EDR Magazine N°41 sept-oct 2018

N° 41 • September/October 2018

MAGAZINE European Defence Review The ASW/ASuW rotary-wing platform-capable return Russia’s Future Fighters

Professional UAV Training KTRV promotes full range of air-launched weapons on global market

© NHIndustries

Artillery ammunition: increasing accuracy and range

European Defence Review

MAGAZINE I S S U E N° 41 2018 French Navy has received 20 out of 27 NFHs which, in the ASW/ASuW version is equipped with a Thales ASW suite with FLASH active dipping sonar and TMS2000 sonar and sonobuoys processor, also used by Belgian, Norwegian and Swedish platforms, the latter in the FLASH-S version. © NHIndustries

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The ASW/ASuW rotary-wing platform-capable return

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Russia’s Future Fighters

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Artillery ammunition: increasing accuracy and range

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Professional UAV Training

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KTRV promotes full range of air-launched weapons on global market

By Luca Peruzzi

By David Oliver

By Paolo Valpolini

By David Oliver

By Dmitry Fediushko

Publisher: Joseph Roukoz Editor-in-chief: David Olivier European Defence Review (EDR) is published by European Defence Publishing SAS www.edrmagazine.eu

EDR | July/August 2018

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The ASW/ASuW rotary-wing platform-capable return

By Luca Peruzzi

In addition to the Mexican Navy, who has acquired the latest Airbus Helicopters AS-565 Panther MBe model mainly for maritime surveillance, SAR and transport, the same platform has been commissioned by the Indonesian Navy with an ASW suite based on active dipping sonar. Š Airbus Helicopters

With the increasing number of countries acquiring or enlarging their fleet of submarines, the world naval forces are reconsidering the anti-submarine warfare priority and looking for new surface, air and underwater platforms, systems and weapons to counter the underwater threat.

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he ASW/AsuW multirole rotary-wing platform remains the ship organic and most time-to-response asset available. However, the need to carry an ASW suite with active dipping sonar and sonobuoys managed by a common acoustic processor and other maritime sur-

veillance sensors with a sufficient endurance to conduct the challenging dipping sonar operations in adverse weather and sea conditions, require a platform and mission suite which only latest years’ technology developments made available.

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Airbus Helicopters on the prowl DThe latest evolution of the combat proven Panther naval helicopter family from Airbus Helicopters, has expanded its customers’ spectrum of naval missions from maritime surveillance, SAR and weapon platform to demanding ASW/AsuW operations. The latest Panther AS-565 MBe combines a new more powerful powerplant based on two Safran Arriel 2N 985 shp-each engine with uprated main gear box and reinforced airframe, Starflex rotor head and fenestron tail rotor with composite blades. The latter enhancements offer a maximum take-off weight of 4,500 kg (compared to 4,300 kg of previous version) and enhanced performances in hot and high conditions, enabling to achieve 278 km/h and a range of 780 km.

The latest addition to Airbus Helicopters’ Panther family of naval rotary-wing platforms combines a new more powerful power plant with uprated main gear box and reinforced dynamic components, in addition to a new glass cockpit and 4-axis autopilot. © Airbus Helicopters

The new Panther also boast a new glass cockpit, which together with a 4-axis autopilot enhance operational capabilities and reduced pilot workload. The single/dual pilot IFR (instrument flight rules) glass cockpit introduced two color primary flight displays for each pilot and one main tactical display for radar, digital map and FLIR visualization, in addition to a vehicle and engine multifunction display (VEMD). The AS-565 MBe can be equipped with advanced flight management, search and weather radar, Electro-Optical System (EOS), a 272-kg rescue hoist, cargo sling load and up to four stretchers in the cabin, in addition to an ASW/ASuW suite and weapon systems. Already in service with the Mexican Navy in a maritime surveillance and SAR version delivered in ten copies, the Indonesian Navy inducted into service the first two Panther MBe helicopter configured for ASW/AsuW operations in October 2017.

Based on the contract signed in late 2014 between PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) and Airbus Helicopters, the latter is supplying 11 AS-565 MBe helicopters to PTDI, who is reassembling and outfitting the rotorcraft in country, acting as the design authority. The Panther mission suite for Indonesian Navy is based on an integrated ASW suite with a lightweight operator console, L-3 Ocean Systems DS100 HELRAS Helicopter LongRange Active Sonar) active dipping sonar (ADS) and a launching system for Eurotorp A244/S or Raytheon Mk46 light-weight torpedoes (LWTs). The system modular design will allow the platform to be quickly reconfigured for non-combat roles.

Leonardo Helicopters in the wake The medium or intermediate weight range of naval rotary-wing solutions is however characterized by the large presence of Leonardo Helicopters’ Lynx and Super Lynx 6

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The AW159 Wildcat naval platform belongs to the new Leonardo’s family of multi-role military helicopters for both naval and land applications, today in service with the Navies of UK and South Korea and in production for the Philippines. © NATO

families. The AW-159 naval platform belongs to the new multi-role military helicopter’s family of both naval and land applications, which was developed for UK MoD and today in service in 34 aircraft for the British Army and 28 for the Royal Navy (RN). The latter variant features an all-new fully marinized airframe assembled from monolithic machined aluminum structural parts with a 12,000-hour fatigue life and a max gross weight of 6,050 kg.

The AW-159 is powered by two LHTEC CTS800-4, 1,361 shp each engine with built-in IR suppression and a 2,150 shp uprated gearbox interconnected with the semi-rigid rotor head with composite rotor blades, which gives it high agility and the legendary ship operating capabilities of the Lynx helicopters’ family. The AW-159’s core avionics are based on an integrated ‘glass’ cockpit with four 10x8-inch active matrix liquid crystal displays, embedded GPS and inertial navigation, an aircraft management system with dual-redundant control displays and integrated secure communications.

In addition to the peculiar modifications for shipborne operations, the naval variant shares (with land-based model) the same common mission system tactical processor (jointly developed by General Dynamics UK and Leonardo Helicopters), the L-3 Wescam MX-15Di EO/laser designator system (combining IR, TV, and laser designator) and the HIDAS 15 self-protection suite.

The latter incorporates Sky Guardian 2000

radar RWR, the AN/AAR-57 missile warning system (MWS), chaffs/flares countermeasure dispenser suite and a system controller. Peculiar to the Royal Navy’s shipborne variant sensor suite, is Leonardo Airborne and Space Systems’ 360° Seaspray 7400E multimode AESA radar, Sky Guardian 2000 RWR with electronic support measures function and an I-band transponder.

The AW-159’s Royal Navy variant known as HMA.2 Wildcat provides the service with an advanced ISTAR (Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance) capabilities, which represent a huge improvement compared to previous Lynx families. Manned by two crewmembers including a pilot and an observer, the Royal Navy variant mission and weapon suites have been developed for ASuW, SAR, maritime surveillance and utility support operations, but the platform has been however designed to accomplish ASW/ASuW missions. Capable to carry cabin door-mounted machine guns (7.62 or 12.7 mm) and guided air-to-surface missiles, the AW-159 will be armed with Thales LMM (Lightweight Multirole Missile) Martlet laser-guided small missiles and MBDA Sea Venom imaging IR-guided ASM with two-way data link and over 20 km range, which are expected to be available from 2020.

The AW159 platform is in service with South Korean Navy with a sensors suite including Leonardo’s 360° Seaspray 7400E AESA radar and SAGE ESM, EOS and ASW package based on active dipping sonar and lightweight torpedoes. © South Korean Navy

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In its export guise, the AW159 platform is also in service in an eight-helicopters fleet with the South Korean Navy and has been acquired by the Philippine Navy in two copies, the latter to be delivered in 2019. The South Korean Navy features a more extended mission suite with digital flight control system (DAFCS) and a rear cabin operator console to also accomplish ASW/ASuW operations. The latter suite also includes a Thales Compact FLASH sonics suite based on acoustic processor, Compact FLASH active dipping sonar, and a sonobuoy dispenser together with a Leonardo SAGE ESM and a Link 16 datalink for automated tactical data exchange, in addition to internal fuel tanks to extend mission endurance. The RoK armament inventory includes LWTs, such as the K-745 Cheong Sangeo (Blue Shark), depth charges and Rafael Spike NLOS airto-surface missiles. Leonardo has recently unveiled a new stub weapons-carriage wing solution capable to carry 10 LMMs and 2 Sea Venom missiles. The AW-159 naval platform is being proposed in several countries, including South Korea, Germany and Malaysia.

Lockheed Martin as usual Nearing the completion of the planned fleet of 280 helicopters in June 2018, with additional Nearing the completion of the planned fleet of 280 helicopters in June 2018, the US Navy is looking ahead to add new missions and enhanced capabilities to its Lockheed Martin/ Sikorsky MH-60R ASW/ASuW platform. Š US Navy

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EDR | July/August 2018

eight in 2019 as proposed by FY 2018 budget increment, the US Navy is looking ahead to add new missions and enhanced capabilities to its Lockheed Martin/Sikosky MH-60R ASW/AsuW platform.

Sharing the same air vehicle and Common Cockpit with the MH-60S, the maritime utility and security roles rotary-wing platform capable to perform vertical replenishment, MCM, attack, transport and SAR missions, the 10,6t maximum take-off gross weight MH-60R presents a glass-cockpit and a sensor operator console in the rear cabin with a three-members crew which receives the processed and fused information from the mission management system and a sensor suite including both Link 16 and the Ku-band Tactical Common Data Link (CDL).

