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Contents OCTOBER 2014 VOLUME 22 / ISSUE 6

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Keeping the Coast Clear The demand for corvette and Offshore Patrol Vessels is booming in the Asia-Pacific, as revealed by UK-based naval affairs journalist Edward Hooton, who examines several programmes in detail.

Front Cover Photo: CEA Technologies of Australia is rolling out its CEAFAR and CEAMOUNT radars onboard the Royal Australian Navy’s ‘ANZAC’ class frigates, with this upgrade programme expected to be completed in 2016 © CEA Technologies

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Electric Light Orchestra United Kingdom-based defence journalist Peter Donaldson takes a look at the latest technological innovations intended to help infantry soldiers see in the dark, and improve their situational awareness.

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Ether Madness AMR Naval Directory US-based defence journalist and former US Navy captain Marty Kauchak rounds-up the major happening in the Asia-Pacific’s naval fleets over the past year.

AMR editor Thomas Withington takes a detailed look at a selection of naval Electronic Support Measures currently available which can help sailors protect their vessels from electromagnetic threats.

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New Rules for Flight Schools The advent of fifth-generation multi-role combat aircraft is causing air forces around the Asia-Pacific to re-evaluate their flight training provision as London-based aviation journalist David Oliver explains.

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AMR editor Thomas Withington’s ‘Pulse’ column provides all the latest news and analysis across the defence RF (Radio Frequency) spectrum.

Nobody on Board United Kingdom-based defence journalist Claire Apthorp delves into the Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle market in the Asia-Pacific, examining some of the latest acquisitions to this end.

Yoda-Like Perception Airborne Electronic Intelligence platforms are indispensable to air operations, AMR editor Thomas Withington, finds out, with investment flowing into this domain around the world.

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Index of Advertisers AVALON AUSTRALIA

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PHOTONIS

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Editorial

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CAUTIOUSLY

OPTIMISTIC

he dramatic sweep that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent organisation has made across northern Iraq during the first half of 2014 has taken the world largely by surprise.

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Australia Peter Stevens, Publisher’s Internationalé Tel: (61) 8 9389 6601 Email: peter.stevens@pubintl.com.au

The prospect of a significant part of the Middle East falling under the control of such a violent movement has prompted regional alarm, and recourse to arms.

The United States commenced air strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq in late August 2014. France followed suit with reconnaissance flights on 15 September 2014, with the United Kingdom also admitting to performing reconnaissance sorties (see this month’s Pulse column and our ‘Yoda-Like Perception’ articles). Yet while ISIS’ advance in Iraq may be rolled back by the US air strikes and elements of the Iraqi armed forces and Kurdish Peshmerga guerrillas battling the insurgents, ISIS maintains a stronghold and a redoubt in Syria.

Benelux Cornelius W. Bontje Tel: (41) 79 635 2621 Email: cbontje@ymail.com

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All Other Countries Vishal Mehta, Media Transasia India Limited Tel: (91) 124 4759625, Fax: (91) 124 4759550 E-Mail: vishal@mediatransasia.com

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Jakhongir Djalmetov, Media Transasia India Limited Tel: (91) 124 4759539, Fax: (91) 124 4759550 E-Mail: joha@mtil.biz

This has prompted questions regarding the United States and its performance of air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on 23 September 2014. Although the US and its allies began air strikes against ISIS in Syria, notes of caution have been sounded.

Speaking in early September 2014, UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond warned that Syria’s “Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) …(could) make air strikes complex and difficult to deliver.”

Such fears are largely overblown. While the Syrian government has invested heavily in ground-based air defences since its independence in 1944, it took the Israeli Air Force just one day to demolish the air defence coverage that Syria had in the Bekaa Valley along its border with Lebanon on 9 June 1982. A feat achieved without the loss of a single Israeli aircraft. Since then, Israeli warplanes have struck targets in Syria on several occasions, most recently on 22 June 2014, performing their operations undisturbed by the Syrian IADS.

The United States and its allies have encountered the Soviet and Russian air defences upon which Mr. Assad relies in the Balkans, Iraq and most recently Libya since the end of the Cold War. These defences are not an unknown quantity. Any air campaign against ISIS targets in Syria will invariably involve many more aircraft than the Israelis have employed in the recent past against Syria. Such defences could simply be overwhelmed by the size of the air armada, not to mention the air defence suppression weaponry and techniques which would be brought to bear against these ground-based air defences. This magazine is cautiously optimistic that the campaign against ISIS targets in Syria will be largely undisturbed by that country’s IADS.

Thomas Withington, Editor

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by Thomas Withington Radar

Hot on the heels of its Eurofighter Typhoon Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) rival, the Saab JAS-39 Gripen-NG MRCA will soon receive a new Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. As reported in the September 2014 edition of Pulse, it was announced at the 2014 Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom that the Typhoon Tranche-3 variant of the aircraft will commence test flights by the end of the year of its Euroradar Captor-E AESA radar as a result of funding secured from the UK Ministry of Defence to ‘de risk’ the radar and prepare it for eventual production.

At the same event Selex, which is a partner in the Euroradar consortium alongside European defence electronics companies Airbus Defence and Space and Indra, announced that it had Thales’ I-Master airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar is to be enhanced received a contract to supply the Raven ES-05 AESA radar for the with a Maritime Moving Target Indicator. The augmentation of the radar JAS-39NG (New Generation). The radar is under development for is to be self-financed by the company and will supplement the system’s existing Ground Moving Target Indicator © Thales the Flygvapnet (Royal Swedish Air Force), which is converting 60 of its legacy JAS-39C Gripen single-seat MRCAs to the JAS-39E status. The JAS-39E is essentially the production version of the JASsignature of this contract represents the first Exelis radar sup39NG. This latter design was developed as a technology demonplied to the SANG. According to Dave Prater, vice president of strator and includes the Raven ES-05 radar, along with other radar, reconnaissance and undersea systems at Exelis, “We’re on improvements to the aircraft together with a more powerful track to deliver the radar and achieve operational capability in engine, a higher fuel capacity and additional weapons hardpoints.

2015.” The GCA-2020’s secondary surveillance radar is ModeThe retrofit of the ‘Charlie’ aircraft to ‘Echo’ status is expected to 5/Mode-S compatible. Mode-5/Mode-S is the latest-generation be completed for Sweden by 2023. military (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and civilian Work commenced on the Raven ES-05 in 2009 when Saab and (International Civil Aviation Organisation) air traffic control Selex signed a contract to develop the radar. Since then, a protransponder protocol which assigns a permanent 24-bit address duction-standard Raven ES-05 has been installed on a JAS-39 test to each aircraft. This information is integrated with the GCAbed. The radar itself is an X-band (8.5-10.68 Gigahertz) design 2020’s primary radar to aid the controller in safely and efficientwhich has a 100 degree field-of-view. Like the Captor-E AESA ly sequencing aircraft for arrival. Once the aircraft is established radar, the antenna is mounted on a swash plate, allowing the pilot on a final approach course, the primary elevation radar complito tilt the antenna to increase its field-ofments the azimuth radar allowing the conview in order to maximise the radar’s search troller to provide the pilot with glideslope Thales is adding and course line guidance. The GCA-2020 area. Moreover, the swash plate enables the additional maritime can effectively provide the full suite of antenna to continue staring at a target for a surveillance modes to radar functions that an airfield requires in longer period of time, compared to a fixed its I-Master airborne terms of its self-contained primary and secantenna, after the aircraft has launched a ondary surveillance radars, and its precimissile, enabling the target to remain in the surveillance radar sion approach radar functions, which Mr. radar’s field-of-view and communications Prater says enables the controller to guide an aircraft during perilinks with the missile maintained, while the aircraft turns away ods of limited visibility to a safe landing. from the target. The go-ahead for the Raven ES-05 production and Thales is adding additional modes to its I-Master airborne surinstallation on the JAS-39E means that Europe now has three separate AESA programmes underway, namely the Captor-E for the veillance radar. The I-Master is a Ku-band (13.4-14/15.7-17.7GHz) Eurofighter and the Thales RBE-2 AESA for the Dassault Rafale Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) which has a range of up to 19 F3A/B/M MRCA in service with the Armée de l’Air (French Air nautical miles (35 kilometres). Covering 360 degrees in azimuth, the radar can be tilted in elevation from -55 degrees to +10 Force) and the Marine Nationale (French Navy). degrees. It has a weight penalty of 66 pounds (30 kilograms).

United States defence electronics specialists Exelis announced Presently, the I-Master has a Ground Moving Target Indicator on 21 July 2014 that it had received a contract worth US$9 million (GMTI) which is capable of detecting slow-moving targets includto supply a GCA-2020 ground control approach radar to the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG). This radar, which ing people walking. The SAR modes offered by the radar include employs an AESA can perform primary and secondary surveilboth strip map and spotlight with a resolution of between 300 millimetres (twelve inches) up to three metres (ten feet). lance and provide precision approach landing capabilities. The

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Able to outfit light aircraft, helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, the I-Master will now receive a Maritime Moving Target Indicator (MMTI) mode developed by Thales. The development of the MMTI mode, which was announced at the 2014 Farnborough Air Show, has been self-financed by the company.

According to a written statement supplied by Thales to Pulse, “The requirement came from customer feedback requesting the mode, and we are in dialogue with a number of these customers,” although the firm has not disclosed the customers with whom it is pursuing these discussions. An official press release from Thales published during the Farnborough Air Show said that the new MMTI mode, which takes the form of a software upgrade for the I-Master radar, will allow the detection and tracking of fast and slow-moving vessels from jet-skis up to larger ships during the day and night in all conditions.

Raytheon hopes to be under contract to extend the life of the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Bombardier/Raytheon Sentinel-R1 ground surveillance aircraft, according to a statement provided to Pulse by the company in early August 2014. The aircraft is equipped with an X-band (8.5-10.68GHz) Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator and five such platforms are used by the RAF’s 5 Squadron based at RAF Waddington airbase in eastern England.

According to the statement, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has asked Raytheon to examine “software enhancements to the radar”. Such software enhancements could take the form of deepening the radar’s ability to perform maritime surveillance.

Any improvements to the radar could extend its service life to at least 2018. Although Raytheon is not currently under contract to supply these improvements, the company hopes to be so “in the coming months”.

Electronic Warfare

The RAF deployed its new Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) aircraft over Iraq in mid-August 2014 following a deepening of the British commitment to help stop the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group across north-eastern and south-eastern Iraq (see the ‘Yoda-Like Perception’ article in this issue). According to United Kingdom secretary of state for defence Michael Fallon, the aircraft have been over-flying northern Iraq, and are thought to be performing their missions from RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus.

The RAF operates three of the RC-135W aircraft with 51 Squadron based at RAF Waddington, in eastern England. While there has been no official confirmation from the UK Ministry of Defence or from the RAF, the RC-135W aircraft are probably involved in monitoring the communications traffic of ISIS forces.

As well as being able to gather ELINT on enemy radars, the aircraft are thought to be able to detect and geo-locate ground tactical radio traffic in the three megahertz to one gigahertz range which encompasses High Frequency, Very High Frequency and Ultra High Frequency transmissions. This is facilitated using BAE

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Systems’ Low Band Sub System (LBSS) which outfits the RC-135W Joint Signals Intelligence Avionics Family, and performs initial signal detection and direction-finding for communications. As well as providing valuable intelligence on ISIS’ intentions, and capabilities, the COMINT gathered by the RC-135W aircraft, by virtue of being able to geo-locate ISIS communications transmissions, will allow ELINT operatives to determine the position of key ISIS units such as command posts and senior commanders with access to communications. This information may then be passed to Kurdish Peshmerga insurgents operating in Northern Iraq who are, at the time of writing (mid-August 2014), locked in a bloody battle to repulse the ISIS threats from areas of Iraq under ISIS control.

The Aeronautica Militaire (Italian Air Force) will receive new Elettronica ELT/572 Directional Infra-Red Counter-Measures (DIRCM) for their fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules medium turboprop freighters. According to a July 2014 press release from Italian defence electronics specialists Elettronica, in which the news was announced, the retrofit of the C-130Js with the

The Royal Air Force is planning to upgrade its Bombardier Sentinel-RI ground surveillance aircraft. Although not yet under contract, the upgrade could include software modifications to improve the ability of the Synthetic Aperture Radar on the aircraft to perform maritime surveillance © Raytheon

ELT/572 represents “the first installation of a DIRCM onto a C130J”. According to Giovanni Zoccali, vice president sales, domestic EFA and NH-90 at the company, the ELT/572 will be factoryinstalled by Lockheed Martin in the United States. “They will be sent to Lockheed Martin during the first six months of 2015 and the first installation should start at the end of 2015, or the beginning of 2016.” In terms of the number to be procured “the first order from the Italian Air Force comprises five ELT/572 suites, but the intention is to equip almost half the fleet.” The Italian Air Force has a total C-130J fleet size of 16 aircraft. The installation of the ELT/572 DIRCM on the Italian C-130Js is expected to conclude by the end of 2016. The ELT/572 is designed to protect wide-bodied aircraft and helicopters and defeats infrared guided surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles by shining laser light into their seekers to blind the weapon.

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PULSE The Italian Air Force is to outfit its Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules turboprop medium freighters with Elettronica’s ELT/572 Directional Infrared Countermeasure. The installation of the first systems is earmarked for 2015 or early 2016 © Elettronica

Exelis of the United States announced on 30 July 2014 that it had delivered the first nine Full-Rate Production (FRP) AN/ALQ214(V)4/5 self-protection systems for the Boeing/McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D/E/F Hornet/Super Hornet Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) flown by the United States Navy. The AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 forms part of the company’s AN/ALQ-214 Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) product family. In terms of the two AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 variants the AN/ALQ-214(V)4 outfits the F/A-18E/F while the AN/ALQ214(V)5 equips the legacy F/A-18C/D, the principle differences between the two systems focusing on the mounting equipment used to affix the self-defence system within the aircraft.

The architecture of the AN/ALQ-214 combines a Radio Frequency (RF) generator, onboard RF transmitters and a towed decoy. The generator produces an RF signal designed to spoof or disrupt potentially hostile radar and radar-guided surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. It also has a modular and programmable design to counter emerging RF threats. Compared to earlier versions of the AN/ALQ-214 which commenced delivery in 1997, the AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 has a weight saving of 45 kilograms (100lbs) and has important updates to its hardware and software architecture. This will allow the AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 to take emerging radar threats into account as and when they appear. The AN/ALQ214(V)4/5 for now is only outfitting the F/A-18C/D/E/F aircraft of the US Navy. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) does not operate the F/A-18E/F, although it does possess the F/A-18C/D. According to Joe Rambala and Andy Dunn, vice president and general manager, integrated electronic warfare systems and vice president of business development for integrated electronic warfare systems respectively at Exelis, “the AN/ALQ-214(V)5 could be applicable to the USMC’s F/A-18C/D aircraft in the future should the

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Corps’ decide on an upgrade to this effect.” For now, these aircraft accommodate Northrop Grumman/Exelis (formerly ITT) AN/ALQ-165 Airborne Self Protection Jammer, which is also deployed onboard the F/A-18C/D aircraft flown by the Swiss Air Force and the Suomen Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force), as well as F16s flown by the Republic of Korea Air Force.

Exelis is delivering the self-protection system to the US Navy via a series of FRPs. FRP-9, for which the contract was awarded by the US Navy in 2012, covers 25 AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 systems with deliveries concluding at the end of 2014. The July 2014 announcement covers the first nine of these systems, with the balance of 16 to be delivered by the end of this year. FRP-10 was contracted in 2013 and will see the delivery of 62 systems by the end of 2015 and FRP-11 was contracted in 2014 and will cover 44 systems to be delivered by the end of 2016.

In the naval domain, Airborne Systems of Bridgend, Wales, announced on 14 August 2014 that it had been awarded a contract to supply its FDS3 Corner Reflector Decoy to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The contract is worth $5.6 million over the next three years and will see the company’s FDS3 dispensing system for the Corner Reflector Decoys being installed onboard the RNZN’s ‘ANZAC’ class frigates as part of the Frigate System Upgrade Programme for these vessels. In total, the RNZN operates two of the ‘ANZAC’ class ships, which are also used by the Royal Australian Navy. The entire architecture for the FDS3 Corner Reflector Decoy includes a deck-mounted launch tube outfitted with the decoy. Once launched, the decoy inflates and then settles on the sea surface. It is designed to protect a ship against radar-guided anti-ship missiles (see this month’s ‘Ether Madness’ article for a more detailed discussion on the danger posed to naval ships by such weapons). The FDS3 achieves this by confusing the missile’s radar thanks to the number of radar echoes generated by the sharp, angular surface of the decoy. The company’s official literature states that each FDS3 decoy can create a target with an active radar cross section in excess of 500000 square metres (5.3 million square feet) in size.

Exelis’ AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures suite is equipping the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F/A-18C/D/E/F Hornet/Super Hornet multirole combat aircraft operated by the United States Navy © Exelis

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IDA 2: Dive deep into interference analysis

Elektrobit’s TAC WIN product has been procured by the Finnish Army to provide internet access to military personnel from the brigade to platoon level. TAC WIN allows soldiers to use their tactical radios to this end © Thomas Withington

Tactical Radio

Finnish military communications specialists Elektrobit announced in mid-July 2014 that they had received a purchase order from the Finnish Defence Forces for the company’s Tactical Wireless Internet Protocol Network, better known as TAC WIN. TAC WIN provides wired and wireless battlefield Internet Protocol (IP) networks from brigade to platoon levels across a 30-kilometre (19-mile) range. In addition to military users, TAC WIN can be accessed by public subscribers who may need to work with the military, such as first responders during a humanitarian crisis or disaster relief operation. Physically, the TAC WIN takes the form of a compact and robust Tactical Router and three optional Radio Heads which the company says cover the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s I, II and III radio bands, effectively the Ultra High Frequency (300 megahertz to three gigahertz) frequency range.

For all intents and purposes TAC WIN provides broadband wired and wireless internet communications in areas where none exists.

According to Harri Romppainen, vice president of defence at Elektrobit, the deliveries of TAC WIN Tactical Routers and Radio Heads to the Finnish defence forces will conclude by the end of 2015 and they will be deployed with the Suomen Maavoimat (Finnish Army). The Tactical Router forms the wired and wireless IP networks while the three Radio Heads each cover a specific frequency band, allowing the tactical radios used by soldiers to connect to the TAC WIN network and hence have IP access.

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VISION THING

When night vision technology was novel, the big distinction was between forces that had some, and knew how to use it, and those that did not. Now, those forces that provide the best equipment to the most troops are more likely to own the night and even small increments in sensor performance can make a big difference on the darkest of evenings.

by Peter Donaldson

Members of the 108th Contingency Response Group train with night vision goggles in AM General HMMWV vehicles at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey in January 2014. The goggles illuminate the driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face Š US Air National Guard

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V I S I O N

ntegration is increasingly important.

The concept of the ‘soldier-as-asystem’ has come far and the latest night vision systems offer high levels of integration with a soldier’s optronics, communications, navigation, positioning, battle management and weapon systems. Similarly, infantry fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers are being fitted with closely integrated vehicle electronics or ‘vectronics’ that support advanced mission equipment such as panoramic optronics, reconnaissance and targeting systems that improve short-range situational awareness. However, there is still much to be done to bring the soldier and vehicle optronics worlds together.

