Armada Apr/May 2014

Page 1

THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SINCE 1976

Issue 2/2014

April/May



THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SINCE 1976

Contents 2/2014 INTERNATIONAL

www.armada.ch | www.armadainternational.com

06 GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SERIES

THE BATTLESPACE FABRIC I Wesley Fox While the newly digitised battlespace brings new promises in terms of shared situational awareness and synchronized manoeuvres, the fact remains that Nato went out to Afghanistan with Soviet paper maps, and operations in Africa are still being conducted with poorly-detailed countrywide maps or obsolete terrain descriptions. In this first part of Geospatial Information series Armada’s C4ISR editor analyses the technologies and tools required to build the foundation layer of current network-centric operations.

16

24

COMMUNICATIONS AEROSTATS AS COMMS RELAYS

ARMED HELICOPTER MARKET TARGET MARKETS FOR ARMED WHIRLY BIRDS

I Peter Donaldson

I Roy Braybrook

34

COMPENDIUM SUPPLEMENT

FRIGATE AND CORVETTE MARKETS THE LEADING PROGRAMMES

SPECIAL OPS

I Luca Peruzzi

I Paolo Valpolini

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03



Index

THE TRUSTED

SOURCE FOR

Y INFORMATIO DEFENCE TECHNOLOG

N SINCE 1976

April/May Issue 2/2014

I INDEX TO ADVERTISERS ADAS PHILIPINNES AFRICAN AIRSHOW AIMPOINT AIRSHOW CHINA AR MODULAR ARMADA DIGITAL AUVSI BELL HELICOPTERS BERETTA BRUNSWICK EURONAVAL EUROSATORY

45 43 35 33 41 39 19 27 C2 7 41 C3

EXELIS GDLS - CANADA GENERAL ATOMICS GSA INVISIO IVECO L3 WECAM LAAD LAND FORCES AUSTRALIA LEMO NEXTER ODU

9 C4 23 4 31 C2 19 37 39 21 31 13

OTO MELERA PATRIOT QUOPTIQ RAFAEL RUAG AMMOTECH SAAB DYNAMICS SOFEX TEXTRON VADEMECUM VECTRONIX

37 43 5 C4 9 11 C3 15 15 13

Entries highlighted with Red numbers are found in Special Ops Compendium 2014

Companies mentioned in this issue. Where there are multiple references to a company in an article, only the first occurence and subsequent photographs are listed below:

ACMAT

36 18, 20

AGUSTAWESTLAND

25 ,31, 32, 37

EXELIS FIAT POWER TRAIN

RENAULT TRUCK DEFENSE

18

5, 6, 8, 20

RESILIENT TECHNOLOGIES

22, 23

45

GDLS

ATLAS ELEKTRONIK

38, 46

AM GENERAL

5, 6, 10

AM-TAC

28, 42, 44, 46, 38

20, 21

AIRBUS GROUP

6

RAYTHEON

REMINGTON DEFENCE

FORCE PROTECTION

20, 21, 22

16

29, 31, 42, 44

34, 35

45

ALLSOPP HELIKITES

RAFAEL

FN HERSTAL

AIMPOINT

ALLISON

42

GDOTS

5, 8, 12, 40

GENERAL MOTORS

3, 5, 8, 9

34

REVOLVE TECHNOLOGIES RHEINMETALL

23

38, 44, 46, 38

GIBRALTAR ARMS

41

RIPPLE EFFECT SYSTEMS

HAL

32

ROBOTIC RESEARCH LLC

36 17

34

HEXAGON GROUP

AMZ - KUTNO

16

HONDA

22

ROTAX

ASCENDER LTD

29

IDO TECHNOLOGIES

13

RP ADVANCED MOBILE SYSTEMS

ISRAEL WEAPON INDUSTRIES

36

RT AEROSTAT

ASTRIUM

8, 9

ATK

32

IVECO

Aviakon

29

JOHN DEERE

BAE Systems

10, 12, 38, 3, 9, 10

BARRETT

40, 41

BATTELLE TACTICAL

5

BELL HELICOPTERS

26, 28, 10, 29

BERETTA

34, 35

BOEING

25, 26, 28, 44, 10, 12, 29

BOMBARDIER BOUSTEAD NAVEL SHIPYARD BREMACH CAMERO

10, 12

16, 20

ROCKWELL COLLINS

RUAG AMMOTEC

KAWASAKI

30

SAAB

KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES

32

SAGEM

LOCKHEED MARTIN

14, 16

23

MEPROLIGHT

5

SANDIA

32

35, 38, 44, 46, 45, 46

SATELLITE IMAGING

36

SELEX ES SIKORSKY

44

MICHELIN

16

NAVANTIA

42, 44

44

NAVISTAR

5, 12

NORTHROP GRUMMAN

CILAS

46

OPEN GEOSPATIAL CONSORTIUM

14

TEXTRON

COLT

41, 42

ORIZZONTE SISTEM NAVALI

36

THALES

DAMEN

42, 44

OTO MELARA

25, 32, 36 6, 12, 9, 10

38, 40, 44, 46

25, 44 14

SUPACAT

NEXTER

9, 14, 17

SYSTEMATIC INC TEAL GROUP

21

TOPCON

PANHARD

18

TOYOTA

10, 29 6, 8, 11, 12, 16, 22, 21

DYNAMIT NOBEL DEFENCE

46

PATRIOT3

45

TRIJICON

EADS

31

PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL

28

TURKISH AEROSPACE

ELBIT SYSTEMS

29

POLARIS

Esri EUROCOPTER EUROTORP

05

12, 14 25, 30, 31, 32 44

PRATT & MILLER

32, 22, 23, 30 8

PRECISION REMOTES

40, 41

QIOPTIQ

38, 40

INTERNATIONAL

2/2014

YAMAHA Z-COM ZIBAR

42 25, 31, 32

THYSSENKRUPP

OTOKAR

8 36

ST KINECTICS

46

35, 36, 44, 46

5 23, 28

CASSIDIAN OPTRONICS

DCNS

13

SAND X

14, 16, 17

32

46, 32, 44

SAIC

CAROLINA UNMANNED VECHILES 17

DARPA

33 28, 30

10, 22, 25, 5, 10

MARVIN GROUP MBDA

28

16, 20, 21

RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS

KRAUSS-MAFFEI WEGMANN

7, 38 23, 28, 35

29

Volume 38, Issue No. 2, April-May 2014 INTERNATIONAL

is published bi-monthly by Media Transasia Ltd. Copyright 2012 by Media Transasia Ltd. Publishing Office: Media Transasia Ltd, 1205, Hollywood Centre 233, Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2815 9111, Fax: (852) 2815 1933 Editor-in-Chief: Eric H. Biass Regular Contributors: Roy Braybrook, Paolo Valpolini, Thomas Withington

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ACCURANCY INTERNATIONAL

A highly detailed print of a digital map released by the CIA in 2008 to support the Middle East peace process. Hybrid geospatial solutions combine “national technical means” with commercial mapmaking and dissemination products to best effect. See our first article on Georeferencing Technology on page 6

37, 38 12 5, 6, 8 38 31 22, 23 29 13, 14

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Geospatial Information Series

The Battlespace Fabric While the newly digitised battlespace brings new promises in terms of shared situational awareness and synchronized manoeuvres, the fact remains that Nato went out to Afghanistan with Soviet paper maps, and operations in Africa are still being conducted with poorly-detailed country-wide maps or obsolete terrain descriptions. In this first part of Geospatial Information series Armada’s C4ISR editor analyses the technologies and tools required to build the foundation layer of current network-centric operations.

Wesley Fox

T

he digital age has brought a new horizon to geomatics. The word, coined in French-speaking Canada in the early 1980s, describes the contribution of digital technologies to environmental survey and analysis; geomatics encompass surveying and cartography, but also photogrammetry and remote sensing, as well as geospatial information systems (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies. One could have thought that after a few centuries of charting, surveying the Earth was nearing to a close. Quite on the contrary, this endeavor is permanent, as our environment continuously evolves (think of ice caps, coastal areas or deforestation), and man adds new features to topography. Most importantly, requirements for accuracy have soared, as precision navigation and guidance open new dimensions in fine-grain Earth surface analysis, from route clearance against roadside bombs to urban combat, not to mention navigating the largely uncharted ocean bottoms. I DATA COLLECTION: ACCURATE AND AGILE SENSORS

While surveying trade has not disappeared, the surveying tools have changed dramatically. Today’s military topographic teams thus deploy with state-of-the-art ground sensors and software. Ground measurement sensors gradually integrate laser technologies for highly accurate ranging, but above all the very location of measurement units is immensely enhanced by the latest global navigation satellite systems like the GPS and the Glonass, joined since 2014 by their European and Chinese counterparts respectively known as Galileo

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This amazingly sharp view of Surobi province in Afghanistan is not a photo, but a high-fidelity 3D virtual rendering that forms the terrain database for French Army Tigre and NH90 helicopters. (Thales)

and Beidouns. In some areas of the world, differential GPS services allow pinpoint ground location. The latest generation of Trimble Pro series of receivers, for example, subscribe to Egnos (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) to offer up to sub-meter accuracy, while ensuring maximum use of available satellites and some resistance to atmospheric and environmental degradations. The resulting measurement of ground control points, essential to topographic survey and map-making, is near

error-free. US Army engineering topographic survey teams thus deploy with the Northrop Grumman Enfire kit. In hostile or remote areas though, where safety is an issue with the added difficulties resulting from multiple interferences from foliage or buildings for example, it has led the military to develop remote sensing devices. The fast development of aerial photography has allowed to capture vast expanses of sea or land, while multi-point triangulation techniques gave access to accurate location,


Embedded, meter-accuracy military GPS has transformed the trade of ground mapping; the latest receivers can finetune their measurements by subscribing to differential GPS services or combine their signals with more accurate inertial guidance systems (Rockwell Collins).

free from ground interference. In addition, oblique or stereo imagery added terrain elevation information. Today, the proliferation of sensors and digital image processing technologies have boosted photogrammetry, opening new grounds for data integration across the electromagnetic spectrum, combining laser, infrared, optical and radar wavelengths for unparalleled capture of terrain data not only in daytime and nighttime but also above clouds. The Swiss Leica Geo Systems is famous for its airborne imaging sensors. The Leica ADS80 airborne digital sensor offers a high-resolution mode for orthophoto production, with swath width of 24,000 pixels. It comes with a flight management and control system software, computing aircraft dynamics against a software sensor model to minimise flight and atmospheric distortions. Multitriangulation measurements determine camera’s position in x, y and z when the picture is taken to automate production of large mosaics of the surface covered. An extension to these capabilities has arrived to accommodate the growing use of video sensors onboard surveillance drones.

