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VOLUME 21/ISSUE 5
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www.asianmilitaryreview.com
Contents
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
VOLUME 21 / ISSUE 5
48
Made in
Taiwan
Hong Kong-based
defence
photojournalist
Gordon Arthur
takes a look behind
the headlines at
Taiwan’s current, and
future, defence
posture and
procurement
priorities across its
ground, sea and
air forces
Front Cover Photo:
An injured Afghan Army soldier
receives help from a US
Army medic and his Afghan
counterpart. Predicting injuries
and monitoring soldier
health is the subject of this
edition’s ‘Military Health
Insurance’ article © US DoD
06
Stopping
the Signals
Improvised Explosive
Devices characterise modern
warfare and are responsible
for killing and maiming
countless soldiers and
civilians. UK-based defence
journalist Peter Donaldson
looks at some of the
ongoing efforts to render
them ineffective
14
Of Atlas and
Hercules
While the multi-role combat
aircraft market is characterised
by several firms chasing
comparatively few orders,
AMR editor Thomas Withington
finds out that things look
altogether healthier in
the military airlifter market
Military Health
Insurance
United Kingdom-based naval
affairs expert Ted Hooten
examines in detail the latest
news regarding corvette
and offshore patrol vessel
acquisition and modernisation
programmes ongoing around
the Asia-Pacific region
A Shot
in the Dark?
Heaven Sent
AMR editor Thomas Withington
looks at some of the latest
developments in the fast-moving
field of vehicle and soldier
satellite communications,
taking the temperature of
several ongoing programmes
around the globe
Mumbai-based Sarosh
Bana, executive editor at
Business India, takes a
detailed look at a range of
Command, Control,
Computers, Communications and Intelligence
programmes around
the region across the land,
sea and air domains
Ballistic missiles have become a
badge of prestige for many
nefarious regimes around the
world. The United States is leading efforts to develop defensive
systems to protect against these
threats. AMR editor Thomas
Withington investigates
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
42
Connecting
the Dots
56
l
Offshore
Investments
30
Ways and means of monitoring a
soldier’s health are fast becoming
a reality on the battlefield.
United Kingdom-based defence
journalist Peter Donaldson takes
a look at some of the fascinating
technologies helping to save lives
22
36
l
03
Index of Advertisers
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COVER 4
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21,29
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COVER 2
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Editorial
LONDON
CALLING
ith the Paris Air Show only just
behind us, although it already feels
like a lifetime ago, a sizeable chunk of
the world’s defence community will descend on London, refreshed
from their holidays, suited, booted and ready for the biannual Defence Security and
Equipment International, better known by its acronym ‘DSEi’.
W
This year, DSEi will be held between 10th and 13th September. The event is wellestablished on the international exhibitions calendar and, for the best part of a
week, London’s Docklands, the former port of the City of London, and now home to
financial institutions, banks and bijou apartments will play host to warships in the
dock of the Excel Exhibition Centre, where the event is held, and a cornucopia of
vehicles and defence technologies inside its halls. Unsurprisingly, the show’s
organisers are promising a huge spectacle; 1,400 exhibitors and 40 international
pavilions. However, this year’s exhibition will be particularly significant in that it will
be the last DSEi before the United States of America and her allies commence their
withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Your editor first attended DSEi very early on in his career at the start of the 21st
Century. During successive shows he has witnessed an ever-increasing amount of
exhibits designed for the protracted counter-insurgency campaigns being waged in
Afghanistan and also Iraq. Light wheeled vehicles, soldier protection and counterimprovised explosive device technologies were all in abundance. This was not
surprising, there was a clear operational need for such materiel, and money was
plentiful with the United Kingdom among several nations requiring the speedy
purchase and deployed of kit via Urgent Operational Requirements.
Such wares will no doubt be on show once again in mid-September. It may seem
like (forgive the pun) jumping the gun, but what will the next DSEi look like in
2015? Not only will this be the first DSEi in a post-Afghanistan environment, but the
defence budget financial climate in Europe and North America may still be chilly. If
this is the case, will the organisers be able to maintain a show as large and wideranging as the one we enjoy today? Only time will tell.
Thomas Withington, Editor
Editor: Thomas Withington
E-mail: t_withington@hotmail.com
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C O U N T E R
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
STOPPING THE
SIGNALS
Detecting explosives hidden in mud
or other media with a high water
content using non-contact sensors
is the goal of DARPA’s Methods for
Explosive Detection at Standoff
(MEDS) programme © DARPA
06
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C O U N T E R
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
In his 2011 book The Better Angels of Our Nature, Harvard
psychologist Steven Pinker presents voluminous statistics from diverse
sources that chart the spiky and patchy but clear long-term decline
in violence of all kinds, offering explanations for what he suggests is the
most important thing that has ever happened in human history.
by Peter Donaldson
in wars overseas in an attempt to deny terrorists safe havens. One key to that success
lies in capturing media attention with
Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks
that generate distressing images of carnage, mostly overseas, and a stream of
dead and damaged soldiers coming home.
The numbers of casualties may be small in
comparison with previous wars, but most
developed societies’ sensitivity to them is
higher then ever, reflecting a growing
abhorrence of violence.
Ironically, as societies become less violent
and less tolerant of violence, the IED may
become even more attractive to those terrorist groups who want to gain leverage from
the media’s ‘if it bleeds it leads’ culture but
fail to take popular disgust into account. Such
people could do a lot of damage before they
eventually fail. This argues strongly for continued efforts to defeat the IED, efforts that
are technological as well as social and politi-
n many different graphs, statistics such as homicides per
100,000 people, numbers of
wars between and within
states, genocides and even
terrorist campaigns trace a downward sloping sawtooth. Pinker cites many causes for
the decline; such as broadly effective government, spreading literacy, education and
mass media, empowerment of women,
engagement in international trade and political bodies, and peacekeeping forces to
name but a selection.
He also argues that all terrorist groups
fail in their stated objectives, erode their
own support bases in host populations and
eventually die. In one respect, however,
they have been very successful; that is in
terrorising people and consequently forcing governments to respond with precautions that add to the friction and frustration of everyday life at home and to engage
O
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
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Chemring division NIITEK, known for its ground
penetrating radar technology, has won a DARPA
MEDS contract. Here, its VISOR 2500 systems
are seen fitted to Husky vehicles © US DoD
cal, the international military draw down
from Afghanistan notwithstanding. A further
irony, one with a more positive flavour this
time, is that as the IED threat has become
internationalised so have efforts to combat it,
drawing together government and military
representatives from around the world and
motivating them to work together, a further
violence-reducing development.
Pakistan
On 20th May 2013, for example, Pakistan’s
Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez
Kayani, called for a regional military
Counter-IED (C-IED) forum supported by a
wider international forum to benefit from
the experiences of all the countries involved.
07
C O U N T E R
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
Gen Kayani’s call came at the end of his
address to a symposium at Army General
Headquarters in Rawalpindi in which he
also commented: “The participation of representatives from 28 countries is a vivid
expression of the desire of international
community to fight terrorism. It is also
reflective of the international community’s
willingness to play a greater role in the
region in dealing with the multiple issues
associated with IEDs.”
Gen. Kayani added that: “The threat and
impact of these weapons is not Pakistan specific. IEDs have caused devastation at both
regional and global levels. These have been
used with unfortunate consistency in Iraq
and Afghanistan and thankfully, somewhat
inconsistently, in other countries of the
world. The recent Boston bombings involving use of homemade IED manifests the
international dimension of this threat and
A US Marine Carries a Sierra Nevada Thor II
IED jammer. SNC recently completed delivery
of more than 3,000 of the smaller Baldr model
© US DoD
08
serves as a stark reminder that even the
most developed nations of the world remain
vulnerable to this threat.” The IED is a lowinvestment, high-payoff weapon that forces
governments and militaries to develop
countermeasures that are disproportionately complex, expensive and laborious.
Defeating it requires a multi-pronged
approach, which the US Joint IED Defeat
Organisation (JIEDDO) neatly encapsulates
in the mantra “attack the network, defeat the
device, train the force”.
DARPA
While much progress has been made in the
second prong, particularly in making it difficult and dangerous to use radio frequency
remote triggers such as cell phones, the
problem of detecting explosives at useful
and safe distances remains a tough nut to
crack. This is the goal of DARPA’s Methods
for Explosive Detection at Standoff (MEDS)
programme, under which the organisation
awarded contracts to Quasar Federal
Systems (US $1.8 million), the University of
Arizona ($1.5 million) and BAE Systems
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($427,000) in April 2013.
The MEDS effort seeks to rapidly develop and demonstrate non-contact methods
to detect explosives embedded or packaged
in opaque media with high water content,
such as mud, meat and animal carcasses.
The organisation sought proposals from
industry for proof-of concept systems.
Issuing the solicitation in mid-October,
DARPA acknowledged two decades of significant progress in C-IED technologies
with increasing levels of sophistication, citing indirect methods to detect packaging,
wiring, or fusing and more direct detection
methods, which are the subject of the MEDS
programme.
Direct methods can be divided into trace
detection and bulk detection, said DARPA,
listing optical absorption and fluorescence,
Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), and
biosensors among the trace detection techniques. Bulk detection techniques, the
organisation continued, include spectroscopic methods such as Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) and Nuclear Quadrupole
Resonance (NQR); imaging using ionising
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C O U N T E R
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
A controlled explosion destroys an IED near
Nawzad in Helmand. The IED is likely to remain
a threat around the world beyond NATO
involvement in Afghanistan © US DoD
radiation such as X-rays and Gamma rays;
and electromagnetic methods using InfraRed (IR), Terahertz (THz) and millimetre
wave radiation. Each technology has its
strengths and limitations in terms of sensitivity, speed, specificity, ability to penetrate
various media, and health effects, said
DARPA, also commenting that their applicability can be highly dependent on packaging and operational conditions.