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Tube-tastic

In the field of core sensor technology, where digital imaging has made tremendous progress in applications across the board, the resolutely analogue image intensifier is holding on tenaciously to its dominant position at the heart of the Night Vision Goggle (NVG), monocular devices and weapon sights essential for infantry operations in darkness, even though they are being supplemented occasionally with both integral and clip-on microbolometerbased thermal imagers. A microbolometer is a type of detector built from a material, often vanadium oxide, the electrical resistance of which changes when exposed to infrared light between 7.5 and 14 microns in wavelength. Microbolometers do not need cooling. The reason for the image intensifier’s continued dominance lies in its killer combination of very high image quality and negligible latency; that is, the delay between the light entering the device’s objective lens and the presentation of the image to the viewer.

Essentially a high-voltage vacuum tube that converts photons gathered by the objective lens into electrons multiplies them thousands of times and then converts them back into photons to provide the wearer with a sharp, bright view of the outside world though the eyepiece. The tube sits between the objective lens and the eyepiece, which are separate components.

Although image intensifier tubes are quite mature as a technology and in such

Infantry fighting vehicles, such as these General Dynamics Stryker, are beginning to be fitted with local situational awareness camera systems, but display arrangements for soldiers can be improved © US DoD

widespread military use as to almost be taken for granted, the barriers to entry for their manufacture are high and the best devices for military use come from a few companies in North America and Europe including Exelis, L-3, Newcon Optik and Photonis. Their performance is defined by a Figure of Merit (FoM) which is derived by multiplying the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) with the resolution in line-pairs per millimetre (lp/mm); the latter is a measure of the ability to distinguish between

two closely-spaced objects. A tube with an SNR of 25 and a resolution of 64lp/mm, for example, would have an FoM of 1600, which happens to be the upper limit for export from the United States permitted by the State Department under ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) requirements. The currentstate-of-the-art, however, is thought to be in the low-to-mid 2000s.

The analogue image intensifier is expected to continue improving slowly for the foreseeable future, according to industry sources. Referring to a 2013 contract from the US Navy to develop a new high-performance image intensifier tube, Ed Yarish, Exelis’ domestic business development director for night vision, told the author that the new tube substantially increases the signalto-noise ratio and resolution: “When put in a goggle, that really gives you a lot of clarity, better depth perception and F9800 series image intensifier consists of a GaAs photocathode bonded to a glass input window, an MCP amplifier, and a P-43 phosphor screen deposited on an inverting fibre-optic output window © Exelis

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With the monocular PVS-14, the intensifier provides long-range vision of potential threats and targets, while the other eye, unaided and dark-adapted, provides situational awareness and vision of nearby objects © Exelis

longer range recognition and identification of targets.” Jean-Luc Espie, deputy manager for night vision equipment at Thales, concurs with this incremental view of likely progress. “Image intensifier tube technology has evolved constantly over the last 30 years. There is likely still some margin for improvement, albeit at a slower rate,” he told the author.

Enter INTENS

Based in Mérignac, southwest France, Photonis continues to push the technology.

The company claims a “typical” FoM of 2000 and a signal-to-noise-ratio of 30 for its new INTENS image- intensifier tube that it launched at the June 2014 Eurosatory exhibition held in Paris in June. Dividing 2000 by 30 yields a resolution of more than 66 lp/mm. The company also emphasises that the new tube is sensitive to more wavelengths than its predecessors, its bandwidth covering the range from 400 to 1000 nanometres (nm), which stretches from the ultraviolet at the short end to the red at the long end of the light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and operates at light levels down to 100 microlux (µlux). Lux is a measure of the amount of light falling on a given area, one lux being defined as one lumen per square metre. Direct sunlight, for example, generates roughly 32000 to 100000 lux, whereas an overcast, moonless

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night sky generates about 100 µlux (0.0001) lux. These parameters, says Photonis, provide a 40 percent increase in detection, recognition and identification capability over previous tubes and suit it to missions in very dark environments such as jungles and deep valleys.

Night vision device performance is not all about the tubes, however. “Further gains could be made on NVGs in terms of resolution or field field-of of-view, as well as ergonomic design and weight,” Mr. Espie continues, citing Thales’ latest MINIE image intensifier tube, which weighs 0.7 pounds (340 grams) and offers a 50 field-ofview as an example of recent advances.

“Innovative optical fusion system architectures can also complement conventional light intensification with infrared imaging, combining the high resolution of intensification with the detection capability of infrared while maintaining optimal portability,” Mr. Espie says, citing the MINIE-DIR whose infrared capability makes it just 0.1 pounds (60g) heavier than the intensifier-only MINIE. Digital NVG technology still faces some human factor challenges, principally to do with latency, says Mr Yarish. “While Exelis and others continue to push the envelope in that technology, quite frankly it is not ready for prime time,” he said.

“But obviously, when digital technology is

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ready, the first application will definitely be on the ground.”

Digital technologies such as Combined Metal Oxide Silicon (CMOS) cameras have been nibbling into the edges of night vision capability for a while now and, at Eurosatory, Photonis launched its Nocturn family of colour low-light cameras with the promise of day-throughnight imaging down to quarter moon darkness without supplementary illumination. Among the target applications are infantry weapon sights, helmet displays and monoculars and armoured vehicle local situational awareness.

Infantry night vision devices come in a variety of configurations, but there is a basic choice that boils down to the number of sensors there are and how they present the image to the eye. Monocular systems are the simplest and present the image from one sensor to one eye; bi-ocular systems present the image from a single sensor to both eyes; binocular devices, lastly, have two sensors in independent optical paths and present a different image to each eye. The binocular option is best when visual quality is critical as two sensors gather more light than one and give the brain its best chance to build a stereoscopic image while providing redundancy

The new ITAR-free Photonis INTENS tube offers a typical figure of merit of 2000, comfortably exceeding the 1600 limit for US exports. INTENS comes from the same French stable as the XD4 and XR5 tubes © Photonis

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The bi-ocular Mepro Boxer runs for 80 hours on two AA batteries, measures 150x152x77 mm (5.9x6x3in) and weighs I.8lbs (810g). A single image intensifier tube feeds both eyepieces © Meprolight

in case one channel fails. Pilots’ NVGs are always binocular, but that’s not necessarily the best solution on foot. Two imageintensified products presented at Eurosatory by Israel’s Meprolight illustrate the benefits of the monocular and biocular approaches.

The monocular configuration of the Mepro Rantel allows the wearer (it can be attached to the head or a helmet) to maintain full peripheral vision with the unaided eye, supplementing the Rantel’s 40 degree field-of-view. This is very useful where there is enough residual light as the extra spatial awareness makes moving around on foot much safer, for example. “The single tube/single eyepiece approach,” says the company, “is based upon the proven concept that independent use of each eye maximises the ability of the user to operate under a variety of low-light conditions.”

The Mepro Boxer is a bi-ocular device and as such is both cheaper and lighter than a binocular goggle and more comfortable to use for long periods than a monocular system. The optional clip-on 3x, 4x and 5x magnifying lenses hint at extended use from static positions. The sacrifice is mainly of peripheral vision as, even without the eye cups, both eyes are adapted to the bright intensified image,

Thermal imagers have been overcoming weight, bulk, cost and power consumption barriers through microbolometer technology evolution not the dark environment. Both devices feature 18mm (0.7in) diameter tubes, integral infrared illuminators for extremely dark environments (or map reading) and run on AA batteries.

(VOx) microbolometer camera, which is small and cheap enough for the company to offer it as an add-on capability for the Apple iPhone 5 under the name FLIR One. This is a consumer device that went on sale on 23 July 2014 for just under US $350. That price level, and the growing military enthusiasm for Commercial-OffThe-Shelf (COTS) equipment, strongly suggests that it may soon be an economic proposition to equip every soldier with his or her own general purpose thermal imager, while significantly reducing the cost of sensors built into weapon sights and observation devices.

Raytheon says that wafer level packaging combines thousands of windows and thermal detectors on the same flat surface, greatly simplifying camera construction.

Each sensor can contain from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of mirobolometers—compact packaging that makes the sensors much more rugged and better able to stand up to the rigours of the battlefield.

Handheld targeting systems are also benefiting from weight reductions as manufacturers listen to their customers and

Thin Thermals

Thermal imagers have been gradually overcoming the weight, bulk, cost and power consumption barriers through the evolution of microbolometer technology.

This year, FLIR Systems and Raytheon have revealed what promise to be breakthrough technologies in this area, both involving uncooled mirobolometer sensors just 17 microns wide, one fifth the width of a human hair, made using a technique from the microprocessor industry known as wafer level packaging.

In May 2014, FLIR Systems released a description of its Lepton vanadium oxide

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Nocturn is a new colour low light CMOS digital camera that provides day-through-night imaging down to quarter moon darkness and is offered for both soldier-portable and vehicle local situational awareness applications. © Photonis

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This image of a warm outboard motor comes from a FLIR One thermal imager clipped to a smartphone, representing a breakthrough in low cost devices for the commercial market that could soon benefit soldiers © FLIR Systems Inc

Mepro Rantel operates for up to 40 hours continuously on a single AA battery, measures 112x42x63mm (4.4x1.65x2.48in), weighs 0.7 lbs (340g) and is compatible with weapon mounted lasers © Meprolight

further exploit COTS technologies. Thales, for example, launched its Sophie Lite multifunction surveillance and targeting system September 2013, trumpeting a weight of just 3.5lbs (1.6kg) for a package that includes an uncooled thermal imager, a television/near infrared sensor, an eyesafe laser rangefinder, a digital compass and a Global Positioning System (GPS).

“Earlier members of the Sophie family weighed around 7.7lbs (3.5kg); Sophie Lite weighs just 3.5lbs (1.6kg). The advances made with Sophie Lite were achieved partly by exploiting smartphone technology, particularly the new generation of processors that are faster and use less power. We also used space-saving optics, advanced sensor technology, and clever use of materials. The overall package gave us a significantly smaller footprint and weight reduction, and in numerous ways improved performance. We believe that Sophie Lite is the world’s smallest and most compact full-feature surveillance and target locator system.”

“We expect that further reductions in weight will be possible in the future, but not a big step change in the short-tomedium term compared to what has already been achieved, possibly down to 2.65lbs (1.2kg) or 2.86lbs (1.3kg). But while

Slimming Sophie

“Sophie Lite was developed on the back of extensive feedback from end users. We spoke to army personnel who told us what it’s like in the real world to use our kit in actual military operations. It resulted in us focusing on the weight of the device as the number one priority, accepting also that we had to achieve minimum performance levels, such as range,” according to William Johnston, sensors engineering manager with Thales.

Wafer level packaging uses the latest microprocessor production techniques to mass produce tiny microbolometer sensor chips, enabling significant cost reductions and potentially providing every soldier with a thermal camera © Raytheon

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size and weight may plateau, there will still be huge improvements in performance and functionality. Sensors will continue to evolve, for example, and devices will likely feature embedded data transmission functionality for real-time integration and connectivity with a battlefield command network. Where we might see further weight reduction is in ‘stripped down’ devices—without laser, GPS or compass—to meet the increasing need for surveillance by homeland security and paramilitary forces.”

Bring the outside inside

Moving and fighting on foot gives soldiers more chance to tune in to their environment than being delivered to the fight in a vehicle as the view of the outside world that most armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles provide to their passengers is close to non-existent. The transition from the confines of a vehicle to the exposure of the outside world can be disorientating, or rather requires some reorientation which takes time. The less time it takes, the better.

What is missing for the troops is continuity of vision between the inside and outside of a vehicle. Optronics are beginning to provide part of the answer, but the display arrangements do not necessarily give all occupants the view of the outside world that they might need. BAE Systems, however, has some technologies that could address this problem. The company was marketing its Broadsword Spine soldier system connectivity solution at the Farnborough Air Show held in the United Kingdom in July 2014 along with its QWarrior soldier Helmet Mounted Display.

Integrated into either body armour carriers or skeleton order webbing, Broadsword Spine is based on an e-textile that transfers power and data through the warp and weft of a flat-woven fabric. The productionised demonstrator has eight USB 2 (Universal Serial Bus-2) ports, a customisable number and comes with an ‘app’ for a standard Samsung Galaxy 2 smartphone which can control anything attached to the USB ports.

“We did this to prove that you can run it on a commercial off-the-shelf system

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Using the same 18mm (0.7in) tubes as Rantel and Boxer, the Mini Hunter weapon sight provides 2x magnification, a passive ballistic reticle and an external boresighting mechanism incorporated in a Picatinny rail adaptor © Meprolight

Sophie Lite has brought the weight of a fully featured handheld targeting system down from typically more than 6.6lbs (3kg) down to 3.52lbs (1.6kg) with further small reductions but big performance gains to come © Thales

rather than a battlefield computer,” Paul Wright, the company’s international business development manager for soldier systems, explained as he demonstrated with a torch attached to the webbing on a mannequin during the exhibition.

“Because the torch is not an intelligent piece of electronics, the system knows it has something on there with a power requirement, but it only sees it as some-

thing it can switch on and off, whereas it also knows it has got a camera on the other port, so we can select the camera, turn it on and view what the camera is showing.”

Mr. Wright later confirmed that the company has connected the system to the Q-Warrior HMD and a panoramic camera system in an armoured vehicle to demonstrate that it can be done. Such a combina-

tion could give each soldier a virtually uninterrupted view of the outside world while seated in an Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Low cost sensors, displays and connectivity could be about to give soldier situational awareness another boost whether they are on dismounted or within their vehicle. Meanwhile, the march towards turning night-time darkness into daylight clarity continues.

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KEEPING THE COAST CLEAR While a few Asia-Pacific navies have ambitions to shield all their maritime lines of communications, most focus upon the protection of their coast lines and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) which extend some 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from the shore.

by Edward Hooton

EZs ensure the livelihoods of a nation’s fishermen, because fish and seafood remains a major source of the continent’s nourishment. But there are also extensive mineral resources under the sea, especially hydrocarbons like oil and gas which may increase national prosperity.

Small wonder that a major source of contention between Asia-Pacific countries is the exploitation of these resources leading to many maritime disputes, the latest being between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, as they are respectively known by each nation.

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The task of protecting these resources requires dedicated vessels which can help to assert national sovereignty and ensure that laws are observed. Finally, nations require national platforms capable of projecting national search and rescue capabilities as well as containing environmental pollution.

Offshore Patrol Vessels

In the past these tasks have been assigned to smaller or older warships; most of Indonesia’s ‘Kondor-II’ class coastal minesweepers and fast attack craft are used for this task while China’s paramilitary coastal forces have been boosted by

The launch of Thailand’s HTMS Krabi reflects a growing trend for foreign designs, in this case developed by BAE Systems, but built in regional yards, notably the Mahidol Royal Dockyard.

She may be followed by another five ships © BAE Systems

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‘Luda’ class destroyers and demilitarised ‘Jianghu’ class frigates. But warship designs are not normally intended for this offshore protection role. Instead, it is best met by a dedicated platform in the guise of the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) which usually displaces between 1700 and 2000 tonnes. Such vessels are outfitted with good sea-keeping abilities to ride out most storms in deep water, and with excellent endurance and range.

An OPV requires space to embark a variety of equipment together with some medical facilities while another useful feature is a deck from which to operate a

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R India’s INS Saryu is a development of the Indian coast guard’s ‘Sankalp’ class design. These 2251-tonne designs are typical of regional OPVs. Diesel-powered with a 76mm gun, it has a search radar and a flight deck for a HAL Dhruv helicopter © Goa Shipyard

maritime support helicopter. Some may also require a good sonar to assist in the auxiliary task of hydrographic survey work, but a good air and sea surveillance radar is the primary sensor. A datalink is useful to exchange radar track data with other law-enforcement vessels, and some form of Combat Management System (CMS) for more efficient operations with other ships performing law enforcement is also desirable. This law-enforcement requirement means that the ship will usually employ a medium (40-76mm) calibre main armament augmented by smaller calibre (7.62mm-30mm) weapons.

East Asia

China has the largest OPV fleet with some 400 hulls ranging from 1150 to 3400 tonnes displacement and is in the process of receiving an additional 36 vessels of varying displacements. Japan’s coast guard, formerly the Maritime Safety Agency, employs some 50 OPVs ranging in displacement from the 1300-tonne ‘Hateruma’ class to the two 5204-tonne ‘Mizuho’ class.

The Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute has led to a considerable expansion of Japan’s coast guard which will build four 1000tonne OPVs of an as-yet-to-be-named class by the end of 2014. Across the Straits of Tsushima, the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) coast guard operates four OPVs of some 1200-tonnes and is receiving a small expansion of some five vessels from the Hyundai shipyard including a 3000-tonne OPV, although the date of their delivery has yet to be revealed.

Southeast Asia

Within southeast Asia neither Vietnam nor Indonesia have OPV requirements

while the Philippines, which has largely relied upon OPVs such as its three ‘Jacinto’ class ships and two recentlyacquired 3300-tonne former United States Coast Guard (USCG) ‘Hamilton’ class High Endurance Cutters (known locally as the ‘Gregorio del Pilar’ class), is now seeking two new frigates for the navy entering service in the second half of this decade. Brunei has gone the other way, replacing a corvette requirement with one for three German-built 1625-tonne ‘Darussalam’ class OPVs, while Thailand has a requirement for five OPVs, and is considering ordering a second ‘Krabi’ class ship, while it operates two 1463tonne ‘Pattani’ class OPVs officially designated as corvettes. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has a fleet of some 100 patrol boats of various sizes, but also operates two 1300tonne former Royal Malaysian Navy ‘Langkawi’ class OPVs and is reported to have an outline requirement for an unknown number of OPVs.

India’s coast guard has 16 OPVs, ranging from the 1300-tonne ‘Vikram’ class to the 2266-tonne ‘Sanklap’ class, and plans six more ‘Sanklap’ class vessels and seven more undefined OPVs by the end of the decade. Most of these ships are, at best, lightly armed with only the coast guard’s four ‘Samar’ class ships carrying a 76mm OtoMelara Super Rapid gun, but the Indian Navy’s version of the ‘Sanklap’ class, the ‘Saryu’ class, will have a similar armament.

The navy is receiving four ‘Saryu’ class OPVs which will augment six 1920-tonne ‘Sukanya’ class ships, one of which is used as a ballistic missile test launch platform, all of which have been delivered.

Elsewhere in this region Bangladesh has two former 1630-tonne Royal Navy ‘Castle’ class OPVs and has received a ‘Hamilton’ class cutter from the USCG which it is upgrading into a frigate, via the addition of China Haiying Electro-Mechanical Technology Academy C-802 Anti-Ship Missile (AShM) and unknown Surface-toAir Missiles (SAMs), over the next couple of years. A parliamentary ten-year development plan launched in 2009 indicated that Bangladesh has a requirement for three OPVs although no vessels have yet been procured to this end. To the south, Sri Lanka operates three OPVs in the form of two former Indian ‘Vikram’ and ‘Sukanya’ class vessels and a former 1147-tonne US ‘Reliance’ class ship. Colombo has placed an order for two ‘Sanklap’ class vessels for delivery by 2016.

An artist’s impression of the ‘Gowind 170’ design which will form the basis of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s corvette-type Littoral Combat Ship. This design is based upon the overall ‘Gowind’ class concept developed by French shipbuilder DCNS © DCNS

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Malaysia’s ‘Kedah’ class illustrate the fine line between OPVs and corvette designs.

