Asian Military Review - November 2019

Volume 27/issue 7

November 2019 US$15

A s i a P a c i f i c ’ s L a r g e s t C i r c u la t e d D e f e n c e M a g a Z i n e

LIGHT GROUND ATTACK AIRCRAFT UNMANNED MARITIME SYSTEMS ADVANCES IN SMALL ARMS HF RADIOS CHINESE FIGHTERS ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENCE FOCUS ON INDONESIA www.asianmilitaryreview.com

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Contents November 2019 VOLUME 27 / ISSUE 7

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Leonardo’s M-346 in a configuration of half fighter attack and half trainer. In the attack role it can be equipped with up to nine hardpoints, carry external loads up to 3,000kg, and feature targeting pods, a tactical datalink, and multi-mode fire-control radar.

(Leonardo)

UNMANNED TRANSFORMATION

How is the Royal Australian Navy looking to incorporate unmanned platforms as it returns to maritime task group operations? Dr Lee Willett finds out.

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18

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CHEAPER OPTIONS FOR GROUND ATTACK

RENEWING THE ASSAULT

HF RADIO: STILL VALID AFTER 100 YEARS

Alan Warnes takes a look at the options now available to Air Forces that need a ground attack capability without paying 4th or 5th Gen attack jet prices.

There is now an increased focus on making assault rifles more user friendly through a variety of techniques, as Grant Turnbull reports.

The appeal of HF Radio endures, even after nearly a century of service. Thomas Withington reaffirms its validity to the modern military.

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34

38

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RISING DRAGONS: CHINA’S FIGHTER DEVELOPMENT COMES OF AGE

Ballistic Missile Shields

THE POLITICS OF DEFENCE

ANALYSTS COLUMN

Andrew Drwiega asks how a surprise choice new Defence Minister will impact on the modernisation of Indonesia’s armed forces.

Ben Ho asks if ‘the Barca Method’ could be more useful to defence strategists than anyone on the terraces could ever imagine.

JR Ng takes a fascinating look at China’s new front line fighter development and capability.

Debalina Ghoshal examines the advantages of obtaining a ballistic missile defence capability.

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Index of Advertisers

ADECS 33 AERONAUTICS 21 DB CONTROL

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DIMDEX 31 DUBAI AIRSHOW

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EUROSATORY 37 HOUSE AD

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IAI

COVER 2

INDO DEFENCE

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ISDEF 29 LEONARDO 5 L3 HARRIS

COVER 4

NEXTER 19 ROSOBORONEXPORT

11, 13

SINGAPORE AIRSHOW

COVER 3

SMITH & WESSON

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UAC 9 YUGOIMPORT

15, 17

Advertising Offices France/Spain Stephane de Remusat, REM International Tel: (33) 5 3427 0130 E-Mail: sremusat@rem-intl.com Germany Sam Baird, Whitehill Media Tel: (44-1883) 715 697 Mobile: (44-7770) 237 646 E-Mail: sam@whitehillmedia.com Turkey / Eastern Europe / UK Zena Coupé Tel: +44 1923 852537, zena@expomedia.biz Nordic Countries/Italy/ Switzerland Emanuela Castagnetti-Gillberg Tel: (46) 31 799 9028 E-Mail: emanuela.armada@gmail.com Russia Alla Butova, NOVO-Media Ltd, Tel/Fax: (7 3832) 180 885 Mobile : (7 960) 783 6653 Email :alla@mediatransasia.com USA (East/South East)/Canada (East) Margie Brown, Blessall Media, LLC. Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581 Email: margiespub@rcn.com USA (West/South West)/Brazil/Canada (West) Diane Obright, Blackrock Media Inc Tel : (+1 858) 759 3557 Email: blackrockmediainc@icloud.com All Other Countries Jakhongir Djalmetov, Media Transasia Limited Tel: +66 2204 2370, Mobile: +66 81 6455654 Email: joha@mediatransasia.com Roman Durksen, Media Transasia Limited Tel: +66 2204 2370, Mobile +66 83 6037989 E-Mail: roman@mediatransasia.com

Editorial

SUBLIMINALLY

SPEAKING

P

resident Donald Trump is not a person that would be associated with subliminal messaging. In fact, the frequency and often ferocity of his tweeting and unfettered statements (usually without prior consultation with his political or defence teams), often result in uncertainties and an inability by international allies and non-aligned countries to clearly identify a consistent commitment to them that they can buy-into and support.

In contrast, the speech given during a recent visit to Washington DC by Australian Senator and Minister for Defence, Linda Reynolds, was perhaps a little too subliminal. Speaking at the Hudson Institute, she spoke of the bond between Australia and the United States. But she also spoke about the realities of maintaining a ‘rules based order’ in the Indo-Pacific, something that many strategists currently believe is being eroded.

She spoke of “momentous changes in the region – changes that have delivered unprecedented peace and prosperity”, but warned that this had not happened by chance and was in large part due to “diplomatic efforts for several decades.”

Reynolds underlined the need for continued “economic integration and liberalisation facilitated by forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.” She included an “expanding network of free trade agreements and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.”

She further underlined that Australia was helping to champion regional trade arrangements through cooperation, collaboration and consensus.

Perhaps strongest of all were here comments regarding China. “China’s economic dynamism and our trade complementarities make Australia and China natural economic partners for securing the prosperity of our respective nations,” she said, adding that it “also applies to broadening and intensifying our partnership where it can bring benefits for the region.”

She added that Australia “does not take for granted a regional default inclination towards the advantages of existing rules-based systems – nor should the United States. As clear as those advantages are to us, we must constantly prove them to others. Through actions and demonstrable sovereign respect, not just words.”

This is set against a growing international angst about where the Trump Administration has been leading the United States. According to Eliot Cohen, a Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies writing in the January/February edition of Foreign Affairs, President Trump’s foreign policy vision “is distrustful of US allies, scornful of international institutions, and indifferent, if not downright hostile, to the liberal international order that the United States has sustained for nearly eight decades.”

Early in Trump’s Administration the US’s commitment to NATO was questioned and was followed by a volte face over numerous international economic commitments such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US. Many believed that the agreement would have in fact benefited the US by reducing the signatories’ dependence on Chinese trade. And of course there is the destructive tariff war that has continued to escalate over the last year and a half with neither side looking to back down.

While Reynolds was steadfast in underlying the military bonds that bind the two countries together, she was almost subliminally speaking out against the Administration’s “America First” policy when she stated: “the Alliance needs to be not just in the region – it must be of the region, and be seen as for the region. All countries in the Indo-Pacific have sovereignty at the core of their national interest.”

Andrew Drwiega, Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief: Andrew Drwiega Tel: +44 1494 765245, E-mail: andrew@mediatransasia.com Publishing Office: Chairman: J.S. Uberoi Media Transasia Limited,1603, 16/F, Island Place Tower, 510 King’s Road, Hong Kong Operations Office: President: Egasith Chotpakditrakul Chief Financial Officer: Gaurav Kumar General Manager: Jakhongir Djalmetov International Marketing Manager: Roman Durksen Digital Manager: David Siriphonphutakun Sales & Marketing Coordinator: Wajiraprakan Punyajai Art Director: Hatsada Tirawutsakul Production Officer: Nuttha Thangpetch Circulation Officer: Yupadee Seabea Media Transasia Ltd. 75/8, 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, Soi Sukhumvit 19, Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.

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sea

Commonwealth of Australia

power

The UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed vessel operating in Jervis Bay during the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) ‘Autonomous Warrior’ exercise in 2018. As a result of ‘Autonomous Warrior’, Australia is ‘fast forwarding’ plans to introduce unmanned capabilities for MCM operations.

UNMANNED TRANSFORMATION 'Autonomous Warrior' drives RAN to boost unmanned system roles in sea control, situational awareness

T

he Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is underway with a major strategic and operational transformation.

With a requirement to project power across the Indo-Pacific theatre to support national interests and wider coalition and international commitments, the RAN is returning to task group-based operations. Such operations are centred on its amphibious and maritime task groups (ATGs and MTGs). Its two Canberra-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships and three Hobart-class guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) are the centrepieces of such task groups.

The in-service LHDs and DDGs are to be joined in the RAN’s force structure in the medium term by nine new Hunterclass frigates (based on the UK Type 26 Global Combat Ship design), 12 new Attack-class diesel-electric submarines (based on the French Shortfin Barracuda Block 1A design), and 12 new Arafuraclass offshore patrol vessels (OPVs)

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by Dr Lee Willett (based on the Lürssen PV-80 design). Such a growth in manned platform numbers is seeing the RAN also grow in numbers of people.

Alongside these manned platforms, the RAN is seeking to add unmanned, autonomous capability above, on, and below the surface. Unmanned platforms can support task group operations in several ways, such as conducting anti-submarine or mine warfare tasks.

They can also help carry the burden of presence across the vast reaches of Australia’s interests, providing sustained surveillance in key areas instead of using a manned, high-end platform whose capabilities can be better deployed elsewhere.

In 2018 at the HMAS Creswell testing and training facility in Jervis Bay, New South Wales, the RAN and Australia’s Defence Science and Technology (DST) organisation hosted Autonomous Warrior 2018. Around 77 unmanned platforms were involved in a range of trials which

| Asian Military Review |

sought to demonstrate the potential role of unmanned systems in transforming Australian defence capability. The RAN believes the success of the event prompted a subtle shift in how the Australian Defence Force (ADF) sees the contribution of unmanned capabilities.

Commander Paul Hornsby, the RAN’s lead for autonomous warfare systems, told Navy Outlook 2019 magazine – a publication that provides for military, defence, and industrial policy-makers an overview of RAN future plans, programmes, and budgetary needs, and is viewed by independent analysts as a semi-official RAN output – that unmanned capabilities have moved on from being seen as assets that simply assist operations to being an integral part of the overall ADF capability set.

Building Unmanned Policy Across 2019, this strategic focus on unmanned capability has continued to build at a policy level within the ADF and

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Australia’s wider Department of Defence (DoD).

Speaking at the RAN-hosted Sea Power conference in Sydney in September 2019, Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds listed concepts and capabilities that may prove to deliver potentially game-changing technologies: within this list, the minister said that “Unmanned underwater, air, and surface vehicles assisted by Artificial Intelligence are … rapidly emerging areas of technology that will change traditional ways of thinking about naval warfare and sea control.”

Sea control – and denying sea control to potential adversaries – is returning as a dominant facet of naval strategy, as renewed great power competition is seeing peer navies compete to control the way in which international order flows at sea. Unmanned capabilities in the air, on the surface, and below the surface can provide sustained presence and especially surveillance and wider situational awareness to shape and support sea control and sea denial strategies.

While the RAN is growing in numbers, in platform and personnel terms, the vast geographical range of its strategic interests will still present a challenge in terms of generating and sustaining sea control, as well as the situational awareness and presence that support this, in areas of interest as and when required.

