Armada International - December 2019/January 2020

december 2019/January 2020. Issue 06.

Protector RG Mk1

MULTI-ROLE SINGLE SOLUTION The world’s first certifiable Remotely Piloted Air System The RAF’s Protector RG Mk1 is based on the new generation MQ-9B SkyGuardian. With a flight endurance of over 40 hours and a payload capacity (sensors and weapons) of 2,177 kg (4,800 lb) Protector provides a flexible multi-role capability.

Protector will be controlled remotely over satellite communications including taxiing and initiating automatic take-off and landing. This feature eliminates the need for deployed flight crews at forward operating bases, only requiring a light footprint of personnel and equipment to service the aircraft.

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12 LAND WARFARE

14 sea POWER

AUSA - MODERNISING THE ARMY Andrew Drwiega reviews a selection of highlights from this year's annual US Army gathering in Washington DC.

SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY Optonic periscopes are not only delivering a clearer operational picture, but their design now allows sub-builders more freedom in the layout of their vessels, as Dr Lee Willett explains.

18 air power

22 LAND WARFARE

26 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

30 special ops and expeditionary

34 REGIONAL FOCUS

38 armada commentary

08 commander's intent

RUSSIAN ARMY REVITALISED General of the Army and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has been at the centre of defence reforms since his appointment in 2012. Report

by David Oliver and Andrew Drwiega

ONE FIGHTER FOR EUROPE - OR TWO? Jon Lake looks into Dassault Aviation's teaming with Airbus to create a Next Generation Fighter for Europe.

forces debrief NOT JUST ANY WEAPON Special force operators look for any new developments in weapons technology that might give them that extra edge. Andrew White reports.

LIGHT YET INDISPENSABLE Stephen W Miller looks at the modern successors to the WWII 'Jeep', finding that they are now even moving towards unmanned platforms.

NORTH AFRICAN AIR POWER David Oliver examines the effects of the Arab Spring on air forces along the North African coast.

DEEP DIVE INTO ELECTRIC MOTORS Peter Donaldson provides an insight into electric motors, adding some industry initiatives into where the technology is heading.

MAINTAINING AUSA’S PROTOTYPE MOMENTUM Andrew Hunter visits AUSA and highlights some of the industry trends witnessed at the show.

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ON THE COVER: The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) will represent Europe's most ambitious and structuring military aviation programme for the coming decades, and a key element of its sovereignty. The New Generation Fighter (NGF), the central pillar of FCAS, will be the result of close collaboration between Dassault Aviation, leader, and Airbus, main partner.

(Dassault)

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COVER 4

DIMDEX

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DUBAI AIRSHOW

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EUROSATORY

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GENERAL ATOMICS

COVER 2

INDO DEFENCE

COVER 3

Volume 44, Issue No.6, DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020

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Published bi-monthly by Media Transasia Ltd. Copyright 2012 by Media Transasia Ltd. Publishing Office: Media Transasia Ltd., 1603, 16/F, Island PL Tower, 510 Kings Road, Hong Kong

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december 2019/January 2020. Issue 06.

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Editor-in-Chief: Andrew Drwiega General Manager: Jakhongir Djalmetov International Marketing Manager: Roman Durksen Digital Manager: David Siriphonphutakun Sales & Marketing Coordinator: Wajiraprakan Punyajai Art Director: Hatsada Tirawutsakul Production Officer: Nuttha Thangpetch Circulation Officer: Yupadee Seabea Chairman: J.S. Uberoi President: Egasith Chotpakditrakul Chief Financial Officer: Gaurav Kumar

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■ EW Systems Support Turkish Syria Offensive

■ IRIS-T SLS handed over to Swedish Air Defence Regiment

Dr. Thomas Withington - The Turkish government has confirmed that its armed forces are using electronic warfare systems to support military operations in north-eastern Syria.

The IRIS-T SLS firing units from Diehl Defence were handed over by the Swedish procurement agency FMV to the Air Defence Regiment in Halmstad in August 2019.

■ Russia and China – Roaming the globe together?

■ First Production Trophy Active Protection Systems delivered to U.S. Army

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Andrew Drwiega - When any nation opens fire on aircraft from one of the superpower nations there is always cause for international concern.

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Leonardo DRS, Inc. and RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. of Israel (RAFAEL) announced that the partners have delivered on time the first Trophy Active Protection Systems (APS) to defend the US Army’s Abrams main battle tanks against a variety of anti-armor threats. This delivery marks the first of several that will ultimately outfit four brigades of tanks.

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5

Editorial NOW EUROPE IS

‘A NATION OF SHOPKEEPERS’

F

rance’s president, Emmanuel Macron, views Europe as “on the edge of a precipice” in terms of its security, as reported by The Economist magazine (9-15 November, 2019). His somewhat idealistic solution of a Europe being able to fully fund its acquisition needs, and formulate a cohesive all embracing defence strategy to protect itself and potentially project, and sustain power outside its own borders without the United States edges into ‘delusions of grandeur'.

A NATO document, Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2012-2019), published on 25 June 2019, reveals the sombre reality of how much NATO member states allocate to their own defence budgets.

The ‘elephant in statistics’ is that the US military budget is double that of the rest of NATO members combined: around $730 billion to $284 billion for the rest of NATO Europe. Of the European total, three states, the UK ($60 billion), France ($54 billion) and Germany ($50 billion) account for 57 percent of the total contribution by 27 nations (excluding the USA and Canada).

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced ahead of the NATO Leaders meeting in London to mark the 70th Anniversary of the founding of NATO, that spending on defence among NATO members is actually increasing. According to Stoltenberg, defence spending among European allies and Canada increased in real terms

6

by 4.6 percent in 2019, the fifth consecutive year of growth. According to his figures, this has meant an extra $130 billion since 2016 with an expectation that “the accumulated increase in defence spending by the end of 2024 will be $400 billion.”

But creating a European force in whatever shape and form cannot be achieved by the simple matter of increasing defence spending across the group. Like NATO, the EU has no forces of its own. It relies on the physical assets of each member state to create any force structure. And this is where the real ‘Achilles Heel’ of a European Defence force without the United States is laid bare.

Which country is going to accept the need to buy 400 utility trucks instead of tanks or artillery, which nations will forgo fast jets or unmanned systems in order to invest in digital radios or refuelling aircraft. One of the key challenges is that there are so many ‘historic empire building nations’ who collectively would find it extremely difficult to justify to their proud nations that buying to a defence plan for the greater good of Europe would be better than retaining their own ‘rounded’ defence capability.

Step forward the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) chief executive, Jorge Domecq. At the end of the annual conference on 28 November 2019, Domecq summarised the future of EU defence would lie with the success of new ‘cooperation tools’ to which all nations could adhere: the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD); Per-

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

manent Structured Cooperation (PESCO); and the European Defence Fund (EDF). This would guide nations into a common acquisition strategy, which would also support European industry.

“Although it is premature to declare today that the new EU defence cooperation tools (CARD, PESCO, EDF) will deliver on all their promises, they definitely have the potential to be very successful and lead, over time, to a more structured joint European defence planning framework that will enable systematic cooperation, from investment and capability development to the joint operational use of those capabilities.”

Key words: Premature. Promises. Potential. Over time. There is much hope without realism in this view. Europe is having to face an unpalatable truth. If it is serious about defence, it needs to increase defence spending substantially - and quickly, a move that vote-hungry politicians view as unpopular and off-message. Europe has grown too big and the experiences of its member states too diverse to have a neat, collective idea on defence, particularly one that will be led by the politically driven founders of the EU. Macron rightly highlights that Europe’s view of itself as a commercial market outweighs the view that it needs to be a military force to be reckoned with.

Andrew Drwiega, Editor-in-Chief

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Russian MoD

Commander's Intent

Russian Minister of Defence, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu.

RUSSIAN ARMY REVITALISED

General of the Army Sergei Shoigu is the longest serving Russian Defence Minister since the Soviet era.

His goal has been to reform the Russian Army.

By David Oliver and Andrew Drwiega 8

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

Commander's Intent

C

control reorganisation, acquisition of new and modernised equipment, training close to Western/NATO standards and frequent combat control exercises at all levels.

In addition, the number of professional soldiers now exceeds one-third of all personnel. In Shoigu’s opinion, that reflects the fact that Russia’s armed forces are no longer the “sick men” of its society, but rather an institution that every Russian should be proud of. “We have achieved the required level of training intensity for our units.,” he stated. Analysing western standards in terms of ammunition availability for training was important.

“We increased the standards for the consumption of ammunition for combat training by five times,” he revealed.

The modernisation of the industrial complex has equally been a priority for Shoigu, following presidential directives.

“Today I have no doubt that by 2020 we will bring the level of equipment of troops with

modern weapons to 70 percent, having increased it by almost four times since 2012,” he said.

Shoigu indicated that the establishment of the National Defence Management Centre played a key role in terms of in structuralising and executing defence acquisition “from the machine tool at the enterprise or the amount in the bank account through the state defence order, to a specific weapon unit delivered to the military unit.”

Shoigu has underlined the military reforms under the direct supervision of President Putin have made Russia respected both by friends and foes once again. He also underscored that Russia’s military intervention and performance in Syria had increased its international prestige and influence while considerably supporting the development of Russia’s armed forces.

Top commanders have almost

Russian MoD

overing defence from all angles and from all perspectives is one of the aims of Armada International. Although we might not always get the opportunity to directly interview an important personality, it does not mean that their words should not be covered.

In a rare break with his usual silence, actually a period of around seven years, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu recently went ‘on the record’ with observers have called an unprecedented interview with Russian publication Moskovsky Komsomolets. Some of his comments from that meeting are included here, together with other recent comments made on national and international conferences.

Russia’s defence minister stressed that the most important transformations were actually related to the achievement of combat readiness in all units. This process entailed administrative and command and

Sergei Shoigu with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

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Commander's Intent

Russian MoD

the annual Russian-Chinese “maritime Interaction” exercises which enable “the military of our countries to exchange experience in combat training, planning and conducting exercises.”

Sergei Shoigu inspecting Yak-130 production at Irkutsk.

exclusively rotated in Syria. Many contingents of ground and special forces, alongside air forces and navy ships have seen combat experience. Shoigu also stated that Russia has tested about 300 different weapon systems in Syria, and some of which were consequently abandoned.

RUSSIA-CHINA MOVE CLOSER During a session of the IX Xiangshan Forum held in October 2019 in Beijing, Sergei Shoigu said; “The restoration of Russia’s defence potential, the growing power of China and the expansion of militarytechnical cooperation between the two powers caused Washington to unilaterally withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

“We are convinced that the real reason that prompted Washington to unilaterally withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is the deterrence of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation”. Sergey Shoigu added that “the Treaty ceased to be in the interests of the United States amid China’s growing military and economic power, the restoration of Russia’s defence potential and the expansion of military and militarytechnical cooperation between the two states”.

Moreover, Shoigu believed that the United States, by accusing Russia of violating the provisions of the INF Treaty, was laying the ground for its own withdrawal on 2 August 2019. “They created armed unmanned aerial vehicles, used medium-range ballistic missiles as target missiles, deployed MK-41 launchers in Europe [which were] originally designed to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles.” The US has claimed that “Russia developed, produced, flight tested, and has now fielded multiple battalions of its noncompliant missile” since the mid-2000s.

Despite his views of the United States, Sergei Shoigu held talks by phone with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, on 9 October. The talks were initiated by the United States but neither parties disclosed details of the talks.

It is beyond doubt that Russia and China have been moving closer together, particularly in terms of joint exercises.

