december 2015-january2016 US$15
Volume 23/issue 8
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
MAIN BATTLE TANKS NAVAL RADAR MILITARY MRO CYBER WARFARE CBRN COUINTER-BATTERY RADAR PAKISTAN’s ARMED FORCES
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Contents
december 2015-january 2016 VOLUME 23 / ISSUE 8
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Priority Programmes Pakistan is in the midst of a major modernisation of her armed forces, Thomas Newdick reports.
Front Cover Photo:
Countering Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (CRAM) fire is as valuable for protecting troops as it is for protecting civilians against insurgent rockets and artillery. Radars such as Saab’s Giraffe-4A play an indispensable role in the CRAM effort © Saab
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10 Heavy Metal
Main Battle Tank procurement and upgrade programmes are moving apace in the AsiaPacific, both to recapitalise fleets and to ensure strategic balance, Jonathan Tringham finds out.
Subject to Availability The maintenance, repair and overhaul of military equipment does not receive the coverage it deserves yet, as Claire Apthorp points out, it is vital for ensuring that military forces can perform operations.
Incoming!
Rocket, artillery and mortar fire remains a favourite tool of insurgent organisations around the world, fortunately, radar provides a means of detecting this menace, Thomas Withington explains.
14 22 Waveforms for the Waves A multitude of threats, not to mention a multitude of vessels, is driving forward the naval surveillance radar market in the Asia-Pacific, Thomas Withington explains.
Computer Says No Jonathan Tringham takes the temperature of the serious cyber security threat faced by the Asia-Pacific and examines the measures being taken to address this menace.
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36 Breathing Uneasily
The use of chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, plus the concerns regarding the DPRK’s nuclear and chemical weapons, are encouraging personal protection efforts in the Asia-Pacific, writes Andy Oppenheimer.
06 Thomas Withington’s regular column providing all of the latest news and analysis regarding events in the defence radio frequency domain.
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Index of Advertisers AMR SUBSCRIPTION
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BRUNSWICK 5 DIMDEX QATAR
49
DSA MALAYSIA
43
EUROSATORY 47 45
INDO DEFENCE RAYTHEON
COVER 2
SINGAPORE AIRSHOW
COVER 3 39
SOFEX JORDAN TEXTRON
COVER 4
UMEX 2016
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Editorial Coming in from the Cold
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urma held its first openly-contested general election on 8 November for 25 years, culminating in a victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The NLD’s won a convincing victory scoring 330 seats out of 440 in the country’s House of Representatives; and 168 out of 224 in the House of Nationalities. Ms. Suu Kyi, who has led the NLD since its foundation in 1988 is unlikely to become Burma’s president: Her two sons are both British citizens and the Burmese constitution prevents anyone with children who are non-Burmese citizens from becoming president.
The only way that the constitution can change is via the agreement of the Burmese military. The National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) remains the most powerful institution in the land. The NDSC consists of the country’s president, Thein Sein, who himself had a long military career. The commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, currently General Min Aung Hlaing, is also a member of the NDSC and can nominate five of the eleven-member council. The very existence of the NDSC is enshrined in Chapter Five of the Burmese Constitution. The elections in early November are the culmination of Burma’s gradual change from a state which faced international isolation after annulling the results of the May 1990 general election; the country’s first multi-party elections since 1960. The military had seized power in Burma on 18 September 1988 establishing the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) which changed its name in 1997 to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The SPDC was finally abolished in March 2011 with the election of Mr. Sein and his Union Solidarity and Development Party, following Mr. Sein’s retirement from the military. While a new president to replace Mr. Sein has yet to be chosen, the NLD’s victory will mean that the individual selected will almost certainly be the first non-military politician to lead Burma since the military seized power and disposed the civilian government of Prime Minister U Nu during a coup d’état on 2 March 1962. In effect, the military has now governed Burma in some shape or form for over half a century. The place occupied by the military in Burmese politics has led to the country’s international isolation from the United States and its allies. The US imposed sanctions on Burma in the late 1980s as a response to the annulling of the May 1990 general election, and the retention of power by the military. US Sanctions remain in place, and Daniel Russell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asia in the country’s State Department argued that the election “was a hell of a step forward for (Burma’s) democratic process,” although he warned that; “now comes the hard part,” with Mr. Russell cautioning that the lifting of sanctions will be contingent on the military refraining from further interference in Burmese politics. As the existence of the NDSC illustrates, the military still plays an important part in Burmese politics yet any attempt to extend its footprint will almost certainly lead to the continuation of US-led sanctions, something that Burma can ill-afford both economically and diplomatically.
Thomas Withington, Editor
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by Thomas Withington
European customers have recently performed numerous radar procurements, while in the Electronic Warfare domain, the United States Air Force is preparing a major enhancement of its F-15C/E fleet. Recent months have also seen evolutions in the tactical radio and satellite communications worlds. Radar Danish radar company Weibel Scientific has provided Pulse with some exclusive details regarding its strategic partnership with Lockheed Martin announced in mid-August to jointly develop ballistic missile defence radar technology. Both companies have agreed to jointly enhance Weibel’s GapFilling Tracking Radar (GFTR) to enhance the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capabilities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The GFTR is designed for the long-range and highly accurate tracking of space objects, with a surveillance range of between 269.9 nautical miles/nm (500 kilometres/km) to 2699.7nm (5000km). Operating in X-band (8.5-10.68 gigahertz/GHz), the radar provides 600 megahertz/MHz of bandwidth and utilises an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antenna. In terms of the waveforms, the GFTR performs Continuous Wave (CW) and Frequency-Modulated CW (FMCW) transmissions. CW radars transmit Radio Frequency (RF) energy continuously, rather than transmitting pulses of RF energy. The use of the Doppler Effect, that is the subtle change in frequency caused
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by RF energy hitting a moving object and reflecting back to the antenna, determines the speed of a target relative to the radar. The FMCW waveform moves up and down in frequency over a set period of time. The radar then measures the difference in frequency between the signal that the radar receives from the one which it transmitted at a specific time. By measuring this difference in frequency over a set period of time, it is possible to measure the range of a target. These simultaneous CW and FMCW waveforms enhance the tracking and discrimination of multiple closely-spaced objects. According to Peder R. Pedersen, chief executive officer of Weibel Scientific, the company will provide its GFTR which can then be integrated with Command and Control (C2) technology, such as the Aegis Battle Management System (both in the naval and the land domains), which Lockheed Martin has developed. Mr. Pedersen has not revealed whether the company has yet secured any orders for its GFTR family to be used to provide BMD gap-filling coverage for NATO. NATO currently employs the ALTBMD (Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence) C2
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system to provide hostile ballistic missile detection. This federates several ground-based air surveillance radars, and naval surveillance radars employed across NATO, to provide a Recognised Air Picture (RAP) depicting incoming hostile ballistic missiles. Mr. Pedersen states that the GFTR, in the event of a hostile ballistic missile being launched towards Europe, could provide “data that helps the identification of the type of missile in question. When we know the type, the probability of hitting the warhead (using surface-to-air missiles) the first time becomes far greater.” He adds that the radar could help predicting the location of debris on the ground following such an interception. “This has enormous significance especially in Europe, where NATO most likely will have to shoot down hostile missiles over land rather than over water.” In fact, the final quarter of 2015 has witnessed some significant activity in the radar domain across Europe. In early October, the Latvian Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the acquisition of up to three AN/TPS-77 groundbased air surveillance radars, supplementing another three similar radars which the country already has active in Calas (northwestern Latvia), Lielvārde (central Latvia) and Audriņi (eastern Lativa). These three legacy radars, plus the three new AN/TPS77s (the delivery timescales for which have not yet been revealed) will feed radar imagery into the BALTNET (Baltic Air Surveillance Network) air C2 system. BALTNET produces a combined Recognised Air Picture (RAP) by federating the ground-based air surveillance radars of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. This RAP is generated at the Regional Airspace Surveillance Coordination Centre at Karmelava in central Lithuania. It is then transmitted to the NATO Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS) at NATO’s Allied Air Command headquartered at Ramstein airbase in western Germany. NATINAMDS federates radar imagery from across NATO’s European membership to generate an Alliance-wide RAP to detect and respond to air and missile threats. Towards the end of the decade, ThalesRay-
The British Army’s signals intelligence capabilities will be enhanced with the acquisition of AN/PRD-13(V)3 tactical SIGINT kits from L-3 Linkabit © L3 Linkabit
theonSystems’ (TRS) Air Command and Control System (ACCS) C2 architecture will begin to replace that currently used by the BALTNET to generate the RAP. The AN/TPS-77 is a transportable radar providing a range of up to 253nm (468km) when detecting conventional air-breathing and ballistic missile targets, across 360 degrees of azimuth at altitudes of up to 100000 feet (30480 metres). While the efforts of Lockheed Martin and Weibel Scientific look set to enhance European security against ballistic missile attack, the United States has been enhancing the security of Ukraine against artillery attack by pro-Russian armed separatists involved in ongoing hostilities in the east of Ukraine, against the Ukrainian government. In early October President Barack Obama authorised the delivery of Northrop Grumman/TRS AN/TPQ-36 radars to the Ukrainian Army to aid the detection of hostile artillery fire. On 15 November, two radars arrived in Ukraine after being flown from the United States. The AN/TPQ36 employs an AESA antenna, and can detect incoming rounds at a range of up to 12.9nm (24km), according to open sources. No details have been released as to which AN/TPQ-36 variant has been delivered to the Ukrainian Army. For more information regarding the AN/TPQ-36 and other Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar/Counter Battery radars, please see Thomas Withington’s ‘Incoming!’ article in this issue.
Electronic Warfare
Lockheed Martin has supplied new AN/TPS-77 ground-based air surveillance radars to the Latvian Ministry of Defence © Lockheed Martin
Given its significant business interests in North America it is arguably not surprising that BAE Systems has been selected to fulfil the United States Air Force (USAF) EPAWSS (Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System) self-protection suite for the USAF’s McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15C/E Eagle Multi-Role Combat Aircraft. Boeing was selected as the prime contractor for the EPAWSS programme by the USAF in early October. Boeing in turn selected BAE Systems to provide assistance for the EPAWSS as a subcontractor. The EPAWSS replaces the Northrop Grumman AN/ALQ-135D/M Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS) which currently equips the F-15C/E, with the F-15C/E equipped with the AN/ALQ-135D variant, and the F-15K Slam Eagle equipping the Republic of Korea Air Force. Details on the exact performance parameters of the AN/ ALQ-135D/M are understandably scant, although it is thought that the system is capable of detecting and jamming multiple radar threats from air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, and from
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To enhance protection against artillery fire from pro-Russian rebels, the Ukrainian military recently acquired two Lockheed Martin AN/TPQ36 radars © Lockheed Martin
air-to-air and ground-based air/naval surveillance radar, thus potentially giving the AN/ALQ-135D/M a range of 0.5 to 40 gigahertz. Although in service with these aircraft since the 1970s, the AN/ALQ-135D/M has been continually upgraded throughout its service life. The total value of the EPAWSS programme is $4 billion, according to a press release issued by Boeing on 1 October, with the new self-protection system expected to be installed on circa 412 F-15C/E aircraft operated by the USAF. According to a statement supplied to Pulse by BAE Systems, deliveries of the EPAWSS to furnish the USAF F-15C/Es will commence in 2020, with the retrofit of these aircraft continuing until 2029. The upgrade will be essential to enabling the F-15C/D to remain in service, and to take into account current and expected future threats up to circa 2040. There is no word yet on the architecture, software or systems of the EPAWSS, although it is entirely possible that it could employ some form of AESA to enable multiple and diverse threats to be jammed simultaneously, while at the same time keeping to a minimum the quantity of antennae required to protect the aircraft. Meanwhile, Raytheon has told Pulse that it is looking forward to an “Initial Operating Capability and a fielding recommendation soon” for its AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile Harm Control Section Modification (HCSM) which the company is leading. On 19 October, the firm performed a flight test of the HCSM-equipped AGM-88 (which will be re-designated in USAF service as the AGM-88F) at the Utah Test and Training Range in the eponymous state. The HCSM is an upgrade of the existing AGM-88 missile which adds a Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to the weapon, while at the same time modifying its digital flight computer. These additions (GPS and IMU) strengthen the AGM-88’s target discrimina-
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Denmark’s Weibel Scientific has joined forces with Lockheed Martin to develop the Gap-Filling Tracking Radar to enhance NATO ballistic missile defence © Weibel Scientific
tion capabilities beyond its existing RF (Radio Frequency) seeker which detects and then locks onto hostile radar emissions so as to home in on the radar causing its destruction. Nevertheless, anti-radiation missiles can be vulnerable to what is termed the ‘switch off’ tactic, by which radar operators deactivate their equipment when they believe that they are being targeted by a HARM to cause the missile to break lock. The GPS/IMU allows the missile to determine the radar’s location once the hostile RF signals are detected, rendering the ‘shut down’ technique null and void as HCSM-equipped AGM-88Fs will still ‘remember’ where the radar is located. Moreover, the GPS/IMU means that the missile will only operate within a predefined Zone of Engagement to prevent the weapon hitting objects outside this. In April 1999, an AGM-88 launched during the
| Asian Military Review |
Spectra Group’s SlingShot Aviation Capability is a radio appliqué that enables military aircraft radios to perform satellite communications © Spectra Group
Operation ALLIED Force air campaign over Serbia and Kosovo accidentally hit a house in Sofia, Bulgaria. The missile is expected to commence service entry with the USAF in 2016 and will be employed on the force’s General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16CJ Viper Weasel air defence suppression aircraft. Meanwhile, the UK’s armed forces will benefit from new AN/ PRD-13(V)3 Tactical Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) kits which will be supplied by L-3 Linkabit. Four systems are due to be supplied by the first quarter of 2016, the company told Pulse, following the delivery of three AN/PRD-13(V)3s in 2013. Neither the company, nor the UK Ministry of Defence, has revealed which armed service will operate these systems, although it is thought that they will be deployed with the British Army. The AN/PRD-13(V)3 has a manpack design, weighs nine kilograms (19.8 pounds/lb), and can connect to an Internet Protocol (IP)enabled tactical radio to share its information with users in the field, while the AN/PRD-13(V)3’s user interface employs the Android operating system. In terms of frequency coverage, the AN/PRD-13(V)3 covers the three megahertz to three gigahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing it to detect and locate High Frequency and Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF) signals, which it can geolocate within three degrees of accuracy. The legacy AN/ PRD-13(V)1/2 EW products have been used extensively by the US military and other armed forces around the world, with the AN/PRD-13(V)3 offering a reduced Size, Weight and Power compared to these legacy systems, and the employment of an internet protocol-based architecture (see above).
line of sight frequency modulation/amplitude modulation, the WF40 V/UHF Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking wideband waveform and the HW20 VHF EPM (Electronic Protection Measure) wideband waveform. In addition, like the RF40, the RF40V can accommodate a Mission Module. This is equipped to provide a second channel for fast, high data rate (circa 37 megabits-per-second) L-band (one to two gigahertz) ground-to-ground communications. Libor Mikl, the company’s head of sales, told Pulse that DICOM has teamed with the UK’s SlingShot (see below) to offer that company’s Beyond-Line-Of-Sight (BLOS), Satellite Communications (SATCOM) on-the-move radio appliqué. This appliqué provides International Maritime Satellite’s (INMARSAT) L-band Tactical Satellite (L-TAC) services carried across the company’s INMARSAT-4 constellation, with L-TAC handling encrypted and unencrypted voice and data traffic for military operators. DICOM are still awaiting customers for both the RF40 and RF40V, and told Pulse that in-house tests of the radio will commence in spring 2016, with full production beginning at the mid-point of 2016.
