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Contents NOVEMBER 2013 VOLUME 21 / ISSUE 7

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Thailand: Defence Modernisation Hong Kong-based photojournalist Gordon Arthur provides an in-depth analysis of the myriad of defence modernisation programmes ongoing in the Thai armed forces.

Front Cover Photo: A US Army General Dynamics Land Systems Stryker armoured fighting vehicle equipped with systems to protect the vehicle against remote-controlled bombs. Such devices are examined in this month’s ‘Blocked Calls’ article © US DoD

Blocked Calls

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AMR editor Thomas Withington examines some of the latest innovations designed to help protect military vehicle convoys against attack from remotecontrolled bombs

Infantry Weapons and Sights United Kingdom-based defence journalist Peter Donaldson takes a detailed look at some of the latest infantry weapons and accompanying optronics requirements in the Asia-Pacific region

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Asia-Pacific armies and air forces are investing heavily in armed attack helicopters to bolster their air-to-ground striking power as United Kingdom-based defence journalist David Oliver finds out

30 Combat Management Systems are the epicentre of operations for a modern warship and a capability in which several navies around the Asia-Pacific are investing, Thomas Withington discovers

november­ 2013

United Kingdom defence journalist David Oliver examines the market for training aircraft in the AsiaPacific region, discussing several of the latest products on offer

United Kingdom-based defence journalist Claire Apthorp gives a detailed assessment of the space-based navigation and reconnaissance capabilities of interest to countries around the Asia-Pacific

Local Knowledge

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Back to School

Birds Eye View

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Index of Advertisers AM GENERAL AMR DSI BOEING C17 BOEING F18 BOEING INSITU BRIDEX DIMDEX DSA MALAYSIA EURONAVAL EUROSATORY IMI NEXTER PHOTONIS RAFAEL RAYTHEON ROSOBORONEXPORT RUSSIAN HELICOPTER SAAB SINGAPORE AIRSHOW TRIJICON URALVAGONZAVOD

17 47 21 COVER 2 35 65 63 61 59 55 5 29 11, 41 9 COVER 4 50-51 25 13 COVER 3 39 43

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Editorial HEART AND SEOUL ew defence acquisitions generate more interest and speculation than the purchase of a new Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA). Since the end of the Cold War, purchases of such platforms have decreased in frequency and size while at the same time increasing in terms of cost.

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The Republic of Korea is one of a handful of countries shopping around for new MRCAs with the world’s fast jet manufacturers desperate to secure this Asian nation as a customer. Given the intensity of the competitive landscape of the 4.5- and fifthgeneration fighter market, with several manufacturers competing for a relatively small number of orders, it is of little surprise that countries can take their time and choose carefully the MRCAs which will represent the combat spearhead of their air forces for at least the next three-to-four decades. As irksome as this must be for the aircraft manufacturers, they can take their time, change their minds or decide against buying new fast jets, even after commencing a competitive acquisition.

Playing Devil’s Advocate, who can blame them? State-of-the-art combat aircraft represent amongst the most expensive defence purchases that a nation can make.

Countries undertake a significant investment when they purchase these platforms.

What is necessarily wrong with a government working to ensure that it gets the best deal possible for the money that it will spend, not only in terms of the aircraft which will be delivered, but in terms of investment into the nations’ technology and engineering research, development and manufacturing base? Both India and Brazil have taken their time to acquire new MRCAs, with the latter country recently deciding to postpone its combat aircraft acquisition programme for the foreseeable future.

Now the Republic of Korea has followed a similar path. In late September, Seoul decided to re-launch its planned acquisition of up to 60 MRCAs under the FX-III programme. The news was a blow to Boeing which seemed on course to supply F15 Silent Eagle aircraft to the country as a replacement for its ageing McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom jets. Crucially, the decision to re-bid the contract now gives another chance to the world’s MRCA manufacturers to clinch the Korean deal. The forthcoming Seoul ADEX (Aerospace and Defence Exhibition), to be held in the Korean capital in late October, will no doubt be abuzz with speculation and rumour regarding which way the Republic of Korea will leap as regards the new competition.

Nevertheless, anticipating the likely timelines or the results of the competition seems a fiendishly difficult exercise.

Thomas Withington, Editor

Editor: Thomas Withington E-mail: t_withington@hotmail.com

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regional m i l i t a r y

THAILAND: DEFENCE MODERNISATION Thailand’s military is kept active with pressing security issues, the most prominent being the insurgency in the south of the Kingdom

by Gordon Arthur

t may perhaps surprise some that Thailand is ranked the 20th most powerful military in the world according to Global Firepower. Its position is helped by the 2013 defence budget rising to USD5.7 billion, a 7% year-on-year increase.

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Insurgency A Muslim-inspired insurgency flared in the three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in 2004, claiming 5,500 lives and wounding nearly 10,000 to date. Most violence has been low-intensity killings of off-duty security personnel and local Buddhist leaders.

However, there has been an evolution in tactics with carefully planned and The 31st Infantry Regiment, Rapid Deployment Force, was one of the first units to receive IMI Tavor TAR-21 assault rifles from Israel Š Gordon Arthur

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A Saab JAS 39C Gripen fighter performs a take-off. The air force now has twelve of these modern Saab Gripens in its possession © Gordon Arthur

increasingly complex operations. On 13 February 2013, an unprecedentedly large group of 60 insurgents assaulted a military base in Narithiwat. However, intelligence sources had warning of the night attack and the alerted garrison decimated the attackers, killing 16. The air force is supporting counterinsurgency operations with a task force featuring Fairchild Au-23 Peacemaker and Diamond DA42 surveillance aircraft, as well as Lockheed Martin C-130s for transport.

Successive Thai governments have seemed powerless to come up with effective strategies in dealing with the unrest.

Therefore, hopes were high when the government signed an historic agreement on 28 February 2013 to begin a dialogue with the major Malay-Muslim militant group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN). In March, Malaysia mediated the first talks involving the Thai government as well as the BRN and associated groups. The BRN

has submitted a list of demands, though a proposed Ramadan ceasefire collapsed on 31 July 2013 with an instantaneous surge in attacks. The next round of talks is set for late October.

Today, some 80,000 personnel, mostly from the army, are deployed in the south.

Critics claim perennial martial law gives the military carte blanche to commit human rights abuses (e.g. security forces can detain suspects for 30 days without charge).

Cambodian border Cambodia infuriated Thailand by registering the Preah Vihear Temple as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2008, because Thailand claims part of the surrounding territory. Since then, several armed clashes have punctuated cross-border relations.

The International Court of Justice called for a demilitarised zone around the temple and both sides subsequently removed hundreds of troops on 18 July 2013. They were

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immediately replaced by armed police, but there is still no resolution regarding the core territorial dispute.

Nevertheless, relations with Cambodia have improved under Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration. In August 2012, the two countries staged their first ever bilateral drill focusing on disaster relief training.

The Burmese border is not much safer.

Burmese refugees from ethnic conflicts have been living across the Thai border for over 20 years, with 146,900 currently taking refuge in nine camps. Thailand’s government is pushing for ‘voluntary repatriations’ back to Burma. Drugs, weapon smuggling, illegal immigration and human trafficking are rampant along this border, creating a source of instability for Thailand.

Air force The Royal Thai Air Force’s (RTAF) capability has improved hugely with the

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The Royal Thai Air Force is upgrading 18 of its F-16A/B fighters to Block 50/52 standard through a phased midlife upgrade Š Gordon Arthur

induction, in two tranches, of twelve Saab Gripen JAS 39C/D fighters, two Saab S100B Argus Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft with Erieye radar, and two Saab 340s. The first Gripen squadron in Wing 7 became operational in July 2011 at Surat Thani Airbase. Saab completed delivery of the three final Gripens on 4 September this year. Thailand is also

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receiving Swedish RBS-15F anti-ship missiles. Thailand plans to deploy Gripens on Malacca Strait Eyes-in-the-Sky patrols next year, plus it is reportedly interested in hosting the Saab Gripen Fighter Weapon School after South Africa failed to support the initiative.

In 2010, Thailand decided to upgrade its Lockheed Martin F-16A/B Block 15 fleet

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via a Foreign Military Sale (FMS). The USD700 million Midlife Upgrade (MLU) will see six-aircraft lots upgraded in three overlapping batches. The first F-16 entered the programme in November 2012.

Improvements include installation of a modular mission computer, Northrop Grumman APG-68(V)9 radar, Terma AN/ALQ-213 electronic warfare management system, Link 16 datalink and the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System. The programme will elevate these F-16s to Block 50/52 standard, extending their lifespan to 2025. In mid-March 2013, the government approved funding of the second six-aircraft batch.

The RTAF is considering replacements for its ageing Aero L-39 fighters/trainers.

Potential contenders include the Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 Golden Eagle, Alenia Aermacchi M-346 and Hongdu L-15.

In August 2012, the government approved acquisition of an initial batch of four Eurocopter EC725 helicopters to replace its Bell UH-1H rotorcraft in the A series of amphibious AAVP7A1 vehicles of the Royal Thai Marine Corps storms ashore in Exercise Cobra Gold 2013 Š Gordon Arthur

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HTMS Chakri Naruebet berthed at Sattahip Naval Base, where it spends much of its time. The ship serves as a helicopter carrier now © Gordon Arthur

search-and-rescue role. In June 2013, the RTAF also gained a green light to procure an Airbus ACJ320 jet for VIP transportation.

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) needs unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to improve border and territorial surveillance. The RTAF outlined a requirement in 2009 for three types with eight nautical miles (15 kilometres), 16nm (30km) and 54nm (100km) ranges respectively.

Thailand is aiming for eventual indigenous production via Project Tiger Shark and several prototypes have been developed already. In the interim, after evaluating an Aeronautics Defense Systems Aerostar against a locally assembled GStar (based on the Innocon Mini Falcon II), it is believed the former won a recent USD20 million contract.

Network-centricity is being greatly enhanced, with the RTAF Defence System (RTAD) to be linked to the army and navy for joint missions. The RTAD will intercommunicate with Saab aircraft, two upgraded navy frigates and a carrier. The

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programme will finish next year.

Meanwhile, Selex Sistemi Integrati secured a contract in November 2011 to supply a Kronos radar to both the RTAF (near the Cambodian border) and navy (south of Bangkok) to expand the country’s coastal and air defence network. The RTAF activated a Lockheed Martin TPS-77 longrange air surveillance radar last year.

Navy The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) would like to develop into more of a blue-water force and to increase its presence in the Andaman Sea. It has previously deployed vessels on Gulf of Aden counter-piracy tasks. New ships are regularly joining the fleet. On 26 August 2013, the navy commissioned its first BAE Systems-designed Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). HTMS Krabi, a variant of the Royal Navy’s ‘River’ class, was built by Bangkok Dock under a 2009 technology transfer agreement. The 1,969-tonne first-of-class boasts an Oto Melara 76/62 Super Rapid Gun and two MSI 30mm (1.1inch) cannons. An expected follow-on requirement for three OPVs will benefit domestic shipbuilders.

In April 2012, the RTN received HTMS Ang Thong, a Landing Platform Dock

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(LPD) similar to Singapore’s Endurance class. Built by ST Marine in Singapore, it is Thailand’s first ship of this type. In May 2013, three 21 metre (69 feet) M21 patrol boats built by Marsun Company and armed with Denel GI-2 20mm (0.78in) autocannons were commissioned. Three M36 coastal patrol boats, also built by Marsun, should enter service next year.

The USA allocated two decommissioned ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigates to Thailand earlier this year but the offer has not been accepted so far.

Importantly, the navy is to purchase two 3,000-ton frigates from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), with contract signature for the first frigate occurring in August 2013. In the competition, South Korea defeated a competing Chinese design – this is significant in light of numerous rumours that Thailand’s Chinese-built ships have performed poorly. The DSME design is a derivative of the KDX-1 destroyer, and the first will be delivered in 2018.

Speaking of Chinese-built vessels, work continues to upgrade two Type 25T Naresuan-class frigates. In July, BAE Systems was awarded a contract for three Mk 25 Model 0 Quad Pack canisters for

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Raytheon’s RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) to equip both frigates. The original Chinese radar systems encountered numerous problems and Saab was given two contracts in June 2011 to fit the CEROS 200 fire control system, Sea Giraffe AMB radar, EOS 500 optronic director, data-link and 9LV Mk4 Combat Management System (CMS). Work should conclude in 2015.

Two ‘Chao Phraya’ class frigates are also receiving a midlife upgrade that includes Chinese Type 360 radars, a CMS, 100mm (four inch) naval guns, TR47C tracking radar and C-802A missiles to replace existing C-801s. Thailand has been a happy hunting ground for Saab, with the Swedish company announcing in April 2012 it was upgrading the RTN’s flagship aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet.

The contract includes the 9LV Mk 4 CMS and Sea Giraffe surveillance radar.

Thailand, on various occasions, has expressed an interest in submarines. In 2011 it was cuing up two decommissioned

The army is seeking new helicopters to replace older UH-1Hs and to supplement existing craft such as this UH-60L Black Hawk © Gordon Arthur

German Type 206A submarines. However, the government stepped away from these plans, leaving the navy wallowing in the wake of Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam that all have submarine fleets.