Primary sensors are the Telephonics APS153 multimode radar, the Lockheed Martin ALQ-210 ESM, Raytheon AAS-44C(V) MultiSpectral Targeting System (MSTS), a selfprotection with MWS/LWS, infrared jammer and chaff/flares and an ASW suites. The latter is centered on an acoustic processor for both the Raytheon AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) based on Thales FLASH, and sonobuoys. During the

The MH-60R is in service with the Royal Australian Navy, which received 24 helicopters in a similar configuration with the US Navy and armed with Raytheon Mk54 lightweight torpedoes and Hellfire missiles. © Australian DoD

service-life, the US Navy cured operational deficiencies and added enhancements including the new Automatic Radar Periscope Detection and Discrimination (ARPDD) capability. In common with the MH-60S, the US Navy will introduce VOR/ILS, precision approach and airways-navigation capabilities to operate in adverse weather while working to mitigate obsolescence, spanning from the mission computer to the active dipping sonar.

The MH-60R is the lead platform for integration of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS)/Low Volume Terminal (LVT) Block 2 Upgrade, while further developments will include the Advanced Off-board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) pod integration and the implementation of Link16 J11 and J12.6 series messages that will allow to provide in-flight target updates to Net Enabled Weapons. The AOEW is a selfcontained EW pod which will require only software modification to both MH-60R/S helicopter mission system, providing the Navy with advanced anti-ship missile detection and response capabilities. The US Navy is working on a Service Life Assessment Program to

extend the MH-60 R/S life into the 2030s and beyond.

The MH-60R found export success with the Royal Australian Navy, which received 24 helicopters within 2016 in a similar configuration to the US Navy, and capable of using Raytheon Mk54 LWTs and Hellfire missiles. The US has however recently approved a possible upgrade programme for these platforms. The Danish air force received the first three MH-60R in June 2016 while all nine helicopters will be delivered within June 2018. Equipped with only an antisurface warfare mission suite, the Danish Air Force’s MH-60R will operate from Navy’s platforms including frigates, ocean patrol and support ships, with the first deployment conducted in December 2017 in the Northern Atlantic. The MH-60R will also operate with the Saudi Arabian Naval Forces, with first deliveries to start in July 2018 and planned to deploy initially from future Lockheed Martinprovided multi-mission surface combat (MMSC) ships. Saudi Arabia has ordered 10 helicopters with potential options, and armed with LWTs, Hellfires and Advanced Precision EDR | July/August 2018

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Kill Weapons System II (APWS) rockets. The US has also recently approved sale of eight MH-60Rs to Mexico in a configuration for both ASuW/ASW missions including Mk54 LWT, Hellfires and APWS weapons.

The European flavour NH90 During the DIMDEX 2018 exhibition, the Qatari MoD signed with Leonardo as prime contractor, a contract for the purchase of 28 NH-90 helicopters, including 16 NH-90s in the tactical transport (TTH) version for land operations and 12 NH-90 in the naval (NATO Frigate Helicopter, NFH) version to be delivered between 2022 and 2025, in addition to a comprehensive support, maintenance training service package and associated infrastructure.

Qatar became the 13th operator of the rotary wing platform provided by the NHIndustries consortium, including Airbus Helicopters,

Leonardo Helicopters and Fokker and the seventh to have acquired the NFH. Based on a common (with TTH version) full compositemade airframe, motorization package (Turbomeca RTM-322-01-09 or 9A versions or General Electric T700/T6E1 dual channel FADEC engines), fully composite damage tolerant main and tail rotor blades and transmission package, fly-by-wire flight control system with 4-axis autopilot, glass-cockpit and platform mission systems, the 11t maximum take-off weight NFH incorporates features to operate from small ship decks in severe weather and sea states with a reduced maintenance and support footprint, including automatic main and tail folding system (electrically powered), specific naval undercarriage, aircraft assisted recovery (traversing system) and complete communications suite.

Thanks to the NFH’s integrated avionics suite and glass cockpit in common with TTH

Italian Navy has received 27 out of 46 NFH ASW/ASuW platforms which are equipped with Leonardo ASW OTS-90 suite including L-3 HELRAS active dipping sonar, sonobuoys and a common acoustic processor. The OTS is also equipping Dutch NFHs and future German helicopters. Š NATO

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The Royal Netherlands Navy has received all its NFH helicopters including 12 devoted to ASW/ASuW missions and 8 to transport, SF and utility duties. The previous Step A and Step B-configured helicopters are taken to latest MR1/FRC standard. © NHIndustries

although conceived and designed especially for naval operations, together with advanced human machine interface (HMI) and a flyby-wire with a 4-axis autopilot, significantly reducing crew workload, the NHF can accomplish the full naval warfare missions’ spectrum with a crew of three operators including pilot, tactical coordinator and a sensor operator in the cabin console. Some navies chose to embark two sensor operators and two consoles.

Although customized versions have been developed according to navies requirements, two main sensors ASW/ASuW configurations are available together with a navigation, communications and identification suite including meteor radar, INS/GPS, digital map generator, SATCOM, latest generation IFF and Link 11 data link (with Link 16/22 growth potential). In addition to the ENR (European Naval Radar)-consortium provided fully solid-state surveillance radar with digital signal processor and advanced operational

modes including ISAR capabilities, a Safran Euroflir 410 EOS system and an Elettronica DETE-90 ESM with MBDA chaff/flares dispenser package, the ASW suite includes alternatively the Leonardo OTS-90 supplied package (equipping Italian, Dutch and future German helicopters) based on L-3 Ocean Systems HELRAS (Helicopter LongRange Active Sonar) and Common Acoustic Processor for both sonar and sonobuoys or Thales-provided FLASH active dipping sonar (ADS) and TMS2000 sonar and sonobuoys processing unit (equipping French, Norwegian and Swedish platforms), in addition to latter systems’ launchers and receivers. Further to NFH operators, Sweden received nine NH90s (sharing the higher cabin with land operations version) in the naval version based on Saab mission suite with operator console and including APS143B(V)3 OceanEye radar, EOS, Thales ASW suite with FLASH-S version ADS plus sonobuoys, and customized self-protection suite.

EDR | May/June 2018

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Due to development and initial service’s problems but also new radar requirements, which have delayed production, testing and affect in-service operations, the NFH has been delivered in three incremental-capable configurations, named Step “A” Step “B”and FRC (Final Radar Configuration) where the “Step B” introduced the helicopter final contractual configuration. With initial NFH customers’ decision to replace the original analog equipment with a new digital radar, the design, production and qualification of the new fit-for-function equipment with new and enhanced capabilities was not aligned with the helicopter final contractual configuration or “Step B” qualification, therefore requiring a follow-on configuration called “Step B - FRC” or “FRC”. Moreover, the lessons learned in the first years of operations, resulted in a new helicopter software/hardware upgrade called “MR1”, which was more recently introduced into NFH fleet. NHIndustries is today conducting only NFH “MR1” (with “Step B - FRC”-based configuration) new deliveries, while upgrading in-service helicopters to the

latest configuration and software release, which is putting pressure on the 600-flownhours heavy maintenance inspections, when the retrofit is co-executed.

With a planned fleet of respectively 46 and 27 NFHs fleet, the Italian and French Navy has so far received 27 and 20 NFHs, which have been successfully embarked in flight detachments on board the two navies’ FREMM frigates and Horizon-type destroyers, Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and support vessels among other ship-classes operating in a wide range of operational environments and missions including respectively Mediterranean, Caribbean and Northern seas, Arabian Gulf, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and ASW/ASuW, maritime surveillance, SAR, counter-terrorism, special forces and naval logistic support missions. The Dutch Navy has already received all its NFHs (including 7 FRC) currently deployed on board frigates and support ships in overseas operations, with Belgian Air Component’s two-of-the four “Step B” delivered helicopters were recently retrofitted to FRC standard

The NHIndustries has delivered to Belgian Navy all four NFHs under procurement. These helicopters have the same mission suite and sensors of French Navy’s NFH. © NHIndustries

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The German Navy has ordered 18 NH90 Sea Lions with a customized ASW/ASuW mission suite. The first two platforms are currently flying and first deliveries are planned for late 2019. © Airbus Helicopters

and other two are planned shortly. Norwegian MoD has inducted 7 on a 14-helicopter fleet with ASW/ASuW capabilities and customized self-protection suite, with deliveries completion planned for 2019.

The latest European NFH operator is the German Navy, which 18 NH-90 Sea Lions for land-based and support ships naval missions will be delivered from end-2019 with additional sensors, improved navigation and communications equipment. The latest export customer is however the Qatar Emiri Air Force due to receive twelve NFHs from 2022 in a reported ASuW version with ENR radar, EOS and Elettronica DETE-90 ESM and an armament package with machine guns based on MBDA Marte ER anti-ship missile (up to two weapons), which contract was also signed during DIMDEX 2018. The NFH is already qualified to use MBDA Marte Mk 2/S anti-ship missile and three torpedo types including MU90, Mk46 and Stingray. While 13 NFHs come for French Navy in a transport/ SF version with rear ramp, Italian Navy is receiving ten NH90 in the MITT (MaritimeItalian Navy Tactical Transport) shipborne amphibious/SF TTH-based version.

On the Canadian side The Canadian Maritime Helicopter Programme (MHP) for the acquisition of 28 Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone ASW/ASuW helicopters, inclusive of development, certification, delivery, training and 25 years of in-service support is nearing the platform’s initial operational capability (IOC) after being launched in 2004.

The multi-mission shipborne helicopter baselined off Sikorsky’s S-92A civil platform with a comprehensive mission system integrated by General Dynamics Canada is expected to reach IOC for mid-2018, with final deliveries in 2021 and full operational capability (FOC) in 2025. The 13t maximum take-off and full authority fly-by-wire equipped helicopter features an integrated mission system (IMS) centered on the mission data management system (MDMS) designed

by General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada, which controls a sensors and data link-equipped suite based on Telephonics APS-143B surveillance radar, Lockheed Martin ALQ-210 ESM, a FLIR Systems Star Safire III EOS and an ASW suite centered on General Dynamics modular acoustic

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The Canadian Maritime Helicopter Programme (MHP) for the acquisition of 28 Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone ASW/ASuW helicopters, training and support, is expected to reach initial operational capability (IOC) by mid-2018. © Lockheed Martin

processor, L-3 Ocean Systems DS-100 HELRAS ADS and sonobuoys, in addition to a self-protection suite based on Orbital ATK AAR-47 MWS, BAE Systems AN/ALQ-144 Infrared Countermeasure and chaffs/flares dispenser suite.