Video offers various advantages, not only in terms costs, but also in terms of data availability, which can be real time. Simactive, a French Canadian developer of photogrammetry software since 2003, has recently unveiled a new version of its Correlator 3D tailored for small-format drone sensors. The ultimate refinement in aerial remote sensing though has come from active sensors in the non-visible range in the form of the lidar (Light Detection And Ranging). This provides a laser-based method of scanning the Earth that is particularly suited to characterise micro-elevations. Initially

“Initially developed to measure forest canopy or coastal erosion, the lidar has become a primary sensor to generate digital elevation models (i.e. Earth elevation augmented by vegetation cover and man-made objects).”

developed to measure forest canopy or coastal erosion, the lidar has become a primary sensor to generate digital elevation models (i.e. Earth elevation augmented by vegetation cover and man-made objects). The space age took overhead imagery and remote sensing to new altitudes. Since satellite images are less prone to atmospheric interference and have predictable distortions along orbital paths, space reconnaissance has become the preferred method of collecting data on huge territories worldwide – free from airspace sovereignty. The early remote sensing satellites of the 1960s were thus the most valuable strategic assets to map adverse territory and manage crises, until digital cameras and commercial satellites brought this capability to the larger public. The US National Geospatial Agency began to place large contracts with commercial imaging satellite operators, until costs dropped in 1999 when Landsat satellite data became copyright free. Google began to democratise “space maps” from the mid-2000s, initially providing 30 metre resolution, multi-spectral band Thematic Mapper Landsat imagery, then moving on to higher resolution

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Geospatial Information Series

A situation briefing during a recent Nato exercise. Paper maps are still widely used in current network-centric operations, but their quality has drastically improved, along with their modularity; forward-deployed military workshops deliver on-demand, missiontailored digital maps. (Nato)

commercial satellite imagery as provided by Ikonos (the first metric resolution sensor), Quickbird and Worldview sub-meter imagers from Digital Globe, or GeoEye (bought by Digital Globe in January 2013), which now populate Google Earth. Space remote sensing was, however, considerably enhanced by the advent of the synthetic aperture radars. Sensitivity to elevations made radar imaging satellites prime candidates for the generation of digital terrain models, a powerful enhancement to traditional mapbuilding. The main European challenger, Spot Images (now Astrium Services), has a similar track record of exploiting multiple satellites in synergy. The current constellation advertised by Astrium combines dual-use Spot 6 & 7 satellites with the latestgeneration Pleiades 1A & 1B. The four satellites operate in low polar orbit as a constellation, phased 90째 apart, offering a daily revisit time. A particularly agile Astrium platform combines with a powerful Thales Alenia Space telescope onboard both Pleiades, to deliver 0.5-metre accuracy in black and white. Thanks to three collection plans a day, imagery acquisition time is less than 24 hours, while the satellite manoeuvres around its axis within seconds to capture multiple images in strip, stereo or spot modes. Commercial satellites thus allow strategic military users to focus their scarce military reconnaissance satellite on imagery intelligence (imint) and targeting, while commercial operators faced with huge

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tasking constraints rely on dedicated space sensor scheduling applications, such as the well-established Satellite Toolkit from AGI, or the STK/Scheduler from Orbitlogic. Multi-satellite operation results in enhanced collection synergies. By combining the Spot constellation capabilities with those of the new German radar imaging satellites

from Infoterra GMbH, Astrium Geo Services is now able (2014) to offer a new World Digital Elevation Model (DEM) service with a two-metre (relative) vertical accuracy, thereby challenging aerial photography especially for larger areas. This new breed allows for rapid map update as well as the creation of all-new products tailored for military use. In any case however, the availability of accurate ground control points is paramount to perform ortho-rectification of imagery with a view to mitigating distortions caused by the platform along its orbit, the sensor viewing angle and environmental interference. Last but not least, multi-band, multispectral sensors on current imaging satellites offer a high level of discrimination for terrain analysis (foliage, crops, built-up areas, etc), but to cost of resolution (true or false color images remain above one-metre resolution), and accompanied by a steep rise in complexity for image processing and exploitation.

A high-resolution Digital Elevation Model of Eritrea blends Ikonos satellite imagery with accurate elevation data collected by lidar. Such quality in a geospatial information product can support the most demanding mission requirements, from precision targeting to special operations. (Satimaging)


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Geospatial Information Series

The Pleiades dual-use imaging satellite combines a very agile platform with high-power optics. The resulting performance, sharp 50cm resolution imagery with multi-mode collection capability, complements more classical exploitation of the rest of Spot Images’ constellation. (Astrium) I DATA EXPLOITATION: POWERFUL SENSOR SUITES

The digital-age sensors would be useless without their accompanying software tools for sensor calibration, correction, filtering and interpretation, all leveraging an increasing amount of sensor metadata which augment the raw collection product. Geospatial metadata deal with data identification, quality, organisation, spatial references, and other attributes. Some are for human interpretation, but others are input for image interpretation, photogrammetry, or geospatial information software. Beyond data description, their main purpose is to perform advanced processing on raw data and automate workflow to produce map or terrain models out of huge amounts of data, while performing some level of quality control and standardisation. Although most of these applications rely on commercial off the shelf (cots) solutions, the most demanding ones call on either military off the shelf (mots) or bespoke software suites (but often combine both). Commercial products tend to blur the distinction between photogrammetry (postsensor imagery computation) and geospatial information systems (extraction and analysis of terrain features in a database to manage

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map or elevation data). Even Adobe Photoshop brings image processing closer to mapmaking, with measurement and filtering functions that can un-distort planar surfaces, and tools to smoothen colour and textures. Leica Geo Systems and Intergraph, both part of the Hexagon Geosystems group since 2005, provide multi-sensor integration and analysis suites. Their high level of automation and workflow generation is regularly demonstrated during Empire Challenge exercises, bringing together British, Canadian, Australian and US forces at the Naval Weapon Center in China Lake, California. Military or professional collection platforms are used as a multi-sensor input (e.g. Leica medium format digital camera, Optech lidar, military GPS) for the production and dissemination of digital geospatial products, such as terrain mosaics or digital terrain models. The proven Erdas Imagine imagery analysis suite is used to exploit multi-sensor feed, identify and correct data consistency, and produce military-grade imagery for allied C2 or ISR systems. A hybrid solution can be found in a widespread cots/mots, namely the BAe Systems Socet Set digital photogrammetry and geospatial information system, designed

mostly for defence applications. The current 5.6 version provides point-matching algorithms for multi-sensor triangulation, turning digital aerial photography (usually delivered in stereo pairs) into ortho-images in raster (grid-based information) or vector format (where terrain features are translated into georeferenced points, lines and polygons). BAe’s new suite, the Socet GXP, combines image analysis with geospatial analysis. The GXP XPlorer enables analysts to access huge data sets locally or remotely while streamlining and standardising workflow for geospatial information production. In a transition move from legacy bespoke capabilities to commercial-based store-and-retrieve capabilities, NGA awarded a contract to BAe Systems to deploy GXP licences on an enterprise basis. A somewhat more restricted use can be found with the clearly military-grade photogrammetry and image analysis suite from Overwatch Systems Geospatial Operations (part of the Textron group). Remoteview is an advanced multi-imagery and geospatial analysis system. In its current version, Remoteview 4 exploits the high geodetic accuracy now available from new digital sensors to generate orthorectified or mosaicked products from multiple map and imagery sources. One useful functionality is its fast virtual 3D rendering features, enabling analysts to create virtual fly-through of large gigabyte datasets. Dedicated extensions serve higher-end geospatial intelligence requirements. The RV Screener module, for instance, creates chips and mosaics for U-2R/S recce aircraft and drones like the Global Hawk, and displays them in a seamless waterfall format to facilitate imagery analysis and change detection. IgeoPos, on the other hand, is a tactical imagery precision positioning module, which grants Remoteview users access to the highly classified Digital Point Position Database. This latter feature should be highly prized by analysts, since geospatial intelligence is either sharply defined or precisely georeferenced, but seldom both. More tailored military solutions are scarcer outside America. Britain has just declared initial operational capability of Picasso, an Army geospatial intelligence system delivered by Lockheed Martin UK Information Systems. Development of the follow-on Field Deployable GeoINT (FDG) has just been granted to the Lockheed Martin UK-led Socrates industrial team to address British Joint Force Intelligence Group requirements.


The latest remote sensing capabilities are demonstrated by the new WorldDEM class of Digital Elevation Models using radar imaging satellites, like this example modeling Baluchistan province in Pakistan. (Infoterra)

In Israel, higher-end systems merge geomatics with imagery intelligence, as exemplified by the IAI/Elta Systems EL/S-8994RT Ricent (Real-Time Image Intelligence Centre). This is an applied multi-source, multi-sensor system for intelligence and targeting. It incorporates an information assurance component to check authenticity of contributing data, and automates search of matching imagery with better georeferences to enhance location of imagery of interest. In France, Airbus Defence & Space offers the Actint suite, an apparent re-branding of past references (Optimint Image Intelligence System, itself derived from the EVI basic image exploitation capability), combines multi-sat imagery acquisition with analysis and feature extraction. Geo Data Design, a South African company, proposes a lesser capable version (combined with Erdas Imagine and other cots suites for commercial imagery exploitation) to the African region. The Thales GeoMaker solution is also a re-branding, but probably closer to higherend American or Israeli capabilities though; it combines high-grade geospatial exploitation references (delivered to the French MoD military mapmaking or cruise missile mission planning for example) with strategic and tri-service imint systems. In 2012, GeoMaker reached out to new highprecision ground mapping sensors, such as

TopCon high-density 3D laser mapper for mobile ground applications. I INFORMATION PRODUCTION: THE WORLD OF GIS

Geospatial Information Systems integrate, exploit and analyse geospatial data, presenting them in layers in either raster (i.e. image-like) or vector (linear and polygonal) formats before publishing generic or tailored (thematic) geospatial information products. As such, GIS used to stand in the middle between data collection and exploitation

systems; however, they tend to broaden their scope by incorporating advanced sensor processing features to exploit overhead imagery, lidar, video on the one hand, and provide increasingly business-oriented products from military mapmaking, on the other. To confuse matters even more, satellite operators develop their own GIS services. Furthermore, almost every military-off-theshelf or bespoke geospatial exploitation solution incorporates interfaces or modules from commercial GIS. Although mapmaking and geospatial data presentation GIS applications for industrial purposes are plentiful, the range offering truly military applications is quite narrow. Military applications encompass more rigorous georeferencing and quality control features, as well as tailored functionalities such as military grid editing or tactical symbology management. Falcon View is one of the few early examples of dedicated military mapmaking facilities. Developed for PC/Windows by Georgia Tech Research Institute for free use by the military in the United States (essentially Air Force and Special Forces for mission planning use) in the mid-1990s, it met a broad success within and beyond defence user communities. An open-source version was released in 2009 for non-government users. With around 40,000 users, Falcon View remains a preferred moving map application in most American military aircraft. The success of this raster-based mapmaking and display application (currently in its fourth version) has led many subsequent and more advanced solutions to

Tasking space sensors through weather, terrain, and time zones while maintaining optimal ground control requires dedicated flight planning software, such as the proven Satellite Tool Kit used by commercial and military operators worldwide (AGI)

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Geospatial Information Series

The latest addition to high-fidelity geospatial products is the laser scanning software that instantly translates travelled terrain into a multi-million point 3D scene, thereby modelling surfaces, volumes and textures of micro-elevations in a centimetre-class resolution (TopCon)

An analyst performs terrain feature extraction from a stereo imagery couple on a Socet Set workstation. Automated sensor exploitation and computer-aided georeferencing have boosted time and reliability of photogrammetry and mapmaking (BAe Systems).

