Armada International-December 2015-January 2016

Pursuing Pirates Optronics Developments + Special Operations Quarterly

Signals Intelligence Dec 2015/JAN 2016. Issue 06.

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December 2015/ January 2016 www.armadainternational.com

30 AIR POWER

Shadowplay Signals Intelligence-gathering aircraft are working hard in the Middle East. Thomas Withington examines some of the platforms and technologies being used to this end.

06 Land Forces

14 AIR POWER

38 Programme Focus

44 operational focus

Light Entertainment Light Armoured Vehicles are growing in protection and ophistication, Stephen W. Miller finds out.

Two’s Company Luca Peruzzi examines the Franco-Italian FREMM frigate, one of Europe’s most ambitious warship programmes.

Steel Rain Joetey Attariwala examines some of the latest developments in the world of crew-served helicopter air-to-ground gunnery.

First Aid to a Rattlesnake The Democratic Republic of Congo is subject to a number of major peacekeeping efforts, Dr. Alix Valenti finds out.

20 LAND FORCES

Sight for Sore Eyes Peter Donaldson looks at recent infantry optronics technological innovations and products.

Armada Supplement

25 SEA POWER

Jack Sparrow’s Nemesis Dr. Alix Valenti explores some of the initiatives to combat the menace of piracy on the high seas.

Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere Andrew White provides a comprehensive round-up of the latest developments in the Special Forces community in Armada’s new Special Operations Quartely publication.

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INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Pursuing Pirates OPtrOnics DevelOPments + sPecial OPeratiOns Quarterly

SignalS intelligence Dec 2015/JAN 2016. Issue 06.

ARMADA COVER DEC-JAN.indd 1

ON THE COVER: Raytheon’s Next Generation Jammer is one technology that could be applied to the signals intelligence gathering mission; a task profiled in this issue’s Shadowplay article.

12/3/15 5:53 PM

Volume 39, Issue No. 6, December 2015/January 2016 Published bi-monthly by Media Transasia Ltd. Copyright 2012 by Media Transasia Ltd. Publishing Office: Media Transasia Ltd., 1603, 16/F, Island Place Tower, 510 King’s Road, Hong Kong

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Entries highlighted with Red Numbers are found in Special Operations Quarterly

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Editor: Thomas Withington General Manager International Marketing: Vishal Mehta Manager Marketing: Jakhongir Djalmetov Sales & Marketing Coordinator: Wajiraprakan Punyajai Editorial Coordinator: Sumana Sumanakul Graphic Designer: Khakanaa Suwannawong Production Manager: Kanda Thanakornwongskul Group Circulation Manager: Porames Chinwong Chairman: J.S. Uberoi President: Egasith Chotpakditrakul Chief Financial Officer: Gaurav Kumar

INDEX TO MANUFACTURERS Companies mentioned in this issue. Where there are multiple references to a company in an articles, only the first occurrence and subsequent photographs are listed below: 3M Ceradyne

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A AgustaWestland 17, 27 Aimpoint 15, 21 Airborne Systems 4, 7, 8, 14 Airbus 27 B BAE Systems 6, 7, 12, 21, 23, 28, 36 Beechraft 34, 36 Bell/Boeing 10, 15 Boeing 14, 28, 32, 36 Bombardier 27, 36 D Daman Schelde 27 DCNS 39, 40, 41, 42 Deftech 13 Dillon Aero 14, 18, 19 Dornier 25 E Elbit Systems 8, 9, 22, 24 Elettronica 39 Eurotorp 40

40 General Electric Gentex 16 GoPro 18 Griffon 14 Gulfstream 33, 34 H Heckler and Koch Horstmann Defence Hyundai Rotem

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I IAI 29, 34, 36 Ilyushin 30 IMI 21 Iveco 8, 11 J

Jankel K KMW Kongsberg KTO Rosomak L L-3 Lockheed Martin

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F Fincantieri 39 Finmeccanica 27, 39 FN Herstal 14, 16, 19 FNSS 13

M MBDA 40, 41 Meprolight 22, 24 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 13

G General Dynamics 12, 14, 28 General Dynamics Canada 8 GDLS 8, 9, 12, 48

N Navantia 27 Nexter 10, 19 NH Industries 27, 40

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Northrop Grumman O Orbital ATK Oshkosh OTO Melara P Patria Polaris Defence Proteum

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9 11, 12 27, 41

6, 7, 8, 11 5, 11, 21 13, 14, 18

R Raytheon 28 Renault 9, 10 Rheinmetall 6, 12, 27 S Saab 27 Sagem 20, 22, 23, 40 Selex 27, 39, 41, 50 Sikorsky 11, 14, 16 Sukhoi 30 Supacat 6, 10, 11 Surefire 17 T Terma 28 Textron 4, 12 Thales 10, 11, 12, 27, 33, 39, 40 Trijicon 21 V Vectronix Y Yamaha

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Editorial Give War a Chance

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n 13 November, a coordinated series of suicide bomb attacks and shootings in Paris, sponsored and supported by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent organisation, killed 130 people in France’s worst such attack since the Second World War. The attacks have prompted much soulsearching both within France and the wider world about what can be done to eradicate the scourge of ISIS which has occupied significant parts of western Iraq and eastern Syria, enslaving those under its control and perpetrating seemingly-endless human rights abuses.

Since June 2014, the United States-led Operation INHERENT RESOLVE (OIR) has been attacking ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq. The US has received military assistance for its OIR air campaign from Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom, among others, which are striking targets either in Iraq, in Syria, or in both nations.

OIR has been mounted with the intention of containing ISIS and preventing its acquisition of additional territory. The Paris attacks now query whether OIR really is containing ISIS if the organisation is capable of using supporters in the West to perform such outrages?

While Islamist extremism as an idea cannot be destroyed by military power alone, the capability of ISIS to use its territory as a base from which similar attacks can be planned in the future, can. ISIS possesses territory, has a func-

tioning economy, provides services and has an administration. Thus it requires land to function, namely for the raising of revenue through the possession of money-making enterprises.

The air campaign as it stands at present, and as it may develop in the future, plays a key roll in reducing the quantity of territory under ISIS control. In concert with Kurdish Peshmerga guerrillas this air campaign is now paying operational dividends with the former beginning to advance in northern Iraq and consequently expelling ISIS from these areas. The possible eventually deployment of a Coalition ground component in light of the Paris attacks, may yet enhance and increase this momentum. Iraq’s dissent into anarchy following the ousting of erstwhile dictator Saddam Hussein in April 2003 as a consequence of the US-led Operation IRAQI FREEDOM invasion of Iraq on 20 March that year has made the US, and several of her allies cautious regarding the deployment of ground troops into Iraq. This is understandable as governments fear that these soldiers will become drawn into an inescapable sectarian quagmire.

Yet assisting the Kurds, and the Iraqi government in their fight against ISIS will play an important part in expelling ISIS from the parts of Iraq that it controls, and depriving them of all-important territory. Pushing them out of Iraq also potentially pushes them into Syria where heavy bombardment by the Russian air force awaits, following that country’s commencement of air strikes against ISIS, and Thomas Withington, other Islamist organisations, on 30 September.

Editor

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land forces

Light Entertainment The wheeled Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) has come to dominate many military inventories. Once viewed as a supporting actor they now often play the leading part. Platforms fielded in the mid-1980s and 1990s are undergoing upgrades and a number of new ‘light armour’ acquisitions have been launched.

Stephen W. Miller

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ot only are LAVs complementing heaver tracked armoured vehicles but they are also assuming roles once exclusive to their tracked counterparts. The term ‘light’ in the Light Armoured Vehicle domain has always been relative and with some current wheeled ‘light’ armour reaching weights over 20 tons this classification may seem a stretch.

However, with the latest tracked infantry fighting vehicles like the PSM Projekt System Management (sic) Puma which weighs over 40 tons the difference is more clearly represented (PSM Projekt System Management is a joint venture involving Germany’s Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann).

These weights are driven by demands for increased protection. Roy Perkins, BAE System’s business development management for its combat vehicle products, told Armada that “current vehicle protection technology dictates more vehicle armour, as

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a lightweight solution is still not available”.

The expansion of the LAV’s role has been facilitated by advances in suspension.

Technologies like Hendrickson’s HydroPneumatic (HHP) suspension which provide a better ride quality, handling, stability and durability. Pneumatic and gas suspensions like Horstmann Defence System’s Hydrogas struts, suspensions and dampers have been adopted in both new vehicle designs like Patria’s AMV (Armoured Modular Vehicle) eight-wheel drive multi-role platform, and in vehicle retrofits.

Such suspension designs allow higher speeds over bumps, lower shock forces and a smoother ride. Computing and sensors monitoring the vehicle’s suspension measure and predict forces acting upon the vehicle and automatically tune the suspension for greater off-road mobility and for higher payloads.

Computing and digital electronics have enhanced the LAV in other areas.

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

The array of sensors, the integration and distribution of information, hands-off monitoring and control of the vehicle’s myriad of systems offers vast new benefits.

Open architecture and digital backbones allow the integration of new functions to expand a vehicle’s capabilities. Yet these

land forces

The latest version of the Patria AMV is the AMV-XP which offers greater protection, mobility and mission versatility. It is larger with an increased 450Kw power pack and a higher payload of 15 tonnes © Patria

expanded electronic suites require more power. Mark Signorelli, BAE Systems’ combat vehicles divisions’ vice president and general manager stated that “meeting exportable power demands is one of the greatest challenges for future designers.

Where 200 amps (to power vehicle systems)

was considered ample a few years ago, now 400 amps or more is sought. It is not simply about generating power but efficiently distributing and managing power needs.”

The result is that electronics modernisation and accompanying electrical power are both priorities for vehicle designers.

The increasing reliance on Light Armoured Vehicles by global militaries has followed two paths. Armies which previously adopted LAVs have taken advantage of advances in the suspension, protection and electronics technologies discussed above to improve and update their fleets.

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land forces

Others are acquiring entirely new vehicle designs to replace older inventories often as part of broader overall force modernisation efforts. Some new North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries like Poland and Croatia, with their respective procurements of the KTO Rosomak (a local licenseproduced variant of Patria’s AMV; see above) and Patria AMV respectively, have selected LAVs to meet requisite standards for operating with other allied forces. Others are replacing systems approaching the end of their service life. Many programmes include domestic manufacturing. The Exército Brasileiro (Brazilian Army) Iveco Latin America VBTP-MR (Viatura Blindada Transporte de Pessoal-Média de Rodas/Vehicle Armoured Personnel Carrier-Medium Wheeled Type) Guarani six-wheel drive armoured vehicle programme is one example, replacing the force’s current Engesa EE-11 Urutu six-wheel drive APCs. Here IMBEL (Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil/ Brazilian War Material Industry), a local government-owned firm, is providing the vehicle’s communications systems.

Upgrades The LAV’s adaptability is demonstrated by their in-service longevity made pos-

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sible by modernisation and improvement programmes. Modernisation replaces older, obsolete primary components, often replacing such components with newer, more reliable, state-of-the-art subsystems.

Upgrading a vehicle with digital electronics helps to capitalize on advances in sensor and communications technology, and self-protection. Digitisation allows a vehicle’s systems to be integrated and to link the vehicle with the ‘outside world’ and thus the wider tactical situation during combat.

Piranha This MOWAG (now General Dynamics Land Systems/GDLS) family of LAVs has a long history and is in service around the world. The US Marine Corps (USMC) and the Canadian Army introduced their respective LAV-25A1/A2 eight-wheel drive armoured vehicles (based on the Piranha-I) and AVGP (Armoured Vehicle General Purpose, based on the Piranha-I six-wheel drive LAV) from the late 70s to mid-1980s.

The latest USMC improvement effort is illustrative. A spokesperson for the LAV programme manager office at the US Army’s Tank and Automotive Command,

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Patria’s AMV has seen considerable success being selected for the armoured fleets of Croatia, Finland, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden and the UAE © US Army

which oversees the LAV modernisation effort for the USMC, suggested that “(c) urrent improvements correct mobility and obsolescence issues (relating to the vehicle’s subsystems), improve vehicle survivability, replace the no-longersustainable Detroit Diesel 6V53T power pack, the vehicles’ electronics, and suspension, and provide blast attenuating seats and self-sealing fuel cells.” The improvements being implemented to 778 LAV-25A2s commenced in 2011 and will continue until 2018, thus extending the life of the vehicle to 2035.

The Canadian Army’s ‘LAV-III UP’ programme is a $1.1 billion modernisation effort led by General Dynamics Canada which, like the USMC programme discussed above, began in 2011 and will extend the vehicle’s operational life to 2035. These improvements will confer a new Caterpillar C9 diesel engine developing 460 horsepower/hp (335 kilowatt/kW), a ZF seven-speed transmission, a new driveline; a hull optimised for occupant

land forces

comfort and survival; additional armour, improved seating and a wider GDLS turret with a new integrated fire control system.

The upgraded LAVs will weigh 25000 kilograms/kg (55000 pounds/lbs); an increase of over 17272.7kg (38000lb), yet testing shows the vehicle mobility is actually better, when compared to the legacy platform.

