Armada International - October/November 2018

october/november 2018. Issue 05.

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. - / 2018

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 www.armadainternational.com

08 air force

BATTLE OF THE AIR-TO-AIR MISSILES Alan Warnes takes a look at air-to-air missile development for 5th Generation fighters.

14 LAND WARFARE

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THE HIDDEN ENEMY Mines and IEDs are the hidden killers in today’s conflicts. Stephen W Miller discusses ways to detect them.

LAND WARFARE LASER, LASER BURNING BRIGHT Science fiction no longer. Laser weapons are now being. Peter Donaldson reviews progress so far.

28 LAND WARFARE

34 Special report

SUPPORT WEAPONS FOR ‘GROUND POUNDERS’ Stephen W Miller examines the range of firepower available to support the ordinary rifleman.

RAISING THE STAKES Russian Helicopters invited Armada to Kazan and Army2018 in Moscow to learn about its latest upgrades.

24 Special Ops and Expeditionary

Forces Debrief COUNTERING MARITIME TERRORISM Exercises such as RIMPAC are giving international special forces to share maritime tactics, techniques and procedures. Andrew White reports.

38 ARMADA COMMENTARY

HOW BIG IS THE BOOM IN MILITARY AVIATION? Andrew Hunter analyses the factors behind the aviation surge - and asks if it will last?

armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

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INDEX TO ADVERTISERS ON THE COVER: Saab’s NLAW is the latest infantry portable anti-tank guided missile. Using Predicted Line of Sight guidance the gunner tracks the target for several seconds and then fires; the missile then homes in on the target. (SAAB)

october/november 2018. Issue 05.

final Armada Cover Oct-Nov 18.indd 1

9/21/18 6:41 PM

Volume 42, Issue No.5, OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 Published bi-monthly by Media Transasia Ltd. Copyright 2012 by Media Transasia Ltd. Publishing Office: Media Transasia Ltd., 1603, 16/F, Island PL Tower, 510 Kings Road, Hong Kong Editor: Andrew Drwiega General Manager: Jakhongir Djalmetov International Marketing Manager: Roman Durksen Digital Manager: David Siriphonphutakun Sales & Marketing Coordinator: Wajiraprakan Punyajai Graphic Designer: Khakanaa Suwannawong Production Manager: Kanda Thanakornwongskul Circulation Assistant: Yupadee Seabea Chairman: J.S. Uberoi President: Egasith Chotpakditrakul Chief Financial Officer: Gaurav Kumar Advertising Sales Offices

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■ U.S. Navy Awards Boeing $805 million MQ-25 Contract

■ Swedish

Navy Keeps Future Plans

Boeing will build the U.S. Navy’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft, the MQ-25 aerial refueler, through an $805 million contract awarded on the 30th of August.

Stealthy, economic and effective is how the Swedish Navy has developed – and new plans with Kockums Shipyard aim to further develop along proven designs.

Quiet

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■ Surgical ■ Blinding

the Enemy – with Science

Previously known as Electronic Counter Measures, Electronic Attack uses electromagnetic energy, directed energy, or anti-radiation weapons to attack enemy personnel, facilities, or equipment.

armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

Strike Artillery

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Editorial Daesh defeat in Iraq/Syria is not the end

“

The battle against Daesh may be in its final stages in Iraq and Syria, but this does not mean that Daesh is defeated,” stated Major General Felix Gedney, deputy commanderStrategy and Support (S&S) Combined Joint Task Force, Iraq.

Speaking at the end of his personal deployment as part of Britain’s contribution to Operation Inherent Resolve, the coordinated campaign to eradicate Daesh, he said that the experience over the past year had convinced him “more than ever” of the need to continue the fight.

Gedney praised the Syrian Democratic Forces and Iraqi coalition partners (many of whom are regional tribal fighters), who have pursued Daesh and gradually forced them out of cities such as Mosul, Tal Afar, Hawija and Raqqa. He said that the sickening tactics continually used by Daesh had included seeding the battlefield with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and using civilian human shields throughout the fighting.

The role of coalition air power had been crucial, added Gedney, particularly in support of Iraqi and Syrian partner forces on the ground with “every possible precaution made to avoid civilian casualties.”

Towards the end of the battle for Raqqa, safe passage, ostensibly for civilians was organised by tribal leaders rather than the international coalition, stated Gedney, but many reports surfaced about Daesh leaders, fighters and their families escaping among the civilians who got safe passage out of the city. These fighters then scattered to other enclaves and some reportedly

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may also have left the region altogether.

According to Gedney, everything had been done “to stop the departure of Daesh from Iraq and Syria”, although many nations are still concerned about international Daesh fighters returning to their home countries or transiting to another location to continue their terrorist activities.

The scale of the problem can be witnessed

by Gedney’s confirmation that over 600 foreign terrorist fighters had been captured and were being held in North East Syria, but the problem remained about how to deal with them over time as many were not unwelcome in their home countries, or their citizenship had been revoked.

There are 79 partner nations in the Global Coalition according to its website, showing the depth of concern over the potential spread of Daesh terrorism in other parts of the world.

The website declares that there is no single approach to defeating Daesh and when it appears elsewhere, the way in which it is confronted and defeated will be adapted to that particular context.

While those terrorist fighters active in Iraq/Syria have changed tactics to include the assassination of tribal leaders, the coalition is helping local forces to re-train from a warfighting focus onto one that is more in-tune with internal security requirements.

“In the coming months the complete liberation of all territory held by Daesh will be achieved, but we will not have defeated them,” said Gedney. “It is entirely possible that they will grow overseas [from Iraq/Syria]. ”This will be a generational fight,” he warned.

. - / 2018

ANDREW DRWIEGA, Editor

. - / 2018

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MBDA

air force

Modification to the Meteor tail-fins mean that the weapon will be housed into the F-35Bs internal weapons bay. On the RAF Typhoon it will be mounted externally.

BATTLE OF THE AIR-TO-AIR MISSILES Air-to-air missiles need to be better than ever for 5th Generation fighter engagements.

Alan Warnes

A

ny Air Force commander will tell you that they need the best air-to-air missiles (AAMs) available to defend the sovereign territory and strategic interests of their country. Not everyone can afford the best, but fortunately there are options.

Many countries have their own missile manufacturers, but generally the bulk come from Europe, Israel, Russia or the United States. Other states such as Brazil and South

8

Africa have developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) AAMs, while Turkey launched its own solution, known as the Merlin in 2016.

BVR AAMs are an important feature of any fighter in defending itself from hostile threats. Over the past 30 years or so, the need has generally been fulfilled in the west by the Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile). When a US Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 in June 2017, it was the AMRAAM

armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

missile that caused the damage. It was the tenth aircraft to be claimed by an AMRAAM, which has helped to build its reputation, although that dominance is set to be tested by the European’s MBDA Meteor in the coming years.

Requirements In the UK, the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) top requirement for its BVR AAMs is to provide little chance for the target to escape within the range of the weapon, and the bigger the

Raytheon

air FORCE

All the F-35s will be armed with an initial AIM-120 AMRAAM capability. The RAF will have AMRAAM and ASRAAM initially, but the US jets will use the AMRAAM and the AIM-9X combo. The AMRAAM will eventually be replaced by the Meteor on the UK F-35Bs.

range the more likelihood of a kill.

For many years, the radar-guided Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM has been regarded as the BVR AAM of choice, resulting in 38 of the USA’s closest allies acquiring it and using it on a wide range of fighters: F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-22, Tornado, Typhoon, Gripen and Harriers.

The AIM-120C5 and AIM-120C7 missiles are also fully integrated onto the F-35 and support the US Marine Corp’s (USMC) F-35B initial operational capability (IoC) as the only air-to-air missile qualified on the F-35, although it won’t always stay that way.

Not wanting to rest on its laurels, Raytheon is now working on an upgraded AMRAAM to extend the missile’s life well into the 2020s. Lot 32 is expected to be the first batch of missiles that will integrate the Form, Fit, Function, Refresh (F3R) of the AMRAAM guidance system. F3R aims to overcome the effects of obsolescence in the missile's guidance section, which was delayed during 2017 due to a problem developing an integrated circuit. The key

component at fault for the delays was an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a processor used to execute the missile’s software. Each AMRAAM Lot consists of between 400-500 missiles.

In mid-July, the US State Department announced that the RAF was set to acquire 200 AIM-120D AMRAAMs. Many thought they would equip the UK’s new Lockheed Martin F-35Bs, but they aren’t, and are meant for Eurofighter Typhoon. It might have come as a surprise, given that the RAF is about to introduce the MBDA Meteor into service on the Typhoon. But not all of them have been upgraded with the Project Centurion capabilities that allows new weapons including the Meteor as well as Storm Shadow and Brimstone air to ground weapons.

The Tranche 1 Typhoons have not been upgraded with the new software that allows those weapons to be integrated, and they were set to be retired by 2020, until the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) reversed that decision.

Air Commodore Linc Taylor, senior responsible officer for Typhoon and F-35 Lightning talked at the recent Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) about the decision. “The Typhoon Tranche 1s were originally going to be taken out of service in the early 2020s, but we realised they had a lot of life left on them and the 2015 SDSR cleared the way for two-to-three more Typhoon units.” He went on: “The Typhoon Tranche 1s can still do most of what is required, it is agile and can carry a lot, and will now remain in service to 2030.

However, the stockpile of AIM-120C-5s that we have would not match that out of service date, and because the Tranche 1s cannot take Meteor we opted for an AIM-120D buy for the jet.”

The range of the AIM-120D variant is thought to be more than 167km (90 miles), around the same as the detection range of an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. There is also a GPS and a two-way data link housed in the weapon.

This means the launch aircraft’s targeting

armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

9

Raytheon

air force

A Swiss Air Force F/A-18C Hornet shows off its four AIM-120C AMRAAMs. The Swiss are one of 38 US allies to arm its fighters with the AIM-120 AMRAAM.

system can update and re-direct the missile towards an enemy aircraft, making evasive manoeuvres. While the AMRAAM C is popular, only a few countries outside of the US, such as Australia, Canada and now the UK has acquired the D version. On 10 July, the US State Department approved the sale of 28 AIM-120C-7 medium-range air-to-air missiles for an estimated cost of $90 million to Denmark. They will be used to arm the country’s Lockheed Martin F-16 and future F-35 Lightning II fighter fleets.