SATCOM The UK’s Spectra Group has expanded its SlingShot Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS), Communications-on-the-Move tactical radio system to enhance airborne radios. SlingShot converts V/ UHF tactical radio communications into L-band SATCOM. The basic architecture of the system, known as the SlingShot Aviation Capability, sees a V/UHF radio linked to the SlingShot appliqué which is in turn linked to an L-band antenna to connect with a satellite. The appliqué has been produced in manpack, vehicular and maritime configurations and effectively enables V/UHF radios which essentially have a line-of-sight range, to become beyond-line-of-sight communications systems using INMARSAT’s L-band SATCOM service (see above). According to Miguel Ferros, the company’s marketing manager, the SlingShot Aviation Capability is ‘radio agnostic’; “providing the radio operates within three frequency modulation frequency bands, namely UHF (281-311MHz transmit/240270MHz receive), military VHF (58-88MHz) and commercial VHF (144-174MHz).” Mr. Ferros adds, “The SlingShot Aviation Capability is ready to enter service and has been fully deployed during testing.” SlingShot is reticent about naming specific customers for its overall product line, although the firm states that its products are in use with several NATO operators with both conventional and Special Forces. AMR
Tactical Radio Presenting their wares at the 2015 Defence and Security exhibition in Bangkok this October, Czech tactical radio specialists DICOM provided some additional details regarding their new RF40V vehicular transceiver, launched this September at the Defence Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition held in London. The RF40V follows the handheld RF40 radio launched earlier this year. The RF40V incorporates the handheld RF40 radio in its chassis offering a ‘grab and run’ capability for the user in effect providing two radios within one; handheld for dismounted operations and a vehicular radio for communications on-the-move. The RF40V uses the same waveforms as the RF40; principally
Raytheon is moving ahead with its High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile Control Section Modification initiative for the AGM-88 missile © USAF
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Singapore has acquired 94 Leopard 2A4 MBTs from Germany and upgraded them with extensive add-on armour on their turrets and chassis © Limkopi
Heavy Metal
As many Western nations continue to down-size their fleets of armoured vehicles in favour of developing a slimmed-down, long-range, force-projection capability, the majority of Asia-Pacific militaries are reinforcing their commitment to enhance their fleets of Main Battle Tanks (MBTs). by Jonathan Tringham
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hile the People’s Republic of China's (PRC) People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has effectively secured the nations’ land borders with its large ground forces, backed by a significant air and sea power, the PRC is still potentially in the market for a new MBT, according to Russian sources. Speaking to Russian media outlets in
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June, following a demonstration of the new Uralvagonzavod T-14 Armata MBT, during the Moscow military parade to mark the end of the Great Patriotic War, Vladimir Kozhin, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that the PRC had expressed an interest in acquiring the new tank. “There really is interest, despite the fact that the equipment is expensive,” Mr.
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Kozhin said. “To a large extent, (the interest for this MBT is coming from) our traditional partners in India, the PRC and (nations in) South-East Asia.” Mr. Kozhin pointed out that initially the T-14 would only be delivered to the Russian Army, with deliveries reported to have commenced this year; however, it would be made available for foreign purchase in the future.
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The PRC’s interest in the T-14 MBT is understandable, as its existing tank, the China North Industries (Norinco) Type98A/99/99A, is a derivative of the old Soviet Uralvagonzavod T-72 MBT which debuted in Red Army service in the early 1970s, with the PLA’s MBTs having design elements dating back to the 1980s. The principal difference between the Type98A and the Type-99/A is the latter’s more powerful engine (1500 horsepower/ hp, as opposed to the Type-98’s 1200hp engine), plus the addition of third-generation Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) and a second-generation thermal sight. The T-14 meanwhile is a clean-sheet break from the T-72, LZK/Omsk Transmash/ Malyshev Factory T-80 and Uralvagonzavod T-90 series of MBTs. For a start, Russia’s new tank has a longer hull; 10.8 metres/35 feet in length compared to the 9.9 metres/32.5 feet of the T-80 family. The T-14’s unmanned turret is operated by the tank's three-man crew, and incorporates a 125-millimetre/mm main gun and a remotely-operated Kalashnikov PKTM 7.62mm machine gun. The T-14 also has active and passive protection systems, in the form of the respective Afghanit and Malachit equipment, as well as a new modular armour system using the latest Russian technology.
PLA Away from Russia, the latest platform to enter service with the PLA is the Norinco Type-99A (see above) MBT, which made its debut during the PRC’s military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on 3 September to mark China’s role in the defeat of Ja-
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The Arjun MBT is equipped with a 120mm rifled gun, capable of firing APFSDS and HESH rounds. An upgraded version of the tank, the Arjun Mk.II, has been in development since 2010 © Ajai Shukla
pan and the end of the Second World War. The T-99A mounts a 125mm tank gun that has been modified to fire higher-density rounds, compared to legacy PLAN MBTs, as well as a dynamic muzzle reference system that boosts the tanks’ accuracy. The MBT has an active laser self-defence system and laser warning receiver, and the turret has been modified with thirdgeneration Kontakt-5 ERA on its sides and top. Specific details are unknown; however, the Type-99A is reputed to be taller than the ‘vanilla’ Type-99 while at the same time exhibiting a lower profile than comparable western platforms.
The Type-99 MBT is currently in service with the PLA and features enhanced armour protection, a 125mm cannon, and is capable of firing advanced laser guided projectiles © Max Smith
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Norinco states that the MBT’s combat capability is enhanced by the adoption of a high-technology datalink that gives it access to battlefield information obtained by other combat platforms in the field. This datalink is possibly carried over the MBT’s V/UHF (30 megahertz to three gigahertz) tactical radio, although no information has been released regarding the nomenclature of the radio carried by the tank or its datalink. This datalink will invariably carry information to and from the MBT’s Battle Management System (BMS) and Health and Usage Monitoring System, although no details have been released regarding the specification of these subsystems. According to publicly-available sources, the PLA is thought to have 40 Type-98A, 500 Type-99 and 100 Type99A MBTs in service as of 2014. Joining the Type-99A as the PRC’s latest MBT design is the Norinco MBT-3000, also marketed as the VT4 for export. This third-generation MBT was first unveiled at the June 2012 Eurosatory defence exhibition held in Paris, and then again during the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition held in Zhuhai, southern China in 2014. According to the company, the MBT3000 is equipped with stabilised fire-control, including third-generation cooled thermal imaging sights for the commander and gunner. The tank is also fitted with a laser range finder, with the tank commander’s position equipped with a roof-mounted, stabilised panoramic
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fleet of T-72M1 MBTs (known locally as the Ajeya Mk.1/II) that began entering service in the mid-1980s. According to the RFI, the new vehicle, dubbed the Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV), will form the base platform for the main battle tank which is planned to replace the existing T72MI tanks in the armoured corps. The RFI states, “The FRCV needs to be developed on a modular and compact concept with a high degree of flexibility in a manner that can address the varying requirements of different terrain configurations.” The army envisions the induction of the FRCV ‘medium tank’ to begin in the 2025-27 timeframe, and this programme may spell the end for the further production or development of the Arjun following the Indian Army being cleared by the country’s Defence Acquisition Council, which supervises defence procurement, to order up to 118 Arjun Mk.II tanks, as of August 2014. The Russian T-90, currently used by Algeria, Azerbaijan, India, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uganda is a third-generation MBT that evolved from the T-72B with many features taken from the T-80U © Vitaly Kuzman
sight that allows targets to be acquired and then handed over to the gunner for engagement. The company lists standard equipment for the MBT-3000 as comprising a collective nuclear, biological and chemical warfare protection system, an identification friend or foe system, active self-protection equipment designated as ‘GL5’ by the PLAN plus fire extinguishing and explosion suppression equipment. The Active Self-Protection System (ASPS) is linked to a laser threat warner with smoke shell launchers, and the driver’s position is equipped with a rear camera and monitor for driving in reverse. Norinco has not disclosed which contractors provide these subsystems, or their nomenclature. Norinco also builds the Type96A/G MBT which is marketed for export customers as the VT-2. As of 2013, the PLAN had circa 2500 Type-96A/G MBTs in service, with the Sudanese Army also operating 200. The tank tips the scales at 42.8 tonnes and is available with composite armour and ERA.
Indian Armour To the west, the PRC’s rival India is advancing the development and production of its indigenous Arjun MBT, designed by the country’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet the requirements of the Indian Army, but manufactured by the Avadi Heavy Vehicles Factory. Technical issues continue
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to plague the programme, resulting in nearly 75 percent of the army’s 124 Arjun MBTs rendered unserviceable according to Indian news reports. The development of the Arjun has been fitful, with its origins dating back to 1972. Orders for 124 units were originally finalised in 2000; however, the first Arjun was not delivered until 2004. To mitigate the delays, in the early 2000s India purchased a quantity of Uralvagonsavod T-90S MBTs from Russia. In total, 310 T-90Ss were eventually imported from Russia. A customised version of the T-90, dubbed the T-90S Bhishma, is also being manufactured locally, and as of now the Indian Army is operating 500 T-90S and T-90MS MBTs. In addition, a new variant of the original Arjun, dubbed the Arjun Mk.II has been in development since 2010, and features improvements to the tank’s fire power and fire control equipment with Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) assisting the DRDO in these efforts. The Arjun/Arjun Mk.II MBT is equipped with a 120mm rifled gun, capable of firing APFSDS kinetic energy penetrator rounds, and High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) rounds at the rate of six-to-eight rounds-per-minute. In addition, the Arjun/Arjun Mk.II is also armed with a 12.7mm machine gun and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. In June India issued a Request For Information (RFI) to replace its extensive
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Pakistan India’s South Asian rival Pakistan is partnering with Norinco and local firm Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) in the development and production of the MBT2000, also known as the Al Khalid-I/II MBT. This tank has been in development since 1990, with approximately 300 currently in service with the Pakistan Army, of a planned 600 total procurements. The tank is operated by a three-man crew and is equipped with a 125mm smooth-bore tank gun with an automatic re-load capability. Compared to the original Al Khalid MBT, the Al Khalid-I has an increased ammunition capacity of 49 rounds of 125mm ammunition (compared to 39 rounds for the preceding version), a 3.5km (2.1 mile) engagement range, an increased rate-offire compared to the previous tank of nine rounds-per-minute, and Sagem optronics. The Al Khalid-II, meanwhile, has a redesigned turret, a new powerpack generating 1500hp (compared to the 1200hp of the Al Khalid-I) and an ASPS. Regarding the tanks’ other subsystems, sources differ on whether its fire control system is supplied by Norinco, or from undisclosed Western sources, and the tank is capable of firing Tula Machinery Design Bureau 9M119 anti-tank guided missiles. Currently, the Pakistan Army has around 500 Al-Khalid-I/II MBTs in service and is testing the MBT-3000 (see above), according to open source reports this July, with the view to a possible acquisition of this tank, although the timelines, and delivery size of any future order has yet to be revealed.
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The K2 MBT built for the RoK Army is a clean-sheet design equipped with a twoperson turret armed with a L/55 120mm smooth-bore gun © Simla, ADEX 2013
Black Panther Away from South Asia, the Republic of Korea (RoK) is advancing development of its Hyundai Rotem K2A1 Black Panther MBT for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA). Like India’s Arjun/Arjun Mk.II MBT discussed above, the K2 is a clean sheet design equipped with a two-person turret armed with a Rheinmetall L/55 120mm smoothbore gun fed by an automatic loader. According to the company, the K2A1’s armour combines advanced passive and active protection to improve survivability, with the tank accomodating a BMS believed to have been developed by the Franco-Korean joint venture Samsung-Thales. Hyundai Rotem commenced the development of the K2A1 MBT in 1993, and is currently working to fulfil an initial order for 100 K2A1 MBTs, with these particular variants employing Germanbuilt MTU engines and Renk transmissions. In December 2014, the company received an $820 million contract to deliver a second batch of 55 K2A1 MBTs, which will feature a 1500hp DV27K engine and transmission, developed locally by Doosan Infracore and S&T Dynamics respectively. Deliveries of the
new K2A1s to the RoKA are expected to commence by late 2016.
Indonesia Another nation within the Asia-Pacific acquiring new MBTs is Indonesia, which recently took delivery of its first KraussMaffei Wegmann Leopard 2A4s. Under a contract agreed in 2013, Indonesia purchased 103 Leopard 2A4 MBTs, 42 upgraded Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles, and eleven Bergepanzer BPz3 Büffel (Armoured Recovery and Engineering) Leopard-2 MBT variants from surplus Heer (German Army) stocks. The Leopard2A4 MBTs feature a Rheinmetall EMES-15 fire control system and Kidde Aerospace automated fire and explosion suppression system plus an improved turret with flat titanium/tungsten armour. The Indonesian government had originally approached Germany to purchase the MBTs in August 2012. However, political objections in Germany to the sale in view of Indonesia’s human rights record delayed German political approval for the sale. On 22 April Rheinmetall’s Leopard Gunnery Skills Trainer (LGST) and Driver Training Simulator (DTS) systems also
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completed factory acceptance tests with the Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD/Indonesian Army). The completion of acceptance tests comes 15 months after Rheinmetall was awarded the contract to provide driving simulator and gunnery simulator systems for Indonesia’s Leopard 2A4 MBTs. The company developed the LGST and DTS specifically for training Leopard 2A4 crews. The simulators also feature Rheinmetall’s TacSi computer simulation technology. The LGST and DTS will primarily target the gunnery and combat skills of MBT commanders, gunners and drivers. The acquisition of the Leopard-2A4 MBT by the TNI-AD, plus the development of the K2A1/A2 MBT by the RoK, the procurement of the Al Khalid-I/II MBT by Pakistan and the realisation of the Arjun Mk.II by India, not to mention the numerous MBT initiative ongoing in the PRC, illustrates that the need for such platforms is still strong in the Asia-Pacific. Such demand is being driven not only by a need to strategically balance geopolitical rivals, but also to ensure that armies across the region have the latest and most capable equipment available. AMR
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The CEAFAR and CEAMOUNT radars pictured here are being installed onboard the Royal Australian Navy’s ‘ANZAC’ class frigates © Thomas Withington
Waveforms for the Waves According to the respected website globalfirepower.com the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is equipped with 673 surface and subsurface combatants, ranging in size from aircraft carriers to patrol boats and landing craft. by Thomas Withington
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rolific sea power is also apparent vis-à-vis the Indian Navy which boasts 202 naval vessels, with the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) equipped with circa 166 and the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) boasting 131. This makes the Asia-Pacific region rather crowded regarding naval vessels, not to mention the countless military aircraft which make the region their home, the multitude of commercial vessels and the ever-present threat of ballistic missile attack by the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK). Thus the need to keep tabs on such potential threats places naval surveillance radar in high demand across the region.
Frequency Choice Naval surveillance radars typically operate in S-band (2.3-2.5/2.7-3.7 gigahertz/
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GHz), C-band (5.25-5.925GHz) and Xband (8.5-10.68GHz). There is no ‘ideal’ frequency band for such radar as each has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, an S-band radar antenna is of a manageable size for a warship’s superstructure, thus not adversely affecting its sea-keeping. Secondly, S-band radars are less affected by ‘rain fade’ the phenomena by which moisture in the atmosphere absorbs and scatters a radar’s transmission of Radio Frequency (RF) energy thus reducing its transmitted power and causing ‘clutter’ or false radar echoes which can mask genuine targets. S-band naval surveillance radars tend to be used for long-range, high-altitude air surveillance. Further up the electromagnetic spectrum, X-band radars can see targets in comparatively sharper detail and are less affected by clutter with these radars tending to distinguish well, for example,
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between a jet ski (target) and wave crests (clutter). The downside of X-band radars is that they are more susceptible to ‘rain fade’ and can lack the range performance of radars operating in lower frequency bands. Finally, C-band is effectively a comprise between X-band and S-band radar providing long surveillance and detection ranges while having less susceptibility to rain fade and good clutter discrimination.
Architecture Several naval surveillance radars examined in this article use Active and Passive Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESA/ PESA). An AESA array comprises a multitude of Transmit/Receive modules which generate, transmit, receive and process their own pulses of RF energy. A PESA radar generates its RF energy at a single source with the RF then being fed to in-
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dividual elements on the radar’s antenna. By altering the phase (oscillation) of the RF transmitted by each element on the antenna it is possible to electronically ‘steer’ the radar’s transmissions enabling the radar to ‘look’ across a wide field-ofview without having to physically move the antenna. However, a PESA antenna has to transmit using a single frequency making it more susceptible to jamming should the enemy discern the frequency on which the radar is operating. The T/R modules on an AESA, meanwhile, can be tasked to operate across different frequencies so as to lessen the effects of jamming across a specific frequency. The trade-off between AESA and PESA antennae is that while the former may be more robust against jamming and capable of graceful degradation (one T/R module failure will not prevent the radar from working), AESA radars are more expensive to procure.