Killing Cancer
DARPA noted that some evolving techniques to detect breast cancer also have
promise in the detection of explosives. This
link is the subject of the organisation’s
10
award to the University of Arizona College
of Engineering’s Electrical and Computer
Engineering Department, where professor
Hao Xin is the Principal Investigator (PI)
leading a team applying thermo-acoustic
imaging and spectroscopy to the problem
while continuing to investigate its usefulness against breast cancer, the original target of professor Xin’s work. What breast tis-
The US Defense
Advanced Research
Projects Agency noted
that some evolving
techniques to detect
breast cancer
have promise in the
detection of explosives
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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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sue has in common with the mud and meat
often used to conceal explosives is a high
water content, which makes it difficult to
identify objects or abnormalities using current ultrasound or microwave imaging
techniques, according to a University of
Arizona (UA) statement. Ultrasound
images show a clear shape, but the properties cannot be delineated, adds the UA
statement. Microwave images have contrast, but shapes are not clear. “We started
our research in 2009 with no funding but
kept working because we knew it would
make a huge difference. Eventually we had
some internal funding, and here we are
today.” Professor Xin is the director of the
UA’s Millimeter Wave Circuits and
Antennas Laboratory.
The UA team is developing a new hybrid
technology intended to combine the
strengths and mitigate the weaknesses of
C O U N T E R
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
using a powerful, magnetic field to line up
the protons in the hydrogen nuclei, disturbing the alignment with bursts of RF energy
and then recording the RF energy they emit
as they return to their pre-disturbance
alignment. The pictures that MRI generates
are highly detailed. QR is a chemical analysis technique that can identify individual
substances by sensing the interaction of the
electric field gradient with the quadrupole
moment of the electric charge distribution
in the nuclei of the substances atoms.
Further description is beyond the scope of
this article (and the brain of this writer), but
is a non-contact sensing technology that is
complementary to MRI, and QFS has
expertise in both.
high-resolution ultrasound and high-contrast microwave imaging to detect IEDs. UA
points out that this technology also mitigates the harmful radiation effects of X-ray
imaging and works without making contact
with the material concealing the explosives.
“We take advantage of both technologies
and avoid the disadvantages to increase
detection specificity,” said professor Xin.
Quasar Federal Systems
Quasar Federal Systems (QFS) is also combining two technologies under its own
MEDS contract from DARPA, bringing
together Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI) and Quadrupole Resonance (QR)
techniques.
The
company’s
Chief
Technology Officer, Dr Lowell Burnett, will
serve as PI on the contract. In medical scanning applications, MRI takes advantage of
the human body’s high water content by
NIITEK
DARPA also awarded a MEDS contract, valued at US $2.13 million, to NIITEK in late
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
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Member of the Cambodia National Counter
Terrorism Special Forces walks with a bomb
suit during a recent exercise held in
conjunction with the Asia Pacific Counter IED
Fusion Center © US DoD
June. A business unit of Chemring Sensors
and Electronics, NIITEK is well known for
its Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology used in mine detection systems fitted
to manned and unmanned ground vehicles.
“We are pleased to have been given the
opportunity by DARPA to continue the
development of this unique detection capability,” said Juan Navarro, President of
Chemring
Sensor
and
Electronics.
“Although the work in this program is
intended to be proof-of-principle experimentation, NIITEK and its partners are confident that, with proper development, the
technology can be transitioned into a system
11
C O U N T E R
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
that could prove useful to both the
Department of Defense as well as domestic
security and law enforcement.“
Sierra Nevada
In addition to longer-term technology development, C-IED requirements have also generated urgent needs to miniaturise capabilities so that dismounted troops can have similar protection to that which they could previously only enjoy from within a vehicle.
The US Army’s Individual Counter Radio
Electronic Warfare (ICREW) programme,
under which Sierra Nevada Corporation
announced the delivery of the last of more
than 3,000 soldier-worn Baldr IED jammer
units in June, is a case in point. The Army
launched the programme last year, ran a
competitive evaluation of candidate systems
and awarded a US $56.5 million contract to
Sierra Nevada on 16th October 2012. The
company delivered the last Baldr unit on
time in May 2013, just eight months after
contract award.
Named for the Norse god of light and
son of top god Odin, Baldr is an four-kilogram (8.9lb) transmitter that disrupts radio
12
trigger signals to Remotely Controlled IEDs
(RCIEDs), providing a zone of protection
around the wearer during dismounted
operations. “SNC is proud to partner with
the U.S. Army and delivers unparalleled
solutions to saving soldiers’ lives,” said
Paul Plemmons, corporate vice president
Counter-Improvised
Explosive Device
requirements have
also generated urgent
needs to miniaturise
capabilities to provide
enhanced protection
to soldiers
for SNC’s Electronic Warfare and Range
Instrumentation business area. “SNC’s
light-weight, counter-RCIED systems provide the dismounted soldier the confidence
and protection to maneuver in an RCIED
environment.”
As new and improved C-IED technology
continues to evolve and proliferate, the need
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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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for training grows with it, compounded by
the international nature of many operations
that encounter the threat. Numerous bilateral and multilateral organisations and relationships are forming as a result. Illustrating
this, the Royal Thai Armed Forces Chief
of Defence Forces, General Tanasak
Patimapragorn visited his Australian counterpart, General David Hurley, in February
for bilateral discussions on, among a range
of subjects, defeating IEDs. The two countries Armed Forces have already developed
a C-IED engagement plan described as delivering an enduring capability to the Royal
Thai Armed Forces. “Thailand was one of
the first countries to sign a bilateral
Memorandum of Understanding on Counter
Terrorism with Australia (2002) and we have
continued to work closely together on counter IED issues, in an effort to combat the global threat posed by improvised explosive
Staff Sgt. Byron Delgado, of the 15th Explosive
Hazard Team stationed at Schofield Barracks,
Hawaii, briefs Tentara National Indonesia
Angkatan Darat Soldiers prior to a building
search exercise during Garuda Shield © US DoD
C O U N T E R
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
Malaysian military engineers look for IEDs
during Keris Strike 12 at Camp Ulu Tiram
near Johor Bohru, Malaysia 22nd Sept 2012.
Keris Strike 12 is U.S. Army Pacific-sponsored
Theatre Security Cooperation Program exercise
conducted annually with the Malaysian Armed
Forces © US DoD
devices”, said General Hurley.
Thailand is engaged in a protracted
guerrilla war in its southern provinces and
so has an on-going need for C-IED training,
to which its agreement with Australia contributes. Another source of urgently needed
expertise its participation in bilateral exercises with the US Army, whose Asia Pacific
C-IED Fusion Centre in Hawaii provides
training on request throughout the region.
Many Asian nations participate in training
facilitated by the Centre including
Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and
Australia. Royal Thai Army Explosive
Ordnance Disposal (EOD) soldiers received
C-IED training during Bilateral Army
Exercise 12 (BAE 12) in Thailand in June
and July last year. “By teaching these EOD
guys first, who already know how to handle
explosives, we are creating an enduring
Thailand is engaged in
a protracted guerrilla
war in its southern
provinces and a
need for C-IED
training, to which its
agreement with
Australia contributes
capability that they will in the future,
trained their own Soldiers and we just
advise and assist," according to lead
instructor Richard Bell, quoted in a report
by the Asia Pacific C-IED Fusion Centre’s
Russell Shimooka. Royal Thai Army Master
Sgt Sanchai Kongim, an EOD expert who
participated in BAE 12, has good reason to
be keen to pass on his skills to his comrades.
"A few years ago my team responded to an
initial blast in Yala [province] and we
parked our vehicle right over a secondary
device. There must have been a malfunction
because it never detonated. I’m given a
second chance so now I will help other
Soldiers stay alive.”
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
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13
TANKER
AND TRANSPORT
OF ATLAS
AND HERCULES
This year’s Paris Air Show held in the French capital
between 17th and 21st June was a perfect opportunity to
take the temperature of the world military freighter
market which, in contrast to other parts of the global
defence industry, appears to be enjoying good health.
by Thomas Withington
nsurprisingly the Airbus
A400M strategic freighter,
now named ‘Atlas’ by its
manufacturer, was on show
for all to see, resplendent in
the colours of the Armée de l’Air
(AdlA/French Air Force); it’s launch customer. Not only could the aircraft be seen
close-up on the ramp, but it also treated visitors to daily flying displays, demonstrating
its impressive maneuvering. It was joined
in the skies, and on the apron, by Antonov’s
U
14
AN-70 with which the Ukrainian airframe
builder hopes to challenge Airbus for a
share of the increasingly lucrative mediumto-heavy freighter market.
Like the A400M, the AN-70 has suffered its share of development problems.
Unlike the Atlas, these have focused on
accidents involving the aircraft. The
A400M, meanwhile, has been beset on
more than one occasion by the political
fortunes of the initiative’s partner nations
(Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg,
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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom),
geopolitical challenges heralded by the
end of the Cold War, and funding issues.
Nevertheless these difficulties now appear
to be well and truly behind both programmes, with the race to eagerly chase
orders around the world well underway.
Airbus
The AdlA has taken delivery of its first
A400M, and will acquire a second before
the end of 2013. France will be the second-
TANKER
AND TRANSPORT
largest operator of the type with 50 airframes, behind the 53 expected to be
acquired by Germany. In addition Spain
will obtain 27 examples, the Royal Air
Force will get 22; ten will be delivered to
Turkey, seven to Belgium, four to Malaysia
and a single example to Luxembourg.
It has been a busy year for the A400M.
