AMR February/March 2014

VOLUME 22/ISSUE 1

A S I A PA C I F I C ’ S

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 US$15

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MILITARY UTILITY HELICOPTER BATTLE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES INDIAN ARMED FORCES

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SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY COASTAL & PORT SECURITY AIR FORCE DIRECTORY SINGAPORE ARMED FORCES

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Contents FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 VOLUME 22 / ISSUE 1

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Front Cover Photo: A United States Navy Sikorsky SH-60F Sea Hawk naval support helicopter performs vertical replenishment. Rotorcraft throughout the Asia-Pacific region fall under the spotlight in this edition’s ‘The China Syndrome’ article © US DoD

New Orders Defence journalist Rahul Bedi, based in New Delhi, updates AMR with an examination of the Indian Air Force’s current posture and procurement priorities as it confronts new security challenges around South Asia and beyond.

Boats Behaving Badly

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AMR editor Thomas Withington examines some of the latest innovations in port and coastal security, in particular the world of coastal radar which provides the user with an all-weather day-and-night capability to gaze far out to sea.

25 Hong Kong-based defence photojournalist Gordon Arthur looks at the modernisation programmes being performed

by Singapore across its army, navy and air force, and the country’s militaryindustrial capabilities.

56 Middle Managers Several countries around the Asia-Pacific are updating the battle management systems used by their armies to move orders and information up and down the chain or command, as AMR editor Thomas Withington finds out.

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Stable Condition

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Ian Kemp, a Londonbased defence journalist, provides a detailed round-up of ongoing artillery modernisation programmes around the Asia-Pacific, highlighting some of the latest technological developments.

Bianca Siccardi, a Turin-based aerospace journalist, provides all the latest orders of battle and programme information for air forces, navies and armies around the Asia-Pacific region in AMR’s annual Regional Air Forces Directory.

february/March­ 2014

London-based defence journalist Andrew Drweiga examines how China’s changing strategic posture is encouraging several air forces, armies and navies around the Asia-Pacific region to invest in their medium-lift utility helicopter fleets.

Big Bang Theory

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Air Forces Directory

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The China Syndrome

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Index of Advertisers ADAS PHILIPPINES AFRICA AEROSPACE AIRBUS HELICOPTERS AIRSHOW CHINA AMR DSI ATK ATM BELL HELICOPTERS BOEING F18 BRUNSWICK CASSIDIAN CONTROP DSA MALAYSIA ELBIT EMBRAER EURONAVAL EUROSATORY EXELIS GENERAL ATOMICS IAI IAI MBT IDEAS PAKISTAN IDEX/NAVDEX ILA BERLIN IMDEX INDO DEFENCE L3 WESCAM NORTHROP GRUMMAN RAFAEL RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS SOFEX VIKING AIR

49 63 31 79 43 23 53 19 27 9 21 13 COVER 3 59 33 85 87 5 37 COVER 2 69 77 71 73 81 89 11 COVER 4 17 41 83 47

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Editorial LOOK BACK IN ANGER? n late December 2013, Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe made a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The shrine, founded in 1859 by Emporer Meiji, commemorates the millions of individuals who have died in Japan’s wars since the nineteenth century. This includes Japanese war criminals executed after the end of the Second World War for crimes against humanity.

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Mr. Abe’s visit triggered angry protests from the governments of China and the Republic of Korea—nations whose populations suffered considerably from Japanese brutality during the Second World War. The Rape of Nanking, perpetrated by Japanese troops in 1937, witnessed the mass rape and murder of Chinese non-combatants claiming, according to some estimates, the lives of up to 300,000 people. Meanwhile, over 400,000 women from Korea and China, along with several other nations around the Asia-Pacific region, were forced into sexual slavery as so-called ‘Comfort Women’

by Japan during the conflict. In addition, prisoners of war taken by the Japanese were subjected to horrific abuse, while many other local populations in the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’, as Japan referred to the lands it had seized, were the victims of human rights abuses and privations caused by the occupation.

The Japanese prime minister was at pains to emphasise that his visit was not to commemorate war criminals: “I have renewed my determination before the souls of the war dead to firmly uphold a pledge never to wage a war again,” he promised.

Yet his actions were certain to raise heckles in the region. Japan seems to be adopting a more strategically robust posture. On 1 January 2014, Mr. Abe stressed that he wished to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution which has forbidden it from deploying troops abroad in anger. Furthermore controversies continue to rage regarding how Japan depicts its wartime past in school textbooks.

To be fair Japan is in a bind. The past year has seen China adopt a more confident regional posture, most recently enlarging its East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in November 2013. The ADIZ includes the uninhabited Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in the East China Sea claimed by China and Japan. It is not surprising that Tokyo will respond to actions like the ADIZ extension by adopting an increasingly vigilant stance. However, such actions will raise eyebrows in the wider region mindful of Japan’s past.

Japan’s wartime ally Germany is playing an increasingly active role in global affairs, including the deployment of military forces to support North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) operations. It has arguably been able to do this because Germany has faced the brutality of its wartime past in an honest and transparent fashion, fully acknowledging the Third Reich’s crimes against humanity. If Japan wants to be seen as a force for good in the Asia-Pacific and the wider world, its leadership might be well advised to think again about future visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.

Thomas Withington, Editor

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coastal and port security

BOATS BEHAVING BADLY How can the world’s ports and coastlines become less ‘user friendly’ to the insurgent? By improving the situational awareness of those charged with policing them: as this article will show radar offers invaluable capabilities to this end.

by Thomas Withington n 26 November 2013, Mumbai commemorated one of the darkest events in its recent history when five years earlier eleven insurgents from the Lashkar-e-Taiba Islamist militant organisation came ashore in small boats at the Colaba quarter of the city and began a series of gun and bomb attacks which would see over 750 people killed and injured in the ensuing three days of violence. Only one of the insurgents, Ajmal Kasab, was captured and later hanged on 12th November 2012, the rest being killed by Indian security forces during the course of the attacks.

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Size is everything The attacks in Mumbai and the utilisation of marine craft, in this case small highspeed inflatable boats, brought the issue of port and coastal security in the AsiaPacific region sharply into focus. Had these craft been detected and intercepted while they were still at sea, it is possible that those deadly attacks in Mumbai could have been prevented.

Port security is a major issue for a region that is home to several of the world’s busiest ports. According to figures released for 2012 by the World Shipping Council (WSC), a United States-based advocacy organisation for the container shipping liner industry, nine of the ten world’s busiest ports are in Asia. The WSC uses the container industry-standard measurement of Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TeUs) to measure port container Terma of Denmark produces the Scanter-5201 and Scanter-5202 as part of the firm’s Scanter5000 family of coastal surveillance radars. The principle discriminating factor between these two systems is their power outputs © Terma

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coastal and port security

Port and coastal surveillance radars are often teamed with optronic sensors. In this way the radar can be used to spot a target with the optronics then providing a more detailed view © DMT

security of those who live and work near these giant ports, but also to protect the ports themselves and international trade in general. Moreover, as the Mumbai attacks underscored, it is vital that the use of the sea as a means by which guerrillas can come ashore is made as difficult as possible.

Radar is one of the most useful technologies for securing coastlines, ports and harbours. Its important contribution

traffic with each TeU representing a single 20 feet by 8 feet (six metre by two metre) shipping container. Several of the WSC’s busiest ports for 2012 are in China, namely Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, NingboZhoushan, Guangzhou, Qingdao and Tianjin. Between them, they account for 138.2 million TeUs of container traffic per year. This is 69 percent of the 220.2 million TeUs that is handled by the world’s top ten container ports. Away from China, the ports of Singapore and Busan, Republic of Korea (second and fifth place respectively) handle 48.6 million TeUs; 24 percent of the total. Only one port in the WSC’s top ten is outside the Asia-Pacific region, namely Jebel Ali in Dubai, which occupies ninth place handling 13.30 million TeUs in 2012.

Securing such facilities is therefore paramount not only for the safety and

Port security is a major issue in for the Asia-Pacific region that is home to several of the world’s busiest ports l

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as an aid to safe navigation at sea is well documented, but for security it offers a weather-proof means to spot suspicious vessels behaving differently from the normal ebb and flow of everyday local marine traffic.

The sea poses its own challenges for radar operators. Its constant movement particularly in rough weather is adept at causing ‘clutter’ on radar screens; spurious radar echoes triggered by Radio Frequency (RF) energy bouncing off the top of the water and showing up on the screen as a ‘blip’. Too much clutter can mask legitimate returns such as small boats. Secondly, heavy rainfall can conspire against the ability of RF energy to travel long distances, while coastal radars may need to detect targets such as small craft like jet-skis or Rigid Hull Inflatable

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coastal and port security

Port security is a major concern in the Asia-Pacific region as it is around the world. Safeguarding these strategic facilities is not only important for security, but also to ensure economic health © Thomas Withington

Boats (RHIBs) which may have a small radar cross-section of between one and two square metres (three to seven feet) thus being relatively difficult to see using RF. Coastal and port security radars tend to operate in S-band (2.3-2.5/2.7-3.7 gigahertz/Ghz) and X-band (8.5-10.68Ghz).

X-band in particular offers good longrange performance in clear weather, along with good target resolution. Sband radars meanwhile give good performance in heavy rainfall where the performance of X-band equipment can begin to deteriorate. However, one restriction in common to both S-band and X-band radar, and in fact all radar, is that range is limited to line-of-sight which equates

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to around 15 nautical miles (28 kilometres) for a small boat using a radar positioned 30 metres (98 feet) Above Sea Level (ASL) with a large ship being detected at 43nm (80km) with a radar positioned 1000m (3,280ft) ASL atop of a mountain, for example.

Modus Operandi Maritime security specialists have arguably never enjoyed such choice as far as coastal security radars are concerned.

Such products are available from Turkey’s Aselsan, Belgian Advanced Technology Systems (BATS), the pan-European Cassidian (now Airbus Defence and Space) defence electronics house, DMT of

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the United States, Israel’s IAI Elta, Kelvin Hughes of the United Kingdom, Selex of Italy, Denmark’s Terma and Thales of France.

Aselsan’s Serder radar is one of the systems which operates in X-band. It has a range of 48nm (90km) and uses Continuous Wave (CW) architecture in which the RF energy is transmitted continuously rather than as a series of pulses.

Pulse radars detect ranges by measuring the time lag between the transmission of a pulse and that pulse’s reflection by the target back to the radar using the principle that RF energy travels at the speed of light (161,987 knots-per-second/300,000km per second). CW radars use the Doppler

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coastal and port security

Effect, that is the subtle change in frequency caused by RF energy hitting a moving object and reflecting back to the antenna; an audible equivalent of this is the apparent change in pitch of an emergency vehicle siren moving towards and then away from the listener. By measuring this change in frequency, known as the Doppler Shift, it is possible to determine the speed of a target relative to the radar.

This is all well and good for moving objects, but stationary objects produce no Doppler Effect. For this reason, Aselsan’s Serder uses a Frequency Modulated (FM) CW waveform. The major advantage of FM CW radars is that they are relatively inexpensive to build and hence purchase, and are easy to maintain. One disadvantage of FM CW radars is that they can produce significant sidelobes which can increase their chance of detection, although Aselsan’s Serder has a Low Probability of Intercept design to reduce this, according to the company.

DMT’s IDAR radar is an X-band system which employs conventional pulse Doppler technology. This radar is capable of detecting small boats at a range of between one and two nautical miles (two to three kilometres) © DMT

Official literature provides generic ranges for the CR20 line which includes the detection of a small boat at eleven nautical miles (20km), a small ship at 32nm (60km) and a large vessel at the horizon depending on the height of the radar. BATS has designed the radar’s controls and display to be easy to use by the operator, and CR20 radars can be configured for either on-site or remote-control.

BATS Like Aselsan’s Serder BATS’ CR20 radar family uses FM CW architecture. It can track up to 500 targets simultaneously; just the thing for the crowded waters one can find near ports. Three radars constitute the CR20 family providing short, medium and long-range surveillance.

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space’s X-band SPEXER-2000 boasts a range of up to eleven nautical miles for a small rubber dingy-sized target. The software used by the radar enables it to automatically classify the target type such as a swimmer, jetAirbus Defence and Space’s Spexer-2000 radar boasts a range of up to eleven nautical miles for a small rubber dingy-sized target.

Unlike many of the other radars discussed in this article, the Spexer-2000 uses Active Electronically Scanned Array technology © Airbus Defence and Space

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coastal and port security

ski or rubber dingy. Unlike the CR20 and Serder discussed above, the SPEXER-2000 uses Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology upon which the antenna houses a multitude of transmit/receive modules each of which effectively acts as its own miniature antenna, allowing the radar to perform several different tasks simultaneously. A wide range of targets can be spotted by the radar, even in conditions of high sea clutter.

Thales installed their Coastwatcher10 coastal surveillance radar at the oil terminal in Marseilles on France’s Mediterranean coast in 2010. The radar is positioned on top of the tower in this picture © Thomas Withington

DMT IDAR, the Dorado family and XRDS are three of the port security radars produced by DMT. All using the X-band, the first two products are ideal for the short range detection of small boats at distances of between one and two nautical miles (two to three kilometres). The XRDS is optimised for small boat detection at slightly longer ranges of between two and four nautical miles (four to seven kilometres). Two different architectures are used by DMT in these radars.

For example, the IDAR and XRDS radars employ pulse Doppler technology whereas the Dorado family uses the FM CW approach (see above).

IAI Elta Israel’s IAI Elta systems provide two notable coastal surveillance radars, the EL/M-2226 Advanced Coastal Surveillance Radar family and the EL/M-2112(V5). The EL/M-2226 uses FM CW architecture with a power output of five Watts and 50 Watts.

This X-band radar can detect rubber dinghies at eleven nautical miles, patrol craft at 32nm and large ships on the horizon. The radar’s elevation beamwidth is 3.5° with an azimuth beamwidth of 1.5°.

Around 500 targets can be simultaneously tracked. The FM CW EL/M-2112(V5) is also an X-band radar. It can detect rubber dinghies at three nautical miles’ range, a small ship at five nautical miles (ten kilometres) and a large vessel at up to 17nm (32 km). Israel is also home to CONTROP which produces optronics systems such as SPIDER and CEDAR which can accompany these radars to provide added surveillance and a “virtual fence”, according to the company.

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coastal and port security

Kelvin Hughes British radar specialists Kelvin Hughes offers its SharpEye family of radar for the port and coastal security role. This product line includes SharpEye radars available in both S-band and X-band configurations. In S-band, the radar has a peak output power of 200 Watts, and an average output power of 20 Watts. At a range of 20nm (37km), the radar has a Pulse Repetition Frequency of 2,300 Hertz (Hz), which reduces to 1,180Hz at 48nm (89km).

Up to 64 filters provide clutter discrimination, and the radar has optional frequency diversity. The X-band version of the radar has similar performance characteristics to its S-band cousin, although the former’s average RF output is 26 Watts.

Terma and Selex Terma has won customers in the AsiaPacific region for its trusted Scanter-5000 line of coastal surveillance radars which include Kai Tek Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. The Scanter-5000 family includes both the Scanter-5202 and Scanter-5102.

Both radars provide very small target detection, with the Scanter-5102 providing 50 Watts equivalent pulse power, although this increases to 200 Watts with the Scanter-5202. Both these X-band radars can have the option of monitoring up to 500 tracks, although open architecture comes as standard for both.

Similarly, Selex’s Lyra-50 product is an X-band radar. With a detection range of 26nm (48km), this radar has a nominal 0.45° beamwidth in azimuth and 20° in elevation, although unlike several other of the radars surveyed in this article, it uses pulse Doppler waveforms rather than FM CW technology. The radar employs digital pulse compression which means that it transmits narrow pulses of RF energy, the effect of this being to greatly enhance the accuracy and resolution of the ranges and targets which the radar detects. In short the narrower the pulse, the sharper the resolution of the radar. Digital pulse compression also helps the radar to provide reliable information in ‘high clutter’ environments such as rough seas while helping to build an accurate picture of the tar-

get to help classify what the operator is seeing. As with the visual world, a picture made of thousands of tiny dots is more detailed than the same image depicted using wide brushstrokes.

Thales Finally Thales provides two radar products for port and coastal security in the form of their “CoastWatcher 10 and CoastWatcher 100 radars,” according to a company spokesperson. The firm has sold such products around the Asia-Pacific region, and notes that it “delivered the port security system to the Singapore Coast Guard,”

Radar offers coastguards and port authorities the means to keep a close watch on unusual behaviour, and crucially to get warning of suspicious activity

helping to protect “one of the busiest ports in the world.” The X-band CoastWatcher10 has an instrumented range of up to 42nm (22km), and an azimuth resolution of 0.75°. It can be installed at up to 150m (492ft) ASL. The big brother of the CoastWatcher-10 is the X-band CoastWatcher-100 designed for long range coastal surveillance which can be installed at up to 1000m ASL with an instrumented range of up to 100nm (185km).

It would be folly to suggest that the radars discussed above can offer impregnable protection to prevent an atrocity such as the Mumbai attacks from ever happening again; no single technology can perform such a feat. Nevertheless all of these radars offer coastguards and port authorities the wherewithal to keep a close watch on unusual behaviour in their marine locale, and crucially to get warning of suspicious activity before an attack takes place. Forewarned is forearmed, and radar can play its role in this regard with aplomb.

regional m i l i t a r y

STABLE CONDITION: SINGAPORE’S ARMED FORCES AND MILITARY MODERNISATION Singapore possesses the most modern armed services in Southeast Asia, and the country’s ‘Third-Generation Force’ continues to lead the way thanks to high levels of investment and an advanced technological base.

by Gordon Arthur

A highly capable Boeing F15SG Strike Eagle multirole combat aircraft, one of 24 in the Republic of Singapore Air Force, lights up the sky with a series of flares © Gordon Arthur

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ingapore possesses the world’s fourth-highest defence expenditure per capita, and its record 2013 defence budget of $9.9 billion represented a 4.2 percent increase from the previous year for Singapore’s 60,500 servicemen and 255,000 reservists.

The country is cognisant of the disadvantages of its small geographical size and population. It has no strategic depth to fall back on, so forward defence is imperative for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

This is why the International Court of Justice’s award of the eastern rocky outcrop of Pedra Branca to Singapore in 2008, instead of to Malaysia, was important.

Otherwise, Singapore’s airspace envelope would significantly reduce. Geographical limitations restrict domestic training opportunities, so equipment is dispersed overseas (to Australia, Brunei, France, New Zealand, Taiwan and the United States). This has obvious strategic complications if Singapore must respond to a fast-moving crisis.