Ostensibly OPVs have all the basics of a corvette in terms of command systems and installations © ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems

Australasia

Across the Indian Ocean Australia’s Project Sea 1180 plans for the procurement of an Offshore Combat Vessel (OCV) using a basic 2000-tonne hull design will produce 20 vessels during the first half of the next decade to replace up to 26 vessels including the Royal Australian Navy’s ‘Armidale’ class patrol boats, ‘Huon’ class mine countermeasures vessels and the hydrographic survey vessels of the ‘Leeuwin’ and ‘Paluma’ classes. Meanwhile, New Zealand operates two ‘Protector’ class OPVs which are unusual because they have ice-strengthened bows to operate in Antarctica.

Corvettes

Looking at navies in the Asia-Pacific one obvious aspect is the considerable degree of overlap when vessels are designated as either ‘OPVs’ or ‘corvettes’. Although the term Littoral Combat Ship is normally associated with the US Navy’s multi-role vessels, which it is currently acquiring, it is quite a good description of the corvette, though the latter might also be described as ‘an OPV with attitude.’

Like OPVs corvettes are designed for operations against any threat either to an EEZ or to coastal waters. Because they are essentially ASuW (Anti-Surface Warfare) platforms with limited anti-air and antisubmarine capabilities they tend to have a more sophisticated radar than OPVs together with a CMS and some electronic warfare systems. They too tend to offer a high endurance, and usually have fuelefficient diesel engines making them capable of higher speeds for rapid transit and manoeuvre.

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Interest in corvettes has grown in the past couple of decades as it became clear that the fast attack craft had poor survivability vis-à-vis air attack. Their surveillance radars have a comparatively short range given the height of the vessel in water, reducing the search area and countermeasures reaction times while lacking a significant air defence system. The corvette provides a significant improvement in capability and survivability with better radar coverage, thanks to the height of the vessel in the water, and space for weapon systems such as SSMs and SAMs. These ships can even perform AntiSubmarine Warfare (ASW) by employing sonars and lightweight torpedoes.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s New Generation Patrol Vessel (NGPV) requirement was met by the ‘Kedah’ class based on German shipbuilders Blohm and Voss’ MEKO 100 design, but these OPVs feature a sophisticated CMS, optronics, a chaff launcher and

are equipped to operate AShMs, SAMs and have an electronic warfare suite. The Royal Malaysian Navy intends to add AShMs. Furthermore, Malaysia has ordered six ‘Gowind’ class corvettes from French shipbuilder DCNS with deliveries from 2017. It is unclear whether or not these will augment, or partially replace, the existing corvette force of six ‘Kedah’, two ‘Kasturi’ and four ‘Laksamana’ class ships. The ‘Kasturi’ class are surface warfare and ASW platforms that are being upgraded with a new CMS, new gun and ASW equipment in a programme which concludes by the end of 2014. The ‘Laksamana’ class corvettes were former Iraqi ‘Assad’ class ships and are true multi-role platforms with a gun and SSMs, sonar and anti-submarine torpedoes and a SAM system.

Republic of Korea

While the RoK will replace 22 ‘Po Hang’ class surface warfare/ASW corvettes with ‘Incheon’ class frigates and the ‘Gumdoksuri’ class fast attack craft (and this programme should be complete by the end of the decade), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has four ‘Sariwon’ ASW ships.

China

China, on the other hand, is building 1440tonne ‘Jiangdao’ class surface warfare

Navantia’s ‘Meteoro’ class OPVs form the basis for a family of ships. By adapting the hulls the Spanish Navy plans to meet its requirements for hydrographic survey and submarine rescue ships. The concept may even be adapted to provide a mine counter-measures vessel © Navantia

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/ASW corvettes which, like all modern corvette designs, feature shaping to reduce their radar signature. Last year 18 were reported launched, or commissioned, with at least a dozen on order to replace the 40-year-old ‘Jianghu I/II’ class frigates and the ‘Houxin/Houjian’class fast attack and patrol craft.

Taiwan

Taiwan plans up to twelve similarly ‘stealthy’ 900-1000 tonne ‘Hsun Hai’ class ships. These will have a surface warfare/ASW role and may possibly incorporate weapon and sensor systems from USsupplied ‘Gearing’ class destroyers, ‘Knox’ class frigates and local ‘in Chiang’ class fast attack craft to reduce costs.

Vietnam

Vietnam has been steadily expanding its corvette fleet from four ‘Tarantul’ class surface warfare/ASW ships to two ‘Improved Pauk’ class vessels and is acquiring up to ten ‘Improved Tarantul’ class ships, all of which are pure surface warfare vessels. Hanoi is also discussing the purchase of four ‘Sigma 10514’ class ships from the Netherlands’ Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS), of which two would be built in Europe and the other two in Vietnam.

Thailand

Neighbouring Thailand has two US-built ‘Rattanakosin’ class ships, which have surface warfare, ASW and air defence capabilities and three ‘Khamronsin’ class corvettes which are primarily ASW platforms.

Bangkok appears to be more interested in new frigates than modernising the Royal Thai Navy’s corvette force.

Singapore

Singapore operates six ‘Victory’ class surface warfare/ASW corvettes, but they will be replaced on a one-for-one basis by the Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV) of which there are few details.

Indonesia

Across the Straits of Malacca the archipelago nature of Indonesia means that it operates a large fleet of 23 corvettes. The majority are former East German

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An artist’s impression of Damen Shipbuilding’s ‘Sigma’ class design, already selected by Indonesia. The design reflects the fact that by shaping a vessel its radar signature can be reduced. Modern ships also reduce their heat signature © Damen Shipbuilding

‘Parchim I’ class which are unusual in being dedicated ASW platforms with hullmounted sonar, augmented in some ships by variable depth sensors. They are armed with both anti-submarine torpedoes and mortars while many have replaced their Russian diesel engines with western designs, manufactured by German propulsion specialist MTU. The corvettes are augmented by three ‘Fatahillah’ class which also feature a strong ASW suite and four ‘Diponegoro’ class ships built by DSNS based upon their ‘Sigma 9113’ class design which are used largely for the surface warfare and ASW roles.

The ‘Sigma’ class family has been selected to meet Jakarta’s Guided Missile Escort 105 requirement for ‘light frigates’ (in actual fact corvettes) which will be built domestically and for which steel on the first two was cut earlier in 2014. The new ships will be based upon the ‘Sigma 10514’ class design, and these 2400-tonne vessels will be optimised for ASW with the first of two scheduled to be laid in 2014 and to enter service in 2016.

Nevertheless, it remains unclear as to how many are required.

India

The Indian Navy has tended to rely upon Russian designs and is currently using four ‘Abhay’ class ASW vessels which may be re-engined, although there is currently no word on when this might take place, and twelve ‘Veer’ class surface warfare ships. New Delhi’s first indigenous corvette design, the ‘Project 25’ class, was planned as an ASW platform but instead the ‘Khukri’ class have appeared as surface warfare ships as are the improved ‘Kora’ class with four of each being built.

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The latest ‘Kamorta’ class corvettes feature shaping to reduce their radar cross section and appear to be planned as multirole ships and the addition of a SAM will provide a good air defence capability. The lead ship was commissioned in June 2014 and another three are being constructed with plans for up to twelve ships, but construction has been prolonged and the fourth ship will not be commissioned until 2015. However, it is reported that New Delhi is now looking at an improved corvette design known as the ‘Project 28A’ but no details are available.

Asian Subcontinent

Bangladesh is reported to have ordered its first two ‘Jiangdao’ class corvettes from China for delivery in 2016 and Dhaka is reported to have a long term plan to order four more corvettes from Turkey yet no date has been announced to this effect. Neighbouring Burma acquired three ‘Anawrahta’ class corvettes from China in 2000 but these are purely surface warfare platforms. Neither Pakistan nor Sri Lanka appears currently interested in corvettes.

In terms of OPVs the Asia-Pacific region is typical of the developing world with requirements for a variety of vessels to cover a broad range of hydrographic requirements. Unlike the other prime market, Latin America, there is little sign that nations are co-operating to meet their requirements like Argentina, Chile and Colombia are in using the same basic OPV design. The demand for corvettes in the Asian region outstrips every other region in terms both of numbers and operational requirements and is likely to see demand increase certainly over the short term.

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The Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) market in the AsiaPacific is well developed, with a number of armed forces operating sizeable fleets in support of military operations. This article will discuss several TUAV programmes ongoing around the region.

by Claire Apthorp

hile true MediumAltitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) UAVs remain beyond the reach and requirements of many regional forces, the healthy uptake of tactical solutions is reflective of the versatile, cost-effective and quick-deploy nature of the systems, and the added value they bring to military operations at home and abroad.

There are a number of programmes underway in the region to develop indigenous TUAV capabilities. The Singapore armed forces have announced plans to integrate unmanned technologies into its operations more closely as it moves toward 2030. In addition to operating Elbit

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Systemsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hermes 450, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Searcher II and IAI Heron UAVs, the Singapore military operates the SkyBlade III TUAV, a DSO and Singapore Technologies Aerospace (STA) joint development. Having deployed SkyBlade III successfully since 2010, the DSO and STA are developing the SkyBlade IV, which will have a longer range and a higher endurance capability.

SkyBlade IV is designed to

provide the ground manoeuvre battalion commander with situational awareness of the battlefield, including the ability to observe heavily protected areas. The system can be operated from small clearings or compounds via catapult-assisted launch and automatic precision parachute recovery, with a range of up to 53 nautical miles (100 kilometres), flying at operating altitudes of up to 15000 feet (4572 metres) for both day and night operations. Its baseline payload is a dual-axis gyrostabilised surveillance and observation system, which incorporates high resolution, continuous zoom optronics with a colour day channel and an automatic video tracker.

An AAI Shadow-200 TUAV is launched during a capability display at the Woomera Rocket Range, Australia. The TUAV carries a suite of sensors including optronics Š Australian DoD

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The AAI Shadow-200 TUAV is recovered post mission at a military base in Tarin Kot, central Afghanistan. The system is used to conduct reconnaissance to support Australian and coalition troops © Australian DoD image

Thailand

Thailand is also supporting a budding indigenous UAV industry, with local company Avia SATCOM displaying its Black Kite TUAV at Bangkok’s Defence and Security Exhibition held in November 2013.

The system has been developed with the assistance of its partner Saab and is designed to gather and exchange information, including situational awareness, reconnaissance and battle damage assessment, as part of network-centric operations.

Despite the growing presence of locallydeveloped solutions in the Asia-Pacific, TUAVs developed by United States and Israeli manufacturers continue to dominate the market at present. In May 2012, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced that the Textron Systems Shadow 200 TUAV had commenced operations in Afghanistan. The aircraft, which was acquired to replace the Australian Army’s Boeing Insitu ScanEagle system, was providing reconnaissance support to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) deployed there.

The Shadow 200 aircraft marked Australia’s first foray into the tactical UAV sphere. By 2012, the ScanEagle had been operating in Afghanistan for nearly five years, providing reconnaissance to ground units for an average of 22 hours per day, clocking up a total of 32000 operating hours in Afghanistan during some 6200 missions. While providing valuable support to operations during that time, being a small UAV system, ScanEagle’s

maximum payload capacity of 7.5 pounds (3.4 kilograms) limited mission versatility.

In replacing the ScanEagle with the Shadow 200, the Australian military was be able to significantly enhance its ability to provide battlefield situational awareness to coalition troops via the system’s multi-mission flexibility.

The Australian DoD acquired its first two Textron RQ-7B Shadow-200 systems under a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) with the US government in 2010 as part of the Australian Defence Force’s Joint Project 129 Phase 2 programme. Each system is comprised of five aircraft, Ground Control Stations (GCS), a launch and recovery element, associated equipment, logistics and training. The first system was delivered to the Australian Army in August 2011; additional units were acquired by Australia, also under an FMS, in July 2013, which are in the process of being delivered by the aircraft’s manufacturer.

Operating at altitudes of up to 8000 feet (2438 metres), the Shadow-200 is able to

capture full-motion video in day and night operations and transmit imagery to a GCS up to 67nm (125km) away. Textron is currently working to improve the system’s capabilities, with two new variants of the Shadow: the Shadow Extended Wing Configuration and the Shadow V2 Configuration.

Regarding the Shadow Extended Wing Configuration’s performance, the endurance and payload capacity of the legacy Shadow-200 have been increased, and communications relay and optional laser designation capabilities have been added to supplement the core reconnaissance functionality. The Shadow V2 is an all-digital system, featuring the Tactical Common Data Link for an expanded data pipeline and encryption for data assurance.

Textron will begin upgrading all 117 Shadow-200 TUAVs in the US military’s fleet to the Shadow V2 version in mid2015, but it believes there is potential for the system to take hold in the Asia-Pacific market also.

“It will be up to the Australian government as to whether they move over to the V2 system,” Henry Finneral, Textron’s vice president of tactical unmanned aircraft systems told Asian Military Review.

“They are very familiar with the Shadow V2 capabilities and it just becomes a matter of their planning process but we’ll be ready whenever they are in a position to procure that upgrade.”

The Shadow M2 TUAV features an aviation-grade, heavy-fuel engine, multi-mission payload capability, a redesigned, weather-resistant fuselage and increased performance, with the same footprint and logistics as the RQ-7B Shadow TUAV © Textron

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Israel Aerospace Industries’ Heron-I UAVs are flown by a small contingent of Royal Australian Air Force, and Australian Army personnel from an airbase in Kandahar south-western Afghanistan © Australian DoD

The company is also developing the Shadow M2 version which builds on the success of Shadow-200, adding new multi-mission capabilities via increased payload capacity made possible thanks to a larger aircraft body and blended fuselage which provides additional lift and a larger engine. It can carry multiple payloads simultaneously in its dual payload bays and features an integrated Satellite Communications (SATCOM) capability.

The Shadow M2 version was demonstrated at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona in February 2014 to delegations from around the world, including a strong presence from the Asia-Pacific region, which the company sees as a ‘growth area’ for its TUAV offerings.

“Our research has shown that there is a growing demand globally for Group 3,” Mr. Finneral said. “The concept of the pivot by the US towards the Asia-Pacific and the activity that we see, and is reported from that area, shows that reconnaissance systems will be a critical capability for military, civil and commercial applications.” The strength of TUAVs that is driving the demand in growth is their affordability and mission flexibility compared to the Group One and Two Mini and Small UAVS, and larger Group Four MALE UAVs. This UAV group classification system is used by the United States Army.

“From a Group Three standpoint, the Shadow TUAV family is a very capable system for an affordable price,” Mr. Finneral added. “Once you get into your Group Four systems the cost of procurement and sustainment can be a barrier for

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some countries, while the Group One and Two systems are capable but they may not have the payload or range capability provided by Group Three. Having a system that is organic to the manoeuvre commander really gives them the ability to put that TUAV up when they need it as opposed to calling it in or waiting for that capability; it’s that tactical capability that has very distinct advantages.”

Service provision

For countries in the Asia-Pacific region, where there is a mix of defence budget capacity and UAV experience, the maturity and track record of a system like the Shadow TUAV family— which has accumulated over 900000 flight hours worldwide, 90 percent of which were in combat operations—allows budget-wary customers to better predict the operational costs for the system as opposed to alternatives still in development.

As is the case with the Australian Army, potential customers are also increasingly seeking the option of gaining a capability without committing to lengthy and expensive procurement programmes via lease agreements.

Australia’s largest TUAV capability in Afghanistan is delivered via the Heron-1 UAV under a services contract with Canada’s MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), and has been since

2010. This agreement, which was extended in July 2014 until the end of this year, covers the provision of reconnaissance capabilities supporting Australian Defence Force (ADF) and ISAF operations in southern Afghanistan.

David Marriott, programme director at MDA, told AMR that Australia’s service provision arrangement allowed the ADF to be operating the Heron in Afghanistan in a matter of months. “The key thing for the Australians was that they were in Afghanistan and they needed to be up and running as soon as possible,” he said. “By leveraging the work we were already doing with the Canadian government with Heron, it was only five months between the contract award and the beginning of operations in Afghanistan.”

MDA provides a full turnkey service for Australia, leasing the aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and providing training, logistics, maintenance, flight preparation and airworthiness management, as well as equipment and spares. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilots who operate the Heron-1 aircraft are trained by MDA prior to their arrival in Afghanistan.

The services offered by MDA are flexible and can also include pilots to fly the missions, with customers able to select the options they require from a full suite of services. Such solutions not only offer a

Textron’s Shadow V2 is an all-digital TUAV available to US and NATO customers, the aircraft features the Tactical Common Data Link for an expanded data pipeline and encryption for data assurance © Textron

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way for new TUAV operators to gain onthe-ground experience with a UAV before committing to purchase, but also provide budgetary benefits.

“The biggest advantage in a services contract, and this is the case for the Australians as well, is that it avoids the complications of the long-term capital procurement programme,” Mr. Marriott said.

“Acquiring a military UAV capability is a very long process, it typically takes years, and what our service does is allows them to bypass that and say they just want the service for a set time. It also allows the customer to procure the capability through operational budgets as opposed to capital budgets, which are often more flexible.”

Market dominance

The Heron-1 UAV sits at the threshold between TUAV and larger MALE UAVs, providing Direct Line-Of-Sight (LOS) and/or UAV airborne data relay, SATCOM for beyond-LOS, dual real-time command uplink plus single real-time data and video downlink. Developed and manufactured by IAI, it is one of the most prolific UAVs in the Asia-Pacific; as well as the RAAF, it is also operated by Indonesia, Singapore and India.

India

Most recently India increased its Heron fleet to more than 40 units as of December 2013 with the purchase of an additional 15 aircraft in order to enhance its ability to patrol its borders with China and Pakistan, a surveillance capability that is in great demand in a region characterised by ongoing political unrest between countries.

“IAI is the biggest supplier of unmanned systems in Asia and we have supplied many Heron and Searcher systems into the region,” Avi Blesser, group marketing director, IAI’s MALAT Division, told AMR. “Asia is our centre market, and this market is growing very quickly because of the need to control peace between countries, and to monitor natural disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which saw Heron and Searcher take part in operations over affected areas.”

The Searcher is a multi-mission TUAV used for reconnaissance artillery fire con-

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Israel Aerospace Industries’ Heron-I UAV has now delivered 11000 combat flying hours of persistent, high-resolution, real-time reconnaissance information to Australian and coalition troops in Afghanistan © Australian DoD

trol and battle and damage assessment. In its latest configuration, the Searcher Mk.III is available in a number of payload configurations, including optronic (Television (TV) and Infrared (IR) combination or a TV/IR/LD triple-sensor), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Communications Intelligence (COMINT) and electronic surveillance measure integration, as well as customer-furnished payloads. Its data links options include direct LOS data link, UAV airborne data relay for beyond-LOS missions, and ground-based data relay for beyond-LOS missions. Searcher operators in the Asia-Pacific include India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand. IAI’s success in the Asia-Pacific market, Mr. Blesser believes, is due to the good match in requirements, and the company’s wideranging customer base, which has enabled it to continuously improve capabilities.

“We are operating our systems with more than 50 operators worldwide, and are always collecting experience from our customers deploying the UAVs in different operations; so every time a customer requests new capabilities they are implemented in the system and the next customer gets a better capability,” he said.

“As a result, the systems are mature enough to operate in the extreme conditions seen across Asia and capable of operating from runways located at 11000ft (3352m) in the Himalayas, and climbing to 30000ft (10000m) in very hard conditions such as snow, heavy rains, strong winds, and extreme temperatures. This maturity is very important in Asia because in this region UAV operations are at a very high level; the customers there are very experi-

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enced and sophisticated and they know exactly what they want.”