As well as commencing deliveries to the
French Air Force, the type achieved full
civil certification with the European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in March
Airbus Military’s A400M Atlas turboprop
strategic freighter is entering service with its
launch customer, the French air force. By the
end of the year, deliveries will have commenced
to its second customer, Turkey © Airbus Military
2013. The Atlas is remarkable as it is
receiving dual military and civilian clearance which could potentially open additional non-military airfields for the
freighter to use. This is a particularly
important consideration given the type’s
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
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anticipated role in supporting humanitarian operations. Meanwhile, at the military
level, the aircraft will continue to be cycled
through numerous tests and trials until it
receives its military certification.
Although sales of the A400M and
Airbus Military’s smaller CN-235 and C295 turboprop freighters are still very
much concentrating minds at the firm,
the company is contemplating new airframe designs. Prior to the Paris Air
Show, reports surfaced that Airbus
15
TANKER
AND TRANSPORT
The CN-235, like its C-295 sibling, has sold well.
Its manufacturer, Airbus Military, has used the
airframe not only as the basis for a turboprop
freighter, but for other applications such as
maritime patrol © Airbus Military
Military was considered the development of a new freighter offering a smaller capacity between the Lockheed
Martin C-130J and the Boeing C17A/B/ER Globemaster-III tactical and
strategic airlifters (see below). The company foresees a new aircraft with a payload of between nine and 18 tonnes. This
could potentially present Embraer with a
future rival to its KC-390 turbofan
freighter (see below) which is expected
to enter service in circa 2016 offering a
payload capacity over 20 tonnes. In fact,
Embraer’s development of the KC-390
could be the motivation behind Airbus
Military’s plans to offer an aircraft which
could occupy this sector of the market.
That said, with Airbus now ramping up
towards the full production of the
A400M, plus the marketing efforts it is
undertaking regarding its smaller turboprop aircraft and its larger A330-MRTT
(Multi-Role Tanker Transport) platform,
16
it seems unlikely that any new prototype
freighter will be produced anytime soon.
Airbus may well be watching which way
the wind blows regarding KC-390 orders
and deliveries before deciding whether
to move ahead with its initiative.
C-130
Although the baseline Lockheed Martin
C-130 design will be 60 years old next
year, having taken its maiden flight on
23rd August 1954, the aircraft shows no
signs of retiring. There is a truly staggering number of C-130s of all variants flying
around the world, along with the new C130J/J-30 models which are entering service. Older models continue to obtain
upgrades to keep them capable. In June
2013, Israel’s Elbit Systems was awarded a
Although the C-130
will be 60 years
old next year, having
taken its maiden
flight in August 1954,
the aircraft shows
no signs of retiring
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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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contract worth $62 million to modernize
twelve C-130H/H-30 models operated by
the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF).
The upgrade will include new glass cockpits and avionics.
It is noteworthy that the RoKAF is also
receiving new C-130Js, of which it is
expected to obtain four from 2014. The
Republic of Korea is not the only nation
with C-130J ambitions. Since the ousting
of its erstwhile dictator Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya’s new
government has been working hard to
retrain, reconstitute and reequip its
armed forces. Procurement of new air
platforms form an important aspect of
this policy, and Tripoli is keen to secure
the supply of stretched C-130J-30s to this
end. The acquisition could be worth up to
$588 million for two aircraft, spare parts,
engines and training.
In the Asia-Pacific region, new C-130s
are in demand from Bangladesh. Dhaka is
reportedly in the market for four C-130E
airframes purchased from United States
Air Force stocks for circa $180 million.
This sum would also include the supply
of engines, documentation and support
equipment. Should the deal go through,
The C-17 Globemaster III is the world’s most capable
and versatile airlifter, performing the full range of
tactical and strategic operations: from transporting
troops and heavy cargo, to airdrop, aeromedical
evacuation and delivering humanitarian aid virtually
anywhere. No other airlifter measures up. The C-17.
Proven and ready for a world of missions.
TANKER
AND TRANSPORT
this will add to the four-strong C-130B
fleet already operated by the Bangladesh
air force although, having entered service
in the early-1960s, these aircraft are now a
little long in the tooth.
Part of the secret of the C-130’s longevity is the relative ease with which the overall design has been upgraded and
improved as the aircraft has gone through
its life. Improving engine efficiency plays
an important part in this process, and
powerplant experts Rolls-Royce are currently developing a number of improvements which could make the AE2100D3
turboprops produced by the company for
the ‘Juliet’ variant yet more efficient, and
thus cheaper to run. The company is taking a number of components which it has
developed for other powerplants and folding them into the AE2100D design; an altogether cheaper option than designing a
new engine from scratch.
Boeing
Some nations which have adopted the C130J have also purchased Boeing’s larger
Airbus Military offers smaller turboprop
freighters in its catalogue. They include the
C-295 which has been widely exported. The
thoughts of the company are now turning
towards what could eventually replace its lighter
airlifters in the future © Airbus Military
18
Lockheed Martin’s C-130 series represents one of the oldest designs of military
aircraft still flying, but its rugged construction and solid performance have
enabled it to be constantly modernized; the latest example being the C-130J
which has won customers around the world © USAF
C-17 Globemaster; the United Kingdom
and India being two examples. India
became the eighth C-17 operator this year
after it received its first Globemaster in
June 2013. The country will become the
second largest operator of the type after
the US Air Force, and is due to receive a
total of five airframes by the end of 2013,
and the same number again in 2014. The
deal to purchase the ten C-17s was finalized by New Delhi in June 2012 at a cost
of circa $1.8 billion. Beyond these ten aircraft, New Delhi has options on a further
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six. Australia is the only other nation in
the Asia-Pacific region, save for the US
presence in the area, which operates the
C-17, with other users being found in the
Middle East, notably the United Arab
Emirates and Qatar, with the Royal Air
Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO) also using the type; the latter
under the terms of a pooling arrangement. As noted above India has ordered
the C-130J, buying six examples, with an
additional second order for the same
number of aircraft expected soon.
The recent orders from India, and
from NATO, have breathed life into
what, for some time, looked like a moribund production line at Boeing’s C-17
facilities in Long Beach, California. For
the time being New Delhi’s order of the
aircraft guarantees production until 2014,
although this could be extended if additional international sales are concluded.
Closer to home, by the end of this year,
the United States Air Force will have
received its final two C-17s, topping off a
total fleet size of 223 examples.
The company believes that the market
for the Globemaster could be sufficient
for the production of a further 48-60 airframes. Based on a production rate of ten
aircraft per year, this could see the Long
Beach plant producing C-17s until
2018/2019, providing that these quanti-
TANKER
AND TRANSPORT
ties of airframes are purchased. One
country which could enter the C-17 club
is Kuwait which has signed a letter-ofintent
with
the
United
States
Government regarding the acquisition of
at least one Globemaster which is expect-
Alenia Aermacchi’s C-27J is aimed at the lighter end of the freighter market. This is an
increasingly lively battleground with several suppliers, both new and established, offering
airframes in this category © Thomas Withington
ed to complete production by the end of
this year. The Middle East country has
shown interest in procuring a second
example, although when this aircraft will
be produced remains to be seen.
Ultimately, the future of the C-17 will
depend on securing international orders.
Further USAF purchases seem unlikely, so the export market will be crucial for
Boeing. Moreover, the Seattle-based
Although production of the Boeing C-17A/B/ER
Globemaster-III strategic freighter is coming to
an end for the United States Air Force, the
aircraft continues to sell well around the world.
India is one of the latest entrants to the
‘Globemaster’ club and will soon have a fleet
size second only to the United States © USAF
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
l
plane-maker will once again face its
perennial rival in the guise of Airbus
which will soon be ramping up towards
full production of the Airbus A400M.
Nevertheless the C-17 remains the only
Western-built turbofan-powered strategic freighter in mass production. Because
of US and NATO involvement in
Afghanistan, military operations in Iraq,
and a multitude of recent humanitarian
19
TANKER
AND TRANSPORT
Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation is moving ahead with a new version of the venerable Ilyushin
Il-76 design, which features improved avionics and updated engines. The Russian air force has
placed one of its largest orders in recent times for this modernized airframe © USAF
undertakings, the C-17 is a thoroughly
proven platform which constitutes additional selling points.
Ilyushin
Despite the competition posed by the C-17
Russian manufacturer United Aircraft
Corporation (UAC) is continuing to
evolve the Ilyushin Il-76 design. Having
performed its maiden flight on 25th
March 1971 the Il-76, like its C-130 counterpart, has been cycled through a number
of upgrades and enhancements to ensure
that the design remains capable. This has
culminated in the Il-76-MD90A version
which includes a glass cockpit and new
Perm PS-90A76 engines affording significant fuel savings compared to the earlier
Aviadvigatel PS-90-76 powerplants
equipping legacy Il-76-TD90 freighters.
Full flight testing of this new aircraft is
expected to be completed by the end of
2014. The Russian air force could procure
39 airframes with a contract signed to this
effect with UAC, which oversees the production of the freighter, in October 2012.
The acquisition is worth $4.5 billion and
20
represents one of the largest Russian
defence procurements in recent times.
New Players
While established companies such as
UAC, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and
Airbus continue to refine their offerings,
new companies are entering the freighter
marketplace. For example, Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) of India, and
UAC have joined forces to develop a new
medium-lift freighter known as the Il214MTA (Medium Transport Aircraft).
This will be able to carry up to 20 tonnes
of freight with Russia potentially acquiring up to 100, and India possibly purchasing around 45.