The SAF has more than just a regional presence, for it has despatched four task groups to date, each comprising a warship and helicopters, to the Gulf of Aden for counter-piracy missions. Indeed, Singapore

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commanded the multinational naval Combined Task Force-151 for the third time from March-June 2013. Furthermore, until mid-2013 the SAF maintained a 40-person team in Afghanistan to support reconstruction. Singapore enjoys significant interoperability via the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) which also includes Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, plus frequent joint exercises with the United States. The SAF relies on conscription to populate its military and this National Service policy shows no sign of waning.

Air force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has the ability to project power far beyond its borders. The fast jet fleet is headed by 24 Boeing F-15SG Strike Eagles featuring Raytheon’s APG-63(V)3

Singapore is cognisant of the disadvantages of its small geographical size and population. It has no strategic depth to fall back on, so forward defence is imperative

The Rafael Advanced Defense Systems SPYDER-SR is the air force’s relatively new truck-mounted, quick-reaction surface-to-air missile system © Gordon Arthur

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Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. The F-15s are supported by 60 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters that are to undergo a midlife upgrade likely to include AESA radar expected to be supplied by either Northrop Grumman or Raytheon.

Singapore has investigated the feasibility of acquiring Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning-II multirole combat aircraft and it has contributed financially to the programme as a Security Cooperation Participant. No order has been placed, but Singapore could be interested in up to 75 aircraft with the ‘Bravo’ short-take off/vertical landing type ideal for a territory with a shortage of runways.

A request for information for aerial refuelling tankers to replace four ageing Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers was issued in February 2012. The Boeing KC-46A and Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) are the obvious contenders.

Another RSAF requirement set to attract attention at the 2014 Singapore Air Show is the anticipated replacement of five Fokker 50 maritime patrol aircraft.

Singapore ordered four Gulfstream G550 Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) aircraft fitted with Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta EL/W-2085 Phalcon radar, with all aircraft delivered to the RSAF’s 111 Squadron in 2011. They achieved Full Operational Capability (FOC) in April 2012. These aircraft have a nine-hour endurance and their arrival allowed the retirement of four Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeyes which had been used for the airborne early warning mission. Elsewhere ST Aerospace is upgrading ten Lockheed Martin C 130B/H Hercules turboprop freighters, with the first delivered to the RSAF in September 2010. The Hercules fleet will gain a 20-year life extension and feature a glass cockpit with modern navigation equipment. Work should conclude on this programme in 2014.

The RSAF opted for a dozen Alenia Aermacchi M-346 aircraft for its advanced jet training programme with the first arriving in August 2012. The M-346s are based in Cazaux, southwest France and ST Aerospace manages this programme.

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regional m i l i t a r y

Special forces members of the Republic of Singapore Navy Naval Diving Unit (NDU) prepare to retake a vessel from its pirate captors © Gordon Arthur

Meanwhile, the RSAF operates all the country’s military helicopters including six Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk maritime support rotorcraft used aboard the navy’s ‘Formidable’ class frigates. They entered service with 123 Squadron, Singapore’s first ever naval helicopter squadron, in January 2011. The Seahawks feature L-3’s Helicopter Long-Range Active Sonar (HELRAS) dipping sonar and Whitehead A244S torpedoes. The Seahawks achieved FOC in May 2012. Two more S-70B Seahawks are believed to have been ordered in February 2013 with delivery

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expected in 2016. The RSAF also flies 20 Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters.

The RSAF is the most impressive user of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in Southeast Asia. The RSAF’s UAV Command was established in May 2007 and 116 Squadron has operated the Elbit Hermes 450 Medium-Altitude LongEndurance (MALE) UAV since 2007, while 119 Squadron formally transitioned to the Israel Aerospace Industries Heron 1 MALE in May 2012. The latest development is the acquisition of Insitu ScanEagle

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UAVs for the navy with this fee-for-service contract being revealed in July 2012.

The ‘Victory’ class corvette RSS Valiant has been fitted with the ScanEagle’s Skyhook arresting system to this end.

Meanwhile, six army units have operated the ST Aerospace Skyblade III tactical UAV since 2010.

The island’s air defences were enhanced by the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ SPYDER-SR (Surface-to-air PYthon-5 and DERby Short-Range) Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) to replace the 30-year-old BAE Systems Rapier short-range SAM system.

regional m i l i t a r y

The truck-mounted SPYDER-SR has an eleven-nautical-mile (20-kilometre) range, and the first examples were unveiled in mid-2011. In September 2013, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) confirmed the Eurosam Aster 30 medium-range SAM had been selected to replace six batteries’ worth of Raytheon MIM-23 I-HAWKs SAMs.

Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) features one of the region’s most capable fleets. The latest news concerns the 2 December 2013 announcement that the MINDEF had ordered two Type 218SG conventional submarines from ThyssenKrupp of Germany. The customised Type 218SG features an AirIndependent Propulsion (AIP) system that greatly boosts its ability to stay underwater for prolonged periods of time, but few other technical details are known regarding this new class. Both boats should be delivered from 2020 and, along with two existing ‘Archer’ class boats they will form the RSN’s underwater fleet.

Arrival of the Type 218SG will allow the progressive retirement of ‘Challenger’ class submarines built in the 1960s. The second 1,500-ton ‘Archer’ class submarine, RSS Swordsman, was commissioned on 30 April 2013. The ‘Archer’ class was acquired second-hand from Sweden, and they underwent refitting to configure them for tropical service. Serving with 171 Squadron, they carry a Stirling Mk III AIP system.

In January 2013 ST Marine was contracted to design and build eight Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) to replace the incumbent ‘Fearless’ class. The 80-metre (262 feet)-

The customised Type 218SG submarine features an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that greatly boosts its ability to stay underwater for long periods of time

long, 1,150-tonne Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV) design will be built at ST Marine’s Benoi Yard. Deliveries should occur between 2016 and 2018 and Sagem of France is developing the fire control system for the vessels’ gun. An RSN spokesman told the Asian Military Review that, “The LMVs will ensure better sea-keeping in high sea states, plus they will possess a high level of automation and decision support systems to enable leaner crew manning.”

These vessels will be the launch customer for the Thales Netherlands NS-100 S-band (2.3-2.5/2.7-3.7 gigahertz) ship-borne surveillance radar.

Upgrades are currently occurring on several RSN ships. Sensor and weapon systems of six ‘Victory’ class missile corvettes are being modernised to meet evolving operational demands, with the outfit of several vessels already completed. Additionally, Thales is enhancing the sensors of ‘Bedok’ class mine countermeasure vessels, including the installation of an integrated mine-countermeasure combat system, mine information system, RSS Swordsman, an ‘Archer’ class vessel commissioned on 30 April 2013, is the newest submarine to join the Republic of Singapore Navy © Gordon Arthur

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regional m i l i t a r y

hull-mounted sonar, expendable mine disposal system and towed synthetic aperture sonar. The first upgraded vessel tested its mine disposal system in mid2012. Furthermore, the navy pioneered the use of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) with its first operational deployment of the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Protector in 2005.

Rear-Admiral (RADM) Ng Chee Peng, Singapore’s chief of navy, told the Asian Military Review that disruption to the island’s sea lanes would have severe implications. “Freedom of navigation and continued access to sea lines of communication is of particular importance to Singapore, where trade is 3.5 times our gross domestic product,” he explained.

Half the world’s shipping by tonnage and half the world’s oil tankers sail through the South China Sea and Straits of Malacca and Singapore annually.

RADM Ng added that, “we recognise that no single agency or country, no matter how well resourced, can respond effectively to the plethora of maritime security threats on its own.” Thus in 2009 the RSN established the Maritime Security Task Force (MSTF) that enhances awareness of the regional maritime situation through information-sharing with national and international maritime agencies. Security was further strengthened when the National Maritime Security System (NMSS) was created in 2011. Led by the RSN the NMSS is a whole-of-government framework that tightens integration among agencies such as the Police Coast Guard, Singapore Customs and the country’s Maritime and Port Authority.

Singapore conducts coordinated sea and air patrols in the Malacca Strait with Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand under the Malacca Strait Patrols initiative, as well as coordinated sea patrols in the Singapore Strait with Indonesia under the ambit of the Indonesia-Singapore Coordinated Patrol. RADM Ng said that, “the cooperation with our neighbours has helped to improve the maritime security situation in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

Cooperative efforts between Singapore and Indonesia have also seen a decrease in the number of sea robberies from a high of 27 in 1992 to just three in 2012.” Significant was the US Navy’s maiden deployment of a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to Singapore in 2013. To this end the USS Freedom was based at Changi Naval Base from April until November 2013. Eventually four LCS vessels will be located in Singapore to provide the United States with a strategic presence in Singapore’s locale.

Army

Singapore Army soldiers, outfitted with elements of the Advanced Combat Man System (ACMS) infantry soldier ensemble, participate in an exercise © Gordon Arthur

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Singapore has assumed near-independence in terms of armoured-vehicle production specifically through ST Kinetics (STK). Introduced in 1999 the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) appears in several variants: the Bionix 40/50 has a one-man cupola with a 40 millimetre (1.6

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regional m i l i t a r y

inch) automatic grenade launcher and .50-cal machine gun; Bionix 25 with 25mm (one-inch) ATK M242 cannon in a two-man turret; and Bionix II with 30mm (1.2-in) ATK Mk44 Bushmaster II cannon.

An estimated 720 Bionix vehicles are in service. The Singapore Army also has Bionix recovery, bridge-laying and mineclearing variants.

The STK Terrex eight-wheel-drive vehicle reached FOC in mid-2011, with production beginning via a contract for 135 vehicles to equip three infantry battalions. By early 2013, the initial order had been fulfilled and another contract was believed to have been placed. The 24tonne Terrex is fully amphibious, and the Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) variant is armed with an EOS R-600 Remote Weapon Station (RWS). A gunshot detection system is mounted on some vehicles, and the Terrex is fitted with a high-tech Battlefield Management System (BMS) from ST Electronics. Additionally, the Command, Control and Information

22

System (CCIS) synchronises dismounted infantry troops fitted with the Advanced Combat Man System (ACMS) to higher headquarters. Singapore has other Terrex types planned: Anti-Tank Guided Missile (using the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Spike missile); Command, Medical; Pioneer (with obstacle-clearing blade and gap-crossing Heavy Short Trackway Bridge); Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA); and STrike OberveR Mission (STORM) for artillery observers. The Terrex was one of four shortlisted vehicles

Singapore has assumed near-independence in terms of armouredvehicle production specifically through ST Kinetics which produces the Bionix and Terrex platforms l

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The Singapore Army’s heaviest vehicle is the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2SG upgraded with Advanced Modular Armour Protection armour, which increased its weight to 60 tons © Gordon Arthur

in the US Marine Corps Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC) requirement before the project was frozen in 2013.

Singapore also owns some of the region’s most capable tanks. Taking advantage of a German sell-off, Singapore procured 96 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks (MBT), 30 of which were spare-parts donors. They were immediately put through an upgrade programme engineered by IBD Deisenroth Engineering. The resulting Leopard 2SG is fitted with IBD’s Evolution suite that boasts fourth-generation Advanced Modular Armour Protection (AMAP), plus steel slat armour installed on the hull, turret rear and flanks. An Active Protection System (APS) from ADS Gesellschaft of Germany is likely to equip the vehicles but has not been seen publicly to date.

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A Boeing CH-47SD Chinook heavy-lift helicopter belonging to the Republic of Singapore Air Force delivers an underslung Light Strike Vehicle of an elite Guards unit © Gordon Arthur

Singapore has also inducted Leopard 2 Armoured Recovery Vehicles, Armoured Vehicle-Launched Bridges and Armoured Engineering Vehicles. It is believed Singapore desires a new light tank to replace its retired AMX-13 fleet too.

In late 2009 the army took delivery of the first of 18 Lockheed Martin HighMobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). These truck-mounted 227mm (nine inch) rocket systems with 70km (44 mile) range became operational with the 23rd Battalion in September 2011. In November, Singapore requested the sale of 88 Guided Multiple-Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) pods and associated rockets from Lockheed Martin. Meanwhile, STK is conducting feasibility studies on a 155mm (6.1 inch) Advanced Mobile Gun System

24

based on an eight-wheel-drive chassis.

The conceptual 28-tonne vehicle offers improved mobility compared to STK-produced tracked Primus self-propelled and Pegasus towed howitzers.

STK has achieved export success with its small arms and ammunition. For example it unveiled 40mm medium-velocity

In September 2011 STK won a $54 million contract to supply its second-generation Spider Light Strike Vehicle to the Singapore Army with deliveries concluding in 2014 l

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rounds in 2010 that have a 50% longer range than existing low-velocity rounds.

STK has also sold Bronco tracked vehicles to Thailand and the UK. In September 2011 STK won a $54 million contract to supply its second-generation Spider Light Strike Vehicle (LSV) to the Singapore Army with deliveries concluding in 2014.

Patrick Choy, executive vice president of international marketing at ST Engineering, revealed the LSV has achieved export sales although he could not disclose client identities because the vehicles are typically used by special forces.

The army is believed to have remaining requirements for light reconnaissance vehicles, body armour, SAMs and ManPortable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS). This demonstrates the SAF’s resolve, despite already possessing regional dominance in military equipment, to continually improve its capabilities.

AMR AIR FORCE DIRECTORY

2014 Conventional wisdom has it that defence budgets in the Asia-Pacific region will overtake those of the United States in the years to come.

This is because of a combination of budgetary increases in the region, and cuts to defence spending in the United States

Prepared by Bianca Siccardi 足l

February/March足 2014

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regional air force directory

he inversion of the long-standing trend is expected to culminate in 2021 by which time the region’s budget will be subject to an average 35 percent budget increase, compared to current spending levels, and be worth a combined $500 billion. As a means of comparison, the United States’ defence spending plans for 2014 are worth $527 billion.

India established its position as the world’s biggest importer of arms in 2013, experiencing a 70 percent increase since 2008, from $3.1 billion to $5.3 billion. China also improved its military manufacturing capabilities and doubled its exports, while the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) sales of equipment in the open market reached $3.4 billion in 2013, an additional 40 percent to the export value achieved in 2012.

Western companies could be taking substantial benefit from this general trend, at least in the short term. India, Japan and RoK have all attracted the attention of defence giants such as Lockheed Martin looking to export its F35A/B/C Lightning-II combat aircraft to the region, along with Boeing and BAE Systems, while Dassault Aviation is negotiating with New Delhi for a $12 billion order for 126 Rafale B/C/M fighters, 50 percent of which will be completed by the Indian labour force.

Russian exports are also playing a key role in the Asia-Pacific market. India has been an enthusiastic buyer of Sukhoi aircraft with 15 out of 32 Indian Air Force fighter squadrons currently operating the Su-30MKI Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA). Rumours regarding Indonesia’s intent to create eight Sukhoi MRCA squadrons comprising 112 aircraft, possibly using the Su-30MKII variant, within the next 15-20 years gathered pace in 2013, while in November 2012 China signed preliminary documents for a new acquisition consisting of 24 Sukhoi Su-35 MRCA worth $1.5 billion, with deliveries expected to start in 2015. China has been demonstrating its growing capabilities through the first flight of its Xian Y-20 strategic turbofan freighter which, according to the manufacturer, will enter service in 2017.

AMR’s Regional Air Force Directory has been compiled from a range of sources around the world notably AMR’s corre-

T

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spondents, industry experts and serving military personnel throughout the region.

AFGHANISTAN n Afghan Air Force

5 + 5 Planned

Antonov AN-32, turboprop freighter.

Operational but not in use.

26 + 26 Planned Cessna 208B Caravan, transport.

2 + 4 Planned Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules turboprop freighter, two more deliveries scheduled for 2014.

20 Ordered Embraer A-29 Super Tucano turboprop trainer/ ground attack. The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in April 2015 and the entire contract terms should be fulfilled by 2019. The contract also covers the supply of associated training equipment, mission planning and debriefing.

43 Mil Mi-8/17 medium-lift utility helicopter 7 Mil Mi-35 attack helicopter 3 Ordered Aérospatiale/Airbus Helicopters SA-315B Lama rescue helicopter 10 Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter 6 MD Helicopters MD-530 reconnaissance helicopter n Afghan Special Mission Wing

1 + 17 Ordered Pilatus PC-12NG turboprop transport 25 + 30 Ordered Mil Mi-17 medium-lift utility helicopter NOTES: Afghanistan's young air force has dramatically increased the amount of cargo and personnel it is capable of carrying and has tripled the number of casualty evacuation missions it has flown this year, achieving near self-sufficiency. The Afghan Air Force conducted over 1,100 casualty evacuation missions in 2013, compared to 391 the

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previous year. Until recently, Afghanistan had relied significantly on US military assistance for the above-mentioned tasks and the progress is a direct result of the country’s pivotal role in the war against Taliban insurgents.

AUSTRALIA n Royal Australian Air Force

54

McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F/A-18A Hornet multirole combat aircraft 15 McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F/A-18B multi-role combat aircraft 24 + 12 Planned Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role combat aircraft. Pending order for twelve new-build Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.

19 Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft 6 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III turbofan freighter 12 Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules turboprop freighter 5 Airbus Military KC-30A multi-role tanker transport 2+98 Planned Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning-II multi-role combat aircraft. 14 jets are approved for acquisition but only two have been ordered so far. A possible total of 100 F-35A fighters are to be purchased under Project Air 6000 in order to replace the Hornets and Super Hornets (see above).

8 Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 turboprop transport. Interim capability to cover the retirement of the DeHavilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou turboprop freighter.

59 Pilatus PC-9A, turboprop training aircraft

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regional air force directory

10 Ordered

33 6

Alenia Aermacchi C-27J Spartan turboprop freighter. The Australian Defence Minister announced the purchase of ten C-27J Spartans in May 2012. The Spartans are expected to be delivered starting from 2015.

BAE Systems Hawk 127 lead-in jet trainer Boeing 737 (airborne early warning and control)

n Royal Australian Army Aviation Corps

19

Bell Helicopter 206B-1 Kiowa multipurpose utility helicopter. To be partially replaced by the Airbus Helicopters EC-665 ARH Tiger attack helicopter.

6 + 7 Ordered Boeing CH-47D/F heavy-lift helicopter 22 Airbus Helicopters EC-665ARH Tiger 34 Sikorsky S-70/UH-60A medium-lift utility helicopter 22 + 25 Ordered NH Industries NH90 medium-lift utility helicopter. Total of 47 on order, including six for the Royal Australian Navy, to replace the retired AgustaWestland Sea King Mk-50s.

12 Bell Helicopter 206 training helicopter n Royal Australian Navy 16 Sikorsky S-70 maritime support helicopter 24 Ordered Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk maritime support helicopter.