With a four-members crew including two pilots and two sensors operators in the rear-cabin tactical consoles and capable to carry two Mk-46 LTWs, the CH-148 is being inducted into service with a phased capability improvements throughout airframe and mission suite configuration releases. The current Block 1 is being used for training, initial operational test and evaluation while the first six aircraft in the final operational capability (Block 2) configuration are planned to be delivered by June 2018. In the meantime, Block 1 helicopters are being converted to latest configuration and incremental mission suite capability releases are introduced up to the final as Capability Release 2.1. A 10-year, 2,800-hour flight test programme is expected to be concluded in 2019.

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A big helicopter from Italy Among the heaviest and longer-range ASW/ ASuW and multirole shipborne rotary wing platforms, the Leonardo Helicopters’ family of shipborne AW-101 helicopters continues to master the specialty after a successful long pedigree of operations in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea main theaters of operations.

In service in different-equipped ASW/ASuW versions with UK and Italian Navies, the shipborne AW-101 family saw an operational renaissance with wider capabilities in the last decade with the Royal Navy’s Merlin Capability Sustainment Programme (MCSP) and a soon to be launched mid-life upgrade of Italian Navy’s EH-101 (as AW-101 is called by the Navy) fleet. Moreover, the platform versatility and long-range capabilities pushed the Japanese Self-Defence Force (JSDF) to deploy the AW 101 for mine-countermeasures and Antarctic mission support operations, while the UK’s MoD received on last May,

The Royal Navy has 30 Merlin HM.2 with an enhanced cockpit, ASW/ASuW mission system and sensors package thanks to Merlin Capability Sustainment Programme (MCSP). The same platforms will use the new RN’s airborne surveillance and control system (ASaC), as role-fit equipment. © UK MoD Crowncopy right

the first of the recently transferred 25 Merlin helicopters to the Commando Helicopter Force (CHF), upgraded to the HC.4/4a amphibious support version under the Merlin Life Sustainment Programme (MSLP).

The UK MCSP programme however saw Lockheed Martin UK as prime and Leonardo taken a fleet of 30 Royal Navy’s ASW/ASuW Merlins to the HM.2 standard in the 20142016 period. The latter’s avionics system was re-architectured around a full duplex Ethernet aircraft data network and new aircraft management computers. Key features include the implementation of a new NVG-compatible

glass cockpit based on five multi-function flat panel displays and touchscreen units, a latest generation navigation, communications and identification suite. The programme also introduced an open architecture mission system with new computer hardware and updated tactical functionalities, together with two new mission consoles for the rearcabin operators. The sensor suite was also enhanced with improvements to Leonardo Blue Kestrel surveillance radar and a new Thales-provided sonic processing suite based on a Common Acoustic processor (CAP) to handle both the Thales FLASH (Sonar 2089) active dipping sonar (ADS) and sonobuoy processing with new shallow-water detection and tracking algorithms, and a new sonobuoy receiver, in addition to a new solid-state mass storage and recording system. The suite also includes an upgraded ESM system and Link 11. In 2016, Thales UK and Ultra Electronics were subcontracted to introduce a MultiStatic Active (MSA) acoustic processing with up to 32 sonobuoys managing, to fully exploit the onboard ADS and Type 23’s 2087 sonar and VDS capabilities. A parallel program added an EOS and enhanced self-protection.

In January 2017, Lockheed Martin received a contract to provide the new RN’s airborne

The Italian Navy is expected, budget permitting, to soon launch a mid-life update program for her fleet of EH-101 (AW-101) helicopters including 8 ASW/AsuWs, 8 amphibious support and 4 early warning configured platforms. © NATO

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The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) is receiving 14 AW101s built under license by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in mine countermeasures and Antarctic research activities support versions, with potential further sales. © Leonardo

surveillance and control system (ASaC), based on a new generation of the Thales Searchwater radar and Cerberus mission system under the “Crowsnest” programme.

The package will be delivered as a role-fit equipment to be fitted to the fleet of Merlin HM.2 helicopters as the Sea King Mk7 ASaC is retiring within 2018.

Equipped with a mission suite managed by a two operators’ console stations in addition to the two pilots and including HELRAS active dipping sonar, Leonardo APS-784 maritime surveillance radar, FLIR Systems Star Safire EOS and Elettronica’s ELT-735 ESM, Link 11 and self-protection, Italian Navy’s EH101s have been widely deployed in maritime surveillance, ASW, and intelligence (such as in the Libyan crisis), and more recently in amphibious operations for almost three decades. In addition to eight ASW/AsuW version assets, the Italian Navy operates eight platforms in two different amphibious and special forces support configurations with rear ramp, machine and gatling guns together with all-weather tactical avionics and sensors and four in an airborne early warning and surface surveillance configuration, centered on the ad-hoc Leonardo HEW-784 radar version. The service is today looking to soon launch a mid-life upgrade of its fleet of EH101s to extend the service life and enhance the operational capabilities, centered mainly on cockpit, avionics and airframe but with a reduced scope compare to the UK MCSP programme.

The first of 25 Merlins upgraded to the Commando Mk.4 amphibious support version has been delivered by Leonardo Helicopters to UK MoD’s Commando Helicopter Force on last 25 May. © UK MoD Crowncopy right 16

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The Algerian Navy is however mainly using its AW-101s for land-borne maritime surveillance and SAR duties oversea as the Italian Air Force’s new HH-101A are conducting over the Mediterranean Sea while Portuguese and Danish air forces’ helicopters are carrying the same duties over the Atlantic Ocean. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is mastering the accomplishing of the same missions in extremely demanding and long-range operations over waters and arctic region, soon to be followed by the Royal Norwegian Air Force with the new generation AW-101 SAR. The latter platform’s subsystems and advanced SAR equipment package including Leonardo 360° multi-antenna Osprey AESA surveillance radar, 4-axis digital AFCS, obstacle proximity warning system, a cellphone detection system, weather radar, EOS and fully integrated avionics and mission system with glass cockpit and rear cabin mission console, became the reference for both new platform acquisitions and upgrading.

The RCAF has recently declared the intention to base the CH-149 Cormorant MLU on the new Norwegian AW101 configuration and mission suite.

The capable two-seat Sukhoi Su-30SM “Flanker-H” proved its combat capabilities operating over Syria. © Russian MoD

Russia’s Future Fighters

By David Oliver Operational deployments to conflict zones are often an ideal chance for armed forces to test new weapons systems, and the war in Syria was the Russian Aerospace Force’s opportunity.

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Flankers on the guard

on the Su-30MKI version exported to India equipped with the Russian Bars multifunction control avionics system, Khibiny ECM pods and new ejection seats. Fitted with twelve hardpoints, the Su-30SM’s weapon suite includes both R-27, R-73, R-77 air-to-air missiles (AAMs) and air-to-surface missiles (ASMs) such as the Kh-59, KAB-250, KAB500 and KAB-150 guided weapons.

The two-seat Su-30SM, NATO reporting name, “Flanker-H”, is the latest variant of the Su-27 long-range air superiority fighter that first flew in April 1981 and entered service three years later. The Su-30SM is based

The first contract for sixty aircraft was awarded to the Irkut Corporation in 2012.

According to Russia’s Deputy Minister Yury Borisov, there are now more than 100 Su30SM aircraft in service, and they proved

ince Russian Armed Forces began operations against ISIS forces in Syria in September 2015, several of its latest combat aircraft made their operational debuts including the upgraded Sukhoi Su-30SM and Su-35S multirole fighters and the Su-34 strike/attack aircraft.

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their combat capabilities in Syria. The Su30SMs provided air cover for all the Russian air sorties in Syrian airspace.

The Su-35S is another development of the Su-27 which first flew in 2008. The singleseat fighter powered by two uprated AL31F turbofans with thrust vectoring, is fitted with a new avionics suite based on a digital information control system and the Irbis-E multifunction phased-array radar. The Su35S also has a ground-attack capability with similar guided weapons as those carried by the Su-30MS as well as various unguided bombs and rockets.

The Su-35S provided cover for all Russian strike aircraft operating over Syria armed with R-27T medium and R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles. © Sukhoi

Su-34 ‘Red 10’ armed with OFAB-500U free-fall bombs and R-27R and R-73 AAMs, and Khibiny-10V jammer pods. © Russian MoD

34s deployed to Syria were fitted with the Platan laser-aided TV sighting system that ensures high accuracy with the use of both free-fall bombs and guided air-to-surface missiles. They also used the laser-guided Kh-25L close air support weapons and Kh29L short-range missiles fitted with semiactive laser guidance system, and Kh-35U long-range sea-skimming anti-ship missiles.

A better Fulcrum

Fullback on the go The Su-34, NATO reporting name, “Fullback”, is a side-by-side two-seat long-range fighter-bomber variant of the Su-27 intended as a tactical strike/attack replacement for the long-serving Su-24 bomber and Su-25 close support aircraft. Although the first production aircraft was flown in 1994 lack of funding delayed its entry into Russian Air Force service until 2006.

