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Contents
OCTOBER 2014
VOLUME 22 / ISSUE 6
16
Keeping the
Coast Clear
The demand for corvette and Offshore Patrol Vessels
is booming in the Asia-Pacific, as revealed by
UK-based naval affairs journalist Edward Hooton,
who examines several programmes in detail.
Front Cover Photo:
CEA Technologies of Australia is
rolling out its CEAFAR and
CEAMOUNT radars onboard the
Royal Australian Navy’s
‘ANZAC’ class frigates, with this
upgrade programme expected
to be completed in 2016
© CEA Technologies
25
10
Electric Light Orchestra
United Kingdom-based defence
journalist Peter Donaldson
takes a look at the latest
technological innovations
intended to help infantry soldiers
see in the dark, and improve
their situational awareness.
20
46
40
Ether Madness
AMR Naval Directory
US-based defence journalist and
former US Navy captain
Marty Kauchak rounds-up the major
happening in the Asia-Pacific’s
naval fleets over the past year.
AMR editor Thomas Withington
takes a detailed look at a
selection of naval Electronic
Support Measures currently
available which can help sailors
protect their vessels from
electromagnetic threats.
PULSE
34
New Rules for Flight Schools
The advent of fifth-generation
multi-role combat aircraft is causing
air forces around the Asia-Pacific
to re-evaluate their flight training
provision as London-based aviation
journalist David Oliver explains.
06
AMR editor Thomas Withington’s ‘Pulse’ column provides all the latest
news and analysis across the defence RF (Radio Frequency) spectrum.
Nobody on Board
United Kingdom-based defence
journalist Claire Apthorp delves into
the Tactical Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle market in the Asia-Pacific,
examining some of the latest
acquisitions to this end.
Yoda-Like Perception
Airborne Electronic Intelligence
platforms are indispensable to
air operations, AMR editor
Thomas Withington, finds out,
with investment flowing into this
domain around the world.
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Index of Advertisers
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IDEX UAE
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GSA SINGAPORE
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IMDEX SINGAPORE
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LAAD BRAZIL
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MBDA
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NARDA
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PHOTONIS
15
Editorial
T
CAUTIOUSLY
OPTIMISTIC
he dramatic sweep that the Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent organisation
has made across northern Iraq during the first
half of 2014 has taken the world largely by surprise.
Advertising Offices
Australia
Peter Stevens, Publisher’s Internationalé
Tel: (61) 8 9389 6601
Email: [email protected]
The prospect of a significant part of the Middle East falling under the control of
such a violent movement has prompted regional alarm, and recourse to arms.
The United States commenced air strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq in late August
2014. France followed suit with reconnaissance flights on 15 September 2014,
with the United Kingdom also admitting to performing reconnaissance sorties
(see this month’s Pulse column and our ‘Yoda-Like Perception’ articles). Yet while
ISIS’ advance in Iraq may be rolled back by the US air strikes and elements of the
Iraqi armed forces and Kurdish Peshmerga guerrillas battling the insurgents,
ISIS maintains a stronghold and a redoubt in Syria.
Benelux
Cornelius W. Bontje
Tel: (41) 79 635 2621
Email: [email protected]
France/Spain
Stephane de Remusat, REM International
Tel: (33) 5 3427 0130
E-Mail: [email protected]
Germany/Austria/Switzerland/Italy/UK
Sam Baird, Whitehill Media
Tel: (44-1883) 715 697 Mobile: (44-7770) 237 646
E-Mail: [email protected]
East-Central Europe/Greece/Turkey
Zena Coupé
Tel: +44 1923 852537, [email protected]
Nordic Countries/South Africa
Emanuela Castagnetti-Gillberg
Tel: (46) 31 799 9028
E-Mail: [email protected]
Pakistan
Kamran Saeed, Solutions Inc.,
Tel/Fax: (92 21) 3439 5105 Mobile: (92) 300 823 8200
E-Mail: [email protected]
Russia
Alla Butova, NOVO-Media Ltd,
Tel/Fax: (7 3832) 180 885 Mobile : (7 960) 783 6653
Email :[email protected]
South Korea
Young Seoh Chinn, Jes Media Inc.
Tel: (82-2) 481 3411/13
E-Mail: [email protected]
USA (East/South East)/Canada
Margie Brown, Blessall Media LLC.
Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581
Email: [email protected]
USA (West/South West)/Brazil
Diane Obright, Blessall Media LLC.
Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581
Email: [email protected]
All Other Countries
Vishal Mehta, Media Transasia India Limited
Tel: (91) 124 4759625, Fax: (91) 124 4759550
E-Mail: [email protected]
Page 5
Jakhongir Djalmetov, Media Transasia India Limited
Tel: (91) 124 4759539, Fax: (91) 124 4759550
E-Mail: [email protected]
This has prompted questions regarding the United States and its performance of air
strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on 23 September 2014. Although the US and its
allies began air strikes against ISIS in Syria, notes of caution have been sounded.
Speaking in early September 2014, UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond warned
that Syria’s “Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) …(could) make air strikes
complex and difficult to deliver.”
Such fears are largely overblown. While the Syrian government has invested heavily
in ground-based air defences since its independence in 1944, it took the Israeli Air
Force just one day to demolish the air defence coverage that Syria had in the
Bekaa Valley along its border with Lebanon on 9 June 1982. A feat achieved without
the loss of a single Israeli aircraft. Since then, Israeli warplanes have struck targets in
Syria on several occasions, most recently on 22 June 2014, performing their
operations undisturbed by the Syrian IADS.
The United States and its allies have encountered the Soviet and Russian air defences
upon which Mr. Assad relies in the Balkans, Iraq and most recently Libya since the
end of the Cold War. These defences are not an unknown quantity. Any air campaign
against ISIS targets in Syria will invariably involve many more aircraft than the
Israelis have employed in the recent past against Syria. Such defences could simply
be overwhelmed by the size of the air armada, not to mention the air defence
suppression weaponry and techniques which would be brought to bear against these
ground-based air defences. This magazine is cautiously optimistic that the campaign
against ISIS targets in Syria will be largely undisturbed by that country’s IADS.
Thomas Withington, Editor
Editor: Thomas Withington
Tel: (33) 562 271 697, E-mail: [email protected]
Publishing Office:
Chairman: J.S. Uberoi
Media Transasia Ltd, 1205 Hollywood Centre,
233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2815 9111, Fax: (852) 2815 1933
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Creative Director: Bipin Kumar Assistant Art Director: Ajay Kumar
Production Manager: Kanda Thanakornwongskul Group Circulation Manager: Porames Chinwongs
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Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoeynue, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
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PULSE
by Thomas Withington
Radar
Hot on the heels of its Eurofighter Typhoon Multi-Role Combat
Aircraft (MRCA) rival, the Saab JAS-39 Gripen-NG MRCA will
soon receive a new Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)
radar. As reported in the September 2014 edition of Pulse, it was
announced at the 2014 Farnborough Air Show in the United
Kingdom that the Typhoon Tranche-3 variant of the aircraft will
commence test flights by the end of the year of its Euroradar
Captor-E AESA radar as a result of funding secured from the UK
Ministry of Defence to ‘de risk’ the radar and prepare it for eventual production.
At the same event Selex, which is a partner in the Euroradar
consortium alongside European defence electronics companies
Airbus Defence and Space and Indra, announced that it had
Thales’ I-Master airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar is to be enhanced
received a contract to supply the Raven ES-05 AESA radar for the
with a Maritime Moving Target Indicator. The augmentation of the radar
JAS-39NG (New Generation). The radar is under development for
is to be self-financed by the company and will supplement the system’s
existing Ground Moving Target Indicator © Thales
the Flygvapnet (Royal Swedish Air Force), which is converting 60
of its legacy JAS-39C Gripen single-seat MRCAs to the JAS-39E status. The JAS-39E is essentially the production version of the JASsignature of this contract represents the first Exelis radar sup39NG. This latter design was developed as a technology demonplied to the SANG. According to Dave Prater, vice president of
strator and includes the Raven ES-05 radar, along with other
radar, reconnaissance and undersea systems at Exelis, “We’re on
improvements to the aircraft together with a more powerful
track to deliver the radar and achieve operational capability in
engine, a higher fuel capacity and additional weapons hardpoints.
2015.” The GCA-2020’s secondary surveillance radar is ModeThe retrofit of the ‘Charlie’ aircraft to ‘Echo’ status is expected to
5/Mode-S compatible. Mode-5/Mode-S is the latest-generation
be completed for Sweden by 2023.
military (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and civilian
Work commenced on the Raven ES-05 in 2009 when Saab and
(International Civil Aviation Organisation) air traffic control
Selex signed a contract to develop the radar. Since then, a protransponder protocol which assigns a permanent 24-bit address
duction-standard Raven ES-05 has been installed on a JAS-39 test
to each aircraft. This information is integrated with the GCAbed. The radar itself is an X-band (8.5-10.68 Gigahertz) design
2020’s primary radar to aid the controller in safely and efficientwhich has a 100 degree field-of-view. Like the Captor-E AESA
ly sequencing aircraft for arrival. Once the aircraft is established
radar, the antenna is mounted on a swash plate, allowing the pilot
on a final approach course, the primary elevation radar complito tilt the antenna to increase its field-ofments the azimuth radar allowing the conview in order to maximise the radar’s search
troller to provide the pilot with glideslope
Thales is adding
and course line guidance. The GCA-2020
area. Moreover, the swash plate enables the
additional maritime
can effectively provide the full suite of
antenna to continue staring at a target for a
surveillance modes to
radar functions that an airfield requires in
longer period of time, compared to a fixed
its I-Master airborne
terms of its self-contained primary and secantenna, after the aircraft has launched a
ondary surveillance radars, and its precimissile, enabling the target to remain in the
surveillance radar
sion approach radar functions, which Mr.
radar’s field-of-view and communications
Prater says enables the controller to guide an aircraft during perilinks with the missile maintained, while the aircraft turns away
ods of limited visibility to a safe landing.
from the target. The go-ahead for the Raven ES-05 production and
Thales is adding additional modes to its I-Master airborne surinstallation on the JAS-39E means that Europe now has three separate AESA programmes underway, namely the Captor-E for the
veillance radar. The I-Master is a Ku-band (13.4-14/15.7-17.7GHz)
Eurofighter and the Thales RBE-2 AESA for the Dassault Rafale
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) which has a range of up to 19
F3A/B/M MRCA in service with the Armée de l’Air (French Air
nautical miles (35 kilometres). Covering 360 degrees in azimuth,
the radar can be tilted in elevation from -55 degrees to +10
Force) and the Marine Nationale (French Navy).
degrees. It has a weight penalty of 66 pounds (30 kilograms).
United States defence electronics specialists Exelis announced
Presently, the I-Master has a Ground Moving Target Indicator
on 21 July 2014 that it had received a contract worth US$9 million
(GMTI) which is capable of detecting slow-moving targets includto supply a GCA-2020 ground control approach radar to the
Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG). This radar, which
ing people walking. The SAR modes offered by the radar include
employs an AESA can perform primary and secondary surveilboth strip map and spotlight with a resolution of between 300 millimetres (twelve inches) up to three metres (ten feet).
lance and provide precision approach landing capabilities. The
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Able to outfit light aircraft, helicopters and Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles, the I-Master will now receive a Maritime Moving Target
Indicator (MMTI) mode developed by Thales. The development
of the MMTI mode, which was announced at the 2014
Farnborough Air Show, has been self-financed by the company.
According to a written statement supplied by Thales to Pulse,
“The requirement came from customer feedback requesting the
mode, and we are in dialogue with a number of these customers,”
although the firm has not disclosed the customers with whom it
is pursuing these discussions. An official press release from
Thales published during the Farnborough Air Show said that the
new MMTI mode, which takes the form of a software upgrade for
the I-Master radar, will allow the detection and tracking of fast
and slow-moving vessels from jet-skis up to larger ships during
the day and night in all conditions.
Raytheon hopes to be under contract to extend the life of the
Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Bombardier/Raytheon Sentinel-R1
ground surveillance aircraft, according to a statement provided to
Pulse by the company in early August 2014. The aircraft is
equipped with an X-band (8.5-10.68GHz) Airborne Stand-Off
Radar (ASTOR) Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving
Target Indicator and five such platforms are used by the RAF’s 5
Squadron based at RAF Waddington airbase in eastern England.
According to the statement, the United Kingdom Ministry of
Defence has asked Raytheon to examine “software enhancements
to the radar”. Such software enhancements could take the form of
deepening the radar’s ability to perform maritime surveillance.
Any improvements to the radar could extend its service life to at
least 2018. Although Raytheon is not currently under contract to
supply these improvements, the company hopes to be so “in the
coming months”.
Electronic Warfare
The RAF deployed its new Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint Electronic
Intelligence (ELINT) aircraft over Iraq in mid-August 2014 following a deepening of the British commitment to help stop the
advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group
across north-eastern and south-eastern Iraq (see the ‘Yoda-Like
Perception’ article in this issue). According to United Kingdom
secretary of state for defence Michael Fallon, the aircraft have
been over-flying northern Iraq, and are thought to be performing
their missions from RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus.
The RAF operates three of the RC-135W aircraft with 51
Squadron based at RAF Waddington, in eastern England. While
there has been no official confirmation from the UK Ministry of
Defence or from the RAF, the RC-135W aircraft are probably
involved in monitoring the communications traffic of ISIS forces.
As well as being able to gather ELINT on enemy radars, the aircraft
are thought to be able to detect and geo-locate ground tactical
radio traffic in the three megahertz to one gigahertz range which
encompasses High Frequency, Very High Frequency and Ultra
High Frequency transmissions. This is facilitated using BAE
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Systems’ Low Band Sub System (LBSS) which outfits the RC-135W
Joint Signals Intelligence Avionics Family, and performs initial signal detection and direction-finding for communications. As well as
providing valuable intelligence on ISIS’ intentions, and capabilities, the COMINT gathered by the RC-135W aircraft, by virtue of
being able to geo-locate ISIS communications transmissions, will
allow ELINT operatives to determine the position of key ISIS units
such as command posts and senior commanders with access to
communications. This information may then be passed to Kurdish
Peshmerga insurgents operating in Northern Iraq who are, at the
time of writing (mid-August 2014), locked in a bloody battle to
repulse the ISIS threats from areas of Iraq under ISIS control.
The Aeronautica Militaire (Italian Air Force) will receive new
Elettronica ELT/572 Directional Infra-Red Counter-Measures
(DIRCM) for their fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules medium turboprop freighters. According to a July 2014 press release
from Italian defence electronics specialists Elettronica, in which
the news was announced, the retrofit of the C-130Js with the
The Royal Air Force is planning to upgrade its Bombardier Sentinel-RI
ground surveillance aircraft. Although not yet under contract, the upgrade
could include software modifications to improve the ability of the Synthetic
Aperture Radar on the aircraft to perform maritime surveillance © Raytheon
ELT/572 represents “the first installation of a DIRCM onto a C130J”. According to Giovanni Zoccali, vice president sales, domestic EFA and NH-90 at the company, the ELT/572 will be factoryinstalled by Lockheed Martin in the United States. “They will be
sent to Lockheed Martin during the first six months of 2015 and
the first installation should start at the end of 2015, or the beginning of 2016.” In terms of the number to be procured “the first
order from the Italian Air Force comprises five ELT/572 suites,
but the intention is to equip almost half the fleet.” The Italian Air
Force has a total C-130J fleet size of 16 aircraft. The installation of
the ELT/572 DIRCM on the Italian C-130Js is expected to conclude by the end of 2016. The ELT/572 is designed to protect
wide-bodied aircraft and helicopters and defeats infrared guided
surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles by shining laser light into
their seekers to blind the weapon.
OCTOBER 2014
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PULSE
The Italian Air Force is to outfit its
Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules
turboprop medium freighters with
Elettronica’s ELT/572 Directional
Infrared Countermeasure. The
installation of the first systems is
earmarked for 2015 or early
2016 © Elettronica
Exelis of the United States announced on 30 July 2014 that it
had delivered the first nine Full-Rate Production (FRP) AN/ALQ214(V)4/5 self-protection systems for the Boeing/McDonnell
Douglas F/A-18C/D/E/F Hornet/Super Hornet Multi-Role
Combat Aircraft (MRCA) flown by the United States Navy. The
AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 forms part of the company’s AN/ALQ-214
Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) product family. In terms of the two AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 variants the
AN/ALQ-214(V)4 outfits the F/A-18E/F while the AN/ALQ214(V)5 equips the legacy F/A-18C/D, the principle differences
between the two systems focusing on the mounting equipment
used to affix the self-defence system within the aircraft.
The architecture of the AN/ALQ-214 combines a Radio
Frequency (RF) generator, onboard RF transmitters and a towed
decoy. The generator produces an RF signal designed to spoof or
disrupt potentially hostile radar and radar-guided surface-to-air
and air-to-air missiles. It also has a modular and programmable
design to counter emerging RF threats. Compared to earlier versions of the AN/ALQ-214 which commenced delivery in 1997, the
AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 has a weight saving of 45 kilograms (100lbs)
and has important updates to its hardware and software architecture. This will allow the AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 to take emerging
radar threats into account as and when they appear. The AN/ALQ214(V)4/5 for now is only outfitting the F/A-18C/D/E/F aircraft
of the US Navy. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) does not
operate the F/A-18E/F, although it does possess the F/A-18C/D.
According to Joe Rambala and Andy Dunn, vice president and general manager, integrated electronic warfare systems and vice president of business development for integrated electronic warfare systems respectively at Exelis, “the AN/ALQ-214(V)5 could be applicable to the USMC’s F/A-18C/D aircraft in the future should the
08
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Corps’ decide on an upgrade to this effect.” For now, these aircraft
accommodate Northrop Grumman/Exelis (formerly ITT)
AN/ALQ-165 Airborne Self Protection Jammer, which is also
deployed onboard the F/A-18C/D aircraft flown by the Swiss Air
Force and the Suomen Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force), as well as F16s flown by the Republic of Korea Air Force.
Exelis is delivering the self-protection system to the US Navy
via a series of FRPs. FRP-9, for which the contract was awarded by
the US Navy in 2012, covers 25 AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 systems with
deliveries concluding at the end of 2014. The July 2014 announcement covers the first nine of these systems, with the balance of 16
to be delivered by the end of this year. FRP-10 was contracted in
2013 and will see the delivery of 62 systems by the end of 2015 and
FRP-11 was contracted in 2014 and will cover 44 systems to be
delivered by the end of 2016.
In the naval domain, Airborne Systems of Bridgend, Wales,
announced on 14 August 2014 that it had been awarded a contract
to supply its FDS3 Corner Reflector Decoy to the Royal New
Zealand Navy (RNZN). The contract is worth $5.6 million over
the next three years and will see the company’s FDS3 dispensing
system for the Corner Reflector Decoys being installed onboard
the RNZN’s ‘ANZAC’ class frigates as part of the Frigate System
Upgrade Programme for these vessels. In total, the RNZN operates two of the ‘ANZAC’ class ships, which are also used by the
Royal Australian Navy. The entire architecture for the FDS3
Corner Reflector Decoy includes a deck-mounted launch tube
outfitted with the decoy. Once launched, the decoy inflates and
then settles on the sea surface. It is designed to protect a ship
against radar-guided anti-ship missiles (see this month’s ‘Ether
Madness’ article for a more detailed discussion on the danger
posed to naval ships by such weapons). The FDS3 achieves this by
confusing the missile’s radar thanks to the number of radar
echoes generated by the sharp, angular surface of the decoy. The
company’s official literature states that each FDS3 decoy can create a target with an active radar cross section in excess of 500000
square metres (5.3 million square feet) in size.
Exelis’
AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5
Integrated
Defensive
Electronic
Countermeasures suite is equipping the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing
F/A-18C/D/E/F Hornet/Super Hornet multirole combat aircraft operated
by the United States Navy © Exelis
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IDA 2: Dive deep into
interference analysis
Elektrobit’s TAC WIN product has been procured by the Finnish Army to provide
internet access to military personnel from the brigade to platoon level. TAC WIN
allows soldiers to use their tactical radios to this end © Thomas Withington
Tactical Radio
Finnish military communications specialists Elektrobit announced in
mid-July 2014 that they had received a purchase order from the Finnish
Defence Forces for the company’s Tactical Wireless Internet Protocol
Network, better known as TAC WIN. TAC WIN provides wired and
wireless battlefield Internet Protocol (IP) networks from brigade to platoon levels across a 30-kilometre (19-mile) range. In addition to military
users, TAC WIN can be accessed by public subscribers who may need
to work with the military, such as first responders during a humanitarian crisis or disaster relief operation. Physically, the TAC WIN takes the
form of a compact and robust Tactical Router and three optional Radio
Heads which the company says cover the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation’s I, II and III radio bands, effectively the Ultra High
Frequency (300 megahertz to three gigahertz) frequency range.
For all intents and purposes TAC WIN provides broadband wired
and wireless internet communications in areas where none exists.