Selected in June 2011. The first examples will be transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in early 2014. All 24 Australian aircraft are to be delivered by 2016.

12 Airbus Helicopters AS-350BA Squirrel light

28

The assembly of the first of ten Alenia Aermacchi C-27J turboprop freighters for the Royal Australian Air Force was initiated by the aircraft manufacturer in November 2013. The first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in early 2014 © Alenia Aermacchi

utility helicopter Bell Helicopter 429 GlobalRanger multipurpose utility helicopter

3

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NOTES: Australia’s first Lockheed Martin F35A Lightning-II Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) is on track for delivery in the summer of 2014. The first Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35A Lightning II, known as AU-1, began construction on the Lockheed Martin production line in Fort Worth, United States, in October 2013. The aircraft is due to roll-out in July 2014. The second model is to follow in August 2014. The Australian government confirmed its commitment for the acquisition of 72 F-35As, as well as its potential requirement for 28 additional units. The initial 72-aircraft deal is valued at $3.08 billion.

7 7

3 4 + 4 Planned

BANGLADESH n Bangladesh Air Force

8

MiG-29SE/UB multi-role combat aircraft. The Russian Aircraft

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Corporation announced the beginning of negotiations with the Bangladesh government for the upgrade of the current MiG-29 fleet to MiG-29SMT status in April 2013.

Chengdu F-7 multi-role combat aircraft. Twelve F-7BG and four FT-/BG received in 2006. F-7BGI received in 2013 as replacement for the Nanchang A-5C groundattack aircraft fleet.

Nanchang A-5 ground-attack aircraft Aero L-39 Albatros lead-in jet trainer. Total of eight delivered, one aircraft crashed in 2012.

Antonov AN-32 turboprop freighter Lockheed Martin C-130B/E Hercules turboprop freighter.

Bangladesh Air Force is negotiating the acquisition of four C-130Es. Bell Helicopter 206 light utility helicopter

regional air force directory

BRUNEI

22

n Royal Brunei Air Force

1

Airbus Military CN-235 turboprop freighter 4 Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer turboprop trainer 9 Bell 212/214 medium-lift utility helicopter 6 Airbus Helicopters BO-105CB light utility helicopter 4 + 12 Ordered Sikorsky S-70/70i medium-lift utility helicopter. Twelve S-70i are on order with options for an additional ten.

3 Bell Helicopter 206B JetRanger light utility helicopter

17 9 13

12

CAMBODIA n Royal Cambodian Air Force

2 2 1

BURMA n Burmese Air Force

14

28 11 9 24 Planned

Bell Helicopter 212 medium-lift utility helicopter Mil Mi-8/17/171 medium-lift utility helicopter Cessna T-37 lead-in jet trainer Shenyang FT-6 lead-in jet trainer Yakovlev Yak-130 lead-in jet trainer/light attack aircraft. Russia and Bangladesh are negotiating over the purchase of 24 Yak-130 aircraft.

21

n Bangladesh Army

1 2

Cessna 208 turboprop transport Airbus Helicopters AS-365 medium-lift utility helicopter

n Bangladesh Navy

2

2

2 + 1 Planned

5

Nanchang A-5 ground-attack aircraft 4 Soko G4 light ground-attack aircraft 32 MiG-29B/UB multi-role combat aircraft 1 Shenyang F-6 multi-role combat aircraft 24 Chengdu F-7 interceptor aircraft 2 Fokker F-27 turboprop transport 2 Fairchild Hiller FH-227 turboprop transport 5 Pilatus PC-6 piston-engine transport 5 Britten Norman BN-2 maritime patrol aircraft 4 Shaanxi Y-8 turboprop freighter 2 Harbin Y-12 turboprop transport 6 Chengdu FT-7 lead-in jet trainer 12 + 50 Ordered Hongdu K-8 lead-in jet trainer 16 Pilatus PC-7 turboprop trainer 10 Pilatus PC-9 turboprop trainer 14 Bell Helicopter 205 light utility helicopter

Dornier Do 228 NG maritime patrol aircraft, delivered June 2013 AgustaWestland AW-109 Power maritime support helicopter Harbin Z-9 medium-lift utility helicopter

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Mil Mi-2 light utility helicopter Mil Mi-8/17 medium-lift utility helicopter Mil Mi-24/35 attack helicopter Airbus Helicopters SA316/SE3160 light utility helicopter PLZ W-3 Sokol mediumlift utility helicopter

10

Xian MA-60 turboprop transport Harbin Y-12 turboprop transport Airbus Helicopters AS-355 Squirrel light utility helicopter Mil Mi-8/17 medium-lift utility helicopter Xian Z-9 medium-lift utility helicopter.

Delivered on 25 November 2013, including four assault variants and six utility variants.

CHINA n People’s Liberation Army Air Force

120

Xian H-6 strategic bomber 388 Chengdu J-7 multi-role combat aircraft 96 Shenyang J-8 multi-role combat aircraft 200 Chengdu J-10A/J0S/B multi-role combat aircraft 272+70 Planned Shenyang J-11A/B. Chinese built 4.5-generation multi-role combat aircraft. The J-11A is based on the Sukhoi Su-27 multi-role combat aircraft, while the J-11B is an upgraded Chinese variant.

72 Xian JH-7 multi-role combat aircraft 119 Nanchang Q-5 ground attack aircraft

29

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The Sukhoi Su-35 single-seat, twin-engine multirole fighter could be at the centre of negotiations between Russia and China in 2014 regarding the latter’s acquisition of new combat aircraft. The Su-35’s range and speed could prove attractive for China’s defence requirements © Sukhoi

19

9 11

60 6

50 170 10 22 45 39

Ilyushin Il-76/KJ2000 airborne early warning and control Xian MA-60 turboprop transport Tupolev Tu-154 turbofan transport, including eight passenger Tu-154M and three reconnaissance variants Shaanxi Y-8 turboprop freighter Shaanxi Y-8/KJ200 airborne early warning and control Xian Y-7 turboprop freighter Hongdu JL-8 lead-in jet trainer Mil Mi17/171 mediumlift utility helicopter Changhe Z-8 search and rescue helicopter Harbin Z-9 medium-lift utility helicopter Chengdu J-7 multi-role combat aircraft

n People’s Liberation Army Ground Force

10 10

30

Xian Y-7 turboprop freighter Shaanxi Y-8 turboprop freighter

220+20 Ordered Mil Mi-8/17/171 medium-lift utility helicopter 20 Sikorsky S-70 medium-lift utility helicopter 200 Harbin Z-9 medium-lift utility helicopter 74+10 Changhe Z-10 attack helicopter 48 Harbin Z-19 attack helicopter 44 Changhe Z-11 light utility helicopter 93 + 57 Ordered Airbus Helicopters EC-120 light utility helicopter n People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force

14 20

Xian H-6 strategic bomber Xian Y-7 turboprop freighter Shaanxi Y-8/KJ-200 airborne early warning and control Shaanxi Y-8 maritime patrol aircraft Shaanxi Y-8 reconnaissance Chengdu J-7 multi-role combat aircraft Shenyang J-8 multi-role combat aircraft Chengdu J-10 multi-role combat aircraft Xian JH-7 multi-role

22

3 5 30 48 6 35

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combat aircraft Nanchang Q-5 ground attack aircraft 23 + 50 Planned Sukhoi Su-30/33 multi-role combat aircraft 3 Harbin SH-5 search and rescue 17 Kamov Ka-28 maritime support helicopter 2 + 7 Ordered Kamov Ka-31 maritime support helicopter 26 Changhe Z-8 search and rescue helicopter 25 Harbin Z-9 medium-lift utility helicopter 14 Shenyang J-6 lead-in jet trainer aircraft 12 Hongdu JL-8 lead-in jet trainer 8 Mil Mi-8 medium-lift utility helicopter 30

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NOTES: Often referred to as Falcon Hawk or Falcon Eagle, the Shenyang J-31 is one of China’s two prototype fifth-generation Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA), along with the Chengdu J-20, and is currently under development by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. Controversial issues regarding the target markets for this new Chinese stealth aircraft have emerged recently.

According to the Washington DC-based Strategy Page, the J-31 has the potential to

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regional air force directory

become a future carrier-based MRCA for China’s air force and navy. However, People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) sources have confirmed that the J-31 is more likely to be produced for the export market with North Korea and Iran being potential customers. Another possibility is the development of two different versions of the aircraft: China may, in fact, sell a variant abroad under its ‘F-60’ designation, while maintaining a fleet of domestic J-31s for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

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INDIA n Indian Air Force

162+92 Ordered Sukhoi Su-30/MKI multi-role combat aircraft.

Production of 222 Su-30s currently undertaken by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The delivery of the aircraft, scheduled for 2015, is likely to be delayed.

66 MiG-29B/UPG. Fifteen aircraft lost to crashes between 1994 and 2013.

To be upgraded to MiG-29UPG status.

54 Dassault Mirage 2000H/TH multi-role combat aircraft. Of the aircraft acquired, ten have been lost to crashes. The

79 126 Planned

144 Planned

current fleet is being upgraded to Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2 standard.

The process is to be completed within a ten-year time frame. The first upgraded Mirage undertook its maiden flight in October 2013.

MiG-21Bis/Bisons/ M/MF. To be phased-out by 2019. Twelve aircraft were involved in crashes in the past three years.

110 upgraded MiG-21 Bisons are likely to fly until 2025.

MiG-27ML multi-role combat aircraft Dassault Rafale-B/C/M multi-role combat aircraft.

Multi-billion dollar deal currently being negotiated with Dassault Aviation. Completion of the negotiation is scheduled for March 2014.

Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA multi-role combat aircraft.

Joint development of this fifth generation aircraft involves India and Russia. The preliminary design development

India will become the largest Boeing C-17 Globemaster-III customer outside the United States thanks to the agreement signed in June 2011 for the acquisition of ten C-17 airlifters. The Indian Air Force has received five aircraft so far © Indian Air Force

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contract was signed by Hindustan Aeronautics and Sukhoi in 2010 and is worth $295 million.

20 + 40 Planned HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). The supersonic aircraft received the Initial Operational Clearance in December 2013. As per current plans, IAF will order sufficient aircraft to equip six Tejas Mark-II squadrons (of between 16 to 18 aircraft each) once the fighter is combat-ready.

However, the singleengine Tejas is not likely to become combat-ready before the end of 2015.

117 SEPECAT Jaguar M/S multi-role combat aircraft 3 Gulfstream Aerospace G-IV SRA-4 turbofan transport 17 Ilyushin Il-76 strategic turbofan freighter 3 + 2 Planned Ilyushin Il-76 airborne early warning and control 7 Ilyushin Il-78 tanker 5 + 5 Ordered Boeing C-17 Globemaster III turbofan freighter.

Remaining five to be delivered in 2014

The KC-390 has flown through design.

Now orders can start flying in.

A multi-mission aircraft like no other, the KC-390 is no longer just an ambitious concept. Having cleared Critical Design Review, we’re now offering it to potential customers for new standards of economy and performance in troop and cargo transport, search and rescue, MEDEVAC, firefighting, and aerial refueling. You’ll want to know more about KC-390 capabilities such as full fly-by-wire flight control, complete self-protection system, and operations on short and semi-prepared strips.

regional air force directory

6 + 6 Planned

96

58

1 3 Ordered

2 6 Planned

15 Ordered

40 2 10 65+40 Ordered +20 Planned 22 15 Planned 81

16 Ordered

20 + 55 Ordered 47 + 65 Ordered

65 Ordered 3 168+82 Ordered

34

Lockheed Martin C130J Hercules turboprop freighter Antonov An-32 turboprop freighter.

Currently being upgraded in Ukraine to prolong service life.

BAE Systems/HawkerSiddeley HS 748-100 turboprop transport. To be replaced under a $2.4 billion programme.

Boeing 707 reconnaissance Embraer EMB-145 airborne early warning and control Gulfstream G100 reconnaissance Airbus Military A330-MRTT multi-role tanker transport National Aerospace Laboratories Saras turboprop transport Dornier Do 228-201 turboprop transport Gulfstream G200 turbofan transport SEPECAT Jaguar T lead-in jet trainer BAE Systems Hawk 132 lead-in jet trainer Boeing AH-64E attack helicopter Boeing CH-47F heavy-lift helicopter Hindustan Aeronautics HJT-16 Kiran lead-injet trainer Hindustan Aeronautics HJT-36 Sitara lead-in jet trainer Pilatus PC-7 Mk II turboprop trainer Hindustan Aeronautics Dhruv ALH light utility helicopter Hindustan Aeronautics LCH attack helicopter Mil Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopter Mil Mi-8/Mi-17 medium-

20 12 + 1 73

45 Planned

lift utility helicopter. One Mi-17V5 crashed June 2013.

Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter Airbus Helicopters SA-315 light utility helicopter Airbus Helicopters SA-316/319 light utility helicopter Medium Transport Aircraft turboprop freighter

7 15 Ordered

8

8

3 n Indian Army Aviation

3

64+160 Ordered Hindustan Aeronautics Dhruv ALH light utility helicopter 114 Ordered Hindustan Aeronautics LCH attack helicopter 2 Airbus Helicopters SA-316/SE3160 light utility helicopter 23+19 Ordered Airbus Helicopters SA-315 light utility helicopter

NOTES: The Indian Air Force (IAF) alone intends to spend over $70 billion on procurement and upgrades over the next decade, to transform its fleet into one of the most modern air forces in the world. India’s objective is to maintain technological superiority over its rivals and at the same time to deepen its capabilities in the aerospace sector. This latter point has been a significant drive behind its collaboration with Russia. These endeavours include the joint development of a new fifth-

n Indian Naval Air Arm

18 + 24 Ordered MiG-29K multi-role combat aircraft 8 BAE Systems Sea Harrier FRS51 multi-role combat aircraft 4+13 Ordered BAE Systems Hawk 132 lead-in jet trainer 3+5+12 Ordered Boeing P-8I maritime patrol aircraft 8 Tupolev Tu-142M maritime patrol aircraft.

Being replaced by twelve Boeing P-8I (see below).

5 Ilyushin Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft 26 Dornier Do-228 maritime patrol aircraft 13 + 4 Ordered Kamov Ka-28 maritime patrol helicopter 9 + 5 Ordered Kamov Ka-31 maritime patrol helicopter 27 Airbus Helicopters SA-316B light utility helicopter 20 Hindustan Aeronautics HJT-16 lead-in jet trainer 27 AgustaWestland Sea

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King 42 maritime support helicopter Britten-Norman BN-2 maritime patrol aircraft National Aerospace Laboratories Saras light turboprop transport Hindustan Aeronautics Dhruv ALH light utility helicopter Sikorsky S-61/H/UH-3H maritime support helicopter BAE Systems Harrier T4/60 lead-in jet trainer MiG-29KUB lead-in jet trainer

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begin in 2014.

Sukhoi Su-27/ 30MK/ MK2 multi-role combat aircraft. The final two of six Su-30MK2s ordered in 2011 were delivered in September 2013.

12 + 24 Ordered General Dynamics/ Lockheed Martin F-16A/B multi-role combat aircraft.

Indonesia formally requested to buy 24 used F-16C/D Block 25s from the United States in 2011 and is currently expecting deliveries of these aircraft.

9 Northrop Grumman F-5E/F multi-role combat aircraft. Indonesia is currently in talks regarding the refurbishment and upgrade of the F-5 fleet to extend its service life to 2020.

23 BAE Systems Hawk 209 lead-in jet trainer 3 Boeing 737 maritime patrol aircraft

generation Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) based on the Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA for use by both countries’ air forces, the Sukhoi/Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). The agreement for the combined project was finalised in 2007. Despite being an equal financial partner, India’s work share on the project is only 15 percent. Currently four T-50 prototypes have performed more than 200 test flights since January 2010 and the final design contract, worth over $10 billion, is under negotiation. The new fighter should be ready for introduction from 2020 onwards.

16

INDONESIA n Indonesian Air Force

4 + 12 Ordered Embraer A-29 Super Tucano turboprop trainer/light attack. The contract was finalised in June 2011 and the first four aircraft were delivered in August 2012.

The Indonesian Air Force placed a second order for eight A-29s in July 2012. Deliveries of these aircraft are expected to

The Indonesian Air Force has ordered nine Airbus Military C-295 turboprop freighters for tactical and logistical transport. Three aircraft are to be assembled in Indonesia by PT Dirgantara Indonesia.

All aircraft should be delivered by the middle of 2014 © Airbus Military

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16 + 4 Ordered Lockheed Martin C-130B/H and L-100 turboprop freighters.

A separate transfer contract for an additional five C-130Hs was signed with Australia on 26 July 2013.

1 + 2 Ordered Airbus Military CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft 8 + 7 Ordered Airbus Military C-295/CN-235 turboprop freighter 8 + 5 Planned Airbus Military C-212 turboprop freighter.

Airbus Military and PT Dirgantara Indonesia have signed an agreement (part of the contract signed in October 2011) to jointly manufacture and launch an upgraded variant of the C-212-400. The aircraft will be equipped with new digital avionics and autopilot systems and will feature 28 seats.

5 Fokker F-27 turboprop transport 1 Lockheed Martin KC-130B tanker 10 Airbus Helicopters EC-120 light utility helicopter 2 Pilatus PC-6 turboprop freighter 7 Airbus Helicopters BO-105 light utility helicopter 16 + 3 Ordered KAI KT-1B turboprop trainer/light attack 18 Alenia Aermacchi SF-260 lead-in jet trainer 15 Hawker Beechcraft T-34C turboprop trainer 6 + 10 Ordered Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 lead-in jet trainer. $400 million contract signed in May 2011. This aircraft is to replace the BAE Systems Hawk Mk 53 (see below) lead-in jet trainer currently in service.

Deliveries began in September 2013.

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6

BAE Systems Hawk 53 lead-in jet trainer 7 BAE Systems Hawk 109 lead-in jet trainer 4 + 14 Ordered Grob G120TP pistonengine trainer. Order placed in September 2011.

Deliveries began in 2012 and will continue through 2014. Aircraft replacing the Hawker Beechcraft T-34C turboprop trainer aircraft and FFA/ SIAI-Marchetti AS/SA 202-18A3 Bravo piston-engine trainer.

7 + 9 Ordered Airbus Helicopters AS-332 medium-lift utility helicopter 6 Ordered Airbus Helicopters EC-725 medium-lift utility helicopter. Contract signed in March 2012. All six helicopters are configured for combat search and rescue and will be delivered in 2014.

11 Airbus Helicopters SA-330 light utility helicopter n Indonesian Army

8 Ordered

6 37

12 15

36

Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopter. $500 million deal including pilot training, radars and maintenance.

