AMR Nov 2014 by Armada International & Asian Military Review

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VOLUME 22/ISSUE 7

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Contents NOVEMBER 2014 VOLUME 22 / ISSUE 7

Roll With It Chinese strategic grandstanding and fleet recapitalisation are major drivers in the current armoured vehicles market in the Asia-Pacific as UK-based defence journalist Andrew White finds out.

Front Cover Photo: The Australian Army is in the market to replace its General Dynamics ASLAV (Australian Light Armoured Vehicle) armoured personnel carrier fleet, as discussed in Andrew White’s ‘Roll With It’ article © Australian Department of National Defence

Blade Runner Helicopters excel as air-to-ground weapons platforms, with several Asia-Pacific countries pouring investment into their fleets to this end, as UK-based defence journalist Andrew Drweiga explains.

Dragon’s Den Talking Shop AMR editor Thomas Withington provides a round-up of the latest happenings in the world of handheld tactical radios for squad and platoon commanders in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

Feeding the Future Force

Deep Thoughts

UK-based defence journalist Andrew Drweiga looks at the steps being taken by the Indonesian armed forces to modernise their equipment after the recent lifting of arms embargoes against the country.

UK-based naval affairs journalist Edward Hooton investigates submarine procurement in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of current and future programmes.

China’s military modernisation is at a break-neck pace, prompting regional and global concerns. Hong Kong-based defence photojournalist Gordon Arthur takes a look at Beijing’s defence priorities.

PULSE

NOVEMBER 2014

Toxicology Report Andy Oppenheimer, a United Kingdom-based weapons of mass destruction expert, provides some in-depth analysis of the chemical weapons threats to the Asia-Pacific region.

06 AMR editor Thomas Withington’s ‘Pulse’ column provides all the latest news and analysis across the defence RF (Radio Frequency) spectrum.

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Editorial

COLLISION COURSE peaking on 2 October 2014, General Herbert ‘Hawk’ Carlisle, commander of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces, assured the world that the majority of air intercepts by People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft of United States military jets over the past year have been performed in a safe manner.

Gen. Carlisle’s comments follow the most recent ‘encounter’ which occurred on 22 August 2014 between a PLAAF Sukhoi Su-27SK multi-role combat aircraft and a US Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane. At one point the two aircraft were said to have been just 30 feet (nine metres) away from one another, a cigarette paper’s breadth in aviation terms. The incident occurred around 117 nautical miles (217 kilometres) from China’s Hainan Island in the South China Sea.

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The 22 August 2014 incident was one of the latest of a series of interceptions of US aircraft performed by the PLAAF since China implemented its controversial ‘Air Defence Identification Zone’ (ADIZ) on 23 November 2013. Although the ADIZ does not cover Hainan Island, China’s actions are designed to demonstrate its influence over an area which it sees as its own backyard. The US flights are designed to reassure allies in the Asia-Pacific region such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan that Washington’s presence is robust and that Beijing cannot throw its weight around unchecked. Air interceptions are an integral part of the Cold War which has emerged between China and the United States. Providing that both sides respect the rules of the game, most importantly vis-à-vis safe navigation, there is no reason why incidents such as that which occurred on 22 August 2014 should escalate into anything more serious.

South Korea Young Seoh Chinn, Jes Media Inc. Tel: (82-2) 481 3411/13 E-Mail: jesmedia@unitel.co.kr USA (East/South East)/Canada Margie Brown, Blessall Media LLC. Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581 Email: margiespub@rcn.com USA (West/South West)/Brazil Diane Obright, Blessall Media LLC. Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581 Email: blackrockmediainc@icloud.com

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However, many readers will remember the in-flight collision between a US Navy Lockheed Martin EP-3E Aries-II signals intelligence aircraft and a PLAAF Shenyang J-8II air superiority fighter on 1 April 2001. This caused the death of the PLAAF pilot, a forced landing by the EP-3E on Hainan Island and a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Both China and the United States will continue to meet each other’s military aircraft in Asia-Pacific skies, although a second incident akin to the one which took place on 1 April 2001 could be altogether more difficult to resolve.

Thomas Withington, Editor

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PULSE by Thomas Withington Radar

The Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Udara (TNIAU/Indonesian Air Force) is to acquire two Airbus Defence and Space MSSR 2000-I Secondary Surveillance Radars (SSRs). These radars are being delivered to equip mobile air surveillance units operated by the TNI-AU. Both radars are expected to be delivered by the start of 2015. The MSSR-2000-I is housed in a single box and can plug into any eight-metre (26-feet) antenna, with the whole system connecting to an air traffic control or integrated air defence network, using the ASTERIX (All Purpose Structured Eurocontrol Surveillance Information Exchange) radar data protocol. In terms of performance the Ultra High Frequency (UHF/300 megahertz to three gigahertz) MSSR-2000-I family has an instrumented range of up to 331 nautical miles (613 kilometres), and can detect up to 1500 targets across a 360 degree radius, 400 targets across a 45 degree swathe of the sky, and 110 targets in a 3.5 degree segment. Six radars comprise the MSSR-2000-I family, including the MSSR-2000-I Mode-5/Mode-S 500 Watt and MSSR-2000-I Mode5/Mode-S 1500 Watt single chain systems, the MSSR-2000-I Mode5/Mode-S 2000 Watt variant, and the MSSR-2000-I Mode5/Mode-S 500 Watt Dual Redundant radar. This latter product includes two of the single chain 500 Watt interrogators, as does the MSSR-2000-I Mode-5/Mode-S 1500 Watt Dual Redundant radar along with the MSSR-2000-I Mode-5/Mode-S 2000 Watt Dual Redundant system which has two 2000 Watt single chain interrogators. Mode-5/Mode-S is the latest generation military (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and civilian (International Civil Aviation Organisation) air traffic control transponder protocol which assigns a permanent 24-bit address to each aircraft. Selex unveiled its new Gabbiano TS-80 PLUS surveillance radar at the International Defence Industry Exhibition held in Poland in

Selex’s new Gabbiano TS-80 PLUS airborne surveillance radar is designed for ground and maritime tasks and is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar, with the ability to track up to 200 target simultaneously © Selex

RADA’s Multi-mission Hemispheric Radar (MHR) has been extensively used by the Israeli Defence Force in recent months for rocket, artillery and mortar fire detection during combat operations in the Gaza Strip © RADA

early September 2014. Designed for airborne ground and maritime surveillance, the radar provides Synthetic Aperture and Inverse Synthetic Aperture imagery. Providing 360 degrees of azimuth and +20 degrees and -50 degrees of elevation scanning, the radar imposes a weight penalty of 97 pounds (44 kilograms). Selex states that the radar can be mounted either in the belly, or in the nose, of an aircraft and that, in performance terms, it equals the firms’ Gabbiano T200. This latter radar is an X-band (8.5-10.68 gigahertz/GHz) system with a detection range of up to 220nm (407km) when performing maritime surveillance, and can track around 200 targets simultaneously. Selex say that the TS-80 PLUS meantime between-failures rate is 2500 hours. Israeli radar specialists RADA have revealed that the company’s MHR Radar was used extensively during Operation Protective Edge, the Israeli combined air and ground campaign which commenced on 8 July 2014 to stop rocket fire by the Hamas insurgent organisation against Israeli targets from the Gaza Strip on the Mediterranean coast. During the operation, the MHR radar was deployed in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli Army ground offensive which commenced on 18 July 2014. The radars were used to detect Hamas mortar shell launches and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flights. This information was then shared with the Israeli Air Force’s Central Early Warning system which alerts Israeli citizens to incoming ordnance. The S-band (2.3-2.5/2.7-3.7GHz) MHR (Multi-mission Hemispheric Radar) has a detection range of up to nine nautical miles (16 kilometres), with the ability to predict the precise point of impact for an incoming projectile. Using four Active Electronically Scanned Array antennae providing Pulse Doppler transmission, the radar provides 360 degree coverage and has an average per-panel transmission power of 60 watts.

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The Lockheed Martin/MBDA Medium-range Extended Air Defence System Multifunction Fire Control Radar is expected to receive its final software configuration, and to undergo tests, by the end of 2014 © MEADS International

declined to provide details on potential customers for the TacSAR UTC Aerospace and Selex have supplied Pulse with additional although confirmed that “it has been approached to offer TacSAR details regarding the company’s TacSAR (Tactical Synthetic proposals to multiple DB-110 operators.” There is also no word on Aperture Radar) airborne reconnaissance system. The America and when the first TacSAR systems may be delivered. Italian companies announced on 16 July 2014 plans to jointly develThe Multi-Function Fire Control Radar (MFCR); a key compoop the TacSAR as an integration option for UTC Aerospace’s DBnent of the Lockheed Martin/MBDA MEADS (Medium Extended 110 airborne reconnaissance pod. The DB-110 can equip multi-role Air Defence System) Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) programme will combat aircraft such as Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block-50/52 “receive its final software build and will undergo additional tests Fighting Falcon with a reconnaissance capability which can affix to validating the radar’s software” before the one of the aircraft’s hardpoints. The development of a Synthetic Aperture Radar end of 2014, MBDA spokesperson Günter The MFCR provides (SDAR) for the DB-110 was the result of “a Abel told Pulse. He added that this will mean target detection, number of DB-110 operators worldwide the radar is ready for deployment in the next tracking and the fire (expressing) their requirement for complethree years. The X-band MFCR provides the control for the mentary radar based recce pods”, according target detection, tracking and the fire control to a statement from UTC supplied to Pulse. for overall MEADS SAM system. Using an MEADS SAM system AESA antenna, the MFCR can employ its Presently, the DB-110 pod contains optronmain beam to provide a datalink to the missile, and has an integral ics. The TacSAR architecture includes an AESA antenna providing Mode-5/Mode-S IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) antenna. two-dimensional X-band radar imagery. In terms of its physical Looking towards the Asia-Pacific, United Kingdom-based sendesign, “In the TacSAR configuration, the Selex radar equipment, antenna, receiver and processor will occupy the central pod bay sor specialists Cambridge Pixel has implemented a tracking softwhere the DB-110 sensor is currently located. The TacSAR pod ware package onto the Blighter Ground Surveillance Radars (GSR) maintains the outer mould line of the DB-110 version, but with the which UK radar company Plextek has delivered to the Republic of optical windows replaced by radome shields. Available modes for Korea (RoK). According to Cambridge Pixel’s managing director the TacSAR include spot and strip imaging and inverse SAR.” UTC David Johnson, “The Cambridge Pixel tracker allows the operator

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to more easily identify persistent targets that are moving with intent.” He adds that, in addition “it allows nuisance alarms from the movement of vegetation and non-threat targets such as farmers in fields to be ignored. The tracker also provides the operator with a target ground speed and heading allowing cameras to better track the targets or for the security forces to intercept the targets.” Now fully implemented on the radars, the tracker can be installed either as “a separate application that can be provided with the radar, or as an upgrade at a later date.” The Ku-band (13.4-14/15.7-17.7GHz) Blighter GSR family includes three subvariants, the B202 Mk.2 which can be used either as a vehicle or man-portable system. The B303, meanwhile, can be used in a trailer-, or vehicle-mounted configuration, with the B400 designed to be positioned at fixed installations. In terms of range, the radar is believed to have a gaze of between 20 metres (65 feet) up to eight kilometres (five miles).

Electronic Warfare

The Marine Nationale (French Navy) will upgrade all four of its Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft with a new Electronic Support Measure (ESM). It was announced by Northrop Grumman on 22 August 2014 that

The US Navy’s Raytheon AN/SLQ-32(V) family of shipboard electronic warfare systems is receiving a number of important improvements via the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Programme © US Navy

the company had been awarded a contract through the US Navy Naval Air System Command for an engineering and development contract covering the supply of five Lockheed Martin AN/ALQ-217 ESMs for the aircraft. This would presumably cover the provision of one system per aircraft and one spare. The contract, worth $47.6 million, is being performed under the terms of a Foreign Military Sale. The provision of the AN/ALQ-217 sets is expected to be completed by 2018. The AN/ALQ-217, which is also deployed onboard the Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, provides 360 degree detection of Radio Frequency (RF) threats around the aircraft and, although not disclosed by the company, is thought to cover all radar bands in the 0.5-20GHz frequency spectrum. The equipment can accurately identify RF threats and their location, even in dense electromagnetic environments. The installation of the AN/ALQ-217 on the French aircraft brings them up to the same equipment standard as the US Navy’s E-2C Hawkeyes. The AN/ALQ-216 replaces the

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legacy Litton (now Northrop Grumman) AN/ALR-73 ESM which was originally fielded onboard the E-2C. Staying in the naval domain, General Dynamics announced on 21 August 2014 that it had been awarded a $19.5 million firm fixed price contract for 16 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) units of its Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Programme (SEWIP) systems for the United States Navy’s Raytheon AN/SLQ-32(V) Electronic Warfare (EW) systems. The AN/SLQ-32(V) is used across the US Navy surface fleet. It is designed to protect ships against attack by Anti-Ship Missile (AShM). Five versions of the AN/SLQ-32 have been developed. The AN/SLQ-32(V)1 was designed with a Radar Warning Receiver to detect high-band (typically X-band and above) radars used by combat aircraft and AShMs. The AN/SLQ-32(V)2 expanded the RWR to detect naval surveillance and fire control radars, which in turn provided the ship with an ability to passively target hostile vessels with AShMs by geo-locating these RF emissions. The AN/SLQ-32(V)3 expanded the AN/SLQ-32(V)2 by adding a radar jammer to enhance vessel protection, while the AN/SLQ-32(V)4, which was designed for installation aboard aircraft carriers, constituted two AN/SLQ32(V)3 systems working from a single computer and display. A compact version of the AN/SLQ-32(V)4 was realised in the form of the AN/SLQ-32(V)5 designed to equip ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigates in the wake of the 17 May 1987 MBDA/Aerospatiale AM39 Exocet AShM attack on the USS Stark, one of the frigates from this class, by the Iraqi Air Force Dassault Mirage-F1EQ groundattack aircraft in the Persian Gulf which killed 37 sailors. With the exception of the AN/SLQ-32(V)4, all AN/SLQ-32(V) systems are connected to a BAE Systems Mk.36 Super Rapid Blooming Onboard Chaff (SRBOC) chaff and flare decoy launcher, and Mk.53 Nulka active missile decoy launcher. All of the US Navy’s AN/SLQ-32(V)1/2 systems have now been upgraded to AN/SLQ32(V)3 status. The SEWIP initiative is rolling out new hardware across the active AN/SLQ-32(V) family. It will initially offer improved RF detection, and then, from 2017, improved jamming. The SEWIP uses a modular, open systems approach to ease the installation of new hardware. The SEWIP is being rolled out via a series of ‘Blocks’. SEWIP Block-1A improves the AN/SLQ-32(V) display and interface, along with adding Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware to operate the display and to perform some of the systems’ signal processing. SEWIP Block-1B adds an AN/SSX-1 emitter identification system for large vessels, with smaller US Navy vessels receiving the Small Ship Electronic Support Measures System. SEWIP Block-1B2 further improves the emitter identification capabilities for ships which have received the SEWIP Block-1B upgrade. Finally, SEWIP Block 1B3 upgrades the display and adds a High Gain High Sensitivity subsystem to further improve the ability of the AN/SLQ-32(V) to detect radar-guided anti-ship missiles equipped with low probability of intercept radars. The General Dynamics contract referred to above covers the LRIP of the SEWIP Block-1B3.

US tactical communications specialists Harris have been awarded a contract worth $19 million as of September 2014 to supply the United States Special Operations Command with 1500 AN/PRC-152A Falcon-III wideband tactical networking radios © Harris

Furthermore, on 12 September 2014, Lockheed Martin received an LRIP contact worth $147 million for SEWIP Block-2 systems. The SEWIP Block-2 initiative improves the AN/SLQ-32(V)’s electronic support measures and upgrades its antennae leading to an overall improvement in the detection capabilities and accuracy of the AN/SLQ-32(V). Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract for the SEWIP Block-2 in 2009. A SEWIP Block-3 initiative is envisaged in the future for the AN/SLQ-32(V) which could improve the electronic attack capabilities of the subsystem, with a mooted SEWIP Block-4 adding infra-red and optronic detection, although it is unclear as to when these initiatives could commence.