Growth area

IAI believes there is still significant room for UAV operations to expand in the AsiaPacific, with Mr. Blesser estimating that the Asia-Pacific UAV market will grow at a rate of at least ten percent per year. One potential area for growth is the demand for maritime operations. The Heron 1 is available with a Maritime Patrol Radar (MPR) to better meet the demands of this sector.

“Along with electronic intelligence, COMINT and optronics, the Heron-1 is flying with a MPR, taking off from the shore, and transferring command and control to the vessel via SATCOM,” Mr. Blesser added. “The ship then directly operates the payload and flies the UAV— this capability is not available from any other supplier, and this system is fully operational in several countries in Asia.”

India is also looking at the capabilities of TUAVs to meet its maritime patrol requirements, having deployed Heron and Searcher aircraft as part of Exercise Gemini-2 in mid-2013. In particular the aircrafts’ ability to provide early warning of threats within coastal waters were assessed during the exercise, in order to prevent a repeat of outrages such as the November 2008 Mumbai attacks where the perpetrators arrived in the Indian city from the sea.

With the versatility of TUAVs, and their cost-effectiveness to procure and operate, it is likely that this market sector will continue to expand in the Asia-Pacific over the coming years as customers seek flexible solutions to meet mission requirements across the spectrum of operations.

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The Indian Navy ship INS Mumbai is a ‘Delhi’ class destroyer. She is seen here commencing her Replenishment At Sea approach during an exercise. In total, the Indian Navy possesses three ‘Delhi’ class destroyers which commissioned in the late 1990s/early 2000s © Australian Department of Defence

2014

A confluence of factors is fuelling an expansion of surface and submarines forces in the Asia-Pacific. One motivating factor is China, whose maritime claims and naval modernisation efforts are driving regional neighbours to buy new weapons systems and platforms, and upgrade old ones.

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NAVAL DIRECTORY t the same time, many of these navies are improving their interoperability by aligning themselves closer to the United States Pacific Command, responsible for all military operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Yet, this frenetic pace of activity cannot be attributed solely to Beijing. Singapore is among the nations increasingly worried about piracy in the Malacca Strait connecting the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and potential conflict with neighbours such as Malaysia and Indonesia. As the region’s orders of battle for ships and submarines evolve, AsiaPacific shipbuilding, maintenance and repair companies are expanding their portfolios with hefty workloads to build and modernise the region’s naval vessels. Like all Asian Military Review (AMR) directories, the Naval Directory has been compiled with insights from government and industry experts, and open sources.

We encourage readers to contact us with any information they may have that may make the directory more informative and accurate.

A

AUSTRALIA

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘ANZAC’ class frigate 8 ‘Adelaide’ class frigate 4 ‘Armidale’ class offshore patrol boat 14 ‘Huon’ class mine countermeasures vessel 6 ‘Collins’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 6 ‘Balikpapan’ class heavy landing craft 3 ‘Leeuwin’ class hydrographic ship 2 ‘Paluma’ class survey launch 4 ‘Tobruk’ class heavy landing ship 1 ‘Bay’ class dock landing ship 1 ‘Durance’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Sirius’ class replenishment vessel 1

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal Navy are collaborating on development of the BAE Systems Global Combat Ship, with the design being considered by the RAN as a possible future replacement for its ‘ANZAC’ class frigates. The capability provided by HMAS Success, the RAN’s sole ‘Durance’ class replenishment vessel is to be replaced under the Australian government’s Defence Capability Plan (DCP) 2012 requirement to acquire two replenishment ships. The DCP 2012 provides a four-year roadmap of proposed major capital equipment acquisitions that are scheduled for consideration up to 2016. To this end, on 5 June 2014 the Australian government received the approval of the country’s cabinet to conduct a limited competitive tender process between shipbuilders Navantia of Spain and Daewoo of the Republic of Korea for the construction of two replenishment vessels based on existing military, civilian or hybrid designs displacing upwards of 20000 tonnes. The initial operational capability for these new replenishment ships is scheduled to be declared by 2023.

Concurrently, the Australian government is bringing forward preliminary design work to ensure that the country maintains the necessary capabilities to build future surface combatants domestically. This work could see elements of the current ‘Hobart’ class air defence destroyer programme being adapted for the ‘ANZAC’ class replacement, possibly along with elements of the Global Combat Ship (see above). Further decisions on the ‘ANZAC’ class replacement will be taken in the context of Australia’s forthcoming 2015 Defence White Paper. The Australian Defence Department’s White

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Papers are the government’s most important guidance regarding the nation’s long-term defence capabilities. The government has committed $73 million to keeping open the option of building this future ship in Australia.

BANGLADESH

BANGLADESHI NAVY Ship Type ‘Ulsan’ class frigate ‘Jianghu-II’ class frigate ‘Hamilton’ class frigate ‘Jianghu-III’ class frigate ‘Salisbury’ class frigate ‘Romeo/Ming’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine ‘Castle’ class corvette ‘Durjoy’ class corvette ‘Type-056’ class corvette ‘Island’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Sea Dragon’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Padma’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Type-024’ class fast attack craft ‘Type-021’ class fast attack craft ‘Kraljevica’ class patrol boat ‘Type-062-1’ class patrol boat ‘Type-037’ class patrol boat ‘Type-062’ class patrol boat ‘Type-021’ class patrol boat ‘Chamsuri’ class patrol boat ‘Meghna’ class patrol boat ‘Type-025’ torpedo boat ‘Roebuck’ class hydrographic ship ‘Agradoot’ class hydrographic ship ‘Type-010’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘River’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Island’ class training ship ‘Yuch’in’ class mechanised landing craft

Number in Service 1 1 1 2 1 2 to enter service 2 2 4 to enter service 5 1 5 5 4 2 1 1 4 1 4 2 4 1 1 1 4 1 5

The Bangladesh Navy continues its strategic tilt toward Beijing.

In December 2013, China agreed to sell two ‘Romeo/Ming’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines to Bangladesh. These submarines are expected to be delivered in circa 2016. On 22 June 2014 the Bangladesh government announced that it was buying nine China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) K-8W training helicopters. Delivery of these aircraft is expected not later than late-2014.

BRUNEI

ROYAL BRUNEI NAVY Ship Type ‘Darussalam’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Itjihad’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘TBD’ class fast attack craft ‘Waspada’ class fast attack craft ‘Perwira’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘Serasa’ class mechanised landing craft ‘Teraban’ class utility landing craft

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CAMBODIA

ROYAL CAMBODIAN NAVY Ship Type ‘Turya’ class fast attack craft ‘Stenka’ class fast attack craft ‘Shershen’ class fast attack craft

The Royal Brunei Navy’s patrol vessel KBD Darulaman is the third of four Offshore Patrol Vessels belonging to the ‘Darussalam’ class built by the German firm Lürssen. The first of these vessels entered service in 2011, with the last entering service in 2014 © US Navy

‘Bendeharu’ class inshore patrol vessel PDB 0-1 class inshore patrol vessel ‘FDB 512’ class inshore patrol vessel

3 11 2

In February 2014 Indonesia agreed to buy three BAE Systems ‘Nakhoda Ragam’ class frigates from Brunei. These three ships are expected to be operational with the Indonesian Navy by the end of 2014.

BURMA

BURMESE NAVY Ship Type ‘Kyan Sittha’ class frigate ‘Aung Zeya’ class frigate ‘Jianghu-II’ class frigate ‘Anawratha’ class corvette ‘Houxin’ class fast attack craft ‘5-Series’ class fast attack craft ‘Admirable’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Hainan’ class fast attack craft ‘Osprey’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘PGM-43’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘Y311’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘Y Series’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘Swift’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘Carpentaria’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘412’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘PB-90’ class inshore patrol vessel ‘PBR’ class river patrol vessel ‘Yan Naing’ class river patrol vessel ‘Michao’ class river patrol vessel ‘PCE’ class river patrol vessel

Number in Service 2 to enter service 1 2 2 6 21 1 9 2 6 1 10 1 6 4 3 6 11 25 4

Burma has sought assistance from India in building Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and obtaining naval sensors. An agreement achieved during the July 2013 talks between Burmese Navy chief Vice Admiral Thura Thet Swe and Indian Navy chief Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi called for the OPVs to be built at Indian shipyards. Training will be given to Burmese Navy officers and sailors at Indian naval facilities, although it has not been revealed when this will occur.

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Number in Service 5 5 1

While the Royal Cambodian Navy did not report any significant acquisitions in 2014, the service nonetheless participated in largescale exercises. The navy’s most significant training event was during the June 2014 Pacific Partnership multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Asia-Pacific region.

CHINA

PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Liaoning’ class aircraft carrier 1 ‘Tang’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine In development ‘Jin’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine 5 ‘Xia’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine 1 ‘Type-095’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine 14 to enter service ‘Shang’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine 5 in service, 3 to enter service ‘Han’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine 3 ‘Yuan’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 13 ‘Song’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 13 ‘Kilo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 12 ‘Romeo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 13 ‘Luyang-III’ class destroyer 12 to enter service ‘Luzhou’ class destroyer 2 ‘Luyang-II’ class destroyer 5 ‘Luyang-I’ class destroyer 2 ‘Sovremenny’ class destroyer 4 ‘Luhai’ class destroyer 1 ‘Luhu’ class destroyer 2 ‘Luda’ class destroyer 7 ‘Jaingkai-II’ class frigate 16 in service, 4 to enter service ‘Jiangkai-I’ class frigate 2 ‘Jiangwei-II’ class frigate 10 ‘Jaingwei-I’ class frigate 4 ‘Jianghu’ class frigate 8 ‘Jiangdao’ class corvette 15 in service, 7 to enter service ‘Houbei’ class fast attack craft 83 ‘Houjian’ class fast attack craft 6 ‘Houxin’ class fast attack craft 16 ‘Haiqing’ class fast attack craft 46 ‘Hainan’ class fast attack craft 68 ‘Shanghai-III’ class fast attack craft 17 ‘Wolei’ class minelayer 1 ‘Wozang’ class mine countermeasures vessel 2 ‘Wosao’ class mine countermeasures vessel 6 ‘Wochi’ class mine countermeasures vessel 8 ‘Lianyun’ class mine countermeasures vessel 50 ‘Yuzhao’ class amphibious support ship 3 ‘Yuting-III’ class landing ship 9 ‘Yuting-II’ class landing ship 10

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China’s People’s Liberation Army-Navy ship Qingdao is a ‘Luhu’ class destroyer. It is shown arriving in Hawaii for a scheduled port visit. Two ships comprise the ‘Luhu’ class, with the Harbin being the Qingdao’s sister. Both of these vessels commissioned in the mid-1990s © US Navy

‘Yuting’ class landing ship ‘Yukan’ class landing ship ‘Fuchi’ class replenishment vessel ‘Fusu’ class replenishment vessel ‘Fuqing’ class replenishment vessel

4 3 4 in service, 2 to enter service 1 2

The United States Department of Defence (DoD) in 2013 stated that China will begin building its new ‘Xisha’ class helicopter carrier within five years. Starting in August 2013 press reports have consistently placed the vessel’s displacement between 20000-35000 tonnes.

By comparison, the US Navy’s helicopter-carrying amphibious support ships displace 41000-45000 tonnes. In April 2014 a Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) WZ-10 attack helicopter conducted at sea trials on board the ‘Yuting II’ class landing ship Baxianshan. Should this capability mature, the ‘Yuting II’ class will be able to accommodate a close air support component.

The US DoD expects China in the next decade to commence construction of its as-yet-unnamed ‘Type 095’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), which may enable a submarine-based landattack capability. The unnamed submarine class is envisioned to eventually replace the new ‘Shang’ class nuclear-powered attack submarines, although no date has been given as to when this could occur. In addition to incorporating improved acoustic reduction technologies, the ‘Type 095’ class is expected to fulfil traditional anti-shipping roles with the incorporation of torpedoes; however, it is unknown what type of torpedoes these vessels will deploy.

DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA (DPRK)

DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Sang-O’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 40 ‘Yono’ class midget submarine 10 ‘Romeo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 22 ‘Whiskey’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 4 ‘Krivak’ class frigate 1 ‘Najin’ class frigate 2 ‘Soho’ class frigate 1 ‘Nampo’ class corvette 2 ‘Sariwon’ class corvette 4

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‘Tral’ class corvette 2 ‘A/B’ class fast attack craft 4 ‘Nongo’ class fast attack craft 2 in service, 1 to enter service ‘Soju’ class fast attack craft 8 ‘Huangfeng’ class fast attack craft 4 ‘Sohung/Komar’ class fast attack craft 12 ‘Shershen’ class fast attack craft 3 ‘Sin Hung/Ku Song’ class fast attack craft 142 ‘P6’ class fast attack craft 12 ‘Ku Song’ class fast attack craft 60 ‘Taechong I/II’ class patrol boat 13 ‘Hainan’ class patrol boat 6 ‘Chodo’ class patrol boat 3 ‘Choing-Ju’ class patrol boat 6 ‘SO-1’ class patrol boat 19 ‘Shanghai II’ class patrol boat 13 ‘Sinpo’ class patrol boat 18 ‘Chongjin’ class patrol boat 54 ‘Chado’ class patrol boat 59 ‘Hantae’ class utility landing craft 10 ‘Hungnam’ class mechanised landing craft 15 ‘Hanchon’ class utility landing craft 15 ‘Nampo’ class personnel landing craft 195 ‘Kongbang’ class assault hovercraft 140 ‘Yukto’ class mine countermeasures vessel 23 At least 14 DPRK-designed ‘Yono’ class midget submarines are being indigenously manufactured in Iranian domestic shipyards for that nation’s navy.

INDIA

INDIAN NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Chakra’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine 1 ‘Arihant’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine 1 ‘Sindhughosh’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 10 ‘Shishumar’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 4 ‘Centaur’ class aircraft carrier 1 ‘Kiev’ class aircraft carrier 1 ‘Kolkata’ class destroyer 1 ‘Delhi’ class destroyer 3 ‘Rajput’ class destroyer 5 ‘Shivalik’ class frigate 3 ‘Talwar’ class frigate 6 ‘Brahmaputra’ class frigate 3 ‘Godavari’ class frigate 3 ‘Kamorta’ class corvette 1 ‘Kora’ class corvette 4 ‘Khukri’ class corvette 4 ‘Veer’ class corvette 12 ‘Abhay’ class corvette 4 ‘Austin’ class amphibious support ship 1 ‘Shardul’ class tank landing ship 3 ‘Magar’ class heavy landing ship 2 ‘Kumbhir’ class heavy landing ship 4 ‘Pondicherry’ class mine countermeasures vessel 7 ‘Saryu’ class offshore patrol vessel 4 ‘Sukanya’ class offshore patrol vessel 6

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NAVAL DIRECTORY ‘Car Nicobar’ class patrol boat ‘Bangaram’ class patrol boat ‘Trinkat’ class patrol boat ‘Super Dvora’ class patrol boat ‘Solas’ class patrol boat ‘Deepak’ class replenishment vessel ‘Jyoti’ class replenishment vessel ‘Aditya’ class replenishment vessel ‘Sagardhwani’ class hydrographic ship ‘Sandhayak’ class hydrographic ship ‘Makar’ class hydrographic ship ‘Gaj’ class tug ‘Bhim’ class tug ‘Madan Singh’ class tug ‘Balram’ class tug ‘Bahadur’ class tug ‘Anand’ class tug ‘BC Dutt’ class tug ‘Nakul’ class tug ‘Arga’ class tug

10 4 2 6 4 2 1 1 1 8 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 2 2 3

In January 2013, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired the K-15 SubmarineLaunched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) from a pontoon in the Bay of Bengal. In February 2014 India was also confirmed by different open sources as developing an SLBM known as the K-4, with a 1889-nautical mile (3500-kilometre) range. These developments support the evolving operational capability of a sea-based nuclear deterrent represented by the new ‘Arihant’ class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine (SSBN). The ‘Arihant’ class is expected to carry deploy both the K-4 and K-15.

The Israeli and Indian navies are cooperating closely with one another. In July 2014 India urged Israel to speed up the delayed Israel Aerospace Industries/DRDO Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missile project for the recently-acquired ‘Kiev’ class Russian aircraft carrier the INS Vikramaditya. No delivery date is available regarding when the Barak-8 may enter service with the Indian Navy.

‘Boa’ class gunboat ‘Tripartite’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Kondor’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Makassar’ class amphibious support ship

13 2 9 4

The Indonesian Navy currently has two ‘Cakra’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) although the Indonesia’s Defense Strategic Plan 2024 calls for a fivefold increase in the number of submarines over the next eleven years. An initial acquisition strategy to achieve a fleet of ten submarines started with the order for three ‘Chang Bogo’ class SSKs, to be built in both the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Indonesia. The current schedule will deliver two ‘Chang Bogo’ class derivatives from Daewoo in the RoK in 2017 and the domestically-built boat from Indonesia’s PT PAL shipbuilders by 2020. The 1600 tonne vessels will feature eight 533-millimetre (21-inch) torpedo tubes, capable of launching a mixture of torpedoes and mines.