In the complex and contested contemporary strategic and operational environments, threats will continue to evolve. However, some core pillars of the global strategic balance will endure. One such pillar is the importance of sea lines of communication (SLOCs). In an interview in Navy Outlook, RAN Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Michael Noonan said that, despite the increasingly dynamic nature of the Indo-Pacific strategic environment, “what hasn’t changed is the importance of our SLOCs and the need to keep our maritime routes free and open”. Sustained presence, surveillance, and situational awareness offered by unmanned systems are capabilities that can support the free flow of maritime trade along such SLOCs. In his own address at the recent Sea Power conference, VAdm Noonan said that, as a key component of how it seeks to work with Indo-Pacific regional partners, the RAN is “prioritising outcomes that lead to strengthened maritime domain awareness and maritime border protection”.

This theme is reflected in RAN thinking

Department of Defence, Commonwealth of Australia

power

The RAN's two landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide, pictured on exercise together in 2019. Mine counter-measures (MCM) capabilities structured around unmanned systems will be a key layer in defending Australian naval task groups based around the LHDs.

about the contribution of sub-surface capabilities here. Talking at the Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) conference in Stockholm earlier in 2019, Commodore Michael Houghton, Director-General Future Submarines in the DoD, reinforced the importance of SLOC security as a strategic priority for Australia, and also the role of the underwater domain and unmanned platforms in supporting improved maritime situational awareness in the context of delivering sea control.

“Clearly we are very interested in [SLOCs],” he said, underlining also the importance of maintaining SLOC security as a key part of maintaining the rulesbased international order, especially when set in the context of competition for influence in the unpredictable maritime environment.

“It is important to have some control of the undersea warfare area, and submarines are one part of that, but not the only part,” the commodore continued.

“There is then a demand for greater situational awareness in the undersea domain, and that involves many different sensors and effectors, be they fixed, be they airborne, be they manned or unmanned, and mobile.”

Cdre Houghton’s final message pointed to the potential impact of unmanned systems in providing presence at sea. While debate at events such as UDT is often focused on technologies such as sensors, effectors, platforms, he said, it is important to consider “the need for presence”.

Many navies around the world,

| november 2019 |

including the RAN, are continuing to face the challenge of matching increasing commitments with limited force levels – even if, as in the RAN’s case, such force levels are increasing to a degree.

Unmanned surface and underwater vessels can provide both sustained presence while also supporting improved situational awareness.

Headmarks and Plans To offset the challenges of a future operating environment highlighted by uncertainty, complexity, and the impact of new technology, the RAN has drawn up its Headmark 2022 concept, against which it will evolve and develop its structure, capabilities, and outputs to address the myriad operational possibilities presented in this future operating environment. The RAN intends to maintain its bearing to deliver on Headmark 2022 via its Plan Pelorus, which was launched formally in October 2019.

According to the RAN, Plan Pelorus provides the Chief of Navy’s senior advisory committee’s “direction to Navy for the next four years to achieve our Headmark" with the plan to be revised regularly as the navy seeks to deliver on five core outcomes. One such outcome – to be delivered by the service’s Head of Capability – is to ensure RAN capability “meets current requirements, evolves with changes in threats and technology, and achieves the joint integrated effect necessary, with an aim to continuously deliver and sustain an agile and lethal naval capability”.

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sea power

Saab

shift towards harnessing such capability was demonstrated in its new approach to mine warfare. “From about mid-next decade, we will go away from having manned minehunters which go into minefields, and we’ll use autonomous systems to hunt and dispose of mines.”

“That wouldn’t have been possible five years ago,” said RAdm Quinn, “but will be absolutely possible in five years’ time when we field those systems in quantity.”

The RAN’s introduction of unmanned systems will develop most rapidly in the remote minehunting area, RAdm Quinn added. Mine warfare is a key element of tactics, operations, and strategies for conducting sea control.

It is in the field of using unmanned Saab 9LV naval combat system is viewed as “the brain that handles all the interfaces and all surface and sub-surface vehicles where interaction with operators” including multiple unmanned systems. the RAN is demonstrating that the shift in strategic and operational focus towards unmanned systems is now being reflected in programme and capability The RAN’s current Head of Capability, conveyed them to their operating area developments. in the first place – avoids some of the Rear Admiral Peter Quinn, told Navy In April 2019, Australia announced inherent limitations of unmanned units, Outlook that his responsibility under the building of two new mine warfare most notably the increases in size and cost this particular outcome includes an support ships, under Project SEA1905, to associated with extended endurance and enduring focus on embedding innovation embark such capabilities. The decision across RAN technology and capability. high speed and their associated power to introduce two new ships – the design requirements,” Goldrick added.

“Innovation has to be integrated into our for which will be evolved from the Having a host platform nearby DNA,” RAdm Quinn said. “Innovative Arafura-class OPVs – rather than extend also makes communication more ways of bringing on capability more the operational life of the four in-service straightforward in terms of operating quickly; innovative ways of adopting the Huon-class minehunter coastal (MHC) unmanned systems.

As regards sort of technologies that are around us communications and unmanned systems, vessels was shaped in large part by every day – additive manufacturing, 3-D RAdm Quinn said, “I actually think the ‘Autonomous Warrior.’ The exercise “was printing, artificial intelligence, robotics a real watershed to see how quickly these secret sauce is going to be in the sort of and autonomous systems[;] bringing all robotic and autonomous systems are technology you have for communicating that in and embedding it into the way we developing,” said Cdr Hornsby, and “it with those systems, getting the data out of develop navy capability.” had a significant influence on the decision the systems and sharing it, and controlling Deploying unmanned systems from not to proceed with MHC service-life them through our combat systems.” For a host platform such as a submarine or extension”. Under Project SEA1905, Autonomous Warrior, for example, Navy surface ship – the latter bringing more which will begin delivering capability in Outlook reported that multiple unmanned volume, flexibility, and support in the the middle of the next decade, the two systems operating in all domains had ability to deploy such systems – also ships will host remote and autonomous been connected to operate together – and enables the more sustained operational systems for mine counter-measures this included integration with the navy’s use of unmanned systems, thus (MCM) operations. Highlighting the role Saab 9LV combat management system underpinning their presence capacity of mine warfare as both a sea control and further still. Writing in Navy Outlook, (CMS). The Saab 9LV system is providing sea denial tool, the RAN is also underway the CMS capability for a number of James Goldrick (a retired RAN rear with Project SEA1778 Phase 1, which is RAN platforms, including the LHDs, the admiral) said that: “Both surface ships Hunter-class frigates, and the Arafura- designed to deliver MCM capability to and submarines will increasingly employ protect the LHD-based task groups. To unmanned vehicles in high-threat areas, class OPVs. meet this requirement, Navy Outlook While the proliferation of remote using them to conduct reconnaissance reported, the RAN is acquiring four and autonomous capabilities in the and, if necessary, as weapon systems unmanned systems world can be a threat, General Dynamics Maritime Systems for long-range precision delivery.” For Bluefin 9 autonomous underwater such technology can also be harnessed surface ships in particular, Goldrick vehicles (AUVs), three Bluefin 12 AUVs, to create an advantage, RAdm Quinn continued, a “key opportunity … lies in and a number of Steber International argued. “They’re enabling us to do things their potential to become parent ships for a wide range of unmanned vehicles, that we’ve never been able to do before,” fibreglass support vessels configured as unmanned surface vessels (USVs). whether air, surface, or sub-surface units.” he said. Reflecting the view that the RAN Delivery of initial operating capability is now changing how it is thinking about “The guaranteed proximity of a parent (IOC) for what is seen as an interim MCM the role and contribution of unmanned platform that can recover, replenish, and capability is expected in mid-2020. AMR systems, RAdm Quinn said the navy’s if necessary repair each vehicle – having

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| Asian Military Review |

AIR

KAI

power

KAI’s FA-50 has found favour with several air forces in the region, and can be used in the jet trainer and fighter attack roles.

CHEAPER OPTIONS FOR GROUND ATTACK

There is now a growing range of ground attack aircraft available now, the purchase of which will not break a nation’s defence budget.

C

ounter insurgency (COIN) air operations in Asia have shaped and been shaped by many campaigns. The French in Indochina from 1946-1954 and Malayan Emergency from 1948-1960 were among the earliest to witness COIN operations in the region.

The United States was heavily involved in the Vietnam War for 20 years until 1975, where unguided bombs, rocket propelled explosives and even napalm were dropped in huge amount on the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong.

Indonesia’s government took on the East Timor freedom fighters from the mid-70s until the late 90s, while the Philippines still wages a war with Islamic militias in the south of the country. Malaysia too has carried out its own anti-terrorist

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by Alan Warnes operations in Sabah in 2013. Thailand has also experience terrorism activities in its southern region.

Cutting attack costs Air power always plays a significant role in trying to defeat insurgents and freedom fighters, known simply as terrorists by their enemy. This has been particularly prevalent in conflicts within Iraq, Afghanistan and latterly Syria against Daesh. The media plays a major role in the dissemination of information with rapid reporting via satellite links, which is why precision guided munitions, targeting pods and EO/IR sensors have been relied upon to avoid collateral damage and the killing of innocent people. All this can come at a hefty price and politicians as well as military commanders understand

| Asian Military Review |

there are much cheaper options to using an Lockheed Martin F-16 or Fairchild Republic A-10. Dropping million-dollar precision guided munitions (PGMs) by jets that costs tens of thousands of dollars an hour to operate, just to get a terrorist escaping on a motorbike or a cadre of militia is economically unacceptable these days.

Today, cheaper $30-$40 million aircraft with much lower operational costs yet still armed with high technology such as laser guided rockets is what many in the military are aspiring to operate. The United States Air Force (USAF) has been searching for a new light, counter-insurgency, ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft since 2009 to fulfil its light attack/armed reconnaissance (LAAR) programme. This has evolved

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AIR

Embraer

power

The Embraer A-29 Super Tucano is now serving with Indonesia and Afghanistan and will soon be delivered to the Philippines.

into the OA-X (Light Attack - Experiment) although there has still been no decision, mainly due to political objections.

Why is this so important to Asia?

Because if the USAF was to select an aircraft, it could open the way for more orders for the winning manufacturer, particularly in Asia. The competition sees the Sierra Nevada Corporation/ Embraer A-29 Super Tucano face off with the Textron AT-6B Coyote, and the USAF is looking to acquire 24 of them by 2022 for around $1 billion. The $40 million per aircraft price tag might water the eyes of some Asian air force commanders, but undoubtedly the operational cost would be lower than most fighters as would the new generation weapons. The Textron Scorpion jet was also evaluated, while Aero Vodochody wanted to participate with its much upgraded L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft (ALCA), the F/A259 Striker. However, the US authorities were not interested, preferring a turboprop instead. The Striker has now been abandoned and the future of the Scorpion is also questionable.

According to budget documents, the “the light attack aircraft will provide a

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deployable and sustainable multirole attack capability, capable of performing a diverse array of attack missions, including but not limited to close air support, armed reconnaissance, strike coordination and reconnaissance, airborne forward air control, and interdiction.”

Many Asian air forces will be looking on at the programme, even if it might be outside their budgets at the moment.

