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Contents NOVEMBER 2011 VOLUME 19 / ISSUE 7

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Defence in Thailand Gordon Arthur Apart from reconciling political tensions Thailand must contend with two major security challenges; violence in southern Thailand and an acrimonious border conflict with Cambodia

Front Cover Photo: The Afghan National Army Air Force (ANAAF) counts the Mi-17 and numerous variants as its most numerous aircraft type with over thirty currently in service.

Obtained from a number of sources, these helicopters will remain the ANAAF’s frontline helicopter type for some years to come, supported by Mi-24/35 'Hind' assault helicopters and a number of Western-sourced, fixed wing tactical airlift types © DoD

Special Operations: Anti-Piracy to Counterterrorism

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Gordon Arthur Special operations forces may shun the limelight, but the fact is they are being employed in greater numbers and in more diverse tasks than ever before

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16 Vehicle Self Protection: Asia Pacific Options Adam Baddeley Platform self protection works on an axiomatic cascade: Don’t Be Detected, Don’t Be Hit, Don’t Be Penetrated and Don’t Be Killed, providing a ready categorisation of the new capabilities technology has offered over the years

Attacking Fast: The Role for Small Vessels

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28 Small Arms and Sights Adam Baddeley Small arms define the soldier.

In addition to new buys of such weapons, a number of militaries have sought to upgrade their existing weapons to meet new demands, while also enhancing them with new sighting systems

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Doug Richardson The Asia-Pacific Region has a number of states with obsolescing capabilities. This is being rectified with new weapon systems including indigenous solutions

CBRN Reconnaissance in the Era of Defence Cuts

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Andy Oppenheimer The CBRN threat to troops on the ground is deemed far less likely than insurgents planting IEDs. But CBRN defence and surveillance should remain an important aspect of command-level decision

Tom Withington Fast attack craft can offer a much lower-cost offensive platform compared to a larger surface combatant such as a corvette, frigate or destroyer and because of this they offer the user impressive ‘bang for their buck’

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Air-to-Air Engagement: Regional Capabilities and Plans

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For its part, Taiwan’s Deputy Defense Minister Andrew Yang welcomed the package but still said the country wants new F-16 C/D jets to replace its aging F-5 and Mirage 2000 aircraft and claims new aircraft are still under consideration in Washington and that Taiwan continues to want to join the JSF programme.

Germany/Austria/Switzerland/Italy/UK Sam Baird, Whitehill Media Tel: (44-1883) 715 697 Mobile: (44-7770) 237 646 E-Mail: sam@whitehillmedia.com

USA (East/South East)/Canada Margie Brown, Margie Brown & Associates.

Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581 Email :margiespub@rcn.com

he latest debacle in the saga of new F-16s to Taiwan played out in September with yet another missed opportunity for the US to supply new aircraft to Taipei. The US is wrong in its policy and others both within and without the region for not providing the level of support both public and private that would reverse US policy on this matter.

Washington did however make some strategic recompense with a $5.3 billion upgrade and new weapons for 145 existing F-16 A/Bs which just about meets the US legal obligation under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide the island with the ability to defend itself, without of course unduly provoking China based on their reaction to earlier sales.

France/Spain Stephane de Remusat, REM International Tel: (33) 5 3427 0130

South Korea Young Seoh Chinn, Jes Media Inc. Tel: (82-2) 481 3411/13 E-Mail: jesmedia@unitel.co.kr

Editorial

The package is unsatisfactory in several ways. Proponents of the deal say the upgrade will deliver an equivalent capability but the upgrade will take place over twelve years, while new jets would arrive considerably faster. The Administration may be correct that recent sales by it to Taiwan either exceed or equal previous sales in previous administrations but it seems difficult to perceive how 66 F-16s disproportionately outweigh the potential and literal impact of the 1,200 shortrange ballistic missiles deployed opposite Taiwan or its fleets of advanced Sukhoi jets that the US Department of Defense itself claims China possesses. Furthermore, in the same month that the new planes for Taiwan were once again declined, Iraq made its first payment for a batch of 18, new F-16C Block 52 fighters.

China seems intent in pursuing a doctrine of, if not necessarily policy of aggressive behaviour, threatening rather than placating or reassuring neighbours with its growing power.

The United States shouldn’t, in an ideal world be a strategic ‘Atlas’; the region’s security hoisted on its back. But it is and will continue in that role until it itself decides to opt out of that task or, in time China on takes that role on or more likely pushes it from its shoulders.

Of course, the weight of security would be easier to bear and for much longer, if that load was shared with others both within the region and without such as Europe, but those others appear loath to do so. Many states in the region are happy for the US to remain almost the sole lightning rod for Chinese anger while ignoring China’s aggressive assertion of territorial claims on their own, typically maritime possessions.

Appeasement is an overused and emotive word. It is however increasingly looking apt in this case.

Adam Baddeley, Editor Editor: Adam Baddeley E-mail: adam@baddeley.net

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SPECIAL OPERATIONS

Special Operations:

Anti-Piracy to Counterterrorism Special operations forces (SOF) possess an air of mystique.

These highly trained warriors may shun the limelight, but the fact is they are being employed in greater numbers and in more diverse tasks than ever before. From Afghanistan’s rugged mountains to pirateinfested waters off the Somali coast, SOF personnel routinely perform dangerous missions.

by Gordon Arthur

he shadowy world of special operations catapulted into world headlines on 2 May after American helicopters penetrated Pakistan airspace and descended upon an Abbottabad compound. An elite team from the secretive US Navy SEAL Team Six stormed the home harbouring Osama bin Laden, and in the ensuing battle the al-Qaeda mastermind was killed.

Perhaps the first priority is to define special forces. Invariably they are wellequipped, elite military units capable of conducting specialised missions beyond the capability of conventional units. Operating in small teams (typically eight- or twelve-man detachments), they are usually proficient in

T A “Green Beret” from Fort Lewis, Washington, armed with a typical 5.56mm M4A1 weapon fitted with SOPMOD © Gordon Arthur

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SPECI AL OPERATIONS

parachuting, diving, boating, mountaineering, combat medicine, demolition, communications and close-quarters battle. Wherever possible, SOF will use their brains rather than their muscles, but their missions may include counterterrorism, special reconnaissance, direct action, foreign internal defence, psychological operations, civil affairs or unconventional warfare.

Afghanistan and beyond

The fact that the US president gave SEAL Team Six permission to conduct this raid in Pakistani territory revealed Obama’s confidence in his SOF troops. Combat in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade has seen a heavy concentration of SOF missions, especially by the USA and UK. However, an event on 6 August underscored the danger of such operations. Taliban insurgents shot down a CH-47 Chinook in the mountainous Wardak Province with a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), killing 38 troops. The fatalities included an entire troop from Gold Squadron, SEAL Team Six, constituting a devastating blow to

the tight-knit SOF community.

This tragedy also represented a tremendous loss in terms of the countless hours and dollars invested in these troops over the years. Creating effective SOF personnel takes time and money. A sign at the entrance to the Philippine Army Special Forces School says, “Special forces are not mass produced.”

Generally, SOF candidates must undergo a gruelling selection process to weed out any with Rambo complexes. Indeed, the US Army “Green Berets” deferentially call themselves the “Quiet Professionals”. The New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) selection process, of which only 10 percent of candidates pass, requires hiking 200km whilst carrying a 45kg pack in 60 hours.

Combat in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade has seen a heavy concentration of SOF missions l

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This Australian Army JTAC team uses an assortment of equipment such as a Thales SOPHIE thermal imager to help guide air assets © Gordon Arthur

The NZ Defence Force surprised many by recently announcing civilians could directly apply to join the SAS. Some critics say this could degrade the unit’s capability, and it certainly questions the value of the process needed to mould special operators. NZ maintains a 38-man SAS unit in Afghanistan, its main mission being to mentor the police Afghan Crisis Response Unit. It has regularly foiled Taliban attacks in Kabul, but in the latest incident on 19 August, an SAS member was killed during an attack on the British Council. Australia’s SOF commitment to ISAF is much larger in scale, with its 300-man Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) deployed in southern Afghanistan.

Counter-piracy

The explosion of piracy attacks, particularly in the Gulf of Aden, has caused great con-

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SPECIAL OPERATIONS

An eight-man patrol from the Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG) of the Philippine Navy conducts a mission Š Gordon Arthur

cern. Many nations are reliant on sea lines of communication - for example, 90 percent of Chinese trade moves by sea, while Japan imports 80 million barrels of Middle East crude oil each month. Any threat to these maritime arteries is treated seriously. Piracy impedes sea transport, and in 2010 it cost an estimated $16.5 billion in global trade.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) reported 2010 piracy attacks rose 20.4% year on year to 489. East Africa was the 160

worst-affected area, although there is a definite trend of attacks migrating further from Somalia out into the Indian Ocean.

Incidences of piracy in the Far East, especially in the South China Sea, were also high.

Worldwide last year, 4,185 sailors were attacked, of which 1,027 were taken hostage and 57 ships hijacked. At the time of writing, 17 ships and 378 crewmembers were being held off the Somali coast.

The US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a multilateral grouping seeking to bring security to Middle East and Indian Ocean waters. It comprises three combined task forces: CTF-150, established in the wake

PIRACY ATTACKS IN 2010

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IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS IN IERRITORIAL WATERS

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IN PORT AREA

80 60 40 20

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South China Sea

Indian Ocean

East Africa

West Africa

South South South Arabian America (A) America (P) America (C) Sea

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Persian Gulf

SOURCE: IMO

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of 9/11, is responsible for maritime security and counterterrorism; CTF-151, set up in January 2009 and backed by UN Security Council resolutions, has a counter-piracy mandate; and CTF-152 promotes Arabian Gulf naval cooperation. Although NATO has taken a lead in securing the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) through the Gulf of Aden, the 25-member CMF includes the Asia-Pacific countries of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. This piracy threat has created a rare display of international unity.

Common CMF missions are assist and approach visits (AAV); visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS); and interdiction patrols (IPAT). Some spectacular successes have been achieved by SOF. In April 2009, American SEAL snipers killed three pirates threatening the Maersk Alabama captain. In February 2010, Danish SOF freed 25 crewmen aboard Ariella. In January 2011, a Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) destroyer shadowed a hijacked chemical carrier for several days before SEALs in rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RIB), and supported by a Super Lynx helicopter, recaptured the ship and rescued the crew. In May, Russian SOF retook a Russian-flagged oil tanker. Despite these successes, pirates continually evolve their tactics, as typified by the hijack in August of a Hong Kong-registered chemical tanker at anchorage off an Omani port.

India has despatched warships to the Gulf

SPECI AL OPERATIONS

Well-trained members of the Republic of Singapore Navy’s NDU utilise a RIB, a common form of maritime transport © Gordon Arthur

of Aden since October 2008, and it is one of only three countries allowed to enter Somali territorial waters to pursue pirates. China has rotated two warships, a support ship and an SOF complement to the region since December 2008. Japan retains a constant presence of two destroyers with a Special Boarding Unit contingent. Thailand, too, has contributed vessels, including an embarked 20-man SEAL team.

Such counter-piracy endeavours stress the need for well-trained naval-oriented SOF that can operate in coastal, riverine and oceanic environments. Singapore, a state positioned strategically on the Malacca Strait, bears a heavy responsibility in keeping this busy commercial waterway open. The Naval Diving Unit (NDU) of the Republic of Singapore Navy is thus specifically trained for IPAT, VBSS, counterterrorism, salvage and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) missions.

Regional counterinsurgency

The most active Asia-Pacific hotspot for SOF missions is the Philippines. The government faces twin challenges of a New People’s Army (NPA) communist insurgency plus Muslim fundamentalist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). The Philippine Army’s Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has three branches: the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) (SFG(A)); the First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR); and the Light Reaction

Battalion (LRB). SOCOM contains approximately 5,000 soldiers, and at any one time 90% are operationally deployed around the country. They are some of the most experienced SOF troops in the world thanks to a continuous operational tempo.

In a quest to secure the south against cross-border criminals, pirates and terrorists, the Philippines is establishing Coast Watch South (CWS) with US and Australian assistance. This is a chain of 17 radar-equipped coastal stations backed by Philippine Navy patrol boats, helicopters and Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG). CWS is designed to help close the porous border of a nation featuring 7,107 islands and 10.6 percent of the world’s total coastline.

The Philippines is greatly assisted by the American 650-man Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P) in Mindanao. Its mission is to train and advise the Philippine military and police to combat the terrorist groups that permeate the south.

JSOTF-P is forbidden from participating in combat missions in the Philippines, but it contributes high-tech intelligence, surveil-

Counter-piracy endeavours stress the need for well-trained naval-oriented SOF that can operate in coastal, riverine and oceanic environments l

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lance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets like Raven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmarked surveillance aircraft.

Philippine SOF have had notable successes, including the elimination of ASG founder Janjalani in 1998, and the killing of his brother/successor in 2006. Despite fielding such large SOF units, the Philippines has not always equipped them with the latest technology. Some capability gaps were partially redressed after 2,351 AN/PVS-14 nightvision goggles (NVG) and Falcon II RF5800H HF man-pack radios were delivered.

Despite this, operational troops still encounter shortages. The author spoke to one operator who revealed only one or two people in each eight-man NAVSOG team had NVGs, and that terrorist groups often had better equipment than the military.

Staying with the Philippines, the hostagetaking of a busload of Hong Kong tourists in 2010 demonstrated the need for adequate training and equipment. A poorly trained Manila SWAT team mounted an inept rescue that resulted in the deaths of eight HK citizens. Unfortunately, the army’s LRB, which is trained for such urban hostage / counterterrorism situations, was available to intervene but it was not called upon.

India is another example of how counterterrorism operations can go wrong. On 26 November 2008, ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists launched a bloody attack in Mumbai that claimed 173 victims. It was only after a 59-hour gun battle that National Security Guard (NSG) commandos finally ended the assault. The Pakistani operation exploited GPS, Google Earth, mobile phones and Blackberries, while Indian security forces were woefully ill equipped in terms of communications, transport and weapons. These incidents highlight the fact that the conferment of the name “special forces”, if it is not accompanied by adequate training and resourcing, is meaningless.