Tactical Radios

US defence communications specialists Harris announced on 16 September 2014 that it had been awarded a contract worth $19 million by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (USAF SOCOM) to supply 1500 of the company’s AN/PRC-152A Falcon-III wideband tactical networking radios. The AN/PRC152A is a handheld radio which can perform narrowband communications in the 30-870 megahertz (MHz) range covering the Very and Ultra High Frequency ranges, plus wideband networking in the 225-450MHz range. In terms of waveforms, the radio supports line-of-sight AM/FM communications, along with the SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System) and HAVE QUICK-I/II waveforms for ground-to-ground and ground-to-air communications, plus Harris’ proprietary HPW (High Performance Waveform). Meanwhile, the Internet Protocol HPW and APCO P25 waveforms are available for the radio as options. The APCO P25 waveform allows users to link with the communications systems used by civilian first responders, an increasingly important consideration when military and civilian agencies are working alongside each other during disaster relief

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operations, for example. SINGARS, HAVE QUICK-I/II, HPW/IP and APCO P25 are all narrowband waveforms. In terms of wideband waveforms the radio can use the SRW (Soldier Radio Waveform) and ANW (Airborne Networking Waveform), the former of which will allow the AN/PRC-152A to connect with the tactical radios being procured by the United States Department of Defence as part of the erstwhile JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System). Several UHF Satellite Communications (SATCOM) waveforms are also supported by the AN/PRC-152A including Mil-Std-188181B/C (Military Standard-188-181B/C US military SATCOM standard). Regarding communications security, the radio has US National Security Agency Type-1 encryption at Top Secret and below levels, and can support several encryption modes including the US VINSON voice encryption, and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) for data security.

SATCOM

Meanwhile, US-based satellite communications specialist ViaSat was awarded a contract on 9 September 2014 worth $54 million from the US Department of Defence (DoD) Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command for the co-development and qualification of a Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) capability for the ViaSat/Data Link Solutions Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS) terminal segment of the

ViaSat is currently integrating its Tactical Targeting Network Technology waveform into the ViaSat/Data Link Solutions Multifunction Information Distribution System datalink system for air, ground and maritime platforms © Viasat

JTRS programme (see above). The MIDS JTRS terminal is currently undergoing development and will yield an airborne, ground and maritime datalink system which can handle the Link-16 data and voice communications protocol, together with Tactical Air Navigation information. According to Jay Kaufman, vice president of tactical data links at ViaSat, the TTNT is an IP (Internet Protocol) based radio waveform which has been developed in conjunction with the US Navy, US Air Force and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency. It will “support communications among sensor systems like radars and electronic warfare subsystems to create targeting-quality location measurements.” The MIDS JTRS terminal will receive new hardware in the form of a Line Replacement Unit and new software to accommodate the TTNT waveform. In addition, Mr. Kaufman says that “software enhancements to the cryptographic engine” of the MIDS JTRS terminal will occur, together with a “new external RF power amplifier”. The co-development and qualification work for the TTNT waveform and the MIDS JTRS terminal’s associated hardware and software is expected to conclude by 2017.

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ROLL WITH IT

The Asia-Pacific has become a hotbed of activity thanks to the US Department of Defence’s (DoD’s) ‘pivot’ towards the region, while posturing by China and Democratic Republic of Korea plus the forging of local partnerships to allay security fears is having an impact on the region’s armoured vehicle market.

by Andrew White

peaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Shangri-La Dialogue event in Singapore on 1 June 2014, China’s deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong responded to criticism from the US and Japan regarding his country’s perceived aggression around the South China Sea, saying that such claims were beyond the realm of imagination. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel meanwhile responded that his country would not tolerate acts of Chinese hostility in the region: “We firmly oppose any nation’s use of intimidation, coercion, or the threat of force to assert those (territorial) claims.” Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had warned that his country was planning to become more of a leading player in the security of the region, a fact that has been backed up quite forcedly in Japan’s latest defence White Paper published in August 2014. The Asia-Pacific represents an interesting area of operations for the deployment of armed forces with multiple island chains, long coastlines, strategic ports, mountains and jungle all requiring very specific skills sets and equipment to secure. Indeed, much attention has focused on the air and maritime environment of the AsiaPacific, but of vital importance to state actors in the region are Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), critical to both warfighting and homeland security applications. These types of platforms provide the means to tactically project dismounted

forces into areas of responsibility swiftly and in a controlled and protected environment. To this end, many state actors in the region are beginning to maximise their APC and IFV capabilities. Arguably the biggest programmes in the region include Australian plans to replace the General Dynamics eight-wheel drive Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) and United Defence/BAE Systems M113 tracked APC fleets as part of the Australian Army’s Land 400 programme, as well as India’s FICV (Future Infantry Combat Vehicle) effort. Additionally, Malaysia continues to push ahead with the procurement of its FNSS/Deftech AV-8 APC equipped with the Denel LCT30 turret. These programmes are indications of desires across the region for enhanced land force capabilities. “The fact there are multiple ongoing large requirements for new-build vehicles demonstrates that Asia-Pacific is a healthy market for APC and IFV platforms and that it will remain so for at least the next five-toten years,” stated George Lawrence, a research associate at Renaissance Strategic Advisors, a US-based consultancy. “Whilst much is made of the maritime dimension regarding the Asia-Pacific security situation, the biggest players are also heavily orientated toward land operations. India, China and the Republic of Korea face substantial threats on their land borders whilst the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force remains focussed on a purely defensive posture, meaning demand for heavy combat vehicles remains strong. Going forward there will be more empha-

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BAE Systems’ M113 tracked armoured personnel carrier has proven a popular vehicle in the region with a number of countries. It was fittingly first deployed to Vietnam in the 1960s by the US armed forces © Australian Defence

sis on strategic mobility and amphibious capability while China’s marines already have an impressive fleet of amphibious vehicles as an example,” Mr. Lawrence explained to AMR. The market for APCs/IFVs in this region is driven primarily by regional rivalries. China has undertaken an especially dramatic modernisation of its armoured forces,

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and the increased presence of US forces is unlikely to make any substantial difference to this trend. Equally, rapid economic growth in most of the region has acted as a catalyst though any substantial reduction in growth could act to slow much of the planned procurement as happened to defence projects in the region after the 1997/8 Asian financial crisis.

Japan

As previously mentioned, August 2014 saw the publication of Japan’s latest annual Defence White Paper which focused on the ways and means for the Japan Ground SelfDefense Force (JGSDF) to quickly react to situations across a wide topography of environments including land, air and sea. Reflecting the changing environment in the

NOVEMBER 2014

region, the JGSDF’s Central Readiness Force is in the process of being replaced by three rapid deployment divisions as well as four rapid deployment brigades. The White Paper explained that to enable swift and flexible operations the JGSDF “will deploy mobile combat vehicles and remove tanks deployed in basic operational units stationed in locations other than (the islands

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FNSS and Deftech teamed up to supply the Malaysian Armed Forces with a variety of AV-8 APCs. A selection of these variants was shown for the first time at the Defence Services Asia exhibition in Kuala Lumpur in April 2014 © Deftech

of) Hokkaido and Kyushu. Furthermore, it will procure amphibious vehicles.” Arguably the most important APC programme being undertaken by the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) as part of the New Medium Term Defence Programme is the Manoeuvre Combat Vehicle (MCV), an eight-wheel drive combat vehicle designed specifically for rapid self-deployment. With a maximum programme contract value reaching nearly $2 billion, the MCV programme will include a turret with a 105mm main gun. Launched in 2008 with an initial prototype, a fourth MCV variant was unveiled in October 2013. The programme will run through to 2016 when the platform is due to be deployed with JGSDF. The MCV was designed to augment or replace in-service Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Type 74, Type 90 and Type 10 armoured vehicles. A total of between 200 and 300 vehicles will be manufactured with a retirement date projected between 2045 and 2050, according to MoD figures. The demonstrator was initially manufactured by Japan’s Technical

Research and Development Institute at the Ground Systems Research Centre at Sagmihara, although MHI has been contracted to deliver the wheeled combat vehicle in APC, Command and Control (C2) and casualty evacuation variants. The demonstrator was armed with a 105mm weapon, and was designed to provide significantly higher levels of firepower deployable by air, land and sea, especially when compared to main battle tanks. It is planned for the APC to be transported by Kawasaki C-2 turbofan freighter aircraft. Sources within the Japanese MoD informed AMR that tests were scheduled to continue into 2015 with an initial in-service date for the first vehicles expected by 2016. Japan currently operates approximately 344 Type 96 APCs with the most recent order for the Komatsu-manufactured platforms being received in 2013 for an additional eleven units. However, the vehicles have been in service since the end of 1999. Total expenditure on the programme has reached approximately $500 million.

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Japan is equally as active on the export side of the business with MHI offering up a variant of its MCV eight-wheel drive APC to the European market in particular. Being promoted in casualty evacuation and C2 models, the APC represents a sea-change in Japanese export strategy although particular attention has been made to avoid any type of direct action connotations. At the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris in June 2014, MHI exhibited a variant of the MCV equipped with bar armour and a .50-calibre remote-controlled weapon station. The platform has a gross vehicle weight of approximately 28 tons and measures eight metres (26 feet) in length and is nearly three metres (nine feet) wide. It also has the capability to carry a ten-ton payload. Running off MHI’s 4VA four-cycle four-cylinder diesel engine, capable of providing up to 400kW of power, the APC also boasts a top speed greater than 100 kilometres-per-hour (62 miles-per-hour). It can also carry up to eleven personnel, including a crew of three, MHI informed AMR.

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be equipped with Denel’s DI-30 30mm dual-feed cannon and a 7.62mm coIn Malaysia, Deftech and FNSS are on axial machine gun, with a further 57 course to begin delivery of initial series anti-tank vehicles fitted with Denel’s AV-8 vehicles, Malaysia’s first indige30mm cannon and Ingwe Anti-Tank nous family of armoured wheeled Guided Missile. Finally, another 86 vehicles, to the Malaysian Armed Forces by the end of 2014. The eightplatforms will feature C2 equipment, wheel drive APC completed qualificasurveillance and reconnaissance techtion tests earlier in 2014. In 2011, FNSS nology, and engineer support vehicles. and Deftech joined forces to design, Furthermore, 46 vehicles will be outfitdevelop and manufacture the AV-8 as ted with the ATK 25mm M242 dualpart of a $559 million contract for 257 feed cannon and 7.62mm co-axial platforms in twelve variants. The vehimachine gun. Thales has been tasked cle is based on FNSS’s PARS eightwith integrating C2 systems into the Various Eastern European manufacturers are seeking to family of vehicles. wheel drive multi-mission platform. It generate a greater foothold in the Asia-Pacific region, However, news of the first deliveris envisaged that the AV-8s will replace including Belarus’ Minotor Service which is promoting its Mosquito armoured personnel carrier © Minotor Service ies of these vehicles has been accompain-service Rheinmetall Condor fournied by comments from Malaysia’s wheel drive and BN Constructions defence minister who expressed concern at Ferroviaries et Métalliques SIBMAS sixreconnaissance, C2, ambulance, repair and wheel drive vehicles; the latter received a the 2014 Defence and Security Asia exhibirecovery, and self-propelled mortar systems. service life extension to part of the fleet in tion held in Kuala Lumpur that economic Speaking to AMR, Megat Zaki Muslim, 2008. AV-8 variants include surveillance, constraints in the region would force business development manager at Deftech, CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian said the vehicle had been reworked in order and Nuclear – see Andy Oppenheimer’s Nations) countries to band together in order to meet strict Malaysian Armed Forces to find the most efficient methods of requirements. These include 68 vehicles to ‘Toxicology Report’ article in this issue)

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FIGHTING VEHICLE pany Minotor Service is promoting its Mosquito family of Light Tracked Vehicles (LTVs) to ASEAN countries. Speaking to AMR, Velery Grebenschikov, director of Minotor Service, said, “We are trying to contact customers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and other countries in this region.” Available in three sizes (8.9 tons, 9.8 tons and 11.6 tons), the Mosquito is a tracked vehicle powered by a six-cylinder, fourstroke diesel engine. The smaller variant, complete with an ‘open top’, has been designed for air defence systems as well as reconnaissance and force protection; heavier and enclosed variants could also house a remote weapon station, Mr. Grebenshikov added. It is envisaged that this mediumweight vehicle will be used for support and recovery, troop transport and combat search and rescue.

Philippines

In August 2014, Japan's Ministry of Defence issued its Defence White Paper which details a significant increase in armoured vehicle procurement © Japanese MoD

improving their defence capabilities. “My concern right now is with budget cutbacks. We must find creative ways to look at the defence industry. We must look at ASEAN as one market. That is the way forward so budget cuts we are facing globally will not affect the defence industry as such,” argued Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. The Asia-Pacific is also witnessing a drive from eastern European countries to penetrate the IFV/APC market with organisations like Russia’s Rosoboronexport cosying up to the Malaysian armed forces as well as expressing interest in Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, China and Sri Lanka.

Indonesia

Earlier in the year, Indonesia’s marine corps accepted into service 37 Rosoboronexport BMP-3F amphibious IFVs, thereby completing delivery of the 55-vehicle contract which included a BREM-L recovery vehicle ordered in 2010. Manufactured by Kurganmashzayod, the IFVs are already deployed with Indonesian forces in Surabaya, East Java as well as Jakarta. They form part of Indonesia’s modernisation programme (see Andrew Drweiga’s article ‘Feeding the Future Force’ in this issue)

and will replace the military’s 50 Sovietera VTZ PT-76 APCs and hundreds of French Nexter AMX-13 light tanks. Due to the age of these vehicles, manufactured in the 1950s, the decision was taken to replace rather than upgrade them. The phase in/phase out programme will run between 2015 and 2019, Indonesian military officials told AMR, in line with ‘Renstra II’, the Indonesian five-year strategic defence plan. The country is also understood to be considering the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau’s BRT-4 APCs, manufactured in Ukraine, although it has yet to be revealed how the current civil war there could affect such a deal. Earlier in 2014, Ukraine’s Spectechnoexport confirmed that it would supply the Indonesian Ministry of Defence with an initial five BTR-4 APCs which is expected to lead onto a further 50 vehicles. These platforms are destined to be operated in the maritime environment. Meanwhile, Rosoboronexport has pinpointed India for further contracts with first deputy general director Ivan Goncharenko admitting that he was seeking to discuss upgrades of existing BMP-2 IFVs, as well as various MBTs. Elsewhere, Belarussian com-

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In July 2014, the Philippine Army decided to upgrade its M113 APCs with Elbit Systems of Israel selected to execute the $20 million contract. The deal comprises provision of 12.7mm and 25mm remote weapon stations as well as associated fire control systems. A number of the platforms will also be equipped with 76mm weapons from existing ranks of Alvis FV101 Scorpion armoured reconnaissance vehicles. An alternative option could see a heavy remote weapon station option integrated, built around the Alliant Techsystems M242 25mm Bushmaster cannon. According to Elbit Systems, this contract will be carried out over a twelve-month period with nearly 150 vehicles being upgraded. The Philippines received this amount of M113A2s as part of a Foreign Military Sale, agreed via the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency in 2012. As China continues to ignore the warnings of its neighbours and the US in AsiaPacific, it is obvious that the region’s IFV and APC market will continue to evolve as nations seek to secure territories and borders. However, as China continues to ramp up its own capability yet further, it will be interesting to assess the response of other key players in the region which might not be quite able to keep up financially with their wealthier neighbour.