At the Farnborough International Air Show in July, Raytheon’s James ‘Meegs’ Meger who works in AMRAAM business

development told Armada: “There has been a continuous development of the AIM-120 AMRAAM to cater for the needs of the warfighter and the threats. There have seen over 4,600 test shots. We shoot over 150 of these a year as part of the testing programme right across our 38 coalition partners.”

But the AMRAAM is now facing stiff competition from Europe in the future beyond visual range (BVR) markets. While the UK is currently fielding the AIM-120-C7 AMRAAM for its BVR requirements on the newer generation Typhoon Tranche 2 and 3s, they will soon be replaced with the

10 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

MBDA Meteor. It is regarded by many as potentially the best BVR in the west.

France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK have all invested much into developing the new weapon, to equip the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and F-35 Lightning II. The Meteor is the newer generation ‘big stick’ that the European operators are desperate to have. With threats getting more powerful and more sophisticated, it was an urgent requirement.

According to MBDA the Meteor has a ‘No Escape Zone’ three times greater than AMRAAM which it is designed to replace, so it is definitely a big stick. Some experts

air force

fast to fly. Should the target manoeuvre, the launch platform will data-link the alteration in course.

“As the Meteor range capability is well outside the current AMRAAM systems deployed, there is no reason for ‘Red Air’ to suspect you have taken a shot. The launch platform will fire Meteor and fly benignly, but if the pilot wants to turn away there will be no loss of datalink as there is with some missiles.” said Harry Thompson, MBDA’s UK Airborne, technical executive and a rocket scientist. He adds: “The missile geometry flight isn’t selected for a flight path simply to intercept where it is now, but has a predicted intercept port if the target does something very evasive. Levels of MBDA

believe it has a range of 250-300kms (150-190 miles). The missile accelerates at Mach 1 above launch speed, so on Eurofighter it’s not unreasonable to see it reach speeds of Mach 2, when the rocket motor burns out.

Once the rocket fuel is burnt, the missiles wings open and ram air blows into the open chambers. The solid fuel, heavy with soot and fuel particles is pushed through a valve which blows on it, giving it acceleration.

With its next generation seeker head, the missile makes its own decisions – how fast to fly, how much fuel to burn depending upon its engagement point. The aircraft can direct the missile - ‘that’s your target’ - flying at this speed, as well as the distance and angle the missile can select and how

The UK’s will be the first to arm its F-35Bs with the new Meteor BVR, but are unlikely to be the last. The weapon should come with the Block 4 jets.

AMRAAM and Meteor on F-35 The AMRAAM will arm the UK’s F-35Bs to its IoC by the end of the year, along with the ASRAAM (Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile). However, around the mid-2020s, the MBDA Meteor beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile will replace AMRAAM. The exact timings are being formulated by the F-35 Joint Project Office (JPO) at Washington DC which is developing the Continuous Capability Development and Delivery (C2D2) to incrementally improve the aircraft over the years to come. This new weapon will take the aircraft to the next level according to MBDA’s sales and business development executive, Rob Thornleigh. He told Armada in early June, “We hope to get a contract later this year to continue integration of

Meteor on F-35. We have a contract to finish up the cropped fin work (to be mounted internally on F-35) and to purchase the assets for trials programme.

While the C2D2 contract has not been finalised, we are looking at the early 2020s to finish the flight trials and then put it to the fleet. He continued: “The Meteor couldn’t be used for the IoC, because the system has not been integrated. This has to be looked after by Lockheed Martin and we cannot go separately or independently as a country.”

Right now, the UK is the only customer that will fit the Meteor onto the F-35.

However, it is likely that when integration is complete other F-35 customers, particularly those such as Italy might consider the weapon.

12 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

sophistication are amazing. Remember this is all happening at around Mach 1-2 too!”

The Meteor is currently operational on the Saab Gripen with the Swedish Air Force.

When the Swedish Chief, Major General Mats Helgeson announced the jet’s new capability, in July 2016, he said: “The Meteor is the most lethal radar guided air-to-air missile in operational service in the world, and we are the only operational user so far.

Combined with the short range [Diehl] IRST heat-seeking missile, we have the best air-to-air weaponry you can find in the world – that means a lot to our air defence.”

During Farnborough in 2016, Saab’s Hakan Bushke CEO stated: “Meteor is the best example of Europe doing things together.

It’s a big leap forward in these rather newer [more hostile] times and allows us not only to defend our nations better but also at an affordable cost.”

The MBDA Meteor is set to revolutionise air-to-air combat according to leading members of the RAF. Two RAF units, 1 Squadron and 6 Squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, will field the Meteor capability this summer, as part of Project Centurion’s Typhoon P2EA upgrade.

A couple of years ago, a senior RAF pilot who was working to integrate the Meteor on Typhoon, told the author that the speed was a big factor in the two weapon’s performance.

“To kinetically defeat an AMRAAM, you turn 180 degrees and run away. You can’t do that with a Meteor, it will chase you down and kill you. So you get a higher confidence shot – you can probably follow the same sort of tactics but know that your chances of gaining the kill have increased.”

The last word on the AMRAAM/Meteor battle for BVR dominance goes to Douglas Barrie, Senior Fellow for Military Aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS): “The US AIM-120 has been in service for over a quarter of a century, and has for most of that time been the most capable active radar-guided missile in the Western inventory. It is now a mature design, with the latest iteration, the AIM-120D, eking out further capability improvements.

“The European Meteor by comparison is only beginning to enter the inventory, with most of its service life and further development yet to come. In performance terms for medium and long-range engagements against a maneuvering target Meteor’s rocket/ramjet configuration offers a clear advantage against a solid-propellant design.”

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US Army

Land WARFARE

The hand held mine detector has taken advantage of electronics miniaturization to reduce its weight and advanced processing to reduce “false alarms” and make it more sensitive and effective. Still sweeping for mines and IEDs is a slow and dangerous process.

THE HIDDEN ENEMY Mines and IEDs appear to have become more deeply ingrained in global conflicts, demanding a range of solutions to counter them.

Stephen W. Miller

I

nsurgency and asymmetric warfare has triggered a resurgence of focus on mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Yet, the use of mines and to an extent ‘booby traps’ (IEDs using an earlier terminology) was central to strategy during the Cold War. They would have been used to delay a Warsaw Pact attack against NATO. They also had a significant effect on operations in Vietnam, in the border conflicts of South Africa and in most of the ‘small wars’ of the late 20th Century.

More recently mines and particularly IEDs have been prominent in the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although some new technologies have been introduced, like the initiation of explosives remotely using electronic warfare tools, the essence of the efforts to counter both mines and IEDs remains the same – to locate and/or neutralise them before they are triggered.

Hand Held Detectors Putting a soldier out in front with a handheld mine detector has been the standard tactic since the introduction of magnetic sensing technology. The systems typically are on a role with a device on the end that gives an alert to the operator when it senses

ferrous metal. The strength of the alert signal can suggest the size of the object. The potential target is marked and then must be identified as a true threat or not. As Clay Fox, president of iED Detection Systems representing Vallon, a leader in mine and explosives detection, explained: “the challenge is that what detectors respond to may or may not be a mine. Therefore relying upon this one sensor can be inefficient. In addition, non-metallic mines without any or only minimal metal are being used. Vallon’s Mine Hound VMR3, therefore, uses a search head with both a metal detector (EMI), and ground penetrating radar (GPR).” The US Marines (USMC) purchased Mine Hound and used them in Iraq. The US Army contacted with L-3 SDS to develop the AN/PSS-14, a similar dual sensor system also using EMI and GPR. GPR transmits a low frequency radar signal that striking a discontinuity in the soil and reflects back to the receive antennas and to on-board signal processing. Improved signal processing algorithms seek to reject ‘clutter’ (i.e. nontargets) and categorise those items that may be actual mines.

Identified mines can be either physically removed or ‘blown in place’ with a charge.

14 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

Removal can be especially hazardous if the device has been laid with additional booby traps to prevent its removal. Fox further explained that “performance is not the only criteria for a mine detector. Weight, size and ease of use are also key aspects. Vallon has, therefore, incorporates advanced electronics that significantly reduce size and weight.”

The VMC4, for example, offers metal and wire detection at a weight of only 1.25kg.

Vehicle Mounted Detection The limitation of dismounted mine detection is that it is slow with mine detection teams are exposed to enemy fire and to injury should a mine or IED explode. Vehicle mounted mine detection systems work to identify possible mines/IEDs placed in and along roadways while the vehicle moving.

Clearance vehicles are used to create a clear path through a potentially mined area.

Mine/IED protection vehicles generally consist of a sensor array that is extended forward of the vehicle with the driver/ operator(s) protected in the vehicle. The Husky Mark III VMMD was originally developed by DCD Protected Mobility (DCD) in South Africa. With a central cab it has NIITEK’s Visor 2500 Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) with a four panelled 3.2m array forward. Husky can clear a path three metres wide travelling at a maximum speed of 50km/h. When detection is made it marks the location for clearance by following specialised systems. It also has the NGC LN-270 INS with GPS and SAASM antijamming module as well as the option of adding EMI Coils of the See-Deep Metal Detector Array. Designed with a low ground pressure the Husky seeks to pass over more destructive anti-tank mines it might miss while the cab protection and Vee hull protect against smaller explosives. The latest Husky version has a two person cab with a driver and separate sensor operator.

MBDA’s VDM combines a 3.9m width decoy package on a boom for standoff activation of IEDs, an under-belly metal detector, and an automated path marking device.

VDM will accept additional sensors as well, but also works as part of a route clearance team. Experience has shown that the French Army using VDM can clear 150km in one day, with a maximum speed of 25km/h.

Vehicle Mounted Flails There is a distinction between ‘assault clearing’ of mines and ‘deliberate clearing’.