provide Falcon View-compatible interfaces in their product design. The GIS market is increasingly drifting into commercial applications though, and is dominated by few software vendors. Esri is leading, with about 35 per cent of the military market worldwide. In the United States, their gain of the Commercial Joint Mapping Tool KIT (CJMTK) with Northrop Grumman as a system integrator at the turn of the century has positioned Esri as a key provider to the Pentagon, which buys and distributes the Esri ArcGIS suite for integration throughout the US military. Initially a mapmaking tool for geographers, ArcGIS, covering desktop, server or mobile versions, as well as softwaredevelopment kits to be integrated in business applications, has evolved into a full geospatial production suite. Its latest V10 version released in 2010 has modules for about everything in the geospatial trade, from imagery and lidar integration to dedicated templates for C4I/Battle Management applications, and the firm is developing mission-tailored geo-analysis, involving anything from counter-piracy to submarine operations. A more recent success was the recognition of the enterprise version of Arc GIS, when Nato selected Esri (with Siemens as an integrator) for their Core GIS, placing the commercial product as a central capability to serve Nato C2 as part of its overarching, service-oriented architecture. Since then, however, Esri has been slower

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in penetrating more tactical applications, such as mobile battle management systems, artillery or dismounted soldier systems, despite a major partnership with Thales as part of their Comm@nder integrated C4I capability in the early 2010s. Against this recognized success, rival commercial applications have found it

difficult to maintain their market share; Intergraph, Esri’s Nemesis, has seen its GeoMedia GIS market share erode despite consolidation with other core business applications (Leica Geosystems, Erdas Imagine) within the Hexagon Group. Also, open-source applications, like OpenLayers or the French GeoConcept (successful with Gendarmerie, Army Aviation or Tactical Air Control Parties), have found it difficult to challenge the strong Esri-Microsoft technical and marketing partnership, which federates a huge ecosystem of value-adding partners around the two software editors (like AGI or IHS/Jane’s).

A web map of coalition operations in the Horn of Africa shows the power of geospatial analysis by cross-indexing multiple data feeds in a unified format. In this instance, air and maritime corridors are shown alongside piracy attack “hot spots” and navigation AIS data as georeferenced information even without a proper map background, proving than geospatial information goes far beyond “dots on a map”. (Esri/Thales/Nato)


A tactical drone ground station shows the aircraft’s flight path, the named areas of interest, and the sensor footprint over a digital map. Added to a sensor payload with rich metadata, this capability is increasing drone contribution to advanced mapmaking. (Sagem)

Against the rise of GIS and their constant functional expansion, is there a need for bespoke defence geospatial applications? It seems so, despite the growing presence of commercial components in military-grade applications. The reason lies with the need for critical defence core business (notably fire support, intelligence or targeting), to master and validate key data transformation functions, in order to certify their reliability for the most critical missions. The truth is, highly automated and “cool features� like on-the-fly mosaicking or instant building extraction out of heterogeneous map data in commercial GIS have their drawbacks: in cutting corners by equalizing or simplifying loads of sensor-specific data, they blur their accuracy and traceability, which hardly complies with drastic quality control procedures of military applications. This is why higher-end military geospatial applications still rely on their own algorithms from post-sensor processing and analysis.

Afghanistan in your pocket? The promise of Web map services, like this rasterized vector data set of the Panshir valley on an Android smart phone, aims high for dismounted users. But the disconnected mode (often the case in tactical operations) remains challenging. (WF)


Geospatial Information Series

Left, a Google image is used to place intelligence feed. Despite the nice look and feel, it is impossible to know the accuracy, origin and processing assumptions behind this information, which proved to be poorly geo-located. The right picture in contrast shows sub-meter digital elevation model of the same area built from documented satellite imagery and a terrain analysis suite incorporating accurate sensors models over verified map data. The resultant product turns intelligence into actionable information for effect-based planning and precision targeting (Google and WF) I PRODUCT DISSEMINATION: STANDARDISED AND SERVICE-ORIENTED

Without the structuring and integrating effects of standards, the geospatial industry would still be a stovepiped collection of expert data processing and analyses, with segmented exploitation and single-use authoring of proprietary geospatial information products. Beyond growing IT technology standards on which geospatial software solutions are surfing, the role of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is paramount. OGC, largely sponsored by the NGA, binds major GIS software players with system integrators and cots-mots solution providers. Amongst structuring standards, Web Map Services (WMS) or Geographic Markup Language (GML) stand out as enablers of selfdescribing and discovery standards, particularly tailored to enterprise applications, service-oriented architectures (where information discovery mechanisms enable information publish and subscribe), and web services which become increasingly hardware-independent. Other examples are recognised data formats, such as GeoTIFF, which enables scalability of large imagery data without compression. The role of geospatial or IT companies must also be highlighted, beyond Ionic Software, leader in OGCcompliant solutions; Adobe, inventor of the pdf light document dissemination format, developed the geo pdf to allow georeferencing of information within documents. Esri, with its own shapefile data format, is also driving data dissemination and interoperability, with most GIS recognising their competitor’s shapefiles as a quasi-standard.

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The role of distributed architectures is also key to the generalisation of geospatial information products, where certified authoring meets user-tailored visualisation. For example 3D-friendly plug-ins support fast browsing and exchange of high-resolution geospatial products such as digital terrain models and fly-through. However, their exploitation remains stuck at strategic and operational (theatre) levels, accommodating enterprises services on Web 2.0 technologies. Propagation of this level of information remains highly dependent on constrained

“…beyond the sexy look and feel of ‘Google-like’ geospatial displays, geospatial information production remains an expert trade, a vertical business highly dependent on sensor data and metadata…” tactical networks, as well as local processing capacity of rugged embedded hardware. This is probably why the deployment of Nato core geospatial services at theater level (e.g. for ISAF) is still pending, while paper maps (although made from digital geospatial information) still have a bright future to plan and conduct field operations. The technologies behind geospatial acquisition, production and dissemination are increasingly integrated, resulting in highly automated generation of multi-sensor,

multi-layered geospatial information products on a speed and scale hitherto unimaginable. However, beyond the sexy look and feel of “Google-like” geospatial displays, geospatial information production remains an expert trade, a vertical business highly dependent on sensor data and metadata, along with carefully followed workflow and quality control to build validated geospatial layers. The current status of geospatial information shows growing availability of high-quality products, thanks to eased dissemination standards and powerful map displays. The trade behind the powerful software suites available remains difficult to manage though; what is gained in userfriendliness is often lost in new specialised modules dealing with specific sensors or tailored analysis algorithms. The range of skills to master in order to fully exploit the performance envelope of high-grade geospatial solutions is broadening. Last but not least, the reliability of information from multiple providers and heterogeneous systems remains fragile, especially with cots solutions, restricting the integration of geospatial products across the sensor-commandershooter networked communities. The next challenge is thus for operational users to take full ownership of available geospatial products and augment, modify, fuse or tailor them for mission-specific use, while remaining able to trace and acknowledge multiple data transformations. This mission-driven integration of geospatial information in C4ISR applications will be analysed in the next episodes of our geospatial information series.


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Communications

RT’s largest aerostat, the Skystar 300, offers 1,500 ft AGL capability for tactical comms relay and surveillance/targeting applications. As a security feature, the system includes an unjammable wired data link system on the cable tether for receiving payload orientation uplink commands and transmitting downlink video images and data. The tether also carries the power supply. (RT Aerostat)

Aerostats As Comms Relays With an operational history stretching back to the American Civil War, tethered lighter-thanair balloons constitute the most venerable class of air vehicles in service. Requirements stemming from modern counter-insurgency warfare and border security concerns have made such aerostats more relevant than ever in their original role of persistent surveillance, while the insatiable need for connectivity in remote and difficult locations is making them increasingly important as platforms for radio communications relay equipment.

Peter Donaldson

T

he two roles – Observation and Communications relay – dovetail very neatly because all airborne surveillance systems must get their information into the network and their elevated position naturally increases radio range by extending the horizon and overcoming lumpy terrain, buildings and

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other obstacles. The Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS), for example, is part of what prime contractor Lockheed Martin calls a wide-area, secure communications backbone for the integration of threat reporting from multiple sensor assets. While satellites are the highest radio relays, bandwidth limitations, access charges and, in some cases, equipment complexity make alternative or supplementary means of communication

desirable for isolated outposts and difficult locations in all environments. Not only are aerostats the oldest of air vehicles they are also the simplest, relying on a buoyant gas – usually helium – for lift, a tether and winch for deployment, height control and retrieval along with various wired and wireless options to power, control and communicate with the payload. The combination of a long tether to put them above small arms range, strong, tear-resistant


The Persistent Threat Detection System, seen in this 12 December 2010 photo, uses a tethered aerostat with multi-mission sensors to provide long endurance intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications support to U.S. and Nato forces at Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province, Afghanistan. (U.S. Army)

envelope materials and fairly low gas pressures makes them surprisingly survivable; catastrophic deflation is unlikely even if they do take a bullet or two, while repair of the envelope in the field is generally a practical proposition. Aerostats, however, have proved vulnerable to extreme weather, with several lost to high winds in Afghanistan. I MACREL ON THE HOOK

A stream of new applications is emerging, a recent example being the effort to increase the range at which Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) can communicate with the robotic boats that they will deploy as part of various mission packages. To this end, American companies Robotic Research LLC, Carolina Unmanned Vehicles and Unmanned Systems International Corporation have partnered to develop the Modular Aerostat Communications Relay, or Macrel. The idea is for the lightweight aerostat to be deployed from and recovered to the LCS Unmanned Influence Sweep System USV semiautonomously. Robotic Research announced on 11 September that the team had received a

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the United States’ Government. The company reports that the work is to include a study into a sensor that will enable the development of a low-cost means of identifying and reacting quickly to changes in environmental conditions that will influence the launch, stable flight and recovery of the aerostat. The company says that the system, which it calls iMacrel, uses sensor inputs to determine when to extend or retract the tether to reduce strain on the aerostat and on the tether itself. Robotics boats deployed from LCSs will use the Multiple Vehicle Communications System (MVCS), in which the RT-1944/U SeaLancet radio carried by Carolina Unmanned Vehicles’ Lightweight Aerostat System (LAS) provides line-of-sight communications. The SeaLancet is a tactical network radio developed under another SBIR partnership between Harris and the Reliable System Services Corporation. Using Internet Protocol (IP) routing, the RT-1944/U can provide Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) services for line-of-sight

and beyond-line-of-sight communications in ground-based, shipboard and airborne applications. Described as a programmable wideband, secure, networked radio, the SeaLancet can handle data, imagery and streaming video, accommodating a variety of waveforms offering different data rates from six Mbps with a Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) waveform to the 64QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) waveform with its link burst rate of 54 Mbps. The basic system’s frequency coverage is in four bands from 2.2 to 6 GHz plus two additional L-bands, with either integral or optional up/down conversion. All are tactical bands approved for global operation by the US Joint Spectrum Center (JSC), according to Reliable System Services Corporation. Measuring 6.0 x 3.25 x 7.25 inches, the radio weighs 4.25 pounds, which translates as 15.24 x 8.25 x 18.41 centimetres and 1.93 kilogrammes metrically speaking. Further development of the radio is focused on security and interoperability with the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS). (Although the latter as a programme was

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Communications

A moored Aerostat balloon being prepared for launch at Multinational Base Tarin Kowt, Urzugan province, Afghanistan, on 7 December 2010. The balloon was the main component of the Persistent Threat Detection System and was used to disrupt insurgent activities. (U.S. Army)

cancelled, the software communications architecture and the waveforms developed for that purpose remain of central importance to American and allied tactical communications). To address security, a further SBIR award relating to the RT1944/U radio went to Louisiana company Bascom Hunter Technologies in 2013 for the development of an anti-jamming system that is backward compatible with the radio for MVCS platforms. JTRS compatibility is still lacking and, at the time of writing in early January, an SBIR for a JTRS-compliant waveform for the SeaLancet radio remained open, although the closing date was 22 January 2014. The requirement is for a waveform that complies with SCA Specification Version 4.0. I NETWORKING THE AMAZON?