“In July, the first joint air patrol took place in the Asia-Pacific region, during which the pilots of Russia and China worked out their tasks together. Last year, the Chinese military contingent participated in the Vostok manoeuvres, and this year in …strategic command and staff exercises,” stated Shoigu. He also references

10 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

CSTO CONSOLIDATION On 22 November, Sergei Shoigu attended the Fifth Interdepartmental Science Conference held in Moscow, with a focus on information exchange to ensure Russia’s defence. Speaking to its participants, Shoigu emphasised the fact that an information exchange has been established within the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - as well as with the Central Committee of Belarus and Kazakhstan. According the defence minister, over the past five years, the regulatory framework of the system of interagency cooperation has been improved.

“A technological infrastructure has been created that brings together 55 ministries and departments. An effective system of relations with the subjects of the Russian Federation has been built. This is annually confirmed in the course of strategic command and staff exercises in which all regions of the country are involved,” Sergei Shoigu explained.

Watching military units involved in training held at the Mulino range in the Nizhny Novgorod region in 2017.

Commander's Intent

Russian MoD

Sergei Shoigu

He also said that much attention was paid to the implementation of the state armament programme. “Together with concerns and associated corporations, daily monitoring of the implementation of the state defence order is being carried out,” Thanks to this common system, when working with regional authorities, social issues are successfully resolved.

“The need for jobs for family members of military personnel has been significantly reduced, and virtually all those in need have been given places in preschool educational institutions,” Shoigu added.

The Defence Minister said that coordination centres for the work of law enforcement agencies in crisis situations will open in all regions of Russia,. With their help, the Ministry of Defence will inform the regional authorities about the ongoing military-political situation.

THE FUTURE Born on 1955 in the city of Chadan in

Southern Siberia, Sergei Shoigu graduated in construction engineering and by 1990 had become the deputy chairman of the State Committee for Architecture and Construction.

His leadership qualities came to the fore with his reputation as a no-nonsense achiever when he was appointed head of the Emergency Situation Ministry in 1994 and he 2012 Shoigu became the Governor of the Moscow Region. On 6 November 2012, he was appointed Minister of Defence when President Putin ousted his longtime ally Anatoliy Serdyukov.

Fluent in seven languages, Sergei Shoigu has proved to be a steady hand during his tenure in office during which he has overseen Russia’s annexation of Crimea and military operations in Syria.

Sergei Shoigu remains the most popular politician in Russia after Vladimir Putin and it is widely accepted that he is on the shortlist to replace him in 2024.

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 11

Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy (left) with Chief of Staff of the Army General James McConville (right) during a Day 1 briefing at AUSA.

US ARMY MODERNISATION MESSAGES AT AUSA

Every military force needs to modernise, but this is getting harder in the age of information as opposed to the industrial age.

Andrew Drwiega reports from AUSA.

T

he annual Association of the US Army (AUSA) Land Warfare convention was staged in mid-October with the theme: America’s Army: Ready Now, Investing in the Future.

“We are at a point of Great Power competition taking place over a multidomain environment,” stated Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy during his keynote address on the first morning.

Modernisation and increased readiness were the key to not losing the next war, he continued.

Chief of Staff of the Army General James McConville said that the new doctrines and organisations had been the result of the 1980s, including a Big 5 of systems: the Abrams tank, Bradley fighting vehicle, Patriot missile system and the Black Hawk and Apache helicopters. Things were different now, he stated: "We cannot be an industrial army in the information age.”

He added: “We recognise the importance of cyber, electronic warfare and space.

We don’t have all the people right at the moment".

James said that two good years of defence budgets had allowed the Army’s readiness to recover, but stated that a minimum of two more good years was needed. “We have a lot of great initiatives that we need to deliver. This is a continuity on priorities we have been talking about for some time. We must modernise the Army and need the resources to do it.”

VIASAT CONNECTIVITY SURVEY Modernisation, while always desired, is often not that easy to achieve and maintain.

With the civil sector now driving technology development, for the most part ahead of the military, there is building pressure on defence to keep up with the modern technology expectations of its own people.

A study among 300 US servicemen and Department of Defense (DoD) employees has revealed that many believe that they “lack basic levels of connectivity needed to accomplish their objectives.”

Conducted by the Government Business Council (GBC), the research division of Government Executive Media Group, and global communications company Viasat,

12 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

the findings highlight the need for the defence community to keep pace with the civilian sector in terms of innovation.

The challenge to the DoD is substantial - how to roll out technology to such a wide and diverse user group across a relatively short period and to budget.

Some of the keynote findings: - Battlefield connectivity - “46 percent of respondents feel they have the level of connectivity needed to successfully execute their mission objectives.”

- Falling behind new threats - “27 percent believe the DoD’s budget priorities for communications technology allow the US to effectively keep pace with escalating geopolitical threats.”

- Barriers to modernisation - “respondents noted the three biggest challenges facing their organisations’ network modernisation efforts are an inability to keep pace with commercial technology, procurement inefficiencies and limited funding.”

- Emerging cloud-based systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities will be critical to future mission success - “81 percent of respondents agree it’s critical for US military forces to have access to a modernised end-to-end satellite and terrestrial networks to make cloudenabled technologies and the Internet of Battlefield Things a reality across the battlespace.”

ROBOTIC VEHICLES Brian Barr, business development programme manager for Pratt Miller talked about the four Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicles (EMAV) that his company had built, one of which was being Andrew Drwiega

Andrew Drwiega

LAND WARFARE

The Oshkosh / Uvision Joint Light Tactical Vehicle with added punch - a battery of six Hero-120 loitering munitions.

Lockheed Martin Fine refinements make the best better - Lockheed Martin has improved the Apache's sensor turret with modifications to please maintainers.

SLEWING FASTER Through its new Modernised Turret (M-TUR) programme, Lockheed Martin has improved on its existing Modernised Target Acquisition Designation Sight and Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) through an improved modular design.

“We have made significant changes including structural stiffening, improved motors and actuators,” said Tom Eldredge, director of Apache Fire Control programmes at Lockheed Martin Missiles

and Fire Control. “The desired effect that has been achieved is to eliminate the latency in turret operations witnessed in older versions. We have listened to the afteraction reviews of the Army’s pilots and have improved the slew rate,” said Eldredge.

Another modification was made to allow maintainers easier access to the sensor turret. “There is no need to remove the wire strike feature which used to hinder maintainers getting access to subcomponents within the turret. “It Meggitt Training Systems

shown at AUSA. “The market for this type of technology is enormous,” he said of the EMAV. Weighing in at just under 7,000lb (3,175kg), it can carry over its own weight as speeds up to 72kmh (45mph). Using a hybrid-electric powertrain means that the it can have the best of both capabilities; quick up to the forward line and then switch to electric power for the final approach near the line of battle.

Barr said that the EMAV had been entered into the US Army’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) Phase II demonstration and assessment event held from 13-17 May, organised by the Combat Capabilities Development Centre’s Ground Vehicle Systems Center (CCDC GVSC). There were six other participants including Polaris, AM General andQinetiQ North America - all are now awaiting a Request for Proposal (RfP) from the Army. With a low centre of gravity, the EMAV can climb 60 percent grades and 40 percent side slopes.

Meggitt's Stationary Infantry Target with clever miss and hit target indicator device to make range work much more simple.

LAND WARFARE

used to take up to 13 hours and require the swapping out of the line replaceable unit - a job that had to be done off the flight line.

Now the two-level maintenance design allows the replacement of modules on the flight line - some as quickly as 30 minutes.”

Eldredge expects turret reliability to be improved by up to 40 percent and aircraft will stay on the flight line longer instead of having to be removed for component changes.

CHAMELEON LTV Oshkosh’s Mike Ivy, senior vice president, International Programmes stated that the various options for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) fleet were as a result of the company funding its own research and development budget.

However, Oshkosh has partnered with several companies to produce versions for different functions and capabilities.

Joined by L3Harris, the L-ATV C2 has been turned into a command and control centre.

Working with UVision to incorporate its Hero-120 tactical loitering munition. The top mounted launcher can carry up to six systems, each with a 3.5kg warhead and with a loitering flight time up to one hour. An additional JLTV was displayed with Elbit’s Spear, vehicle mounted 120mm soft recoil motor system.

Earlier in September, it had been announced that the US Marine Corps (USMC) was planning to acquire 15,390 JLTVs as direct one-for-one replacements for its legacy HMMWVs fleet.

MISS AND HIT WITH SPEED AND ACCURACY Before AUSA began, Meggitt Training Systems announced that it had won a $48 million contract to supply Aerial Weapons Scoring Systems (AWSS) to the US Army.

During the show it was promoting its Stationary Infantry Target (SIT) with LOMAH (location of miss and hit), The SIT is an adaptable training device that can house a variety of target silhouettes.

However, it is the technology within the LOMAH that has added a new dimension to target shooting. As the company states, it measures “the precise time of a bullet’s supersonic shock wave passing over a ballistically protected microphone sensor array.” This gives not only a precise location of the strike, which is presented to the shooter through a graphical image “on the shooter’s firing point computer.”

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 13

sea power

SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY The introduction of optronics masts on submarines is not only changing the way boats operate at a tactical level but is re-shaping boat and control room lay-outs and practices.

By Dr Lee Willett

14 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

Saab Kockums

sea power

HMS Gotland during sea trials in 2019.

P

roponents of submarine capabilities often argue there is no other naval asset that brings such operational flexibility in one platform. Critics counter this by pointing to the vulnerability of a submarine on the surface, and its relatively small size reducing flexibility to introduce new capabilities or new ways of doing things.

The increasing use of optronics masts onboard today’s generation of new-build and re-fitted submarines is, however, introducing technology that can reduce a submarine’s time on the surface and also provide new options for boat design and lay-out. In the former instance, optronics masts are changing the way a submarine fights at the tactical level. In the latter instance, the simple reduction in the number of hull-penetrating masts running through a submarine provides boat builders and navies alike with more flexibility to consider new lay-out ideas in the boat and in the control room, where they are changing the dynamics of control room operations.

DESIGN OPTIONS One company introducing new boat design and lay-out options as a result of the increased space and flexibility enabled by the use of optronics, rather than hullpenetrating masts is Swedish ship and submarine builder Saab Kockums. Such approaches are evident in the company’s A26 Blekinge-class diesel-electric submarine (SSK) being delivered for the Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN).

While the RSwN is currently focused on Baltic Sea operations, it has established history of deploying its in-service Gotlandclass SSKs at distance, for example to the Mediterranean Sea. Saab Kockums also believes that the A 26 submarines – of which there are three different design variants (termed Pelagic, Oceanic and Oceanic Extended Range) – are capable of worldwide operations.

The A26 is fitted with a Safran Sagem Series 30 non-hull-penetrating optronics mast. The mast has already been retrofitted to two of the RSwN’s in-service Gotland-class SSKs, HSwMS Gotland and HSwMS Halland, when the boats recently underwent a major mid-life upgrade.

The baseline A 26 design demonstrates how an optronics mast fit can enable a fundamentally new approach to a

submarine layout, both in terms of the boat as a whole and the control room itself.

Perhaps the primary difference in overall boat lay-out relates to the control room. The absence of a periscope penetrating the hull from the submarine’s fin (or sail) and passing through the control room on the upper deck down to a well in the boat’s lower deck means the control room itself has been moved to a location that enables it to operate more effectively as a command centre.