According to Harri Romppainen, vice president of defence at
Elektrobit, the deliveries of TAC WIN Tactical Routers and Radio
Heads to the Finnish defence forces will conclude by the end of 2015
and they will be deployed with the Suomen Maavoimat (Finnish
Army). The Tactical Router forms the wired and wireless IP networks
while the three Radio Heads each cover a specific frequency band,
allowing the tactical radios used by soldiers to connect to the TAC
WIN network and hence have IP access.
Rapidly identify, precisely analyze,
easily evaluate and intelligently
localize interference in the radio
spectrum.
• Extremely fast: 12 GHz/s
• Super light: < 3 kg
• Impressively sensitive: NF 7 dB
• I/Q-Analyzer: Real-time
in-field analysis
· 1 µs spectrogram resolution
· Persistence display
Narda Safety Test Solutions GmbH
Sandwiesenstrasse 7
72793 Pfullingen, Germany
Tel. +49 7121 97 32 0
[email protected]
www.narda-ida.com
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NIG HT
V I S I O N
VISION THING
When night vision technology was novel, the big distinction
was between forces that had some, and knew how to use it,
and those that did not. Now, those forces that provide the
best equipment to the most troops are more likely to own the
night and even small increments in sensor performance can
make a big difference on the darkest of evenings.
by Peter Donaldson
Members of the 108th Contingency Response Group train with
night vision goggles in AM General HMMWV vehicles at Joint Base
McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey in January 2014. The goggles
illuminate the driver’s face © US Air National Guard
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NIGH T
V I S I O N
ntegration is increasingly important.
The concept of the ‘soldier-as-asystem’ has come far and the latest
night vision systems offer high levels
of integration with a soldier’s optronics, communications, navigation, positioning, battle management and weapon systems. Similarly, infantry fighting vehicles
and armoured personnel carriers are being
fitted with closely integrated vehicle electronics or ‘vectronics’ that support
advanced mission equipment such as
panoramic optronics, reconnaissance and
targeting systems that improve short-range
situational awareness. However, there is
still much to be done to bring the soldier
and vehicle optronics worlds together.
I
Tube-tastic
In the field of core sensor technology,
where digital imaging has made tremendous progress in applications across the
board, the resolutely analogue image
intensifier is holding on tenaciously to its
dominant position at the heart of the Night
Vision Goggle (NVG), monocular devices
and weapon sights essential for infantry
operations in darkness, even though they
are being supplemented occasionally with
both integral and clip-on microbolometerbased thermal imagers. A microbolometer
is a type of detector built from a material,
often vanadium oxide, the electrical resistance of which changes when exposed to
infrared light between 7.5 and 14 microns
in wavelength. Microbolometers do not
need cooling. The reason for the image
intensifier’s continued dominance lies in its
killer combination of very high image
quality and negligible latency; that is, the
delay between the light entering the
device’s objective lens and the presentation
of the image to the viewer.
Essentially a high-voltage vacuum tube
that converts photons gathered by the
objective lens into electrons multiplies
them thousands of times and then converts
them back into photons to provide the
wearer with a sharp, bright view of the
outside world though the eyepiece. The
tube sits between the objective lens and the
eyepiece, which are separate components.
Although image intensifier tubes are
quite mature as a technology and in such
Infantry fighting vehicles, such as these General Dynamics Stryker, are beginning to be fitted
with local situational awareness camera systems, but display arrangements for soldiers can
be improved © US DoD
widespread military use as to almost be
taken for granted, the barriers to entry for
their manufacture are high and the best
devices for military use come from a few
companies in North America and Europe
including Exelis, L-3, Newcon Optik and
Photonis. Their performance is defined by
a Figure of Merit (FoM) which is derived
by multiplying the Signal-to-Noise Ratio
(SNR) with the resolution in line-pairs per
millimetre (lp/mm); the latter is a measure of the ability to distinguish between
two closely-spaced objects. A tube with an
SNR of 25 and a resolution of 64lp/mm,
for example, would have an FoM of 1600,
which happens to be the upper limit for
export from the United States permitted
by the State Department under ITAR
(International
Traffic
in
Arms
Regulations) requirements. The currentstate-of-the-art, however, is thought to be
in the low-to-mid 2000s.
The analogue image intensifier is
expected to continue improving slowly for
the foreseeable future, according to industry sources. Referring to a 2013 contract
from the US Navy to develop a new
high-performance image intensifier tube, Ed Yarish, Exelis’ domestic business development director for night vision, told the
author that the new tube substantially increases the signalto-noise ratio and resolution:
“When put in a goggle, that
really gives you a lot of clarity,
better depth perception and
F9800 series image intensifier consists of a
GaAs photocathode bonded to a glass input
window, an MCP amplifier, and a P-43
phosphor screen deposited on an inverting
fibre-optic output window © Exelis
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With the monocular PVS-14, the intensifier provides long-range vision of potential threats and
targets, while the other eye, unaided and dark-adapted, provides situational awareness and vision
of nearby objects © Exelis
longer range recognition and identification of targets.” Jean-Luc Espie, deputy
manager for night vision equipment at
Thales, concurs with this incremental view
of likely progress. “Image intensifier tube
technology has evolved constantly over
the last 30 years. There is likely still some
margin for improvement, albeit at a slower rate,” he told the author.
Enter INTENS
Based in Mérignac, southwest France,
Photonis continues to push the technology.
The company claims a “typical” FoM of
2000 and a signal-to-noise-ratio of 30 for its
new INTENS image- intensifier tube that it
launched at the June 2014 Eurosatory exhibition held in Paris in June. Dividing 2000
by 30 yields a resolution of more than 66
lp/mm. The company also emphasises that
the new tube is sensitive to more wavelengths than its predecessors, its bandwidth covering the range from 400 to 1000
nanometres (nm), which stretches from the
ultraviolet at the short end to the red at the
long end of the light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and operates at light
levels down to 100 microlux (µlux). Lux is
a measure of the amount of light falling on
a given area, one lux being defined as one
lumen per square metre. Direct sunlight,
for example, generates roughly 32000 to
100000 lux, whereas an overcast, moonless
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night sky generates about 100 µlux (0.0001)
lux. These parameters, says Photonis, provide a 40 percent increase in detection,
recognition and identification capability
over previous tubes and suit it to missions
in very dark environments such as jungles
and deep valleys.
Night vision device performance is not
all about the tubes, however. “Further gains
could be made on NVGs in terms of resolution or field field-of of-view, as well as
ergonomic design and weight,” Mr. Espie
continues, citing Thales’ latest MINIE
image intensifier tube, which weighs 0.7
pounds (340 grams) and offers a 50 field-ofview as an example of recent advances.
“Innovative optical fusion system
architectures can also complement conventional light intensification with
infrared imaging, combining the high resolution of intensification with the detection capability of infrared while maintaining optimal portability,” Mr. Espie says,
citing the MINIE-DIR whose infrared
capability makes it just 0.1 pounds (60g)
heavier than the intensifier-only MINIE.
Digital NVG technology still faces some
human factor challenges, principally to do
with latency, says Mr Yarish. “While
Exelis and others continue to push the
envelope in that technology, quite frankly
it is not ready for prime time,” he said.
“But obviously, when digital technology is
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ready, the first application will definitely
be on the ground.”
Digital technologies such as Combined
Metal Oxide Silicon (CMOS) cameras
have been nibbling into the edges of night
vision capability for a while now and, at
Eurosatory, Photonis launched its
Nocturn family of colour low-light cameras with the promise of day-throughnight imaging down to quarter moon
darkness without supplementary illumination. Among the target applications are
infantry weapon sights, helmet displays
and monoculars and armoured vehicle
local situational awareness.
Infantry night vision devices come in a
variety of configurations, but there is a
basic choice that boils down to the number
of sensors there are and how they present
the image to the eye. Monocular systems
are the simplest and present the image
from one sensor to one eye; bi-ocular systems present the image from a single sensor to both eyes; binocular devices, lastly,
have two sensors in independent optical
paths and present a different image to
each eye. The binocular option is best
when visual quality is critical as two sensors gather more light than one and give
the brain its best chance to build a stereoscopic image while providing redundancy
The new ITAR-free Photonis INTENS tube offers
a typical figure of merit of 2000, comfortably
exceeding the 1600 limit for US exports. INTENS
comes from the same French stable as the XD4
and XR5 tubes © Photonis
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The bi-ocular Mepro Boxer runs for 80 hours
on two AA batteries, measures 150x152x77
mm (5.9x6x3in) and weighs I.8lbs (810g). A
single image intensifier tube feeds both
eyepieces © Meprolight
in case one channel fails. Pilots’ NVGs are
always binocular, but that’s not necessarily the best solution on foot. Two imageintensified products presented at
Eurosatory by Israel’s Meprolight illustrate the benefits of the monocular and biocular approaches.
The monocular configuration of the
Mepro Rantel allows the wearer (it can be
attached to the head or a helmet) to maintain full peripheral vision with the unaided
eye, supplementing the Rantel’s 40 degree
field-of-view. This is very useful where
there is enough residual light as the extra
spatial awareness makes moving around
on foot much safer, for example. “The single tube/single eyepiece approach,” says
the company, “is based upon the proven
concept that independent use of each eye
maximises the ability of the user to operate
under a variety of low-light conditions.”
The Mepro Boxer is a bi-ocular device
and as such is both cheaper and lighter
than a binocular goggle and more comfortable to use for long periods than a
monocular system. The optional clip-on
3x, 4x and 5x magnifying lenses hint at
extended use from static positions. The
sacrifice is mainly of peripheral vision as,
even without the eye cups, both eyes are
adapted to the bright intensified image,
Thermal imagers have
been overcoming
weight, bulk, cost and
power consumption
barriers through
microbolometer
technology evolution
not the dark environment. Both devices
feature 18mm (0.7in) diameter tubes, integral infrared illuminators for extremely
dark environments (or map reading) and
run on AA batteries.
(VOx) microbolometer camera, which is
small and cheap enough for the company
to offer it as an add-on capability for the
Apple iPhone 5 under the name FLIR
One. This is a consumer device that went
on sale on 23 July 2014 for just under US
$350. That price level, and the growing
military enthusiasm for Commercial-OffThe-Shelf (COTS) equipment, strongly
suggests that it may soon be an economic
proposition to equip every soldier with
his or her own general purpose thermal
imager, while significantly reducing the
cost of sensors built into weapon sights
and observation devices.
Raytheon says that wafer level packaging combines thousands of windows and
thermal detectors on the same flat surface,
greatly simplifying camera construction.
Each sensor can contain from hundreds
of thousands to tens of millions of
mirobolometers—compact packaging that
makes the sensors much more rugged
and better able to stand up to the rigours
of the battlefield.
Handheld targeting systems are also
benefiting from weight reductions as manufacturers listen to their customers and
Thin Thermals
Thermal imagers have been gradually
overcoming the weight, bulk, cost and
power consumption barriers through the
evolution of microbolometer technology.
This year, FLIR Systems and Raytheon
have revealed what promise to be breakthrough technologies in this area, both
involving uncooled mirobolometer sensors just 17 microns wide, one fifth the
width of a human hair, made using a technique from the microprocessor industry
known as wafer level packaging.
In May 2014, FLIR Systems released a
description of its Lepton vanadium oxide
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Nocturn is a new colour low light CMOS digital
camera that provides day-through-night imaging
down to quarter moon darkness and is offered
for both soldier-portable and vehicle local
situational awareness applications. © Photonis
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This image of a warm outboard motor comes
from a FLIR One thermal imager clipped to a
smartphone, representing a breakthrough in
low cost devices for the commercial market that
could soon benefit soldiers © FLIR Systems Inc
Mepro Rantel operates for up to 40 hours
continuously on a single AA battery, measures
112x42x63mm (4.4x1.65x2.48in), weighs 0.7
lbs (340g) and is compatible with weapon
mounted lasers © Meprolight
further exploit COTS technologies. Thales,
for example, launched its Sophie Lite multifunction surveillance and targeting system September 2013, trumpeting a weight
of just 3.5lbs (1.6kg) for a package that
includes an uncooled thermal imager, a
television/near infrared sensor, an eyesafe laser rangefinder, a digital compass
and a Global Positioning System (GPS).
“Earlier members of the Sophie family
weighed around 7.7lbs (3.5kg); Sophie Lite
weighs just 3.5lbs (1.6kg). The advances
made with Sophie Lite were achieved
partly by exploiting smartphone technology, particularly the new generation of
processors that are faster and use less
power. We also used space-saving optics,
advanced sensor technology, and clever
use of materials. The overall package gave
us a significantly smaller footprint and
weight reduction, and in numerous ways
improved performance. We believe that
Sophie Lite is the world’s smallest and
most compact full-feature surveillance and
target locator system.”
“We expect that further reductions in
weight will be possible in the future, but
not a big step change in the short-tomedium term compared to what has
already been achieved, possibly down to
2.65lbs (1.2kg) or 2.86lbs (1.3kg). But while
Slimming Sophie
“Sophie Lite was developed on the back of
extensive feedback from end users. We
spoke to army personnel who told us what
it’s like in the real world to use our kit in
actual military operations. It resulted in us
focusing on the weight of the device as the
number one priority, accepting also that
we had to achieve minimum performance
levels, such as range,” according to
William Johnston, sensors engineering
manager with Thales.
Wafer level packaging uses the latest
microprocessor production techniques to
mass produce tiny microbolometer sensor
chips, enabling significant cost reductions
and potentially providing every soldier
with a thermal camera © Raytheon
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size and weight may plateau, there will
still be huge improvements in performance and functionality. Sensors will continue to evolve, for example, and devices
will likely feature embedded data transmission functionality for real-time integration and connectivity with a battlefield
command network. Where we might see
further weight reduction is in ‘stripped
down’ devices—without laser, GPS or
compass—to meet the increasing need for
surveillance by homeland security and
paramilitary forces.”
Bring the outside inside
Moving and fighting on foot gives soldiers
more chance to tune in to their environment than being delivered to the fight in a
vehicle as the view of the outside world
that most armoured personnel carriers and
infantry fighting vehicles provide to their
passengers is close to non-existent. The
transition from the confines of a vehicle to
the exposure of the outside world can be
disorientating, or rather requires some
reorientation which takes time. The less
time it takes, the better.
What is missing for the troops is continuity of vision between the inside and outside of a vehicle. Optronics are beginning
to provide part of the answer, but the display arrangements do not necessarily give
all occupants the view of the outside
world that they might need. BAE Systems,
however, has some technologies that
could address this problem. The company
was marketing its Broadsword Spine soldier system connectivity solution at the
Farnborough Air Show held in the United
Kingdom in July 2014 along with its QWarrior soldier Helmet Mounted Display.
Integrated into either body armour carriers or skeleton order webbing,
Broadsword Spine is based on an e-textile
that transfers power and data through the
warp and weft of a flat-woven fabric. The
productionised demonstrator has eight
USB 2 (Universal Serial Bus-2) ports, a customisable number and comes with an
‘app’ for a standard Samsung Galaxy 2
smartphone which can control anything
attached to the USB ports.
“We did this to prove that you can run
it on a commercial off-the-shelf system
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Using the same 18mm (0.7in) tubes as Rantel and
Boxer, the Mini Hunter weapon sight provides
2x magnification, a passive ballistic reticle and an
external boresighting mechanism incorporated
in a Picatinny rail adaptor © Meprolight
Sophie Lite has brought the weight of a fully featured handheld targeting system down from
typically more than 6.6lbs (3kg) down to 3.52lbs (1.6kg) with further small reductions but big
performance gains to come © Thales
rather than a battlefield computer,” Paul
Wright, the company’s international business development manager for soldier
systems, explained as he demonstrated
with a torch attached to the webbing on a
mannequin during the exhibition.
“Because the torch is not an intelligent
piece of electronics, the system knows it
has something on there with a power
requirement, but it only sees it as some-
thing it can switch on and off, whereas it
also knows it has got a camera on the
other port, so we can select the camera,
turn it on and view what the camera
is showing.”
Mr. Wright later confirmed that the
company has connected the system to the
Q-Warrior HMD and a panoramic camera
system in an armoured vehicle to demonstrate that it can be done. Such a combina-
tion could give each soldier a virtually uninterrupted view of the outside world while
seated in an Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
Low cost sensors, displays and connectivity could be about to give soldier situational awareness another boost whether
they are on dismounted or within their
vehicle. Meanwhile, the march towards
turning night-time darkness into daylight
clarity continues.
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KEEPING THE COAST CLEAR
While a few Asia-Pacific navies have ambitions to shield all their
maritime lines of communications, most focus upon the protection
of their coast lines and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) which
extend some 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from the shore.
by Edward Hooton
EZs ensure the livelihoods of a
nation’s fishermen, because
fish and seafood remains a
major source of the continent’s
nourishment. But there are also
extensive mineral resources under the sea,
especially hydrocarbons like oil and gas
which may increase national prosperity.
Small wonder that a major source of contention between Asia-Pacific countries is
the exploitation of these resources leading
to many maritime disputes, the latest being
between China and Japan over the
Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, as they are
respectively known by each nation.
E
The task of protecting these resources
requires dedicated vessels which can help to
assert national sovereignty and ensure that
laws are observed. Finally, nations require
national platforms capable of projecting
national search and rescue capabilities as
well as containing environmental pollution.
Offshore Patrol Vessels
In the past these tasks have been assigned
to smaller or older warships; most of
Indonesia’s ‘Kondor-II’ class coastal
minesweepers and fast attack craft are
used for this task while China’s paramilitary coastal forces have been boosted by
The launch of Thailand’s HTMS Krabi reflects a growing trend
for foreign designs, in this case developed by BAE Systems, but
built in regional yards, notably the Mahidol Royal Dockyard.
She may be followed by another five ships © BAE Systems
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‘Luda’ class destroyers and demilitarised
‘Jianghu’ class frigates. But warship
designs are not normally intended for this
offshore protection role. Instead, it is best
met by a dedicated platform in the guise of
the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) which
usually displaces between 1700 and 2000
tonnes. Such vessels are outfitted with
good sea-keeping abilities to ride out most
storms in deep water, and with excellent
endurance and range.
An OPV requires space to embark a
variety of equipment together with some
medical facilities while another useful feature is a deck from which to operate a
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South Asia
R
India’s INS Saryu is a development of the Indian coast guard’s ‘Sankalp’ class design. These
2251-tonne designs are typical of regional OPVs. Diesel-powered with a 76mm gun, it has a search
radar and a flight deck for a HAL Dhruv helicopter © Goa Shipyard
maritime support helicopter. Some may
also require a good sonar to assist in the
auxiliary task of hydrographic survey
work, but a good air and sea surveillance
radar is the primary sensor. A datalink is
useful to exchange radar track data with
other law-enforcement vessels, and some
form of Combat Management System
(CMS) for more efficient operations with
other ships performing law enforcement
is also desirable. This law-enforcement
requirement means that the ship will usually employ a medium (40-76mm) calibre
main armament augmented by smaller
calibre (7.62mm-30mm) weapons.
East Asia
China has the largest OPV fleet with some
400 hulls ranging from 1150 to 3400 tonnes
displacement and is in the process of
receiving an additional 36 vessels of varying displacements. Japan’s coast guard,
formerly the Maritime Safety Agency,
employs some 50 OPVs ranging in displacement from the 1300-tonne ‘Hateruma’
class to the two 5204-tonne ‘Mizuho’ class.
The Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute has
led to a considerable expansion of Japan’s
coast guard which will build four 1000tonne OPVs of an as-yet-to-be-named class
by the end of 2014. Across the Straits of
Tsushima, the Republic of Korea’s (RoK)
coast guard operates four OPVs of some
1200-tonnes and is receiving a small expansion of some five vessels from the Hyundai
shipyard including a 3000-tonne OPV,
although the date of their delivery has yet
to be revealed.
Southeast Asia
Within southeast Asia neither Vietnam
nor Indonesia have OPV requirements
while the Philippines, which has largely
relied upon OPVs such as its three
‘Jacinto’ class ships and two recentlyacquired 3300-tonne former United States
Coast Guard (USCG) ‘Hamilton’ class
High Endurance Cutters (known locally
as the ‘Gregorio del Pilar’ class), is now
seeking two new frigates for the navy
entering service in the second half of this
decade. Brunei has gone the other way,
replacing a corvette requirement with one
for three German-built 1625-tonne
‘Darussalam’ class OPVs, while Thailand
has a requirement for five OPVs, and is
considering ordering a second ‘Krabi’
class ship, while it operates two 1463tonne ‘Pattani’ class OPVs officially designated as corvettes. The Malaysian
Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA)
has a fleet of some 100 patrol boats of various sizes, but also operates two 1300tonne former Royal Malaysian Navy
‘Langkawi’ class OPVs and is reported to
have an outline requirement for an
unknown number of OPVs.
India’s coast guard has 16 OPVs, ranging
from the 1300-tonne ‘Vikram’ class to the
2266-tonne ‘Sanklap’ class, and plans six
more ‘Sanklap’ class vessels and seven
more undefined OPVs by the end of the
decade. Most of these ships are, at best,
lightly armed with only the coast guard’s
four ‘Samar’ class ships carrying a 76mm
OtoMelara Super Rapid gun, but the Indian
Navy’s version of the ‘Sanklap’ class, the
‘Saryu’ class, will have a similar armament.