A Canadair CL-215 amphibious aircraft returned to service this year after

more than a decade of inactivity. In August 2011, Thailand became the first international customer of Sikorsky MH60S helicopters. Thailand ordered two aircraft and four more are on the cards. It is thought the RTN has a future requirement for 14 new helicopters.

regional m i l i t a r y

HTMS Chao Praya is a Chinese-built frigate based on the Type 053H2. It is being equipped with newer C-802A anti-ship missiles © Gordon Arthur

Army The Royal Thai Army (RTA) receives almost half the defence budget, and much of it has been going Ukraine’s way in recent years. Ukrspetsexport, the country’s state-run export agency, has sealed major deals with the RTA, including large quantities of BTR-3E1 8x8 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC). The first 96vehicle contract in 2008 included APC, Command, 81mm (three inch) Mortar, 120mm (five inch) Mortar, Anti-Tank Missile (Barrier missiles), Recovery and Ambulance variants. In 2011, Thailand ordered 121 more BTR-3E1s, plus a further 21 vehicles in August 2013.

In 2011, the government approved the purchase of 49 T-84 Oplot Main Battle Tanks (MBT) with 125mm (five-inch) guns to equip the 4th, 8th, 9th and 16th Cavalry Battalions. The first Oplot MBT, replete with Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) suite, was presented to RTA officials in June. All should be delivered by the end of 2014. The Oplot will replace elderly M41A3 tanks, and Thailand may require 100 of them.

The RTA operates an eclectic fleet of tactical trucks, and the newest type will come from Ukraine too. In April 2013 it was reported KrAZ had won a sizeable contract for 6x6 trucks, with the first examples expected to arrive this year.

Six Nexter Caesar 155mm (six inch) self-propelled howitzers are already in service, although the government is developing a similar but technologically

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simplified truck-mounted system. The army purchased 54 surplus M198 155mm towed howitzers from the US Army last year to replace the M114A1.

The Defence Technology Institute (DTi), a Ministry of Defence (MoD) agency, is making use of technologies from the China National Precision Machinery Import & Export Corporation (CPMIEC). Specifically, Thailand is developing Multiple-Launch Rocket (MRL) systems based on the Chinese WS-1 302mm (twelve inch) system.

A memorandum of understanding signed on 7 March 2013 will deliver an MRL (named DTi-1) plus guided MRL (DTi-1G) with 180km range over the next three years.

Interestingly, DTi’s budget increased 35% this year, underscoring the importance of domestic development to Thailand.

In November 2012, Thailand signed a contract with Thales UK for the Starstreak air defence system. Eight of these lightweight, short-range missile launchers will be deployed by the RTA. Russia’s first major military sale to Thailand comprised three Mi-17V5 helicopters delivered in February 2011 in time to be employed heavily in the massive floods that inundated the country. New helicopters are a priority for the RTA, and in 2011 it announced it was urgently seeking 36 new helicopters to replace its UH-1H fleet following a spate of fatal crashes.

Thailand’s rotary-winged inventory is

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extremely fragmented (as discussed below) and it is unclear which way the army will go with its helicopter requirement.

In October 2012 the army signed up for two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters for 2014 delivery. In June, the US Congress was informed of a potential sale of six Eurocopter UH-72A Lakota helicopters after a request from Thailand. Previously, the army signed up for three UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters via a USD235 million FMS, plus the procurement of two more has been approved. The RTA already operates the UH-60L, and the new craft will help update the fleet. In mid-2012, Enstrom completed delivery of 16 480B training helicopters. Contract signing to final delivery was completed in just 19 months.

Cooperation Thailand remains a close ally of the USA, with cooperation occurring through events such as Exercises Cobra Gold, CARAT and Cope Tiger. Interestingly, Thailand has forged good cooperation with China too.

On 30 May 2013, Thailand agreed to explore defence industry collaboration with India.

In January 2012, the two countries paved the way for closer cooperation in communications technology, as well as maritime intelligence and joint counterterrorism.

Thailand wishes to strengthen its underdeveloped defence industry, which presently supplies just 10% of Thai military equipment. The MoD is studying a defence offset policy that may be enacted next year to support local industries.

However, this is somewhat at odds with an idea recently floated by the RTAF to later buy six further Gripen fighters with funding coming via barter trade.

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BLOCKED CALLS: CONVOY PROTECTION AGAINST REMOTECONTROLLED BOMBS The Asia-Pacific region has seen its fair share of remote-controlled bomb attacks against vehicle convoys. Fortunately, help is at hand in defeating this menace from the proliferation of mobile jammers available from defence electronics specialists around the world.

by Thomas Withington he Asia-Pacific region, most notably Afghanistan, is no stranger to remote-controlled bombs. Such weapons have been widely used by insurgents targeting North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces, and their

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supporters and supply networks, operating in the country. Remote-controlled bombs are a favourite weapon of the modern insurgent. At its basic level, a telephone or radio acts as the trigger for the bomb and is connected to an electronic firing circuit, which is in turn connected to

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the bomb. When a call or text message is sent to the telephone, it activates as normal but at the same time sends an electric signal to the firing mechanism to detonate the device. One of the attractions of using such weapons is that they can be placed and remain in situ for some time before

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being activated. As they require a call or message to be sent to the specific number of the phone or to a radio tuned to a particular frequency they are difficult to detonate by accident. Remote-controlled bombs are particularly suitable for urban attacks as a device can be left within the line-of-sight of a Base Transceiver Station, more commonly known as a ‘mobile phone tower’, ubiquitous in built-up areas in the case of a cellphone-activated design. The upshot of this is that the attacker does not to be within the line-ofsight of the device to activate it. Instead, they can be many miles away and simply dial the number at the exact time that they wish the bomb to be detonated.

Alternatively, they can remain hidden, but within visual site of the bombs’ location and then detonate it at the optimum point, such as when a convoy is driving past. This gives the bomb a high degree of precision, as far as the timing and the location of the attack is concerned. Such devices have been used on countless occasions since cellphones began to proliferate in the 1990s and 2000s including the high

The two vehicles at the front of this military convoy are outfitted with a number of subsystems to help neutralise remote-controlled bombs by jamming radio-frequency signals which can be used to activate the weapons © US DoD

profile attempted assassination of Saudi Arabian Interior Minister Muhammad bin Nayef on 27th August 2009 during which his attacker, Adbullah al-Asiri, was killed when detonating the explosives he was carrying with his mobile phone, although leaving Mr. bin Nayef only lightly injured.

Design considerations The remote-controlled bomb poses a particular danger to vehicle convoys. It can be hidden near to, or be shallowly-buried, underneath a road and then detonated when a convoy passes. It can also be employed in a number of ways, for example to attack the lead vehicle in a convoy on a narrow road, causing the convoy to stop, and then allowing it to be ambushed by other means. Unsurprisingly, significant investment has flowed into the development of cellphone jamming equipment

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for convoy protection since United Statesled forces commenced their deployment to Afghanistan in 2001 and began to suffer casualties as military vehicles and convoys came under attack.

Several design considerations are important as regards mobile remote-controlled bomb protection systems. Firstly, the devices must be able to rapidly sense and classify a potential hostile signal before initiating jamming. The jammer must be quicker off the mark than the hostile signal in activating the device.

Reliability plays an important part here as the jammer will only have one chance to detect and disrupt the hostile signal.

Allied to this, jammers must cover a wide frequency range and have the ability to be easily upgraded in the future to take account of emerging threats as and when they appear. There is an increasing demand for smart jammers which can exploit the electromagnetic spectrum in such a way that hostile signals are detected and blocked, leaving friendly communications to function unimpeded. Finally, countermeasures are increasingly being

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An Australian Army convoy moves through the rugged landscape of Afghanistan. The conflict in this Central Asian country has exacted a high toll in terms of vehicles attacked by remotecontrolled bombs © Australian DoD

required to be easy to operate, to have a reduced footprint so as not to occupy too much of a vehicle’s interior, and to consume no more power than is necessary.

Israeli Offerings Although the United States and NATO has suffered convoy attacks for the entirety of the 13 years during which it has been deployed to the Afghan theatre, Israel’s experience of insurgent attacks on its forces and its civilian population using a variety of modus operandi stretches back to the country’s foundation in May 1948.

As conflict accelerates technology it is axiomatic that Israeli firms have developed significant competencies in counter cellphone bomb technology for convoy

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protection. SESP is one such company which offers vehicle-born jamming systems which can neutralise remote controlled bombs, covering the 20 megahertz (mhz) to three gigahertz (ghz) section of the electromagnetic spectrum. This allows the jammers to protect against cellphoneactivated bombs (most cellphones operate in the Ultra-High Frequency range of 300mhz-three gigahertz), along with radios which operate within and outside this section of the spectrum. SESP take an innovative approach as they supply an entire vehicle equipped with jammers: “We have Toyota Land Cruiser and GMC

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Yukon-based turnkey solutions,” says a company spokesperson: “We also have a solution integrated on the Mercedes Sclass and BMW sedans.” Rugged fourwheel drive platforms based on the Land Cruiser and Yukon are particularly suitable for customers in the Asia-Pacific which may need to use mobile bomb jammers in areas where metalled roads are in a bad condition, or non-existent. SESP has a policy of continually improving its products and the spokesperson adds that the company is constantly “upgrading the power of the jammers, their cooling and their frequency range to improve their efficiency.”

Additional Israeli-supplied counterremote-controlled bomb jammers for mobile applications include Elbit’s EJAB (Electronic Jamming Anti-Bomb) which can be used in a vehicle-mounted configuration to protect against devices activated by cellphone, radio or satellite communications. It will not surprise many readers

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This diagram explains how Cassidian’s jamming system can protect a convoy, by emitting RF signals which can be broadcast to disrupt remote-controlled bombs some distance from the vehicles © Cassidian

to know that EJAB has already proved itself in the field, presumably with the Israeli Defence Force.

Cassidian Much as Israel has experienced insurgent attacks over the last almost-seven decades of its existence, several European countries are no strangers to such threats, both at home, and in the theatres around the world where their troops are deployed. Pan-European defence electronics specialists Cassidian currently produce “barrage jammers, soldier-wearable configurable jammers and sophisticated responsive jammers,” according to

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a company source. Whereas barrage jammers emit signals which blank out electronic communications which could be used to activate bombs across a set radius from the jammer, responsive systems are more selective and can detect a signal and immediately jam it before the signal can activate the bomb. The later design has the asset of allowing legitimate uses of the electronic spectrum for cellphone and radio communications but preventing nefarious signals. This is particularly handy when the user wants to prevent a bomb being detonated, but wishes to do so covertly while leaving the airwaves otherwise undisturbed. Smart responsive

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jamming is used in Cassidian’s Vehicle Protection Jammer which detects the hostile signal, classifies it and then transmits jamming signals on the hostile signals’ frequency band. The company says that its reaction times in this regard are below one millisecond. One of the attractions of the Vehicle Protection Jammer is that it is easy to configure according to the size and design of the vehicle in which the operator wishes to have the jammer installed.

Thales Like Cassidian, Thales is another of Europe’s defence electronic specialists

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ber of disparate platforms. Meanwhile, a personal computer-based mission planning unit is highly intuitive and easy to upgrade as and when new capabilities become available.

UK Suppliers The United Kingdom’s Enterprise Control Systems’ counter remote-controlled bomb product line includes the Falcon twinchannel wideband jammer which covers frequency ranges used by cellphones.

Falcon is designed to equip military and civilian vehicles, with the company’s Griffin vehicle-mounted RF (Radio Frequency) inhibitor covering a frequency range of 20mhz to 2.5ghz. Continual improvement to the Griffin design has resulted in a package which can perform precise and effective jamming, but with relatively little output power, helping to improve efficiency and economy.

The UK’s Homeland Security Strategies is also in the business of remote-controlled bomb jamming equipment via its VIP-300F convoy jamming system. Designed to protect a group of vehicles, the VIP-300F is designed around bomb jamming modules fitted to several vehicles in a convoy which provide overlapping coverage. Other vehicle-mounted

and the firm’s Eclipse jammer has been optimised to provide mobile convoy protection. Eclipse can perform active and reactive jamming, or a hybrid of these two functions, and covers all frequency bands using high-power transmissions. The configuration of Eclipse includes a pair of broadband antennas with scalable and modular hardware and software easing the integration of the product on a numIsraeli firm Netline specialise in bomb jamming and Radio-Frequency (RF) jamming equipment.

Vehicle-borne RF jamming systems are a particular speciality of the firm, as are manpack and fixed jammers © US DoD

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jamming products in the Homeland Security Strategies portfolio include the VIP-300S which has a modular design and can be easily transferred between vehicles. Meanwhile, the VIP-300T can be installed in a car’s trunk and is capable of jamming cellphone, low- and high-band radio, and satellite transmissions; with the VIP-300WOTS providing multi-band random sweep jamming to produce barrage effects at the same time as disrupting narrow-band communications.

ITT Exelis In terms of North American suppliers, ITT Exelis has developed the CREW (Counter Remote-controlled improvised explosive device Electronic Warfare) family of remote-controlled bomb countermeasures. These were initially developed as the result of requirements from the United States Department of Defense for vehiclemounted jammers to protect against such threats, chiefly those encountered during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The design of the CREW series owes its ancestry to the Warlock family produced by the EDO Corporation (now part of ITT Exelis).