The modernisation of 550 of the Canadian Army’s LAV-III vehicles will be completed by 2018.

Alongside Canada, the Australian Army is now completing its Project Land 112 Phase 4 programme which commenced in April 2012. This upgrades the force’s ASLAV Type-I/II/III (Australian LAV) vehicles with the $250 million mid-life upgrade enhancing the ASLAV’s survivability with improved mine protection, spall liners and ballistic protection, adding a new Elbit Systems’ WINBMS-M battle management system, and signature reduction efforts covering visual and thermal elements. Earlier 59 ASLAVs were fitted with Kongsberg’s Protector 12.7mm Remote Weapon Stations at a cost of $17.9 million. With the extent and success of LAV upgrades it is possible that other users will initiate similar programmes in the near future.

Stryker The US Army eight-wheel drive M1126 Stryker family is another Piranha derivative that has received a number of modifications including additional ballistic armour based on the force’s combat experience during the US-led intervention in Iraq. For example, the insurgent bomb threat was addressed by GDLS’s ‘Double Vee Hull’ (DVH). This DVH “swap-out is being used by the US Army to introduce other upgrades,” notes Tim Reese, General Dynamics Land Systems’ business development manager. He said “upgrades to the Strykers beginning in 2017 will recover performance, improve survivability and enhance the compatibility of the system with a broad range of new digital technologies including system monitoring, networking, and command and control. The effort provides a ‘better than original’ capability at a lower investment.” The programme upgrades the suspension to accept the vehicle’s 27270kgs (60000lbs) weight, adds

The ‘LAV-UP’ initiative is the Canadian Army modernisation and upgrade of its LAVs to improve survivability, mobility and lethality © Canadian Armed Forces

The US Army M1126 vehicles employed in combat in Iraq, were found vulnerable to insurgent bombs prompting GDLS to develop its Double Vee Hull (DVH) © US Army

a new Caterpillar C9 engine and larger 570 amp alternator, improved cooling plus a ‘digital backbone’ allowing crew stations to share data and video. The US Army has funded three of its nine Stryker Brigades to have its vehicles upgraded with completion scheduled for 2016.

In May 2015 the US Army approved a formal Operational Needs Statement from its 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based in Germany and received funding for enhancing some of its M1126s with a 30mm Medium Calibre Remote Weapons Station (MCRWS). The MCRWS fits on the top deck of the vehicle so it does not impact on internal volume. The Kongsberg Protector

remote weapons station and Orbital ATK 30mm gun have already been demonstrated for this requirement. GDLS has released a tender and will make a selection in late December or early January regarding the MCRWS. An initial funding for 81 systems in a ‘fast track’ programme was included in the 2016 US Army budget.

VAB Renault Trucks Defence (RTD) introduced over 1000 improvements to its VAB (Vehicule de l’Avant Blinde/Armoured Vanguard Vehicle) since its 1976 fielding with the Armée de Terre (French Army). In the most recent round of improvements, the result of

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land forces

The Australian Army is upgrading its ASLAV Type-I/II/III vehicles with a particular emphasis on improving survivability © Australian Department of Defence

lessons learned from supporting NATO-led combat operations in Afghanistan, the VAB received enhanced protection ‘V’ shaped belly armour to protect against roadside bombs, suspended seats to protect against blast, counter-rocket propelled grenade slats and ‘soft skin’ armour. With these new improvements, the vehicle is re-designated as the Ultima which weighs 15.8 tons with a 1.8 ton payload. The 290 vehicles being delivered until 2016 for the French Army have the Kongsberg M151 Protector RWS. Even with the 2018/19 introduction of the new VBMR (Véhicule Blindé Multirole/Armoured Multirole Vehicle) under development by a consortium which includes RTD, Nexter and Thales to replace the VABs, these latter vehicles will remain in use for some time, hence the necessity of the upgrade.

Boxer Away from France, the KMW Boxer is an eight-wheel drive MRAV (Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle), with a combat weight

of 33 tons; on the high side for an LAV. It has high off-road mobility and composite/steel armour including ‘top-attack’ and mine/blast protection. Delivery of production vehicles under the $1.6 billion programme began to the Heer (German Army) in 2011 and to the Koninklijke Landmacht (Royal Netherlands Army) in 2014

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The French Army deployed the VAB (shown with a US RG-31 to the left) to Afghanistan with a number of survivability improvements © US Army

land forces

which are acquiring 600 and 200 examples respectively.

Guarani Beyond Europe, the Brazilian Army’s VBTP-MR is based on the Iveco SuperAV eight-wheel drive armoured vehicle and replaces the force’s EE-11 Urutu (see above).

Development began in 2007 and the first locally-manufactured 128 systems from a 2044 requirement were delivered to the Brazilian Army in 2014. Vehicles will continue to be ordered up to 2030 as funds permit. The VBTP-MR’s armament include a simple ring gun mount, an ARES .50 Remote Weapon Station (RWS), and Elbit Systems ORCWS UT-30BR unmanned turret being supplied through Brazilian subsidiary AEL Sistemas SA. Patria Like Brazil, Poland is receiving new LAVs in the form of the KTO Rosomak.

This vehicle is a version of Patria’s AMV.

Development of Patria’s AMV began in 2000.

Since then it has been selected and fielded by seven militaries worldwide. The vehicle is shown here with a Kongsberg 30mm MCRWS © Patria

Following orders early last decade from the Maavoimat (Finnish Army) for 88 examples, the vehicle was also acquired by the Wojska Lądowe (Polish Army) with 640 KTO Rosomaks manufactured in Poland and equipped with OTO Melara’s 30mm Hitfist-30P two-person turret. Patria has

received orders for the AMV from the armies of Slovenia (126), South Africa (238), the United Arab Emirates (an initial 15 examples), Croatia (126), and Sweden (113 with additional 113 possible). It is also being considered by the Czech Republic and Macedonia. In January 2015 Poland ordered an

Superior Mobility under Protection COBRA II

APV

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land forces

The Puma IFV can perform a range of tasks using a unique replaceable mission module design.

The base chassis accommodates the rear modules that can be substituted in less than one hour © KMW/Rheinmetall

additional 200 vehicles to supplement the 570 it has already acquired.

The AMV is offered in six- and eightwheel drive versions weighing between 16000kg and 27000kg (35000lb to 60000lb) depending on the variant. It takes advantage of suspension advancements and a high power-to-weight ratio to provide noteworthy off-road performance and state-of-the-art crew survivability. Its front sector protection is sufficient against 30mm APFSDS (Armour-Piercing, Fin-Stabilized, Discarding-Sabot) ammunition and against bombs and mines of up to ten kilograms (22lb). A spokesperson for the Patria, explained to Armada that; “our latest offering the AMV-XP (Extra Payload,

Extra Performance and Extra Protection) draws on lessons learned incorporating margins for growth to address future threats and user demands. This includes greater usable volume and payload weight, greater mobility and higher electrical power output with battery and power management.” The new Scania Diesel 450 kilowatt engine offers ten percent more power than its predecessor. This translates not only to maintaining agility and mobility but also in exportable electric power. With a total weight of 30000kg (66000lbs), the AMV-XP can deliver a payload of 13000kg (28600lbs). The AMP-AX is expected to be proposed for the Australian Army Land 400 requirement (see below).

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TAPV Another new LAV acquisition is the Canadian Army’s TAPV (Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle) providing a four-wheel drive vehicle to replace the BAE Systems RG-31 Nyala and GDLS Coyote eight wheeldrive reconnaissance vehicle (the latter of which is based on the Piranha-II design; see below). Textron’s design, based on the M1117 ASV (Armoured Support Vehicle), won the competition and received a 2012 contract with the first of 500 systems to be delivered in 2014. Reliability issues in pre-production testing have now delayed fielding to 2016.

The TAPV uses composite armour and mounts a Kongsberg RWS equipped with a Heckler and Koch 40mm GMG GranatMas-

land forces

The VBTP-MR Guarani is being fielded by the Brazilian Army in a local development and production programme with Iveco’s Latin American subsidiary © Exército Brasileiro

chinenWaffe (automatic grenade launcher) and a 7.62 mm machine gun.

Future Programmes Much as the Canadian Army has procured new vehicles, the Australian Army has launched its Project Land 400 initiative to procure a new Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle, Infantry Fighting Vehicle and Manoeuvre Support Vehicle. The CRV will replace the ASLAV Type-I/II/II (see above) of which 257 are in service, with a new vehicle expected to enter service in 2020. Industry teams are forming with Patria offering the AMV-XP (see above) in cooperation with BAE Systems’ Australian subsidiary.

Further north, Deftech’s AV-8 project will produce 257 vehicles in twelve variants for the Tentera Darat Malaysia (Malaysian Army). This eight-wheel drive vehicle is based on Turkey’s FNSS PARS eight-wheel drive platform. Deftech delivered the first twelve vehicles, officially named Gempita (Thunder), in December 2014. Versions include the IFV25 with the FNSS Sharpshooter one-person turret and the IFV30

equipped with a Denel LCT30 two-person turret. The fielding of the vehicle is expected to be completed in 2018.

Other recent LAV developments in the Asia-Pacific region include the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force’s (JGSDF) Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Mobile Combat Vehicle (MCV) which is a 26000kg (57300lb) deployable, highly-mobile 105mm direct fire support system. It will be used by the JGSDF Rapid Deployment Brigade, according to Japan’s defence attaché to Washington DC. First unveiled in 2013, the MCV is scheduled to enter service in 2016 with a total of 99 systems to be procured. Staying in the Asia-Pacific, Taiwan is moving ahead with its procurement of the Ordnance Readiness Development Centre’s Clouded Leopard eight-wheel drive LAV. Production of this vehicle commenced in 2007 with the initial 368 systems from a total 1400 requirement to be delivered between 2017 and 2018.

Finally, Rotem, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, is delivering the KW1 Scorpion six-wheel drive LAV to the Republic

of Korea Army as the core of its new rapid response brigades. The November 2012 contract projects vehicle fielding between 2016 and 2020 with an initial focus on 600 APC variants.

Future Trends The Light Armoured Vehicle, though not as light as its predecessors, is considerably more capable due to new technologies.

These have allowed it to accommodate changing threats and to assume new roles.

The LAV can now carry more payload, fire larger guns (of up to 120mm), and take on missions once considered outside its abilities. Yet they retain the traditional benefits of endurance, extended range, less maintenance and lower costs per kilometre compared to their tracked counterparts. This is coupled with increased demand for more deployable yet protected forces appropriate for missions from high tempo combat to often mundane peacekeeping and rapid crisis response. These are all characteristic for which the LAV uniquely fills the bill.

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air power

Steel Rain

Military helicopters predominantly operate in complex and lethal environments so the ability to conduct air-to-ground gunnery has in essence become a required capability.

With modern technology comes new gunnery capabilities, the most common being crew served, podded, and remotelyoperated guns.

The Master Gunner sits in the door-gunner’s position in a CH-146 Griffon helicopter and fires the new Dillon Aero M134 7.62mm Minigun during a training exercise at at a firing range © RCAF

Joetey Attariwala

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his article will focus on crew-served gunnery. The concept of the door gunner originated during the United States’ involvement during the Vietnam War between 1965 and 1975, when helicopters were first used to support combat in large numbers. For the majority of that war, the principal weapon of the door gunner was a medium Machine Gun (MG), initially the 7.62mm M1919A4, a variant of the M1919 Browning machine gun produced since 1919 by numerous manufacturers, and soon thereafter the US Ordnance/General Dynamics M60 7.62mm MG became the standard helicopter door armament. The mission for door gunners has largely remained the same throughout the years, but with more emphasis on airspace surveillance; and passenger and cargo support. In the US Army today, door gunners double-up as Sikorsky UH-60 medium-lift utility helicopter family or Boeing CH-47D/F heavy-lift helicopter crew chiefs.

The primary weapon for the US Army helicopter door gunner is FN Herstal’s M240H machine gun. The M240H is a modified version of the M240B, and is a fully-automatic weapon that fires 7.62mm

ammunition. UH-60 family aircraft are mounted with two door gun positions; and CH-47D/F aircraft can be mounted with three door gunner positions, the third mount being on the aft ramp. For night operations, door gunners use night vision goggles with gun-mounted lasers for more accurate aiming. During combat, door gunners have the ability to transform the M240H into a ground weapon in the event that the crew needs to egress following an incident requiring the crew to land outside a secure area. In addition to the M240H, the US Army uses the US Ordnance/General Dynamics M3-series 12.7mm machine gun, and the Dillon Aero M134D 7.62mm Minigun on its Special Operations helicopters.

Marine Corps Today’s United States Marine Corps (USMC) utilises this capability on the CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters and the UH-1Y Venom light utility helicopter, and will soon introduce the capability on the new CH-53K King Stallion. The USMC employs the Defensive Armament Subsystem (DAS) which serves as a platform interface for which crewserved weapons, external tanks and rocket

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pods are fitted to the UH-1Y. Adapters to the DAS facilitate different types of USMC crew-served guns, of which the most common types in service today are the FN Herstal GAU-21A 12.7mm machine gun, the GAU-17 (Dillon Aero M134) Minigun, and the FN Herstal M-240H machine gun.