While this application supports warshipcentred robotic operations, a Brazilian proposal to provide a C2 communications network covering the Amazon combines satcom, VHF and HF radios, wireless sensors, drones and aerostats. At the 18th

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A Persistent Threat Detection System floats above Forward Operating Base Ghowrmach in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, 29 January 2011, to give security forces an aerial perspective of the surrounding area. (U.S. Navy)

International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium (ICCRTS) in Alexandria, Virginia in June 2013, a team of Brazilian Army engineers and academics led by Col Engineer Antonio J. G. Pinto presented the results of a series of simulations to scope and illustrate the capabilities of such a system. The simulated hardware included a Tacom 74M aerostat of the type used in the US Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor (JLENS) system operating at 3,000 metres with a 3,200 kg payload centred on a 10-Watt VHF radio with an omnidirectional antenna. This is a type of radio in current use by the Brazilian Army. The virtual experiment contained two such systems 370 km apart. Both improved VHF connectivity and range around them, the signal in some areas was strongly attenuated by irregularities in the terrain, one being more severely affected than the other. The team also explored a simulated combination of wireless sensors, drones and aerostats in which the latter provided backbone links into the C2 system’s back end


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Communications

An anti-submarine warfare uninhabited speedboat performs strategic manoeuvres during the unveiling ceremony of the littoral combat ship anti-submarine warfare mission package held at the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Command Complex of Naval Base Point Loma, in September 2008. (U.S. Navy)

principle be suspended under an aerostat or carried by a drone to act as an airborne relay. In an early experiment with such a combination, British company Allsopp Helikites attached a 700-gram Exelis SpearNet radio under one of its translucent low visibility Skyhook aerostats and launched it to 200 feet over its flight testing grounds in October 2007. The company reported good reception out to six miles between hills, translating into a coverage area 100 times larger than the radio could manage from ground level. If the law had allowed, says the company, the 3m3 aerostat could have lifted the radio to 1,500 feet. Earlier tests in the United States using similar Helikites sent packet video data 61 miles in flat terrain and provided excellent coverage in hilly areas, says the company. With a background in high-altitude radio relay trials, Allsopp has developed a “see and speak” rule of thumb that says that if you can see the Helikite you can get reception. Even without high-gain antennae, says the company, the rule holds for cell phones, wifi systems, Manets, broadband, video, UHF,

network. Here a dense network of wireless sensor nodes, each with sensing, processing and communication elements communicated with a small number of widely spread aerostats via a persistent network of eight mini or micro drones acting as relays. Using repeated runs, the goal of the simulation was to assess the effectiveness of the aircraft network in maintaining connectivity between an island or islands of isolated sensor nodes at one end and an aerostat at the other, with control logic that made the drones fly randomly until they recognized, through signal strength measurement, that the last link that connects them to the rest of the network was about to break. When they recognised the situation, they would fly towards the source of the strongest signal to maintain the link. The software also contained logic designed to avoid undesirable concentration of nodes. Flying with the link maintaining logic, the team reported, a significant number of runs maintained 100% connectivity with the remaining ones very close to it, a result far better than that obtained in simulation runs in which the drones flew completely random patterns. I EXPANDING MANETS

Now that the latest generation of tactical radios – even down to the soldier/personal role radio level – can link to form Mobile Adhoc Networks (MANETs), any of them can in

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People and vehicles give scale to these RT Skystar aerostats, members of a family that includes the manpack transportable Skystar 1000 designed to be assembled and launched in 15 minutes, the 5.9 metre diameter Skystar 180, the 6.4 metre diameter Skystar 220 with its 9.5 kilogram payload, the 6.85 metre, 11 kilogram payload model 250 and the largest, the 7.7 metre diameter Skystar 300 with its 50 kilogram payload. (RT Aerostat)


Deployed from a trailer, the Skystar 250 is designed to be launched and recovered in under 30 minutes by a maximum of three people. All its components are palletised to ease transport by helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft. In addition to communications relay and reconstitution, RT markets this aerostat for many other applications including force protection, border security and maritime surveillance. (RT Aerostat)

VHF and HF radios and more. Backpack Helikites as small as 2.5m3 the company puts forward as ideal for keeping groups of soldiers with Manet-capable radios in contact despite difficult terrain. “Helikites plus Manet radios are probably the single best way to instantly provide high bandwidth over land or sea”, says the company. “There is no technical set up. Just turn on a hand-held Manet radio, set the channel and clip the radio onto the Helikite webbing. The Helikite will automatically power it thousands of feet into the air to instantly create massive, secure, long-term radio coverage.” The company touts similar advantages for HF radios, saying that a Lightweight Helikite three-feet long can lift a long-wire antenna to 200 feet within seconds, enabling an operator to “work half the world from a backpack”. Those are big claims, but they seem more than credible as the laws of radio propagation are on their side; Iridium phones, for example, with very little power and tiny antennae communicate directly with orbiting satellites, which are much further away than any radio on the ground is likely to be from an aerostat relay. At this point it is worth looking at the Allsopp Helikite family in some detail, as these are not conventional aerostats. As the name suggests, they represent a combination of helium filled balloon and kite and as such use a combination of buoyancy and aerodynamics to generate lift. The main advantages of this are the ability to thrive in high winds and the smaller dimensions compared with conventional balloons of equivalent payload capability. Normal balloons are pushed down by wind, whereas Helikite aerostats are lifted by it, says the company. Small size and stability in high winds are a big deal for aerostats, particularly during launch and recovery operations. Handling a large blimp in strong and gusty wind requires large numbers of people

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Communications

An aerostat being reeled back down to earth for maintenance on Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan. (U.S. Army)

Built into a trailer, the self-contained launcher enables a crew of two or three people to get the aerostat up to altitude in 20 minutes and recover it in six, says the company, supporting operation for seven days. The trailer includes a large capacity battery. Like Allsopp does for its Helikites, LTAS claims that the Blimp-in-a-Box can operate in high winds when other types of tethered balloon and many drones are grounded. The company says that the system takes advantage of the increased tension on the tether in high winds to provide the payload with greater stability. Operational endurance is a claimed 48 hours of continuous flight, after which the helium must be replenished in a process that takes around 15 minutes. Operating costs are described as low, with helium as the primary consumable. I HYDROGEN RETURNS?

who are at risk from whipping tethers. Also at risk, of course, are the balloon’s envelope and the payload. Allsopp says that Helikites are very easy to handle on the ground, with examples smaller than 20 cubic metres being manageable by one or two people, even in high winds. Those larger than 20 cubic metres are used with an inflatable shelter known as a Helibase, from which they can be inflated, deflated, launched, flown and recovered by one trained operator in “almost any weather conditions”, says the company, although the process is said to be slightly quicker with two people. Depending on their size and the wind conditions, conventional blimps require ground handling teams of between one and 10 people. I FROM SOLDIER RADIO TO RELAY

Thales Communications Inc also recognises the value of using airborne platforms, including drones and aerostats, to improve soldier radio network coverage and flew its SRW Tactical Airborne Relay (Star) for the first time in April 2013. The platforms in question were Lockheed Martin’s Desert Hawk small drone and a trailer-mounted aerostat supplied by Lighter Than Air Systems that the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command referred to as the Winch Aerostat Small Platform (Wasp). The Star

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relay is essentially a repackaged AN/PRC154A Nett Warrior radio board reinforced to withstand the environmental extremes associated with aerial platforms used in combat, says the company, including vibration, shock, temperature extremes and altitude, also adapting it structurally for mounting in the aircraft and enabling it to accept aircraft electrical power. The Wasp was tested during the US Army’s Network Integration Experiment 14.1, which took place in October and November at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. LTAS delivered a pair of ‘turn-key’ trailermounted aerostat launch systems to the SMDC to enable what the company describes as persistent, on-demand, beyond-line-ofsight communications in support of ground force manoeuvres. LTAS’ principle tactical aerostat is a family of systems known as Blimp-in-a-Box. The Kingfisher helium balloon features an envelope designed to resist tears and punctures that is capable of carrying a variety of payloads including communications equipment up to an altitude of 1,000 feet (300 metres) above ground level. It is designed for deployment from forward operating bases, observation posts and on more mobile operations, in which it can be towed behind vehicles or ships.

In the long term, however, helium might come to be seen as the Achilles heel of aerostats as the gas is expensive and has been increasing in price. Furthermore, the Earth has a finite supply that is dwindling as human uses, in electronics manufacturing and medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanners for example, are increasing. Once released into the atmosphere, helium cannot be recaptured. Ironically, the solution to the problem may come from hydrogen, the original lifting medium for airships dating back to Count Zeppelin’s military dirigibles. Hydrogen became notorious with the destruction of the Hindenburg in May 1937 and its use in lighter-than-air vehicles has been almost taboo ever since. However, Lindstrand Technologies has built a hydrogen aerostat – with further irony – for the German Army. Its use, says Lindstrand, is classified but involves the carriage of payloads weighing up to 100 kilograms that are released in flight. Hydrogen is so cheap that the aerostat is normally deflated between operations and requires no mooring station, says the company. Despite its explosive nature, hydrogen could still prove attractive if aerostats are operated high enough to keep them out of small arms range because the gas can be made easily by passing an electric current through water. It is also a by-product of the charging of lead acid batteries. Hydrogen is also lighter than helium and so a comparably sized aerostat filled with hydrogen will lift more. Gassy issues aside, the military aerostat is here to stay and the communications relay role might come to dominate the market.



Armed Helicopter Market

Target Markets for Armed Whirly Birds Saddam Hussein had tanks, but today’s bad guys are mostly VNSAs (violent non-state actors) with four-wheel drives and ‘technicals’ - improvised fighting vehicles. Either way, today’s good guys need armed helicopters for today’s asymmetric conflicts. 24

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This Royal Air Force of Oman NHIndustries NH90 TTH (one of 20) is armed with two Nexter N621 gunpods, each housing a 20 mm 20M621 revolver cannon and up to 250 rounds of ammunition. (Eurocopter/Anthony Pecci)

The Boeing AH-64 series has dominated attack helicopter sales. Here a licence-built AgustaWestland Apache AH1 of the British Army is seen on patrol over Helmand Province in Afghanistan. (AgustaWestland)

lightweight helicopter with limited weapons to deal with targets of opportunity. A recent report by the Teal Group (World Rotorcraft Review) estimates that in the 2013-2022 period the production of military helicopters of all categories will total approximately 5818 units. They will be worth around $ 132.8 billion in 2013 terms and represent an increase in value of more than 40 per cent over comparable purchases in the preceding ten years.