SOF require a diverse range of equipment to operate successfully. Everyday items include radios, communication devices, weaponry (e.g. sniper rifles), NVGs, GPS, UAVs, boats, parachutes and laser target designators. The latter is vital for Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) missions where aircraft or helicopters are called in to deliver munitions. At the more extreme end of the price-tag continuum are specialised reconnaissance vehicles, helicopters, aircraft and even submarines.

Sri Lanka used SOF widely against the

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SPECIAL OPERATIONS

These Chinese troops armed with 5.8mm Type 95 rifles belong to a special forces counterterrorism team of the PLA © Gordon Arthur

Equipment and support

Tamil Tigers, and they played a pivotal role in the final victory. Using irregular tactics such as direct action, ambush, target acquisition, intelligence gathering and assassination far behind enemy lines, the army’s Special Forces Regiment (SFR) was credited with killing a monthly average of 60 enemies. The SFR at its height contained 110 officers and 1,200 other ranks. Thailand is another country currently conducting counterinsurgency operations in its southernmost provinces, and this includes the use of SOF units.

China is a relative newcomer to the SOF world, but it now has one of the largest contingents in Asia. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) formed its first SOF group in 1988. There could be 15,000 special operators in the PLA at present, and they focus on reconnaissance and short-duration strikes / raids against targets like airfields, bridges and command nodes. Apart from the potential for combat in Taiwan, India or Vietnam, one of their integral missions is counterterrorism. China is afraid of the threat posed by Uyghur and Tibetan separatist groups.

SOF are normally thought to be a male domain, but Taiwan is an exception to this rule. In the Republic of China (ROC) Army, female soldiers train and operate alongside male counterparts. Each branch of the ROC Armed Forces possesses SOF, and they are tasked with counterterrorism amongst other roles.

North Korea maintains large numbers of

SOF, some accounts reporting up to 200,000 troops. In a war against South Korea, this formidable force would be inserted behind enemy lines via mini-submarine, semi-submersible craft, aircraft and parachute to create a second front. Their main mission would be to target command-and-control nodes, airbases and rear areas. Of interest is the suspected existence of 20-25 tunnels under the DMZ, which North Korean troops could use to infiltrate behind ROK frontlines. By the same token, South Korea also possesses capable SOF.

A commando of the Indian NSG. It was this unit that finally brought the Mumbai terrorist attacks to an end © Gordon Arthur

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Support and bilateral training is very important for countries like the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. The US plays an important role in the Asia-Pacific region in this respect, especially the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (1st SFG(A)) that has two battalions based at Fort Lewis (in Washington State) plus one battalion forward-deployed on Okinawa, Japan. The latter offers the USA a rapid-response capability near hotspots like Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. The 1st SFG(A) is responsible for the entire Asia-Pacific region, territory that encompasses nearly half the globe and three billion people.

Fort Lewis also hosts the Language Training Facility (LTF), where personnel learn foreign languages and cultural awareness. American soldiers are required to learn the language in the area where they will

Philippine SOF have had notable successes, including the elimination of ASG founder Janjalani in 1998

deploy. For Asia-Pacific there are five major languages: Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin, Thai and Tagalog. The LTF can call on 170 language teachers to help each soldier complete at least 160 hours of language tuition.

High operational tempos and stress often have negative consequences. One US Army officer explained the marriages of many special operators end in divorce. Because of their influence, SOF can also take on undesirable political roles. Examples include the 5,000man Kopassus force of the Indonesian Army that committed human-rights abuses in East Timor. Last year the US announced it was overturning a 12-year ban on ties with Kopassus. Thai SOF were also instrumental in Thailand’s 2006 military coup.

Through this brief survey it can be seen that SOF are actively engaged throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Whether used for counterinsurgency of anti-piracy missions, these specially trained, high-value assets offer armed forces a powerful force-multiplying effect.

VEHICLE SELF PROTECTION

Vehicle Self Protection: Asia Pacific Platform self protection works on an axiomatic cascade: Don’t Be Detected, Don’t Be Hit, Don’t Be Penetrated and Don’t Be Killed. These assumptions have remained in place over time, transcending technology, instead providing a ready categorisation of the new capabilities it has offered over the years.

Options

by Adam Baddeley

The weight of an AMAP-ADS on a Fuchs vehicle is 470Kg © Rheinmetall

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ith the requirement for AFVs to leave the relative safety of open terrain and also operate in urban environments, new demands are being placed upon designs to prevent enemy hunter-killer teams from closing at close quarters from any side and use man portable armor-penetrating weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

Vehicle protection systems can be categorised into three main bundles; Passive, Reactive and Active. Passive combines materials such as metal, glass fibre and ceramics, combinations and compounds of those same materials and particular physical forms of them such as angled mantlets on a tank’s main gun. Reactive Systems cover Explosive Reactive Armour, Non-Energetic Reactive armour, Non-Explosive Armour and Self limiting Explosive Reactive Armour and a little out into the future is Electric Armour. In the Active Protection domain there are two sub

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categories; softkill systems which spoof and divert incoming rounds and hardkill solutions which deal those same projectiles up to and including high velocity tank rounds.

Don’t Be Detected

The first level of protection lies in not being seen in any part of the electro-magnetic spectrum, not easy for an MBT. Attempts to hide it are being pursued through reducing the signature on the vehicle through a variety of means: coating materials, radar signature reduction, thermal signature reduction, acoustic signature reduction, visual signature reduction, active signature reduction and shaping.

Saab’s Land Electronic Defense System

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Ultimately passive armour provides an integral capability for vehicle self protection © BAE Systems

(LEDS) 50 consists of the core sensors for the LEDS family of vehicle protection systems with the similar LEDS-100 providing rapid screening and active signature management.

In September, Saab signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indian firm WIPRO to manufacture and offer the entire range of LEDS subsystems in India.

BAE Systems launched its Adaptiv system at DSEi in September. Built around sheets of hexagonal pixels each about 14cm across with 450 typically used on a vehicle, they take inputs from sensors around the vehicle to capture the background and then change the pixel’s temperature rapidly to blend in with that terrain or alternatively to present the vehicle as an electromagnetic facsimile of a civilian car via preprogrammed software. The work has been undertaken with a measure of funding from Sweden’s FMV. SSZ’s

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Trophy can equip light tactical vehicles © Rafael

Multispectral mobile camouflage cover or MMCC provides visual as well as other signature reducing measures including addressing, thermal infrared and wide band radar in the 2100 GHz range and can be mounted on a vehicle by a crew of three in twenty minutes.

Don’t Be Hit

Engagement is determined by the ability of on board sensors to accurately track and then target a vehicle. Spoofing those sensors prior to firing or doing the same to a missile using counter measures once it has been fired to prevent it from penetrating the vehicle’s armour; provides a softkill route with the hardkill route using countermeasures to destroy incoming missiles and tank rounds.

In the softkill domain, Elisra’s Tandir System uses the IR signature of weapons to calculate the range and direction to the source of the threat at day or night in order to key countermeasures. In addition, the company also offers its Heliolite CVRWR-20 (V) which provides a radar based warning solution against Anti-Tank Missiles, Air-toGround Missiles, and Attack Helicopters. A number of Russian platforms have been equipped with the Shtora-1 soft-kill Defensive Aids Suite, typically positioned to protect the frontal arc of the vehicles.

Germany’s latest IFV, the Puma is fitted with the EADS MUSS soft-kill system. Nexter has developed an integrated systems known as

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the Kit Basique de Contre-Mesures, which brings together laser warning receivers, missile warning radar, IR jammers and the Galix screening system.

Active Defence Systems (ADS) ‘shoot down’ incoming rounds defeating them or rendering their effects such that the armour of the vehicle is sufficient to stop them.

Systems come in three range categories: short range from 5m down to less than 2m, medium range form 5-30m and longer range systems beyond 30m.

Rheinmetall Defence’s AMAPS –ADS Systems consists of an architecture consisting of sensors and countermeasures installed in a Stopping a high velocity tank round is the sine qua non of APS © Rheinmetall

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distributed system providing a high level of redundancy. The company describes it as the, “the one and only” system that can defeat any threat which is launched from distances of approximately 10-15m, in a very short reaction time. This enables the defeat of projectiles ranging from RPGs up to Kinetic Energy (KE) rounds and IEDs. AMAP ADS also uses a fragment free solution to reduce collateral damage.

AMAP-ADS was demonstrated in June with the firing of an inert RPG round at speeds of 200 metres per second from a building into a Fuchs 1A8 6x6 IFV and were able to engage the incoming threat at 1m in

VEHICLE

SELF PROTECTION front of the vehicles. On a Fuchs, the total weight of the AMAP-ADS system is 470Kg. A 15m flight by an RPG projectile takes just 16 milliseconds.

The system consists of seven subsystems. The first step is the Pre-Warner a microwave sensor which has such a low output that at 50m there is no electronic signature than can be detected by other sensors. If the incoming projectile is too small – like a bullet, the system can determine that and an AMAP-ADS countermeasure isn’t wasted. Pre-Warners are placed on the corner of the vehicle which provide initial threat warning. The information is the transmitting to the AMAP Near Field Systems which consist of the Central Control Unit. The Laser Initiation Unit then releases the ignition energy to the on board Counter-measure which releases its directed energy effect. The counter measure can

Rafael’s Trophy ADS installed on a Merkava 4 MBT defeated its first RPG round on operations on March 1st also be steered creating a three-fold multihit capability. A man machine interface and power management tool is also included in th e package.

AMAP-ADS has been integrated on vehicles as small as an Iveco LMV, tracked vehicles such as the CV9030 and has been acquired by an undisclosed Asian country for use on another tracked vehicle which are due to enter service early next year. The same customer plans to add the systems to other vehicles in the following years.

There are limitations with the system how-

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ever, although it can deal with EFP based IEDs, it cannot deal with multiple EFPs. Rafael’s Trophy ADS installed on a Merkava 4 MBT defeated its first RPG round on operations on March 1st. Work is continuing to fit an entire brigade with Trophy by the end of the year, following a contract signed in 2009. Trophy Medium has been integrated on both the Stryker and the Merkava III with both vehicles also has to take the HV variant also. A Trophy LV was publicly launched this year at the Paris Airshow and can deal with rockets fired in tandem.

Work is now underway on the next generation version which will integrate a number of lessons learned over the 15 years and Screening vehicles across the visual and electromagnetic spectrum is key to self protection with Rheinmetall’s ROSY system shown here © Rheinmetall

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feature improved integration. Trophy uses a combination of RADA Electronic Industries radar and passive infrared detector sourced from Elisra to detect and cue the round, creating a shrapnel free explosion, close to the incoming round without detonating its warhead.

The IDF have also integrated Trophy onto the BMS systems in its Digital Army Programme taking data from Trophy and alerting the crew and others in the system to the attack and providing information on the incoming round’s path and then cueing onboard weapon systems to the source of the fire.

Saab Electronic Defence Systems' Land Electronic Defense System (LEDS) APS capabilities uses a number of traditional soft kill countermeasures in addition to a Hardkill capability with the LEDS 150 which can defeat RPGs and ATGWs and low velocity tank rounds. The Hard Kill capability uses Denel’s Mongoose 1 round which is used to engage targets at 20m. In addition, the LEDS-200 is optimised against multi-band Saab’s LEDS system provides a scalable solution to self protection © Saab

seekers with the LEDS-200 tasked with defeating tank rounds.

In 2006, Raytheon were awarded a $70m contract to develop the ADS systems for the Future Combat Systems programme, known as Quick Kill. It is now part of the General Dynamics team competing against BAE Systems for the US Army's Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) programme for which contracts for the Technology Development (TD) phase were awarded in March cumulatively valued at just under $900m.

Protection is a key element. The purpose of the 24-month GCV TD phase will see the completion of the preliminary design of the GCV and see risk reduction taking place on the Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) Protection Subsystem Prototype on which Raytheon responsible on the General Dynamics team along with the Mine Blast Subsystem Prototype Test Article, technical documentation and associated data.

Each active system needs a passive protection because a threat such as a KE penetrator, which has five Megajoules of energy, equivalent to the approximately energy of an S Class Mercedes driving at 250Kmph. It can’t

be stopped dead. There will be some residual fragments during the destruction which requires a certain level of protection.

Don’t Be Penetrated, Don’t Be Killed

Passive defenses, such as netting or bar armour defeat projectiles by absorbing the blast and kinetic effect and preventing it penetrating or affecting the crew within. RUAG unit GST is providing 405 mine protection kits for the new Puma IFV with deliveries concluding in 2020. Tencate’s new Advanced Armour has introduced complex 3D moulding which now allows all-ceramic solutions to be used in the place of steel for doors and hatches and similar on AFVs. Renault is currently upgrading French VABs for Afghanistan with armoured protection

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against IEDs and RPGs with features that include a V-shaped deflector under the belly of the VAB. Singapore Technologies Kinetics and AMSafe signed an agreement in September to offer the Tarian RPG protection kit with Bronco all terrain armoured vehicles as a replacement for bar armour with a claimed 98 percent reduction in weight.

Rheinmetall Chempro unit recently delivered an upgrade to a customer’s CV90 fleet in Afghanistan in August, just five months after the receipt of the request. Working with IBD, the two are offering new nano-ceramic and nano-steel armour which reduces weight by 47 percent and 17 percent respectively. This reduces the weight of a ceramic armour based NATO Level 3 protected panel from 60Kg/m2 to 32Kg/m2. A range of protection systems are in place. An example can be seen

in Canada’s Kraus Maffei Leopard 2A6M CAN which features improved slat armour and explosion suppression systems in the fuel tanks.