Major Scott Roland is a USMC aviation ordnance officer and is currently the deputy programme manager for aircraft gun systems at the US Navy’s Naval Air

air power

Systems command and Patuxent River, Maryland. He said, “When I first came into the Marine Corps we were using the old Vietnam-era M60 machine gun (see above), but somewhere around 2000 we replaced that with the M240. We also used the Dillon Aero GAU-2B 7.62mm weapon, which was later modified by changing the declutching feed mechanism which re-designated it as the GAU-17. In 2004 we started transitioning from the XM-218 and GAU-16, which are

basically Second World-era M2 Browning machine guns, to the GAU-21A which gives a greater rate-of-fire and greater reliability than previous types, particularly in the desert environment. Right now we are in the middle of integrating the GAU-21A with almost all our platforms.”

The Marine Corps refers to the GAU21A as the Common Defensive Weapon System (CDWS), although each aircraft has its own specific crew-served weapon mount.

As the CDWS, the USMC has just finished the operational evaluation of the GAU-21A positioned on the ramp of the Bell/Boeing MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor, and it will certify the GAU-21A on the window, door and ramp positions on the new CH-53K. Maj. Roland also noted the increased utilisation by the US Navy. “When I began my service, crew-served gunnery was basically ‘Marine only’, but in recent years the navy has been playing a much larger

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016 15

air power

A helicopter door gunner fires a .50 calibre machine gun at a Mk.25 smoke target during gunnery practice at sea © US DoD

role with crew-served weapons on their Sikorsky MH-60S/R maritime support helicopters. That is partly due to reduced aircraft types which means each aircraft needs to do more, but it’s also a function of the areas where we deploy and operate.

These aircraft can carry the M240 and also the GAU-21A, and operating either will depend on the mission at hand and aircraft weight considerations since the GAU-21A weighs more than the M240.”

RCAF To the north of the USA, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has always trained for crew-served air-to-ground gunnery, primarily on their CH-146 Griffon (the local designation for the Bell 412) light utility helicopters. Crews train on both sides of the aircraft with the FN Herstal C6 7.62mm medium machine gun, which is a fullyautomatic, air-cooled, gas- and springoperated machine gun.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) deployed from 2001 as part of the US-led multinational effort to combat Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgents in Afghanistan.

This deployment saw an increase in troop

injuries and deaths for all of the protagonists primarily due the proliferation of insurgent bombs, so the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) elected to re-introduce the CH-47D for troop and equipment transport. Once this decision was made, it was a natural evolution to have CH-146s provide armed escort.

Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Morrison is the senior staff officer for Tactical Aviation at the 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

He spoke to Armada about the detailed process which the RCAF went through in refining its air-to-ground gunnery capability for combat operations. “As soon as we realised we were going to deploy the CH-146 into theatre, the Directorate of Air Requirements took a very hard look at the C6 door gun that we had been using, and evaluated all of the known limitations …

Once we knew we were deploying we knew we could not bring a ‘knife’ to a gunfight, both to minimize the risk to the helicopter and crews, as well as being able to more effectively support troops on the ground.”

Concurrent to this effort, the RCAF was in the midst of the Interoperable Grif-

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fon Reconnaissance Escort Surveillance System (INGRESS) programme which was aimed to install surveillance and targeting turrets in the CH-146 Griffons, and other equipment that would allow for escort missions, namely the acquisition of the FN Herstal GAU-21A/B, which has a range and rate-of-fire (1800 metres/5905 feet and 1200 rounds-per-minute/rpm) that is greater than the C6 (800m/2624.6ft and 800rpm).

“The advantage of a GAU-21A/B is the ability to engage at a standoff distance greater than many of the small arms or Rocket Propelled Grenades that our foes were using. The GAU-21A/B also had better stopping power (and) it could penetrate better,” said Lt. Col. Morrison.

To start the gunnery refinement process, the RCAF began looking at the offensive tactical employment of door-mounted gunnery through an overall approach consisting of Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) for close combat attack.

The RCAF was cognisant of two specific combat roles for the CH-146: to provide a force protection capability for the CH47Ds, and to provide force protection for troops on the ground; this could be in the

air power

A door gunner assigned to the US Navy ‘Dusty Dogs’ Helicopter AntiSubmarine Squadron-7 mans a .50 calibre machine gun aboard an SH-60B Seahawk naval support helicopter © US DoD

form of airborne convoy escort, or the support of dismounted soldiers. In order to evaluate options, the RCAF looked at allied forces and what they used to fulfil these roles. This included the US Marine Corps UH-1H/Y, the US Army UH-60 family and British Army Air Corps AgustaWestland AH.1/7 Lynx light-utility helicopters.

According to the RCAF, there are four types of battlefield effects with regards to firepower: harassing fire, suppression fire, neutralising fire and destructive fire.

Upon completion of the “allied review” the RCAF drafted a statement of requirements in 2008 with regard to the effects they wanted to deliver in the battlespace, as well as weapons kinetic effects of range and penetrating power, and the quantity of ammunition that the CH-146 could carry.

“One also has to look at the operational employment limitations of a weapon.

In the case of door guns, how long can you fire the weapon, what sort of cooling cycles are required, what maintenance cycles are required for the weapon, what maintenance factors are involved with the weapon mounts and magazines, and what effects does using the weapon impart to the helicopter itself. In general, a small calibre Gatling gun usually does not impart too much stress or vibration back into the airframe. For the GAU-21A/B, we had to do some upgrades to hardware components

like the lugs for the pintle mount so we could safely fire that weapon from the aircraft to mitigate any risk to the airframe,” said Lt. Col. Morrison. “We also looked at retractable weapons mounts for our guns, but hard mounts were the preferred option because we knew that in Afghanistan we could encounter the enemy at any moment; it was a very nonlinear and non-contiguous battlespace.

This also allowed us to remove the doors with the added advantage of weight savings.” Upon evaluation of the all the options, the RCAF elected to acquire the M134D Gatling gun under Urgent Operational Requirements in three batches:

2008 (three weapons), 2009 (nine weapons), and 2010 (two weapons). The M134D was chosen for its proven reliability and its rate of fire to provide suppression and neutralising fire.

Lt. Col. Morrison was one of the first pilots in the RCAF trained for the new air-to-ground gunnery combat role. He was on the ground in Afghanistan to bring into service the M134D and the GAU-21A/B, and he also flew operational missions in theatre. As a normal load-out, a CH-146 would be configured with both the M134D and GAU-21A/B. Lt. Col. Morrison explained, “With the GAU we are able to exploit great stand off range to produce harassing effects to get the enemy’s heads down so we can close-in and use the high rate-of-fire and pinpoint accuracy of the M134D. We found that having a helicopter with these two weapons systems complimented themselves extremely well.”

The RCAF was also very focused on the clearance the door guns would have in relation to the airframe in order to give the greatest arc of fire. “We wanted to have as close to a 360 degree field-of-fire as we could get,” said Lt. Col. Morrison. “In fact, our pilots would conduct deliberate uncoordinated flight to give a true 360 degree field-of-fire. This is significant because the Taliban had not seen helicopters that had that degree of rear aspect shooting capability. Their typical tactic was to have a helicopter fly by and then engage from behind. They quickly discovered that was not a wise move with our CH-146s.”

A Philippine Air Force UH-1H helicopter door gunner stands by before take off during Operation RENAISSANCE which provided humanitarian support to the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan in December 2013 © RCAF

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air power

Two crew chiefs look over the horizon with their .50-cal machine gun and 7.62 Minigun to scan for any enemy targets that might be endangering their UH-1N helicopter © US DoD

The acquisition and fielding of both the M134D and GAU-21A/B weapons was a clear example of improving and enhancing an existing capability. According to reports from soldiers, seeing a pair of armed CH-146s overhead was hugely reassuring, and the effects those crews delivered with their weapons saved many lives, either through suppression of the enemy or through neutralisation. “The crew served air-to-ground gunnery capability we have now is a world-class capability. We continue to evolve our TTPs, and we are retaining this skill-set for the future,” said Lt. Col. Morrison.

Gun manufacturers Countless weapon manufacturers produce guns that are suitable for helicopter-mounted air-to-ground gunnery; however, it is clear that some companies stand out, such as Dillon Aero (DA). In the mid-90s, Mike Dillon, owner of Dillon Aero, purchased several surplus M134 family Miniguns and began work on fixing many of the inherent problems

(broken bolts, and feeder jams resulting in stoppages) that the weapon was having. By 2003 DA had re-worked, replaced, or improved nearly every component of the system, which is now known as the M134D Minigun. DA also offers a hybrid option, the M134D-H which uses some titanium components to reduce weight for aviation applications. When it comes to the production of guns, DA only manufactures the M134D and M134D-H. In the flex-fire mode, i.e. when the weapon is mounted on the door or tail gun of a helicopter, the M134D-H is unmatched in the amount of suppressive fire that it is capable of, firing at a rate of 3000rpm. Due to the precision placement of the gun on the DA mounts, the electrically-driven sixbarrelled Gatling-style gun is virtually recoilless, which allows the gunner to place more rounds on the target accurately. The proven reliability of the M134D is now an option for the majority of militarised helicopters, and DA’s latest helicopter mount is designed to equip Airbus Helicopters’ H-225M, AS-332 and AS-532 medium-lift

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utility rotorcraft families.

Chris Dillon, the company’s chief executive officer, told Armada that “an enemy who has positioned themselves to take advantage of this vulnerability can mass his firepower at very close range.

The only way to overcome this is with the instantaneous, overwhelming firepower of the M134D. There are machine guns and Gatling guns chambered in larger calibres; however, in the close range, defensive engagement, the larger cartridge is not an advantage for several reasons. First, 12.7mm machine guns fire at a slower rate, denying the user the shot density necessary to achieve instant suppression.

Secondly, big guns carry fewer rounds, which limit their ability to remain in the fight. Third, bigger guns are just that; bigger. In cramped crew compartments larger weapons hamper the gunners’ ability to fight. That said, the main advantage of the .50 calibre gun is that it has a longer range than the 7.62mm Minigun. Long range is definitely a good thing to have when it is needed and there most certainly is a need

A flight engineer keeps close watch using his C-6 machine gun aboard a CH-146 helicopter during a routine air patrol in BosniaHerzegovina © RCAF

for 12.7mm weapons for certain offensive missions, but experience dating all the way back to the US involvement in Vietnam, and reinforced by every conflict since, has shown that the greatest threat to the helicopter is an ambush in the landing zone. In this case the high volume fire provided by the M134D is single best solution available.”

Regarding the future, Mr. Dillon notes that the company has “several upgrades” to the M134 family planned for the near future. These do not alter the basic nature of the gun but are intended to make operations more efficient. “Having said that, I think it is useful to remember that there is a tendency to ‘over engineer’ good products. The central components to the weapon, the rotor and receiver, have a service life of 1.5 million rounds, which for most users is effectively infinite. Due to the low impact nature of its rotary design the weapon rarely suffers from part breakage. Over the life of the system the cumulative savings in spares cost, when compared to traditional gas operated machine guns is staggering. However, there are still some good ideas that we are working on which mostly take the form of accessories and are intended to expand the weapons’ operating envelope.”

Dillon Aero is joined by Belgium’s FN Herstal’s with products including crewserved or axially-mounted single-barrel automatic machine guns. The company’s airborne mounted weapon systems are fully mechanical and do not require any electrical power, making firing possible

even if the carrier faces problems. They can integrate two different weapons; either the 12.7mm FN M3M/GAU-21A/B machine gun for outstanding firepower (1100rpm) or a 7.62mm FN MAG 58M/M240 machine gun. To date, FN Herstal airborne weapon systems have been selected to equip more than 2800 helicopters and subsonic aircraft worldwide.

Alongside FN Herstal, continental Europe is home to France’s Nexter which offers the SH20 which is a retractable mount system for the firm’s M621 20mm cannon.

The use of this mounting is particularly suitable for missions such as surveillance as the armament is not visible with the helicopter door closed. The SH20 was developed to support French Special Forces, and can outfit new or retrofitted helicopters. It is soon to be qualified on the H-225M. US Ordnance has also recently developed the new M3D 12.7mm weapon system which has a rate of fire of 950rpm. The company states that this is an alternative to the GAU-21A/B and provides the same target effect standards of suppression, neutralisation, and destruction in a cost-effective and simple-to-maintain package.

The spread of helicopter-mounted weapons underscores the ongoing need for this weapon, not only to support troops in contact, but also for Special Forces missions such as Combat Search and Rescue.

Crew-served machine guns will undoubtedly be seen as increasingly necessary for all light- and medium-lift utility helicopters likely to be used in the future.

Land Forces

The best-selling JIM LR multi-sensor hand held observation and targeting device can now be networked via Vectronix’ Max360 optronics system Š Sagem

Sight for Sore Eyes The infantry optronics market is in transition as new core sensor technologies present militaries with increasingly complex procurement choices. Meanwhile existing technologies are continually improving, giving armed forces enviable choices and soldiers improving situational awareness.