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BLADE RUNNER

The ‘big stick’ of the military rotorcraft world is the attack helicopter. This aerial bearer of lethality really came into its own during the Vietnam War where United States Army hunter-killer combinations, known as ‘Pink Teams’ using reconnaissance and attack helicopters would work together to identify and attack ground targets.

by Andrew Drwiega

The German Army completed its deployment of four Airbus Helicopters EC-655UHT Tiger attack helicopters at the end of June 2014. They operated as part of the ISAF contingent in northern Afghanistan © Bundeswehr

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fter the Vietnam War, while Bell Helicopter’s AH-1 Cobra family, the newest version of which is the AH-1Z Viper, continued to serve in the United States Marine Corps and other forces including the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), other nations began to see the value of the attack helicopter. The Russians, or initially the Soviet Union, designed their own attack helicopters, from the Mil Mi-24 series through to the Mil Mi-28, Kamov Ka-50 and the Kamov Ka-52. Europe too took on the development challenge with the most successful of the true ‘heavy hitters’ being AgustaWestland’s AW-129 Mangusta, now also being marketed as the Turkish TAI (Turkish Aerospace Industries) T-129 and Airbus Helicopter’s EC-655 Tiger series. The EC-665 acquired by Germany, France, Spain and Australia was developed in two versions, the EC-665HAP (Hélicoptère d’Appui Protection/ Reconnaissance and Escort Helicopter) and EC-665HAD (Hélicoptère d’Appui Destruction/Strike Helicopter). The latter version features increased power and is a pure attack helicopter. The Australian version, the EC-665ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter) was modified from the EC-665HAP with deliveries not being completed until 25 November 2011, an overall delay of some 43 months according to a 2013 Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report. Frequent delays in the French certification programme, to which the Australian version adheres, have also served to delay the certification of the EC-665ARH. The ANAO has been continually critical of the certification delays together with ongoing delays in the delivery of spares and engineering by the manufacturer. India and China are also entering the attack helicopter market. India has been working on its Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). A variant of the Dhruv medium-lift utility helicopter, the Indian Army saw an opportunity to weaponise the standard airframe, and at the Aero India airshow in February 2013 the first two Rudra Advanced Light Helicopters were handed over to the Indian Army.

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The Chinese aviation company AVIC has developed the tandem seat Z-10 attack helicopter (the first with a chin-mounted gun turret) and the newer Z-19 armed reconnaissance helicopter. Both are in service with China’s People’s Liberation Army aviation regiments. South Africa’s defence industry, as a result of international economic sanctions due to apartheid during the 1980s, developed its own attack helicopter based on Aérospatiale/Airbus Helicopters SA-330 medium-lift rotocraft. However, the production of Denel Aviation’s AH-2 Rooivalk was limited to only twelve aircraft. The recent deployment of a couple of South African Air Force AH-2s at the end of 2013 to operate with the United Nations Intervention Force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was successful and raised the profile of the helicopters to the extent that South African defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula called for the production line to be re-started so that the helicopter could be sold internationally. However, it is not certain whether the machine tools are still available to do this. There would also have to be a guaranteed number of orders to make the venture worthwhile. Whether South Africa would itself be a customer to build up its AH-2 fleet to the 36 helicopters that were originally intended is unlikely due to the current underfunding of the defence budget. The Rooivalk is still without its intended laser guided missile, the Denel Mokopa, due to a lack of money to buy it.

Apache

The world of the attack helicopter has been dominated from the end of the Cold War by the Boeing/McDonnell Douglas AH64A/D/E Apache. Designed during the Cold War to carry up to 16 Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, together with unguided rockets, and to overcome the Soviet Union’s overwhelming advantage in massed armour over the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) forces in Europe, ironically it was never called into action for the purpose for which it was intended. While it did engage tanks and armoured vehicles very successfully in Iraq, its longest

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Lockheed Martin’s M-TADS/PNVS optronics has now been ordered by 14 customers following recent decisions to acquire it by Indonesia and Qatar © Lockheed Martin

reputation-building missions have been during Counter-Insurgency (COIN) operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. With its Lockheed Martin Modernised Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) optronics, coupled with its range of weaponry, the oft quoted phrase by many military commanders whose forces include AH-64 series helicopters is that “when it appears overhead, the enemy stops firing”. Its lethality is such that British forces and others deployed with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan have launched their own lesser armed helicopters—in the British Army’s case the AgustaWestland AH.7 Lynx—to overfly ‘hot’ patrol areas and convoys so that the sound of the rotors is audible on the ground causing potential attacks to fear an immediate aerial response. M-TADS/PNVS was fielded in 2005 to update the older TADS (Target Acquisition

Designation System) with US Army users reporting an immediate improvement in terms of resolution and situational awareness. It has had a cost-benefit as well, with Lockheed Martin claiming a 50 percent cost reduction over the 40-year lifetime of the system. Over 1200 MTADS/PVNS have been fielded, a trend that is continuing with Apache operators and new customers selecting the system. Indonesia, which is negotiating with Boeing to acquire eight of the latest AH-64E Guardian Apaches, has placed an order for nine MTADS/PNVS systems as part of a contract alongside a US Army order for eight. On the opening day of Association of the United States Army (AUSA) exhibition held in Washington DC in October 2014, the Gulf state of Qatar also placed a foreign military sales contract worth $90.6 million with the U.S. Army to buy the same MTADS/PNVS system for the Qatar Emiri

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Air Force making it the 14th international customer. Mike Taylor, Apache international programmes director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said that “(t)he Qatar Emiri Air Force will be one of the first international customers to receive M-TADS/PNVS systems equipped with the new Modernized Laser Range Finder Designator.” It is claimed that the new designator will have double the reliability and is repairable on the flight line. Colonel Jeff Hager, the US Army’s project manager for the Apache Attack Helicopter programme management office, joined Boeing executives at AUSA to provide an update on the progress of the fielding of the new AH-64E with the US Army. One Army unit, the 1st Battalion of the 229th Aviation Regiment, was the first unit to receive the latest AH-64E version and take it into battle in Afghanistan. The unit achieved Initial Operating Certification

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(IOC) in November 2013 and went to Afghanistan in March 2014. “They have maintained a readiness rate of 88 percent in Afghanistan (exceeding expectation) during the period mid-May through to mid-September (2014),” said Col. Hager. He added that of the 23000 flying hours logged by the latest AH-64E variant, nearly 7500 have now been flown on combat operations. The AH-64 family has logged a total flown over four million flight hours since its entry into service. The 229th Aviation Regiment is due to return to their home at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. Their helicopters will be reset, a process that all returning aircraft go through to return them to prime operational condition after the harsh environment of Afghanistan. Both the US Army and Boeing are eager to conduct an After Action Review (AAR) with the unit’s commanders and crewmen to learn first hand how the aircraft performed during operations. This is a standard practice that is carried out with all

The AH-64’s reputation-building missions have been during Counter-Insurgency (COIN) operations

returning attack helicopter units to ascertain the positives and any negative feedback which is then fed into the programme management chain to improve later versions of the helicopter. Speaking at AUSA, Col. Hager revealed that the second unit equipped with the AH-64E had been equally busy. “The1st Battalion of the 25th Aviation Regiment has been conducting follow-on test and evaluation at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in August (2014) as well as conducting their national training centre rotation. Since then they have also been deployed on the Rim of the Pacific exercise (June to August 2014) doing shipboard exercises, another area we want to get a lot of information on.” With the much-discussed ‘Pivot to the Pacific’ foreign policy priority outlined by president Barack Obama in 2011, the US

A Boeing AH-64E alongside an Boeing AH-6I going through their paces in front of media near Boeing’s Mesa, Arizona production facility earlier in 2014. The Army still hopes to field a total of 690 AH-64E attack helicopters through multi-year purchasing programmes © Andrew Drweiga

Army has been increasingly focused on trialling its AH-64D/E helicopters in the maritime environment, with ship-board deployments to the Arabian Gulf in 2013 and now to the Pacific. Exposure to sea water is of major interest together with the software development of the radar that will improve the helicopter’s ability to detect small to medium targets at sea in a variety of sea states. “We are doing ‘crawl,

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walk, run’ in this scenario right now,” said Col. Hager adding that the US Army had a lot to learn in the maritime environment. As an aside, the new Apaches were also paraded at Indonesia’s Armed Forces Day celebrations in early October 2014. Systems testing in August 2014 included the Operational Test and Evaluation (OTE) of the new Link 16 datalink which gives the crew the ability to see all joint-assets

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whether naval or air force assets. “It gives a complete analysis of all potential threats in their vicinity,” Col. Hager explained. This allows the Apache to receive information from other airborne systems. It can then share this with other assets on and over the battlefield. “What is important here is that everybody has the same combined aerial picture. It gives commanders options and how they decide to use it will depend on how they evolve their tactics, techniques and procedures,” he said. Overall Col. Hager commented that all feedback on the AH-64E to date revealed that it flies faster, further and goes higher than the AH-64D model it replaced. “Those are the result of the improvements that we put in,” he explained. In terms of the effect of defence budget cuts in the US on deliveries, Col. Hager said that earlier this year Lots 3 and 4 contracts had been signed with the Department of Defence (DoD) so that Boeing could go into full-rate production. “We are 30 aircraft into that right now with 82 aircraft on contract. All the deliveries have been on time in (2013 and 2014).” He said that, despite the cuts, the programme of record for the US Army remains unchanged at 690 AH-64Es attack helicopters. Foreign sales have also been continuous.

MD Helicopters is weaponising its MD-530F for the Afghan Air Force. The MD 530F is the modern version of the famed Hughes OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, part of the original hunter-killer team of aircraft used by the United States during the Vietnam War © MD Helicopters

Col. Hager attended the AH-64E roll-out for Royal Saudi Land Forces a few weeks before AUSA, who have ordered 36 Echo models. Additionally, the Saudi National Guard has ordered a further twelve which will be delivered in 2015. Taiwan has received 30 AH-64Es and the Republic of Korea have procured another 36 of the same helicopter. Col. Hager did however confirm that he was unaware of any Letter of Offer or Acceptance for the provision of AH-64Es to Iraq. The Army is still seeking to continue the multi-year procurement which will be pitched to the government in 2016 for 2017 and beyond. There is the potential for a further ten percent cost reduction as part of that future multi-year buy. “We are shooting for 48 aircraft per year,” Col. Hager said. “There is a lot of activity between now and then. We have got the Lot 6 capability insertions coming including the sensors upgrades, fire control radar and the maritime capability,” he added. “We would test this in (2017) and of course perform an upgrade to the mission processor.”

Right Price?

As a closing thought, the problem for many countries wanting to get into the attack helicopter market is that the entry

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

cost for the big dedicated platforms is expensive. This has been recognised by virtually all manufacturers who are now bringing a rash of newer (although in some cases well reworked) smaller attack/reconnaissance helicopters. These are being promoted as an alternative to the heavy, network-capable mainstream attack platforms. Among the offerings are Boeing’s AH-6I, 24 of which have already been ordered by Saudi Arabia, and the similar in size MD Helicopters MD 530F/G. On 9 October 2014 MD Helicopters announced that it had received an order to mount a Mission Equipment Package (MEP) weapon systems onto 17 MD-530F helicopters for the Afghan Air Force. Bell Helicopter is offering its Bell 407GT as a military platform and United Arab Emirates-based NorthStar Aviation was showing its own version of the 407 MRH. The company is seeking customers within and outside of the region to add to the 30 aircraft already ordered by the UAE armed forces. It completes all weaponisation independently of Bell Helicopter, from whom it only buys ‘green’ airframes. Even Sikorsky has proposed an armed version of its UH-60 Black Hawk, which features a Nexter THL 20 20mm turreted gun under the cockpit.

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On Friday 31 August, 2013, North Sea Boats, a Swedish-owned boat building company based in East Java, Indonesia, launched its Fast Missile Trimaran Patrol Vessel. The vessel was built for the Indonesian Navy and will be named Kri Klewang © North Sea Boats

FEEDING THE FUTURE FORCE

Indonesia is facing the need to quickly overhaul its disparate military forces following the end of international arms embargoes imposed as a response to the country’s human rights record. This restricted its defence modernisation plans for almost a decade.

by Andrew Drwiega

he resurgence of Indonesia’s economic strength after the dark days of the financial crisis that hit the country in the late 1990s is now well under way. According to the World Bank, Indonesia is now working through a long-term 20 year economic development plan which stretches out to

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2025. This is broken down into five-year medium-term plans, each of which has different development priorities. The government also has a 15 year plan to increase the defence budget from 2010 through to 2025. The launch by the government of a Strategic Defence Plan in 2010 demonstrated real ambition and is aimed

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

at modernising all three of Indonesia’s armed forces (the Tentara Nasional Indonesia/ TNI) during this period. However, all three armed services within the TNI are fiercely territorial. This makes the Ministry of Defence’s s 2005 Minimum Essential Force (MEF) blueprint that defines minimum capabilities and force structures difficult to achieve. Driving towards modernisation, the Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Laut (Indonesian Navy/TNI-AL), which includes the Indonesian Marine Corps (Korps Marinir), is forecast to receive up to 274 new ships and twelve submarines. The Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Udara (Indonesian Air Force/TNI-AU) has plans to raise its strength to ten combat aircraft squadrons, while the Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Darat (Indonesian Army/TNI-AD) will have modern tanks and attack helicopters. The winner of the recent national elections in July 2014 was the Governor of

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Jakarta, Joko Widodo (abbreviated to Jokowi), a civilian, who will replace Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) as president of Indonesia. The current expectation is that the change at the top will not substantially affect the plan to increase the defence budget from its current position level of around $8 billion, which is 0.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to somewhere closer to $14 billion (1.5 percent GDP) by 2015. Among all of the challenges the new government will have to face, in terms of guarding the nation’s economic zone and the nation’s 17000 islands, is the well documented ‘nine-dash’ claim line covering the majority of the South China Sea on the latest official map of its territory. While not immediately a threat in itself, there is evidence that China is continually pushing at what it regards as historic claims, witnessed by the imposition in 2013 of an Air Defence Identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea and the establishment of oil rigs

within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In many respects there is a growing sense of ‘where next’ and this is something that the Indonesian leadership is showing signs of being well aware. In April 2014 Indonesian armed forces chief of staff accused China of including parts of the Natuna Islands archipelago in the South China Sea off the northwest coast of Borneo within its so-called ‘NineDash Line,’ as reported by the Reuters news agency recently. The islands form part of the Riau Islands Province of northern Indonesia. While politically Indonesian politicians will be reluctant to publicly face off China, they have responded through the TNI which has begun to redevelop bases for military use and is beginning to earmark forces both old and new for deployment to the area. Fuel and logistics facilities in the area will be improved along with the strengthening of runways and ramps at local airbases there.