JAPAN

JAPAN MARITIME SELF DEFENCE FORCE Ship Type Number in Service ‘Soryu’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 5 ‘Oyashio’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 11 ‘Izumo’ class helicopter carrier 1 ‘Hyuga’ class helicopter carrier 2 ‘Shirane’ class destroyer 2 ‘Atago’ class destroyer 2 ‘Kongo’ class destroyer 4 ‘Hatakaze’ class destroyer 2 ‘Akizuki’ class destroyer 4 ‘Takanami’ class destroyer 5 ‘Murasame’ class destroyer 9 ‘Asagiri’ class destroyer 8 ‘Hatsuyuki’ class destroyer 3 ‘Abukuma’ class corvette 6 ‘Osumi’ class heavy landing ship 3 ‘Uraga’ class mine countermeasures vessel 2

INDONESIA

INDONESIAN NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Chang Bogo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 3 to enter service ‘Cakra’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 2 ‘Sigma’ class frigate 2 to enter service ‘Ahmad Yani’ class frigate 6 ‘Bung Tomo’ class corvette 3 ‘Diponegoro’ class corvette 4 ‘Fatahillah’ class corvette 3 ‘Kapitan Patimura’ class corvette 16 ‘Mandau’ class fast attack craft 4 ‘Todak’ class fast attack craft 4 ‘Pandrong’ class fast attack craft 2 ‘Clurit’ class fast attack craft 4 ‘Sampari’ class fast attack craft 3 ‘Andau’ class gunboat 4 ‘Kakap’ class gunboat 4 ‘Sibarau’ class gunboat 8

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The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) destroyer JDS Myoko and three other ships of the JMSDF ‘Kongo’ class form the outer layer of Japan’s Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capability. Japan has ploughed investment into at-sea BMD amid fears over ballistic missile proliferation by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea © US Navy

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NAVAL DIRECTORY ‘Yaeyama’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Enoshima’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Hirashima’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Sugashima’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Uwajima’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Leshima’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Hayabusa’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Shimayuki’ class training vessel ‘Kashima’ class training vessel ‘Asashio’ class training submarine ‘Mashu’ class replenishment vessel ‘Towada’ class replenishment vessel ‘Hiuchi’ class training vessel ‘Hibiki’ class hydrographic ship

3 2 3 12 5 2 6 3 1 2 2 3 5 2

Japan’s 2014 defence budget includes finance for the continued upgrade of the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force’s (JMSDF) two ‘Atago’ class destroyers to deploy Raytheon RIM-161 Standard Missile-3 Block 1A Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs). An additional $693 million has been provided by the government for the purchase of a new destroyer, and two Kawasaki P1 maritime patrol aircraft. The Japanese Ministry of Defence’s Plan for Defence Programmes and Budget for 2014 includes funding to implement life extension measures of ‘Hatsuyuki’, ‘Asagiri’, ‘Abukuma’ and ‘Hatakaze’ destroyer classes to maintain the readiness of this force. The budget document also notes that the JMSDF will see a modest boost in vessels by 2018 by providing a life extension for the JMSDF’s ‘Oyashio’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines that would otherwise be retired.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA (RoK)

REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Chang Bogo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 9 ‘Son Wonil’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 9 ‘Dolgorae’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 2 ‘Dokdo’ class amphibious support ship 1 ‘Go Jun Bong’ class heavy landing ship 4 ‘Gwanggaeto the Great’ class destroyer 3 ‘Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin’ class destroyer 6 ‘Sejong the Great’ class destroyer 3 ‘Ulsan’ class frigate 9 ‘Incheon’ class frigate 1 in service, 5 to enter service ‘Pohang’ class corvette 21 ‘Wonsan’ class mine countermeasures vessel 1 ‘Ganggyeong’ class mine countermeasures vessel 6 ‘Yangyang’ class mine countermeasures vessel 1 ‘Chamsuri’ class offshore patrol vessel 75 ‘Gumdoksuri’ class offshore patrol vessel 15 ‘Cheonji’ class replenishment vessel 3 ‘Chung Haejin’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Pyeongtaek’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Sincheonji’ class hydrographic ship 1 The RoK’s Future Frigate Experimental (FFX) programme is intended to replace the aging fleet of existing ‘Ulsan’ class frigates and ‘Pohang’ class corvettes with new multi-mission frigates. Meanwhile, a model of the ‘Incheon’ class Batch-II frigate was unveiled by Daewoo in October 2013. Key updates of the Batch II over the AntiSubmarine Warfare-focused Batch I include the addition of a vertical

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The Republic of Korea Navy amphibious support ship the ROKS Dokdo is seen here in the top of the picture. It is built by Hanjin Heavy Industries and is the lead ship of a planned class of three vessels. The ‘Dokdo’ class can embark up to 720 troops and ten helicopters © US Navy

launching system for missiles and full electric propulsion, as well as a larger hangar that can accommodate a medium-lift utility helicopter.

Eight Batch-II ships are going to be built in pairs by 2018. Some materiel including the vessels’ Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine engines for their propulsion system are currently being delivered.

MALAYSIA

ROYAL MALAYSIAN NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Perdana Menteri’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 2 ‘Gowind’ class frigate 6 to enter service ‘Lekiu’ class frigate 2 ‘Kasturi’ class frigate 2 ‘Laksamana’ class corvette 4 ‘Kedah’ class corvette 6 ‘Perdana’ class offshore patrol vessel 4 ‘Handalan’ class offshore patrol vessel 4 ‘Jerung’ class offshore patrol vessel 6 ‘Sri Tiga’ class offshore patrol vessel 2 ‘CB-90’ class fast attack craft 17 ‘Sri Indera Sakti’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Mahawangsa’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Mahamiru’ class mine countermeasures vessel 4 ‘Gagah Samudera’ class training ship 2 ‘Hang Tuah’ class training ship 1 ‘Perantau’ class hydrographic ship 1 ‘Mutiara’ class hydrographic ship 1 ‘Bunga Mas’ class auxiliary vessel 2

A second batch of ‘Lekiu’ class frigates has reportedly been planned by the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), leading to an eventual fleet of six. An expansion of the submarine fleet by three conventional hunterkiller boats is under consideration. In June 2014, the RMN deployed the ‘Bunga Mas’ class of auxiliary vessels off the east coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah to act as a sea base. The continuing deployment is to support Malaysia’s efforts to combat kidnappings by Philippines-based insurgent organisations. To this end, the Bunga Mas Lima acts as a mothership for ‘CB 90’ class fast attack craft and Malaysian Army fast boats. For Malaysia to maintain its naval presence in the region the RMN must decide whether to retain the Bunga Mas Lima on loan from the Malaysian International Shipping Corporation.

NEW ZEALAND

ROYAL NEW ZEALAND NAVY Ship Type ‘ANZAC’ class frigate ‘Canterbury’ class replenishment vessel ‘Endeavour’ class replenishment vessel ‘Otago’ class offshore patrol vessel

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A decision will be made by the end of 2014 regarding the replacement for the navy’s sole HMNZS Endeavour fleet replenishment ship. On 29 April 2014 Lockheed Martin Canada signed a contract with the New Zealand government for the upgrade of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s two ‘ANZAC’ class frigates The contract award represents Lockheed Martin Canada’s first export sale of its Combat

The Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Ta Mana is the second ship of the nation’s ‘ANZAC’ class frigates and will undergo a combat management and weapons system upgrade under the direction of Lockheed Martin Canada © Australian Department of Defence

Management System. The frigate enhancements under this contract are expected to begin in 2014 and be completed in 2018. A concurrent upgrade of the navy’s ‘ANZAC’ frigates will occur under a contract signed on 21 May 2014 by the New Zealand Ministry of Defence with MBDA. This agreement calls for equipping the ships with the new Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile to provide local area air defence. Sea Ceptor is a version of the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile being developed by the British arm of MBDA. The weapon will not be installed on Royal Navy frigates until 2016, and no date has been announced for equipping of Sea Ceptor on the ANZAC frigates.

PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Hashmat’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 2 ‘Khalid’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 3 ‘Zulfiquar’ class frigate 4 ‘Tariq’ class frigate 5 ‘Alamgir’ class frigate 1 ‘Azmat’ class fast attack craft 2 ‘Larkana’ class fast attack craft 2 ‘Jalalat-II’ class fast attack craft 2 ‘Jurrat’ class fast attack craft 2 ‘MRTP-15’ class fast attack craft 2 ‘MRTP-33’ class fast attack craft 2 ‘Munsif’ class mine countermeasures vessel 3 ‘Fuqing’ class auxiliary vessel 1 ‘Poolster’ class auxiliary vessel 1 ‘Griffon’ class assault hovercraft 12 Pakistan is in talks with China about a replacement of its three

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‘Khalid’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) and two ageing ‘Hashmat’ class SSKs. The most promising development to this end is the contract for ‘Yuan’ class SSKs which is expected to be completed by end of 2014. The Pakistan Navy remains in discussion with the United States regarding the transfer of additional ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigates, to reinforce its ‘Alamgir’ class ships.

PHILIPPINES

PHILIPPINE NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Gregorio del Pilar’ class frigate 2 ‘Datu Kalantiaw’ class frigate 1 ‘Pohang’ class corvette 1 ‘Emilio Jacinto’ class corvette 3 ‘Rizai’ class corvette 2 ‘Miguel Malvar’ class corvette 6 ‘General Emilio Aguinaldo’ class inshore patrol vessel 2 ‘General Mariano Alvarez’ class inshore patrol vessel 1 ‘Jose Andrada’ class patrol boat 22 ‘Kagitingan’ class patrol boat 2 ‘Tomas Batillo’ class fast attack craft 6 ‘Conrado Yap’ class fast attack craft 3 ‘Alberto Navarette’ class inshore patrol vessel 2 ‘Bacolod City’ class heavy landing ship 2 ‘LST-1/542’ class heavy landing ship 2 ‘LCU Mk.6’ class utility landing craft 3 ‘Mulgae’ class utility landing craft 1 ‘Ang Pangulo’ class presidential yacht 1 ‘Lake Mainit’ class replenishment vessel 2 ‘Lake Buluan’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Design 381’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘YTL-442’ class hydrographic ship 2 The country’s Department of National Defence (DND) is managing the bidding process for two new frigates whose contract price is placed at $412 million for both ships. The shape, size and capabilities of these ships are being determined by a naval working group which convened in February 2014. Six shipbuilders are eligible to bid for this frigate project: Garden Reach of India, Navantia of Spain, STX of France, Daewoo of the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Hyundai Heavy Industries, also based in the RoK. The DND is expected to complete technical discussions for the project with the

The BRP Gregorio del Pilar is the first of two ex-United States Coast Guard ‘Hamilton’ class cutters in service with the Philippine Navy. The force has been an avid user of US-supplied naval materiel in recent years © Government of Philippines

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NAVAL DIRECTORY eligible shipbuilders by the end of 2014 and hold bidding for the project in 2015. The DND remains in informal discussions for five offshore patrol vessels from France and is known to be in the market for a conventional hunter-killer submarine. No substantive acquisition announcements are expected in the near term for these two areas of interest as fiscal realities may limit the expansion of the nation’s naval order of battle.

Singapore’s defence minister advised parliament in March 2014 that the navy is examining the possibility of acquiring large amphibious support vessels. Two new ‘Type 218SG’ class conventional hunterkiller submarines (SSKs) are under contract from the German submarine builder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems with deliveries expected from 2020 to replace the existing ‘Challenger’ class SSKs. Together with the two existing ‘Archer’ class SSKs they will form the Republic of Singapore Navy’s underwater fleet from 2020.

RUSSIA

RUSSIAN NAVY PACIFIC FLEET Ship Type Number in Service ‘Borei’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine 1 ‘Delta-III’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine 3 ‘Oscar-II’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine 5 ‘Akula-I’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine 4 ‘Kilo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 8 ‘Slava’ class cruiser 1 ‘Udaloy-I’ class destroyer 4 ‘Sovremenny’ class destroyer 1

The first ‘Borey’ class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) could be joined by three more by 2020. Furthermore, the Severodvinsk, the first ‘Yasen’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), was commissioned 17 June 2014. Four other boats of the class remain under construction and are expected to incrementally enter service early next decade. The delivery of two ‘Mistral’ class amphibious support ships built by the French shipbuilder STX remains in doubt. Paris is under considerable pressure not to formally transfer the Vladivostok and Sevastopol to Russian control in retaliation for Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian civil war. As this directory was being compiled, the Sevastopol amphibious support ship had not been delivered to the Russian Navy and the Vladivostok remained on schedule for completion by late 2014. Aside from upgrading the Pacific Fleet’s main Far East Vladivostok and Viliuchinsk naval bases, Russia has built anchorages in Primorye Territory, on Sakhalin Island and in the Kuril Islands. Russia’s navy is also seeking facilities beyond its territory, and is pursuing negotiations with Vietnam to lease the Vietnamese Navy base in Cam Ranh Bay. In November 2013, Russia and Vietnam signed an agreement on creating a joint submarine maintenance centre there.

SINGAPORE

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Challenger’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 4 ‘Archer’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 2 ‘Formidable’ class frigate 6 ‘Victory’ class corvette 6 ‘Fearless’ class offshore patrol vessel 12 ‘Endurance’ class amphibious support ship 4 ‘Landsort’ class mine countermeasures vessel 4

Singapore’s interest in buying the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning-II Short Take Off/Vertical Landing multi-role combat aircraft has prompted speculation that the navy may increase its interest in local shipbuilder’s ST Engineering Marine’s proposal for an amphibious support ship which could handle the aircraft. Indeed,

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SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan Navy Ship Type ‘Sukanya’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Reliance’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Vikram’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Jayasagara’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Saar-4’ class fast attack craft ‘Shanghai-I’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Shanghai-II’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Shanghai-III’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Lushun’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Bay’ class offshore patrol vessel ‘Super Dvora Mk.III’ class patrol boat ‘Super Dvora Mk.II’ class patrol boat ‘Dvora Mk.I’ class patrol boat ‘Shaldag’ class patrol boat ‘Colombo’ class patrol boat ‘Simoneau’ class patrol boat ‘Chevron’ class patrol boat ‘Trinity Marine’ class patrol boat ‘Wave Rider’ class patrol boat ‘Yuhai’ class heavy landing ship ‘Yunnan’ class heavy landing ship

Number in Service 1 1 1 1 2 2 4 3 2 2 6 3 4 7 22 3 4 5 25 1 2

Sri Lanka continues its dual-track strategy to cooperate on naval matters with India and China.

TAIWAN

TAIWAN NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Chien Lung’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 2 ‘Hai Shih’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 2 ‘Kee Lung’ class destroyer 4 ‘Cheng Kung’ class destroyer 8 ‘Chi Yang’ class frigate 8 ‘Kang Ding’ class frigate 6 ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigate 2 to enter service ‘Ching Chiang’ class offshore patrol vessel 11 ‘Kuang Hua VI’ class fast attack craft 31 ‘Tuo River’ class corvette 12 to enter service ‘Yung Yang’ class mine countermeasures vessel 4 ‘Yung Feng’ class mine countermeasures vessel 4 ‘Yung Ching’ class mine countermeasures vessel 2 ‘Hsuhai’ class dock landing ship 1 ‘Chung Cheng’ class dock landing ship 1 ‘Chung Ho’ class heavy landing ship 2 ‘Chung Hai’ class heavy landing ship 7

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NAVAL DIRECTORY ‘Mei Chin’ class heavy landing ship ‘Ta De’ class tug ‘Tai Hu’ class tug ‘Ta Tung’ class tug ‘Chung Bai’ class replenishment vessel ‘Wu Kang’ class coastal transport ‘Wan An’ class coastal transport ‘Tai Wu’ class coastal transport

4 1 1 1 2 2 1 1

In January 2014 Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) announced that the navy had taken delivery in 2013 of submarinelaunched Boeing UGM-84L Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles. The UGM-84Ls will be divided between Taiwan’s two ‘Chien Lung’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs). In June 2014 the MND’s Navy Command Headquarters said the service will try to replace part of the pressure hull on one of its existing ‘Guppy-II’ Class SSKs, among the oldest submarines in active service. Taiwan remains unable to find a supplier of new SSKs to replace its venerable force with prospective shipyards and their parent governments concerned about possible retaliation from China should they decide to supply Taiwan with new boats. The US Congress has authorised the sale of four ex-US Navy ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class frigates to Taiwan as of April 2014. The administration of President Barack Obama has yet to approve the transfer of these ships.

THAILAND

ROYAL THAI NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Chakri Naruebet’ class aircraft carrier 1 ‘Knox’ class frigate 2 ‘Naresuan’ class frigate 2 ‘Modernised Jianghu’ class frigate 4 ‘Ratanakosin’ class corvette 2 ‘Tapi’ class corvette 2 ‘Khamronsin’ class corvette 3 ‘River’ class offshore patrol vessel 1 ‘Pattani’ class offshore patrol vessel 2 ‘Makut Rajakumarn’ class offshore patrol vessel 1 ‘Hua Hin’ class offshore patrol vessel 3 ‘PSMM Mk.5’ class offshore patrol vessel 6 ‘Tor 991’ class offshore patrol vessel 3 ‘Tor 994’ class offshore patrol vessel 3 ‘M36’ class offshore patrol vessel 3 ‘MBM-230’ class fast attack craft 3 ‘FPB-45’ class fast attack craft 3 ‘MV-400’ class fast attack craft 3 ‘Cannon’ class training ship 1 ‘Endurance’ class amphibious support ship 1 ‘Normed PS-700’ class tank landing ship 2 ‘Marsun M55’ class utility landing craft 2 ‘Thongkaeo’ class utility landing craft 4 ‘Mannok’ class utility landing craft 3 ‘Similan’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Jula’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘YOG-5’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Prong’ class replenishment vessel 1 ‘Proet’ class replenishment vessel 2 ‘Matra’ class replenishment vessel 1

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‘Chuang’ class replenishment vessel ‘MSC-289’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Thalang’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘M48’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Gaeta’ class mine countermeasures vessel ‘Chan’ class hydrographic vessel ‘Sok’ class hydrographic vessel ‘Paruehasabordee’ class hydrographic vessel ‘Rin’ class tug ‘Samsan’ class tug ‘Klungbadan’ class tug

2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2

Thailand does not possess any submarines, but has ambitious designs for a future fleet. A submarine fleet headquarters at Sattahip Naval Base will be completed by the end of 2014. Royal Thai Navy officers are attending submarine training in Germany and the Republic of Korea. On 20 May 2014 Rheinmetall of Germany announced that the Royal Thai Navy’s submarine command team trainer was operational. Also in May 2014, the United States said it was reviewing its military relationship and engagement with its Asia-Pacific ally following the Spring 2014 military coup.

VIETNAM

VIETNAM PEOPLE’S NAVY Ship Type Number in Service ‘Gepard 3.0’ class frigate 2 ‘Petya’ class frigate 5 ‘Sigma’ class corvette 2 to enter service ‘Tarantul-1’ class corvette 4 ‘Moiniya’ class corvette 4 ‘BPS-600’ class corvette 1 ‘Kilo’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine 2 ‘Osa’ class offshore patrol vessel 8 ‘Svetlyak’ class offshore patrol vessel 6 ‘Turya’ class offshore patrol vessel 5 ‘TT-400 TP’ class offshore patrol vessel 3 ‘Sonya’ class mine countermeasures vessel 4 ‘Yurka’ class mine countermeasures vessel 2 ‘Yevgenya’ class mine countermeasures vessel 2 ‘Giao su Vien si Tran Dai Nghia’ class hydrographic vessel 1 ‘K-122’ class transport/logistics vessel 2 ‘HQ-996’ class transport/logistics vessel 1 ‘Trường Sa’ class transport/logistics vessel 7 ‘LST-542’ class heavy landing ship 1 ‘Polnochny’ class amphibious support ship 3 ‘HQ-521’ class amphibious support ship 2

China has become increasingly assertive within Vietnam’s continental shelf and its Exclusive Economic Zone. While Vietnam’s responses remain ambiguous, the nation has diplomatically moved further away from China and increased its dialogue with other nations. It has also increased its purchases of Russian naval platforms and systems, and is expanding its military-to-military contacts with the navies of the United States and other nations. While Vietnam did not receive any Russian ships or other naval hardware in 2014, the nation continues to strengthen its future interoperability with Vietnam reportedly ordering two more ‘Gepard’ class frigates from Russia’s Gorky Shipyard for delivery in 2017.

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YODA-LIKE PERCEPTION Dark and shadowy is the habitat of the Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) gathering aircraft. Able to ‘hoover up’ information regarding potentially hostile radar and communications transmissions, the detailed activities of these platforms are rarely discussed by the air forces who operate them.

by Thomas Withington

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The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the only other military to operate the Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint electronic intelligence aircraft beyond the United States Air Force. In RAF service, these planes are known as the RC-135W Airseeker © US DoD

LINT aircraft essentially have two basic functions within the Electronic Warfare (EW) domain: chiefly collecting information regarding hostile radar, and communications emissions, the latter process being known as COMINT (Communications Intelligence). This is achieved by using aircraft equipped with antennae and signals processing equipment which detects, classifies and locates (known in EW jargon as ‘Direction Find’ or ‘DF’) these emissions.

These emissions can be recorded and analysed onboard these aircraft, which carry wideband satellite and radio communications links with the outside world to enable the gathered and processed ELINT to be shared with other users. The gathering of ELINT is vital to establish an electronic Order-ofBattle (ORBAT) to identify and locate friendly, neutral and hostile radar and communications transmissions.