The former is generally violent and includes

the use of mine flails and explosives. The flail originated in World War II when similar systems were fit to British tanks. It uses a mechanical rotating drum with attached chains held on arms in front of the vehicle.

As it rotates the chains, which may have weights or hammers attached, impact on the ground to detonate the mines/IEDS. The Aardvark by Aardvark Clear Mine based in the UK is specifically designed solely for this role. The flail rotates at 300rpm with replaceable chains with its two operators inside an armoured cab.

The US Army began fielding its own mine flail in 2014, the M1271 that is based on a 20 ton heavy tactical truck. It has foam filled tires, a blast shield and 70 chains/hammers that move through a minefield at 1.2km/h.

The vibration is so great that the crew sit on air-ride seats. Other solutions like the PTD Mine series from Italy’s FAE Group use modified heavy construction equipment.

They have the advantage of drawing from commercial sources for parts and service and are often favoured in humanitarian demining operations. In

The Husky has seen extensive use by armies worldwide based on its success in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The crew occupy a well protected cab while it has a low ground pressure to prevent anti-tank mine detonation. A ground penetrating radar is mounted forward to detect mines. They were most recently used by US forces in Syria.

addition, the FAE machines are remote controlled! Flails are faster than other clearance approaches but are limited to more open areas.

Vehicle Mounted Rollers and Ploughs Another clearance method is the use of rollers pushed forward of the vehicle. They can often be fitted to standard tactical armoured vehicles ranging from main battle tanks to wheeled or tracked vehicles. Generally all that is required is an interface bracket between the vehicle and roller system.

Pearson Engineering Spark II (Self Protection Adaptive Roller Kit) is

US Army

LAND WARFARE

specifically intended for use by mine protected wheeled vehicles and is therefore light, using hydraulics to gain the pressure and gas suspension to assure rollers follow the ground contour. This is especially critical in a full width clearing such as Spark II provides, since a mine could be missed if the roller is not continuously in contact with the ground. The roller can be remotely jettisoned by the operator form his position in the vehicle. A variation of this approach

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Pearson

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Pearson Engineering has been responsible for the development of a number of countermine systems for combat vehicles of all sizes.

This mine roller was specifically designed to be able to be used by lighter armoured vehicles like the US Army Stryker.

is the track width mine rollers which are more common on armoured vehicles. They only cover the path of the tank or vehicle tracks or tires but can be lighter and require less power to push.

Mine ploughs The Pearson Light Weight Mine Roller (LWMR) has been combat proven by both US and Canadian forces and can be adapted to light combat vehicles including the LAV and Stryker. A Rear Roller Kit (RRK) (a single set of six individually articulating wheels) can be added that provides protection for following vehicles. In addition, the AMMAD (Anti Magnetic Mine Activating Device) system can be connected between the roller banks to detonate magnetic fused anti-tank mines and tilt-rod anti-vehicle mines. These ‘killer’ mines detonate under the hull as the vehicle passes over. Rollers are satisfactory on firm ground but can become ‘bogged’ in soft soil and mud.

Mine Ploughs are mounted and employed similar to rollers. They, however, have blades or long teeth that dig into the ground turning up the emplaced mines.

Pearson’s literature states that “mine ploughs require a more powerful host vehicle with good traction, therefore, they are more typically used on tracked vehicles.”

The USMC M1 MBT based Assault Breacher Vehicle includes a mine plough adapted to fit onto a LCU landing craft. However, mines and IEDs are not always buried so the company offers a surface mine plough or blade as well. Pearson’s Surface Mine Plough (SMP) is designed to skim the surface of a flat roadway or trail and safety push aside surface laid mines and debris

that could be potential IEDs. Line Charges The explosive line charge to breach and clear a path through a mine area is specifically intended for assault breaching. It is fast and violent. Typically it consists of a series of explosive charges linked together on a rope attached to a rocket with the entire package placed in a large box or special pallet. In the BAE Giant Viper and its successor Python, the line charge package is carried on a trailer that is towed behind a vehicle, often a combat engineer vehicle or MBT. When fired the rocket pulls the line behind it which, when the rocket has expended itself, falls to earth laid out across the area to be cleared. When the charge is detonated the blast creates an over pressure that detonates nerby mines.

This type of system will clear a lane 8m wide by 100m long. The MICLIC is a similar US trailer system, which other countries including Indian and China, producing similar designs.

Line charges are also a standard capability on dedicated assault breaching vehicles like Maine’s ABV. There are also smaller line charge systems developed to clear a path specifically for dismounted infantry. These clear antipersonnel mines, IEDs, trip-wires and booby-traps. The size of the path clears depends on the size/weight of the system and is a trade-off to its portability.

MINE/IED Disposal Vehicles Many of the counter-mine/IED systems fielded are designed for more traditional minefields laid on roadways or as defensive obstacles. The IED offers new challenges in that they are often emplaced off-road and

16 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

in places where they are difficult to access and clear other than on foot. The Buffalo originally manufactured by Force Protection Industries, now part of General Dynamics Land Systems, is designed to allow an EOD/ Route Clearance team to identify and neutralise an IED within the protection of an armoured vehicle. Buffalo stands high off the ground and has a Vee-hull to protect against blast. Its armoured cab has large windows to allow the four to six crew to see outside and locate possible threats. It also has a 9m articulated arm with various attachments controlled from inside the vehicle that can be used to shift through debris that might hide an IED, to identify it using a camera on the arm and to dig-up or retrieve the mine or IED. Six countries use the Buffalo including the US, UK, France, Italy, Canada, and Pakistan.

The unique capability provided in the Buffalo has been adapted to other Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles by outfitting them with similar articulated arms. The arms have also been further improved by adding various sensors including explosive ‘sniffers’, thermal cameras, EMI, and other technologies that offer additional clues to determine what a suspect item may be.

IED Jamming The introduction of the Radio Controlled IED (RCIED), often detonated using simply a mobile phone, created a new problem.

These IEDs can be detonated on command from a distance by the operator who can choose when to trigger the device. This makes it often more effective as it can select a specific target and more difficult to counter. To neutralise the RCIED and other remotely controlled devices the use of signal jammers has been adopted. Sources at France’s MBDA reflected that “French Army experience in Afghanistan and Mali showed that including the jammer was essential to the survival and effectiveness of the route clearance team.”

The majority of RCIED jammers are vehicle mounted. The US Army has fielded SRCTec’s Duke V3 and USMC Harris’s CVRJ (CREW Vehicle Receiver Jammer).

For convoy protection the STAR V 740 modular jamming system by AT Communications automatically randomly sweeps frequency bands to identify and jam a signal. These systems are power hungry and weight between 50-70kg.

For the dismounted soldier low weight and power consumption are critical. The

Employment of remote controlled vehicles such as this specially Panama control system equipped Land Rover using a forward mounted GPR for detection lowers the risk to the soldier. Here it is followed by a manned Mastif MRAP with Choker mine rollers and a mast mounted video camera system.

US has developed and fielding the THOR III a backpacked system. Full frequency jamming capability is provided using three separate units. It is working on a follow-on system ICREW that is designed to further extend the protective range and capabilities.

The objective is to have a number of these systems to create a protective bubble within

UKMoD

Land WARFARE

which the unit can operate.

Robotic Counter Mine Systems Autonomous systems now appearing on the market use either an existing vehicle system that is equipped with autonomous navigation and driving capabilities, or designed-for-purpose unmanned ground systems (UGS). The US Army has its AMDS

which has three modules deployed as needed on a remotely operated Man Transportable Robotic System (MTRS). Provided

by Carnegie Robotics, these include a Mine Detection and Marking Payload Module, an Explosive Hazards Detection and Marking Payload Module and a Neutralisation Payload Module.

Russia has been employing the Uran-6 robotic de-mining system from JSC 766 UPTK since 2015 and used it in Syria. It is a 6,000kg multi-function system which can be fitted with a variety of tools including bulldozer blade, Boikova mine sweeper, robotic arm, tiller, roller, Katkov trawl, and 1000kg capacity crane gripper. A single operator controls Uran using four video cameras and radio control with a 1km range.

HDT has successfully demonstrated its Protector UGS with a mine flail. Devices, when hit by this mini-flail, were more often torn apart rather than detonated. Beyond specialised clearance robotic systems the EOD robots that are now common place continue to offer identification and neutralisation of individual threats.

armadainternational.com - october/november 2018 17

air Power

LASER, LASER BURNING BRIGHT Laser weapons are turning from passive to aggressive, with applications for air, sea and land.

Peter Donaldson

U

ntil recently, the laser's role in weaponry has been largely limited to providing range information and illuminating, marking and designating targets for semi-active laser homing or providing a course correction reference for beam riders. Other uses have included dazzling devices and a number of proximity fusing applications as well as its very successful use in Directional Infra-Red Countermeasures (DIRCM) systems against IR guided missiles.

Defences against them have amounted to sensors that detect, identify and locate the source, obscurants that prevent them from gathering the information they are seeking and filters to prevent damage to optical systems, including the human eye.

Now, High Energy Laser (HEL) systems capable of destroying targets such as small UAVs and munitions, and of damaging larger ones are on the cusp of operational deployment in numbers, and defence planners and technologists are having to give serious thought to how to beat them.

Inevitably, the United States (US) is running the most programmes, but Russia, China, Germany, Israel and the UK are all working on such systems and, according to Andrew Feickert, a ground forces analyst for the US Congressional Research Service (CRS), the US does not necessarily have the advantage.

NAVAL HEL SYSTEMS Much of the early operational use aboard warships is likely to be the targetting of UAVs, unmanned boats and Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC) threats using moderately powered weapons. Shooting down anti-ship missiles and even aircraft would require more powerful weapons in the 150kW class.

Now an enthusiastic adopter, the US Navy (USN), is funding several laser weapons under the overarching Surface Navy Laser Weapon System (SNLWS) programme. The first increment was awarded to Lockheed Martin in early March under a $150 million contract for the development, manufacture and delivery of two High.