Enabled by optronics mast technology being sufficiently mature that it could be introduced instead of a periscope, the RSwN asked Saab Kockums “to investigate the possibility to move the control room so it wouldn’t be a path for passing [through] when you’re going off the boat”, Peter Wielander, Saab Kockum’s A26 combat system programme manager, and a former RSwN submariner, told Armada International.

“When we don’t have a hull-penetrating mast, we get all kinds of opportunities to place the control room wherever it’s suitable, depending on the design of the boats.,” he added.

Onboard the A 26, the control room is located further forward on the upper deck.

Consequently, Wielander explained, “When you enter the control room, you do it out of a purpose: you don’t need to be there if you don’t have an errand there.” The main benefit, he continued, “is that [crew operating in the control room] won’t be disturbed”.

SECOND-ORDER EFFECTS Within the control room itself, both the absence of a hull-penetrating periscope and the control room’s new location have enabled Saab Kockums to see things differently in terms of lay-out.

With no periscope, said Wielander, “You have all the possibilities to place or arrange the consoles [into] different working spaces in the control room.” He pointed out that the absence of a periscope offers opportunities to introduce more radical console lay-outs, such as horseshoe-shaped arrangements – although A26 uses a more traditional approach, with consoles lined up along both sides of the boat.

There are still some limitations in what can be done because of a submarine’s size and shape. However, Wielander stated that “the big difference is that we were able to create a little bit more floorspace

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 15

Saab Kockums

sea power

Interior representation of an A26 submarine control room.

where the commanding officer (CO) or the executive officer (XO) could stand,” and have located this area “in a position where [the CO/XO] has an overall view of the room”. The A26 design also provides for the CO, XO, or officer of the watch a dedicated, reconfigurable, multifunction console.

Re-locating the control room has also created space within it in another way.

“The fact that we were able to place the control room in the forward part of the submarine where no people had to pass, [gave] us an extra wall in front of us,” said Peter Karlsson, Saab Kockums’ head of combat systems and sensors. “If you have [the control room] in the middle of the submarine, you can only put your consoles each side. Now, we’ve got the possibility to put something on the forward wall.”

Moving the control room away from below the fin/sail has also allowed Saab Kockums to re-organise the positioning of some other systems in the boat, thus improving operational effectiveness.

“Getting this extra space to be utilised for the equipment is very valuable,” said Karlsson. “Now we don’t have the control room under the fin, we have … the possibility to put some more of the electronics a little bit closer to the fin and to the masts …. Important systems whose performance is dependent on, for example cable length”, such as electronic support measures systems. “If you have

shorter cable lengths, you will gain performance,” Karlsson added. Noting also that the absence on the boat’s lower floor of a periscope and a well to house it gives personnel greater freedom of movement in that part of the boat, Karlsson said “If you can have less fixed points, less ‘musts’, you get to optimise the benefits.”

Upgraded capability The Royal Netherlands Navy’s (RNLN) four Walrus boats are currently undergoing a major upgrade programme called the Instandhoudingsprogramma Walrusklasse (IP-W). Second-in-class HNLMS Zeeleeuw led the process and completed work in 2015. Boat three HNLMS Dolfijn underwent upgrade between 2015 and 2019. Work is currently in progress on fourth-in-class HNLMS Bruinvis, with the boat due to return to operations around 2021. IP-W for first-in-class HNLMS Walrus is planned to begin in 2022.

Amongst an extensive range of modifications designed to extend service life and improve operational relevance, the existing navigation periscope is being replaced with an L3 KEO Model 86 (mod) optronics mast. The boats’ Pilkington Optronics CH74 attack periscope remains.

During a visit onboard Dolfijn and Zeeleeuw in Den Helder, personnel explained to Armada the benefits for

16 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

control room layout and operation enabled by the installation of the optronics mast to support the navigation function. The mast is controlled using the Netherlandsdesigned CAMS/Force Vision Guardion combat management system (CMS). The CMS console is located in the forward part of the control room.

Having a console-based set-up to act on information brought in via the mast helps give the officer of the watch more time to bring in input from other sensors. “Now you can focus on all the … sensors,” one officer said, adding that the combination of the optronics mast and the CMS console provides “more time for better decisions.”

Moreover, the ability to use the CMS to record and replay what is observed via the optronics mast means a ‘snapshot’ via a full 360-degree sweep of the surface and air picture can be taken, before the boat can dive to a more secure depth and the crew (including information operations personnel) has more time to assess the information picked up. This, it is argued, can help provide an improved tactical solution, compared to previous ways of operating. Here, the CMS will also integrate and classify all the relevant information

Safran Electronics & Defense shows its range of submarine masts at Euronaval 2016 including its Series 30 Search and Attack Optronic masts.

Safran

from all the data streams, including radar, sonar, and electro-magnetic systems.

Among its range of capabilities, the mast is fitted with an imaging infra-red (IIR) system, enabling operations at night. The image quality gained via the night-time IIR capability is very similar to the quality of day-time imagery. This means the boat has a more complete IIR picture and can classify targets even at night.

The optronics mast was seen by personnel on the boats as adding more tactical flexibility, including adding greater day and night range out to the visual horizon, so that the boat does not need to go in so close to shore or to targets of observation, which also serves to reduce the detection risk.

The optronics mast/CMS combination also enables the boat’s CO/XO/officer of the watch to stand back and have an improved overview of all the activities going on and information coming in across the control room.

The addition of an optronics mast, its management through the CMS, and the integration of its information with that of other sensors mean that control room operations effectively appear less

Saab Kockums

sea power

Comparison chart indicating the change in department locations onboard a Gotland class submarine and an A26 using optronic masts.

dominated by the physical presence of periscopes; instead, focus falls upon maximising the operational benefit of the combined information provided by the mast and other sensors. “More and more, we are using [the mast] as just one other sensor,” Captain Herman de Groot, head of the RNLN submarine service, told Armada.

The decision to treat the mast as just another sensor also drove the decision to have an able seaman, rather than an officer, control the system, Capt de Groot added.

With common consoles across the control room able to show whatever information is requested and with repeater screens available, the CO/XO/officer of the watch use the screens around them to look at the information coming from the mast.

Indeed, as fitted first to Zeeleeuw, the CO/XO/officer of the watch area has its own console, consisting of a couple of screens. Consequently, from the command perspective, “if you want information, or if you want to think about information, you don’t need to look over an operator’s shoulder any more, to look at his screen,” said Capt de Groot. “[This] allows the operator to keep doing his job whilst command can look at the compiled data and base decisions on that.” “Now, [as CO], you can access the information you want and if you have questions it is desired interaction with the operator … instead of working from the same screen doing two completely

different processes.” “I think that is a big change.”

MORE TIME An overall benefit of installing the new mast/CMS package onboard the boats is the creation of a more complete picture and more time, with both enabling better decision-making. The basic implication is that individuals and the crew as a whole have more time to think about the more difficult operational situations and thus do more to put the boat to better operational use.

Alongside improving operational decision-making, such added time offers training benefit too, with the crew able to see that all procedures are being observed as required in a particular circumstance.

As demonstrated in the new package, the Walrus boats now have a combination of new sensors, new ways of manning them, and new ways of thinking about how to use them.

“This system actually allows us to be much more effective, and the way the procedures have now developed handin-hand with the complement is all about making use of everything those new sensors [provide],” concluded Capt de Groot. As a result, “the situational awareness that is now handed to command is on a completely different planet.”

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 17

Dassault Aviation

air Power

Artist's impression of Dassault Aviation's Next Generation Fighter.

ONE FIGHTER FOR EUROPE OR TWO?

With the European Future Combat Air System taking shape, not all those involved have ‘closed the door’ to further players.

W

By Jon Lake

ith Europe having launched two conceptually similar major future combat air systems in recent years, many see the scope for a consolidation of the programmes, although bringing together some of the partners would be difficult, and would require a hitherto unknown degree of compromise and common sense.

But none of the nations committed to either programme can afford to proceed alone, and there is a growing realisation that Europe may not be able to support two competing programmes even as collaborative ventures. As strains between France and Germany start to emerge, Armada examines the Franco-German led FCAS project During the Cold War, Europe’s air force requirements were big enough and defence spending was high enough to support several major aircraft programmes simultaneously. Even in the 1960s, many European combat aircraft programmes

were collaborative ventures between pairs or small groups of countries – typified by the Anglo-French SEPECAT (Société Européenne de Production de l›Avion d›École de Combat et d›Appui Tactique) Jaguar fighter-bomber and the Franco-German Transall (Transporter Allianz) C-160 transport, although national programmes remained relatively commonplace.

Increasingly, nations banded together in ever wider multi-national partnerships to produce new aircraft and weapons systems.

The Panavia Tornado was the result of what became a tri-national consortium (comprising Britain, Germany and Italy), whose joint requirements totalled 842 aircraft. Although exports eventually lifted the production total to 962 the programme originally had six partners (the Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada subsequently left the project), with a combined requirement of 1,500 aircraft. And European requirements were sufficient to support a number of other programmes

18 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

at the same time, including the Swedish Saab System 37 Viggen (329 built), the French Mirage 2000 (315 for France of a 548 aircraft total), and the Italian-Brazilian AMX (200 built). Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway became European Participation Air Forces (EPAF) in the US F-16 programme, signing up for a combined total of 348 aircraft!

But by the end of the Cold War, NATO force structures had shrunk significantly, and individual force requirements became progressively less likely to be sufficient to support national programmes, especially as the complexity and price of new military aircraft continued to rise. The Eurofighter Typhoon programme was launched with a 765 aircraft requirement from four partner nations (the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain), though these four nations subsequently ordered only 620 aircraft, and then reduced the total to 472, though exports have boosted the tally back up to 623 aircraft so far. At the same time, Saab built 237 first generation Gripens (and is building 106 Gripen E/Fs), while France had a requirement for 310 Rafales (subsequently reduced to 212, and then 180), with exports bringing the order book to 276.

Future defence budgets are unlikely to grow in real terms, and with the cost of combat aircraft ballooning as they become more sophisticated, embodying increasingly exotic technologies, they will be procured in even smaller numbers. Saab have made great efforts to try to ‘break the cost curve’, especially by using smarter, model-based manufacturing techniques, and there is some sign that the two new European collaborative combat aircraft programmes are trying to do the same thing, in part by migrating some capabilities to other platforms and to a whole range of new classes of expendable or attritable ‘remote carrier’ or ‘loyal wingman’ UAVs. Indeed both programmes aim to develop a ‘system of systems’ rather than simply producing a new manned combat aircraft type.

FCAS BEGINS The first manned of the two European future combat air programmes was the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) (known as SCAF in French (Système de Combat Aérien Futur).

This project began in July 2017 when a German-French Council of Ministers agreed to jointly develop a future fighter

Airbus

air Power

Airbus and Dassault Aviation sealed their collaboration over the development and production of Europe’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS) at ILA Berlin in 2018 (from left to right): Éric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, and Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space.

central New-Generation Fighter project, acting as the project’s system architect and integrator, with Airbus as the junior partner. Airbus will be responsible for the FCAS, integrating the NGWS with other connected aviation and space assets.

Dassault insiders have long argued that the company’s ‘pedigree’ in fighter design makes it the natural and obvious choice to lead collaborative fighter programmes.

The refusal of other partners to cede such leadership to Dassault was one of the factors that led to the French withdrawal from the Eurofighter programme, to ‘go it alone’ on Rafale.