The navy is receiving four ‘Saryu’ class
OPVs which will augment six 1920-tonne
‘Sukanya’ class ships, one of which is used
as a ballistic missile test launch platform, all
of which have been delivered.
Elsewhere in this region Bangladesh has
two former 1630-tonne Royal Navy ‘Castle’
class OPVs and has received a ‘Hamilton’
class cutter from the USCG which it is
upgrading into a frigate, via the addition of
China
Haiying
Electro-Mechanical
Technology Academy C-802 Anti-Ship
Missile (AShM) and unknown Surface-toAir Missiles (SAMs), over the next couple
of years. A parliamentary ten-year development plan launched in 2009 indicated
that Bangladesh has a requirement for
three OPVs although no vessels have yet
been procured to this end. To the south, Sri
Lanka operates three OPVs in the form of
two former Indian ‘Vikram’ and ‘Sukanya’
class vessels and a former 1147-tonne US
‘Reliance’ class ship. Colombo has placed
an order for two ‘Sanklap’ class vessels for
delivery by 2016.
An artist’s impression of the ‘Gowind 170’ design which will form the basis of the Royal
Malaysian Navy’s corvette-type Littoral Combat Ship. This design is based upon the
overall ‘Gowind’ class concept developed by French shipbuilder DCNS © DCNS
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Malaysia’s ‘Kedah’ class illustrate the fine line
between OPVs and corvette designs.
Ostensibly OPVs have all the basics of a
corvette in terms of command systems and
installations © ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems
Australasia
Across the Indian Ocean Australia’s Project
Sea 1180 plans for the procurement of an
Offshore Combat Vessel (OCV) using a
basic 2000-tonne hull design will produce
20 vessels during the first half of the next
decade to replace up to 26 vessels including
the Royal Australian Navy’s ‘Armidale’
class patrol boats, ‘Huon’ class mine countermeasures vessels and the hydrographic
survey vessels of the ‘Leeuwin’ and
‘Paluma’ classes. Meanwhile, New Zealand
operates two ‘Protector’ class OPVs which
are unusual because they have ice-strengthened bows to operate in Antarctica.
Corvettes
Looking at navies in the Asia-Pacific one
obvious aspect is the considerable degree
of overlap when vessels are designated as
either ‘OPVs’ or ‘corvettes’. Although the
term Littoral Combat Ship is normally
associated with the US Navy’s multi-role
vessels, which it is currently acquiring, it
is quite a good description of the corvette,
though the latter might also be described
as ‘an OPV with attitude.’
Like OPVs corvettes are designed for
operations against any threat either to an
EEZ or to coastal waters. Because they are
essentially ASuW (Anti-Surface Warfare)
platforms with limited anti-air and antisubmarine capabilities they tend to have a
more sophisticated radar than OPVs
together with a CMS and some electronic
warfare systems. They too tend to offer a
high endurance, and usually have fuelefficient diesel engines making them
capable of higher speeds for rapid transit
and manoeuvre.
18
Interest in corvettes has grown in the
past couple of decades as it became clear
that the fast attack craft had poor survivability vis-à-vis air attack. Their surveillance radars have a comparatively short
range given the height of the vessel in
water, reducing the search area and countermeasures reaction times while lacking
a significant air defence system. The
corvette provides a significant improvement in capability and survivability with
better radar coverage, thanks to the height
of the vessel in the water, and space for
weapon systems such as SSMs and SAMs.
These ships can even perform AntiSubmarine Warfare (ASW) by employing
sonars and lightweight torpedoes.
Malaysia
Malaysia’s New Generation Patrol Vessel
(NGPV) requirement was met by the
‘Kedah’ class based on German shipbuilders Blohm and Voss’ MEKO 100
design, but these OPVs feature a sophisticated CMS, optronics, a chaff launcher and
are equipped to operate AShMs, SAMs and
have an electronic warfare suite. The Royal
Malaysian Navy intends to add AShMs.
Furthermore, Malaysia has ordered six
‘Gowind’ class corvettes from French shipbuilder DCNS with deliveries from 2017. It
is unclear whether or not these will augment, or partially replace, the existing
corvette force of six ‘Kedah’, two ‘Kasturi’
and four ‘Laksamana’ class ships. The
‘Kasturi’ class are surface warfare and ASW
platforms that are being upgraded with a
new CMS, new gun and ASW equipment in
a programme which concludes by the end
of 2014. The ‘Laksamana’ class corvettes
were former Iraqi ‘Assad’ class ships and
are true multi-role platforms with a gun
and SSMs, sonar and anti-submarine torpedoes and a SAM system.
Republic of Korea
While the RoK will replace 22 ‘Po Hang’
class surface warfare/ASW corvettes
with ‘Incheon’ class frigates and the
‘Gumdoksuri’ class fast attack craft (and
this programme should be complete by
the end of the decade), the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea has four
‘Sariwon’ ASW ships.
China
China, on the other hand, is building 1440tonne ‘Jiangdao’ class surface warfare
Navantia’s ‘Meteoro’ class OPVs form the basis for a family of ships. By
adapting the hulls the Spanish Navy plans to meet its requirements for
hydrographic survey and submarine rescue ships. The concept may even
be adapted to provide a mine counter-measures vessel © Navantia
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/ASW corvettes which, like all modern
corvette designs, feature shaping to reduce
their radar signature. Last year 18 were
reported launched, or commissioned,
with at least a dozen on order to replace
the 40-year-old ‘Jianghu I/II’ class frigates
and the ‘Houxin/Houjian’class fast attack
and patrol craft.
Taiwan
Taiwan plans up to twelve similarly
‘stealthy’ 900-1000 tonne ‘Hsun Hai’ class
ships. These will have a surface warfare/ASW role and may possibly incorporate weapon and sensor systems from USsupplied ‘Gearing’ class destroyers, ‘Knox’
class frigates and local ‘in Chiang’ class fast
attack craft to reduce costs.
Vietnam
Vietnam has been steadily expanding its
corvette fleet from four ‘Tarantul’ class surface warfare/ASW ships to two ‘Improved
Pauk’ class vessels and is acquiring up to ten
‘Improved Tarantul’ class ships, all of which
are pure surface warfare vessels. Hanoi is
also discussing the purchase of four ‘Sigma
10514’ class ships from the Netherlands’
Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding
(DSNS), of which two would be built in
Europe and the other two in Vietnam.
Thailand
Neighbouring Thailand has two US-built
‘Rattanakosin’ class ships, which have surface warfare, ASW and air defence capabilities and three ‘Khamronsin’ class corvettes
which are primarily ASW platforms.
Bangkok appears to be more interested in
new frigates than modernising the Royal
Thai Navy’s corvette force.
Singapore
Singapore operates six ‘Victory’ class surface warfare/ASW corvettes, but they will
be replaced on a one-for-one basis by the
Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV) of which
there are few details.
Indonesia
Across the Straits of Malacca the archipelago nature of Indonesia means that it
operates a large fleet of 23 corvettes. The
majority are former East German
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An artist’s impression of Damen Shipbuilding’s ‘Sigma’
class design, already selected by Indonesia. The design
reflects the fact that by shaping a vessel its radar signature
can be reduced. Modern ships also reduce their heat
signature © Damen Shipbuilding
‘Parchim I’ class which are unusual in
being dedicated ASW platforms with hullmounted sonar, augmented in some ships
by variable depth sensors. They are armed
with both anti-submarine torpedoes and
mortars while many have replaced their
Russian diesel engines with western
designs, manufactured by German
propulsion specialist MTU. The corvettes
are augmented by three ‘Fatahillah’ class
which also feature a strong ASW suite and
four ‘Diponegoro’ class ships built by
DSNS based upon their ‘Sigma 9113’ class
design which are used largely for the surface warfare and ASW roles.
The ‘Sigma’ class family has been
selected to meet Jakarta’s Guided Missile
Escort 105 requirement for ‘light frigates’
(in actual fact corvettes) which will be
built domestically and for which steel on
the first two was cut earlier in 2014. The
new ships will be based upon the ‘Sigma
10514’ class design, and these 2400-tonne
vessels will be optimised for ASW with
the first of two scheduled to be laid in
2014 and to enter service in 2016.
Nevertheless, it remains unclear as to how
many are required.
India
The Indian Navy has tended to rely upon
Russian designs and is currently using
four ‘Abhay’ class ASW vessels which
may be re-engined, although there is currently no word on when this might take
place, and twelve ‘Veer’ class surface warfare ships. New Delhi’s first indigenous
corvette design, the ‘Project 25’ class, was
planned as an ASW platform but instead
the ‘Khukri’ class have appeared as surface warfare ships as are the improved
‘Kora’ class with four of each being built.
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OCTOBER 2014
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The latest ‘Kamorta’ class corvettes feature shaping to reduce their radar cross
section and appear to be planned as multirole ships and the addition of a SAM will
provide a good air defence capability. The
lead ship was commissioned in June 2014
and another three are being constructed
with plans for up to twelve ships, but construction has been prolonged and the
fourth ship will not be commissioned
until 2015. However, it is reported that
New Delhi is now looking at an improved
corvette design known as the ‘Project 28A’
but no details are available.
Asian Subcontinent
Bangladesh is reported to have ordered
its first two ‘Jiangdao’ class corvettes
from China for delivery in 2016 and
Dhaka is reported to have a long term
plan to order four more corvettes from
Turkey yet no date has been announced
to this effect. Neighbouring Burma
acquired three ‘Anawrahta’ class
corvettes from China in 2000 but these are
purely surface warfare platforms. Neither
Pakistan nor Sri Lanka appears currently
interested in corvettes.
In terms of OPVs the Asia-Pacific region
is typical of the developing world with
requirements for a variety of vessels to
cover a broad range of hydrographic
requirements. Unlike the other prime market, Latin America, there is little sign that
nations are co-operating to meet their
requirements like Argentina, Chile and
Colombia are in using the same basic OPV
design. The demand for corvettes in the
Asian region outstrips every other region in
terms both of numbers and operational
requirements and is likely to see demand
increase certainly over the short term.
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NOBODY ON BOARD
The Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) market in the AsiaPacific is well developed, with a number of armed forces operating
sizeable fleets in support of military operations. This article will
discuss several TUAV programmes ongoing around the region.
by Claire Apthorp
hile
true
MediumAltitude, Long-Endurance
(MALE) UAVs remain
beyond the reach and
requirements of many
regional forces, the healthy uptake of tactical solutions is reflective of the versatile,
cost-effective and quick-deploy nature of
the systems, and the added value they bring
to military operations at home and abroad.
There are a number of programmes
underway in the region to develop indigenous TUAV capabilities. The Singapore
armed forces have announced plans to
integrate unmanned technologies into its
operations more closely as it moves
toward 2030. In addition to operating Elbit
W
Systems’ Hermes 450, Israel Aerospace
Industries (IAI) Searcher II and IAI Heron
UAVs, the Singapore military operates the
SkyBlade III TUAV, a DSO and Singapore
Technologies Aerospace (STA) joint development. Having deployed SkyBlade III
successfully since 2010,
the DSO and STA are
developing the SkyBlade
IV, which will have a
longer range and a higher
endurance capability.
SkyBlade IV is designed to
provide the ground manoeuvre battalion
commander with situational awareness of
the battlefield, including the ability to
observe heavily protected areas. The system can be operated from small clearings or
compounds via catapult-assisted launch
and automatic precision parachute recovery, with a range of up to 53 nautical miles
(100 kilometres), flying at operating altitudes of up to 15000 feet (4572 metres) for
both day and night operations. Its
baseline payload is a dual-axis gyrostabilised surveillance and observation system, which incorporates
high resolution, continuous zoom
optronics with a colour day channel
and an automatic video tracker.
An AAI Shadow-200 TUAV is launched during a
capability display at the Woomera Rocket Range,
Australia. The TUAV carries a suite of sensors
including optronics © Australian DoD
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The AAI Shadow-200 TUAV is recovered post
mission at a military base in Tarin Kot, central
Afghanistan. The system is used to conduct
reconnaissance to support Australian and
coalition troops © Australian DoD image
Thailand
Thailand is also supporting a budding
indigenous UAV industry, with local company Avia SATCOM displaying its Black
Kite TUAV at Bangkok’s Defence and
Security Exhibition held in November 2013.
The system has been developed with the
assistance of its partner Saab and is
designed to gather and exchange information, including situational awareness,
reconnaissance and battle damage assessment, as part of network-centric operations.
Despite the growing presence of locallydeveloped solutions in the Asia-Pacific,
TUAVs developed by United States and
Israeli manufacturers continue to dominate
the market at present. In May 2012, the
Australian Department of Defence (DoD)
announced that the Textron Systems
Shadow 200 TUAV had commenced operations in Afghanistan. The aircraft, which
was acquired to replace the Australian
Army’s Boeing Insitu ScanEagle system,
was providing reconnaissance support to
the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO) led International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) deployed there.
The Shadow 200 aircraft marked
Australia’s first foray into the tactical
UAV sphere. By 2012, the ScanEagle had
been operating in Afghanistan for nearly
five years, providing reconnaissance to
ground units for an average of 22 hours
per day, clocking up a total of 32000 operating hours in Afghanistan during some
6200 missions. While providing valuable
support to operations during that time,
being a small UAV system, ScanEagle’s
maximum payload capacity of 7.5 pounds
(3.4 kilograms) limited mission versatility.
In replacing the ScanEagle with the
Shadow 200, the Australian military was
be able to significantly enhance its ability
to provide battlefield situational awareness to coalition troops via the system’s
multi-mission flexibility.
The Australian DoD acquired its first
two Textron RQ-7B Shadow-200 systems
under a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) with
the US government in 2010 as part of the
Australian Defence Force’s Joint Project
129 Phase 2 programme. Each system is
comprised of five aircraft, Ground Control
Stations (GCS), a launch and recovery element, associated equipment, logistics and
training. The first system was delivered to
the Australian Army in August 2011; additional units were acquired by Australia,
also under an FMS, in July 2013, which are
in the process of being delivered by the
aircraft’s manufacturer.
Operating at altitudes of up to 8000 feet
(2438 metres), the Shadow-200 is able to
capture full-motion video in day and
night operations and transmit imagery to
a GCS up to 67nm (125km) away. Textron
is currently working to improve the system’s capabilities, with two new variants
of the Shadow: the Shadow Extended
Wing Configuration and the Shadow V2
Configuration.
Regarding the Shadow Extended Wing
Configuration’s
performance,
the
endurance and payload capacity of the
legacy Shadow-200 have been increased,
and communications relay and optional
laser designation capabilities have been
added to supplement the core reconnaissance functionality. The Shadow V2 is an
all-digital system, featuring the Tactical
Common Data Link for an expanded data
pipeline and encryption for data assurance.
Textron will begin upgrading all 117
Shadow-200 TUAVs in the US military’s
fleet to the Shadow V2 version in mid2015, but it believes there is potential for
the system to take hold in the Asia-Pacific
market also.
“It will be up to the Australian government as to whether they move over to the
V2 system,” Henry Finneral, Textron’s
vice president of tactical unmanned aircraft systems told Asian Military Review.
“They are very familiar with the Shadow
V2 capabilities and it just becomes a matter of their planning process but we’ll be
ready whenever they are in a position to
procure that upgrade.”
The Shadow M2 TUAV features an aviation-grade, heavy-fuel engine, multi-mission payload
capability, a redesigned, weather-resistant fuselage and increased performance, with the same
footprint and logistics as the RQ-7B Shadow TUAV © Textron
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Israel Aerospace Industries’ Heron-I UAVs are
flown by a small contingent of Royal Australian
Air Force, and Australian Army personnel from
an airbase in Kandahar south-western
Afghanistan © Australian DoD
The company is also developing the
Shadow M2 version which builds on the
success of Shadow-200, adding new
multi-mission capabilities via increased
payload capacity made possible thanks to
a larger aircraft body and blended fuselage which provides additional lift and a
larger engine. It can carry multiple payloads simultaneously in its dual payload
bays and features an integrated Satellite
Communications (SATCOM) capability.
The Shadow M2 version was demonstrated at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona in
February 2014 to delegations from around
the world, including a strong presence
from the Asia-Pacific region, which the
company sees as a ‘growth area’ for its
TUAV offerings.
“Our research has shown that there is a
growing demand globally for Group 3,”
Mr. Finneral said. “The concept of the
pivot by the US towards the Asia-Pacific
and the activity that we see, and is reported from that area, shows that reconnaissance systems will be a critical capability
for military, civil and commercial applications.” The strength of TUAVs that is driving the demand in growth is their affordability and mission flexibility compared to
the Group One and Two Mini and Small
UAVS, and larger Group Four MALE
UAVs. This UAV group classification system is used by the United States Army.
“From a Group Three standpoint, the
Shadow TUAV family is a very capable
system for an affordable price,” Mr.
Finneral added. “Once you get into your
Group Four systems the cost of procurement and sustainment can be a barrier for
22
some countries, while the Group One and
Two systems are capable but they may not
have the payload or range capability provided by Group Three. Having a system
that is organic to the manoeuvre commander really gives them the ability to put
that TUAV up when they need it as
opposed to calling it in or waiting for that
capability; it’s that tactical capability that
has very distinct advantages.”
Service provision
For countries in the Asia-Pacific region,
where there is a mix of defence budget
capacity and UAV experience, the maturity and track record of a system like the
Shadow TUAV family— which has accumulated over 900000 flight hours worldwide, 90 percent of which were in combat
operations—allows budget-wary customers to better predict the operational
costs for the system as opposed to alternatives still in development.
As is the case with the Australian
Army, potential customers are also
increasingly seeking the option of gaining a capability without committing to
lengthy and expensive procurement programmes via lease agreements.
Australia’s largest TUAV capability in
Afghanistan is delivered via the Heron-1
UAV under a services contract with
Canada’s MacDonald, Dettwiler and
Associates (MDA), and has been since
2010. This agreement, which was extended in July 2014 until the end of this year,
covers the provision of reconnaissance
capabilities supporting Australian
Defence Force (ADF) and ISAF operations in southern Afghanistan.
David Marriott, programme director at
MDA, told AMR that Australia’s service
provision arrangement allowed the ADF
to be operating the Heron in Afghanistan
in a matter of months. “The key thing for
the Australians was that they were in
Afghanistan and they needed to be up and
running as soon as possible,” he said. “By
leveraging the work we were already
doing with the Canadian government with
Heron, it was only five months between
the contract award and the beginning of
operations in Afghanistan.”
MDA provides a full turnkey service
for Australia, leasing the aircraft to the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and
providing training, logistics, maintenance, flight preparation and airworthiness management, as well as equipment
and spares. The Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF) pilots who operate the
Heron-1 aircraft are trained by MDA prior
to their arrival in Afghanistan.
The services offered by MDA are flexible and can also include pilots to fly the
missions, with customers able to select the
options they require from a full suite of
services. Such solutions not only offer a
Textron’s Shadow V2 is an all-digital TUAV available to US and NATO
customers, the aircraft features the Tactical Common Data Link for an
expanded data pipeline and encryption for data assurance © Textron
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way for new TUAV operators to gain onthe-ground experience with a UAV before
committing to purchase, but also provide
budgetary benefits.
“The biggest advantage in a services
contract, and this is the case for the
Australians as well, is that it avoids the
complications of the long-term capital procurement programme,” Mr. Marriott said.
“Acquiring a military UAV capability is a
very long process, it typically takes years,
and what our service does is allows them
to bypass that and say they just want the
service for a set time. It also allows the customer to procure the capability through
operational budgets as opposed to capital
budgets, which are often more flexible.”
Market dominance
The Heron-1 UAV sits at the threshold
between TUAV and larger MALE UAVs,
providing Direct Line-Of-Sight (LOS)
and/or UAV airborne data relay, SATCOM for beyond-LOS, dual real-time
command uplink plus single real-time
data and video downlink. Developed and
manufactured by IAI, it is one of the most
prolific UAVs in the Asia-Pacific; as well
as the RAAF, it is also operated by
Indonesia, Singapore and India.
India
Most recently India increased its Heron
fleet to more than 40 units as of December
2013 with the purchase of an additional 15
aircraft in order to enhance its ability to
patrol its borders with China and Pakistan,
a surveillance capability that is in great
demand in a region characterised by ongoing political unrest between countries.
“IAI is the biggest supplier of unmanned
systems in Asia and we have supplied
many Heron and Searcher systems into the
region,” Avi Blesser, group marketing
director, IAI’s MALAT Division, told AMR.
“Asia is our centre market, and this market
is growing very quickly because of the need
to control peace between countries, and to
monitor natural disasters, such as the 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami, which saw Heron
and Searcher take part in operations over
affected areas.”