Energy Laser and Integrated

18 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

Optical-dazzler with Surveillance (HELIOS) systems, one for installation aboard an Arleigh Burke class destroyer and the other for testing ashore. The contract also contains options for 14 more HELIOS systems. If exercised, those options would increase the contracts value to about $942.8 million.

"The HELIOS programme is the first of its kind, and brings together laser weapon, long-range ISR and counter-UAS capabilities, dramatically increasing the situational awareness and layered defense options available to the US Navy," said Michele Evans, vice-president and general manager of Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors.

A threefold capability, HELIOS includes a 60kW fibre laser to defeat UAVs and small boats, a long-range Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensor integrated with the ship's Aegis combat management system, and a lower powered dazzling laser intended to disrupt hostile UAV-based ISR capabilities. The primary laser reportedly has growth potential up to 150kW. Under this first increment, Lockheed Martin is to deliver the two HELIOS units

air Power

for test by fiscal year 2020 (FY20), one for shipboard integration on an Arleigh Burkeclass destroyer, and the other for testing on land at the White Sands Missile Range.

DAZZLING ODIN The second weapon is the Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN), a lower powered system intended to blind and disrupt UAV sensors. According to the USN, ODIN's major components include the beam director, which in turn includes a telescope and faststeering mirrors, two laser emitters and a set of sensors for course and fine target tracking and, like HELIOS, ISR imaging.

The third system is known as the Solid-State Laser - Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) and is a more powerful follow up to the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) programme under which a 30kW laser was installed for at-sea evaluation aboard the amphibious ship USS San Antiono. Under SSL-TM Northrop Grumman was selected in 2015 to develop a 150kW weapon intended to be installed on a San Antonio class vessel during 2019.

Current plans call for technology

CAESARÂŽ

8x8

developed under this programme to support the second increment of the SNLWS as a follow-on to HELIOS. A third SNLWS increment is also envisaged, a weapon with still more power.

A fourth weapon, known as the Ruggedised High Energy Laser (RHEL) is also in the pipleline. With the same 150kW initially, it is intended to use a different lase architecture capable of handling more power later on.

The USN wants to spend about $300 million in FY 2019 on these weapons.

VEHICLE-BASED PROTOTYPES Lockheed Martin's prototype transportable ground-based laser Athena has proved its ability to shoot down small UAVs. The company released a video showing a series of five small tactical type drones brought down by the laser each time targeting the vertical tail surface.

In engaging a UAV or a small boat, an operator visually verifies that the target is hostile and selects the aim point with a fine infra-red sensor, but against much faster moving threats such as rockets and mortars,

Carrying the CAESARÂŽ concept forward

Creating references in defense I www.nexter-group.fr armadainternational.com - october/november 2018 19 Caesar_8x8_184x127_VA.indd 1

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air Power

on the Corps's small tactical vehicles to defeat low flying drones and similar threats under the Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) Directed Energy On-the-Move Future Naval Capabilities programme, having demonstrated one that downed four drones in 2010.

Raytheon's core technology for such compact weapons is its planar wave-guide (PWG). “Using a single PWG, the size and shape of a 12 inch ruler, high energy lasers generate sufficient power to effectively engage small aircraft”, Raytheon declares.

A near term opportunity for fielding such a system could come from the Corps' Ground Based Air Defense Future Weapon System (GBADS FWS), according to Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, who spoke at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in March. Mounted on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), the laser could complement an EW system and the Stinger missile and be cued by radar.

In Western Europe, Rheinmetall has invested significant effort into developing a range of HEL weapons and operational concepts around GBAD, low and slow threats, Counter Rocket And Mortar (CRAM), battlefield explosive ordnance disposal and scalable non-lethal disabling of a range of threats from operationally relevant ranges with lasers rated at five to 10, 20 and 50kW, mounted for demonstration purposes on vehicles including tracked and wheeled armoured vehicles and a truck.

The company has taken pains to integrate the lasers into its established GBAD systems of sensors and effectors, emphasising that, in the short to medium term at least, they will supplement rather than replace guns

A Raytheon high-energy laser mounted on a Boeing Apache AH-64 attack helicopter acquired and hit an unmanned target during tests at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Raytheon

Athena operates autonomously without an operator in the loop, states the company.

Although Athena is a prototype, the company stresses that a ruggedised version would be suitable for operational use.

The 30kW system uses Lockheed Martin’s Accelerated Laser Demonstration Initiative (ALADIN) spectral beam combining fibre laser.

In ALADIN, multiple fibre laser modules work together, says the company, a configuration that enables the weapon to be scaled up relatively easily to higher power levels.

Early this year, an even more operationally focused US Army weapon system was reported to be taking part in the Joint Warfighter Assessment 2018 in the hands of soldiers Europe after successful participation in the Army's Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiments (MFIX), most recently in late 2017. The weapon concerned is the Mobile Experimental High Energy Laser (MEHEL), a 5kW laser from Boeing carried by a General Dynamics Land Systems Stryker 8x8 armoured vehicle. MEHEL has proved its ability to shoot down small rotary-wing and fixed-wing UAVs both above and below the horizon and to engage ground targets successfully in the MFIX events.

MEHEL is the US Army's laser weapon to be integrated into a combat platform.

It uses a commercial fibre laser with the potential to generate 10kW aimed through a beam control system consisting of a 10cm aperture telescope and a low-jitter precision pointing and tracking system. Target acquisition and tracking is provided by wide and narrow field of view infrared cameras and a Ku-band radar.

In August 2014, Raytheon and the USMC began testing a HEL system for deployment

and missiles. One of Rheinmetal’s key capabilities is beam superimposition, a technique in which multiple lasers concentrate their energy on a single target, enabling an integrated system to focus on the most threatening mortar bomb, rocket, cruise missile or attack aircraft before moving on to the next, a capability that was demonstrated in public in 2013. A fully operational HEL system can be developed within the next decade, the company believes.

Israel is also investing in the technology, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has a HEL demonstrator called Iron beam, which uses a fibre laser reportedly rated at tens of kW but scalable to hundreds of kW to defeat UAVs plus short range rockets and mortars.

The company depicts Iron Beam using two lasers from separate trucks to engage a single rocket, and notes that multiple beams can be used against larger. Reports indicate that it could be operational by 2020.

Drone Dome is a smaller system designed to detect and defeat small multicopter drones with soft kill jamming and can also include a 5kW laser reportedly able to bring them down at ranges up to 2km.

CHINESE AND RUSSIAN LASERS Truck and tactical vehicle mounted systems are also under development in China, and Chinese companies including Poly

20 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

US Navy

AIR POWER

Technologies with its Silent Hunter and GuroRong have publicised them at trade shows and released video of tests. With GuoRong's system shown burning through a test plate carried by a small quadcopter, possibly of the DJI Phantom series, before shooting down the drone itself.

China is also believe to be working on larger shipborne systems, perhaps to be deployed aboard the new Type 055 cruiser.

The Russian military claims to have laser weapons in service, with Yury Borisov, now a deputy prime minister of Russia, emphasising in 2016 when he was deputy defence minister, that these are not experimental devices but operational weapons.

Russia is believed to be developing a range of new laser and other directed energy

The Afloat Forward Staging Base (Interim) USS Ponce conducts an operational demonstration of the Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored Laser Weapon System (LaWS).

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Rafael

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Rafael's Iron Beam battery is mobile and composed of an air defense radar, a command and control (C2) unit, and two HEL systems.

weapons, laser systems for aircraft and helicopter defence and, reportedly plans to mount lasers with greater attack capabilities on sixth-generation combat aircraft, which analysts don't expect to be operational until the late 2030s.

AIRBORNE APPLICATIONS While ships are natural platforms for early adoption of high energy laser weapons technology because of their ability to carry the weight and supply the electrical power needed to run them, they are beginning to prove practical on tactical aircraft as well.

The summer of 2017 saw the first test of a fully integrated high-energy laser from a helicopter when an Apache fired a pod-mounted Raytheon laser weapon at stationary target on the ground. In a series of test engagements conducted by Raytheon and the US Army Apache programme office in cooperation with with US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) at White Sands Missile Range, the aircraft reportedly hit the target from a wide variety of flight regimes, altitudes and air speeds at a slant range of 1.4km.

To provide targeting information, situational awareness and beam control, Raytheon adapted a variant of its Multispectral Targeting System (MTS) turret An important part of the test was to determine how well the technology stood up to the environment, including vibration, rotor down wash and dust, to feed into the

development of future operational weapons.

LASERS FOR FAST JETS The USAF is exploring the use of HEL technology to defend tactical aircraft from air-to-air or surface-to-air missiles through the Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (Shield) programme, for which the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Lockheed Martin a design, development and production contract in November 2017 for a podded system to be tested on a jet fighter by 2021. Among the development challenges is packaging a multi-kilowatt fibre laser in the restricted volume available. The work is to be focused on three subsystems. The first is known as SHiELD Turret Research in Aero Effects (STRAFE), and covers the beam control system, the second is the Laser Pod Research & Development (LPRD) package that addresses the pod that will contain, power and cool the laser, and the third is the Laser Advancements for Next-generation Compact Environments (LANCE) package, which covers the laser itself.

UK DRAGONFIRE If all goes to plan, 2019 should witness the first tests of Dragonfire, a defensive HEL capability demonstrator under development for the UK government by a consortium led

by MBDA with Qinetiq, Leonardo-Finmeccanica along with several other UK companies including GKN, Arke, BAE Systems and

22 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

Marshall ADG. The planned demonstration is to encompass the capability end-to-end from target acquisition to destruction on UK MoD ranges over land and water.

The weapon will be based on a scalable high-power fibre laser architecture with coherent beam-combining technology and an associated phase control system.

According to QinetiQ, this technology enables creation of a precision laser source that can be directed onto a dynamic target, achieving high on-target power density despite atmospheric turbulence, reducing defeat times and increasing effective range. Dragonfire's scalable architecture allows the number of laser channels to be increased so that variants can be tailored to defeat different target sets and integrated into different maritime, land-based and airborne platforms.