Australia AESA antennae are used by the CEAFAR and CEAMOUNT S-band and X-band naval surveillance and fire control radars from Australia’s CEA Technologies. These radars are being installed onboard all of the Royal Australian Navy’s ‘ANZAC’ class frigates, with final deliveries schedule for 2016. As of this September, HMAS Ballarat had commenced sea trials following the installation of these radars, according to local media reports. Both the CEAMOUNT and CEAFAR radars perform the three dimensional (3D/ range, bearing and atltitude) detection and tracking of air and surface targets for the employment of the Raytheon RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Surfaceto-Air Missiles (SAMs) equipping the vessels. This March, CEA Technologies was tasked by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) to develop the eventual replacement for the CEAFAR radar which will incorporate an integral Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogator/transponder. There is no word from the company when this new radar may be ready for installation on the ‘ANZAC’ class ships, although its progress will be reviewed by the DoD in 2017.
Germany Looking towards Europe, Airbus’ defence and space division has enjoyed success in the United States regarding the supply of its TRS-3D/16 version of the C-band TRS3D radar to equip the ‘Freedom’ class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) of the US Navy
and the ‘Legend’ class national security cutter of the US Coast Guard. In US Navy service, the TRS-3D/16 is designated as the AN/SPS-75. The radar is capable of detecting an anti-ship missile at between eight and eleven nautical miles/nm (1520 kilometres/km), a fast jet at 59nm (110km) with surveillance possible at up to 97nm (180km). The TRS-3D/16 has 16 vertical rows of radiating elements on its antenna, with the TRS-3D/32 equipped with 32. Alongside the TRS-3D, the US Navy will obtain the TRS-4D which will be installed onboard the USS Indianapolis ‘Freedom’ class LCS, the radar’s delivery expected by the end of 2015. The TRS-4D will also equip the as-yet-unnamed ship expected to be delivered in 2016 to follow the USS Indianapolis. In design terms, the TRS-4D extends the capabilities of the TRS-3D, notably the range which increases to 135nm (250km), detecting targets with a small RCS at 7.5nm (14km), and combat aircraft at 32nm (60km).
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Saab’s Sea Giraffe-AMB employs PESA architecture and equips a number of navies in the Asia-Pacific © Thomas Withington
oped in three variants, the Mod.A, Mod.B and Mod.C, the latter of which is the latest version with an increased dynamic range vis-à-vis the ‘Alpha’ and ‘Bravo’ and better performance for the detection of targets with a low RCS. Although the Sea Giraffe-AMB is a legacy design, in May 2014, Saab launched the S-band Sea Giraffe-4A 189nm (350km) range AESA radar. Deliveries of this radar to an undisclosed customer are due to commence in 2016, while the X-band Sea Giraffe-1X has a shorter range of 54nm (100km), and can monitor 100 air and 200 surface targets.
Saab Airbus is not the only European supplier providing radars for US Navy vessels. While the ‘Freedom’ class LCSs are being outfitted with the TRS-3D/16, the ‘Independence’ class LCSs are receiving the Sea Giraffe-AMB. This radar has an instrumented range of circa 97nm (180km) monitoring 400 sea and 200 air targets simultaneously. Designated as the AN/ SPS-77 in US Navy service, Saab has delivered ten of these radars to date, with a further two radars expected to be delivered in the next five years for the USS Kansas City and USS Oakland, both of which have been ordered. Saab has enjoyed significant orders for its Sea Giraffe-AMB PESA radars in recent years. For example, in 2012, Algeria acquired two to equip the two Blohm and Voss ‘MEKO-200’ class frigates which it currently has under construction. Similarly, the RAN ordered two of the radars in 2009 to equip its two ‘Canberra’ class amphibious assault ships, the second of which is expected to be commissioned by the start of 2016. Other supplies of the Sea Giraffe-AMB include six ordered by the Republic of Singapore Navy in 2010 for the modernisation of its ‘Victory’ class corvettes; two ordered by the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) in 2011 in a deal worth $70 million to upgrade the forces’ ‘Naresuan’ class frigates, with a single radar ordered in 2014 for installation onboard the fleet’s solitary HMTS Chakri Naruebet class aircraft carrier. The radar has been devel-
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Terma Just over the Øresund (‘the Sound’) that separates Sweden and Denmark, Terma has equipped the Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Laut (Indonesian Navy) ‘Fatahillah’ class corvette with its SCANTER-4103 X-band radar; also selected to equip the Royal Navy’s final three ‘River’ class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) with deliveries to this end expected in 2016. Offering a range of 90nm (167km) the SCANTER-4103 can track 500 surface targets and 100 air targets. In the Asia-Pacific, the SCANTER-4100 outfits the RTN’s single ‘Endurance’ class amphibious assault ship, and recent deliveries include a single radar to equip one ‘Darussalam’ class corvette of the Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei (Royal Brunei Navy). The Terma catalogue also includes the SCANTER-2000 family, which comprises the X-band SCANTER-2001. Deliveries of five of these radars
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Thales’ NS100 radar passed Factory Acceptance Tests in August, paving the way for its installation onboard the Republic of Singapore’s RSS Independence offshore patrol vessel © Thales
were completed in 2014 to equip the Armada Nacional de la República de Colombia (Colombian Navy) ‘Fassmer-80’ class OPVs (three radars), and four radars to furnish the fleet’s ‘Almirante Padilla’ class frigates. The supply of six SCANTER-2001 radars to equip the United Arab Emirates Navy’s ‘Baynunah’ class corvettes was also completed in 2014. During the Defence Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition held in London in September, Terma introduced its SCANTER-2600 naval surveillance radar into the market. This X-band radar will eventually replace the firm’s existing SCANTER-2001 product.
Selex Elsewhere in Europe, Italian radar specialist Selex offers its C-band KRONOS Naval AESA radar which has a surveillance range of circa 134.9nm (250km) giving 85 degrees of elevation when tracking, and the wherewithal to monitor up to 300 tracks. Deliveries were completed in 2014 for the supply of two KRONOS Naval radars to equip the same number of ‘Lupo’ class frigates of the Marina de Guerra del Perú (Peruvian Navy), with Qatar ordering an undisclosed number of the radars in 2014 for $467 million. It has not been revealed which ships these radars will equip.
Thales Selex collaborated with Thales in the development and production of the S1850M L-band (1.215-1.4GHz) air and surface search radar which adorns the FrancoItalian ‘Horizon’ class of air defence de-
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stroyer. The firm has added a number of new radars to its portfolio in recent years. These include the Surface Scout X-band 22nm (40km) range radar which can track up to 500 targets, with the Surface Scout Mk.3 version of the radar equipping the Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy) new ‘Karel Doorman’ class Amphibious Assault Ship (AAS). Unlike several radars surveyed in this article, the Surface Scout Mk.3 is a FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) radar, meaning that the radar transmits RF continuously, rather than in pulses. By employing the Doppler Effect, the subtle change in frequency caused by RF energy hitting a moving object and reflecting back to the antenna, the radar can determine the speed of a target. The FMCW waveform moves up and down in frequency over a set period of time. The radar then measures the difference in frequency between the RF received by the radar from that transmitted as a specific time. By measuring this difference in frequency over a set period of time, the radar determines the range of a target. Other new radars in the Thales stable include the Sea Fire 500 AESA which has a range of circa 216nm (400km) optimised for vessels displacing 3500-7000 tonnes. The radar uses a modular architecture where the radar’s back end remains the same, but the antenna size varies according to ship size. The radar is currently in development with production expected to commence in 2019. As yet, Thales has not revealed whether it has any customers for the radar.
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BAE Systems Continental Europe is not the only centre of excellence in naval surveillance radar design, development and production, with the United Kingdom home to BAE Systems. Leading BAE Systems’ offerings in the naval domain is the Type-997 ARTISAN (Advanced Radar Target Indication Situational Awareness and Navigation) 3D radar. With a maximum instrumented range of 108nm (200km), the radar offers 70 degrees of elevation and tracking for 800 targets. The Type-997 is being rolled out across all of the Royal Navy’s ‘Duke’ class frigates, the fleets’ two forthcoming ‘Queen Elizabeth’ class aircraft carriers and its two ‘Albion’ class AASs. In early October, BAE Systems reported that the Type-997 radar had completed installation onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first vessel in the eponymous class. BAE Systems’ UK naval surveillance radar counterpart, Kelvin Hughes, provides the X- and S-band SharpEye radars. In April 2016, it will begin deliveries of the S-band SharpEye to equip the two ‘Anzac’ class frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy. These radars have a surveillance range of circa 48nm (89km). During the 2015 International Maritime Exhibition in Singapore the firm showcased its SharpEye Mk.11 Lightweight Turning Unit which can house either the X-band or Sband version of the SharpEye. Launched in 2013, this product will equip the Tentera Laut DiRaja Malaysia (TLDM/Royal Malaysian Navy) Second Generation Patrol Vessels, six of which open sources say will be acquired. Two radars (one X-band and one S-band) will equip each of these ships. Deliveries to this end will commence in 2016 and conclude in 2020.
IAI While European and North American suppliers seem to dominate the naval surveillance radar world, Israel’s IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) Elta Systems’ division has enjoyed success supplying its products both to domestic and international customers. Leading the field in the firm’s offerings is the MF-STAR family which includes the S-band EL/M-2258 ALPHA (Advanced Lightweight Phased Array Radar) 3D AESA radar with a range of circa 65nm (120km), and the ability to perform simultaneous fire control, air and sea surveillance. This radar has a rotating antenna and equips the Israeli Navy’s eight ‘Sa’ar 4.5’ class missile boats. The other member of the family is the EL/M-2248 which has a fixed antenna to
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provide 360 degrees of surveillance, with the detection of high-altitude targets possible at ranges of 135nm (250km). Beyond the domestic sales of this radar, three EL/ M-2048 radars were ordered by India in 2006 for $200 million to equip the Indian Navy’s ‘Kolkata’ class destroyers; with a single radar having been delivered as of 2014. The same radar also equips the ‘Sa’ar-5’ class corvettes of the Israeli Navy.
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Selex provides the KRONOS Naval AESA radar which is equipping vessels belonging to the Peruvian and Qatari navies © Selex
Lockheed Martin A flat panel design approach is also used by Lockheed Martin’s AN/SPY-1D/F naval surveillance radar. Despite its overall design being in excess of 40 years old, this radar equips the Japanese, Republic of Korea, Norwegian, Spanish and US. It will also soon equip the RAN’s new ‘Hobart’ class frigates which will be outfitted with the AN/SPY-1D(V) configuration. The radars employed by the JMSDF and RoKN bear a strong similarity to those used by the US Navy onboard its ‘Ticonderoga’ and ‘Arleigh Burke’ class cruisers and frigates, according to a written statement provided to AMR by Lockheed Martin. The statement adds that the JMSDF’s ‘Atago’ class destroyers are currently undergoing an upgrade to improve the performance of their radars for Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD).
Raytheon In US Navy service, the AN/APY-1D/F will eventually be replaced by Raytheon’s AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defence Radar (AMDR) comprising an S-band volume search radar and AN/SPY-3 Xband multifunction radars to equip the 42 ‘Arleigh Burke’ class Flight-IIIA destroyers, the first of which should enter US Navy service in circa 2023. Testing of the radar is expected to commence at the US Navy’s Pacific Missile Range in Hawaii in March 2016, with a systems verification development test completed by mid-2017. Installation is then envisaged onboard the first Flight-III ‘Arleigh Burke’ class ship by late 2019, with two radars being supplied annually. Raytheon is also leading the US Navy’s Dual Band Radar (DBR) initiative which had originally included the AN/SPY-3 X-band (8.5-10.68GHz) and AN/SPY-4 S-band respective multifunction and volume search radars. Alongside the eponymous first ship in the ‘Gerald R. Ford’ class of aircraft carrier, the AN/SPY-3 equips the US Navy’s ‘Zumwalt’ class destroyers. The remaining two ships in the ‘Gerald R. Ford’ class (the USS John F.
Kennedy and USS Enterprise) will instead receive the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR), according to a statement from the US Navy this March, which will be a completely new radar. Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are both developing potential radars for this requirement following the award of a $6 million study and demonstration contract to both companies in June 2014 and November 2013 respectively. The EASR will also be installed onboard the third ‘America’ class AAS which is expected to be launched before the end of the decade. Beyond the ‘Gerald R. Ford’ and ‘America’ ship classes the EASR replaces the Exelis/Harris Sband AN/SPS-48E/G three-dimensional air search radar used by the US Navy’s ‘Nimitz’ class aircraft carriers, plus its ‘Wasp’, ‘Tarawa’ and ‘San-Antonio’ class AAS and the Raytheon AN/SPS-49 Lband two-dimensional air-search radars used by the services’ ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigates. Over the coming decade, the naval surveillance radar market is expected to continue to enjoy good health. Connecticut-based market research organisation Forecast International released a report in July this year predicting that the market for such systems will reach $13 billion by 2025, with a global demand for over 1300 units. Lockheed Martin told AMR, via their written statement, that they expect the demand for naval surveillance radars to continue to increase throughout the Asia-Pacific in the coming years,
something which chimes with Forecast International’s predictions. At the same time, they see new local suppliers entering the market place. This is particularly apparent in India where local company Bharat Electronics Limited is involved in the development of a new naval surveillance radar, although the firm declined to provide AMR with any additional details regarding this programme. BAE Systems, meanwhile, sees a further trend towards existing radar providers partnering with local firms to satisfy domestic requirements. “There is a fresh drive to build ‘home-grown’ technology supported by industry collaboration,” notes Dominic Morley, the firm’s naval radar international business development manager. A written statement provided to AMR by Selex predicts a similar trend: “Nowadays the challenge is to maintain the capability to provide state-of-the-arttechnology figuring out agreements with local industry in order to transfer the specific capabilities and know-how of the radar system.” Mr. Morley adds that with the continuing proliferation of ballistic missiles by countries of concern such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (see Andy Oppenheimer’s ‘Breathing Uneasily’ article in this issue for more information), the demand for radars which can support BMD is likely to remain strong. The major challenge, a statement from Saab noted, ultimately will be meeting the need for “advanced radars,” in the face of decreasing defence budgets in the Asia-Pacific and beyond. AMR
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The new RAMSPO Plateau will provide the engineering, support and technical services required for the Australian Army's EC-665ARH helicopter gunships to meet operational tempo © Australian DoD
Subject to Availability In the current defence landscape, many armed forces in the AsiaPacific region are in the process of rationalising and re-fitting their air, land and sea platforms following the reduction of the size and scope of United States-led combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. by Claire Apthorp
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ther regional militaries are preparing to face the challenge of emerging threats in their own neighbourhood, or even on their own borders, as conflicts within the region rumble on. Still others are in the midst of new and long-running acquisition programmes as they look to enhance their capabilities and move towards modernised forces in the coming decades. Many are doing all three.
Major Challenges The challenge for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) providers in supporting their customers through such transformations as those discussed above
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are immense. Such challenges can mean supporting disparate platform fleets with distinct maintenance demands at different lifecycle stages, ensuring the high availability of all platforms so that their customers can deploy where needed whenever they are needed, minimising platform down time for MRO and implementing processes to improve platform availability in the future. Furthermore, many armed forces are looking to change the way they run their MRO contracts as they look to the future. Increasingly, these armed forces seek the delivery of a capability rather than just a platform from the outset when acquiring new equipment. They want to deal with fewer, better-equipped MRO providers,
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and are demanding ever higher value for money from them; all the while pushing toward longer equipment life-cycles as they seek to do more with less. “Ultimately, our customers require serviceable and dependable aircraft that are ready to fly whenever they are needed, and to achieve this we must deliver aircraft from deep-maintenance programmes to the schedule agreed to with our customer,” an Airbus spokesperson told AMR. “It requires us to provide the right spares in the right places and at the right times. We must also deliver engineering solutions that meet the needs of the service personnel who operate the aircraft that we support; and we must do this in a safe and cost-effective manner.”