Airbus Military C-212 turboprop freighter Bell Helicopter 412 medium-lift utility helicopter. Ten Bell 412 enhanced performance rotorcraft ordered under a $65 million purchase contract in March 2012 and received in March 2013. Indonesia is currently negotiating a $170 million deal for 16 additional helicopters.

Bell Helicopter 205 medium-lift utility helicopter Airbus Helicopters BO-105 light utility helicopter

1

Britten Norman BN-2 piston-engine transport 1 Aero Commander 680FL utility transport aircraft 11 + 6 Ordered Mil Mi-8/17 medium-lift utility helicopter.

One lost to crash in November 2013.

5 Mi-24/35 attack helicopter 7 Airbus Helicopters SA-316 light utility helicopter 14 Schweizer 369 light utility helicopter 2 Airbus Helicopters EC-120B light utility helicopter

42 Ordered

153

n Indonesian Navy

9 + 1 Ordered

Airbus Military C-212 turboprop freighter 6 Airbus Military C-212 maritime patrol aircraft 1 + 4 Ordered Airbus Military CN-235 + 3 Planned turboprop freighter 30 GAF Nomad 22/24 maritime patrol aircraft 1 Airbus Helicopters AS-332 maritime support helicopter 3 Bell Helicopter 412 maritime support helicopter 3 Airbus Helicopters BO-105 maritime support helicopter 4 Airbus Helicopters EC-120 maritime support helicopter NOTES: The Indonesian Air Force plans to focus on the introduction of new Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) and the implementation of new training programmes for its pilots. After the delivery of the final two Russian-made Sukhoi Su30MKII MRCAs, part of an order for six aircraft, in September 2013, Indonesia intends to create eight new fast jet squadrons by 2024, each consisting of 16 aircraft.

4 125

13

15 23 1 20 Ordered 5 10 1 4 13 14 45 48

JAPAN n Japan Air Self Defence Force

61

203

Mitsubishi F-2A multi-role combat aircraft McDonnell

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Douglas/Boeing F/EF/RF-4EJ multi-role combat aircraft. Being phased out to be replaced by existing Boeing F-15DJ/Js and new Lockheed Martin F-35As Lightning-II (see below) multi-role combat aircraft.

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning-II multi-role combat aircraft. Japan ordered a total of 42 aircraft in December 2011 and the initial deliveries are scheduled for 2016.

McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15J multi-role combat aircraft Boeing E-767 airborne early warning and control Hawker-Siddeley/BAE Systems 125 search and rescue Northrop Grumman E-2C airborne early warning and control Lockheed Martin C-130H turboprop fighter Kawasaki C-1A turbofan freighter Kawasaki EC-1 reconnaissance Kawasaki C-2 turbofan freighter Gulfstream IV U-4 turbofan transport Nihon Aircraft YS-11/ YS-11 reconnaissance Lockheed Martin KC-130H tanker Boeing KC-767 tanker Hawker Beechcraft 400 turbofan transport Mitsubishi F-2B multi-role combat aircraft Boeing F-15DJ multi-role combat aircraft Fuji T-3 piston-engine trainer Kawasaki T-4 lead-in jet trainer Boeing CH-47J heavy-lift helicopter

regional air force directory

36 + 40 Ordered Sikorsky S-70/UH-60J medium-lift utility helicopter

110

Sikorsky S-70/SH/ UH-60J/K maritime support helicopter 10 + 5 Ordered Airbus Helicopters EC-135 maritime support helicopter 1 Airbus Helicopters/Kawasaki BK117 medium-lift utility helicopter 9 Sikorsky MH-53E maritime support helicopter 8 MD Helicopters MD-500 reconnaissance helicopter 26 Hawker Beechcraft King Air 90 turboprop transport 41 + 1 Ordered Fuji T-3 piston-engine trainer

12 + 8 Ordered Enstrom 480 light utility helicopter n Japan Maritime Self Defence Force

n Japan Ground Self Defence Force

Bell Helicopter UH-1H/J medium-lift utility helicopter 58 Boeing CH-47J/JA heavy-lift helicopter 106 MD Helicopters MD500 reconnaissance 75 Bell Helicopter AH-1S attack helicopter 10 Boeing AH-64D attack helicopter 38+112 Planned Kawasaki OH-1 attack helicopter.

Under delivery 7 Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 turboprop transport 4 Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop transport 34 Sikorsky S-70/UH-60 medium-lift utility helicopter

95

153

2 + 8 Ordered + 60 Planned

2 5

3 4 5

8 + 6 Ordered

Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft. Order finalised in 2010 with an estimated purchase cost of $2.4 billion.

ShinMaywa US-1 search and rescue ShinMaywa US-2 maritime patrol aircraft.

Replacing the older US-1 (see above).

NAMC YS-11 turboprop transport Learjet 36 reconnaissance Hawker Beechcraft King Air 90 turboprop transport AgustaWestland AW-101 maritime support helicopter

NOTES: Despite its record as one of Asia’s most technologically advanced air forces, the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) is now facing the technological improvement of China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The advanced Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) that China is developing represent a significant challenge to Japan. Japan's answer to the Chengdu J20 MRCA came in December 2011, when it selected the Lockheed F-35A Lightning-II over the Boeing F/A-18E/F and Eurofighter Typhoon MRCAs.

The AgustaWestland AW-101 medium-lift utility helicopter, currently operated by the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force, may not be an option for India. As was reported in January 2014, India cancelled its planned purchase of twelve AW-101s amid allegations of corruption © AgustaWestland

LAOS n Lao People’s Liberation Army Air Force

1 2 1 2 4

4

Antonov An-26 turboprop freighter Xian MA60 turboprop transport Mil Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopter Kamov Ka-32 maritime support helicopter Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter Harbin Z-9 medium-lift utility helicopter

MALAYSIA n Royal Malaysian Air Force

18

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Sukhoi Su-30MKM multi-role combat aircraft

regional air force directory

10 + 2 Planned MiG-29N multi-role combat aircraft. This aircraft will be phased out by 2015 and the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale-B/C/M, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Saab JAS39C/D/E Gripen and Sukhoi Su-30 MRCAs have all been short-listed as its replacement.

8 Boeing F/A-18D multi-role combat aircraft 13 BAE Systems Hawk 208 lead-in jet trainer 3 Northrop Grumman F-5F multi-role combat aircraft 10 Northrop Grumman RF-5E reconnaissance 4 Ordered Airbus Military A400M turboprop freighter.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force will receive its first A400M in 2015, after a two-year delay in delivery. The remaining aircraft will be delivered by 2016. The order is worth $840 million.

4 Lockheed Martin KC-130H tanker 4 Hawker Beechcraft King Air 200 maritime patrol aircraft 10 Lockheed Martin C-130H turboprop freighter 6 Airbus Military CN-235 turboprop freighter 8 Alenia Aermacchi MB-339 lead-in jet trainer 6 BAE Systems Hawk 108 lead-in jet trainer 40 + 5 Planned Pilatus PC-7/PC-7 Mk II turboprop trainer 12 Airbus Helicopters EC-725 medium-lift utility helicopter. Contract signed in 2010 and an initial two helicopters were delivered in December 2012.

29 Sikorsky S-61 medium-lift utility helicopter 20 Airbus Helicopters SA-316 light utility helicopter

The Royal Malaysian Air Force took delivery of its first two Airbus Helicopters EC-725 mediumlift helicopters in late 2012 © Airbus Helicopters

5

4 n Royal Malaysian Army

11

AgustaWestland AW-109 light utility helicopter

n Royal Malaysian Navy

6

6

5 6 + 2 Ordered

AgustaWestland Super Lynx 300 maritime support helicopter Airbus Helicopters AS-555 maritime support helicopter

NOTES: The Royal Malaysian Air Force requirement for 18 Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) to replace its obsolete MiG-29N fleet, due to be retired in 2015, could be fulfilled by either the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale-B/C/M, Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab JAS-39C/D/E Gripen or Sukhoi Su-30.

13

13

n Royal New Zealand Navy

5

n Korean People’s Army Air Force

35

6

2

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Lockheed Martin P-3K maritime patrol aircraft Boeing 757-200 turbofan transport

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Kaman SH-2G maritime support helicopter

NORTH KOREA

NEW ZEALAND n Royal New Zealand Air Force

AgustaWestland AW-109 light utility helicopter.

Hawker Beechcraft King Air 200 turboprop transport Lockheed Martin C-130H turboprop freighter NH Industries NH-90 medium-lift utility helicopter Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter Pacific Aerospace Corporation CT-4E piston-engine trainer

26 107

MiG-29 multi-role combat aircraft MiG-23 multi-role combat aircraft MiG-21 multi-role combat aircraft Shenyang F-5 multi-role combat aircraft

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regional air force directory

98 120 80 18 34 1 20 4 8 85 46 40 30 135

Shenyang F-6 multi-role combat aircraft Chengdu F-7 multi-role combat aircraft Harbin H-5 medium bomber Sukhoi Su-7 multi-role combat aircraft Sukhoi Su-25 multi-role combat aircraft Antonov An-24 turboprop freighter Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter Mil Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopter Mil Mi-14 maritime support helicopter MD Helicopters MD500 light utility helicopter Mil Mi-2 light utility helicopter Mil Mi-8 light utility helicopter Shenyang FT-2 lead-in jet trainer Shenyang FT-5 lead-in jet trainer

PAKISTAN

18

2 25 9 5 141

39 2 4 1 3 3 + 1 Ordered

4 3

n Pakistan Air Force

40+110 Ordered Chengdu JF-17 multi-role combat aircraft. A total of 110 aircraft are believed to be currently on order 37 General Dynamics/ Lockheed Martin F-16A/B multi-role combat aircraft 27 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D multi-role combat aircraft 69 Dassault MirageIIIEP/OF/RP multi-role combat aircraft.

Expected to remain in service until 2017.

90 Dassault Mirage5EF/F/PA multi-role combat aircraft. The fleet will be replaced with the Chengdu JF-17 by 2017 (see above).

40

16

5 1 6 9 1 1 18

Dassault MirageIIIBE/D/DP multi-role combat aircraft Dassault Mirage-5DPA multi-role combat aircraft Shenyang FT-5 lead-in jet trainer Shenyang FT-6 lead-in jet trainer Chengdu FT-7 lead-in jet trainer Chengdu F-7 multi-role combat aircraft. Eight lost to crashes between 2007 and 2013.

Hongdu K-8 lead-in jet trainer Dassault Falcon 20/200 reconnaissance Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 reconnaissance Saab 2000 turboprop transport Harbin Y-12 turboprop transport Shaanxi Y-8/ZDK-03 airborne early warning and control Ilyushin Il-78 tanker Airbus Military CN-235 turboprop freighter Lockheed Martin C-130B/E and L-100 turboprop freighter Bell Helicopter 205 medium-lift utility helicopter Bell Helicopter 412 medium-lift utility helicopter Mil Mi-8/171 medium-lift utility helicopter Airbus Helicopters SA-316 light utility helicopter Airbus Helicopters SA-330 light utility helicopter Aérospatiale SE-3160 light utility helicopter Cessna T-37B/C lead-in jet trainer

30 + 2 Ordered + 40 Planned Bell Helicopter 412 medium-lift utility helicopter.

Formal announcement for the purchase of up to 30 Bell 412EP medium-lift utility helicopters made in September 2010. The estimated cost of the contract is $397 million.

46 Mil Mi-8 and Mil-171 medium-lift utility helicopter 1 Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter 14 Airbus Helicopters SA-315 light utility helicopter 14 Airbus Helicopters SA-316 light utility helicopter 31 Airbus Helicopters SA-330 medium-lift utility helicopter 16 + 6 Ordered Airbus Helicopters AS-550 medium-lift utility helicopter 1 Citation Bravo turbofan transport 1 Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 turboprop transport 2 Aero Commander pistonengine transport 4 Harbin Y-12 turboprop transport n Pakistan Navy

6

n Pakistan Army

48

Bell Helicopter AH-1F attack helicopter Bell Helicopter 206 medium-lift utility helicopter

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Lockheed Martin P-3C maritime patrol aircraft. Two new aircraft delivered in February 2012 following the attack by armed militants on the Mehran Naval Airbase, southern Pakistan in May 2011.

Two upgraded P-3C were destroyed on that occasion and two additional aircraft were delivered in February 2012.

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regional air force directory

7 7

6

6 2 2

Fokker F-27 maritime patrol aircraft Airbus Helicopters SA-316 maritime support helicopter AgustaWestland Sea King 45 maritime support helicopter Harbin Z-9EC medium-lift utility helicopter Mi-14 maritime support helicopter ATR 42 maritime patrol aircraft

NOTES: Due to financial constraints the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has suspended its “Air Force Development Plan 2025”.

Under the plan, PAF had received money from the federal government until 2007 but has now been forced to close a number of projects, thus affecting the upgrade of the country’s air power.

25

SINGAPORE

MD Helicopters MD-500 light utility helicopter Sikorsky S-76A/AUH76A medium-lift utility helicopter Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter. 33 are beyond economical repair, 25 recoverable but need a budget for repair, 21 are operational. Bidding for 21 refurbished UH-1H helicopters failed for the third time in September 2013 as it fell short of requirements.

Bell Helicopter 205 medium-lift utility helicopter Bell Helicopter 212/214 medium-lift utility helicopter Alenia Aermacchi SF-260 lead-in jet trainer

10

42

8 2

20

n Republic of Singapore Air Force

24

60

26

16 32

17 5 9

PHILIPPINES n Philippine Air Force

n Philippine Navy Aviation

8

6

3

2 1 1 12 Planned

5 8 Ordered

4 Ordered

8

42

Rockwell International OV-10 light attack turboprop Lockheed Martin C-130H/B turboprop transport Fokker F-27 turboprop transport GAF Nomad 22 turboprop transport Aero Commander pistonengine transport Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50 multi-role combat aircraft SIAI-Marchetti S-211 lead-in jet trainer AgustaWestland AW-109 light utility helicopter.

Contract signed in November 2013.

Deliveries to start in 2014 Airbus Helicopters AS-550 medium-lift utility helicopter PLZ W-3 Sokol light utility helicopter

4 8 Ordered

4

Britten Norman BN-2 maritime patrol aircraft Airbus Helicopters BO105 light utility helicopter AgustaWestland AW-109 maritime support helicopter. Deliveries expected by 2014.

5 5 4 9 3 + 9 Ordered

NOTES: The Philippine Air Force (PAF) plans to acquire twelve Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50 multi-role combat aircraft in order to enhance its territorial defence.

Over $463 million has been allocated by the government for the acquisition of the above-mentioned aircraft. Such modernisation programmes aim to address the country’s requirements for countering airborne threats, as well as providing proper training to pilots on supersonic high-performance aircraft. The Philippines has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Republic of Korea to expand the collaboration in defence trade and cooperation between the two countries. The agreement also enables potential industrial cooperation on the FA-50 programme.

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Boeing F-15SG multi-role combat aircraft.

Declared combat-ready

by Singapore Defence Minister in September 2013.

Lockheed Martin F-16C/D multi-role combat aircraft Northrop Grumman F-5S multi-role combat aircraft Boeing CH-47SD heavy-lift helicopter Airbus Helicopters AS-332/532 medium-lift utility helicopter Boeing AH-64D attack helicopter Airbus Helicopters EC-120 light utility helicopter Fokker F-50 maritime patrol aircraft Gulfstream G550 airborne early warning and control Lockheed Martin C-130H turboprop transport Lockheed Martin KC-130B/H tanker Boeing KC-135R tanker Northrop Grumman F-5T lead-in jet trainer Alenia Aermacchi M-346 lead-in jet trainer.

Deliveries began in 2013.

Pilatus PC-21 turboprop transport

n Republic of Singapore Navy

6 + 2 Ordered

Sikorsky S-70 maritime support helicopter

NOTES: Singapore’s intention of upgrading its Lockheed Martin F-16 C/D multi-role combat aircraft fleet is now official.

According to a 2013 statement by the country’s defence minister, the air force plans to modernise the avionics and extend the lifespan of the fighters. The Singapore F-16 upgrade programme is likely to involve aggressive competition between BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin.

regional air force directory

All four Republic of Korea Boeing 737 airborne early warning aircraft operate from Gimhae air base © Boeing

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

4

n Republic of Korea Air Force

120

Boeing F-15K multi-role combat aircraft 20 Ordered Korea Aerospace Industries KT-1 turboprop trainer. The new FA-50s will replace the Northrop Grumman F-5E/F multi-role combat aircraft fleet which will be retired by 2019.

60 Planned Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning-II multi-role combat aircraft. Deliveries for 40 aircraft will begin in 2018. Options exist for the purchase of 20 additional airframes.

82 McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F4E/RF-4C multi-role combat aircraft 151 Northrop Grumman F-5E multi-role combat aircraft 35 Northrop Grumman F-5F multi-role combat aircraft 117 Lockheed Martin F-16C multi-role combat aircraft 11 + 11 Ordered Korea Aerospace Industries TA-50 lead-in jet trainer

44

2 Planned

8

12 4 Ordered

18 51 3

3

5 7 25

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29

Boeing 737 airborne early warning and control Dassault Falcon 2000S reconnaissance. Could replace the Hawker Beechcraft 800 reconnaissance platform.

Hawker-Siddeley/BAE Systems 125 reconnaissance Lockheed Martin C-130H turboprop freighter Lockheed Martin C-130J turboprop freighter.

Scheduled for delivery in 2014.

Airbus Military CN-235 turboprop freighter Lockheed Martin F-16D multi-role combat aircraft Airbus Helicopters AS332 medium-lift utility helicopter Bell Helicopter 412 medium-lift utility helicopter Boeing CH-47D heavy-lift helicopter Kamov Ka-32 maritime support helicopter MD Helicopters MD500 light utility helicopter

asian­ Military­ review

106

58

Sikorsky S-70/HH/ UH-60P medium-lift utility helicopter Korea Aerospace Industries KT-1 turboprop trainer Korea Aerospace Industries T-50/B advanced trainer aircraft

n Republic of Korea Army

77

Bell Helicopter AH-1J/S attack helicopter 36 Boeing AH-64E attack helicopter 12 Airbus Helicopters BO-105 light utility helicopter 23 Boeing CH-47D heavy-lift helicopter 252 MD Helicopters MD500 light utility helicopter 91 Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter 68 Sikorsky S-70/UH-60L/P medium-lift utility helicopter 19 + 5 Ordered Korea Aerospace + 221 Planned Industries KUH/1 Surion medium-lift utility helicopter

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n Republic of Korea Navy

16 18 Planned 5 24

8

6

7

8 Ordered

Lockheed Martin P-3C/CK maritime patrol aircraft Lockheed S-3 maritime patrol aircraft Reims F406 Caravan II utility turboprop transport AgustaWestland Lynx 99A maritime support helicopter Sikorsky S-70/UH-60P maritime support helicopter Airbus Helicopters SA-319 maritime support helicopter Bell Helicopter UH-1H maritime support helicopter AgustaWestland AW-159 maritime support helicopter.