Equipped with the Sh-141 phased-array radar with a high-resolution rearward-facing radar in the tailcone, and an L-150 Pastel radar warning system, and the Khibiny-10V electronic countermeasures system. The Su-

While Sukhoi has been the major supplier of combat aircraft to the Russian Aerospace Force in the last decade, the MiG subsidiary of the United Aircraft Corporation has fallen from prominence. With production of its ground-breaking MiG-29, NATO reporting name, Fulcrum, air defence fighter developed in the mid-1970s, ceasing in 2014, future projects have centred on the MiG-35. In 2006 MiG announced that it was proceeding with the development of a lightweight fifthgeneration variant of the MiG-29 for the Russian Air Force. The single-seat MiG-35 and the two-seat MiG-35D are in fact “fourth plus” versions of this multirole fighters developed after extensively redesigning the MiG-29KUB and MiG-29M/M2 carrierborne fighters offered to the Indian Navy.

With increased weapons load stored at nine hardpoints, increased fuel capacity, and an in-flight refueling probe, the MiG-35 has a three-channel digital fly-by-wire (FBW) control system with quadruple redundancy.

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Sukhoi Su-34 ‘Red 12’ intercepted in Baltic airspace by RAF Typhoons showing its prominent rearward facing radar tailcone. © Crown Copyright

It is powered by two RD-33MK turbofans with increased thrust power, equipped with smokeless combustion chamber and new electronic FADEC control system with a 4,000-hour service life and optional thrust vectoring. And its Zhuk-AE active phasedarray radar provides the possibility of tracking simultaneous attack of air and ground targets, extended detection range, enhanced resolution in the surface mapping mode and high jamming protection and survivability.

Fire control and mission computers link radar with laser range finder and infra-red search/ track (IRST) system which is integrated with a new helmet-mounted target designation system into the armament control system.

In addition to the AA-class air-to-air and AS-class air-to-surface weapons, advanced armament including long-range standoff weapons can be carried.

After a protracted development, Russian Aerospace Force Deputy Commander-inChief Andrei Yudin announced in April 2018 that the State Flight Test Center in Akhtubinsk will be the first unit to receive MiG-35s once trials are completed. It is reported that the Russian Air Force aerobic team, the Swifts, will be among the first to receive the new MiG-35.

as Prospective Aviation Complex for Frontal Aviation (PAKFA). In April 2002, the Russian Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology declared Sukhoi as the lead designer of the new stealth aircraft but final design took longer than planned and it was not until 29 January 2010 that the first flight of T-50-1 took place at Komsomolsk-on-Amur but by November 2011 three prototypes had flown and two static test airframes been produced.

In August 2010 a joint development contract was signed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the development of a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) based on the T-50 with a 50 percent work share. The IAF’s requirement at the time was for 148 singleseat and 66 two-seat variants of the FGFA but this had changed to 144 single-seat aircraft by 2012. The agreement was for India to receive three Russian-built prototypes for evaluation, one a year from 2015 to 2017.

By the end of 2017 eleven flying prototype T-50s, now redesignated Su-57, had joined the flight test programme. Powered by two advanced versions of the AL-31F turbofans, the AL-41F1 with a thrust vector option, the Mach 2.0 aircraft is armed with one internal Gsh-301 30mm cannon while two internal weapons bays have a capacity for a total of

What about the Su-57?

A genuine fifth-generation multirole fighter that has also had protracted development is the Sukhoi T-50. Development began in 1998 with a completion between MiG and Sukhoi for a future multirole fighter project known 20

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The latest lightweight variant of the “Fulcrum”, the MiG-35 multirole fighter about to enter Russian Aerospace Force service. © MiG

eight AA-12 AAMs or four Kh-38 ASMs or Kh-58 anti-radiation missiles, in addition to weapons carried on six hardpoints.

Trials of the Sh121 multi-functional integrated radio electronic system (MIRES) comprising the N036-1-01 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the L402 Himalayas ECM system were ongoing in Russia by the beginning of 2018, according to the CEO of the Tikhomirov Instrument-Manufacturing Research Institute (NIIP) of Almaz-Antey Concern, and successful in-flight refueling trials have been completed. On 1 March

The two-seat MiG-35D is set to enter service with the Russian aerobatic team, the Swifts. © UAC

2018, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu confirmed that four Su-57s had been deployed to Khmeimim Air Base in Syria and successfully completed a trials programme, including combat trials during which parameters of weapon systems were monitored.

However, this coincided with the IAF terminating its 11-year old collaborative FGFA programme with Russia following enduring differences over its developmental cost and technological capabilities. Senior Indian officials informed a visiting Russian ministerial delegation that India was withdrawing from the programme, although they are believed to have stated that the IAF could, at a later date, “revisit” the FGFA project or alternatively acquire the fully developed platform once it had been inducted into the Russian Air Force.

The IAF believes that the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter, which India’s Ministry of Defence designated the Prospective Multifunctional Fighter, does not meet its requirements for stealth, combat avionics, radars and sensors.

The Su-57’s development is now seriously over budget and behind schedule and for now there is no indication as to when the platform is likely to enter series production for the Russian Aerospace Force’s original requirement for 250 aircraft. Despite the rising costs of developing complex new combat aircraft, Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov made the following announcement at MAKS 2017: “The Defense Ministry is planning to launch the construction of an advanced aircraft carrier in the distant future, at the final stage of the 2018-2025 state armament program. Of course, the production of new-generation aircraft will begin by that time. Today, the Sukhoi Su-33 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets are the basic planes for aircraft-carriers, in particular, the ship Admiral Kuznetsov.

The Defense Ministry is planning to develop a promising reduced take-off and landing or, probably, vertical take-off and landing plane and we are discussing this issue with aircraft producers. The plane will be a derivative of vertical take-off and landing aircraft developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau, which are no longer produced. There are such plans and we are discussing them. The groundwork laid may be used to develop a new plane for aircraft carriers.”

Russian V/STOL memories In 1962, the Yakovlev Design Bureau was selected to design and build the Soviet Union’s first operational vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) carrier-borne air EDR | July/August 2018

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The Sukhoi T-50 PAKFA supersonic stealth multirole fighter made its first flight on 29 January 2010 and is still under development. © Sukhoi

defence and strike fighter for the Soviet Navy (AV/M), the Yak-38. Yakovlev always believed the subsonic Yak-38 to be an interim aircraft, developed to gain experience designing and developing military V/STOL aircraft and in 1975 it was awarded a design contract for a supersonic V/STOL aircraft optimized for air defence missions with secondary attack capability. Unlike the Yak-38, this aircraft was to have sustained supersonic speed with manoeuvrability, and avionics and weapons loads expected to be similar to those of current front-line Soviet land-based fighter aircraft. Called “Product 48”, its military designation became: Yak-41.

The Yak-41 was powered by a single Soyuz R-79V-300 main engine and two Rybinsk RD41 single-shaft lift engines. All three engines were controlled through an interlinked digital system, which was capable of controlling both engine start-up as well as modulating the thrust of all three engines during landing and hovering flight. Twin tandem reaction control jets were positioned at the wingtips, while a swiveling yaw jet was positioned under the nose.

The Yak-41 embodied a fly-bywire system and the cockpit was pressurized and air-conditioned.

The K-36V ejection seat was automatically armed as soon as the engine duct was rotated past 30 degrees with an airspeed of less than 186 mph.

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The production version was to have been fitted with an extensive avionics and weapons suite including the lightweight NOI-93 Zhuk pulse-Doppler mechanically scanned radar, laser-TV ranging and aiming, as well as a multifunction HUD that worked in connection with a helmet-mounted missile aiming system as found on the MiG-29. The Yak-41 was to be armed with a single 30 mm GSh301 cannon and weapons payload including AAMs, AGMs and anti-ship missiles.

Yakovlev obtained funding for two static test airframes and two for flight-testing. The first conventional flight of 48–2, took place at Zhukovskii on 9 March 1987 and the same aircraft made the first complete transition from vertical to high-speed flight and vertical landing on 13 June 1990. Throughout its testing, the aircraft demonstrated excellent manoeuvrability and went on to set twelve new world class records, but as the Yak-41 designation was classified, the records were submitted under the fictitious designation Yak-141. As a result, the previously unknown aircraft came to be known in the west as the Yak-141 and given the NATO reporting name ‘Freestyle’.

A total of 11 T-50 prototypes had flown by the beginning of 2018 including the first pre-production aircraft designated Su-57. © Sukhoi

One of the prototype Yak-141 supersonic vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) carrier-borne air defence and strike fighters took part in the 1982 Farnborough Air Show. © David Oliver

A series of ship landing test flights began on the Kiev-class aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov anchored in the Bering Sea in September 1991. The two prototypes had made eight flights to and from the ship when test pilot Vladimir Yakimov made a hard landing on 5 October when the engine lost power. There was no wind over the static carrier’s flight deck and the high sink rate led to the undercarriage rupturing a fuel tank, causing a serious fire. Yakimov ejected manually and was rescued from the sea.

The accident coincided with the Soviet Navy’s announcement that no further funds were available to continue the programme and Yakovlev entered into discussions with several foreign partners who could help fund it. Lockheed Martin, which was in the process of developing the X-35 for the US Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme agreed to invest in Yak-141 technology which fed into the design of a rotating main jet nozzle for its V/STOL variant of JSF, later the F-35B Lightning II. However, by 1984 development of the Yak-41U two-seat trainer and the Yak43 powered by Samara NK-321 turbofan were abandoned. The Yakovlev design bureau had also had another advanced supersonic V/ STOL strike fighter project, the Yak-201, on the drawing board, which may now form the basis of Russia’s new advanced aircraft for its future aircraft carrier that Deputy Defence Minister Borisov announced last year.

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THE FRENCH-RUSSIAN AND RUSSIAN-FRENCH

DICTIONARIES OF AERONAUTICS AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY ÉDITIONS HENRI GOURSAU

The French-Russian and Russian-French dictionaries of Aeronautics and Space technology contain in a convenient pocket size - 5.1 x 7.87 in. - 956 pages over 100,000 translations used in the different fields of aviation ans space technology.