DEFENCE AGINST THE LIGHT ARTS Lasers have pros and cons as weapons. The beam travels at the speed of light, so there are no significant time-of-flight complications that affect the targeting process, if the tracking element of the weapon system can hold on to the target, it can put a laser beam on it and keep it there. Keeping the

A target drone shows damage to the tail section inflicted by the HEL-MD laser. Unmanned aircraft similar to this drone are becoming a rapidly expanding threat and developing weapons to counter them is a priority for air defense.

AIR POWER

spacecraft solid rocket engines and re-entry bodies, while obscurants use water or smoke to scatter the laser light and reduce the energy reaching the target.

Other countermeasures are beginning to emerge that disrupt the laser weapon system ability to keep the beam on target in ways more akin to active jamming, such as using lasers aboard the protected platform to confuse the weapon's own targeting optics, which rely on reflections of the beam from the target to confirm that it is illuminating it. This is may have been explored in research and development by, for example, Adsys Controls. However, the company now describes its Helios system as a passive counter-DEW system for UAVs, without explicitly mentioning lasers. Consisting of a small UAV-mounted sensor package, says Adsys, Helios provides full analysis of the incoming beam including localiSation and intensity. “With this information it passively jams the enemy, protecting the vehicle and the payload.”

Details of laser weapon countermeasures are closely guarded, but what is becoming clear is that a new technological battle of measure and countermeasure has been born.

Raytheon

beam on target is important because, in many applications, it can take some time for the weapon to heat the target enough to have the desired effect. This might provide a target with an opportunity to sense the attack and apply countermeasures. The atmosphere is also an issue, as obscurants including water vapour, precipitation and dust as well as the air itself – in heat hazes for example – have various absorptive and refractive affects at different wavelengths, affecting a laser's effective range and ability to concentrate its energy on the target.

Naturally the US military is researching ways to protect its own assets against lasers and other Directed Energy Weapons (DEW), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) has a major counter DEW programme on which it is with the Naval Postgraduate School, the US Naval Academy and the Naval Research Laboratory. Looking at technologies likely be available to counter likely threats in the 2020 to 2025 time frame, the work examines possible countermeasures based on materials, hardening, and obscurants.

Protective materials, for example, could include reflective or ablative coatings, the latter are sacrificial materials in the form of polymers and metals commonly used in

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US Navy SEALs already use personal watercraft for safety in surf conditions as well as VBSS operations in shallow water environments.

COUNTERING MARITIME TERRORISM

The challenge of maritime counter-terrorism is growing and demands a unified, well equipped response from international SOF operators.

Andrew White

O

n 25 July 2018, a Saudi oil tanker transiting through the Red Sea was attacked by Houthi naval forces from Yemen.

The news followed a similar attack on a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), operated by the same company in April, with United States (US) defence officials claiming attacks had been launched from Iraniansponsored motherships in the area.

Despite inflicting minimal damage on the tankers and crew, the attacks by armed fast attack craft demonstrated a resurgent threat in maritime terrorism which has resulted in the Saudi company, Aramco, electing to stop all tanker shipments through the Red Sea until further notice.

With more than 70 percent of the globe’s surface dominated by water, demand for ‘whole of government’ approaches to protect strategic waterways and sea lanes has become a critical requirement for many nations.

However, as defence sources suggested to Armada International, such solutions remain severely restricted in applying many of these best practices due to significant logistical constraints associated with operating across huge ocean areas. As one UK government source explained to Armada International, this will involve the employment of a “range of security measures to protect passengers and cargo” with regular training packages designed to test “tactical response to maritime terrorist attacks”.

24 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

Critical to any maritime counter-terrorism (MCT) strategy is the utility of special operations forces (SOF) and in particular, Special Operations Maritime Task Groups which can be tasked with the execution of maritime interdiction operations (MIOs); Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) missions; as well as Hostage Rescue Operations (HROs) and Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations (NEOs) in both littoral and bluewater environments.

The Global Maritime Anti-Piracy Systems Market report, published on 16 August 2018 highlights how “…increases in terrorism through sea routes and the vulnerability of attacks from pirate gangs have necessitated the implementation of

high-end security measures” in order to strengthen maritime security.

MCT capabilities can often be supported on a national government level to protect territorial waters. However, the contemporary operating environment continues to witness growth in coalition-led MCT campaigns in which international force components are forward deployed in an expeditionary fashion to work with partner nation forces.

Examples include the Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 which is tasked with supporting MCT missions in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, and Gulf of Oman. Comprising force elements from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, and Turkey, United Kingdom and United States; CTF 150 often features rotating support from national SOMTGs as and when requirements arise.

SOMTGs can be tasked with MIOs, VBSSs, HROs and NEOs as well as other direct action, special reconnaissance and partner force capacity building operations, supported by large and small surface vessels, underwater systems and air support.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERING On 1 August 2018, the US Congressional Research Service published its Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress

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SPECIAL OPS AND EXPEDITIONARY FORCES DEBRIEF OPERATIONAL FOCUS

A US Navy SEAL climbs the ferrous hull of a VLCC using magnetic equipment and safety harness.

document which highlighted the importance of capacity building efforts to enhance MCT capabilities globally.

Referring to navy counter-terrorism operations in general, the report noted how MCT operations continued to be supported by SOF and in particular US Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) Teams. In addition, it described support in surveillance by navy ships and aircraft of suspected terrorists overseas; and MIOs aimed at ‘identifying and intercepting terrorists or weapons of mass destruction at sea, or potentially threatening ships or aircraft that are in or approaching US territorial waters’.

The report cited how the US Navy-led Global Maritime Partnership had managed to

enhance levels in cooperation with foreign navies, coast guards and maritime police forces as part of the whole of government approach previously mentioned.

This, according to the report, allowed the US Navy to ‘build security partnerships and increase the capabilities of countries in performing maritime-security operations’.

Examples included the 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise which brought together multiple SOF PNFs from the Indo-Pacific over the course of July and August to deliver MCT training. Serials included ‘Ship in a Box’ scenarios at Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam which allowed MCT assault teams to practise VBSS drills associated with MIOs.

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Special Ops and Expeditionary Forces Debrief

During RIMPAC 2018, operators from across the Indo-Pacific conducted ‘Ship in a Box’ training at Ford Island, JBPHH as part of wider MCT training.

Six-man assault teams from Japan’s Special Boarding Unit; South Korean SEAL Teams; Peru’s Naval Special Warfare Command; India’s MARCOS; Indonesia’s KOPASKA; and the Philippines’ Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG); worked with a combat dive unit from the US Army’s First Special Forces Group to practice method of entry; room, stairwell, deck and bridge clearance drills.

This included the implementation of tactical movement commands using voice, hand signals and laser designator signals, as well as open-door techniques to ‘pie’ openings or employ ‘dynamic entry’ for maximum surprise, defence sources associated with the exercise described to Armada International.

Materiel Uplifts Critical to any maritime counter-terrorism mission is mobility with SOMTGs expected to rapidly respond to emerging situations and interdict suspected vessels sometimes crossing large expanses of ocean.

Examples of these insertion platform types include rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) which retain the capacity to travel at speeds up to 80kts while carrying up to 16 personnel. These surface vessels can be equipped with in-board or out-board motors, dependent upon user preference, with many vessels also featuring modular deck space for the integration of weapon systems as well as C4ISTAR mission suites and other specialist equipment.

Belgium’s Special Operations Regiment currently operates Marine Specialised Technology’s (MST’s) Fast Raiding Interception and Special Forces Craft (FRISC) which measures 12m in length with a 3m beam and 0.6m draft. With water displacement of 5,000kg, the FRISC has a top speed of 80kts and ability to travel up to nearly 600km on a single tank of fuel. it can carry up to 12 operators, making it an ideal platform to transport elements of a SOMTG seeking to conduct MIOs and VBSSs. At the Defence and Security Exhibition International (DSEI) at Excel, London in September 2017, Supacat and Norwegian company Goldfish Boat unveiled a fast RHIB to support maritime counterterrorism units. Speaking to Armada International, Supacat’s deputy head for new programmes, Ben Gaffney described how the RHIB (which is available in 9m and 12m variants) had been specifically designed to support boarding operations.

Capable of carrying up to 14 personnel, excluding a two-person crew, the 12m SC12 retains a maximum speed of 62kts and maximum operating range of 350nm, Gaffney added.

However, describing how the vessel had also been designed to comprise a C4ISRhub, Gaffney promoted its application to be forward deployed over even greater distances through aerial delivery. This, he explained, had been pursued with customer requirements in mind in order to take RHIB technology to the ‘next level’ in user

26 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

requirements for MCT duties.

Such an option includes the SC12’s suitability to be deployed using Airborne Systems’ Maritime Craft Aerial Delivery System (MCADS) which allows the RHIB to be dropped from a variety of fixed wing transport aircraft including Airbus Defence and Space’s A400M; Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III; and Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules. The vessel can also be carried as an underslung load beneath Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter.

MCADS is already employed by the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) with interest for such a capability also having been indicated by the Danish Special Operations Command.

As defence sources within the USSOCOM explained to Armada International, such an aerial delivery mechanism for RHIBs allows SOF commanders to extend the projection of SOMTGs much further than previously achieved in the past. Describing concepts of operation, tactics, techniques and procedures associated with such utility, sources went on to describe how once a RHIB had been safely ejected from the cargo hold of an aircraft, SOMTG operators would then follow the craft down to the water using their own military freefall parachutes before conducting a water landing; boarding the RHIB; and continuing on task.

The surface mobility of SOMTGs can also be extended with the utility of personal watercraft, which also provide the capability for operators to work in shallow waters.

Options include Yamaha’s FX Cruiser SHO personal watercraft which has a gross vehicle weight of 840lbs and 1812cc engine.

Currently in service with US Navy SEAL Teams, this technology provides a rapid interdiction capability for assault teams seeking to conduct VBSS serials in littoral and bluewater environments.

When fitted with an inflatable collar, each watercraft is capable of carrying up to three operators for VBSS serials or to support sniper overwatch of target areas if required by local commanders, defence sources confirmed to Armada International.

However, once on target SOMTGs can often be presented with problems in gaining entry into large vessles in particular. This can often include requirement to scale sheer steel hulls of VLCCs in order to secure method of entry and continue ahead with the task in hand. Defence sources explained how SOMTG operators must be capable of ascending up to 40m using such equipment.