Maritime Challenges

Among a rash of new shipbuilding projects that include surface vessels and submarines is the very futuristic looking ‘Klewang’ class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). Four of these OPVs have been initially ordered, according to the TNI-AU. They are being manufactured by Indonesian company PT Lundin Industry Invest (North Sea Boats) in partnership with New Zealand naval architects LOMOcean Design. Otherwise known as the X3K, the design has similarities with LOMOcean Design’s Earthrace vessel and holder of the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by a power boat. Construction of the KRI Klewang, the lead ship in the class, took about two-anda-half years. Each vessel reportedly costs around $12.5 million, which is thought to exclude any weapons systems. Each vessel makes use of composites that are light, strong and resistant to corrosion. They are also said to contribute to reducing the radar

Indonesia has acquired 103 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks together with logistical support and ammunition, in a deal worth $290 million signed in December 2012. Rheinmetall has also been contracted to supply the Indonesian Army with a Leopard Gunnery Skills Trainer and Driving Training Simulator which it will deliver by end of 2015 © Rheinmetall

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The Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters to be acquired by Indonesia will go some way to enhancing the army’s firepower and technological sophistication which has been adversely affected by many years of arms embargoes © Andrew Drweiga

cross section of the vessel. Other aspects of the design help to recede both the vessel’s infrared and magnetic signatures. These ships will carry four to eight surface-to-surface missiles together with deck armament. Unfortunately, the first of these vessels to be constructed and launched in 2012, the KRI Klewang, was completely destroyed in a fire at the naval base in Banyuwangi, East Java. It had not completed sea trials and any further construction was halted while an investigation was mounted. Although the results have not been made public, the second X3K ship is being built by PT Lundin at the Banyuwangi base and is forecast to commission in 2016. Others should follow. Other strategic additions to the TNI-AU fleet include three new ‘Chang Bogo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) being collaboratively built by Daewoo of the Republic of Korea and Indonesia’s PT PAL. In 2011, the contract worth around $1.1 billion was signed to build the 1400 tonne submarines. The expected delivery date for these SSKs is 2018. However, the TNI-AU would ideally

like to have a fleet of up to twelve submarines, and discussions have opened with Russia to negotiate a number of submarines, which could potentially be second-hand if the price for further new vessels is deemed to be too high. With so many islands to protect over such a wide area the TNI-AU is also looking for additional fast craft and is pursuing the Kapal Cepat Rudal (KCR/Fast Missile Boat) programme to this end. This is focused on new KCR-40 and KCR-60 fast missile boats that are being constructed indigenously. The TNI-AU’s target is to have 14 KCRs by 2014 and 44 by 2024. PT Balindo and PT Citra are building four KCR-40s between them (three and one respectively). They are equipped with Chinese Aerospace Group C-705 anti-ship missiles, a Denel Vektor 20mm G12 main gun and two close protection 12.7mm machine guns. The first KCR-60, the KRI Sampari, delivered to the TNI-AU on 28 May 2014 was joined in service by the KRI Tombak on 27 August 2014. According to a PT PAL spokesman, the third boat, KRI Halasan, is a larger class of

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ship. The vessels are armed with two-twin missile launchers as well as one 57mm main gun and two 20mm guns. Indonesian media reports on 26 August 2014 reported that deputy defence minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin had announced that the government had agreed with China that it could jointly produce C-705 missiles with Indonesia having a requirement for around 60 examples. Other naval projects include two offshore support ships that were ordered in June 2014 from French company OCEA SA. The ships will displace 500 tonnes and will be armed with one 20mm and two 12.7mm guns. The contract is worth around $100 million and the vessels will be used for maritime surveillance and oceanographic missions.

Mixed Bag

In July 2014, the TNI-AU took delivery of three General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block-50/52 Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) from the United States Air Force (USAF). During the decade-long US military embargo placed on the majori-

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ty of its arms suppliers for human rights abuses, Indonesia turned to Russia to upgrade its fighters. Deliveries commenced in 2003 and were finally completed in 2013. The TNI-AU now has 16 Sukhoi Su-27SKM and Su-30 Mk.2 MRCA. The lifting of the embargo was not fully completed until 2010 which is when the requirement to replace its F-16A/B MRCA with F-16C/Ds was restarted. In 2012 a $750 million deal for 19 single-seat and five dual-seat F-16C/D aircraft was concluded. The delivery schedule will mean that the TNI-AU will receive four upgraded fighters every three months. The work to make these F-16C/D jets ready for Indonesian service is being performed by the USAF at Hill Air Force Base’s Ogden Air Logistics Centre in Utah. All aircraft are scheduled for delivery before the end of 2015. As the newly upgraded aircraft arrive, Indonesia’s old F-16A/B jets will be fed back into the upgrade process. The confirmation of this package has meant that the TNI-AUs

obsolete Northrop Grumman F-5E/F MRCA can finally be retired. Other additions to the air force fleet have included 16 Korea Aerospace Industries’ (KAI) T-50 Golden Eagle LeadIn Jet Trainers (LIJTs) from the Republic of

Boeing’s AH-64D/E attack helicopter is arguably the TNI-AD’s most impressive purchase

Korea at a cost of $400 million, and eight Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano turboprop trainers. Deliveries of the T-50s have started and when complete they will replace the TNI-AU’s BAE Systems Hawk LIJTs. Indonesia is also the only foreign partner in the Korea Aerospace Industries KFX fighter programme which is developing a new fifth generation MRCA with a potential purchase of up to 80 of the jets by the TNI-AU by 2025.

Firepower Enhancements

The TNI-AD has begun to receive its new vehicles from Germany’s Rheinmetall, an order that will eventually comprise 103 Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), 42 upgraded Marder 1A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and eleven armoured recovery and engineering vehicles. These are preowned vehicles that are surplus to the Heer (German Army’s) requirements. Among the armour they are replacing are 123 Nexter AMX-13 light tanks. Boeing’s AH-64D/E Apache Longbow/Guardian attack helicopter is arguably the TNI-AD’s biggest and most impressive purchase. Within the modernisation plan there is a requirement for around 135 new helicopters of different types spread between eight squadrons. Although there will be only eight AH64Es, their capability and deterrent value will far exceed their numbers. The United States government confirmed the acquisition in August 2013. The initial value of the contract is disclosed as around $500

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million but the total package could come to around $1.5 billion over time, according to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The purchase of eight of Boeing’s latest version AH-64E attack helicopters takes its rotary capability to a new level. In addition to the higher punch of the onboard weapons, including the 30mm chin mounted Alliant Techsystems M230 chain gun and the ability to carry Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and 70mm folding fin aerial rockets, the AH-64E can also mount air-to-air missiles on its wing tips. The helicopter is battle proven on virtually all levels that the TNIAD could conceivably operate it.

Strategic additions to the TNI-AU fleet include three new ‘Chang Bogo’ class conventional submarines

Quite how much of the AH-64E Guardian’s digital connectivity the TNIAD requires is debatable. The General Electric T700-GE-701D engines provide extra power but it is unlikely that it is being bought with the unmanned aerial vehicle control capabilities that are central to the US Army’s requirements. One of the key capabilities that the Indonesians will have is Lockheed Martin’s Modernised Target Acquisition Designation System/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PVNS). The company announced that it would supply nine of the optronic ensembles to the TNI-AD as part of an $80 million award that also included another eight AH-64Es for the US Army. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is going through a final review by Indonesia’s defence chiefs before a signing expected by the end of 2014. The MoU addresses issues such as communications, and command and control for the AH64D/E helicopters during operations, and is being reviewed by the TNI chiefs of staff. When the Indonesians begin to receive the AH-64D/Es, plans call for them to be located equally between the Ranai airbase on

The Indonesian Army will purchase nine of Boeing’s latest AH-64E attack helicopters. The purchase of nine Lockheed Martin’s M-TADS/PNVS to go on the nose of the helicopter has already been announced © Andrew Drweiga

the Riau Islands, on the edge of the South China Sea (perhaps with China’s territorial claims in mind), as well as near the capital Jakarta. This was according to public statements made by the TNI-AD on 7 April 2014. Some aircrew have already begun their initial training in the United States, even though the helicopters are unlikely to begin arriving until early 2017. In the national defence role, the AN64D/E mission has been classified as anti-

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

piracy and maritime protection, which is no doubt a reaction to the seriousness of China’s claims to some of Indonesia’s territory in the South China Sea. However, some non-governmental organisations concerned about Indonesia’s history of human rights abuses of its own population, as well as its actions in East Timor, Papua and even the Ache region, continue to question the sale of such a potent capability—even with a civilian president at the helm.

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t the basic level, squad/platoon commander radios must be able to handle voice and data communications securely. While the majority of these transceivers handle comparatively narrowband data communications, typically in the order of 16 kilobits-per-second (kbps), bandwidths are increasing. Such radios transmit in the Very High Frequency (VHF/30-88 megahertz/MHz) range, although some have a multiband capacity stretching upwards into the Ultra High Frequency (UHF/300MHz to three gigahertz/GHz) and downwards into High Frequency (HF/3-30MHz) ranges. Several companies manufacture squad/platoon commander radios including Barrett Communications, Benelec, Datron, Dicom, Elbit Systems, Exelis, Harris, Kongsberg, Motorola, Radmor, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, Reutech, Rohde and Schwarz, Thales and Yaroslavi. This article will discuss each of these companies’ offerings in this domain.

TALKING SHOP

The squad/platoon commander requires a radio which can host several networks and connect them to their troops and higher echelons of command. As this article will show an array of products are in the marketplace which can satisfy their requirements.

by Thomas Withington

Australian Offerings

Australia’s Barrett Communications provides the PRC-2080 VHF transceiver which enables fixed-frequency and frequencyhopping encrypted and clear data and voice communications, while handling legacy analogue Frequency Modulation (FM) traffic. According to Martin Johnson, business development manager at Barrett Communications, these radios are “in use with armed forces in the Indian Subcontinent, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the South Pacific.” One of the design features of the PRC-2080, Mr. Johnson continues, is its ability to use a docking station which allows this five watt radio to become a 25 watt manpack or 50 watt vehicular or fixed base transceiver. Over the past twelve months, the company has performed a number of software enhancements to the PRC-2080 to “improve its power output across the frequency Elbit Systems’ PRC-710 handheld transceiver offers up to five watts of power, with the ability to increase this to 20 watts via the use of an amplifier. Two radios comprise the PRC-710 family; the PRC-710 and the PRC-710MB © Elbit

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

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range,” Mr. Johnson adds, with the company planning to further improve the radio’s battery technology over the next year to reduce weight and improve battery life. The antipodes is also home to Benelec which provides the BLD-100 VHF tactical radio. The radio hosts 2320 channels, which are spaced 25 kilohertz apart. Encryption can be added to the transceiver as required by the customer, and the radio has a built-in advanced data modem. There is no publicly-available information from the company regarding the waveforms which this radio accommodates. Datron of the United States has the HH7700 and the HH2100V Spectre V in its catalogue for squad/platoon commander use. The HH7700 is a fully-programmable VHF transceiver which includes an optional voice scrambler. It has 15 channels and both normal voice and whisper modes. The VHF HH2100V Spectre V, on the other hand, has 100 programmable memory channels, five watts of output power and embedded Electronic Counter-

Joining the PRC-710 family in the Elbit Systems’ catalogue is the VHF/UHF SDR-7200HH handheld radio which offers narrow and wideband voice and data communications, with two waveforms in the radio’s repository to this end © Elbit

Counter Measure (ECCM) safeguards, Communications Security (COMSEC) and Global Positioning System (GPS) geolocation reporting. The company’s official literature stresses that the HH2100V Spectre V is fully compatible with Datron’s VHF PRC2100V Spectre manpack radios.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic’s Dicom produces two handheld transceivers in the guise of the RF23 and RF20. The RF23 is an HF/VHF radio which can perform both Analogue Modulation (AM) and FM transmissions. In terms of channels, the radio accommodates ten and can monitor six programmable networks. The RF23 includes encrypted COMSEC and can perform simplex (one-way transmission) or semi-duplex (two-way transmission) with frequency-hopping. Text messages of up to 156 characters can

NOVEMBER 2014

be composed using the radio, with the ability to handle data at rates of up to 16 kilobits-per-second. Like the RF23, the RF20 is a multiband handheld radio covering the HF/VHF range. It has a similar data rate to the RF23 and also accommodates ten preset channels with COMSEC provision. Israel is self-sufficient in tactical radio production. To this end, Elbit Systems provides the PRC-710 and PRC-710MB handheld transceivers. The PRC-710 has up to five watts of output power, although this can be increased to 20 watts with the addition of an amplifier. Advanced frequencyhopping and encryption is included as standard. Like the PRC-710, the PRC710MB is a VHF radio which can perform voice and data communications, using AM and FM transmissions. In terms of squad/platoon commander radios, Exelis of the United States manu-

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factures the Spearhead. The VHF Spearhead includes 2320 channels and eight present channels. It can perform clear or frequency-hopping communications, and contains an integral GPS receiver. The Spearhead can handle the SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System) waveform which provides up to 111 hops-per-second in frequency-

hopping mode. It can be used primarily for voice, but also data communications for ground-to-ground and ground-to-air traffic. According to Eric Whitehill, Exelis’ chief engineer, the Spearhead is compatible with “all export (i.e. non-US) SINCGARS radios”. SINCGARS can typically carry voice traffic at a rate of 16kbps, although it can handle only a few kilobits-per-second worth of data traffic. Elbit Systems’ Israeli counterpart Rafael Advanced Defence Systems includes a handheld radio in its BNET Broadband MANET (Mobile Ad Hoc Networking) IP (Internet Protocol) Software Defined Radio ensemble for ground and air forces. The BNET-HH, as the five watt handheld radio is known, covers HF VHF and UHF with an optional increase to S-band (two to four gigahertz) available if so desired by the customer. The radio can perform multiband reception and includes the BNET waveform which has a data transmission rate of two megabits-per-second (mbps) across a 1.25MHz channel. The BNET waveform’s reception rate is up to 100mbp.

US Expertise

Exelis’ VHF Spearhead radio can perform clear or frequency-hopping transmissions, and accommodates the SINCGARS waveform. Primarily this radio is designed for voice communications, although it does have the ability to handle data © Exelis

As one of the world’s largest tactical communications suppliers it is little surprise that Harris also has one of the largest product lines in terms of handheld transceivers. The RF-7800V VHF radio can handle data at a rate of 192kbps and has ten watts of output power. The radio carries several of Harris’ proprietary waveforms including Quicklook 1A/2/3, all of which have ECCM capabilities to protect voice and data traffic. Also included is Harris’ proprietary Citadel II cryptography and the radio meets AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) US National Institute of Standards and Technology COMSEC requirements. Moreover, up to 64 voice and data users can be hosted via the radio’s TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) networking waveform. The SINCGARS waveform (see above) is supported by Harris’ AN/PRC-152A multiband, multimission handheld radio, which also has the option to carry the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) HAVE QUICK-I/II UHF frequency-hopping air-to-air and ground-to-air wave-

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Harris’ AN/PRC-152 radio is a multiband, multimission system which employs the HAVE QUICK-I/II waveforms, along with the APCO 25 waveform enabling users to communicate with civilian first responders © Harris

forms, along with the APCO-25 digital civilian emergency service communications waveform. For satellite communications, the AN/PRC-152A can handle waveforms certified to the United States’ Department of Defence Military Standard 188-181A (MilStd-188-181) and the HPW (High Performance Waveform) SATCOM protocol. On 16 September 2014, Harris announced that it had concluded a deal with the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (US SOCOM) to supply 1500 of these radios (see this month’s Pulse column for more information). The AN/PRC-152 forms the basis of Harris’ RF-310M-HH Falcon-III handheld radio. This non-CCI (Controlled

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R Cryptographic Item - meaning that the radio is subject to special US National Security Agency requirements) VHF/UHF product includes the company’s Sierra-IIB programmable encryption. Providing five watts of output power, the radio accommodates the APCO 25 waveform (see above) and customers have the option of adding an embedded GPS receiver. The VHF/UHF RF-5800M-HH includes Citadel II encryption and the Quicklook 1A waveform, with the option of adding either HAVE QUICKI/II or the TALON ECCM waveforms if so desired. Data can be handled at a rate of 16kbps using this radio. Customers requiring a higher data throughput can opt for Harris’ RF-7800M-HH wideband networking radio. This VHF/UHF transceiver carries the Harris Adapt Networking Wideband Waveform, and includes Citadel encryption along with the Quicklook waveform. To this end, the data rates offered by the radio are in the region of 380kbps, or up to 1.2mbps when operating in wideband mode, although this can reduce to 16kbps for narrowband transmissions. Kongsberg has designed their VHF MH300 transceiver, which the company promotes as “the world’s most advanced handheld” radio, to have a battery life of up to 25 hours. Offering a transmission data rate of 64kbps, the radio can be used to send tactical text messages and can perform fixed frequency or frequency-hopping transmissions. Motorola’s SRX-2200 Combat Radio performs VHF/UHF transmissions, performing both narrowband and wideband traffic. The radio’s ability to support the APCO 25 waveform makes it ideal for soldiers who have to work closely with civilian first responders, while COMSEC is preserved using 256-bit AES encryption. Radmor of Poland’s squad/platoon commander radio offerings are centred on the R3501 VHF transceiver. Accommodating ten pre-programmable channels, the radio provides clear and encrypted voice and data transmissions, plus an embedded GPS. The radio is available in standard and advanced configurations, the principal difference between these being that the standard R3501 performs data communications with an exter-

ground-to-air FM transmissions and uses analogue scrambling and frequency-hopping to ensure COMSEC. Rohde and Schwarz’s MR3000P VHF tactical handheld radio includes the company’s proprietary SECOM-P frequency-hopping and digital encryption standard and the radio includes an embedded GPS receiver. In addition to handling VHF traffic, the MR3000P can cover parts of the HF spectrum, and it is fully compatible with the company’s M3TR multiband, multimode software defined radio families. Regarding waveforms, the MR3000P can use the firm’s proprietary SECOM-V and SECOM-H VHF and HF waveforms which include transmission and communications security in the form of encryption and frequency-hopping.