Peter Donaldson

20 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

O

ptions include sharp analogue image intensifiers, evolving uncooled thermal imagers, non-thermal Short Wave Infra-Red (SWIR) cameras and emerging CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) detectors operating from the visible into the near Infrared (IR) which challenge intensifiers with their digital nature. SWIR cameras operate in the 0.9 to 1.7 microns frequency range. SWIR light is invisible to the human eye which can see light in the 0.4 micron to 0.7 micron section of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, as SWIR is reflective light bounced off objects (like visible light) it produces shadows and contrasts when viewed with a SWIR camera, thus giving objects viewed with such a camera resolution and detail. Moreover, SWIR provides very sharp long-range thermal imaging.

Land Forces

Vectronix’ Max360 capture and streaming device has several outputs allowing the sharing of imagery with other users on and off the battlefield © Vectronix

CMOS technology, which is used in circuitry, typically boasts comparatively low power consumption, compared to other types of integrated circuits and consequently produces less heat, while at the same time enabling a high number of logic functions to be performed using a single chip. Meanwhile, uncooled thermal imagers operate at ambient temperatures and employ a microbolometer. Microbolometers are used as detectors in IR cameras with wavelengths of 7.5 microns to 14 microns IR radiation collides with the microbolometer’s detector material causing it to heat. This changes the electrical resistance of the detector. The camera measures this change in resistance and converts it into temperatures which are then used to build an image.

Such technological advances have allowed advanced image processing applications, including sensor fusion, to slowly spread into the hands of infantry soldiers via smaller infantry devices, although the technology remains costly and somewhat bulky. Moreover, infantry optronics are increasingly expected to communicate, exchanging information with other soldier devices and with wider battlefield networks.

Common Controls Commonality and ease-of-use considerations are also occupying system designers seeking to produce families of devices intended to work together. A good example of this was in evidence on the BAE Systems stand at September’s DSEI (Defence Security Equipment International) exhibition in London, where Armada caught up with Ridge Sower, product line manager for infantry optronics with BAE Systems based in Nashua, New Hampshire.

On display were the Skeet IR; a handheld monocular surveillance device and weapon sight along with the two Universal Thermal Binocular (UTB) models. Other members of the family include weapon sights such as the Universal Thermal Monocular (UTM x), a palm-size hybrid thermal sight with dual-band pointing/ aiming lasers intended for assault rifles, for example, and the Universal Thermal Clip-on (UTC X and UTC XII) intended for sniper rifles. All members of the company’ s OASYS product line, they feature the same uncooled long-wave (eight to twelve microns) vanadium oxide microbolometer detectors with pixel pitch of 17 microns; detectors that the company makes in its own foundry in Lexington, Massachusetts. “The entire range of products is designed to be used interchangeably,” Mr. Sower told Armada.

“For some users, just one of them may be appropriate. Others might want the viewer binocular and one of the weapon sights. In all cases the menu and button structure used to control these products is the same.”

He described the Skeet IR as “certainly the world’s smallest and lightest high-definition, high-resolution thermal imager.” Weighing 255 grams/g (0.5 pounds/ lb) it is light enough to hold in one hand and small enough to fit into a pocket, but it also functions as a clip-on thermal weapon sight. Powered by a single CR-123A commercial digital camera battery, the Skeet IR will operate for about two hours in the field, said Mr. Sower. “All these products were designed and initially sold exclusively to US Special Forces,” he said. “We have expanded into other tactical markets, typically US law-enforcement and international special forces,” he continued, adding that these products are export-controlled by the US government Department of State. “We have been successful exporting to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries.”

Manual Calibration During a product demonstration of the Skeet IR at DSEI, Mr. Sower switched the device on and pressed a button to start a calibration cycle, covering the objective lens with his hand. “All thermal imagers require calibration,” he said. “Some do it automatically, some do it manually. We

The UTC XII thermal sniper scope shares standard control buttons with other members of the OASYS family © BAE Systems

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Land Forces

In addition to its integral laser rangefinder, the MESLAS sight has an improved ballistic computer that reduces the sniper’s reliance on a spotter, cutting engagement time by a claimed 50 percent © Meprolight

believe that in a weapon-mounted operation you do not want an automatic calibration happening. With all our cameras, you can manually trigger a one- or two-second calibration.” The other main controls are equally straightforward, enabling the user to switch between three imaging modes: white hot, black hot and a third mode which enhances the edge outline of objects in the Skeet IR’s field-of-view. This latter mode uses an algorithm which runs in real time and outlines in bright white where there is a significant difference in temperature. This helps the user to detect human figures, for example, in conditions in which thermal contrast is poor.

The two UTC variants, the UTC X and UTC XII for sniper applications, are designed to be mounted in front of a large daylight ten-times or twelve-times magnification optic to provide a maximum range of about 2600 metres/m (8530 feet/ft). All the clip-on sights can work with the day optics to ensure that attaching them does not change the point of aim. Launched in

The Coral CR II is now offered with the Android operating system, making training much quicker and easier, and can be supplied with a SWIR camera © Elbit Systems

January, the UTC XII is the company’s first sight to use a detector with a twelve micron pixel pitch. Pixel pitch is the measurement of distance between the centre of each pixel as measured in microns. Generally speaking, the shorter the pixel pitch, the more pixels can be housed on the CMOS (see above), and hence the sharper the image generated by the camera will be. With less distance between pixels, the less space the CMOS detector absorbs, enabling all the other components from the lenses to the

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housing to have a small size and lightweight construction, but to be about a third smaller and lighter with no loss of performance.

This new detector is also being applied to the rest of the product range, Mr. Sower said.

Sensor Communications Connecting infantry optronics to enable the sharing of imagery is increasingly important. A Sagem engineer, who asked not to be named, told Armada that the firm’s Max 360 enables connected observation

Land Forces

The Skeet IR can be used as a handheld monocular observation device or as a weapon sight, and is part of BAE Systems’ OASYS product line © BAE Systems

devices to be controlled over the internet, citing recent demonstrations in which a JIM LR optronics system located in Vectronix' (a Sagem subsidiary) headquarters in Switzerland was controlled from Sagem’s headquarters in Paris and from a location in the United States. “Someone in a control unit could see what several JIM LRs and Max 360s see. All you need is to dedicate an IP (Internet Protocol) address to each of the Max 360s. This is something you can do with your own network, which any administrator could do anywhere.” A single 19-pin port for a Universal Serial Bus and Ethernet provides a connection with any bearer capable of carrying IP traffic, from tactical radios and satellite communications systems to commercial telecommunications to relay imagery and to control signals.

Bluetooth Vectronix also showed a mock-up at DSEI of a new addition to its family of laser rangefinders, namely the Clip-On Laser

Range-finding Device, Illumination, Pointing Communication (COLD-IPC) whose main functions are encapsulated by its title. However, it has a new party trick in the form of Bluetooth communication that can link it wirelessly to a rifle scope, enabling the range to a target to be displayed in the sight. Also, integral inclination sensors enable it to work out its orientation, when positioned on a rifle’s quad rail weapon mount, for example. “We have one partner from Europe (with whom) we are trying to find the best solution to implement it in a scope,” a statement from the company’s marketing department told Armada. It is not thought that Vectronix has yet secured any customers for the COLD-IPC. Robust Design A wireless link also featured in the new Insider product from tactical light provider Beamshot, a division of US multi-industry laser specialists Quarton, although its purpose is to eliminate vulnerable power

cords between weapon-mounted laser modules and battery packs on Colt Defense M4/M16 family rifles. Referring to such external wires, which are rarely soldierproof, Quarton’s eastern United States sales manager Mike Murphy said, “In Iraq and Afghanistan we had a whole lot of problems with this.” The prototype that Mr Murphy showed to Armada is designed to be mounted on a standard Picatinny rail.

The laser is powered by a battery pack in a custom pistol grip, the two connected by a conductive path built into low-profile machined components. Certified to IP67 ingress protection standards, the system features a visible red or green laser with various options including an infrared or white LED (Light Emitting Diode) and an infrared laser sight or illuminator. Beamshot is looking forward to taking orders for this new product from late January 2016.

Introducing Android The expertise of the above firms in the provision of infantry optronics is mirrored by

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Land Forces

Israeli manufacturers Meprolight and Elbit Systems. In particular, user friendliness is a high priority for the latter, which is introducing the Android operating system into its range of infantry optronics. The Coral CR II, for example, is a handheld thermal imaging camera with continuous optical IR zoom and target acquisition capabilities. “Operation of the device becomes very easy,” notes Oded Ben David, Elbit Systems vice president for land electro-optics and thermal imaging. “It is easy to install maps and additional applications.” This, he said, is important for today’s new soldiers. “They are very familiar with the Android interface because they use it in all their cellphones and tablets. Now they have the same experience in their observation device.”

As well as the ease of use bestowed by the Android operating system, the Coral CR II also works for longer, operating for seven or eight hours on a single battery and is available with a SWIR camera for longrange tasks. “You can now buy every CR with an SWIR channel that gives you a very nice observation capability in bad weather, in haze, fog and dust,” Mr. Ben David added. “Our enemies are trying to come on the bad days.”

“For sure, thermal weapon sights will become cheaper and cheaper, lower in weight and will grow in numbers. There is no question that they are needed. The only question here is volume; if you need large volumes it is a matter of the pricing point.

If you need to buy thousands, or tens of thousands, they are very price sensitive.”

Increasingly, this sensitivity is extending beyond the ticket price and into overall life-cycle cost issues, while the perennial concern of size, weight and power reduction is as strong as ever CMOS Soon Elbit Systems’ counterparts Meprolight continues to improve its extensive range of weapon sights, driven by constant customer pressure to maximise accuracy and lethality. “We understand that the requirement is to maximise the probability for first shot hits,” Benny Kokia, the company’s sales and marketing vice president, told Armada. “It means that the expectation on us, the optronics provider, is for systems that are fully integrated (with the weapon) to cut the time

The MEPRO NOA uncooled thermal sniper sight is to receive new software that enables the user to download ballistic data, weather and intelligence information © Meprolight

to aim at, shoot at and hit the target (known as the ‘operation time’).”

One such product is the MESLAS sniper sight that includes a laser rangefinder and a recently-enhanced ballistic computer. “We have improved our ballistic computer so now the sniper doesn’t need to use a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant containing the ballistic computer software) or to rely on a spotter (who can provide target corrections),” he said. “We can reduce the operation time by 50 percent.”

He told Armada that the company had proved this capability in a test conducted in the United States with US Special Forces this summer. “We showed that our MESLAS cut by half the operation time versus the traditional way of using a spotter with an independent laser range finder and a separate optronics device.” The company’s uncooled thermal sniper sight, the MEPRO NOA, is receiving improved software; expected to be available for new and existing clients in circa February 2016, according to the company, that enables the shooter to download ballistic data for the weapon, the specific ammunition, weather data, geolocation information and intelligence information in an Excel file format.” Meprolight is also working on a new sight with a CMOS detector (see above), which passed a recent test in Europe with a “prominent (military) unit” which asked Meprolight to develop it for them, Mr. Kokia told Armada, adding that there is work to be done before CMOS-

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based sights are mature. “CMOS technology has a major disadvantage, and that is power consumption. We found a way to overcome part of this issue; however, the CMOS sights that were introduced last year by all kinds of companies will not hold for more than one to two hours of operation. We cannot accept this limitation because all our customers are military,” he said. To this end, Meprolight’s MESLAS and MEPRO NOA are all in service with Israel’s armed forces.

Although confident about the results of the above test, Mr. Kokia remained coy about the timing of any product launch.

“I will say that we met the challenge and I believe that we will introduce a device very soon into the marketplace.”

Other trends Benny Kokia is monitoring include dual-sensor fused sights, such as the fielded but bulky US ENVG (Enhanced Night Vision Goggle) systems, expressing doubts about their costs. Due to the emergence of new optronics sensors such as SWIR, there is uncertainty about what mix of sensors users will choose, Mr. Ben David notes that “SWIR is increasingly being used for long-range observation systems. I think every long-range system in the future will have a SWIR sensor built in, as it has become essential for daylight observation. The big question for the future is whether each soldier will use NVGs, thermal imaging, a CMOS device or a combination of two or more of these sensors to support their mission.”

sea power

Jack Sparrow’s Nemesis

The term ‘piracy’, defined

by RAND Corporation as “the plundering, hijacking, or detention of a ship in international waters,” brings back images of eye-patched, wooden-legged ship captains ordering their unruly crew to storm another vessel.

Dr. Alix Valenti

H

owever, the phenomenon depicted in our childhood movies, and in more recent works such as the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, has not only persisted through time, it is now a significant threat to the global economy costing an estimated $7 billion to $12 billion in the past five years. Away from commerce, piracy also poses a threat to the delivery of precious humanitarian cargo to trouble-spots such as Somalia.

Modern day maritime piracy is therefore a serious threat to ships navigating key commercial corridors in the Gulf of Aden (off the coast of Somalia), the Gulf of Guinea (off the coast of Nigeria), the Strait of Malacca (between Indonesia and Malaysia) and off the Indian subcontinent

Maritime Patrol Aircraft play an instrumental role in helping the fight against piracy with assets such as this Seychelles Air Force Dornier Do-228K proving important © EU NAVFOR

(between India and Sri Lanka). A lucrative business at sea, it is actually the symptom of a much wider malaise that encompasses governance, societal and economic conditions in the territories flanking these waters. Somali pirates, for instance, were originally local fishermen who, in the absence of effective central governance, took to defending themselves from illegal trawlers by charging them with fines of a few thousand dollars. As fines became more profitable than fishing or land-based economic activities these part-time fishermen turned into full-time pirates.