Freighters have proven
themselves to be
indispensable not only
for the projection
of power, but to assist
disaster recovery and
humanitarian efforts
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Another much-discussed design is
Embraer’s KC-390 twin turbofan medium-freighter. Its manufacturer is confident that the first example of this new aircraft will perform its maiden flight by
2015, with the Força Aérea Brasileira
(Brazilian air force) expected to purchase
23 aircraft. Other orders from Latin
American customers could be forthcoming including purchases by the Fuerza
Aérea de Chile (Chilean air force) which
may obtain six. Embraer believes that
there may be a market for around 700 aircraft of the KC-390’s size, which boasts a
23-tonne payload. This market could in
turn be worth up to $50 billion, however,
the company will have to compete with
the C130J; the CN-235 and C-295 and
Alenia Aermacchi’s C-27J; the number of
competing airframes underlining just how
lucrative this market is thought to be.
While air forces around the world are
looking hard at the number of combat
aircraft that they can afford to operate
and maintain, freighters, which have
arguably been marginalized by some air
forces since the Second World War, have
emerged as essential airframes. They are
indispensible not only for the projection
of power, but to assist disaster recovery
and humanitarian efforts.
AIR AND SEA
M I S S I L E
D E F E N C E
A SHOT
IN THE DARK?
The clandestine missile programmes
of North Korea and Iraq both continue
to spur Ballistic Missile Defence
(BMD) initiatives led by the United
States of America. These efforts are
developing Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM)
and radar technologies which can be
applied to combat these threats.
by Thomas Withington
A Raytheon RIM-161B SM-3 Block-1A
tears open the night sky as it roars
from the deck of a Japanese Maritime
Self Defence Force destroyer during a
test of this anti-ballistic missile
weapon © US Navy
22
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AIR AND SEA
M I S S I L E
D E F E N C E
Former US Defence Secretary Robert Gates (left)
inspects one of the missile silos and interceptors
of the United States’ Ground-Based Midcourse
Defence system. Two sites in Alaska and
California host these interceptors. © US DoD
ciently advanced to attain vast ranges.
The ramifications regarding not only
Asian, but global, security of the rocket
launch are significant: Such techniques could
be applied to missiles which could traverse
intercontinental distances, bringing scores of
countries across the globe within potential
striking range of the Hermit Kingdom.
North Korea’s ballistic missile programme
and, further afield, the similar programme of
Iran, are the two main drivers behind the
current BMD efforts of the United States.
These efforts rest on the development of
land-based systems such as the GroundBased Midcourse Defense (GBMD) initiative,
the
North
Atlantic
Treaty
Organisation’s (NATO) European Phased
Adaptive Approach (EPAA) BMD effort;
and Raytheon’s MIM-104F PAC-3 (Patriot
Advanced Capability-3) and Lockheed
Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Air
Defence (THAAD) SAM programmes.
At sea, the US is enhancing the capabilities of its Lockheed Martin Aegis Combat
Management System (CMS) BMD capability
with new features and weapons. All of these
efforts are intended to yield an umbrella
capable of defending the Continental United
States (CONUS) and its allies around the
world using SAMs which can perform both
exo-atmospheric (out-of-atmosphere) and
endo-atmospheric (within the atmosphere)
engagements. This article will examine
recent developments in each of these programmes in detail.
The ramifications
regarding not
only Asian, but global,
security of North
Korea’s December 2012
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3
Unit 2 satellite launch
are significant
he decision of North Korea to
launch its Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3
Unit 2 satellite into orbit on
12th December 2012 once again
cast dark shadows, not only
over the Korean Peninsula, but over the wider
Asia-Pacific region. The launch demonstrated
that North Korean scientists had perfected the
ability to place an object into orbit, and that
the country’s rocket technology was suffi-
T
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
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GBMD
Designed to protect the CONUS, the GBMD
initiative uses SAMs deployed at two bases,
namely at Fort Greely, Alaska and
Vandenburg Air Force Base (AFB),
California. Each of these bases can launch
Raytheon Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles
(EKVs) carried by an Orbital Sciences interceptor; the former of which destroys the missile by sheer force of impact. As the EKV’s
name suggests, it is designed for space-based
interception. Although the United States cur-
23
AIR AND SEA
M I S S I L E
D E F E N C E
rently has two GBMD sites, both of which
are located on the west coast, plans are afoot
to construct a third base on the east coast.
The Fiscal Year 2014 Defence Authorisation
Bill includes $140 million of funding towards
the construction of this site. While this facility is still some way from being built, it could
provide additional protection to the eastern
seaboard of the United States.
Whereas the facilities in Alaska and
California are designed to provide protection
against missile threats from North Korea, the
new facility could protect against
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)
launches from Iran. However, the eventual
construction of a new base on the east coast
could trigger objections from Russia, which
has historically been critical of US BMD
efforts arguing that they alter the strategic
balance by potentially blunting the potency
of Moscow’s nuclear deterrent. At the time of
writing (early July 2013), a GBMD interceptor
test was expected to be performed against a
representative ballistic missile target
launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, with the
interceptor launched from Vandenburg AFB.
In other technical news, US defence contractor Bechtel announced that it had completed
construction of three interceptor launch fields
at the Fort Greely base. Bechtel was awarded
the contract for their construction in 1997
along with several other elements of the overall GBMD architecture. Boeing is the prime
contractor for the GBMD programme.
EPAA
While the GBMD is designed to protect the
CONUS, the EPAA initiative is aimed at
protecting NATO’s European membership
and US interests on the continent from ballistic missiles launched from the Middle
East. The EPAA is being rolled out across
several phases: Phase One has seen the
authorization of a permanent deployment of
US Navy Aegis CMS-equipped (see below)
warships capable of performing BMD to
patrol in the Mediterranean, and the activation of a Raytheon AN/TPY-2 X-band
ground-based air surveillance radar to eastern Turkey. This supplements an existing
US-operated AN/TPY-2 already operational
in Israel. The two radars provide a means of
detecting missile launches from the Middle
24
Raytheon’s Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle forms
a key part of the Ground-Based Midcourse
Defence system. It is mounted on top of an
interceptor missile and destroyers its target
during a collision at high speed © Raytheon
East, most notably Iran, and the capability to
intercept those missiles via the warships
which will operate from the Spanish port of
Rota by 2015 at the latest.
The warships, which will include
‘Arleigh Burke’ and ‘Ticonderoga’ class
destroyers and cruisers, will commence
operations at the same time as Phase Two of
the EPAA commences. Phase Two will see
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the establishment of a land base in Romania
equipped with Raytheon RIM-161 Standard
Missile-3 (SM-3) SAMs at Deveselu AFB in
the south of the country. Initially RIM-161C
SM-3 Block-IB SAMs will be based at this
site. These missiles have a two-colour infrared seeker alongside their semi-active radarhoming guidance system, an advanced signal processor and throttle-able divert attitude control systems to improve their agility. RIM-161 SM-3 missiles have a range of
circa 500 kilometres (270 nautical miles), and
a ceiling of 160km (86nm). They are expected to be operational at the base from 2015.
By 2018, these SAMs could be exchanged for
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AIR AND SEA
M I S S I L E
D E F E N C E
RIM-161D SM-3 Block-II missiles which will
have a higher target intercept speed and a
redesigned first stage. The combination of
the Aegis ships, and the land-based RIM161C/D SAMs, will provide protection for
most of Europe’s NATO members against
short- and medium-range ballistic missiles
launched from the Middle East.
Phase Three will see the establishment of
a second land-based facility, this time at
Redzikowo on the northern Baltic coast of
Poland, which will host RIM-161 (undesignated) SM-3 Block-IIA missiles. These
weapons will have an improved target discrimination seeker and a more advanced
kinetic warhead. Expected to occur in the
2018 timeframe the activation of the facility
in Poland will provide complete a BMD
umbrella to protect all of NATO’s European
membership against ballistic missile attack.
The EPAA was supposed to have included a
fourth phase which would have implemented an anti-ICBM element into the EPAA
architecture via the procurement of RIM161(undesignated) SM-3 Block-IIB SAMs.
However, the procurement and development of this weapon has now been cancelled
and instead the United States will purchase
additional GBMD interceptors for deployment at Fort Greely, Alaska (see above). This
will increase the number of interceptors
deployed at the base from 30 to 44.
The US Army is currently equipping
with Lockheed Martin’s Terminal
High Altitude Air Defence surfaceto-air missile system. This will
provide theatre-level ballistic
missile defence, and has also been
acquired by the United Arab
Emirates and Oman © US DoD
26
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AIR AND SEA
M I S S I L E
Raytheon’s MIM-104 Patriot series of
medium-to-high altitude surface-to-air
is
receiving
a
major
missiles
enhancement via the PAC-3 (Patriot
Advanced Capability-3) initiative which
updates the missile system with a new
round considered highly capable
against ballistic missiles. © US DoD
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013
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D E F E N C E
Patriot and THAAD
While the EPAA and GBMD (see above) both
provide a strategic-level defence against ballistic missile attack, investment is flowing
into deployable capabilities which can provide protection at the theatre level, most
notably via the Raytheon MIM-104F PAC-3
and Lockheed Martin THAAD programmes.
The MIL-104F PAC-3 configuration of
Patriot includes command and control software enabling improved tactical ballistic
missile search and engagement compared to
legacy MIM-104 variants. Moreover, the
MIM-104F has a new missile in the form of
the PAC-3 round; four of which can be
housed in a single legacy MIM-104F launch
box. Four boxes are mounted on each Patriot
launcher giving a total complement of 16
PAC-3s. These missiles are outfitted with a
Ka-band active radar seeker which enhances
the missile’s reaction time during the end
game and enables it to perform a highly
accurate interception of a ballistic missile target, via the specific destruction of the target’s
warhead. To this end, a number of engagement options exist on the missile including a
hit-to-kill mode, or the employment of a
lethality enhancer which projects a stream of
steel fragments into the path of an incoming
missile. On 11th June 2013, PAC-3MSE
(Missile Segment Enhancement) rounds successfully intercepted and destroyed a tactical
ballistic missile target with a second missile
destroying a representative BQM-74 cruise
missile at White Sands Missile Range, New
Mexico. The MSE enhancement is currently
in the developmental stage and focuses on a
new design of fin, and an enhanced rocket
motor for the PAC-3 missile.