Warlock Green debuted with US forces in Iraq in 2003 and would work by detecting, recording and then blocking the transmit signal to activate a bomb, although the shortcoming of Warlock Green was that an insurgent was often able to activate their device in the time that it took Warlock Green to perform its task. Moreover, Warlock Green struggled to cope with insurgents changing frequencies to activate weapons. This can be as simple as a change from a car alarm remote control to a garage door remote control. As such, frequency agility is now de rigueur for all mobile remote-controlled bomb jamming systems.

These issues led to the design of Warlock Red which would cover the frequencies missed by Warlock Green, and which had a

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The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have witnessed a stepchange in terms of vehicle subsystems with a plethora of additions to vehicles to protect them from attack by remotecontrolled devices © US DoD

smaller size, with Warlock Blue being designed as a wearable system.

GEW Technologies While North American, European and Israeli manufacturers provide a myriad of mobile remote-controlled bomb protection systems, a word or two should be said regarding GEW Technologies of South Africa. The firm’s product line includes the GMJ10000 which has a multi-channel design meaning that it can jam several different frequencies simultaneously; a particularly useful feature if secondary devices activated remotely using a separate frequency are employed as a ‘back-up’ option in case the primary device is jammed. Up to 300 watts is jamming power is available from the GMJ10000, with frequency coverage across the 20mhz to 2.5ghz spectrum spread being possible. Five independent channels can be used for jamming using an omni-directional antenna.

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The Way Forward Several future evolutions for convoy remote-controlled bomb protection are anticipated: Thales says that it sees electronic convoy protection systems in the future; “evolving to cope with a wider range of threats such as direct fire or miniUnmanned Aerial Vehicle attack, and to be able to integrate new features such as gunshot detection, spectrum sensing, or even the employment of directed energy weapons, ultimately to become a land platform self-protection suite with enhanced electronic protection and attack capabilities.” Other design considerations for convoy protection jamming equip-

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ment will include a need to “be easily upgradeable to cope with continuouslyevolving threats,” according to the company, alongside the imperative of preserving friendly communications, and having reduced size, weight and power to allow integration on all types of vehicles.”

Over the long term, there are no immediate indications that the use of cellphoneactivated bombs will cease. As soon as one company develops a jammer, insurgents eventually get wise to the disruptive techniques which are being used, and adapt their bomb designs accordingly.

Therefore, even when NATO forces vacate Afghanistan en masse from 2014 there will, regrettably, almost certainly continue to be attacks using remote-controlled bombs. Therefore, the need for jamming systems for convoy protection, both in that Central Asian country, and beyond, is unlikely to dissipate. As the spokesperson for SESP states, for the time being, “however advanced we get, the terrorists will get just as advanced.”

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Proven and ready for a world of missions.

attack helicopters

HELICOPTERS: ARMED AND DANGEROUS

AgustaWestland’s AW159 Lynx Wildcat is entering British Army service and available for export © AgustaWestland

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During a recent four-nation visit to the Asia-Pacific region that included a stop in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced a deal worth about $500 million to sell eight new Apache AH-64E attack helicopters and Longbow radars to Indonesia, “Providing Indonesia these world-class helicopters is an example of our commitment to help build Indonesia’s military capability,” Hagel said.

by David Oliver

he US military will also train Indonesian pilots and help in developing tactics, techniques and procedures for operating the Boeing AH-64D Longbow Apache helicopter in the Southeast Asian security environment.

This is part of the United States ‘pivot to Asia’ and potential future operations in Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) environments will lead to a need for more

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capable armed helicopter fleets The Indonesian deal follows Boeing’s award of a multi-billion dollar contract for the supply of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army, confirmed by the country's Defense Acquisition Procurement Administration (DAPA) earlier this year.

Awarded amid escalating tensions with North Korea, the estimated $1.6bn Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract cov-

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The multi-mission Mil Mi-17 is in service with a dozen Asia-Pacific air arms and can pack a punch when armed with gun and rocket pods © David Oliver

ers the delivery of 36 helicopters along with training and logistical support to enhance aerial firepower of the South Korean Army beginning in 2016.

These latest contracts follow Taiwan’s FMS for 30 AH-64Es awarded in 2011, the

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attack helicopters

India’s indigenous HAL Rudra IV is the armed variant of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) will equip six IAF squadrons © David Oliver

first deliveries of which are underway.

At the same time, Indian Armed Forces are embarking on the largest rotary modernization programme in the world worth some $15 billion. Their requirements for modernization look to strengthening triservice rotary assets through the procurement of more than 1,000 attack, utility, multi role and lift platforms in addition to the latest high end component technologies to ensure India has the optimum rotary capability at its disposal.

Part of this huge investment package is a $1.3 billion contract for 22 AH-64D Longbow Apaches for the Indian Air Force signed last year. However, there is an ongoing rift between the Indian Air force and the Indian Army Aviation Corps as to which of the services should

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operate armed helicopters, and the Indian Army has asked the Defence Ministry to acquire an unspecified number AH-64D helicopters in addition to those on order for the air force.

The Indian Army is also taking delivery of a weaponised version of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Dhruv multirole twin-engine Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The Rudra is fitted with nose-mounted Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) and armed with a chin-mounted Nexter THL-20 20 mm (0.78 inch) turreted auto cannon, MBDA Mistral air-to-air missiles and an FZ 70 mm (three-inch) unguided rocket system. The first aircraft was officially handed over in February 2013 and the Army plans to procure 60 Rudra Mk IV helicopter to equip six squadrons.

India is the country with the greatest growth potential and offered the greatest investment opportunities for the global

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helicopter industry. With twelve active helicopter programmes in the Defence Ministry’s procurement plans the sector is, perhaps more than any other, one of the most promising and prolific in the global defence industry today. In the meantime the Indian government is making no secret of its intentions to bolster its indigenous defence industry for the future, but at present global players are still eyeing significant opportunities in the region. With its unpredictable nucleararmed neighbour, Pakistan on one border, and China on another, whose 2012 defence budget grew by more than 10 percent from the previous year to $106.39 billion, almost three time that of India’s military spend in the same period.

Although the Mil Mi-28NE Night Hunter lost out to the AH-64 as a replacement for the Indian Air Force’s Mil Mi-35 fleet, Kamov see an opening for its capable Ka-52 Alligator all-weather, day-night

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combat helicopter. It was designed to destroy armoured and unarmoured ground targets, low-speed aerial targets and enemy front-line and tactical reserve troops, and to undertake reconnaissance missions and co-ordination of groups of military helicopters. After defence funding dried up following implosion of the Soviet Union, the Alligator is now being delivered to the Russian Air Force. The Ka-52 has a twin-seat cockpit and can be controlled by either pilot. Its coaxial rotors provide advanced flight abilities and allow it to manoeuvre rapidly in tight airspace.

Its two VK-2500 turbine engines enable the helicopter to fly above 16,400 feet (5,000 metres). It has a static ceiling of 13,123 feet (4,000 metres), and can take-off and land in hot and high environments, making it a strong contender for the Indian Army’s newly sanctioned Mountain Corps that could be deployed along the China border.

The Corps would also be equipped with attack helicopters that would be operational within the next decade.

The heavily armed and armoured Ka52 Alligator is equipped with state-of-theart avionics developed mainly by RadioElectronic Technologies that also supplies systems for laser-guided weapons and video imaging processing for missile guidance. The helicopter can rapidly identify and simultaneously engage two targets at a range of up to five nautical miles

(ten kilometres), guiding the AT-12 Atak/Vikhr or SA-16 Igla-V anti-armour missiles with high accuracy. The SAU-800 autopilot system allows for manual and automatic piloting.

The Ka-52 is equipped with the rapidfire NPPU-80 unit with 2A42 30mm (1.1 inch) gun is located on the helicopter's starboard. The large number of weapons options is supported by six mounting points for aircraft guns, missiles and rockets and various aerial bombs, as well as additional fuel tanks. The total weight of the payload is 2,000 kilogrammes (4,400lb).

Powerful armoured protection and the unique ejection seat system make the Ka-52 Alligator one of the safest helicopters for the crew and its rugged construction, hanger storage is not required and the helicopter can be operated and serviced with a minimum of ground crew and equipment.

Although it was unsuccessful, the Ka52’s pitch for the Turkish attack helicopter competition led to the introduction of NATO requirements and the opportunity to integrate foreign equipment and weapons systems. Sagem and Kamov are working together to combined complementary areas of technological and industrial expertise to develop an enhanced version of the Kamov-52 Alligator attack helicopter, which will address a requirement expressed by several countries. This will include the integration of Sagem

Kamov co-operated in the design of China’s new Z-10 Thunder Fire now entering service with the PLAAF © Piotr Butowski)

optronic equipment and LINS 100 inertial navigation systems.

Earlier this year, Kamov general designer Sergei Mikheyev revealed that the Kamov Design Bureau had produced the initial conceptual design for China’s Changhe (CAIC) Z-10 attack helicopter which made its public debut at last year’s Zhuhai air show and is in the early stages of production and entering service with at least two Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) regiments.

Mikheyev stated that in 1995 China asked Kamov to secretly undertake the An export version of the Russian Kamov Ka-52 Alligator is a possible contender for the Indian Army’s new Mountain Corps © David Oliver

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basic design of an attack helicopter, which was known internally as Project 941 that was handed over to China as a programme ready for development.

The Z-10, known on PLA service as the Thunder Fire, has had a protracted development due mainly to the US ban of the Pratt & Whitney PT6-67C turboshaft engines that powered the prototypes.

Now a paired down variant is in production using Chinese WZ-9 powerplants.

To make up the shortfall in combat helicopter capability, a tandem two-seat development of the Z-9 multirole helicopter, itself a Chinese-built version of the Aerospatiale AS 565 Dauphin, is being developed. The WZ-19 Black Tornado attack helicopter is designed to be

equipped with a mast-mounted radar and be armed with HJ8 anti-tank missiles and TY-90 air-to-air missiles or unguided rockets and gun pods.

In addition to these helicopters, Lin Zuoming, president of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), has announced that China is developing helicopters that can fly at twice the average

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speed of current platforms. India, it seems, needs to stay ahead of the competition on all fronts.

At the same time territorial disputes among countries in the Asia-Pacific region has led to a competitive acquisition of defense systems. These contemporary disputes involve India and Pakistan, South Korea and North Korea, Thailand and Cambodia, and China and Taiwan, and territorial disputes with a number of countries, including Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam has more broadly increased demand for armed helicopters in the region.

Pakistan’s army and air force operate not less than thirty different types of helicopters, none of which are state-of-the-art attack helicopters. Due to the US arms

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The Z-9W is an armed version of the licence-built Aerospatiale AS 365 Dauphin and is operated by Chinese Army Aviation © CATIC

restrictions, it has to rely on two dozen ageing Bell AH-1 HueyCobras for the role.

Japan has more than 100 Fuji-built AH-S HueyCobras as the primary attack helicopter operated by its Ground Self-Defence Force, and following the first defence budget increase for eleven years due to territorial tensions with China, it may be in the market for a replacement. Bearing in mind its close defence ties with the United States, the AH-64 Apache would be a leading contender for the role, 12 of which were produced by Fuji of a requirement for 50 to 60 helicopters. The programme was cancelled in 2007 due to cost, but this decision may be reversed in the near future faced with territorial disputes not only with China, but also Taiwan.

Vietnam has a few aged Mil Mi-24D Hinds while Cambodia has agreed to acquire 12 Chinese-built Z-9 helicopters for $195 million. In August, Malaysia’s Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, said he was not worried about Chinese ships patrolling the areas it claims in the South China Sea where Malaysia is one of six claimants to land features in the

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area where competition for oil, gas and fishing has led to rising tension.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force has no attack helicopter assets although a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed 2000 with South Africa’s Denel for co-production in Malaysia of the AH-2A Rooivalk combat support helicopter if a contract from the air force materialized, but lack of funding killed off the deal. Since then several candidates have been put forward for the role including the Eurocopter Tiger and AgustaWestland’s AW129 International.

An outsider could be AgustaWestland’s AW159 Wildcat that has been adopted as the British Army’s Battlefield Reconnaissance Helicopter. Developed

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from the Super Lynx, which is service with the Royal Malaysian Navy, Wildcat is fitted with an Night Vision Goggle (NVG) compatible cockpit glass with Smiths SDS-5000 multi-function display screens, a new radar, a nose-mounted Wescam MX-15 Electro Optical/Infrared/ infrared (EO/IR) sensor, tactical database, digital map display, Thales SCCS secure tactical Very/Ultra-High Frequency radios and voice-only Bowman radio capability, and a Selex HIDAS-15 integrated defensive aid suite.

The British Army’s Lynx Wildcat AH. Mk 1’s primary role will be reconnaissance, convoy protection and utility. For the latter role it can accommodate six troops in crashworthy seats of up to nine with non-crashworthy seating. The type secured release to service in April 2012 and a total of 14 have been delivered to the service by mid-2013. In a light attack role the Wildcat will have the ability of carrying weapons on external pylons mounted on either side of the fuselage. It can be armed with door-mounted 7.62 mm (0.3in) or 12.7 mm (0.5in) machine

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Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force’s main attack helicopter is the dated Fuji-built AH-1S HueyCobra © JGSDF

guns, and the Thales Light Multirole Missile (LMM), a low cost, lightweight, precision strike, missile, which has been designed to be fired from helicopters to provide a rapid reaction to a wide range of the surface threats from wheeled or tracked vehicles, towed artillery or static installations.