French Flare

The MR3000P VHF tactical radio from Rohde and Schwarz includes the firms’ proprietary SECOM-P frequency-hopping and digital encryption standard, along with its SECOM-V/H VHF and HF waveforms © Rohde and Schwarz

nal modem, while the advanced R3501 is outfitted with an integral modem. The R3501 transmits data at 16kbps, with the advanced variant performing voice and data retransmission (only voice can be retransmitted using the standard R3501). Similarly, South Africa’s Reutech provides a squad/platoon commander radio in the form of its TR620 which contains 256-bit AES encryption and has five watts of output power. The radio can perform groundto-ground AM communications and

South Africa’s Reutech provides a squad/platoon commander radio in the form of its TR620 l

NOVEMBER 2014

Like its US counterpart Harris (see above) Thales offer an array of handheld tactical radios. These include the TRC-9110 member of the company’s PR4G F@stNet tactical radio family and Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR) series. The former is in use with the French armed forces, with the latter being used by US special forces. Thales, in collaboration with General Dynamics, is also supplying the AN/PRC154 Rifleman radio to the US armed forces. The TRC-9110 VHF radio carries the company’s proprietary PR4G waveform, and can handle data at a rate of 21.7kbps. Also outfitted with an embedded GPS receiver, the radio performs fast frequency hopping and has up to five watts of output power. Like other radios surveyed in this article, it can perform a free channel search. The AN/PRC-148 MBITR accommodates the HAVE QUICK-I/II, SINCGARS and Advanced Narrowband Digital Voice Terminal (ANDVT) waveforms and has been produced in two variants: the AN/PRC-6809 MBITR Clear and AN/PRC-148 JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System) Enhanced MBITR (JEM). The principal difference between these two radios is that the former is devoid of US National Security Agency Type-1 cryptographic certification, meaning that it can be supplied for use by civilian first responders or armed forces unable to obtain export approval under US International Traffic in

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Arms Regulations. The AN/PRC-148 JEM is compliant with the Software Communications Architecture (SCA) requirements pertaining to the JTRS programme. The radio’s SCA 2.2 compliance rating is designed to ensure the radio’s ability to load waveforms which are being developed as part of the JTRS initiative and to interoperate with new tactical radio hardware and software which is being procured as a result of this programme. The AN/PRC-154 Rifleman radio is one of the systems being procured as part of the JTRS Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Factor programme. The AN/PRC-154 will accommodate the JTRS Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) which is intended to be used by individual soldiers for voice and data communications. Handling UHF and L-band traffic, the radio has five watts of output power and an integral GPS antenna. Up to 50 present programmable channels are accommodated on the radio, with each preset programmable channel able to host up to three talk groups. Programmable COMSEC and transmission security is included in the radio. According to a written statement provided to AMR by Thales, several factors discriminate its tactical radios from those of its competitors. These include the PR4G’s simultaneous handling of VHF voice and data traffic and the two channels (one narrowband and one wideband) now offered by the MBITR family. The company adds that, during 2015, it plans to “improve the waveband Thales’ TRC-9110 handheld multiband transceiver forms part of the company’s PR4G tactical radio family, which is in widespread use with the French armed forces to carry voice and data traffic using the company’s proprietary waveforms © Thales

Thales’ AN/PRC-148 MBITR uses the HAVE QUICK-I/II, SINCGARS and ANDVT waveforms. It will also be compatible with the new software and waveforms which are being rolled out across the US armed forces as part of the Joint Tactical Radio System © US DoD

performance” of its handheld radios, “especially with regard to higher data rate and MANET capability”.

Future Trends

In terms of future evolutions for squad/platoon commander radios, Eric Whitehill at Exelis believes that there will be a continuing demand for transceivers which can handle high data rates. “We are becoming a data-centric world,” he notes, adding that this will be essential “to enable the soldier to better do their job, and to bring data back from the front to enable the commander to make better

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

decisions.” The proliferation of optronics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles at, or near, the Forward Edge of the Battle Area, not to mention the myriad of ruggedised tablets and laptops now finding their way into soldiers’ hands, means that the sheer quantities of data, in terms of imagery, cartographic and written information which can be passed between soldiers and their commanders is growing exponentially. Tomorrow’s squad/platoon commander radios will need to offer everincreasing data rates to ensure that this information can be moved around the battlefield in a timely manner.

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Submarine Warfare:AMR

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DEEP THOUGHTS

The submarine is the modern capital ship and for this reason the number of operators has risen steadily over the past few decades. The growing demand in the Asia-Pacific for these vessels reflects the submarines’ increasing importance for sea dominance.

by Edward Hooton

n addition to the traditional roles mentioned above, covert reconnaissance has become a major task thanks to a variety of technological advances which make the submarine a vital intelligence-gathering platform. It achieves this by using sonar, optronics and passive electronic warfare systems. This capability is augmented by the means to deliver special forces covertly—a role now influencing the latest submarine designs.

I 36

The Cold War saw submarines able to strike targets in the heart of continents using Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs). While nuclear-tipped SLBMs were originally the prerogative of the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom they have now been acquired by both China and India. While the capital costs of these naval strategic deterrents are very high their operating costs are relatively low; indeed the UGM133A Trident SLBM force, which provides

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

54 percent of the US strategic deterrent, uses 35 percent of Washington’s strategic budget, but only 1.5 per cent of naval personnel, according to recent United States Department of Defence figures. Some 30 years ago the United States produced a more versatile, conventionally-tipped long-range, ‘air-breathing’ landattack weapon in the form of Raytheon’s RGM-109/UGM-109 Tomahawk surfaceto-surface cruise missile. This provides a long-range conventional land-attack

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A Royal Malaysian Navy ‘Scorpène’ class submarine. Similar boats are being built for India, with these vessels also equipping the navies of Spain, Brazil and Poland. They are designed and constructed by French shipbuilder DCNS © DCNS

which has yet to achieve full operational capability (see Gordon Arthur’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ article in this issue). Six ‘Jin’ class nuclear-ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), reportedly based upon the ‘Shang’ class, have been ordered as platforms with the last two scheduled for delivery between now and 2016. The ‘Shang’ class are nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), reportedly designed with Russian technical assistance and possibly based upon ‘Victor II’ class SSNs, yet only two have been produced and China is now reported to be building five followon SSN boats currently designated as the ‘Type 095’ class initially to replace the three aging ‘Han’ class SSNs. The SSK fleet has benefited from the acquisition of a dozen ‘Kilo’ class boats from Russia which contributed to the development of the ‘Song’ class and a dozen ‘Yuan’ class SSNs. These have a surface displacement of 2900 tonnes and are believed to incorporate Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) which provide longer underwater endurance. It seems likely that more boats will be required in the near future to replace the 19 accident-prone 2147 tonne ‘Ming’ class SSKs. In April 2014 new images of the ‘Yuan’ class suggested the design has been modified with improvements to the sail.

India

capability at the operational level. It is worth noting the latest generation of antiship missiles such as Boeing’s UGM-84 Harpoon and MBDA’s SM-39 Exocet also possess a limited land attack capability because their guidance systems have been adapted to hit land targets within proximity to the coast. The land attack capability is one which will increasingly be at the disposal of major Asia-Pacific navies and it is worth recalling that 40 per cent of the world’s population live within 100 nautical

miles (185 kilometres) of the sea in an area which produces 68 per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

China

China is the region’s leading submarine power with nuclear ballistic missile and attack submarines augmented by a substantial fleet of conventional hunter-killer (SSK) boats. Its ballistic missile force has been slow to expand due to the protracted development of the JL-2 SLBM missile

NOVEMBER 2014

By contrast India’s submarine programmes are in the doldrums despite nearing a nuclear submarine force capability with strong Russian assistance. The first, domestically-produced, submarine INS Arihant will be an SSBN with a dozen Sagarika Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs). India is apparently seeking another two vessels, possibly armed with cruise missiles, while the same hull form is to be used for three planned nuclear-powered attack submarines. The INS Arihant will begin trials by the end of 2014 and the Indian Defence Ministry claims it will sail on its first patrol in early 2015. The focus upon nuclear-powered submarines and bureaucratic hurdles within the defence establishment has led to a significant decline in the SSK force. This was accelerated by the loss of one of the

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The operator’s console of an Atlas ISUS 90 combat management system which forms the nerve centre of the Republic of Korea Navy’s latest submarines equipping the fleet in the form of its new Type 214 boats © Atlas Elektronik

‘Sindhughosh/Kilo’ class SSKs, INS Sindhurakshak, to a dockside explosion in August 2013, four months after it returned to service following a $156 million refit. The ‘Kilo’ class remains the linchpin of the Indian submarine force and they have been upgraded with Indian electronics and a missile launching capability either for antisurface warfare or for land-attack. They are augmented by four ‘Shishumar’ class boats which have all been upgraded but are now ageing. By next year most of the existing submarine fleet will be beyond their operational lives, possibly dropping to 13 boats from a peak of 17, at a time when New Delhi wants a force of 24. About half of the SSKs are operational and four are

scheduled to be paid off at the end of their service lives within the next few years. In an effort to keep the ‘Shishumar’ class operational, New Delhi has placed a contract with Atlas Elektronik to upgrade 64 SUT-1 torpedoes deployed by the vessels. It was planned to augment and replace this force, under Project 75, with Frenchdesigned ‘Scorpène’ class boats from shipbuilder DCNS, which have half the submerged displacement of the ‘Kilo’ class, but they are far behind schedule and the latest Defence Ministry estimate is that the lead ship will not be delivered until September 2016 compared to the original estimate of 2012. Work is underway on the successor Project 75I programme with contract

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

awards anticipated this year but even if, as reported, two of the six boats, which may be equipped with AIP, are built in foreign yards, they will not join the fleet until 2022.

Republic of Korea

AIP boats are being steadily introduced around the region. The Republic of Korea (RoK) may upgrade its ‘Chang Bogo’ class submarines with passive towed array sonar and an indigenous torpedo, but meanwhile continues production of the 1890 tonne ‘Sohn Wonil’ class, with plans for nine, and has just begun the 3000tonne KSS-3 programme after a two-year delay which envisages another nine boats. Daewoo has been awarded a contract to build the first two KSS-3 vessels. Like the KSS-2 these will feature AIP as well as a vertical missile launching system giving them by implication a land-attack

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A Republic of Korea Navy Type 214 submarine built for the KSS-2 programme. These vessels will be equipped with Air Independent Propulsion. The KSS-2 initiative is expected to be superseded by the KSS-3 programme which will see the acquisition of a further nine boats © HDW

capability, with construction of the irst boat anticipated to start in 2014 with the first-of-class joining the fleet in 2020.

Japan

Japan continues its policy of maintaining a force of 17-19 boats with the latest programme consisting of seven AIPequipped 4100-tonne ‘Souryu’ class SSKs usually at the rate of one per year with the last scheduled to be commissioned in 2016. The latest, the Kokuryu will be launched in November 2014. Since 2001 Taiwan has had the Kwang Hua 8 programme for eight 1500-2000-tonne boats, a plan confirmed in January 2014 when the 15-year naval modernisation plan was published. Japan appears to have decided to build them with US technical expertise, but the first is unlikely to appear before the end of the decade. The problem for Taiwan is China’s economic muscle which will inhibit the supply

Thales Subtics combat management system uses multi-role consoles. They are to be found in the Royal Malaysian Navy and forthcoming Indian Navy’s ‘Scorpène’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines © DCNS

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of key technical items such as diesel engines, AIP systems and batteries, as countries supplying them may face trade bans from Beijing. This leaves Taiwan’s navy with two Dutch-built ‘Hai Lung’ class SSKs, which are being upgraded to operate with Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles, and in June 2014 it was revealed part of their pressure hulls and pipework may be replaced. In South-east Asia there is considerable submarine activity. Thailand is laying the foundation for reacquiring a submarine capability and plans three as part of its ten-year development plan, the first stage being the opening in March 2014 of a submarine squadron headquarters and training centre. It was offered surplus German submarines but felt these were not cost effective and is reviewing options including Chinese, French, German, RoK and Spanish designs while it trains officers in both Germany and the Republic of Korea. Malaysia has no immediate plans to expand its submarine force and is busy assimilating its two ‘Scorpène’ class SSKs which are the first in that part of the Asia-Pacific to have submarine-launched

Thailand is preparing to reacquire a submarine capability and plans to buy three boats

anti-ship missiles. The Philippines, meanwhile, has an outline plan for submarines and in May 2011 its navy spoke of acquiring three by 2020. However, it is currently focusing upon the acquisition of frigates. Vietnam, on the other hand, received the first two of six 3125-tonne ‘Kilo’ class boats from Russia as part of a major fleet expansion aimed to meet perceived Chinese maritime threats, and is receiving training support from India. The third boat was delivered in March 2014 and the last should enter service in circa 2020. Steel for this last boat was being cut as of May 2014. Within southeast Asia, Singapore is the only operator of AIP boats, having acquired second-hand from the Marinen (Royal Swedish Navy) two 1626-tonne

‘Västergötland’ class SSKs which became known as the ‘Archer’ class in Republic of Singapore Navy service. Given Singapore’s close relations with Sweden, it was a considerable surprise that its next submarine requirement is being met by the German Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Type 210 design for which it is the launch customer. These will replace the ‘Archer’ class boats from 2020. Neighbouring Indonesia is upgrading its ‘Cakra’ class SSKs in the RoK with new batteries, improved combat systems and sonar, but they will pay off in 2020. Relations between the two have become so good that Jakarta has ordered three licence-built Type 209/1400 SSKs from Daewoo with deliveries to be completed by 2018. The last will be built in Indonesia’s PT PAL yard which has received a government allocation of $250 million to upgrade facilities. Indonesia has revealed it would like a fleet of 39 submarines and, depending upon funding, it might buy Russian ‘Kilo’ class SSKs and/or more RoK-supplied boats.

A Pakistan Navy ‘Khalid’ class SSK which is equipped with SEMT-Pielstick diesel engines, Jeumont electric motors, a Thales Subtics combat system and Thales sonar suite. Pakistan is expected to soon equip its navy with new submarines © DCNS

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The Mk. 48 heavyweight torpedo is the prime weapon not only of US Navy submarines but also of the Royal Australian Navy’s ‘Collins’ class SSKs and is a typical modern heavyweight weapon © Raytheon

Pakistan

While India has the largest submarine fleet in south Asia, neighbouring Pakistan will augment its three 1788-2012-tonne ‘Khalid’ class SSKs, of which one has AIP, with another currently being thus installed and a third to receive AIP, all of which should be complete by 2016. The two ‘Hashmat’ class SSKs will be replaced by up to six modified ‘Song’ class boats from China with deliveries expected to commence from 2015. China will also meet Bangladesh’s submarine aspirations, for it was revealed at the end of 2013 that Beijing will supply two surplus ‘Ming’ class submarines from 2019, while Burma is discussing the acquisition of two ‘Kilo’ class SSKs from Russia ostensibly in 2015 but certainly towards the end of the decade.