Piracy, however, only really made it to the international agenda as a major international challenge in 2008. As the civil war which has raged since 1988 brought devastation and famine across Somalia, large hu-

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sea power

This year the Netherlands are contributing to EU NAVFOR with the HNLMS Groningen. As part of its mission, the HNLMS Groningen escorts commercial vessels (seen here) © EU NAVFOR

Turkey is currently commanding CTF-151, as well as contributing to the mission’s capabilities with its TCG Gemlik seen here to the right of the picture © US DoD

manitarian aid shipments from the World task forces have since been implemented to Food Programme (WFP), the United Na- fight piracy. tions (UN) body which provides food assistance around the world, were dispatched by Operation ATALANTA sea to Somalia to respond to the crisis. Yet “Concerned with the safety of the WFP ships the ships carrying this aid became easy tar- carrying humanitarian goods, following gets for pirates as they sailed unprotected Resolution 1851 it only took ten weeks for and unprepared for such maritime threats. the European Union (EU) Council (which For example, on 8 April 2009, the MV Maesk regularly gathers cabinet members from Alabama container ship was hijacked by EU members to propose decisions affecting Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean bound EU members) to pass the Joint Action 851 for the Kenyan port of Mombasa where it initiative setting up Operation ATALANwas to offload WFP supplies. The hijack- TA,” says Commander Jacqueline Sherrif, ing, detention of the ship’s master, and his spokesperson for the European Union Nasubsequent liberation by United States val Force (EU NAVFOR). Established in DeNavy Sea, Air, Land (SEAL) commandos cember 2008, EU NAVFOR’s Operation ATwas later made famous by the 2013 movie ALANTA covers the Southern Red Sea, the Captain Philips. In response, in 2008 the UN Gulf of Aden and part of the Indian Ocean Security Council passed Resolution 1851, al- (Seychelles, Mauritius and Comoros). Its lowing navies, with the permission of So- main objectives are the protection of vulmalia’s Transition Federal Government, to nerable ships, deterring and disrupting take appropriate action against the pirates. piracy as well as armed robbery at sea, In this international context, a number of monitoring fishing activities off the Coast

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of Somalia and supporting other missions sharing similar objectives.

EU NAVFOR benefits from the contribution of all EU member states as well as other non-EU countries, such as Norway, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine. The type and number of units varies regularly, with a typical rotation including approximately 1200 personnel, four to six surface combatants, and two-to-three Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA). The EU, in cooperation with other ongoing military operations in the area, determines the number of units for each rotation according to a needs assessments, with inter-monsoon seasons typically seeing more units as “seas and waters are easier to navigate at that time, creating more opportunities for pirates,” says Commander Dave Benham, chief public affairs Officer for the Allied Maritime Command (AMC).

The AMC, headquartered in London, is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) body exercising the central command of all NATO naval forces, which also supports anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden/Indian Ocean. “On this basis, countries then decide whether and when to participate according to the ships available in their navy,” adds Elbrich Alga, security manager at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Currently four countries are contributing to EU NAVFOR.

sea power

The sustainability of EU NAVFOR’s success also lies in building the capacity of regional forces.

Instrumental to this is cooperation with regional naval and air forces © EU NAVFOR

Spain is providing the ESPS Galicia, and carries a single NH-90NFH helicopter, US Navy in 2009 to fight piracy in the Gulf a ‘Galicia’ class amphibious assault ship a Thales Gatekepper optronics system, plus of Aden) and with the navies of Japan, the equipped with a Thales DA08 naval sur- the SeaMaster 400 and SeaWatcher 100 naval People’s Republic of China and the Reveillance radar and Oerlikon (now Rhein- surveillance radars from the same company: public of Korea (RoK), to name just three. metall) 20mm cannon. It is also contributing “The Dutch navy has been contributing to EU Since it holds a similar mandate to that of the ESPS Meteoro, an Offshore Patrol Vessel NAVFOR since the beginning,” said Ms Alga, the other two missions, it was decided in (OPV) built by Navantia and commissioned “and this fall, as happens every year, the gov- January 2015 that OOS would work on the in 2009. The Deutsche Marine (German ernment will be deciding if, how and what it basis of a focused presence, that is, it would Navy) ‘Braunschweig’ class corvette FGS will contribute next year.” provide ships for protection, prevention Efurt, which carries an Airbus TRS-3D naval and deterrence during the inter-monsoon surveillance radar and Thales Mirador op- Operation OCEAN SHIELD season when piracy is at its peak. In times tronics system, plus Saab RBS-15 Anti-Ship The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation where OOS has no maritime presence, it Missiles (AShMs) and a 76mm gun, is also (NATO) stepped up to the anti-piracy chal- continues to operate through the deploysupporting efforts. Usefully, it can embark lenge at the same time as the EU. In late- ment of maritime patrol aircraft. As these AgustaWestland Mk.41 Sea Lynx or NH In- 2008, it established Operation ALLIED are provided by contributing countries, the dustries NH-90NFH maritime support he- PROVIDER, which included protection as type of aircraft varies regularly, but “have well as deterrence and prevention in the included in the past Lockheed Martin P-3 licopters.

Italy is currently lending its ITS Libec- waters where WFP ships transited. Fol- Orion family and Bombardier CL-604 cio ‘Maestral’ class frigate to EU NAVFOR. lowing this operation, Operation ALLIED Challenger MPAs, the latter being operBuilt by Fincantieri and commissioned in PROTECTOR commenced in March 2009 ated by the Flyvevåbnet (Royal Danish Air 1983 she can embark two AgustaWestland/ and concluded in August the same year Force) alongside maritime support heliBell AB-212ASW/NLA maritime support he- with a similar mandate. In August 2009, copters,” states Cmdr. Benham. licopters and has a sensor fit which includes Operation OCEAN SHIELD (OOS) was esMuch like EU NAVFOR, NATO benefits a Selex RAN-10S naval surveillance radar tablished and been operating in the Gulf from the contributions of countries “deand OTO Melara 127 54mm gun. Finally, the of Aden, the Western Indian Ocean and the pending on their national priorities and Netherlands is contributing to the mission Strait of Hormuz ever since. available capabilities” continues Cmdr. with their ‘Holland’ class OPV, the HNLMS OOS works in cooperation with Op- Benham. Rotations are determined toGroningen, built by Damen Schelde and com- eration ATALANTA, the US-led Combined gether with other task forces on the basis of missioned in 2012. She displaces 3180 tonnes Task Force-151 (CTF-151 established by the needs assessments shared during regular

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016 27

sea power

A Royal Netherlands Air Force Airbus Helicopters AS-532U2 Cougar naval support rotorcraft lands on the deck of the EU NAVFOR flagship HNLMS Johan de Witt © US DoD

inter-task force meetings. Thus far, NATO and Operation ATALANTA (see above), is has received contributions from a wide “on a voluntary basis from contributing variety of countries from the UK, Den- countries, and the number of ships at sea mark and the Netherlands, to New Zealand, varies constantly according to the needs,” Canada and the US. The mission is cur- said Lt. Cmdr. Woodman. “For example”, rently benefitting from the Søværnet (RDN/ she continues, “at the height of piracy in Royal Danish Navy’s) eponymous ‘Absalon’ 2011 there were a large number of ships at class frigate. Equipped with a BAE Systems sea, but now that the number of successful Mk.45 Mod.4 127mm gun which provides attacks has dramatically decreased, there useful fire support, the ship has a sensor were none in 2015, the number of units has package which includes Thales SMART-S dropped to eight or ten.” At present Turand Terma SCANTER-2100 naval surveil- key is commanding the mission with the lance radar plus the ability to deploy Boe- TCG Gemlik, an ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class ing RGM-84 Harpoon Block-2 AShMs. frigate originally built by Bath Iron Works (now General Dynamics) for the US Navy.

CTF-151 She counts a Raytheon AN/SPS-49 air CTF-151 was established with a specific an- surveillance radar and Raytheon Phalanx ti-piracy mandate under the leadership of family close-in weapons system among her the US Navy’s Combined Maritime Forces sensors and armament.

(CMF) which works to coordinate coalition naval operations. The mission of CTF-151 Practice makes perfect is to “engage and build capacity with re- The statistics compiled by NATO’s Shipgional and other partners to improve rel- ping Centre are a testament to the sucevant capabilities in order to protect global cesses of the coordination between these maritime commerce and secure freedom three task forces in their fight against piof navigation”, indicated Lieutenant Com- racy. In 2009, as the task forces were being mander Francesca Woodman, CMF deputy established to respond to the piracy threat, public affairs officer. a total of 35 pirated boats, 114 attacks, 56 apCTF-151 is composed of thirty nations, proaches and 40 disruptions were recorded. and has been commanded by Turkey, the In 2011, at the height of piracy in the Gulf of RoK, Singapore, Pakistan, New Zealand, Aden, while only 23 ships were successfully Denmark, Thailand and the United States. pirated, 125 attacks were recorded as well as Participation to CTF-151, much like for OOS 61 approaches and 56 disruptions. However,

28 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

practice makes perfect, and as of 2012 these numbers started dropping significantly, reaching almost zero on all indicators by 2014 when only one attempted attack and one disruption were recorded. The fact that both Operation ATALANTA and OOS, initially mandated for two or three years, have been regularly extended with both mandates now running through to December 2016, is also an indication of their success.

“One of the key success factors of these three task forces is their coordination and their ability to work together,” says Cmdr.

Sheriff, a view that was unanimously shared by every person interviewed for this article. “EU NAVFOR, NATO and the CTF coordinate daily,” she continues, “to discuss the threats in the area and how to best address them, and weekly, through inter-task force meetings, to examine the best course of action to be taken as well as which navies and capabilities are available to implement these actions.” The three task forces also meet quarterly in Bahrain for the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) conference, where states involved in these task forces interact with other navies and industry to share information, ideas and to coordinate their approaches to the latest identified threats.

This includes deciding on the future rotations for each task force.

In large part, successful coordination is

sea power

CTF-151 supports its partners with their missions’ objectives, which include monitoring fishing activities in the Gulf of Aden © US DoD

only as good as the reporting and monitor- securely with each other and with the op- Cmdr. Benham. Cmdr. Sheriff agrees and ing of piracy incidents, “and the commer- eration’s centre about the situation in the adds that the drop in piracy attacks is in cial shipping industry has really stepped waters they are patrolling. “NATO also large part the result of “having successfully up in this respect” comments Cmdr. Ben- has its own secure communication system denied pirates the opportunity for an atham, another view shared by all interview- known as NATO Secret Wide Area Net- tack.” In order for this to be sustainable, caees. Booklets on the ‘Best Management work,” points out Cmdr. Benham, “which pacity building in the countries surroundPractices’ are regularly published and up- is used by every mission’s ship to facilitate ing these waters to help them fight piracy dated to provide ship operators and cap- communication amongst ships and with needs to be improved.

To this end, EU NAVFOR and NATO tains, transiting through high-risk areas, the mission’s centre.” with planning and operational practices to As the role of all three task forces is not both offer capacity-building to other coun“avoid, deter or delay piracy attacks.” The limited to detection and prevention, but tries concerned by the piracy threat. EU guidelines recommend that ships submit a also extends to deterring and stopping pi- NAVFOR’s German Navy underway replen‘Vessel Movement Registration Form’ to the rate attacks, the success of these task forces ishment ship FGS Berlin, for instance, conEU NAVFOR’s Maritime Security Centre is underpinned by the ability to use “ca- ducted a capacity-building exercise with the Horn Of Africa (MSCHOA) upon entering pabilities that are combat proven,” points Seychelles Coastguard in August 2014, training high-risk areas, and should report daily to out Ben Zion Dabul, Israel Aerospace them how to act when providing assistance the United Kingdom Marine Trade Opera- Industries’ (IAI) specialist for Exclusive to a ship. NATO provides similar capacitytions (UKMTO) centre, both of which are Economic Zone solutions. To this end, IAI building exercises in the Horn of Africa. based in London, with the latter being the provides capabilities tailored to customers’ Other organisations that are not directly first point of contact during an attack. needs that facilitate “the detection, iden- involved in anti-piracy operations at sea Assistance is provided by a variety of tification, classification and prevention undertake capacity building. The Internasecured communication systems. The EU of threats in high-risk waters,” continues tional Maritime Organisation (IMO), for NAVFOR has a password-protected inter- Mr Zion Dabul, “and that are more cost- instance, published the Djibouti Code of net-protocol enabled chat Satellite Com- effective as they do not require a constant Conduct signed by Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, munications (SATCOM) system known as presence of patrol ships.” For example, Madagascar, the Maldives, Seychelles, SoMercury, mounted on both task force ships IAI’s Maritime Heron Unmanned Aerial malia, the United Republic of Tanzania and and merchant ships. “When a ship logged Vehicles (UAVs) can detect threats and send Yemen in 2009 which binds these countries into Mercury flags a potential or actual information to the command centre that to anti-piracy actions such as investigating, arresting and prosecuting persons accused threat in one of the high-risk areas, the no- will dispatch a naval vessel to investigate. of acts of piracy. As the conditions in territification will then show as a red spot in the tories around these waters fail to improve command centre,” specifies Cmdr. Sher- Hard Work Ahead iff. Naval vessels contributing to Opera- “It is true that we have seen a drop in piracy for their populations, and as a number tion ATALANTA are also all fitted with the in the past years, but we must not forget of Western countries begin to decrease their ATALANTA Command Military Network that the factors that led to piracy becom- military spending, this all-encompassing (ACMN), which allows all commanding ing a significant problem largely remain approach against piracy will remain a cruofficers to use SATCOM to communicate today and we must remain vigilant,” says cial aspect of these task forces.