The Searcher is a multi-mission TUAV
used for reconnaissance artillery fire con-
VEHICLE
Israel Aerospace Industries’ Heron-I UAV has now delivered 11000 combat flying hours of
persistent, high-resolution, real-time reconnaissance information to Australian and coalition troops
in Afghanistan © Australian DoD
trol and battle and damage assessment. In
its latest configuration, the Searcher Mk.III
is available in a number of payload configurations, including optronic (Television
(TV) and Infrared (IR) combination or a
TV/IR/LD triple-sensor), Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR), Communications
Intelligence (COMINT) and electronic surveillance measure integration, as well as
customer-furnished payloads. Its data
links options include direct LOS data link,
UAV airborne data relay for beyond-LOS
missions, and ground-based data relay for
beyond-LOS missions. Searcher operators
in the Asia-Pacific include India, Sri
Lanka, Indonesia, Republic of Korea,
Singapore and Thailand. IAI’s success in
the Asia-Pacific market, Mr. Blesser
believes, is due to the good match in
requirements, and the company’s wideranging customer base, which has enabled
it to continuously improve capabilities.
“We are operating our systems with
more than 50 operators worldwide, and
are always collecting experience from our
customers deploying the UAVs in different operations; so every time a customer
requests new capabilities they are implemented in the system and the next customer gets a better capability,” he said.
“As a result, the systems are mature
enough to operate in the extreme conditions seen across Asia and capable of
operating from runways located at 11000ft
(3352m) in the Himalayas, and climbing to
30000ft (10000m) in very hard conditions
such as snow, heavy rains, strong winds,
and extreme temperatures. This maturity
is very important in Asia because in this
region UAV operations are at a very high
level; the customers there are very experi-
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OCTOBER 2014
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enced and sophisticated and they know
exactly what they want.”
Growth area
IAI believes there is still significant room
for UAV operations to expand in the AsiaPacific, with Mr. Blesser estimating that the
Asia-Pacific UAV market will grow at a
rate of at least ten percent per year. One
potential area for growth is the demand for
maritime operations. The Heron 1 is available with a Maritime Patrol Radar (MPR)
to better meet the demands of this sector.
“Along with electronic intelligence,
COMINT and optronics, the Heron-1 is
flying with a MPR, taking off from the
shore, and transferring command and control to the vessel via SATCOM,” Mr.
Blesser added. “The ship then directly
operates the payload and flies the UAV—
this capability is not available from any
other supplier, and this system is fully
operational in several countries in Asia.”
India is also looking at the capabilities of
TUAVs to meet its maritime patrol requirements, having deployed Heron and
Searcher aircraft as part of Exercise
Gemini-2 in mid-2013. In particular the aircrafts’ ability to provide early warning of
threats within coastal waters were assessed
during the exercise, in order to prevent a
repeat of outrages such as the November
2008 Mumbai attacks where the perpetrators arrived in the Indian city from the sea.
With the versatility of TUAVs, and their
cost-effectiveness to procure and operate,
it is likely that this market sector will continue to expand in the Asia-Pacific over the
coming years as customers seek flexible
solutions to meet mission requirements
across the spectrum of operations.
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DIRECTORY
The Indian Navy ship INS Mumbai is a ‘Delhi’
class destroyer. She is seen here commencing
her Replenishment At Sea approach during
an exercise. In total, the Indian Navy
possesses three ‘Delhi’ class destroyers which
commissioned in the late 1990s/early 2000s
© Australian Department of Defence
2014
A confluence of factors
is fuelling an expansion
of surface and
submarines forces in
the Asia-Pacific. One
motivating factor is
China, whose maritime
claims and naval
modernisation efforts
are driving regional
neighbours to buy new
weapons systems and
platforms, and upgrade
old ones.
Prepared by Marty Kauchak
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t the same time, many of these navies are improving their
interoperability by aligning themselves closer to the
United States Pacific Command, responsible for all military operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Yet, this frenetic pace of activity cannot be attributed solely to Beijing. Singapore is
among the nations increasingly worried about piracy in the Malacca
Strait connecting the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and potential conflict with neighbours such as Malaysia and Indonesia. As the
region’s orders of battle for ships and submarines evolve, AsiaPacific shipbuilding, maintenance and repair companies are
expanding their portfolios with hefty workloads to build and modernise the region’s naval vessels. Like all Asian Military Review
(AMR) directories, the Naval Directory has been compiled with
insights from government and industry experts, and open sources.
We encourage readers to contact us with any information they may
have that may make the directory more informative and accurate.
A
AUSTRALIA
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘ANZAC’ class frigate
8
‘Adelaide’ class frigate
4
‘Armidale’ class offshore patrol boat
14
‘Huon’ class mine countermeasures vessel
6
‘Collins’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
6
‘Balikpapan’ class heavy landing craft
3
‘Leeuwin’ class hydrographic ship
2
‘Paluma’ class survey launch
4
‘Tobruk’ class heavy landing ship
1
‘Bay’ class dock landing ship
1
‘Durance’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Sirius’ class replenishment vessel
1
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal Navy are collaborating on development of the BAE Systems Global Combat
Ship, with the design being considered by the RAN as a possible
future replacement for its ‘ANZAC’ class frigates. The capability
provided by HMAS Success, the RAN’s sole ‘Durance’ class replenishment vessel is to be replaced under the Australian government’s
Defence Capability Plan (DCP) 2012 requirement to acquire two
replenishment ships. The DCP 2012 provides a four-year roadmap
of proposed major capital equipment acquisitions that are scheduled for consideration up to 2016. To this end, on 5 June 2014 the
Australian government received the approval of the country’s cabinet to conduct a limited competitive tender process between shipbuilders Navantia of Spain and Daewoo of the Republic of Korea for
the construction of two replenishment vessels based on existing military, civilian or hybrid designs displacing upwards of 20000
tonnes. The initial operational capability for these new replenishment ships is scheduled to be declared by 2023.
Concurrently, the Australian government is bringing forward
preliminary design work to ensure that the country maintains the
necessary capabilities to build future surface combatants domestically. This work could see elements of the current ‘Hobart’ class air
defence destroyer programme being adapted for the ‘ANZAC’ class
replacement, possibly along with elements of the Global Combat
Ship (see above). Further decisions on the ‘ANZAC’ class replacement will be taken in the context of Australia’s forthcoming 2015
Defence White Paper. The Australian Defence Department’s White
26
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Papers are the government’s most important guidance regarding
the nation’s long-term defence capabilities. The government has
committed $73 million to keeping open the option of building this
future ship in Australia.
BANGLADESH
BANGLADESHI NAVY
Ship Type
‘Ulsan’ class frigate
‘Jianghu-II’ class frigate
‘Hamilton’ class frigate
‘Jianghu-III’ class frigate
‘Salisbury’ class frigate
‘Romeo/Ming’ class conventional
hunter-killer submarine
‘Castle’ class corvette
‘Durjoy’ class corvette
‘Type-056’ class corvette
‘Island’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Sea Dragon’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Padma’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Type-024’ class fast attack craft
‘Type-021’ class fast attack craft
‘Kraljevica’ class patrol boat
‘Type-062-1’ class patrol boat
‘Type-037’ class patrol boat
‘Type-062’ class patrol boat
‘Type-021’ class patrol boat
‘Chamsuri’ class patrol boat
‘Meghna’ class patrol boat
‘Type-025’ torpedo boat
‘Roebuck’ class hydrographic ship
‘Agradoot’ class hydrographic ship
‘Type-010’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘River’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Island’ class training ship
‘Yuch’in’ class mechanised landing craft
Number in Service
1
1
1
2
1
2 to enter service
2
2
4 to enter service
5
1
5
5
4
2
1
1
4
1
4
2
4
1
1
1
4
1
5
The Bangladesh Navy continues its strategic tilt toward Beijing.
In December 2013, China agreed to sell two ‘Romeo/Ming’ class
conventional hunter-killer submarines to Bangladesh. These submarines are expected to be delivered in circa 2016. On 22 June 2014
the Bangladesh government announced that it was buying nine
China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation
(CATIC) K-8W training helicopters. Delivery of these aircraft is
expected not later than late-2014.
BRUNEI
ROYAL BRUNEI NAVY
Ship Type
‘Darussalam’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Itjihad’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘TBD’ class fast attack craft
‘Waspada’ class fast attack craft
‘Perwira’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘Serasa’ class mechanised landing craft
‘Teraban’ class utility landing craft
ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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Number in Service
4
4
1
3
3
2
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CAMBODIA
ROYAL CAMBODIAN NAVY
Ship Type
‘Turya’ class fast attack craft
‘Stenka’ class fast attack craft
‘Shershen’ class fast attack craft
The Royal Brunei Navy’s patrol vessel KBD Darulaman is the third of four
Offshore Patrol Vessels belonging to the ‘Darussalam’ class built by the
German firm Lürssen. The first of these vessels entered service in 2011,
with the last entering service in 2014 © US Navy
‘Bendeharu’ class inshore patrol vessel
PDB 0-1 class inshore patrol vessel
‘FDB 512’ class inshore patrol vessel
3
11
2
In February 2014 Indonesia agreed to buy three BAE Systems
‘Nakhoda Ragam’ class frigates from Brunei. These three ships
are expected to be operational with the Indonesian Navy by the
end of 2014.
BURMA
BURMESE NAVY
Ship Type
‘Kyan Sittha’ class frigate
‘Aung Zeya’ class frigate
‘Jianghu-II’ class frigate
‘Anawratha’ class corvette
‘Houxin’ class fast attack craft
‘5-Series’ class fast attack craft
‘Admirable’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Hainan’ class fast attack craft
‘Osprey’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘PGM-43’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘Y311’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘Y Series’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘Swift’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘Carpentaria’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘412’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘PB-90’ class inshore patrol vessel
‘PBR’ class river patrol vessel
‘Yan Naing’ class river patrol vessel
‘Michao’ class river patrol vessel
‘PCE’ class river patrol vessel
Number in Service
2 to enter service
1
2
2
6
21
1
9
2
6
1
10
1
6
4
3
6
11
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4
Burma has sought assistance from India in building Offshore
Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and obtaining naval sensors. An agreement
achieved during the July 2013 talks between Burmese Navy chief
Vice Admiral Thura Thet Swe and Indian Navy chief Admiral
Devendra Kumar Joshi called for the OPVs to be built at Indian
shipyards. Training will be given to Burmese Navy officers and
sailors at Indian naval facilities, although it has not been revealed
when this will occur.
l
Number in Service
5
5
1
While the Royal Cambodian Navy did not report any significant
acquisitions in 2014, the service nonetheless participated in largescale exercises. The navy’s most significant training event was during the June 2014 Pacific Partnership multilateral humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the
Asia-Pacific region.
CHINA
PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Liaoning’ class aircraft carrier
1
‘Tang’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine
In development
‘Jin’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine
5
‘Xia’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine
1
‘Type-095’ class nuclear-powered
attack submarine
14 to enter service
‘Shang’ class nuclear-powered
attack submarine
5 in service, 3 to enter service
‘Han’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine
3
‘Yuan’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
13
‘Song’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
13
‘Kilo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
12
‘Romeo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
13
‘Luyang-III’ class destroyer
12 to enter service
‘Luzhou’ class destroyer
2
‘Luyang-II’ class destroyer
5
‘Luyang-I’ class destroyer
2
‘Sovremenny’ class destroyer
4
‘Luhai’ class destroyer
1
‘Luhu’ class destroyer
2
‘Luda’ class destroyer
7
‘Jaingkai-II’ class frigate
16 in service, 4 to enter service
‘Jiangkai-I’ class frigate
2
‘Jiangwei-II’ class frigate
10
‘Jaingwei-I’ class frigate
4
‘Jianghu’ class frigate
8
‘Jiangdao’ class corvette
15 in service, 7 to enter service
‘Houbei’ class fast attack craft
83
‘Houjian’ class fast attack craft
6
‘Houxin’ class fast attack craft
16
‘Haiqing’ class fast attack craft
46
‘Hainan’ class fast attack craft
68
‘Shanghai-III’ class fast attack craft
17
‘Wolei’ class minelayer
1
‘Wozang’ class mine countermeasures vessel
2
‘Wosao’ class mine countermeasures vessel
6
‘Wochi’ class mine countermeasures vessel
8
‘Lianyun’ class mine countermeasures vessel
50
‘Yuzhao’ class amphibious support ship
3
‘Yuting-III’ class landing ship
9
‘Yuting-II’ class landing ship
10
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China’s People’s Liberation Army-Navy ship Qingdao is a ‘Luhu’ class
destroyer. It is shown arriving in Hawaii for a scheduled port visit. Two
ships comprise the ‘Luhu’ class, with the Harbin being the Qingdao’s
sister. Both of these vessels commissioned in the mid-1990s © US Navy
‘Yuting’ class landing ship
‘Yukan’ class landing ship
‘Fuchi’ class replenishment vessel
‘Fusu’ class replenishment vessel
‘Fuqing’ class replenishment vessel
4
3
4 in service, 2 to enter service
1
2
The United States Department of Defence (DoD) in 2013 stated
that China will begin building its new ‘Xisha’ class helicopter carrier
within five years. Starting in August 2013 press reports have consistently placed the vessel’s displacement between 20000-35000 tonnes.
By comparison, the US Navy’s helicopter-carrying amphibious support ships displace 41000-45000 tonnes. In April 2014 a Changhe
Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) WZ-10 attack helicopter conducted at sea trials on board the ‘Yuting II’ class landing ship
Baxianshan. Should this capability mature, the ‘Yuting II’ class will be
able to accommodate a close air support component.
The US DoD expects China in the next decade to commence construction of its as-yet-unnamed ‘Type 095’ class nuclear-powered
attack submarine (SSN), which may enable a submarine-based landattack capability. The unnamed submarine class is envisioned to
eventually replace the new ‘Shang’ class nuclear-powered attack submarines, although no date has been given as to when this could
occur. In addition to incorporating improved acoustic reduction technologies, the ‘Type 095’ class is expected to fulfil traditional anti-shipping roles with the incorporation of torpedoes; however, it is
unknown what type of torpedoes these vessels will deploy.
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA (DPRK)
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Sang-O’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
40
‘Yono’ class midget submarine
10
‘Romeo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
22
‘Whiskey’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
4
‘Krivak’ class frigate
1
‘Najin’ class frigate
2
‘Soho’ class frigate
1
‘Nampo’ class corvette
2
‘Sariwon’ class corvette
4
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‘Tral’ class corvette
2
‘A/B’ class fast attack craft
4
‘Nongo’ class fast attack craft
2 in service, 1 to enter service
‘Soju’ class fast attack craft
8
‘Huangfeng’ class fast attack craft
4
‘Sohung/Komar’ class fast attack craft
12
‘Shershen’ class fast attack craft
3
‘Sin Hung/Ku Song’ class fast attack craft
142
‘P6’ class fast attack craft
12
‘Ku Song’ class fast attack craft
60
‘Taechong I/II’ class patrol boat
13
‘Hainan’ class patrol boat
6
‘Chodo’ class patrol boat
3
‘Choing-Ju’ class patrol boat
6
‘SO-1’ class patrol boat
19
‘Shanghai II’ class patrol boat
13
‘Sinpo’ class patrol boat
18
‘Chongjin’ class patrol boat
54
‘Chado’ class patrol boat
59
‘Hantae’ class utility landing craft
10
‘Hungnam’ class mechanised landing craft
15
‘Hanchon’ class utility landing craft
15
‘Nampo’ class personnel landing craft
195
‘Kongbang’ class assault hovercraft
140
‘Yukto’ class mine countermeasures vessel
23
At least 14 DPRK-designed ‘Yono’ class midget submarines are
being indigenously manufactured in Iranian domestic shipyards for
that nation’s navy.
INDIA
INDIAN NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Chakra’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine
1
‘Arihant’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine
1
‘Sindhughosh’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
10
‘Shishumar’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
4
‘Centaur’ class aircraft carrier
1
‘Kiev’ class aircraft carrier
1
‘Kolkata’ class destroyer
1
‘Delhi’ class destroyer
3
‘Rajput’ class destroyer
5
‘Shivalik’ class frigate
3
‘Talwar’ class frigate
6
‘Brahmaputra’ class frigate
3
‘Godavari’ class frigate
3
‘Kamorta’ class corvette
1
‘Kora’ class corvette
4
‘Khukri’ class corvette
4
‘Veer’ class corvette
12
‘Abhay’ class corvette
4
‘Austin’ class amphibious support ship
1
‘Shardul’ class tank landing ship
3
‘Magar’ class heavy landing ship
2
‘Kumbhir’ class heavy landing ship
4
‘Pondicherry’ class mine countermeasures vessel
7
‘Saryu’ class offshore patrol vessel
4
‘Sukanya’ class offshore patrol vessel
6
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‘Car Nicobar’ class patrol boat
‘Bangaram’ class patrol boat
‘Trinkat’ class patrol boat
‘Super Dvora’ class patrol boat
‘Solas’ class patrol boat
‘Deepak’ class replenishment vessel
‘Jyoti’ class replenishment vessel
‘Aditya’ class replenishment vessel
‘Sagardhwani’ class hydrographic ship
‘Sandhayak’ class hydrographic ship
‘Makar’ class hydrographic ship
‘Gaj’ class tug
‘Bhim’ class tug
‘Madan Singh’ class tug
‘Balram’ class tug
‘Bahadur’ class tug
‘Anand’ class tug
‘BC Dutt’ class tug
‘Nakul’ class tug
‘Arga’ class tug
10
4
2
6
4
2
1
1
1
8
1
2
3
2
2
1
1
2
2
3
In January 2013, the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired the K-15 SubmarineLaunched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) from a pontoon in the Bay of
Bengal. In February 2014 India was also confirmed by different open
sources as developing an SLBM known as the K-4, with a 1889-nautical mile (3500-kilometre) range. These developments support the
evolving operational capability of a sea-based nuclear deterrent represented by the new ‘Arihant’ class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic
missile submarine (SSBN). The ‘Arihant’ class is expected to carry
deploy both the K-4 and K-15.
The Israeli and Indian navies are cooperating closely with one
another. In July 2014 India urged Israel to speed up the delayed Israel
Aerospace Industries/DRDO Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missile project for the recently-acquired ‘Kiev’ class Russian aircraft carrier the INS Vikramaditya. No delivery date is available regarding
when the Barak-8 may enter service with the Indian Navy.
‘Boa’ class gunboat
‘Tripartite’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Kondor’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Makassar’ class amphibious support ship
13
2
9
4
The Indonesian Navy currently has two ‘Cakra’ class conventional
hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) although the Indonesia’s Defense
Strategic Plan 2024 calls for a fivefold increase in the number of submarines over the next eleven years. An initial acquisition strategy to
achieve a fleet of ten submarines started with the order for three
‘Chang Bogo’ class SSKs, to be built in both the Republic of Korea
(RoK) and Indonesia. The current schedule will deliver two ‘Chang
Bogo’ class derivatives from Daewoo in the RoK in 2017 and the
domestically-built boat from Indonesia’s PT PAL shipbuilders by
2020. The 1600 tonne vessels will feature eight 533-millimetre (21-inch)
torpedo tubes, capable of launching a mixture of torpedoes and mines.
JAPAN
JAPAN MARITIME SELF DEFENCE FORCE
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Soryu’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
5
‘Oyashio’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
11
‘Izumo’ class helicopter carrier
1
‘Hyuga’ class helicopter carrier
2
‘Shirane’ class destroyer
2
‘Atago’ class destroyer
2
‘Kongo’ class destroyer
4
‘Hatakaze’ class destroyer
2
‘Akizuki’ class destroyer
4
‘Takanami’ class destroyer
5
‘Murasame’ class destroyer
9
‘Asagiri’ class destroyer
8
‘Hatsuyuki’ class destroyer
3
‘Abukuma’ class corvette
6
‘Osumi’ class heavy landing ship
3
‘Uraga’ class mine countermeasures vessel
2
INDONESIA
INDONESIAN NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Chang Bogo’ class conventional
hunter-killer submarine
3 to enter service
‘Cakra’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
2
‘Sigma’ class frigate
2 to enter service
‘Ahmad Yani’ class frigate
6
‘Bung Tomo’ class corvette
3
‘Diponegoro’ class corvette
4
‘Fatahillah’ class corvette
3
‘Kapitan Patimura’ class corvette
16
‘Mandau’ class fast attack craft
4
‘Todak’ class fast attack craft
4
‘Pandrong’ class fast attack craft
2
‘Clurit’ class fast attack craft
4
‘Sampari’ class fast attack craft
3
‘Andau’ class gunboat
4
‘Kakap’ class gunboat
4
‘Sibarau’ class gunboat
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The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) destroyer JDS Myoko
and three other ships of the JMSDF ‘Kongo’ class form the outer layer of
Japan’s Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capability. Japan has ploughed
investment into at-sea BMD amid fears over ballistic missile proliferation
by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea © US Navy
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‘Yaeyama’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Enoshima’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Hirashima’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Sugashima’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Uwajima’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Leshima’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Hayabusa’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Shimayuki’ class training vessel
‘Kashima’ class training vessel
‘Asashio’ class training submarine
‘Mashu’ class replenishment vessel
‘Towada’ class replenishment vessel
‘Hiuchi’ class training vessel
‘Hibiki’ class hydrographic ship
3
2
3
12
5
2
6
3
1
2
2
3
5
2
Japan’s 2014 defence budget includes finance for the continued
upgrade of the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force’s (JMSDF) two
‘Atago’ class destroyers to deploy Raytheon RIM-161 Standard
Missile-3 Block 1A Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs). An additional $693
million has been provided by the government for the purchase of a
new destroyer, and two Kawasaki P1 maritime patrol aircraft. The
Japanese Ministry of Defence’s Plan for Defence Programmes and
Budget for 2014 includes funding to implement life extension measures of ‘Hatsuyuki’, ‘Asagiri’, ‘Abukuma’ and ‘Hatakaze’ destroyer
classes to maintain the readiness of this force. The budget document
also notes that the JMSDF will see a modest boost in vessels by 2018
by providing a life extension for the JMSDF’s ‘Oyashio’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines that would otherwise be retired.