Roy Braybrook

D

edicated attack helicopters combine heavy forward-firing armament with minimum frontal area, to achieve high speed and the lowest possible vulnerability to return fire. Some situations are better resolved by a multi-role assault helicopter with a squad of troops, plus forward-firing armament to suppress fire from the landing zone and side-firing guns for self-defence. Scouting missions call for a

Despite cutbacks, the largest single contributor to the global spend on military helicopter procurement remains the Pentagon. This element peaked in FY11 at over $ 10.0 billion, but is expected to have halved by FY18 (in then-year dollars), spending on military helicopters falling faster than the US defence budget. One reason for this rapid fall in military helicopter procurement spending is that from 2025 the US Army and Afsoc (Air Force Special Operations Command) plan to begin switching to a completely new generation of around 4,000 high-speed, modern technology rotorcraft. The first stage is the Future Vertical Lift Medium programme, which (with different airframes) is to begin replacing the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility series and the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter from 2027/2028.

I APACHE

The 6838 kg Boeing AH-64A Apache was designed to counter the threat of a massive Warsaw Pact armoured strike across central Europe. It entered US Army service 1984, with a main armament of 16 laser-homing Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfires. It was superseded by the day/night all-weather Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow, which entered service in 1998. Primary mission weight is 7530 kg, but the AH-64D can be flown at up to 10,433 kg. Between 1984 and 1997 some 937 AH64As were delivered to the US Army and five export customers, all of which went on to buy the AH-64D Apache Longbow with provisions for the Northrop Grumman APG78 Longbow radar and Lockheed Martin AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire RF missile. The AH-64D is in service with the US Army and the armies of Egypt, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Britain. Over 2000 AH-64A/Ds have been delivered, and production will continue until at least 2026. The US Army currently has 570 Apaches, the National Guard 192, and the Army Reserve 48. It is planned to assign all these Apaches to the US Army, while replacing National Guard and Reserve aircraft with Black Hawks. The latest version is the AH-64E Apache III or Guardian (formerly AH-64D Block III), deliveries of which began in May 2012. Its improvements include T700-GE-701D

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Armed Helicopter Market

Based on the MD530F, Boeing has developed the AH-6S, aimed at the US Army’s anticipated Armed Aerial Scout programme, and the export AH-6i, shown here. The AH-6i is reportedly in production for Saudi Arabia. (Boeing)

engines, composite rotor blades, and the ability to control drones. Some 634 US Army AH-64Ds are to be upgraded to -64E standard, and manufacture of 56 new-build AH-64Es for the service is to start in 2019/2020. Figures from the FY13 budget request indicate that a new-build AH-64E costs around $ 37 million, and remanufacturing an AH-64D to -64E standard approximately $ 17 million. The first export customer for the AH64E was Taiwan. The Republic of China Army, which currently operates 6690-kg Bell AH-1Ws, plans to place the first of 30 AH-64Es (which cost $ 2.01 billion) in service in April 2014. In October 2010 Saudi Arabia requested ten AH-64Es for the Royal Guard in a deal that was estimated to cost $ 2.223 billion, including 28 engines, seven APG-78 radars, 640 AGM-114R laser-homing Hellfires and 2000 70 mm laser-guided rockets (LGRs). At the same time 24 AH-64Es were requested for the Royal Saudi Land Forces for an estimated $ 3.3 billion, including 58 engines, ten APG-78s, 1,536 AGM-114Rs and 4,000 LGRs. In the following month the United Arab Emirates requested 30 AH-64D Block IIs

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remanufactured to AH-64E standard and 30 new-build AH-64Es in a deal valued at $ 5.0 billion. This included 70 APG-78s, but only 120 engines and no missiles. Recent international sales include 22 AH-64Es for the Indian Air Force, at a cost of around $ 1.4 billion. This included 50 engines, twelve APG-78s, 1,354 Hellfires (812 AGM-114L-3s and 542 AGM-114R-3s) and 245 Stingers.

South Korea is buying 36 AH-64Es in a deal estimated by America’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency to be worth $ 3.6 billion, including 84 engines, 36 APG-78s, 400 AGM114R1s, 438 Stingers and 11,020 Hydra 70 mm rockets. Indonesia plans to buy eight AH-64Es in a $ 500 million deal. Qatar and Iraq have each requested 24 AH-64Es. In the former case the $ 3.0 billion deal included 56 engines, twelve APG-78s,

The classic armed scout helicopter is the Bell OH-5D Kiowa Warrior, of which the US Army has over 350. This example was taking off from Forward Operating Base MacKenzie in Iraq. (US Department of Defense)


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Armed Helicopter Market

576 AGM-114Rs (later increased to 1276), 295 FIM-92H Stingers and 4092 Hydra 70 mm rocket projectiles. India’s buy could be the first of a series that make that nation the principal Apache export customer. Following signature of the Indian Air Force contract in May 2013, the Indian Army made its own request for eleven AH64Es. The service also announced plans to have an aviation brigade (including one attack helicopter squadron) with each of its 13 corps. This could lead to the Indian Army’s procurement of up to 156 AH-64Es plus attrition replacements.

This Russian Air Force Mil Mi-28N ‘Night Hunter’ development aircraft has the mast-mounted N025 radar, which is not due to enter service until 2016 with the upgraded Mi-28NM. (Russian Helicopters)

“India’s buy could be the first of a series that make that nation the principal Apache export customer” The Teal Group forecasts production of 237 new-build AH-64Es in the period 2013-2022, alongside the remanufacture of 430 AH-64Ds. At the end of that period, production is expected to be running at 26 new-build and 50 remanufactured units per month. For nations that require an armed scout, Boeing offers the 1610-kg AH-6i, based on the MD530F. The launch order was expected to be 18 for Jordan (which already operates armed MD530Fs), but in October 2010 Saudi Arabia requested 36 AH-6is as part of a $ 25.6 million deal that included 36 AH-64Es (as mentioned earlier), 72 UH-60Ms and twelve

MD530Fs. At Dubai in November 2013 Boeing confirmed reports that it had received a US Army FMS contract for the AH-6i, and this was generally assumed to be for Saudi. Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia have all shown interest in the programme. I COBRA ZULU

The US alternative offered to South Korea was the less expensive 8390-kg Bell AH-1Z Viper (or Cobra Zulu), which was developed to satisfy a Marine Corps need for an attack helicopter offering maximum commonality with the substantially upgraded UH-1Y Venom.

The US Marine Corps plans to acquire a total of 189 AH-1Zs, made up of 152 newbuild aircraft and 37 remanufactured from AH-1Ws. The Teal Group estimates the production of 162 AH-1Zs in 2013-2022, implying few export orders. Figures from the FY13 budget request for the H-1 Upgrade Program indicate a unit cost of $ 29.3 million, but this is averaged over a mix of new-build and remanufactured AH-1Zs and UH-1Ys. The DSCA press release on the 36 AH1Z deal offered to South Korea gave a total cost of $ 2.6 billion, including 84 T700-GE401C engines, 288 AGM-114K3 laserhoming Hellfires, and 72 Raytheon AIM9M-8 Sidewinder air-air missiles. The AH-1Z, although equipped with the Lockheed Martin AAQ-30 Hawkeye day/night Target Sighting System (TSS), lacks the all-weather APG-78 radar of the AH-64D/E. Both aircraft have a maximum cruise speed of 265 km/hr.

I RUSSIAN RIVALS

This Bell AH-1Z Viper (or Cobra Zulu) serial 168002 is based aboard the USS Makin Island, LHD-8. The YQ-43 marking indicates that it is attached to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron HMM-268 ’Red Dragons’. (US Navy)

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Russia’s closest Apache equivalent is the 10,900-kg Mil Mi-28N ‘Night Hunter’, which has a flyaway unit cost of around $ 24 million. Cruise speed is 270 km/hr and its chin-mounted turret houses a 30-mm Shipunov 2A42. Despite its lower cost, the Mi-28N lost to the AH-64 in India, perhaps because its radar was at an earlier stage of development, and its main armament consists of eight radar beam-riding 9M120 Ataka-V (AT-9) missiles, with a range of 5.8 km.


One of around 2,300 built, this Mil Mi-24, based at Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, Arizona, is used by Marine Aviation and Weapons Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) as an aggressor training aircraft. (US Marine Corps)

Orders for the Mi-28N for Russian Air Force Army Aviation (VVS-AA) currently stand at 167 units. Over 60 have been delivered, without the N025 mast-mounted radar. The Mi-28N formally entered service in December 2013, and currently equips a training unit and four (of the ten planned) operational units. Each unit is also to have around five Mi-28UB trainers, which retain the full operational capability of the Mi-28N. The N025 radar is being introduced in 2016 with the Mi-28NM, to which standard Mi-28Ns will be modified. The Mi-28NM will have the current Klimov 1636-kW TV3-117VMA engines replaced by 1789kW VK-2500s (which already equip the export Mi-28NE), helmet-mounted sights, and the GOES-451M EO/IR turret (as on the Kamov Ka-52). Reference to the LSN296 laser installation suggests that the Mi28NM will use the KBM 9A4172 Vikhr (Whirlwind, AT-16) missile. The first export contract for 42 Mi28NEs (along with six Mi-26T2s) was finally signed by Algeria in early 2014, according to news agency Arms-Tass. The second contract, due to be signed by the end of 2013, is for 30 Mi-28NEs for Iraq. Nearterm prospects exist in Venezuela (ten aircraft), Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

I HIND AND HIP

The Mi-28N is being outsold in the export market by the 10,900-kg Mi-35M with VK-2500 engines and a fixed 23 mm twin-barrel GSh-23 cannon. The Mi-35M is slightly slower (260 km/hr), but operationally more flexible, with space for eight troops or casualties. It is also cheaper, at $ 20 million. It can carry eight KBM 9M114 Shturm (AT-6) or 9M120 Ataka-V (AT-9) radar-guided missiles.

“Since around 2,300 Mi-24s were built for over 30 nations, mostly in the 1980s, there is a substantial market for upgrades” Production of the Mi-35M was launched with a Venezuelan order for ten, followed by one for twelve for Brazil (which may buy four more ‘AH-2 Sabres’). At that point (May 2010) the Russian MoD ordered 26, followed by 27 in April 2012. Azerbaijan ordered 24 for its Border Protection Service in September 2010, and is expected to buy 24 more. In November 2013 Iraq received four Mi-35Ms, allegedly the first of a batch of 40.

Since around 2,300 Mi-24s were built for over 30 nations, mostly in the 1980s, there is a substantial market for upgrades. Russia is believed to have modified 24 to Mi-24PN standard with improved night-fighting capability. The Ukraine has over 70 Mi-24s. Some have been upgraded by Aviakon to Mi-24PU1 standard, and others (in cooperation with Sagem) to Mi-24PU2s. Sagem also offers an Mi-24/35 upgrade in co-operation with Mil and Rostvertol. Elbit Systems has fitted some Mi-24s with defensive aids suites, for Georgia (seven aircraft), Macedonia (six) and Sri Lanka (seven). IAI/Tamam has applied its ‘Mission 24’ system to 25 Indian Mi-24s, which now have day/night capability, and can use both the 9K114 Shturm (AT-6) and the Rafael Spike-ER . One of the leading upgrades is the ‘Super Hind’ developed by South Africa’s ATE (now Paramount Advanced Technologies), primarily for Algeria, which had 40 modernised. In its Mk III version, this includes replacing the turreted 12.7-mm YakB with a 20 mm F2, and introducing Denel Dynamics Ingwe missiles. In co-operation with Aviakon, ATE modified four Azerbaijan aircraft to Mi-24G standard with laser beam-riding SKDB Luch Bar’er-V missiles.