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016 29

AIR POWER

Shadow play Performing their duty in the shadows, the work of the Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) gathering aircraft is rarely openly discussed by the air forces and militaries that they serve.

Nevertheless open source information can give us a glimpse of the vital role such platforms perform.

Thomas Withington

I

n late-September the world’s media became increasingly fixated on the ‘kinetic’ military equipment deployed by the Russian Air Force into Syria, following Moscow’s decision to commence an air campaign against guerrilla forces, chiefly the al-Nursa Front (an Al Qaeda franchise operating in Syria), the Army of Conquest (a coalition of Syrian Islamist armed opposition groups) and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), all of which oppose the government of Russia’s ally President Bashir al-Assad. According to Russian airpower expert, and Armada contributor, Thomas Newdick, these kinetic assets include four Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole combat aircraft, plus ten Su-25SM/ UB, twelve Su-24M/M2, and four Su-34 ground attack aircraft deployed from Bassel Al-Assad International Airport, located near the Syrian port city of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.

However, one aircraft which was deployed to the Syrian Theatre of Opera-

tions by the Russian Air Force was largely ignored by major media organisations, namely the Ilyushin Il-20M of which at least one example is operating from Bassel Al-Assad International Airport. The Il-20M is a turboprop SIGINT-gathering platform which has been in service with the Russian Air Force since the late-1970s. SIGINT is effectively an umbrella term for Communications Intelligence (COMINT) which covers communications traffic collection and analysis and ELINT (Electronic Intel-

30 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

ligence) which relates to the collection and analysis of radar transmissions.

The Il-20M carries a number of intelligence-gathering sensors of which the SRS-4 Romb/Kvadrat-2 ELINT and Vishnya COMINT systems are of the most interest to this article. Open source reports state that SRS-4 is intended to detect, geo-locate and identify hostile radars (presumably ground-based air surveillance radars) with a view to developing an Electronic Order-of-Battle (E-ORBAT) of

AIR POWER

The only other user beyond the USAF of the RC-135W is the Royal Air Force which is in the process of completing the acquisition of threeaircraft © UK MoD

opposing radar systems and thus detecting potential weaknesses or deficits regarding hostile radar coverage. Open source details regarding the Vishnya COMINT system are harder to come by; however, available information states that the equipment maybe capable of detecting, recording and geo-locating clear speech transmissions in the 100 to 400 Megahertz (MHz) frequency range. This would give the aircraft the capability to monitor medium-to-upper level Very High Frequency (VHF) and low-

level Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radio transmissions.

This is highly relevant to Russia’s ongoing campaign against the Syrian rebels as confidential sources close to several Syrian rebel groups have informed Armada that several of the organisations discussed above rely on unsecured (i.e. unencrypted) civilian V/UHF handheld radios and cellphones to perform Command and Control (C2) on the battlefield. By employing platforms such as the Il-20M, the Russian Air

Force may not only be able to eavesdrop on the rebel’s communications, thus collecting valuable COMINT, but possibly to also geo-locate such transmissions to provide potential aimpoints for Russian strike aircraft performing attacks against the rebels.

Rivet Joint However, the Il-20M is not the only SIGINT platform currently performing operations in the Middle East. Since October 2014, the Royal Air Force (RAF) has been deploying at

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016 31

AIR POWER

least one Boeing RC-135W Airseeker SIGINT aircraft from the RAF Akortiri airbase on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The RAF received its first of three RC-135W aircraft in November 2013, with the second aircraft delivered on 4 September. The third and final example is expected to be delivered in 2017, with the entire procurement costing $998 million. These aircraft are supporting Operation SHADER, the wider UK military contribution to the US-led Operation INHERENT RESOLVE (OIR) which commenced on 15 June 2014 to support Iraqi government efforts to repulse ISIS from areas of north-western Iraq which have come under the insurgent’s control since its dramatic advance across the country from

December 2013.

Details in open sources are sparse, but it is strongly suspected that the United States Air Force (USAF) is flying similar RC-135V/W Rivet Joint aircraft to perform COMINT-gathering relevant to ISIS and its supporters to assist OIR. The RC-135V and RC-135W are related, although the RC135W is reported to have a slightly reduced capability in terms of ELINT, in favour of enhanced COMINT coverage. The aircraft are thought to be able to detect and geo-locate ground tactical radio traffic in the High Frequency (three to 30MHz) and V/UHF ranges using BAE Systems’ Low Band Sub System (LBSS) equipment.

Furthermore, it is possible that RAF

32 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

RC-135W aircraft may be planting misleading communications into ISIS’ tactical communications networks during their recent operations, alongside the passive collection of COMINT. Nevertheless, for understandable reasons, the exact characteristics of both USAF and RAF RC-135V/W intelligence-gathering missions are not publicly disclosed.

These RC-135V/W aircraft may not be the only ELINT platforms over-flying the Syria-Iraq theatre. Like the UK, France has been contributing air assets to support OIR via Opération CHAMMAL which commenced on 19 September 2014. This has seen both Armée de l’Air (AdlA/French Air Force) and Aeronavale (French Naval Avia-

AIR POWER

The USAF remains arguably the world’s largest user of SIGINT aircraft. Its RC-135V/W fleet alone is thought to number 22 airframes © USAF

tion) aircraft performing air-to-ground attacks against ISIS targets in Iraq. Although not reported by the French media, or confirmed by the French government, it is entirely possible that AdlA TransAllianz C-160G2 Gabriel SIGINT aircraft may have assisted in the overall COMINTgathering effort against ISIS in Iraq. These aircraft, of which the AdlA operates two, are equipped with a Thales ASTAC ELINT collection system for ground and surfacebased, and airborne, radar threats across frequencies from circa 250MHz up to 24.25 gigahertz/GHz, according to company literature. COMINT, meanwhile, is collected by the aircraft’s EPICEA (Ensemble Pilotant un Centre d’Ecoutes Automatisé/

Automatic Listening Centre) subsystem, also thought to be provided by Thales.

Both the C-160G2 and the RC-135V/W may have been tasked with a secondary role to gather ELINT pertaining to the Syrian Air Defence Force’s (SyADF) ground-based air defences. Prior to the Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war, the US and her allies had regularly contemplated military action against the regime of Mr. Al-Assad in the form of air strikes. This was particularly apparent in the wake of the Ghouta chemical weapons attack on 21 August 2013, when at least 281 people (estimates vary) were killed in the south-western Ghouta suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus following a surfaceto-surface rocket attack which dispersed deadly quantities of Sarin nerve agent.

Any air campaign involving the US and her allies in the future will almost certainly be dependent upon the comprehensive compilation of the SyADF E-ORBAT as regards its P-12 VHF, P-14 VHF, P-15 UHF, P-30 S-band (2.3-2.5/2.7-3.7GHz) and P-35 S-band ground-based air surveillance radars, so to obtain information regarding potential gaps in coverage, and radars to be targeted during any Coalition Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defence campaign so as to allow the safe ingress and egress of Coalition aircraft to and from their targets.

Israel One country with a significant interest in happenings inside Syria and Iraq is Israel.

With the Syrian Civil War raging directly over its eastern border with the war torncountry, the regime of Mr. Assad and several of the other belligerents being sworn enemies of Israel, it is little surprise that Israel keeps a close watch on events inside the country, particularly in the locale of its Golan Heights border region so as to spot any early warning of violence spilling over into Israel itself.

Unsurprisingly, Israel makes no public statements regarding the military or intelligence activity it performs inside Syria. That said, it is reasonable to assume that the collection of ELINT is essential to Israel, not only to gather ‘pattern of life’ activity regarding communications traffic so as to spot unusual events as and when they occur, but also possibly to eavesdrop and locate hostile forces (both supporting and opposing Mr. Assad’s regime) and to gather ELINT information lest the Israeli Air Force choose to perform overt or covert air strikes against targets in Syria in the future. Such a situation has precedence given the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) Operation ORCHARD on 6 September 2007 which targeted and destroyed a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor located in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate in the east of the country.

The G-550 has been utilised by the Israeli Air Force for both AEW and SIGINT missions, with the SIGINT version of the jet seen here behind the AEW variant in the foreground © Gulfstream

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016 33

AIR POWER

The French Air Force employs its C-160G2 Gabriel aircraft for SIGINT missions.

These aircraft may have been active supporting France’s air campaign in Iraq © Swedish Air Force

The IAF is already thought to be flying Beechcraft Super King Air-200 turboprop transports close to the Syrian border tasked with the collection of imagery intelligence. Nevertheless, the IAF also has a trio of Gulfstream G-550 Shavit business jets which are tasked with the SIGINT mission. Details regarding the precise equipment fit of these three aircraft are sparse. That said it has been reported that they have been furnished with an Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta Systems division mission fit which is thought to include an ELINT and COMINT system. One tantalising clue is revealed

by IAI’s official literature discussing the EL/I-3001 AISIS (Airborne Integrated Signals Intelligence System) that depicts a G-550 with a strong resemblance to the G-550 Shavit aircraft operated by the IAF on its cover, 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 on this product. Ironically, Gulftsteam’s exhibition stand for its Special Missions aircraft at this year’s Dubai Air Show held in late-October/early-November in the United Arab Emirates had a large image of an aircraft bearing a very strong resemblance, not only to the G-550 Shavit but also to the G-550 Eitam Airborne Early

Warning aircraft operated by the IAF, but bereft of the IAF’s name, presumably so as not to offend local sensitivities.

The EL/I-3001 is designed to classify and locate radar and communications signals and build a real-time E-ORBAT to this end. Such information can be analysed onboard the aircraft, and shared with analysts on the ground via the use of lineof-sight V/UHF datalinks and satellite communications. In recent years, Israel has performed exports of airborne ELINT/ SIGINT equipment, notably to Colombia which purchased one example of IAI’s EL/I-3120 system. Although the EL/I-3120 is a multi-mission reconnaissance payload which can be fitted to a twin turboprop aircraft such as a Super King Air-200 (see above), IAI Elta’s own literature states that the EL/I-3120 contains a payload to perform SIGINT collection. Open sources state that this sensor maybe capable of collecting SIGINT in the three megahertz to three gigahertz frequency spread which would therefore cover all HF and V/UHF communications. In Colombian service, the EL/I-3120 package is in service onboard three (Colombia originally acquired four of the aircraft, although one was lost in a flying accident) of the Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (Colombian Air Force) Beechcraft King Air-350 turboprop transports.

In addition to the Colombian aircraft,

34 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

the EL/I-3120 is believed to be in service onboard at least two King Air-350 aircraft belonging to the Sri Lankan Air Force.

The choice of Sri Lanka and Colombia is interesting in this regard. The Sri Lankan government was embroiled in a civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam insurgent group between July 1983 and May 2009; meanwhile the government of Colombia has also been fighting the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia/Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia) and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Army) since 1964. Almost certainly, the EL/I-3120 will have proved useful for the detection, geolocation and analysis of the tactical radio communications performed by these insurgent organisations as these conflicts raged.

Beyond the EL/I-3120, IAI also markets the EL/I-3150 Multi-Mission Airborne Reconnaissance and Surveillance System.

The company’s official brochure for the product displays a business jet platform.

This brochure states that the EL/I-3120 is capable of gathering COMINT in the 20MHz to 1.5GHz high HF, VHF and lowto-medium UHF ranges. Similarly, the subsystem can gather ELINT in the 0.518GHz range, encompassing a wide array of ground-based air surveillance radars.

Mystery surrounds the potential recipi-

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ents of the EL/I-3120. Open source reports state that two systems were delivered by IAI in 2011 to equip the same number of Bombardier Global-5000 business jets. However, the recipients of these two aircraft have not been revealed and, for now, remain unknown.

Added to the IAF’s fleet of G-550 Shavit aircraft, the IAF may have a fleet of between one and three (sources differ) Boeing 707-131/328 turbofan transports configured for SIGINT. These aircraft are thought to have a similar role to the RC135V/W aircraft discussed above, although their current operational status remains unknown and the aircraft may have even left service given their age. In fact, historically, large airframes such as the Boeing 707 family and the erstwhile RAF Hawker Siddeley/BAE Systems Nimrod R1, retired in June 2011 and replaced by the RAF’s RC-135W, were necessary to perform the SIGINT mission given the large number of antennae on the aircraft, not to mention the computer equipment required to process the ELINT and COMINT collected and the operators necessary to analyse this information. However, the ongoing miniaturisation of electronics has seen the

SIGINT mission migrate to increasingly smaller platforms, the adoption of business jets and turboprop transports being clear evidence of this trend.