REPUBLIC OF KOREA (RoK)
REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Chang Bogo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
9
‘Son Wonil’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
9
‘Dolgorae’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
2
‘Dokdo’ class amphibious support ship
1
‘Go Jun Bong’ class heavy landing ship
4
‘Gwanggaeto the Great’ class destroyer
3
‘Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin’ class destroyer
6
‘Sejong the Great’ class destroyer
3
‘Ulsan’ class frigate
9
‘Incheon’ class frigate
1 in service, 5 to enter service
‘Pohang’ class corvette
21
‘Wonsan’ class mine countermeasures vessel
1
‘Ganggyeong’ class mine countermeasures vessel
6
‘Yangyang’ class mine countermeasures vessel
1
‘Chamsuri’ class offshore patrol vessel
75
‘Gumdoksuri’ class offshore patrol vessel
15
‘Cheonji’ class replenishment vessel
3
‘Chung Haejin’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Pyeongtaek’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Sincheonji’ class hydrographic ship
1
The RoK’s Future Frigate Experimental (FFX) programme is
intended to replace the aging fleet of existing ‘Ulsan’ class frigates and
‘Pohang’ class corvettes with new multi-mission frigates. Meanwhile,
a model of the ‘Incheon’ class Batch-II frigate was unveiled by
Daewoo in October 2013. Key updates of the Batch II over the AntiSubmarine Warfare-focused Batch I include the addition of a vertical
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The Republic of Korea Navy amphibious support ship the ROKS Dokdo is
seen here in the top of the picture. It is built by Hanjin Heavy Industries and
is the lead ship of a planned class of three vessels. The ‘Dokdo’ class can
embark up to 720 troops and ten helicopters © US Navy
launching system for missiles and full electric propulsion, as well as a
larger hangar that can accommodate a medium-lift utility helicopter.
Eight Batch-II ships are going to be built in pairs by 2018. Some
materiel including the vessels’ Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine engines
for their propulsion system are currently being delivered.
MALAYSIA
ROYAL MALAYSIAN NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Perdana Menteri’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
2
‘Gowind’ class frigate
6 to enter service
‘Lekiu’ class frigate
2
‘Kasturi’ class frigate
2
‘Laksamana’ class corvette
4
‘Kedah’ class corvette
6
‘Perdana’ class offshore patrol vessel
4
‘Handalan’ class offshore patrol vessel
4
‘Jerung’ class offshore patrol vessel
6
‘Sri Tiga’ class offshore patrol vessel
2
‘CB-90’ class fast attack craft
17
‘Sri Indera Sakti’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Mahawangsa’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Mahamiru’ class mine countermeasures vessel
4
‘Gagah Samudera’ class training ship
2
‘Hang Tuah’ class training ship
1
‘Perantau’ class hydrographic ship
1
‘Mutiara’ class hydrographic ship
1
‘Bunga Mas’ class auxiliary vessel
2
A second batch of ‘Lekiu’ class frigates has reportedly been planned
by the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), leading to an eventual fleet of
six. An expansion of the submarine fleet by three conventional hunterkiller boats is under consideration. In June 2014, the RMN deployed the
‘Bunga Mas’ class of auxiliary vessels off the east coast of the Malaysian
state of Sabah to act as a sea base. The continuing deployment is to support Malaysia’s efforts to combat kidnappings by Philippines-based
insurgent organisations. To this end, the Bunga Mas Lima acts as a
mothership for ‘CB 90’ class fast attack craft and Malaysian Army fast
boats. For Malaysia to maintain its naval presence in the region the
RMN must decide whether to retain the Bunga Mas Lima on loan from
the Malaysian International Shipping Corporation.
NEW ZEALAND
ROYAL NEW ZEALAND NAVY
Ship Type
‘ANZAC’ class frigate
‘Canterbury’ class replenishment vessel
‘Endeavour’ class replenishment vessel
‘Otago’ class offshore patrol vessel
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‘Protector’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Manawanui’ class diving support vessel
4
1
A decision will be made by the end of 2014 regarding the replacement for the navy’s sole HMNZS Endeavour fleet replenishment
ship. On 29 April 2014 Lockheed Martin Canada signed a contract
with the New Zealand government for the upgrade of the Royal New
Zealand Navy’s two ‘ANZAC’ class frigates The contract award represents Lockheed Martin Canada’s first export sale of its Combat
The Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Ta Mana is the second ship of the
nation’s ‘ANZAC’ class frigates and will undergo a combat management
and weapons system upgrade under the direction of Lockheed Martin
Canada © Australian Department of Defence
Management System. The frigate enhancements under this contract
are expected to begin in 2014 and be completed in 2018. A concurrent
upgrade of the navy’s ‘ANZAC’ frigates will occur under a contract
signed on 21 May 2014 by the New Zealand Ministry of Defence with
MBDA. This agreement calls for equipping the ships with the new
Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile to provide local area air defence. Sea
Ceptor is a version of the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile being
developed by the British arm of MBDA. The weapon will not be
installed on Royal Navy frigates until 2016, and no date has been
announced for equipping of Sea Ceptor on the ANZAC frigates.
PAKISTAN
PAKISTAN NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Hashmat’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
2
‘Khalid’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
3
‘Zulfiquar’ class frigate
4
‘Tariq’ class frigate
5
‘Alamgir’ class frigate
1
‘Azmat’ class fast attack craft
2
‘Larkana’ class fast attack craft
2
‘Jalalat-II’ class fast attack craft
2
‘Jurrat’ class fast attack craft
2
‘MRTP-15’ class fast attack craft
2
‘MRTP-33’ class fast attack craft
2
‘Munsif’ class mine countermeasures vessel
3
‘Fuqing’ class auxiliary vessel
1
‘Poolster’ class auxiliary vessel
1
‘Griffon’ class assault hovercraft
12
Pakistan is in talks with China about a replacement of its three
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‘Khalid’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) and two
ageing ‘Hashmat’ class SSKs. The most promising development to
this end is the contract for ‘Yuan’ class SSKs which is expected to be
completed by end of 2014. The Pakistan Navy remains in discussion
with the United States regarding the transfer of additional ‘Oliver
Hazard Perry’ class frigates, to reinforce its ‘Alamgir’ class ships.
PHILIPPINES
PHILIPPINE NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Gregorio del Pilar’ class frigate
2
‘Datu Kalantiaw’ class frigate
1
‘Pohang’ class corvette
1
‘Emilio Jacinto’ class corvette
3
‘Rizai’ class corvette
2
‘Miguel Malvar’ class corvette
6
‘General Emilio Aguinaldo’ class inshore patrol vessel
2
‘General Mariano Alvarez’ class inshore patrol vessel
1
‘Jose Andrada’ class patrol boat
22
‘Kagitingan’ class patrol boat
2
‘Tomas Batillo’ class fast attack craft
6
‘Conrado Yap’ class fast attack craft
3
‘Alberto Navarette’ class inshore patrol vessel
2
‘Bacolod City’ class heavy landing ship
2
‘LST-1/542’ class heavy landing ship
2
‘LCU Mk.6’ class utility landing craft
3
‘Mulgae’ class utility landing craft
1
‘Ang Pangulo’ class presidential yacht
1
‘Lake Mainit’ class replenishment vessel
2
‘Lake Buluan’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Design 381’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘YTL-442’ class hydrographic ship
2
The country’s Department of National Defence (DND) is managing the bidding process for two new frigates whose contract price is
placed at $412 million for both ships. The shape, size and capabilities of these ships are being determined by a naval working group
which convened in February 2014. Six shipbuilders are eligible to
bid for this frigate project: Garden Reach of India, Navantia of
Spain, STX of France, Daewoo of the Republic of Korea (RoK) and
Hyundai Heavy Industries, also based in the RoK. The DND is
expected to complete technical discussions for the project with the
The BRP Gregorio del Pilar is the first of two ex-United States Coast
Guard ‘Hamilton’ class cutters in service with the Philippine Navy. The
force has been an avid user of US-supplied naval materiel in recent
years © Government of Philippines
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eligible shipbuilders by the end of 2014 and hold bidding for the
project in 2015. The DND remains in informal discussions for five
offshore patrol vessels from France and is known to be in the market for a conventional hunter-killer submarine. No substantive
acquisition announcements are expected in the near term for these
two areas of interest as fiscal realities may limit the expansion of the
nation’s naval order of battle.
Singapore’s defence minister advised parliament in March 2014 that
the navy is examining the possibility of acquiring large amphibious
support vessels. Two new ‘Type 218SG’ class conventional hunterkiller submarines (SSKs) are under contract from the German submarine builder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems with deliveries
expected from 2020 to replace the existing ‘Challenger’ class SSKs.
Together with the two existing ‘Archer’ class SSKs they will form
the Republic of Singapore Navy’s underwater fleet from 2020.
RUSSIA
RUSSIAN NAVY PACIFIC FLEET
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Borei’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine
1
‘Delta-III’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine
3
‘Oscar-II’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine
5
‘Akula-I’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine
4
‘Kilo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
8
‘Slava’ class cruiser
1
‘Udaloy-I’ class destroyer
4
‘Sovremenny’ class destroyer
1
The first ‘Borey’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)
could be joined by three more by 2020. Furthermore, the
Severodvinsk, the first ‘Yasen’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), was commissioned 17 June 2014. Four other boats of the
class remain under construction and are expected to incrementally
enter service early next decade. The delivery of two ‘Mistral’ class
amphibious support ships built by the French shipbuilder STX
remains in doubt. Paris is under considerable pressure not to formally transfer the Vladivostok and Sevastopol to Russian control in retaliation for Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian civil war. As this
directory was being compiled, the Sevastopol amphibious support
ship had not been delivered to the Russian Navy and the Vladivostok
remained on schedule for completion by late 2014. Aside from
upgrading the Pacific Fleet’s main Far East Vladivostok and
Viliuchinsk naval bases, Russia has built anchorages in Primorye
Territory, on Sakhalin Island and in the Kuril Islands. Russia’s navy
is also seeking facilities beyond its territory, and is pursuing negotiations with Vietnam to lease the Vietnamese Navy base in Cam Ranh
Bay. In November 2013, Russia and Vietnam signed an agreement on
creating a joint submarine maintenance centre there.
SINGAPORE
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Challenger’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
4
‘Archer’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
2
‘Formidable’ class frigate
6
‘Victory’ class corvette
6
‘Fearless’ class offshore patrol vessel
12
‘Endurance’ class amphibious support ship
4
‘Landsort’ class mine countermeasures vessel
4
Singapore’s interest in buying the Lockheed Martin F-35B
Lightning-II Short Take Off/Vertical Landing multi-role combat aircraft has prompted speculation that the navy may increase its interest in local shipbuilder’s ST Engineering Marine’s proposal for an
amphibious support ship which could handle the aircraft. Indeed,
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SRI LANKA
Sri Lankan Navy
Ship Type
‘Sukanya’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Reliance’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Vikram’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Jayasagara’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Saar-4’ class fast attack craft
‘Shanghai-I’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Shanghai-II’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Shanghai-III’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Lushun’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Bay’ class offshore patrol vessel
‘Super Dvora Mk.III’ class patrol boat
‘Super Dvora Mk.II’ class patrol boat
‘Dvora Mk.I’ class patrol boat
‘Shaldag’ class patrol boat
‘Colombo’ class patrol boat
‘Simoneau’ class patrol boat
‘Chevron’ class patrol boat
‘Trinity Marine’ class patrol boat
‘Wave Rider’ class patrol boat
‘Yuhai’ class heavy landing ship
‘Yunnan’ class heavy landing ship
Number in Service
1
1
1
1
2
2
4
3
2
2
6
3
4
7
22
3
4
5
25
1
2
Sri Lanka continues its dual-track strategy to cooperate on naval
matters with India and China.
TAIWAN
TAIWAN NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Chien Lung’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
2
‘Hai Shih’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
2
‘Kee Lung’ class destroyer
4
‘Cheng Kung’ class destroyer
8
‘Chi Yang’ class frigate
8
‘Kang Ding’ class frigate
6
‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigate
2 to enter service
‘Ching Chiang’ class offshore patrol vessel
11
‘Kuang Hua VI’ class fast attack craft
31
‘Tuo River’ class corvette
12 to enter service
‘Yung Yang’ class mine countermeasures vessel
4
‘Yung Feng’ class mine countermeasures vessel
4
‘Yung Ching’ class mine countermeasures vessel
2
‘Hsuhai’ class dock landing ship
1
‘Chung Cheng’ class dock landing ship
1
‘Chung Ho’ class heavy landing ship
2
‘Chung Hai’ class heavy landing ship
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‘Mei Chin’ class heavy landing ship
‘Ta De’ class tug
‘Tai Hu’ class tug
‘Ta Tung’ class tug
‘Chung Bai’ class replenishment vessel
‘Wu Kang’ class coastal transport
‘Wan An’ class coastal transport
‘Tai Wu’ class coastal transport
4
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
In January 2014 Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND)
announced that the navy had taken delivery in 2013 of submarinelaunched Boeing UGM-84L Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles. The
UGM-84Ls will be divided between Taiwan’s two ‘Chien Lung’
class conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs). In June 2014 the
MND’s Navy Command Headquarters said the service will try to
replace part of the pressure hull on one of its existing ‘Guppy-II’
Class SSKs, among the oldest submarines in active service. Taiwan
remains unable to find a supplier of new SSKs to replace its venerable force with prospective shipyards and their parent governments
concerned about possible retaliation from China should they decide
to supply Taiwan with new boats. The US Congress has authorised
the sale of four ex-US Navy ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigates to
Taiwan as of April 2014. The administration of President Barack
Obama has yet to approve the transfer of these ships.
THAILAND
ROYAL THAI NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Chakri Naruebet’ class aircraft carrier
1
‘Knox’ class frigate
2
‘Naresuan’ class frigate
2
‘Modernised Jianghu’ class frigate
4
‘Ratanakosin’ class corvette
2
‘Tapi’ class corvette
2
‘Khamronsin’ class corvette
3
‘River’ class offshore patrol vessel
1
‘Pattani’ class offshore patrol vessel
2
‘Makut Rajakumarn’ class offshore patrol vessel
1
‘Hua Hin’ class offshore patrol vessel
3
‘PSMM Mk.5’ class offshore patrol vessel
6
‘Tor 991’ class offshore patrol vessel
3
‘Tor 994’ class offshore patrol vessel
3
‘M36’ class offshore patrol vessel
3
‘MBM-230’ class fast attack craft
3
‘FPB-45’ class fast attack craft
3
‘MV-400’ class fast attack craft
3
‘Cannon’ class training ship
1
‘Endurance’ class amphibious support ship
1
‘Normed PS-700’ class tank landing ship
2
‘Marsun M55’ class utility landing craft
2
‘Thongkaeo’ class utility landing craft
4
‘Mannok’ class utility landing craft
3
‘Similan’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Jula’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘YOG-5’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Prong’ class replenishment vessel
1
‘Proet’ class replenishment vessel
2
‘Matra’ class replenishment vessel
1
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‘Chuang’ class replenishment vessel
‘MSC-289’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Thalang’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘M48’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Gaeta’ class mine countermeasures vessel
‘Chan’ class hydrographic vessel
‘Sok’ class hydrographic vessel
‘Paruehasabordee’ class hydrographic vessel
‘Rin’ class tug
‘Samsan’ class tug
‘Klungbadan’ class tug
2
2
1
2
2
1
1
1
2
2
2
Thailand does not possess any submarines, but has ambitious
designs for a future fleet. A submarine fleet headquarters at Sattahip
Naval Base will be completed by the end of 2014. Royal Thai Navy
officers are attending submarine training in Germany and the
Republic of Korea. On 20 May 2014 Rheinmetall of Germany
announced that the Royal Thai Navy’s submarine command team
trainer was operational. Also in May 2014, the United States said it
was reviewing its military relationship and engagement with its
Asia-Pacific ally following the Spring 2014 military coup.
VIETNAM
VIETNAM PEOPLE’S NAVY
Ship Type
Number in Service
‘Gepard 3.0’ class frigate
2
‘Petya’ class frigate
5
‘Sigma’ class corvette
2 to enter service
‘Tarantul-1’ class corvette
4
‘Moiniya’ class corvette
4
‘BPS-600’ class corvette
1
‘Kilo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine
2
‘Osa’ class offshore patrol vessel
8
‘Svetlyak’ class offshore patrol vessel
6
‘Turya’ class offshore patrol vessel
5
‘TT-400 TP’ class offshore patrol vessel
3
‘Sonya’ class mine countermeasures vessel
4
‘Yurka’ class mine countermeasures vessel
2
‘Yevgenya’ class mine countermeasures vessel
2
‘Giao su Vien si Tran Dai Nghia’ class hydrographic vessel
1
‘K-122’ class transport/logistics vessel
2
‘HQ-996’ class transport/logistics vessel
1
‘Trường Sa’ class transport/logistics vessel
7
‘LST-542’ class heavy landing ship
1
‘Polnochny’ class amphibious support ship
3
‘HQ-521’ class amphibious support ship
2
China has become increasingly assertive within Vietnam’s continental shelf and its Exclusive Economic Zone. While Vietnam’s
responses remain ambiguous, the nation has diplomatically moved
further away from China and increased its dialogue with other
nations. It has also increased its purchases of Russian naval platforms and systems, and is expanding its military-to-military contacts with the navies of the United States and other nations. While
Vietnam did not receive any Russian ships or other naval hardware
in 2014, the nation continues to strengthen its future interoperability with Vietnam reportedly ordering two more ‘Gepard’ class
frigates from Russia’s Gorky Shipyard for delivery in 2017.
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YODA-LIKE
PERCEPTION
Dark and shadowy is the habitat of the Electronic
Intelligence (ELINT) gathering aircraft. Able to
‘hoover up’ information regarding potentially hostile
radar and communications transmissions, the
detailed activities of these platforms are rarely
discussed by the air forces who operate them.
by Thomas Withington
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The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the only other military
to operate the Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint
electronic intelligence aircraft beyond the United
States Air Force. In RAF service, these planes are
known as the RC-135W Airseeker © US DoD
LINT aircraft essentially have two basic functions
within the Electronic Warfare (EW) domain:
chiefly collecting information regarding hostile
radar, and communications emissions, the latter
process
being
known
as
COMINT
(Communications Intelligence). This is achieved by using aircraft equipped with antennae and signals processing equipment which detects, classifies and locates (known in EW jargon as ‘Direction Find’ or ‘DF’) these emissions.
These emissions can be recorded and analysed onboard
these aircraft, which carry wideband satellite and radio communications links with the outside world to enable the gathered and processed ELINT to be shared with other users. The
gathering of ELINT is vital to establish an electronic Order-ofBattle (ORBAT) to identify and locate friendly, neutral and
hostile radar and communications transmissions.
Radar typically transmits in the one to 18 gigahertz (GHz)
section of the electromagnetic spectrum, although it increasingly inhabits the 18-40GHz section where so-called ‘millimetre wave’ radars, which offer particularly sharp resolution of
targets, are to be found. The ability to collect radar data is vital
E
l
for air campaign planning and execution to enable ingressing
strike packages of combat aircraft, or individual warplanes, to
avoid areas of comprehensive radar coverage, exploit areas of
weak radar coverage or target enemy radars with AntiRadiation Missiles (ARMs).
In the COMINT domain, ELINT aircraft can gather details
of known hostile and potentially hostile communications to
DF the source of these communications and to facilitate
eavesdropping. COMINT typically concerns itself with High
Frequency (HF/3-30MHz), Very High Frequency (VHF/30300MHz) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF/ 300MHz-1GHz)
traffic, which includes military tactical radios, as well as civilian cellphone networks.
In August 2014, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence
revealed that Royal Air Force Boeing RC-135W
Airseeker/Rivet Joint aircraft have been patrolling the skies of
Northern Iraq (see this edition’s Pulse column). Although not
officially confirmed, it is thought that these missions have been
performed to collect COMINT regarding the activities of the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent group which has
occupied large swathes of northern and eastern Iraq.