Easy-to-use, comprehensive, and attractive in their layout, these handy dictionaries cover the entire vocabulary of Commercial, General and Military aviation, Aero-engines, Helicopters, Surface effect vehicles, Missiles, Space vehicles, Rockets, Satellites, Aerothermodynamics, Astronautics, Electronics and all related fields. To increase the usefulness of these books, at the end we have also included a detailed list of abbreviations in both languages.

Compiled by the widely renowned experts in the field of aerospace terminology, Henri Goursau, Ivan Poliakov and Nikolai Novichkov, the dictionaries are preface by the most important personalities in the world in the area of space conquest : Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of the French Space Agency (CNES), Igor Komarov, Président of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Sergei Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut who has spent over 803 days in space aboard 6 spaceflights.

FOR ORDER OR INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT : ÉDITIONS HENRI GOURSAU 14 avenue du Mail 31650 Saint-Orens de Gameville - France Tél. 33 5 61 39 26 40 - Fax 33 5 61 39 92 10 Email : henri.goursau@goursau.com URL : http://www.goursau.com

The unveiling ceremony of the dummy of Nammo’s Extreme Range 155mm round, which is fitted with a ramjet allowing to extend its reach over 100 km. This round might become a game-changer in artillery. Š P. Valpolini

A view of the Excalibur IB, probably the most widely used guided ammunition until now as over 14,000 rounds were fired in operation. Š Raytheon

Artillery ammunition: increasing accuracy and range

By Paolo Valpolini Reducing collateral damages, lightening the logistic footprint, shortening time on target, are three of the numerous benefits provided by guided ammunition.

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f you add to this a greater range, it is clear how much this type of round is appreciated by artillerymen and commanders. The major drawback is the acquisition cost, compared to a dumb round; however this cannot be valued comparing the cost of a single ammunition, as the computation is much more complicated, taking in count i.e. the cost of the effect on the target, which in case of standard rounds might need many more ammo to be obtained, if not the fact that with non-guided rounds or shorter range rounds the mission could become impossible.

Going pin-point Currently the main user of guided ammunition is by far the United States military, the Army having fired thousands such rounds in operation, the Navy being looking for similar capabilities. Although some programmes have been abandoned due to cost issues, such as the 155mm Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) purposely developed to be fired by the Mk 51 Advanced Gun System (AGS) installed on the US Navy DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class destroyer, the Navy is looking for guided ammo for the AGS itself as well as for its Mk45 127mm guns.

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Leveraging the work done on the PGK as well as on sniper ammunition Orbital ATK is developing a 5-inch naval round known as PGK-Aft as the guidance element is in the aft part of the round. © Orbital ATK

The Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) developed by Orbital ATK is screwed on the artillery 155mm ammunition in place of the fuse, its GPS and canard wing allowing guiding the round in close vicinity of the target. © Orbital ATK

BAE Systems is working on numerous programmes in the artillery field, among which the High Velocity Projectile, which might be used from rail guns as well as from standard guns. © P. Valpolini

The US Marine Corps is about to launch the MTAR (Moving Target Artillery Round), which will probably be started in 2019, with the aim of deploying ammunition capable to hit moving targets even in a GPS-denied environment, with a range between 65 and 95 km. In perspective guided extended range rounds also interest the US Army, which is launching its ERCA (Extended Range Cannon Artillery) programme to replace 39 calibre barrels with over 52 calibre ones in existing systems, which coupled to extended range rounds will double current ranges.

That said, the Old Continent is following the path, and while numerous companies are developing guided and ER rounds, armies are looking with interest to those ammunition, some of them planning to field these shortly.

Although a European magazine by the title, we cannot avoid starting this article with the most widely used guided munition, which is 26

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the 155mm Excalibur, of which over 14,000 rounds were fired in operation. According to Raytheon, the Excalibur IB currently in production maintained the performances of the original round while reducing components and cost and has shown a reliability of over 96%, providing a four meters accuracy at maximum ranges, close to 40 km from a 39 calibre tube, even in complex urban terrain.

Over 1,150 Excalibur are part of the Army requests in its 2019 budget

Dual-mode seekers for more lethality While the current version is a best seller, Raytheon is far from resting on its laurels. The company has been looking for improvements and is closing to define new solutions to cope with more complex scenarios and emerging threats. GPS

Leonardo of Italy has developed a whole family of long range and guided ammunition for 127 and 155mm guns known as Vulcano, which is in the last phase of the qualification process. © P. Valpolini

jamming was experienced in some areas, thus an improving in the round anti-jam capabilities is underway, a two-modes guidance round being also on its way.

Known as Excalibur S, it will maintain the GPS but will also feature a semi-active laser (SAL) seeker. The company is discussing with potential customers the final configuration, no timeframe being provided for its availability.

Another dual-mode terminally guided version, fitted with a microwave seeker, is being developed; it does not have a name yet, however according to Raytheon it is not far back from the “S” in terms of timing. A multiple-seeker version is also being considered. Guidance is not the only element that might evolve. As said the Army aims at dramatically increase the range of its cannon artillery, Raytheon is considering advanced propulsion systems, such as improved base bleed among others, new warheads such as antitank ones being also on the table. This might well answer the USMC MTAR requirement. As for the Navy, the N5, the Excalibur 127mm derivative compatible with the MK45, will undergo a further demonstration in summer 2018. The Navy requires a 26 Nautical Mile range (48 km), the company being confident to meet or exceed such data.

Raytheon looks with interest at the export market, although numbers will never be as high as US ones. For the time being the Excalibur has been tested in numerous 155mm gun systems, the PzH200, the Arthur, the G6, the M109 L47 and the K9, and Raytheon is working to finalising compatibility with the Caesar and the Krab.

When this issue of EDR will go to press Nexter’s Spacido programmable aerodynamic brake will be qualified; this system allows to considerably improve range accuracy. © Nexter

No data are available on the number of 155mm ammunition fitted with Orbital ATK’s (now Northrop Grumman) M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) used in combat, over 25,000 of this GPS-based screw-on system have been produced, the first production option having been completed in February 2018. Two months later the US DoD awarded Orbital ATK’s Armament Systems Division an over 146 million US$ contract modification that extends production through April 2021.

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The PGK is screwed on the round in place of the standard fuse, and is based on a GPS (SAASM) antenna located at the front, followed by the four small fixed cant canard wings and by the height of burst sensor of the proximity fuse. Programming is done using the EPIAFS (Enhanced Portable Inductive Artillery Fuse-Setter), the same hand-held device linked to a computer used to programme the Excalibur.

Larger and better rounds Leveraging its work on PGK, Orbital ATK is now developing a 127mm projectile aimed at the Navy’s guided ammunition programme for the Mk45 gun. The company is investing internal R&D funds to demonstrate the capability to answer Navy needs in terms of accuracy and range with a whole new round known as PKG-Aft. Not many details were provided, the name indicating that the steering unit is in the aft part of the round rather than in the nose, the gun-hardened technology being a direct derivative of that used in the PGK. This aft guidance approach comes from the study developed by then ATK with DARPA for the 12.7x99mm Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) round. The aft element will also host a rocket motor, that will extend the range over the required 26 NM range, terminal seekers providing an accuracy of less than 1 meter. No details were provided on type and location of the latter, the company stating that “the PGK-Aft design supports multiple advanced terminal seekers and is fully scalable to support indirect and direct fire missions of all calibres without major changes to the gun system.” The round also features an advanced lethality warhead with pre-formed fragments. In December 2017, Orbital ATK conducted successful, self-funded, initial, live fire testing of PGKAft on 155mm prototypes, and is now fully 28

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engaged in the design phase of the PGK-Aft Guided 5-inch projectile.

In the US BAE Systems is working on the PGK-M (Precision Guidance Kit-Modernised) aiming at improving manoeuvrability while incorporating an anti-jam capability.

The latter is obtained using GPS-based navigation coupled to an innovative, roll-stabilized guidance unit and antenna array. According to the company the CEP is less than 10 meters, the ammunition being able to hit the target with a high angle of attack. The system is considered at TRL 7, over 200 tests having been completed. On 30 January 2018 BAE Systems was awarded an 8 million US$ contract by the US Army to develop this kit to production level, the PGK-M being fully compatible with M795 and M549A1 155mm ammunition and with M109A7 and M777A2 artillery systems.

In perspective Nexter’s Katana family will see a second member, the Katana Mk2a, fitted with wings that will double the range, while a laser guided version will be developed only if the requirement will be there. © P. Valpolini

On-board the US Navy cruisers Following the decision to abandon the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) designed for BAE Systems’ 155mm Advanced Gun System (AGS), no other round is currently capable to be fired from that gun without modification. In June 2017 BAE Systems and Leonardo announced an initiative to pursue collaborations on new precision-guided solutions, based on new adaptations of Leonardo’s Vulcano in a variety of gun systems, including the AGS and the Mk 45 naval gun. The MoU between the two companies covers all artillery systems, each being dealt with by a specific agreement; currently those have been signed for the two naval guns, but in perspective land systems such as the M109 and the M777 might well become part of the deal. The BAE-Leonardo team is planning a demonstration of a Vulcano GLR GPS/ IMU round test from an Mk45 in July 2018, to demonstrate the round compatibility with that gun. The US Navy has a requirement for guided ammunition and is also exceedingly interested in long-range rounds, the Vulcano coping with both requirements.

Leonardo’s Vulcano is near to complete the qualification process, carried out in parallel for the naval and the land ammunition, respectively in 127 and 155mm calibres.