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Armed Helicopter Market

Pictured at Kandahar Airfield, this Mil Mi-17 of the Afghan Air Force is armed with UB-32 pods, each housing 32 57-mm S-5 rocket projectiles. (US Department of Defense)

It may also be noted that the 11,000-kg Mi-8AMTSh can carry the GSh-23 gunpod, B8V20 rocket pods and the Shturm-V and Igla-V guided missiles of the Mi-24, in addition to 36 troops. In August 2013 the Russian MoD announced a $ 380 million order for 40 Mi-8AMTSh, bringing the current total to about 180 (in addition to 150 Mi-8MTVs). The export version is the Mi171Sh, which is built at Ulan-Ude, and has been purchased by Bangladesh, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Ghana and Peru. Operators of the Mi-17V-5 variant include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and India. I LATER, ALLIGATOR!

Probably the most advanced Russian attack helicopter, the 10,800-kg Kamov Ka-52 Alligator is unique in having side-by-side seating, jettisonable rotor blades and ejection seats. Powered by TV3-117VMA engines, it is slightly slower (at 250 km/hr)

than its tandem-seat rivals. Its contrarotating rotors are claimed to make it a superior platform for unguided projectiles, since it flies without sideslip. The nose mounting for its Phazotron Arbalet (Crossbow) radar is made possible by its 30-mm 2A42 cannon being mounted well aft on the starboard side. Main armament is twelve laser beam-riding 9K121 Vikhr-1 or radar-guided 9K120 Ataka-M missiles. The Ka-52 is expected to be upgraded with VK-2500 engines and KBP Hermes-A missiles, which have inertial guidance and terminal laser-homing, to suit its remarkable range of 18 km. The VVS plans to use the Ka-52 alongside Mi-28Ns and Mi-35Ms in seven composite squadrons. The initial production batch of twelve, ordered in 2009, was followed by a contract for 36. A multiyear order for 140 was reportedly signed in September 2011, but this cannot be

confirmed. In February 2013 the Russian Defence Minister stated that his department plans to acquire 985 new helicopters by 2020, but gave no breakdown. The Ka-52K Katran (Dogfish) is a navalised version for the Russian Navy’s Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, of which two were ordered in 2011 with options on two more. Each ship, the head of class being the Vladivostok, is to carry a combined total of 16 Ka-52Ks and Ka-29s. In October 2013 the Russian Deputy Defence Minister stated at Progress Arsenyev that, subject to the satisfactory completion of trials, 32 shipborne helicopters (presumably Ka-52Ks) would be ordered. The first export customer was expected to be Libya, but recent events have (at least) deferred such a sale. Russian Army Aviation plans a “fifthgeneration attack helicopter” in 2021-25, but no details are available.

I TIGER

The 6600-kg Eurocopter EC665 Tiger was launched in 1999 as a Franco-German programme, with each country to take 80 units. Following recent economies, Germany has reduced its order from 80 to 57 anti-tank Tiger UHTs, while trading in eleven already delivered. France has received 40 Tiger HAPs at a unit cost of $ 36 million, and is to receive 40 HADs costing $ 48 million each, although the final 20 will reportedly be deferred beyond 2019. Exports have so far been limited to 24 Tiger HADs for Spain and 22 Tiger ARHs for Australia. These aircraft have uprated

Shown is the first Spanish-built Eurocopter Tiger HAD-E (Helicoptero de Apuyo y Destruccion – España). The Tiger entered service with Spain’s Fuerza Aeromoviles del Ejercito de Tierra in late 2013. (Eurocopter)

This Russian Air Force Army Aviation Kamov Ka-52 Alligator is illustrated in minelaying configuration, with a KGMU dispenser. The Ka-52 can carry four KGMUs in combination with four Igla air-air missiles. (Russian Helicopters)

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MTR390 engines, and are cleared to use Hellfire missiles. The Spanish HAD is also cleared for the Rafael Spike-ER. There are further prospects in Brazil, Malaysia and Qatar. The Teal Group report forecasts 88 Tigers deliveries in the 2013-2022 period, with the last in 2020.

Hoping to repeat the success of the Eurocopter UH-72A Lakota, of which the US Army has already received over 250, this armed AAS-72+, based on the EC145T2, has been proposed as a replacement for the OH-58D. (EADS North America)

As the needs of the front-line nations for heavy attack helicopters are fulfilled, it is arguable that international sales will switch to what might be regarded as armed scouts. I T129

The 4600-kg AgustaWestland A129 (lately AW129) is less than half the weight of the AH-64D, Mi-28N and Ka-52, yet retains a considerable punch, with eight Hellfires. The Italian Army purchased 60 A129As, most of which have now been upgraded to AH-129C (previously A129CBT) standard with five-blade main rotors. A further upgrade will take them to AH-129D standard, with Rafael Toplite sighting system and Spike-ER missiles. Turkey’s T129 Atak is a joint development

of the AW129 by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and AgustaWestland, using LHTEC CTS800 engines. It was planned that only the first (of six) prototypes would be built in Italy, but in 2010 nine T129s (presumably ex-Italian Army A129As) were purchased from AgustaWestland in a Euros 150 million deal to meet an urgent Turkish Army requirement for delivery in 2012. This adds to the TAI order for 45 production aircraft, which carries an option for a further 40. Production deliveries were to begin before the end of 2013.

The first 30 T129s are being built to TUC-1 ‘combat support’ standard, Turkish Army designation T129A, armed only with a GD-ATP 20 mm M197 Gatling and 76 guided/unguided 70 mm rocket projectiles. Subsequent aircraft (which will presumably form the basis for export sales) will be completed to TUC-2/T129B ‘mulitrole’ standard with Alesan helmet-mounted display, eight Roketsan Umtas anti-tank guided missiles, twelve Cirit (Javelin) laser-homing 70 mm rockets, two Stingers and the M197.


Armed Helicopter Market

The armed version of the Hindustan Aeronautics Dhruv (Polaris) is named Rudra (God of the Tempest). This example is armed with two twelve-round 68-mm rocket pods and four MBDA Mistral air-air missiles. (HAL)

AgustaWestland and TAI are promoting the T129 internationally. Pakistan is an obvious potential customer, and Libya has shown interest. Other possibilities include Jordan, Malaysia and the Philippines. Italy may buy T129s from AgustaWestland in the long term. The Teal reports estimates production of only 78 units in the 20132022 period, the last in 2019, suggesting that Washington will prevent T129 exports by restricting engine availability. I REST OF WORLD

China’s export sales of armed helicopters appear to be limited to the 4100-kg Harbin Z9WE (licence-built Eurocopter Dauphin), as used by Kenya, and the 2250-kg Changhe CZ11W (Eurocopter Fennec copy), to be licence-built in Argentina. The Z19 is a

slimmer Z9 with tandem seating, while the 7000-kg Changhe Z10 is China’s first helicopter with a chin turret. It also has an X-type tail rotor and diamond-section fuselage. Exports may have to wait for a Chinese copy of the P&WC PT6C. Other Asian countries will compete in the armed helicopter market. India’s 5500-kg Hindustan Aerospace (HAL) Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is derived from the Dhruv (Polaris) utility helicopter, which entered service in 2002. The LCH has a Nexter THL20 chin turret with a 20-mm 20M621 cannon, and four underwing hardpoints. These can carry the DRDO Nag (Cobra) mm-wave radar guided missile, the LCH then being designated Helina (HELIcopter NAg). Plans call for 65 LCHs for the Indian Air Force and 114 for the Indian Army.

Turkey’s T129 is a joint development of the AgustaWestland AW129 by that company and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). Following six development aircraft, 54 production T129s have been ordered for the Turkish Army. (TAI)

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There is pressure in Japan for relaxation of the law forbidding arms exports. This could lead to international sales of the Kawasaki OH-1, of which only 34 have been ordered for JGSDF use. (KHI)

The same armament installation is being applied to the Dhruv, producing the Rudra (God of the Tempest). The Indian Air Force has ordered 16, and the Army has ordered 20 (of 60 planned). The 4500-kg (class) Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) (formerly Korean Attack Helicopter) is also to provide the basis for a six/eight-seat Light Civil Helicopter (LCH). A foreign partner is to be chosen in 2014, and IOC for the LAH is scheduled for 2022. The Republic of Korea Army is to receive up to 260 KAHs from 2018, complementing 36 AH-64Es. Japan’s 4,000-kg Kawasaki Aerospace OH-1 employs the traditional attack helicopter layout, but (like the KAH) has no chin turret. Despite earlier plans for 150-200 OH-1s, only 34 have been ordered for the JGSDF.



Frigate and Corvette Markets

The Leading Programmes Frigates and corvettes have always been the combatant backbone of navies around the world. Recent budget reductions and the changing world security scenario have called for more flexible, smaller and less expensive platforms. However, high-intensity operations still require sophisticated platforms to conduct specialised missions such as ballistic missile defence or deep strikes with main guns and cruise missiles. Frigates and the lower end of the corvette category continue to demonstrate their ability to adapt to new requirements and export needs, while new projects tune more closely into current and perceptible operational trends.

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Luca Peruzzi The Italian Navy’s third Fremm Carlo Margottini. Together with the other frigates, it is equipped for ASW operations with a stern variable depth sonar (VDS) and towed array. (Luca Peruzzi)

T

he Franco-Italian Fremm multimission frigate programme has reached the delivery and operational building-up phase for both navies under the umbrella of the European defence procurement agency’s Occar office (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en matière d’Armement).

Delivered to the French navy in August 2012, the Aquitaine first-of-class is involved in comprehensive testing and fine-tuning activities, having completed a just-over fourmonth deployment around and across the Atlantic Ocean last Autumn to test systems and capabilities away from traditional support facilities with a view to reaching full operational capability in 2014. The secondof-class Normandie has begun combat systems sea trials earlier this year, while the Provence was floated out last September. Two other platforms are at different building stages, while the Mohammed VI is still planned for delivery early this year. The last French defence budget law, covering the 2014-2019 period, revealed that six ASWconfigured Fremms, armed with deep-strike MBDA MdCN (missile de croisière naval) or Scalp Naval missiles, will be delivered by 2019, while ships seven and eight will come in an air-defence guise called Freda.