OCTOBER 2014
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The Gulfstream G-550 business jet has
become an increasingly popular platform for
electronic intelligence-gathering aircraft. The
airframe is in use for this mission with the
Israeli Air Force and the Aeronautica Militaire
(Italian Air Force) © IAI Elta
Royal Air Force
The RAF procured three RC-135W aircraft
as a replacement for its ageing Hawker
Siddeley/BAE
Systems
Nimrod-RI
ELINT aircraft, with the fleet of two airframes retiring in June 2011. Deliveries of
the RC-135W aircraft commenced in
November 2013, with training flights
starting in May 2014. The United States
Air Force (USAF) also operates the RC135V/W Rivet Joint (see below) yet the
RAF’s aircraft were not obtained from
USAF stocks. Instead, three ex-USAF
Boeing KC-135R tankers were converted
into RC-135W aircraft by US defence electronics specialists L3 Communications.
There are some important differences
between the RC-135V and RC-135W configurations: the former are upgraded versions of the legacy USAF RC-135C Big
Team aircraft. Designed for strategic
ELINT (this aircraft was outfitted with the
AN/ASD-1 ELINT system) the RC-135C
would form the basis of the RC-135V with
ten of the ‘Charlie’ aircraft being upgraded
to ‘Victor’ status. The RC-135W has a
slightly reduced capability in terms of
ELINT, at the expense of enhanced
COMINT capabilities. While the RC-135V
was developed from the RC-135C, the RC135W was developed from the RC-135M
River Card with this latter airframe
upgraded to this end. Originally, the RC135 family of aircraft, which entered USAF
service in the 1960s, were designed to per-
36
form passive ELINT gathering. This, as
noted above, was achieved with systems
such as the AN/ASD-1 and the AN/QRC259 superheterodyne receiver. Although
not confirmed by RC-135 operators,
according to open sources it is thought that
the ELINT equipment carried by today’s
RC-135V/W aircraft may not only be capable of collecting and analysing radar intelligence and communications traffic, but
also of altering radar emissions or inserting
false and misleading communications traffic into a network to fox adversaries.
It is possible that the RAF RC-135W
aircraft were planting misleading communications into ISIS tactical communications networks during their recent flights
over Iraq, in addition to passively collecting COMINT on ISIS’ transmissions.
However, it will be many years before we
know the exact nature of these recent RAF
RC-135W missions. In terms of altering
radar emissions it may be possible for RC135V/W aircraft to employ EW software
programmes such as ‘Suter’.
Suter
Suter has been developed by BAE Systems
as part of the USAF’s ‘Big Safari’ programme. Exactly what the Big Safari initiative gets up to is a mystery and its raison
d’etre sounds rather prosaic as it is intended to manage the acquisition, operation
and support of USAF ‘special purpose’
platforms and weapons.
The Suter designation is thought to
cover three specific software configurations known as Suter-1, -2 and -3, all of
which are thought to be computer programmes designed to disrupt, degrade and
destroy hostile Integrated Air Defence
Systems (IADS). Suter is believe to achieve
this by entering an IADS mimicking the
behaviour of a computer virus.
The programme may enter the IADS
through its communications network, possibly via satellite, radio or internet links.
The Suter-1 programme may allow users to
see the Recognised Air Picture (RAP) generated by federating the disparate imagery
gathered by the networked radars of an
IADS, as well as seeing information
regarding Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs)
status and the dispersal of such weapons.
Suter-2 might allow the user to take control
of some elements of the IADS, presumably
allowing them to alter the RAP in a way
which is to their advantage while Suter-3 is
rumoured to enable the user to alter the
status of the SAMs populating the IADS,
while giving the user the ability to manipulate the IADS. The key advantage of Suter
may well be its subtlety, with IADS operators scarcely being aware that it has taken
control of their systems.
In terms of combat experience, Suter is
thought to have been used by US forces in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, it
may have been deployed during
Operation NEPTUNE SPEAR to spoof the
The United States Air Force Lockheed Martin EC-130H Compass Call aircraft
is used to disrupt, degrade and destroy enemy communications systems,
particularly those used by hostile integrated air defence systems © USAF
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Electronic intelligence aircraft are usually festooned with an array of antennae for the collection
of radio frequency transmissions. The antenna in this picture belongs to a Gulfstream S-102B
Korpen jet of the Flygvapnet (Royal Swedish Air Force) © Thomas Withington
Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) IADS during
the US Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) commando mission to kill Al Qaeda insurgent
group leader Osama Bin Laden on the
night of 1/2 May 2011.
The ability to safely fly the SEAL’s helicopters through Pakistan air space to their
destination in Abbottabad, in the north of
the country, where Mr. Bin Laden’s house
was located without detection was a pivotal aspect of this mission. While Suter is
thought to have been integrated on several
unidentified USAF Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles, it may also be operational on the
fleet of 16 RC-135V/W Rivet Joint of the
service’s 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron at
55 Wing at Offut Air Force Base and the
95th Reconnaissance Squadron at RAF
Mildenhall airbase in eastern England.
Israel
A nefarious computer programme with
similar characteristics to Suter (see above)
may have been used in combat by the
Israeli Air Force (IAF). The IAF, alongside
the other Israeli armed forces, is considered
one of the primary exponents and practitioners of electronic warfare. The country
has throughout its history faced electronic
threats in the form of the hostile air sur-
38
veillance radars used by the IADS of its
adversaries, and the hostile communications used by insurgents such as the
Hamas and Hezbollah organisations active
in the Gaza Strip and West Bank
Palestinian territories, and Lebanon.
Famously, in 1982, the Israeli Air Force
and the Israeli Army comprehensively
destroyed Syria’s IADS in the Golan
Heights on Israel’s northeastern border with
Syria. This attack, performed during Israel’s
Operation PEACE FOR GALILEE in June
1982, used mainly kinetic means to disrupt,
degrade and destroy the Syrian air forces.
IAF warplanes were once again active
over Syria on 6 September 2007 during
Operation ORCHARD. This initiative saw
the destruction of a Syrian nuclear reactor
located in the Deir ez-Zor Governate in
eastern Syria with precision-guided munitions dropped by IAF McDonnell
Douglas/Boeing F-15I Multi-Role Combat
Aircraft (MRCAs) which were escorted to
and from their targets by General
Dynamics/Lockheed
Martin
F-16I
MRCA. Open source reports state that
IAF ELINT aircraft were strongly suspected to also be involved in the raid. At the
time, the IAF was operating four Boeing
707 Re’em ELINT jets, although as of 2010
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these have been replaced by three
Gulftstream G-550s to perform ELINT,
and are equipped with an electronic intelligence payload developed by Israel
Aerospace Industries. No information has
been publicly released by either the IAF or
IAI Elta regarding the ELINT payload
which the G-550, known in IAF service as
the G-550 Shavit, accommodates. That
said, the brochure produced by IAI Elta
for its EL/I-3001 AISIS (Airborne
Integrated Signals Intelligence System)
depicts a G-550 with a strong resemblance
to the G-550 Shavit aircraft operated by
the IAF, although bereft of the usual
‘Israeli Air Force’ writing on the fuselage;
the inference being that the Israeli aircraft
either carries the EL/I-3001 AISIS, or is
outfitted with an ELINT package based
upon this product.
The official IAI Elta literature stresses
that the EL/I-3001 can detect, classify and
locate radar and communications signals
and build a real-time electronic ORBAT to
this end. Such information can be analysed
onboard the aircraft, and shared with analysts on the ground via the use of line-ofsight datalinks, satellite communications
and conventional HF, VHF and UHF radio.
India
Business jets have proven to be increasingly popular as ELINT platforms in
recent years. This is because of two factors. Firstly, the general trend towards the
miniaturisation of electronics—helped in
no small measure by Moore’s Law, the
theory that the number of transistors
which can be accommodated in a dense
integrated circuit doubles every two
years—has enabled electronics to perform
more tasks without increasing their size.
The reduction in the physical space taken
up by signal processing equipment essential for ELINT has resulted in airborne
ELINT platforms no longer needing to be
airliner-size to accommodate such equipment. Secondly, ELINT missions are typically long in duration where the high levels of comfort offered by business jets can
greatly reduce fatigue during missions
where crewmembers are required to perform intense concentration.
In the Asia-Pacific region, India is one
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forces’ ability to capture, process and disseminate intelligence to its users. The first
two RC-12X aircraft performed their maiden theatre deployments in 2011, thought to
be to Afghanistan to support North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation and US combat operations there.
The Marketplace
Alongside turbofan aircraft such as business jets, turboprops are proving popular as Electronic
Intelligence (ELINT) platforms. In particular, the United States Army uses the Beechcraft RC-12
family of aircraft to provide Corps-level ELINT © US DoD
country which has opted to procure a
Gulfstream-IV business jet-based ELINT
platform, with three aircraft in the Indian
Air Force fleet. Again, the equipment fit of
these aircraft is shrouded in secrecy,
although their missions, according to
reports in the public domain, are thought
to focus on the collection of radar information concerning the PAF IADS. The IAF is
now in the market for new ELINT aircraft,
with proposals to procure up to nine new
general purpose airframes, two of which
are to be configured for ELINT as
approved by the country’s Defence
Acquisition Council in April 2012.
The requirement calls for the procurement of a twin-turbofan airframe capable
of operating at high altitudes and in high
temperatures. A previous request for proposals for new ELINT platforms issued,
and then cancelled, in 2009 saw Brazil’s
Embraer and IAI each offering solutions
with the EL/I-3001 AISIS ELINT package
(see above) at its core onboard either the
Brazilian company’s EMB-145 airliner or
the G-550, as offered by IAI. There is no
word yet on which companies may bid for
this new acquisition.
Turboprops
Much as business jets have proven
increasingly popular as ELINT platforms,
small turboprop aircraft are also being
utilised for this mission. Beechcraft of the
United States has developed an ELINT
version of its King Air-200 twin turboprop
transport in the form of the RC-12N/P/Q
Guardrail family of aircraft operated by
the US Army. This aircraft is earmarked
for an extensive upgrade as part of the
RC-12X Guardrail initiative. The RC-12N
is designed to gather ELINT and
COMINT for exploitation at the Corps
level, in support of ground forces. While
several of the platforms discussed above
are effectively intended to support strategic, i.e. national or multinational, initiatives such as air campaign planning and
execution, the RC-12K/N/P/Q is intended for use at the operational level.
The aircraft can perform electronic and
communications intelligence detection,
classification, DF and exploitation. This
information can then be shared with other
users across datalinks and conventional
communications. The principle RC-12 variants include the RC-12N which entered
service in 1992/93 of which 14 are thought
to be in service. The RC-12P entered service in 1998 and added new mission equipment, along with fibre-optic cabling, new
wing pods and improved datalinks. Nine
such aircraft are in service with the US
Army. Finally, the RC-12Q, of which three
are in service, is a modification of the RC12P which adds an enhanced satellite communications payload, with all three aircraft
delivered in 2000.
Under the terms of the RC-12X modernisation, prime contractor Northrop
Grumman will modernise 14 RC-12N/P/Q
airframes, which will extend their operational life to 2025. Improvements to be
rolled out onto the aircraft include a new
glass cockpit, structural enhancements and
weight reductions via the installation of
new, more powerful computers. In terms of
the aircraft’s mission, its DF abilities are to
be enhanced, along with its ability to share
its intelligence with the US Army’s
Distributed Common Ground SystemArmy which uses software to improve the
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As the planned acquisitions by India, and
the recent acquisitions of ELINT aircraft by
the United Kingdom illustrate, the airborne
ELINT market is lively, despite such aircraft
still being considered a niche capability.
According to Lorraine Hammer, senior
market analyst at the Avascent Group, a
Washington-DC based consultancy, anticipating the size of the airborne ELINT
market is difficult as “it is very opaque.
Even after narrowing it down to airborne
systems, ELINT systems reside on a variety of platforms and defence customers
are not usually forthcoming about which
ELINT systems are on which platforms,
often because the systems are classified.”
That said, Ms. Hammer notes that an idea
of the potential market size can be derived
by noting the aircraft which could be used
to house ELINT equipment. Ms. Hammer
continues that “publicly available data
suggests that growth in the airborne
ELINT market in traditionally high
spending regions, like North America and
Europe, will slow in the near term,”
although “this does not necessarily mean
that countries in these regions are not
recapitalising their ELINT capabilities,
though, since such programs would likely
be classified.”
Nevertheless, Ms. Hammer notes that
non-traditional users of ELINT aircraft are
driving the market, particularly in the
Asia-Pacific region. “The demand in the
international markets for airborne ELINT
platforms appears poised to increase
steadily through to 2019. Countries in the
Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North
Africa, appear to be prepared to spend
much more on airborne ELINT platforms
in the next five years than in the past. For
example India, South Korea, Japan and
the United Arab Emirates have the potential to almost double their spending on
airborne ELINT by 2020.”
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ETHER MADNESS
A grey overcast ocean can seem like a particularly solitary place
with no other sign of human activity in the vast emptiness. Yet while
such emptiness may be palpable, the air may be resonating
with thousands upon thousands of pulses from ship and aircraft
radars beyond the horizon.
by Thomas Withington
aval Electronic Support
Measures (ESMs) have a vital
role to play in helping a crew
determine the electronic
Order-of-Battle (ORBAT),
both friendly and hostile, in their locale.
They allow the detection, classification
and Direction Finding (DF) of radar emitters and, unlike the ships’ own radar, are
passive, meaning that as an ESM does not
emit any Radio Frequency (RF) energy
they can detect RF emissions from other
platforms to thus derive their identity
based on the radars which these platforms
are using. ESMs can achieve this without
having to betray a ship’s own position.
They also have an important role to play in
protecting a ship against radar-guided
Anti-Ship Missiles (AShMs).
N
Exocet
The Royal Navy and the United States Navy
both know the terrible cost of AShM attack.
During the Falklands War of 1982 in the
40
South Atlantic, the former lost HMS
Sheffield, of the eponymous class of Guided
Missile Destroyers (DDG), on 4 May 1982 to
an air-launched Aerospatiale/MBDA AM39 Exocet radar-guided AShM which
caused the deaths of 20 sailors. It would be
the turn of the SS Atlantic Conveyor, a civilian roll-on roll-off container ship, requisitioned to support the British Task Force sent
to liberate the Falkland Islands from
Argentine control which suffered a similar
fate when hit by two AM-39s on 25 May
1982, with the loss of twelve lives. On 12
June 1982, the Royal Navy would once
again suffer AShM attack; this time by landlaunched MM-39 Exocets which hit HMS
Glamorgan, a ‘County’ class DDG with
twelve people killed. Although she did not
sink, she sustained substantial damage.
Five years after the Falklands War, the
US Navy would realise the cost of AShMs,
when the ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class
Guided Missile Frigate (FFG) the USS
Stark was attacked by two AM-39s fired
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by an Iraqi Air Force Dassault Mirage
F1EQ ground attack aircraft, during
which 37 sailors perished. The
AM/SM/MM-38/39/40 AShM family is
not the only radar-guided AShM threat
confronting the world’s navies. On 14 July
2006, the Israeli Navy ‘Sa’ar-5’ class
corvette INS Hanit was attacked by a
radar-guided AShM, strongly suspected
to be a China Haiying Electromechanical
Technology Academy C-802 fired by the
Hezbollah insurgent organisation when
patrolling off the coast of Lebanon causing the death of four crew members.
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Radar-guided AShMs such as MBDA’s AM-39
Exocet represent a serious threat to naval vessels.
Timely detection of an AShM by an ESM can
significantly increase reaction times to deploy
active and passive countermeasures © MBDA
As history illustrates, radar-guided
AShMs are a particular hazard to naval
vessels, principally because they tend to
follow a sea-skimming flight profile
which can place them at an altitude of a
mere 33-98 feet (ten-30 metres) above the
sea surface in the case of the C-802, or
even as low as six feet (two metres) altitude for the AM/SM/MM-38/39/40
AShM family. Such low altitudes can
enable the missile to evade detection by a
ships’ air and sea surface radar at range.
However, such missiles depend on an
active radar guidance system, typically
transmitting in the X-band (8.5-10.68 gigahertz/GHz) and Ka-band (33.4-36GHz) to
detect and home in on their target. These
radar emissions can be detected by an
ESM which enables the crew to prepare to
engage the AShM with active and passive
countermeasures even if it has not yet
been detected by the ship’s radar.
Naval ESMs must retain certain essen-
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tial characteristics. These include the ability to monitor a wide range of frequencies.
Nearly all naval ESMs cover the two18GHz range which enable them to detect,
classify and DF most radars used by air
and sea platforms and ground assets from
L-band (1.215-1.4GHz) up to Ku-band
(13.4-14/15.7-17.7GHz). They must be
capable of over-the-horizon detection of
radar threats and thus be able to detect
low-power radar signals. Imperative is a
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The Israeli Navy is no stranger to AShM attack suffering the loss of four crewmembers
when one of its corvettes was attacked thus in 2006. Elbit Systems is one Israeli
company providing ESMs to help protect surface shipping © Elbit Systems
100 percent probability of intercept of signals coupled with a low false alarm rate.
As time is often of the essence in naval
warfare, particularly as regards AShM
attack, fast signal processing is essential,
as is the ability to reject interference, such
as that from a vessel’s own radar.
COMINT
In addition, modern ESMs can collect
Communications
Intelligence
or
‘COMINT’, by detecting emissions in the
High Frequency (HF/three-30 megahertz/MHz), Very High Frequency
(VHF/30-300MHz) and Ultra High
Frequency (UHF/300MHz-three gigahertz)
range. While it is very useful to be able to
detect HF, VHF and UHF communications
at sea, this capability has increasing importance regarding littoral operations.
As navies around the world are increasingly being called upon to perform missions in proximity to coastlines to support
operations on land, the ability to detect and
locate potentially hostile communications
transmissions on land in littoral areas is a
major benefit. Civilian cellphone networks
host VHF and UHF communications traffic, and cellphones remain a favourite
method of communications for insurgent
organisations. A modern ESM can display
both communications and radar emitter
information in real time providing a
dynamic picture of the maritime electronic
ORBAT as it changes and develops. This
information can then be shared with a
ship’s Combat Management System (CMS)
and a vessel’s active and passive countermeasures as noted above.
Elbit Systems provides naval ESMs which
cover the 0.5-40GHz range, allowing the
detection of naval radars, UHF communications, and also high band millimetre
wave radars in the Ka-band used by some
AShMs. These can outfit vessels either as
standalone equipment or be integrated
into a vessel’s CMS.
Rafael Advanced Defence Systems’
naval ESM offerings include the C-Pearl
family, which comprises the C-Pearl-M
and C-Pearl-Mini. Using a single antenna
array, both systems cover the two-18GHz
range, with an optional downwards and
upwards increase to 0.5GHz and 40GHz.
Offering three degrees of DF, the C-Pearl
family has the ability to detect signals with
under 65 decibels of sensitivity. It can
detect both Continuous Wave (CW: radars
Argon ST’s WBR-2000
ESM monitors the
entire radar spectrum
and can store
thousands of records
Australia
Several other firms around the world are
involved in the provision of naval ESMs.
Exelis of the United States supplies ES3601 and ES-3701 ESMs covering the 218GHz range. However, optional spectrum increases downwards to 0.5 GHz and
upwards to 40GHz are available which
allows the firm’s ES-3701 to detect all
radar transmissions up to Ka-band including Frequency Modulating Continuous
Wave (FMCW) systems. According to
Dave Prater, vice-president of radar,
reconnaissance and undersea systems at
Exelis, the primary difference between
their ES-3601 and ES-3701 products is that
the former uses amplitude monopulse
processing and the latter has circular array
interferometer phase monopulse processing. The ES-3701 is equipping the Royal
While the US Navy’s ‘Independence’ class LCSs are equipped with the Exelis
ES-3601 ESM, the ‘Freedom’ class LCSs have Argon-ST’s WBR-3001 which
combines an ESM with an Electronic Intelligence system © US Navy
Israel
Israel is no stranger to AShM attack, as
shown by the incident of 14 July 2006.
42
which do not use a pulse to detect and
locate their target), along with traditional
pulsed radars with pulse widths of under
50 nanoseconds.
Finally, no discussion of Israeli naval
ESM capabilities would be complete without mentioning the EL/L-8385N Advanced
Naval
ESM/Electronic
Intelligence
(ELINT) system. Like the C-Pearl, the
EL/L-8385N covers the one-18GHz
frequency range with optional increases to
0.5GHz and 40GHz. With 360 degrees of
coverage, the EL/L-8385N operates well
in dense electromagnetic environments
and can be teamed with the company’s
EL/L-8385N ELINT product.