A vehicle can be rebuilt or discarded, while human life and from a utilitarian perspective, highly trained and experienced human life cannot. Defences will, on occasion fail and the final line in defence remains crew protection systems whose roles

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Rafael’s Trophy ADS installed on a Merkava 4 MBT defeated its first RPG round on operations on March 1st © Rafael

includes detecting and suppressing fires in engine compartments, protecting against internal shrapnel, reducing blast effects via crew protection systems, liner systems and mine protection seats. Seating has undergone a recent renaissance in their design with blast attenuating designs. TEK Military Seating for example is designed to keep lower pelvic compression rates to 6600N. As part of Renault’s upgrade of the VAB, suspended seating is being provided for the crew. In a similar vein, Skydex’s impact mitigation flooring can reduces blast force through the floor of a vehicle in mine or IED event by 70 percent.

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Atta The Royal Australian Navy has upgraded its fleet with the addition of the Armidale class fast attack craft which replace the fleet’s erstwhile Freemantle class vessels. Remaining at sea for up to 21 days, these ships have a range of 3,000 nautical miles © Australian Department of Defence

he fast attack craft can trace its history back to the mid 1800s, when the French Jeune École (‘Young School’) of naval strategy argued that small and fast armed craft could be used to break up formations of larger ships. This resulted in the development of the steam torpedo boat by the Marine Nationale (‘French Navy’) and the Royal Navy. Nevertheless, sea-keeping and endurance considerations resulted in the fast attack craft concept remaining largely dormant until the First World War. This conflict saw the development of the Coastal Motor Boat and the Italian Motoscafo Armato Silurante (‘Torpedo Armed Motorboat’). The success of these designs during this conflict

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led to the concept being refined still further during the Second World War with the development of the Royal Navy’s Motor Torpedo Boat and Motor Gun Boat, the Kriegsmarine (‘German Navy’) Scnellboote (‘Fast Boats’) and the Patrol Torpedo, or ‘PT’ boats, of the United States Navy. Although in the West the fast attack craft concept languished somewhat during the Cold War, the Soviet Navy was quick to understand the effectiveness of small, fast craft outfitted with anti-ship missiles (AShMs). This effectiveness was demonstrated by the sinking of the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat on 21st October 1967 during the Six Day War, by two Project 183R (NATO reporting name ‘Komar’) class missile boats.

Today, fast attack craft have adapted once

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again to the naval zeitgeist. Iran and North Korea maintain fleets of fast attack craft which number several hundred. These can be used to ‘swarm’ fleets of larger warships, harking back to the era of the Jeune École and demonstrating that, in this regard, naval thinking has come full circle vis-a-vis the role that these vessels can play in naval warfare. At the same time, fast attack craft provide a superb platform to bring a robust response to a variety of coastal threats such as piracy and narcotics trafficking.

Around the Asia-Pacific region, significant investment is flowing into fast attack craft acquisition. For example, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has replaced its Freemantle class patrol vessels with 14 new Armidale class ships. These craft can remain

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cking The Fast: Role for Small Vessels Fast attack craft are the coastal surface combatant par excellence. Displacing between 50-400 tonnes, and usually capable of a maximum speed of between 25-50 knots, such vessels can carry an array of weapons including guns, missiles and torpedoes in the littoral environment. These craft are also indispensable for navies which require an offensive capability at sea, have a need to protect their coastlines, but which possess no major requirement to project power beyond their coastal waters. Needless to say, fast attack craft can offer a much lower-cost offensive platform compared to a larger surface combatant such as a corvette, frigate or destroyer; and because of this they offer the user impressive ‘bang for their buck’.

by Tom Withington at sea for up to 21 days, and have a range of 3,000nm when cruising at twelve knots. Their design allows them to operate in conditions of Sea State Five. The main armament of the Armidale class is Rafael Advanced Defense System’s Typhoon stabilised weapons station which is equipped with an ATK Bushmaster cannon, with fire control provided by a Rafael TopLite electro-optical system. TopLite is complemented by a Northrop Grumman Bridgemaster-E radar, and a BAE Systems PRISM-III Electronic Support Measure (ESM) for radar detection in the 2-18GHz bands.

While the RAN has opted for the Rafael Typhoon stabilised weapons mount for their Armidale fast attack craft, the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) select-

ed OtoMelara’s 76/62 Super Rapid gun for their Hayabusa class guided missile patrol boats. With a standard displacement of 200 tonnes the Hayabusa vessels can reach a maximum speed of 44 knots. The main armament on these craft is their Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 200km range radar-guided, antiship missiles (AShM) which are supplemented with the OtoMelara gun. The missile launchers adorn the front and stern of the craft, with the gun mounted forward. Two General Dynamics M2 Browning 12.7mm machine guns provide additional defence with a Japan Radio Corporation OPS-18 surface-search and OPS-20 I-band navigation radar covering the 8-10 Gigahertz band.

The panoply of naval threats that several

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nations around the Middle East face has translated into significant investment into the acquisition of fast attack craft. To this end, Qatar has outfitted its navy with four Barzan class 350tonne displacement fast attack craft. The weapons carried by these craft include a single OtoMelara 76/62 Super Rapid gun which has a 120 rounds-per-minute rate-of-fire, along with a Thales Nederland 30mm Goalkeeper close-in weapons system. However, the heavy punch from these vessels comes from the two four-cell MBDA MM-40 Exocet AShM missile launchers that furnish the craft. A six-cell launcher for MBDA’s Mistral surface-to-air missile is also included, along with a Sagem Dagaie Mk.2 chaff and flare dispenser, plus a Thales DR3000S and Salamandre ARBB-33

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ESM and electronic countermeasures.

Surveillance for the Barzan class is performed using a Thales MRR-3D multi-role G-band radar with fire control provided by a Thales Nederland STING combined radar and electro-optical system, while a Kelvin Hughes 1007 I-band radar aids navigation. The four MTU20V 538 TB93 engines which equip the craft provide it with a 1,800nm range at twelve knots, and a top speed of 35knots.

Although Iraq’s maritime capabilities were all but destroyed during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and later Operation Enduring Freedom in 2003, the recapitalisa-

Fast attack craft can offer a much lower-cost offensive platform compared to a larger surface combatant such as a corvette, frigate or destroyer

tion of the country’s maritime assets has commenced. Iraq has a significant exclusive economic zone and also offshore oil exploration assets which require protection. To this end, the country is acquiring Diciotti class patrol vessels. Although on the heavy side for an offshore patrol vessel, as they displace 450 tonnes, the Diciotti ships have an unrefueled range of 3,000nm, and a maximum speed of 23 knots. In terms of weaponry, the ships carry an OtoMelara 30mm main gun and have positions for two machine guns. They can also accommodate an OtoMelara MarlinWS remote-controlled weapons station, and an optronic fire control system.

Other fast attack craft acquisitions being performed around the Middle East region include the Kuwait Navy’s Um Al Maradim class missile attack craft. A total of eight of these vessels, designed and produced by the

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Displacing up to 450 tonnes, Iraq’s new Diciotti class ships can attain a speed of 23 knots and have an unrefueled range in the order of 3,000 nautical miles. The acquisition of these ships has played a key role in the recapitalization of the Iraqi Navy © Brazilian Navy

French shipbuilder Construction Mecaniques de Normandie (CMN), are joining the single Al Sanbouk/Type-TNC45 class and solitary Istiqlal/Type FPB-57 fast attack missile craft in the fleet. The offensive capability of the Um Al Maradim ships is provided by a pair of twin missile launchers for the MBDA Sea Skua AShM, mounted on both the forward and the aft decks. Moreover, these craft can also house the MBDA Simbad twin missile launcher for the Mistral anti-aircraft weapon. In addition to the robust complement of missiles outfitting these ships, a single OtoMelara 40mm gun can be installed on the bow deck, with two 12.7mm machine guns, plus a single Nexter M621 2mm cannon. The Um Al Maradim class is also notably well catered for in terms of passive self defences, carrying a Thales DR-3000S D/K-

band radar warning receiver and a Thales Salamandre ECM which can provide jamming to radar operating in the I, H and J-bands, particularly those used on board anti-ship missiles for guidance. Chaff and flare countermeasures are provided courtesy of a Dagaie launcher and three radar are carried on the ships, including a single BAE Systems Seaspray fire control radar carried on the vessel’s main mast, plus a Thales MRR 3D E/F band air and surface search system and a Racal I-band navigation radar. Below decks, a pair of diesel engines allow the craft to cruise for 1,300 miles at a speed of 15 knots, although these power plants are sufficient to afford the ships a maximum velocity of 30 knots.

At the lighter end of the fast attack craft spectrum, the Republic of Korea navy’s Chamsuri class patrol boats displace around 148 tonnes, and have been exported to Kazakhstan, Bangladesh and The Philippines.

The armament furnishing the Chamsuri class include a twin 30-mm cannon housed in a bow-mounted Emerlec turret, supplemented South Korea’s Chamsuri patrol craft have sold well, equipping the navies of Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and The Philippines, as well as the Republic of Korea Navy. They are equipped with 30- and 40-mm cannon © US DoD

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The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force’s Hayabusa class guided missile patrol boats displace up to 200 tonnes and can reach a maximum speed of 44 knots. These ships are outfitted with an impressive array of sensors and weapons © Brazilian Navy

by a stern-mounted 40-mm Bofors cannon, with the option to also outfit the boat with 12.7mm machine guns. Some of the Chamsuri craft have the 30-mm Emerlec cannon removed and instead are fitted with a bowmounted 40mm Bofors gun. Passive protection is provided by a Dagaie Mk.2 chaff and flare dispenser, while surveillance and target acquisition is provided using an STX SPS-

100K surface search radar and a Saab CEROS combined fire control radar and EO system, which can provide data to the craft’s 40mm Bofors gun to provide close-in protection against incoming AShMs. With a maximum speed of 37 knots possible with the MTU MD 16V 538 TB90 diesel engines equipping the Chamsuri class, a cruising speed of 20 knots provide these ships with a 600nm range.

However, the Chamsuri class are now being superseded by the Gumdoksuri class patrol boats. Technically, these ships are beyond the traditional definition for a fast attack craft displacing up to 400 tonnes, but they are considered as fast patrol boats by the Republic of Korea Navy. Weighing 500 tonnes, the Gumdoksuri ships can reach a top speed of 40 knots and one example, the Yoon

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NAVAL

FAST ATTACK At the heavier end of the fast attack craft spectrum, the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Fearless class patrol craft tip the scales at 500 tonnes displacement. These ships have been designed to perform anti-submarine, as well as anti-surface, warfare © US DoD

Youngha, was commissioned on 17th December 2008. A further six ships have been launched although have not yet been commissioned. The Gumdoksuri class consist of two sub-variants; the 500-tonne Gumdoksuri-A ships and the 200-tonne Gumdoksuri-B class.

These variants will be armed with missiles and guns respectively, with the GumdoksuriB craft replacing the Chamsuri patrol craft (see above) and the Gumdoksuri-A ships replacing the Republic of Korea Navy’s existing 23 Pohang class corvettes. A total of 24 Gumdoksuri-A ships are planned to equip the fleet, to be joined by up to 18 Gumdoksuri-B vessels. As regards gun armament, the ships will carry an OtoMelara 76mm weapon and two Doosan Infracore 40L70K twin 40mm cannon. The missiles to outfit the Gumdoksuri-B ships include SSM-700K Hae Sung-1 AShMs developed by the Korea Agency for Defense Development, and the LIG Nex1 KP-SAM Shin-Gung five-kilometre range SAMs. To the north of the Korean Peninsula, the Russian Navy is overhauling its fast attack

craft fleet. The Mirage Project 14310 vessels have been designed for the protection of territorial waters, and for the patrol of Russia’s exclusive economic zone. Capable of operation in up to Sea State Seven, the ship’s hull is constructed from aluminium magnesium alloy. Weaponry carried by the Mirage Project 14310 ships include a 30mm AK-306 automatic artillery system mounted on the front deck, along with eight Igla-1M surface-to-air missile launchers. Sensors mounted on the vessel include I-band surface search radar, and an electro-optical system. The two diesel engines outfitting the vessel allow the attainment of speeds of up to 50 knots, and provide it with an endurance of up to eight days.

Like the Gumdoksuri-B ships, the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Fearless class patrol vessels are technically outside the fast

The People’s Liberation Army Navy is pouring resources into its fast attack craft fleet in the form of the Type-022 Houbei class twin-hulled catamarans, the first of which was launched in 2004. Scores of these vessels are expected to equip China’s navy © Pakistan Defence Forum

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The Mirage Project 14310 vessels have been designed for the protection of territorial waters, and for the patrol of Russia’s exclusive economic zone

attack craft weight classification as they displace 500 tonnes. Yet, like the Republic of Korea’s vessels, Singapore’s Fearless class ships are not classified as corvettes. Ideally suited for the anti-submarine warfare mission, the first six of the series include 324mm torpedo tubes which can fire Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei A244S torpedoes.

These weapons are supplemented for antisurface warfare by an MBDA Simbad twin launcher for Mistral surface-to-air missiles mounted on the aft deck. Alongside the torpedoes and missiles, a bow-mounted OtoMelara 76mm Super Rapid gun and four Chartered Institute of Singapore 12.7mm machine guns provide additional defence. A number of Israeli systems adorn the ship to provide surveillance coverage including an El-Op MSIS electro-optical fire control system, plus an E/F-band EL/M-2228(X) air and sea-search radar. Meanwhile, a Thales TSM-2362 Gudgeon hull-mounted mediumfrequency sonar adorns the first six ships in the Fearless class configured for anti-submarine warfare. As for the ships’ performance, two MTU 12V 595 TE 90 diesel engines allow it to maintain a speed of 20 knots across a range of 1,800nm.

The procurement activity discussed above illustrates that these small, but highly capable craft continue to be in strong demand over 150 years since they were developed in their earliest incarnations. The abilities of the fast attack craft to patrol economic exclusion zones and coastal areas, and bring robust fire to bear if necessary, is a useful capability that few navies today can afford to be without.

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Small Arms & Sights: Fighting the

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The US Army’s work on reducing the weight of the M240B by 2.5Kg has resulted in the M240L © DoD

Small arms define the soldier. In addition to new buys of such weapons, a number of militaries have sought to upgrade their existing weapons to meet new demands rather than acquire new weapons, a decision significantly influenced by cost implications.