The THAAD system has a range of circa
108nm (200km) and, like the PAC-3 (see
above), employs a hit-to-kill interceptor to
effect the ballistic missile’s destruction. The
AN/TPY-2 (see above) provides target
detection and fire control giving THAAD a
capability against short-, medium- and
intermediate-range ballistic missiles. In the
short term, a third THAAD battery is
planned for activation at Fort Bliss, Texas.
So far, two batteries are active with the US
Army’s 4th Air Defence Artillery Regiment,
11th Air Defence Artillery Brigade, and the
service’s 2nd Air Defence Artillery
Regiment. Beyond the United States, sales of
27
AIR AND SEA
M I S S I L E
D E F E N C E
THAAD have been concluded to the United
Arab Emirates and Oman; the latter acquisition being announced on 27th May 2013.
Both countries are in close proximity to Iran
and hence that country’s clandestine ballistic missile programme, with the delivery of
THAAD no doubt providing some important additional protection.
Aegis
The last piece of the United States’ on-land
and at-sea ballistic missile defence jigsaw is
the Aegis-BMD initiative. Essentially, this
combines Lockheed Martin’s Aegis CMS
with Raytheon’s RIM-161 SM-3 family of
SAMs to create an at-sea BMD capability
which can protect a naval task force, or provide theatre-wide BMD coverage.
At the CMS level, Lockheed Martin has
developed a series of enhancements to the
Aegis combat management system to provide it with progressively increasing capabilities to intercept ballistic missiles. At present
37 current and future US Navy ships have, or
will have, Aegis CMSs able to perform BMD.
Four standards of BMD enhancement for the
Aegis CMS are in service or development.
The most numerous Aegis-BMD configuration in use by the US Navy today is the BMD3.6.1 standard. This outfits 25 ‘Arleigh Burke’
and ‘Ticonderoga’ class vessels (two of the
latter, and 23 of the former). The BMD-3.6.1
standard enables these ships to deploy RIM161B SM-3 Block-IA SAMs which have a single-colour infra-red seeker and a solid divert
attitude control system. This allows these
ships to perform the exo-atmospheric interception of short- and medium-range ballistic
28
missiles, along with some intermediate-range
threats. ICBM targets can be tracked by the
BMD-3.6.1 standard architecture, and targeting information shared with other users.
The BMD-4.0.1 standard is in service
onboard a single US Navy vessel, the
‘Ticonderoga’ class cruiser USS Shiloh. It
adds a Ballistic missile Signal Processor (BSP)
to the BMD-3.6.1 architecture and the ability
to deploy the RIM-161C SM-3 Block-IB missile (see above). Four vessels, meanwhile,
have the BMD-4.0.2 enhancement which corrects some of the technical issues discovered
during interception tests performed using the
Washington’s BMD
efforts were never
intended to destroy
large ICBM attacks,
although some systems
will have a residual
anti-ICBM capability
BMD-4.0.1 standard, but continues to use the
RIM-161B SM-3 Block-IA SAM.
The latest version of the Aegis BMD
architecture is the BMD-5.0 standard. Either
this configuration, or the BMD-4.0.2 architecture, is earmarked for the forthcoming
seven ‘Arleigh Burke’ class destroyers that
the US Navy has under construction. BMD5.0 will fully integrate the BMD architecture
into the overall Aegis CMS as opposed to
running the system using separate hardware. It will also configure ships with this
software standard to deploy Raytheon RIM-
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At the heart of Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High
Altitude Air Defence system is the AN/TPY-2 Xband radar. This system has been deployed in its
own right to provide ballistic missile surveillance
in Turkey and Israel © Lockheed Martin
156A SM-2ER Block-IV and RIM-141 SM-6
Extended Range Active Missiles for the
endo-atmospheric engagement of ballistic
missiles. Furthermore, the BMD-5.0 standard is expected to equip the EPAA bases in
Poland and Romania (see above).
The United States’ BMD efforts have
earned their fair share of criticism in recent
years. Opponents of these various schemes,
particularly the strategic-level initiatives,
argue that they will destabilize the nuclear
balance between the United States and
Russia by enabling the US to neutralize a
Russian missile attack, or to launch a similar
attack on Russia under a protective BMD
umbrella. Other detractors point to the high
cost of these systems, arguing that the
money could be better spent fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, for example.
However, Washington’s BMD efforts were
arguably never intended to destroy large
ICBM attacks, although as noted above, some
systems will have a residual anti-ICBM capability. Instead, they are intended to destroy
small salvoes of shorter-range weapons of the
type that could be employed by North Korea
or Iran. At the financial level, some supporters have argued that these BMD efforts are
akin to an ‘insurance policy’ by which the
money spent, and the systems deployed, are
intended to dissuade an adversary from ever
performing such an attack.
SOLDIER
MODERNISATION
A soldier lies exhausted during
marksmanship training in 100°F
heat on a firing range in Iraq.
Heatstroke can be fatal so wearable
sensors that monitor temperature
have a high priority © US DoD
MILITARY
HEALTH
INSURANCE
30
l
All complex military hardware,
vehicles and weapons in particular,
have built-in health and usage
monitoring sensors. For the most
part such capabilities are missing
from the most capable, flexible
and complex battlefield asset of
them all; the soldier.
ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
by Peter Donaldson
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SOLDIER
MODERNISATION
fforts to remedy this situation are
gathering pace internationally,
gaining leverage from miniature
biometric sensors that can be integrated into advanced combat
clothing and linked to smart devices and tactical communication systems. Besides early
detection of wounds, biosensors promise to
provide timely warnings when soldiers are
approaching physiological limits such as
exhaustion or heat stress, dangers thrown into
sharp relief by the July deaths of three
reservists undergoing selection for the British
Army’s Special Air Service (SAS) during
unusually hot weather in the Brecon Beacons,
Wales. While the causes of these soldiers’
deaths had not been ascertained at the time of
writing, the combination of intense physical
exercise and high temperatures is likely to be
at the centre of the investigation. Increasing
social and legal pressure to recognise a
soldier’s right to life in training and even
in combat is a potent driving
factor behind research into
biosensor technology.
E
Sensing exhaustion
The first human tests have been carried out of
a biosensor able to provide warning of when
someone – athlete or soldier – is about to collapse or ‘hit the wall’ from extreme physical
effort, according to a July report (see
Electromechanical Tattoo Biosensors for
Real-Time Noninvasive Lactate Monitoring
in Human Perspiration, Journal of the
American Chemical Society (ACS)). The
report describes the work of a team led by
Joseph Wang at the Department of
Nanoengineering at the University of
California San Diego in La Jolla. Applied to
the skin like a temporary tattoo, the biosensor
samples sweat and accurately measures levels of lactate, which is a form of lactic acid.
“Lactate forms when muscles need more
energy than the body can supply from the
aerobic respiration that suffices during mild
exercise”, according to the article. “The body
shifts to anaerobic metabolism, producing lactic acid and lactate. That helps for a while, but
lactate builds up in the body, causing extreme
fatigue and the infamous ‘bonking out’,
where an athlete just cannot continue.
Current methods of measuring lactate are
cumbersome, require blood samples or do not
give instant results,” it continues.
Tests on ten volunteers reportedly
demonstrated the ‘tattoo’ sensor’s ability to
accurately measure lactate levels in sweat
during exercise. “Such skin-worn
metabolite biosensors could lead to useful insights into physical performance
and overall physiological status,
hence offering considerable promise for diverse sport, military, and
biomedical applications”, according to the study.
Understanding blast
While physical exhaustion and environmental stresses are constant dangers in training and operations, injuries
from survivable Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) blasts and their long-term
effects remain a major issue in counter
The Headborne Energy Analysis and Diagnostic
System measures linear and rotational
accelerations experienced by the soldier’s head
in blasts to provide information for treatment of
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) © BAE Systems
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insurgency operations, and mitigating their
legacy for soldiers and society looks set to be
important for decades to come. As well as
obvious major trauma such as loss of limbs,
blast has more subtle effects that in some
cases can take time to show up in soldiers
who have been exposed to it. Better understanding leading to better treatment of the
less obvious blast injuries is the goal of the
US Army Rapid Equipping Force’s
Integrated Blast Effect Sensor Suite (IBESS)
which the service approached Georgia Tech
Research Institute (GTRI) in 2011 to develop.
IBESS is part of a US Department of Defence
(DoD) Information Analysis Center (IAC)
programme to measure the physical environment of an explosion and collect data to
correlate what the soldier experienced with
long-term medical outcomes, Traumatic
Brain Injury (TBI) in particular.
“At GTRI we are developing an integrated system that is intended to help collect
data relevant to traumatic events that soldiers are experiencing in Afghanistan”, says
Douglas Woods, GTRI’s IBESS program
Optical sensing of blood chemistry is an evolving
technology that can be applied to wearable
sensors and handheld monitors based on smart
phones © Worcester Polytechnic Institute
manager. “Primarily it is intended to capture data from blast events that soldiers are
being exposed to.”
IBESS consists of a system worn by the soldier that works with a vehicle sensor suite.
The soldier worn part features a data recorder
linked to four pressure sensors attached to
shoulder straps that place two of them on the
chest and two on the back. This positioning
adds directional information to the sensors’
shock wave and overpressure measurements.
To minimise power consumption, the system
remains in sleep mode until pressure or shock
waves cross a threshold and switch the
recorder on. The recorder time stamps blast
events using time signals from a GPS receiver.