The Republic of Korea will receive four AW-159s in 2015 and additional four in 2016 under a $560 million deal.

n Republic of Korea Marine Corps

40 Ordered

Korea Aerospace Industries KUH/1 Surion

NOTES: The Republic of Korea (RoK) hopes to leap into the rank of major arms exporters as a result of its ongoing Korea Fighter Experimental (KFX) programme. The programme, which is to be led by the RoK’s largest aircraft manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), focuses on the development of an advanced fifth-generation multi-role combat aircraft for the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) and the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU). Although the KFX programme has been delayed several times in the last decade, two concept models for the KFX combat aircraft were displayed in October 2013 during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition: KAI’s KFX-E, a single-engine concept, and the Agency for Defence Development (ADD) C103, twin-engine aircraft that would require higher domestic system development. Facing the threat from North Korea and the strategic situation involving China and Japan, the RoK Korea has developed its own initiatives to respond to the urgent need to replace obsolete platforms in its fleet of multi-role combat aircraft. The country has also announced its intentions to purchase 40 fifth-generation fighters under the FX-III programme, with the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning-II multi-role combat aircraft likely to be selected. The first deliveries should occur in 2018.

SRI LANKA n Sri Lankan Air Force

9

Israel Aerospace Industries Kfir C2/7/(T)C2 multi-role combat aircraft 8 Chengdu F-7 multi-role combat aircraft 6 MiG-27M multi-role combat aircraft 1 MiG-23UB multi-role combat aircraft 2 Hawker Beechcraft King Air 200 maritime patrol aircraft 2 Lockheed Martin C-130K turboprop freighter 5 Antonov An-32 turboprop freighter 9 Harbin Y-12 turboprop transport 2 Ordered Xian MA60 turboprop transport 4 Bell Helicopter 206 medium-lift utility helicopter 13 Bell Helicopter 212/412 medium-lift utility helicopter 14 + 14 Ordered Mil Mi-8 medium-lift utility helicopter.

9 Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter

Along with India, Taiwan is the only Dassault Mirage-2000 multirole combat aircraft operator in the Asia-Pacific region. The island nation operates 47 of the Mirage-2000-5EI variants, and nine Mirage-2000-5DI versions © Toshiro Aoki

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5 + 2 Planned

Hongdu JL-8 lead-in jet trainer

TAIWAN n Republic of China Air Force

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Lockheed Martin F-16 A multi-role combat aircraft 28 Lockheed Martin F-16B multi-role combat aircraft 47 Dassault Mirage 2000-5EI multi-role combat aircraft 9 Dassault Mirage 2000-5DI multi-role combat aircraft 22 North Grumman F/RF-5E multi-role combat aircraft 101 Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation F-CK-1A multi-role combat aircraft 20 Lockheed Martin C-130H turboprop freighter 1 + 11 Ordered Lockheed Martin P-3C Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA). The first of twelve refurbished P-3C MPA was delivered to Taiwan in September 2013. The last of these aircraft is scheduled for delivery by the end of 2015.

11 ShinMaywa US-2 maritime patrol aircraft 6 Ordered Alenia Aermacchi C-27J turboprop freighter 6 Northrop Grumman E-2K airborne early warning and control 3 Airbus Helicopters EC-225 medium-lift utility helicopter 13 Sikorsky S-70/UH-60A medium-lift utility helicopter 51 Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation AT-3A/B lead-in jet trainer 25 Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation F-CK-1B multi-role combat aircraft 25 Northrop Grumman F-5F multi-role combat aircraft 37 Hawker Beechcraft T-34C turboprop trainer

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n Republic of China Army

62

Bell Helicopter AH-1W attack helicopter 6 + 24 Ordered Boeing AH-64E attack helicopter. First six helicopters received in November 2013, part of a 30-aircraft contract signed in June 2011. All 30 AH-64E are expected to be delivered by the end of 2014 8 Boeing CH-47SD heavy-lift helicopter 38 Bell Helicopter OH-58 reconnaissance helicopter 91 Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter 4 + 56 Ordered Sikorsky UH-60M medium-lift utility helicopter.

Order for additional 26 announced in November 2013. The first four helicopters are currently being built by Sikorsky and will be delivered in March 2014 29 Bell Helicopter 206 maritime support helicopter

5 4 2

8 12 1 5

14 16 8 18

n Republic of China Navy

8

4 Ordered

MD Helicopters MD500 maritime support helicopter Sikorsky S-70 maritime support helicopter

18

THAILAND

4

n Royal Thai Air Force

30

Northrop Grumman F-5B/E multi-role combat aircraft General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16 A/B multirole combat aircraft Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet lead-in jet trainer Saab JAS-39C/D Gripen multi-role combat aircraft.

Initial batch delivered in February 2011 and the last three fighters were

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received in September 2013. The aircraft are scheduled to replace the Royal Thai Air Force’s existing Northrop Grumman F-5B/E fighter fleet (see above).

Diamond DA42 reconnaissance Saab 340/340 airborne early warning and control Israeli Aircraft Industries Arava 201 turboprop transport Bassler BT-67 turboprop freighter Lockheed Martin C-130H turboprop freighter Hawker Beechcraft King Air 90 turboprop transport Hawker Siddeley/BAE Systems HS 748 turboprop transport GAF Nomad 22 turboprop transport Pilatus PC-6 piston-engine transport Bell Helicopter 412 medium-lift utility helicopter Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter Airbus Helicopters EC-725 medium-lift utility helicopter. Contract signed in September 2012.

Deliveries scheduled for 2015.

Northrop Grumman F-5B/F multi-role combat aircraft Aero L-39 lead-in jet trainer Pilatus PC-9 turboprop trainer

n Royal Thai Army

2 2

7

Airbus Military C-212 turboprop freighter Hawker Beechcraft King Air 200 turboprop transport Bell Helicopter AH-1H attack helicopter

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9 The last three of twelve Saab JAS-39C/D Gripen multi-role combat aircraft were received by the Royal Thai Air Force in September 2013. These jets are designed to conduct a wide range of air-to-air, air-to-surface and reconnaissance missions © Saab

4 8

2

Bell Helicopter 212/214 maritime support helicopter Sikorsky S-76 search and rescue helicopter Sikorsky S-70B/MH-60S maritime support helicopter AgustaWestland Super Lynx 110 maritime support helicopter

VIETNAM n Vietnamese Air Force

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25 52 6 3 + 2 Ordered + 1 Planned 7 + 5 Ordered

2 Ordered

84

4 + 4 Ordered

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Bell Helicopter 206 medium-lift utility helicopter Bell Helicopter 212 medium-lift utility helicopter Boeing CH-47D heavy-lift helicopter Mil Mi-17 medium-lift utility helicopter Sikorsky UH-60 mediumlift utility helicopter.

Three S-70A medium-lift utility helicopter (based on the UH-60L) were delivered to Thailand in April 2013.

AgustaWestland AW-139 medium-lift utility helicopter. Order announced in October 2012. Deal includes maintenance and training package.

Helicopters to be delivered in 2014.

Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter Airbus Helicopters AS-550 medium-lift utility helicopter

6 Ordered

16 23

MiG-21 multi-role combat aircraft 27 + 20 Ordered Sukhoi Su-27/30 multi-role combat aircraft.

Contract announced in August 2013. Aircraft to be delivered in 2014-2015 timeframe.

38 Sukhoi Su-22 multi-role combat aircraft 30 Antonov An-26 turboprop transport 1 Antonov An-28 maritime patrol aircraft 4 Beriev Be-12 search and rescue 90 Mil Mi-8/17 medium-lift utility helicopter 25 Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter 2 Kamov Ka-32 maritime support helicopter 15 Bell Helicopter UH-1H medium-lift utility helicopter 26 Aero L-39 lead-in jet trainer

Airbus Helicopters UH72A medium-lift utility helicopter. Formally requested by Thailand in June 2013. Deal includes communication equipment, spare and repair parts, support equipment, technical documentation and training. The estimated cost for the procurement is $77 million.

Enstrom 480 light utility helicopter Schweizer 269 light utility helicopter

n Royal Thai Navy

n Vietnamese Navy

7

1 + 5 Ordered

Dornier Do 228 maritime patrol aircraft Lockheed Martin P-3T maritime patrol aircraft Fokker F-27 maritime patrol aircraft Canadair/Bombardier CL-215 fire-fighting amphibious aircraft GAF Nomad 24 turboprop transport

1 3 1

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DeHavilland DHC-6 turboprop transport.

Agreement for six aircraft signed in May 2010. First DHC-6 arrived in Vietnam in October 2013 Airbus Helicopters EC225 medium-lift utility helicopter Kamov Ka-28 maritime support helicopter.

b a t t l e management system

MIDDLE MANAGERS Former Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe and President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that “in preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

by Thomas Withington he planning and execution of a commander’s intent is greatly eased by the use of Battle Management Systems (BMSs).

During the Second World War battle management consisted of conventional radios, paper maps, motorcycle dispatch riders and photo reconnaissance.

The flow of information up and down echelons could be slow to non-existent, all of which could hamper the reaction times of engaged forces. Almost 75 years on from the end of that conflict, the planning discussed by the late Mr. Eisenhower and the management of combat has changed exponentially.

There is no hard and fast definition as

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Germany’s Rheinmetall is renowned as a provider of artillery and armoured vehicle systems but the company has also expanded its activities to include the provision of Battle Management Systems (BMS) such as this BMS designed for use with Man-Portable Air Defence Systems © Rheinmetall

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Elbit Systems’ CNR-9000 Very High Frequency High Data Rate tactical radios are used to carry several of the company’s Battle Management System products, such as those acquired by Australia and New Zealand © Elbit Systems

the needs of the artillery, for example, providing information and planning tools for the provision of fires.

Several countries around the AsiaPacific region have active BMS programmes and it is a domain which is experiencing significant investment reflecting the relatively healthy nature of several national defence budgets in this part of the world. In particular this article will outline the latest developments in terms of land force BMS provision in Australasia, Brunei, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Republic of Korea.

Australasia

imagery traffic can include written orders, situation reports and requests for assistance while the imagery handled by today’s BMSs can include everything from still photographs taken of a suspected enemy position by a thermal imaging camera to real-time video footage provided by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) orbiting overhead. BMSs can also be customised to the needs of a particular branch of the army. As the discussion below will illustrate, battle management systems have been developed which are tailored to

to what constitutes a BMS. At its core a BMS can equip almost any echelon of command from the chief of staff level, down to the platoon or squad. Typically a BMS will include a cartographic element. This will often comprise Blue Force Tracking to denote the location of friendly units and tools to allow the depiction of the position of suspected enemy forces. The cartographic element may also be programmable enabling the user to display the information most relevant to them, such as the location of supply depots or headquarters.

At the core of any BMS is the ability to exchange information between comrades, and up and down various echelons of command. This can be achieved using trunk radio or satellite communications across long distances, or via tactical radios for communications between ground units and individual soldiers. Principally these communications are used to carry voice, data and imagery traffic. Data and

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Israel’s Elbit Systems is heavily involved in BMS initiatives in the Australasian region leading key programmes for the armies of Australia and New Zealand. A statement from the company supplied to the Asian Military Review (AMR) notes that it is leading the “the Australian Army’s Land 200 programme, delivering the Army BMS-C2 (Command and Control) for mounted, dismounted and headquarters solutions.” The contract, which is worth $349 million, was signed in 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2014. Currently the BMS-C2 is being rolled out across the Australian Army’s 7th Brigade in Brisbane, eastern Australia “as well as some elements of the Royal Australia Air Force Ground Defence Units. Under this programme Elbit Systems’ supplies thousands of BMS nodes, vehicular and soldier configurations” the statement adds. Meanwhile, Elbit has delivered the BMS Fires capability to equip the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery.

Both this programme and the Army BMSC2 are expected to be completed by 2016.

Elbit Systems argues that its strength as a BMS provider lie in its abilities “to support the specific operational needs and requirements for each of our customers using an open architecture, modular design and ability to easily incorporate external capabilities.” In terms of back-

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bones, the company says that its BMSs can use “all the available communication means of the forces, from low bandwidth legacy radios to wideband data radios.”

This is in addition to the company’s TIGER (Tactical Intranet Geographic dissemination in Real Time) communications network designed for the handling and management of tactical data communications.

Brunei As mentioned in Gordon Arthur’s article ‘Protecting the Abode of Peace’, which appeared in the December 2013 edition of AMR, the armed forces of Brunei is having its Command and Control (C2) capabilities enhanced via the implementation of its Joint Operations Centre (JOC) which commenced in 2010 under the purview of

The Battle Management Systems which have been provided to the Australian and New Zealand armies by Elbit Systems include hand-held displays with clear screens, a key part of the Australian Army’s BMS-C2 (Command and Control) architecture © Elbit Systems

Northrop Grumman, the initiative’s prime contractor. The firm is leveraging its Joint Operational Command and Control System architecture which has the Northrop Grumman’s C2PC (Command and Control for the Personal Computer) software at its core. The initiative includes the roll-out of both a fixed and deployable

At the cornerstone of the Indian Army’s battle management efforts is the force’s BMS programme JOC which will connect to other C2 elements used by fellow nations in the Association of South East Asian Nations.

India At the cornerstone of the Indian Army’s battle management efforts is the force’s BMS programme. In July 2013 media reports noted that the initiative will be procured solely through local Indian companies although a degree of partnering will be permitted to allow these firms

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companies short-listed to develop the prototypes. The initial phase of the initiative is expected to see the roll-out of between 500-1200 BMS terminals before the wider fielding of the system from 2017-2021. Finally, the BMS could then receive a comprehensive upgrade in the 2022-2026 timeframe. In total these efforts could cost between $37 million up to $148 million depending on the size and scope of the BMS which is eventually ordered by the force.

The BMS will link upwards into the Indian Army’s Combined Information and Decision Support System (CIDSS) being procured under the ‘Project Samvahak’ initiative, although problems concerning the Indian Army’s Tactical Communications System (the Corps-level communications backbone intended to carry the CIDSS and the BMS – see above), have slowed down the CIDSS’s roll-out. The original intention had been to equip a Corps headquarters (HQ) plus a Divisional HQ, three Brigade HQs and nine battalion HQs with the CIDSS, but these plans now appear to have slowed for the time being. Following the initial roll-out to these respective HQs the

CIDSS is to then equip a Strike Corps and would be implemented with other Corpssupporting elements and linked to other army tactical command and control systems. Ultimately, the CIDSS would then go on to equip another 13 Corps over a seven-year period, but as noted above, much of this work depends on the introduction of the TCS.

Malaysia Malaysia is currently navigating through Phase-1A of its Network Centric Operations (NCO) initiative the work on which is being performed by Sapura, a Malaysian-based technology company. At the core of Phase-1A is a two-year study examining how to federate existing C2 systems used by the Malaysian Army.

The Republic of Korea’s Tactical Information Communication Network will see the introduction of new trunk radios and multiband transceivers

Pakistan’s Global and Industrial Defence Solutions has developed the PAK-IBMS Battle Management System which has commenced deliveries to the Pakistan Army. This photograph illustrates one of the cartographical screens available to users © GIDS

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Future NCO work has mooted the possible introduction of a new BMS along with the integration of Malaysia’s SAKTI infantry modernisation architecture into the overall NCO network.

Pakistan Pakistan’s BMS efforts currently focus on the PAK-IBMS being developed by Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS) based in Rawalpindi. According to a statement supplied to AMR this BMS has been in development since 2004 and the first units have already been delivered to the army’s armoured units for training purposes. Armoured platforms which have received the Pak-IBMS so far include the army’s Norinco/Heavy Industries Taxila Al-Kahlid and Al-Zarrar Main Battle Tanks. Services provided by the BMS include blue force tracking, mission planning and combat messaging. The statement continues that in 2013 the “PAKIBMS was deployed at the School of Armour and Mechanised Warfare in Nowshera, northern Pakistan for the training of army officers and men of the Pakistan Armoured Corps.”

The statement from GIDS adds that the firm has also developed the PAKFIRE artillery fire control BMS. Deployed from 2007 up to 200 units in the Pakistan Army now have the system according to the firm. PAKFIRE is described as “a modular, reliable, secure, user-friendly and fully-integrated artillery fire control system that automates all operational functions of artillery and ensures fast and accurate fire on targets. It provides an automated solution for preparation, coordination, dissemination, execution and modification of the fire support plan, the fire plan, and gun programmes.” The PAKFIRE architecture comprises four elements: the Artillery Fire Direction Module (AFDM), Fire Support Planning Module (FSPM), Counter Bombardment Module (CBM) and the Battle Management Information System (BMIS).

According to the company, the AFDM “receives target information from forward observers, counter-bombardment and fire support elements. Meteorological information is then added to calculate fast and

b a t t l e management system

Israeli defence electronics specialists Elbit Systems has performed extensive work in recent years modernising the Battle Management Systems in service with the Australian Army and also its counterparts in New Zealand © Elbit Systems

speedy transfer of information.” Finally, the BMIS assists “commanders in the allocation, modification and management of resources like ammunition, weapons, vehicles and manpower.”

accurate firing data which is then transmitted to guns and digital message units using wired or wireless communications.”

The FSPM, meanwhile, “is designed to integrate fire support with the manoeuvre plan. It assists in the preparation, coordination, dissemination, execution and modification of the fire support plan,” and includes a variety of cartographic tools to this end. The Counter Bombardment Module “integrates external sensors like radars and UAVs with PAKFIRE for the

Republic of Korea A trio of companies, namely SamsungThales, Huneed and LIG Nex1 is rolling out the Republic of Korea (RoK) armed forces Tactical Information Communication Network (TICN) which

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will provide communications links between the country’s army, marine corps, navy and air force. The TICN deal is valued at $3.8bn and will see the introduction of new trunk radios, multiband transceivers and associated network management systems. Other programmes include the Korea Joint Command and Control System at the Joint Chiefs of Staff level to link this echelon of command with the country’s armed forces, the Military Information Management System which allows services to communicate with one another at the tactical level, and the Joint Tactical Data Link System for the exchange of data between services.