Without change in the calibre of weapons however, the fundamental performance of a weapon can only be changed marginally although with the addition of additional sensors, sight and accessories via the addition of Picatinny rail mounts, significant boosts to performance can be made.

by Adam Baddeley

Assault rifles

The biggest news in small arms is the US Army’s competition for a potential new carbine to replace the ubiquitous M4 with a draft Request For Proposals (RFP) being issued in late January. Unusually, it is not a foregone conclusion that this will replace

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the current M4A1. In the multi-phase process the Army will first undertake a competition to select a candidate to enter a shoot off with the legacy rifle.

First the Army will down select to a single candidate amongst the offerings being submitted by industry. In all, the process is

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The UK has adapted its SA80 to meet the requirements of Afghanistan © DoD

scheduled to last roughly two years from competition to 12-18 months of testing, firing two million rounds, then production and finally fielding. A calibre has not been prescribed for the rifle although the parameters and specification of the weapon call for a 500m range weapon with greater incapacitation qualities than current weapons. A noteworthy feature of the early runners for the requirement, notably the FNH SCAR and Colt CM901, is the capability to allow for users to switch between calibres via a change in the field. A final decision on how to proceed will be made by the Army’s Chief of Staff.

A further variable is that in parallel the Army is to acquire new M4s with features such as a new, heavier barrel and ambidextrous operation and/or convert existing M4s to the new standard, as well as look at switching from the current design gas impingement system.

Israel Weapon Industries' Tavor TAR-21 rifle family has found customers within the region. India’s Special Forces have acquired the weapon in successive orders from 2002.

In January, India issued an RFI for a 7.62 x 51 mm assault rifle for used by its naval special forces. Thailand has acquired some 15,000 Tavor weapons with sales to the Philippines reported as well has being selected to become the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) standard

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infantry weapon in frontline units. A bullpup design, the standard Tavor uses a 460mm barrel with an overall length of 720mm. In addition, the Micro Tavor has been selected for IDF Special Forces and allows users to switch between 5.56mm and 9mm rounds via changes of barrel and a magazine adapter. It weighs 2.95Kg. The contract for the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) weapon was awarded to FN in 2004 with the

The Micro Tavor has been selected for IDF Special Forces and allows users to switch between 5.56mm and 9mm rounds

5.56mm Rifle Mark 16 (SCAR-L / Light) and 7.62mm Rifle Mark 17 (SCAR-H/ Heavy) entering service in 2009 with USSOCOM although subsequently they decided not to continue with large scale buys of the weapon, based on budgetary issues.

Malaysia has opted to acquire the Colt M4 with local production being undertaken by SME Ordnance following a contract signed earlier this year for 114,000 M4s over the next seven years, replacing Steyr AUG rifles.

Malaysia is pursuing both Indonesia and

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Thailand to co-operate in jointly producing the weapon. Indonesia has indicated it could opt for a future design based on an indigenous solution to replace the license produced SS1 and SS2, based on FN’s FNC design.

Heckler and Koch’s (H&K) G-36 5.56x45mm assault rifle has been widely adopted, including by a number of special forces in the region.

Upgrades are increasingly common.

Sweden is one example of a country that has followed this approach with its Ak5C configuration, an adoption of the legacy Ak5/FN FNC 5.56mm assault rifle produced locally

by Saab Bofors Dynamics with deliveries beginning in 2006 and now completed. A new weapon is scheduled to be acquired at the end of the decade and dubbed ‘Ak6’.

Serious problems with the SA80 fleet in UK service led to an upgrade to the poorly performing weapon, undertaken by H&K’s shortly before 2001 with the weapon since serving very well in difficult environments.

The UK has upgraded other elements of the weapon since then with the 2007 introduction of a new handguard with Picatinny rails and hand grip/bipod and a new vortex style flash eliminator. In 2011 the decision was made to introduce a lightweight Magpul magazine to supplement the heavier steel designs brought in with the H&K upgrade to

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rectify reliability problems with the initial aluminium magazines.

In the “range wars” which emerged around whether the 5.56mm round has sufficient reliability, velocity and accuracy for current battlefields, bullpup designs are seen by some as having an advantage in being able to ‘squeeze extra barrel length into the same overall length of weapon, compared to a conventionally configured weapons. The UK’s L85A2 for example has a barrel length of 518mm while a standard M4 is 370mm with the two weapons’ overall length being 785 and 756mm respectively, the latter figure being the M4 with buttstock fully retracted.

While there is discussion about whether to ditch the 5.56mm round in favour of 6.Xmm rounds such as the 6.8x43mm Remington SPC and 6.5x39mm Grendel rounds, the US is continuing to improve the effectiveness of rounds in its current calibre. The M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round has now been in service for over a year and significantly improves performance and killing power as well a cutting lead from the round for environmental reasons. RUAG Ammotec’s new Horizon 5.56x45mm round can penetrate 7mm of steel plate at 200m using the round’s jacketed hard core.

Sniper Rifles

While the US Army has fielded the Knight's Armament’s M110 since 2008, in Autumn 2011 the Marines fielded the new semi-automatic sniper rifle to scout sniper platoons.

The weapon is designed to engage targets at 800m, its semi-automatic design allowing multiple shots on target and uses a Leupold MKIV 3.5-10x scope. The M110 will complement legacy weapons including the 7.62-mm M40A5 sniper rifle.

For the future, the Army’s Precision Sniper Rifle programme has the goal of doubling the range of existing 7.62mm weapons such as the M24 and M110 and so bridging the performance gap with the 12.7mm M107 while retaining the precision of smaller calibre weapons.

Other improvements include improved optics and Fire Control systems, potentially the DARPA One Shot and EXACTO efforts when they mature around the middle of the decade.

Bruger and Thomet offer their APR Sniper Systems in a range of medium calibres

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provide low level access to accurised, heavier calibre weapons than 5.56mm assault rifles.

The new weapons typically reach out to 800m or more, more than doubling the effective range of most 5.56mm weapons.

One such example is the British Army’s new L129A1 acquired in 2009, UK nomenclature for the Law Enforcement International LM7 semi-automatic rifle with 440 being acquired. At 5Kg, it weighs a little more than assault rifles but less than heavier calibre, dedicated sniper rifles. The US Army’s M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle is a complete redesign of the original 1950’s era rifle and by the end of FY2011 the last of the 6200, 600-800m range weapons ordered will have been delivered to the US Army.

Light and medium Machine Guns

The Steyr Aug family of weapons has a number of customers in the region including Australia and New Zealand © AJB

including 7.62x51mm and .308 Win subsonic.

Accuracy International's .338-cal L115A3 sniper rifle is in service with the British Army. The company has also developed the semi-automatic AS50 sniper rifle for the US SEALs. US Special Operations Forces also began fielding the 7.62 mm Mk 20 sniper version of the SCAR earlier this year.

In addition to dedicated Sniper rifles, recent lessons learned from many current operations has prompted several militaries to

Greater suppressive fire capabilities are being generated at lower tactical levels and with that has come a need to reduce the weight of those weapons to allow them to be carried and operated by dismounted users for extended periods.

To meet its urgent operational requirement in Afghanistan the UK awarded FNH a contract this year to supply its Minimi 7.62mm with as many as 176 required. The design, superficially similar to the 5.56mm Minimi, weighs 8.4Kg and features a sliding butt stock for easier carriage and incorporates a hydraulic buffer for stabilized rate of fire and reduced recoil forces.

Norway joined the Minimi club in November last year with the acquisition of 1900 of the 5.56mm weapons with delivery

While the US Army has fielded the Knight's Armament’s M110 since 2008, in Autumn 2011 the Marines fielded the new semi-automatic sniper rifle to scout sniper platoons © DoD

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due to be completed next year. Norway already operates the FN MAG medium machine gun.

The US has done considerable work is reducing the weight if the MAG, which in US service is the M240B 7.62mm machine gun.

This has resulted in the M240L which achieved its full material releases in 2011. The upgrade has seen the shortening of the barrel and the use of lighter materials to reduce the weight by 2.5Kg while retaining the same overall performance of the M240B. While the M240L was developed, FN were asked by the Army to supply an interim solution, the Mk 48 MOD 0/1, for troops in Afghanistan, which originated in US requirements for Special operations Forces.

IWI offer the 2.98 kg Negev 5.56 mm gasoperated, open-bolt, selective fire light machine gun with Thailand an the IDF operating the weapon.

Reduction in weight has always been a key requirement in Small Arms with operations in Afghanistan only adding to that. The US Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) programme led by AAI is designed to provide a means of providing an affordable family of lightweight weapons and ammunition, intially in 5.56mm. The ammunition used is in two types; cased and caseless telescoped ammunition. The cased telescoped ammunition is 40 percent lighter, including links versus the M855 round while retaining is muzzle velocity and performance. The caseless round has a 51 percent reduction not including links.

A M249 gunner using an M150 sight © DoD

Recent lessons learned from many current operations has prompted several militaries to provide low level access to accurised, heavier calibre weapons

The cased ammunition uses a polymer cartridge case and end cap and compacted ball powder while the caseless ammunition is an HMX based propellant and dual primer system with the cartridge completely combusting with only the link ejected. The Light Machine Gun is also an area of weight saving, being 45 percent Lighter than the M249.

Sights

Whatever the range of the weapon, the calibre of round used or its weight, if you miss with that weapon then, that all becomes irrel-

The US Army’s M68 sight is the Aimpoint CompM2, Comp3 and Comp4S © DoD

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evant. Modern sights require minimal training to use and can now be affordably placed on all small arms, enabling much greater effect with the same weapon with designs allowing operators to engage static and moving targets rapidly without degrading their awareness of their surroundings.

The UK has opted to supply all its combat infantry forces with ELCAN’s SpecterOS 4x Lightweight Day Sight, replacing the SUSAT (Sight Unit Small Arms, Trilux) as part of the Future Integrated Soldier Technology programme. Prior to that, the UK had replaced the SUSAT for units in Afghanistan with a 4x magnification, Trijicon ACOG design.

The US Army is the largest consumer of sights. Its M68 Close Combat Optic for the M16A4/M4 is a red dot design with no magnification and can be used in conjunction with night vision equipment. The M68 is originally Aimpoint’s CompM2 design.

Its later Comp3 and Comp4S builds principally on the battery life of the design with the last version operating for eight years on one battery. All are in US service and all are designated M68. The larger M150 Rifle Combat Optic (RCO), known as the AN/PVQ-31 Rifle Combat Optic (RCO) in Marine Corps service, is Trijicon’s TA31RCO ACOG variant. The RCO is a battery free design with 4x magnification that can be fitted on the M4 and M16 weapons but is also suitable for the ranges of the M249 and uses a bullet drop compensated reticle, to enable accurate target engagements at 800m. Over 130,000 are in service with the Army alone.

New solutions are emerging. At DSEi, Meprolight launched its MEPRO-M5 RedDot Optic Sight. Weighing 280g, it is designed to operate with GEN II and III night vision device and is designed for 8000 hours of operation on a single battery.

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A I R

DEFENCE

The most basic air-to-air missile used in the region is the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

Over an operational life of more than half a century, this has been manufactured by a number of organisations, and is currently a Raytheon product.

by Doug Richardson

uided by a passive infrared seeker, Sidewinder was originally a ‘tail-chase’ weapon, but since then, the AIM-9L has become an all-aspect missile able to attack targets from any direction.

Versions currently in service are the AIM9J Sidewinder (Pakistan, Thailand, Taiwan), AIM-9L (Japan, Pakistan, Thailand, Taiwan), the AIM-9M — with improved anti-countermeasures capability — (South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand,), while the AIM-9N (South Korea) and AIM-9P (Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand) are export versions of the AIM-9J. Although it retains the rocket motor design, warhead and fuzing system of the AIM-9M, the AIM-9X is a major step forward in capability. Regional users are South Korea and Singapore.

The Philippines Air Force had been a Sidewinder user, but its F-8 Crusaders were placed into storage in 1988, while its remaining F-5s were retired in 2005.

Sidewinder was copied to form the basis of the Soviet-era Vympel R-3 and R-13 (AA-2 ‘Atoll’). Like the US original, these went through several sub-variants, but none offered the all-aspect performance of the AIM-9L. The final variant was the R-13M1 which probably entered service in 1980. Production of the ‘Atoll’ ended in 1983, although refurbished rounds may have been exported during the mid and late 1980s. The service life of any remaining examples must be limited.

Known ‘Atoll’ operators include North Korea and Vietnam, while India may have some remaining stocks.

Cambodia acquired a batch of MiG-21bis and MiG-21UM trainers during the early 1980s, along with ‘Atoll’ missiles. A plan to

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Air-to-Air Engagement:

Regional Capabilities

and Plans

have these upgraded to the MiG-2000 standard by Israel seems to have been abandoned after only a small number of rebuilds.

According to one report, all are now in storage, and believed to be in poor condition, so the same fate is likely to have overtaken any surviving ‘Atoll’ missiles.

By the late 1980s the remaining MiG-21 fighters of the Lao People's Liberation Army

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Air Force had deteriorated to the point where none were in use. A return of these fighters and their AA-2 ‘Atoll’ armament to operational service proved impractical.

By a further process of evolution, the ‘Atoll’ formed the basis for China’s CATIC PL-2 and PL-3. PL-2 was a licence-built ‘Atoll’ copy and entered service in 1967. PL-3 introduced larger control surfaces and a larg-

A I R

DEFENCE

Like the US AMRAAM, the MICA combines MBDA inertial mid-course guidance and a seeker used for terminal homing © MBDA

er warhead with an improved fuze. Intended to overcome some of the deficiencies noted in the PL-2, it entered service in 1980.

PL-5 was a major step forward. Fielded in PL-5B form in 1986 (the -5A was not adopted for service), it was still a ‘tail-chase’ weapon, as was the improved PL-5C. New doubledelta forward fins similar to those of the AIM-9L were introduced on the PL-5E, along

with an InSb (indium antimonide) cold gascooled seeker. This was the first variant to offer all-aspect capability.