In return for ceding leadership on NGWS and NGF, Germany will be allowed to lead Airbus

aircraft to replace existing fighters. This led to France and Germany signing a High Level Common Operational Requirements Document (HLCORD) for FCAS at the Berlin air show in April 2018. This outlined an FCAS system of systems that includes a Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS), which in turn incorporates a manned Next Generation Fighter (NGF), and unmanned ‘loyal wingmen’ known as Remote Carriers (RCs).

Dassault Aviation and Airbus Defence and Space signed a parallel agreement, at the same air show, committing the two companies to co-operating in the development of the new system and to draw up an FCAS roadmap. France and Germany formally launched the FCAS project in June 2018 and Spain finally joined the FCAS programme a year later, in June 2019.

Dassault and Airbus were awarded a $71.5 million (€65 million) contract to develop the concept for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) in January 2019. This Joint Concept Study contract was awarded by France’s defence procurement agency, the DGA, acting on behalf of both governments.

The Joint Concept Study funded work to assess operational and technical viability, and to evaluate the feasibility of the baseline concepts. It identified requirements for technical demonstrators and technology needs Dassault and Airbus D&S are officially designated as equal industrial prime partners within the FCAS/NGWS project, though Dassault will lead the NGWS and the

the European MALE UAV project (which will form part of FCAS) and the Maritime Patrol Systems 2030 project (with Airbus as industry lead in both cases) as well as the bilateral Franco-German Future Ground Combat System (with Rheinmetall or KNDS as industry lead), which will eventually produce a replacement for Germany’s Leopard 2 and France’s Leclerc main battle tanks.

FCAS is also expected to incorporate Airbus’ Manned Unmanned Teaming (MUT) technology, while the company’s recent unveiling of its long-running LOUT (Low Observable Unmanned Testbed) demonstrator has been taken to be an attempt to claim a bigger share in the unmanned Remote Carrier work within FCAS – something that Dassault may have felt was ‘in the bag’ thanks to the expertise it has demonstrated with the nEUROn UCAV project.

Safran will lead engine design and integration and will be responsible for the combustor, high-pressure turbine and afterburner, while MTU will be responsible for the low-pressure and high-pressure compressors and low-pressure turbine, and will lead aftermarket activities for the engine.

Spain’s role in the FCAS programme has not been revealed officially, but in September 2019 the Spanish government named electronics company Indra as the coordinating contractor for the Spanish share of the Franco-German-led FCAS project, rather than Airbus.

In mid-2019, Dassault Aviation and Airbus delivered a joint proposal to the

Future Combat Air System as imagined through an Airbus infographic.

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 19

Dassault Aviation

air Power

Dassault and Airbus FCAS 6th Generation Fighter Mockup at the Paris Airshow during the summer.

French and German governments for the first Demonstrator Phase and full-scale models of the New-Generation Fighter and Remote Carriers were revealed at the Paris Air Show.

Major General Jean-Pascal Breton, French programme lead FCAS/SCAF, said that the programme would lead to the first flight of a demonstrator in around 2025 with entry into service in around 2040.

NGF NOT ALONE The FCAS/SCAF system, which is expected to achieve full operational capability by 2040, was always intended to have a manned stealth fighter/attack aircraft, designated as the New Generation Fighter (NGF) at its heart. But this ‘heart’ forms merely one element within an interconnected system of systems that would also include swarming drones, cruise missiles, and smart weapons, all linked to a network of off-board sensors and C2 systems (including spacebased systems and even cyber warfare capabilities) operating seamlessly within an overall ‘combat cloud’.

The final design and configuration of the NGF manned fighter element has not been decided, and Major General Jean-Pascal Breton, French FCAS/SCAF programme lead, has said that three single- and twinseat NGF concepts and ten Remote Carrier concepts are being looked at, with different roles and capabilities.

There have been some differences between concepts shown by Airbus and those offered by Dassault, perhaps reflecting fundamental differences in national requirements. Airbus artists’ impressions have tended to show an aircraft

reminiscent of a stretched F-22, often with a cranked Delta wing (but sometimes with conventional horizontal stabilisers, especially early on in the programme), and with twin tail-fins and a long canopy that could enclose tandem cockpits. Dassault’s concepts have tended to be finless, initially with no horizontal stabilisers, and more recently with a shallow, flat, ‘butterfly tail’.

Airbus have given some details of features that they expect to be incorporated in the NGF, which will be: “a manned (and) optionally manned platform,” using new long-range and hypersonic missiles.

Airbus have also said that there will be a naval version. But some aspects are as yet undefined. “We will have to define the fine adjustments in terms of manoeuvrability, stealth, sensors, engine, etc.” On the French side, Dassault chief executive Eric Trappier has said that NGF: “will potentially be larger than the Rafale so it will have better range”, and has also confirmed that the new aircraft will also be capable of operating from aircraft carriers.

Though initially seen as a replacement for French Dassault Rafales, and for German and Spanish Eurofighters and F/A-18 Hornets, the overall FCAS system is increasingly being seen as something that advanced new versions of the Rafale and Eurofighter will operate with. These new variants will include improved Eurofighters developed under the so-called Long Term Evolution, AESA-equipped aircraft delivered to the Luftwaffe under the Tranche 2/3 retrofit and Quadriga projects, and perhaps the Eurofighter ECR, if selected to replace Luftwaffe Tornados.

They will also include the new Rafale F4

20 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

standard (due to enter service between 2023 and 2026) and the Rafale F5 (2030-2040) and, perhaps a Rafale F6 standard after that.

Some technologies developed for these advanced Rafale and Eurofighter variants will find their way into FCAS, while some key systems and capabilities being developed for FCAS will see their initial application in these existing aircraft.

RIVALS MERGING? Cracks are already appearing in the FrancoGerman project. Senior figures at Airbus have held open the prospect of merging the FCAS programme with the rival Anglo-Swedish and Italian Team Tempest project, and have expressed a willingness to cede workshare and even some design leadership in some areas. This would surely be a necessary pre-condition to tempt the new partners, but would be an anathema to France. Airbus has stated that: “Germany and France’s commitment is not enough.

FCAS should be and is a European project that transcends national borders…..” and that “cooperation must be seen in a European context beyond the initiative launched by France and Germany.”

Seeing FCAS as an important integrator towards a larger common, united European defence and security programme, Airbus has explicitly suggested bringing in countries such as Italy, Sweden, Belgium and even Britain – once the Brexit dust has settled.

But Eric Trappier, Dassault chief executive, has cautioned against widening the programme, which he characterised as “complicating” the project, and has rejected German suggestions of a wider grouping.

“We need to organise the job in the same way as if we were one country or company. You need a leader in terms of states: you cannot have three, four or five countries in front of industry – it doesn’t work. And you need a prime… in order to be sure that you are mastering the programme.”

The French side believes that a smaller team is more flexible and effective, and would allow the programme to “challenge the Americans.”

“If we are working together in a big team of co-operation, I don’t feel that this is going to be effective. I don’t want to start again something which would look like the Eurofighter consortium,” he said.

Trappier also flatly rejected the idea of allowing any other partners in before the first demonstrator flight.

LAND AND AIRLAND DEFENCE AND SECURITY EXHIBITION

08-12 JUNE 2020 / PARIS THE UNMISSABLE

WORLDWIDE

EXHIBITION 1,802

exhibitors

+14,7%

from 63 countries 65,9% of international

65 startups at Eurosatory LAB

98,721

Total attendance (exhibitors, visitors, press, organisers)

227 Official delegations from 94 countries and 4 organisations (representing 760 delegates)

696

journalists

from 44 countries

75 Conferences 2 102 Business meetings made 2018 key figures

LAND WARFARE

IVECO

The IVECO Defense LMV was designed with growth and the incorporation of new technology in mind. It is fielded with Italian forces as well as 16 other militaries.

LIGHT YET INDISPENSABLE Today’s successors to the World War II Jeep has not lost its utility value, and is looking to experience a new unmanned lease of life.

T

he importance of the role played by light tactical utility vehicles (LTUV) in military operations is reflected in US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s comment about one of the most successful models of such vehicles, the Truck, ​quarter-tonne, 4×4, command reconnaissance, commonly known as the Jeep. He called it one of three decisive weapons the US had during WWII. In fact, this class of tactical vehicle had been both the most numerous, and the one called upon to perform the widest range of different tasks than any other vehicle platform.

The designs that constituted this class have, however, over the last several decades in some armies grown in size, complexity and price to where they would have previously had been considered more a light truck.

This could be considered the case with the highly successful AM General HMMWV which in fact was intended to replace not only the quarter ton but also a number of other light vehicles up to and including even a one and a half ton 6x6. The JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle), a replacement for

By Stephen W. Miller HMMWV, with a gross weight of over 10 tonnes (10,000kg) takes this trend even further. At this point these lose the attributes ideal for many general utility roles.

The result has been the loss of a simple vehicle like the Jeep that can take on a variety of common day-to-day tasks.

These range from providing transport for the conduct of routine tasks such as delivering mail or parts to repair broken equipment, to simply taking a soldier or commander from one place to another.

Many of these tasks are equally common in garrison and training as they are on the battlefield. Yet they also can be an ideal platform for specific roles that require a compact, reliable but relatively low payload vehicle, such as its use as a platform for radios and communications equipment.

This versatility is one of the key traits of the earlier LUTV. Interestingly, although there are few major acquisition programmes that specifically require a light tactical utility vehicle, there are a number of ‘light vehicle’ initiatives related to specific applications.

These include those for helicopter

22 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

transport, special operations, as well as airborne and light forces.

MODULAR LTV The concept of designing a LTV that can be readily adapted to various configurations from a common baseline has been successfully pursued by Iveco Defence in its LMV Light Multirole Vehicle. Company literature states: “The LMV is now in the fourth generation. The intent has always been to offer a design that is adaptable to general purpose uses but allows growth to more complex missions.” This has been facilitated by the offering of both a standard cab short wheelbase model and LMV2 with 40 percent increased of payload to about 1.5 tonnes and a 220hp engine. It is also provided with two and four passenger capacity and with rear cargo bed or enclosed box. The full digitalisation of the latest LMV provides on demand maintenance based data allowing prognostics maintenance and repair.

The Russian Federation has been using the GAZ UAZ-469 since 1971 as their ‘Jeep’ equivalent. It is known for its simplicity,

AutoCart GAZ’s UAZ-469 is a straight forward and reliable design that has been in production since the 1970s.

ruggedness and ease of repair. It has been up-engined and improved with the latest called the UAZ Hunter Tigr. More known for its armoured model, it is more widely found as an unarmoured SUV in two and three-door versions and as a pick-up truck.

The design has been adopted by the Peoples Republic of China, assembled in eight countries including Vietnam and is used in 50 countries.

The Republic of Korea’s Kia Motors offers it’s KM450, a 5.5 tonne (5,650kg) light truck with 2.5 tonne (2,500kg) payload that is provided in cargo, shelter, shop and ambulance versions. It is designed to be rugged and reliable with 139hp diesel engine, five speed manual transmissions and two speed transfer case. It is also used as a prime mover for the Korean Army 105mm towed howitzer.

Looking remarkably similar to the old Jeep, the Mitsubishi Type 73 half tonne light truck has originally based on the Jeep CJ-3Bs built under license. It is widely used by the Japanese Self Defence Forces and the Philippines. The latest Shin version uses the frame of the Mitsubishi commercial Pajero with water cooled 123hp diesel engine and automatic transmission. It is offered with a soft top, has fold down rear troop seats and has air conditioning as standard.

Another renowned light utility truck is the Sherpa series from Renault. It is also offered by Mack for the Pacific market and produced by Pindad in Indonesia. Versions are offered include basic with 2.5 (2,500kg) and 3.5 tonne (3,500kg) capacity and a long bed model that can carry 10 passengers.