The A-29 Super Tucano has been sold to the Indonesian Air Force (16) and Afghanistan (6) and more recently to the Phillippines Air Force (8) but the AT6B Coyote, an attack version of the successful T-6 trainer has never won a defence contract. While the BAE Hawk has been an effective light attack aircraft in the past for Malaysia (2013 Sabah uprising) and Indonesia (East Timor in 90s), it is now viewed in the region as a more expensive older generation jet. With cheaper more cost effective options available, the BAE’s Hawk’s role in COIN is subjective.

Local aircraft for local air forces Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has found a local solution for the Asian air forces, the fighter attack (FA) or light

| Asian Military Review |

attack version of the T-50 which is capable of speeds of Mach 1.5 and can carry 4.5 tonnes of armaments. The air forces of South Korea, Philippines and Thailand all operate such aircraft.

Not too surprisingly the biggest operator of the FA-50 is the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF), which operates 60 split across two squadrons – 103 Fighter Squadron of the 8 Fighter Wing at Wonju and 202 Squadron of 16 Fighter Wing at Yecheon Air Base. They have been delivered in two batches: the first 20 in a contract worth $600 million were delivered during 2013/14 and a second for 40 worth $1 billion followed between 2013 and 2019. At around $30 million per aircraft, it amounts to considerably less investment than a new F-16C/D. The FA-50 can be armed with Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinders for selfprotection as well as air-to-ground weapons like the AGM-65 Maverick, GBU-38/B Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), CBU-105 Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW), Mk-82 Low Drag General Purpose (LDGP) bombs and Cluster Bomb Units (CBUs). Mounted internally is a threebarrel 20mm Gatling gun and LAU-3/A

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AIR

Alan Warnes

power

With a podded gun underneath, Pakistan Air Force K-8P Karakorams have a secondary light attack role.

19-tube 2.75 inch rocket launcher, used to fire Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR).

The Philippines Air Force signed a $417.95 million contract with KAI for 12 FA-50PH Golden Eagles on March 28, 2014.

The first example flew on 19 June, 2015 and were delivered between December 2015 and May 2017. They are operated by the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Basa Air Base, Pampanga.

In Thailand, the counter-insurgency role used to be the domain of the Aero Vodochody/Elbit L-39ZA(ART) and Dornier (now Airbus) Alphajet, but these are likely to be replaced by the KAI T-50TH Golden Eagle in the forseeable future. While the T-50THs are to be used as a lead-in fighter trainer for its fleet of F-16s and Saab Gripens, subsequent upgrades are likely to see them flown in the air to ground role. KAI was awarded a $52.5 million ‘upgrade and modification’ contract on 24 May, 2019 by the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) to equip the eventual fleet of 12 T-50THs (only four have been delivered to date) with a radar warning receiver (RWR), countermeasures dispenser systems and a radar system. The latter is likely to be the Elta EL/M2032 multimode airborne fire control radar orientated for air-to-air,

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air-to-sea and strike missions. The work should be completed by October 2021.

The fighter attack version of the T-50, is the FA-50 and the objective of the RTAF is clearly to make it multirole - more than just a lead in fighter trainer.

The first flight of a RTAF T-50TH took place on 10 August, 2017 which led to the first two aircraft being delivered in January 2018, with a second pair following in January 2019, while the rest will arrive by 2020. They are located with 401 Squadron based at Takhli.

Indonesia has also acquired 16 T-50I Golden Eagles for flying training purposes but they are believed to have a weapons capability too. They were delivered between September 2013 and 25 January, 2014 to Iswahyudi where they are flown by Skadron Udara 15 of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU).

KAI is also marketing the T-50/FA-50 to Malaysia.

Super Tucano While South Korea operates the bigger Boeing F-15K Slam Eagle and F-16s, and Thailand has the F-16 and Gripens to fulfil missions that call for a heavier load, the same cannot be said of the Philippines.

So the Philippine Air Force (PAF) has also

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ordered a second lighter attack aircraft, the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano which has proved itself in this role across South America, the Middle East and Africa.

Boasting a maximum load of 3,306lb (1,500kg), means the five hard points can carry general-purpose bombs and guided air-to-ground weapons as well as air-toair missiles. The two-seat AT-29 is fitted with a FLIR Systems AN/AAQ-22 Star Safire forward-looking electro optical/ Infra-red turret under the fuselage for targeting, navigation and target tracking for night attack and surveillance missions.

Two wing-mounted 12.7mm machine guns that can fire 1,100 rounds a minute (rpm) come as standard fit.

Embraer announced a sale for six A-29B Super Tucanos to the Philippines on 30 November, 2017, worth around $100 million (PHP 4.968 billion) stating that they will be used for “close air support, light attack, surveillance, air-toair interception and counter-insurgency.”

They will be delivered by February 2020 and operated by the 15th Strike Wing which should be moving to Lumbia Airport, Cagayan de Oro between 2019 and 2020.

These new Brazilian turboprops will augment the remaining North

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Alan Warnes

power

India has been developing the HAL Tejas light combat aircraft for over 30 years and eventually reached full operational capability in February.

American Rockwell OV-10C/M Bronco attack aircraft used by the PAF in strike missions. The USAF issued a request for proposals in July 2018 to dismantle, ship and re-assemble two former NASA OV10G+s to the PAF, but it is unclear if they ever got there. The Bronco was a popular COIN aircraft in Asia, not just with the US military in Vietnam but with the RTAF which operated them from 1972 to 2004 as well as the PAF. The TNI-AU operates 15 Super Tucanos, covering two batches of eight delivered between 2012 and 2016. One aircraft was lost in February 2016 with both crew members being killed. The Afghan Air Force operates 25 A-29 Super Tucanos, which were built at Embraer’s Jacksonville facility in Florida.

The Afghan pilots were trained by Sierra Nevada Corporation at Moody AFB, Georgia and the aircraft were delivered to Afghanistan between 2016-2019 as part of a foreign military sale (FMS).

One of the most popular new weapons in the light attack role is the BAE Systems 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser guided rocket which has been integrated on the Super Tucano and OV-10 Bronco. According to BAE, the APKWS can lock onto both moving and stationary targets from more than two miles (3km) away. At Egypt’s EDEX exhibition last December, a BAE

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Systems representative told AMR, “the APKWS is the most cost effective laserguided munition in its class and a quarter the price of a Brimstone missile.” He was keen to stress that its laser guided rocket could only be acquired through FMS, and claims the system had a ‘100 percent success rate in Iraq’ while being operated from Iraqi Air Force Bell IA-407 helicopters.

Emerging new option A new emerging threat to the dominance of the FA-50 and Super Tucano in the region is Leonardo’s M346FA. The Italian company, which launched the fighter attack version of the M346 trainer at Paris Air Show in June 2017, is positioning the aircraft as a replacement for 20/30 ton class fighter-bombers in roles like combat air patrol (CAP), quick reaction alert (QRA), close air support (CAS) and COIN. Emanuele Merlo, senior vice president Trainers Aircraft at Leonardo told the author in late October: “The operational costs of the F-35, Rafale etc are so high that the M346FA with a varied assortment of weapons and its reliable multi-mode radar, would not only be less expensive to operate but save the fatigue life of the established fourth generation fighters.”

Leonardo announced in July that it had won its first M346FA contract, for six aircraft, from an undisclosed customer.

| Asian Military Review |

Looking Around the Region Not all light attack options are restricted to the US and South Korea of course. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh operates the Hongdu K-8 Karakoram, and while the primary role is jet training the Chinese jet can be fitted with a cannon pod under the fuselage. Bangladesh has also acquired 14 Yakovlev-130 Mitten jet trainers which have a secondary light attack role. India has been developing the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) for 30 years now, with around 15Mk1s of an order for 40 flying with 45 Squadon at HAL Bangalore before it relocates to Sulur Air Base in the near future. The jet reached Final Operational Clearance on 20 February, 2019. Deliveries of the 40Mk1s, including seven dual-seaters continue, while the IAF also requires an additional 73 single-seaters and ten dual seaters in Mk1A configuration. They will feature an enhanced indigenous electronic warfare system and AESA radar.

Taiwan’s Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) continues to fly the AIDC AT-3 Tzu-Chung not just for flying training but also a secondary light strike role – there are around 45 continuing to serve the RoCAF with most of them serving the Fighter Training Group at Kangshan Air Base. AMR

Marketing

P r o m o t i o n

NEW ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE YUGOIMPORT-SDPR’S IN HOUSE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Throughout the 2019 Yugoimport-SDPR presented its cutting-edge technologies and achievements in the field of rocket artillery systems and combat vehicles armament: modular rocket launcher TAMNAVA, self-propelled artillery weapon system ALEKSANDAR and remotely-controlled weapon station 20/3 mm KERBER. Self-propelled multi-tube modular rocket launcher TAMNAVA The 122/267 mm self-propelled multi-tube multi-calibre modular rocket launcher is a weapon designed to neutralize troops, materiel, command posts, bases, warehouses, airports, traffic nodes and all light armour targets. The launcher can be integrated into a modern network central battlefield via a command-information system, navigation system and fire control system. The system is characterized by short-time transition from traveling to combat position, and the capability to leave the firing position in a short time. The modular concept and the choice of different types of containers (rockets) enable best tactical use of the weapon.

The 122 mm rocket launcher configuration includes a vehicle with 96 missiles arranged in four containers of 24, with two containers being on the launcher and two on the truck platform. The system enables firing a salvo of 48 122 mm G-2000 rockets to a range of 40 km.

In the 267/122 mm configuration, the launcher has two containers, each with six 267 mm rockets with a range of 70 km, and two more containers with a total of forty eight 122 mm rockets.

Containers are loaded by means of a special re-supply vehicle equipped with a crane. The re-supply vehicle can transport two containers, each with six 267 mm rockets or two containers with twenty four 122 mm rockets each.

ALEXANDER – self-propelled artillery weapon system 155/52 The development of ALEXANDER was primarily prompted by a wish to achieve

a significant increase in the rate of fire – 6 rounds per minute and introduce a number of new technical solutions compared to the self-propelled gun-howitzer NORA. Both ALEKSANDAR and NORA can be mounted on different 8 x 8 chassis of appropriate characteristics.

Certain reliable solutions mastered during the development and production of the self-propelled gunhowitzer NORA were retained in ALEXANDER design, such as the ballistic system, the system for platform stabilization during firing and the fire control system. It features a different automatic loading system, the system for reloading the automatic loader and a higher level of automation. The automatic loader is connected to the gun’s cradle and it consists of two revolver-type magazines.

All operations necessary to fire 24 projectiles are automated, without the need to leave the vehicle, and with the possibility to change the firing position. ALEXANDER is equipped with its own inertial navigation,

positioning and orientation system, and an additional satellite navigation system.

Remotely controlled weapon station 20/3 mm KERBER The RCWS 20/3 mm KERBER is armed with a 20 x 110 mm gun effective at ranges up to 2000 m, and equipped with up-to-date optoelectronic sensors controlled by a power unit i.e. a motor with zero-backlash gear reducers providing easy control and better accuracy at all ranges. Being a low-signature weapon, it is primarily mounted on vehicles, but it can also be installed on ships, fast patrol boats, or stationary structures. The three guns provide massive firepower to the system (1800 rds/min) against aerial targets (helicopters, transport aircraft, slow low-flying aircraft, UAV’s, cruise missiles, etc.), seaborne targets (mobile and stationary vessels), and ground targets (light armoured vehicles, transporters, command posts, logistics support bases, etc.