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ELECTRONIC WARFARE
The Republic of Korea Navy’s two new Chang
Bogo class conventional submarines will be
equipped with Indra’s Pegaso naval ESM
following an announcement made to this effect
in June 2014 © US Navy
Australian Navy’s forthcoming ‘Hobart’
class of air warfare destroyers (DDG), the
“ANZAC” class Frigate (FFH) and the
Canberra class Amphibious Assault Ships
(LHD). The ES-3601 is on all US Navy
‘Independence’ class Littoral Combat
Ships. Mr. Prater adds that the Marinen
(Royal Swedish Navy) has been a longtime customer of Exelis ESM products,
along with “various countries in the AsiaPacific region and Europe”. Both Exelis’
ES-3601 and ES-3701 perform DF across a
360-degree radius with three degrees of
accuracy, and can process up to one million pulses-per-second measuring 50
nanoseconds and above in pulse width. It
has a one second reaction time and the
wherewithal to store up to 10000 emitter
records in its library. Also adorning RAN
vessels, chiefly its ‘Huon’ class mine countermeasures vessels and its ‘Armidale’
class patrol boats, BAE Systems Passive
Radar Identification System, better known
as ‘PRISM’, covers the two-18GHz range
and can operate either in a stand-alone
configuration, or as part of a CMS.
United States
Additional US naval ESM providers
include Argon ST, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing. A written statement
supplied to the Asian Military Review
notes that the company’s WBR-2000 ESM
can monitor the entire radar spectrum
simultaneously, with the ability to store
up to 15000 emitter records in its library.
Other Argon-ST naval ESM products
include the WBR-3000 which combines the
WBR-2000 ESM (see above), with the company’s NBS-2500 Electronic Intelligence
(ELINT) receiver which uses a demodulated Intermediate Frequency receiver, while
the WBR-3001 combines the WBR-2000
with Argon-ST’s NBS-2501 digital
receiver-equipped ELINT equipment.
According to the company, the WBR-2000
currently equips the US Navy’s ‘Freedom’
class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
44
European Efforts
Airbus Defence and Space’s (formerly
Cassidian) naval ESM offerings include its
Maigret C-Lite. Taking its name from the
legendary fictional French police detective Jules Maigret created by author
Georges Simenon, the Maigret C-Lite can
perform detection and DF across a frequency range of one to 3.6GHz, thus
encompassing HF, VHF and UHF communications, plus L-band and S-band
(2.3-2.5/2.7-3.7GHz) radars. Several shipbased air and surface surveillance radars
operate in the L- and S-bands including
the Thales SMART-L and Herakles systems, to name but two. The Maigret CLite’s talents extend to the detection of
Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) burst
and frequency-hopping transmissions. To
this end it is able to detect GSM (Global
System for Mobile Communications) cellphone transmissions of 550 microseconds’
duration. According to a written statement provided by the manufacturer to
AMR, the Maigret C-Lite is designed to
equip all vessel sizes down to small patrol
boats, where the system can be used by a
single operator. Space-saving topside is
enhanced by the fact that the Maigret
C-Lite requires only a single antenna.
Italy
Elettronica of Italy provides the SEAL
ESM product family which, among other
vessels, is in service onboard the
‘Baynunah’ class corvettes of the United
Arab Emirates Navy. According to Enrico
Colantoni, responsible for naval electronic
warfare products at the firm, Elettronica’s
naval ESMs can outfit a range of combatants from Offshore Patrol Vessels up to
aircraft carriers. The SEAL family is available in a number of different configurations which can be used to trigger active
and passive self-protection measures such
as electromagnetic jammers or chaff and
flares, and also to active ELINT equipment for surveillance. Detection of LPI
signals pose no difficulty for the SEAL
architecture while wideband receiver
technology allows it to detect an array of
threats. Automatic, real-time analysis of
both known and unknown threats is
performed with the SEAL, with automatic
identification of radar threats also
being performed.
The US Navy’s ‘Independence’ class LCSs are outfitted with
Exelis’ ES-3601 ESM. Along with these vessels, the ES-3701
will outfit the Royal Australian Navy’s forthcoming
‘Hobart’ class air defence destroyers © US Navy
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Spain
Indra of Spain’s ESM family includes Rigel
which outfits surface vessels. A written
statement provided to AMR from the company says that it can perform “automatic
and instantaneous detection, DF, analysis,
classification and identification of any
pulsed or CW radar emissions in the two18GHz bandwidth with an angular coverage of 360 degrees” adding that “extensions for low band and high band coverage
are available” to customers. The statement
continues that the Rigel family is capable of
tracking up to 512 emitters simultaneously
and performs inter- and intra-pulse analysis. The Pegaso member of the Rigel family
is designed for submarines and on 9 June
2014 Indra announced that it would be
installing it onboard the Republic of Korea
Navy’s two Chang Bogo class conventional hunter-killer submarines currently
under construction.
France
Thales offers several naval ESM products
among its most popular being the Vigile
family. This product line was augmented in
October 2012 with the company’s launch of
the Vigile DPX. It has developed the VIGILE-DPX to reflect the trend for naval operations being increasingly performed in littoral environments which are considered to
be zones of high electro-magnetic activity
thanks to the profusion of civilian mobile
telecommunications networks, merchant
shipping using radar and radio communications, not to mention other naval vessels
and other military users of the spectrum.
The US Navy is a widespread user of Raytheon’s
AN/SLQ-32 family of naval electronic warfare
systems. These can take electronic order-ofbattle information from a vessel’s ESM to initiate
active and passive countermeasures against
suspected threats © US Navy
The Vigile-DPX has been designed to
detect hostile and friendly radar emissions
within this crowded atmosphere. At the
same time, navies around the world are
having to adapt themselves to performing
electronic intelligence operations with
fewer dedicated Electronic Warfare (EW)
specialists, and for this reason the VigileDPX has been designed to be highly intuitive to use. This trend has already been
realised by Thales via the development of its
earlier Vigile Lightweight product which
the company says was designed from the
outset to be usable by non-specialist personnel. The Human Machine Interface (HMI)
includes a 360-degree plan position indicator view denoting the location and information regarding emitters in the systems’
range, along with a strip display depicting
the characteristics of the signals that the
system collects and processes digitally. In
terms of capability, the Vigile-DPX performs a 360-degree scan across the 2-20
gigahertz range. Up to 32 signals can be
processed by the Vigile-DPX simultaneously. The high level of digitisation
included within the product should make
it relatively easy to upgrade during its
service life while much of the functionality of the receiver is facilitated using algorithms. The Royal Navy’s ‘Daring’ class
air defence destroyers are outfitted with
the Vigile DPX.
Sweden
Similarly, Saab provides a number of naval
ESM products in the guise of its U/SME50, U/SME-150 and U/SME-250 equipment. Saab’s SME ESMs are optimised to
equip surface vessels, while the UME
series is designed for submarines. One
attraction of this approach, a written statement from Saab to AMR notes, is that “the
functional and operational building blocks
of both systems are identical, allowing for
commonality between a customer’s surface
and submarine fleet”. In terms of the key
differences between each of the products,
the U/SME-50 covers the 2-18GHz range
and can detect and analyse around 500 signals simultaneously. The U/SME-150,
meanwhile, can perform some ELINT tasks
in addition to its core ESM functions. It can
cover either the 2-18GHz or 18-40GHz
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Thales unveiled its Vigile-DPX naval ESM at the
2012 Euronaval exhibition in Paris. Vessels
equipped with this product include the
Royal Navy’s ‘Daring’ class air defence
destroyers © Thomas Withington
range with an optional downward extension to one to two gigahertz. The U/SME150 is capable of performing DF with 3.5
degrees of accuracy. This diminishes to 2.5
degrees for the U/SME-250, which can also
detect and analyse circa 500 signals.
Covering the 2-18GHz range, it has an
optional upward and downward extension
to 0.5 to two gigahertz and 18-40GHz
respectively. The U/SMLE-250 can perform simultaneous ESM and ELINT duties.
The Saab statement continues that “the
UME and SME range boasts an open architecture which allows for ease of integration
with different types of CMS and other vessel subsystems.”
Future Vectors
Several important design considerations
are being contemplated for tomorrow’s
generation of naval ESMs. These include
the perennial quest to reduce the overall
size, weight and power that an ESM consumes. Additional considerations include
the need to improve operator interfaces to
make them easier to use, and expanding the
range and type of signal frequencies which
an ESM can cover. Mr. Colantoni states that
in the future this could extend to ESMs processing emitter information in the infrared
range. He adds that “increasingly closer
cooperation between an onboard radar and
ESM is envisaged in the future”. This could
see a radar display being populated with
the DF and metadata regarding what the
ESM has detected.
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A I R C R A F T
NEW RULES
FOR FLIGHT SCHOOLS
While the United States and Western Europe’s military focus
fluctuates between the Middle East conflicts and Russia’s
involvement in the Ukrainian civil war, tensions and territorial
disputes remain unresolved in the Asia-Pacific region where
military spending is on the increase.
by David Oliver
any countries are committing to the acquisition
of fifth-generation MultiRole Combat Aircraft
(MRCA) for their air
forces, with the Lockheed Martin F35A/B/C Lightning-II leading the charge.
This will mean that a new generation of
pilots will have to be trained to fly them
over the next decade. This will often
require the implementation of a whole
new integrated training solution that will
encompass every aspect of the pilot training regime from screening and basic
instruction through to advanced flight
training. The training package would also
have to include flight line support, training facilities, course materials and flight
simulators. There is a growing trend for
this to be provided by industry-led teams
although there are a number of important
exceptions to this modus operandi of
training solution provision.
M
46
India
One of the nations that has resolutely
resisted the industry-led path to pilot
training discussed above is India where
the air force is responsible for all aspects of
pilot training. However, this process is
now in disarray with serious and deeprooted disagreements between the Indian
Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Indian
Air Force (IAF). The source of these disagreements is the wholly governmentowned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL) industrial concern. In July 1999,
HAL was awarded a $42 million contract
to develop a new Intermediate Jet Trainer
(IJT) to replace the IAF’s HAL HJT-16
Kiran Mk.I basic and HJT-16 Kiran Mk.II
intermediate trainers.
The HJT-16I/II replacement, the HAL
HJT-36 Sitara, made its first flight in March
2003. That said, issues of critical wing and
airframe design, development issues related to stall and spin characteristics, and
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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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Indonesia was the first export customer for the
Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 Golden Eagle
lead-in jet trainer with a contract for 16 T-50I
aircraft which was followed by the Philippines
ordering the F/A-50 light attack variant
© Indonesian Air Force
accidents involving the first two prototypes have beset the programme. With no
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in
sight, the life of the IAF ageing HJT-16I/II
has had to be extended to 2018 and HAL
was forced to issue a global Request for
Information (RfI) on 30 June 2014 for technical assistance from commercial companies to help solve the issues experienced
by the HJT-36. If and when an IOC is
achieved, twelve aircraft will be produced,
although the IAF has an eventual requirement for 85 IJTs.
Earlier this year the IAF issued an RFI
inviting local companies to submit bids to
build under licence 106 Pilatus PC-7 Mk.II
Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) for a
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Lockheed Martin has proposed a Republic of
Singapore Air Force-style training system to
meet the Australian Defence Forces AIR 5428
pilot training project which will replace the
Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet of Pilatus PC9A turboprop trainers © ADF
Indonesia
response by 21 April 2014 plus the provision of three Full Mission Simulators
(FMS), two Cockpit Procedure Trainers
(CPT) and three avionics Part Task Trainer
(PTT) devices for delivery between 2015
and 2021. These would be in addition to
the 75 PC-7II BTAs being produced and
delivered by Pilatus under a $1 billion contract to replace indigenous HAL HPT-32
piston engine trainers. Meanwhile, the
Indian MoD continues to support the
indigenous HAL HTT-40 Deepak basic
trainer that is scheduled to fly in 2015, two
years later than expected, with deliveries
of all 106 aircraft expected by 2025. With
the election of a new government in May
2014 which is reported to be committed to
defence modernisation and improving
procurement programmes, the relationship between the Indian MoD and the IAF
may well address the shortage of IAF
pilots and under-trained personnel that
has led to yet more serious accidents and
loss of aircrews in recent years.
RoK
While other nations in the region do not
have the same training challenges as those
facing the IAF, many of them are introducing new state-of-the-art training aircraft
into their inventory either as direct purchases or as part of integrated industry-led
training systems. The Republic of Korea
(RoK) has been more successful than India
in developing and producing a capable
and cost-effective family of indigenous
training aircraft for both the Republic of
Korea Air Force (RoKAF), and for a growing number of export customers.
In May 2014, the RoK defence and transport ministries and the country’s Defence
Acquisition Procurement Administration
signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Korea Aerospace Industries
(KAI) for the purchase of 23 KC-100
Naraon piston-engine trainers to replace
the Ilyushin Il-103 elementary pistonengine trainers operated by the RoKAF
Academy’s 212 Flying Training Squadron
at Seongmu airbase in the central RoK.
This establishes a pilot training system that
will see students graduate from selection to
operational training on a fleet of KAI aircraft. After the KC-100, they will receive
basic flying training on the KF-1 WoongBee turboprop trainer, 85 of which have
been delivered to the RoKAF. They will
then complete their flight training on the
KAI T-50 Lead-In Jet Trainer (LIJT) and
weapons training on the KAI T/A-50
Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT). Both the T50 and T/A-50 are variants of the KAI T-50
Golden Eagle LIJT/LIFT and MRCA family. A total of 50 T-50s, plus 10 T-50B aircraft
for the RoKAF ‘Black Eagles’ aerobatic display team, 22 T/A-50s and 20 F/A-50 LIFT
and MRCA variants are currently being
delivered to the RoKAF.
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OCTOBER 2014
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Indonesia was the first export customer for
the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle and is procuring 16 T-50I variants to replace the
Indonesian Air Force’s (InAF) BAE
Systems Hawk Mk.53 LIJTs under a $400
million contract. The Hawk-53s are based
at Iswahyudi airbase, the last of which
were delivered in January 2014. The InAF
also operates 16 KAI KT-1B basic turboprop trainers and is in the process of
accepting 14 Grob G-120TP basic turboprop trainers, a type that has also been
selected for the United Kingdom Military
Flying Training System (MFTS).
Philippines
Amid territorial disputes with China,
Philippine president Benigno Aquino
recently announced that the 2015 defence
budget would be increased to $2.6 billion,
almost 30 percent more than the defence
budget for 2014, and that more than one
third would be allocated to the Philippines
Air Force which currently has no combat
aircraft. One result of this announcement
was the signing of a $420 million contract
with KAI for 12 F/A-50 aircraft (see above)
that will also be used as a LIFT platform.
Grob G 120TP basic turboprop trainers have
been acquired by the Indonesian Air Force and
the company is targeting Australia and New
Zealand to replace their Pacific Aerospace
Corporation CT-4B Airtrainers © David Oliver
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A I R C R A F T
Training System (PTS) as a response to
AIR 5428 (see above). The BAE Systems
team bid is based on the Beechcraft T-6C
Texan II primary turboprop trainer.
New Zealand
Beechcraft teamed with BAE Systems to offer the
T-6C Texan II turboprop trainer, which is being
delivered to the Royal New Zealand Air Force
(RNZAF), and is bidding for the Royal Australian
Air Force’s AIR 5428 project © Beechcraft
Bangladesh
Another previously under-funded air arm
receiving a boost to its training capability
is the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF). In spite
of a limited combat aircraft fleet, the BAF
signed a contract in January 2014 worth
approximately $800 million for 24
Yakovlev Yak-130 ‘Mitten’ LIJT aircraft
with first deliveries scheduled for early
2015. This aircraft will replace the BAF’s
current fleet Aero L-39ZA Albatros and
Cessna T-37B Tweet LIJTs, and supplement its few Nanchang A-5C ground
attack aircraft in the light strike role. The
Yak-130 is in direct competition with its
close relative, the Italian Alenia Aermacchi
M-346 Master LIJT, which is a redesigned
and westernised version of the Yak-130
now in service with the Republic of
Singapore Air Force (RSAF).
Singapore
The RSAF adopted the industry-led training solution with a 20-year 2006 contract
with Lockheed Martin to supply pilot
training services at RAAF (Royal
Australian Air Force) Base Pearce in
Western Australia with the RSAF procuring 19 Pilatus PC-21 basic turboprop trainers, associated training devices plus logistics and engineering support. Lockheed
Martin proposed a similar solution for its
31 March 2014 bid to meet the Australian
Defence Force’s AIR 5428 pilot training
project to replace the RAAF’s fleet of 60
48
Pilatus PC-9A turboprop and Pacific
Aerospace CT-4B Airtrainers pistonengine aircraft, both of which are part of
Australia’s Interim Basic Flight Training
System (IBFTS) initiative.
Australia
Lockheed Martin Australia has teamed
with Pilatus Aircraft and Hawker Pacific
for ‘Team 21’ to provide a fleet of Pilatus
PC-21 aircraft, simulators, course materials, plus Maintenance, Repair and
Overhaul (MRO) services. A rival bid was
received from BAE Systems Australia,
which already operates the IBFTS and provides in-service support to RAAF Hawk
Mk.127 LIFT fleet, with Beechcraft and
CAE to develop an integrated Pilot
In January 2014, Beechcraft announced that
the New Zealand Defence Force had signed
a $127 million contract for eleven of the
company’s T-6C Texan II aircraft for the
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).
The contract includes CAE flight simulators, classrooms and computer-based training course materials at RNZAF Base
Ohakea on the west coast of the North
Island along with spare parts, logistics and
a 30-year maintenance support contract
concluded with Safe Air Limited. The logistics agreement consists of aircraft material
support, full flight line and operational
maintenance, as well as the support and
operation of the synthetic training devices.
In preparation for introduction into
service activities to begin on schedule
later in 2014, the maintenance training
began after the first two aircraft were
delivered in August 2014. Formal acceptance of the aircraft will occur in November
2014, with a full capability declared in
January 2016. All eleven aircraft will be
delivered by the second quarter of 2015.
RNZAF basic pilot training is currently
carried out on leased CT-4E Airtrainers,
which, like those operated by the
Australian IBFTS, are due to be replaced.
Grob has targeted both Australia and New
Zealand for future sales of its G-120TP.
The China National Aero-Technology Import and
Export Corporation has begun a campaign to sell
the export version of the Hongdu Aviation
Industry Corporation L-15 Falcon Lead-In Jet
Trainer (LIJT) to several Asia-Pacific countries as a
cost effective alternative LIJT © CATIC
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Textron self-funded the multirole tandem-seat
Scorpion, which first flew in December, 2013. It
offers a cost-effective alternative to established
Lead-In Jet Training aircraft now entering
service around the world © David Oliver
China
China is also operating an aggressive sales
campaign for its training aircraft in the
Asia-Pacific region. The export version of
its Hongdu Aviation Industry Group
(HAIG) JL-8 (also known as the K-8
Karakoram) LIJT has been met with considerable success with up to 50 upgraded K8Ps being delivered to the Pakistan Air
Force, six to Sri Lanka, another 50 to the
Burmese Air Force, with more orders
expected from Cambodia and Laos.
The China National Aero-Technology
Corporation (CATIC) has begun a campaign to sell the export version of the HAIG
L-15 Falcon LIJT as a cost effective alternative to other high performance lead-in jet
trainers such as the T-50, M-346 and Yak130. The Russian Yakovlev Design Bureau
collaborated with the design and development of the L-15 that first flew in May 2008.
It has been ordered in large numbers by the
People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
All four AJT manufacturers (KAI,
Alenia Aermacchi, Yakovlev and HAIG)
are targeting the same countries that have
a requirement for a new LIJT. These countries include Malaysia which seeks to
replace its Northrop Grumman F-5F Tiger
II and BAE Systems Hawk Mk.108 LIJTs,
Thailand which is looking to replace its F5F and Aero L-39 lead-in jet trainers, and
Sri Lanka which requires a LIFT aircraft
for its burgeoning combat aircraft fleet.
United States
In the longer term, a number of countries
will be looking towards the outcome of the
US Air Force T-X acquisition programme to
replace up to 350 Northrop Grumman T38C Talon LIJTs with a US-built supersonic
off-the-shelf LIJT the IOC of which is to be
achieved by 2023. Alenia Aermacchi has
partnered with General Dynamics and is
expected to offer the T-100, a development
of the M-346 Master. BAE Systems has
joined forces with Northrop Grumman to
offer a derivative of the Hawk T.2, while
KAI has teamed with Lockheed Martin to
The Bangladesh Air Force signed a contract worth approximately $800 million for 24 Yakovlev
Yak-130 ‘Mitten’ Lead-In Jet Trainer jet trainer aircraft. This aircraft formed the template which
Alenia Aermacchi developed into the M-346 Master LIJT © David Oliver
50
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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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offer the T-50 Golden Eagle. An outsider
was revealed earlier this year when an
agreement was announced between Boeing
and Saab to design and develop an all-new
LIJT targeted at the T-X requirement.
Whoever wins the T-X contest will have
clear advantage over its rivals when attacking the global LIJT market especially with
nations committed to operating the F35A/B/C. At the other end of the training
ladder, another source of cost-effective
training aircraft may be the new generation
of innovative self-funded light attack aircraft, such as Textron’s Scorpion and
Paramount Group’s AHRLAC (Advanced
High Performance Reconnaissance Light
Aircraft). Both of these aircraft are designed
as affordable light attack and reconnaissance planes. Their tandem-seat configuration can easily be converted to configure
the aircraft as a multi-role platform that
could perform flight training duties.