They are noted for their ruggedness and reliability and are in service with 11 countries.

COMMERCIAL ADOPTIONS For many armies the answer for light utility vehicles is to simply utilise commercially available models. One of the most popular is the Toyota Land Cruiser Model 70 series.

Offered in either a two-door or four pickup bodies, or a two-door station wagon body it is versatile and relatively inexpensive. They are also easy to maintain and repair with it even possible to use local or dealer service.

Powered by a 4.2 litre 170hp diesel engine coupled to an automatic transmission Land Cruisers are easy to drive. With a payload of around less than one tonne (800kg) and 4x4 drives, they are able to operate both on and off-road and thus perform a wide range of tasks. In addition to their use by regular military forces like the Japanese Self Defence Force (JSDF) the Toyota has been widely adopted by irregulars and Third World forces. These have been often armed with machine guns and referred to as ‘technicals’.

One of the legendary light tactical utility models has been the Land Rover which was for decades used by British and Commonwealth military forces. Now owned by India’s Tatra Motors, the latest Wolf model is based on the Defender series which also remain in wide military use.

Wolf has a number of improvements and is offered in a 90 ‘Light’ and 110 ‘Medium’ versions. It has adopted by the British and Dutch Royal Marines, as well as into commercial use. The adaptability of the Wolf is illustrated by the over 90 different mission versions that have been fielded including waterproof models that can ford, maintenance team/shop, radio, and ambulances varieties.

Another dual commercial/military

LAND WARFARE

light vehicle is the Mercedes-Benz G-Class ‘Gelandewagen’ which has had one of longest continuous production runs of over forty years. It is offered in two and four door as well as van versions as well as custom puck-up models. Versions are in service with over forty world militaries including Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Yet another approach that has been taken by some militaries has been to utilise All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). This initially started with acquiring off-theshelf models which proved so successful that manufacturers like Polaris took the initiative and began to identify and offer features and capabilities specifically for military operations. Doug Malikoski director International Business Development at Polaris Defence told Armada: “Our MRZR D2, which is offered in two and four seat versions, has a half tonne (455kg) payload and is equipped with a Polaris ProStar 900 4-Stroke DOHC Twin Cylinder 875cc, diesel engine providing 88hp. This coupled with Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) and heavy duty suspension has made it ideally suited for military support missions.” The MRZR are less costly to buy and to operate than larger military designed tactical vehicles yet are capable of performing all of the general tasks typical of LTUVs. Added advantages of the Polaris are that it can be transported by air, including helicopters. It is a worthy successor to the Jeep despite its different lineage. Where larger loads or more soldiers need to be carried Polaris offers its DAGOR which can carry nine personnel and has 1.8 tonne (1,800kg) payload.

A somewhat unexpected utility vehicle from the commercial world that has proved itself in military service is the John Deere M-Gator. With four and six-wheeled models and an impressive half tonne onboard payload plus up to nearly one tonne towing it has proved ideal for local tasks. Its latest M-Gator A3-T, Aviation Light Utility Mobile Maintenance Cart (ALUMMC) is optimised for forward airfield support.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES The light utility role lends itself to the application of some of the new technologies being developed and matured. One such technology is hybrid power that has been pursued since 1999 with Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Defence Advanced

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 23

Autonomous vehicles, like Rheinmetall’s Mission Master, have demonstrated promise in filling a range of utility roles.

(150 mile) range with recharging possible using an optional solar collector. Although the current demonstrator is designed for reconnaissance it could be readily configured to carry loads.

ROBOTIC UTILITY It has been recognised that many of the tasks performed by light utility vehicles could be performed without a human driver.

The idea of robotic and autonomous utility vehicles is being actively pursued both by industry and militaries. Rheinmetall’s Mission Master unmanned multi-mission vehicle is based on technology from the Canadian firm Provectus which it acquired in July 2019. It uses the Ontario Drive Gear (ODG)’s 8×8 Argo all-terrain platform to Agrale

Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contracts to General Dynamics Land Systems for the Shadow 4x4 vehicle. It used a hybrid-electric drive based on a turbocharged, direct injection diesel engine supplied by Detroit Diesel and rated at 114kW. The engine powers an 110kW Magnet Motors permanent magnet generator that drives four 50kW Magnet Motors hub motors on each wheel hub. Although initiated as a reconnaissance vehicle the benefits of a utility version were quickly recognised. Eliminating the mechanical drive train alone increased the interior storage space within the same overall vehicle size. Alternately it permitted a smaller vehicle that might fit inside a V-22 Osprey with the same payload. An additional benefit is the reduced fuel required to operate the hybrid.

The US company Nikola Defence has refined the approach in its Reckless vehicle which has been demonstrated to the US Marines and Special Operations forces.

Andrew Christian vice president at Nikola explained that “reckless is a military version of its NZT off-road utility vehicle, all-electric powered vehicle. Powered by 400VAC electric motors that provide 555hp the vehicle has a payload of over half a tonne (635kg), will tow 1.3 tonnes (1,361kg) and can carry four soldiers.” At nearly four metres long and 1.57m wide it is compact while it’s less than two tonne (2,000kg) weight allows easy helicopter transportation. Its battery set offers 242km

Stephen W Miller

LAND WARFARE

Militaries often seek to encourage and acquire Light Utility Vehicles that are developed or at least manufactured within their own country. Brazil’s Agrale is not only providing its Marrua to its own military but has found an export market as well.

24 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

can carry a half tonne (600kg) payload across rough terrain and even swim with a reduced load. It incorporates navigation and onboard controls allowing remote control or programming to autonomously travel a route to a distant location. It can make its delivery and return or be reprogrammed for a new task.

The US Army Small Unit Multi-purpose Equipment Transport office is pursuing a similar requirement. It is currently completing evaluation of candidates from Textron/Howe & Howe, General Dynamics, HDT and Polaris. A down-select to a production contract is expected in late 2019. The approach taken by Polaris is particularly interesting in that it uses its MRZR as the mobility platform while adding to it the remote and autonomous control capabilities. The resulting vehicle is therefore able to be driven as a manned utility vehicle as well as operate autonomously when this is preferable.

According to Army project officials, “all candidates are able to carry nearly half a tonne (454kg), travel 96 km (60 miles) in 72 hours, and charge up at a 3kW rate while stationary and a 1kW rate while moving”. This later requirement to provide exportable electric power is increasingly being viewed as a highly desirable feature for light utility vehicles.

Light utility vehicles fill basic but essential roles units. A case can be made that in expanding their use into combat tasks, such as combat patrols in Iraq, for which they were not intended has lead to fielding vehicles that are much more expensive and actually less suited for the principle utility tasks that need to be performed.

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

reluctance, which inhibits the movement of magnetic fields and is analogous to resistance in electric circuits.

While electric motors and generators are far simpler mechanically than internal combustion engines, there are subtleties in their electrical and magnetic characteristics and the way they are controlled that have significant impact on the applications to which different types are best suited.

A major divide in the technology is between Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC) motors, their internal arrangements dictating the kind of power supply they need.

Collins Aerospace supplies key systems for the Lockheed Martin F35 Joint Strike Fighter described as the most electric combat plane flying.

DEEP DIVE INTO ELECTRIC MOTORS Electric motors - technology analysis and future potential.

W

By Peter Donaldson

hether they move on land, on or under water or through the air, military vehicles are already highly electrified when it comes to onboard equipment that moves gun turrets and ammunition feed systems, sensor pods, missile launchers, radars, control surfaces on UAVs, cargo and rescue winches, linear actuators on UGV robotic arms and so on. Many subsystems rely on electric motors and related generators, batteries and power conditioning electronics. The most demanding applications for electric motors, however, are in propulsion of large ground vehicles and, even more so, aircraft.

Because weight and bulk are more critical for aircraft than for any other area of engineering, with the likely exception of spacecraft, successful development of electrically propelled aircraft with useful range and endurance is certain to generate spin-offs that benefit many other areas, particularly ground vehicles where power density and high performance are crucial. The drive towards electrification in mass market civilian ground vehicles, particularly in private cars and commercial

vehicles, adds a focus on cost reduction that will also spread benefits to the military market. With their different emphases, these two markets look set to generate synergies capable of creating cost-effective high-performance electric drive systems with applications in many other areas.

The technology of the motors themselves is improving rapidly, and this article will focus on these advances along with critical supporting technologies such as inverters and the shift to higher voltages to enable transmission of greater power while minimising the weight and bulk of wiring, all of which are critical in Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) constrained vehicles.

ELECTROMAGNETIC MACHINES All electrical machines – motors and generators for the purposes of this article, but there are several other categories – exploit the interaction of magnetic fields to convert electric current into mechanical motion, or mechanical motion into electric current. In most cases the exact same machines can serve both functions. All rely on coils of wire wound around, but electrically insulated from, metal cores built up of laminations to reduce their

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AC/DC In a DC motor, current is fed to windings on the rotor and the induced magnetic fields interact with those of the permanent magnets in the stator. To produce continuous rotation, the direction of the current has to be reversed for each winding every half turn of the rotor, which is achieved with a commutator and carbon contact brushes or in ‘brushless’ motors with a solid-state electronic commutator, so even DC motors use AC eventually. The motor’s speed is controlled by varying the current through the rotor windings.

In an AC motor, the current is fed to the windings in the stator, and the motor’s speed is controlled by varying the frequency with which the the current changes direction.

With modern solid-state power conditioning electronics to control them, AC and DC motors can be used in both AC and DC electrical systems. This means that systems designers can select the motors that best suit individual applications in terms of power output, duty cycle, speed and speed range, weight, size and shape, cooling requirements, cost and maintenance considerations.

PERMANENT MAGNET V INDUCTION MOTORS Another important divide in the technology is between Permanent Magnet (PM) machines and induction machines. In a typical PM motor, a set of magnets is mounted on the rotor shaft in the centre of the motor. These magnets are arranged so that every pole has an opposite pole on either side and they are surrounded by the stator with its set of field coils. When current flows through these coils, each creates its own magnetic field that is out of

UK Govt

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

According to the UK's Ministry of Defence, the 65,000-ton QE class warships, with their advanced propulsion system, are expected to consume no more fuel during typical routine operations than the much smaller (22,000 ton) predecessor CVS class carriers.

line with the fields of the nearest magnets on the rotor, which creates a force of attraction to one and repulsion from the other. An Alternating Current (AC) supply changes the direction of the current in the stator coils, causing the magnetic field to rotate and using the magnetic repulsion and attraction forces to spin the rotor at the same speed as the magnetic field. Because the rotor and magnetic field turn at the same speed, PM motors (and generators) are described as synchronous machines. Speed and direction of rotation are controlled by the switching frequency.

Modern PM electrical machines are highly efficient because they use magnets made from rare earth materials, such as neodymium. As China dominates the world’s supply of such materials and market prices are volatile, the industry is looking for alternatives, one of which is greater use of induction motors that don’t need permanent magnets.

In an induction motor, AC switching of the stator coils creates a rotating magnetic field, which induces a current in conductive bars built into the rotor, which in turn creates a magnetic field that interacts with that of the stator. Induction of this current requires relative motion between the rotor and the magnetic field generated by the stator coils, which in practice means that the rotor always spins more slowly than the field, making induction motors asynchronous machines.