The ubiquitous Russian multi-mission Mil Mi-17 variants are operated by 16 Asia-Pacific air arms including those of China and India, many of which are armed with a variety of unguided rocket packs, 23 mm (0.9in) gun pods and AT-2 and AT-3 anti-armour missiles.

The choice between a dedicated state-ofthe-art attack helicopter, and an armed multi-mission aircraft is one being pondered by many Asia-Pacific nations as they face an uncertain future as the superpowers’ focus moves towards the region.

Detecting danger is our instinct

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naval c4i systems

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE The market for warship Combat Management Systems (CMSs) in the Asia-Pacific is healthy with demand especially high for CMSs to outfit existing and new-build Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), and corvettes.

by Thomas Withington

he Combat Management System (CMS) is at the heart of the modern warship. From small OPVs, up to large cruisers, amphibious support ships and aircraft carriers, the CMS provides a central point at which information from a ship’s sensors; notably its surveillance, navigation and fire control radars, sonar and electro-optical sensors can be bought together. It also enables off-board data delivered by communications and battle management systems, and information regarding the status of a vessels’ armament to provide a warship’s crew with as detailed a picture as possible regarding the condition of their

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ship and its weapons, the tactical situation in their locale, and the wider operational situation in which they operate.

Although CMSs first began to be routinely deployed on warships following the Second World War as a direct result of the lessons learned at sea during this conflict, they have deepened in sophistication and capability during the intervening decades.

Today’s CMSs are likely to include multifunction consoles which a crewmember can easily configure to the task which they are performing, the widespread employment of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components to reduce costs where possible, and open architecture standards

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allowing software to be easily upgraded as and when new subsystems are added to a vessel, or when new command and control protocols come on stream. Customers in the Asia-Pacific region have arguably never enjoyed so much choice vis-à-vis the CMS products available for new-build vessels and for retrofits.

Europe France is home to two companies specialising in surface and subsurface CMSs, notably DCNS and Thales. DCNS has steadily evolved its SENIT (Système d’Exploitation Navale des Informations Tactiques/Naval Tactical Information Exploitation System)

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Selex’s ATHENA Combat Management System (CMS) was showcased at the Euronaval exhibition in Paris in 2012. In October that year, the firm celebrated the selection of this CMS to equip the Lithuanian Navy © Selex

extensively based upon the French navy’s ‘Mistral’ class ships. Like DCNS, Thales has enjoyed similar success in the AsiaPacific region with its TACTICOS CMS brand. One of the key design features of TACTICOS, as with other CMSs surveyed in this article, is that it is highly scalable to the size of ship that it equips. In September 2013 TACTICOS was selected to equip the Indonesian Navy’s ‘Sigma10514’ class of corvettes. Other TACTICOS users around the region include the Royal Thai Navy which has it installed on its HMTS Krabi ‘River’ class of OPVs, while Singapore’s ST Marine Shipyard will install TACTICOS on the ‘Al Ofouq’ class OPVs which it is constructing for the Royal Omani Navy.

Lockheed Martin The American defence contractor has one of the world’s most famous CMSs in its portfolio in the form of Aegis which is used by the United States, Norwegian and Spanish navies, and in the AsiaPacific by the navies of the Republic of Korea and Japan. Since its development in the 1970s, like its SENIT counterpart (see above), Aegis has been cycled through a number of different versions, known as

‘baselines’ by the company which have progressively increased the capability of the CMS as new weapons and capabilities for Aegis-equipped vessels have become available. Doug Wilhelm, director of international Aegis programmes at Lockheed Martin says that; “The US Navy is still procuring Aegis today and plans to for the foreseeable future.”

Beyond the navies of Japan and the Republic of Korea, Aegis is expected to outfit the Royal Australian Navy’s forthcoming ‘Hobart’ class of destroyers destined to replace the fleet’s current ‘Adelaide’ class guided missile frigates. These ships will be outfitted with the AN/SPY-1D variant of Lockheed Martin’s AN/SPY-1 air and surface search radar family which is routinely used alongside the Aegis CMS, and the Mk.41 vertical launching system which will deploy the Raytheon RIM-66 Standard Missile-2MR semi-active radar homing Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM). The first ship of the class, HMAS Hobart, is expected to enter service in 2016.

Other CMS products available from Lockheed Martin include COMBATSS-21.

Mr. Wilhelm says that this is a; “scaled version of Aegis that is installed on Lockheed Martin’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).It is an integrated combat system that allows easy integration of customer-specified sensors and effectors. COMBATSS-21 can be installed on just about any kind of hull.”

First fielded in 2008, COMBATSS-21 is installed onboard the USS Freedom LCS

since its initial deployment onboard French vessels from the 1960s onwards.

Since then, it has been used extensively by the Marine Nationale (French Navy), and other naval forces around the world.

In terms of SENIT’s use by navies in the Asia-Pacific, the SENIT-9 standard will be deployed onboard the Russian Navy’s two new ‘Vladivostok ‘ class amphibious support vessels which are Thales’ TACTICOS Combat Management System (CMS) is installed onboard the Indonesian Navy’s ‘Sigma-10514’ class corvettes. It is also used onboard Royal Thai Navy vessels and is being installed on new ships for the Royal Omani Navy © Thales

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and; “Lockheed Martin is under contract for a total of twelve LCS platforms,” says Mr. Wilhelm. He adds that: “With future LCS procurements, delivery of COMBATSS-21 is likely to go on for many years.”

Variants of the COMBATSS-21 include the Lockheed Martin Agile Combat System (LMACS) which; “is a version of COMBATSS-21 that can be sold via direct commercial sale to international customers.”

Finally, he says that Lockheed Martin Canada’s CMS-330; “is the combat system that the company is installing for the Royal Canadian Navy’s ‘Halifax’ class frigate modernization program. It can be installed on a variety of platforms, and has a variety of international applications.”

MBDA MBDA, known around the world for its missile and electronic warfare products, is expanding its footprint in the naval CMS market. In particular, the firm is concentrating on CMSs for small vessels, via its CWSP (Compact Warfare Systems Package) family, fusing the company’s weapons, notably its Mistral infrared guided Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) and its Marte Mk.2 Anti-Shipping Missile (AShM) with third-party sensor equipment. The products are being aimed at customers with small ships which are interested in using such vessels for littoral operations and for the protection of critical infrastructure such as oil platforms. Although the firm offers its CMS with Mistral and Marte Mk.2 weapons, it says that it can integrate third-party weapons if desired by the customer. MBDA is looking forward to delivering its first CMS to an undisclosed customer over the next twelve months.

Three products are offered within the CWSP portfolio: The CWSP-PB is optimised for patrol boats, and includes a Marte Mk.2 launcher sufficient to carry four rounds, and two SIMBAD-RC launchers each of which carries two Mistral misOne of the world’s most prolific naval Combat Management System (CMS) is DCNS’s SENIT family. As well as being used widely by the French Navy, it will adorn new amphibious support vessels being procured by Russia. © Marine Nationale

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9LV is furnishing the ‘ANZAC’ class air defence frigates of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal New Zealand Navy. Mr. Enstedt adds that this; “integration and upgrade of an advanced fire control suite has resulted in a class of frigate now capable of neutralizing supersonic anti-ship missile threats through management of multiple channels of fire.” He adds that the company; “has identified AsiaPacific as a focus market area where Saab will significantly enhance its presence in order to participate in opportunities across the region.”

Terma

MBDA’s Compact Warfare Systems Package (CWSP) is a scalable combat management systems designed for small, and medium-sized vessels which can integrate surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles © MBDA

Terma’s C-FLEX CMS has sold well around the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, in addition to equipping several Royal Danish Navy surface ships. The firm says that C-FLEX has been designed from the outset be highly scalable according to the size of the vessel it will equip. Terma offers a range of stand-up configurations from single console, single sensor and weapons packages up to large-scale OPVs with five or six consoles and more advanced sensors and weapons. Like other companies surveyed in this article, the company is focusing on furnishing the the OPV and corvette market with their CMS.

Ultra Electronics siles, with the option of having an integrated gun. This in turn is integrated with two optronic packages, surveillance radar and has two compact operator consoles. The CWSP-AS is optimised for anti-surface warfare and has a single four-round Marte Mk.2 launcher, one operator console and the same number of radars and optronics as the CWSP-PB (see above). Finally, the CWSP-AD is designed for air defence and has a pair of two-round SIMBAD-RC launchers, surveillance radar, two optronic systems and a single operator console.

Both the CWSP-AS and CWSP-AD have the option of including an integrated gun.

Saab Despite the company being historically associated with the production of combat aircraft and aerospace subsystems, Sweden’s Saab has nevertheless carved out

a naval subsystems business most notably providing its Sea Giraffe naval air and surface surveillance radar and its 9LV CMS. Dan Enstedt, president and chief executive officer of Saab Asia-Pacific, says that “the latest generation of Saab 9LV solutions is built on operationally proven modules and fielded in the major combatants of navies, such as the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Royal Swedish Navy, and many others.” In terms of Asia-Pacific customers, the

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As well as selecting Thales’ TACTICOS CMS for its ‘Sigma-10514’ class corvettes (see above) the Indonesian Navy is equipping its ‘Fatahillah’ class fast attack craft with Ultra Electronics’ CMS, making the selection in July 2013. The CMS will be installed as part of the mid-life update for this ships, the installation of which should be complete by 2015. Discussions are expected to commence by the end of 2013 regarding the upgrade of the second vessel in the class with Ultra’s CMS. Beyond the Indonesian contract Ultra Electronics is hopeful that it can secure additional contracts for CMSs from naval customers in the region in the future and states that it; “has seen an increase in the demand for CMS systems in the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region over the last two years,” in a written statement it released to the Asian Military Review. Specifically, the company has seen

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the demand for its CMS from customers operating small vessels up to frigate-sized ships. The company does not expect this trend to change over the next few years, and forecasts demand from; “further increases in the build of maritime platforms as well as from the modernization and overhaul of existing vessels.”

The company believes that strategic realities will also play their part in enlarging the market: “The likely drivers of this market include the potential for regional conflicts over maritime borders and access to critical shipping sea lanes and fishing

grounds. Certain APAC countries have been rapidly expanding their maritime capability which leads others to follow or work on bilateral and multilateral initiatives that stimulates modernisation and expansion.” Although Ultra adds that: “Likely constraints are mostly driven by economics and speed at which large fleets of ships can be modernized or replaced as well as the overall political pressures to remain at a status quo in capabilities.”

As the above discussion indicates, several major factors are driving forward the CMS market in the Asia-Pacific. They

The United States Navy’s Aegis Combat Management System remains arguably the most famous of its kind in service today. It is used in the Asia-Pacific region by the navies of Japan and the Republic of Korea © US Navy

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Ultra Electronics provide naval Combat Management System products and in July 2013, the company was celebrating its selection to provide the Indonesia Navy with a CMS to outfit its ‘Fatahillah’ class frigates © Ultra Electronics

include current and future naval shipbuilding initiatives in the region, upgrades of existing vessels and strategic maritime issues, of which the region has no shortage.

In addition, according to Mr Enstedt: “Defensive and force projection technologies are always advancing, the naval domain is no different. The Asia-Pacific region hosts a large share of global shipping lanes and key resource areas. The nature of geography, archipelagic states and resource rich areas are probably key drivers for national investments in security infrastructure and naval assets.” Mr Wilhelm agrees with this assessment of the market’s health saying that; “Lockheed Martin projects a healthy demand in the Asia-Pacific for CMSs for all sizes of combat systems,” yet he emphasizes that; “it’s likely that more corvettes and OPVs will be built compared to other type of ships.”

Ultimately, he says that, “barring a serious economic downturn, we see strong growth in the naval CMS market in the Asia-Pacific region.” One of the most significant technological developments witnessed in recent years in the CMS world is the migration of the functionality found in the CMSs equipping large vessels down to smaller ships.

There is no reason why this trend will not continue in the future.

Superior maritime intelligence, clearly.

The ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system provides persistent maritime intelligence, delivering high-quality imagery day or night. ScanEagle operates autonomously at low or mid altitudes for extended periods, dramatically enhancing situational awareness. The result is a multi-mission force multiplier for large and small vessels alike, delivering the intelligence critical for decision-making superiority.

www.insitu.com/maritime-intelligence

infantry w e a p o n s

INFANTRY WEAPONS AND SIGHTS Asia’s infantry weapon requirements are numerous, large and diverse and it would be foolish to attempt a full summary here, so this article addresses some of the most influential.

by Peter Donaldson Australia The Australian military has several programmes under way. For example, production of the F88SA2 Austeyr rifle – a Steyr AUG built by Thales Australia subsidiary Lithgow Arms – is nearing completion. The F88SA2 mounts an Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) with a Ruggedized Miniature Reflex (RMR) sight

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on top, both from Trijicon. ACOG is a family of fixed power scopes with illuminated reticles, some of which include alternative aiming marks to compensate for bullet drop. An Insight Technology AN/PEQ-2 combines covert infrared illumination and aiming lasers.

An enhanced EF88, around 500 g lighter than the older weapon, is undergoing

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design review and testing. Risk mitigation is aimed at achieving second pass approval during 2014, enabling initial materiel release in 2016 and final release in 2020.