The PL-7 broke from this development path. It was a derivative of the Matra R550 Magic 1, and may have been developed with French assistance. Development started in 1982, and the missile entered production in the late 1980s. It is not clear if it was ever

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adopted for Chinese service, so may have been a weapon created specifically for export.

The latest Chinese short-range AIM is the PL-9 series. The PL-9C export variant first shown in 2002 has an InSb multi-element seeker (functioning in the 3-5µ band) and incorporating digital signal processing. It is thought to have a combat capability that matches or exceeds that of the AIM-9L/M Sidewinder.

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A I R

DEFENCE

Over the years, PL-series missiles were exported along with contemporary Chinese fighters such as the F-7 copy of the MiG-21.

Users include Bangladesh (PL-2, PL-5), North Korea (PL-2, -3, -5 and -7), Myanmar and Sri Lanka (PL-2, -3 & -5) and Pakistan (PL-5, -7 and -9).

The former Soviet Union followed a different development path from that adopted

by China. In the late 1970s the Vympel R-60T (AA-9 ‘Aphid’) entered service with the Soviet Air Force and Navy, and was followed in 1982 by the improved R-60M. These are relatively small missiles, weighing around 44 kg rather than the 75-88 kg of the ‘Atoll’ series. Although widely considered to be third-generation designs, they were probably designed for the self-defence mission, and do not offer ‘all-aspect’ capability. Regional users are India, North Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

By the end of the 1980s, Soviet fighters were beginning to carry the R-73 (AA-11 'Archer') a missile that leapfrogged ahead of

The AIM-9M version of Sidewinder features increased resistance to decoy flares © Raytheon

contemporary Western IR-guided AIMs in service or even on the drawing board. A combination of aerodynamic and thrust-vector controls provided what were then unsurpassed levels of agility. Regional users of the R-73 are India, Indonesia, North Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

France developed its own series of Sidewinder-class missiles – the Matra R 550 Magic 1 and Magic 2. The latter is still being supplied as an MBDA product.

Magic entered production in 1975 and was a ‘tail-chase’ missile intended to compete with contemporary models of Sidewinder.

The follow-on Magic 2 that entered service a decade later offered all-aspect capability and a faster start-up time. The further-improved Magic 2 Mk 2 that entered service in 1996 is more manoeuvrable and accurate.

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Regional users are Pakistan (Magic 1) and India and Taiwan (Magic 2).

Israeli developments in this class of missile resulted in the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Python series. First fielded in the early 1980s and used in combat against the Syrian air force in 1982, Python 3 was intended to overcome the limitations of the earlier Shafrir series.

It is significantly heavier than the Sidewinder and has a longer range. Python 3 is still in service in Sri Lanka with a single squadron of IAI Kfir C2/C7 and a Kfir TC-7 equipped training unit. Thailand is reported to have acquired a batch in 1995 for use on its F-16s.

Singapore and Thailand have adopted the follow-on Python 4. Operation with the Israeli Air Force in 1993/94, but not publicly revealed until 1995, the new missile was designed to counter the threat posed by the R-73 and is intended for use with a helmet-mounted sight.

According to Rafael, it can destroy any target manoeuvring at a rate of up to 9 g within the missile's forward hemisphere.

Python 4 is based on an airframe fitted

with no less than 18 aerodynamic control surfaces, a three-axis gimballed multi-element IR seeker with digital signal processing, and a long-burning rocket motor with a shapedthrust profile. An initial boost phase is followed by a sustain phase.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, and NATO was able to analyse R-73 hardware from former Warsaw Pact countries, the reaction was immediate. The US started down the road that would lead to the AIM-9X, and Germany began the BGT IRIS-T programme.

Developed by an international consortium led by the German company Diehl BGT

Taiwan is the only MICA user in the region, with the MICA to providing a long-range armament for its Mirage 2000-5 fleet l

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Defence (formerly BGT), and with industrial partners in Greece, Italy, Norway, and Sweden, IRIS-T now has four customers outside the consortium partner nations. Current and planned platforms are the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab Gripen, Boeing EF-18 Hornet, and upgraded General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16s. Thailand will use the missile on its small Gripen force. Since the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale have been shortlisted in India’s MMRCA fighter competition, IRIS-T could be adopted by India, since it is already cleared on both types.

Guidance is by a nose-mounted mechanically scanned imaging IR seeker with a ±90 degree look angle. It operates in the 3 to 5 µm band and is reported to use a linear InSb array with 4 x 128 detectors. The rocket motor has a boost-coast-sustain burn profile that allows sharp turns of up to 180 degrees to be made immediately after launch.

The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries AAM-3

A I R

DEFENCE

This artist’s impression shows China’s CAC FC-1 fighter launching a PL-9C all-aspect IR-guided missile © CATIC

The use of thrust-vectoring gives the AIM-9X a high level of agility, even in the moments after launch © Raytheon

(Type 90) is a Sidewinder-class IR-guided missile developed for the Japan Air Selfdefence Force (JASDF). It entered service in 1991, but like other Japanese-developed missiles, AAM-3 has never been exported.

Work on the follow-on AA-5 (Type 04) missile by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the Japan Defense Agency's (JDA) Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) started around 1990. Deliveries began in 2004 and the missile was publicly unveiled by the JASDF in 2008. It is thought to use a control system similar to that of IRIS-T – a combination of thrust vectoring and conventional tailmounted guidance fins.

The missiles described so far are all intended for short-range air combat against targets that the pilot can see visually. Those intended

for use against longer-range targets detected by radar or other sensors are classified as beyond visual range air-to-air missiles (BVRAAMs).

Raytheon’s AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) has proved the BVRAAM of choice for six air arms in the region – Japan (AIM-120A), South Korea (version unknown), Pakistan (AIM120C), Singapore (AIM-120C-5/7), Taiwan (AIM-120C), and Thailand (AIM-120B).

The older Raytheon AIM-7 Sparrow is a simpler semi-active radar (SAR) guided

weapon. Three versions are worthy of note.

The AIM-7E is the most numerically-important production variant, the AIM-9F introduced digital guidance electronics and a more powerful rocket motor, , while the -7M has monopulse guidance giving a lookdown/shoot-down capability.

Regional users are Japan (AIM-7E and 7F), South Korea (AIM-7E and -7F), Pakistan (AIM-7F), Singapore (AIM-7M) and Taiwan (AIM-7F and -7M).

The first rival to the ARMAAM to be marketed was the MBDA (formerly Matra) MICA (Missile d'Interception et de Combat Aérien). This was fielded in two variants - the MICA EM with an active-radar seeker and the MICA IR with an IR seeker. Taiwan is the only MICA user in the region, with the MICA to providing a long-range armament for its Mirage 2000-5 fleet.

The older Matra 530 is a heavier weapon of all-French design. Although of limited capability, it sold well on the export market, Pakistan was the only user in the region, and the weapon may still serve with the Mirage III force. Although Matra (now MBDA) offered the much-improved Super 530, which had little in common with the earlier design, the only customer in the region was India, which adopted the Super 530D variant for its Mirage 2000-5 fleet.

Russia’s equivalent to the Sparrow were the Vympel R-23 and R-24 (AA-7 'Apex').

These were used only on the MiG-23 ‘Flogger’. Small numbers of these may still be in service with North Korea and Vietnam.

For the Su-27 'Flanker' and MiG-29

IRIS-T, seen here during its validation-test trials in 2002, scored five seeker-guided intercepts of target drones at the Salto di Quirra Test Range in Sardinia. Since then, the missile has scored a series of export contracts. India could the next, some observers believe © Diehl BGT Defence

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A I R

DEFENCE

Pakistan displayed China’s SD-10A BVRAAM alongside the JF-17 Thunder (CAC FC-1) lightweight fighter at the 2010 Farnborough Air Show. © Doug Richardson

Derby is light enough to be carried on the wingtip station of the F-16 © Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

'Fulcrum', a more modern missile was required. This emerged as the Vympel R-27 (AA-10 'Alamo') series first fielded in SARguided R-27R (AA-10 'Alamo-A'), IR-guided R-27T (AA-10 'Alamo-B') and passive RF homing R-27P (AA-10 'Alamo-E') forms.

These were followed by the R-27ER (AA10 'Alamo-C') and R-27ET (AA-10 'Alamo-D') extended-range SAR and IR-guided variants, which can be recognised by their lengthened rocket motor.

Export versions of the R-27 series were designated R-27R1, R-27ER1, R-27T1 and R27ET1. Regional users are Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, North Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

The nearest Russian equivalent to the AIM-120 AMRAAM is the Vympel R-77 (AA-

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12 ‘Adder’). Immediately recognisable by its novel lattice-pattern tail fins, this has been more successful in the region than MICA, the RVV-AE export version having been selected

by India, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Although widely dubbed ‘AMRAAMSKI’ in press reports, the R-77/RVV-AE cannot match the performance of current AMRAAM variants. An improved version known as Izdeliye 180 is under development, and is expected to rival the AIM-120C-7. But by the time it is in service, the AIM-120D will have reopened the performance gap.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’s Derby was developed by Israel because although that country had access to the AIM-120 AMRAAM, it saw the need for a BVRAAM whose seeker algorithms would be under its own control.

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The first export customer was India, whose naval air arm has retrofitted Derby to its small force of BAE Sea Harrier FRS Mk 51 carrierbased fighters as part of an upgrade that also installed the Elta EL-2032 multimode radar.

Singapore is reported to have adopted Derby for use on its upgraded F-5S fighters, while Thailand may be using the missile on its upgraded F-5E Tiger II fighters.

Uncertain of its ability to procure the latest US AIMs, Taiwan ordered its Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) to developed the indigenous Tien Chen I and Tien Chen II (Sky Sword 1 and 2). Tien Chen I is a Sidewinder-class missile, but Tien Chen II is an ambitious weapon in the ARMAAM performance class and fitted with an active radar seeker. Tien Chen II has been integrated with the indigenously developed Ching-Kuo fighter.

Mitsubishi’s AAM-4 (Type 99) developed for use on the F-15J is an AMRAAM-class missile that was due to become operational with the JASDF in 2009/10. Although it is reported to have been tested with either a dual-mode IR/active radar seeker or interchangeable IR and active-radar seekers, the production version is understood to use an active-radar seeker.

The latest BVRAAM to reach the market is the Luoyang Electro-Optical Technology Development Center (LOEC) SD-10 from China. Like many previous Chinese AIMs, the SD-10 is claimed to be a wholly indigenous design, but in practice it involved significant Russian design input and hardware.

Possible links to Ukrainian companies have also been reported.

One recent surprise has been the Chinese revelation that in addition to AMRAAMstyle operating modes, the SD-10 also has a passive RF homing mode.

The basic SD-10 is thought to be in Chinese service - perhaps under the designation PL-12 - and a follow-on SD-10A model is now being marketed. This was developed to address cost and reliability issues experienced with the SD-10, rather than to provide a significant increase in performance.

SD-10 is expected to arm Pakistan's new JF17 Thunder lightweight fighter (a design jointly developed with China) and the weapon was displayed by Pakistan alongside the JF-17 at the 2010 Farnborough Air Show.

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M I L I T A R Y

Defence in

Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra was sworn into office on 10 August as Thailand’s first female prime minister. Apart from reconciling political tensions that have boiled over into sporadic violence during the past three years, the sister of deposed Thaksin Shinawatra must contend with two major security challenges. The first is intractable violence in southern Thailand. The other is an acrimonious border conflict with Cambodia that has killed 28 soldiers and civilians this year alone.

by Gordon Arthur

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Cambodian border

The border dispute dates back to June 2008, when Cambodia unilaterally registered the 11th-centuy Preah Vihear Temple as a UNESCO world heritage site. Cambodia submitted a management plan for the temple, an action that infuriated Thailand because it argues a 4.6km_ area adjacent to the complex is on Thai soil. In 2008, cross-border clashes also spread to the Ta Moan Temple 153km further west.

Preah Vihear Temple is in the locale of Phu Makhua, a mountain now occupied by 1,600 Cambodian special-warfare troops.

This is in addition to regular troops and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s loyal bodyguard, a formation composed of war orphans.

Cambodia is constructing a new road to Phu Makhua and its ancient temple, this route having obvious strategic value for ongoing military operations.

The Thai-Cambodian standoff has regularly flared into full-scale armed battles.

Thailand admitted to using cluster munitions in April, while Cambodian soldiers have been observed firing from within the historical site.

One commentator told the author that a root of the problem is weak Cambodian chains of command that cannot restrain soldiers from instigating skirmishes. The International Court of Justice has called for a pullback and

establishment of a demilitarised zone, but so far neither country has agreed on a mechanism to allow this to happen.

Some accuse Thailand’s generals of deliberately fanning the conflict to cement their political position, and certainly this escalation is fuelling the pace of Thai military modernisation. In addition to pumping more money into its military, Cambodia is also seeking 5,000 extra soldiers to reinforce its border.

Southern insurgency

Two Chinese-built Type 25T Naresuan-class frigates are undergoing a midlife upgrade The armed Cambodian border conflict is being treated with equal gravity as the entrenched ethnic insurgency in the three Muslim-dominated southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat in what was once a Malay sultanate. The violent insurgency gained momentum in 2004, and 4,000 people have died since then. This death toll includes 155 soldiers and 2,729 civilians. Motorcycle bombs, shootings, beheadings and arson attacks occur almost daily, with most targets being Buddhists.

Instigators of the insurgency remain shadowy, but Thaksin Shinawatra’s hard-line military response proved counterproductive, alienating Muslims and fermenting the rebellion. Today nearly 70,000 security personnel are deployed in a region containing 1.7 million people. The ratio of troops to insurgents is high, but this has not lessened the violence.

Amnesty International has documented cases of systematic torture of Muslim detainees by Thai security forces, and draconian laws (allowing security forces to detain suspects for 30 days without charge, for example) have been enacted.