Australia

Australia operates six Swedish-designed 3407 tonne ‘Collins’ class SSKs and in 2014

will see the end of a two-year programme to upgrade their sonar systems using commercial-off-the-shelf components and a re-hosting of the accompanying software. In November 2013 Saab received a contract for a new command and control

The submarine will continue to influence naval affairs in the Asia-Pacific for many years to come

system to equip these boats. Canberra also has its Project Sea 1000 programme for between eight and twelve boats to replace the ‘Collins’ class. Design approval is currently anticipated by 2015, construction will begin in 2016 with the first boat entering service in 2024-2030. The former Australian government rejected the idea

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

of using an existing design in favour of either an evolved ‘Collins’ class or a new design, but it is almost certain that this will use the same AIP as the Japanese ‘Souryu’ class. In June 2014 Australian defence minister, David Johnston, said the government is re-assessing its options; these options could include a new Australian design, an updated ‘Collins’ class (the previous government’s preferred option) or an existing design adapted to a greater or lesser extent to Australian requirements. The submarine will continue to influence naval activities in the Asia-Pacific for many years to come. With the exception of Taiwan and Thailand it seems unlikely that any new submarine programmes will appear over the next decade. Although future programmes will see western and Russian shipyard competing for business with their counterparts in China and the RoK.

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DRAGON’S DEN

The November 2014 China’s Zhuhai Airshow will be a rare forum where the country will publicly display its military hardware. Indeed, few other militaries attract the attention, and also the apprehension, that the ever-modernising People’s Liberation Army (PLA) engenders.

by Gordon Arthur

eighbours are certainly unnerved by China’s military modernisation, as is the United States, as demonstrated by president Barack Obama’s “strategic rebalance” to the Asia-Pacific region announced in 2012. China’s Premier Li Keqiang announced in March 2014 a defence budget of $132 billion, a twelve

percent leap from the previous year. However, actual expenditure could be double this since China keeps many spending areas off its books. Add to this the fact that China spends even more on its internal security apparatus than it does on the PLA. Chinese defence spending still trails far behind that of the US, but Beijing is now getting less bang for its buck. In direct com-

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

petition with the private sector, the PLA needs better-qualified personnel to operate increasingly sophisticated equipment and so its wage bill is rising. Additionally, Beijing needs to spend more on advanced weaponry. Thus, one explanation for its rising budget is the dissipation of China’s traditional cost advantages. Nonetheless, China ascribes security threats as a reason for building up its military. It is vying with Japan (and ultimately the US) for influence in the East China Sea, whilst it is also enforcing its so-called ‘nine-dash line’ territorial claim in the South China Sea. Worryingly hawkish comments are emanating from some sectors of the PLA. General Liu Yazhou, political commissar at the Beijing-based PLA National Defence University, courted controversy in 2014 by writing that “An army that fails to achieve victory is nothing. Those borders where our army has won victories are more peaceful and stable, but those where we

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were too timid have more disputes.” Gen. Liu believes the PLA should be “seizing strategic opportunities” to test its mettle.

PLA Navy (PLAN)

This article will examine each of the PLA services in turn, and the logical starting point is the 235,000-person PLAN. The navy is at the forefront of a capability drive, so much so that vessel numbers are predicted to eclipse those of the US Navy (USN) by 2020. The PLAN is stretching its

sea legs with forays far beyond its shores, and a significant development was the first naval counter-piracy task force despatched to the Gulf of Aden in December 2008. Since then China has maintained a rotational three-ship task force in the area. Demonstrating the navy’s newfound reach, the PLAN sent a frigate to the Mediterranean in 2011 to help evacuate Chinese nationals from Libya. These deployments provided China with a convenient raison d’être for extended opera-

tions in the Indian Ocean. This is worrying to India, but there is no evidence yet of the oft-promulgated ‘String of Pearls’ theory where China is allegedly creating a network of military facilities in countries like Bangladesh, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to enhance its strategic footprint. Instead, the PLAN is concentrating on the Western Pacific with the ultimate aim being to deter foreign powers (i.e. the US) from intervening in any future conflict there. The PLAN has a credible naval

China is reinforcing its inventory of force-multiplying platforms such as this Shaanxi KJ-200 Airborne Early Warning aircraft of the PLAAF. This example was displayed at Airshow China 2012 © Gordon Arthur

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presence within the First Island Chain (encompassing the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, the northern Philippines and Borneo), and it is now increasingly foraying farther afield into the Pacific. The US Department of Defence’s 2013 Annual Report to Congress stated that “The PLA is rapidly expanding and diversifying its ability to strike US bases, ships and aircraft throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including those that it previously could not reach, such as US military facilities on Guam.” Of interest was the PLAN’s first-time involvement in the RIMPAC (Pacific Rim) exercise in Hawaiian waters in mid-2014. However, its landmark participation was somewhat overshadowed by China’s decision to gatecrash proceedings by sending an uninvited ‘Type 815’ class surveillance vessel. The PLAN commissioned its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in 2012 after refurbishing the former Soviet Navy ‘Admiral Kuznetsov’ class aircraft carrier Varyag. The Liaoning is initially being used as a training platform, but construction of China’s first indigenous carrier is

believed to have commenced. The US predicts that the PLAN could complete an indigenous carrier by 2020 plus a second by 2025. Such power projection platforms will greatly boost PLAN capabilities, although innumerable lessons remain to be learnt regarding how to operate carriers. The Liaoning will purportedly deploy 24 Shenyang J-15 Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) and ten Changhe Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAIC) Z18 maritime support helicopters. Also significant is the development of amphibious warfare vessels as the PLAN improves its expeditionary capacity. Three 18000-ton ‘Yuzhao’ class amphibious support ships are already operational. Also on the cards is a 40000-ton helicopter carrier expected to launch as early as 2018. The PLAN has inducted two 550-ton ‘Zubr’ class hovercraft from Ukraine’s Morye shipyard, and is presently building two more locally under licence. These will contribute to the PLA’s amphibious capabilities, which include two amphibious infantry divisions plus two marine

brigades. Although China has fixated on the ‘Taiwan issue’ for decades, it does not yet have the lift capacity to support a fullscale amphibious invasion of the island. The surface warship fleet is being rapidly overhauled with modern designs. The workhorse is the 4200-ton ‘Jiangkai-II’ class frigate, of which 16 are already commissioned and six more are imminent. An interesting discovery in August 2014 was two frigates being fitted with towed variable-depth sonars. Meanwhile, construction of the newest destroyer, the 7500-ton ‘Luhu’ class, is under way, with the first of up to twelve examples commissioned in March 2014. This class improves upon the ‘Luyang-II’, of which the sixth and final examples will enter service probably by the end of 2014. Numerically important is the 1300-ton ‘Jiangdao’ class corvette, which has been mass-produced in four shipyards at an astounding rate of between eight and ten annually. Up to 30 such corvettes are expected with their primary mission being coastal patrol.

The Chengdu J-10A multi-role combat aircraft entered PLAAF operational service in 2005. Serial production of the improved J-10B began late in 2013. The aircraft is part of the PLAAF’s overall enhancement of its combat fleet © Gordon Arthur

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

ROE-AMR:AMR

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A MULTIPURPOSE AMPHIBIOUS AIRCRAFT

he Russian Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft is primarily known as an effective fighter against large-scale fires. It can scoop up to 12 tons of water into its tanks in just 14 seconds while skimming the water surface and drop an average of up to 240 tons of water per mere one fueling, which is far beyond the capabilities of any other aircraft. However, the Be-200, capable of taking off from both any open water area at least 2.6 meters deep and land airfields with a 1,800 meter long runway, can be successfully used to perform a number of other civil and military missions. These include participation in search-and-rescue operations in the maritime zone, environmental monitoring, transportation of goods and passengers. In this case, the baseline model of the aircraft is additionally fitted with special equipment. For example, its search-and-rescue version may be equipped with an electrooptical system having TV and infrared channels and a laser range finder, a searchlight and on-board rescue

Be-200 equipment. The plane can evacuate up to 57 victims. A special ambulance version of the Be-200 is equipped with outpatient facilities and accommodates 30 lyingdown or seriously ill patients. Military versions of the amphibious aircraft offered by Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport on the international arms market are equally of interest as well. They will be ideal for the Navy for performing specialized missions. The patrol version of the Be-200 is of most interest to the Navy. It provides the detection and tracking of surface, underwater, air and ground targets, and then produces targeting data for naval ship strike groups. Owing to its capability for long-term loitering missions in specified areas, the Be-200 is very effective for control of the 200-mile maritime economic zone. The aircraft can perform patrol missions for nearly six hours. In this case, the mix of equipment is tailored solely to meet customer requirements. And, of course, the Be-200 will be of interest to military as a transport aircraft

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for rapid airlift and airdrop of personnel (up to 42 people), transportation of military supplies and weapons. Moreover, the amphibious qualities of the Be-200 give new tactical capabilities as well, particularly in delivering special purpose or combat swimmer teams. In addition, the Be-200 has the largest payload (up to 7,500 kg) for this class of aircraft and can handle a wide range of freight containers. The Be-200 is equipped with modern avionics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an upgraded ARIA-200M integrated avionics suite developed jointly with leading Western manufacturers and enabling round-theclock operation in any weather. All information is displayed on six liquid crystal multifunction displays and two customized navigation displays, which greatly facilitates flight control of this sophisticated plane. The Be-200 also features the D-436TP fuel-efficient bypass corrosion-resistant engines with a capacity of 7650 kg each complying with all ICAO requirements. They provide

the maximum cruise speed of 680 km/h, which is higher compared with all its counterparts. In addition, the developers have also studied the possible installation of engines from other manufacturers. According to some experts, the Be200 is really a symbol of new capabilities in the world of aviation. The plane has flown around many countries in Southeast Asia, Europe and South America, where it took part both in fire extinguishing and in dozens of exhibitions and demonstrations. And everywhere the Be-200 was accompanied by rave reviews.

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A 3600-ton ‘Jiangkai-II’ frigate. Numerically this is a very important class of ship in the People’s Liberation Army Navy, and production of up to 22 vessels continues. Construction of this frigate class was revealed in 2005 © Gordon Arthur

Many are carefully watching the modernisation of China’s submarine fleet, which already comprises the world’s largest fleet of conventional hunter-killer (SSK) boats. The current focus is on the ‘Song’ class SSKs fitted with AirIndependent Propulsion (AIP) with twelve of an expected 20 boats complete. The nuclear-powered fleet is also improving with the approximately 4000-nautical mile (7500-kilometre) range JL-2 SubmarineLaunched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) predicted to complete its first operational patrol on a ‘Jin’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) before the end of 2014. China is currently designing next-generation SSBNs and nuclear-powered attack submarines armed with indigenous cruise missiles.

Beijing is reportedly looking to acquire four Russian ‘Lada/Amur’ class SSKs, but because Russia’s focus has moved on to the fifth-generation ‘Kalina’ class of conventional boats, China may want the latter instead. This quest for foreign technology strongly suggests China’s submarine designs have not matured sufficiently.

Maritime disputes

China is embroiled in an acerbic sovereignty dispute with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, and it also established an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in November 2013 that overlaps similar Japanese, Republic of Korea and Taiwanese zones. Dr. Euan Graham, senior fellow at Singapore’s Rajaratnam

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

School of International Studies, told AMR: “What’s problematic is that China’s ADIZ overlaps Japan’s. As far as I know, there hasn’t been much done to enforce it, not in the way people feared at the time…It hasn’t really changed the status quo.” Despite objections from neighbours, China is reclaiming land on Johnson South Reef in the South China Sea. This future Spratly Island facility will eventually include an airstrip (able to host Xian H-6 bombers) that would give China its first airbase in the disputed area. Major facility construction is also occurring at Huayang Reef in the South China Sea. Dr. Graham assessed, “It’s difficult to be optimistic about the South China Sea at the moment. I think it’s increasingly a matter

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of time before there’s an incident or some exchange of fire.”

Ground force

The ground force, currently 1.6 million personnel strong, has historically been the PLA’s dominant service. The army has been transforming via ‘informationisation’

and ‘mechanisation’, plus the 2013 Defence White Paper recorded that “The PLA has been reoriented from theatre defence to trans-theatre mobility. It is accelerating the development of army aviation troops, light mechanised units and special operations forces, and enhancing the building of digitalised units, gradually making its units

small, modular and multifunctional in organisation so as to enhance their capabilities for air-ground integrated operations, long-distance manoeuvres, rapid assaults and special operations.” Certainly, air support improved once CAIC Z-10 attack helicopters were introduced in 2011, and the Harbin Z-19 gunship appeared in 2012. Category

Estimated Number

Main battle tanks

6840

Light tanks

750

Armoured personnel carriers

4350

Infantry fighting vehicles

3450

Artillery pieces/ Multiple-rocket launchers

10160

Figure 1: Numbers of weapons in the PLA (Source: International of Institute Military Balance 2014)

Figure 1 shows the PLA’s impressive inventory of weapons. Also of interest are trends over time. For example, the number of Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and Multiple-Rocket Launcher (MRLs) has decreased since 1985, while in recent years the number of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) has grown markedly. This is consistent with the PLA’s mechanisation priorities. State-owned NORINCO makes the majority of China’s armoured vehicles, the most potent being the 52tonne ZTZ99 MBT that entered service in 2001. The newest variant is the ZTZ99A2 with improved Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA), a panoramic commander’s sight and an active protection system. However, the backbone of the MBT fleet is the 42-ton ZTZ96, of which 2000 are in service. In 2013 a new Chinese light tank featuring a 105mm gun was spotted. This 30-ton tank is ideal for operations in mountainous or soft terrain. This is one of two ‘Jiangdao’ corvettes of the Hong Kong Garrison of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Designed for coastal defence, it was commissioned in 2013. A total of 30 such corvettes are expected to enter PLAN service © Gordon Arthur

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In terms of IFVs, the ZBD04 employs the KBP Instrument Design Bureau’s BMP-3 turret with a 100mm rifled gun and coaxial 30mm cannon. Approximately 750 of these amphibious vehicles are in service, but it appears the ZDB04 is set to be eclipsed by the 23-ton VN12 (this is NORINCO’s export nomenclature). The tracked VN12 appears closer to Western IFV design philosophy than the Russian-inspired ZBD04. The PLA is also rapidly fielding wheeled armoured vehicles, with some 400 amphibious 20-tonne ZBD09 eight-wheel drive vehicles already serving. The ZBD09 turret mounts a 30mm cannon and NORINCO HJ-73 anti-tank guided missile. The ZSL92B six-wheel drive vehicle is also important, with some 550 built to date. Amphibious forces rely on about 350 ZBD05 troop carriers and ZTD05 direct-fire vehicles armed with a 105mm gun. The ZBD05/ZTD05 is similar in concept to the USA’s cancelled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, and production could eventually reach 1000 units. The artillery has two primary self-propelled howitzers: the 35-tonne PLZ05 with a 155mm L/52 gun, and the 22.5tonne 122mm PLZ07. Among the most capable rocket artillery system is the twelve-tube PHL03, a copy of the Russian Splav 9K58 Smerch. The PHL03’s 300mm rockets have a range of 150km (93 miles),

PLA special forces conduct a counterterrorism drill. Interestingly, internal security absorbs more money than external defence does in China. As such, this makes the estimation of the money China spends on its military difficult © Gordon Arthur

and China describes it as a ‘trump card’ weapon. Additionally, the AR3 MRL with a 220km (137-mile) range is expected to enter PLA service soon, which will bring Taipei within strike range.