The first Australian soldiers to test fire the EF88 did so on 26 October 2012 in Lithgow, New South Wales. They were members of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment. Lance Corporal

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The next generation of assault rifle was put through its paces by a soldier from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment © Australian DoD

infantry and special forces along and Royal Australian Air Force airfield defence units. The project was also to procure a 40 mm (1.6 inch) lightweight automatic grenade launcher, but the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) cancelled contract negotiations.

Consequently, it has been a ‘project of concern’ since December 2012 pending a revised procurement strategy.

India India is one of the largest weapons markets in the world and the Indian Ministry of Defence has major procurement programmes under way and has issued numerous Requests For Information (RFI) in recent years, many focused on the Future Infantry Soldier System (FINSAS) 2020 effort. These include around 66,000 multi-calibre assault rifles to replace the troubled INSAS, thermal sights for assault rifles and machine guns, anti-materiel rifles, 9 mm (0.4 in) pistols for special forces and paratroops, an underwater assault rifle, a round-the-corner shooting system Lachlan Robinson was impressed with the lighter weapon’s better balance, also commenting: “It’s definitely more versatile now – it’s not just one rifle any more but can be one, two or three.”

The new rail system that enables quick attachment and removal of accessories including the new Grenade Launcher Attachment (GLA), which found favour with Private Kirk Foster: “You don’t need an armourer or any special tools to remove the GLA anymore,” he said.

Direct fire support project Land 40 Phase 2 has delivered all 437 Saab Carl Gustaf M3 recoilless rifles, and AN/PAS13 thermal weapon sights from BAE Systems. The weapon equips the Army’s The new EF88 was pitted against the F88-SA2 to see how the newly designed weapon would stack-up in terms of shooting, performance and ergonomics © Australian DoD

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and accessories for the special forces’ IWI Tavor assault rifles.

While the original assault rifle RFI enquired about weapons able to interchangeably fire the 5.56 x 45 mm, 7.62 x 39 mm, 7.62 x 51 mm, 6.8 x 43 mm SPC and the 6.5 x 39 mm Grendel rounds, the requirement settled on the first two.

The competition is between Beretta’s ARX-160, CZ’s model 805 BREN, IWI’s ACE, SIG Sauer’s SG551 and the Colt Combat Rifle. Reports emerged from India in August 2013 that high altitude cold weather trials of 5.56 x 45 mm versions were about to begin in the Leh region of Kashmir, to be followed by hot desert trials at Pokhran in Rajasthan in 2014.

The thermal weapon sight RFI calls for an uncooled device capable of quick attachment to and detachment from a rail for alternative hand held or tripodmounted use.

The anti-materiel rifle RFI specified calibres of 12.7 mm and larger, limits of 15 kg in weight and 1.5 m in length and an effective range of at least 1,500 m. This follows a procurement of 20/14.5 mm Denel NTW20 AMRs cut short by one of India’s myriad defence procurement scandals, the Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into which has reportedly been closed.

With Tavor assault rifles and sniperconfigured Galils in service with Indian Army and Air Force commandos and

Navy marine commandos and the Uzi selected for special forces, the Israeli manufacturer is offering a variant of its ACE. Galil-derived ACE assault rifles are offered in a range of calibres including 5.56 x 45 mm, 7.62 x 39 mm and 7.62 x 51 mm, with several barrel lengths.

They are also offered with a range of sighting options from Israeli tactical optics supplier Meprolight. These include the 30 mm diameter Mepro 21 red dot reflex sight. Its illumination system consists of a fibre optic collector for daylight shooting and a tritium light source for night work. A second option is the Mepro MOR “all-in-one” reflex sight with visible and IR laser pointers.

Meprolight has a new member of its uncooled thermal weapon sight family in the form of the NOA XT4. Designed to clip on to a Picatinny rail in line with a four-power magnifier, it converts the riflescope into a magnified night sight in seconds without changing eye relief or weapon zero. The NOA XT4 can also operate as a hand held thermal viewer with electronic zoom.

The Mepro 4X is a new fixed-magnification, 320 g daylight telescopic sight with five brightness settings for the reticle powered by a single battery.

“These sights enable maximum flexibility for use in daylight or at night, in either the clip-on or hand-held format”,

says Golan Kalimi, Meprolight’s Vice President Marketing. “The sight was developed as a result of our close cooperation with our customers and our understanding of demands from the field.”

Carl Zeiss Optronics – now Cassidian Optronics – gained a foothold in March 2010 when it signed a licensing agreement with Optic Electronic (India) that was expected to result in the production of up to 400,000 RSA-S red dot reflex sights.

Korea While western countries seem to have given up on the idea of combining the assault rifle and an automatic grenade launcher into one two-barrel weapon, the Republic of Korea has not. The S&T Daewoo K-11 Dual-barrel Air-burst Weapon (DAW) fires 5.56 x 45 mm ammunition and 20 x 30 mm grenades. In June A platoon of Singapore soldiers stand at attention as they await inspection by U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Wilson, deputy commanding general, Army National Guard, United States Army Pacific, in Singapore during Operation Tiger Balm 2009 © US DoD

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US Marines and Malaysian army Rangers conduct military operations in urban terrain training during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training Malaysia 2011 © US DoD

2013, the Yonhap news agency reported that the Army would issue the K-11 to frontline troops. This seems to validate the redesign that followed reports of defects, including one that led to a barrel explosion in an October 2011 test. The original issue to troops came in May 2010.

“We conducted additional testing and fixed the defects of the K-11,” according to a DAPA official quoted by Yonhap. “We will provide 2,500 rifles to frontline army troops and special forces.”

Malaysia Malaysian soldiers are issued with a diverse range of weapons as a result of an eclectic procurement policy. Assault rifles include the Colt M4 Carbine and the Steyr AUG, both built locally by SME Ordnance.

Recent parades have indicated that elite

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Meprolight’s MESLAS is a specialised scope designed for sniper rifles. The sight has a single pulse laser rangefinder, which is invisible to night vision systems. It is one of several of the company’s advanced weapons optronics systems © Meprolight

units use M4s sometimes equipped with ACOGs, regular infantry use the AUG while the Territorials have M-16s. Infantry sections have paraded with a mix of AUGs, 5.56 mm M249 Minimi Squad Automatic Weapons, Milkor six shot 40 mm grenade launchers and RPG-7s.

Footage of elite Grup Gerak Khas (GGK) commandos in training shows shotguns, Glock pistols, HK MP-5 sub machineguns and Accuracy International AW sniper rifles.

Commenting on the operation against Filipino Muslim guerrillas in the eastern province of Sabah in February 2013 an observer remarked that the M16s issued to the Police General Operations Force had iron sights and lacked accessory rails.

New Zealand New Zealand soldiers use Steyr’s AUG as

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the Individual Weapon (IW), some of which the Army plans to upgrade under the In-Service Weapon Replacement and Upgrade Project (ISWRUP). New sights and target acquisition systems are also to be procured under ISWRUP, which has suffered significant delays. The The New Zealand Defence Force’s most recent acquisitions have been the Designated Marksman Weapon (DMW), additional shotguns and the replacement Light Support Weapon (LSW).

Troops began training with their 7.62 mm Lewis Machine & Tool AR-10s in October 2011. The new DMW features a Leupold 4.5 to15x zoom sight to engage targets out to 800 m. For close-quarter

Singapore is carving its own path in infantry weapons. ST Kinetics’ SAR21 bullpup assault rifle is an example, featuring 1.5x or 3x optical sight and built-in laser aiming module l

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emergencies it also has a set of Dueck Defense rapid transition ‘iron’ sights.

Mounted at 45° to the main optic, they enable the shooter to switch rapidly from the optic by canting the rifle.

“It has met and surpassed expectations”, said a training officer. “We are not expecting to get snipers from the system, but the capability that this puts into the section commander’s hands, particularly for our deployed troops, has been very, very impressive.”

January 2012 saw the second procurement of Benelli’s M3 12-bore shotgun, which followed a small batch bought in 2007/8 for operations in East Timor, enabling the NZDF to field it with tactical elements in all three services. Capable of semi-automatic and pump action operation, the M3 provides lethal and nonlethal effects, the latter from aerial distraction “flash bangs”, beanbag and rubber ball rounds.

Another recent introduction is Heckler & Koch’s crew served 40 mm Grenade Machine Gun (GMG) with the Rheinmetall Defence/Vinghøg Vingmate Fire Control System. This includes a day

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TV camera and either an image intensifier or a thermal imager, a ballistic computer and an interface for programmable airburst munitions. Thus equipped, the GMG can engage point targets and provide better area suppression.

February 2013 saw soldiers conducting initial training with the new LSW. FN’s 7.62 x 51 mm Minimi is replacing its 5.56 x 45 mm stable mate to provide longer range and greater stopping power. For sighting over long and short ranges, the Army has selected a 4x ACOG with a mini red dot close quarter sight.

ISWRUP procurements yet to be completed include the IW upgrade, the sniper rifle replacement, additional anti-materiel rifles, a target acquisition system upgrade for the MAG-58 machine gun, a pistol replacement and a Carl Gustaf upgrade.

Singapore Singapore is carving its own path in the development of infantry weapons, as in other key sectors. ST Kinetics’ SAR21

bullpup assault rifle is an example, featuring an integral 1.5x or 3x optical sight designed to eliminate the need to zero the weapon, and a built-in laser aiming module.

Senior Minister of State for Defence Chan Chun Sing emphasised its significance in his 27 March 2013 address to the Young Defence Scientists Programme Congress. “When we had the M16 rifle, it took a soldier, a unit, at least half a day to zero the weapon”, he said. “Then in order for us to train an average soldier to be a marksman, [it would] take at least two, three days of training”, he continued. “In the past, after three, four days of training, out of a hundred soldiers, we would be lucky to get 15 of them to be marksmantrained. Today, with the SAR21, with half a day of training or less, we get 50 to 60 per cent marksmen.”

Realising that the integral sight limits users options for alternative sights and accessories, ST Kinetics developed variants with Picatinny rails in the three, six,

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In May 2012, Qioptiq introduced its new SAKER Fused Weapon Sight which combines image intensification with an uncooled thermal imaging sensor in a single weapons sight © Peter Donaldson

nine and twelve o’clock positions. The current Advanced Combat Man System (ACMS) soldier modernisation package features a SAR21 with an Elbit Systems ITL Multi-purpose Aiming Reflex Sight (MARS) on the top rail.

With tens of thousands in service all over the world, according to Elbit, MARS is a family of reflex sights offering several reticle patterns and a laser aiming device – visible red and/or IR. Automatic brightness control adapts to ambient lighting without user input, no colour artefacts enter the field of view and no light – other than the laser – is

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projected forward to alert the opposition.

Singaporean STELOP Pte Ltd, ST Engineering’s electronics subsidiary, has developed a range of uncooled thermal sights for assault rifles, sniper rifles, general purpose machine guns and anti-armour weapons. These include clip-on designs that can be installed with day sights without affecting the weapon’s zero.

The Singapore Ministry of Defence awarded STELOP a contract to supply

India is one of the largest weapons markets in the world.

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lightweight thermal sights for the army in March 2007, with delivery thought to have been completed in 2009.

Qioptiq, which has offices in Singapore, makes a wide range of infantry weapon sights, the latest of which is its Saker Fused Weapon Sight (FWS), which combines an image intensifier and an uncooled thermal imager in a single device.

Future procurements are likely to be characterised by ever fiercer international competition as infantry weapons and sights become increasingly commoditised, forcing industry to seek the kind of edge represented by fused systems such as the Qioptiq FWS and market leading US systems from the likes of ITT. Greater technical ambition by regional industry will also figure more strongly, with the S&T Daewoo K-11 being a prime example.

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Indian Air Force Pilatus PC-7 Mk II trainers, a type also procured by the air forces of Brunei and Malaysia © Pilatus

BACK TO SCHOOL While the United States and many European nations are shrinking their combat aircraft fleets, numerous Asia Pacific countries are expanding theirs and the importance of trainer aircraft in the region is highlighted by their acquisition of fifth generation fighter aircraft.

by David Oliver his is to cope with this demand for a more capable, cost effective flight training capability that will also optimize time in training and still produce highly motivated, capable and agile jet fighter pilots. This requirement is being addressed by the aerospace industry with several new and innovative training solutions.

The first is the universal adoption of

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the glass cockpit in trainer aircraft from the very beginning of the pilot training cycle. These include the Grob G120TP, Korea Aerospace Industries KA-1, Pilatus PC-7 Mk II, and the Turkish Aerospace Industries Hurkus, all basic turboprop trainers. The G120TP is being delivered to Indonesia, the KA-1 to South Korea and Indonesia, and the PC-7 Mk II to India, Malaysia and Brunei. With the Hurkus,

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that made its maiden flight on 29 August 2013, TAI are hoping to break into the Asia Pacific market.

In addition to Night-Vision Goggles (NVG)-compatible glass cockpits and Hands-On Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) controls, these basic training aircraft are equipped with Martin-Baker ejection seats, designed to ease progression up the training cycle through advanced to operational, thus improving the efficiency and flexibility of the flying training system.”

In most cases, a new generation training aircraft will be only one part of the total training package that will include various computer-aided devices that can range from virtual briefing rooms to Full Mission Simulators (FMS).” This is illustrated by Brunei’s contract to acquire a

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fleet of Pilatus PC-7 Mk II basic trainers that included the provision for CAE to build a PC-7 Mk II simulator for the Brunei Multi-Purpose Training Centre to be delivered in 2014 which will be used to train the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.”