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US DoD

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The basic design of the assault rifle has not changed significantly although there is a constant effort to improve user ergonomics, weight and lethality.

RENEWING THE ASSAULT

Lessons learned from recent conflicts has seen a greater focus on modularity and ambidextrous customisation of small arms, as well as reducing weight and the introduction of new ammunition types to increase lethality.

by Grant Turnbull 18

| Asian Military Review |

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T

he assault rifle is the primary weapon for any soldier, no matter what their role or specialisation. First introduced during World War 2 by Germany and then slowly adopted by other armed forces, the assault rifle is now considered the optimum weapon for frontline troops. In terms of design, the selectivefire assault rifle has not changed radically since its inception, with only slight enhancements such as the Bullpup layout (SA-80, FAMAS, TAVOR and AUG), or optimised internal parts for greater reliability.

Several armies are now modernising their small arms inventories, either through upgrading existing stocks, or replacing them with new examples. In Europe, there is modernisation occurring, although this is limited to upgrading older types or introducing mature designs with little risk. The British Army has embarked on an upgrade programme for its SA-80, bringing it up to an A3 standard with contractor Heckler & Koch. France has also adopted the HK416F, while

Germany is also expected to select a new rifle shortly to replace its ageing G36.

One of the most ambitious small arms programmes anywhere in the world right now is the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW), which could see a revolutionary leap in terms of rifle technology and individual soldier lethality. One of the most notable aspects of this programme so far has been the army’s decision to move to a new, military-grade 6.8mm intermediate calibre that has superior aero-ballistic performance than the 5.56x45mm NATO standard round currently used on the M16/M4. For the US Army, the 5.56mm round lacks the range and ‘stopping power’ required to defeat modern peer threats who use advanced body armours.

The NGSW programme will consist of both a fully ambidextrous rifle (NGSW-R), and an automatic rifle (NGSW-AR), with the latter replacing the belt-fed M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). While the service has agreed on a calibre for the bullet, it will be up to industry to decide how that 6.8mm projectile is packaged

with cartridge, propellent and primer.

At the end of August, Textron Systems (partnered with H&K), Sig Sauer and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) were selected to develop and manufacture prototypes for the NGSW programme.

All three companies are now expected to deliver 43 NGSW-ARs and 53 NGSWRs over a 27 month period, along with 845,000 rounds of ammunition for testing.

Two prototype test phases are scheduled into the programme in May 2020 and January 2021, lasting three months and six months respectively.

This year’s AUSA in Washington DC was the first real opportunity to see all three competing designs together. Textron Systems’ solution represents one of the biggest leaps in small arms technology with its focus on cased-telescoped ammunition, over traditional brass cases a technology that has not previously been mature enough to field. The company has been developing its CT ammunition and associated weapon systems in various calibres for over a decade with the help of

Photo credits: ©ECPAD/France/A.Roine

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The CAESAR® artillery system in Mali

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Sig Sauer

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The US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon programme is one of the most advanced small arms programmes in the world, with Sig Sauer (pictured), Textron Systems, and GD-OTS offering various 6.8mm solutions.

funding from the US Army.

GD-OTS meanwhile has surprised many by revealing that its NGSW offering is a bullpup-configured rifle, with the magazine and action behind the trigger rather than the traditional AR layout. One of the main benefits of this design is that the barrel can be longer to improve accuracy, yet the overall weapon system remains compact. Sig Sauer’s offering appears to be the most conservative design offering, with Ron Cohen, President & CEO, noting that the “core of our submission is our newly developed, high-pressure, 6.8mm hybrid ammunition that is utilised in both weapons, and is a significant leap forward in ammunition innovation, design, and manufacturing.”

If the NGSW programme is successful and a suitable rifle is selected, the first unit to receive the rifle could be as soon as FY2022, according to army documentation.

China Goes Traditional The US’s competitor, China, has also officially revealed that it is bringing a new rifle into service. This unnamed weapon - which has long been rumoured to be in development as a replacement for the 5.8mm Type 95 (QBZ-95-1) - was first shown during celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 2019. Instead of the bullpup configuration of the current inservice rifle, the new weapon is a more traditional AR design with the magazine ahead of the trigger and action, rather

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than behind. The PLA also appears to be following trends seen elsewhere around the world in the small arms market, particularly when it comes to improving user ergonomics and increasing overall modularity.

Initial details appear to suggest that the new rifle remains a 5.8mm example, potentially even able to utilise the same magazines at the Type 95 (or at least the newer QBZ-95-1 variant). It has been seen in both a carbine variant and standard infantry variant, and photos have also circulated on Chinese forums of a longer barrel version for potential use as a squad designated rifle.

Photos from the 70th anniversary military parade show the rifle with a single Picatinny Rail along the top with a new sighting system, likely a magnified 3x example that utilises tritium and fibre optic for illumination, along with traditional flip-up iron sights. Other photos appeared to show a new night vision sight, likely an uncooled thermal device to be used during both night and day operations.

Additional features include a telescoping butt stock that can be adjusted to the preference of the individual soldier; this also likely houses a return spring which means the butt cannot be folded. There is also a foregrip that has two extendable bipod legs for a steadier position when in the prone position. This foregrip also features an electronic box at the top where it meets the handguard, which is possibly a laser aiming device that has both visible and IR-based lasers

| Asian Military Review |

or an interface to a helmet-mounted night vision system, or radio system.

The handguard itself appears to be one single piece, with attachment points on the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions for additional accessories, and can be easily removed with a hex tool to access the gas parts for disassembly and cleaning. The PLA has chosen not to go with newer attachment points such as M-LOK or KeyMod. There appears to be some similarities with the AK design, such as an ambidextrous magazine release in front of the trigger guard, as well as a charging handle just below the cartridge ejection port, as well as commonalities with western-style designs such as the thumb-operated fire selector switch.

The magazines themselves are a new polymer design that allows a firer to see when they are running low, with a red mark becoming visible at five, three and one rounds remaining. It has not been verified officially whether the rifle uses a long-stroke, short-stroke piston, or direct impingement gas operating system - although there is a strong likelihood that it is a short-stroke gas system owing to the popularity and advantages of this design.

Another Chinese rival, India, is also in the process of fielding a new assault rifle, replacing the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) that was first fielded three decades ago. A replacement for the locally-developed 5.56x45mm INSAS has been in the works for several years, but as with many Indian defence projects, it has faced several delays. The country’s experience with the INSAS and its technical shortcomings has seen the Indian MoD opt for a rifle design from a foreign vendor, which will be manufactured locally.

India Selects Russian AK-203 This year, India finally selected the Russian AK-203 chambered for 7.62x39mm, which will be built locally in Amethi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. This facility was inaugurated in March 2019

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is run by Indo-Russian Rifles Private, a joint venture between Rosoboronexport, Kalashnikov Concern (part of Rostec) and India’s Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

A manufacturing contract for 670,000 units is expected to be signed following

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Russia is fielding the new Kalashnikov AK-12/15, while India will locally-manufacture and field the less advanced AK-203 to replace its technically deficient INSAS rifle.

approval by authorities, possibly at the end of October, with final production numbers likely to be around 750,000.

Around 40,000 units are expected to be built in Russia and exported to India to meet urgent operational requirements, with initial work in India to be the assembly of knock-down kits, which will then ramp up to component and

sub-assembly manufacturing for greater transfer of technology and indigenisation.

Local reports suggest that the deal will value each rifle at $1,000.

The 200-series’ of Russian AKs (available in 5.45mm, 5.56mm and 7.62mm) retain much of the features of previous AK designs but have been updated to improve areas such as

ergonomics and a t t a c h i n g accessories. The AK-203 now features a telescoping buttstock (four positions) so that soldiers can adjust as needed; this can also be folded to reduce the rifle’s overall length. The rifle also features Picatinny rails on the top of the rifle, and on the bottom of the new polymer handguard to attach sights, lasers, lights or other accessories. A tab has been added to the fire selector lever for easier operation with the trigger finger, while the rifle itself retains the AK’s reliable long-stroke gas piston system.

As well as the AK-203 - which will be the service rifle for most Indian Army soldiers - the country’s MoD has also committed to buy 72,400 SIG716 rifles from US company Sig Sauer. The order was announced by Sig Sauer in February 2019, with the company confirming that the rifles will be manufactured in the US, rather than in India. The 4.3kg SIG716 features a 16in barrel and short stroke piston design, and fires the 7.62x51mm

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IWI recently revealed its latest rifle, the Carmel, which addresses several demands particularly around modularity for the user and weight reduction.

NATO round. It is not known when the Indian Army will receive its first examples. Making India’s small arms procurement more complicated is the reported purchase of nearly 100,000 5.56x45mm carbine rifles from UAE company Caracal International, known as the CAR 816. Once again, the status of this order is unknown.

Vietnam is another country that

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is refreshing its small arms inventory and has recently completed a new rifle manufacturing facility in the country with the help of Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) to replace older AK-47s in the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) with the Galil ACE 31/32. Ronen Hamudot, VP marketing and sales at SK Group (which owns IWI), said this was an example of one of the company’s “mega projects” in terms

| Asian Military Review |

of technology transfers and indigenous manufacturing. “They selected the ACE because they have a lot of 7.62x39mm ammunition and magazines, and so we designed and developed it with them,” he explained. “In Vietnam it is full production, they manufacture everything and are totally independent.”

IWI has even subcontracted the Vietnamese facility to manufacture

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standards with a full length Picatinny rail on the top for accessory attachment, as well as a telescoping buttstock and adjustable cheek piece. Weight has also been addressed with the use of polymer for several components.

Over the last 12 months, IWI has also revealed two new rifles that have been developed, including the 5.56x45mm Carmel and the AR-15 based ARAD. The former is a brand new design that addresses key demands in the rifle market, including an innovative ambidextrous charging handle that can be swapped to either side without disassembling the rifle, as well as other ambidextrous

controls such as magazine release, bolt catch and thumb-operated fire selector switch. Modularity is increased with an adjustable/collapsable buttstock that offers six positions, as well as an adjustable cheek rest. The Carmel is 3.3kg, with weight savings gained by using polymers and aviation-grade aluminium.

The ARAD meanwhile is based on the AR-15 design but introduces some ergonomic improvements, such as being fully ambidextrous, as well as being available in several barrel lengths and calibres - including the increasingly popular .300 BLK used by special forces and law enforcement. AMR

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HF radio can be used in mobile, as well as fixed and man-pack configurations. In the Asia-Pacific high frequency communications have been particularly attractive to special forces troops.

HF RADIO: STILL VALID AFTER 100 YEARS Discovered almost one century ago, High Frequency (HF) radio has

never lost its appeal thanks to its ability to move traffic across long distances, and its resilience to electronic attack.