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Airbus' Australian subsidiary provides comprehensive through-life support services for its customers and their fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. That covers the delivery of almost any engineering, maintenance, supply chain or technical services requirement, with services extending from core maintenance activities to complex systems upgrades. The company also has a software integration capability which allows it to support its Airbus Helicopters EC-665ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter) and NH Industries MRH-90 medium-lift utility and maritime support helicopters; a total of 47 of the latter are operated by Australian Army Aviation (AAA) and the Royal Australian Navy, with improvements and enhancements to their digital systems. Airbus acquired Safe Air from Air New Zealand in June 2015, absorbing the company’s capabilities regarding Rolls-Royce and Pratt and Whitney aircraft engine MRO, Lockheed Martin C-130 family turboprop airlifter and P3 Orion family maritime patrol airframes, repair and overhaul, as well as helicopter expertise. Enhancing support to the Royal New Zealand Air Force NH Industries’ NH-90 medium-lift utility helicopter fleet was a key driver behind the acquisition as there are obvious synergies between the Australian and New Zealand fleets. Collectively the company now supports eight military aircraft types: the NH-90, EC-665ARH, Kaman SH-2G Sea Sprite maritime support helicopter, C-130H/J, P-3C/ K2, Alenia Aermacchi C-27J turboprop freighter and the Beechcraft T-6 turboprop trainer.
sions and meet and maintain the required operational tempo. “In essence, we have formed a joint Customer/Industry Systems Programme Office. The reasons for doing this were to improve the performance of logistic support to the operational units and to facilitate the mutual benefits that can be achieved in collocated teamwork in the interests of our troops administered through army and navy aviation,” the Airbus spokesperson said. The company is also working to enhance its MRO capability in support of EC-665ARH and MRH-90 airframes in alignment with the deep maintenance programmes for both aircraft; in Brisbane for the MRH-90 and Darwin, northern Australia, for the EC-665ARH. At this stage only a limited number of components are being repaired but this is expected to increase as the RAMSPO Plateau’s MRO rate-of-effort for both aircraft rises. “Military MRO requires close collaboration between the maintenance, engineering and supply chain functions, and executing it through a culture of respect for the demanding military operational environment,” the spokesperson continued. “The aircraft that we support are complex pieces of military hardware with extensive, high-technology systems behind them, but the key to maximising aircraft availability really lies in the quality of our planning systems, the quality of our people, and the effectiveness
of our trust-relationships with customers and our industry partners.” With Airbus’ helicopters also deployed across the region by the Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Udara (Indonesian Air Force), namely its H-225M and NAS-332 medium-lift utility helicopters, the Tentera Udara DiRaja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Air Force) and the Royal Thai Air Force (both H-225M operators), the region provides a dynamic market for the company to seek out efficiency gains. “There is a global drive for efficiency across defence and industry, and our Australian, New Zealand and Indonesian customers all share this need ... Our customers also need industry partners that they can trust. Delivering upon our commitments, working in a highly collaborative manner and providing good transparency regarding our business are key enablers to trusting relationships.”
Fixed-Wing The introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-35A/B/C Lightning-II Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) in the AsiaPacific over the next ten years is providing a significant opportunity for MRO companies in the region, with participating nations invited to offer centralised bids for engine and airframe maintenance from within their industrial bases. In December 2014, Japan and Australia were selected to provide airframe MRO and Upgrade (MROU) capabilities for the
Cooperation Airbus’ support of the AAA’s EC665ARH’s and MRH-90 helicopters is also currently being optimised under a joint initiative with the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), which is responsible for defence procurement and support in Australia, that saw a joint support centre commissioned in April at Brisbane airport. The DMO’s Reconnaissance and Air Mobility Systems Programme Office (RAMSPO) has an integrated facility involving Airbus known as the RAMSPO Plateau at the aerospace company’s Brisbane Airport facility in eastern Australia. The RAMSPO Plateau is tasked with providing the Royal Australian Navy and the AAA with the engineering, supply support and technical services required to enable these helicopters to fly their mis-
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General Dynamics Land Systems’ M1A1 MBT is deployed by the Australian Army. Support requirements are different from user to user demanding flexibility from the provider © Australian DoD
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The F-35A/B/C, set to enter service with the militaries of Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea, provides a significant and long-running opportunity for MRO providers in the Asia-Pacific region © Lockheed Martin
northern and southern Pacific regions respectively. Engine maintenance will be initially provided for F-35A/B/C operators across the whole region by Australia from 2018, with Japan to supplement these capabilities from 2021. To this end, BAE Systems’ Australian division was appointed as the regional MRO provider for the aircraft in the southern Pacific region, and the appointment has seen the company invest heavily in its existing MROU capabilities. “The integrated approach we use on the BAE Systems Mk.127 Hawk Lead-In Fighter Trainer contract with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), leveraging the highly successful Hawk Integrated Logistics Operations Centre methodology, is the approach and expertise that we will bring to the F-35A/B/C,” Steven Underwood, general manager for fast jet support at BAE Systems’ Australian operation, told AMR. “The Airframe Regional Depot assignment at our Williamtown facility in New South Wales, south-eastern Australia, is a critical first step in establishing a truly world-class F-35A/B/C MRO capability in the southern Pacific … however, the actual mechanics of the work undertaken will evolve as we gain further insight into the requirements of sustaining a fifth-generation MRCA.” Securing substantial sustainment work on the F-35A/B/C has been a priority for BAE Systems’ Australian division for several years, and the assignment now provides the company with the opportunity to expand its global approach to aircraft sustainment. “We will be looking at the export opportunities available to Australian industry as part of the global F-35A/B/C sustainment solution, and working with … a significant number of small to medium enterprises, through the company’s Global Access Programme, to
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maximise Australian industry work on this aircraft,” Mr. Underwood continued. The company will draw on its experience managing deep MRO and complex modifications and upgrades on a range of RAAF aircraft, including the Mk.127 Hawk and McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F/A-18C/D/E/F Hornet/Super Hornet MRCA for the past two decades. Its work providing through-life support for the Mk.127 Hawk fleet since 2001 includes deep maintenance, engineering, logistics and training systems under a Performance Based Contract (PBC) framework. This service is also set to be expanded to include operational maintenance for the Mk.127 Hawk fleet at the RAAF’s Williamtown and Pearce airbases in New South Wales and Western Australia respectively from 1 July 2016. This will
see the company deliver all maintenance support on the flight line, directly supporting the training of Australia’s next generation of MRCA aircrew. “Our work on the F/A-18C/D/E/F and the Mk.127 Hawk provides our workforce with skills and expertise that can be readily transferred to sustaining the F-35A/B/C,” Mr. Underwood said. “Our focus has always been on delivering projects with significant efficiency savings and improved aircraft availability, without compromising airworthiness and safety. We have driven down the total cost of ownership for the Mk.127 Hawk, and achieved significant and sustainable improvements on all of our military and commercial MROU activities.” While a well-considered set of key performance indicators and agreed guiding principles are essential to the delivery of effective MRO, BAE Systems is also keen to iterate that flexibility is a vital element to a good working relationship with the customer and overcoming the challenges of achieving efficiency for MRO cycles. “Modern military aircraft MROU cycles are often highly variable and flexibility is critical. One of the biggest challenges is emergent work and the need to deliver on time to meet aircraft availability must be clearly understood and planned for before aircraft are inducted,” Mr. Underwood added. “We have been constantly refining our planning and scheduling tools and techniques to perform in this environment where, for older aircraft, parts obsolescence BAE Systems provides deep maintenance, engineering, full logistics and training systems support for the RAAF’s 33-strong Mk.127 Hawk fleet at the RAAF’s Williamtown airbase © BAE Systems
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and emergent work are significant issues. For newer military aircraft, the challenges include maturing technologies and global logistic support solutions where we have to work effectively and efficiently across international boundaries; all without impacting on front-line capabilities and expectations.”
Land Solutions With customers increasingly seeking a whole package solution from their new platform suppliers, it follows that the manufacturers of combat vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region are growing their MRO support presence in tandem. This is certainly the case with General Dynamics Land Systems’ (GDLS) Australian subsidiary, known as GDLS-A, which represents GDLS across the region, while maintaining a reach-back to product centres in London, Ontario in eastern Canada and Sterling Heights, Michigan in the northern United States. As a prime contractor for numerous vehicle programmes, including the LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) family, namely the ASLAV and NZLAV variants operated by the Australian and New Zealand armies respectively, and the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) of the former, GDLS-A focuses on the supply of equipment, systems integration services, upgrades, fleet management services and MRO. The company has invested in significant MRO facilities in the region with support centres in Adelaide, South Australia, Darwin, Brisbane and Townsville in Queensland, north-eastern Australia. Central to delivering MRO services, a company spokesperson told AMR, is recognition of that fact that all customers
Airbus said it is seeing a drive for efficiency across defence and industry for MRO services so as to ensure fleet availability to support operations as and when they occur © Airbus
are different, and require a close relationship to be cultivated in order to develop cost-effective and responsive support solutions utilising a mix of both local and global capabilities. To this end, a key feature of GDLS-A’s support is a seamless integration of customer and GDLS-A capabilities working side-by-side in depots, on exercises, and in theatres of operation. “Maintaining long-term relationships within an optimised, responsive through-life support contract framework enables technical data and supply chains to remain current,” the spokesperson added. “It also allows us to provide timely advice of systems obsolescence and provide solutions optimised to recognise our customers’ unique requirements.” This last point is an important aspect of the changing MRO landscape, as provid-
The RAMSPO team and facility will also provide MRO services for the MRH-90 maritime support helicopter for the Royal Australian Navy © Australian DoD
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ers strive to keep fleets fit for purpose despite longer life cycles. This is particularly pertinent to vehicle MRO providers who are working with materiel that has seen lengthy deployments in the Middle East. How is this affecting the work GDLS-A does to support its vehicle fleets? “It requires increased awareness of obsolescence management and planning for regular reset and upgrade programmes for part or complete fleet capability enhancement,” the spokesperson continued. “GDLS stands behind its products, for life.” Upcoming MRO opportunities in the region for GDLS-A include Australia’s Land-400 programme which replaces the ASLAV (see above) and the Australian Army’s BAE Systems/United Defence M113 family of armoured personnel carriers. Regarding the Land-400 initiative, GDLS has teamed with Thales to offer a Light Armoured Vehicle solution and there is also the possibility that Taiwan will purchase ex-US Army M1A1 Abrams MBTs in the next five years. MRO provision is increasingly becoming a collaborative process between the supplier and the customer, with militaries looking for industry to be innovative and provide ‘best for capability’ solutions, while driving down the total cost of ownership. A truly integrated framework means that as platform service lives increase, engineering teams can deliver the maintenance, updates and standard repairs needed to keep fleets available, while the customer can be sure of receiving an improved and costeffective service. AMR
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The US-based IT group Akamai has regularly documented the increasing scale of cyber threats emanating from the Asia-Pacific region © DVIDS
Computer Says No Thanks to the internet, the traditional geographic boundaries separating nations have been eroded by a borderless cyber world which, alongside a wealth of opportunities, has created a slew of new and unpredictable vulnerabilities.
by Jonathan Tringham
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he sophistication of criminals and states seeking to penetrate national defence networks in order to steal sensitive information is increasing every year. While the scale and frequency of attacks is intensifying globally, the Asia-Pacific region in particular accounts for a significant proportion of overall international cyber crime activity. Countries such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the People’s Republic
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of China (PRC), the Philippines, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Taiwan and Thailand are routinely documented by state intelligence agencies and the technology sector as being significant sources of international cyber crime. According to a 2015 report issued by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the most prevalent type of cyber security challenge reported by ASEAN members included telecommunication fraud, website fraud, defamation, online pornography, hacking, defacing, Distributed Denial of Service
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attack (DDOS: where several elements of a computer system are targeted from different sources causing that computer network to alter the way it provides services, or to stop altogether), mail fraud, email phishing (when a false email is used to extract an individual’s private information); credit card fraud and identity theft; and online gambling. Contributing factors include the region’s diversity and varying levels of development, where numerous prosperous economies with robust cyber
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infrastructures are closely interconnected with emerging economies that have basic or non-existent cyber capabilities. The most advanced cyber nations within the region include Australia, Japan, the RoK, Singapore and the United States followed by the less developed cyber cultures of Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Nations at a significantly lower level of capability in the region comprise Cambodia, Fiji, Laos and Papua New Guinea.
Regional Responses The ability to recognise a nation’s vulnerability to cyber crime, cyber espionage, and politically and criminally motivated hacking has become critically important, necessitating a transnational approach to the mitigation of cyber threats. As a result, a new understanding of the risks that government agencies, business and individuals now face online is driving investment in developing more robust infrastructure and countermeasures. Japan, the RoK and Singapore tend to attribute most cyber attacks as originating from the DPRK and PRC, and are working to implement robust cyber policy governance frameworks with increasingly centralised administrations in order to effectively neutralise these attacks. The threat environment includes both nations and criminal entities. The Japanese government in particular has been under significant pressure recently, as a result of the hacking of the Japanese Pension Service in June. In January, Tokyo announced it was bolstering one of its Cabinet Office branches in charge of cyber security in order to better cope with the rising tide of attacks on government agencies, re-naming it the National Centre of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cyber security. The Japanese government aims to staff its cyber security branch with 100 employees by the end of 2015, and will be recruiting heavily from the private sector. Other governments across the Asia-Pacific are moving to implement more comprehensive and effective cyber security strategies in order to pre-empt, mitigate and respond to the increasingly high number of malicious cyber incidents that are occurring in the region. Somewhat counter-intuitively, the key to securing critical communications infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific seems to lie in increased international engagement and information sharing, involving enhanced cooperation and communication between national security agencies at all
The key to securing critical communications infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific may well lie in increased international engagement and information-sharing © UK MoD
levels. Despite the varying levels of maturity in addressing and mitigating cyber threats in the region, a coherent, multilateral cyber-defence strategy is slowly emerging, according to a recent report, entitled Cyber Maturity in the Asia-Pacific Region 2015, published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, in October 2015. Speaking to the press during the launch of the report at the ASPI in Canberra, Australia, Dr. Tobias Feakin, director of the ASPI International Cyber Policy Centre, said while the various governments in the region held differing perspectives on the management and regulation of cyberspace, a common trend was the centralisation of cyber defence infrastructure. “We are continuing to see an unevenness of understanding and roll-out of policies across the region, and a great deal of difference in the perspectives on how we should manage cyber space. (However) all the countries in the top tier have decided to pursue this idea of centralised bodies to coordinate their responses to cyber policies and cyber security,” said Dr. Feakin. He noted that the RoK, Singapore and Japan have all undergone an accelerated rate of change, quickly amalgamating their departmental structures in order to respond to cyber threats more effectively. “There are some countries that perceive cyber space as both an internal and external threat, and then begin to control it as a consequence. This is something that we have seen in the case of (the PRC), and unfortunately some of the trends that we are seeing as a result of new (Chinese) policies
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and legislation are leading in the direction of increased content control.” Dr. Feakin noted that the differing perspectives in both policy and language made cyber diplomacy a “particularly tricky topic to pick through” when trying to achieve a common understanding of what the threat picture is, and what the appropriate responses should be. “Regardless of whether countries are disagreeing with one another, which many do in (the Asia-Pacific) region, continuing dialogue is important to begin to find areas of common understanding,” he added.
Cyber Spooks Another factor motivating governments within the region to accelerate cyber defence initiatives is the geographic proximity of cyber-assertive nations such as the DPRK and the PRC. “Because it is cyber space, we often forget the geographical space we are talking about, but if you have ever visited Seoul you will certainly feel immediately the geographical pressure of the DPRK and its proximity, and this is also felt in the online environment,” said Dr. Feakin. Far from being an emerging threat, transnational cyber crime and cyber attacks originating from the region are now realities, with new revelations of secure data networks being penetrated by malicious actors occurring almost every other week. The cyber threat posed by state actors is the most sophisticated, and therefore the most pressing concern for nations looking to protect their digital borders. The information sought in the pursuit of competing national interests encompasses
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Cyber Guard 2015 is a two-week US DoD-sponsored joint military and civilian exercise conducting simulated cyber attack exercises and responses © US DoD
The People’s Republic of China remains the leading source of worldwide cyber attacks, accounting for more than a third of reported incidents in 2015 © UK MoD
not only government information, but commercial and even personal data. In addition, cyber space has become yet another medium where political intentions manifest and play out.