With a displacement of about 6,000 tonnes, a 142 metre length and a 20 metre beam, the French Fremms have a highly automated platform and combat management systems, supported by an integrated bridge system allowing for a crew of only 108 including the single NH90 Caiman helicopter detachment. The combined diesel electric or gas propulsion system is based on a General Electric 32MW LM-2500+G4 gas turbine and two Jeaumont Electric 2.15 MW electric motors or four MTU diesel generators, providing a maximum speed of 27 knots and a quiet low-to-medium speed up to 16 knots. The combat system is based on the DCNS Setis, designed for high-intensity naval combat scenarios, which controls all combat system functions through a centralised architecture. Thales supplies the IP-based communication suite with internal and external voice and data connection together with multiple data-link exchange, and the SIC-21 command information system. The sensors suite is centred around the S-band Thales Herakles multifunction radar, but flanked by a Thales Artemis staring array infrared search and tracking system, a Sagem Najir electro-optical fire control, an integrated Sigen Elettronica-Thales EW suite including RESM and ECM, plus a Thales CESM subsystem and Sagem NGDS soft-kill decoy launchers. A Thales ASW integrated sonar suite comprises the bow-mounted UMS 4110 sonar and an UMS 4249 lowfrequency variable depth sonar, a passive

The Fremm ER is distinguished by its integrated mast with the new SF 500 aesa radar as well as communications, IRST and EW suite. The new version is being proposed to both the French Navy and foreign customers. (DCNS)

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Frigate and Corvette Markets

Selex ES unveiled the Unimast last September at DSEI 2013. The Italian Navy launched last December an integrated mast programme which will draw on the results obtained from the Unimast and other research and development programmes. (Selex ES)

torpedo detection array and Slat decoy launchers. The weapon package includes one Oto Melara 76/62 mm Super Rapido main gun, two DCNS Sylver A43 8-cell VLS for 16 MBDA Aster 15s and in the near future two Sylver A70 VLS for 16 MdCN, two MU-90 torpedo launchers and eight MBDA Exocet Block 3 anti-ship missiles (ASM), plus two Nexter Narwhal 20mm remotely operated turrets, though the latter will be introduced with the second of class. At the Euronaval 2012 exhibition, the French DCNS shipbuilding group unveiled the Extended Range variant of the Aquitaine class frigate, given as largely similar to the French Fremm, but featuring new area air defence capabilities with potential for ballistic missile defence. Designed for the French Navy and the export market and already proposed to several countries (lately Canada), her most significant enhancements are an integrated mast, which has been defined and studied by a DCNS-led group of industries including Thales, and a more advanced Setis CMS. Called SF 500 and developed by Thales, the new four large AESA antenna radar builds on the architecture and the building block of the SR3D platform, already used on the Thales Nederland non-rotating Sea Master 400 3D. Italian Navy’s first-of-class general purpose-configured Carlo Bergamini frigate is currently involved in an almost five-month Cavour aircraft carrier-based naval group cruise around Middle East and Africa, following after a comprehensive test and

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evaluation period that preceded and followed the final configuration delivery to the Italian Navy last May. The second-of-class Virginio Fasan - an ASW variant - was handed over to the Marina Militare last December, while the third, the Carlo Margottini (also an ASW variant) was scheduled for delivery while

At the Euronaval 2012 exhibition, Fincantieri presented a model of a Fremm hull with an Aegis system. The same hull, with both gas turbines and diesel engines for high speeds, has been offered to potential customers, such as the Brazilian Navy. (Luca Peruzzi)

these lines were printed. Follow-on ships will be handed over at one-year intervals, while the Italian Government has so far funded eight ships (four general purpose and four ASW variants) out of 10, the last two options to be exercised by April 2015. These ships could be equipped with an advanced integrated mast, feasibility studies having been launched last December by the Italian Navy. Together with a group of companies led by Selex ES and including Fincantieri and Elettronica, the Marina eyes at a scalable integrated mast prototype to initially equip the new class of ocean-going combatant patrol vessels – a programme to be launched in 2014. Built and outfitted by Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN), a joint venture between Fincantieri and Finmeccanica’s Selex ES, Italy’s Fremms are to have a 6,700 tonne displacement, a 144 metre length and a 20 metre beam, and highly automated and integrated platform and combat management systems. The integrated bridge system allows for a crew complement of 131 (133 for the ASW version), excluding the twin SH90 (or EH101 + SH90) helicopters detachment. The combat system is based on Selex ES’s CMS, characterised by a federated architecture and an IP-based communication suite with multidata link processor. The GP and ASW versions feature a common sensor and weapons package based on MBDA’s SAAMESD (Extended Self-Defence) area defence system, including Selex ES’s MFRA Emparderived C-band multifunction radar with active phased array antenna and Aster 15/30 missiles housed in two DCNS Sylver A50 eight cells launchers. Selex ES also supplies the SIR-M5 phased-array IFF, the navigation and RAN-30X/I surface/air search radar, and two NA-25 fire control systems. The EW suite will be the same as the French ships. While the general purpose version is equipped with a Thales bow-mounted UMS 4110 and WASS mine avoidance sonars only, the ASW replaces the GP-equipped 11m stern launched fast boat with UMS 4249 lowfrequency variable depth sonar and passive torpedo detection array plus WASS decoy launcher. The weapons package comprises an Oto Melara 127/64 millimetre main gun with Vulcano extended-range ammunition and one 76/62 millimetre Super Rapido with Strales guided ammunition ILDS (two on the ASW, the second replacing the 127 millimetre gun), two Oto Melara 25 millimetre, twotriple MU-90 torpedo launchers and eight MBDA Otomat Block IVA (4 Otomat + 4 ASW Milas on ASW version).


Also at Euronaval 2012 exhibition, OSN unveiled different combat suites and propulsion systems for Fremm hulls, with new superstructures to accommodate a Lockheed Martin Aegis Weapon system with SPY-1D(V) four fixed-phased array antennae, and a propulsion based on turbine gas and diesel engine, which formed the basis of the Italian naval industry offer to the Brazilian Navy for its surface fleet renovation.

Last December, the first of four Type F-125 type or Baden-Würtemberg class frigates was launched at ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems’ (TKMS) Hamburg shipyard. Designed to support up to 50 special forces with space for two to four armed fast boats and two NH90 multirole helicopters, the TKMS and Lürssen-built Germany frigates will be delivered between late 2016 and 2018. With a 7,200-tonne displacement, 1,496 metre length and 18,8 metre beam, the new vessel has a Siemens Marine & Shipbuilding ship automation and control system, which allows a 110 crew complement with a 20-element helicopter detachment, manning and ship

Algeria has awarded TKMS a contract for the delivery of two A-200 Meko frigates together with six AgustaWestland Super Lynx naval helicopter. The two frigates will be based on the same design as South Africa’s Amatola class, but will be equipped with a different combat and armament suite. (South African Navy)

maintenance requirements allowing for personnel rotation and long-period intervals between dockyard assistance. The Atlas Naval Combat System (ANCS) developed by the newly founded Joint Einsatzsystem Team (JET) consisting of TKMS and Atlas Elektronik, runs on an open and distributed-architecture computer system, which is paired with the Atlas Tactical Data Link System (ADLiS),

providing interface between Link 11, Link 16 and Link 22. The ship sensors suite is based on an Airbus Defence and Space Cband TRS-4D/NR (Non Rotating) phased array radar, using latest GaN solid state transmitter technologies distributed on four active electronically-scanned arrays, divided between the two ship masts. The F-125 is also equipped with a Diehl BGT Defence’s Simone (Ship Infrared Monitoring,


Frigate and Corvette Markets

In December 2013 ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems launched the first-of-class F-125 frigate, which is to be delivered at the end of 2016. The four F-125 frigates are equipped with an Oto Melara 127/64 mm long range gun as well as facilities for out-of-area operations. (TKMS)

Observation and Navigation Equipment) passive surveillance system, allowing for early detection of asymmetrical threats. The EW suite is understood to be based on Rohde and Schwarz ‘s ACD001 highly integrated C-/R-ESM suite including Rockwell Collins CS-3600 RESM and a Rheinmetall Defence MASS decoy launcher. The weapons suite package includes an Oto Melara 127/64 millimetre LW gun mount able to fire Vulcano long-range ammunition for land fire support and five Hitrole remotely operated 127 millimetre weapons, in addition to two 21-cell Mk 49 Ram launchers and two Rheinmetall Defence MLG 27 millimetre gun mounts. On the export market, TMKS is also promoting a multirole frigate design of its successful Meko family, built by Blohm+Voss. The latest iteration is called Meko 600 and based on the proven design of Type 124 frigates. With a 143 metre length, 17.4 metre beam and five metre draught, the approximately 5,800-tonne displacement platform has been designed to fulfil ASW, AAW, ASuW, sea control, power projection, escort and task force protection, in addition to commander task force missions. TKMS, however, continued to register success with the smaller Meko A-200 frigate project, after the sale to South African Navy. In March 2012, Algerian MoD assigned to TKMS a contract of undisclosed value but reported

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between €2.17 and €2.5 billion, for the delivery of two Meko A-200 frigates and six AgustaWestland Super Lynx helicopters optimised for ASW/ASuW, plus training and infrastructure/maintenance packages. The platform is essentially identical to the South African Navy’s 3,650-tonne Valour class frigates with the same combined diesel and gas turbine/waterjet and refined propeller propulsion system. With a combat system based on a CMS provided by Atlas Elektronik, the two new ships will be

The choice between Oto Melara’s and BAE Systems’ solutions still has to be made for the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 frigates long range main gun. (BAE Systems)

equipped, according to industrial sources, with sensors and armament suite including possibly the Airbus Defence and Space TRS3D family radar together with an L-3 MAPPs IPMS. Armament package is expected to include an Oto Melara 127/64 millimetre main gun to fire Vulcano guided ammunition, two Rheinmetall MLG27 millimetre gun, Saab RBS 15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles, Denel’s Umkhonto surface-to-air missile and two multiple launchers for Eurotorp MU90 torpedoes.


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Frigate and Corvette Markets

package will also include a new maritime indirect fire system, two Phalanx, two 30 millimetre DS30M automated guns and general-purpose guns, two BAE Systems Sting Ray torpedo launchers and space for two AgustaWestland Wildcat Lynx or one Merlin helicopter. The maritime indirect fire system will be either BAE Systems Mk 45 Mod.4 5-inch/62-calibre guns or Babcock/Oto Melara offered 127/64 LW gun mounts. The Type 26’s design modularity will also help to satisfy export requirements. For example to meet the Royal Australian Navy’s requirements, BAE systems reached an agreement with local CEA Technologies to provide the vessel with an integrated top mast with active phased array technology, including S-band search volume, air and surface radar, IFF and possibly EW suites.