C

onfusingly, High Frequency (HF) radio is also known as shortwave radio. The same terms cover radio traffic using a waveband of three megahertz/MHz to 30MHz. The shortwave moniker comes from the length of the radio waves but this can be deceptive. Three megahertz radio transmissions have a wavelength of

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by Thomas Withington almost 100 metres/m (328.1 feet/ft), reducing to almost ten metres (32.8ft) for 30MHz transmissions. At first blush such wavelengths seem rather long. The reason for the name was that in the heady days of radio in the early 20th century, shortwave did indeed use transmissions much shorter than long wave and medium wave. Medium wave transmissions, in a waveband of

| Asian Military Review |

300 kilohertz (kHz) to three megahertz (MHz), has wavelengths of 999.3m (3,278.5ft) to 100m, with long wave communications using transmissions of 3kHz (99.8 kilometres/62 miles) and 300kHz, although exact definitions of the upper limit of long wave remain fluid.

The breakthrough in shortwave radio occurred in June and July 1923. Guglielmo Marconi, the father of radio, working

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with the British radio pioneer Charles Samuel Franklin, performed a series of experimental radio transmissions using a 3MHz frequency. These were made from Poldhu Wireless Station in Cornwall, southwest England, to the yacht Elettra, owned by Marconi, in the Cape Verde Islands, 2,337.1 nautical miles (nm)(4,228.3km) away off the coast of West Africa. Further experiments took place in September 1924 during which transmissions on a frequency of 12.4MHz were performed, this time transmitting between Poldhu and Marconi’s yacht moored off Beirut. Two months before, Marconi had concluded contracts with the UK General Post Office to provide shortwave telegraph services between London and Australia, Canada, India and South Africa. The appeal of shortwave communications then continued to spread largely unabated until the resurgence of underwater intercontinental telecommunications cables from the mid-1950s, and the advent of Satellite Communications (SATCOM) triggered by the launch of the US’ Project SCORE

(Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment); the world’s first purpose-built communications satellite, on 18 December 1958.

Despite advances in the undersea cable and SATCOM domains, HF communications are still in use. For example, radio amateurs use parts of the HF band to communicate with their contacts around the world. More mysteriously, so-called ‘Numbers Stations’ which transmit audible series of numbers via automated broadcasts, regularly employ the HF waveband.

Such transmissions are thought to be used by governments and intelligence agencies for coded communications with intelligence agents around the world.

The military is also an avid user of HF. Martin Johnson, director of business development at Barrett Communications believes that HF has remained attractive to militaries because “once you own HF radio equipment, you can deploy it in any way you want. It does not rely on satellite links or infrastructure from any third party.” HF radios can be used in man-

pack, fixed or vehicular forms making them highly versatile. HF is also highly cost-effective compared to SATCOM; he argues. The latter requires dedicated terminals and antennas, not to mention the satellites themselves, or leased satellite bandwidth if the nation in questions does not possess its own spacecraft. The only expense with HF communications is the radio itself: “HF capability is being increasingly adopted as an alternative to Satellite Communications (SATCOM),” said Nuno Cordeiro, sales engineer at EID. Moreover HF can penetrate jungle and forest tree canopies which can physically obscure Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF) communications (30MHz to three gigahertz). Therefore in the Asia-Pacific “where forests and jungle are an obstacle to standard transmissions, HF remains the only way to keep forces connected,” notes a written statement supplied to AMR by Thales. The lack of required infrastructure for HF has benefits to users in the Asia-Pacific: “Light HF infrastructure enables a quick

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deployment to restore communications in damaged environments, in the case of natural disasters” the statement continued. Sadly the Asia-Pacific is no stranger to calamities. As this article was being written in mid-October, Typhoon Hagibis had killed almost 100 people in the Kanto region of Japan which includes Tokyo. The ability to rapidly activate beyond line-of-sight communications in the wake of such disasters can save lives and accelerate the clean-up. Faisal Munir, vice president and general manager of international sales for tactical communications at L3Harris adds that “most countries in the Asia-Pacific have a large land mass with a few densely populated cities. Armies find it difficult to provide communications coverage with standard commercial or line-ofsight radios.” Munir continues that HF is particularly attractive to special forces in the region. Furthermore, HF is routinely used to support command and control nets at the battalion, brigade and division headquarters levels. L3Harris counts the armies of the Philippines and Pakistan as regional forces using the firm’s AN/PRC-

150C and RF-7800H-MP HF man-pack radios.

The Pros and Cons of HF Why is HF so attractive? Put simply, ionospheric reflection. The ionosphere is an upper layer of the atmosphere between 60km (37.3 miles) and 1,000km (621.5 miles) altitude. This is electrically charged layer cannot be penetrated by HF transmissions. Instead, they hit the ionosphere and bounce back to Earth which allows HF communications to achieve their intercontinental ranges.

However, HF has trade-offs. The time of day can have an effect on their overthe-horizon ranges. During the day, HF transmissions of twelve megahertz and above can travel further than those below and vice versa at night. The ionosphere itself is split into layers. The D layer, at an altitude of 60km to 90km (60 miles) only forms during daytime when sunlight breaks atoms into free electrons and ions.

Solar flares also make their presence felt.

This phenomenon is caused when the sun spits out plasma beyond the corona.

These eruptions are accompanied by

significant amounts of radiation. If the ejection of the material is in the direction of earth, particles generated by these eruptions can penetrate the ionosphere.

This can cause the auroras associated with the Arctic and Antarctic regions and, given the disturbance it causes in the atmosphere, can seriously disrupt HF. The other disadvantage of HF is that the weight of communications it can carry are restricted compared to V/UHF. Up until quite recently, for example, HF radio could be restricted to carry data at rates of up to 9.6 kilobits-per-second (kbps). This is in distinct contrast to the megabit-persecond (Mbps) data rates which can be carried by UHF communications.

Barrett has enjoyed healthy sales of its HF radios in the Asia-Pacific region, and Johnson counts the armed forces of Bangladesh, Fiji and Indonesia amongst its customers. The company says that the intuitive nature of its HF transceivers make them easy to use and repair, while a competitive price and training options have made their radios attractive to those within and without the region. The company will launch a new range of fixed, man-pack and vehicular HF transceivers in April 2020 in the form of its PRC-4090 series, which was showcased during the Defence and Security Exhibition International (DSEI) held in London this September. These radios will handle Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, have a touch screen for ease of use and the multiple languages for operation.

Renaissance

Barrett Communications remains a market leader in the HF radio domain. Its new PRC-4090 transceiver includes several innovations such as an intuitive touch screen.

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| Asian Military Review |

The appeal of HF is reflected in the continued technological innovation within the domain. During DSEI Collins Aerospace exhibited its new URG-IV HF wideband radio. This has already received some orders from European and US users, although company officials declined to provide additional information on the identity of these customers. HF radios have been hampered in the past due to their bandwidth. Legacy HF radios offered typical bandwidths of 3kHz. The URGIV provides up to 48kHz of bandwidth, company officials told AMR. This lets the radio carry IP traffic in real time, perform file transfers and handle video. This has been made possible by seemingly small, but nevertheless significant, innovations.

The US Department of Defence’ Military Standard-188-110B (MIL-STD-188-110B) specifies requirements for HF modems.

This provides bandwidths sufficient to carry up to 9.6kbps of data as this protocol

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has allocated 24kHz of bandwidth for HF transmissions. Likewise, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s Standardisation Agreement 4539 (STANAG 4539) provides up to 200kHz of HF bandwidth to NATO members.

The result is a step change in HF’s capacity: “Nowadays HF communications can deliver data rates of up to 240kbps, with 48kHz bandwidth channels, in good propagation conditions” says Cordeiro.

As the Thales statement noted: “HF communications are more secure … and more resistant to jamming than other communications.” Firstly, HF transmission rely on Lowest Usable Frequency (LUF) and Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) confinements. The former is the HF frequency giving the ideal signal-to-noise ratio across a given time period on 90 percent of days each month. The MUF is the highest frequency that can be used for ionospheric transmissions on 50 percent of days per month. These LUF and MUF are not fixed.

Thus HF transmissions have to adapt to the prevailing LUF/MUF conditions.

To jam HF communications operators have to know the frequencies their adversary plans to use for HF jamming to be effective. Although available HF bandwidths have increased as enshrined

by MIL-STD-188-110B and STANAG 4539 HF transmissions can still occupy a narrow band and because of the vast distances HF signals travel signals can be very weak when they arrive at their destination. This weakness allows transmissions to be masked by prevailing electromagnetic noise making it hard for communications intelligence operatives to detect the signal of interest. Johnson said this often results in a very low signal-to-noise ratio, with the risk that transmissions can ‘hide’ in the prevailing electromagnetic noise.

Another motivating factor for the renaissance in HF is the emerging vulnerability of SATCOM. Satellite communications are at risk from kinetic attack and jamming. Spacecraft face a physical risk from Surface-to-air Missiles (SAMs): On 27 March India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) performed a test of an AntiSatellite (ASAT) weapon, in the form of a DRDO PRV Mk.II SAM. This was used to destroy the DRDO’s Microsat-R earth observation satellite during an ASAT test.

L3Harris’ AN/PRC-150C HF man-pack radio has won several customers in the AsiaPacific region, with the armies of the Philippines and Pakistan being notable customers.

Meanwhile, SATCOM can be the target of electronic attack. The Russian Army’s Protek R-330ZH Zhitel electronic warfare system is said to be capable of jamming the INMARSAT (International Maritime Satellite) which uses a waveband of 1.525GHz to 1.646GHz, and the Iridium constellation (1.616GHz to 1.626GHz).

Given that open sources state this jammer can cover a waveband of 100 megahertz to two gigahertz, a host of other SATCOM systems could be vulnerable including Thuraya (1.525GHz to 1.661GHz). The R-330ZH is believed to have supported recent Russian deployments to the Ukraine and Syrian theatres of operation.

The Thales statement notes that “as military users became increasingly concerned about the vulnerability of satellites to jamming and physical damage (they have) wondered how wise it was to depend exclusively on them?”

Innovation Thales argues that HF communications have been revolutionised over the past decades. Alongside the widening of the bandwidth available for HF military communications, the advent of ALE (Automatic Link Establishment) has greatly eased its use. ALE takes a digital approach to initiating and managing HF communications providing a robust link even during challenging environmental phenomena. This has made HF more secure and reliable. The firm is currently developing what is claims will be the world’s first cognitive HF radio. For the uninitiated, cognitive radio refers to transceivers and communications networks which sense their environment, and react accordingly based upon previously observed situations. For example, if an HF radio has experienced particularly heavy jamming on a

| november 2019 |

particular frequency, but not on another, the radio may automatically switch to a similarly unjammed frequency when it experiences similar jamming in the future without necessarily alerting the operator.

Similarly, a radio maybe capable of realising how much HF bandwidth in its locale is usable, and thus tailoring its transmissions appropriately. Needless to say, artificial intelligence and machine learning lies at the heart of the cognitive radio approach. Thales has developed its HF XL concept. According to Thales’ statement this approach sees the radio ascertaining how much HF bandwidth maybe available. This may not be available in a single block but instead take the form of several discontinuous small blocks of bandwidth. HF XL will consolidate these into a single block of frequency. This, the company argues, “offers long-term resilience of a high-datarate, long-distance HF link under any propagation conditions and regardless of variations in the HF spectrum.