The stators of Permanent Magnet AC (PMAC) and AC induction motors are similar, but their rotors and controllers are different. In both, the current

switching frequency is controlled by an inverter, a solid-state device made with semiconductors such as silicon and, lately, silicon carbide to handle high power levels. Modern inverters are controlled by computers, making them digital controllers, and the main differences between those used in PM and induction motors lie in the software code.

PMAC machines run cooler than induction machines because their resistance losses are lower. They also tend to be smaller for given power output and more efficient, in part because they only have to power electromagnets in the stator. PMAC motors can also outperform induction motors in applications that feature large and frequent changes in speed, as they accelerate quickly thanks to relatively low inductance coupled with moderate weakening of the magnetic field, according to Jay W. Schultz and Steve Huard of Parker Hannifin’s Automation Group, who compared PMAC and AC induction motors for hybrid vehicle use in a 2013 paper.

However, the field strength of permanent magnets is not adjustable.

Ideally the magnetic field would be adjustable so it could be set to maximum when maximum torque is needed so that inverter and motor currents can be kept to a minimum to reduce resistance losses, but when torque demand is lower the field could be turned down to avoid other losses due to eddy currents and hysteresis. Smart control algorithms could optimise the setting to keep the sum of all three losses as small as possible Induction machines have

electromagnets instead, and magnetic field strength is proportional to the ratio of voltage to frequency (V/f or V/Hz), a parameter that the inverter can control.

Therefore, an induction motors with smart inverters have an advantage over a PM machine in some high-performance applications, as electric vehicle expert Wally E. Rippel explained.

“As machine size grows, the magnetic losses increase proportionately and part load efficiency drops. With induction, as machine size grows, losses do not necessarily grow. Thus, induction drives may be the favoured approach where highperformance is desired; peak efficiency will be a little less, but average efficiency may actually be better.”

Induction motors with rotors cast from copper, instead of aluminium for example, reduce electrical losses, allowing construction of smaller, more efficient motors that can rival the Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) motors in ground vehicle propulsion applications. Copper Rotor Motors (CRMs) have been used in the hybrid version of Oshkosh Defense’ HEMTT A3 tactical off-road truck as part of the ProPulse hybrid drive system.

Among the largest electrical machines used in military applications are the Advanced Induction Motors (AIMs) from GE Power Conversion that turn the shafts of the UK Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers and the new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. The four AIMs that power the carriers put out 20MW apiece, each motor controlled by its own VDM25000 converter.

The converters draw alternating current from four 11kV switchboards supplied by six generators, also from GE Power conversion, four driven by Rolls Royce Wärtsila diesels and two by RRMT30 gas turbines, the whole forming an Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) system.

SWITCHED RELUCTANCE MOTORS A third important category of AC machine works by exploiting the fact that interacting magnetic fields tend to adopt relative positions that minimise reluctance, the force that resists the movement of a magnetic field through an area, also known as magnetic flux.

The rotor consists of laminated steel, for example, with multiple projections that form magnetic poles without the need for permanent magnets or coils, while the stator has coils that form poles when

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 27

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Project 804 is a hybrid-electric X-Plane, from United Technologies Advanced Projects.

energised. Rotor and stator always have different numbers of poles to ensure that there is no position in which all the poles line up, four and six and eight and five being typical examples.

When a stator pole is half way between two adjacent rotor poles, their relative positions maximise magnetic reluctance.

When two or more rotor poles fully lined up with two or more stator poles, that minimises reluctance. When a stator pole is switched on, the interaction creates a force that causes the rotor to turn in the direction that reduces reluctance. Switching the coils on and off in the correct sequence spins the rotor, the switching frequency controlling the speed. Electrical machines that work this way are known as Switched Reluctance Motors (SRMs).

Their principal advantages include high power density, good efficiency over a wide range of loads, high torque and speed capabilities, an exceptional ability to maintain constant power over a wide speed range, simple robust construction leading to high reliability and a long service life.

In the negative column are slightly less peak efficiency than PM motors, and torque ripple, a periodic change in torque output as the motor spins, which can lead to high vibration and acoustic noise. An SRM also needs a Variable Speed Drive (VSD) in the form of an inverter to switch the stator coils on and off in the correct sequence at the right frequency and voltage to control its speed and torque output.

AXIAL V RADIAL FLUX Another important divide in motor design is in the way the magnetic flux moves, which affects shape as well as performance. In

axial flux motors, the magnetic flux moves parallel to the output shaft, while in radial flux motors it moves at 90 degrees to the shaft, from the centre to the perimeter and back.

The former can be made with flat proportions that often lead them to be called pancake motors, while the latter tend to be long, narrow cylinders.

All of these motor types have been around for decades, some for more than a century, but progress in engineering and materials and in the understanding of the underlying physics have brought major advances in recent years. “It was only earlier this century that the power and energy densities of various electrical systems, such as batteries, motors, generators, and power electronics, became truly competitive against other energy storage systems for size and weight-sensitive applications,” wrote Jean Thomassin and Greg Winn from United Technologies in a March 2019 paper on aircraft electrification, in which they also acknowledged recent progress in the technology made elsewhere.

“Over the last two decades or so, the automotive industry has experimented with hybrid-electric and fully-electric architectures for vehicle propulsion.

Today, the base technology has advanced to a degree such that we can credibly discuss hybrid-electric and fully-electric propulsion for aviation.”

AEROSPACE ADVANCES Stan Kottke, vice president of Electric Power Systems for Collins Aerospace, a division of UTC, provided Armada with his perspective on the scope of aircraft electrification efforts at the company and their wider applicability in defence.

Today, Collins Aerospace provides what it describes as the world’s largest flying micro grid in the form of the power management and distribution system for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which uses six of the company’s generators, as well as supplying key systems for the Lockheed Martin F35 Joint Strike Fighter, which he described as the most electric combat plane flying.

“Over the last decade, we’ve invested $3 billion in advancing our more electric architecture. Building on this experience and investment, we are actively developing electric motors and related technologies that will support electric propulsion

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and more electric features for military platforms,” he said.

The focus for these efforts is called The Grid, an electric power systems laboratory that Kottke describes as the most advanced in the industry, for the development of which the company announced a $50 million investment in April. “We will use the lab to create advanced electric systems for the next generation of more electric aircraft, including commercial, military, business aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and urban air mobility platforms,” he said.

He added that the $50 million is part of an investment totalling $150 million in electric systems over the next three years. Work on the 25,000 square foot lab is already under way, he continued, and the facility is expected to be complete and fully operational by 2021, with partial capability by mid-2021. Among the first uses to which The Grid will be put is the design and testing of a 1MW motor and its associated motor controller and battery in support of United Technologies’ Project 804 parallel hybrid electric flight demonstrator. This 1MW motor will be the aerospace industry’s most power-dense and efficient to date, he said.

“We know that future military platforms will require more power. For example, we know that 6th Generation fighters will be MW aircraft with directed energy weapons travelling at Mach speed. An electric motor, like the 1MW one we’re developing for P804, will help meet the high power needs these fighters will require for mission readiness.

At the same time, customers like the US Army are also interested in high voltage generation systems for rotorcraft - both for Future Vertical Lift and as retrofit options for the current fleet,” Kottke said.

Across the board, the more electric military aircraft of the future will need to operate in environments that require robust designs and highly efficient components, he emphasised, while the need to use power efficiently while minimising weight will require innovative thermal management solutions for electric motors and motor controls, he added.

Whether as hybrids that combine electric drive with internal combustion engines or fuel cells, or as pure electric machines that store their energy in batteries, manned and unmanned air, sea and ground vehicles are likely to benefit from aerospace industry efforts such as this to move the core technology forward.

Centcom

special ops and expeditionary forces debrief

An image taken during the raid that killed the Daesh head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

NOT JUST ANY WEAPON

The re-evaluation of personal weapons for SOF personnel who operate in a wide range of scenarios is an ongoing process as industry embraces new techniques and materials in design and manufacture.

By Andrew White

O

n 26 October, special mission units from within the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) conducted a clandestine Helicopter Assault Force (HAF) operation to capture or kill the founder and leader of Daesh, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The operation, which was conducted near the Syrian city of Idlib with “exquisite planning and execution” according to US Central Command leaders, involved the insertion of several hundred US SOF personnel most likely by Boeing MH-47G helicopters with force elements sub-divided into assault; overwatch; cut-off; and perimeter protection teams.

The operation was successfully executed with the support of layered air assets including armed helicopters, unmanned strike aircraft, and fourth- and fifthgeneration fighters. However, critical to the success of the assault by operators from the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment‘Delta’ unit, was personal weapon systems

which would have been used to target combatants as well as identifying and separating non-combatants in the target area.

Such a capability relies not only the choice of appropriate weapon systems but also upon ammunition selections, optical weapon sights and other weapon-mounted sensors designed to support the situation awareness and target acquisition of assault team members operating in a complex and confined environment.

CONTINUOUS EVALUATION According the US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) programme manager for SOF Lethality, programme executive office SOF Warrior, Lieutenant Colonel Marcos Cervantes, the small arms capability of special operations teams continues to be evaluated on a regular basis in line with a rapidly evolving demand signals from end users as part of the ‘Lethal Integrated Operator-Networked’ (LION) capability set.

30 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

Speaking to Armada International, Cervantes described how USSOCOM’s smalls arms portfolio benefits from a maximum two-year refresh of technology covering ‘precision strike and ammunition; weapons and accessories; as well as visual augmentation systems’. Specific emphasis is given to a core of technology areas of interest designed to support urban, reconnaissance, assault and mounted operational mission sets, he added.

As defence sources associated with the international SOF community explained to Armada, current demand signals from the contemporary operating environment demand the ability to optimally enhance engagements against non-state combatants as well as state-peer adversaries.

USSOCOM’s direction of travel continues to focus on developments in alternative calibre solutions, capable of replacing NATO standard and legacy 5.56mmx45mm and 7.62mmx51mm carbines, assault rifles and designated marksman rifles as well as 9mmx19mm handguns.

Examples include the development of the Personal Defence Weapon (PDW) concept, which remains under a combat evaluation with US Naval Special Warfare teams through to the middle of 2020 ahead of a possible Request for Proposals (RfP), dependent upon lessons learned.

Designed by Sig Sauer, the PDW comprises a conversion kit which upgrades 5.56mmx45mm M4A1 carbines into a 7.62mmx35mm (300 Blackout), shortbarreled carbine suitable to the support of subterranean warfare and close quarter combat in urban environments as well as missions on board surface vessels in support of maritime interdiction operations.

Requiring only the replacement of the M4A1’s upper receiver, which industry sources explained could be completed in several minutes in field conditions, the PDW kit quickly reduces the form factor of the personal weapon system into a 66cm weapon weighing less than 2.5kg (5.5lb).

Standard M4A1 variants measure more than 29.75cm in length (with weapon stock retracted) and over 3kg (6.6lb) in weight.

Following PDW combat evaluation and an RfP, Cervantes described how USSOCOM will award an Indefinite Delivery/ Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract by Q2 FY2021 with fielding of a selection PDW kit to force components running through to Q3 FY2023.

US Army

special ops and expeditionary forces debrief

A Green Beret assigned to 3rd Special Group (Airborne) trains in a tactical shooting exercise on 6 August, 2019, near Hurlburt Field, Florida.

LETHALITY AND MOBILITY Responding to similar demand signals for enhanced lethality and increased mobility across the contemporary battlespace is FN Herstal which has unveiled a 300Blackout variant of its Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle- Sub Compact (SCAR-SC).

Presented at the MSPO exhibition in Kielce, Poland on 4 September, the Belgian company promoted the SCAR-SC’s ability to support SOF assault teams conducting urban operations, close quarter battle (CQB) as well as close protection missions.