The next step up in the evolution of the training aircraft is the development of embedded simulation and emulation systems making them into ‘flying simulators’ to make them ideal Lead-In Flying Trainers (LIFT)to fourth and fifth generation fighter aircraft. This coincided with a new training concept, that of outsourcing fighter pilot training to an industry-led, military-backed training system. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) was one of the first to take this route when it awarded a UK Military Flying Training System (MFTS) contract to Ascent, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock International, in 2008.

The first segment of MFTS was the establishment of the Advanced Jet Training (AJT) system at RAF Valley with a fleet of 28 BAE Systems Hawk T.2 aircraft that were ordered by a governmentdirected contract in 2006 and delivered to RAF Valley where they are operated by No IV (Reserve) Squadron. The aircraft are maintained in a new hangar on the Ascent complex Babcock engineers are able to undertake everything up to, and including major overhauls.

The T.2 has a glass NVG-compatible

cockpit and an updated Head-Up Display (HUD) avionics using symbology and data to simulate aircraft such as the Eurofighter Typhoon or Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. It also features HOTAS controls which are fully representative of current and future front line combat aircraft types, and twin open architecture mission computers hosting simulations of a wide range of sensor and weapon systems as well as a full featured INS/GPS (Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System) with moving map display. Updated software provides additional functionality by adding simulated radar and sensor capabilities that allows pilots to train using a virtual Defensive Aid Suite (DAS) and expand the range of simulated weapons to include medium air-to-air missiles, precision-guided weapons, and a gun, and synthetic threats from surface-to-air missiles. The Hawk T.2 has no hardpoints for real weapons.

The AJT infrastructure includes a new facility to house Full Mission Simulators (FMS), Flight Training Devices (FTD), Desk Top Trainers (DTT) and virtual mission brief/debrief facilities. The FTD is a part task trainee produced by Lockheed Martin, which houses two re-hosted mission computers from the T.2 aircraft that allows student pilots to practice all of their checks and procedures on touch screens as well as rehearsing missions in a realistic The KAI KT-1 basic turboprop trainer serves with Republic of Korea Air Force and the Indonesian Air Force © USAF

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syllabus is taught and missions rehearsed in the FMS. All ground instruction is carried out by Ascent Qualified Instructors and RAF Qualified Flying Instructors in the air.

The one-year AJT course comprises 120 flying hours plus 120 simulator hours including approximately 50 FTD hours.

All the student pilots are treated as Operational Conversion Unit officers and the ethos behind AJT is to avoid acquiring knowledge or developing skills not required. As part of their advanced training, the students are given secret weapons briefings by the military.

The system makes the Hawk T.2 effectively a flying simulator, allowing the instructor to introduce basic and advanced air-to-air, air-to-ground, and electronic warfare scenarios both pre-planned and in real time while airborne. Potential ground

The Hawk T.2 Full Mission Simulator is part of Ascent’s UK Advanced Jet Trainer package at RAF Valley © David Oliver

Next step in the evolution of training aircraft is development of embedded simulation & emulation systems making them into ‘flying simulators’

The Virtual Briefing/Debriefing display at Ascent’s AJT Electronic Classroom © David Oliver

synthetic environment. Two CAE frontcockpit FMSs utilize a ‘dome’ visual display with fully immersive projection, together with ‘g’ cueing systems to provide realistic training for each student pilot against a multitude of other syntheti-

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cally generated aircraft, including several Russian types. These FMS provide the majority of the training in the student operational scenarios, and while most of the air-to-air combat training is carried out in the aircraft, much of the air-to-ground

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threats can be inserted by the instructor via the data-linked system that can be shared by all the aircraft taking part in the sortie and they can be configured as either Red Air or Blue Air aircraft. On-board telemetry and video-recording systems are used as valuable After-Action Review (AAR) tools. Air-to-air training is typically carried out in a one thousand feet ‘bubble’ using a whole range of simulated weapons ranging from Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles to an internal cannon.

The initial six course members graduated from UKMFTS, who included two Royal Navy students, now look forward to converting to fly the Typhoon, Panavia Tornado GR4/A, or the US Navy Boeing FA-18C/D/E/F Hornet. A number of Indian Air Force instructor pilots have been trained on the Hawk T.2 system at RAF Valley prior to the introduction of the BAE Systems Hawk Mk 132 AJT, 123

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Australian Hawks are being upgraded to RAF T.2 standard to be a flying simulator © RAAF

of which have been ordered for the Indian Air Force and Navy.

Another Asia Pacific Hawk operator is Australia that awarded BAE Systems a contract in July 2013 to upgrade the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fleet of 33 Hawk Mk.127 LIFT aircraft to T.2 standards. The upgrade package also includes three FMS with CAE Medallion-6000 image generator and Boeing's Constant Resolution Visual System. These will also feature the CAE-developed Common Database (CDB), an open database archi-

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The Pilatus PC-21’s glass cockpit equipped with avionics capable of emulating fourth generation combat aircraft © Pilatus

tecture that enhances the ability to correlate and rapidly update databases to support training and mission rehearsal requirements. The upgrade programme will ensure the Hawks remain effective in training pilots for Boeing FA-18 Super Hornet and F-35 aircraft as they are introduced into RAAF service.

The first Asia Pacific country to

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embrace outsourcing for fighter pilot training was Singapore when the Singapore Defence Science and Technology Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a 20-year contract in November 2006 to support its Basic Wings Course.

Lockheed Martin is providing aircraft, maintenance, simulators and instruction to the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s No 130 Squadron at RAAF Base Pearce in Western Australia. The aircraft selected for the Basic Wings Course was the Pilatus PC-21 advanced turboprop trainer, 19 of which are being delivered to replace the RSAF’s S-211 jet trainers. Like the Hawk AJT, the PC-21 has avionics capable of emulating front line combat aircraft and with a suite of synthetic classroom training aids, that includes two Cassidian-built two Operational Flight Simulators, Level D FTDs, it provides simulated jet performance through a power management system that emulates the thrust-to-drag of a jet aircraft.

For Singapore’s Fighter Wings Course, the country ordered 12 Alenia M-346 Master LIFT aircraft in September 2010 through a consortium formed by ST Aerospace and Boeing. The 20-year contract includes FMSs with CAE Medallion6000 image generator and Boeing's Constant Resolution Visual System. The

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M-346s, which are fitted with embedded emulation and simulation systems (ETTS), will replace A/TA-4SU Skyhawks operated by RSAF’s No 150 Squadron based at Cazaux Air Base in France, where the RSAF conducts its Fighter Wings Course. However, following the loss of two prototype M-346s, they have been grounded.

Lockheed Martin has also announced a teaming agreement with Pilatus Aircraft, supported by Hawker Pacific, to compete for pilot training for the Australian Defence Force based on the RSAF Pilot Training Basic Wings Course. The consortium, known as Team 21, will compete for the AIR 5428 pilot training system programme against a BAE Systems, CAE and Beechcraft consortium that is offering the T-6C Texan II. Boeing, Thales and Raytheon are also expected to announce partners for their respective bids soon.

The tender will close in February 2014, with selection expected by the end of June 2015 and Initial Operating Capability (IOC) targeted for 2015-17.

Lockheed Martin has developed a new Integrated Aircrew Training System (IATS) for operators of the KAI T-50 supersonic advanced jet trainer based on the UK AJT system. The T-50 is in service with the Republic of Korea Air Force and is being delivered to the Indonesian and Philippines air forces. The IATS is being

offered to the Polish Air Force and the US Air Force for its T-X requirement.

While the region’s superpowers, India and China, are unlikely to consider outsourcing in the short term although both countries are facing serious pilot training challenges.

India is facing a serious crisis with its indigenous training aircraft. Firstly its Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HPT-32 Deepak basic trainer was grounded in 2009 after a series of fatal accident and the entire flying training system had to be modified based on the training needs with the ageing HAL Kiran Mk.I basic jet trainer aircraft. The syllabus also had to be pruned down, especially in abinitio training phase.

Secondly, HAL’s new HJT-36 Sitara intermediate jet trainer to replace the Kiran, is having serious flight and safety problems that has delayed its Initial Operating Capability which is now scheduled for the end of December 2013, but there are doubts that this can be achieved.

Lastly, the Indian defence ministry and the Indian Air Force (IAF) are in a battle over which aircraft will replace the HPT-32.

The head of the IAF, Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne has recently asked, Defence Minister A K Antony, Browne to scrap the project to build 106 HAL HTT40 basic turboprop trainer aircraft in favour of ordering more Pilatus PC-7 Mk

II aircraft, the first which was delivered to the IAF in February this year. The defence minister refused his request and ordered that the protracted development of the HTT-40 should continue with, as yet, no in service date.

China is also struggling with its increasing demand for fourth and fifth generation combat aircraft pilots for its rapidly expanding air force. Rigid selection and training regimes greatly limit the prospective pilot pool, and the result has been a shortage of qualified pilots for the rapidly expanding air force.

In the meantime, the cost of training pilots is increasing as training cycles are extended while new indigenous training aircraft, such as the HAIC L-15 advanced jet trainer are only beginning to be delivered to the PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force). The deputy head of the air force training command, General Xie Hong has been quoted as saying that as air force training has become more diversified and complex, all the signs indicate that there needs to be far reaching plans to revamp the pilot training programme, and that the PLAAF is making a lot of effort to develop and use flight simulators to shorten training and save costs.”

However, neither China nor India appear to be following the path of using embedded emulation and simulation systems in their training aircraft.

Lockheed Martin has developed a UK AJT-based Integrated Aircrew Training System (IATS) for KAI T-50 operators © David Oliver

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INNOVATIVE COMBAT TRAINING SYSTEM

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he development of computer simulation software and visual aids has been making a tangible progress from year to year, augmenting capabilities and role of simulators used for operational and combat training of military units. Virtual training, being actively introduced, does not only allow saving military systems' service life and fuel and ammunition cost, but also enhances quality and efficiency of military personnel training for all types of modern armed conflicts, such as local anti-terrorist

operations or wide-scale conflicts. It must be added that high-level unit cooperation and rapid reaction to quick changes of tactical situation are most important factors contributing to combat success.

This is why the evolution of educational and training facilities has reached by now the stage of versatile integrated simulators providing joint training of specialists in various military services and branches.

Russia is pioneering in this technology among others.

The typical delivery set for the reinforced mechanized infantry company

These days the Rosoboronexport arms sales state company offers its foreign partners a new-generation tactical simulator - Сombat-E based onCommon SyntheticBattlefield Environment (CSBE).

It is developed by the world-famous Transascompany which has a 20-year experience in the development of training systems for all military services.

The Combat-E is one of the most advanced tactical simulators providing huge functionality and most perfect imitation of real-life algorithms of tactical missions.

The system can be employed for unit training in various security agencies and military branches with due account of their service specifics and assigned missions.

One of the system’s key features is its ability to visualize large-area landscapes composed of 3D topographic layers, automatically rendered from the reference 2D map, which comprise various types of terrain, woodlands, roads, settlements, rivers, etc. This technology allows the system to visualize any real-world terrain taking into account its properties, as well as generate 3D layers based on existing digital maps.

Tactical situation is plotted on the map (and, at the same time, on the 3D layer) by means of standard conventional

symbols that can be replaced/ supplemented on customer request.

One of major hard-to-solve problems for modern battlefield simulation systems is the generalization of tactical situation at different scales and data representation formats while preserving spatial parameters and logical ties. For such cases Russian specialists have developed an effective solution - the "smart symbols" technology. It allows users to quickly plot and edit various variants of tactical situation, control time and space parameters, automatically transfer any scenario to a virtual battlefield, and even change the initial tactical concept during a training session in the tactical simulator. Such flexibility of the Combat-E system opens huge opportunities for commanders and staffs to perfect their tactical thinking and hone their interoperability.

The Combat-E system helps to greatly enhance efficiency of commanders' training in interactionorganizationand performing tactical tasks, selecting and equipping combat positions, strongholds, defensive lines and so on. The simulator allows practicing tactical training tasks and fire missions for teams within a unit according to standards set by directive documents. And finally, the Combat-E system can form the basis for tactical exercises conducted at

the brigade-battalion-company level.

Unit shakedown objectives can be reached only during joint training in organizing and performing combat missions against realistically simulated opponents.

The technology implemented in the simulator allows modeling tactical actions of computer generated forces, movements and combat qualities of separate targets on the battlefield. Maximum approximation to reality is reached by: l using all the parameters for enemy actions simulation that are necessary to take efficient decisions (calculation of visibility range with due account of the terrainelevation model, vegetation types and general

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smoke content over the battlefield, revealing signs etc); l selecting enemy's training level in accordance with given standards; l adjusting algorithms of command and signal exchange, target designation, distribution and guidance; l adopting realistic models of vehicle movement and various weapons' ballistic trajectories; l allowing optional introduction of crew simulators made by other manufacturers, in compliance with the HLA internationalstandard; l employing a real-time computed tasks library, including direct, ballistic and radar range, road/off-road path planning, search area definition, etc.

Thus, the simulator modeling system can generate complex dedicated environment for real-world battlefield in correspondence with combat capabilities and technical characteristics of specific weapon/military equipment items.

At present the Combat-E simulator is inducted into the Russian Army, allowing the developers to continue its upgrading based on the operational experience gained.