Following the government-to-government agreement between Italy and Germany on the guided version, and the adoption of the Diehl Defence semi-active laser (SAL) seeker, the qualification process of the GLR (Guided Long Range) rounds is being financed 50/50 by the two countries, while that fort the BER (Ballistic Extended Range) is fully financed by Italy. All performance tests were successfully completed, and currently Vulcano ammunition are undergoing all safety tests, which should be completed by late 2018. In the meantime Leonardo has

started the low-rate initial production phase, which allows to qualify the production chain and to freeze its configuration. This will allow launching full production in early 2019.

Back to operational testing, following earlier trials, in 2017 the 127mm Vulcano GLR was fired from a retrofitted 127/54mm gun on board an Italian Navy ship, while in early 2018 the round was tested on board a FREMM fitted with the new 127/64 LW. It was the first time the round was fired taken from the ship ammunition revolver magazine, programmed via electric contacts embedded in the gun that received data from the ship combat system, demonstrating the full integration of the system. As for the land version, rounds were fired by PzH2000 SP howitzers, programming being carried out through a portable unit; for the time being Germany is not looking at an integrated system into the PzH2000, which would require some modification to the semi-automatic loading system. In Italy rounds have also been tested in the FH-70 155/39mm towed howitzer.

Just for memory, Vulcano rounds range increase is due to the adoption of a subcalibre solution, a sabot being used to seal the round in the barrel. The fuse adopted can be set in four different modes, impact instantaneous, impact delayed, height of burst and time. BER rounds can reach over 60 km while GLR rounds can reach up to 85 km when fired from a 127mm gun or 70 km when fired from a 155/52mm gun (55 km from a 155/39mm). GLR rounds are fitted with a GPS/IMU unit in the nose, behind the fuse, four canard fins allowing course correction. Naval rounds can be fitted with an IR seeker while rounds aimed at land targets can be fitted with a SAL guidance unit. Those sensors slightly increase drag, marginally reducing the range. While the configuration is now frozen and tests proved the forecasted range and accuracy, Leonardo EDR | July/August 2018

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is working on a reduction in the CEP of the laser-guided version under a further development contract, and is confident to cope with this new requirement considering the Vulcano margin of improvement. This improvement will be adopted on all rounds, the company aiming at producing one single version of the SAL round.

Beside Italy and Germany, the Netherlands have an observer status and the Vulcano is being considered by numerous potential customers. Many other nations expressed an interest, among them South Korea and Australia, two countries for which the partnership with BAE Systems in the US should act as a facilitator. As for Europe, Konštrukta-Defence of Slovakia recently signed cooperation MoU with Leonardo for marketing the Vulcano with its artillery systems, such as the Zuzana 2 155/52mm.

Screwed in place of the fuse, Spacido is an aerodynamic brake that allows reducing the range error; a small Doppler radar checks the V0 and monitors the first part of the trajectory, an RF link providing the data to Spacido, which computer decides when the brake should be extended, reducing dispersion by three. Inherently protected from jamming, the Spacido doubles the ammunition price, but considerably reduces ammo consumption, while reducing the danger close data, thus allowing fire support much closer to friendly troops than conventional ammo.

Nexter Ammunition launched an evolutionary programme in the 155mm ammunition field, which will bring it from conventional to 3D guided ammunition. The two first step, conventional and focused effects, the latter being Bonus, are already there. The course correction step is named Spacido: in midMay 2018 the company said that qualification

At Eurosatory 2018 Nexter announced its new family of guided/long range artillery 155mm rounds, named Katana. These leverage the development work done with the Menhir programme, announced in June 2016, launched to answer customers requirements in terms of increased range and accuracy.

The first requirement for the French Armée de Terre is accuracy, the service aiming at what it defines “urban artillery”. What is now known as Katana Mk1 features four canard fixed wings in the nose followed by four correcting wings linked to an IMU-GPS guidance unit, all popping out when the

A close up of the TopGun precision strike artillery fuse developed by Israel Aerospace Industries MLM Division, currently at TRL 8. © P. Valpolini

Beside working on guidance and range extension, Nexter is also developing new warheads using new materiel and 3D printing. © P. Valpolini

Nexter enters the 3D world

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was “a matter of weeks”, as all firings were successfully completed and paperwork was all what remained to be done.

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round leaves the barrel, four curved wings at the end of the body being folded along the round during firing. Currently the round is at TRL 5: the first firings were carried out under DGA monitoring, the aim being providing the Army with a guided round with a CEP of less than 10 meters and a 30 km range when fired from a 52 calibre barrel. The Katana Mk1 should be available in two years time.

The second step will be range increase up to 60 km: this will be done adding a further set of foldable wings which location could be seen on the dummy exhibited at Eurosatory.

These will provide lift during the descent phase, allowing to double range while maintaining a full calibre round, Nexter aim being to exceed competitors performances in terms of combined range and payload at a lower cost, target price being set at 60,000 â‚Ź.

Dubbed Katana Mk2a, this round should be available around 2022. Two years later, should a requirement emerge, Nexter would be able to provide a laser-guided long range 155mm ammunition, the Katana Mk2b, with metric CEP. Nexter is also working on warhead technologies, exploiting 3-D printing and using alumide, a material consisting of nylon filled with aluminium dust, to control the lethal range in order to trim it while engaging targets in close proximity of friendly troops.

Opto-pyrotechnics technologies are being considered to control initiation through fibre-optics, all these studies being still at laboratory phase, thus considered at TRL-3, and will not be part of the Katana programme.

Israel Aerospace Industries MLM Division is about to finalise the development of its TopGun precision strike artillery fuse, a screwon system performing two-dimensional correction, reducing to less than 20 meters the CEP of an ordinary round. Range is of 40 km when fired from a 52 calibre gun, guidance

relying on INS-GPS, the programme being currently considered at TRL-8.

Another guided round seen at Eurosatory was Ukrinmash’s Kvitnyk, carrying an HE-Frag warhead with over 8 kg explosive and semiactive laser guidance.

On the Norwegian side Nammo of Norway recently secured the first contract for its newly developed 155mm extended range artillery ammunition.

Leveraging its know-how in rocket motors it developed a purpose-made base-bleed module, while small calibre precision ammunition manufacturing processes were used to reduce to a minimum material and shape variation, thus minimising changes in airflow and weight distribution, all elements affecting accuracy.

The programme was partly financed by the Forsvarsmateriell, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA), however the first customer was Finland, which signed a contract in August 2017 and plans to start test firings in 2019.

Compared to standard rounds, the 155 IM HE-ER ammunition can reach 40 km when fired from a 52-calibre barrel, and Nammo is awaiting an order from Norway.

Nammo qualified its extended range family of ammunition, the first customer being Finland that will soon start trials with its newly acquired K9 Thunder 155/52mm selfpropelled artillery systems. Š P. Valpolini

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A detail of the nose of Nammo’s Extreme Range ramjet powered 155mm round; the propulsion system aerodynamics is the key element, therefore no sensors will be ever located at the front of the ammunition. © P. Valpolini

This is only the first step, Nammo having decided to go for a game changer technology, inserting a ramjet into a 155mm round, something known as Extreme Range programme. Ramjet is the simplest air breathing jet engine, as it uses the forward motion to compress incoming air without the need of an axial or centrifugal compressor, the motor containing no moving parts. The initial minimum speed required is of Mach 2.5-2.6, a standard 155mm round leaving a 52 calibre barrel around Mach 3. The ramjet is inherently a self-regulating engine, maintaining constant Mach versus altitude, the Mach 3 speed being kept for around 50 seconds, thrust being provided by HTP3 fuel with additives. This thrust allows extending the range over 100 km, making the artillery gun a much more flexible and versatile system. Nammo plans the first ballistic flight in late 2019-early 2020. The increased range multiplies by 10 the CEP, the company being thus already working on a parallel programme that aims at providing guidance to the round, in the form of a GPS/INS system, a work that will carried out with a partner company. No nose mounted seekers can be used, the projectile project being aerodynamically driven, the air intake being critical to the ramjet functioning. The round is compatible with the JBMOU L52 155mm projectile protocol; it features the typical ramjet air intake at the front, with the central cone, four canard fins and four curved tail wings that are folded around the projectile 32

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body when this is in the barrel. The warhead will be of the HE-FRAG type, the amount of explosive being reduced compared to a standard 155mm round: Nammo declared that explosive weight “will be similar to that of a 120mm round”. It will be used against static targets, GBAD, radars, command posts, etc, the flight time being measured in minutes. Nammo plans to have the new round operational by 2024-25, a timeframe compatible with Norwegian armed forces requirements.

At Eurosatory the Spanish Army and Expal Systems confirmed the framework agreement for the supply of extended range 155mm artillery ammunition. The 155 ER02A1 can be fitted either with boat tail or base bleed modules, providing respectively a range of 30 or 40 km with a 52 calibre barrel. Co-developed with the Spanish Army, the HE version is qualified while Illumination and Smoke are under qualification. The agreement also includes the recently developed the EC-102 electronic fuse with impact, time and delay modes. Expal will supply ammunition and fuses over the next five years, new rounds being considered key in answering the operational needs of the 2035 Brigade.

Expal’s 155 ER02A1 is being adopted by the Spanish Army; it can be fitted either with boat tail or base bleed modules, with a maximum range of 40 km when fired from a 52 calibre barrel. © P. Valpolini

Professional UAV Training

By David Oliver

Head of Academy, Sion Roberts, head of the Rheinmetall’s Unmanned Systems Training Academy (RUSTA) is a former RAF MQ-9 Reaper RPAS instructor. © RUSTA

With the burgeoning growth of the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) market comes an increased demand for comprehensive professional training of their operators.