The SCAR-SC was originally designed by the company in a NATO standard 5.56mmx45mm configuration.

Despite the upgrade in ammunition size, the SCAR-SC retains a similar form factor to its earlier variant, including a 19cm barrel length and total weapon length of 65.2cm.

This can be reduced to 53cm with the retraction of the weapon stock, a company official confirmed at the event.

The SCAR-SC also retains its Rail Adaptor System in the 12-, 3-, 6- and 9-o’clock positions to allow for the addition of tactical accessories including

tactical torchlights, optical weapon and holographic sights; and other specialist sensors.

SNIPER RIFLE USSOCOM is also evaluating 6.5mm ammunition ahead of a similar combat evaluation of a Mid-Range Gas Gun (MRGG) to replace FN Herstal’s Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) Mk20.

Following the successful completion of the evaluation, USSOCOM aims to release an RfP in Q1 FY2021, ahead of fielding to force components starting in Q3 FY2021.

As Cervantes explained to Armada, the MRGG will provide “6.5[mm] Creedmoor sniper support rifle that will decrease weight, increase range, and provide more FN Herstal

Defence sources were unable to confirm to Armada whether PDW upgrades were used by JSOC force elements during the Al-Baghdadi raid. The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-‘Delta’ were last reported to be operating a variant of Heckler & Koch’s HK416 carbine in 5.56mmx45mm calibre as the standard personal weapon system across the unit.

The FN SCAR-SC is now available in 7.62x35mm (.300 BLK) caliber. It features a standard telescopic buttstock and has a wide choice of buttstock types and accessories.

accuracy over current sniper support platforms”, in line with the 2018 National Defence Strategy which warns of a capability gap between US Forces and near peer adversaries in terms of “conventional and unconventional weapons”.

Demand for the MRGG follows USSOCOM’s selection of Barrett Firearms’ Multi Role Adaptive Design (MRAD) rifle on 11 March to satisfy its long awaited Advanced Sniper Rifle (ASR) requirement.

A $49 million contract will see an undisclosed number of the multi-calibre MRAD rifles supplied to USSOCOM over a five year IDIQ contract. USSOCOM initially launched the ASR solicitation in 2017 with a view to providing SOF sniper teams with a “modular, multi-calibre, bolt action sniper rifle capable of engagements to beyond 1,500m”.

Specific requirements called for the ASR to be chambered in multiple calibre selections including 7.62x51 mm NATO; .300 Norma Magnum; and .338 Norma Magnum with caliber conversions occurring at the ‘user level’ as opposed to armoury support.

LIGHT MACHINE GUNS Other personal weapon being considered by USSOCOM include the development of an Assault Machine Gun (AMG), also in 6.5mm Creedmoor, providing end users with an all up weight less than 14lb (6.3kg); reduced thermal and decibel signature; enhanced suppressor technology; and reduced recoil.

Valued at $20 million, USSOCOM is seeking an AMG suitable to replace legacy 5.56mmx45mm MK46 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW). Areas of interest include size and weight savings as well as enhanced levels in lethality.

USSOCOM also continues to consider industry options to satisfy its Lightweight Machine Gun-Medium (LWMMG) requirement, which demands a “lighter and more lethal capability using .338-calibre linked ammunition”, according to PEO SOF Warrior documents.

Again referring to capability gaps associated with high capability and near peer adversaries across the contemporary operating environment, Cervantes described PEO SOF Warrior’s requirement for a weapon, tripod and fire control system which would allow operators to engage targets out to a maximum range of 2,500m (8,200ft) with significant weight savings over the legacy 7.62mmx51mm M240B. Also being considered in 6.5mm as

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 31

operations,” a company At 1,000 metres, the General Dynamics LWMMG can defeat Level III body armour and incapacitating soft skinned vehicles. It delivers more than four times the terminal effect of the 7.62mm NATO cartridge.

well as even larger calibres up to 8.6mm (.338-cal), PEO SOF Warrior is understood to be considering industry offerings from General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) as well as FN Herstal and Textron Systems.

GD-OTS’s LWWMG solution comprises 10.8kg (23lb) in weight and measures 124cm in total length. the weapon is capable of a maximum rate of fire of 500 rounds per minute (rpm) with a 60cm barrel generating muzzle velocity out to a maximum of 897 metres per second (mps), according to a company spokesperson.

The LWMMG has a maximum effective range of 1,700m (5,500ft) and maximum range of 5.6km (3.4 miles) . The solution can also be attached to an M192 tripod or vehicle mounts to support ground mobility by tactical ground vehicles.

“The LWMMG is a weapon system that greatly expands the operational capabilities of the warfighter. The weapon is ideally suited for both mounted and dismounted operations with an increase in effective range and lethality in a lightweight form which is substantial for dismounted

statement read.

“The mounted configuration provides long range, accurate fires currently associated with the M2 Browning, but without the burden of a heavier weight,” it was added.

Cervantes confirmed to Armada that a combat evaluation will run between October 2019 and May 2020 with a decision point regarding the future of the programme expected to be made in June 2020. This could be followed by a RfP in October 2020 with contract award in Q3 FY2021, he added while referring to a $49 million and five year procurement programme.

HANDGUNS Critical to the mission effectiveness of SOF assault teams operating in the confined spaces of the urban and subterranean environment (Al-Baghdadi fled the raid into a dead-end underground tunnel where he was pursued by a JSOC K-9 military working dog) is handgun technology.

Handguns provide operators with a short-barreled option which can be rapidly manoeuvred to engage targets at close range. SOF units worldwide currently employ a range of handguns stretching from Sig Sauer’s 9mmx19mm P226 through to the Glock 19 Gen IV of the same calibre.

The Glock 19 features a 10.2cm barrel with capacity to support a standard 15-round magazine. The handgun weighs 855g with a loaded magazine and measures 18.7cm in overall length.

Sig Sauer’s P226 meanwhile, comprises SIG/SAUER

General Dynamics

special ops and expeditionary forces debrief

The Sig MCX Rattler- which resembles the design of the PDW Conversion kit.

32 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

a slightly larger form factor, with a 11.2cm barrel and total length of 19.6cm. With an all up weight of 975g, the P226 includes a double action trigger.

However, seeking to further enhance the operational effects of the handgun is PEO SOF Warrior with Cervantes highlighting to Armada a pair of initiatives designed to identify a suitable suppressor and miniature aiming system. The aim is to replace the legacy MK27 handgun suppressor with an alternative solution comprising less weight and with reduced audible signature.

According to a Request for Solutions (RfS), published on the Federal Business Opportunities website on 7 September, PEO SOF Warrior will evaluate a series of options at a SOF range event to be conducted at an undisclosed location on 1819 January 2020. USSOCOM is demanding suppressor technology currently at Technology Readiness Levels six through to nine.

The RfS reads: “The intent is to highlight technologies, technical applications, and industrial base with the ability to provide Signature Reduction Interface Capability Suppressor”.

Specifically, USSOCOM is demanding a suppressor no more than 15cm (6in) in length, which generates less than 140db in audible signature levels. The selected suppressor must also weigh less than 340g (12oz).

PEO SOF Warrior aims to run a five year IDIQ programme following a contract award in Q2 FY2021 as part of a $2 million programme.

Finally, the MAS-L effort demands a handgun-mounted device (located ahead of the trigger guard and below the barrel) providing end users with a ‘Near Infrared Laser’ capability which could also support emerging operational requirements from the Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) concepts.

The USSOCOM is due to award a contract in Q1 FY2020 following a source selection by the end of FY2019, Cervantes confirmed.

Despite little change in weapon design over recent years, the most effective upgrades to small arms designs will continue to focus on multi-calibre capabilities as well as the development of suitable ammunition and accessories designed to further enhance levels in lethality, target acquisition and weapon handling on the battlefield.

REGIONAL FOCUS

Morocco will upgrade of its existing fleet of 23 F-16C/Ds operated by 3 Squadron of the Altas Wing at Ben Gurir to F-16V configuration.

NORTH AFRICAN AIR POWER

T

Following the turmoil of the Arab Spring, the cohesion and strengths of North African Air Forces varies significantly.

he Arab Spring, a series of antigovernment protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across North Africa in late 2010 began in response to oppressive regimes and low standards of living.

A decade later the region is still coming to terms with the aftermath of the Arab Spring that promised democracy and stability for many.

Morocco was the least affected North African country with King Mohammed VI retaining his position as Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, although civil unrest has never been far from the surface.

Morocco plans to increase its defence budget from $3.7 billion in 2019 to $4.7 billion by 2024. In recent years, Morocco has been determined to upgrade its military by acquiring new equipment from its biggest supplier, the United States. The government is seeking to reinforce its ability to protect national sovereignty and to defend the

By David Oliver

territorial integrity and stability of the country.

At the forefront of its self defence capabilities is the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) which has a fleet of 284 aircraft, including 56 fighter/ground attack aircraft, 56 light attack/training aircraft and 130 helicopters.

RMAF acquisitions in the last decade include four Alenia C-27J Spartan tactical transports and three Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters. In March 2019 the US Department of State approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Morocco to upgrade of its existing fleet of 23 Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds operated by 3 Squadron of the Altas Wing at Ben Gurir to F-16V configuration for an estimated cost $1 billion. Related equipment will include APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned

34 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

Array (AESA) Radars, Modular Mission Computers, Link-16 Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems – JTRS (MIDS-JTRS) with TACAN and ESHI Terminals, LN260 Embedded Global Navigation Systems (EGI), Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems II, LAU-129 MultiPurpose Launchers; AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Pods, DB-110 Advanced Reconnaissance Systems, as well as additional items, support and spares and personnel training.

During November 2019, the US State Department also approved another possible FMS to Morocco of 36 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $4.25 billion to replace its current fleet of 22 HOTarmed AĂŠrospatiale SA.342K Gazelles based at Rabat-Sale.

ALGERIA The Arab Spring brought turmoil and regime change in its wake but these winds of change barely touched Algeria and it was not until April 2019 that the longtime

A Tunisian Air Force C-130H taking part in the annual US-led exercise African Lion.

president Abdelaziz Bouteflika stood down.

The armed forces, seen as the most powerful player in Algerian politics, maintains a presidential election is the only way to quell ongoing protests and end the constitutional limbo prevailing since Bouteflika stood down.

The Algerian Air Force (AAF) has 528 aircraft, including 97 fighters, 107 attack planes, 280 helicopters, and 46 attack helicopters. The majority of is inventory comprise Russian fighter, transport and training aircraft, and helicopters. The latter includes 24 Mil Mi-24 MkIIIs upgraded by the South African Paramount Group, 42 Mi-28NE and 12 Kamov Ka-52 combat helicopters, and 14 Mi-26T2 heavy lift helicopters.

In September 2019 Algeria ordered an additional 16 Sukhoi Su-30MKAs, joining the 58 already in service, and 14 Mikoyan MiG-29M/M2s from Russia. Both purchases are worth some $1.8 billion, but the value could exceed $2 billion if weapons and equipment are added. The MiG-29M is an improved version of the MiG-29 featuring longer range due to increased internal fuel, a lighter airframe, more powerful and improved Klimov RD-33MK engines, an in-flight refuelling probe, multi-function cockpit displays and improved avionics.

These will replace some of its 36 obsolete MiG-29s bought from Belarus and the Ukraine in the early 2000s and which are planned to be retired around 2020.

Sixteen Yakovlev Yak-130 advanced training aircraft have been delivered out of a reported requirement for 36 of the type.