According to specialists, the simulator offered by Rosoboronexport, if actively employed in the armed forces, can significantly raise efficiency of tactical training, enhance unit preparedness for tactical exercises, and improve commanders' qualification and methodological skills.

Mapping t e c h n o l o g y

BIRD’S EYE VIEW: ASIA-PACIFIC GPS/GIS TECHNOLOGY As countries across Asia look to enhance their defence capabilities they are beginning to acquire modern, sophisticated command and control systems to coordinate their armed forces. One area often neglected in looking at the story of this evolution is how the countries in the region are also seeking to acquire the necessary technology and service that underpin these systems. In order to optimise such systems it is also necessary to have the right inputs including global positioning data and geospatial information.

by Claire Apthorp owever, this leads to a dilemma for many armed forces in the region. The Global Positioning System (GPS) continues to be owned and operated by the US military and although it is used by many militaries and civilians alike, the nagging concern is that if it were to suit essential US interests then GPS could be either downgraded or switched off in certain regions. This would be a major problem for armed forces hoping to deploy sophisticated networks and weaponry.

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The challenge Those countries allied to the US in the region may well be willing to risk the gamble, but for countries such as China who may grow to challenge the US militarily it is not a gamble worth taking. Just as the then Soviet Union looked to set up a rival to GPS in the 1980s China is now seeking to develop its own global positioning service that will serve both the

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military and potentially in the future the civilian infrastructure.

Even for US allies there are concerns about the availability of GPS. Other countries in the region, such as North Korea, are known to have developed the capability to jam GPS within a limited area which could cause major difficulties.

The choice for these countries is either to move away from the use of GPS or to look at countermeasures for this jamming technology.

In a similar vein the monopoly on geospatial information is held predominately by Western countries that have had the money and the wherewithal to fund the development of satellites capable of providing the necessary information at the right level of fidelity.

However, unlike GPS which remains the providence of the US military after an initial defence kickstart there has been a growth in the number of commercial companies willing and able to offer geospatial information services at a price.

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GIS solutions that are part of soldier systems must have simple user interfaces © Sagem

The choice for Asian armed forces is between acquiring these services and building their own capabilities. The latter is a long and difficult road that is probably beyond all but a few and that likely includes a viable indigenous space programme. For those that can’t afford large space programmes another possibility would be to go the micro satellite route. In both the global positioning and geospatial arenas countries in Asia-Pacific face a number of key decisions as they look to develop their capabilities. Many of those decision points are on the horizon and for

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some of the more technologically sophisticated economies in the region programmes have already been launched to fill some of the gaps and vulnerabilities that have been identified.

GPS in demand The demand for GPS technology from well-established markets remains strong.

In October Elbit Systems EW and SIGINT – Elisra announced that it would deliver its GPS immunity system, iSNS, to an unnamed customer in the Asia-Pacific region as part of a military surveillance aircraft project. iSNS is an effective GPS Electronic Counter-Countermeasure (ECCM) sys-

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tem that supports reliable, non-stop GPS operation. It provides full jamming immunity for multiple satellite channels over extensive geographical areas and handles multiple interfering signals and/or jammers operating on concurrent frequencies. It uses multi-steering principles and enables immediate availability and uninterrupted communications, working with all types of GPS, offering extensive protection from jamming, even without prior knowledge of GPS satellite locations.

Perhaps the country with the biggest motivation to overcome the threat of GPS jamming technology is South Korea, which – along with the US - has been the

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subject of increasingly successful North Korean GPS jamming attacks since 2010.

In April 2013 the South Korean government released details at the European Navigation Conference of its plan to roll out an enhance Loran (eLoran) system as a complementary navigation and timing system.

With the current schedule planning to have the system tested during 2016-7 and installed by 2018, the land based long range radio navigation system will work as a complement to GPS, providing a back up and alternative to GPS and other space-based satellite navigation systems.

A report by Jiwon Seo, assistant professor in the School of Integrated Technology at Yonsei University in Korea and working closely with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea for the Korean eLoran programme; and Mincheol Kim, deputy director of the Maritime Safety Facilities Division in the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea, and in charge of the Korean eLoran programme, said: ‘The South Korean government has recently completed design development and construction documents for the Korean eLoran system in February 2013.

‘The purpose of the Korean eLoran system is to provide better than 20 metres (65 feet) accuracy over the country. Eventually the South Korean government hopes to expand eLoran coverage to the entire Northeast Asia in close collaboration with Russia and China.’

The report said that following the discontinuation of Japan’s low frequency Loran-C systems — scheduled for December 2014 - and prior to new stations becoming operational in Ussuriysk, Russia, there will be a shortfall in the number of transmitters required to provide Loran-C service in the region.

Changing the two Loran-C stations in South Korea (in Pohang and Kwangju) to the enhanced eLoran system will reduce the country’s reliance on the international control chain it currently relies on from Japan and Russia. Additional eLoran staAt sea, GIS solutions must meet civilian and military standards for precise navigation information © DRS

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tions will also be built in the country, some of which will be co-located with the National Differential GPS reference stations that provide South Korea’s GPS service. The eLoran system will be procured through an International Competitive Bidding process.

Australia’s government is also in the process of providing a GPS navigation warfare protection capability to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with its ADF Navigation Warfare (NAVWAR) Capability Joint Project 5408. Phase one of the project a definition study was delivered in 2002 to determine the scope of the enhancements and replacements required for current GPS systems.

Under Phase 2B (approved) and Phase 3 of the project, the ADF plans to incrementally implement updates to the GPS equipment on legacy ADF platforms by providing either protection or redundancy capabilities undertaken in response to GPS denial activities. The Australian Department of Defence aims for the provision of such systems to enable selected ADF capabilities and key platforms to conduct operations in a navigation warfare environment.

Indigenous development From 2020 Asia-Pacific nations will have the option of a locally developed alternative to GPS, with China well into the development of its Beidou navigation satellite system. The Chinese government approved the Beidou programme in 2004 and a trial version of the system was activated in 2011 to provide positioning and navigation within the Asia-Pacific region.

The Chinese government plans that by 2020 the system will be providing global coverage for commercial and military applications.

Beidou is composed of three parts: the space section, the ground section and the user section. The space section contains five geostationary orbit satellites and 30 non-geostationary orbit satellites. The ground section consists of main control stations, injection stations, the monitoring stations; while the user section includes terminators of Beidou system.

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from US-controlled GPS capabilities, bringing its military and national security a level of autonomy that very few nations worldwide can boast. It is also likely to appeal to regional nations that would prefer non-US GPS capabilities – both for political and budgetary reasons. Regional reports suggest that in additional to China, Thailand, Laos, Brunei and Pakistan already use or plan to adopt the system.

Geospatial requirements Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) integrates imagery and geospatial data with other intelligence to create products critical to national intelligence, national security, and defence, with GEOINT combining previously the separated domains of map production, GIS, and imagery analysis.

Being able to derive intelligence from the exploitation and analysis of imagery

Geospatial intelligence integrates imagery and geospatial data with other intelligence to create products critical to national intelligence, national security, and defence and geospatial information is a critical capability for combat effectiveness through enhanced situational awareness and decision making; and to inform navigation systems, command support systems, surveillance systems, weapons platforms, mission planning systems, war games, simulators and facilities/range management systems.

The creation of the capability basics largely relies on collaboration between nations and the use of regional mapping agencies, such as Australia’s Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (DIGO), which is contributing to the Multinational Geospatial Co-Production programme (MGCP). This programme currently involves 32 nations and is aimed at producing geospatial data at 1:50 000 or 1:100 000 scale of the entire world. MGCP

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Militaries increasingly expect GIS to have 3D functionality built into their software © BAE Systems

member nations will contribute data to a central data warehouse and will, in time, have unlimited access to all of the data in the programme – to reduce duplication of effort while increasing availability of geospatial data.

Australia considers the sharing of geospatial information and technology as a cornerstone of effective net-centric operations, and plans to adopt an enterprise approach to realise its geospatial strategy.

Speaking in the US at an annual gathering of high profile international defence GIS specialists, Simon Hill, Australia manager for defence, Esri, said that an enterprise-wide approach to geospatial information was essential to the ADF meeting the expectations outlined in the strategy.

Hill said: ‘The strategy contains a range of geospatial objectives that focus on the coordination of information collection and analysis capabilities across the various parts of Defence, including the Services. Key to meeting these objectives is the transformation of the nation’s Army, Navy and Air Force into one geospatially enabled, networked force what we refer to as an Enterprise GIS approach.’

This approach would link data from multiple systems and platforms and present that data as a ‘single source of truth’.

It would enable Australian forces to better cope with the wide variety of information available, and to share geospatial intelligence more easily with other nations in Coalition environments.

As well as using geospatial information systems for land surveillance China also sees them as an integral part of its regional maritime domain dominance.

Speaking at a Maritime Surveillance conference earlier in the year Irene Chan, a China watcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, says Beijing’s policy in the South China Sea is very conflicted because up to 17 ‘civil’ agencies are involved in maritime surveillance. These

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include a number of agencies dedicated to using geospatial information systems including controlling some satellites.

Chan went on to explain that ‘Beijing is looking to develop complete maritime domain awareness and the country’s capabilities have outstripped its East Asian neighbours’.

Indonesia, with its complex topography of over 7,000 islands, is also one of the countries looking to improve its geospatial information capabilities. The Indonesian armed forces are working closely with the country’s Geospatial Information Agency (Badan Informasi Geospatial) agency to improve its capabilities. During an August 2013 visit to the agency Col Dedy Hadria, Director of Topography for the Indonesia army told

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local media that the agency will be providing the army with capacity building workshops to improve the Directorate’s capability to respond in the key areas of disaster risk reduction, conflict resolution and border protection.

Additionally, in its recently released 2014 budget request the Japanese Ministry of Defence announced that it would look for additional funds to expand the ‘current fundamental data development work for geospatial intelligence with an emphasis on regions where there is increased probability of terrorist attacks, especially in North Africa’. In order to achieve this it said it would look at research and development paths to enable ‘sophisticated and efficient development and utilisation of geospatial intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Headquarters’.

With GEOINT also providing important information for humanitarian response, environmental studies, ocean management and border management operations, developing these capabilities has significant applications beyond defence. As a result an increasing number of nations are channelling investment into this area, both nationally and collaboratively, to develop this important resource.

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by Pierre Delrieu MINESWEEPERS CONTRACT nnnIn mid-October of 2013, the Indian Defence Ministry announced it was awarding a $1.2 billion contract to South Korea's Kangnam Corporation for the procurement of eight Mine-Countermeasure Vessels (MCMVs), signing the country’s first big-ticket defence program with South Korea.

The deal, which will undoubtedly participate in boosting and strengthening the ties between the two countries, was cleared ahead of Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s planned visit to Seoul by the end of 2013.

The Indian Navy has reportedly wanted new minesweepers for over 13 years, but delays in procurement due to bureaucratic red tape have been holding back the order. The Indian MCMV program, which aims to replace the 12 existing Soviet made ‘Pondicherry/Karwar’ class ocean minesweepers that have been in service for the last 25 to 30 years, was approved by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) in May 2004.

An order for eight MCMVs was then placed with Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), one of India's leading shipyards.

Faced with technical challenges, GSL placed a Request for

Proposals (RfP) for construction and technology assistance from builders Intermarine in Italy, Kangnam Corp. in South Korea, DCNS of France and IZAR, in Spain. Meeting the technical requirements, Kangnam and Intermarine were shortlisted and the South Korean manufacturer ended up signing the contract for the deal with the Indian MoD in 2011.

The finalization of the contract, however, took slightly longer than anticipated. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), India’s anti-fraud agency, had to put the deal on hold to look into concerns over the transparency of the procurement, raised by the Italian shipbuilding company Intermarine. Although the CVC cleared the purchase in 2012, the case led the Indian MoD to delay the announcement of the award until 2013.

The first two MCMVs will be constructed at Pusan, in South Korea and are expected for delivery by 2016, while the remaining six will be built by 2018 by GSL, under a Technology Transfer agreement.

The purchase of new countermine ships is part of a longterm plan to acquire vessels for littoral warfare, including large landing platform decks, fast attack craft and advanced off-

shore patrol vessels.

According to sources in the MoD, the Indian Navy will soon be passing additional orders to South Korea for countermine ships, since the service has a requirement for more than 24 minesweepers.

Along with Russia, Israel, the United States and France South Korea has become a bigticket supplier of weapons to India, its first in the region, and is aggressively tapping India’s $100 billion weapons market.

Defence ties between India and South Korea began in 2005, when the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on defence logistics and supplies.

In 2007, both countries’ defence ministers met to draw up a defence cooperation plan, which was followed in 2010 by the signing of a declaration of strategic partnership.

By cultivating extensive economic and strategic relations and reaching out to friendly nations in the Asian region, including South Korea and Japan, it would seem India is pursuing its Look East policy, which it initiated in the early 1990s as an effort to bolster its standing as an important regional power and a counterweight to the strategic influence of the People’s Republic of China.

launch clearly establishes the well honed drills and skills of SFC units in undertaking independent unit launches.

As per the statement issued

by Commanding Officer of the missile unit ‘Such successful training launches clearly indicate our operational readiness to meet any eventuality and also establishes the reliability and credibility of this deterrent component of India’s Strategic arsenal to meet future security challenges’.

The DRDO produced indigenous missile was randomly selected from the stock held with SFC units for this regular training exercise.