LIG Nex1 is active in the development of BMS products. A spokesperson for the company, Hyejin Mo, told AMR that the firm is; “currently developing and producing BMS related systems.” These include systems for artillery forces which can: “decide and recommend firing methods, types of ammunition, designate firing units and firing times to support the commander’s decision cycle.” These systems are being designed with “interconnectivity with higher level command and control systems in mind.” The company expects that these BMS applications will be carried by its PRC-999K command radio and also its Tactical Multi-Band Multi-Role Radio which from 2015 will be able to support data communications.

The efforts of the Republic of Korea and other countries throughout the region to deepen and widen their BMSs will continue into the coming years. The next challenge will be in ensuring that these systems can handle and manage the increasing amount of information which will be available to the soldier in the future. A deluge of data can, in many ways, be as detrimental as no data at all, and it will be up to these BMSs to ensure that they can sort the wheat from the chaff in a timely and reliable manner on tomorrow’s battlefields.

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military helicopters

Growing defence budgets and concerns over Chinese expansion are fuelling a military growth in the Asia-Pacific region. There is a need to not only update existing military helicopter fleets, but also look at new capabilities that provide greater reach.

by Andrew Drweiga

THE CHINA SYNDROME: ASIA-PACIFIC MILITARY HELICOPTER MODERNISATION he time is right for Asia to buy military helicopters, particularly utility and support helicopters for land and maritime operations. With the traditionally high spending government customers in Europe and North America still enveloped in the process of shaving even more off their annual defence budgets, the recognised helicopter manufacturers have all turned towards Asia. Here the arms market is being fuelled by a mix of growing concern over Chinese aggres-

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sive expansion added to strengthening national economies which now means there is business to be had where once opportunities were few.

As part of this escalating up-kick in Asian defence spending, there is a corresponding drive to update regional military utility helicopter fleets with many forces looking to modernise their capability. Buying utility helicopters is generally considered to pose a lower risk to military customers than procuring more complex specialist types. While the helicopter’s

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concept of operations must be considered, together with the climactic and geographical challenges it will face, normally there is little requirement for specialised equipment that will affect the manufacturer’s promised performance.

South Korea The Republic of Korea is one such country with an expanding requirement and with one foot now firmly on the industrial ladder. An amphibious support version of the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH) is being

military helicopters

developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (RoKMC). The KUH, also known as the KUH-1 Surion, was co-developed with Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter) with its first flight taking place in 2009.

It is a twin-engine 8.7 ton utility helicopter and around 245 helicopters are required by the Korean military. In 2013 the Korean Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced a $752.8 million requirement for a marine helicopter that would ‘improve the mili-

The US Marine Corps Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey attracted great public interest at the Japan Air Self-Defense force airshow at the Nyutabaru air base in 2013. The Osprey belongs to the medium lift tiltrotor squadron VMM-265 based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa © United States Marine Corps

tary's three-dimensional high-speed landing operations performance,’ according to a press release from the company published on 17 April 2013. Reports of the difference between the KUH-1 and the marine helicopter indicate additional fuel tanks to

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allow for a perceived greater range and endurance for the latter version. A statement from KAI revealed that development was targeted to be completed by the end of 2015, and that once completed it would also be available for export. One big win for AgustaWestland’s new AW-159 Wildcat, the next generation in the Lynx family, was an order for eight aircraft from the RoK Navy as part replacement for its existing fleet of 24 Lynx-99/99A helicopters. The Wildcat is a 6.2 ton helicopter and deliveries will be spread over 2015-16.

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military helicopters

Tensions with China One of the driving factors behind the increase in defence budgets is the strategic resurgence of China, and tensions that this is causing throughout the regon.

Nowhere is this more evident currently than in Japan. The Japanese government has announced that it is to spend $24 billion to build up its defense capabilities over five years from 2014 until 2018. One motivation for this is to counter what Japan perceives to be the growing aggressive behavior of China, particularly in the way it is beginning to ride roughshod over established conventions and unilaterally declaring possession of airspace.

Such a move was witnessed in its December 2013 declaration of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone over the Japanese controlled Senkaku islands (or Diaoyu Islands to the Chinese).

The Bell Boeing partnership has mounted a sustained campaign to demonstrate the benefits of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor as a utility aircraft to the Japanese Defence Force (JDF), which has not been plain sailing. The arrival of the first batch

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of US Marine Corps MV-22Bs into Okinawa during September 2012 was met by local protests and claims that the aircraft was unsafe. But the persistence of the US Marine Corps to deploy their aircraft into the region, including joint exercises with Japanese defence force troops back in the United States has paid off for industry.

An MV-22 from Marine medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 based in Okinawa was also displayed in public for the first time at the Nyutabaru air base annual air show at the beginning of December 2013.

Insiders are now confident that the Japanese government will include the procurement of up to 17 MV-22Bs in the next five year defence plan. The country’s defence of remote islands amid China’s

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The Sultan of Brunei at Bridex 2013 examining one of the four Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawks that have been delivered to the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAF). The complete order from Brunei is for twelve of the Polish made S-70i aircraft © Sikorsky

growing territorial assertiveness in the East China Sea has also sparked the proposed creation of a new Ground SelfDefense Force amphibious unit similar to the US Marine Corps (USMC).

At the end of 2013 an MV-22 also flew to Borneo to attend the 4th biennial Brunei defence exhibition with an aptly named theme of ‘Bridging the Gap.’ Lieutenant Colonel Joseph S. Lee, the executive officer of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-262, part of Marine Aircraft Group 36, the unit represented at the show said that the USMC was keen to demonstrate the aircraft’s reach and capability to those in the region: “We are exercising this increased capability in the Pacific area of operation… (and can) assist multiple island nations or nations that are surrounded by water, especially since we just came from doing a disaster

military helicopters

An Artist’s impression of the Korea Aerospace Industries Surion in a maritime environment for use with the newly forming amphibious assault group © Korea Aerospace Industries

relief mission in the Philippines (namely) Operation Damayan.”

Another US manufacturer Sikorsky has already been delivering on a contract with the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAF) which has now received four of the twelve S-70i Black Hawk helicopters that it ordered back in December 2011. These aircraft were delivered from Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach completion centre on 27 November 2013.

Two were accepted before the end of 2013 and two others are in the process of acceptance. All twelve are planned to be delivered by the end of 2014. Within the contract is an option for ten additional aircraft. The S-70is will feature advanced avionics and sensors.

Anticipated roles include search and rescue, humanitarian relief, anti- piracy, troop transport and medical evacuation. The order includes spares, training and ground support equipment.

flexibility in specifying options and consequently the aircraft was beset with problems during the process of bringing it to market. The NH Industries partnership triumvirate of Airbus Helicopter with 62.5% share, AgustaWestland (32%) and Fokker (5.5%) served also to complicate the programmes progression.

The manifestation of this has been seen in several ways. Last year, the Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith signed a Deed of Undertaking with thenEurocopter which was designed to put the Australian Defence Force (ADF) procurement back on track due to the programme

Australia The most recent exception to the rule that buying support helicopters had little risk was the case of NH Industries NH-90 which was sold to 14 international customers who were allowed too much Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force troops using a US Marine Corps Bell-Boeing MV-22 during joint exercises held at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base in California in February 2013 © United States Marine Corps

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being three years late. As part of the agreement which re-baselined them the helicopter’s manufacturer is to supply the ADF with a free 47th MRH-90 which will be used as a ‘live’ training aircraft for army and navy maintainers at Oakey, Queensland. Around 20 MRH-90s have now been delivered to the ADF with the order being completed by the end of 2017 at a delivery rate of up to seven helicopters per year. The first operational deployment of an MRH-90 occurred towards the end of the year when the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Tobruk amphibious support ship used its embarked helicopter during Operation Philippines Assist. The NH-90 also appealed to Australia’s neigh-

bour New Zealand which ordered eight helicopters, four of which were delivered in 2013 with the remaining four to be handed over to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) by the end of 2014.

What appears to be progressing well is the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) acquisition of 24 MH-60R helicopters, with the first two aircraft being delivered at a cere-

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An Australian NH Industries MRH-90 medium lift utility helicopter arriving at Ormoc airport in the Philippines during Operation Philippine Assist following Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 © Australian Defence Force

mony held at Lockheed Martin’s Owego facility in New York in December 2013.

Although the MH-60R is more specifically an anti-submarine and anti-surface helicopter with a Lockheed Martin Common Cockpit, it shows how a once standard airframe of the Seahawk can be adapted for specialist use. Rear Admiral Tony Dalton, Head of the RAN’s Helicopter Systems Division has underlined the usefulness of training Australian crews

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A locally-built Airbus Helicopters NAS-332 Super Puma of the Indonesia VIP helicopter Squadron Air 45 at PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI)/Indonesian Aerospace in Bandung © Andrew Drwiega

alongside the US Navy as part of the contract to build up “knowledge, Tactics Techniques and Procedures (TTPs).”

Adm. Dalton added that one of the main reasons behind the ADF’s decision to opt for the MH-60R was that it was considered to be a ‘low risk’ programme: “There is a spiral upgrade that we will tap into and, where it makes sense, will stay with the US Navy baseline configuration. We need to focus on ensuring that the sustainment package is right and the Australian modifications are completed quickly and correctly.”

Around Asia At the start of the year Air Marshall Ida Bagus Putu Dunia, Indonesia’s Air Force commander said that Airbus Helicopter Cougar-family rotorcraft would be among the 102 new aircraft that the country needed to strengthen its 'bargaining power' in regional disputes. The flow of new aircraft is very much dependent on the annual defence budget with no firm established rate of fielding the aircraft. In March 2013 the armed forces received six Bell 412 EPs and in July 2013 the East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek Ishak announced

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that one of the military operated Bell 412s would be used to patrol the border with Serawak which is part of Malaysia.

Another 16 Bell 412 EPs are due for completion by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI)/Indonesian Aerospace in 2014 according to the organisation’s President Budi Santoso. In April 2012 Airbus Helicopter and PTDI agreed to build six EC-725 aircraft. Delivery to the Indonesia Air Force (IAF) is scheduled for 2014 with PTDI responsible for assembling and then customising these aircraft at its facility in Bandung, West Java. The Indonesia Air Force already operates a number of NAS332 Super Pumas, some of which are configured as VIP aircraft. Indonesia also operates around 14 Mi-17V-5 helicopters made

by Kazan, a member of Russian Helicopters as well as the Mi-35P from Rostvertol. With more expected the eventual size of the Mi17 fleet could be around 18 aircraft.

Through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) deal agreed in November 2013, the US Army has awarded Sikorsky a fixed price $46.9 million contract to modernise 26 UH-60M Black Hawks for the Taiwanese Army. The upgrade work will take place at Sikorsky’s Connecticut

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works with a completion date forecast at the end of August 2016.

In June 2013 the Government of Thailand expressed interest in buying six Airbus Helicopters UH-72A Lakota aircraft through an FMS arrangement. This would be of significant benefit to Airbus Helicopters due to the US Department of Defense decision last year to cancel remaining deliveries of the UH-72As to the US Army. The value of the Thai order, with parts, training and logistics was revealed as $77 million.

The need for military utility helicopters in many countries around Asia is ever present, particularly those whose nations are scattered among islands such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The perceived territorial challenges from China are also enlivening thinking behind military procurement across the region, particularly with the proposed establishment of new amphibious forces as seen in Japan and the Republic of Korea. With more money to spend, and many older fleets of helicopters still in service, military utility helicopter manufacturers have an opportunity for sales that wasn’t realistic several years ago.

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regional m i l i t a r y

NEW ORDERS: MODERNISING THE INDIAN AIR FORCE In its modernisation efforts, India’s military is battling structural and bureaucratic obstacles in procurement procedures, limited indigenous technological capability, a resource crunch and corruption scandals.

by Rahul Bedi

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The IAF’s Dassault Mirage 2000H fleet is undergoing an extensive $3 billion upgrade which includes equipping them with advanced avionics, mission computers and a pulse Doppler radar capable of identifying objects at a range of 70 nautical miles (103 kilometres) © Indian Air Force

Collectively, this materiel is aimed not only at augmenting India’s ability to conduct the full spectrum of warfare, from low-intensity and conventional conflict to nuclear battle, but also conducting out-ofarea operations to secure growing national interests. This latter arc extends from the Strait of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca, the northern Indian Ocean Region and on to Central Asia.

Nevertheless, the primary drivers impacting India’s military capability development and modernisation are focused on

n economically resurgent India is attempting to break free of its strategic insularity to secure a regional, rather than sub-continental, role for itself in keeping with its perceived vision and strength. For the Indian Air Force (IAF) force multipliers such as Airborne Early Warning (AEW) platforms, tankers, freighters, advanced jet trainers, Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are at various stages of induction and procurement.

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the rapidly transforming People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that could work in tandem with traditional rival Pakistan to present New Delhi with a ‘two-front’ war scenario. The passage of time, periodic border conflicts with both these neighbours since India’s independence in 1947, continuing military tension and above all the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region, have rendered these disputes even more complex and challenging for New Delhi in determining IAF force levels and the service’s materiel profile.

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Shopping List In attaining these endeavours and in replacing or upgrading the IAF’s Soviet and Russian military equipment that has attained collective obsolescence, India faces serious impediments. According to official estimates, India imports nearly 74 percent of its defence equipment, despite continual assertions of achieving self-reliance by consecutive administrations. India annually conducts $1.5 billion worth of business with Russia, its largest and oldest materiel provider, which since the early 1960s has supplied equipment worth over $60 billion.

Russia is followed closely by Israel, which has sold India materiel averaging around $1 billion each year since 1999. In third place, but likely to race ahead once the $1820 billion deal for 126 Dassault RafaleB/C/M fighters (see Bianca Siccardi’s AsiaPacific Air Forces Directory in this issue for more information) is concluded is France, after which come Britain, Italy, Germany and Ukraine. The United States, India's newfound strategic and defence ally, is fast catching up, having registered $9 billion worth of military sales since 2002 (the most recent figures are $ 9 billion following an

add-on order for six additional Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules turboprop freighters in the last week of December 2013). Currently, the United States is negotiating contracts of an equal amount for numerous platforms mostly via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route. However, some foreign deals continue to trigger controversy like the $1 billion import from Italy of twelve AgustaWestland AW-101 mediumlift helicopters for the IAF, which was cancelled on 1 January 2014 on the grounds of corruption. Amazingly, since 2010 India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been inquiring into 90 corruption cases in the military, the majority connected to procurements.

Whether high levels of defence spending for the IAF, and for India’s other armed services will continue remains to be seen. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2013 warned the defence forces of budget cuts triggered by India’s slow economic growth, spiralling financial deficit, mounting inflation and a sharp decline in the value of the Rupee against the US Dollar. “We will have to exercise prudence in our defence acquisition plans

The Su-30MKI multi-role combat aircraft forms the backbone of the Indian Air Force’s fleet. By 2016-17 the IAF will operate 272 Su-30MKIs from various bases in the north, east and northeast of the country © Indian Air Force

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The IAF’s SEPECAT Jaguar fleet is undergoing an upgrade that will equip the aircraft with the Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation III system to give them added precision for airto-ground attacks © Indian Air Force

ant to be acquired by India has yet to be announced) fighters and around 214 Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) which could increase to around 250 or even 300 platforms.

Both latter projects, however, are delayed. The IAFs Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft requirement-likely to rise to around 205 Rafales is postponed due to complex negotiations over the technology transfer to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore which will build 118 Rafales (the rest will be built in France) and the sudden death in October 2013 of the official negotiating the tender.

and cut our coat according to our cloth” Singh told the combined military commanders conference in Delhi. While we must take into account the capabilities of our adversaries, we have to plan our long term acquisitions on the assumption of limited resources available, he added.

Combat Aircraft The IAF is preparing to expand its area of operations and power-projection capability well beyond its immediate neighbourhood by 2022. From a sanctioned strength of 39 fighter squadrons, the IAF is down to around 32 following decades of neglect.

But it hopes to augment its strategic makeover by increasing this to 42 squadrons of 700-800 frontline combat aircraft over the next decade through an ambitious $50 billion procurement drive.

Besides 272 imported and licence-built Sukhoi Su-30MKI MRCAs that will form the backbone of the fighter fleet, this expansion includes the acquisition of 126 Dassault Rafale-B/C/M (the exact vari-

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Furthermore, the $35 billion FGFA programme is deferred because of complications in finalising its $11 billion Research and Development contract that is to be equally shared between India and Russia.

This, in turn, would postpone the arrival in India of three FGFA prototypes based on the Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA MRCA for flight testing by the IAF between 2014 and 2019 to determine its final configuration before manufacturing begins. As part of its moderinsation, the IAF is upgrading its 51 Mirage 2000H MRCA to Mirage 2000-5 status in a $3 billion deal being performed by Dassault and Thales and 67 MiG29B/S MRCAs including eight MiG29U/B trainers for $964 million in a 2009 contract agreed with manufacturers, Russian Aircraft Corporation.

The Mirage-2000Hs are to be fitted with advanced avionics, mission computers and a pulse Doppler radar capable of identifying objects at a range of 70 nautical miles (130 kilometres), all of which would provide IAF commanders the flex-

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The Indian Air Force has retired its last MiG-21FL squadron of 15 ground attack aircraft at the Kalaikunda air base in eastern India in December 2013. The MiG-21 entered service with the force in 1964 © Indian Air Force

ibility to commit fewer aircraft on combat missions for higher success rates. The retrofit would also keep the Mirage2000Hs operationally relevant for another two decades. The upgrade includes a $48.3 million outlay to augment HAL’s capabilities to retrofit 47 Mirage-2000Hs in Bangalore in as many months after four were readied in France within 40 months of the deal being inked. The MiG-29s, including eight MiG-29U/B trainers, will be equipped with new Klimov RD-33 Series-3 turbofan with digital fuel injection, the Phazotron Zhuk-ME phased array radar and the Vympel R-77 Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile.

The IAFs 125-strong SEPECAT Jaguar IS/IB/IM fleet is being retrofitted with HAL’s Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation III (DARIN-III) system whilst manufacture of the locally designed ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), also built by HAL, will begin in early 2014, shortly after it secured its long- postponed initial operational clearance in December 2013. The LCAs Final Operational Clearance (FOC) will only obtained in late 2014 after it has successfully integrated its weapons suite, radars and sensors to enable it to fire rock-

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ets, laser-guided bombs, BVR missiles and perform aerial refuelling.

The IAF will initially induct 40 LCAs powered by General Electric F404-GEIN20 turbofans with a limited 80-85 kilonewton (KN) thrust that restricts its weapons load and angle of attack in accordance with the IAFs qualitative requirements. The follow-on circa 100 LCAs will be fitted with the General Electric F414GE turbofan with a 90-100 Kilonewton (KN) thrust that will significantly overcome these two limitations. By 2022 the IAF plans to induct seven LCA squadrons to replace its MiG-21 ground attack jets whose operational life has been extended well beyond their retirement date until 2022-24 in order to maintain numerical platform superiority over Pakistan.