PLA Air Force (PLAAF)

The 20-tonne ZBD09 eight-wheel drive vehicle, with a top road speed of 100km/h (62mph), entered PLA service in 2009. Some 400 are thought to have been fielded to date, significantly bolstering the vehicle inventory of the force © Gordon Arthur

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

China’s military aerospace sector is prodigious, with seven new aircraft types having undergone maiden flights since 2011. Two are fifth-generation MRCAs, the stealthy Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31. The J-20 will be the PLAAF’s future fighter, but the design appears beset by engine, stealth and stability difficulties. The PLAAF, possessing 398,000 personnel, is intent on modernising its aircraft fleet, and current production types include the Xian H-6K bomber, Xian JH-7A, Chengdu J-10A/B and ShenyangJ-11B MRCA. Manufacture of Chengdu’s improved J-10B with an Active

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Truck-mobile DF-31A intercontinental ballistic missiles appeared in the finale of China’s 60th anniversary parade in Beijing in 2009. Investment continues to flow into the country’s strategic weapons programmes © Gordon Arthur

Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar commenced in late 2013, whilst production of Shenyang’s J-16, a copy of the Sukhoi Su30MK2 MRCA, is also under way. Despite all its technological advances, China remains tethered to Russian technology. One example is the indigenous WS10A turbofan from the Shenyang fitted on the Shenyang J-11B. The WS-10A, based on Saturn’s AL-31F engine, is pivotal to Chinese ambitions to replace every Russian turbofan currently fitted on its aircraft. Despite Chinese defence procurement agencies stipulating use of the WS10A, these engines are proving unreliable and are affecting PLAAF readiness levels. China is understandably seeking more advanced Russian Sukhoi Su-35 MRCAs and Saturn 117S turbofans, the latter needed to power its own J-20 (see above). Another deal on the table involves Russia’s Almaz-Antey S-400 Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system. Negotiations drag on, but The Voice of Russia recently quoted Sergei Ivanov, Kremlin chief of staff, as saying “the chances that China may be the first foreign buyer are high”. The S-400’s major advancement is its ability to target

ballistic missiles, plus its 215 nautical mile (400 kilometre) range would even permit China to target Taiwanese aircraft flying over home territory. The PLAAF is using Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft to monitor its new ADIZ (see above). China has had two types in service since 2009, namely the Shaanxi KJ-200 and Ilyushin Il-76-based KJ-2000, while in 2013 a developmental Shaanxi KJ-500 AEW platform was revealed. Future introduction of the indigenous Xian Y-20 turbofan freighter, which first flew in January 2013, will fortify the transport fleet, and a refuelling variant is expected to follow. Of interest, the PLAAF showcased a missile-firing CH-4 unmanned combat aerial vehicle manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) during a multilateral exercise in Inner Mongolia in late August 2014.

Second Artillery Force (SAF)

The SAF, directly under Central Military Commission (CMC) control, manages China’s missile arsenal. One of its innovative weapons is the DF-21D anti-ship

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

ballistic missile, with the US reporting that this 1080nm (2000km) range ‘carrier killer’ is in production and up to 80 could be operational by 2015. Nevertheless, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the USN Chief of Naval Operations, played down its threat when he told AMR, “I don’t expect or plan that it will affect how we operate in the region.” China has an extremely active ballistic missile programme. The mobile DF-41 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which carries a warhead equipped with up to ten Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicles (MIRV) giving a one megaton yield, is presently in development. The DF-41 will supplement existing DF-31A and new DF-31B ICBMs capable of launching a one megaton-yield nuclear warhead on Washington DC. The US estimates China has between 55 and 65 ICBMs in its inventory, but numbers could exceed 200 ICBMs and Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBM) by 2020. In other news, Taiwan announced discovery of a new IRBM, the 540nm (1000km) range DF-16, in March 2011. China has an estimated 1400 ballistic missiles arrayed against Taiwan.

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PROTECTION

TOXICOLOGY REPORT

The takeover by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) of substantial areas of northern Iraq and Syria, populated by around six million people, during 2014 may herald a new era of threats, both in terms of conventional and unconventional warfare.

by Andy Oppenheimer

ollowing multiple ‘conventional’ atrocities, the possibility of ISIS acquiring and using any Chemical Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) materials would comprise the biggest threat for many decades to the Middle East and the wider world. The Middle East has already seen the first use of CBRN weapons in a generation: the bombardment of civilians with an estimated 1000 kilograms (2204 lbs) of sarin nerve agent in several attacks during March, April and August 2013. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) barrel bombs of chlorine gas were also air dropped on rebel-held areas in Syria during dozens of attacks in 2014. Syria was not obliged to declare chlorine stocks for dismantlement as part of the agreement to give up its Chemical Weapons (CW) arsenal concluded with the United Nations in 2013. Chlorine is not classified as a CW, although using it as a weapon is banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria signed in 2013. Questions also persist over ‘discrepancies and omissions’ (raised by the OPCW) in the original Syrian government’s CW declaration and fears abound that any remaining stocks, including chlorine stocks, will end up in the hands of insurgents, including the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusrah Front in Syria and, of supreme concern, ISIS.

Enter ISIS

ISIS is the first insurgent group to have a full-scale, heavily-armed, and generously funded army and its death-laden doctrine does not require fully-functioning CW munitions or weapons-grade CW agents to cause havoc and terror. Unverified

Members of Australia’s Special Operations Engineer Regiment are drawn from several service occupations and include electrical and mechanical engineers. It also maintains a civilian core expertise to ensure that its special forces maintains a high level of CBRN awareness © SOFREP

media reports in mid-September 2014 claimed that 21 ISIS members had been killed and injured when a rocket warhead they were allegedly filling with chlorine gas exploded near the town of AlDhuluiya, 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. In August 2014 press agencies reported that ISIS had experimented with CW in Syria, and in mid-July 2014 unverified claims, by local doctors and officials, emerged that ISIS had used “some kind of chemical weapon” that instantly killed Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG) fighters during clashes in Kobanê, northeastern Syria. Post-mortems and photographs of the victims showed symptoms and “strange white injuries” according to Kobanê Canton health minister Dr. Na’san Ahmed, who told the Kurdistan Tribune that seven local doctors were convinced

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

following examinations of the victims that a chemical weapon was used, with no signs of gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

Meeting the Threat

The further spread of ISIS to the AsiaPacific is an ongoing threat in a region that has combated various home-grown insurgencies for decades, most notably, by the Jemaah Islamiyah (Islamic Congregation) in southeast Asia. ISIS, like Al-Qaeda, operates over national and transcontinental boundaries with a stated aim to create an Islamic Caliphate. The threat has already emerged in Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines. According to the think tank the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC), there are already 500 fighters from the Asia-Pacific region fighting on the side of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, including 50 known

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complete CBRN reconnaissance systems to FNSS for deployment with the Indonesian Army. The vehicle design will be based on FNSS’s PARS eight-wheel drive vehicle supplied to the Malaysian Armed Forces. Environics will also integrate the complete CBRN reconnaissance systems onto two vehicles from Singapore-based defence supplier Loew Brant. This will equip them with Environics’ core sensor technology, third-party analysers and personal decontamination showers for the vehicles. These vehicles are due for deployment with the Indonesian Army by the end of 2014.

Australia’s CBRN

Project Seven seeks to set up an approved accreditation scheme for laboratory management in Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam as part of the European Union’s CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative © US Centre for Disease Control

Indonesians. Gavin Greenwood, a regional security analyst with Hong Kong-based Allan and Associates, a consultancy, says that “ISIS’ success to date has and no doubt will continue to attract recruits to the movement with any survivors to what may be years of fighting from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand representing a threat based on their skills and experience.” Four new terrorist groups have emerged to stake a claim over much of mainland Southeast Asia, and Al-Qaeda has also announced a new branch in the Indian subcontinent.

In mid-September 2014, a major attack was foiled by Australian authorities following receipt of intelligence about a ‘demonstration killing’, in which alleged assailants planned to kidnap a member of the public and behead them in the manner of recent executions of hostages held by ISIS. The arrests came only days after Australia raised its terror alert to high, and while it was about to confirm support to the United States within a broad international coalition of 40 nations to defeat ISIS. The Australian government has agreed to send 600 soldiers and several aircraft to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as part of the US-led international coalition formed to

fight the organisation, as well as military advisers to Iraq, and multi-role combat aircraft to the UAE. Australia has recently enhanced its CBRN programme in the face of increased threats. Under the banner of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) JP2110 Phase 1B initiative, planning and industry engagement has been underway as the ADF seeks to overhaul its CBRN defence capabilities. The programme lead has recently passed to the Australian Army’s Integrated Soldier Systems Special Project Office. JP2110 Phase 1B will address several doctrinal elements of CBRN defence including detection, identification and monitoring (including reconnaissance), warning and reporting (through data fusion), individual and collective physical protection, hazard management, and medical support including casualty management. Australia’s Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER) is the country’s prime CBRN military response unit, which adopted a new mission of supporting special operations as part of Australia’s Operation Slipper

Cristanini’s Sanijet System is in service with military forces and first responders in several countries in the ASEAN region. It acts as a low- or high-pressure water lance equipped with a CBRN decontaminant applicator and needs only one operator © Cristanini

CBRN Reconnaissance

If ongoing United States-led air strikes on ISIS positions in Iraq, which commenced in August 2014, are followed by any ground operation, reconnaissance for CBRN weapons and deployment, an integral part of military planning in both Gulf Wars, will be necessary to protect troops and civilians. Finnish CBRN detection company Environics is cooperating with Turkish specialist vehicle supplier FNSS to deliver

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deployment to Afghanistan in 2012. The SOER assigns electrical and mechanical engineers, specialists from intelligence, signals, ordnance and transportation, as well as medical and nursing assistance to Special Air Service regiment and commando assets operating overseas.

Singapore

In May 2014 the Singapore government introduced a bill to update legislation that would enable the country to join the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, a treaty which aims to protect nuclear materials from theft. The original treaty, which has 149 member nations, sets standards for securing international shipments of civilian nuclear material, with a treaty update in 2005 having applied similar measures for the domestic use and the transfer of non-military nuclear materials. The proposed legislation would amend Singapore’s Radiation Protection Act to outlaw any use of atomic substances to kill or injure a person, or to inflict significant harm to property. It would also render illegal any threat to steal nuclear material as a means of blackmail and permit extradition of suspected nuclear offenders, as well as enabling authorities to prosecute individuals for alleged atomic violations carried out overseas. In addition, it will increase the maximum penalty for illegally transferring or holding nuclear material from two to five years in prison. The prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, said at the March 2014 Nuclear Security Summit held in The Hague, Netherlands: “We are small and densely populated. Any nuclear or radiological incident would be a major disaster, perhaps an existential one. We are also an international hub—our economy,

trade and security can easily be affected by a nuclear accident elsewhere.”

Hospitals and CBRN

In March 2014 an international workshop in Manila hosted directors of prominent laboratories and hospital departments as part of Project Seven which seeks to increase and reinforce biosafety and biosecurity capacity building in the partner countries namely Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The project aims to adopt for each partner country an approved accreditation scheme for their laboratory management systems as part of the European Union CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (CoE) initiative which aims to mitigate CBRN risks from criminal, accidental or natural origin by promoting a coherent policy, and improving coordination and preparedness at national and regional levels. In July 2014, training under Project Seven

The Cristanini man-portable decontamination system uses the eco-friendly BX24 decontaminant and can be used for chemical and biological decontamination and detoxification, polarisation and the decontamination of radiological particulate © Cristanini

ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

The Avon ST53 respirator has been developed specifically for specialist applications where the user needs to respond to changing operational conditions. Avon supplied its equipment to assist recent Chemical Weapon decommissioning efforts in Syria © Avon Protection

was held in Muntilumpa City in the Philippines to ensure the compliance of each country’s medical laboratories with specific ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) requirements.

Equipment Update

Military planners are aware that land force operations take place in urban environments, which are traditionally the focus of the police and emergency services. CBRN decontamination is expected to take place in cities, requiring a modular and multifunctional approach for speed, adaptability and economy. Such an approach is taken by the Sanijet system, made by Italian decontamination company Cristanini. It is in service with the military, police, fire service, medical and search and rescue organisations in several countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. For Dr. Stefano Miorotti, Cristanini’s general manager and a former CBRN commander and operator, keeping an eye on the future has always been very important: “As the future is so uncertain, you really need modular and multifunctional solutions and to be able to respond very quickly indeed,

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particularly in urban environments. The Sanijet Decontamination System delivers the universal decontaminant BX24 though the Sanijetgun, which acts as a low- or highpressure water lance, which also acts as the CBRN decontaminant applicator. It therefore needs just one operator, one machine, one hose and one decontaminant to wash, apply decontaminant and rinse, as well as facilitating both the washing and application of decontaminant in one location. This delivers on-site safety for operators and the environment, instead of working among, and storing up, lethal and injurious toxic substances and vapours.” Cristanini’s CBRN consultant and former chief of British Army CBRN, Brian Clesham, also commented, “What really marks us apart is that we have always included the operator in our research and development. This ensures that when the situation is physically demanding, complex and dangerous our solutions are simple, practical and relevant and, of course, given the climatic challenges in the AsiaPacific region this is even more important.” He added that simple and practical solutions can be delivered when budgets are constantly under scrutiny, as governments are grappling with the costs of developing pan-CBRN countermeasures and capabili-

Safety Equipment Australia design and manufacture CBRN respiratory protection equipment and protective suits. The Australian Defence Force is currently enhancing the CBRN capabilities of its armed services © Safety Equipment Australia

ties. “The last thing you want for low-probability, but high-consequence, events are manpower and resource-intensive solutions…You have to be very well prepared, but you do not want to have to spend a disproportionate amount of time and money maintaining equipment and skills.” Cristanini will shortly unveil their new all-

Finnish CBRN systems company Environics will integrates its core sensor technology, plus thirdparty analysers and decontamination equipment into a number of platforms, including dedicated military armoured vehicles © Environics

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weather training and demonstration centre, described by Mr. Clesham as a crucial part of the company’s investment programme that will support nations that have begun to, or are further developing, their CBRN programmes. The primary item of equipment for CBRN protection is the respirator. Avon Protection has already supplied masks for use by CW investigators in Syria, and its ST53 respirator has been developed specifically for specialist applications where the user needs to respond to changing operational conditions in areas of conflict. The ST53 has an advanced modular breathing apparatus to provide positive SCBA (SelfContained Breathing Apparatus) pressure or PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) capability for specialist operations. The system integrates with weapons, other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and garments, and communication systems and is designed to impose the minimal of physiological burdens on the wearer. To extend operational time on scene, users can flick a lever on the front of the mask which switches between negative (filter) and positive (SCBA) pressure. The operator can enter a location on filter mode, assess the situation, and change to SCBA mode if the need arises using a short- or long-duration compressed air cylinder. This capability gives the operator maximum confidence when facing life-threatening situations. Avon’s sales director for Europe and the Asia-Pacific John Penton said, “the ST53 is in service today with a number of advanced military special forces, police specialist tactical units and other specialist users. Where other respiratory solutions have their operational limits, this adaptable solution has been developed for specialist applications where the user needs to respond to changing operational conditions on scene. The ST53 is a significant advance in CBRN protection and meets the new tactical requirements coming from global specialist teams.” The demand for user-friendly, lightweight and affordable protective CBRN equipment will continue to increase in the face of rising threats from insurgent forces which will not hesitate to cause mass casualties in all regions where they operate.

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ASIA PACIFIC PROCUREMENT UPDATE by Pierre Delrieu

DELAYS FORCE INDIAN NAVY TO DROP DEMAND FOR FOREIGNBUILT SUBMARINES

Delays regarding the acquisition of six conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) has caused the Indian Navy (IN) to abandon its initial plan to import two boats and license-build the remaining four in favour. Instead, the IN will acquire an entirely indigenous SSK fleet, according local media reports in mid-September 2014. The acquisition of the six SSKs under Project 75I, stipulated a service entry date for the first boats of 2022 deadline. The full acquisition of all six boats was valued at at $8.2 billion by Indian defence procurement officials in 2007. Nevertheless, delays in initiating the process to solicit foreign suppliers to assist the Project 75I programme have caused the programme’s estimated costs to increase to nearly $12 billion.