Radar typically transmits in the one to 18 gigahertz (GHz) section of the electromagnetic spectrum, although it increasingly inhabits the 18-40GHz section where so-called ‘millimetre wave’ radars, which offer particularly sharp resolution of targets, are to be found. The ability to collect radar data is vital

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for air campaign planning and execution to enable ingressing strike packages of combat aircraft, or individual warplanes, to avoid areas of comprehensive radar coverage, exploit areas of weak radar coverage or target enemy radars with AntiRadiation Missiles (ARMs).

In the COMINT domain, ELINT aircraft can gather details of known hostile and potentially hostile communications to DF the source of these communications and to facilitate eavesdropping. COMINT typically concerns itself with High Frequency (HF/3-30MHz), Very High Frequency (VHF/30300MHz) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF/ 300MHz-1GHz) traffic, which includes military tactical radios, as well as civilian cellphone networks.

In August 2014, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence revealed that Royal Air Force Boeing RC-135W Airseeker/Rivet Joint aircraft have been patrolling the skies of Northern Iraq (see this edition’s Pulse column). Although not officially confirmed, it is thought that these missions have been performed to collect COMINT regarding the activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent group which has occupied large swathes of northern and eastern Iraq.

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The Gulfstream G-550 business jet has become an increasingly popular platform for electronic intelligence-gathering aircraft. The airframe is in use for this mission with the Israeli Air Force and the Aeronautica Militaire (Italian Air Force) © IAI Elta

Royal Air Force

The RAF procured three RC-135W aircraft as a replacement for its ageing Hawker Siddeley/BAE Systems Nimrod-RI ELINT aircraft, with the fleet of two airframes retiring in June 2011. Deliveries of the RC-135W aircraft commenced in November 2013, with training flights starting in May 2014. The United States Air Force (USAF) also operates the RC135V/W Rivet Joint (see below) yet the RAF’s aircraft were not obtained from USAF stocks. Instead, three ex-USAF Boeing KC-135R tankers were converted into RC-135W aircraft by US defence electronics specialists L3 Communications.

There are some important differences between the RC-135V and RC-135W configurations: the former are upgraded versions of the legacy USAF RC-135C Big Team aircraft. Designed for strategic ELINT (this aircraft was outfitted with the AN/ASD-1 ELINT system) the RC-135C would form the basis of the RC-135V with ten of the ‘Charlie’ aircraft being upgraded to ‘Victor’ status. The RC-135W has a slightly reduced capability in terms of ELINT, at the expense of enhanced COMINT capabilities. While the RC-135V was developed from the RC-135C, the RC135W was developed from the RC-135M River Card with this latter airframe upgraded to this end. Originally, the RC135 family of aircraft, which entered USAF service in the 1960s, were designed to per-

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form passive ELINT gathering. This, as noted above, was achieved with systems such as the AN/ASD-1 and the AN/QRC259 superheterodyne receiver. Although not confirmed by RC-135 operators, according to open sources it is thought that the ELINT equipment carried by today’s RC-135V/W aircraft may not only be capable of collecting and analysing radar intelligence and communications traffic, but also of altering radar emissions or inserting false and misleading communications traffic into a network to fox adversaries.

It is possible that the RAF RC-135W aircraft were planting misleading communications into ISIS tactical communications networks during their recent flights over Iraq, in addition to passively collecting COMINT on ISIS’ transmissions.

However, it will be many years before we know the exact nature of these recent RAF RC-135W missions. In terms of altering radar emissions it may be possible for RC135V/W aircraft to employ EW software programmes such as ‘Suter’.

Suter

Suter has been developed by BAE Systems as part of the USAF’s ‘Big Safari’ programme. Exactly what the Big Safari initiative gets up to is a mystery and its raison d’etre sounds rather prosaic as it is intended to manage the acquisition, operation and support of USAF ‘special purpose’ platforms and weapons.

The Suter designation is thought to cover three specific software configurations known as Suter-1, -2 and -3, all of which are thought to be computer programmes designed to disrupt, degrade and destroy hostile Integrated Air Defence Systems (IADS). Suter is believe to achieve this by entering an IADS mimicking the behaviour of a computer virus.

The programme may enter the IADS through its communications network, possibly via satellite, radio or internet links.

The Suter-1 programme may allow users to see the Recognised Air Picture (RAP) generated by federating the disparate imagery gathered by the networked radars of an IADS, as well as seeing information regarding Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) status and the dispersal of such weapons.

Suter-2 might allow the user to take control of some elements of the IADS, presumably allowing them to alter the RAP in a way which is to their advantage while Suter-3 is rumoured to enable the user to alter the status of the SAMs populating the IADS, while giving the user the ability to manipulate the IADS. The key advantage of Suter may well be its subtlety, with IADS operators scarcely being aware that it has taken control of their systems.

In terms of combat experience, Suter is thought to have been used by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, it may have been deployed during Operation NEPTUNE SPEAR to spoof the

The United States Air Force Lockheed Martin EC-130H Compass Call aircraft is used to disrupt, degrade and destroy enemy communications systems, particularly those used by hostile integrated air defence systems © USAF

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Electronic intelligence aircraft are usually festooned with an array of antennae for the collection of radio frequency transmissions. The antenna in this picture belongs to a Gulfstream S-102B Korpen jet of the Flygvapnet (Royal Swedish Air Force) © Thomas Withington

Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) IADS during the US Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) commando mission to kill Al Qaeda insurgent group leader Osama Bin Laden on the night of 1/2 May 2011.

The ability to safely fly the SEAL’s helicopters through Pakistan air space to their destination in Abbottabad, in the north of the country, where Mr. Bin Laden’s house was located without detection was a pivotal aspect of this mission. While Suter is thought to have been integrated on several unidentified USAF Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, it may also be operational on the fleet of 16 RC-135V/W Rivet Joint of the service’s 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron at 55 Wing at Offut Air Force Base and the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron at RAF Mildenhall airbase in eastern England.

Israel

A nefarious computer programme with similar characteristics to Suter (see above) may have been used in combat by the Israeli Air Force (IAF). The IAF, alongside the other Israeli armed forces, is considered one of the primary exponents and practitioners of electronic warfare. The country has throughout its history faced electronic threats in the form of the hostile air sur-

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veillance radars used by the IADS of its adversaries, and the hostile communications used by insurgents such as the Hamas and Hezbollah organisations active in the Gaza Strip and West Bank Palestinian territories, and Lebanon.

Famously, in 1982, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Army comprehensively destroyed Syria’s IADS in the Golan Heights on Israel’s northeastern border with Syria. This attack, performed during Israel’s Operation PEACE FOR GALILEE in June 1982, used mainly kinetic means to disrupt, degrade and destroy the Syrian air forces.

IAF warplanes were once again active over Syria on 6 September 2007 during Operation ORCHARD. This initiative saw the destruction of a Syrian nuclear reactor located in the Deir ez-Zor Governate in eastern Syria with precision-guided munitions dropped by IAF McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15I Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCAs) which were escorted to and from their targets by General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16I MRCA. Open source reports state that IAF ELINT aircraft were strongly suspected to also be involved in the raid. At the time, the IAF was operating four Boeing 707 Re’em ELINT jets, although as of 2010

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these have been replaced by three Gulftstream G-550s to perform ELINT, and are equipped with an electronic intelligence payload developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. No information has been publicly released by either the IAF or IAI Elta regarding the ELINT payload which the G-550, known in IAF service as the G-550 Shavit, accommodates. That said, the brochure produced by IAI Elta for its EL/I-3001 AISIS (Airborne Integrated Signals Intelligence System) depicts a G-550 with a strong resemblance to the G-550 Shavit aircraft operated by the IAF, although bereft of the usual ‘Israeli Air Force’ writing on the fuselage; the inference being that the Israeli aircraft either carries the EL/I-3001 AISIS, or is outfitted with an ELINT package based upon this product.

The official IAI Elta literature stresses that the EL/I-3001 can detect, classify and locate radar and communications signals and build a real-time electronic ORBAT to this end. Such information can be analysed onboard the aircraft, and shared with analysts on the ground via the use of line-ofsight datalinks, satellite communications and conventional HF, VHF and UHF radio.

India

Business jets have proven to be increasingly popular as ELINT platforms in recent years. This is because of two factors. Firstly, the general trend towards the miniaturisation of electronics—helped in no small measure by Moore’s Law, the theory that the number of transistors which can be accommodated in a dense integrated circuit doubles every two years—has enabled electronics to perform more tasks without increasing their size.

The reduction in the physical space taken up by signal processing equipment essential for ELINT has resulted in airborne ELINT platforms no longer needing to be airliner-size to accommodate such equipment. Secondly, ELINT missions are typically long in duration where the high levels of comfort offered by business jets can greatly reduce fatigue during missions where crewmembers are required to perform intense concentration.

In the Asia-Pacific region, India is one

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forces’ ability to capture, process and disseminate intelligence to its users. The first two RC-12X aircraft performed their maiden theatre deployments in 2011, thought to be to Afghanistan to support North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and US combat operations there.

The Marketplace

Alongside turbofan aircraft such as business jets, turboprops are proving popular as Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) platforms. In particular, the United States Army uses the Beechcraft RC-12 family of aircraft to provide Corps-level ELINT © US DoD

country which has opted to procure a Gulfstream-IV business jet-based ELINT platform, with three aircraft in the Indian Air Force fleet. Again, the equipment fit of these aircraft is shrouded in secrecy, although their missions, according to reports in the public domain, are thought to focus on the collection of radar information concerning the PAF IADS. The IAF is now in the market for new ELINT aircraft, with proposals to procure up to nine new general purpose airframes, two of which are to be configured for ELINT as approved by the country’s Defence Acquisition Council in April 2012.

The requirement calls for the procurement of a twin-turbofan airframe capable of operating at high altitudes and in high temperatures. A previous request for proposals for new ELINT platforms issued, and then cancelled, in 2009 saw Brazil’s Embraer and IAI each offering solutions with the EL/I-3001 AISIS ELINT package (see above) at its core onboard either the Brazilian company’s EMB-145 airliner or the G-550, as offered by IAI. There is no word yet on which companies may bid for this new acquisition.

Turboprops

Much as business jets have proven increasingly popular as ELINT platforms, small turboprop aircraft are also being utilised for this mission. Beechcraft of the United States has developed an ELINT version of its King Air-200 twin turboprop transport in the form of the RC-12N/P/Q Guardrail family of aircraft operated by the US Army. This aircraft is earmarked for an extensive upgrade as part of the RC-12X Guardrail initiative. The RC-12N

is designed to gather ELINT and COMINT for exploitation at the Corps level, in support of ground forces. While several of the platforms discussed above are effectively intended to support strategic, i.e. national or multinational, initiatives such as air campaign planning and execution, the RC-12K/N/P/Q is intended for use at the operational level.

The aircraft can perform electronic and communications intelligence detection, classification, DF and exploitation. This information can then be shared with other users across datalinks and conventional communications. The principle RC-12 variants include the RC-12N which entered service in 1992/93 of which 14 are thought to be in service. The RC-12P entered service in 1998 and added new mission equipment, along with fibre-optic cabling, new wing pods and improved datalinks. Nine such aircraft are in service with the US Army. Finally, the RC-12Q, of which three are in service, is a modification of the RC12P which adds an enhanced satellite communications payload, with all three aircraft delivered in 2000.

Under the terms of the RC-12X modernisation, prime contractor Northrop Grumman will modernise 14 RC-12N/P/Q airframes, which will extend their operational life to 2025. Improvements to be rolled out onto the aircraft include a new glass cockpit, structural enhancements and weight reductions via the installation of new, more powerful computers. In terms of the aircraft’s mission, its DF abilities are to be enhanced, along with its ability to share its intelligence with the US Army’s Distributed Common Ground SystemArmy which uses software to improve the

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As the planned acquisitions by India, and the recent acquisitions of ELINT aircraft by the United Kingdom illustrate, the airborne ELINT market is lively, despite such aircraft still being considered a niche capability.

According to Lorraine Hammer, senior market analyst at the Avascent Group, a Washington-DC based consultancy, anticipating the size of the airborne ELINT market is difficult as “it is very opaque.

Even after narrowing it down to airborne systems, ELINT systems reside on a variety of platforms and defence customers are not usually forthcoming about which ELINT systems are on which platforms, often because the systems are classified.”

That said, Ms. Hammer notes that an idea of the potential market size can be derived by noting the aircraft which could be used to house ELINT equipment. Ms. Hammer continues that “publicly available data suggests that growth in the airborne ELINT market in traditionally high spending regions, like North America and Europe, will slow in the near term,” although “this does not necessarily mean that countries in these regions are not recapitalising their ELINT capabilities, though, since such programs would likely be classified.”

Nevertheless, Ms. Hammer notes that non-traditional users of ELINT aircraft are driving the market, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. “The demand in the international markets for airborne ELINT platforms appears poised to increase steadily through to 2019. Countries in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, appear to be prepared to spend much more on airborne ELINT platforms in the next five years than in the past. For example India, South Korea, Japan and the United Arab Emirates have the potential to almost double their spending on airborne ELINT by 2020.”

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ETHER MADNESS

A grey overcast ocean can seem like a particularly solitary place with no other sign of human activity in the vast emptiness. Yet while such emptiness may be palpable, the air may be resonating with thousands upon thousands of pulses from ship and aircraft radars beyond the horizon.

by Thomas Withington

aval Electronic Support Measures (ESMs) have a vital role to play in helping a crew determine the electronic Order-of-Battle (ORBAT), both friendly and hostile, in their locale.

They allow the detection, classification and Direction Finding (DF) of radar emitters and, unlike the ships’ own radar, are passive, meaning that as an ESM does not emit any Radio Frequency (RF) energy they can detect RF emissions from other platforms to thus derive their identity based on the radars which these platforms are using. ESMs can achieve this without having to betray a ship’s own position.

They also have an important role to play in protecting a ship against radar-guided Anti-Ship Missiles (AShMs).

N Exocet

The Royal Navy and the United States Navy both know the terrible cost of AShM attack.

During the Falklands War of 1982 in the

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South Atlantic, the former lost HMS Sheffield, of the eponymous class of Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG), on 4 May 1982 to an air-launched Aerospatiale/MBDA AM39 Exocet radar-guided AShM which caused the deaths of 20 sailors. It would be the turn of the SS Atlantic Conveyor, a civilian roll-on roll-off container ship, requisitioned to support the British Task Force sent to liberate the Falkland Islands from Argentine control which suffered a similar fate when hit by two AM-39s on 25 May 1982, with the loss of twelve lives. On 12 June 1982, the Royal Navy would once again suffer AShM attack; this time by landlaunched MM-39 Exocets which hit HMS Glamorgan, a ‘County’ class DDG with twelve people killed. Although she did not sink, she sustained substantial damage.

Five years after the Falklands War, the US Navy would realise the cost of AShMs, when the ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ class Guided Missile Frigate (FFG) the USS Stark was attacked by two AM-39s fired

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by an Iraqi Air Force Dassault Mirage F1EQ ground attack aircraft, during which 37 sailors perished. The AM/SM/MM-38/39/40 AShM family is not the only radar-guided AShM threat confronting the world’s navies. On 14 July 2006, the Israeli Navy ‘Sa’ar-5’ class corvette INS Hanit was attacked by a radar-guided AShM, strongly suspected to be a China Haiying Electromechanical Technology Academy C-802 fired by the Hezbollah insurgent organisation when patrolling off the coast of Lebanon causing the death of four crew members.

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Radar-guided AShMs such as MBDA’s AM-39 Exocet represent a serious threat to naval vessels.

Timely detection of an AShM by an ESM can significantly increase reaction times to deploy active and passive countermeasures © MBDA

As history illustrates, radar-guided AShMs are a particular hazard to naval vessels, principally because they tend to follow a sea-skimming flight profile which can place them at an altitude of a mere 33-98 feet (ten-30 metres) above the sea surface in the case of the C-802, or even as low as six feet (two metres) altitude for the AM/SM/MM-38/39/40 AShM family. Such low altitudes can enable the missile to evade detection by a ships’ air and sea surface radar at range.

However, such missiles depend on an active radar guidance system, typically transmitting in the X-band (8.5-10.68 gigahertz/GHz) and Ka-band (33.4-36GHz) to detect and home in on their target. These radar emissions can be detected by an ESM which enables the crew to prepare to engage the AShM with active and passive countermeasures even if it has not yet been detected by the ship’s radar.

Naval ESMs must retain certain essen-

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tial characteristics. These include the ability to monitor a wide range of frequencies.

Nearly all naval ESMs cover the two18GHz range which enable them to detect, classify and DF most radars used by air and sea platforms and ground assets from L-band (1.215-1.4GHz) up to Ku-band (13.4-14/15.7-17.7GHz). They must be capable of over-the-horizon detection of radar threats and thus be able to detect low-power radar signals. Imperative is a

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The Israeli Navy is no stranger to AShM attack suffering the loss of four crewmembers when one of its corvettes was attacked thus in 2006. Elbit Systems is one Israeli company providing ESMs to help protect surface shipping © Elbit Systems

100 percent probability of intercept of signals coupled with a low false alarm rate.

As time is often of the essence in naval warfare, particularly as regards AShM attack, fast signal processing is essential, as is the ability to reject interference, such as that from a vessel’s own radar.

COMINT

In addition, modern ESMs can collect Communications Intelligence or ‘COMINT’, by detecting emissions in the High Frequency (HF/three-30 megahertz/MHz), Very High Frequency (VHF/30-300MHz) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF/300MHz-three gigahertz) range. While it is very useful to be able to detect HF, VHF and UHF communications at sea, this capability has increasing importance regarding littoral operations.

As navies around the world are increasingly being called upon to perform missions in proximity to coastlines to support operations on land, the ability to detect and locate potentially hostile communications transmissions on land in littoral areas is a major benefit. Civilian cellphone networks host VHF and UHF communications traffic, and cellphones remain a favourite method of communications for insurgent organisations. A modern ESM can display both communications and radar emitter information in real time providing a dynamic picture of the maritime electronic ORBAT as it changes and develops. This information can then be shared with a ship’s Combat Management System (CMS) and a vessel’s active and passive countermeasures as noted above.

Elbit Systems provides naval ESMs which cover the 0.5-40GHz range, allowing the detection of naval radars, UHF communications, and also high band millimetre wave radars in the Ka-band used by some AShMs. These can outfit vessels either as standalone equipment or be integrated into a vessel’s CMS. Rafael Advanced Defence Systems’ naval ESM offerings include the C-Pearl family, which comprises the C-Pearl-M and C-Pearl-Mini. Using a single antenna array, both systems cover the two-18GHz range, with an optional downwards and upwards increase to 0.5GHz and 40GHz. Offering three degrees of DF, the C-Pearl family has the ability to detect signals with under 65 decibels of sensitivity. It can detect both Continuous Wave (CW: radars

Argon ST’s WBR-2000 ESM monitors the entire radar spectrum and can store thousands of records

Australia

Several other firms around the world are involved in the provision of naval ESMs. Exelis of the United States supplies ES3601 and ES-3701 ESMs covering the 218GHz range. However, optional spectrum increases downwards to 0.5 GHz and upwards to 40GHz are available which allows the firm’s ES-3701 to detect all radar transmissions up to Ka-band including Frequency Modulating Continuous Wave (FMCW) systems. According to Dave Prater, vice-president of radar, reconnaissance and undersea systems at Exelis, the primary difference between their ES-3601 and ES-3701 products is that the former uses amplitude monopulse processing and the latter has circular array interferometer phase monopulse processing. The ES-3701 is equipping the Royal

While the US Navy’s ‘Independence’ class LCSs are equipped with the Exelis ES-3601 ESM, the ‘Freedom’ class LCSs have Argon-ST’s WBR-3001 which combines an ESM with an Electronic Intelligence system © US Navy

Israel

Israel is no stranger to AShM attack, as shown by the incident of 14 July 2006.