Special Missions In August 2012 India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Centre for Airborne Systems in Bangalore took delivery of the first of three Brazilian Embraer 145 AEW aircraft to integrate all mission systems including the DRDO’s indigenously-developed active antenna array radar pending its eventual introduc-

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tion into the IAF. Once completed the EMB145 AEW aircraft will offer endurances in excess of five hours and provide 240 degree surveillance at distances between 135-202nm (250-374km) officials said.

The three EMB 145 platforms were acquired for $210 million in 2008 and will eventually supplement a similar number of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) Elta Systems-built Phalcon radars mounted on Ilyushin Il-76 turbofan freighter; the ensemble being known as the A-50EI. The IAF is to acquire two similar follow-on AEW systems for an estimated $800 million by 2020-22 to further augment its surveillance and power projection capabilities.

Freighters Nevertheless, the IAFs strategic lift capability, currently dominated by Soviet-era platforms, has received the biggest boost with the induction of two types of US military freighter at Hindon Air Base on Delhi’s outskirts. These included six Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules turboprops acquired at a cost of $1.2 billion and specially configured for use by India’s Special Forces, and three of an eventual ten Boeing C-17 Globemaster III

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turbofan freighters acquired in 2011 for $4.1 billion.

The IAF created history in August 2013 by landing a C-130J-30 at the Daulat Beg Oldie advanced landing ground, the world’s highest airstrip in the northern Himalayan Ladakh region, adjoining China’s unsettled frontier, displaying the IAFs growing strategic reach which can now support army formations deployed in this inhospitable, largely snow-bound terrain all year round. Meanwhile, in December 2013 the IAF signed a $1 billion contract for six additional C-130J-30s via the FMS programme. To be delivered within three years the supplementary transports will be based at Panagarh in

eastern India, the headquarters of the Indian Army’s new Mountain Strike Corps for employment against China.

Delivery of the remaining seven C-17s will be completed by the end 2014 after which the IAF plans to order six more to replace

The IAFs strategic lift capability, currently dominated by Soviet-era platforms, has received the biggest boost with the induction of two types of US military freighter

An Indian Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130-J30 turboprop freighter is seen here landing at the world’s highest airfield at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in the Himalayan, Ladakh region, close to the border with China © Indian Air Force

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the circa twelve IL-76s which entered IAF service in 1985. The arrival of the six addon C-17s will make the IAF their largest operator after the US Air Force.

Furthermore, in May 2013 the Ministry of Defence dispatched a tender to eight overseas vendors to supply the IAF with 56 medium transport aircraft with a 6,0008,000 kilogram (13,200-17,600lb) payload and a cruise speed of 432 knots (800 kilometres-per-hour) and through a Joint Venture (JV) with an indigenous private sector manufacturer. The tender has been dispatched to Alenia Aeromacchi (Italy), Antonov (Ukraine), Boeing (USA), Airbus Military (Europe) and Illyushin (Russia).

Under the terms of the tender, these over-

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The Indian Air Force has inducted four of ten Boeing C17 Globemaster III turbofan freighters that it acquired in 2011 for $4.1 billion. These aircraft are based at the Hindon Air Base near New Delhi © Indian Air Force

seas vendors will tie-up with private Indian companies to form the JV, designated the Indian Production Agency (IPA).

Sixteen of the selected platforms will be acquired off-the-shelf and the remaining 40 will be built locally under the JV but the programme is facing powerful resistance from HAL which was deliberately omitted from the project because of its poor serviceability, soaring costs and deadline overruns. This was the first instance of the IAF looking exclusively to India’s private sector to build the cargo aircraft instead of HAL, which for decades, has monopolised the licenced production of all Indian military aircraft. But backed by the federal Industries Ministry HALs involvement in the programme is under active consideration. Eventually, these 56 platforms will supplement the long-delayed Multi-role Transport Aircraft (MTA) under joint development by India and Russia.

Sustaining the transport and fighter fleets will be six Airbus Military A330 MultiRole Tanker Transport (MRTT) jets which the IAF selected in late 2012.

Trainers Additionally, the IAF is in the process of inducting 75 Swiss-designed Pilatus PC-7s

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basic turboprop trainers, 20 more BAE Systems Hawk Mk132 jet trainers for its Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team (SKAT) taking the total to 123 Hawks. The IAF is also taking delivery of 80 Russian Mi-17V5 medium-lift armed helicopters with a 19,685ft (6000m) operational ceiling acquired in December 2008 for $1.34 billion. The deal for another 71 Mi-17V5 platforms for $1.53 billion, which would include 59 for the IAF, was agreed during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Delhi in December 2012.

IAF officers said the Mi-17V5 fleet will be deployed on special airborne operations; for the transportation of troops and materiel; search and rescue missions; casualty evacuation and possibly even anti-insurgent operations. Air Chief Marshal Norman Browne,

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Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force, said in October 2013 that price negotiations for 22 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters were concluded and their procurement had been forwarded to the Federal Finance Ministry for approval.

Away from airframes, replacing obsolete air defence capability and high altitude radar, upgrading 30 airfields and resurrecting long-disused advanced landing grounds near the precipitous Chinese frontier to support air operations are also IAF priorities. The IAFs long-delayed modernisation drive is aimed at bolstering its depleting combat squadrons, augmenting its strategic transcontinental reach to manage out-of-area contingencies and to extend its power-projection capability well beyond its immediate neighbourhood. By the end of India’s 13th FiveYear Finance Plan in 2022, the IAF envisages a combat strength of around 40 frontline, multi-role combat aircraft squadrons.

This will comprise 700-800 aircraft with BVR capabilities acquired via imports, joint ventures with overseas manufacturers and technology transfers, and moderately through indigenously developed platforms with high foreign content.

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asian artillery

BIG BANG THEORY: ASIAN ARTILLERY AMBITIONS Countries around the region are spoiled for choice when choosing new artillery systems especially wheeled and tracked self-propelled weapons. The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Singapore have replaced foreign-built artillery systems with locally-designed weapons and the RoK’s Samsung Techwin has achieved significant exports with the K9 Thunder.

by Ian Kemp

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With the acquisition of 54 BAE Systems 155mm (six inch) M777A2 Lightweight Howitzers since 2010 all regular Australian Army artillery regiments are now equipped with the weapon Š Australian DOD

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tle management system developed by Raytheon to meet United States Army and US Marine Corps requirements. As the towed BAE Systems 105mm (four inch) L119 Hamel Light Gun is phased out of service with the Army Reserve its field batteries are being equipped with 81mm (three inch) mortars.

Through the widespread use of titanium and aluminium alloys the M777 weighs less than 4,200kg (9,260 pounds) compared to the 7,163kg (15,790 pounds) weight of the US government-built M198 155mm (six inch) towed howitzer which the M777 replaced in US Army, US Marine Corps and Australian service. The

he Australian Army has recently launched what it described as the most ambitious artillery modernisation programme since the Second World War. This programme reflects many of the lessons learned during the country’s involvement in military operations in Afghanistan and in other recent theatres of operations. Each of the Royal Australian Artillery’s three regular gun regiments, one assigned to each of the three new multi-role manoeuvre brigades, are now organised to include three Observation Post (OP) batteries and one gun battery equipped with twelve BAE Systems M777A2 Lightweight Howitzers divided into three four-gun troops. Each OP battery provides a battle group Joint Fires and Effects Coordination Centre and three combat team joint fires teams.

At the heart of the reorganisation is the introduction of the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS), a fully automated digital bat-

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M777 can be deployed by medium-lift helicopter and carried internally by a Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules turboprop freighter. The M777A2 is capable of firing four rounds-per-minute for two minutes and then a sustained rate of fire of two rounds-per-minute. It is normally operated by a gun detachment of seven although this can be reduced to five. The weapon’s 39 calibre barrel can achieve an effective range of 24 kilometres (15 miles) firing standard ammunition, 30km (19 miles) with Rocket Assisted Projectiles (RAP) and up to 40km (25 miles) with Excalibur guided projectiles.

In 2008 Australia made a US Foreign Military Sales request for 57 M777A2s worth an estimated $248 million and in July 2010 bought 35 weapons under Phase 1A of the Australian Army’s LAND 17 artillery modernisation project. The guns entered service in July 2011, following the delivery of the first 15 weapons, with a Final Operating Capability achieved in 2013. Following the cancellation of LAND

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17 Phase 1C, which covered the procurement of two batteries of 155mm SelfPropelled Howitzers (SPHs), Australia ordered another 19 M777A2s in October 2012. Deliveries of the additional weapons are expected to be completed by the end of March 2014.

As important as the weapons themselves is the introduction of precision guided munitions. On 30 August 2013 Australia awarded a $58 million firm-fixed-price contract through the US Army Contracting Command, to ATK Armament Systems for 4,002 M1156 Precision Guidance Kits (PGK) plus training, publications and other contractor support. ATK developed the XM1156 PGK to provide the US Army with a low cost alternative to the BAE Systems Bofors/Raytheon M982 Excalibur round which has consistently achieved a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of around five metres (16 feet) but costs over $100,000 per round.

The XM1156, which screws into existing 155mm M549A1 RAPs and M795 high explosive shells, provides a CEP of less than 50m (164 feet); a significant improvement over the 267m (876 feet) CEP achieved by conventional rounds at maximum ranges. Following an early materiel release the US Army’s 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment was the first to fire the XM1156 PGK from an M777 during combat operations in Afghanistan on 28 April 2013.

BAE Systems expects to test fire the Multi Service-Standard Guided Projectile (MS-SGP) from the M777 in the next few months. The company claims a range of up to 100km (62 miles) will be possible for this Global Positioning System-guided round when fired from the M777, and also say it will be cheaper and more accurate than existing smart munitions. The MS-SGP is a variant of the rocket-assisted 155mm Long Range Land Attack Projectile developed for the Advanced Gun System fitted to the US Navy’s new ‘Zumwalt’ class destroyers and consists of a 127mm (five inch) projectile fitted with sabots.

Afghan National Army gunners fire the D-30 122mm (five inch) howitzer at a Combat Outpost Fortress, Kunar province, Afghanistan. The D-30 is being upgraded with the Universal Battery Level Fire Direction System © US Army

Legacy guns Although the L119 Light Gun has been phased out of Australian service it will

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remain the New Zealand Army’s only field artillery system. Through a $16 million contract Selex ES has recently modernised New Zealand’s 24 L119s to keep them in service until 2030. The modernisation covers the installation of the company’s Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing System (LINAPS) which is in Malaysian and Thai service, and used by British Army (installed on the 105mm/four inch Light Gun) and the Canadian Army (M777) artillery units which saw combat in Afghanistan. The LINAPS is a gun-mounted navigation, pointing and weapon management system which enables rapid and accurate artillery deployment in all weather conditions, day and night. Under New Zealand’s Army 2015 force structure the 16th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery comprises a headquarters battery and three scalable hybrid batteries — two from the regular force and the third from the Army Reserve — each capable of operating up to six L119s or twelve (BAE Systems/Royal Ordnance) L16A2 81mm (three inch) mortars, or a mix of both.

When the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) concludes combat operations in Afghanistan the primary artillery system supporting the Afghan National Army will be its own Soviet legacy D-30 towed 122mm (five inch) howitzers. Firing standard ammunition the D30 can achieve a maximum range of 15km (nine miles) which can be extended to

A Republic of Korea Marine Corps Samsung Techwin K9 Thunder 155mm (six inch) Self Propelled Howitzer fire rounds during a live fire exercise on Baeknyeong Island. The locally designed K9 is gradually replacing the K55 variant of the M109A2 Self Propelled Howitzer © US Army

22km (14 miles) using rocket assisted projectiles. The effectiveness of these weapons is being improved by the introduction of the Universal Battery Level Fire Direction System (UBLFDS) developed by the Ukrainian Defence Consulting (UDC) company. The UBLFDS was trialled by ISAF mentor teams before being approved for introduction into Afghan service. The UBLFDS is comprised of a handheld computer at the battery command post, position sensors mounted on the weapon and a tablet computer for each gun commander all of which are linked via a wireless network. The battery command post receives weapon position data from the

The Singapore Army has fielded approximately 50 ST Kinetics Primus 155mm (six inch) Self Propelled Howitzers, based on an improved BAE Systems M109 chassis, since 2004 to support its combined arms brigades © Singapore Armed Forces

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sensors and is able to prepare fire mission orders which are passed to each gun commander’s tablet computer. According to UDC about 300 UBLFDS sets have been ordered for the Afghan National Army.

Korean Thunder The Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) is continuing a comprehensive modernization of its artillery with the replacement of the Samsung Techwin K55, a variant of the US-designed BAE Systems 155mm/39cal M109A2 Self Propelled Howitzer with up to 1,136 K9 Thunder 155mm/52cal SPHs and 179 Samsung Techwin K10 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles. Samsung Techwin completed the first XK9 prototype in 1994, the first production weapons were delivered in 1999, and an estimated 300 or so weapons had been delivered by early 2013. The K9 was used in action for the first time on 23 November 2010 when three RoK Marine Corps weapons returned fire when North Korean forces bombarded the island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea. The K9 is operated by a crew of five, is powered by a 1,000 horsepower MTU MT 881 Ka-500 eight-cylinder diesel engine and featuring hydropneumatic suspension. The 46-tonne K9 was designed to negotiate difficult terrain and can achieve a top speed of 67 kilometres-per-hour (47

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Republic of Korea marines fire the K55, the locally made version of the BAE Systems M109A2 Self Propelled Howitzer in August 2013 during Korean Marine Exchange Program 13-8, a regularly-scheduled, combined-training exercise enhancing the combat readiness of RoK and US marine forces © USMC

miles-per-hour) on roads and a range of 360km (224 miles). Automatic loading and an automatic projectile transfer system enable a three-round burst to be fired within 15 seconds, a maximum of six to eight rounds to be fired each minute for three minutes, and a rate of fire of twothree rounds to be sustained for an hour.

Based on the K9 chassis, the K10 carries 100 rounds to replenish the weapon’s onboard supply of 48 rounds.

Samsung Techwin achieved an early success on the export market in 2001 when the Turkish Land Forces Command signed a contract with the company to assist with local production of a modified K9 which is known in Turkish service as the Firtina.

The K9 was one of two weapons shortlisted for the Australian Army’s LAND 17 SPH requirement. Samsung Techwin formed a joint venture with India’s Larsen and Toubro on 29 March 2012 to offer the

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K9 for the Indian Army’s ongoing tracked 155mm/52cal SPH requirement. The K9 is also one of four weapons shortlisted to meet a Danish Army requirement for 155mm/52cal SPHs. At the Seoul International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition in November 2013 Samsung Techwin officials said the RoKA plans to acquire up to 800 EVO-105 selfpropelled systems which mount the ordnance of the US government-built M101A1 towed howitzer on the rear cargo area of a standard six wheel drive KM500 five-tonne truck and features the fire control system from the K9 Thunder. The RoKA has an estimated 1,700 M101A1 and KH178, an upgraded version of the M101A1 developed by Hyundai WIA, howitzers in service and a large stockpile of 105mm (four inch) ammunition. The EVO-105 is regarded as a cost-effective means of providing a shoot-and-scoot capability for these weapons with the fivestrong crew being able to fire the first round less than one minute after the vehicle comes to a halt and bring the system out of action in less than 30 seconds. On roads the EVO-105 can achieve a top speed of 85km/h (53 miles-per-hour) and

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a range of more than 1,300km (808 miles).

System development is scheduled to begin in 2014 and lead to series delivery in 2017. Officials from Samsung Techwin have publically stated that they believe there is a significant market for upgrading legacy towed 105, 122, 152, and 155mm howitzers. As well as the basic version of the EVO-105 ordered by the RoKA, Samsung Techwin is offering an advanced version based on a high mobility truck which offer greater mobility and could carry an armoured crew compartment.

Singapore solutions The Singapore Army’s artillery branch is being modernised through the introduction of two weapon systems developed and produced by ST Kinetics, the 155mm/39cal Primus tracked SPH and the 155mm/39cal Pegasus Singapore Light Weight Howitzer (SLWH), developed in collaboration with the Singapore Defence Science and Technology Agency to meet the army’s requirements (see Gordon Arthur’s ‘Stable Condition’ article in this issue). The Primus mounts a locally-developed all-welded aluminium power-operated turret on a substantially

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asian artillery

modernised M109 chassis and incorporates a number of subsystems, such as the powerpack, also used in the ST Kinetics Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle built for the Singapore Army. Powered by a Detroit Diesel 6V-92TIA engine the 28 tonne Primus can achieve a maximum speed of 50km/h (31 mph) on road and a range of 350km (217 miles) on road. The Primus can fire three-round burst within 20 seconds and achieve a maximum rate of fire of six rounds per minute. The first Primus battery was declared operational in 2004 and an estimated 50 systems have been delivered. In Singaporean service the Primus is supported by an ammunition re-supply vehicle and command post vehicle based on the same chassis.

The Pegasus SLWH was developed to provide a weapon which can be lifted by Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter and provide greater range and lethality than the army’s existing Nexter LG1 105mm towed howitzers. The 5.5 tonne design makes uses of titanium and aluminium alloy and is equipped with a recoil management system which according to the manufacturer reduces the recoil force by a third compared to conventional 155mm howitzers. Although usually towed the Pegasus is equipped with a Lombardini 9LD625-2 engine which provides a maximum speed of 12km/h (eight miles-perhour). A semi-automatic loading system enables the crew to achieve a burst rate of fire of three rounds in 24 seconds and a maximum rate of fire of four rounds per minute. The Pegasus can fire conventional munitions up to a range of 19km (twelve miles) and extended range munitions up to 30km (19 miles). About 18 SLWHs are thought to be in Singaporean service.

Indian impasse India’s Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan although developed 25 years ago has yet to result in the introduction of a single new weapon into service. The ambitious plan envisioned the import and local construction of 3,600 155mm/52 calibre howitzers including towed weapons, wheeled SPHs and tracked SPHs, to equip about 180 of 220 artillery regiments by 2025. Ironically it could be the newest requirement for 145

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ST Kinetics designed the 155mm (six inch) Pegasus Singapore Light Weight Howitzer to provide the Singapore Army with a helicopterportable weapon which provides greater range and lethality than the previous generation of 105mm weapons © Singapore Armed Forces

155mm/39cal Ultra Light Howitzers released in January 2008, which could be the first in service. The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on 22 January 2010 that “the Government of India has requested a possible sale of 145 M777 155mm LightWeight Towed Howitzers with Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS), warranty, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, maintenance, personnel training and training equipment, US Government and contractor representatives' technical assistance, engineering and logistics support services,

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and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $647 million.”