The outgoing government proclaimed its “hearts-and-minds” strategy of accelerating economic development and improving governance was “on the right track”, but violence has only increased. One method of countering the insurgency has been to train and arm civilian militias, and some 100,000 people belong to such armed groups. This proliferation of weapons means the region is awash with guns, with the number of weapons jumping 10 percent annually since 2004. Finding solutions to the chronic violence wracking the Muslim-majority provinces will be a priority for the Puea Thai government.

Border areas are controlled by two paramilitary organisations — the Thahan Phran (Hunter Soldiers) and Border

HTMS Chakri Naruebet trails two frigates during a training exercise in the Gulf of Thailand © Sompong Nondhasa/Gordon Arthur

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The army is seeking new helicopters to replace older UH-1Hs and to supplement existing craft like this UH-60L Black Hawk © Gordon Arthur

Patrol Police (BPP). They allow regular army units to be kept in reserve. Illegal drugs, methamphetamines, weapon smuggling, illegal immigrants and human trafficking are rampant along the northern border with Myanmar, creating another source of instability. Small special forces detachments are used in the southern provinces and along the borders for intelligence tasks.

Naval expansion

Thailand possesses the world’s third-largest fishing fleet, plus it operates 80 offshore oil platforms. Piracy and smuggling are a concern, which necessitates a capable navy. The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) would like to develop into more of a blue-water force and to increase its presence in the Andaman Sea. It has already deployed vessels to the Gulf of Aden for counter-piracy tasks. However, the navy has been implicated in the practice of setting Rohingya illegal immigrants from Bangladesh/Myanmar adrift at sea, with the latest incident involving a boatload of 91 refugees occurring in January.

ST Marine is building a landing platform dock (LPD) for the navy, a ship similar to Singapore’s Endurance-class. Christened HTMS Angthong, it was launched in March 2011 and should be commissioned next year to boost the navy’s amphibious capability.

Neighbours Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore have been acquiring new submarines, and last year the navy submitted a proposal to acquire two diesel-electric submarines. Ann agreement in principle has been signed for two second-hand Type 206A submarines from the German Navy at a bar-

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gain price of USD220 million. The navy would ultimately like to buy all six German submarines on offer, but it is still awaiting parliamentary approval. The shallow-water capability of the 500-tonne Type 206A is well suited to Thailand’s littoral environment.

Interestingly, Thailand once operated submarines prior to WWII, but it will wish to avoid the situation where craft are left idle because of a lack of funds and crews, as happens with its aircraft carrier.

Two Chinese-built Type 25T Naresuanclass frigates are undergoing a midlife upgrade where they will receive RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM). In June, Saab was awarded a $73.5 million contract to upgrade the two frigates with its 9LV Mk4 combat management system, Sea Giraffe AMB surveillance radar, CEROS 200 fire control radar, EOS 500 optronic director and tactical data-link that enables communication with newly delivered Saab aircraft.

This programme should conclude in 2014.

Two Chao Phraya-class frigates are also receiving a midlife upgrade that includes a Chinese Type 360 radar system, new combat management system, 100mm naval guns, TR47C tracking radar and eight C-802A missiles to replace the existing C-801s.

In late 2009, the RTN ordered a 2,000-ton offshore patrol vessel (OPV) based on a BAE design. Scheduled for completion next year at Bangkok Dock, the first-of-class OPV boasts an Otobreda 76/62 Super Rapid Gun and two DS 30M 30mm cannons. It also has provision for missiles to be retrofitted. A follow-on requirement for three identical OPVs will continue to benefit domestic shipbuilding industries. Local construction of a second batch of three Tor 991-class patrol boats is currently under way too. A comprehensive coastal-based radar system would be a very important asset for Thailand.

In August, Thailand became the first interThe armoured vehicle inventories of the Marine Corps and RTA are being boosted by Ukrainian BTR-3E1 vehicles in seven variants © Gordon Arthur

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A pair of new JAS 39 Gripen fighters flies over Thailand’s tropical terrain in a photo taken in mid-2011 © Sompong Nondhasa/Gordon Arthur

national customer to receive MH-60S helicopters. Thailand ordered two craft via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, and will order four more. They will be used for utility missions as well as search and rescue (SAR).

As part of a plan to acquire 14 new helicopters, the RTN is considering the future purchase of four Super Lynx 300 craft. The navy would like to eventually replace its AV-8S jets aboard the HTMS Chakri Naruebet carrier with an attack helicopter. The AH-1 Cobra would be an obvious candidate, but the navy is keeping the option of a fixed-wing aircraft on the table too.

Air force advances

Thailand’s 2011 defence budget expanded to $5.6 billion, amounting to 1.6 percent of GDP. Defence spending is forecast to grow to $9.7 billion by 2015, and the corresponding GDP ratio should rise to 2.1 percent. Presently, 30 percent of the budget goes on capital equipment, with one of the biggest-ticket items being new Saab aircraft ordered in 2008. The Royal Thai Air Force’s (RTAF) air defence capability has hugely improved with the induction of six Gripen multi-role fighters, one Saab S100B Argus airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft with Erieye radar, an additional Saab 340, and three ground based radio sites. This new equipment improves airspace surveillance, network-centricity and interception. The AEW&C asset was delivered in December 2010 while the four JAS 39D and two JAS 39C fighters had been delivered to Wing 7 by February 2011. The first Gripen squadron was declared operational in July.

A second acquisition phase will run from 2012-16, and involves exercising an option for six further Gripen JAS 39C fighters and an additional AEW&C aircraft. This $317 mil-

Thailand’s 2011 defence budget expanded to $5.6 billion, amounting to 1.6 percent of GDP

lion deal was signed last November and the aircraft should be delivered beginning 2013.

Thailand is also receiving Swedish RBS-15F anti-ship missiles. Induction of these Gripens will partially replace old F-5s, but there is still a need to upgrade F-5E/F fighters until more Gripens come on stream.

In October 2010, Thailand decided to upgrade its F-16A/B Block 15 fighter fleet via FMS. The $700 million midlife upgrade will see six aircraft upgraded at a time in three overlapping batches. Upgrading of the first six 403 Fighter Squadron aircraft began earlier this year and should be completed by 2013.

Improvements include a modular mission computer, APG-68(V)9 radar, AN/APX-113 combined interrogator and transponder, AN/ALQ-213 electronic warfare management system, AN/ALE-47 countermeasures dispenser system, Link 16 and Joint HelmetMounted Cueing System (JHMCS). This programme will modernise the F-16 fleet to Block 50/52 standard, extending their lifespan to 2025. An F-16 crash killed one RTAF pilot in October 2010, and two F-16s collided in February 2011.

The RTAF also needs new SAR helicopters, and this requirement could go the way of either the UH-60M, AW139 or Mi-17. The RTAF

also needs unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) suitable for border and territorial surveillance. It intends to indigenously develop small and medium UAVs to eventually form a UAV squadron.

Up-armouring

In July, the Royal Thai Army (RTA) stated it was urgently seeking 36 new helicopters to replace its depleted inventory of UH-1Hs. This announcement immediately followed a spate of three fatal helicopter crashes within the space of a week. The army earlier received three Mi-17V5 helicopters in February, this being a significant milestone since it represented Russia’s first major military sale to Thailand. In fact, this purchase had come at the cost of upgrading 15 Hueys instead. Three more Mi-17V5 craft will be ordered this year and in July the government requested three

A soldier from the elite airborne-capable 31st Regiment, RDF, takes aim with his newly issued Tavor TAR-21 assault rifle © Gordon Arthur

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M I L I T A R Y

Thai soldiers practise room-clearing operations under the watchful eye of US Army personnel during a Cobra Gold exercise © Gordon Arthur

UH-60M Black Hawks valued at $235 million.

However, at this stage it is unclear which way the army will go with its helicopter requirement, with contenders being the Mi-17, UH60M or AW139. The army also operates Israeli-produced Searcher UAVs. An important new armoured vehicle is the BTR-3E1 8x8 armoured personnel carrier (APC) from Ukraine. Of the 96-vehicle contract, twelve were allocated to the Marine Corps in June. The army’s order includes BTR-3E1 APC, BTR-3K Command, BTR-3M1 81mm Mortar, BTR-3M2 120mm Mortar, BTR-3RK Anti-Tank Missile, BTR-3BR Recovery and BTR-3S Ambulance variants.

The second and third batches should be delivered by January 2012. In breaking news, Ukrspetsexport announced it was selling a further 121 BTR-3E1s to Thailand. Further cementing Ukraine’s position as a major defence supplier, in March the government approved the purchase of the first 49 T-84 Oplot main battle tanks (MBT) to equip the 4th, 8th, 9th and 16th Cavalry Battalions. A total of 200 T-84 Oplots will replace elderly M41A3 tanks, although reports allege that soldiers preferred the South Korean K1A1.

With neighbours such as Malaysia and Singapore operating multiple rocket launchers (MRL), Thailand wishes to upgrade its own artillery. HIMARS is the system most likely to be selected. The elite 31st Infantry Regiment, Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), was one of the first units to be equipped with new Israeli-manufactured Tavor TAR-21 assault rifles. This unit is earmarked for rapid deployment anywhere in the country or even for overseas peacekeeping missions.

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Domestic industry

The US accorded Thailand the status of a “major non-NATO ally” in 2003, and the military benefits greatly from American support, training and equipment. However, Thailand is keen to strengthen its underdeveloped defence industry, which presently supplies just 10 percent of Thai military equipment.

Any military procurement exceeding $9.5 million comes with mandatory offsets ranging from 20-50 percent. Nevertheless, corruption, an opaque procurement process and the existence of indirect offsets conspire to stifle the domestic defence sector.

China has extended a generous hand to Thailand, glad of the opportunity to increase its regional influence. Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie visited Bangkok in December 2009, and enhancing military cooperation was a topic high on the agenda.

The R&D capacity of the Weapons Production Centre in Lopburi is being expanded to improve the flow of modern Chinese missile technologies. This foundation is the first stage in a drive to develop rockets and missiles over the next decade.

The locally designed and assembled Type 50 4x4 tactical vehicle offers a low-cost alternative to vehicles such as the HMMWV © Gordon Arthur

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One of the first fruits of cooperation is a prototype MRL that the Defence Technologies Institute will begin testing in 2012.

The Chaiseri Metal & Rubber Company won an RTA order for 21 First Win 4x4 armoured vehicles suitable for counterinsurgency operations. Production commenced in late 2011. Another example of local enterprise is the Type 50 4x4 tactical vehicle based on a Toyota Hilux chassis and engine. A total of 700 vehicles is being assembled by Preechataworn Industry Company Limited from 2009-11.

In July, the Royal Thai Army stated it was urgently seeking 36 new helicopters to replace its depleted inventory of UH-1Hs Prospects

The military’s formidable political influence should never be underestimated, as illustrated by the 2006 coup d’état. Abhisit Vejjajiva’s administration, installed by the military, succeeded in prospering the defence budget by 75% compared to pre-coup levels, plus the military was effectively able to set its own budget and procurement priorities. The military clamped down hard on “red-shirt” protestors and was quick to use military force instead of diplomacy against Cambodia. Likewise, the military establishment will not be afraid to exert pressure on the new government, thereby exacerbating perennial tensions between the three Thai institutions of monarchy, military and parliament. The deteriorating health of 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej adds to political uncertainty too. Will Yingluck Shinawatra’s government be able to make headway against the Muslim-led insurgency and armed border conflict? Furthermore, will the military be content to sit quietly on the democratic sidelines as the Puea Thai Party wrestles with these challenges?

CBRN DEFENCE

The FUCHS armoured reconnaissance system. The German Bundeswehr has 114 systems, Great Britain 11, Saudi Arabia 10 and the Netherlands 6 © Rheinmetall Defence Electronics GmbH

CBRN

Reconnaissance in the Era of

Defence Cuts A How does CBRN — chemical, biological, radiological, or even nuclear weapons — fare in the pantheon of military threats in the second decade of the 21st century?

by Andy Oppenheimer

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fter almost a decade in the Afghanistan campaign, the CBRN threat to troops on the ground is deemed far less likely than insurgents planting IEDs. Nevertheless, CBRN defence and surveillance has been an important aspect of command-level decision making both during the Cold War and since 9/11. Despite the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011, and other leaders, Al Qaeda (AQ) is still regarded by many in government as main-

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taining the intention – if, not yet, the capability – of mounting a CBRN attack. While AQ has since been considerably weakened in its original heartlands, the doctrine lives on and groups are springing up in other countries.

Other non-jihadi threats prevail, including ‘lone wolves’ and non-affiliated groups with political, grudge or revenge issues. According to Al Mauroni, author of Where Are the WMDs?: The Reality of Chem-Bio Threats on the Home Front and the Battlefront, the most credible threat is “the improvised use of

CBRN DEFENCE

industrial chemicals by insurgents or single actors.” Attacks on civilians – such as girls’ schools in early 2010 - and Afghan troops and police have included the use of organophosphates, which is a precursor to nerve agent and produces similar symptoms, some of them long-term. Service people and civilians alike have witnessed basic IEDs incorporating organophosphates and other widely available household chemicals such as insecticides and rat poison. Involvement in peacekeeping and reconstruction missions which are sabotaged by insurgents also brings troops into possible CBRN harm’s way.

Risk assessments factor in the likelihood of opponents compensating for their conventional inferiority by using nonconventional weapons. Such groups take advantage of a plethora of materials, many of them dual-use but with potential applications for CBRN, on the world market. Iran is a prime proliferator of rockets, explosively formed projectiles, and military hardware to many groups including to the Taliban, and is believed to have CW (chemical weapons) stocks as well as a longsuspected nuclear weapons programme.

The growing importance already seen in counter-IED policy to ‘shoot the archer’ – that is, eliminate the links in the supply chain of terrorists and insurgents before they can set off their bombs. This means that recon has a growing role in spying out movement and deployment of materials and personnel being deployed in non-conventional plots and actual attacks.