Unit 121 The real-world consequences of statelevel hacking became obvious during the flare-up between the United States and the DPRK in December 2014, following the cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. According to US intelligence reports, the hack was carried out by a sophisticated cyber warfare division of the Korean People’s Army, designated Unit 121, or Bureau 121. The data breach reportedly cost Sony more than $100 million. The hacking of Sony by the DPRK demonstrated
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the equalising power of the internet as an enabler for a national entity, which would otherwise be relatively ineffectual. The internet allowed the DPRK to gain a level of influence traditionally beyond its reach, and successfully impose its will on a foreign government and its businesses. In a statement to the US Senate Armed Services Committee in April, US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of US forces in Korea, said Pyongyang was intently focusing on developing its cyber capabilities. “(The DPRK) has placed significant emphasis and resources into its asymmetric capabilities, especially its missiles and cyber threats,” said Gen. Scaparrotti. “In November, (the DPRK) sought to intimidate and pressure the US media and entertainment industries by
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projecting its cyber capabilities against Sony Pictures Entertainment. This was a significant action that demonstrated (the DPRK’s) willingness to use cyber attacks in defiance of international norms.” Unit 121 has allegedly been operational as part of the DPRK’s General Reconnaissance Bureau (GRB) since 1998, despite the country having no discernible internet infrastructure within its borders at that time. According to confidential industry sources, the GRB is based in both the DPRK and PRC, and is staffed by up to 6000 personnel. Following the revelations of the Sony hack, Kim Heung-Kwang, a former computer science professor that defected from the DPRK in 2004, told the international press that Pyongyang had conducted cyber espionage operations via servers located in the PRC, notably in Shenyang, in the northern Liaoning Province. The DPRK and RoK are still technically at war, with only a ceasefire being agreed to end the three-year long Korean War on 27 July 1953, and cyber warfare is arguably one of the best offensive weapons available to both nations. In 2014 Unit 121 reportedly compromised more than 30000 computers in the RoK’s banking sector, and in June that year also hacked the office of President Park Geun-hye on the 25 June anniversary of the start of the Korean War in 1950. In October 2015 the RoK media also claimed that 20000 mobile phones throughout the country had been infected by malware (hostile or intrusive software), blaming Unit 121. Given its proximity to such a hostile neighbour the RoK has been steadily working to improve its cyber defence policies, following the establishment of the Ministry of National Defence’s Cyber Command in 2010. One of the most significant data breaches of 2015 involved the theft of sensitive employee information from the US government Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in June which exposed the private information of millions of US citizens. This attack has been attributed to the PRC by unnamed US government officials although the administration of President Barack Obama has declined to confirm this. According to a brief published by the Congressional Research Service, which provides information for members of the US Congress, in July the speculation is that the OPM data was taken “for espionage rather than for criminal purposes,” noting that the PRC was being cited as the source of the breaches.
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region. The white paper continues, “As cyberspace weighs more in military security, (the PRC) will expedite the development of a cyber force, and enhance its capabilities of cyberspace situational awareness, cyber defence, support for the country’s endeavours in cyberspace and participation in international cyber cooperation, so as to stem major cyber crises, ensure national network and information security, and maintain national security and social stability.”
Australian Answers
The hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment was carried out by a sophisticated cyber-warfare division of the Korean People’s Army, designated Unit 121© Stephen
The brief states that it is unclear how the data from the OPM breaches might be used by the PRC’s government. “Some suspect that the Chinese government may build a database of US government employees that could help identify US officials and their roles or that could help target individuals to gain access to additional systems or information,” the report reads. “National security concerns include whether hackers could have obtained information that could help them identify clandestine and covert officers and operations.” US-based information technology group Akamai publishes quarterly reports detailing the frequency and source of worldwide cyber attacks, and has regularly documented the increasing scale of cyber threats emanating from the AsiaPacific region. According to Akamai’s State of the Internet Security Q2 2015 report, the PRC remains the leading source of worldwide cyber attacks. The report states, “In the latest analysis, (the PRC) remained the top producer of non-spoofed DDoS attack traffic at 37 percent, compared to 23 percent (during the) last quarter.” The report also highlighted significant attack traffic originating from India, the Korean Peninsula, Australia and Taiwan, noting that Australia’s appearance on the top ten list of cyber offenders was “likely due to the increased adoption of high speed internet access throughout NBN (National Broadband Network) and connectivity of IOT (Internet Of Things; the prevalence of electronic machines which
can be networked to one another) devices in the region.”
The Electronic Dragon The PRC’s Military Strategy white paper, released in May 2015, points to a worldwide revolution in military affairs, where state capabilities in cyber space are “assuming new commanding heights in strategic competition among all parties,” alongside the space, sea and nuclear domains. While the details of any military understanding and use of cyberspace is typically hidden from public scrutiny, the PRC’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been uncharacteristically forthright in acknowledging its intent to integrate and utilise cyber warfare operations as part of its arsenal. In its white paper, Beijing openly identified a need to modernise the PLA’s approach to the use of information technology in the context of warfare, in order to keep pace with international trends. The white paper states, “Cyberspace has become a new pillar of economic and social development, and a new domain of national security. As international strategic competition in cyberspace has been turning increasingly fiercer, quite a few countries are developing their cyber military forces.” Ironically, the PRC regards itself as “one of the major victims of hacker attacks confronted with grave security threats to its cyber infrastructure,” despite also being the predominant source of worldwide cyber transgressions emanating from the
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Following a marked increase in cyber attacks, Australia has doubled down on its cyber security policies. According to a 2013 report entitled the Cyber Security Picture 2013 published by the Department of Defence’s (DoD’s) Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), which collects foreign signals intelligence for the Australian government and provides information security to the same body and to Australia’s armed forces, attacks on Australian government networks have increased, on average, by 28 percent each year between 2011 and 2013. In 2014 the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) established a dedicated agency under the ASD called the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). That same year the ASD responded to over 1000 incidents involving attempts to access government networks. Meanwhile, the ASD’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team that responds to computer attacks addressed more than 11000 attacks on Australian businesses. The newly formed ACSC brings together existing cyber security capabilities across the Australian DoD, namely the Attorney-General’s Department, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (the country’s domestic counter-intelligence service), the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission (the country’s national criminal intelligence service). On its website, the ACSC states that its intention is to create “a hub for even greater collaboration and information-sharing with the private sector, state and territory governments and international partners to combat the full breadth of cyber threats.” According to the ACSC, in the near future the number of state and criminal actors with sophisticated cyber capabilities will only increase, and will work to lower the barriers of entry to malicious actors seeking to undermine national security within the region: food for thought for countries across the Asia-Pacific region. AMR
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Saab’s ARTHUR radar has sold well around the world, and boasts impressive performance for the CRAM/CB mission. Norway is currently updating its legacy ARTHUR Mod.A radars to the latest Mod.C status Š UK MoD
Incoming! Ongoing combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have illustrated the distinct attraction of the rocket for today’s insurgent. Inexpensive, dramatic and devastating, the rocket has emerged since the dawn of the 21st century as the weapon of choice for attacking deployed forces and civilian targets. by Thomas Withington
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rguably one of the most infamous and prolific designs of rocket is the Qassam family developed by the Izz ad-Din alQassam Brigades constituting the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas insurgent organisation which is operational in the Gaza Strip Palestinian territory positioned between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. Open sources state that the production of this rocket commenced in September 2001 with the first example,
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a Qassam-1, being launched by Hamas guerrillas against Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip that October. The rocket itself is produced in three versions: the Qassam-1, -2 and -3. These have ranges of 2.6 nautical miles/nm (five kilometres/km) for the Qassam-1, 6.4nm (twelve kilometres) for the Qassam -2, and 8.6nm (16km) for the Qassam-3. The range for the Qassam-4 has not been reported. The rockets appear to lack any guidance system. This adds to their psy-
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chological impact as their indiscriminate nature effectively places anyone, or anything, within their range in danger. Much as the range of the rockets increases according to the variant, so does their warhead weight, with the Qassam-1 possessing eleven pounds/lb (five kilograms/ kg) of explosives laced with metal bearings to cause shrapnel damage. The warhead weight for the Qassam-2 is 22lb (ten kilograms), 44lb (22kg) for the Qassam-3 and 22lb for the Qassam-4. Alongside
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their indiscriminate nature, the relatively low production cost for the rocket makes them attractive, with a unit price of circa $1000, making them affordable for today’s guerrilla. This is also the case for the 107mm rockets originating from the People’s Republic of China which have been used extensively against US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Radar’s Response The indiscriminate nature of the weapons discussed above makes the timely detection of launches, their point of origin and potential point of impact vitally important. Such information can ensure that warning is given of an incoming rocket attack, be it for deployed forces, or for civilians facing attack in their homes and workplaces. Launch detection also enables rocket sites to be attacked to prevent additional launches, and to anticipate and prepare where assistance may be needed regarding their point of impact. Radar, specifically Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (CRAM) and Counter-Battery (CB) systems can be invaluable in this regard. CRAM/CB radars operate in the Xband, S-band and C-band. X-band (8.510.68 Gigahertz/GHz) offers particularly good detection of targets with a small Radar Cross Section (RCS) such as a mortar round which may have an RCS of circa 0.01 metres (0.03 feet). S-band (2.3-2.5/2.73.7GHz) and C-band (5.25-5.925GHz) frequencies, are widely used by radars with a CRAM/CB capability as they offer a good range performance and can penetrate bad weather, which can sometimes interfere with an X-band radar.
Israeli radar specialists RADA Electronics recently enhanced its product line with its pMHR, eMHR and ieMHR radars. These radars can detect incoming RAM threats at various ranges, with the ieMHR currently under development © RADA
CRAM surface-to-air missile system is designed for such a mission. Declared operational by the Israeli Air Force in lateMarch 2011, IAI’s EL/M-2084 Multi-Mission Radar is at the heart of the system. This S-band radar can track over 200 targets when operating in its CRAM mode, according to open source reports, and has an instrumented range (the range at which the radar can detect and determine the nature of a target) of 134.9nm (250km). Alongside Israel, the EL/M-2084 has been acquired by the Indian Army, where it is locally designated as the Arudhra, with a total of 18 systems being acquired between 2011 and 2014. Joining the firm’s EL/M-2084 radar (see above) is IAI’s EL/M-2138M Green Rock radar. Capable of installation onboard a four-wheel drive vehicle, the radar can detect small sized targets at a range of 5.3nm (ten kilometres), according to the company’s official literature. The manufacturer has not revealed the Aiding Interception range or operating frequency of the EL/ Increasingly, CRAM/CB radar plays a M-2138M, although AMR was told by an valuable role in monitoring a rocket’s flight to enable its interception. The Ra- IAI source during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) exhibition fael Advanced Defence Systems/Israel in Washington DC this October that the Aerospace Industries (IAI) Iron Dome radar was deployed operationally to detect inIAI’s EL/M-2084 radar coming RAM fire from forms the vital sensor the Gaza Strip during component of the Iron Dome surface-to-air Operation PROTECmissile system which TIVE EDGE, launched has a CRAM capability. by the Israeli Defence The Indian Army has Force (IDF) on 8 July acquired 18 examples of the radar, locally 2014 to stop Hamas designated as the rocket attacks against Arudhra© US DoD southern Israel. The IDF has yet to procure the EL/M-2138M, and the company hopes to find out whether there
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will be a budget for its acquisition from the Israeli Ministry of Defence by the end of the year. Perhaps because of the threats it faces from Hamas rockets, and from the Defence Industries Organisation of Iran’s Fajr-5 24.2nm (45km) range rockets in the possession of the Hezbollah Palestinian insurgent organisation active in Lebanon and the West Bank Palestinian Territory, Israel has emerged as a centre of excellence for CRAM/CB innovation. RADA Electronic Industries, based in Netanya, Israel, has developed a number of products which can support the CRAM/CB mission. In November 2014 the firm was awarded a contract to supply its radars to the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) for deployment close to Israel’s southern border with the Gaza Strip to protect Israeli residents against RAM fire. The MoD did not reveal what type of radar it will procure from RADA, how many systems it will purchase or when deliveries will commence and conclude. That said, RADA has several new products in its catalogue. At the Defence Security Exhibition International (DSEI) event held in London this September, the firm showcased its new pMHR (Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar), eMHR and ieMHR radars, the latter two of which are also suitable for very short-range air defence. Like the EL/M-2084 discussed above, these radars operate in the S-band and employ an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) utilising Transmit/Receive (T/R) modules on the antenna which generate and transmit radar pulses, and process the returns of those pulses to provide target information. RADA has not publicly revealed the detection ranges of this new family of radars. However Dov Sella, chief business development officer
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Thales offers a number of radars with a CRAM/CB capability unilaterally, and through its ThalesRayheonSystems joint venture. Users of the GM-200 pictured here include Indonesia which ordered five examples in 2014 © Thales
at RADA, told AMR that these radars’ AESA architecture enable the generation of a narrow field of search to detect a rocket or shell once it is launched. Once detected, the radar’s wide field-of-view can be used to determine the projectile’s point of impact. Mr. Sella added that the ieMHR radar is currently under development and will be ready to enter service with customers in 2016.
Capable COBRA European CRAM/CB efforts are led by Thales and Saab. A written statement from Thales provided to AMR noted that the firm’s Ground Master-60 (GM-60 a.k.a. ControlMaster-60), GM-200, COBRA (Counter Battery Radar) and Ground Alerter-10 can all execute the CRAM/CB mission. The GM-60 has a range of circa 43.1nm (80km), with the ability to track up to 200 air targets simultaneously, according to the company’s official literature. This range increases to 134.9nm (230km) for the S-band GroundMaster-200, with its CRAM/CB mode able to calculate impact and launch points for hostile projectiles. COBRA, meanwhile, operates in C-band. Thales is in fact a partner in the EuroArt consortium, responsible for the COBRA radar, which also includes Airbus’ defence and space division and Lockheed Martin. Finally, the Ground Alerter-10 is designed for short-range operations in the order of 5.3nm. Recipients of the GM-200 include Indonesia which ordered five examples in 2014, which are not yet thought to have been delivered. Similarly, an unknown number of COBRA systems have been provided to the Lebanese Army, with Saudi Arabia, which helped to finance Lebanon’s COBRA acquisition, also purchasing 20 GM-60 radars in 2011,
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deliveries of which commenced in 2013. Elsewhere in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates ordered 17 of the GM-200 radars in 2013 for $396 million.