Small Wonders Beechcraft’s King Air family ably demonstrates the miniaturisation of SIGINT. The United States has blazed a trail in the adoption of this family of aircraft for signals intelligence collection, notably through its use of the King Air-200. This airframe forms the basis for the US Army’s RC-12N/P/Q Guardrail which is currently undergoing the RC-12X upgrade. These aircraft collect ground forces ELINT and COMINT for Corps-level exploitation.

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-12N/P/Q is intended for use at the operational level.

These three marques of aircraft retain subtle differences. For example, the RC-12P takes the RC-12N airframe but equipped it with fibre-optic cables and improved datalinks. The RC-12Q meanwhile took the RC12P and added a satellite communications

36 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

Smaller platforms such as the King Air family of turboprop transports are proving to be increasingly popular as SIGINT platforms to operators around the world © US Army

datalink. The RC-12N/P/Q aircraft are now undergoing Northrop Grumman’s RC-12X modernisation which extends the life of 14 of these aircraft up to 2025, improving the airframe’s structure, adding a glass cockpit and equipping the aircraft with more powerful processors.

Of course enabling SIGINT packages to be accommodated on increasingly smaller airframes potentially ‘democratises’ the number of air forces which can afford airborne SIGINT capabilities.

The need to house SIGINT equipment on large turbofan or turboprop transports which in themselves had a high acquisition price, not to mention the cost of the mission equipment, tended to place such capabilities beyond the hands of all but the richest air forces. However, such equipment can now comfortably fit onboard a small aircraft the like of which an air force may already have in its possession. This may yet prove to be of particular benefit to countries involved in counter-insurgency operations where the detection and monitoring of insurgent communications is a pressing priority.

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Two’s Company The joint Franco-Italian programme to develop, build, deliver and support the FREMM (Frégate Européenne Multi-Missions/Fregate Europee Multi-Missione) platform, remains the most important European joint initiative to date in the sea power domain.

Luca Peruzzi

38 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

Programme FOCUS

With the Italian government decision in April 2015 to proceed with the procurement of the last batch of two ships, the Italian Navy will receive ten FREMMs © Italian Navy

The French FREMM programme has already scored two important export deals, with the sale of ships to the navies of Egypt and Morocco © DCNS

T

he FREMM requirement involving Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, originated from an agreement Spain and the United Kingdom. OCCAR signed by the French and will continue to manage the development, Italian navies in October 2002. production and in-service support of the The programme was launched FREMM ships beyond 2020, including the with the first contract award in November Italian MoD’s decision in April 2015 to or2005 by the French and Italian Ministries der a final two ships and France’s commitof Defence to Armaris; a joint venture ment to order two air defence-configured involving France’s DCNS and Thales, FREMMs which can deploy the MBDA and Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN); the Aster-15 Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM), as joint venture between Italy’s Fincantieri can the Italian ships. and Finmeccanica with both consortia “The principles and rules reflected to develop and build the first of multiple in the OCCAR Management Procedures batches of frigates for each nation.

(OMPs) are a major advantage which OCThe modus operandi of the FREMM CAR, as a multi-programme armament programme uses a different platform organisation, can offer to the programme configuration for the Marine Nationale participating states. Taking into account (French Navy) and the Marina Militare current best practice, the OMPs allow a (Italian Navy) but with common Antiflexible approach to the specific requireSubmarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities in ments of each programme,” Rear Admiral the form of the ship’s Thales UMS-4110CL Leonardo Bianchi, OCCAR’s FREMM hull-mounted sonar and UMS-4249 CAPprogramme manager, explained to Armada.

TAS-4 towed sonar, and other common “The FREMM Programme Division (PD), subsystems such as the SIGEN (a Thales/ supported by the Central Office within Elettronica joint venture) MM/SMQ-765 the OCCAR framework is a lean, flexible Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, plus the team with integrated adequate expertise OTO Melara 76/62mm Super Rapid gun in programme management, commercial, and accompanying Selex NA-25X Fire financial, technical and support aspects Control System (FCS). The overall FREMM to ensure early decisions, an easy way to initiative has been managed by the OCCAR prepare and put in place contract amend(Organisation Conjointe de Coopération ments, effective responsiveness toward en Matière d’Armement/Joint Armaments variants to contract, effective management Cooperation Organisation) which superin the system’s qualification and accepvises collaborative defence programmes tance process, and maintaining the quality

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016 39

Programme FOCUS

The second FREMM export deal secured by France saw the delivery of the Tahya Misr to the Egyptian Navy on 23 June © DCNS

standard imposed by the contract for the involved industries,” he highlighted.

French Efforts Due to budget constraints, the scope of the French FREMM shipbuilding programme was reduced initially from 17 to eleven ships in 2008, and more recently in May to eight ships, including six configured for ASW with an accompanying land attack capability employing the MBDA SCALPNaval (Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée-Naval/Naval Long-Range Autonomous Cruise Missile). These six ships replace the French Navy’s ‘Tourville’ and ‘Georges Leygues’ class frigates. As part of the May decision to order eight FREMM ships, two will be configured for air defence to replace the French Navy’s ‘Cassard’ class frigates. These ships, designated in French Navy service as possessing the FREDA (Frégate de Défense Aérienne/ Air Defence Frigate) configuration will deploy MBDA’s Aster-30 SAM (which has a range of 65 nautical miles/nm or 120 kilometres/km, compared to the circa 16nm/30km range of the Aster-15 SAM), plus a modified Thales Herkales naval surveillance radar to enable the ships to use the Aster-30.

The overall FREMM programme cost for eleven ships for the French Navy, according to Projet de Loi de Finances (Financial Projects Law) 2015 documentation was indicated just over $10.1 billion in 2014 prices, with a single ship price, excluding the non-recurring cost of development, quoted as $718.8 million. The French MoD

announced in May 2015 that the complete delivery of the first six FREMMs configured for ASW would occur by 2019, to be followed by the two FREDA-configured ships to be delivered by 2022 leading to a total fleet size of eight vessels.

Displacing 6000 tonnes the French Navy’s ASW FREMM variant is equipped DCNS’ SETIS Combat Management System (CMS) and a sensor suite comprising the Herakles radar (see above), Thales’ Artemis Infrared Search and Track (IRST) optronics system (Thales also supply the ships’ communications) and Sagem’s Najir-MM optronic FCS, plus the MM/ SMQ-765 EW suite discussed above in addition to a Sagem NGDS decoy launcher.

Other subsystems, beyond the equipment discussed above, include two DCNS Sylver A43 eight-cell vertical launcher modules to accommodate the Aster-15 SAM and two eight-cell Sylver A70 modules for the SCALP-Naval and MBDA MM40 Block-3 Exocet surface-to-surface missiles, in addition to two tandem launchers for the ships’ Eurotorp MU90 lightweight torpedoes and three Narwhal-20B 30mm remote weapons systems supplemented by 12.7 mm machine guns. A hangar and flight deck can host an NH Industries’ NFH-90 Caiman naval support helicopter while two Zodiac Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) are carried to support maritime security and naval special operations.

Signature management has been a major driver in the overall FREMM design, together with a high level of automation to reduce crew sizes. These ships have a lower

40 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

radar cross section and acoustic signature than the French Navy’s DCNS ‘La Fayette’ class frigates, which began to enter service from 1996. Propulsion is meanwhile provided by a Combined Diesel Electric Or Gas (CODLOG) machinery package comprising one General Electric/Avio LM2500+G4 gas turbine and two Jeaumont Electric motors.

Regarding crew size, the highly-automated DCNS Integrated Platform Management System (IMPS) and SETIS CMS allow “French ASW FREMM ships to be managed by a crew of 108 personnel. This means a 40 percent reduction compared to older-generation (French Navy) frigates; a great success for this programme, thanks to long studies involving end users and designers from both countries,” explained Thierry Dick, OCCAR’s FREMM deputy programme manager who is in charge of the French FREMM programme for the organisation.

Since the acceptance of the first French FREMM vessel, the Aquitaine (the French also refer to their FREMM ships as comprising the ‘Aquitaine’ class), the platform and its combat systems have been subjected to a comprehensive trials programme overseen by the Direction Générale de l’Armement (General Armament Directorate) which supervises French defence procurement. Recently, on 19 May 2015, the Aquitaine successfully completed her first live firing of the SCALP-Naval on the firing range at the DGA missile test centre near Levant Island off the southern French coast,” said Mr. Dick. This was a major achievement for the service and

Programme FOCUS

Both the Italian Navy’s GP and ASW FREMMs have a wide flight deck and two hangars for maritime support helicopters © Italian Navy

for the industry as this was the first time that a European surface ship has fired a European cruise missile. On 12 May, the Aquitaine also successfully completed the first MBDA MM40 Block-3 live firing on the same range. “As a result, the ships’ ‘Full ASW Combat System capability’ was officially certified and accepted in June 2015

by OCCAR,” he added.

The second French FREMM ship, the Provence was delivered to the French Navy on 12 June 2015. Meanwhile the delivery of the third example, the Languedoc, “is planned for mid-2016,” Mr. Dick notes, with the fourth ship, the Auvergne being launched on 2 September with delivery foreseen in mid-2017, and the fifth FREMM ship, the Bretagne, currently under construction at DCNS’ Lorient shipyard on France’s north-western coast.

The restructured FREMM shipbuilding programme announced by the French MoD in May 2015 “will be implemented formally through a new contract amendment, which should be placed before the end of 2015. Due to a reduction in the quantity of FREMM frigates ordered (eight as opposed to eleven), the cost of the programme to the French government will decrease,” Mr. Dick added.

The French FREMM programme has already registered export success, and in January 2014, the Royal Moroccan Navy took delivery of its FREMM multi-mission frigate, the Mohammed VI, while in Febru-

ary 2015, DCNS signed a contract with the Egyptian MoD to supply a single FREMM ship, the Tahya Misr (the ex-Normandie) frigate, which was handed over to the Egyptian Navy on 23 June.

Italy’s Vessels Italy is of course the other major partner in the FREMM initiative. The country’s navy has ordered ten frigates (collectively known as the ‘Carlo Bergamini’ class) which include six delivered in a General Purpose (GP) configuration and four optimised for ASW. Italy’s FREMM GP and ASW configurations share a common platform which differs from the French FREMM design

(see above) with a higher 6700 tonne fullload displacement due to a longer hull which is 145 metres/m (475.7 feet/ft) in length compared to the 142m (466ft) of the French ships, and a larger complement of 201. Other differences between the French and Italian ships include the latter’s stern launch and recovery station for its RHIBs. Similarly, Selex provide the Italian ships’ CMS. “In the early stage of the programme, a lot of attention and effort was devoted to human factor studies to reduce lifecycle costs. A high level of automation, redundancy and a long overall systems mean-time-between failure rate therefore characterises these ships,” highlighted RADM Bianchi.

Both the Italian GP and ASW variants share the SAAM-ESD (Extended Self-Defence) SAM suite based on Selex’ KRONOS naval surveillance radar and two eight-cell Sylver A50 vertical launcher modules for the ships’ Aster-15 SAMs. Other sensors include Selex’ SASS IRST, the same company’s RASS surface search and tracking radar and two NA-25X FCS. Meanwhile the armament suite for the FREMM GP variant includes an OTO Melara’s 127/64 LW main gun (alongside the ship’s OTO Melara 76/62 weapon) and MBDA Otomat Mk.II Block-4 anti-ship/land-attack surface-to-surface missiles. “After successful tests in South Africa, the OTO Melara Vulcano long-range guided munition for the 127/604 LW gun will be tested onboard the ships at the beginning of 2016 (and all) Vulcano functionalities onboard the GP ships will be completed

Since their entry into service the first four FREMM frigates in service with the Italian Navy have been deployed operationally and to support exercises © Italian Navy

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Programme FOCUS

by the end of next year,” explained RADM Bianchi. Italy’s ASW FREMM version differs from the GP as, in addition to their sonar equipment as discussed above, they are equipped with a Whitehead Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) mine-avoidance sonar and underwater telephone.

Commissioned over a two-year period between 2013 and 2015, the first four ships in the class, namely the Carlo Bergamini, Virginio Fasan, Carlo Margottini and Carabiniere have all been delivered in the GP configuration discussed above, with the latter three ships, the Alpino, Luigi Rizzo and Federico Martinengo commissioned from December 2015; the latter two of which, due to commission in February 2017 and in the first quarter of 2018, retain the ASW configuration.

Since the commission of the first four Italian FREMM ships, these frigates have carried out several operations. As part of 30th Italian Naval Group, the Carlo Bergamini sailed to the Arabian Gulf and circumnavigated the African continent in five months between 2013 and 2014, participating in multinational operational activities, while demonstrating her capability to operate in harsh climates. The Carlo Bergamini, Virginio Fasan and Carlo Margottini have all been deployed to combat people trafficking from North Africa towards

The Carlo Margottini is the second FREMM ASW variant frigate to enter service with the Italian Navy © Italian Navy

Europe through the Mediterranean Sea. The Carlo Bergamini and Virginio Fasan are currently supporting Italy’s Operation MARE SICURO (‘Safe Seas’) maritime security operation in the Mediterranean.