PRITHVI – II MISSILE LAUNCH nnn An Indian missile unit of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) successfully launched the indigenously developed surface-to-surface nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 189 nautical miles (350 kilometres) from the test range at Chandipur, off the Odisha Coast in early October. The launch was flawless and the missile splashed down at its pre-designated target. The

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DHRUV HELICOPTERS ACHIEVES FLYING HOURS MILESTONE nnn India’s first indigenous helicopter, the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH –Dhruv) designed, developed, produced and maintained by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to meet the requirement of military and civil operators, achieved a new milestone of flying 100,000 hours. The land mark has been achieved using a helicopter, IA 3104 from the 301 Army Aviation Sqn. “It is a proud moment for us that Dhruv has proved its mettle over the years.

India is the sixth nation in the world to have the capability to develop helicopters of this class.

The Dhruv has been exported to Ecuador, Mauritius, Nepal and Maldives”, said Dr. R.K. Tyagi, HAL Chairman.

“100,000 hours flown by the machine is an awesome feat to achieve. It is a dream machine for any pilot”, said Lieutenant Colonel Kapil Agarwal who completed the landmark flying hours.

ALH is being operated by Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Border Security Force and state governments since 2002.

Currently, more than 132 Dhruv helicopters are serving the Indian Defence Forces.

HAL has also built 12 civil variant Dhruv helicopters and they are being used by its customers. The Ecuador Air Force (FAE) operates six Dhruv helicopters which, among other tasks, are used for transporting the country’s President.

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SINGAPORE’S FIRST MULTI-MISSION RANGE COMPLEX nnn Singapore Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen officiated at a ceremony to launch the Multi-Mission Range Complex (MMRC) at Pasir Laba.

Speaking at the ceremony,

THE PHILIPPINES SOON TO ACQUIRE 12 FA-50S nnn South Korea should soon begin exporting its Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA50 light combat aircraft to the Philippines, as the leaders of both countries agreed to bolster cooperation in the defence industry on 17th October 2013.

The FA-50 is a variant of the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, a South Korean supersonic advanced trainers and multirole light fighter jointly developed by KAI and Lockheed Martin.

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Dr Ng highlighted the enhanced training effectiveness and efficiency the MMRC brings to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). He said, “this newly developed MMRC, together with our existing outdoor ranges and the Murai Urban Live-Firing Facility, now

offer SAF soldiers an impressive and comprehensive suite of training ranges that will hone the competency of SAF soldiers in a variety of combat missions.

In addition to enhancing the effectiveness of training, the MMRC will improve the SAF’s efficiency and significantly

South Korean president Park Geun-hye and her Philippine counterpart Benigno Aquino III met in Seoul and signed a memorandum of understanding calling for a greater cooperation in the defence industry as part of efforts to further solidify economic ties between the two countries.

If Manila has officially selected the FA-50 for the Philippine’s jet acquisition program, a final contract has yet to be signed.

Armed with air-to-air, air-to-

surface missiles, machine guns and precision-guided bombs, the KAI FA-50 has also been fitted with Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta System’s EL/M-2032 pulse Doppler radar which has a circa 54 nautical mile (100 kilometre) range, making it highly suitable for close-air support missions.

With a budget of about $450 million, Manila plans to acquire 12 FA-50s to face China’s threats regarding disputed territories in the South China Sea and from the fighter aircraft fleet it has been missing since the retirement of its F-5s in 2005.

Following the official visit and signature of the memorandum, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported that China had pressured South Korea not to sale the planes. Although the Republic of Korea’s government officially denied the rumour, the paper reports that government officials confirmed this.

Indonesia was KAI’s first customer for the FA-50 variant with a 2011 order for 16 T-50i planes. The Indonesian air force received the first four T50i aircraft last month.

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decrease the time required for marksmanship training.”

The MMRC, jointly developed by the SAF and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), is a three-storey indoor firing range containing seven firing ranges comprising two 50 metre (164 feet) ranges, two 100 metre (328 feet) ranges, two multi-tiered ranges and an urban operations range. The MMRC is designed to be an allweather range with lighting controls to simulate day or night conditions. Leveraging on advanced video targetry systems, the MMRC provides tough and realistic scenario based training in both urban and conventional terrains to hone soldiers’ basic and advanced shooting skills.

EXERCISE SUMAN WARRIOR nnn The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) participated in the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) land exercise, codenamed Suman Warrior, from 13 to 25 October 2013 in Townsville, Australia.

This year’s exercise was hosted by the Australian Defence Force and involved about 35 SAF personnel and over 150 personnel from the other four FPDA countries — Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and UK. This year’s exercise, the 23rd in the series, was a command post exercise involving the FPDA armies in a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operation.

Exercise Suman Warrior aims to enhance interoperability among the FPDA armies and also provides an opportunity for the participants to exchange professional expertise.

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2012, and will be delivered from Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth site in Texas. The additional two aircrafts were ordered in 2013, however, will be the first ones built with Japanese parts, with an expected delivery by March 2018. The remaining 36 aircraft will also be assembled in Japan, with a final delivery date scheduled by 2021.

The $892 million deal was signed with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric after the United States government consented that 24 engine and radar components would be produced in Japan.

According to the Japanese Defence Ministry, the amount will be divided between the three companies.

MHI will get $650 million for the manufacture of parts of the rear fuselage, wings and undercarriage. Lockheed Martin is also working with MHI to build a local final assembly and checkout line (FACO) near Nagoya, Japan’s third largest and fourth most populated city, to insure the aircrafts’ final assembly work.

IHI Corp. will be awarded

$185 million for manufacturing 17 engine fans and turbine part.

As for ME, the multinational electronics and electrical equipments manufacturing company based in Tokyo will receive $57 million for seven radar system components, including signal receivers.

Local manufacturing should account for about 10% of each Japanese F-35A’s total value and allow Japan to develop and protect its domestic industry and acquire the latest technology. However, it will greatly affect the overall unitary price for each Japanese made F-35As. Due to the limited production volume, as the Japanese firms will be exclusively manufacturing F-35A parts for the JASDF, each aircraft will reportedly cost Japan 50% more than would have a finished F-35A unit bought off-the-shelf from the US. The price for the two aircraft ordered in FY 2013 will be about $154 million each, according to the Japanese Defence Ministry’s budget, up almost 50 percent from the $105 million for the US-made models ordered in the previous fiscal year.

To explain the country’s final choice to have its F-35As assembled locally, regardless of the increased price, analysts have speculated that considerations relating to the development of Japan’s own military industrial base were driving the policy decisions.

The JASDF currently has three fighter jet models in its fleet: its F-4EJ “Kai” and RF-4EJ reconnaissance Phantom IIs, McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F15J/F-15DJ Eagles and Mitsubishi F-2s, a larger, longer range variant of the F-16C.

sign acquisition deals with the fastest growing military supplier in the region.

With a total military expenditure of almost $31bn in 2011, South Korea is the third largest defence spender in

Asia, and the 12th largest in the world. But seeking to balance the growth of its own industry and develop its own defence industry, the country is turning to its Asian neighbours.

SOUTH KOREAN NAVY RECEIVES NEW THALES SONARS nnn AgustaWestland and Thales are under contract to supply COMPACT FLASH SONICS dipping sonars for the Republic of Korea Navy’s new AgustaWestland AW159 Maritime Operations Helicopters.

The COMPACT FLASH sonar is the newest member of Thales’s FLASH range of dipping sonars. This low-frequency, long-range sonar system is lighter and designed for smaller helicopters. It features an optimised, lightweight architecture as well as a fully electric reeling machine. The COMPACT FLASH delivers outstanding performance. The SONICS version also includes a complete sonobuoy processing system, with a Very High Frequency receiver, picking up sonobuoy data and processing it in real time on board the helicopter.

Thales has an extensive installed fleet of FLASH SONICS systems in service with the naval forces of France, the United Kingdom, Norway, the United States, Sweden, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. This latest contract further underlines the company’s position regarding the supply of airborne anti-submarine warfare systems.

JAPAN’S NEW F-35AS WILL BE PARTIALLY HOMEBUILT nnn Japan has inked contracts with three domestic manufacturing companies which will take part in the Lockheed Martin's F-35A Lightning II fighters program for the Japan Air Self-Defence Force and supply different parts for two F35As it ordered this year and 36 more to come. The program, initiated in 2011, aims at ultimately replacing Japan’s aging McDonnell Douglas/ Mitsubishi F-4EJ-variant “Kai” Phantom fleet with a total of 42 Lockheed Martin F-35As. The Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II is a conventional takeoff and landing variant of the single seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole F-35 fighters. These aircrafts were designed and built to perform ground attack, reconnaissance and air defence missions with stealth capability as well counter the most advanced airborne and ground-based threats, which happens to be exactly the air defence environment that Japan faces.

Four aircraft had already been ordered in fiscal year

SOUTH KOREA, ASIA’S MILITARY SUPPLIER nnn South Korea is further deepening ties with some of its Asian neighbours through a series of new military contracts, as India and the Philippines

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a u s t r a l a s i a AUSTRALIAN NAVY MARITIME PLATFORMS EXTENSION OPTIONS nnn Melbourne-based BMT Design & Technology (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, has completed a study for the Commonwealth of Australia, to examine a range of options for the Life of Type Extension

AUSTRALIA’S LONG AWAITED MU90 TORPEDOES IN SERVICE nnn Australia commissioned its EuroTorp MU90/IMPACT lightweight anti-submarine torpedo after successful testing was conducted in August by the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) ‘Anzac’ class frigate HMAS Stuart in the East Australia Exercise Area.

The 46 MU-90s were delivered to Australian over the past two years and are now fully operational.

The August testing was the final step towards replacing RAN’s obsolescent 1970s-era Mk 46 lightweight torpedoes onboard its eight ‘Anzac’ class and four ‘Adelaide’ class frigates but it comes more than ten years after the MU90 order was placed under the Joint Project 2070, also know as Project Djimindi.

In 1997, The RAN began searching for a torpedo to replace its Mark 46 torpedoes and choose EuroTorp’s MU90 two years later. But the $639 million plan, which was supposed to be a low risk "off-theshelf" acquisition, experienced

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(LOTE) of a wide range of Defence Maritime Platforms.

This included the entire surface fleet of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), through to the LCM (Landing Craft Mechanised) and LARC (Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo) vehicles of Army Marine.

Undertaking the study in two stages over the course of 12 months, BMT developed a riskbased approach to assess the viability of LOTE for 11 classes of ship. BMT did not limit its study solely to material and condition surveys and incorporated the fundamental Inputs to Capability (FIC). This allowed

the full cost of operating the fleet within the various LOTE scenarios to be identified.

As well as identifying the costing options, the study provided an understanding of any impact on achieving availability targets while satisfying safety, environmental and technical risk imperatives.

AUSTAL DISPLAYS BORDER PROTECTION SOLUTIONS AT PACIFIC 2013 EVENT

major technical problems and ran years late.

The years of delay were attributed to inadequate planning and management on behalf of the Australian Ministry of Defence. A 2011 Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report stated that, at the time of purchase, government officials knew so little about the torpedo that they “believed the MU90 to be an off-the-shelf acquisition and already in service with the other navies. This was not the case”.

The MU90 torpedoes were initially intended to also equip the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Lockheed Martin AP-3C maritime patrol aircraft, as well as the RAN’s maritime support helicopters.

However, in 2008, Australia cancelled the Kama SH-2 Super Seasprite program and, because of cost and technical issues, the AP-3C and Sikorksy SH-60 Seahawk integration was removed from the project's scope in 2009.

The 24 MH-60R naval combat helicopters on order for the

RAN will be equipped with Raytheon's Mk54 All-Up Round torpedo while the RAAF intends to use the Mk54 on its planned purchase of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

Instead, the RAN intends to equip the 24 MH-60R naval combat helicopters it recently ordered with Mk.54 torpedoes.

The MU90/IMPACT Advanced Lightweight Torpedo (LWTs), is the leader of the 3rd generation of LWTs. Designed and built with the most advanced technology, the weapon is of fire-and-forget type conceived to cope with any-task any-environment capability requirements and designed to counter any type of nuclear or conventional submarine and can operate in shallow waters, including congested areas with an overall weight of 304 kilograms (668lbs).

Meanwhile, the Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo aboard Australia's ‘Collins’ class submarines weighs 1.5 tons, the MU90 has a range of between 7.7 miles and 15.5 miles depending on speed, which can be more than 50 knots (93 kilometres-per-hour) and has been designed to be deployed by any type of platform such as vessels, submarines, fixed and rotary wing aircraft, missiles and continental shelf mines. EuroTorp is a consortium formed in July 1993 by French and Italian defence companies specifically to design and build lightweight torpedoes (LWT).

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nnn Austal showcased its border protection and multi-mission platforms at Pacific 2013 Maritime Exposition at Sydney, Australia. Austal has won 3 consecutive contracts for patrol boats, including the Armidale Class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy; the Bay Class and their successor the Cape Class for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

Austal was also joined at Pacific 2013 by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems.

Davyd Thomas, Austal’s

Vice President Defence said that Pacific 2013 is the best showcase of defence maritime industry capability that the region has to offer, “Austal and our strategic partner, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, is there to help customers learn more about border protection solutions and multi-mission capable platforms, including the Cape Class Patrol Boat, Multirole Combatant, Littoral Combat Ship and Joint High Speed Vessel”.

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