SPECIAL OPS AND EXPEDITIONARY FORCES DEBRIEF OPERATIONAL FOCUS

Options include H Henriksen’s REBS Magnetic Climbing System (MCS), which was illustrated in October 2017 by US Navy SEALs participating in a MCT exercise on the Greek island of Crete with counterparts from the Hellenic Navy’s Underwater Demolitions Command (DYK).

The MCS features a four-point magnetic solution to support foot and hand grips. The unit is supported by a safety sling similar to those used to anchor climbing harnesses during rock climbing ascents. “The MCS is a dive-capable, lever-operated magnetic ascent system for use in maritime VBSS operations, allowing for climbing ferrous surfaces such as ship hulls, shipping containers, steel super structures, and more,” it was explained.

A trained user can insert rapidly with a minimum of boarding-gear, noise and time.

The system is extremely effective and powerful and is designed to withstand the very rough sea-environment. It is even possible to attach from a diving position.

“The MCS can provide access to places where hooks or launchers are not feasible, and can even be used by divers to board a ship submerged from the sea or from boat to ship,” it was added.

Alternative technology also avaialble to support VBSS serials is provided by Helix Tactical which describes more of a toolkit of “access systems and equipment” required to support operations to board “all types of ships and marine structures”.

“Once on board, the same kit allows operators to climb and manoeuvre to inspect containers and to access confined spaces,” an official spokesperson added before describing how the modular technology could allow assault teams to board vessels in a variety of manners.

Capable of being stowed on board RHIBs, the suite of equipment includes hook launchers, wire ladders and fast ropes to engage ‘high platform’ vessels such as oil platforms which can measure anything from 35m up to 430m in height. Fast ropes, defence sources confirmed, are used to support the aerial delivery of assault teams onto surface vessels from helicopters using Fast Rope Insertion/Extraction Systems (FRIES).

Technology available to scale ‘mid-range container ships’ such as VLCCs (up to 15m in ascent) includes bridging equipment; magnetic climbing systems; and giraffe poles; while lower profile ships need only hook and climb ladders; wire and rope ladders; as well as ultralight pole ladders to

facilitate entry.

“Launchers, poles and ladders enable operators to access all sizes of ship and marine structures whether approaching

by RHIB or swimming. The latest products increase that capability further with the Giraffe pneumatic pole providing massive reach that extends faster and is as easier to control than any other system.

“The Ultralight Pole system increases reach and handling whilst the R3 harness is a totally modular system which can be worn above and below armour, while allowing for the incorporation of a chest ascender,” H Henriksen officials concluded.

Tactical overwatch of any maritime counter-terrorism mission must also be supported by stacked layers in ISTAR support.

On 13 March 2018, reports emerged from Manila regarding the delivery of Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aerial systems (UASs) to the Armed Forces of the Philippines to assist in maritime domain awareness, humanitarian aid/disaster relief and counter-terrorism capabilities.

The UAS will provide AFP force components, including the newly stood up Special Operations Command, with an organic maritime situation awareness capability. Such a capability is already in service with USSOCOM counterparts.

A total of six air frames, based out of the Villamor Air Base, will support the likes of NAVSOG SOMTGs from where they will be controlled by the AFP’s 300th Air Intelligence and Security Wing.

The fixed-wing ScanEagle measures 1.6m in length and can be launched from ground and maritime control stations using a variety of runway independent launchers.

Air frames are recovered using SkyHook technology.

With an operating endurance over 24 hours, the ScanEagle is capable of carrying a variety of payloads to support maritime counter-terrorism tasks. These include electro-optical and medium wave infra red cameras which are networked to ground/ maritime control stations using digitally encrypted video and command and control data links.

Operating at a maximum altitude of 19,500ft, the ScanEagle provides assault teams with a general overview of the area of interest without any audible or visible signature to compromose missions.

At a more tactical level, SOMTGs can also be equipped with Lockheed Martin

small UAS technology which was developed in collaboration with the US Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) over the course of 2017 under the nomenclature of the Maritime CanisterLaunched Small Unmanned Aerial System (MCLSUAS).

According to the CTTSO, SOF operating in ‘maritime environments lack an organic SUAS capable of launch, operation, and recovery while being subsurface to support surface surveillance and reconnaissance missions’.

"MCLSUAS gives SOF maritime forces the capability to launch, operate, and recover a collapsible-wing SUAS while remaining underwater in Sea State Three conditions. The MCLSUAS is inclusive of a Vector Hawk SUAS, Canister Launch Unit, and a Maritime Ground Control Station,” CTTSO documents disclosed.

Tasked to generate maritime domain awareness at the tactical level, MCLSUAS retain an operating endurance of 40 minutes with a top speed of 50kts. The air frame is capable of staying afloat for 30 minutes after completing a water landing before it must be recovered to avoid sinking.

CONCLUSION The maritime environment continues to present significant challenges to SOF tasked with the execution of MCT. High capability in terms of materiel to ensure mobility, survivability, lethality and precision, must be supported by mature concepts of operation, tactics, techniques and procedures in order to efficiently execute mission sets without overburdening operators in an already complex operating environment.

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LAND WARFARE

SUPPORT WEAPONS FOR ‘GROUND POUNDERS’ From machine guns to mortars, direct fire weapons to modern missiles, the rifleman has a range of equipment to help win the fight.

Stephen W. Miller

A

t the end of most battles it is the infantry that finally overcome the enemy and hold the ground taken. Yet the reality of modern warfare is that should the infantry become reliant upon its riflemen alone, then they will be at a great disadvantage.

No seasoned rifleman or any competent commander would want to enter battle without the support of machine guns of the platoon and company, the company infantry mortars, and direct fire weapons including portable guided missiles. It is their effective employment that can be the

critical factor in not just the outcome of the encounter but in the cost in casualties that it will carry. The ability to properly utilise these supporting weapons against an opponent on the battlefield is the skill that identifies a well trained and professional combat leader versed in the serious business of war fighting over simply an armed group no matter what uniform or lack of uniform they might wear.

MACHINE GUNS The machine gun’s introduction changed the battlefield. Its ability to delivery accurate and sustained fires makes it not

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just the preferred keystone to establishing an effective defensive position but also to support the attack. Light machine guns are sometimes found in the infantry squad.

They typically use a bipod that is more stable than firing offhand but this and its inherent dispersion makes it more suited for suppression than precise aimed fires.

Suppressive fire is intended to provide a distraction keeping the enemy’s ‘head down’ allowing freedom of movement for friendly forces. This is the case with the FN M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) one of which is used in each of the two fire teams of an US Army squad. SAW is a 5.56mm, belt

NLAW is the latest infantry portable anti-tank guided missile.

Using Predicted Line of Sight guidance the gunner simply tracks the target for several seconds and then fires.

The missile then homes in on the target out to 800 meters.

feed weapon typically fired using a bipod.

The German Army employs the Heckler & Koch MG4 also in 5.56x45mm calibre at squad level. Just like its World War II predecessor, its squad tactics evolve around that gun. The Russian Army and many of the nations it has supplied weapons to also uses a light machine gun with a two soldier crew in each squad. For many years the 7.62x39mm RPD with a drum magazine holding a 100 round belt was the primary weapon. It was replaced at squad level by the drum loaded RPK initially also in 7.62mm. Later the RPK-74 was issued which was chambered for the 5.45x39mm fed from either 30 or 45 capacity box magazines or a 100 round drum. The M249, MG 4 and RPD/RPK illustrate the highly desirable trait of allowing the same ammunition (and often the magazine) being used in both the rifleman’s assault rifle and the squad

USMC

Saab

LAND WARFARE

automatic weapon. Their combat range is around 800 metres.

At company level are heavier machine guns typically 7.62mm. These are most effectively fired from a tripod which when used with a Traverse & Elevation (T&E) mechanism can deliver highly effective and precise fires to 1,100m. James Owens, assistant vice president, Military Product Development, FN America, manufacturer of the MAG58/M240 shared: “The most important feature of the machine gun is the ability to provide a high volume of fire for a prolonged period. This is an asset to ‘win the firefight,’ break contact if ambushed, or provide covering fire to allow friendly forces to manoeuvre.”

The US and many NATO armies use the FH MAG58/M240 as a belt feed weapon. The German Army uses the Rheinmetall MG3, an updated version of the very successful MG42 of 1943. In 2010 it was being replaced by the H&K MG5 (HK121). The Russian Army uses the PK and later improved PKM. Using non-disintegrating links, these two can be used with a 100 round assault pack or fed from a 200 round box. A key feature of these machine guns is their capability for sustained fires, a function of their heavier barrels and quick change barrel design.

This allows the gun crew of three or four to lay down continuous short bursts of fire either along defensive lines or in support of an assault by the rifle squads. In the later, these guns using their T&E can accurately walk fires just a few metres in front of the advancing riflemen.

The light machine gun (LMG) offers effective suppressive fires for the infantry squad. Typically, Like the US M249 SAW, it uses the same ammunition as the squad’s riflemen. A drawback of the LMG is that it is less effective in close or urban fighting.

Infantry Mortars Infantry mortars provide relatively close range, rapidly responsive, indirect fire capability to the infantry. Usually 51mm single operator, or 60mm or 81mm crew served (82mm for Russian/Chinese) and with smooth bores, while mechanised/ motorised units can mount up to 120mm.

The mortar due to its high angle allows the forward commander to deliver fires on targets in defilade, behind trees or buildings, and in low areas that cannot be reached by traditional direct fire weapons like machine guns. The most commonly used ammunition is high explosive, how-

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ever smoke rounds for screening and target marking, and illumination rounds that eject a pyrotechnic suspended on a parachute.

The US Army and Marines plus five other armies including Australia use the M224 lightweight 60mm mortar. It has a range of 3,490m and its 48lb weight is distributed among the crew. The British Army reintroduced the M6-895 60mm light mortar in 2007 with 3,800m range based on an urgent requirement from its units in Afghanistan. These 60mm mortars also have a low minimum range which allows them to place fires on an attacking opponent even at close range. With this in mind, Saab Dynamics offers a Multi-Purpose Anti-Personnel Anti-Material round (M1061 MAPAM) which has a controlled fragmentation pattern.