King ARTHUR Saab joins Thales in providing CRAM/CB radars. Its Giraffe-4A ground-based air surveillance radar, which has a CRAM/ CB capability, is joined by the firms ARTHUR (Artillery Hunting Radar). The Cband ARTHUR employs a Passive Electronically-Scanned Array (PESA) antenna. Whereas each T/R module on an AESA produces its own radar pulse, and interprets the echo of that pulse after it has bounced off a target (see above), a PESA has a single Radio Frequency (RF) source with this RF energy being transmitted by individual elements on a radar’s antenna. The attraction of a PESA antenna
compared to an AESA antenna is that the former tend to be less expensive to manufacture than the latter. PESA radars typically produce an array of beams allowing the radar to continue general surveillance while other beams track targets. The original ARTHUR Mod.A could detect incoming mortar fire at a range of up to 18.8nm (35km). This was extended to 21.5nm (40km) for 120mm mortar rounds for the Mod.B variant which equips the British Army’s 5th Regiment of the Royal Artillery. Finally, the Mod.C can detect rocket fire at a range of up to 32.3nm (60km). Representatives from Saab told the author in 2013 that a version of ARTHUR known as the Mod.D was in development with improvements to the radar’s range and accuracy although as of the time of writing (late October 2015) there have been no further details regarding the Mod.D’s status. Recent purchases of the ARTHUR radar have been made by the Republic of Korea (RoK), which ordered ten systems in 2011 for $70 million, with Thailand also ordering an unreported number in 2014. It has not been revealed which ARTHUR variant either the RoK or Thailand ordered. Nevertheless, in April 2015, Saab was awarded a contract worth $13.2 million to perform a mid-life update for the ARTHUR Mod.A systems in the possession of the Norwegian Army to take them to Mod.C status. As part of the upgrade, Norway’s radars will be remounted on a BAE Systems/United Defence M113F4 tracked vehicle, rather than the BAE
Europe’s other leading CRAM/CB radar is the COBRA which is produced by the EuroArt consortium. Users of the COBRA radar include France, Germany, Turkey, the UK and the UAE, with a total of 32 examples delivered to date to these nations © EuroArt
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lion awarded this March for two additional radars expected to be delivered by the end of 2017. The CRAM capability is being added to these radars (and will also feature on future radars once the programme enters Full Rate Production, expected in circa 2020, according to media reports) as a “software only” enhancement, according to Mark Smith director of The US Army is replacing its AN/TPQ-37 and AN/TPQ-36(V)10 business development radars with Lockheed Martin’s AN/TPQ-53 which provides for Northrop Grumman’s significant range improvements, detecting incoming threats at a distance of 32.3nm © Lockheed Martin ground-based tactical radars. Regarding the AN/ TPS-80 itself, this AESA radar operates in Systems/Hägglunds BV206 tracked vehicles on which they are currently fit- S-band, although its instrumented range has not been revealed. ted. Deliveries of the first upgraded The AN/TPS-80 radar was conceived ARTHUR radars are expected to be made to replace a host of disparate groundto Norway in 2017. As noted above, Saab’s Giraffe-4A ra- based air surveillance radars which the USMC currently has in service, includdar can perform CRAM/CB. The S-band Giraffe-4A was launched in May 2014. ing the ThalesRaytheonSystems’ (TRS) AN/TPQ-46B CRAM/CB radar. This The radar can search across a 360-degree azimuth, although it can be used in a non- radar is in turn the USMC’s version of the Northrop Grumman/TRS AN/TPQrotating mode, and covers 70 degrees of elevation. The radar performs air surveil- 36(V)10 Firefinder radar in service with the US Army. Using an AESA antenna, lance to an instrumented range of 151nm the S-band AN/TPQ-36 family of CRAM/ (280km) and has a weapons-location CB radars, which also includes the AN/ function allowing it to detect such targets TPQ-36(V)7/8, can detect incoming rockat up to 54nm (100km). It is known that ets at a range of up to 12.9nm (24km), acthe Giraffe-4A has received an order, but cording to published sources. The TRS Saab has not revealed the customer, how AN/TPQ-37 is the larger sibling of the many examples have been procured, or when deliveries of the radar will com- AN/TPQ-36 family which has a reported range of 26.9nm (50km). mence and conclude. Both the AN/TPQ-37 and AN/TPQ36(V)10 are being replaced in US Army US Modernisation Significant recent activity has been wit- service by Lockheed Martin’s S-band AN/TPQ-53. In October 2015 the firm nessed in the United States regarding CRAM/CB developments. This is unsur- was awarded an $85 million contract prising given the rocket and artillery at- modification for seven radars, bringing tacks which US forces have faced in Af- the total number of the 32.3nm (60km) range AN/TPQ-53s ordered by the US ghanistan and Iraq since the start of the century. On 31 August, Northrop Grum- Army to date to 97, totalling $836 million, since deliveries began in 2010. As of Ocman received a contract from the US Navy tober, 55 radars have been accepted into to outfit the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) ground- US Army service. The award of an FRP for the AN/TPQ-53, which could cover based air surveillance system which it is a total of 70 radars, is expected in 2016, developing for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) with a CRAM/CB ca- according to Bob Stelmack, AN/TPQ-53 programme director at Lockheed Martin. pability known as the Ground Locating Deliveries of the FRP radars are expected Weapons Radar enhancement. to conclude in circa 2022, resulting in the The company received its first Low US Army eventually operating a total of Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract 174 examples. Export orders have been for the AN/TPS-80 in October 2014 forthcoming from Singapore (six radars which covered four systems, with a follow-up LRIP contract worth $113 mil- ordered in October 2013 for circa $179
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million), state confidential AMR sources. According to Mr. Stelmack, the AN/TPQ53 can be mounted on a truck or trailer. Lockheed Martin argues that the radar is a significant improvement compared to legacy CRAM/CB radars deployed with the US Army as it offers “enhanced performance, including greater mobility, increased reliability and supportability”. One should also be aware of US firm SRC which produces the AN/TPQ-48 LMCR (Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar). In service with the US Army, the Lband (1.215-1.4GHz) radar can detect and track multiple targets in three dimensions. Covering 360 degrees of azimuth, it has a range of 5.3nm, and provide 75 metres/m (246 feet/ft) point of origin accuracy at 2.6nm (five kilometres), the firm’s official literature notes. Its sibling, the AN/TPQ50, provides similar detection ranges, but a point-of-origin accuracy of 50m (164ft) at 5.3nm. The AN/TPQ-50 can be vehicle mounted onboard a four-wheel drive, and is in service with the US Army.
Indian Ingenuity The United States and suppliers in Europe and Israel are joined by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) of India which, together with the Indian government’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed its Weapons Locating Radar (WLR). This C-band product has a range of up to 16.1nm (30km), according to publicly available sources, and is equipped with a PESA array (see above). In 2002, the Indian Army ordered an initial twelve radars. According to a written statement provided to AMR by BEL, an order for a further 30 radars is expected shortly, the delivery of which is expected to take up to 48 months.
New Materials Looking towards the future, new materials offer promise for CRAM/CB radars. For example, Gallium Nitride (GaN) has been employed in the construction of the AN/ TPS-80 and Giraffe-4A (see above). GaN is a highly robust material which can withstand high temperatures. The use of GaN will enable the T/R modules used in the AESA antennae of CRAM/CB radars, along with other radar types, to operate at comparatively higher power amplification levels given the temperatures which GaN can tolerate. These higher power amplification levels will translate into improved detection ranges and sharper target resolution for CRAM/CB radars; all factors which will help to save lives on the ground. AMR
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A Pakistan Air Force Chengdu F-7P fighter conducts a training mission during a multinational exercise in 2009. Older MRCA such as the F-7P continue to play an important role in the PAF © USAF
Priority Programmes In recent years, Pakistan’s armed forces have focused increasingly on countering domestic insurgency, reflected in procurements of weapons intended to counter asymmetric threats. At the same time, efforts have continued to keep pace with military developments in neighbouring India. by Thomas Newdick
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akistan’s history of military coups has frequently upset the acquisition of military tech-nologies in the past; the country has experienced three successful military coups since its independence from British rule in 1947. Similarly, Islamabad’s nuclear weapons programme continues to run the risk of sanctions placed on arms transfers. In 1998, the administration of US President Bill Clinton imposed sanctions on Pakistan,
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and India, after both countries performed nuclear weapons tests in May 1998. This complex set of factors has seen Pakistan traditionally acquire weapons from a range of different countries in an effort to sidestep potential hurdles in terms of international politics, leading to not inconsiderable duplication in terms of platforms; to this end, Pakistan in recent years has acquired materiel from the People’s Republic of China, Germany and the United States, to name just three
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sources. More recent efforts, have sought to increase independence by way of local or licensed production.
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army’s flagship fighting vehicle programme is the Main Battle Tank (MBT) 2000, or Al Khalid-I/II, which began as a joint venture in 1990 with the PRC’s China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) and is now led by Pakistan’s Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT). After
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testing of various prototypes that differed in their combinations of indigenous, Chinese and other foreign components, the Pakistan Army received a pre-production batch of 15 Al Khalids beginning in 2001. Norinco continues to be involved in the programme, including the joint marketing of the MBT for the export market. Production for the Pakistan Army had resulted in circa 300 of a planned 600 examples in service. As well as Chinese input, the Al Khalid programme involves Ukraine’s Malyshev tank production facility, which in 2002 received a $150 million contract to provide powerpacks for 315 MBTs. Several variants of the Al Khalid exist including the Al Khalid-I and the more recent Al Khalid-II. Additional details regarding these vehicles can be found in Jonathan Tringham’s ‘Heavy Metal’ article in this issue. HIT is also active in the production and development of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) for the Pakistan Army. A prototype exists of the Saad tracked APC, unveiled in 2004, although it is unclear if this has entered quantity production. The Saad has been tested with both Ukrainian and German power packs, the later provided by MTU. The Saad is a further development of the Talha, another HIT programme, powered by a Detroit Diesel engine and based on the BAE Systems/ United Defence M113 family tracked APC. At least 250 examples of the Saad had been completed for domestic use by 2006.
The Pakistan Navy destroyer PNS Shah Jahan (left) on manoeuvres with the US Navy ‘Ticonderoga’ class cruiser USS Mobile Bay in the Arabian Sea in 2011 © US Navy
HIT may also continue licensed production of the M113A2, which has been adapted in a variety of different local configurations. The most recent production license covered a total of around 1200 M113A2s, signed in 1998, while in 2010 the US government approved the provision of a further 550 second-hand M113A2s in the form of military aid. Among the local M113A2 derivatives in Pakistan Army service are the Sakb com-
The ubiquitous 155mm M109 Paladin series remains the primary selfpropelled howitzer in Pakistan Army service. The most recent delivery comprised 115 second-hand examples from the US © Pakistan Army
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mand post vehicle, Al Hadeed armoured recovery vehicle, Al Qaswa logistics vehicle and the Maaz anti-tank missile carrier armed with Norinco HJ-8/12 Red Arrow-8 infrared Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs). Pakistan is a long-term operator of the HJ-8/12, deliveries of which continue under the local designation Baktar Shikan. While HIT has completed prototypes of wheeled APCs, most recently the Burraq and Mohafiz four-wheel drives, these are apparently both yet to enter service with the Pakistan armed forces. Reportedly in use in significant numbers with the Pakistan Army is the four-wheel drive Otokar Akrep Reflecting Pakistan’s growing interest in highly mobile, protected vehicles, in 2010 it received ten examples of the KrausMaffei Wegmann Dingo-2 four-wheel drive, likely using these for evaluation. The backbone of the Pakistan Army’s self-propelled artillery inventory remains the US-supplied BAE Systems’ M109A5 and M110 self-propelled howitzers. Pakistan operates at least 40 examples of the 203mm M110A2, together with the 155mm M109. The most recent deliveries of the latter were of the M109A5 variant, provided as surplus by the US Army. M109A5 deliveries to Pakistan occurred in 2007 (115 examples, provided second-hand as an $87 million military aid package), 2009 (115) and 2008 (67). Around 150 of the earlier M109A2s remain in service and are subject to local overhaul by HIT, which brings them to an ‘as new’ condition.
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Under the Peace Drive Foreign Military Sale, the Pakistan Air Force received a total of twelve Lockheed Martin F-16C Block-52 and six F-16D Block-52 MRCA © USAF
The Pakistan Army makes use of Multiple Rocket Launchers (MRLs) of both local and Chinese origins. The Institute of Control Systems has developed a 122mm 30-round MRL, with around 50 examples now deployed. These are supplemented by the China Precision Machinery Import Export Corporation (CPMIEC) A100, a 300mm ten-round MRL that was ordered in 2008 and is now in service as an apparent counter to India’s Russian-made Splav BM-20 Smerch 300mm MRL. Pakistan ordered a total of 48 A100 MRLs, deliveries of which were completed in 2013. One area in which the Pakistan Army is eager to introduce new equipment is within the Army Aviation Wing, with plans to overhaul its attack helicopter fleet, which currently consists of a mix of Bell AH-1F and AH-1S Cobra gunships, some of which are from former US Army stocks. Pakistan urgently requires a new attack helicopter to conduct counter insurgency operations in the North Waziristan Agency (NWA), the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), in northeast Pakistan, and other remote and mountainous areas.
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In August 2015 the government signed off the purchase of an unspecified number (likely four) Mil Mi-35 attack helicopters from Russia. However, since then the US Congress has approved a request from Pakistan for the supply of 15 Bell AH-1Z Viper gunships. The deal, worth up to $952 million, would also include engines, spares and 1000 Lockheed Martin AGM-114R Hellfire-II air-to-surface missiles. Furthermore, Pakistan has received three Changhe Aircraft Industries Group (CAIG) Z-10 attack helicopters and one Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Company Z-19 scout and reconnaissance helicopter from the PRC for evaluation purposes. In the meantime, Pakistan continues to arm its AH-1F/S fleet, and in 2004 signed an $82 million deal to acquire 2014 Raytheon BGM-71E TOW-2A wire-guided ATGMs, delivered between 2006 and 2008. In a significant milestone, Pakistan reported the first combat use of an indigenous Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) Burraq, in North Waziristan in September 2015. The UCAV struck an insurgent com-
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pound using an indigenous laser-guided NESCOM Barq air-to-surface missile.
Pakistan Navy Historically the smallest of the three main branches of the Pakistan armed forces, the Pakistan Navy (PN) has undergone a process of modernisation and enlargement in recent years. Efforts to rebuild the surface fleet have seen warships imported from both the PRC and the US. The latest addition is the PNS Alamgir, a former US Navy ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigate that was commissioned in 2011. This is now in service together with four new-build ‘Zulfiquar’ class frigates from China’s Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding, the last of which was commissioned in 2013. The ‘Zulfiquar’ procurement was valued at around $750 million and also included six Harbin Z-9EC naval support helicopters, as well as diesel power plants that may have been supplied by France (or were otherwise license built in China). The PN plans to increase its fleet of surface combatants, either through further acquisition of surplus ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigates from the US, or by pur-
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A Pakistan Navy Aérospatiale/Airbus Helicopters Alouette-III naval support helicopter takes off from a US Navy destroyer during an exercise in the Persian Gulf in 2014 © US Navy
was agreed with DCNS, under which two ‘Khalid’ class SSKs were modernised, including the addition of an Air-Independent Prolusion (AIP) system. The third unit was already equipped with AIP at the time of delivery. The ‘Khalid’ class are armed with European weapons, primarily the MBDA SM.39 Exocet anti-ship missile (25 of which were provided under a $100 million deal signed in 1994) and the Atlas Elektronik DM2A4 Seehecht torpedo, 59 of which were provided under an $80 million deal signed in 2005. Pakistan hopes to further expand its submarine fleet (which also includes two older 'Hashmat' class boats delivered in 1979) and has examined procurement of Chinese, French, notably DCNS’ new ‘Scorpéne’ class SSKs, and Germany’s HowaldtswerkeDeutsche Werft (HDW) ‘Type 214’ class SSKs. In 2009, Pakistan came close to signing a $1.3 billion deal with HDW for the supply of three ‘Type 214’ class submarines, before budgetary constraints saw this proposal shelved. In its place, Pakistan will now produce eight boats, expected to be ‘Type 041’ class SSKs from the PRC to be constructed locally and in the PRC, The Cold War-era M113 and its derivatives remain the for an estimated $6 billion. primary tracked APC in Pakistan Army service. The basic M113A2 has been built locally and an additional batch The PN maintains a mixed of 550 ex-US military M113A2s began to be delivered in fleet of Fast Attack Craft (FACs) 2011 © Pakistan Army that are provided by local ship-
chasing additional ‘Zulfiquar’ class ships, likely to be of an enlarged and more capable design, or other frigates from China. The induction of three DCNS ‘Khalid’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) also marks a significant development in capabilities for the PN as it seeks to keep pace with sub-surface developments in the Indian Navy. DCNS built the first of the ‘Khalid’ class, which was commissioned in 1999, while the second boat was completed by the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works and Pakistan Naval Engineering Branch, with French assistance. The third and final unit, delivered in 2008, was also built in Karachi under a transfer of technology contract. In 2008, a $750 million contract
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builders, as well as from Turkey. The FACs now in service comprise the ‘Jalalat II’ class (two examples, completed by the PN Dockyard and commissioned in 1997), the ‘Jurrat’ class (two examples, completed by the Karachi Shipyard and commissioned in 2006) and the ‘Kaan 33’ class (two examples, completed by the Yonca-Onuk Shipyard in Turkey and commissioned in 2007). More ambitious is the ‘Azmat’ class missile FAC, a product of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation and Karachi Shipyard. The first unit, PNS Azmat, was commissioned in 2012 and the second, PNS Dehshat (the first to be built indigenously), was commissioned in 2014. Two more vessels are under construction at Karachi. Fast patrol craft include the ‘Defender’ class (nine examples, completed by Safe Boats International in the US and commissioned in 2010) and the ‘Kaan 15’ class (two examples, completed by the YoncaOnuk Shipyard and commissioned in 2004). In 2004 the PN acquired hovercraft in the form of four Griffon Hoverwork Griffon-2000 TDX(M)s from the UK. The PN’s aviation arm has been bolstered through the addition of Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPAs). The first two examples arrived in 1997 and were followed by orders for eight (including one spare) to be delivered from US Navy surplus stocks, in a deal worth $970 million. The first two of these aircraft were delivered in 2010, but two aircraft were destroyed in an in-
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surgent attack on their Mehran airbase in Karachi in May 2011. It is expected that Washington DC will transfer attrition replacements to meet the PN’s ultimate goal of a nine-aircraft P-3C fleet.