Instead of using a single channel with more bandwidth, Thales has opted for a transmission over multiple channels that guarantees a continuous service, and is less vulnerable to jamming and interference.” The firm added that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NATO) is currently in the process of standardising the HF XL protocols. L3Harris anticipates an ever-growing demand for data on the battlefield, and HF technology will need to keep up: “We believe that the need for more data on the battlefield will continue to evolve high speed waveforms in the HF arena,” Munir concludes. HF radio will soon to celebrate its centenary. It remains as relevant now as it was in the pioneering days of Messrs. Franklin and Marconi with its attributes still showing potential for expansion. AMR

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JR Ng

The J-20 fifth-generation multirole fighter is the PLAAF’s current principal air superiority platform.

RISING DRAGONS: CHINA’S FIGHTER DEVELOPMENT COMES OF AGE

China’s military aviation industry today much advanced from that which relied on exports, although top-line engine production still holds it back.

T

by JR Ng

he formation flight of five stealthy fifth-generation J-20 multirole combat aircraft over the Chinese capital of Beijing during the military parade commemorating the 70th year of the People Republic of China’s (PRC’s) founding on 1 October marks a watershed in indigenous fighter aircraft development.

It can be hard to believe that China›s military aerospace industries have advanced from reverse-engineering Soviet/Russian third- and fourthgeneration aircraft to being one of only three nations – the two others being Russia and the United States – to be capable of developing and manufacturing aircraft of this class today.

Like many other contemporary military industrial powers, China’s goal for its nascent aerospace industry in the 1950s was eventual self-reliance and subsequently global exports. However, without an aviation history to base this on, it attempted to lay the foundations by acquiring foreign aircraft and subsystems, initially from the Soviet Union and reengineering these to address knowledge

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gaps.

However, these early efforts were derailed by the isolation imposed by the Cultural Revolution and the subsequent freeze in Sino-Soviet relations. As a consequence of this unfavourable trinity of political chaos, underfunding and limited access to new foreign technology, earlier indigenously produced platforms and subsystems often suffered from long lead times in research and development (R&D) and poor quality control.

Industry consolidation Since the early 1990s it has been apparent that China’s political and military leadership were displeased with the country’s inability to produce world-class products. In 1999 China reorganised its then 440,000-strong pool of state-employed aerospace engineers into two large corporate conglomerates, placing most military and large aircraft development in the Aviation Industry of China (AVIC) 1 and tasking AVIC 2 with development of trainers and helicopters, with the goal of spurring greater domestic competition. AVIC, however,

| Asian Military Review |

turned out to be a monolithic bureaucracy that exercised control over still existing aircraft and component companies. As a result, redundancy became particularly acute.

Sweeping structural and financial reforms that followed changed the landscape of China’s military aviation industry. In 2008 and 2009 AVIC 1 and 2 were consolidated into present-day AVIC, with around 420,000 employees and 100 commercial and military aviation-related companies.

Since 2009, the corporation has brokered partnerships with local governments across China to improve its own capabilities as well as to spur private innovation. It has also imported highprecision and technologically advanced machine tools, electronics, and other components that can also be used in the production of military aircraft.

Reforms are focused on the adaptation of dual-use technologies for military purposes and accelerating capabilities through indigenous research and development programmes. Finally, government-led initiatives will also aim to enhance its presence in international markets, particularly in traditionally Western or Russian-dominated ones, to supply local industries with greater access to both dual-use technologies it requires and create additional funds that can be channelled towards defence R&D. A notable aspect of the Chinese aviation industry is the close collaboration between the civilian and military aviation sectors, and the potential for commercial advances to fuel developments in the military sector. China’s defence industry has benefited from integration with China’s rapidly expanding civilian economy and science and technology sector, particularly elements that have access to foreign technology. Progress within individual defence sectors appears to be linked to the entwinement of each – through China’s civilian economy – into the global production and research and development R&D chain.

“China has invested heavily in new materials to enable lighter stronger airframes and that allow higher temperatures needed for high performance engines,” Colonel Fan Yang, a researcher at the PLA National Defense University, told AMR. “[For example] the initial composite materials developed for use in the J-10 were tested by a foreign-sourced laboratory to ensure sufficient strength and durability,”

AIR power

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JR Ng

power

The J-10B seen at Airshow China 2018 with its impressive complement of armaments.

Colonel Fan said, noting that domestic expertise composite material fabrication had grown due to concurrent activities in the commercial sector such as airline component production work that Airbus and Boeing had set up in China. An ability to build large composite material airframes and skin of satisfactory strength had contributed greatly improve China’s ability to produce stealthy fifthgeneration aircraft designs, as well as modern, efficient civil and military transports.

Finally, several financial initiatives launched by the CCP government have allowed state-owned firms to tap on resources from other companies, internal funds, and foreign investment for product development. Analysts point to the FC-1 Xiaolong /JF-17 Thunder project, which was jointly developed by AVIC’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC) subsidiary and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and subsidised by Pakistani funds. The collaboration was reasonably successful, with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) procuring Block I and II single-seat JF-17 and two-seat JF-17Bs, while securing exports to Nigeria and Myanmar. Azerbaijan and Iran have also expressed strong interest in the type.

Indigenous progress The Chinese fighter aircraft sector has made some remarkable advancement over the past 20 years. For example, CAC’s J-10 Menglong (Vigorous Dragon) programme conceived in the 1980s can be considered the most important domestic fighter project of the past two decades, representing a watershed moment for

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indigenous aerospace industry – even if Russian and Israeli assistance was suspected – when it entered People’s Liberation Air Force (PLAAF) service in 2003.

While deliveries of the J-10A have proceeded at pace over the intervening 10 years, deliveries of the initial model ceased around 2013 following the rollout of the improved J-10B, which has been provided with a strengthened airframe featuring a redesigned chin intake aimed at reducing weight and detectability, as well as a more powerful Russian-made Salyut AL-31FN Series 3 engine offering around 134.4kN of thrust.

In terms of radar and avionics, the J-10B has also benefited from a passive electronically scanned array (PESA) version of the original mechanically scanned KLJ-3 radar developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET), an electro-optical targeting suite comprising an infrared search and track (IRST) and laser rangefinder, as well as a rear-aspect missile approach warning system (MAWS).

The latest variant of the J-10 is the J-10C, which made its maiden flight in December 2013 and features a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar of unknown designation, improved avionics including a new datalink for the PL-15 beyond visual range anti-air missile (BVRAAM), and increased use of composite material in the airframe. The type entered service in April 2018.

In November 2018, a J-10B testbed equipped with the indigenously developed WS-10 engine with a thrust

| Asian Military Review |

vectoring control (TVC) module from AVIC’s Shenyang-based Liming AeroEngine Company was revealed to the public for the first time during the biennial Airshow China exhibition.

The WS-10 engine is a derivative of the model used to power the Shenyang Aircraft Company’s (SAC’s) J-11B fighter aircraft, a reverse-engineered copy of the twin engine Russian Sukhoi Su-27.

The TVC nozzle has reportedly been developed not just for late model J-10 aircraft, but also as part of the new WS15 engine program that is destined for the J-20.

Ultimately, more than 600 J-10s are expected to enter service with the PLAAF to eventually replace earlier models of the CAC J-7 fighter-bombers, which entered service in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Simultaneously, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) has apparently moved beyond its troubled twin-engine J-11B air superiority fighter programme, which is essentially derived from reverseengineered technology from imported and locally assembled Russian Sukhoi Su-27 airframes to fielding the advanced J-16 strike fighter. The latest incarnation features substantial improvements including a reduced radar cross-section (RCS), a strengthened airframe and an improved AESA fire-control radar, as well as a new flight-control system, glass cockpit and the Liming WS-10B engine.

A new electronic warfare (EW) variant of J-16, known as the J-16D, was first sighted in December 2015. Featuring a shorter nosecone believed to house an AESA radar and large wingtip pods with vertical antennas, as well as the removal of the IRST and cannon for additional EW mission equipment and ventral antennas, the type is expected to enter service by around 2020.

Fifth-generation fervour Known as the Weilong (Mighty Dragon), the twin-engine CAC J-20 was the first of the Chinese fifth-generation military aircraft developments to be officially acknowledged when a prototype completed a 21-minute maiden flight in January 2011, a revelation that had been carefully timed with the visit of then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

The baseline J-20 is a single-seat multirole fighter featuring canards for increased manoeuvrability and lowobservability features such as twin, outward-canted, serrated edge landing gear doors, and an internal weapons bay.

AIR

The J-20 is also equipped with a chinmounted electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) that appears to be comparable to the one found on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Low-rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft are believed to have been fitted with the domestic WS-10B engine, although conflicting reports have also suggested that these LRIP aircraft feature a heavily modified version of the Russian 99M2 (AL-31FM2). However, it is known that serial production J-20s will be equipped with the domestic WS-15 engine that is believed to offer TVC and super-cruise performance.

Running concurrent to the development of the J-20 is the FC/J-31, or Shen Fei (Falcon Eagle). Although the existence of ‹another› fifth-generation aircraft had been rumoured for more than a decade, it was not until late 2012 that the first images of what was later to become known as the FC/J-31 were published.

These images showed the singleseat FC/J-31 to be considerably smaller than the J-20, suggesting that it might make up the ‹low› end of a ‹high-low› fifth-generation capability mix with its larger stablemate. The general design characteristics of the FC/J-31 - low aspectratio wings and tailplanes of trapezoidal planform; chined fuselage, with forwardswept engine intakes; outward-canted twin vertical fins; and internal weapons carriage - are fairly typical of today›s crop of fifth-generation fighters, and indicate at least some degree of stealth.

As with the J-20, the FC/J-31 is a twin-engined design and is also currently powered by Russian turbofans (Klimov RD-93s) with an indigenous Chinese powerplant expected to be fitted for production-standard aircraft.

Engine conundrum The chief weakness of China’s military aerospace industry remains its aeroengine sector, particularly its inability to mass-produce reliable high-performance turbofan engines to support contemporary and future aircraft developments. For example, the maiden flight in 1998 of the J-10 is thought to have been delayed by nearly two years, in part due to redesign work necessary to accommodate the Russian-made AL-31FN engine, rather than the intended domestic WS-10 engine.

However, even as the prospect of continued dependency on Russian engines remains likely for the near future, Chinese efforts into advancing indigenous

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JR Ng

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The JF-17 has found export success in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Myanmar.

jet engine technology is increasing. Most notably is the establishment of the state-owned Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) to address longstanding domestic capability shortfalls in commercial and military aero-engine development and production.

AECC was was formed by merging related AVIC subsidiaries, including AVIC Aero-Engine Controls, AVIC Aviation Engine (formerly Xian AeroEngine Corporation), Sichuan Chengfa Aero Science and Technology, as well as unlisted companies such as the Liyang Aero-Engine Corporation and Liming Aero-Engine Manufacturing Corporation.