The vehicle system not only records blast
events that affect the vehicle, it automatically
collects any data recorded by the soldier sys-
IBESS is worn by
the soldier. It works
with a vehicle sensor
and has a data
recorder linked to four
pressure sensors
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tem, using Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) technology to activate a Bluetooth link
to download any data the soldier system has.
Rapid progress has been a hallmark of
the IBESS programme; following contract
signature in July of 2011, researchers had
completed preliminary designs by
September and testing and refinement was
under way by early 2012. August 2012 saw
the first overseas shipments and by April of
this year IBESS had been issued to more
than 650 troops. It is scheduled for fitment to
42 vehicles in Afghanistan. “We know people are coming back with these injuries
called mild traumatic brain injury. It was the
first system of its type to record any of the
data relevant to the environment that those
soldiers were exposed to that we think produces those injuries”, says Mr Woods.
“What we don’t really have is information about how a soldier was injured”, adds
Dr. Shean Phelps GTRI technical director,
health systems. “We don’t really know, in
an underbelly blast, all the pieces of the puzzle. So getting this type of information
allows us to build a more complete picture.
You can also take that information to inform
the physician or the medical team to say that
SOLDIER
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A soldier takes a drink from a comrade’s
Camelbak. Light based sensors have shown
that they can measure reductions in blood
volume and may be capable of detecting
dehydration © US DoD
this person was in this type of event, we
expect these types of injuries and start looking for them.” IBESS’ open architecture will
enable it to form the heart of a system that
includes other sensors to measure, for example, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen and
hydration levels, body temperature and
EKG activity, says GTRI.
Continuing development work is going
into a structured database and tools to
analyse the information in it and into sensors that fit into communications headset
ear cups. These sensors are designed to
measure linear and rotational accelerations
in six axes and, following tests, are planned
for issue to 200 Army Rangers.
HEADS up
This kind of research and development is
also going on within industry, with measurement and recording of accelerations of
the head that can lead to TBI being the purpose of BAE Systems’ Headborne Energy
Analysis and Diagnostic System (HEADS).
The light, slim sensor system fits unobtrusively inside the top of the Advanced
Combat Helmet (ACH). Around 40,000 of
which had been delivered to the US Army
by the time of the 2013 Brain Injury
Awareness Day held on 13th March 2013 in
Washington DC. “It is an ideal location
because the soldiers, whenever they go out
into combat, they have the helmet on, they
don’t always wear headsets or skull caps”,
said Scott Hartley, Protection Systems, BAE
Systems Support Solutions, at the event.
“What we are measuring is linear and rotational acceleration in all three axes. So we
are taking six channels of information. We
added a seventh channel, which is for pressure data because we have an embedded
pressure sensor. Also there is a time stamp
associated with it, so it tells you exactly at
what time the event occurred.”
SOLDIER
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As with the IBESS sensors, HEADS only
records data that exceeds a predetermined
threshold. After such an event, an LED lights
up to warn the soldier and his or her comrades of a potential head injury. Data can
then be downloaded via a USB port or a
wireless connection when interrogated via
antennas at a forward operating base, for
example. These antennas can interrogate all
the HEADS units within range to identify
any soldier who may have been affected by
an explosion. “Once you understand what
the forces are, you can start developing better equipment or solutions”, Mr. Hartley
continues. “One of the things that BAE
Systems does is make helmets, so understanding those forces that are being transmitted to the head will, in theory, allow us to
develop better protective measures for the
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head.” The HEADS product was first fielded
in 2008, and BAE Systems is currently developing the HEADS Generation-II version.
TBI markers in blood
Portable diagnostic tools could supplement
this kind of system in the near future. In
Singapore, for example, the Institute of
Microelectronics (IME), which is part of the
Agency for Science, Technology and
Research (A*STAR), is working with US company SFC Fluidics on a sensor that can detect
up to three biomarkers associated with TBI in
a drop of blood. A*STAR describes the proposed tool as a fully-integrated, automated
device that will display its readings on an
easy-to-read screen with an indicator to alert
a caregiver to the severity of the injury. “This
collaboration exemplifies the extension of
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“More-than-Moore” technologies to healthcare. Building on our core capabilities in silicon-based microfluidics and biosensor technology, we can help our partner create innovative diagnostic tools to improve TBI treatment,” said Prof. Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive
Director of IME, speaking when the project
was announced in November 2012.
Blood loss warning
Efforts are also being made in the early and
automatic identification of blood loss with
the use of wearable biosensors. August 2012
saw the announcement of a three-year
research and development programme at the
US Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
into miniaturised wireless sensors able to
simultaneously measure seven physiological
parameters, including early detection of
SOLDIER
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Physical training has to push soldiers hard;
working out just how hard to push them or to
allow them to push themselves has always been
difficult. Wearable biomedical sensors promise
valuable supporting data © US DoD
levels. They will shine infrared and visible
light through the skin and detect how different wavelengths are absorbed by arterial
blood and use the signal processing algorithms to correlate subtle shifts in the spectra to a wide range of physiological parameters, says official information released by
WPI. The smartphone diagnostic tool will
use the device’s video camera to provide the
blood loss, and contribute to saving the lives
of wounded soldiers. WPI is conducting the
US Army funded effort in collaboration with
the University of Massachusetts Medical
School (UMMS). Dr. Ki Chon, professor and
head of WPI's Biomedical Engineering
Department, and Dr. Yitzhak Mendelson,
associate professor of biomedical engineering, are leading the project. Dr Mendelson’s
team will develop the wearable sensor
devices while Dr Chon’s laboratory will
work on signal processing algorithms and
also on adapting the technologies for smart
phones that medics can use as handheld
diagnostic tools.
The new sensors will use a much more
sophisticated version of the technology used
in today’s pulse oximeters that clip on to a
patient’s finger to measure blood oxygen
The new sensors will
use a much more sophisticated technology than
today’s pulse oximeters
that clip on to a patient’s
finger to measure
blood oxygen levels
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light source and record the reflections.
This effort is building on previous work
by Dr. Chon and Dr. Mendelson that developed wireless sensors and algorithms that
successfully measured heart rate, heart
rhythm, respiration rate, skin perfusion
(delivery of blood to capillaries) and blood
oxygen saturation, the information continues. Such light-based sensors have demonstrated the ability to detect early signs of
reducing blood volume and may be able to
detect dehydration in patients and soldiers
not suffering blood loss.
The sensor system will also feature
embedded accelerometers to measure body
movement and posture. This is important
because maintaining accurate measurements in the face of signal degrading noise
caused by body movement is among the
toughest challenges in sensor development.
“This is not a trivial matter, so we hope that
our strategies will work to overcome this
noise,” Dr. Mendelson says. “Unless we can
prove that the information is consistently
accurate and reliable, medics and trauma
physicians won’t trust or use the device.”
UMMS will evaluate both sets of technologies in an observational study of trauma
patients directed by Dr. Chad Darling, assistant professor of emergency medicine, and
Dr. David McManus, assistant professor of
medicine at the medical school.
“This is a very exciting program, and
we're pleased to be able to work with the
WPI team, Dr. Darling of UMMS said. “The
majority of trauma victims we see have a
blunt-force injury, with no visible signs of
bleeding. So we are always concerned about
internal bleeding, and typically order a CT
(Computed Tomography) scan to see what's
happening inside. An early-detection system for internal bleeding would be helpful,
and certainly would be very important for
first-responders in the field.”
Integrating this kind of sensing capability into soldier systems looks set to be an
increasingly important theme in soldier
modernisation programmes.
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INVESTMENTS
In assessing the region’s capabilities in the
Corvette/Offshore Patrol Vessel (C/OPV) market the
most important question is what is the difference
between these two platforms, and what makes these
two diverse vessel types exceptional?
by Ted Hooten
The Royal Malaysian Navy's KD
Kedah blurs the line between OPV
and corvette. Officially an OPV the
ships have interfaces for advanced
weapons and are to receive antiship missiles © BAE Systems
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he question can best be understood by looking at Malaysia. To
meet its New Generation Patrol
vessel (NGPV) requirement the
Royal Malaysian Navy selected
the Blohm & Voss MEKO 100 design as the
‘Kedah’ class. They seem to be OPVs at first
sight for their armament consists of a 76mm
(three-inch) gun and a 30mm (one inch) gun
but they feature a sophisticated combat management system, an electro-optical director,
a chaff launcher and are equipped to operate
surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air
missiles and an electronic warfare suite.
These are not installed but it was recently
revealed that Kuala Lumpur now intends
adding anti-ship missile systems to them.
They are rated in the naval bible, Jane’s
Fighting Ships as corvettes and will be joined
by DCNS ‘Gowind’ class ships ordered last
year from France’s DCNS with the first
example to be delivered in 2017. The French
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Navy operates one as an OPV but the design
can be used as a corvette and Malaysia
intends operating them in this role.
OPV-type platforms can be used as
corvettes for both are generally around the
1,000-2,000 tonne mark but the OPV is more
a law-enforcement platform. It is designed to
protect a nation’s resources within the
Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) extending
some 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres)
from shore and also to assert national sovereignty and law while providing a search and
rescue as well as an environmental protection capability with some having a hydrographic survey capability. Compared with a
corvette it tends to be slower but with higher endurance often operating a helicopter
while some have sophisticated command
and communications systems to interact
with foreign agencies, but they are generally
armed with nothing larger than a 76mm gun.
The corvette is a surface combatant usually
optimised for Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW)
and featuring surface-to-surface missiles and
consequently it has more sophisticated sensors than the OPV with higher speeds for
rapid transit or manoeuvres.
The largest OPV operators in Asia are
China, India and Japan, which have to
secure green or blue water interests, while a
number of countries such as Indonesia rely
on their surface combatants in the offshore
role. This can sometimes ratchet up tension
in times of crisis, such as the recent confrontation off Borneo between Malaysia and
Indonesia, while the OPV acts as a less
threatening platform.