Pakistan Air Force The PAF has traditionally equipped its front-line units with aircraft drawn from a range of different sources, primarily the PRC, France and the US. Today, deliveries of new fighters include the JF-17 Thunder, a joint project run by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC) of the PRC. After six prototypes, CAC produced a batch of eight development aircraft that also underwent test work in Pakistan. A first contract for 42 serialproduction JF-17s were built by PAC at Kamra in northern Pakistan, where the first locally produced aircraft was rolled out in 2009. Currently, the PAC factory in Kamra is responsible for 58 percent of the production process, with the remaining 42 percent produced in the PRC. The PAF has ordered 150 aircraft and has options on a further 50. The JF-17 programme involves a variety of technologies imported from other countries, or built under licence, including the Russian-designed Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine, and the Brazilian Mectron MAR-1 anti-radiation missile. Pakistan ordered 100 examples of the MAR-1 in 2008, under a deal worth around $120 million; deliveries began in 2013. While the first 50 JF-17s were produced to BlockI standard, the next 50 are being built as Block-II aircraft with improved avionics, an aerial refuelling probe and increased weapons-carrying capability. The future Block-III iteration is expected to bring further improvements. Currently the most important combat aircraft in the PAF inventory is the General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16A/B/C/D Block-15/50/52+ Fighting Falcon Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA), for which Islamabad has placed successive orders including both newbuild and second-hand airframes. A total of 111 F-16A/B Block-15 versions were ordered, although sanctions ensured that 71 of these were ultimately embargoed by Washington in the wake of the nuclear tests discussed above. After the lifting of sanctions, Pakistan requested 24 newbuild F-16C/D Block-50/52+ MRCA in 2005, before placing an order for 18 aircraft plus options for another 18. Deliveries of these more advanced F-16C/D
The ZDK-03 AEW was developed for Pakistan on the basis of China’s Y-8 AEW platform. The ZDK-03 is based on the latest Y-8F-600 airframe © Thomas Newdick
Block 50/52+ models began in 2010. More recently, the PAF has made efforts to increase its F-16 family fleet through the acquisition of surplus aircraft from Jordan, valued at $75 million. This provided a total of 13 F-16A/B Block-15 airframes, deliveries of which took place in 2014. In 2010 Pakistan announced plans to acquire Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) kits to upgrade all its older F-16A/B Block-15 models. The introduction of the former Royal Jordanian Air Force jets increases the PAF’s F-16 family fleet to 76, the oldest of which have been in service for over 30 years. Pakistan’s tradition of buying similar platforms from different sources continued when it added a new Airborne Early Warning (AEW) capability to the PAF. The flying branch has thus inducted the ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle that is based on the Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Corporation (SAC) Y-8 military transport, and the Saab Erieye radar based on the Saab 2000 turboprop transport. In 2005 Islamabad signed a contract with Saab for the supply of six Saab-2000 Erieye-equipped AEW aircraft, reduced to five in 2007, including a crew training aircraft. A first delivery occurred in 2009 but in August 2012 at least one of the aircraft was destroyed during an insurgent attack at its Kamra base. Four ZDK-03s were ordered in 2009 for $278 million, and the first examples were delivered in 2011. Alongside its burgeoning AEW capability, the PAF has added another ‘forcemultiplier’ in the form of aerial refuelling tankers. In 2006, Ukraine sold four Ilyushin Il-78MPs to the PAF. These former transports were overhauled in 2007
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and 2011 prior to delivery. Older equipment in PAF service, including Dassault Mirage-III and Mirage-V family and CAC F-7P/PG fighters, continue to be subject to upgrade, with both types having received the Selex Grifo-7 radar. Delivery of these subsystems has allowed the PAF to upgrade around 35 Mirage-III/Vs and 100 F-7P/PGs, helping to increase combat mass while introduction of the JF-17 continues (see above).
Conclusion Recent trends within the Pakistan armed forces have seen a move towards increasing sophistication and new capabilities, notably AEW and UCAVs as discussed above, with a focus on the continuing counter-insurgency operations carried out within the country’s borders as well as keeping pace with developments in its rival India. The habit of procuring equipment from multiple sources has continued, as an insurance policy against future sanctions. However, efforts have been made across the board to increase local production, or co-production, of major weapons systems. The 2015-16 defence budget amounted to $7.7 billion, representing an increase of around eleven percent on the previous year. While this was in line with expectations, the demands of the ongoing insurgency by the Pakistani Taliban are likely to absorb much of the additional funds. With this in mind, Pakistan is likely to continue to rely heavily on arms imports from the PRC, as well as the acquisition of second-hand materiel where applicable and the continued upgrade of existing equipment. AMR
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Avon Protection’s FM53 multi-role Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) has been developed for specialist applications where the user needs to respond to ever-changing operational conditions © Avon Protection
Breathing Uneasily In 2015, several incidents in the Middle East reportedly involved the use of mustard gas and chlorine in bombs and mortars deployed by ISIS, while in the Asia-Pacific the DPRK continues its belligerent stance.
by Andy Oppenheimer
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he Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) appears to have incorporated chemical warfare into its strategy and is using Chemical Weapons (CW) on a regular basis, especially during intensified battles at strategic locations. These reports add to a growing catalogue of CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) use in the Syrian and Iraqi civil wars. In August it was reported that ISIS was manufacturing mustard gas in the socalled ‘caliphate’ of territory it controls in
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parts of eastern Syria and north-western Iraq. In early September, the German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) foreign intelligence service, confirmed by US officials, described three chemical attacks in Iraq and three in Syria, thought to have taken place in August, in which ISIS used mustard gas in mortar rounds that resulted in injuries with “wounds consistent with a blister-producing agent” in small amounts and reportedly at low concentration. The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, which oversees the
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Kurdish military forces of the Kurdish Autonomous Region of northern Iraq which is fighting ISIS, said blood samples from about 35 of their fighters revealed traces of sulphur mustard. The continued use of chlorine in bombs and mortars together with manufacturing mustard agent and applying old CW mustard gas stocks in Iraq, left over from the regime of erstwhile dictator Saddam Hussein, means that a palpable insurgent CW capability in this region, and possibly beyond, becomes more feasible. In
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ISIS took control of the disused Al-Muthanna CW Complex north-west of Baghdad in 2014 and is believed to be adapting old mustard gas munitions and manufacturing their own © CIA
of chlorine. Earlier in January Peshmerga fighters claimed they identified a truck prepared for use in a suicide bomb attack on the road between Mosul and the Syrian border that contained about 20 cylinders of chlorine.
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September the US Department of Defence (DoD) instructed the 3500 military personnel currently stationed in Iraq to be equipped with CBRN protective equipment following the mustard gas reports (see above).
Mustard Stockpiles It is feared that ISIS has begun manufacturing its own mustard agent, possibly in the laboratories of the University of Mosul, in the eponymous Iraqi city, which the group occupied in 2014 and a possible location where ISIS could produce the mustard gas using their own operatives with chemical expertise. An earlier production effort near Baghdad was disrupted in 2013 by unnamed foreign intelligence services which believed that ISIS had acquired a small stock of mustard agent from old Iraqi stockpiles from the Al Muthanna CW Complex near Baghdad that ISIS raided in 2014. Old stocks would still be usable and injurious as mustard gas still persists in old First World War shells. It is believed by the intelligence community that ISIS can and have used the expertise of chemical experts who worked on Saddam Hussein’s military CBRN projects.
of booby-trapped bombs in roads and buildings in areas of Iraq that it occupies and areas that the group has abandoned. One-quarter of the roadside bombs in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, recaptured in 2015 from ISIS by Iraqi forces, were found to contain chlorine. These devices have caused substantial chemical injuries to Kurdish Peshmerga troops and Iraqi Army EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) teams and are interpreted as a major escalation of the ISIS insurgency. In July intelligence reports included seizures by the Iraqi Shiite militia Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada of trucks containing yellow cylinders
The growing use of CW in the respective conflicts in Iraq and Syria has seen a corresponding increase in the demand for CW protection, as illustrated by the decision taken by the US DoD discussed above to equip US troops in Iraq with such safeguards. As respiratory protection is fundamental to surviving any chemical or biological attack, escape hoods are increasingly viewed as an effective form of PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) to protect civilians. They are easy and quick to don and provide wearers with respiratory, visual and facial CBRN protection usually for at least 15 minutes; enough time to evacuate from a contaminated area. Most escape hoods require no prior training for use and are suited to civilian situations as well as for first-responder and military use. Immediate decontamination is equally vital. The need to provide CW protection has led Colonel Hamish de Bretton Gordon, a former British Army soldier and
The JUPITR programme is designed to provide biosurveillance for the Korean Peninsula © US Army
Chlorine Bombs Despite the dismantlement of Syria’s CW stocks and delivery systems in 2014, the forces of Syrian President Bashar alAssad have continued to bombard rebelheld areas with chlorine-loaded barrel bombs, and concern has grown that insurgents would seize stocks of chlorine. ISIS has incorporated chlorine into hundreds
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The Avon C50 mask (pictured here and below) is based on the US M50/JSGPM (Joint Services General Purpose Mask) and provides maximum operational flexibility to protect against CBRN agents and toxic industrial chemicals © Avon Protection
leading CW expert who has undertaken several missions to Syria following the employment of sarin nerve agent by the regime of President Bashir Al-Assad in August 2013 against rebel-controlled areas around the Syrian capital Damascus, to set up a programme with, among others, the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organisations (UOSSM) and the United Kingdom charity Syria Relief. This programme aims to address the need to protect civilians by equipping and training them for CW attacks. A basic gas detection system was specified for each medical clinic, together with escape hoods and equipment for personal decontamination. Col. de Bretton Gordon said, “Personal decontamination is absolutely vital, as a greater percentage of casualties often arise from secondary contamination than from the actual attack. In April 2014 I was contaminated with chlorine when I was doing analysis work and my decontamination mitt saved me from any serious injury.” In terms of full respirators, the Avon 50 series mask is used by numerous military and police units around the world and provides maximum operational flexibility to counter multiple threats. These include CBRN agents, Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs), and Toxic Industrial Materials (TIMs). Nick Primavesi, the regional sales manager for Avon in the Asia-Pacific, told
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AMR, “Avon has a strong track record of supplying respirators and breathing equipment to many of the (counties in the region) over several decades. In Australia our FM53 new generation single-visor mask is in service, and we are also supplying both state and federal police with the 50 series mask. In Thailand, the army chemical department and other specialist military units are long-term users of the 50 series masks and our ST53 breathing system.” He added, “We have supplied the Malaysian Army with the S10 mask for many years and more recently our C50 product has been selected to provide CBRN protection for other army and navy units. Malaysian Federal police and police commando units have taken the new generation 50 series masks and ST53 breathing equipment.”
DPRK In early October, in a rare public speech he made as part of mass celebrations in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the country’s ruling Workers’ Party, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) increasingly belligerent leader Kim Jong-un said his country could defend itself in any war started by the US. Days before, the head of the US Northern Command, one of the US DoD’s constituent Unified Combatant Commands,
| Asian Military Review |
Admiral William Gortney stated that the DPRK was capable of hitting the US with an Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), given that the Pyongyang parade showcased the new roadmobile KN-08 ICBM built with assistance from the People’s Republic of China. Of prime importance in assessing the DPRK’s true nuclear capability is its progress in ‘weaponising’ its warheads, i.e. fitting them to missiles. This requires their miniaturisation; a significant technical advancement for any nation-state aiming to establish a truly deliverable nuclear deterrent. In May the DPRK announced that it had achieved this technical advance, which met with mixed reactions from US officials. US National Security Council spokesperson Patrick Ventrell told the Cable News Network television channel, “Our assessment of (the DPRK’s) nuclear capabilities has not changed. We do not think that they have that capacity. However, they are working on developing a number of long range missiles including ICBMs that could eventually threaten our allies and the homeland.” However, the commander of US forces in the Republic of Korea, General Curtis Scaparrotti said in October that he thought the DPRK was capable of miniaturising a nuclear device. Less open to dispute is the DPRK’s expansion of its nuclear weapons programme. It has an estimated stockpile of ten to 15 warheads classed as ‘low yield’
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Militaries around the world depend on reliable CBRN equipment to ensure that they remain protected on the battlefield. Such equipment must also keep abreast of emerging threats © Avon
(typically of up to 15 kilotons of explosive power) but still capable of levelling an urban centre. Unless miniaturisation has been achieved, they are too unwieldy to be deliverable on missiles. According to the Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the Institute for Science and International Security, a think tank based in Washington DC, by 2020 there will be enough weapons-grade material to make 29 nuclear weapons in the DPRK. The Institute’s founder and renowned nuclear expert David Albright noted that the DPRK had ramped up its production of uranium and plutonium in recent years. For example in November 2013 it revived the light-water reactor, and constructed new structures at the Yongbyon reprocessing facility north of Pyongyang.
fence (JPEO-CBD) and supported by the US Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Centre (ECBC) in Maryland. JUPITR is designed to provide biological detection for naturally-occurring threats as well as deliberate attempts to spread biological contamination. Beginning in 2013, researchers from the ECBC and JPEO-CBD travelled to the RoK on short-term rotations to help the USFK
build advanced laboratory capabilities locally, train personnel and demonstrate the equipment available to the JUPITR initiative. The main facility, the 106th Food Safety Laboratory in the RoK, is certified at BioSafety Level 2 (BSL 2) standard to safely receive and analyse contaminated samples with biosurveillance analysis instruments. BioSafety levels have been devised by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to provide standards of precautions when working with biological agents. Biosurveillance analytical instruments employed by the JUPITR initiative include the IQUUM Liat, 3M Focus, and BioFire Film Array, which analyse dry filter unit samples of possible biological agents in five to six hours compared to previous timescales of up to two days. Working with the US Air National Guard’s 121st Medical Group, the US Army’s 106th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Support), and the United States Air Force’s 51st Air Force Medical Group in Korea, the ECBC and JPEO representatives provide the USFK with new capabilities to enhance laboratory efficiency in bio-sampling. The JUPITR programme comprises four stages to advance biological detection for the RoK. The first, an information portal, employs a library of identified biological substances accessed
By JUPITR As well as facing nuclear (and conventional) threats from its highly unstable northern neighbour, the Republic of Korea (RoK) estimates that the DPRK possesses a substantial stock of chemical and biological weapons. Although the world’s most secretive state’s true CBRN capabilities are very difficult to confirm, the RoK has established an advanced CBRN defence effort, with considerable help from the United States. This includes an extensive biosurveillance programme known as the Joint United States Forces Korea (USFK) Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition (JUPITR) initiative, led by the US DoD’s Joint Programme Executive Office for Chemical and Biological De-
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Satellite image of the DPRK’s Yongbyon nuclear facility where, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, new structures have been built and the light-water reactor restarted © US Department of State
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by authorised personnel. The second sends ECBC researchers to the RoK to work alongside USFK representatives to conduct analysis at their own facilities rather than shipping samples back to the US. The third leg, known as the ‘ShootOff’, tests environmental detection equipment and sends the best ones to the RoK. The final leg, known as Integrated Base Defence, uses a large multifunctional, all-seeing sensor that can detect bio agents in a given area to provide early warning that these agents may have been used.