It had a registered capital of $7.6 billion and a staff strength of approximately 96,000 workers during its inception.

According to official statements, AECC is responsible for the design, development, production, and support of military and commercial aircraft engines with a core focus on fixed-wing platforms although it will also support rotary aircraft engines as a secondary function.

The company launched a dedicated research institute, the Aero Engine Academy of China (AEAC), in December 2016. Based in Beijing, the new academy will lead the company’s R&D efforts and support nationwide efforts in aero-engine production.

AVIC said in a statement that the AEAC will accelerate domestic development of aero-engines and related technologies.

“This will be achieved through integrating [indigenous] aero-engine

| Asian Military Review |

R&D capability, enhancing related manufacturing technologies and providing AECC with strong technical support,” the company stated.

Earlier this year, AECC announced during its supply-chain conference held in Jiangsu province from 20-21 May that it had grown its ability to source, build, and support aircraft powerplants by outsourcing component manufacturing to privately owned enterprises. The move is line with the CCP government’s desire to expand local private-sector participation in manufacturing commercial and military aero-engines “In the past year the outsourcing of components continued to grow, quality control processes were effectively introduced, performance evaluations continued to be strengthened, and communication channels between AECC and its suppliers were smoother and more efficient,” the AECC said in a statement made through the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).

Further plans are underway to deepen private-sector integration into national aero-engine supply chains and develop approaches to enhance production efficiencies and product quality.

“The [ultimate] goal is to stay on course on supply management, actively promote domestic supply-chain production and integrate military-civilian resources, and provide our armed forces with quality products and services,” Colonel Fan noted. AMR

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land warfare

Ballistic Missile Shields Obtaining a ballistic missile defence

capability adds another layer to a nation’s nuclear and/or conventional deterrence.

Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system.

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n 30 August at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, Lockheed Martin’s tested its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by intercepting a mediumrange ballistic missile (MRBM) target.

It successfully detected and tracked the incoming missile before firing a missile to intercept the intruder after developing a fire control solution. The missile was launched from a remotely located site.

According to Richard McDaniel, vice

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Lockheed Martin

by Debalina Ghoshal

president of Upper Tier Integrated Air and Missile Defense Systems at Lockheed Martin, “the test paves the way for delivery of an urgent need capability that will enhance THAAD’s emplacement options resulting in greater asset protection.”

This was the 16th successful intercept in 16 attempts for the THAAD system since 2005.

Developing Ballistic Missile Defence Nation states can enhance their deterrence

| Asian Military Review |

posture by making any aggressor reevaluate their own vulnerabilities should they launch a ballistic missile attack.

Missile defence became an option for deterrence by denial when almost all nonproliferation activities failed to counter existing and emerging ballistic missile threats. This article will examine some of the latest systems regarding ballistic missile detection and defence.

Countries including the United States, Russia, China and India all either have, or are looking at obtaining, sophisticated ballistic missile detection and defence systems, which can not only counter threats from ballistic missiles but also counter cruise missile systems.

The United States has developed both THAAD and Patriot-3 systems as components of its Global Protection against Limited Strikes (GPALS). Back in 2000, the cost estimates for just these two programmes was $12 billion. Earlier this year the United States fielded THAAD into Israel. It has also deployed the THAAD system into South Korea in March 2017. It has also been deployed to Romania and Guam. The US has also offered it for purchase to India as an alternative to Russia’s S-400 system.

In January 2018, Lockheed Martin secured an additional order of $459 million from the US Missile Defence Agency (MDA) to develop THAAD bringing the overall total invested to $1.28 billion with funding provided in 2017 and 2018.

The estimated range of THAAD missiles is 125 miles (200 km), up to an altitude of 93 miles (150km) although exact figures are still classified. A complete THAAD battery will have around six launch vehicles, each with eight missiles, two mobile tactical operations centres (TOCs) and the AN/TPY-2 groundbased radar (GBR). This is a long-range, very high-altitude active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar provided by Raytheon which has a range up to 2,900 miles (4,700km).

The AN/TPY radar operates in the X-band of the electromagnetic spectrum enabling it to see targets more clearly.

The radar is capable of detecting ballistic missiles as they rise, and also can guide interceptors toward a descending warhead.

South Korea not only is fielding the US THAAD, but is also working on its indigenous Korean Air and Missile Defence System (KAMD) in which it plans to defeat enemy missile systems

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Missile Defence Agency

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Aegis Ashore is the land-based component of the US Ballistic Missile Defense System and will use the same components that will be used onboard the US Navy Aegis BMD Destroyers.

through a ‘kill chain’. South Korea already operates the PAC-2 and more advanced PAC-3 systems as a part of its lower altitude interception along with its Medium Range Surface-to-Air (M-SAM) missiles. The M-SAM costs $800million while $1billion has already been devoted to the development of the L-SAM. The L-SAM reportedly would have the ‘high divert’ maneuvering system. South Korea has also expressed interest to buy ship based SM-3 interceptors. All these systems would provide South Korea a multi layered defence capability with versatile launch pads.

The United States is also developing the Aegis Ashore defence system for the naval defence capability. In August 2019, the US Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a contract valued at $80million for electronic equipment upgrades to the Aegis Modernisation Program. The US is also developing land based variant called Aegis Ashore and a sale to Japan has already been approved by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency which cleared the purchase of a pair of land-based Aegis ballistic missile defense systems at a cost of around $2.15billion.

The system will be capable of intercepting both ballistic and cruise missiles and the deal to Japan included not just the defence system but sub-systems too.

Australia is also working on missile defence capability owing to the threat from North Korea and China. Australia is seeking to develop an Integrated Air

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and Missile Defence (IAMD) and multi domain battle management system that would require the amalgamation of over the horizon (OTH) radar technologies, sensor suites and distributed networks.

Australia’s Jindalee OTH radar supports ballistic missile defence operations and its normal operating range is 1000km3000kms. At present, BAE Systems is conducting an upgrade programme of the Jindalee OTHR that will take ten years to complete.

All the countries including Australia that possesses the Aegis defence ships, would be able to defend against regional ballistic missile threats and also enable long range surveillance and tracking of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).

The United States is also developing Kill Vehicles including Multiple Object Kill Vehicles to defeat multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles and Multiple Kill Vehicles (MKVs) to defeat multiple re-entry vehicles (MRVs).

Chinese A-SAT China has progressed with Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) tests, with results leading across to ballistic missile defence. it is however acquiring the Russian S-400 Triumf under a $4 billion deal. However the first shipment was reportedly damaged en route in the English Channel and had to be replaced. According to Russia’s director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Dmitry Shugayev, the delivery of the S-400s to

| Asian Military Review |

China would now be completed by the end of 2020 The air and missile defence system is ground based and can shoot down targets at distance of 600kms away and at an altitude of up to 27 kilometres. It reportedly can simultaneously engage 36 targets, and is viewed to be one of the most sophisticated air and missile defence systems. China is also working on counter-space capabilities that include ground laser weapons to destroy space based sensors.

China’s A-SAT capabilities could be used as space-based interceptors though the task of destroying satellites is far less complex than ballistic missiles. The China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CPMIEC) has developed the FD-2000 - the HQ-9 versions of air and missile defence system that can intercept aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and also cruise missiles. It has a two level command and control capability that could also control and command other air defence systems turning it into a layered defence system.

The system can allegedly hit targets up to a range of 200kms and altitudes of 30,000metres. Though its single shot kill probability is low against ballistic missiles as compared to aircraft, the fact that the system possesses the capability, enhances its deterrence value against the ballistic missiles of adversaries.

The HQ-9 versions of defence systems are both ground-based and naval based (HHQ-9 and HHQ-9A) and are broadly equivalent to the Russian S-300 air and missile defence systems. The HQ19, an upgraded version of the HQ-9 is reportedly a Chinese version of the US THAAD system. Beijing is also working on sea-based anti-missile system as a ‘deterrence by denial’ option in the South China Sea. The cost and progress of development of the system is not yet know.

India too has developed ballistic missile defence capabilities under the guidance of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is a two tier missile defence system - the Prithvi Defence Vehicle for intercepting targets in exa-atmosphere and Advance Air Defence System for intercepting targets at endo-atmosphere. In 2018 during a bilateral summit, India signed a $5.5 billion contract with Russia for five S-400 Triumf systems, although the US has proposed a counter-offer to sell PAC3 and THAAD systems as an alternative.

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Regional M i l i t a r i e s

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, right, greeting his new Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto during the latter's inauguration.

THE POLITICS OF DEFENCE

Will the controversial new Defence Minister use his position to continue armed forces modernisation or further his own political ambitions?

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by Andrew Drwiega

he surprising appointment of Prabowo Subianto as the new Indonesian Minister of Defence does not bode well for Indonesia’s international reputation or potentially its political stability. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) defeated Prabowo twice in presidential elections, in 2014 and again earlier this year. When he refused to accept that Jokowi had officially been declared the winner, his supporters caused civil unrest and violence - something he did little to prevent.

That Jokowi now has him as the Minister of Defence says more about the murky undercurrent of party politics in Indonesia that it does about his suitability as the best man for the job. In 1998 he was banned from the United States due to alleged human rights violations. The question remains whether he will use his new position for political gains, perhaps undermining Jokowi, rather than continuing to modernise Indonesia’s

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armed forces.

He does have military experience; a retired Lieutenant General his service included serving as a commander in the Kopassus (Komando Pasukan Khusus) Indonesia’s Special Forces - and finally as head of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) in 1998.

Defence Budget Priorities Welfare costs, which have been boosted over the past few years under Jokowi, are a significant drain on the defence budget.

According to a report in The Diplomat magazine (31/10/19): “More than half of the 2020 defence budget has been allocated for employee expenditure.”

Will Probowo keep the pace of Indonesia’s modernisation strategy, entitled Minimum Essential Force (MEF), which enters a third phase from 20202024. It has been focused on encouraging indigenous industry to increase its supply base into defence procurement, through Defense Industry Law 2012 (also called

| Asian Military Review |

Law 16). Where foreign equipment is acquired, the contract also requires the foreign organisation to work through local firms, such as PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in the case of military aviation.

In the latest government budget, the Ministry of Defense received a 16 percent increase year-on-year, rising from $7.68 billion to $8.9 billion. Given Indonesia’s archipelago status, with over 17,000 islands, and its history of involvement in insurgencies and against separatist movements such as in Papua and East Timor.

With China’s South China Sea expansion butting up to Indonesian territory in the shape of the Natuna Islands, Indonesia has been quick to open up a military base in Selat Lampa on Natuna Besar Island. Skirmishes to date have been focused on illegal fishing in Indonesian waters by Chinese fishing boats - with several having been sunk by the Navy.

From Brown to Blue Water At the start of 2018, The Diplomat reported that “the Indonesian navy, with its Navy Blueprint 2013, aims to have a 274-ship force structure, 12 submarines, and three independent fleets operating across the country by 2024.”

It has sought to transition from a coast ‘brown water’ force to one with more powerful vessels that are better armed and have longer range. One of the areas of focus for the TNI-AI is the expansion of the submarine fleet.

