of Australia

AUSTRALASIA

Australia has opted to delay the purchase of an initial 12 F-35 by two years, saving $1.6 billion. Airbus Military is reported to have submitted a detailed offer in January for an additional, sixth KC-30A for the Royal Australian Air Force. Australia’s Cocos Island in the Indian Ocean is being considered for a US base for Global Hawk UAVs in the Indian Ocean. Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith said the estimated

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cost for upgrading the base to cope would be A$75-$100m. Long lead time components for the conversion of 12 in-service F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters to the EA-18G Growler EW variant have been ordered by the Australian Dept. of Defense at an estimated cost of A$35 million.

The Royal Australian Navy’s troubled six strong Collins class will be replaced with a $36 billion project to build twelve new submarines. Two further keel blocks for the HMAS Hobart, the Royal Australian

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Navy’s first of class in its $8 billion Air Warfare Destroyer programme. Australia is to acquire the MSV Skandi Bergen to operate with the HMAS Tobruk and HMAS Choules amphibious ships as a stop gap until the first of two new Canberraclass landing helicopter deck ships joins the Royal Australian Navy.

New Zealan d has accepted the first of nine NH90 helicopters into service, beginning the replacement of 12 UH-1 Iroquois helicopters.