Lack of precedent

The main problem with assessing preparations against and response to, CBRN attacks is the lack of precedent in both civilian and military arenas. Their rarity means that priorities

Rheinmetall also make the Yak mobile biological reconnaissance systems © Rheinmetall Defence Electronics GmbH

– increasingly under pressure with reduced government spending – may be switched to more immediate concerns in the field. But it is often said that while a CBRN event is low probability, it could be high effect. Even the threat of smaller improvised CBRN devices warrants the need for conducting reconnaissance for non-conventional weapons, agents, equipment and materials within an area of operations where such weapons are suspected of being deployed, manufactured, or abandoned. Recce is particularly essential to avoid contamination of troops, bases and vehicles,

Other non-jihadi threats prevail, including ‘lone wolves’ and non-affiliated groups with political, grudge or revenge issues

which is not only injurious but causes delays in the mission as well as endangering sensitive or humanitarian missions in insurgency heartlands. Therefore, recce vehicles are also equipped for decontamination and CBRN collective protection (COLPRO), with field usable, accurate and sensitive detection, sampling and identification equipment.

In the post-Cold War era Operation Desert Storm in 1991 was the most significant campaign where extensive searches for ‘weapons of mass destruction’ (WMD) were conducted, most notably by former Eastern Bloc CBRN units, including a 250-strong Czech NBC recce unit dispatched to Kuwait, and the UK Joint CBRN Regiment, which has conducted operations in support of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Afghanistan as well as maintaining a limited operational role in Iraq. CW deployment was expected more in the First Gulf War than the second.

However, three years after the second Gulf War, in 2006 US Army officials testified before the House Armed Services Committee that about 500 munitions found in Iraq from 2003 actually constituted WMDs. US Defense Intelligence Agency Director, Army Lieutenant General Michael D. Maples, stated that the suspected munitions contained mustard and sarin – despite successive pre-invasion inspections having found no such weapons.

As IEDs are the prevailing threat in The First Royal Tank Regiment provides firstclass specialist CBRN support using the armoured Fuchs Recce and Survey vehicle, IBDS and Light Role Teams ©UK MoD

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CBRN DEFENCE

The Rheinmetall mobile NBC field laboratories include a mass spectrometer to provide comprehensive analysis of CBRN agents on the move ©Rheinmetall Defence Electronics GmbH

Afghanistan and just about every insurgencyprone area, EOD (Explosives Ordnance Disposal) must often factor in the CBRN threat on mission. In insurgency areas with mine-ridden roads, difficulties present if the vehicle has to be stopped and the crew disembark to analyse and identify any suspect substances found, following alarms by onboard detectors. This would be followed by sampling of both air and ground materials.

System tools are used to create a complete CBRN report and perform real-time monitoring of contamination. The onboard computer on either armoured or non-armoured vehicles receives and processes real-time data from the sensors. Manufacturers of CBRN recce vehicles supply complex software to enable CBRN reporting and real time alarms to be logged and analysed, and simulation programs to assist in training.

Changes affecting CBRN: the UK

In the UK, where defence cuts are beginning to bite hard, as of 2 August 2011 all responsibilities for CBRN across the MoD are to be transferred to the RAF Regiment – in effect, to delete the Joint CBRN Regiment and move all of the UK’s specialist military CBRN capabilities.

The RAF will remain the Lead Service for CBRN; the wide-area CBRN reconnaissance and survey capabilities, based upon the Fuchs armoured vehicle, will be gapped; all other capabilities currently provided by the Army element of the Jt CBRN Regt the Multipurpose Decontamination System, some of the Light Role Teams, and all command and control - will transfer to a wholly-RAF Regt manned Defence CBRN Wg, which will include 26 Sqn RAF R e g t , 27 Sqn RAF Regt and 2623 Sqn RAuxAF Regt.

Elements of 1st Royal Tank

Regiment (1RTR) equipped with a variety of highly technical vehicles and specially trained personnel has provided the Army’s contribution to the Joint CBRN Regiment –including detection, survey, reconnaissance and decontamination capabilities with analysis and advice to the Army, Navy and Air Force and government departments. While 1RTR is not be disbanded as a result of the Secretary of State’s decision on CBRN, it is to retain a footprint in Honington until at least April 2013, but implementation planning for the transformation of the Specialist CBRN capability to the RAF Regt is in train.

The Long Range Biological Standoff Detection System (LR-BSDS) is used to detect, track and map large area aerosol clouds with particles larger than 1 micron at ranges up to 30km ©US Army

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CBRN is a capability area vulnerable to cuts as – unlike the post-9/11 panic period and spending spree on CBRN defence equipment - there are few or no major equipment projects; threat warnings abound over and above actual events. While a great relief to everyone, this has driven CBRN defence down as a priority for governments, other than possibly the United States.

Fuchs/Fox: state of the art

Fuchs CBRN Reconnaissance vehicles were the first of their kind which British forces drove into Iraq in the first Gulf War and with its US variant, the NBC-RS-Fox, now the M93 Fox, have been upgraded to be arguably the world’s most technologically advanced CBRN recce vehicle.

The latest versions of the Fuchs are also equipped with improved protection against mines and IEDs and a robotic arm for remote collection of material to enhance crew safety.

At IDEX 2011 in Abu Dhabi, German manufacturer Rheinmetall showcased its latest version of the Fuchs/Fox 2 BIO armoured reconnaissance system (Fuchs/Fox 2 BIORS), along with the proven Fuchs/Fox 2 NBC-RS and associated command post system, Fuchs/Fox 2 NBC-CPS. As well as in the UK and

CBRN DEFENCE

US Some 300 Fuchs systems are deployed by Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and Germany, where eight of the vehicles are to be upgraded. The United Arab Emirates have bought in 32 systems for their UAE Chemical Corps. The COLPRO ventilation system minimises hazards to the crew and the air conditioning system is specifically designed for desert operations. This capability was successfully proven during summer trials in the UAE desert.

Fuchs has incorporated the Bruker Daltonics biological suite, which can continuously monitor the external air for aerosolised particles. These are then analysed by the onboard mass spectrometer, with processing of samples and the identification of BWAs carried out in a completely sealed analysis chamber. Glove ports as a microbiological isolator allow operators to work totally separated from the potentially infectious material.

State-of-the-art genetic and immunological ID techniques include ELISA (Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay) and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) to identify BWAs in the collected samples. There is also the need to detect and analyse Release Other Than Attack (ROTA) events such as nuclear

and chemical accidents or damage caused by radioactive or toxic storage material (a threat which looms large on operations in countries with unstable or insecure civilian nuclear and chemical facilities).

The US equivalent of the Bruker system, the Long Range Biological Stand-off Detection System (LR-BSDS) made for the US Forces by Schwartz Electro-Optics Inc and Fibertek Inc, employs onboard LIDAR technology to detect, track and map particles larger than 1 micron in large area aerosol clouds at a maximum 30-km range. Detection and sampling systems are also becoming more compact and vehicle interiors incorporate a microbiological safety cabinet for soldiers to operate the systems and replenish consumables without wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) - while being protected from sample pathogens.

The CBRN Reconnaissance system made

by Environics is in service with the Finnish Defence forces and EU Union Battle Group missions. Its leading feature is the ChemPro100 handheld chemical detector for detecting vapours from CWAs and TICs (toxic industrial chemicals). ChemPro 100 is based on ion mobility spectrometry and metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors. Its temperature and humidity sensors can be used as a monitor for post-event survey or adapted as a fixed installation detector.

Libraries of CWAs and TICs/TIMs (toxic industrial materials) are included in the user interface.

Eastern deployment

Stand-off chemical detection systems made

by Proengin and Bertin Technologies have been adopted by Singapore’s Civil Defence Forces as well as the AP4C hand held chemical alarm monitor. At the end of 2010 the Indian Army deployed four of its first wholly indigenously made CBRN recce vehicles in Pune. This reflects India’s policy to prepare for monitoring radiologically or chemically contaminated areas as a possible result of terrorist and insurgent actions or ROTAs. Designed and manufactured for the Army by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), 16 more vehicles are ordered for delivery in 2013, to be made by OF, Medak and BEL. The Indian

In the post-Cold War era Operation Desert Storm in 1991 was the most significant campaign where extensive searches for ‘weapons of mass destruction’ were conducted

NBC recce vehicle is designed with a BMPIIK Chassis for cross-country use with onboard detection and sampling systems, with a Flag Marking System for demarcation of nuclear and chemically contaminated zones. The Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force has deployed a NBC reconnaissance version of the Type 82 command and communications vehicle made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. A vast increase in demand for decontamination systems and nuclearadaptable robots has arisen since the

TPz-1 Fuchs NBC protection vehicle in service with 101 NBC Company, 101 Geniebataljon (engineers), Army of The Netherlands © Rheinmetall

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Soldiers of the 4th Platoon, 181st CBRN Company, conduct a mounted reconnaissance mission during a field training exercise March 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, with the new M1135 NBC Reconnaissance Vehicle, also known as the NBC RV Stryker.© US DoD

Fukushima power plant explosions and subsequent radioactive releases.

Recce from the air

As (unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) ‘drone’ aircraft are increasingly used for airborne reconnaissance of insurgent activity and supply chains in the Afpak theatre, specifically equipped UAVs can detect CBRN launch sites and other suspect locations, as well as clouds of toxic vapours or BWAs which may be released by a crop sprayer or other light aircraft upwind of a protected base or airfield.

Both conventional reconnaissance aircraft and UAVs may be used for airborne CBRN The Environics CBRN Reconnaissance vehicle contains early warning detectors, sample collection, sample analysis and real-time monitoring software with remote alarms to control centres © ENVIRONICS

recce as they can carry a detection payload of 14-30 kg, and can operate for 15 hours in flight. The vehicle itself can operate on-board sensors to survey suspected zones of contamination, or deploy stand-alone sensors upwind of vulnerable sites and formations.

The payload may include a chemical detector such as Smiths Detection's Lightweight Chemical Detector (LCD), in use

by UK and many other armed forces. The latest version is fitted in the interchangeable nose cone of the RQ-11B Raven air vehicle in US service. The detector’s LCD has been modified as a cylindrical Chemical Sensor Module (CSM) for detection and ID. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) payload includes remote agent detection for BWAs. Research is focusing on optical spectroscopy systems. A programme developed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) develops Femtosecond Adaptive Spectroscopy Techniques for Remote Agent Detection (FASTREAD), which aims to overcome the shortcomings of current LIDAR techniques with regard to improved specificity in analysing BW agents. Biological detection is still the least accurate and effective in the ‘trinity’ of NBC – but technological advances have been rapid and – up until now - well funded.

Combining recce with decontamination

Indeed, many military advisors are facing up to downsizing and streamlining CBRN defence. The need to decontaminate along with the reconnaissance operation means that if something CBRN is detected, the vehi-

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cle must be decontaminated. The need for speed on the battlefield and restoring operational capability necessitates development of more compact decon systems than the previous heavy ones, without losing their effectiveness. According to Dr. Alexander Grabowski, Decontamination Director at Wehrwissenschaftliches Institut für Schutztechnologien (WIS), Germany, interviewed by CBRNe World in late 2010: “it is impossible to develop a single system which, on the one hand, meets all requirements (for decontamination) but which is… compatible with the typical operational profile of airborne operations.” He recommends that the

Fuchs has incorporated the Bruker Daltonics biological suite, which can continuously monitor the external air for aerosolised particles

required capabilities be implemented in individual systems to create “small, compact units which can be tailored to the operational scenarios of air-mobile forces by adjusting the number and type of systems to the requirements of the specific situation.”

Downsizing of advanced systems — also for ease of training — will therefore go with the emergence of more compact, ‘lab on a chip’ systems for detection and sampling — but the need for CBRN stand-off detection and heavily armoured reconnaissance will continue for the foreseeable future.

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Asia-Pacific Procurement Update AUSTRALIA Meggitt selected for ADF training

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has selected Meggitt Training Systems for an A$29 million contract for the operation, maintenance and support of the Weapon Training Simulation System (WTSS) facilities.

The WTSS is a is a 12-lane, indoor, small arms training facility employing laser and computer based virtual simulation technology.

The system is designed to permit the conduct of small arms training, simulating day and night conditions, ranging from individual marksmanship through to section battle shooting, simulating day and night conditions.

The WTSS programme, designed to train ADF soldiers, sailors and airmen in the rules of engagement, judgement, marksmanship, indirect fire forward air control I-FACT), and indirect fire training (IFT) is provided by Meggitt.

The new contract will see Meggitt operate and maintain the eighteen sites located throughout Australia between July 2011 and June 2016.

RAAF C-130J upgrade complete

CAE Australia has completed the upgrade of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) C130J Hercules full-flight and mission simulator (FFMS) as part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Management and Support of the ADF’s Aerospace Simulator (MSAAS) contract. The programme aims to bring all RAAF training systems are concurrent with the

platforms they simulate.

As prime contractor on the programme, CAE has upgraded the C-130J simulator to include new radar warning receiver (RWR) simulation for pilot early warning and threat detection during training. The RWR also allows instructors to insert various radar threats into simulator training sessions to provide aircrews with realistic tactical mission training scenarios to ensure a realistic and diverse training experience.

As the C-130J FFMS also includes CAE’s Interactive Tactical Environment Management System (ITEMS) for creating complex tactical environment scenarios, and the Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) functionality, the C-130J FFMS can be networked with the C-130H FFMS co-located at RAAF Base Richmond.

The upgrade was completed in budget, and without needing to remove the simulator from service throughout.

Navantia selected to construct additional landing craft for RAN

The Australian government has awarded Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia a contract to construct 12 new landing craft to compliment the new Canberra class landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious ships. The contract has been awarded following the announcement by Navantia of the establishment of a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary that will have a

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CAE Australia recently completed an upgrade to the RAAF’s C-130J Hercules full-flight and mission simulator © CAE

permanent presence in Australia.

Navantia is involved in two of the biggest shipbuilding programmes underway for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), undertaking the construction of two LHDs under programme JP2048 Phase 4A/4B of the Australian Defence Amphibious Ships project, and the new Air-Warfare Destroyers (AWDs).