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which do not use a pulse to detect and locate their target), along with traditional pulsed radars with pulse widths of under 50 nanoseconds.

Finally, no discussion of Israeli naval ESM capabilities would be complete without mentioning the EL/L-8385N Advanced Naval ESM/Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) system. Like the C-Pearl, the EL/L-8385N covers the one-18GHz frequency range with optional increases to 0.5GHz and 40GHz. With 360 degrees of coverage, the EL/L-8385N operates well in dense electromagnetic environments and can be teamed with the company’s EL/L-8385N ELINT product.

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The Republic of Korea Navy’s two new Chang Bogo class conventional submarines will be equipped with Indra’s Pegaso naval ESM following an announcement made to this effect in June 2014 © US Navy

Australian Navy’s forthcoming ‘Hobart’ class of air warfare destroyers (DDG), the “ANZAC” class Frigate (FFH) and the Canberra class Amphibious Assault Ships (LHD). The ES-3601 is on all US Navy ‘Independence’ class Littoral Combat Ships. Mr. Prater adds that the Marinen (Royal Swedish Navy) has been a longtime customer of Exelis ESM products, along with “various countries in the AsiaPacific region and Europe”. Both Exelis’ ES-3601 and ES-3701 perform DF across a 360-degree radius with three degrees of accuracy, and can process up to one million pulses-per-second measuring 50 nanoseconds and above in pulse width. It has a one second reaction time and the wherewithal to store up to 10000 emitter records in its library. Also adorning RAN vessels, chiefly its ‘Huon’ class mine countermeasures vessels and its ‘Armidale’ class patrol boats, BAE Systems Passive Radar Identification System, better known as ‘PRISM’, covers the two-18GHz range and can operate either in a stand-alone configuration, or as part of a CMS.

United States

Additional US naval ESM providers include Argon ST, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing. A written statement supplied to the Asian Military Review notes that the company’s WBR-2000 ESM can monitor the entire radar spectrum simultaneously, with the ability to store up to 15000 emitter records in its library.

Other Argon-ST naval ESM products include the WBR-3000 which combines the WBR-2000 ESM (see above), with the company’s NBS-2500 Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) receiver which uses a demodulated Intermediate Frequency receiver, while the WBR-3001 combines the WBR-2000 with Argon-ST’s NBS-2501 digital receiver-equipped ELINT equipment.

According to the company, the WBR-2000 currently equips the US Navy’s ‘Freedom’ class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

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European Efforts

Airbus Defence and Space’s (formerly Cassidian) naval ESM offerings include its Maigret C-Lite. Taking its name from the legendary fictional French police detective Jules Maigret created by author Georges Simenon, the Maigret C-Lite can perform detection and DF across a frequency range of one to 3.6GHz, thus encompassing HF, VHF and UHF communications, plus L-band and S-band (2.3-2.5/2.7-3.7GHz) radars. Several shipbased air and surface surveillance radars operate in the L- and S-bands including the Thales SMART-L and Herakles systems, to name but two. The Maigret CLite’s talents extend to the detection of Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) burst and frequency-hopping transmissions. To this end it is able to detect GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) cellphone transmissions of 550 microseconds’ duration. According to a written statement provided by the manufacturer to AMR, the Maigret C-Lite is designed to equip all vessel sizes down to small patrol boats, where the system can be used by a single operator. Space-saving topside is

enhanced by the fact that the Maigret C-Lite requires only a single antenna.

Italy

Elettronica of Italy provides the SEAL ESM product family which, among other vessels, is in service onboard the ‘Baynunah’ class corvettes of the United Arab Emirates Navy. According to Enrico Colantoni, responsible for naval electronic warfare products at the firm, Elettronica’s naval ESMs can outfit a range of combatants from Offshore Patrol Vessels up to aircraft carriers. The SEAL family is available in a number of different configurations which can be used to trigger active and passive self-protection measures such as electromagnetic jammers or chaff and flares, and also to active ELINT equipment for surveillance. Detection of LPI signals pose no difficulty for the SEAL architecture while wideband receiver technology allows it to detect an array of threats. Automatic, real-time analysis of both known and unknown threats is performed with the SEAL, with automatic identification of radar threats also being performed.

The US Navy’s ‘Independence’ class LCSs are outfitted with Exelis’ ES-3601 ESM. Along with these vessels, the ES-3701 will outfit the Royal Australian Navy’s forthcoming ‘Hobart’ class air defence destroyers © US Navy

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Spain

Indra of Spain’s ESM family includes Rigel which outfits surface vessels. A written statement provided to AMR from the company says that it can perform “automatic and instantaneous detection, DF, analysis, classification and identification of any pulsed or CW radar emissions in the two18GHz bandwidth with an angular coverage of 360 degrees” adding that “extensions for low band and high band coverage are available” to customers. The statement continues that the Rigel family is capable of tracking up to 512 emitters simultaneously and performs inter- and intra-pulse analysis. The Pegaso member of the Rigel family is designed for submarines and on 9 June 2014 Indra announced that it would be installing it onboard the Republic of Korea Navy’s two Chang Bogo class conventional hunter-killer submarines currently under construction.

France

Thales offers several naval ESM products among its most popular being the Vigile family. This product line was augmented in October 2012 with the company’s launch of the Vigile DPX. It has developed the VIGILE-DPX to reflect the trend for naval operations being increasingly performed in littoral environments which are considered to be zones of high electro-magnetic activity thanks to the profusion of civilian mobile telecommunications networks, merchant shipping using radar and radio communications, not to mention other naval vessels and other military users of the spectrum.

The US Navy is a widespread user of Raytheon’s AN/SLQ-32 family of naval electronic warfare systems. These can take electronic order-ofbattle information from a vessel’s ESM to initiate active and passive countermeasures against suspected threats © US Navy

The Vigile-DPX has been designed to detect hostile and friendly radar emissions within this crowded atmosphere. At the same time, navies around the world are having to adapt themselves to performing electronic intelligence operations with fewer dedicated Electronic Warfare (EW) specialists, and for this reason the VigileDPX has been designed to be highly intuitive to use. This trend has already been realised by Thales via the development of its earlier Vigile Lightweight product which the company says was designed from the outset to be usable by non-specialist personnel. The Human Machine Interface (HMI) includes a 360-degree plan position indicator view denoting the location and information regarding emitters in the systems’ range, along with a strip display depicting the characteristics of the signals that the system collects and processes digitally. In terms of capability, the Vigile-DPX performs a 360-degree scan across the 2-20 gigahertz range. Up to 32 signals can be processed by the Vigile-DPX simultaneously. The high level of digitisation included within the product should make it relatively easy to upgrade during its service life while much of the functionality of the receiver is facilitated using algorithms. The Royal Navy’s ‘Daring’ class air defence destroyers are outfitted with the Vigile DPX.

Sweden

Similarly, Saab provides a number of naval ESM products in the guise of its U/SME50, U/SME-150 and U/SME-250 equipment. Saab’s SME ESMs are optimised to equip surface vessels, while the UME series is designed for submarines. One attraction of this approach, a written statement from Saab to AMR notes, is that “the functional and operational building blocks of both systems are identical, allowing for commonality between a customer’s surface and submarine fleet”. In terms of the key differences between each of the products, the U/SME-50 covers the 2-18GHz range and can detect and analyse around 500 signals simultaneously. The U/SME-150, meanwhile, can perform some ELINT tasks in addition to its core ESM functions. It can cover either the 2-18GHz or 18-40GHz

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Thales unveiled its Vigile-DPX naval ESM at the 2012 Euronaval exhibition in Paris. Vessels equipped with this product include the Royal Navy’s ‘Daring’ class air defence destroyers © Thomas Withington

range with an optional downward extension to one to two gigahertz. The U/SME150 is capable of performing DF with 3.5 degrees of accuracy. This diminishes to 2.5 degrees for the U/SME-250, which can also detect and analyse circa 500 signals.

Covering the 2-18GHz range, it has an optional upward and downward extension to 0.5 to two gigahertz and 18-40GHz respectively. The U/SMLE-250 can perform simultaneous ESM and ELINT duties.

The Saab statement continues that “the UME and SME range boasts an open architecture which allows for ease of integration with different types of CMS and other vessel subsystems.”

Future Vectors

Several important design considerations are being contemplated for tomorrow’s generation of naval ESMs. These include the perennial quest to reduce the overall size, weight and power that an ESM consumes. Additional considerations include the need to improve operator interfaces to make them easier to use, and expanding the range and type of signal frequencies which an ESM can cover. Mr. Colantoni states that in the future this could extend to ESMs processing emitter information in the infrared range. He adds that “increasingly closer cooperation between an onboard radar and ESM is envisaged in the future”. This could see a radar display being populated with the DF and metadata regarding what the ESM has detected.

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NEW RULES FOR FLIGHT SCHOOLS

While the United States and Western Europe’s military focus fluctuates between the Middle East conflicts and Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian civil war, tensions and territorial disputes remain unresolved in the Asia-Pacific region where military spending is on the increase.

by David Oliver

any countries are committing to the acquisition of fifth-generation MultiRole Combat Aircraft (MRCA) for their air forces, with the Lockheed Martin F35A/B/C Lightning-II leading the charge.

This will mean that a new generation of pilots will have to be trained to fly them over the next decade. This will often require the implementation of a whole new integrated training solution that will encompass every aspect of the pilot training regime from screening and basic instruction through to advanced flight training. The training package would also have to include flight line support, training facilities, course materials and flight simulators. There is a growing trend for this to be provided by industry-led teams although there are a number of important exceptions to this modus operandi of training solution provision.

M

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India

One of the nations that has resolutely resisted the industry-led path to pilot training discussed above is India where the air force is responsible for all aspects of pilot training. However, this process is now in disarray with serious and deeprooted disagreements between the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Indian Air Force (IAF). The source of these disagreements is the wholly governmentowned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) industrial concern. In July 1999, HAL was awarded a $42 million contract to develop a new Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) to replace the IAF’s HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.I basic and HJT-16 Kiran Mk.II intermediate trainers.

The HJT-16I/II replacement, the HAL HJT-36 Sitara, made its first flight in March 2003. That said, issues of critical wing and airframe design, development issues related to stall and spin characteristics, and

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Indonesia was the first export customer for the Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 Golden Eagle lead-in jet trainer with a contract for 16 T-50I aircraft which was followed by the Philippines ordering the F/A-50 light attack variant © Indonesian Air Force

accidents involving the first two prototypes have beset the programme. With no Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in sight, the life of the IAF ageing HJT-16I/II has had to be extended to 2018 and HAL was forced to issue a global Request for Information (RfI) on 30 June 2014 for technical assistance from commercial companies to help solve the issues experienced by the HJT-36. If and when an IOC is achieved, twelve aircraft will be produced, although the IAF has an eventual requirement for 85 IJTs. Earlier this year the IAF issued an RFI inviting local companies to submit bids to build under licence 106 Pilatus PC-7 Mk.II Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) for a

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Lockheed Martin has proposed a Republic of Singapore Air Force-style training system to meet the Australian Defence Forces AIR 5428 pilot training project which will replace the Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet of Pilatus PC9A turboprop trainers © ADF

Indonesia

response by 21 April 2014 plus the provision of three Full Mission Simulators (FMS), two Cockpit Procedure Trainers (CPT) and three avionics Part Task Trainer (PTT) devices for delivery between 2015 and 2021. These would be in addition to the 75 PC-7II BTAs being produced and delivered by Pilatus under a $1 billion contract to replace indigenous HAL HPT-32 piston engine trainers. Meanwhile, the Indian MoD continues to support the indigenous HAL HTT-40 Deepak basic trainer that is scheduled to fly in 2015, two years later than expected, with deliveries of all 106 aircraft expected by 2025. With the election of a new government in May 2014 which is reported to be committed to defence modernisation and improving procurement programmes, the relationship between the Indian MoD and the IAF may well address the shortage of IAF pilots and under-trained personnel that has led to yet more serious accidents and loss of aircrews in recent years.

RoK

While other nations in the region do not have the same training challenges as those facing the IAF, many of them are introducing new state-of-the-art training aircraft into their inventory either as direct purchases or as part of integrated industry-led training systems. The Republic of Korea (RoK) has been more successful than India

in developing and producing a capable and cost-effective family of indigenous training aircraft for both the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF), and for a growing number of export customers.

In May 2014, the RoK defence and transport ministries and the country’s Defence Acquisition Procurement Administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the purchase of 23 KC-100 Naraon piston-engine trainers to replace the Ilyushin Il-103 elementary pistonengine trainers operated by the RoKAF Academy’s 212 Flying Training Squadron at Seongmu airbase in the central RoK. This establishes a pilot training system that will see students graduate from selection to operational training on a fleet of KAI aircraft. After the KC-100, they will receive basic flying training on the KF-1 WoongBee turboprop trainer, 85 of which have been delivered to the RoKAF. They will then complete their flight training on the KAI T-50 Lead-In Jet Trainer (LIJT) and weapons training on the KAI T/A-50 Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT). Both the T50 and T/A-50 are variants of the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle LIJT/LIFT and MRCA family. A total of 50 T-50s, plus 10 T-50B aircraft for the RoKAF ‘Black Eagles’ aerobatic display team, 22 T/A-50s and 20 F/A-50 LIFT and MRCA variants are currently being delivered to the RoKAF.

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Indonesia was the first export customer for the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle and is procuring 16 T-50I variants to replace the Indonesian Air Force’s (InAF) BAE Systems Hawk Mk.53 LIJTs under a $400 million contract. The Hawk-53s are based at Iswahyudi airbase, the last of which were delivered in January 2014. The InAF also operates 16 KAI KT-1B basic turboprop trainers and is in the process of accepting 14 Grob G-120TP basic turboprop trainers, a type that has also been selected for the United Kingdom Military Flying Training System (MFTS).

Philippines

Amid territorial disputes with China, Philippine president Benigno Aquino recently announced that the 2015 defence budget would be increased to $2.6 billion, almost 30 percent more than the defence budget for 2014, and that more than one third would be allocated to the Philippines Air Force which currently has no combat aircraft. One result of this announcement was the signing of a $420 million contract with KAI for 12 F/A-50 aircraft (see above) that will also be used as a LIFT platform.

Grob G 120TP basic turboprop trainers have been acquired by the Indonesian Air Force and the company is targeting Australia and New Zealand to replace their Pacific Aerospace Corporation CT-4B Airtrainers © David Oliver

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Training System (PTS) as a response to AIR 5428 (see above). The BAE Systems team bid is based on the Beechcraft T-6C Texan II primary turboprop trainer.

New Zealand

Beechcraft teamed with BAE Systems to offer the T-6C Texan II turboprop trainer, which is being delivered to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), and is bidding for the Royal Australian Air Force’s AIR 5428 project © Beechcraft

Bangladesh

Another previously under-funded air arm receiving a boost to its training capability is the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF). In spite of a limited combat aircraft fleet, the BAF signed a contract in January 2014 worth approximately $800 million for 24 Yakovlev Yak-130 ‘Mitten’ LIJT aircraft with first deliveries scheduled for early 2015. This aircraft will replace the BAF’s current fleet Aero L-39ZA Albatros and Cessna T-37B Tweet LIJTs, and supplement its few Nanchang A-5C ground attack aircraft in the light strike role. The Yak-130 is in direct competition with its close relative, the Italian Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master LIJT, which is a redesigned and westernised version of the Yak-130 now in service with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).

Singapore

The RSAF adopted the industry-led training solution with a 20-year 2006 contract with Lockheed Martin to supply pilot training services at RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) Base Pearce in Western Australia with the RSAF procuring 19 Pilatus PC-21 basic turboprop trainers, associated training devices plus logistics and engineering support. Lockheed Martin proposed a similar solution for its 31 March 2014 bid to meet the Australian Defence Force’s AIR 5428 pilot training project to replace the RAAF’s fleet of 60

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Pilatus PC-9A turboprop and Pacific Aerospace CT-4B Airtrainers pistonengine aircraft, both of which are part of Australia’s Interim Basic Flight Training System (IBFTS) initiative.

Australia

Lockheed Martin Australia has teamed with Pilatus Aircraft and Hawker Pacific for ‘Team 21’ to provide a fleet of Pilatus PC-21 aircraft, simulators, course materials, plus Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services. A rival bid was received from BAE Systems Australia, which already operates the IBFTS and provides in-service support to RAAF Hawk Mk.127 LIFT fleet, with Beechcraft and CAE to develop an integrated Pilot

In January 2014, Beechcraft announced that the New Zealand Defence Force had signed a $127 million contract for eleven of the company’s T-6C Texan II aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

The contract includes CAE flight simulators, classrooms and computer-based training course materials at RNZAF Base Ohakea on the west coast of the North Island along with spare parts, logistics and a 30-year maintenance support contract concluded with Safe Air Limited. The logistics agreement consists of aircraft material support, full flight line and operational maintenance, as well as the support and operation of the synthetic training devices.

In preparation for introduction into service activities to begin on schedule later in 2014, the maintenance training began after the first two aircraft were delivered in August 2014. Formal acceptance of the aircraft will occur in November 2014, with a full capability declared in January 2016. All eleven aircraft will be delivered by the second quarter of 2015.

RNZAF basic pilot training is currently carried out on leased CT-4E Airtrainers, which, like those operated by the Australian IBFTS, are due to be replaced.

Grob has targeted both Australia and New Zealand for future sales of its G-120TP.

The China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation has begun a campaign to sell the export version of the Hongdu Aviation Industry Corporation L-15 Falcon Lead-In Jet Trainer (LIJT) to several Asia-Pacific countries as a cost effective alternative LIJT © CATIC

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Textron self-funded the multirole tandem-seat Scorpion, which first flew in December, 2013. It offers a cost-effective alternative to established Lead-In Jet Training aircraft now entering service around the world © David Oliver

China

China is also operating an aggressive sales campaign for its training aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region. The export version of its Hongdu Aviation Industry Group (HAIG) JL-8 (also known as the K-8 Karakoram) LIJT has been met with considerable success with up to 50 upgraded K8Ps being delivered to the Pakistan Air Force, six to Sri Lanka, another 50 to the Burmese Air Force, with more orders expected from Cambodia and Laos.

The China National Aero-Technology Corporation (CATIC) has begun a campaign to sell the export version of the HAIG L-15 Falcon LIJT as a cost effective alternative to other high performance lead-in jet trainers such as the T-50, M-346 and Yak130. The Russian Yakovlev Design Bureau collaborated with the design and development of the L-15 that first flew in May 2008.

It has been ordered in large numbers by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

All four AJT manufacturers (KAI, Alenia Aermacchi, Yakovlev and HAIG) are targeting the same countries that have

a requirement for a new LIJT. These countries include Malaysia which seeks to replace its Northrop Grumman F-5F Tiger II and BAE Systems Hawk Mk.108 LIJTs, Thailand which is looking to replace its F5F and Aero L-39 lead-in jet trainers, and Sri Lanka which requires a LIFT aircraft for its burgeoning combat aircraft fleet.