In late October 2015, the Carabiniere joined the multinational European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) as the flagship to support Operation ATLANTA, the EU’s anti-piracy initiative in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Please see Dr. Alix Valenti’s ‘Jack Sparrow’s Nemesis’ article in this issue for more information on

The second ASWconfigured FREMM for the French Navy, the Provence, was delivered in June 2015, with future French frigates due to be configured for air defence © DCNS

The FREMM initiative is an important step forward for European naval shipbuilding 42 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

this initiative. “The Carabiniere frigate was delivered in a high state of readiness, where most of lessons learned regarding previous technical issues arising from the production and trials stage for the ship, were taken into account by the contractor.

This fourth ship represents a programme capstone and benchmark for future FREMM frigates,” noted RADM Bianchi.

The sixth example, and the first GP variant since the first four Italian FREMM vessels, the Luigi Rizzo is expected to be launched by mid-December 2015, with delivery scheduled for February 2017. According to plans, the last four frigates will also be built to the GP specification. “The seventh frigate, which will receive the name Federico Martinengo, and the yet-to-be named eighth platform, will follow by April 2018 and April 2019, respectively. The ninth and tenth frigates, meanwhile, are expected to be delivered by February 2020 and February 2021,” stated RADM Bianchi.

Like the Franco-Italian DCNS/Fincantieri ‘Horizon’ class air defence frigate programme, which saw the commission of two ships apiece for the French and Italian navies between December 2008 and April 2009, the FREMM initiative represents an important step forward in terms of bilateral European naval shipbuilding. Future large surface combatant programmes across the continent may yet adopt a similar approach to ease associated development burdens and procurement costs.

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016 43

Operational Focus

First aid to a Rattlesnake?

Established to assist the resolution of Africa’s perhaps most intractable conflict, the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) is a testing ground for peacekeeping strategies. After sixteen years the results are in, and they are mixed.

Dr. Alix Valenti Training forms a key component of the MONUSCO mission with troops practising how to deal with riots and public order situations Š MONUSCO

44 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

Operational Focus

An armoured MONUSCO convoy prepares to move out.

Tracked armour has proven particularly important to support manoeuvre over unforgiving terrain © MONUSCO

“

I am leaving with three feelings,” said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Martin Kobler. “The first feeling is satisfaction, the second is a feeling of real pride but the third feeling is one of frustration.” Set in what is arguably one of the most complex conflicts in Africa, the United Nations (UN) mission in the DRC has undergone numerous changes of mandate (and name) to adapt to a context where blurred distinctions between intra- and inter-state conflicts have led to sixteen years of satisfaction, pride and frustration.

In fact, as Ben Shepherd, consulting fellow at the Royal Institute of International

Affairs, a London-based think tank, observes, “the stakes are high for the mission in the DRC, it is under a lot of pressure to show that peacekeeping can succeed in any context”. As a result, the UN mission in the DRC has served as a testing-ground for a number of military innovations, with mixed results.

The Conundrum The DRC, located at the centre of Africa, is also one of the continent’s largest countries, boasting a vast amount of human (it is home to nearly 80 million people) and natural resources. Yet, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook it is also one of the countries with the lowest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in the world whilst having one of the highest GDP real growth rates. These stunning contradictions, combined with a history that weaves in the complex intricacies of not one but six African countries’ post-colonial challenges, have created

a fertile ground for the most intractable conflict on the continent.

In 1994, a new government was established in the Rwandan capital Kigali following the end of the genocidal civil war in Rwanda between April and July 1994, during which up to one million ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutus were massacred by members of the majority Hutu population.

The end of the genocide and the formation of a government by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, which had taken control of the entire country by 18 July 1994, brought the genocide to an end. Fearful of reprisals in post-genocide Rwanda, approximately 1.2 million Rwandese Hutus fled to the northeastern Kivu regions of the DRC, home at the time, amongst others, to many ethnic Tutsis. In the mid-1990s, Laurent Desire Kabila, who had been politically aligned with the DRC’s first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, returned to Zaire (as the DRC was then called) to lead a movement against the country’s dictator Mobutu Sese

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Operational Focus

The MONUSCO mission has blazed a trail in its use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, such as the Falco, to support its operations © MONUSCO

Seko. In 1996, Mr. Kabila joined forces with Tutsis from eastern Zaire and, aided by Rwanda and Uganda, succeeded in capturing the DRC capital Kinshasa in 1997, thus becoming its president after Mr. Sese Seko fled into exile in Morocco on 15 May 1997.

These events set the scene for the conflict that eventually led to the establishment of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC. In 1998, a rebellion erupted against Mr. Kabila’s government, backed by Rwanda and Uganda, in the Kivu regions (see above).

To support President Kabila in his fight against the rebels’ ever-increasing control over the country’s eastern regions, neighbouring countries Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe deployed troops. While their efforts remained relatively unsuccessful, rifts emerged in 1998 within the rebel movement between the Congolese Liberation Movement (CLM) rebels, supported

by Uganda, and the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) rebels, backed by Rwanda.

This conflict opened up room for the UN Security Council to call a ceasefire in the rebellion that had by then slowly morphed into a conflict involving six countries, and to request the withdrawal of foreign forces.

The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, which involved Angola, the DRC, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe, was signed in July

1999, and in November 1999 the UN Security Council established the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) to ensure that all its provisions were respected. MONUC’s mandate has since then been subjected to a number of changes. Indeed, as the DRC prepared for its first free and fair elections after 46 years of independence from Belgium, MONUC’s mandate was extended three times (in 2004 and 2008) to provide support to the Government of National Unity and Transition, all the while maintaining as its core focus, chiefly the protection of civilians.

Eleven years after the implementation of MONUC, however, the tensions in the Kivu regions kept increasing as Congolese and foreign armed groups took advantage of power and security vacuums. The continued unrest “speaks eloquently to the lack of political will to bring back the state across the whole country,” says a DRC-based analyst who prefers to remain anonymous. In response to these challenges, in 2010 the Security Council established MONUSCO. The new mandate therefore focused UN efforts on the stabilisation of the volatile regions of the country, in cooperation with the Armed Force of the DRC (FARDC), allowing the mission to “use all

46 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

necessary means to carry out its mandate.”

In April 2012, a major crisis hit the country as a new rebellion unfolded in the north Kivu region, leading to the taking of Goma (the main city of the resource-reach East) by the M23 rebel movement (see below) under the eyes of UN military troops limited in their actions by their mandate. These events led to representatives of eleven countries in the region signing, in February 2013, the “Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region,” which laid the basis for a renewal of the MONUSCO mandate and the establishment of the Intervention Brigade (IB). Acting within a mandate created “on an exceptional basis, without creating a precedent or any prejudice to the agreed principles of peacekeeping,” the IB is allowed to “carry out targeted offensive operations …either unilaterally or jointly with the FARDC …to prevent the expansion of all armed groups, to neutralise these groups, and to disarm them.”

Coordination The MONUSCO mission, on paper at least, has an impressive order of battle. According to the UN, a total of 19784 uniformed personnel support the mission, as of June 2015. This includes 18232 military person-

armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016 47

Operational Focus

The deployment of the Falco UAV represents a watershed in UN peacekeeping operations nel and 462 military observers, plus 1090 police. These military personnel are drawn from a total of 49 countries. Of particular importance to the deployment are the armoured vehicles which these respective nations have contributed.

A total force of 407 combat vehicles has been supplied by 14 nations. Key to supporting the mission are its deployed Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Armoured/Infantry Fighting Vehicles (A/ IFV). Such platforms bring important tactical and psychological benefits. Firstly, given that APCs and A/IFVs can carry personnel and, in the case of the latter, are often equipped with a medium-calibre weapon so they can provide a powerful response with the means to deploy troops rapidly to trouble spots, and then to support those troops once they are in contact. At the same time, deploying APCs and A/IFVs is arguably less provocative than deploying Main Battle Tanks (MBTs).

For more information on APC and A/IFV developments around the world, please see Stephen W. Miller's 'Light Entertainment' article in this issue. As peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations around the world have learned, MBTs can often be detrimental to the all-important ‘hearts and minds’ battle where a deployed international force may be trying to win the support of the local population, with the corresponding risk that such efforts can be jeopardised by the use of overtly aggressive platforms such as MBTs. Unsurprisingly, an array of APCs and A/IFVs have been deployed in support of MONUSCO. These include the BAE Systems/United Defence M-113 tracked APC family vehicles. These are used by the armies of Benin, Egypt and Pakistan to support their operations. Despite the vehicle design being over half a century old, having been introduced into US Army service in April 1962, it continues to be an

ideal platform for supporting low intensity and peacekeeping operations. Similarly General Dynamics Land Systems’ (GDLS/ formerly MOWAG) Piranha family of wheeled APCs/AFVs are in significant use supporting MONUSCO. For example, the Belgian Land Component (the ground force element of the Belgian armed forces) employs the Piranha-IIIGENIE/FUS variants of the vehicle to provide mobility and troop transport.

Belgium’s deployment of these vehicles is reinforced with the deployment of GDLS Piranha-I six-wheel drive AFVs which were acquired from the Canadian Army in 2008. These vehicles were rebuilt by Chilean contractor FIMAE sans their Cadillac-Cage one metre (three feet) turret which mounts a 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine gun. Other combat vehicles deployed to support the force include the BAE Systems Mamba and Casspir mineresistant, ambush-protected vehicles in extensive use with the South African Army (SAA). These vehicles, which were designed specifically to support the SAA have shown their worth in supporting peacekeeping operations throughout Africa. Finally, Russian/Soviet Uniondesigned APCs have been deployed to

Air support forms a key component of the MONUSCO mission, with the Ukrainian Air Force supplying Mil Mi-24 helicopters to provide close air support © MONUSCO

48 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

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Operational Focus

assist the mission in the form of the Arzamas Machinery Plant BTR-80 APCs which have been in extensive use with the Bangladesh Army.

Alongside the armoured vehicles discussed above, in 2013 so as to improve intelligence gathering, the UN authorised the use of the first ever Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in a peacekeeping operation in the form of the Selex Falco UAV. At a cost of $13 million per year the UN only flies them individually, for limited periods of five hours, to gather information on hardto-reach areas. However, these particular aircraft have experienced challenges with the humid environment of the DRC causing a lack of availability during African rainy seasons, according to UN sources.

“Military hardware is only as good as the user,” says the Congo-based analyst, “and even UAVs need human intelligence to interpret information and make decisions,” including when to fly them. That said, the deployment of the Falco represents a watershed in UN peacekeeping operations and this aircraft, along with other UAVs, could be increasingly deployed to support such missions in the future.

Compared to operating inhabited fixedand rotary-wing reconnaissance aircraft, platforms such as the Falco offer a more cost-effective alternative. They may also help to contribute to building up a detailed ‘pattern of life’ intelligence picture for an area where a peacekeeping mission has been deployed.

Having the correct type of materiel is but one challenge. Complications over sovereignty, confusion between international

The MONUSCO peacekeeping mission has worked closely with local militaries and militia organisations as it has worked to bring peace and stability to the DRC © MONUSCO

and national accountability, and the interference of domestic politics, means that UN peacekeeping in these contexts is often limited to the role of fire-fighting in countries showing little political will to receive such support, and to bring their conflicts to an end. As a UN official once reportedly observed, “Helping the (DRC) is like giving first aid to a wounded rattlesnake.”

Failing in a compliant way?

There exists a wealth of literature outlining the many failures of the UN during its sixteen years in the DRC. On the ground, a large share of the population also fails to understand how conflict can still be affecting their daily lives, despite the DRC having been the subject of one the most expensive peacekeeping operations in UN history. But the sources interviewed for this article all agree that, for all the flaws outlined above, MONUSCO has had non-negligible suc-

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fleets of multi-role combat aircraft, they are pouring investment into new air-to-air missiles.

■ TURING

Small arms and light weapons are essential for supporting dismounted troops, we profile some of the latest developments in these domains.

Our new column providing unique insight and analysis regarding the cyber warfare and defence communications domains.

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COUNTERMEASURES

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50 armadainternational.com - december 2015/january 2016

cesses such as ousting the M23 group which operated in the eastern DRC and displaced large numbers of civilians in 2012 when it led a rebellion against the DRC’s government, allegedly with Ugandan and Rwandan governmental support. MONUSCO in general has succeeded in stabilising the country, creating a modest opening for dialogue as well as room for the majority of people to resume their lives.

“The main issue with the UN,” says Mr. Shepherd, “is that it needs to manage expectations,” a sentiment echoed by all sources interviewed for this article. Established and renewed on the basis of a series of ambitious peace-building goals MONUSCO’s military successes were doomed from the start to be limited by UN political wrangling. In the eyes of the population of the DRC, MONUSCO is failing to bring peace, albeit in a way compliant with its articulated goals.

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Armada’s Unmanned Systems Supplement examines the latest developments in this domain.

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