After the original notification lapsed the US DSCA notified Congress on 7 August 2013 that India had requested the same package although the cost had increased to $885 million. The request also noted the contract would require a 30% industrial offsets package. When India failed to meet the 15 October 2013 deadline to confirm the purchase BAE Systems announced that it had begun the process of “temporarily decommissioning” its plant at Barrow-inFurness, Northern England, where about 30% of M777 components are built, as work had finished on existing orders. Indian Defence Minister AK Antony told the Parliament in a written reply on 9 December 2013 that: “(t)he Government has not held up the purchase of 145 Ultra Light Howitzer artillery guns from the United States. The Government is proposing the procurement of 145 Ultra Unit Howitzers through the Foreign Military Sale route as per Defence Procurement Procedure.” Indian media reports say that a contract will be signed before the end of the financial year on 31 March 2014. If so, it would be the first Indian order for new artillery weapons since the now infamous 24 March 1986 contract for 410 Bofors 155mm FH-77B howitzers. An M777 contract would provide much needed impetus for the army’s long stalled artillery modernisation efforts.

The M777 is a niche weapon developed specifically for the US Army and US Marine Corps requirements for a weapon which can be carried by their medium and heavy-lift helicopters. For its requirement for a towed weapon, wheeled SPHs and tracked SPHs India is spoiled for choice although some manufacturers are frustrated by repeated requests to send weapons at their own expense to India for trials which dragged on for more than a decade. Nevertheless, the Indian requirements represent the largest single export opportunities in the artillery market. They also offer India the long-term opportunity to emulate the success of Singapore and South Korea in developing the capability to design and produce its own artillery systems and ammunition.

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ASIA PACIFIC PROCUREMENT UPDATE

by Pierre Delrieu

Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) system and a 30mm (one inch) automatic grenade launcher. The upgraded Infantry Combat Vehicle will also be equipped with an advanced fire control system.

After considering the deal, the Indian Defence Ministry declared it could not agree to Russia’s proposal to have the FICV project pushed into the background. The project, which was approved nearly five years ago, will be part of the “Make India” initiative, pursued by the Indian Ministry of Defence

(MoD), which favours domestic companies.

Currently in competition for the $10 billion contract to produce some 2,600 FICV units, are India’s Mahindra Defence Systems, in association with BAE Systems, as well as local companies Larsen and Toubro, Tata Motors and the state-owned Ordnance Factories Board.

The MoD announced it will soon be short-listing two competitors to develop prototypes, which will then be trialled, with the Indian government

providing nearly 80 percent of the development funds.

Although it’s been using Russian BMP-2 armoured ICVs since the late 1980s, the Indian Army has been working on the development of its own Future ICV (FICV) since the 1990s.

New Delhi has been developing two ICV programmes: The first one is the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) Nag Missile Carrier (NAMICA), a 14.5 ton modified Kurganmashzavod BMP-2 tank destroyer manufactured under the name “Sarath” in India. The second programme is an Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a technology demonstrator and known as the “Abhay”.

But both programmes were put on hold following several technical difficulties in the production process and the rejection of the different prototypes. The delay led to talks of acquiring the BMP-3 from Russia to replace India’s 1,400 aging BMP-2s.

defence consortium Global Industrial and Defence Solution (GIDS) – has been operational since 2012. It is an autonomous UAV with an endurance of seven hours and capable of relaying data in real-time to a maximum range of 250 kilometres (135 nautical miles).

GIDS declined to disclose the number of units sold or the value of the contract with the Pakistan Department of Defense but told AMR that, while their primary customer was Pakistan’s Army, they were currently in negotiation with “a few friendly countries” regarding exports.

The Shahpar was designed to perform missions ranging from real-time reconnaissance to surveillance, monitoring, dis-

aster management, mapping and mission planning. The aircraft is capable of autonomous take-off and landing on a runway or landing with a parachute as well as carrying a 50kilogram (110-pound) payload.

GIDS’ UAVs come with the indigenously-developed AERO (Advanced Engineering Research Organisation) Zumr-1 EP optronics payload.

Pakistan’s other recently integrated UAV, the Burraq, was developed via a joint venture involving the PAF and the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM); a civilian defence research and development organization. The Burraq, which has been reportedly undergoing

flight-testing in May 2013 will be armed with a laser-guided airto-surface missiles and carries a laser designator, according to its manufacturer. Although it’s been described as a Pakistani variant of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) CH-3 Rainbow Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, little is known regarding the PAF’s Burraq aircraft. Up until the unveiling of the Shahpar and Burraq UAVs, Pakistan’s Army had been using German EMT Penzberg Luna X2000 and British Meggitt Banshee UAVs. The PAF, however, relied on the unarmed Selex ES Falco UAV with Pakistan reportedly the first export customer for this aircraft.

INDIA MOVES AHEAD WITH FICV PROGRAMME nnn In November 2013, India told Russia it had decided procure its homemade $10 billion Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) programme instead of the advanced Russian Kurganmashzavod BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

The announcement was made during the 18 November 2013 India-Russia InterGovernmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation held in Moscow.

The offer from Russia was initially made during Russian President Vladmir Putin’s visit to India in December 2012.

Moscow had then presented a transfer of technology deal for its BMP-3 vehicles if India agreed to drop its home-grown FICV programme: a 2,600 vehicle-initiative to replace its aging BMP-1 and BMP-2 platforms.

The Indian Ministry of Defence demanded that the upgraded BMP-2 incorporate advanced observation and surveillance systems, night-fighting capabilities, an improved

PAKISTAN INTRODUCES HOME-BUILT UAVS nnn The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) inaugurated its first fleet of indigenous strategic Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on 25 November 2013.

The ceremony to induct the fleet of homebuilt Shahpar and Burraq UAVs was attended by the now-retired chief of army staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, chief of the air force staff, and Lieutenant General Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, director general of the strategic plans division.

Pakistan had been developing a homemade UAV for the past eight years. The Shahpar – produced by the state owned

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SINGAPORE ORDERS TWO ATTACK SUBMARINES FROM GERMANY nnn Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) will acquire two new Type 218SG conventional hunter/killer submarines from the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), to modernise their submarine force (see Gordon Arthur’s article ‘Stable Condition’ in this issue).

The contract was signed on 29 November 2013, with an expected projected delivery of the first boat in 2020. The deal

asia includes crew training in Germany, a logistics package and Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems for the boat. AIP allows the submarines to remain submerged for longer than traditional diesel-electric boats and reduces their noise signature.

Singapore’s new submarines will be customised to address specific requirements made by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) including a comprehensive combat system provided by the German naval electronics specialists Atlas Elektronik GmbH. This will be co-developed and adapted to the RSN’s

requirements by the Singaporebased ST Electronics Ltd. The MINDEF did not release information on the contract’s cost.

However, the deal could be valued as high as $1 billion, according to reports from the Reuters news agency.

Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen had announced plans for the purchase of new submarines to replace the country’s ‘Challenger’ class conventional boats back in March of 2013, saying that “the replacement submarines will have significantly improved capabilities and will enhance our ability to

keep our sea lines of communication safe.” The new 218SG submarines, along with the RSN’s two refurbished conventional ‘Archer’ class submarines, will replace four 1960s vintage ‘Challenger’ class submarines that Singapore had acquired in the 1990s. The ‘Archer’ class submarines were bought in 2005 from the German Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) shipbuilding company, a subsidiary of TKMS entering RSN service in 2011. They were originally built in the 1980s as ‘Vastergotland’ class for the Marinen (Royal Swedish Navy).

Also present to witness the live-firing were Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs Dr Lim Wee Kiak, chief of the RSAF Major-General Hoo Cher Mou and other senior Singapore armed forces officers.

This year’s exercise saw a wider range of precision strike munitions employed as compared to previous exercises,

including Boeing GBU31/32/34/38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, and Raytheon GBU-12 laser-guided bombs to destroy static and moving targets in day and night mission scenarios.

This was also the first time the HIMARS fired Lockheed Martin Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets in a live-fire scenario.

A sea phase was conducted in the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman Sea. The RSN participated with a frigate, a missile corvette, and a submarine while the RTN participated with a missile corvette, an anti-submarine warfare corvette, an off-shore patrol vessel, two Sikorsky S70B maritime support helicopters and one Dornier Do 228 maritime patrol

aircraft. Speaking at the closing ceremony, one participant said that said that “the successful completion of the exercise significantly enhanced the level of interoperability, mutual understanding and friendship between personnel from both navies, and is testament to the close and long-standing defence relationship between Singapore and Thailand.”

SINGAPORE DEFENCE MINISTER VISITS EXERCISE FORGING SABRE 2013

SINGAPORE DEFENCE MINISTER ADDRESSES SHANGRI-LA DIALOGUE nnn Singapore’s Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen delivered the Keynote Address at the second International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue Sherpa Meeting on 14 January 2013. Addressing an audience of defence officials, senior military officers and academics, Dr Ng spoke about seeking common ground amid national aspirations. During his speech, Dr Ng highlighted that to maintain and promote peace and stability, “we should put away our differences to steer the region away from conflict and towards mutual interest and common norms acceptable to all”. Dr Ng cited redoubling efforts in engagement and diplomacy to build mutual trust, fostering positive engagement through an open and inclusive regional security architecture and practical cooperation as three principles to build strategic trust.

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nnn Singapore Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen visited Exercise Forging Sabre 2013 (XFS 13) in Arizona, United States which is an integrated strike exercise, conducted from 2 to 17 December 2013. It involves about 700 airmen and soldiers from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as well as assets such as Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Boeing F-15SG and Lockheed Martin F-16C/D multi-role combat aircraft, Boeing AH-64D attack helicopters and Boeing Chinook CH-47 heavy-lift helicopters. Other Singaporean assets included Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

The event in December 2013 was the fourth XFS exercise.

SINGAPORE AND THAI NAVIES CONDUCT BILATERAL EXERCISE nnn The Republic of Singapore Navy and the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) conducted a bilateral naval exercise, codenamed Singsiam, from 25 November to 6 December 2013.

Hosted by the RTN, this year’s exercise commenced with a shore planning phase at Changi Naval Base, Singapore.

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CHINA COMPLETES DELIVERY OF Z-9 HELICOPTERS TO CAMBODIA nnn The Royal Cambodian Air Force (RCAF) announced that it had formally received the final delivery of a dozen of Chinese-built Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (HAMC) Z-9 medium-lift utility helicopters. The delivery was made during an official ceremony held at Phnom Penh Air Base on 25 November 2013 in the presence of Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tea Banh and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo. The arrival in Phnom Penh of the final ten aircraft concludes a $196 million deal between China and Cambodia, after a first batch of two units had been delivered in July 2013.

Cambodia’s Z-9s were purchased from the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).

This twin-engined aircraft, man-

REPUBLIC OF KOREA TO ACQUIRE 14 CHINOOK HELICOPTERS nnn The Republic of Korea (RoK) will officially be acquiring 14 surplus Boeing CH-47D Chinook heavy-lift helicopters currently being operated by United States forces in the RoK. The US Defense Security

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ufactured by HAMC under license from Airbus Helicopters is a modified version of the French-made Airbus Helicopters AS-365N Dauphin 2 mediumlift machine. The aircraft is designed for missions such as passenger and cargo transport, forest protection, maritime patrol, search and rescue, law enforcement and border control.

During the ceremony, Mr. Tea described the helicopter delivery as an “historic achievement” and explained the aircraft would serve to defend “Cambodia’s territorial integrity” and crack down on offences in remote areas as well as assist humanitarian relief.

Six of the aircraft received by the RCAF are Z-9Bs utility helicopters, designed for general-purpose missions. Two of the acquired Z-9s were customised for passenger transport while the remaining four are reportedly Z-9W variants of the helicopter, equipped with Chinese NORINCO HJ-8 antitank missiles, Chinese AVIC I

TY-90 air-to-air missiles and the Chinese version of the Italian Alenia A244-S light anti-submarine warfare acoustic homing torpedo: the ET52. The newlyacquired aircraft will replace Cambodia’s fleet of aging Russian Mil Mi-8 and MI-17 medium-lift utility helicopters.

The deal, which was financed by a loan agreement signed with Beijing in August 2011, is part of an ongoing programme for the

modernisation and development of the Cambodian armed forces.

Analysts believe the deal – which shows strengthening ties between China and Cambodia could convince more countries to acquire the Chinese Z-9. Since the Harbin Z-9’s first flight in 1981, about 200 units have been built, most of which have been acquired by the China’s People Liberation Army’s Air Force and Navy.

Cooperation Agency (DSCA) gave its green light for the deal on 3 December 2013 and the proposed sale — valued at $151 million — includes the provision of 14 Chinook helicopters and associated equipment to RoK. The deal includes the Honeywell Aerospace T55-GA-714A turboshafts, outfitting the latest CH-47F variant, new communications, navigation

systems, altimeters and compasses as well as spare parts, training and logistical support.

The 14 CH-47D and their T55-GA-714A engines will be provided from the US Army inventory located at Camp Humphrey, RoK. This will allow the US Army to save an approximate $13 million on transportation and demilitarization costs associated with transitioning the aircraft out of service.

According to the DSCA notification, which was released under the Foreign Military Sales programme, the “sale will improve the RoK’s capability to meet current and future requirements for troop movement, medical evacuation, aircraft recovery, parachute drop, search and rescue, disaster relief, fire-fighting and heavy construction support.”

The CH-47 Chinook twinengine heavy-lift helicopter is

primarily used for troop and cargo movement and battlefield resupply. Equipped with a wide loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage and three externalcargo hooks, it is capable of reaching top speeds of 170 knots (315 km/h), making it one of the fastest utility helicopters of its generation.

First introduced in the early 1960s, the CH-47 is also one of the few aircraft of that era, along with the fixed-wing Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules turboprop freighter, which remains in production and front-line service, with over 1,179 units built to date. The CH-47 has been operated by 16 countries, the US Army being one of its main users. The RoK Army currently operates 23 CH-47Ds, and the air force operates five HH-47Ds, a variant of the Chinook designed for RoK combat search-andrescue missions.

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a u s t r a l a s i a NEW ZEALAND ACQUIRING NORWEGIAN PENGUIN MISSILES FOR ITS NEW KAMAN SH-2G HELICOPTERS nnn New Zealand confirmed in November 2013 that it has signed a contract with the Norway’s Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace AS (KDA) to supply its navy with an undisclosed number of Penguin Mk2 Mod 7 anti-ship missiles and associated equipment.

The contract’s value has not been disclosed.

The Penguin, designated as the AGM-119 by the US Navy, is a passive infrared seekerbased short-to-medium range anti-ship guided missile. Its acquisition has been presented as an important upgrade for the

AUSTRALIA RECEIVES THE FIRST OF 24 MH-60R NAVAL HELICOPTERS nnn The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) received its first two Sikorsky MH-60R maritime support helicopters, during a ceremony held at Lockheed Martin’s. Mission Systems and Training’s facility in Owego, New York, on 10 December 2013.

The two helicopters are the first of Australia’s 24 anti-submarine and anti-surface helicopters, known as the “Romeo”, ordered to replace its ageing Sikorsky S-70B-2

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Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Its technical characteristics allow the Penguin Mk2 Mod 7 to operate in close proximity to land whilst remaining robust against electronic countermeasures. Developed as a collaborative venture between the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (NDRE) and Kongsberg, the Penguin missile, in its various versions, can be launched singly or in salvoes from a number of different weapons platforms, including surface vessels, combat aircraft and helicopters.

In a press release published after the signature of the contract, KDA’s executive vice president Pål Bratlie declared that the contract “strongly confirms the Penguin missile’s position as the leading missile within its

Seahawks maritime support rotorcraft, which have been in service for nearly 25 years.

Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Owego installed and integrated the electronics systems into the Sikorsky aircraft, namely the digital cockpit, radar, sonar, and optronics. The company has also integrated selfdefence system to protect the helicopter from missile threats.

The Romeo is currently being used by the US Navy as its main maritime support helicopter. Australia first expressed interest in the helicopter in 2006 and finally signed the deal for

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segment. The contract is for a limited number of missiles; however, it is considered an important upgrade of New Zealand’s Navy.”

The Penguin missiles will equip the Royal New Zealand Navy’s newly acquired Kaman SH-2G(I) Super Seasprite maritime support helicopters and extend the aircraft’s anti-submarine and anti-surface capabilities.

The deal for eight of the ‘India’ version Seasprites and two spare airframes was initiated in 2012 and the $242 million contract was finally signed in May 2013, between New Zealand and the American aerospace contractor Kaman.

New Zealand’s SH-2G(I)s were initially intended to be purchased by Australia before the

deal was scrapped and are intended to replace the RNZN’s five ageing Kaman SH-2G helicopters, in service since the 1990s. The delivery of the first three helicopters to the RNZN is expected in early 2015 and all eight helicopters are scheduled to enter service by 2016.

Kaman Aerospace first developed the SH-2 Seasprites in the late 1950s as a fast utility helicopter for the US Navy, which used the aircraft and its improved and updated versions until it retired the SH-2G fleet in 2001. The SH-2G(I), its most recent maritime version, designed for surface surveillance, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, searchand-rescue and troop deployment, is also used by the Egyptian and Polish Navies.

24 MH-60R helicopters in 2011, demanding a quick delivery.

During the ceremony RAN Captain and aeronautical engineer Scott Lockey explained the procurement had become for Australia “a matter of urgency”.

The first delivery was made one month ahead of schedule, and the remaining units will be delivered by the end of 2016 along with training and support, six months earlier than initially planned according to the $3 billion contract signed with the US Navy.

Rear Admiral Tony Dalton, head of the Helicopter Division

of Australia’s Defence Materiel Organisation, was present at the ceremony and accepted the helicopters on behalf of the RAN, explaining that the aircraft was “a game changer for the Royal Australian Navy, in terms of delivering the capability to ensure our sea lanes are kept open”, especially since “Australia is between the Indian and Pacific oceans and there are currently more than 200 submarines active in the region, 64 of them nuclear.”

The two helicopters left Lockheed Martin’s Owego facility shortly after the ceremony and headed to the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida.

Where the RAN’s 725 Squadron is, for now, stationed and will undergo training with the US Navy until the first seven helicopters begin returning to Australia by the end of 2014.

The MH-60R helicopter will also soon be part of Denmark’s fleet, as the Kongelige Danske Marine (Royal Danish Navy) placed an order for nine Romeo helicopters in December 2012, with an initial delivery set for May 2016.

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