At the company level, the 81mm and 82mm mortars are fielded by armies worldwide. The US M252 medium weight mortar is derived from the British designed L16 (which is still in service with 17 armies) utilising some advanced materials technologies to reduce its weight. This process has continued with the US Marines in 2015 fielding a M252A2 model that is 6lb lighter and with improved tube cooling allowing a more sustained rate of fire. The weapon has an effective range of 5,935m using a high explosive round with a kill radius of 10m. A multi-option M734A1 fuse manufactured by L-3 can be set for proximity burst, nearsurface burst, impact burst, or delay burst.

Smoke, visible and infrared illumination and even a precision guided projectile (PGM) are also available.

PGMs open a new capability for company mortars. A collaboration between General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GT-OTS) and BAE Systems using the Roll Control Guided Mortar (RCGM) approach have developed an 81mm round that offers accuracy of four metres at up to

MBDA

LAND WARFARE

MBDA’s Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) is designed a multi-purpose missile able to destroy fixed or moving targets ranging from light vehicles to MBTs as well as personnel and fortifications. This is achieved with warhead with two selectable options anti-armour or antiinfrastructure.

4,000m. The 120mm mortar, although substantially heavier and more suited to vehicle mounting or being towed and therefore most often a battalion asset, also has longer range and greater lethality. It is particularly suited to PGMs. Orbital ATK XM395 combines GPS guidance and directional control surfaces into a package that replaces standard fuses allowing better than 10m accuracy.

Direct Fire Support Weapons The first ‘direct fire support weapons’ were introduced primarily to provide an antitank capability to the rifle company. The US 2.75 inch bazooka and German Panzerfaust from the Second World War are well known examples. These and the majority of subsequent weapons are recoilless, whereby the exhaust of the projectile being fired is allowed to exit the rear of the weapon. Their warhead began as a HEAT shaped charge de-

Its use in the Syrian conflict has given the Russian Kornet guided missile a great deal of attention. The laser beam riding missile has a HEAT warhead designed to defeat MBTs.

30 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

signed to penetrate armour. However, other targets included dugouts, bunkers, buildings, and enemy troops. Later recoilless rifles with a rifled barrel providing greater range and accuracy. Their ammunition types were optimised for different targets and missions, like high explosive and anti-personnel. Popular calibres were 57mm, 75mm, 84mm, 90mm, and 106mm in NATO and 82mm and 107mm for the Warsaw Pact.

The versatility of the recoilless rifle has seen it continue in use despite development of guided missiles to fill most primary anti-armour roles. The 84mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifle typifies the value of this weapons capability to the infantry small unit. Carl Gustav first introduced in 1948 is in service with 45 countries. It has been continuously improved by its Swedish developer, now Saab Bofors Dynamics. Its weight and length has been reduced with the latest M4 version weighing 15lb and shorter at 950mm. It is breech loaded and generally has either a 3x optical sights, aimpoint ‘red dot’ sight or it can be fit with night vision and laser ranging sights. Ammunition offered includes high explosive (HE), HEAT, smoke, illumination, HE dual purpose and a rocket assisted projectile (RAP). It has a 700m range (up to 1000m with the RAP) against stationary targets. In addition, rounds are available to breech walls in urban combat, destroy bunkers, and that can be fired from inside a room.

Man Portable Guided Missiles The man-portable guided missile was

UKMoD

LAND WARFARE

introduced to provide a longer range anti-armour defence capability to front line units. It needed to be light and compact enough to be carried by a soldier, simple to operate, and still have the range and accuracy to reliably destroy a target. When first introduced the focus was its effectiveness on killing tanks and armoured vehicles as Antitank Guided Missiles (ASTGMs).

However, combat in the 1990s in theatres like Iraq saw increased use of ATGMs against a range of additional targets including distant fortified positions, snipers in windows in built-up areas, and ‘technicals’ (light vehicles used by insurgents). In addition, concerns grew over the vulnerability of ATGM crews who, given the technology at the time, needed to expose themselves to continuously track the target for as many as 12 seconds. As a result newer small unit ATGM requirements sought warheads optimised not only for the most advanced main battle tanks but also against bunkers, buildings, and personnel. In addition, the capability for a gunner to acquire and then ‘lock-on’ to a target and then “fire-andforget” was identified.

The Raytheon FGM-148 Javelin, first fielded by the US in 1996, was one the first to provide the ‘fire-and-forget’ capability. It uses an infrared focal plan array seeker that identifies the signature of the target designated by the gunner through his sight.

Upon launch the missile ‘homes in’ on that target independent of the gunner. The original 2,500m range has been increased to 4,750m in the latest version. At 49.2lb and a length of 1.2m the Javelin is usually employed with a two man team with the launch/ control unit (CLU) and one or two missiles.

Infantry mortars are often referred to as the ground commanders “hip pocket artillery” because they offer indirect fires but are organic to the front line unit and can rapidly respond to his needs. The 81 mm mortar requires a crew of at least four but can provide effective fires to just under 6000 meters.

Here a British mortar team engages targets.

An effort is underway to develop a new CLU that will be 40 percent lighter. The CLU will also include a new high-definition display, integrated handgrips, a colour camera, laser point and integrated GPS, laser rangefinder, and azimuth indicator. Given the growing employment of the Javelin against other than tank targets a version of the missile, the FGM-148E has been developed with a warhead optimised for blast and fragmentation.

MBDA, which produced the widely fielded Milan ATGM, is introducing the Missile Moyenne Portée MMP) for the French Army.

It is designed as a multi-purpose missile able to destroy fixed or moving targets ranging from light vehicles to the latest MBTs, in addition personnel and fortifications. MMP has three engagement modes; fire and forget, optical data link to the gunner, and lock-on after launch (LOAL). The last allows the gunner to fire the missile, then acquire a target using the optical link and initiate a target lock. The missile warhead has two selectable modes, anti-armour able to penetrate over 1,000mm of RHA (Rolled Homogenous Armour) under ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour), and anti-infrastructure that can breech over two metres of concrete at ranges of up to 5,000m. MPP can also be safely fired from a confined space. Initial deliveries were made to the French Army in 2017 with 400 systems required.

The Kornet-EM 9M133, a multi-purpose anti-tank guided weapon system from Russia’s KBP Instrument Design Bureau and has received much attention after its use was witnessed in Syria and by Hezbollah.

Designed to destroy ERA on MBTs, light armoured vehicles, fortifications and low/ slow air targets it has two different missile

32 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

types: one with a tandem warhead with 1,300mm armour penetration and the other a thermobaric warhead for structures and soft targets. It uses automatic, laser beam guidance providing a range of eight or 10km respectively. The latest version of Kornet with its tripod launcher and missile weights 72.7lb. Given the publicity it is not surprising that it has been an export success for KBP with over 26 countries and a number of non-state forces using it.

The NLAW is entering service with the British and Swedish Armies. Developed by Saab Dynamics it is a fire and forget guided shoulder fired missile that can attack stationary or moving targets from 20m to 800m. The gunner must track the target for several seconds and then fires with the missile using Predicted Line of Sight (PLoS) guidance to hit the target. At 27.5lb it is relatively easy to carry and it can be fired from a confined space and can execute either top-attack suited for tanks or direct attack for bunkers or buildings. The missile has an initial low velocity boost to clear the firer and then accelerated to 200m/sec. Unlike Javelin or MMP, NLAW is not intended to be a crew served weapon but rather issued to individual soldiers as needed. Since its initial introduction six other armies have acquired NLAW including Saudi Arabia, Finland, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

The ideal execution of a battle forces the opponent to concurrently face a number of actions directed at their force, presenting a dilemma of where to respond without leaving vulnerable areas. The application of fires by machine guns and mortars while direct fire guns and guided missiles take out key positions and combat vehicles creates just such a complexity. When further combined by manoeuvre by the friendly force places the opponent in an untenable position. To stay or continue is to be devastated and even in withdrawing he can expect to incur casualties. The ability of the infantry company to inflict such a defeat on an opponent is directly the result of the orchestrated positioning and effective employment of the infantry support weapons at the unit’s disposal.

RAISING THE STAKES

Russian Helicopters recently invited Armada International to visit its Kazan production facility and to learn about the latest upgrades to its range of military attack and utility helicopters at the Army 2018 exposition in Moscow.

Andrew Drwiega

special report

Andrew Drwiega

K

azan, once a closed military city during the Soviet era, was known for its extensive range of military factories producing everything from tanks and ammunition to aircraft. During the World War II, it became the centre of arms production as the German advance swept eastward in the early years of the invasion. It is now officially recognised as Russia’s sixth largest city with a modern and rejuvenated city centre, with a rebuilt Kremlin and the host of a number of games during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. However, it still has an IT-industrial base which includes the Kazan helicopter factory.

The original facility dates back to 1940 when it began production of an eventual run of 10,500 Polikarpov Po-2 light biplanes.

Kazan helicopter is one of the main clutch of Russian helicopter manufacturers who have consistently produced a range of military rotorcraft with a reputation for ruggedness, war fighting potency and decades of extensive service not least with the Russian Army, which has assured regular feedback and an ongoing drive for improvement. One of the staples of the production centre is the Mil Mi-8/17, for both military and civil use. With three assembly lines the company also produces the newer Ansat and Mi-38 helicopters, although these are largely for the civil market.

HELICOPTER CONGLOMERATE Russian Helicopters, part of the Russian Federation state owned corporation Rostec, is a large organisation with three design bureaux (Kamov, Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, VR Technologies), five helicopter construction plants (Kazan, Ulan Ude,

Two Mi-8s nearing completion at the Kazan Helicopter plant, before delivery to the Russian Air Force.

Rostvertol, Progress Arsenyev Aviation, Kumertau Aviation), as well as a handful of component manufacturing, service and maintenance companies. International military sales are primarily conducted through Rosoboronexport.