On 11 April this year, the state owned PT PAL (Penataran Angkatan Laut) shipyard launched the Alugoro, the first diesel-electric submarine to be built in Indonesia although the third in the Nagapasa-class submarine, the first two being built by DSME in South Korea. These are in fact upgraded builtunder-license German Type 209/1200 boats. Additional submarines are slated to be build in Surabaya. The president of PT PAL, Budiman Saleh revealed that his company would build nine more submarines as part of the DSME1400 project.

In addition to new fast attack craft, the TNI-AL has also invested in hospital ships. The first, build by PT PAL and based on a Type 124 Landing Dock design was handed over to its naval operators in January. As well as medical facilities, it can sail at 16 knots, carry and operate three helicopters, two landing craft, and a range

Regional

of vehicles and additional personnel. The second vessel, commissioned in July has an expected delivery date of 2021.

The Marine Corps in Indonesia will receive fighting vehicles from Russia following a deal with Rosoboronexport (part of the Rostec State Corporation) in April for BMP-3F amphibious vehicles and BT-3F infantry fighting vehicles (of an unknown quantity).

According to a statement by Rosoboronexport, ‘the roof of the BT-3F accommodates a two-plane stabilised remote-controlled combat module with a 12.7mm machine gun…(it is also) equipped with a tele-thermal imaging sight with a laser rangefinder.” The organisation also states that there is good commonality between the BT-3F and BMP-3/BMP-3F which helps to reduce operating expenses and training costs.

PT PAL

M i l i t a r i e s

Launched on 11 April, the Alugoro is the first diesel-electric submarine to be built in Indonesia.

Fighter Investment Perhaps the biggest ongoing aircraft development programme for the TNI-AU is the KAI KF-X/IF-X multirole fighter.

The abbreviation stands for Korean Fighter Xperiment/Indonesia Fighter Xperiment (KFX/IFX).

The cost of this joint development programme is being shared between the South Korean (60 percent) and Indonesian governments (20 percent), and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) which has a commitment to the final 20 percent.

However, the Indonesian Ministry of Defence missed some payments due around 2017 and although payments did begin again, the Indonesian’s have been seeking to renegotiate the deal to snare a greater share of indigenous production as well a better standing regarding export rights.

Indonesia will purchase more BMP-3F infantry fighting vehicles (pictured) and amphibious armoured personnel carriers through Russia's Rosoboronexport trade organisation.

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According to an announcement by South Korea’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) in September, the first KF-X prototype is due to undertake its first test flight by the end of 2021 following the conclusion of the critical design phase earlier this year.

The stated delivery date for the rollout of the first operational KF-X aircraft is sometime during 2026.

Breaking news from Indonesia’s Antara news agency as this issue went to print was the announcement by TNIAU Marshal Yuyu Sutisna, Chief of Staff, that the air force will formally request Lockheed Martin to supply another ‘two squadrons of Lockheed Martin’s newest F-16V Block 72 fighters”. The official request will be made in early January 2020. Indonesia already has 33 F-16s, 24 of which were refurbished F-16s up to near Block 52 standard and that were delivered once an arms embargo was lifted in 2005.

These were added to nine older F-16A/B models that had been delivered in the early 1990s.

The new F-16V Block 72 configuration includes an advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, Only a few months ago on 20 August the US State Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced the approval of a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of 66 F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft Republic of China Air Force.

The TNI-AU is hedging its procurement loyalties however, as it

| Asian Military Review |

still intends to acquire a squadron of Russian Sukhoi Su-35s, which is likely to incur problems with the US government potentially limiting or restricting further sales of military equipment.

At the start of the year, it was announced that the Indonesian Ministry of Defence through PTDI had ordered an additional eight Airbus H225M multirole helicopters to add to the TNI-AU’s existing force of six H225Ms. These 11-ton medium helicopters are well regarded by the TNI-AU, and will again be completed by state-owned PTDI located at Bandung before being released to the military.

“We welcome Indonesia’s selection of our H225M helicopters for their expanding fleet,” said Airbus Helicopters executive vice president, Global Business, Ben Bridge. “With a trusted partner in PTDI, we stand ready to support the availability of Indonesia’s fleet.”

A Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed earlier in the year between the MoD and the state-owned PT Pindad organisation for the procurement of up to 22 Pandur II 8x8 armoured cars. They are originally manufactured by Excalibur Army, a company in the Czech Republic. A similar LoI was also issued in respect of Kaplan MT Modern Medium Weight Tanks (MMWT) developed by Turkish company FNSS Savunma Sistemleri.

The new Defence Minister apparently inherits a good base from which further progress can be made. But will this plan be his plan? AMR

Analyst

C o l u m n

are forward deployed in the western Pacific littorals to threaten Chinese naval interests in periods of exigency. For the uninitiated, the Diversion 1.0 strategy that was devised during the Cold War’s apogee saw American SSNs forward deployed to threaten Soviet nuclearpowered ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs) in their bastions. It was successful to some extent as Moscow had to divert its attention to counter the American SSN challenge. An exact replica of Diversion 1.0 would, however, be unpalatable in the current Asia-Pacific security order given that it would undermine strategic stability by encouraging a ‘use-it-or-loseit’ nuclear-weapons mentality on the part of the Chinese.

A more feasible Diversion 2.0 strategy could see attack boats being forward deployed to threaten the conventional PLA Navy (PLAN). In times of crisis or war, American (and allied) subs could enforce a blockade of major Chinese naval bases that host capital ships, especially aircraft carriers. Given their ‘Queen of the Waves’ status, the Chinese would do well to allocate more resources toward protecting

these assets – resources that could be otherwise be used to threaten American naval forces. As the best ASW weapon is another submarine, the PLAN’s diversion of its subs to counter their American counterparts could enervate the undersea threat it poses to the US Navy.

All that being said, the “Messi” of the US Silent Service that would draw the most attention in Beijing is invariably its most-capable platform: the Virginiaclass attack boat. Indeed, upcoming Virginias equipped with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM) which increases their firepower by some 75 percent are akin to a ‘Messi on steroids.’ After all, such a platform can hold up to 40 of the ship-killing Maritime Tomahawks in its vertical-launch system, making it a primus inter pares amongst anti-surface warfare platforms. A number of VPM-armed Virginias roaming the waters within the First Island Chain during a China-U.S. trial of arms would undoubtedly give the denizens of Zhongnahai (Communist Party Headquarters) a headache of the first order. In this light, the advocacy by various defence analysts that the number

of Virginias built yearly be increased to three from the current two makes sheer good sense.

Going forward, much has been made of how, at the operational level, the Chinese would be attacking and the Americans defending, should the two sides duel in the western Pacific. In such circumstances, perhaps, it is time for the US Navy to seriously consider ‘the Barca model’ in order to reduce the pressure on its surface forces, and what better capability to execute this than its potent attack boats. Indeed, retired US submarine admiral W. J. Holland Jr. once said that a cost-imposing strategy stressing the primacy of submarines is one that seeks “not just victory in war but deterrence by making evident the costs to compete and the prospect of a likely defeat in the event of war.” A 21st-century version of the Cold-War diversion strategy is thus of profound utility also in peacetime, and US naval chieftains would do well to bear this in mind as they grapple with the challenges of todays Great-Power competition. AMR

Analyst C o l u m n

EMPLOYING ‘THE BARCA METHOD’ USING SUBMARINES

By Ben Ho

“O

ffence is the best form of defence” is an adage that has been applied to many forms of competitive endeavours, including sports and military combat. The idea is that one’s offensive posture could preoccupy the other side with defensive tasks and hinder their ability to attack. Being a long-time soccer fan, I have seen this assertion being borne out times aplenty in The Beautiful Game.

Take the example of top Spanish side FC Barcelona, a team that often deploys three attackers around the halfway line while defending a corner kick. Given that the norm is to have one, at most two, players upfield in this situation, it is perhaps an inordinately offensive approach during a defensive situation on Barcelona’s part. This means, however, that the opponent needs to have at least four players directly keeping tabs on these three Barca players, with another one or two patrolling beyond the Barca penalty box as insurance. With players of the quality of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez – two of the world’s top 10 strikers today – among the Barca strikeforce, it would be virtual suicide if the other side did not cover them closely. The upshot of Barca’s offensive posture is that fewer players from the other team are available to exploit corner kicks and other deep attacks.

Let us transpose FC Barcelona’s modus operandi while defending corners (referred to hereafter as the ‘Barca model’) to the realm of the United States’ military competition with China in the western Pacific. Much has been made about how during a notional Sino-American crisis or conflict, the People’s Liberation Army

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(PLA) could hold at risk United States and friendly forces within its burgeoning anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) edifice.

The tables could, however, be turned on the Chinese with the application of the Barca model.

This cost-imposition strategy entails the US deploying platforms that could make the Chinese devote a disproportionate amount of resources on defence; concomitantly reducing the A2/ AD threat to friendly forces. This state of affairs is rather similar to how Messi dilutes opposing defences by drawing away defenders, leaving space for his colleagues to exploit.

The idea behind the Barca model can explain the underpinnings of the ‘maritime pressure’ strategy promulgated recently by a paper entitled Tightening the Chain: Implementing a Strategy of Maritime Pressure in the Western Pacific by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), where the accent is on landbased missile systems to complicate the PLA’s calculus. After all, a single roadmobile missile launcher adopting ‘shootand-scoot’ tactics could tie up significant military resources of an opponent. That said, the CSBA strategy gives relatively scant mention to another platform ideally suited for putting into practice the Barca model – the submarine.

It is a basic premise of military strategy that one’s strengths should be pitted against the adversary’s weaknesses.

Indeed, undersea warfare is one of the few remaining areas where the US still holds an asymmetric edge over the Chinese, especially in the acoustic realm in the short and medium terms. Moreover, Chinese anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities are rather limited, despite

| Asian Military Review |

some advances made in this area in recent years. Hence two American military thinkers, Mark Montgomery and Eric Sayers, are right on point when they argue that, “(a)ttack submarines remain the key to defeating China should deterrence fail… they should be the top investment priority ahead of all other shipbuilding programs.”

History provides various examples where the submarine was able to exert strategic and operational effects disproportionate to its number(s).

During the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, the sinking of the Indian frigate Khukri by the Pakistani submarine Hangor forced the Indian Navy to abort an attack on Karachi. In addition, think of how, during the Falklands War, Argentina scurried its surface fleet, including its sole aircraft carrier, back to port following the sinking of the battleship General Belgrano’s by a Royal Navy submarine. The Argentine navy subsequently played no part in the conflict. On the other side of the coin, the presence of the ARA San Luis in the area of operations forced the British to devote a dozen surface combatants to antisubmarine efforts, but the Argentine boat escaped unscathed even after carrying out a number of – albeit unsuccessful – attacks on Royal Navy ships. In more recent times, such was the furtiveness of the air-independent propulsion submarine that the Indian Navy spent three weeks hunting for the Pakistani Agosta-class boat Saad before it was discovered.

Going Forward An application of the Barca model would see the US submarine force coming up with a Diversion 2.0 strategy where its nuclearpowered hunter-killer boats (SSNs) To be continued on page 41

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