Aiming to compete with light attack
variants of the LIJTs discussed above, the
Scorpion, which made its first flight on 12
December 2013, is a large straight-wing
aircraft such as Textron’s Scorpion which
is powered by twin Honeywell TFE731
turbofan engines with a top speed of 455
knots (840 kilometres-per-hour) and capable of carrying 3000 pounds (1363 kilograms) of weapons or reconnaissance sensors. Africa’s first designed and built
military aircraft, the AHRLAC, has a
high-wing twin-boom design powered by
a single Pratt and Whitney PT6A-66 pusher turboprop engine with a maximum
speed of 272kt (502km/h) and can carry a
1760lb (800kg) payload. The AHRLAC
made its maiden flight on 7 August 2014.
Ultimately, the responsibility of selecting
the optimum flight training system for any
air force is a daunting one that has longlasting and critical consequences for its
future capability.
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REGIONAL NEWS
s o u t h
A N D
a s i a
D E V E L O P M E N T S
ASIA PACIFIC PROCUREMENT UPDATE
by Pierre Delrieu
BANGLADESH TO
RECEIVE CHINESE K-8W
AND RUSSIAN MI-171SH
AIRCRAFT
The Bangladesh Navy has
purchased nine Hongdu
JL-8W jet trainer and light
attack aircraft from the
People’s Republic of China,
with a delivery date set for the
end of 2014. The force is also
awaiting delivery of five Mil
Mi-171Sh medium-lift utility
helicopters which are due for
service entry in 2015.
Sayed Ashraful Islam, minister for local government,
rural development and cooperatives, announced the
procurements to the
Bangladeshi Parliament on 22
June 2014. Also in charge of
defence affairs for the
Bangladeshi government, the
minister was reacting to parliamentary questions regarding Bangladesh’s defence procurements and the measures
taken by the government to
INDIAN NAVY RECEIVES
FIRST ASW CORVETTE
India’s minister of state
for defence Rao Inderjit Singh
confirmed on 22 July 2014 that
the country’s navy had taken
delivery of its first indigenous
‘Kamorta’ class AntiSubmarine Warfare (ASW)
stealth corvette.
In a communiqué to parliament, the minister said that
the first-in-class INS Kamorta,
which will be the first of four
such corvettes built for the
Indian Navy (IN), was
delivered on 12 July 2014.
INS Kamorta (P28), named
after Kamorta Island in the
Indian Nicobar Islands chain,
was designed and manufactured by Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers
Limited (GRSE), one of India’s
leading shipyards located in
Kolkata, West Bengal. The
safeguard its territorial waters.
The JL-8W features a
cockpit offering a high degree
of fidelity with today’s multirole combat aircraft, a digital
fly-by-wire flight control system and head-up display. As
well as being designed to provide flight training the aircraft
can perform light attack missions in all weather conditions (see David Oliver’s
‘New Tools for Flight Schools’
article in this issue).
Bangladesh’s new JL-8Ws,
although manufactured by
Hongdu, were ordered at an
undisclosed price in 2013 from
the China National AeroTechnology Import & Export
Corporation (CATIC).
ship was launched on
19 April 2010 as part of Project
28, the primary project for
driving indigenisation and
developing the warship construction industry in India.
The corvette, 90 percent of
which is said to be indigenous,
is a significant step towards
the country’s goal of
self-sufficiency in indigenous
warship production.
The 109-metre (357-feet)
long, 3100-tonne corvette was
produced using high-grade
steel produced in India and
has enhanced stealth features
such as an X-form hull, a
result of a joint venture
between the IN’s Directorate
General Naval Design Surface
Ship Group and GRSE. She is
also equipped with inclined
sides to lower her radar cross
section together with acoustic
quietening and infra-red sig-
l
According to the Bangladeshi
minister, the aircraft will be
used to train pilots at the
Bangladesh Naval Aviation
Command base in Chittagong
on the Bay of Bengal.
JL-8 variants are currently
in service with the Bolivian
and Venezuelan air forces
where they have been used in
the light strike role for antinarcotics operations. Recent
orders of JL-8 aircraft in the
Asia-Pacific region have been
forthcoming from Burma,
China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
In addition to the JL-8W
jets, the Bangladesh Navy is
awaiting the delivery of five
Mi-171Shs medium-lift utility
helicopters. Delivered through
the Russian state-owned arms
exporter Rosoboronexport, the
militarised Mil-17ISh variant
of the venerable Mi-17 utility
helicopter was launched in
2002 and designed for a range
of missions, including troop
and cargo transport, close air
support, medical evacuation
and combat search and rescue.
The helicopters will enhance
the Bangladesh Navy’s maritime surveillance and searchand-rescue operations.
According to Mr. Islam’s
statement, the helicopters
were procured from Russia
under a “state export credit”
arrangement and are likely to
be enter service by 2015. This
development will bolster
Bangladesh’s naval capabilities, said the minister, adding
that Bangladesh’s navy will
continue to strengthen its
naval aviation command with
possible future procurements.
To this end the Bangladesh
Navy, which also operates
two AgustaWestland AW-109
maritime support helicopters
and two Dornier Do-228NG
maritime patrol aircraft,
is also awaiting the delivery
of three Harbin Z-9 maritime
support helicopters
from China.
nature suppression, a
bow-mounted Defence
Research and Development
Organisation HUMSA-NG
sonar and a towed-array sonar
linked to a Bharat Electronics
IAC Mod C fire control
system for ASW.
Kamorta ’s delivery to the
IN, originally planned for
2012, suffered many delays,
the latest occurring in 25
October 2013 when she ran
aground during sea trials.
Despite the holdups and misfortune, India’s ‘Kamorta’
class is still considered a
significant milestone in the
Indian naval industry.
Although the IN was initially projected to operate up to
twelve ‘Kamorta’ class vessels,
according to a programme
intended to secure the country’s offshore waters from submarines, only four vessels have
yet been confirmed. Three
other corvettes are currently
under various stages of construction at GRSE’s facilities in
Kolkata, with a final delivery
date for all four vessels scheduled for the end of 2017.
Following her delivery on
12 July 2014, the INS Kamorta
commissioned on 23 August
2014. She has since been
deployed with the Indian
Navy’s Eastern Fleet under
the Eastern Naval
Command, the largest naval
command in India.
OCTOBER 2014
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REGIONAL NEWS
e
a
A N D
s
t
a
s
i
a
D E V E L O P M E N T S
and former resident-general of
Korea on 26 October 1909. The
assassination took place following the signing of the Eulsa
Treaty which deprived Korea
of its diplomatic sovereignty
and made the country a protectorate of Japan.
The RoKS Yun Bong-gil is
the fourth RoKN ‘Son Wonil’
class SSK manufactured by
HHI after RoKS Sohn Won-Il,
RoKS Jeongji and RoKS Ahn
Jung-Geun; all three were
delivered between 2007 and
2009. HHI’s competitor,
Daewoo, built the fifth vessel,
the RoKS Kim Jwa-Jin, which
was launched in August 2013.
The ‘Son Wonil’ class submarines have an overall
length of 65 metres (213 feet)
and a six-metre (20-feet)
beam. They are powered by
MTU diesel engines and
Siemens polymer electrolytic
membrane fuel cells, a configuration which allows the vessel to remain submerged for
about two weeks at a time. In
terms of weapons, the ship is
equipped with a Korea
Agency for Defence
Development/Nex1 Future
Haeseong-3 anti-ship missile
with a range of 810 nautical
miles (1500 kilometres).
According to specifics detailed
by the manufacturer, the submarine can carry a crew of 40,
reach depths of up to 400m
(1312 feet) and achieve a top
speed of 20 knots (37 kilometres-per-hour).
With the acquisition of its
fifth AIP SSK, the Republic of
Korea (RoK) confirms its
intentions to assemble a formidable underwater fleet,
which already includes
nine ‘Chang Bogo’ class SSKs.
The RoK plans to begin producing three additional,
indigenously-designed, 3000ton submarines starting 2018,
some of which will be operated from the Jeju Island naval
base, currently under construction. For more information regarding the RoKN’s
submarine procurements and
current status, please see
Marty Kauchak’s AMR Naval
Directory 2014 in this issue.
the fleet of the Japan Maritime
Self Defence Force (JMSDF) by
2019. The Ministry of Defence
of Japan has reportedly
requested the necessary
funding for studies of the ship
for the budget year beginning
in April 2015.
Three ‘Osumi’ class heavy
landing ships, the JS Osumi,
JS Shimokita and JS Kunisaki
are currently operated by the
JMSDF. All three are equipped
with a well deck capable of
embarking two Landing Craft
Air Cushion hovercraft and a
deck for vehicles. Although
smaller than conventional helicopter carrying-amphibious
support ships, the ‘Osumi’
class are equipped with
wide decks, allowing them to
operate heavy-lift helicopters.
In terms of personnel, they
can accommodate over
1000 troops.
Since the adoption in
December 2013 of the MidTerm Defence Programme
which covers the years 20142018, Japan has boosted its
efforts to reinforce the protection of its southern Pacific
islands between Kyushu and
Taiwan as well as to defend its
claim to the Liancourt Rocks,
over which the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea
and the Republic of Korea also
assert sovereignty. To that
purpose, Tokyo plans to form
an amphibious assault fleet
similar in scope, if not in size,
to the US Marine Corps. It also
wishes to operate an amphibious support ship capable of
carrying the country’s Japan
Ground Self-Defence Force’s
forthcoming Bell-Boeing MV22 Ospreys tilt-rotor aircraft, of
which 17 are expected to be
procured and BAE Systems
AAV7A1 amphibious assault
vehicles, which Japan will
soon be acquiring from the
United States.
The vessels will also be
utilised for disaster relief missions. During his visit to San
Diego, Mr. Onodera stressed
the “crucial role” played by the
‘Wasp’ class ship USS Essex in
the response to the March 2011
earthquake and tsunami in
northeastern Japan.
RoK NAVY WELCOMES
FIFTH SON WONIL
SUBMARINE
The Republic of Korea
Navy (RoKN) launched the
fifth of its 1800-ton ‘Son
Wonil’ class conventional
hunter-killer submarines
(SSKs) on 3 July 2014.
The Yun Bong-gil was
launched during an official
ceremony held at a shipyard
of Hyundai Heavy Industries
(HHI), the company that produced the submarine and
presided over by the Chief of
Naval Operations at the
RoKN, Admiral Hwang Kichul. If sea trials are completed within the established
schedule, the new ship will be
formally delivered to the
RoKN by the end of 2015.
The RoKN’s new vessel is
named after Yun Bong-gil, a
Korean independence activist
and fighter from the colonial
era most famous for assassinating Itō Hirobumi, a fourtime prime minister of Japan
JAPAN TO PURCHASE
AMPHIBIOUS
ASSAULT SHIP
Japan’s defence minister
Itsunori Onodera announced
on 7 July 2014 that Tokyo was
considering the purchase of at
least one amphibious assault
ship “to defend Japan’s remote
islands”. Japan is involved in a
territorial dispute with China
regarding the sovereignty of
the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands
in the East China Sea.
After conducting the
inspection of the ‘Wasp’ class
assault ship USS Makin
Island at the US Navy’s San
Diego naval base in California,
Mr. Onodera told reporters
Japan was intending to acquire
such “a multifunctional transport ship capable of providing
assistance in a timely manner”.
Japan’s ministry of defence has
already started studying the
size and functions needed for
ships of this type with the goal
of introducing at least one into
52
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REGIONAL NEWS
south
A N D
east
asia
D E V E L O P M E N T S
INDONESIAN
SHIPBUILDERS INITIATED
BUILDING ON FOUR
‘CLURIT’ CLASS
MISSILE CRAFT
The construction of four
‘Clurit’ class Fast Attack Craft
(FAC), due to enter service
with the Indonesian Navy
(Tentera Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut/TNI-AL), has
begun and is going according
to schedule, said Captain
Suradi Agung Slamet, the TNIAL public affairs
spokesperson. The
announcement was made
during Capt. Slamet’s 17 July
2014 visit to the PT Palindo
Marine Industry Shipyard
Batam (PMSB) and PT Citra
shipyard where the OPVs are
being manufactured.
Both yards are located on
the Riau Province island of
Batam, a free trade zone part
of the SIJORI (the Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore Growth
Triangle), located approximately eleven nautical miles
(20 kilometres) off Singapore’s
south coast. The SIJORI is a
partnership arrangement
between Singapore, the
Malaysian state of Johor, and
Indonesia’s Riau Islands established in the late 1990s to combine the competitive strengths
of the three areas in a common
effort to make the region more
attractive to regional and international investors.
THAILAND ACQUIRES
ARTHUR RADARS,
BOOSTS EFFORTS TO
MODERNISE ITS ARMED
FORCES
The Royal Thai Navy
(RTN) naval secretariat
department has announced
the RTN and signed a
contract with Swedish
aerospace and defence company Saab to procure an
undisclosed number of the
company’s ARTHUR
(Artillery Hunting Radar)
C-band (5.25-5.925 gigahertz)
weapons locating radars for
PMSB will be manufacturing three of Indonesia’s new
vessels, while PT Citra has
started manufacturing the
fourth vessel. The launch of all
four vessels, which will considerably strengthen
Indonesia’s regional maritime
interdiction capabilities, is
scheduled for the end of 2014.
The TNI-AL currently operates
a class of four ‘Clurit’ class
vessels out of an expected
eventual class size of up to 24
vessels (see Marty Kauchak’s
AMR Naval Directory 2014 in
this issue).
The ‘Clurit’ class is an
Indonesia-made 44-metre
(144-feet) long vessel capable
of reaching top speeds of 30
knots (55 kilometres-per-hour)
and accommodating a crew of
35. The vessels can carry
a Denel Vektor G12 20mm
main gun, two 12.7mm
machine guns and four
Chinese Aerospace Group
C-705 anti-ship missiles.
The TNI-AL has already fitted two of the craft, namely
the KRI Clurit and the
KRI Kujang, with the KBP
Instrument Design Bureau
AK-630 close-in weapon systems in May 2014, with the
intention of gauging the system’s suitability for eventually
use on all of the country’s
‘Clurit’ class FACs. The
weapon’s operational status
remains unconfirmed.
The vessels will assist the
TNI-AL in its ongoing efforts
to tackle maritime piracy in
the Strait of Malacca, a narrow
stretch of water between the
Malay Peninsula and the
Indonesian island of Sumatra
which connects the Pacific
Ocean to the east to the Indian
Ocean, and will help Indonesia
secure its maritime borders
and wider interests at sea.
According to recent figures
produced by the Regional
Cooperation Agreement on
Combating Piracy and Armed
Robbery against Ships in Asia
(ReCAAP), the past years have
seen a clear deterioration in
the Southeast Asian maritime
security situation. The counterpiracy organisation recorded
eight incidents in the Malacca
and Singapore Straits during
the first quarter of 2014. A
total of five incidents had
been recorded for the whole
of 2012 and 2013.
One of the most notorious
incidents included the 23 April
2014 hijack of the oil tanker
MT Naniwa Maru No.1 near
Port Klang, Malaysia, the
country’s largest port and the
main gateway by sea into
Malaysia. The attack resulted
in the disappearance of three
crewmembers and the theft of
2500 tonnes of marine diesel.
use by the Royal Thai Marine
Corps (RTMC).
Thailand’s Naval
Commander Admiral Narong
Pipattana and Per Jakobsson,
director of marketing and
sales for Saab’s Asia Pacific
business, signed the purchase
contract for the radars during
a ceremony held at the naval
headquarters in Bangkok
on 27 July 2014.
Saab’s ARTHUR is a fully
coherent pulse Doppler radar
which has a passive electronically-scanned array.
Other users in the region
include Singapore and
Malaysia and the Republic of
Korea. The radar has an
instrumented range of
between eleven nautical miles
(20 kilometres) and 32nm
(60km) and can provide 120
degrees of instantaneous coverage, with 360 degrees of
azimuth when the antenna is
rotating. Around 100 targets
can be detected and
tracked per minute.
The contract with Thailand
suggests that the country’s
military government has
decided to resume its efforts
to modernise the Royal Thai
Armed Forces, a procurement
process that had been put on
hold for several months due
to a general political unrest in
the country and following the
military coup that occurred
on 22 May 2014.
Confirming this modernisation effort, Thailand’s
government is said to be also
considering a $80 million
deal to acquire medium-range
surface-to-air missiles,
although further details of
this acquisition have not
been revealed.
l
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REGIONAL NEWS
a u s t r a l a s i a
A N D
D E V E L O P M E N T S
NEW ZEALAND
GOVERNMENT
APPROVES ASSAULT
RIFLE REPLACEMENT
PROGRAMME
The New Zealand’s
defence minister Jonathan
Coleman announced on 17
June 2014 that it had given
the green light for the
acquirement of up to 8800
new rifles for the country’s
New Zealand Defence Force
(NZDF) to replace the army’s
current Steyr AUG 5.56mm
assault rifle.
The AUG, used as the primary individual weapon used
by all three services of the
NZDF, was bought and introduced from 1987. The weapon
was designed with an automatic and semi-automatic
capability, and a 30-round
magazine. Equipped with an
optical 1.5x magnification
sight, the AUG is capable of
accurate fire through short to
middle distances.
But NZDF soldiers deployed
to Afghanistan and East
Timor in the past decade
repeatedly complained that
the rifle was prone to
stoppages and lacked an
effective range. Following an
investigation, New Zealand’s
Ministry of Defence (MoD)
published a 2011 report
highlighting that the rifle
was, in fact, not powerful
enough to effectively
identify and engage targets
at ranges greater than 200
metres (656 feet).
“It is important NZDF
personnel are well equipped
and have effective modern
rifles suited to today’s operational environment,” said
Mr. Coleman in a statement
issued on 17 July 2014.
“Weapon technology has
advanced considerably since
the NZDF purchased the
Steyr rifle in 1987,” he added.
Mr. Coleman added that a
competitive tender will soon
be conducted to procure an
off-the-shelf replacement for
the assault rifle capable of
being optimised for a
range of situations. According
to the schedule presented
by Mr. Coleman, a recommendation will be made to
the government early in 2015
and the new rifle will be
introduced into service by
2017 at the latest.
Future projects for New
Zealand’s MoD includes the
acquisition of new light
machine guns, combat shot-
guns, sniper rifles, pistols and
grenade launchers. As for the
future of the soon-to-bedecommissioned AUG rifles,
the NZDF announced it was
looking for the “most efficient
and cost-effective way” to dispose of the rifles and was considering all options, including
the possible sale to non-military parties such as law
enforcement organisations,
although this option remains
the most unlikely.
cadres, Australia has
committed eight Boeing F/A18E/F Super Hornet aircraft
from the Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF). These aircraft
are operated by the RAAF’s 1
and 6 Squadrons and are
joined by a single Boeing E-7A
Wedgetail airborne early
warning aircraft from
2 Squadron and an Airbus
KC-30A multi-role tanker
transport aircraft from 33
Squadron. These aircraft have
been deployed to fly sorties
from bases in the United Arab
Emirates. The RAAF
deployment is supported by
around 400 personnel.
Australia deployed forces to
Iraq in support of the US-led
Operation Iraqi Freedom in
2003 to depose Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein. Following
the cessation of major combat
operations in May 2003,
Australian forces returned to
the country as part of
Operation CATALYST, which
saw their redeployment in
2005 to assist the Iraqi security
forces in their attempts to
restore order amid a
deteriorating security
situation. Australia completed
the withdrawal of all its forces
from Iraq in July 2009.
This latest deployment to
Iraq has taken on added
urgency following the a series
of counter terrorism raids on
18 September 2014. These saw
a number of addresses in the
Australian city of Sydney
being raided and two people
charged with offensives
relating to a call by a senior
ISIS figure for the beheading
of random Australian citizens.
AUSTRALIA STEPS UP
TO THE CALL
The Australian government has deployed the country’s armed forces to support
United States-led combat operations against the Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent movement which has
occupied large parts of eastern
Syria and northern Iraq (see
this month’s editorial
‘Cautiously Optimistic’).
Speaking on 18 September
2014, Australian prime minister
Tony Abbott committed the
deployment of two hundred
special forces troops from the
Australian Army. Although not
revealed by Mr. Abbott these
troops are thought to be from
the Australian Defence Force’s
Special Operations Command
(SOCOMD) which includes
the country’s Special Air
Service regiment; 1st and
2nd Commando Regiment
and Special Operations
Engineer Regiment.
54
It is expected that the
SOCOMD deployment will
assist in training and
mentoring Kurdish Peshmerga
soldiers and Iraqi Army troops
who are battling the ISIS
insurgency, but whom remain
in need of air support, training
and materiel. Although the
troops are primarily being
deployed to provide training,
the Australian government has
underlined that the troops will
be armed and will be able to
engage if they are fired upon.
For now, Australia’s
deployment is reportedly
restricted to support anti-ISIS
operations in Iraq.
Beyond the SOCOMD
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