These organisations are spread across the Russian Federation from Moscow, to Rostov-on-don where Rostvertol produces the Mi-35M and Mi-28NE Night Hunter attack helicopters, as well as the world’s largest helicopter, the Mi-26 series, across the to Progress Arsenyev Aviation in the Far East where the Ka-52 Alligator and its naval counterpart, the Ka-52K are in production.

Kazan helicopter is relatively close to Moscow and the west of Russia. its production lines are well established and are gaining momentum after the uncertainty that followed widespread uncertainty of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Its default product is the ubiquitous Mi-8/17, the latest iterations of which are the Mi-17V-5 and Mi-171Sh. This utility helicopter, used the world over, has recently been upgraded to include multifunction displays (MFDs), a night-vision compatible cockpit, integrated weather radar and autopilot, in addition to a defensive aide suite and can carry pods with unguided rockets and 23mm cannons.

34 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

But physically has not changed too much and still looks similar to the way Mi-8/17s have looked for decades with upgraded performance. As Vadim Ligay, five years the production director at Kazan aptly states in light of the aircraft still being fitted with analogue avionics instead of the potentially more complex glass cockpit rotorcraft of his competitors: “If you want a horse, why buy a Mercedes.”

The Mi-17V-5 is powered by either Klimov TV3-117VM or upgraded VK-2500 turbo-shaft engine with full-authority digital control system (FADEC). These produce 2,100hp and 2,700hp respectively.

It can carry 4000kg (four tons) either inside the cabin or externally. Its standard cruise speed is 124 knots (230km/h), a service ceiling of 6000 metres and its hover ceiling out of ground effect (HOGE) is just under 4000m. It has a range of 580km, which can be extended to around 1,100km when fitted with two auxiliary fuel tanks.

FIGHTING MACHINES At the Moscow Army 2018 exposition, the main focus of attention on the Russian Helicopter’s stand was Rosvertol’s upgraded assault helicopters - Mi-35M and Mi-35P and Mi-28 Night Hunter attack helicopter.

Andrew Drwiega

special report

Mil Helicopters’ newest Mi-35M on display at the Army2018 exposition near Moscow.

Recalling their NATO nicknames, Mi-35 (Hind) and Mi-28 (Havoc), the rotorcraft have an aura about them which even makes them look aggressive standing on display.

Although the Mi-24/35 (internal and export versions) first flew in 1971, like its Bell Cobra sparring partner (first flew 1968), it seemingly still has a good service life ahead.

The improved exportable version of the Hind, the Mi-35M, now features modern multifunction displays, an OPS-24N surveillance/targeting system, upgraded turboshaft engines and has been uparmoured. It still has an impressive take-off weight around 12,000kg and can carry up to eight soldiers in the back, turning it into an assault helicopter rather than just attack.

Improved construction techniques have meant the addition of fibreglass main rotor blades, main rotor head with elastomeric joints, a new swashplate and X-type tail rotor.

The Mi-35M’s fuselage now has shorter stub wings and the landing gear is fixed.

It is powered by the latest Klimov two VK-2500 turboshaft engines, with produce 2,200shp to allow for high altitude missions (the Russian’s learned the need for hot and high flying operationally in Afghanistan before NATO’s ISAF force took its turn in the country).

Firepower is provided by a twin-barrel GSh-23V 23mm cannon with up to a maximum of 470 rounds. It can carry a mix of guided and unguided missiles including nine guided 114 or 120 Ataka-V missiles, or up to 80 S-8 type 80mm rockets, or 20 S-13 122-mm rockets. Other missile options include the Igla-S air-to-air guided missile.

The electronic warfare system is based around the optical electronic President-S system which was developed to defeat man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS). Its optical-electronic interference stations protect against infrared seekers, the UV detector identifies the location of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, and there is also a laser warner.

There is also a flare-dispensing system Crew fatigue is reduced through the inclusion of an VHF Omni Ranging/ Instrument Landing System (VOR/ILS) and a radio rangefinder to calculate the distance to beacons on the ground.

Mi-35P The modernised Mi-35P helicopter is set to provide a common standard in reliability while providing the crew additional assistance. It now features a KNEI-24E-1 flight navigation system with multifunctional displays, an OPS-24N-1L observation-sight system with third generation matrix thermal imager, a TV camera and a laser rangefinder. The Mi-35P now features a PKV-8 digital flight systems and autopilot which particularly helps the pilot in the landing phase. It can locate a tank at 10km and identify the type at 8km.

The new PrVK-24 targeting system is also designed to deliver greater accuracy during target engagements, particularly when using the M127-1 Ataka-VM anti-tank guided missiles [ATGMs]. The attack helicopter is also fitted with a chin-mounted NPPU-23 turret with a twin-barrel GSh23L automatic cannon with 450 rounds.

36 armadainternational.com - october/november 2018

NIGHT HUNTER The MI-28NE is the export version of the Mi-28N. An initial ‘eye-opening’ capability is that it has the capability to team with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and “operate them remotely.”

In terms of firepower, the Mi-28NE can now utilise the new Khrizantema-VM 155mm anti-tank missile using either laser or radar guidance. It can carry up to eight of these missiles and can mark four targets at once, launching two missiles simultaneously at different targets located up to 10km distance. It can also carry the modernised Ataka laser guided 130mm missiles, or carry dumb bombs weighting up to 500kg. Other missiles that can be utilised include the standard S-8 and S-13 unguided 80mm and 122mm rockets respectively.

The main gun is the 2A42-2 30mm single barrel gun with up to 250 rounds stored in two feed boxes.

The Mi-28NE shown at Army2018 was a prototype still being tested and was scheduled to return to testing after the event had finished. Crew survivability has been a major feature of the Mi-28NE. The crew sit in an armoured shell and a crash of 10 metres per second is considered survivable, due to a shock absorbing system in the rotorcraft in addition to energy absorbing crash seats.

The is also a crew emergency abandonment system which would allow the crew to bailout on parachute above 100m. The windshield can also spot penetration of a 12.7mm shell into the cockpit.

A new composite curved main rotor blade and larger tailplane have increased stability.

The twin VK-2500-01 engines supply 2,400shp each giving the aircraft a maximum speed of around 162kts (300km/h), a HOGE of 3,600m and a service ceiling around 5,600m. A typical combat range is set at around 450km.

LOOKING AHEAD During Army 2018, Russian Helicopter CEO Andrey Boginsky said that while the Russian rotorcraft companies were well aware of developments being made into faster speeds and longer ranges, their first requirement was to ensure safety of flight and increasing the economic efficiency of helicopters, whether military or civil.

“We want to Increase the service life and decrease weight of the helicopter and its materials,” he remarked,adding that his organisation was looking closely at the benefits that additive technologies (3D printing) and bionic design could bring.

ARMADA COMMENTARY

HOW BIG IS THE BOOM IN MILITARY AVIATION? Andrew Hunter

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viation is suddenly king again in the defense world. Aircraft, especially fighters, tend to be the centrepiece of many nation’s military investment plans, and aviation tends to dominate as a share of military budgets. This has long been true in the United States, where the military’s enthusiasm for increasingly expensive aircraft led industry titan Norm Augustine to famously quip that by 2054 the entire Pentagon budget would pay for just one airplane that the military would have to time-share.

Not so long ago, though, it looked like the long dominance of aircraft over the hearts and minds of military planners might be waning. Budget cuts in the US led to three years of plummeting military aircraft orders starting in 2013. Aircraft programmes in Europe, like the Airbus A400M have struggled to deliver with near constant turmoil in order books. The US has pressed its allies in Europe and Asia to increase military spending, but highlighted spending on counterterrorism and maritime security at least as much as it stressed sales of the Lockheed Martin F-35. Strategists looking at the future of military capability focused primarily on the impact of artificial intelligence, human-machine teaming, additive manufacturing and other technologies of the fourth industrial revolution that are not obviously more important to aviation than to any other kind of weapon system. All this created the perception that military aircraft, with the possible exception of UAVs, were a bit passé.

But aviation has come back with a vengeance. Fighter aircraft have taken pride of place in multi-billion dollar US arms sales to several countries in the Middle East, winning plaudits from President Donald Trump for their economic impact.

US military aircraft revenues have rebounded strongly since 2015, increasing 34 percent over the last two years and quickly returning to the robust growth path they had before the budget axe fell. The US Congress has pitched in more strongly than ever, adding five percent on top of the already increased aircraft purchases in the defense spending bill for fiscal year 2019 (FY19), completing their work in record time. Now the

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United States Air Force (USAF) has announced that it needs to increase its force structure by 25 percent, to a total of 386 squadrons, to meet the demands of the US defense strategy.

But while there is quiet satisfaction with aviation’s recovery among industry players there is little sign of the euphoria a recovery this strong might suggest. There is a lot of skepticism about the current boom. The budget picture looks much less encouraging going forward. In the US, defense budget caps are set to return in 2020, budget deficits have returned to the unprecedented highs last seen in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and it is unclear whether Defense Secretary Jim Mattis can outfox the green eyeshades at the Office of Management and Budget a second time.

The Pentagon leadership’s interest in key technologies now includes one that is aviation-focused - hypersonics - but this addition is as problematic as it is helpful. Hypersonic systems will almost certainly be purchased in very limited numbers, and they are likely to compete with more traditional aviation technologies such as turbine engines for investment. Europe’s defense budget increases look likely to continue, but don’t appear robust enough to lead to substantial hike in aircraft expenditures. And a good share of the aviation increases happening now, in both the US and Europe, are consumed by the costs of maintaining older aircraft longer, rather than funding new purchases. In this climate, there is real potential that military aviation could quickly lose its edge, cutting the current boom short.

The deciding factor on this question likely resides in Beijing. China’s long-term defence budget growth in the last decade has been far more consistent and robust than that of any other nation. China has aggressively pursued aviation modernisation including aircraft production, advanced electronics, stealth, and engine technology. And while in the past, China appeared to be a follower in aviation technology, it increasingly appears to be emerging as a leader. Military aviation looks to be just one of many economic sectors where the pace of development will now be set by the military competition in the Asia Pacific.