China
Most of China’s OPVs are operated by
China Maritime Surveillance (CMS) which
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An artist’s impression of the Gowind 170 which
will form the basis of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s
corvette-type Littoral Combat Ship © DCNS
continues to be expanded and is scheduled to
receive another 36 hulls of various sizes. Both
the Indian Navy and Coast Guard operate
OPVs, the former operating a fleet of six vessels and the latter having about a score of
hulls from 1,200 to 2,200 tons and due to
receive half-a-dozen Advanced Offshore
Patrol Vessels with a displacement of 2,230
tons. There has been a considerable degree of
cross-pollination between the services in OPV
design and the navy’s latest requirement for
Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPV), the
2,215-ton ‘Saryu’ class, whose first-of-class
was commissioned in December 2012, is
based on the Coast Guard’s ‘Sankalp’ class.
Japan
Japan’s Coast Guard has some 50 OPVs,
including the biggest in Asia in the two 5,204ton ‘Mizuho’ class. Following clashes with
the CMS off the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands last
year Tokyo is expanding its Coast Guard and
will purchase four 1,000-ton OPVs by the end
of 2014. Neighbouring South Korea has a
Coast Guard which operates four OPVs of
some 1,200-tons and is receiving a small
38
expansion of some five vessels from the
Hyundai yard including a 3,000-tonne OPV.
South East Asia
Within South East Asia Brunei has three 80metre (24-feet) ‘Darussalam’ class OPVs, the
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
(MMEA) has two ‘Langkawi’ class OPVs, the
Philippines Navy operates three ‘Jacinto’
class ‘corvettes’, which are actually OPVs,
and has acquired two former US Coast
Guard ‘Hamilton’ class High Endurance
Cutters, and may acquire a third to meet a
long-standing requirement for three OPVs. It
is now considering installing anti-ship missiles in these vessels to make them full
corvettes. Thailand has requirements for five
OPVs of which four would be sophisticated
craft, reportedly having the same design as
OPVs built for Trinidad and Tobago but sold
Japan’s Coast
Guard has some 50
offshore patrol
vessels, including the
biggest in Asia
in the two 5,204ton
‘Mizuho’ class
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the Brazil, while one will be a more basic vessel. It operates two ‘Pattani’ class ‘corvettes’
which are also actually OPVs.
Indian Ocean
Around the Indian Ocean Burma operates
three ‘sheep in wolves’ clothing,
‘Anawrahta’ class ‘corvettes’ which are actually OPVs, while Bangladesh acquired two
former Royal Navy ‘Castle’ class OPVs and
the ‘Hamilton’ class cutter USCG Dallas but
there is a requirement for three more OPVs.
The cutter will be upgraded to a corvette
with a combat system, anti-submarine torpedoes and anti-ship missiles. Sri Lanka
operates a number of former Indian and US
Coast Guard OPVs but might well expand
the force. In the Pacific, New Zealand
acquired two ‘Protector’ class OPVs which
are unusual because they have ice-strengthened bows to operate in Antarctica.
Australia has a plan, Project Sea 1180 for a
2,000-tonne Offshore Combat Vessel (OCV)
which would meet a variety of roles including acting as an OPV. This $3.1 billion programme is unlikely to be implemented until
the first half of the next decade.
The demand for true corvettes has
grown steadily in the past couple of
decades replacing requirements for Fast
CORV ETTES
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Attack Craft (FAC). FACs are small platforms especially vulnerable to air attack
because their surveillance radar antenna is
relatively low reducing the search area and
counter-measures reaction times, they cannot mount a significant air defence system
which makes them vulnerable even to helicopter stand-off attack and their lack of
compartments means a bomb or missile
strike can inflict catastrophic damage. The
corvette overcomes most of these problems
making them a useful surface combatant
with superior radar search area, more compartments and the introduction of damage
control while bringing the prospect of better air defence protection. It is also a more
versatile platform for it can be used for
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) through
the installation of sonars and lightweight
torpedo launchers.
Indonesia
It should be noted that not all corvettes have
surface-to-surface missiles, and Indonesia’s
former East German ‘Parchim Is’, or ‘Kapitan
Pattimura’ class, are unusual in being dedicated ASW platforms with hull-mounted sonar,
augmented in some ships by variable depth
sensors, armed with both anti-submarine torpedoes and mortars. Indonesia augments
these 16 ships with seven Dutch-built vessels;
three 30-year-old ‘Fatahillahs’, which also feature a strong ASW suite, and the most modern
Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS)
‘Diponegoro’ class which are one of Damen’s
Sigma family (Sigma 9113), with their shaped
hulls to reduce the radar cross section.
The Sigmas form the keel of a new family of corvettes (also designated ‘light
frigates’) to meet the Guided Missile Escort
(Perusak Kawal Rudal) 105 requirement
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which are being designed by DSNS and the
domestic yard PT PAL under an August
2010 agreement. Based upon the Sigma
10514, these 2,400-tonne vessels will be optimised for ASW with the first of two scheduled to be laid down this year and to enter
service in 2016 but it is unclear how many
are required. Priority may have been given
to a requirement for three submarines with
work starting next year.
Malaysia
Neighbouring Malaysia’s requirements have
been mentioned earlier and it should be
The BAE Systems’ built Amazonas, acquired for
Brazil, is typical of modern OPVs and includes a
sophisticateed command system which can
exchange data with other law enforcement
agenecies © BAE Systems
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noted that the Royal Malaysian Navy also
operates six corvettes; four former Iraqi
‘Assads’ (as the ‘Laksamana’ class) and two
German-built ‘Kasturis’, while Singapore
has six ‘Victory’ class ships based upon the
Lürssen MGB 62 design but with an exceptionally high mast for its search radar.
Nearby Thailand operates seven corvettes of
which the five ‘Khamronsin’ and ‘Tapi’ class
are ASW vessels. There is no requirement for
new vessels with Bangkok more interested in
acquiring frigates and upgrading its vessels.
Vietnam
By contrast Vietnam is expanding its corvette
The launch of Thailand’s new OPV HTMS
Krabi at Mahidol Royal Dockyard in December
2011 © BAE Systems
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fleet steadily from the original four ‘Tarantul’
(‘Project 1241E’) class, with an ASW capability, and two domestically-built ‘Improved
Pauks’ (‘Project 12418’) and is acquiring up to
ten ‘Improved Tarantuls’ (‘Project 1241.8’) all
of which are pure ASuW vessels. In 2011
DSNS revealed they were discussing the sale
of four ‘Sigma 10514s’ to Vietnam, of which
two would be built domestically Vietnam is
also acquiring Russian-built frigates, two of
which have been delivered, reflecting the
preference of some Asian navies for larger,
multi-role platforms capable of projecting
power in ‘blue water’ environments. South
Korea, for example, which operates 23 ‘Po
Hang’ class ASuW/ASW corvettes will
replace them with the ‘FF-X’ frigates and the
‘Gumdoksuri’ class fast attack craft for
coastal operations in offshore islands, with
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the first FF-X ship having been delivered in
2012. By contrast Japan has never been interested in corvettes.
Taiwan
However, both China and Taiwan want
large surface combatants and corvettes. Last
year China’s first two ‘Jiangdao’ (‘Type
056’) class corvettes were launched and will
join the fleet this year. They were revealed
to be modern vessels similar to the
‘Diponegoro’ class with shaped hulls, but at
1,440-tonnes (compared with 1,692 tonnes)
they are slightly smaller. They are reportedly to replace the 40-year-old ‘Jianghu I/I’
(‘Type 053H/H1’) class frigates and the
‘Houxin/Houjian’ (‘Type 037 1G/2’) fast
attack craft/patrol craft. These ships are
being built by the Hudong-Zhonghua and
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as ASW vessels but were built as ASuW
platforms, their only ASW capability being
in the helicopter for which there is a deck,
and the same applies to the improved versions of the ‘Kora’ (‘Project 25A’) class, the
most significant difference being the
replacement of first generation SS-N-2
‘Styx’ surface-to-surface missiles with SSN-25 ‘Switchblade’.
The latest Indian corvettes are the ‘Project
28’ ships of the ‘Kamorta’ class. Like all
Indian corvettes they are intended for
deployment in offshore waters but these are
multi-role vessels which incorporate ‘stealth’
technology. They also possess a considerable
ASW capability with hull-mounted and
towed array sonars, helicopter torpedolaunchers and mortars as well as a useful
Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) capability through
their local-area defence Barak 8 surface-to-air
missiles. However, construction of these
ships has been unusually protracted with the
first-of-class laid down in 2006 but not
scheduled for commissioning until the third
Huangpu yards, who also built the
‘Jianghus’ and it is reported that ten are at
various stages of construction with at least
two more on order.
Taiwan, which has previously relied upon
a combination of major surface combatants
and fast attack craft, has its own corvette programme as ‘Hsun Hai’ (‘Swift Sea’). Revealed
in April 2012 the programme envisages
‘stealthy’ corvettes of 900-1,000 tonnes with
supersonic surface-to-surface missiles which
are reportedly to be introduced to combat the
China’s new aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. It
will be a domestically-designed and produced vessel with some ASW capability, possibly incorporating weapon and sensor systems from the Taiwanese Navy’s decommissioned ‘Gearing’ class destroyers, its current
‘Knox’ class frigates and ‘Jin Chiang’ class
fast attack craft. The requirement is for a
dozen vessels with deliveries beginning next
year. It is expected that they will be constructed by Lung The Shipbuilding.