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stablished in 2014 Rheinmetall’s Unmanned Systems Training Academy (RUSTA) is a centre of excellence for commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Small Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) and drone pilot training in the UK for professional and para-military operators. Rheinmetall has been involved with UAV technology for several decades and developed the KZO tactical UAV for the German Army, and the

German SAATEG programme in partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI) based on the Heron medium altitude longendurance (MALE) UAS. Based in Bristol, RUSTA is a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved National Qualified Entity (NQE) and its goal is to ensure every UAV, drone or SUAS operator can confidently fly within the safety standards and legal requirements set by the CAA. EDR | July/August 2018

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Getting the right kind of training Head of Academy, Sion Roberts, was appointed in October 2014 following 22 years of RAF service as aircrew. He was also an MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) instructor with both the RAF and USAF and is currently a CAA Permission For Aerial Work (PFAW) holder.

“There is no universal qualification in the UK or abroad,” Roberts told EDR, “In the UK we have a PFAW issued by the CAA but there are no entry standard for courses, the only ones on offer have ranged from 1.5 days to 7 days”.

UAVs are ubiquitous with no UK standards but many qualified entities. With the increase in operators there has been an increase in incidents. “Some incidents will be genuine accidents but the majority will be due to a lack of understanding of the rules and regulations.

To decrease in Incidents you have to increase awareness and training. There should be more enforcement of illegal operators, harsher penalties for offenders. There should be more restrictive Geo-fencing, which is a feature in a software programme that uses the global positioning system (GPS) or radio frequency identification (RFID) to define geographical boundaries, and more public awareness through the media, and one-day information sessions, to make operators more aware of the limits”.

Distributors of SUASs, which are typically lightweight quad rotors, are aware of NQEs and often refer to them in their basic information sheets but these are still not 100 % effective.

RUSTA offers commercial and public services training in two separate courses, a 2.5 day Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC(S)) course at venues across the UK including Northern Ireland, covering mandatory topics including a compilation of an operations manual, to turn candidates from all walks of life, ability, and experience into aviators. Candidates are made aware from day one, lesson one that they will be sharing the National Airspace with manned aircraft.

The seven-day RPC(A) course is designed with SME input and held at a specified venue.

It covers the mandatory topics over a closed course, with hands-on flying training, in all weathers. It also includes the preparation of an operations manual and Financial Reporting Council (FRC) guidance. A flight test is conducted on the final day. RUSTA’s Remote Pilot Certificate SUAS (RPCS) course is supported by eLearning that provides support material to consolidate the classroom learning and covers some basic modules that will assist the students in becoming more rounded remote aviators. It includes air law, principles of flight, meteorology, flight navigation and Civilian Aviation Publications (CAPS).

Defence Systems Approach to Training (DSAT) and the compliant EASA part 147 model ensures that its training is of the highest caliber, and all of its courses offer a comprehensive Computer Based Training (CBT) package prior to the course starting.

New players coming

Police attending a quadrotor UAV training course at the RUSTA facility in Bristol. © RUSTA

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Another major defence company investing in UAV training is Thales. Following successful trials during the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior exercise in 2016, Thales has invested

The large-scale displays in the RUSTA classrooms used by clients undergoing UAV training courses. © RUSTA

in two trials and training centers based in West Wales and in South-West England to test and develop autonomous systems for both military and civil activities.

Thales is investing £7 million across the two regions, and sustain around 60 jobs in the local areas while there are currently 500 jobs both in Thales and its supply chain supporting current and future autonomous and unmanned systems technologies. The new £1 million facility in Plymouth will be Thales’s maritime autonomy trials and training center that will provide access to trials areas for development of cutting edge maritime autonomous systems. The facility will act as the key maritime integration, test and evaluation center for the combined United Kingdom and French Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) Programme.

A British Army Watchkeeper ISTAR UAV overflying West Wales Airport in Aberporth in which Thales has continued to invest for UAV test and training. © Thales

Thales has also signed a five-year agreement with West Wales Airport (WWA) and will continue to deliver the Watchkeeper programme to the British Army and expand the innovative test, development and training of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Thales has committed £6 million to the West Wales

facility over the next two years, securing 40 jobs in the UK. Over the past ten years, £10 million has already been invested into the airport and local economy while Thales and the UK Ministry of Defence have tested and developed Europe’s largest UAS programme, the Watchkeeper close-range ISTAR UAV. Another Wales-based commercial UAV training provider is Resource Group’s Unmanned Aviation Services (RUAS). With an understanding of airspace and navigation having worked extensively within aviation and aerospace for 30 years, its Unmanned Aviation Services division was established in 2012 to provide remote pilot training and commercial flying operations across multiple industries designed to meet NATO and UK CAA requirements based on current best practice from civilian and military environments.

RUAS is the longest standing accredited CAA National Qualified Entity (NQE) for Small Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) and is permitted to assess pilot competency for rotary-wing drones weighing up to 20kg and verify that organisations meet the UK CAA’s requirements to hold Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO). RUAS’s Remote Pilot Qualification-small (RPQ-s) course was specially designed to provide training of the highest quality and safety standards and it has been used to train remote pilots from a variety of backgrounds including the fire service, police forces, and environmental monitoring agencies. It has a successful training history for a range of police forces, including hosting training EDR | July/August 2018

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RUAS UAV instructors have trained police operators from Wales and Malaysia, and mine detection teams in Kosovo. © RUAS

and a shared discussion opportunity with South Wales Police and the Royal Malaysian Police. RUAS has recently completed a drone-training programme with a group of delegates in Western Kosovo working alongside Praedium Consulting Malta (PCM) through its subsidiary The MAT Kosovo (MK) EOD & ERW Training Establishment. The use of drones in mine action is a safety-conscious and vital humanitarian need for something that, for the second year in a row, has recorded a very high number of casualties and fatalities as a direct result of mine usage.

Hunting for abandoned mines With The Landmine Monitor reporting that there are still 61 states with an identified area of antipersonnel mine contamination, the benefit of using drones to identify minefields and hazardous areas is becoming clearer, with successes already documented including at a base in Azerbaijan.

The Landmine Monitor, recording the statistics for the preceding year, reported in the latest issue the highest annual total of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) since 1999 as well as the highest number ever of child casualties recorded. With an average of almost 24 casualties per day across the previous year, it is clear that there is still a great need for a safe and effective way to remove this remaining risk, and drones provide a vital solution to the problem.

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The mission of the French governmentowned Défense Conseil International (DCI) is to transfer French military know-how to the armed forces of nations friendly with France.

DCI is the reference operator of the French Ministry of Defence, offering services that are certified “French Forces Training”. In July 2016 DCI inaugurated the UAV Centre of Excellence (CED) and its International Academic and Aeronautical Training Centre (DCI-CIFAA) at Base Aérienne 701 in Salon-de-Provence.

The French Air Force (FAF) created the UAV Centre of in response to the growing need for UAV operator training and brings together the knowledge and the competences of the FAF in this sector, and will generate innovations in the surveillance of critical infrastructures.

Backed by the FAF Academy and under the aegis of the FAF general staff and French Air Force Human Resources management, the CED brings together all the competences of the FAF in the UAV sector. The center enjoys synergies with the ONERA aeronautical research agency and the FAF research center, both of which are present on-site. Its services are focused on research, technological innovation, system evaluation/specifications, and training.

A Maltese initiative Malta has launched a new initiative that it hopes will see the island nation become a major aerospace center of excellence. The vision of Malta’s National Aerospace Centre (NAC) is to become a sustainable agency operating as a center in aerospace research development and innovation (RDI) in technology areas of value to national industry and European competitiveness. This will be achieved through research and innovation (R&I) excellence in science and technology and UAS training.

The Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) has agreed to share its technical know-how and

provide its support and capabilities to assist the NAC to become a center of excellence within Europe thus achieving the full extent of the intended value in the scope of teaming.

The NAC will aim to deliver high quality, low cost, and practical training courses in a geographic location that can be easily reached by European, African and the Middle Eastern customers, in facilities that will suit the needs of its clients. The training facilities are centered at Xewkija on the island of Gozo in Malta. Formally known as Gozo Heliport used for scheduled helicopter flights from Malta International Airport until 2006, it has a 174m (571ft) 10/2 runway, two 22m wide aprons, a hangar and fire station.

The NAC facility at Xewkija is ideal for UAS flight-testing due to Malta’s operational environment, stakeholder community, logistics and communications. These assets include its geographical location in the center of the Mediterranean together with the favorable climatic conditions that the island enjoys throughout the year. The flight test facility is available for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), universities, research institutions and UAS operators. At Xewkija, NAC provides services and support for UAS flight-testing including hangar age, workshop and maintenance facilities, offices for flight test instrumentation and post flight data analysis, and UAS training courses. Being in close vicinity to the sea, the NAC Flight Test Facility enables its clients to perform flight-testing and training over land and sea.

The NAC enables short and long flight tests depending on client requirements. The facility caters for small to medium-sized fixedwing UAS using the airstrip and all ranges of rotary-wing UAS. The NAC facilities allows visual line of sight (VLOS) flight tests as well as beyond visual line

of flight (BVLOS) flight tests and training through NAC’s extensive segregated airspace in Maltese territorial waters reaching a peak altitude at FL155 depending on the distance from the shore. Such an extensive segregated airspace is ideal to test multiple UAS technologies and applications, such as sense and avoid technologies, maritime search and rescue applications, and integration of UAS with commercial aircraft. NAC’s facilities, coupled with NLR’s long-standing research in UAS operations involving UAS integration in civil airspace, make them the ideal location for UAS testing and training.

NAC aims to create a portfolio of training courses in aerospace related topics. It will also provide training for new UAS pilots in the form of theoretical and practical UAS training courses, which are accredited by the Maltese and Dutch Civil Aviation Authorities. The NAC also offers the service of individual technical assessments, consisting of a review of all UAS documentation, ground inspection, and flight inspection. The NAC offers manufacturers the possibility of utilising its facilities to demonstrate their products to their own clients, which may include fixed-wing or rotor-wing UAS types, or UAS systems and other related technologies. In addition, should a client procure a new UAS and would like to practice piloting it, NAC can provide that opportunity at Xewkija.