The new Type 26 will have a common hangar and multifunctional bay to facilitate certain mission preparations including the launch of drones, underwater robots and high-speed boats. (BAE Systems)

At DSEI 2013 in London, the joint team led by BAE Systems Maritime and British Ministry of Defence presented the latest developments regarding the Type 26 GCS (Global Combat Ship) programme. Developed to replace current Type 23 frigates, the new surface combatants will be able to conduct a wide range of missions independently or as part of a task group, and form the backbone of the surface fleet out to 2060. Featuring, amongst other numerous things, a flight deck capable of accommodating a Chinook, the first of a class of 13 frigates is set to enter service in the early 2020s. With a 6,000-tonne full load displacement, a length and a beam of respectively 148.5 and 20 metres, the Type 26 has a Combined Diesel Electric or Gas based power plant with one Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbine, four MTU 20V 4000 M53B high speed diesel engines and two electric motors ensuring a maximum speed in excess of 26 knots. Able to accommodate up to 118 crew and 72 embarked forces, the Type 26 design has been structurally refined. The vessel electronic suite is mainly based on new and upgrade programmes, including new Type 997 Artisan E/F band 3-D medium range radar, existing ASW suites including Sonar 2050

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hull-mounted and variable depth Sonar 2087, an advanced EW suite including RESM, CESM and decoys, the new MBDA Sea Ceptor area air defence system, which is first due to be installed on Type 23s. On the ‘26, the 48 cells are to be the Lockheed Martin and MBDA new Mk 41 VLS version called ExLS (Extensible Launching System), which is also expected to accommodate 16 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. The armament

Russian and previously Soviet Union shipyards have been exporting almost any size of vessels, bar cruisers and destroyers. After the end of the Cold War, the Russian Federation’s naval industry pushed its latest generation products towards its “historical customers” such as China and India. The latter in November 1997 signed a $1 billion contract for three Krivak III class multipurpose frigates. The Severnoye Design Bureau was put in charge of honing the Project 1135.6 to Indian needs, involving around 130 suppliers from across Russia and Europe. The three Talwar class frigates were delivered within a year from May 2002. A

The Alvaro de Bazan F100 type frigate built by Navantia formed the basis of both the Royal Norwegian and the Australian navies Nasen frigates and Hobart destroyers. (US Navy)



Frigate and Corvette Markets

The Spanish Navy is to launch the development and construction of a new class of multirole frigates, known as the F110, to start replacing the Santa Barbara class frigates at the beginning of the 2020s. These vessels will have an integrated mast. (Navantia)

follow-on contract for the acquisition of three additional frigates was signed in July 2006 and built by Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad. The last one was commissioned into service in June 2013. Around a year earlier though, India started talking about purchasing yet

another three. With a full displacement of 4,000 tonnes, a length and beam of respectively 124.8 and 15.2 metres, the Talwar class frigates present redesigned topside and hull to reduce radar-cross section as well as advanced combat systems. With a COGAG-based propulsion plant centred on Zorya and Mashproekt supplying two DS-71 cruise gas turbines and two DT59 boost gas turbines to offer a maximum speed of 32 knots, these frigates boast a combat system the heart of which is a Trebovaniye-M combat information and control platform managing a sensors/armament suite including a Fregat M2EM air search radar, 3Ts-25E surface search and navigation radars, together with a number of fire control systems for both gun and missiles, in addition to a TK-25E-5 EW suite with ESM/ECM and decoy launchers, and an ASW package. Armament includes a 100 millimetre A-190E main gun, two Kashtan ILDS, one 3S-90 launcher for 9M317 (SA-N12) surface-to-air missiles, eight Igla-1E (SA16) air defence missiles and eight-cell vertical launchers for 3M-54E Klub-N anti-surface missiles. The ASW suite includes one RBU6000 rocket launcher and two twin 533 metre torpedo launchers, together with the capability to accommodate and operate one Ka-28 ASW or Ka-31 AEW helicopter.

In January 2014, Damen Schelde shipbuilding launched the construction of the Sigma 10514 corvette for the Indonesian Navy. (Damen)

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The last of the five Ă lvaro de BazĂĄn F-100 class frigates was delivered to the Spanish Navy in October 2012. The design of this frigate family developed by Navantia has attracted attention and eventually was adopted in different guises and displacements by the Royal Norwegian and Australian Navies. The five Nansen class frigates built by Navantia for Norway are smaller at 5,290 tonnes and 134 metres, while the three Hobart class destroyers built in Australia by the Air Warfare Destroyer alliance including ASC lead shipbuilder and Raytheon Australia as the system integrator, features a 7,000-tonne full displacement and an enhanced combat system based on Lockheed Martin Aegis Weapon System with SPY-1D(V) multifunction radar, two Raytheon Mark 99 fire control systems, Northrop Grumman SPQ-9B horizon search radar, two Sagem Vampir NG IRST, two Ultra Electronics Series 2500 EO, two Rafael Toplite target acquisition sights, Ultra Electronics sonar suite, an EW package based on Exelis ES-3701 ESM and SwRI CESM, together with BAE Systems Nulka decoy launchers, and a more powerful armament package. The latter is based on a BAE Systems Mk 45 127/62 millimetre main gun, a


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Frigate and Corvette Markets

DCNS will provide the Gowind project, expertise and support for the local construction of the new Malaysian Second Generation Patrol Vessel-Littoral Combat Ship (SGPV-LCS) under a subcontract with Boustead Naval Shipyard. (DCNS)

Raytheon Phalanx 1B, two Rafael 25 millimetre Typhoon remotely controlled guns, 48-cell Lockheed Martin Mark 41 VLS for Raytheon Standard SM-2MR Block IIIA and RIM-162 ESSM missiles, eight Boeing Harpoon anti-ship missiles, two twin launchers for Eurotorp MU90 lightweight torpedoes, and the ability to accommodate a Sikorsky MH-60R. The Spanish navy and Navantia are working on a new F110 class of five vessels destined to replace the six Santa Maria-class frigates as of the mid-2020s. The programme is still in its first stages of development, but could hold potential on the exports market, with an expected 5,000 tonne mono-hull design powered by combined diesel-electric and gas and conventional propellers. The Mastin technology demonstrator programme was awarded to Navantia and Indra with a view to designing an integrated mast structure and investigating the indigenous development of an S-band phased array radar, as well as a series of systems to populate the new topside including EW and IFF equipment.

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The latest contract addition to Damen Schelde shipbuilding’s Sigma (Ship Integrated Geometrical Modularity Approach) family of patrol vessels, corvettes and frigates of 50 to 150 metres in length is the Sigma 10514. The Indonesian navy awarded contracts to Damen in June 2012 and February 2014 to build two ships, with technology transfer to local PT PAL company. Planned for delivery in early and late 2017, the Sigma 10514s differ from the smaller family models already in service with Indonesian and Moroccan navies in having a 2,400-tonne displacement, a 105 metre length and 14 metre beam, a 100 crew plus spare accommodation for 20 more, and enlarged superstructures for a third forward weapon station. In addition to a more powerful combined diesel and electric propulsion system, the 10514 will be equipped with a combat system based on the latest iteration of Thales Tacticos CMS with expanded capabilities and software development participation of local PT LEN industry. The system will manage a

sensor/armament suite including Thales Nederland Smarts-S Mk 2 surveillance radar, Stir 1.2 Mk2 EO fire control system, naval communication and navigation systems with Link Y data link and Kingklip sonar suite, together with an undisclosed EW suite. The armament package is to include Oto Melara 76/62 millimetre Super Rapid gun, Rheinmetall Defence Millenium 35 millimetre ILDS, 12-cell VLS for air-defence missile system (expected to be MBDA VL MICA), eight MBDA Exocet ASM and two torpedo launchers plus light guns.

In October 2013, Boustead Heavy Industries confirmed that its subsidiary Boustead Naval Shipyard had been awarded a 10-year $2.8 billion contract from the Malaysian Ministry of Defence for the design and construction of six Second-Generation Patrol Vessel –Littoral Combat Ship (SGPVLCS). Comparable in size to light frigates, the new ships will be based on the Gowind family of corvettes designed by DCNS in



Frigate and Corvette Markets

Raytheon ESSM surface-to-air missiles, MBDA MM40 Block 3 Exocets or Kongsberg NSM anti-ship missiles, a BAE Systems Mk 3 Bofors 57 millimetre main gun and two MSI-Defence 30 millimetre remotely controlled guns.

In August 2013 Daewo won a contract for the construction of the first of two frigates for the Royal Thai Navy. The second platform will be delivered in 2018 with combat system and radars provided by Saab. (Luca Peruzzi)

France. The lead ship is scheduled for delivery to the Royal Malaysian navy in 2017, with follow-on vessels to be built at Boustead yards in Lumut. The Malaysian shipbuilding group will be responsible for systems installation, integration and testing for the SGPV-LCS programme. According to the latest sources, the ship design indicates an overall length of 111 metres and 16 metre beam, 2,750 to 3,000-tonnes of displacement and a ship’s company of around 100 personnel. Four MTU diesel engines driving conventional propellers

NEXT ISSUE JUNE-JULY 2014: 1 JUNE, ADVERTISING: 17 MAY

Mortars: Born as a rudimentary indirect fire weapon around the 17th century, the mortar became a more significant piece of artillery in 1915 when Sir Wilfred Stokes turned it into a prodigious trench attack device. However, the mortar started being looked at with more consideration in the 1930s after Art Deco wrought iron expert Edgar Brandt put his hand into the principle, to turn it into a proper and respected technology.

Tank Situation: With the demise of Communism in Europe, the need for heavy battle tanks waned and even nations that were about to acquire newer models still 20 years ago finally threw the spanner in the works. However, the Western World is not the World, and numerous other nations still require the tank’s power or the image it conveys to impose some form of authority. Full-calibre Fin-stabilised 120 Ammo: Developed during the Cold War era to improve

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provide a maximum speed of 28 knots. The superstructures presents a stern flight deck plus hangar for a medium size helicopter and an integrated mast for radars and electronics. According to latest information, the CMS has been confirmed to be a DCNS Setis together with a Rheinmetall TMEO mk2 – TMX/EO Electro-optical tracking and fire control systems, while the 3D surveillance is to be a Thales Nederland Smart-S Mk 2 type and possibly a Thales Captas 2 sonar suite. The armament package is to include MBDA Mica VL or

armour penetration, 120 mm smoothbore guns were mainly designed to use kinetic energy rounds. Nowadays missions require much more flexibility, thus an entirely new type of round had to be developed to ensure main battle tanks efficiency in their infantry support role, which in a way brings them back to their origin. On-the-move Satcoms: The use of satellites to relay long-range communications already was quite an evolution, but over the past few years, the possibility offered to do so while moving actually constituted a revolution as it allows one to transmit without being a sitting duck on the one hand and drones to continue transmitting vital pictures and information to soldiers “downstairs” on the other. V-22 Market: The first convertiplane “to have made it”, the V-22, perhaps better known as the Osprey, has for decades been looked upon as an only-for-Americans piece of equipment, mainly because of its price and running costs. The trouble is that this has been caught up by the inflationary

In the Far East, both South Korean’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) groups are aggressively proposing their portfolio of platform solutions to Asian and Middle East customers, scoring interesting success. In August last year, Daewoo won a $470 million contract for the first of two frigates for the Royal Thai Navy in August 2018. With a 3,700-tonne full load displacement, a length and beam of respectively 122.5 and 14.4 metres, the new frigate has been reported to be based on the DW3000H design, which include an integrated sensor and communication mast, an Oto Melara 76/62 Super Rapid gun, two MSI-Defence Seahawk 30 millimetre guns, space for 32 Raytheon RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrows in an eightcell Lockheed Martin Mk 41 vertical launch system and facilities for a 10-tonne class helicopter. Saab is to supply the combat management system and the radar suite for the same programme while Atlas Elektronik is in charge of the sonar suite. Daewo is also proposing a frigate design for Philippine Navy requirements.

cost of protecting oneself against aggression, not to a point of becoming affordable, but of being the only cost-effective solution in certain cases. Geospatial Information 2: After laying the principles of geo-referenced maps in our last issue, the author now dives into the practical solutions the technology brings. This second article examines what the solutions that can be provided to ground battlespace applications. Drones–Compendium: More than ever, this already popular Armada Compendium provides a valuable guide in the current maze of developments and clearly explains which are the viable solutions from a defence point of view. Many companies and nations have improvised themselves drone developers and manufacturers without properly evaluating all the technical and engineering hurdles that need to be overcome – established and reputed manufacturers already have difficulties keeping a relatively clean nocrash record! There are plenty of drone catalogues around, but they are just that: catalogues.




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