PAKISTAN AND ROK TO DEVELOP JOINT VENTURES IN DEFENCE PRODUCTION

An official statement published by the Pakistan government on 17 August 2014 pledged to deepen defence cooperation with the Republic of Korea (RoK). In particular, the two countries promised to expand their collaboration in the naval shipbuilding sector, and to “further enhance each other’s capabilities by (establishing) joint ventures … (and) mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of defence production”. The statement was published following a visit to the RoK by a delegation of Pakistani defence officials. The delegation was led by

Under the Project 75I plan, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) would import the first two of the six SSKs from a foreign supplier. This would be done to expedite the acquisition of new boats to help revitalise the IN’s sub-surface fleet. The remaining four boats were then to be manufactured at Mazagon Docks, near Mumbai and at the Hindustan Shipyard, Visakhapatnam on India’s east coast. The four SSKs were to be constructed under a technology transfer agreement with the foreign supplier selected to fulfil the Project 75I requirement. Design requirements for the initiative required all of the boats to be capable of performing anti-submarine and antisurface warfare in addition to performing reconnaissance, supporting special forces missions and assisting land operations via the deployment of land attack missiles. The Indian MoD had initially published a Request for Proposals for the Project-75I initiative in August

Nevertheless, in September 2014, the IN announced that the project will be extensively restructured, with all six boats to be constructed indigenously. In terms of design requirements, these boats will be required to possess Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) for greater underwater endurance and land-attack capabilities. The strength of the IN’s SSK fleet has reduced from a total complement of 21 vessels in the

1980s to 14 boats today. The fleet includes four HDW ‘Shishumar’ class and ten ‘Kilo/Sindhughosh’ class SSKs, acquired respectively acquired from Germany and Russia from 1986 onwards. Although the Indian MoD announced in November 2013 that it will perform an upgrade of four of the ‘Kilo/Sindhughosh’ class SSKs and two of the Russian and two of the ‘Shishumar’ class boats, the service life of such vessels is estimated at around 20 years, meaning that they will soon need to be replaced. In contrast, China’s submarine fleet includes over 60 boats. This is of a major concern to the Indian Navy, and adds urgency to the procurement of new SSKs. More information and analysis regarding the respective submarine programmes of the Chinese and Indian navies can be found in Edward Hooton’s ‘Deep Thoughts’ and Gordon Arthur’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ articles in this issue.

Pakistan’s defence production minister Rana Tanveer Hussain. Mr. Tanveer was joined on the visit by Major General Raza Muhammad and Air Commodore Farrukh Bashir from Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence Production. During the visit, the Pakistan delegation visited the RoK’s Defence Acquisition and Procurement Administration (DAPA) as well as leading RoK defence companies such as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Daewoo’s shipbuilding facilities. Following the visit, Mr. Tanveer stressed the necessity of both Pakistan and the RoK to establish a mutually beneficial defence trade agreement and extended an invitation to RoK defence offi-

cials to visit the forthcoming IDEAS-2014 International Defence Exhibition Seminar which will be held in the Pakistan city of Karachi in early December 2014. The RoK has long shown interest in building a shipyard in Pakistan the country has offered assistance in building new shipyards in Karachi and Gwadar on the Pakistan Arabian Sea coast. Mr. Tanveer said that the offer is under consideration by the Pakistan government, adding that mutual collaboration with the RoK in the defence sector could help Pakistan make significant strides regarding its defence requirements, such as the development of modern communications systems for its armed forces. Collaboration

could also help Pakistan’s defence exports, as the country searches for customers for its indigenously-built military vehicles, and the Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 multi-role combat aircraft which Pakistan has jointly developed with China. Both Pakistan and the RoK share strong diplomatic ties despite Pakistan’s good relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The RoK is also a member of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP), a diplomatic group established in 2008 to support the government of Pakistan in its efforts to build democracy and support social and economic development in the country.

2013. Candidate vessels included Rosoboronexport’s ‘Amur1650’ class (Russia), DCNS’ ‘Scorpène’ class (France; of which the Indian Navy is already acquiring six under a 2005 procurement worth $3 billion), and HDW of Germany’s ‘Type 214’ class SSKs.

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CHINA TESTS NEW ASW VERSION OF Z-18 HELICOPTER

According to reports in China’s Qianjiang Evening News newspaper on 12 August 2014, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has commenced flight tests of its new Changhe Z-18F maritime support helicopter. The aircraft, developed from the Changhe Z-8, is a derivative of the Aérospatiale/Airbus Helicopter SA-321 Super Frelon heavy-lift helicopter. Initial images show that the single-rotor Chinese Z-18F features a redesigned lower fuselage and cockpit. The aircraft is thought to make extensive use of composite materials and titanium in its construction. To this end, the Z-18F is thought to have been outfitted with composite main rotor blades and a new engine; reportedly three improved Changzhou WZ-6 turboshaft engines, themselves a derivative of the Turbomeca Turmo 3C powerplant. These specifications would give the aircraft a maximum payload of 13.8 tonnes, which would limit the number of destroyers or frigates within

TAIWAN INVESTS $2.5 BILLION ON ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEMS

Taiwan is planning to invest $2.5 billion over the next nine years to purchase a Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, in an effort to enhance its air defences, a member of the country’s Parliamentary defence committee announced to the press on 30 August 2014. According to lawmaker and defence committee member Lin Yu-fang, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry intends to purchase additional examples of the indigenous Tien Kung3 (Sky Bow-3) Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system to replace the country’s aging

the PLAN that are capable of accommodating the aircraft due to its weight. It seems more than likely that the Z-18F helicopter will begin their service on the Liaoning, the country’s first aircraft carrier and the ‘Yuzhao’ class amphibious support ships, both of which could support the aircraft’s weight. Photos which have been published on several Chinese military websites suggest that PLAN’s new maritime support helicopter is equipped with four eight-tube

sonobuoy launchers, allowing it to carry up to 32 sonobuoys, along with four lightweight torpedoes. These are thought to be the Xian Precision Machinery Research Institute Yu-7; a Chinese development of the Alliant Techsystems Mk.46 Mod.2 lightweight torpedoes. The Z-18F has also been equipped with digital avionics, a dipping sonar and a chin-mounted surface search radar. The Z-18F is reportedly the third variant of Z-8 helicopter to emerge. Other vari-

ants include the baseline Z-8 which is equipped with WZ-6 turboshaft, and the Z-8A which is designed as a heavylift utility helicopter, primarily to support the People’s Liberation Army. Changhe has also developed the Z-8F which is outfitted with Pratt and Whitney Canada’s PT6B67A turboshaft, and the Z8AEW Airborne Early Warning helicopter equipped with a retractable active-electronically scanned array radar to perform air surveillance and command and control.

Raytheon MIM-23 Hawk medium-range SAM batteries. Deliveries of these additional Tien Kung-3 examples (of which seven are already in service) are expected to commence in 2015 and conclude in 2024. This deal will mark the biggest procurement made by Taiwan of domestically-manufactured weapons in recent years, said Mr. Lin, who cited the defence budget plan submitted for approval to Taiwan’s parliament on 29 August 2014. Developed by Taiwan’s Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CIST), the Tien Kung-3 is designed to intercept tactical

ballistic missiles and to provide a defence against conventional air-breathing threats such as Chinese cruise missiles and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force Chengdu J-20 multi-role combat aircraft . The CIST has been developing the BMD system since 1996 and has since reportedly invested more than $659 million into the project. The Tien Kung-3 SAM system was presented to the public in 2007 and performed field tests in 2011. The missile uses semi-active radar and passive infra-red guidance. Target detection is provided by the Tien Kung-3’s accompanying Chain Bai phased array multifunction

radar which is thought to have a range of up to 243 nautical miles (450 kilometres). Since Ma Ying-jeou was elected as Taiwan’s president in 2008 after campaigning on a China-friendly platform, tensions between Taipei and Beijing have eased significantly. Although Mr. Ma was reelected in 2012, and relations between the two country have improved, China still considers the self-ruled island, which separated from mainland China in 1949, as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. The People’s Liberation Army is thought to have an estimated 1600 missiles aimed at the island.

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VIETNAM RECEIVES PATROL VESSELS FROM JAPAN TO ASSIST IN MARITIME SECURITY

Japan pledged to offer Vietnam six second-hand vessels to help the Vietnam boost its security and surveillance patrols in the South China Sea. The offer was announced by Japan’s foreign minister Fumio Kishida on 1 August 2014 following, after talks Mr. Kishida held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh during a visit to Vietnam. The exact names and types of vessel has not been announced, although local Japanese media reports said that two of the vessels are fishery patrol boats from the Japanese Fisheries agency, with the balance of four ships being commercial fishing boats. Japan has offered to donate the vessels; all six of which are valued at $5 million and to provide training assistance. All of the vessels

are expected to be delivered by the end of 2014. The deal, funded by Tokyo’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme, represents a significant deepening of Vietnam and Japan’s diplomatic relationship, in particular as regards their defence and security considerations. The move is likely to displease the Chinese government which is taking an increasingly assertive posture in the South China Sea as regards Beijing’s maritime claims in the area. “International security is getting more complicated... prosperity only comes with stability in the South China Sea and the East China Sea,” Mr. Kishada told reporters following the signing of the deal for the new vessels in Hanoi. He added that “the South China Sea, which Vietnam faces, is a key junction of maritime transportation.” Mr. Kishada expressed hopes that the vessels “will strengthen the (capabilities) of

Vietnam’s coastal enforcement authorities.” Vietnam and Japan have long been enjoying good economic relations, with Japan being Vietnam’s biggest investor, but relations between Vietnam and China, the latter of which is Vietnam’s largest trading partner, have deteriorated. Relations were further hampered recently following the Chinese government’s deployment of a After Beijing’s deployment on 2 May 2014 of the Haiyang-981 drilling rig to waters in the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam as part of the latter’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The Chinese government removed the rig on 16 July 2014, saying that it had completed its oil exploration mission. This latest incidence has contributed to an increase

in Vietnam of anti-China sentiments within its population and government. Vietnam has seen the rise of a simmering anti-China sentiment within its population and government, amplified by reports in June 2014 of a Chinese fishing vessel ramming, and sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat. In addition to Vietnam and Japan, with whom the Chinese government has competing claims to the uninhabited East China Sea islands of Diaoyu/Senkaku (the respective Chinese and Japanese names for the islands), the Chinese government has maritime and territorial claims to the Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea which it contests with Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines.

offensive portion and the actual building of the ship.” The Philippine Navy and the country’s Department of Defence have not yet identified the type of weapons to be acquired. A total of six shipbuilders including the Republic of Korea’s STX, Daewoo and Hyundai; Indian shipbuilders Garden Ridge, Spain’s Navantia and the French firm STX France SA are qualified to compete to build the new frigates.

As one of the fastest-growing economies in the AsiaPacific, the Philippines has embarked upon a modernisation of its military, especially in terms of maritime capabilities, as the country, not unlike many of its neighbours, is involved in disputes with the Chinese government in the South China Sea (see ‘Vietnam receives patrol vessels from Japan to assist in maritime security’ news story) The two new frigates will complement the BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz, which were both acquired in 2011 from the United States. Once they enter service, which is expected to occur during the next ten years, these new frigates will be used to enhance the Philippines’ security presence in the West Philippine Sea, and to respond to humanitarian crises.

PHILIPPINES TO INVEST $56 MILLION ARMING NEW FRIGATES

The Philippine’s Department of National Defense (DND) has officially announced it would be investing some $56 million to equip new frigates that it plans to acquire with weapons systems. The announcement was made by Patrick Velez, the assistant defence secretary for acquisition, installations, and logistics, according to local media reports on 10 August 2014. Funds to support the weapon procurement will come out of the $400 million budget allocated for the procurement of the two frigates. However, international arms export regulations have caused the Philippines government to draft a separate contract regarding the procurement of the weapons which will equip the frigates. This will mean

that the available budget for the purchase of the new ships, without their weapons systems, could be worth $344 million. The frigate purchase is among the Philippines’ major acquisition projects as it seeks to overhaul its armed forces. Mr. Velez explained to local journalists that: “There will be two (projects),” namely the frigate acquisition and the purchase of the ships’ accompanying weapons, adding it was impossible to “combine the

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AUSTRALIAN SPECIAL FORCES VEHICLE CONTRACT GOES TO UK-BASED SUPACAT

The government of Australia has awarded Supacat of the United Kingdom a $98 million contract for 89 Special Operations Forces (SOF) vehicles, with the company announcing the deal on 19 August 2014. The Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), Australia’s governmental agency responsible for defence procurement, awarded the contract for 89 of the firm’s Extenda HMT platforms following the selection of Supacat as preferred bidderfor its Special Operations Mobility and Information Environment Upgrades Joint Project 2097 Phase 1B (REDFIN) programme , in April 2012, This REDFIN programme is designed to replace ageing modified Land Rovers which have been used to date by the country’s SOF community. Since its selection, Supacat has completed the programme’s prototype development and evaluation phase. The Extenda HMT is similar to 31 Extenda HMT SOF

NEW ZEALAND TO DEPLOY AIRCRAFT TO MIDDLE EAST

On 11th October, the government of New Zealand announced that it would send military aircraft to the Middle East to assist anti-piracy efforts ongoing in the Persian Gulf. The news, announced by Air Commodore Kevin McEvoy, air component commander of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), revealed that two Lockheed Martin P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, plus a single Boeing 757-200 turbofan transport would be sent to the region. The P-3K2 aircraft are

currently in service with Australia’s special forces. These vehicles were delivered in 2009 and equipped with crew ballistic and vehicle mine protection. The new Extenda HMT vehicles which are being acquired by Australia will be delivered in a Special Operations Vehicle-Commando (SOC-Cdo) configuration which will be reconfigurable according to the missions which they are to undertake. Supacat describes its Extenda HMT as a “unique convertible platform” which is available in either a fourwheel drive or six-wheel drive configuration to meet different operational requirements, with the latter version offering enhanced capabilities and a bigger payload capacity. The Extenda HMT convertible platform, manufactured by Supacat under licence from Lockheed Martin, is essentially a derivative of the Supacat Jackal, and was designed to meet mainly military needs for a light-tomedium load carrier. It has been designed as a crosscountry vehicle with various cab configurations, intended for long-range patrols, pro-

viding seating for the driver and three passengers and capable of towing light trailers of artillery pieces. The vehicle also has provision for two crew-served weapons and can be armed with various combinations of 12.7-mm machine guns, 7.62-mm machine guns, and 40-mm automatic grenade launchers. Australia’s Extenda HMT units will be locally built through Supacat Team Australia, which has maintained a presence in Melbourne since January 2012.

The United Kingdom received a batch of 65 Extenda HMTs in 2001, while the United States Army’s Delta Force special forces unit received 47 similarly-configured vehicles in 2004. Other users include Danish Special Forces which has 15. Australia also operates 31 Supacat light tactical patrol vehicles, known as ‘Narys’ in Australia. These versatile vehicles which can be reconfigured as required for ballistic and mine protection thanks to their heavyweight suspension and drive system.

from 5 Squadron while the 757-200 planes, of which the RNZAF possesses two, are drawn from 40 Squadron. This latter unit also operates the RNZAF’s Lockheed Martin C130H turboprop freighters. According to Air Cdre. McEvoy, the deployment “is a routine changeover for the aircraft that (are) already out there (supporting the anti-piracy efforts).” In addition to the aircraft, the deployment will be accompanied by up to 47 personnel. Air Cdre. McEvoy would not be drawn on whether the aircraft could be called upon to support ongoing United States-led military

efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent group. The US commenced military operations against ISIS’ presence in Iraq in August 2014, expanding these operations to include ISIS targets in Syria in September 2014. He stressed that the deployment is part of a routine rotation and that it would be for New Zealand’s prime minister John Key to decide if and when these aircraft would be tasked with supporting US-led efforts against ISIS. The RNZAF’s P-3K2 maritime patrol fleet forms a key part of the air force inventory. An initial five P-3B Orions

were purchased in 1966, with a single airframe purchased from the Royal Australian Air Force in 1985. All six were then upgraded to their current P-3K2 configuration. The aircraft are once again undergoing an upgrade led by L3 Communications which will ensure their currency until their expected replacement in 2025. The 757-200 fleet performs strategic transport for the RNZAF and the New Zealand armed forces. Both aircraft were purchased from the airline Transavia in 2003 and can be configured for medical evacuation and VIP transport.

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