Fukushima Update The biggest CBRN event in recent years in the Asia-Pacific has not been perpetrated by an insurgent organisation; rather it was the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) disaster on Honshu Island in Japan that takes the unedifying first place. In September it was revealed that at least 70 percent of the nuclear fuel inside one of the reactors melted down following the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011, with a total of three reactors having experienced meltdowns. In September 2015 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its final report on the disaster, examining technical reasons for the accident and lessons to be learned by government regulators and NPP operators. Apart from the inadequate assessment of its vulnerability to external hazards, the plant operator TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) was not fully prepared for the multi-unit
PPE against radiation is mandatory for anyone venturing into the Fukushima exclusion area, such as these members of the Japanese Association of Science and Technology Journalists during a study trip © JASTJ/Takahashi
loss of power and cooling after the tsunami, the IAEA report states. It continued that training, drills and post-degradation equipment were all inadequate. The Japanese government, nevertheless, plans to lift the evacuation order by 2017 for a 20 kilometre/km (20 mile) radius around the plant. TEPCO began removing contaminated ground water from wells to prevent further contamination, with radioactive isotopes to be reduced to a safe level before being released back into the ocean. To this end, an advanced liquid processing plant is under construc-
Scientists from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in northern England have lent expert assistance to the massive Fukushima clean-up operation © Sellafield Ltd
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tion at the Fukushima-Daiichi site to accelerate the pumping of 100-200 tons of groundwater from up to 41 sub-drains.
Protection All visitors, from workers tasked with the massive clean-up operation at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant to visiting journalists and scientists have to wear PPE clothing. By August 2015 TEPCO claimed that radiation levels had lowered after processing most of the highly contaminated water at the wrecked facility but this is disputed. The company claims that ambient radiation and dust levels have reduced significantly, so that workers now only need to wear fullface masks in ten percent of the Fukushima-Daiichi site. Following a fatal accident in August, and to prevent future disasters, Japan’s Ministry of Health released new worker safety guidelines to TEPCO on the use of PPE, personal radiation dose meters, contamination prevention, decontamination measures and first aid. Together with the ongoing nuclear and conventional threat from the DPRK, the cataclysmic events at the FukushimaDaiichi nuclear power plant have refocused attention on CBRN protection for both militaries and first-responders in the Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, events in the Middle East have shown a growing catalogue of CBRN use by both state actors (Syria) and arguably the deadliest and best equipped insurgent force in modern times (ISIS). The spectre of CBRN is making its presence felt in more than one region. AMR
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Asia-Pacific Procurement Update by Pierre Delrieu Pakistan to build four of eight Type 041 submarines in country Pakistan’s minister for defence production, Mr. Rana Tanveer Hussain, announced on 6 October during a press conference that Pakistan would be building four of the eight conventional hunterkiller (SSK) submarines it intends to purchase from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in an effort to speed up the delivery timeframe to the Pakistan Navy (PN). The four vessels will be built at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW), which is managed by the PN. The construction
Indian Army selects Samsung K9 for SPH requirement The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in late September that it had shortlisted the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) Samsung Techwin K9 Thunder 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH) to meet the Indian Army’s long-delayed $800 million tender for 100 SPHs. The selection follows successful desert and high altitude trials held in 2013 and early 2014, during which the K9’s mobility, speed, ac-
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of the four boats in Pakistan and the other four in the PRC will begin simultaneously, according to Mr. Hussain, and a personnel training centre will also be created at KSEW’s facilities in Karachi. Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has not specified the types of vessels that are being purchased from the PRC, but analysts agree that they are likely to be the Wuhan Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (WSlC) ‘Type 041’ class SSK; a new version of the PRC’s ‘Yuan’ class SSK, or a variant of that platform.Haris Khan, a senior analyst at the PakDef Military Consortium, an independent
think tank based in Tampa, Florida, told AMR that the PN’s initial plans for modernisation were to acquire “three German HowaldtswerkeDeutsche Werft (HDW) ‘Type-214’ class SSKs and six Chinese SSKs of unknown origin.” The Type-214 deal fell apart after the election of the new Pakistan People’s Party government in August 2008, “because of their abject financial behaviour,” explains Mr. Khan; “even though the deal was 95 percent completed prior to suspension of the contract.” Following this setback, “Pakistan turned to its traditional friend the PRC” and “the command of the PN
decided that it would increase the number of submarines ordered from the PRC from six to eight.” Mr.Khan told AMR that, “although Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is working on a miniaturised nuclear reactor for submarines, known as the KPC-3, so far there has been little talk regarding in which submarine it will be installed. The best estimates are that there is a conceptual PRC submarine programme known as the ‘Qing’ class, which has been labelled as a possible platform for a future PN nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN).
curacy, and overall rate of fire outperformed the Russian MSTA-SP gun, which had been modified to 155mm calibre and mounted on a Uralvagonzavod T-72 Main Battle Tank (MBT) chassis. The Indian Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) and the country’s Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), an arms and service branch of the army in charge of design, development, trial, inspection and refit of weapon systems and equipment, conducted an additional round of mainte-
nance acceptability trials on the K9 guns in mid-2014. India’s MoD and the RoK government are expected to conduct negotiations regarding the eventual acquisition in 2016. As part of the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative to encourage domestic armaments production, New Delhi will be asking Samsung-Techwin to supply kits to conduct the assembly of the SPHs by its local private-sector partner Larsen and Toubro (L&T) in their Pune facilities on the western coast of India. The Indian government is also reportedly considering the option of a K9 building licence for L&T, which will be discussed at a later time and acquired under the ‘Buy and Make’ category of the Defence Procurement Procedure which also includes the ‘Make in India’ initiative discussed above. In 2005, the Indian MoD banned South Africa’s stateowned aerospace and defence
technology conglomerate Denel, following allegations of wrongdoing in a separate contract to supply the army with 400 anti-materiel rifles. This had caused major delays of the army’s SPH programme, since New Delhi had shown interest in Denel’s Bhim SPH, developed in the late 1990s by associating the company’s T-6 155mm turret with the chassis of the locally-designed Avadi Heavy Vehicles Factory Arjun MBT. Although the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s law enforcement agency for the investigation of corruption cases, was unable to prove any wrongdoing and the ban was lifted in 2014, it was too late to revivify the Bhim programme. India has been looking to acquire SPHs for over two decades, in view of countering the Pakistani Army’s BAE Systems/ United Defence M109A2/3 SPHs that the latter acquired from the United States.
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Regional News and
Developments
south east asia Indonesia receives ‘SWEDISH AIR POWER PACKAGE’ offer Indonesia, which has been looking to replace the Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU/Indonesian Air Force) ageing Northrop Grumman F-5E/F Tiger-II Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA), has officially received an offer from Saab for a so-called ‘Swedish air power package’ featuring the company’s JAS-39E Gripen MRCA. With lower lifecycle costs, attractive financing solutions and a commitment to fulfil its obligation of transferring the technology, the Swedish offer is thus far one of the most complete and cost-efficient offers made to Indonesia. It was first announced to the
Philippines to resurrect corvette modernisation programme The Philippines’ Department of National Defence (DND) has decided to relaunch an upgrade programme for the Hukbóng Dagat ng Pilipinas (HDP/Philippine Navy’s) three ‘Jacinto’ class corvettes that had been shelved earlier this year. The DND published an official invitation to bidders on 6 October stating that the programme was worth $18.5 million and aimed at upgrading the PN’s vessels’ weap-
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press on 22 October by the Swedish Ambassador to Jakarta Johanna Brismar Skoog, and was confirmed by the Swedish company at a media event in Jakarta the following day. During the event, a Saab spokesperson explained that the offer, designed to meet air combat capability requirements in the Indonesian Air Force, will “significantly contribute to Indonesian defence and security as well as the economy.” The company explained that the Swedish air power package comprised the “latest version” of the JAS-39C/D/ E/F MRCA, namely the JAS39E, as well as the company’s Erieye Airborne Early Warning platform, ground-based air operations command and
control hardware and software and tactical data links to allow communications between platforms. At the industrial level, Saab’s offer includes transfers of technology, local production and extensive job creation, which Saab stated would represent “thousands of jobs”. Citing Thailand, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Africa as examples, Ambassador Skoog said
that Sweden has “the best capacities and capabilities in air defence” which would allow Indonesia complete control over its territory and “a proven track record on transfer of technology and industrial cooperation”. She added that Sweden’s air power package offer was not only limited to military use but also civilian, such as monitoring piracy, smuggling and illegal fishing.
ons and fire control systems, including the restoration and sustainment of the corvettes’ MSI Defence Systems’ 25mm guns and OTO Melara 76mm armament, plus the installation and upgrade of new optronics fire control systems and sensors. The programme also includes the supply of ammunition for the three vessels. A tender for the upgrade of the corvettes was initially launched in January 2015 but the DND had decided to suspend it following a failed bidding procedure, in which nine companies seemingly
expressed interest in the bid but failed to submit formal offers. Jose Antonio Custodio, a Manila-based military analyst, told AMR that the modernisation of the military, and especially the HDP, “is still a tug-of-war between those who advocate internal security and those who advocate a balance of internal and external security,” and “there is really no definitive policy as programmes become subject to the pull of those two sides.” Still faced with internal security threats from rebels, notably the Abu Sayyaf militant Islamist organisation operating in and around the Jolo and Basilan islands, the Philippines’ government has been using the HDP to conduct “operations that should belong to the Philippine Coast Guard” (PCG), Mr. Custodio argues. Although the PCG “has been removed from the military as a separate civilian force, it still relies on the HDP to handle certain maritime border issues.” Mr. Custodio believes that, as a border patrol monitoring force “the HDP is barely adequate, given the resources
it has and the length and breadth of the Philippines. And as a combat force, it is practically inadequate, as it lacks the requisite firepower and survivability if engaged in naval warfare against one of its neighbours, principally the PRC.” According to Mr. Custodio, “the Philippines has not outgrown its reliance on the US for its external defence and this is seen in the lackadaisical manner in which it has been attempting to modernise its forces.” He believes that the reason “the current programmes are slow in coming to fruition,” even given the expansion of the PLAN, “is because the Philippine government has, as a matter of policy, decided to rely on the US and other regional partners and the international community to guarantee its territorial interests such as those in the Spratly Islands archipelago.” The Spratly Islands are the subject of a multilateral maritime and territorial dispute involving Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
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The PRC may be building indigenous carriers Recent reports and satellite images suggest that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is building her first two indigenous aircraft carriers, designed to engage in more direct combat and possibly to be deployed to the South China Sea. Satellite pictures of an unidentified hull being built in a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning Province in the northeast PRC, has led to speculations that two aircraft carriers, according to military researchers and sources in the shipbuilding sector, are under construction. Both of these vessels are expected to be assembled at the
Jiangnan Shipyard on Changxing island, outside Shanghai. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been operating a ‘Liaoning’ class aircraft carrier since 2012, a vessel that was retrofitted from the Soviet Varyag aircraft carrier, and is primarily used for training and research purposes. “The ship under construction in Dalian in the very dry-dock where the Liaoning was rebuilt does not yet look like an aircraft carrier,” Rick Fisher, senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Centre, a think tank based in Alexandria, Virginia on the east coast of the United States told AMR. “But apparent images on Chinese websites on 18
October 2015 showing what appear to be modules for the hanger deck may constitute the best confirmation to date that this ship will be an aircraft carrier. This dry-dock has long been expected to be the construction site for the PRC’s first indigenous aircraft carrier,” Mr. Fisher said. Aircraft carriers have been seen as a key component of the PRC’s intentions to build up its naval capabilities to protect its foreign interests and to gain equal footing with the US Navy on the high seas and, according to Mr. Fisher, “the PRC’s aircraft carrier ambitions have been actively pursued since the early 1980s to include an aggressive intelligence and technology acquisition campaign.” Also, he explains that “according to previous PRC-source disclosures, the PLAN is widely expected to produce at least two nonnuclear powered aircraft carriers based largely on the Varyag design and then will begin construction of larger nuclear-powered carriers. The eventual number of
DPRK shows off new, possibly nuclear, ICBM During its 10 October parade, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK’s) army displayed what it claims is an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) carrying miniaturised nuclear warheads, which state television, with characteristic understatement, said could destroy the DPRK’s enemies in a “sea of fire”. The missile in question appears to be a modified version of the liquid-fuelled KN-08 ICBM, although equipped with a smaller warhead. The earlier version of the KN-08 was first seen during
the country’s 15 April 2012 military parade. Although available imagery does not enable an assessment of the missile’s exact dimensions, this unique road-mobile ICBM appears to be slightly shorter than its previous version. The difference is due to changes in the warhead section: a new smaller and blunter warhead shape could suggest a success in miniaturising its nuclear warheads, confirming US intelligence assessments and claims from the DPRK. During the celebration parade, the DPRK state television commentator announced, as rows of missiles were shown on screen, that “with the vengeful desire to turn the citadel of our enemies
into a sea of fire, our powerful tactical rockets loaded with diversified and miniaturised nuclear warheads are on the move.” Speaking to crowds assembled for the parade, the DPRK’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un said that the country’s armed forces “are capable of fighting any kind of war provoked by the US and we are ready to protect our people and the blue sky of our motherland.” For the past year, the US military has been operating under the assumption that the DPRK has the knowledge and technical capabilities to efficiently miniaturise a nuclear weapon for longrange strike, but analysts and experts say it is yet impossible to be certain if Pyongyang
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Chinese carriers has not been disclosed but speculation focuses on is between four and six vessels.” Concerning the future vessels’ characteristics, much is left to speculations, but according to Mr. Fisher, “while the Liaoning features a ski jump deck and was designed by the former Soviet Union for the primary mission of defending nuclear ballistic missile submarines, the PLAN has assembled a balanced air wing featuring the Shenyang J-15 multi-role combat aircraft plus Changhe Z-8 maritime support helicopters configured for airborne early warning and anti-submarine warfare. The country’s indigenous carriers will likely initially feature steam, and possibly electromagnetic catapults in the future, and continue to have a balanced air wing for the main missions of power projection and fleet defence. The PRC will use its aircraft carriers to better dominate the Western Pacific but will also use them to defend its strategic-economic interests around the world,” Mr. Fisher concluded. has such capabilities. Speaking in April at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a thinktank based in Washington DC, Elaine Bunn, deputy assistant US secretary of defence for nuclear and missile defence policy, stated that “the reliability of an untested KN-08 is likely to be very low,” noting that while the DPRK has yet to test the KN-08, it has experimented with enough Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) technology that it could plausibly develop an ICBM capable of reaching the United States. For further discussion of the DPRK’s weapons of mass destruction, please see Andy Oppenheimer’s ‘Breathing Uneasily’ article in this issue.
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AUSTRALIA TO PROCURE HAWKEI Australia is to buy 1100 Hawkei armoured vehicles from Thales. The Australian Government confirmed on 5 October that it has signed a deal with Thales Australia to purchase a total of 1100 four-wheel drive Hawkei light protected infantry mobility vehicles, and 1000 trailers for the Australian Army. The deal with the Australian branch of the French defence multinational is reported to cost around $910 million. It will include the local production and assembly of the Hawkeis and trailers by Thales’ Australian subsidiary at its Bendigo facility in Victoria, southeast Australia, allowing for the creation of at least 170 jobs. The production for the army’s new infantry vehicles is scheduled to begin from mid-2017 with initial deliveries expected towards the end of that year. Produc-
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tion is scheduled to last about three and a half years, and Thales has stated that it plans to gradually wind down its local production of the 15-tonne Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle to make way for the Hawkei, allowing full-rate production to commence in 2018. The Australian government has also expressed hopes that the Hawkei can find additional international buyers in
the future, enabling continued production at the Bendigo site. The plan fulfils the army’s requirement to replace most of its Land Rover Perentie four-wheel drive fleet. Unlike the Land Rover, Thales’ Hawkei features considerable protection from small arms fire, as well as a V-shaped hull, which limits any damage caused by roadside bomb and land
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mine explosions. The vehicle is light enough to be carried by a Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopter and can also be armed with heavy machine guns and grenade launchers. Thales has said that it hopes the deal will represent a lasting relationship between the Australian Government and their company and, while Thales is leading the manufacturing project, it announced that over half of the major suppliers on the Hawkei programme would be domestic Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). To this end, Thales has received the support of the Victorian Defence Alliance, a local industry group, the Industry Capability Network, which offers support to contractors, identifying capable local industries in Australia and New Zealand, and the Australian Industry and Defence Network, which supports SMEs nationwide.
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