United States

In the longer term, a number of countries will be looking towards the outcome of the US Air Force T-X acquisition programme to replace up to 350 Northrop Grumman T38C Talon LIJTs with a US-built supersonic off-the-shelf LIJT the IOC of which is to be achieved by 2023. Alenia Aermacchi has partnered with General Dynamics and is expected to offer the T-100, a development of the M-346 Master. BAE Systems has joined forces with Northrop Grumman to offer a derivative of the Hawk T.2, while KAI has teamed with Lockheed Martin to

The Bangladesh Air Force signed a contract worth approximately $800 million for 24 Yakovlev Yak-130 ‘Mitten’ Lead-In Jet Trainer jet trainer aircraft. This aircraft formed the template which Alenia Aermacchi developed into the M-346 Master LIJT © David Oliver

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offer the T-50 Golden Eagle. An outsider was revealed earlier this year when an agreement was announced between Boeing and Saab to design and develop an all-new LIJT targeted at the T-X requirement.

Whoever wins the T-X contest will have clear advantage over its rivals when attacking the global LIJT market especially with nations committed to operating the F35A/B/C. At the other end of the training ladder, another source of cost-effective training aircraft may be the new generation of innovative self-funded light attack aircraft, such as Textron’s Scorpion and Paramount Group’s AHRLAC (Advanced High Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft). Both of these aircraft are designed as affordable light attack and reconnaissance planes. Their tandem-seat configuration can easily be converted to configure the aircraft as a multi-role platform that could perform flight training duties.

Aiming to compete with light attack variants of the LIJTs discussed above, the Scorpion, which made its first flight on 12 December 2013, is a large straight-wing aircraft such as Textron’s Scorpion which is powered by twin Honeywell TFE731 turbofan engines with a top speed of 455 knots (840 kilometres-per-hour) and capable of carrying 3000 pounds (1363 kilograms) of weapons or reconnaissance sensors. Africa’s first designed and built military aircraft, the AHRLAC, has a high-wing twin-boom design powered by a single Pratt and Whitney PT6A-66 pusher turboprop engine with a maximum speed of 272kt (502km/h) and can carry a 1760lb (800kg) payload. The AHRLAC made its maiden flight on 7 August 2014.

Ultimately, the responsibility of selecting the optimum flight training system for any air force is a daunting one that has longlasting and critical consequences for its future capability.

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ASIA PACIFIC PROCUREMENT UPDATE

by Pierre Delrieu

BANGLADESH TO RECEIVE CHINESE K-8W AND RUSSIAN MI-171SH AIRCRAFT

The Bangladesh Navy has purchased nine Hongdu JL-8W jet trainer and light attack aircraft from the People’s Republic of China, with a delivery date set for the end of 2014. The force is also awaiting delivery of five Mil Mi-171Sh medium-lift utility helicopters which are due for service entry in 2015.

Sayed Ashraful Islam, minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives, announced the procurements to the Bangladeshi Parliament on 22 June 2014. Also in charge of defence affairs for the Bangladeshi government, the minister was reacting to parliamentary questions regarding Bangladesh’s defence procurements and the measures taken by the government to

INDIAN NAVY RECEIVES FIRST ASW CORVETTE

India’s minister of state for defence Rao Inderjit Singh confirmed on 22 July 2014 that the country’s navy had taken delivery of its first indigenous ‘Kamorta’ class AntiSubmarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvette.

In a communiqué to parliament, the minister said that the first-in-class INS Kamorta, which will be the first of four such corvettes built for the Indian Navy (IN), was delivered on 12 July 2014.

INS Kamorta (P28), named after Kamorta Island in the Indian Nicobar Islands chain, was designed and manufactured by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), one of India’s leading shipyards located in Kolkata, West Bengal. The

safeguard its territorial waters.

The JL-8W features a cockpit offering a high degree of fidelity with today’s multirole combat aircraft, a digital fly-by-wire flight control system and head-up display. As well as being designed to provide flight training the aircraft can perform light attack missions in all weather conditions (see David Oliver’s ‘New Tools for Flight Schools’ article in this issue).

Bangladesh’s new JL-8Ws, although manufactured by Hongdu, were ordered at an undisclosed price in 2013 from the China National AeroTechnology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC). ship was launched on 19 April 2010 as part of Project 28, the primary project for driving indigenisation and developing the warship construction industry in India.

The corvette, 90 percent of which is said to be indigenous, is a significant step towards the country’s goal of self-sufficiency in indigenous warship production.

The 109-metre (357-feet) long, 3100-tonne corvette was produced using high-grade steel produced in India and has enhanced stealth features such as an X-form hull, a result of a joint venture between the IN’s Directorate General Naval Design Surface Ship Group and GRSE. She is also equipped with inclined sides to lower her radar cross section together with acoustic quietening and infra-red sig-

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According to the Bangladeshi minister, the aircraft will be used to train pilots at the Bangladesh Naval Aviation Command base in Chittagong on the Bay of Bengal.

JL-8 variants are currently in service with the Bolivian and Venezuelan air forces where they have been used in the light strike role for antinarcotics operations. Recent orders of JL-8 aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region have been forthcoming from Burma, China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

In addition to the JL-8W jets, the Bangladesh Navy is awaiting the delivery of five Mi-171Shs medium-lift utility helicopters. Delivered through the Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport, the militarised Mil-17ISh variant of the venerable Mi-17 utility helicopter was launched in 2002 and designed for a range of missions, including troop and cargo transport, close air

support, medical evacuation and combat search and rescue.

The helicopters will enhance the Bangladesh Navy’s maritime surveillance and searchand-rescue operations.

According to Mr. Islam’s statement, the helicopters were procured from Russia under a “state export credit” arrangement and are likely to be enter service by 2015. This development will bolster Bangladesh’s naval capabilities, said the minister, adding that Bangladesh’s navy will continue to strengthen its naval aviation command with possible future procurements.

To this end the Bangladesh Navy, which also operates two AgustaWestland AW-109 maritime support helicopters and two Dornier Do-228NG maritime patrol aircraft, is also awaiting the delivery of three Harbin Z-9 maritime support helicopters from China.

nature suppression, a bow-mounted Defence Research and Development Organisation HUMSA-NG sonar and a towed-array sonar linked to a Bharat Electronics IAC Mod C fire control system for ASW. Kamorta ’s delivery to the IN, originally planned for 2012, suffered many delays, the latest occurring in 25 October 2013 when she ran aground during sea trials.

Despite the holdups and misfortune, India’s ‘Kamorta’

class is still considered a significant milestone in the Indian naval industry.

Although the IN was initially projected to operate up to twelve ‘Kamorta’ class vessels, according to a programme intended to secure the country’s offshore waters from submarines, only four vessels have yet been confirmed. Three other corvettes are currently under various stages of construction at GRSE’s facilities in Kolkata, with a final delivery date for all four vessels scheduled for the end of 2017.

Following her delivery on 12 July 2014, the INS Kamorta commissioned on 23 August 2014. She has since been deployed with the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command, the largest naval command in India.

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and former resident-general of Korea on 26 October 1909. The assassination took place following the signing of the Eulsa Treaty which deprived Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty and made the country a protectorate of Japan.

The RoKS Yun Bong-gil is the fourth RoKN ‘Son Wonil’ class SSK manufactured by HHI after RoKS Sohn Won-Il, RoKS Jeongji and RoKS Ahn Jung-Geun; all three were delivered between 2007 and 2009. HHI’s competitor, Daewoo, built the fifth vessel,

the RoKS Kim Jwa-Jin, which was launched in August 2013.

The ‘Son Wonil’ class submarines have an overall length of 65 metres (213 feet) and a six-metre (20-feet) beam. They are powered by MTU diesel engines and Siemens polymer electrolytic membrane fuel cells, a configuration which allows the vessel to remain submerged for about two weeks at a time. In terms of weapons, the ship is equipped with a Korea Agency for Defence Development/Nex1 Future

Haeseong-3 anti-ship missile with a range of 810 nautical miles (1500 kilometres).

According to specifics detailed by the manufacturer, the submarine can carry a crew of 40, reach depths of up to 400m (1312 feet) and achieve a top speed of 20 knots (37 kilometres-per-hour).

With the acquisition of its fifth AIP SSK, the Republic of Korea (RoK) confirms its intentions to assemble a formidable underwater fleet, which already includes nine ‘Chang Bogo’ class SSKs. The RoK plans to begin producing three additional, indigenously-designed, 3000ton submarines starting 2018, some of which will be operated from the Jeju Island naval base, currently under construction. For more information regarding the RoKN’s submarine procurements and current status, please see Marty Kauchak’s AMR Naval Directory 2014 in this issue.

the fleet of the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) by 2019. The Ministry of Defence of Japan has reportedly requested the necessary funding for studies of the ship for the budget year beginning in April 2015.

Three ‘Osumi’ class heavy landing ships, the JS Osumi, JS Shimokita and JS Kunisaki are currently operated by the JMSDF. All three are equipped with a well deck capable of embarking two Landing Craft Air Cushion hovercraft and a deck for vehicles. Although smaller than conventional helicopter carrying-amphibious support ships, the ‘Osumi’ class are equipped with wide decks, allowing them to operate heavy-lift helicopters.

In terms of personnel, they can accommodate over 1000 troops.

Since the adoption in December 2013 of the MidTerm Defence Programme

which covers the years 20142018, Japan has boosted its efforts to reinforce the protection of its southern Pacific islands between Kyushu and Taiwan as well as to defend its claim to the Liancourt Rocks, over which the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea also assert sovereignty. To that purpose, Tokyo plans to form an amphibious assault fleet similar in scope, if not in size, to the US Marine Corps. It also wishes to operate an amphibious support ship capable of carrying the country’s Japan

Ground Self-Defence Force’s forthcoming Bell-Boeing MV22 Ospreys tilt-rotor aircraft, of which 17 are expected to be procured and BAE Systems AAV7A1 amphibious assault vehicles, which Japan will soon be acquiring from the United States.

The vessels will also be utilised for disaster relief missions. During his visit to San Diego, Mr. Onodera stressed the “crucial role” played by the ‘Wasp’ class ship USS Essex in the response to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

RoK NAVY WELCOMES FIFTH SON WONIL SUBMARINE

The Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) launched the fifth of its 1800-ton ‘Son Wonil’ class conventional hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) on 3 July 2014.

The Yun Bong-gil was launched during an official ceremony held at a shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the company that produced the submarine and presided over by the Chief of Naval Operations at the RoKN, Admiral Hwang Kichul. If sea trials are completed within the established schedule, the new ship will be formally delivered to the RoKN by the end of 2015.

The RoKN’s new vessel is named after Yun Bong-gil, a Korean independence activist and fighter from the colonial era most famous for assassinating Itō Hirobumi, a fourtime prime minister of Japan

JAPAN TO PURCHASE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP

Japan’s defence minister Itsunori Onodera announced on 7 July 2014 that Tokyo was considering the purchase of at least one amphibious assault ship “to defend Japan’s remote islands”. Japan is involved in a territorial dispute with China regarding the sovereignty of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. After conducting the inspection of the ‘Wasp’ class assault ship USS Makin Island at the US Navy’s San Diego naval base in California, Mr. Onodera told reporters Japan was intending to acquire such “a multifunctional transport ship capable of providing assistance in a timely manner”.

Japan’s ministry of defence has already started studying the size and functions needed for ships of this type with the goal of introducing at least one into

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INDONESIAN SHIPBUILDERS INITIATED BUILDING ON FOUR ‘CLURIT’ CLASS MISSILE CRAFT

The construction of four ‘Clurit’ class Fast Attack Craft (FAC), due to enter service with the Indonesian Navy (Tentera Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut/TNI-AL), has begun and is going according to schedule, said Captain Suradi Agung Slamet, the TNIAL public affairs spokesperson. The announcement was made during Capt. Slamet’s 17 July 2014 visit to the PT Palindo Marine Industry Shipyard Batam (PMSB) and PT Citra shipyard where the OPVs are being manufactured.

Both yards are located on the Riau Province island of Batam, a free trade zone part of the SIJORI (the Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore Growth Triangle), located approximately eleven nautical miles (20 kilometres) off Singapore’s south coast. The SIJORI is a partnership arrangement between Singapore, the Malaysian state of Johor, and Indonesia’s Riau Islands established in the late 1990s to combine the competitive strengths of the three areas in a common effort to make the region more attractive to regional and international investors.

THAILAND ACQUIRES ARTHUR RADARS, BOOSTS EFFORTS TO MODERNISE ITS ARMED FORCES

The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) naval secretariat department has announced the RTN and signed a contract with Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab to procure an undisclosed number of the company’s ARTHUR (Artillery Hunting Radar) C-band (5.25-5.925 gigahertz) weapons locating radars for

PMSB will be manufacturing three of Indonesia’s new vessels, while PT Citra has started manufacturing the fourth vessel. The launch of all four vessels, which will considerably strengthen Indonesia’s regional maritime interdiction capabilities, is scheduled for the end of 2014.

The TNI-AL currently operates a class of four ‘Clurit’ class vessels out of an expected eventual class size of up to 24 vessels (see Marty Kauchak’s AMR Naval Directory 2014 in this issue).

The ‘Clurit’ class is an Indonesia-made 44-metre (144-feet) long vessel capable of reaching top speeds of 30 knots (55 kilometres-per-hour) and accommodating a crew of 35. The vessels can carry a Denel Vektor G12 20mm main gun, two 12.7mm machine guns and four

Chinese Aerospace Group C-705 anti-ship missiles.

The TNI-AL has already fitted two of the craft, namely the KRI Clurit and the KRI Kujang, with the KBP Instrument Design Bureau AK-630 close-in weapon systems in May 2014, with the intention of gauging the system’s suitability for eventually use on all of the country’s ‘Clurit’ class FACs. The weapon’s operational status remains unconfirmed.

The vessels will assist the TNI-AL in its ongoing efforts to tackle maritime piracy in the Strait of Malacca, a narrow stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra which connects the Pacific Ocean to the east to the Indian Ocean, and will help Indonesia secure its maritime borders and wider interests at sea.

According to recent figures produced by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), the past years have seen a clear deterioration in the Southeast Asian maritime security situation. The counterpiracy organisation recorded eight incidents in the Malacca and Singapore Straits during the first quarter of 2014. A total of five incidents had been recorded for the whole of 2012 and 2013.

One of the most notorious incidents included the 23 April 2014 hijack of the oil tanker MT Naniwa Maru No.1 near Port Klang, Malaysia, the country’s largest port and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. The attack resulted in the disappearance of three crewmembers and the theft of 2500 tonnes of marine diesel.

use by the Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC).

Thailand’s Naval Commander Admiral Narong Pipattana and Per Jakobsson, director of marketing and sales for Saab’s Asia Pacific business, signed the purchase contract for the radars during a ceremony held at the naval headquarters in Bangkok on 27 July 2014.

Saab’s ARTHUR is a fully coherent pulse Doppler radar which has a passive electronically-scanned array.

Other users in the region

include Singapore and Malaysia and the Republic of Korea. The radar has an instrumented range of between eleven nautical miles (20 kilometres) and 32nm (60km) and can provide 120 degrees of instantaneous coverage, with 360 degrees of azimuth when the antenna is rotating. Around 100 targets can be detected and tracked per minute.

The contract with Thailand suggests that the country’s military government has decided to resume its efforts

to modernise the Royal Thai Armed Forces, a procurement process that had been put on hold for several months due to a general political unrest in the country and following the military coup that occurred on 22 May 2014.

Confirming this modernisation effort, Thailand’s government is said to be also considering a $80 million deal to acquire medium-range surface-to-air missiles, although further details of this acquisition have not been revealed.

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NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT APPROVES ASSAULT RIFLE REPLACEMENT PROGRAMME

The New Zealand’s defence minister Jonathan Coleman announced on 17 June 2014 that it had given the green light for the acquirement of up to 8800 new rifles for the country’s New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to replace the army’s current Steyr AUG 5.56mm assault rifle.

The AUG, used as the primary individual weapon used by all three services of the NZDF, was bought and introduced from 1987. The weapon was designed with an automatic and semi-automatic capability, and a 30-round magazine. Equipped with an optical 1.5x magnification sight, the AUG is capable of accurate fire through short to middle distances.

But NZDF soldiers deployed

to Afghanistan and East Timor in the past decade repeatedly complained that the rifle was prone to stoppages and lacked an effective range. Following an investigation, New Zealand’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) published a 2011 report highlighting that the rifle was, in fact, not powerful enough to effectively identify and engage targets at ranges greater than 200 metres (656 feet).

“It is important NZDF personnel are well equipped and have effective modern rifles suited to today’s operational environment,” said Mr. Coleman in a statement issued on 17 July 2014.

“Weapon technology has advanced considerably since the NZDF purchased the Steyr rifle in 1987,” he added.

Mr. Coleman added that a competitive tender will soon be conducted to procure an off-the-shelf replacement for

the assault rifle capable of being optimised for a range of situations. According to the schedule presented

by Mr. Coleman, a recommendation will be made to the government early in 2015 and the new rifle will be introduced into service by 2017 at the latest.

Future projects for New Zealand’s MoD includes the acquisition of new light machine guns, combat shot-

guns, sniper rifles, pistols and grenade launchers. As for the future of the soon-to-bedecommissioned AUG rifles, the NZDF announced it was looking for the “most efficient and cost-effective way” to dispose of the rifles and was considering all options, including the possible sale to non-military parties such as law enforcement organisations, although this option remains the most unlikely.

cadres, Australia has committed eight Boeing F/A18E/F Super Hornet aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). These aircraft are operated by the RAAF’s 1 and 6 Squadrons and are joined by a single Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft from 2 Squadron and an Airbus KC-30A multi-role tanker transport aircraft from 33 Squadron. These aircraft have been deployed to fly sorties from bases in the United Arab Emirates. The RAAF deployment is supported by around 400 personnel.

Australia deployed forces to

Iraq in support of the US-led Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 to depose Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Following the cessation of major combat operations in May 2003, Australian forces returned to the country as part of Operation CATALYST, which saw their redeployment in 2005 to assist the Iraqi security forces in their attempts to restore order amid a deteriorating security situation. Australia completed the withdrawal of all its forces from Iraq in July 2009.

This latest deployment to Iraq has taken on added urgency following the a series of counter terrorism raids on 18 September 2014. These saw a number of addresses in the Australian city of Sydney being raided and two people charged with offensives relating to a call by a senior ISIS figure for the beheading of random Australian citizens.

AUSTRALIA STEPS UP TO THE CALL

The Australian government has deployed the country’s armed forces to support United States-led combat operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent movement which has occupied large parts of eastern Syria and northern Iraq (see this month’s editorial ‘Cautiously Optimistic’).

Speaking on 18 September 2014, Australian prime minister Tony Abbott committed the deployment of two hundred special forces troops from the Australian Army. Although not revealed by Mr. Abbott these troops are thought to be from the Australian Defence Force’s Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) which includes the country’s Special Air Service regiment; 1st and 2nd Commando Regiment and Special Operations Engineer Regiment.

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It is expected that the SOCOMD deployment will assist in training and mentoring Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers and Iraqi Army troops who are battling the ISIS insurgency, but whom remain in need of air support, training and materiel. Although the troops are primarily being deployed to provide training, the Australian government has underlined that the troops will be armed and will be able to engage if they are fired upon.

For now, Australia’s deployment is reportedly restricted to support anti-ISIS operations in Iraq.

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