Malta’s National Aerospace Centre (NAC) at Xewkia used for UAS flight-testing and training. © NAC

EDR | July/August 2018

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A Su-34 frontline bomber with Kh-31PD missiles. Š Sukhoi Company

KTRV promotes full range of air-launched weapons on global market

By Dmitry Fediushko

Russia`s Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV) promotes the full range of air-launched weapons on the global market, Director General Boris Obnosov told the European Defence Review (EDR) magazine.

A

ir-to-surface missiles. KTRV offers several families of airto-surface missiles to potential foreign customers, with the Kh38ME being the most sophisticated one.

The Kh-38ME familycomprises four modular missiles, which can be fitted with various seekers, namely, an inertial semi-active laser (the Kh-38MLE), an inertial thermal imaging (the Kh-38MKE), an inertial radar active (the

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Kh-38MAE), and an inertial satellite (the Kh38MTE). The Kh-38ME-family weapons have a launch range of 3-40 km, a hit probability varying between 60 percent and 80 percent, and a flight speed of M=2.2. The missile is armed with a 250 kg warhead. According to KTRV, the Kh-38ME-family weapons are designed to engage a wide range of armoured and soft-skin targets (both single and group), as well as littoral surface objects.

According to Obnosov, the development of the Kh-38MLE missile has been finished.

“We have finished the development of the Kh-38MLE missile, which is fitted with a semi-active laser seeker. I think, we will finish the development of a modification of the missile with a thermal imager [the Kh38MTE] at an early date,” said CEO of KTRV.

Going more modular Owing to their modular structure, the Kh-38ME-family missiles can be fitted with various warheads depending on the task to be accomplished. In particular, the Kh38MAE, Kh-38MLE and Kh-38MTE missiles can carry a high-explosive fragmentation or a penetrating warhead, while the Kh-38MKE is armed with a cluster warhead. KTRV also promotes the Kh-59 family of air-to-surface guided weapons, which comprises the Kh-59ME/Kh-59M2E Ovod-ME and the Kh-59MK2 missiles. According to the corporation, the Kh-59ME and the Kh-59M2E guided weapons are designed to engage various stationary land and surface targets.

Both systems can be used round-the-clock under conditions of limited visibility. The missiles have a launch range of 115 km (the range of the Kh-59M2E can be extended to 140 km). They carry a 280 kg high-explosive fragmentation or a 320 kg penetrating war-

head. The Kh-59ME is armed with a navigation device, an automatic control system and a TV-command guidance unit, which ensures a circular error probability (CEP) of up to 2-3 m (with the involvement of the operator).

The Kh-59MK2 guided missile is also designed to engage stationary land targets, including those with no radar, infrared and optical contrast. The missile recognizes an area, which is adjacent to a target; therefore, it can be used in the ‘fire-and-forget’ mode.

The Kh-59MK2 has a launch range of 285 km, a flight speed of 900-1050 km/h, a CEP of no more than 3-5 m, and an all-up weight of nearly 900 kg.

KTRV pays specific attention to the promotion of anti-radiation missiles (ARM), particularly, the Kh-31P/PK/PD and the Kh-58UShKE, on the global market. The Kh-31 missiles can be used by Sukhoi Su-30MK-family multirole combat aircraft (including the Su-30MKI and Su-30MKK); however, the integration of the Kh-31 with the armament suite of foreign-originated fighter jets is not provided.

The Kh-31 family of anti-radiation missiles comprises the baseline Kh-31P and its modifications, namely, the Kh-31PK and the extended-range Kh-31PD. The Kh-31P missile with passive radar seekers is designed to engage both land- and sea-based radars. The weapon is fitted with an 87 kg warhead and a proximity fuze. The Kh-31P has a launch range of 15-110 km and a maximum flight speed of 1,000 m/s. The Kh-31PK anti-radiation missile is fitted with an enhanced warhead. The weapon`s basic specifications are almost identical to those of the baseline model.

R-77 and R-73 air-to-air missiles integrated with the MiG-35 fighter jet. © KTRV

EDR | July/August 2018

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A Kh-38MLE missile near a Ka-52K helicopter. © Nikolai Novichkov

KTRV has also developed an extended-range variant of the Kh-31P; the updated missile is designated Kh-31PD. The Kh-31PD’s launch range (180-250 km) has doubled compared with that of the Kh-31P. The upgraded missile is fitted with a combined guidance system, which integrates an inertial measurement unit and a passive radar seeker. The Kh-31PD carries a multipurpose or a cluster warhead.

The Kh-58UShKE is the most sophisticated anti-radiation missile developed by KTRV. It can be carried on an external hardpoint or inside the internal weapons bay. The missile is fitted with a wideband passive radar seeker coupled to a navigation and automatic control device based on an inertial measurement unit.

The Kh-58UShKE can engage both pre-programmed targets and targets detected by the onboard radar of an aircraft. The missile has an all-up weight of 650 kg, a launch range of 76-245 km, and a maximum flight speed of 4,200 m/s. The weapon is armed with a 149 kg high-explosive warhead. The Kh-58UShKE features high accuracy, as it can hit a radar with a first hit probability of 80 percent, reaching a CEP of no more than 20 m.

KTRV has substantially enhanced the capabilities of its Kh-35E unified anti-ship missile. The Kh-35E is now being replaced by an advanced model, the Kh-35UE. The Kh-35UE`s hardware allows flight route programming (including a flight with terrain avoidance) and 40

EDR | July/August 2018

vertical maneuvering. The missile’s combined guidance system with satellite guidance, an inertial measurement unit, and an activepassive seeker features high accuracy and jamming resistance. The air-launched variant of the Kh-35UE has successfully passed flight trials; the missile is now being modified for shore- and sea-based systems. The Kh-35UE has a launch range of 7-260 km and a flight speed of M=0.8-0.85. The missile is fitted with a 145 kg HE-Frag penetrating warhead. The Kh-35UE features high tactical flexibility, owing to its ability to be used by surface ships, coastal defense missile systems and fixed-wing/ rotary-wing aircraft. Air-to-air missiles. KTRV promotes the RVV family of air-to-air missiles on the global market. The family incorporates three weapons, namely, the short-range RVVMD, the medium-range RVV-SD, and the longrange RVV-BD. Therefore, these weapons can hit aerial targets at all distances of modern air combat.

Dealing with ECM environments

The Kh-58UShKE anti-radiation missile. © Nikolai Novichkov

The RVV-MD is designed to engage all types of aircraft round-the-clock in electronically jammed environments. The missile can be used by fighters, ground attack aircraft and combat helicopters, including those of foreign origin. The RVV-MD has an all-up weight of 106 kg and a launch range of 0.3-40 km. The missile can engage an aerial target flying at

an altitude of 0.02-20 km. The weapon is fitted with a dual-range infrared seeker and a rod warhead.

The RVV-SD air-to-air missile can engage aerial targets round-the-clock in electronically jammed environments in “fire-and-forget” mode. Like the RVV-MD, the RVV-SD can be integrated with armament suites of foreign-originated aircraft. The medium-range missile has an all-up weight of 190 kg and a launch range of 0.3-110 km. The missile can engage an aerial target flying at an altitude of 0.02-25 km. The RVV-SD is fitted with an active radar seeker with an inertial measurement unit and a rod multi-cumulative warhead.

The RVV-BD air-to-air missile is designed to engage aircraft at long ranges. The weapon can be carried by both Russian- and foreign-originated air platforms. The RVV-BD has an all-up weight of 510 kg, a launch range of up to 200 km, and a first hit probability of 60-80 percent. The missile can engage a target flying at a speed of up to 2,500 m/s at an altitude of 0.015-25 km. The RVV-BD is fitted with an active radar seeker with an inertial measurement unit.

Therefore, the members of the RVV family can replace legacy air-to-air missiles such as the R-73E, the R-27E, and the R-33E. The integration of the RVV missiles increases tactical flexibility of aircraft and reduces running expenses.

According to experts, these missiles can engage both existing and advanced air platforms.

Enhancing terminal precision Guided bomb units. KTRV continues the development of guided bombs fitted with various guidance systems, including satellite navigation (the KAB-500S-E guided bomb).

According to the experts, powerful smart bombs with laser guidance (the KAB-1500LGF-E), which are designed to engage large

The KAB-1500LG-F-E guided bomb. © Nikolai Novichkov

ground and surface targets, are in high demand.

Modern trends of guided bombs development envisage the limitation of the munitions’ destructive capabilities and increase of accuracy.

It results in substantial reduction of collateral damage. Following the abovementioned tendency, KTRV is developing the KAB-250-LG-E guided bomb fitted with a laser seeker. At the MAKS 2017 international aerospace show in Zhukovsky near Moscow, Obnosov announced the corporation`s intention to finish the development of the KAB-250 with a laser seeker before end-2017. “KTRV has presented the KAB-250 with a laser seeker. I think that the bomb will have been developed by the end of the year [2017],” he said.

Therefore, KTRV concentrates all scientific and manufacturing capacities on the continuous modernization of high-precision weapons for the benefit of Russia`s military and the shoring up of the corporation`s positions on the global market. Promoting the full range of modern air-launched weapons, KTRV follows the “one-stop shop” trend, when a customer can acquire can acquire guided missiles and smart bombs from a single manufacturer.

Considering the fact that most air-launched weapons mentioned above can be integrated with foreign-originated air platforms, one can highly evaluate the market outlook of KTRV’s weapon systems for the foreseeable future.

EDR | July/August 2018

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