The LHD vessels will be the RAN’s biggest ever warships at 27,000 tonnes, and will greatly enhance the RAN’s ability to deploy land forces for combat operations and amphibious disaster relief. They will also be used for humanitarian, disaster relief and peacekeeping operations. The vessels will carry up to 1,000 personnel each, 150 armoured vehicles, and will each have six helicopter landing spots with provisions for a mix of troop lift and armed reconnaissance helicopters.

The newly contracted LCM-1E landing craft will work in operation with the Canberra class LHDs, to deliver troops and equipment onshore during amphibious assaults and missions. The LCM-1E is 110ton class fast landing craft designed and built

by Navantia shipyards. These vessels are intended to deliver troops and equipment onshore during amphibious assaults where there are no fixed port facilities. Each 110 tonne craft is powered by two MAN D-2842

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The RAAF’s new A39-002 KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport has taken its first flight in RAAF service from Base Amberley © EADS

ed electronic data recorder for enhanced situational awareness and post flight analysis. It is certified for single and dual pilot IFR operations with WAAS capabilities enabling point-in-space approaches in as low as 250 ft.

Ceilings, and has advanced flight performance with 155kt (287kph) speed, over 400nm (754km) range, and HOGE over 11,000ft (3,438m). The aircraft can be configured in a variety of ways for different missions.

The contract with Raytheon Australia is a lease-agreement, and will come into force in 2012.

RAAF air tanker takes first flight

LE 402X engines each developing 809 Kw with two waterjets. It can achieve a top speed of 22 knots and has maximum range of 190 nm at economic speed.

The LCM-1E is already in service with the Spanish Navy and the first four vessels are scheduled to arrive in Australia with the first of the LHDs in 2014.

vrability allows it to operate on narrow taxiways and congested ramps. With a maximum payload of 164,900 pounds (74,797 kg), the C-17 can take off and land on runway space measuring 3,000 feet (914.4 m) or less.

The US government will assess the Australian request, taking into consideration capability, schedule and cost assessments.

Australia requests sixth C-17A Globemaster III

Australia orders Bell 429 helicopters

The Australian government has requested the purchase of a sixth C-17A Globemaster III heavy-lift aircraft under a foreign military sale (FMS) with the US government.

Australia outlined its plans to purchase an additional Globemaster aircraft in its 20112012 defence budget, published in March 2011. The fifth Globemaster aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was received from the US in September.

Australia has requested the additional aircraft in order to enhance its heavy-lift defence capabilities, and in particular in order to better respond to humanitarian missions within its local region. The RAAF C-17s played a central role in the Japan earthquake and tsunami relief effort earlier this year, delivering more than 1 million pounds of cargo, including water and cannons to help cool the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The C-17 provides the RAAF with the capability to airlift large payloads across intercontinental distances and transport combat-ready troops to remote locations, by either landing or airdropping them directly where needed. The C-17's unique manoeu-

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The Australian government has signed a contract with Raytheon Australia for the provision of three Bell 429 helicopters for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The contract will see the delivery of the aircraft and four years’ support and maintenance by Raytheon Australia at a cost of $26 million.

The RAN is purchasing the Bell 429s in an effort to maintain and develop the skills of junior naval helicopter aircrew and to ensure pilots and aircrew are prepared for the arrival of the new Romeo combat helicopters in 2014, according to the Australian Minister for Defence Materiel, Jason Clare. The aircraft will be operated by the RAN 723 Squadron in Nowra.

Currently junior RAN helicopter pilots are training on Squirrel helicopters and the Bell 429s will give pilots a chance to broaden and hone their skills before moving onto combat helicopter platforms, such as the MH-60R Seahawks or MRH-90 helicopters.

The Bell 429 features a glass cockpit with Bell's BasiX-Pro Integrated Avionics System featuring two/three multi-function displays, dual digital 3-axis autopilot and an integratASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) new A39-002 KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport has taken its first flight in RAAF service from Base Amberley. The flight brings the tanker a step closer to officially entering service with the RAAF. During the 45 minute flight eight personnel on board conducted a series of checks of the aircraft’s systems and crew operating procedures. The aircraft will now continue in its intensive operational test and evaluation flying programme, ahead of expected entry into service in late 2012.

Five KC-30As have been ordered by the Australian government, with two having been delivered in-country in June 2011, and the remaining two due for delivery by the end of 2011. Qantas Defence Services is currently converting the final aircraft at its Brisbane facility, with hand-over expected in 2012.

The KC-30A is an Airbus A330 aircraft that has been modified for air-to-air refuelling and personnel transport. They will be capable of refuelling RAAF F/A-18 Hornets, F-111s, Airborne Early Warning and Control Wedgetails and Joint Strike Fighters, and will also be used to transport troops domestically or internationally. In its transport role, the KC-30A will be capable of carrying 270 passengers. Under-floor cargo compartments will be able to accommodate 34,000kgs of military and civilian cargo pallets and containers.

Advanced mission systems will also be fitted to the aircraft, including the Link 16 realtime data-link, military communications and navigation suites, and an electronic warfare self-protection system for protection against threats from surface-to-air missiles.

The RAAF aircraft will be fitted with Aerial Refueling Boom System (ARBS), consisting of a 'fly-by-wire' boom refuel system and allelectric probe-and-drogue systems.

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JAPAN Japan mulls F-X aircraft submissions

The Japanese Ministry of Defence (MOD) has received its official submissions for its F-X programme, with the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block II, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II all in competition for the contract.

The Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) is seeking a new multirole fifthgeneration fighter aircraft to replace its ageing F-4 Phantom fleet. Requests for information (RfI) were issued to all three companies earlier this year with a September 26 deadline for bids. The Japanese government is also believed to be considering an indigenous fighter aircraft for the programme.

While the Super Hornet has already been exported to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the Typhoon has been ordered by six nations including Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and has a total of 707 aircraft under contract; and over 290 aircraft have been delivered to the air forces of the four partner nations and to customers, with 115,000 flying hours achieved between them.

As part of their bid, led by BAE Systems, the Eurofighter consortium is offering the Japanese government licensed

TAIWAN Taiwan requests F-16A/B aircraft retrofit

The Bangladesh Navy has acquired two modern Do 228 New Generation (Do 228NG) turboprop aircraft from RUAG Aviation. The aircraft will be used in a maritime patrol capacity, and the purchase is the first fixed wing aircraft for the Bangladesh Navy to be used for this purpose.

Taiwan has requested an F-16A/B retrofit from the US government under the foreign military sales (FMS) route. US Congress has been notified of the request by the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).

If it goes ahead the package will include a retrofit of 145 older F-16A/B aircraft in the Taiwan Air Force fleet in order to enhance the country’s self-defence capabil-

production, maintenance and technology transfer, giving Japan sovereign control of manufacture, support and upgrade of Typhoon aircraft in Japan by Japanese industry. They are offering software source codes and other data, giving Japan the ability to develop the aircraft itself to meet its own unique needs, now and in the future.

The Super Hornet is the United States' newest operational and combat-proven fighter aircraft.

A multirole aircraft, it is able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, including air superiority,

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day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defences, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions.

Lockheed Martin has teamed with the US Air Force (USAF) for their bid with the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), which integrates advanced very low observable stealth into a supersonic, highly agile 5th generation fighter. The capabilities built into the F-35 Lightning II provide the pilot with unprecedented situational awareness and unmatched lethality and survivability.

The F-35 is one ofthe contenders for Japan’s F-X competition © Lockheed Martin

ities in the face of growing tension with northern neighbour, China.

In total Taiwan is requesting 176 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars; 176 Embedded Global Positioning System Inertial Navigation Systems; 176 ALQ-213 Electronic Warfare Management systems; upgrade 82 ALQ-184 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) pods to incorporate Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) technology or purchase new ECM pods (AN/ALQ-211(V)9 Airborne Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suites (AIDEWS) with DRFM, or AN/ALQ-131 pods with DRFM); and 86 tactical data link terminals.

Munitions requested include an upgrade to 28 electro-optical infrared targeting Sharpshooter pods; 26 AN/AAQ-33 SNIPER Targeting Systems or AN/AAQ28 LITENING Targeting Systems; 128 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems; 128

l

NOVEMBER 2011

l

Night Vision Goggles; 140 AIM-9X SIDEWINDER Missiles; 56 AIM-9X Captive Air Training Missiles; 5 AIM-9X Telemetry kits; 16 GBU-31V1 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) kits; 80 GBU-38 JDAM kits; Dual Mode/ Global Positioning System Laser-Guided Bombs (16 GBU-10 Enhanced PAVEWAY II or GBU-56 Laser JDAM, 80 GBU-12 Enhanced PAVEWAY II or GBU-54 Laser JDAM, 16 GBU-24 Enhanced PAVEWAY III); 64 CBU-105 Sensor Fused Weapons with Wind-Corrected Munition Dispensers (WDMD); and153 LAU-129 Launchers with missile interface.

The proposed retrofit will improve both the capabilities and the reliability of the recipient’s fleet of F-16A/B aircraft. The improved capability, survivability, and reliability of newly retrofitted F-16A/B aircraft will greatly enhance Taiwan’s ability to defend its borders.

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REGIONAL NEWS A N D

D E V E L O P M E N T S

MALAYSIA Thales wins Malaysian armoured wheeled vehicle contract

Thales has been selected to supply DEFTECH with an advanced open vehicle electronic architecture system for the 257 8X8 armoured-wheeled vehicles being developed for the Malaysian Army. The contract will see Thales provide integrated and scalable vehicle electronic architecture system including a wide range of new-generation communications, vetronics, sensors, command & control (C2), mortar, and optronics equipment.

DEFTECH is the prime contractor on the

NEW ZEALAND New Zealand outlines defence plans

The New Zealand government has outlined its plans for executing the Defence White Paper strategies over the next decade with the launch of the new Defence Capability Plan.

The plan will see a number of programmes established for the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), to ensure that a sustainable and transportable force is retained in order to meet the combat and disaster management challenges the nation could face in the future.

Advanced technologies have played a large role in the plan, with a focus on network-enabled systems that are interoperable across the NZDF and with other nations to establish a common operating picture, a greater dissemination of intelligence, and more cohesive operating conditions.

New projects to be covered include the upgrade or replacement of the Seasprite helicopters, a systems upgrade for the ANZAC frigates, a Special Forces Battle Training facility, a land transport capability programme, and a new pilot training capability that will involve replacing the current King Air B200s.

The New Zealand Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, launched the plan on October 3, and indicated that there were many opportunities for local industry, particularly within infrastructure and information technology projects.

48

contract, providing the design, development and manufacture of the vehicles.

Twelve variants are being developed including Infantry & Armoured Fighting Vehicles, Command, Anti-Tank, Recovery, and Surveillance vehicles.

Under the contract, Thales will integrate a state-of-the-art Open Information Communication System (OICS) called VSysnet. VSys net is a vehicle system electronics solution designed to optimise integration and enable information exchange of voice, data and video both within vehicles and externally. It combines a set of sub-systems including a Battlefield Management System and Platform Management System that assist

SOUTH KOREA Sagem wins KSS-1 submarine navigation contract

The South Korean Defence Ministry Defence Acquisition Programe Administration (DAPA) has selected Sagem to modernise the navigation ystems onboard the Republic of Korea Navy’s (ROKN’s) KSS-1 class Chang Bogo submarines.

Sagem will install two of its Sigma 40XP inertial navigation systems onboard each KSS-1, the conventional type U-209 submarine. The Sigma 40XP, already used for navigation on a number of ROKN surface vessels, is a state-of-the-art inertial navigation system, combining high-performance laser gyros and advanced digital filtering techniques. The core laser gyro technology has amply proven that it is the most appropriate technology for the harshest operational environments, such as those experienced by submarines during dives.

The modernisation of the KSS-1 class submarines’ navigation system will significantly enhance operational capabilities to meet the evolving needs of the South Korean navy.

With 1 Nm/24h free inertial performance, Sigma 40XP permits long submerged endurance, and its lightweight design are well-suited for submarine weight and volume constraints.

The Sigma 40XP elaborates and transmits attitude: heading, roll and pitch and their angular rates; position: latitude, longitude and depth; and horizontal and vertical linear velocities.

The systems consists of the inertial navigation unit (INU), which contains the inertial sensor block and computing modules with enhanced filtering software and interfaces; the control and display unit (CDU); the alignment support (SDI XPH), fixed to the ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

the commander during the mission, manage the status of the vehicle components, assist navigation, provide an optimised situational awareness and enhance survivability.

Thales’ solution will provide a consistent vehicle electronic architecture across the different vehicle variants, reducing integration risks and ensuring the operation, management of platform systems, and support services can be optimised across the fleet.

Thales will utilise its local Malaysian company, Thales Malaysia Sdn Bhd, for the programme, as well as its Malaysian joint-venture, Sapura Thales Electronics (STE), who will supply the complete HF and VHF radio communications system for the vehicles. vessel and allowing quick installation or removal of the INU, with a specially designed shield providing outstanding magnetic shield protection (MS-XP).

First Peace Eye AEW&C delivered to the ROKAF

The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) has taken delivery of its first Peace EYE 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft. The aircraft was received into the ROKAF in a ceremony attended by officials from the South Korean and US governments at Air Force Base Gimhae, where the new Peace Eye fleet will be based.

The Peace Eye aircraft was acquired under a programme headed by Boeing, who worked closely with ROKAF, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the US government and our Korean industry partners. In total four 737 AEW&C aircraft plus ground support segments for mission crew training, mission support and system maintenance will be delivered, with the remaining three aircraft to be modified by Korean Aerospace Industries in Sacheon, Korea, and will be delivered to the ROKAF in 2012.

The Peace Eye aircraft is designed to provide airborne battle-management capability with an advanced multirole electronically scanned radar and 10 state-of-the-art mission crew consoles that are able to track airborne and maritime targets simultaneously. The mission crew can direct offensive and defensive forces while maintaining continuous surveillance of the operational area.

The fleet will greatly enhance South Korea’s ability to perform powerful airborne surveillance and airborne battle management, significantly improving the ROKAF’s ability to defend the Korean Peninsula against North Korean threats.

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