A considerable number of medium altitude long endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are operated by the AAF. These include South African Denel Seeker

USAF

REGIONAL FOCUS

IIs, Chinese CASC CH-3 and CH-4s, and UAE developed armed Yabhon United 40s, operated by 545 Squadron based at Ain Oussera.

Algeria has also established a naval air arm equipped with six Leonardo AW101s and 10 AW Super Lynx 300 series.

TUNISIA Following the Arab Spring, Tunisia had a revolution in 2011 that forced President Ben Ali from power ending his 23-year rule.

Since then the country has been wracked by political assassinations and gathering political unrest. Tunisia’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed sacked the country’s defence minister after consultation with the newly elected President Kais Saied in October 2019. The minister was seen as being close to former President Beji Caid Essebsi, who died in July.

Although the Tunisian military has played a lesser role than neighbouring Morocco and Algeria in domestic politics, it plays a professional role in defending the country from external threats, terrorism and smuggling, despite having to manage with a decreasing defence budget that fell to $856 million in 2018.

Although the Tunisian Air Force (TAF) has only one combat squadron equipped with Northrop F-5E/Fs based at Bizerte-Sidi Amed which are approaching obsolescence, and a small fleet of Aero L-59Ts in the counter insurgency (COIN) and reconnaissance roles, it is investing heavily in helicopters and training aircraft.

The TAF operates a small fleet of HOTarmed SA.342L1 Gazelle helicopters, five of which were upgraded by Aerotec Group in France in 2012 which included the installation of night sights also provided

NVG flight training for the TAF pilots. In 2017 it received a total of 24 surplus US Army Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior light attack helicopters. In September 2018 three Bell 429 GlobalRangers were officially inducted into service with the Unité Spéciale de la Garde Nationale (USGN), Tunisia’s elite paramilitary counter-terrorism unit.

Delivery of 16 Sikorsky UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters began in 2019 which are being modified for a combat role with Battlehawk kits.

In October 2019 the US State Department approved a possible FMS of 12 Beechcraft T-6C Texan II training aircraft plus spare engines, flight trainer, spares, ground handling equipment, and other support worth an estimated $234 million. The T-6Cs will replace Tunisia’s ageing SIAIMarchetti SF260 and Aermacchi MB326 trainer fleet.

As part of the bilateral relationship between the United States and Tunisia.

African Lion is an annually scheduled, multilateral sponsored exercise, with the US Army Africa (USARAF), Morocco , and Tunisia playing leading roles. Exercise African Lion involves various types of training, including command post, livefire and manoeuvring, peace keeping operations, an intelligence capacity building seminar, aerial refuelling/lowlevel flight training, as well as other medical projects.

LIBYA The Arab Spring led to a civil war in Libya, and the NATO-backed uprising resulted in the overthrow and death of its dictator, Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011.

Libya’s National Army and Air Force were disbanded at the end of the civil war but re-established in 2012. However, by 2015 the military had split into two factions, the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) and the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

The Libyan Air Force had been decimated during the civil war with a large number of pro-Gaddafi fighter aircraft and helicopters being shot down by rebel forces with MANPADs or destroyed on the ground

by NATO’s misnamed Operation Unified Protector aircraft. Several MiG-21 and Mirage F1 pilots defected to the rebels with their aircraft.

However, by 2015 the country was sliding into a second civil war with the two factions operating their own emasculated

armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020 35

Dassault

REGIONAL FOCUS

A total of 16 single-set Rafale Cs and 8 two-seat Rafale Cs have been delivered to the Egyptian Air Force.

air forces with no more than 30 serviceable aircraft, mainly Su-22s, MiG-23BNs, Mirage F1EDs, Mi-8s and Mi-24s, between them that are largely flown and maintained by mercenaries.

EGYPT Fighter aircraft of the LNA’s Libya Dawn Air Force are reported to be flown by Egyptian pilots. The so called Arab Dawn was born in Egypt. In January 2011 widespread protests began against President Hosni Mubarak’s government. On 11 February 2011, Mubarak resigned and fled Cairo after which the Egyptian military assumed power. Mubarak, a former career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, was replaced in 2014

by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Commanderin-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The country continues to face challenges, from political unrest, to terrorism and economic underdevelopment.

The military is influential in the political and economic life of Egypt and enjoys considerable power, prestige and independence within the state. Its 2018/2019 defence budget was $3.11 billion. Egypt receives more than $1 billion every year as military assistance from the United States plus aid from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. With more than 1,000 aircraft, the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) is ranked as the ninth largest in the world. Its large and diverse fleet includes aircraft from China, France, Russia and the United States. Five Tactical Fighter Regiments are equipped with a total of more than 150 upgraded Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds, one Fighter/

Ground Attack Regiment with 50 plus Dassault Mirage 5E2/SDRs and 15 Mirage 2000EMs, and a Fighter Regiment with 40 Chengdu F-7Bs. The EAF is taking delivery of 24 Dassault Rafale Cs and 8 Rafale Ds from France, to become the first export customer for the type. Egypt has also ordered 46 MiG-29M/M2s from Russia and in late 2018 it was announced that it had placed $2 billion order for Su-35SK fighters for delivery in 2020-2021.

Egypt has also ordered 46 Kamov Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters from Russia and in November 2018 the US Department of Defense (DoD) notified Congress of a major $1 billion sale of defence equipment to Egypt, including 10 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to supplement the EAF’s fleet of 35 AH-64Ds. The new Apache’s will replace the EAF’s armed Gazelle fleet which is the largest in the Middle East. Egypt acquired at total of 108 SA.342L/K Gazelles during the 1970s, the majority of which were locally assembled by the Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO) at Helwan.

More than 60 remain is service, mainly HOT anti-tank missile-armed SA.342Ks, with the EAF’s Tactical Helicopter Wing based at Kom Awshim and the Helicopter Training Brigade at El Minya.

The backbone of the EAF’s transport/ assault helicopter fleet are some 40 Mi-8Ts with 21 Westland Commando Mk.2s which are being supplemented by Sikorsky UH60M Blackhawks. The heavy lift capacity is provided by 25 Boeing CH-47D Chinooks.

The EAF’s transport fleet is modest by

36 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

comparison, equipped with 19 Lockheed Martin C-130Hs and 20 Airbus C-295s. These are supplemented by two Ilyushin Il-76MF military transports recently acquired from Jordan.

The EAF has made a significant investment in its training fleet with the acquisition of 120 Chinese K8 basic jet trainers to supplement some 50 Embraer EMB-312 Tucano turboprop basic trainers.

A similar number of Aero L-59Es and Alpha Jets serve as advanced jet trainers with twoseat F-16 Ds, MiG-29s, Mirage 5SDDs and 2000BMs. The Egyptian Air Force has a small fleet of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) that includes the Chinese CASC Rainbow CH-4B and a number of recently delivered armed Chengdu Wing Loongs that have entered service with Task Force 777, Egypt’s military counter-terrorism and special operations unit. The US-led biennial Bright Star exercise was first held in 1980 as a result of the Camp David Accords signed in September 1978. Exercise Bright Star is designed to strengthen ties between the Egyptian Armed Forces and the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) and demonstrate and enhance the ability of the US to reinforce their allies in the Middle East in the event of war.

In October 2019 Egypt and Russia held the first Arrow of Friendship air defence exercise that focussed on air defence training and involved more than 100 Russian anti-aircraft troops from the Southern Military District. The purpose of the exercise was the exchange of experience between Russian and Egyptian military personnel in improving the practical skills of military personnel with the maximum combat capabilities of anti-aircraft missile systems with joint actions to repel conventional enemy strikes in various conditions.

The exercise involved Russian-made military equipment including the TorM2E, Buk-M2E and S-125 Pechora antiaircraft missile systems, as well as Igla-S portable anti-aircraft missile systems, and Shilka-M4 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.

Although long term stability is still not established in the majority of North African countries, most, with the exception of Libya, are continuing to expand their military air power with the assistance and encouragement of both the United States and Russia.

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14-18 November 2021 DWC, Dubai Airshow Site www.dubaiairshow.aero | @dubaiairshow

ARMADA COMMENTARY

MAINTAINING AUSA’S PROTOTYPE MOMENTUM Andrew Hunter

O

ctober brought us the annual Association of United States Army (AUSA) convention in Washington, DC. One of the biggest defence gatherings in the world, and a premiere show case of all elements of land power. It is an excellent venue to watch how trends underway in defence are playing out. Several things stood out this year.

First was the proliferation of prototypes at every display. There has always been a warm place in soldier’s hearts for a chance to get hands on time with prototypes of new military hardware, so the presence of prototypes at AUSA was nothing new. But this year it seemed that no display was complete without a prototype that was either already being bought by the Army or was being marketed to it for one of any number of pending prototyping competitions. This reflects the fact that the Army has gone all-in building prototypes as the path to developing new systems for acquisition. As a result the convention hall represented a visual display of how the Army is largely sidestepping the more formal, and potentially longer, weapon systems development process of prior decades. And for the most part, it was clear that industry was up-for-it.

The Army’s apparent openness to all comers also attracted a newly diverse host of competitors. There was the return of the new old vendors, such as GM Defence and other automotive suppliers, who joined large number of international vendors, and more traditional US vehicle vendors like General Dynamics, BAE Systems, and

Oshkosh directly competing for a range of new vehicle programmes. While the display of all this newly designed hardware was impressive, there were also notes of caution.

Many competitors knew that their prototypes might be passed over for selection by the Army, and the expense of designing and producing them might go unrewarded.

Even for those lucky enough to have their prototypes selected for production and testing, industry was aware that there is no guarantee that a successful prototype will lead to an actual production run or a fielded system. So the general excitement and sense of renewed competition was tempered by a sense that the green shoots of modernisation on display might weather a harsh winter or two, with uncertain prospects for survival.

Just as noticeable as all the vehicles and air systems on display was the wide variety of equipment focused directly on the solder: guns, ammo, and a fascinating array of tactical gear. The focus on fabric almost demanded a runway on the convention floor.

This focus on delivering equipment that can directly improve the soldier’s daily experience and combat effectiveness provided perhaps the best evidence that the Army’s new approach may deliver results to the warfighter that can weather the vagaries of defence budgets.

The last big trend that was apparent was the presence in force of the big data providers. IBM, Leidos, and SAIC were all there to show how data analytics and artificial intelligence might be harnessed to improve every aspect of warfighting and

38 armadainternational.com - december 2019/january 2020

especially its support. While programmes like the Department of Defense’s JEDI cloud computing initiative gather all the headlines, it was apparent that the era of big data is already arriving at all levels of the force. Here too, however, there was a sense of uncertainty about whether resources for big data applications would continue in the face of increasing budget constraints. Big data applications aren’t usually tracked as long term initiatives in the Army’s out year budgets, with the stability that that planning implies, and whether the use of big data applications will pay off in efficiencies and if the Army is capable of measuring those efficiencies is still to be determined.

The overall takeaway from the displays at AUSA was one of movement and momentum. There was abundant evidence of industry sectors galvanised for innovation, with new competitors interested in testing the marketplace and existing competitors motivated to generate new product lines.

There was strong support for the centrality of the soldier in Army’s approach to warfighting and evidence that the Army is ready to embrace the potential for big data to impact every aspect of operations.

At the same time, there was the sense that these opportunities may yet be fleeting. The challenge for Army leadership is to sustain the momentum from AUSA and ensure that next year’s convention is just as dynamic.

This will only happen if industry determines that current opportunities can and will convert to a commitment to modernisation with real results.

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