The choice of
corvettes and/or OPVs
by Asian navies will
clearly be shaped by a
raft of factors
including cost and
theatre of operations
India
There is interest in corvettes around the
Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy itself has
operated corvettes since the 1960s and originally relied upon Russian designs currently using four ‘Abhay’ (‘Modified Pauk II’)
ASW ships, which may be re-engined, and
twelve ‘Tarantul I’ or ‘Veer’ class ASuW
ships. The first indigenous ships were the
‘Khukris’ (‘Project 25’) which were planned
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The DSNS Sigma design has been acquired
by Indonesia as the Diponegoro class and will
be the basis for the Indonesian Navy’s new
corvettes © DSNS
quarter of 2013. Four ships are currently on
order, with the last to be delivered in 2016,
and the difficulties and delays encountered
in producing this class must put at risk New
Delhi’s plans for twelve ships but these may
be overtaken by plans for ‘Project 28A’ class
ships which might involve a trimaran hull.
Pakistan
Neighbouring Pakistan prefers its surface
fleet to consist of a mixture of frigates and
fast attack craft while Sri Lanka focuses
upon OPVs. However, Bangladesh has
incorporated requirements for corvettes in
the ambitious defence procurement plan it
published in February 2009. Two small, 600
tonne, corvettes or patrol craft are in the
plan but China’s separate tender for two
corvettes has been accepted and Dhaka is
considering a long term plan to order four
more corvettes from Turkey.
The choice of corvettes and/or OPVs by
Asian navies will clearly be shaped by a raft
of factors including cost, theatre of operations and the need to have dedicated craft
for the small surface combatant role. It is
clear, however, that these vessels will continue to be found in Asian naval inventories
well into the decade.
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MOBILE
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HEAVEN SENT
Since the dawn of the space age, Satellite
Communications (SATCOM) has provided
Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) ranges for
the transfer of large quantities of voice and
data traffic. Increasingly SATCOM transmitters
are being miniaturized, enabling troops and
vehicles to stay in touch with other echelons
of command far away.
by Thomas Withington
raditionally the military has
relied on High Frequency (HF) 330 Megahertz (MHz) radio for
BLOS communications. The
advantage of HF compared to
Very High Frequency (VHF/30-300MHz)
and Ultra high Frequency (300MHz to three
gigahertz) communications, both of which
are limited to line-of-sight ranges, is its enviable range made possible by the ability of
HF signals to skip across the upper reaches
of the atmosphere to reach their destination.
Yet HF has a major disadvantage for military users; chiefly its inability to be used for
the transmission and reception of significant
quantities of data.
T
Six decades ago during the Second World
War when HF communications began to be
used en masse this was not so much of a
concern, but on today’s battlefield where the
need to transfer large quantities of imagery
and written information, as well as voice
traffic, the narrow bandwidth offered by HF
for data transmission is a significant impediment. SATCOM, on the other hand, provides a capability by which large packages
of data and voice communications can be
moved across global distances. In the past
military SATCOM has primarily been used
to connect static headquarters in the field
back to National Command Authorities
(NCA) or to other fixed installations in the-
atre. Nonetheless, advances in miniaturization are reducing the physical space needed
by military communications systems and
antenna technology which is in turn placing
lightweight SATCOM terminals in the
hands of the individual soldier both in the
form of soldier-carried flyaway terminals
and vehicle-mounted equipment. Such
apparatus can use a range of dedicated SATCOM frequencies including the L- (1-2GHz),
X- (8-12GHz), Ku- (12-18GHz) and Kabands (26.5-40GHz).
L-3 Communications
Australia is one country which is enhancing
its mobile SATCOM capabilities. L-3
Communications of the United States is
Satellite communications are now an
indispensable part of contemporary military
operations. The United States Warfighter
Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) is
providing mobile SATCOM to several echelons
of command © US DoD
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supplying the Australian Defence Force
(ADF) with Hawkeye-III Lite 1.2 metre
(three feet) diameter Very Small Aperture
Terminals (VSATs). Deliveries of these terminals will commence in 2014. Once in
service, they will carry X-, Ku- and Ka-band
traffic with the Ku-band communications
utilizing the United States Army’s Strategic
Command (ARSTRAT) network. As well as
using ARSTRAT, Australia is a partner in
the United States Air Force Wideband
Global SATCOM initiative.
Thales
French defence electronics specialists Thales
are heavily involved in the world of military
SATCOM. Unsurprisingly, they have won
significant business in their home market, as
well as with other customers worldwide.
The firm is currently performing work to
extend Internet Protocol (IP) network architecture to the ground component of the
French armed forces joint SYRACUSE-3
(Systeme de Radio Communications
Utilisant un Satellite-3/Satellite Radio
Communications-3) satellite constellation.
SYRACUSE-3 provides SATCOM to
French users across the Extremely High
Frequency, X- and Ku-band frequencies. The
current work that the company is undertaking is important as it adds an IP network to
Ka-band intra-theatre and theatre-to-NCA
communications. Along with providing
extra SATCOM capability to mobile platforms such as ships, these improvements
can be utilized for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
(UAVs). SYRACUSE-3 works alongside
Thales’s System-21 SATCOM terminal
which can be used on-the-move and has the
capability to ‘remember’ the position of its
satellite in the heavens, should its gaze
become temporarily obscured by tall buildings or natural features.
The System-21 product is at the heart of a
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
initiative involving Thales which is enhancing the Alliance’s Electronic Protection
Measure (EPM) secure SATCOM modem
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system, known as the NATO-EMS (NATO
EPM Modem System). The NATO-EMS provides a secure link between mobile and
fixed SATCOM terminals and Thales is performing work to increase the quantity of
Thales is heavily involved in the provision of
military satellite communications. The Frenchbased company provides full SATCOM spacecraft
payloads as well as individual terminals © Thales
traffic which the NATO-EMS can handle
and extending its bandwidth to enable more
users to employ the NATO-EMS when
required. Thales is implementing a solution
based upon the firms’ System-21 product
Israel
Alongside Thales, Israeli defence electronics specialists Elbit Systems is well-versed
in the design and production of specialist
SATCOM on-the-move terminals. The company’s offerings include the ELSAT-2100
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General Dynamics’ Warrior product line provides
a number of military SATCOM products. The firm
is a leader in the field of military satellite
communications, much as it is in the conventional
tactical communications domain © US DoD
product which is terminal designed to outfit wheeled and tracked vehicles. In 2012,
Elbit announced that it had won a contract
to equip an unnamed Latin American
country with the ELSAT-2100 product. This
is not the only mobile SATCOM product in
the Elbit Systems stable. Other offerings
include the MSR-3000 tactical SATCOM
product which provides tri-band (X, Ku
and Ka) communications in a package
weighing a mere twelve kilograms (26lbs).
The MSR-2000, meanwhile, has been
designed as a vehicular SATCOM package
operable with Elbit’s MSR-R and MSR-PRO
rugged broadband receivers.
United States
A quiet revolution is ongoing in the United
States regarding tactical conventional radio
communications used by its armed forces
which has witnessed the restructuring of the
44
erstwhile the former Joint Tactical Radio
System (JTRS) programme. Similarly important work is being performed regarding
SATCOM on-the-move. In June 2013, the
Space and Terrestrial Communications
Directorate (STCD) belonging to the US
Army’s
Communications
Electronics
Research and Development Engineering
Centre (CERDEC) announced the commencement of development for an open systems standard to facilitate the procurement
of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS)
Distributed Aperture SATCOM (DAS)
antennas to equip current and future classes
of US Army vehicles.
These antennas, as their name suggests,
will be distributed around a vehicle’s hull to
provide mobile SATCOM. Once the open
standard is developed, it could be applied to
the Distributed and Embedded Standard
SATCOM
On-The-Move
Terminal
Architecture (DESSTA), itself part of the US
Army’s Warfighter Information NetworkTactical (WIN-T) which is providing mobile
voice and data BLOS communications to US
Army vehicle platforms. The goal of the DAS
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open architecture initiative is to develop standards which will enable the utilization of
COTS antennas and equipment to be
installed with ease on vehicles to provide X-,
Ku- and Ka-band mobile SATCOM. This
development will enable vehicle mobile SATCOM terminal manufacturers to develop
products which can adopt these open standards and thus be easily installed.
Looking towards WIN-T several developments have been witnessed over the past
year. In September 2012, SATCOM specialists L3 Linkabit announced that it had successfully tested its RMPM-1000 modem
using an Over-The-Air (OTA) multiband,
multi-beam configuration across the United
States Air Force’s WGS-3 (Wideband Global
SATCOM-3) satellite. This satellite forms
part of the planned seven-spacecraft WGS
SATCOM constellation being funded by the
United States and Australian Departments
of Defence. The test was performed using
the Network Centric Waveform (NCW)
which forms part of Increment-1 of WIN-T
to provide dynamic SATCOM at optimized
bandwidths. WIN-T Increment-1 enables
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craft combined. Four of the WGS satellites
are operational and the constellation could
eventually include seven birds.
Other important milestones for the WGS
programme were reached in 2012 including
Boeing’s demonstration of its Ka-band SOTM
terminal. The demonstration saw these terminals used to carry voice, data and imagery
traffic between three locations in the
Continental United States and Australia. The
terminals carried the traffic which was
relayed from AM General High Mobility
Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs)
equipped with cameras connected to vehicular radios which also carried the data and
voice traffic. The significance of this experiment was that it underlined the ability of
vehicles to handle SATCOM traffic across
intercontinental ranges.
networking at-the-halt at the operational,
core, division, brigade and battalion levels.
NCW also forms part of the United States
Marine Corps (USMC) Network-On-TheMove (NOTM) mobile command and control system.
The demonstration performed by L3
Linkabit highlighted the ability of the
RPRM-1000 modem to provide a link
between a fixed X-band hub and two Kaband mobile SATCOM terminals. Beyond
the RPRM-1000 modems, L3 Linkabit provides the AN/USC-66 KaSAT Ka-band
long-range SATCOM terminal for the WGS
architecture. The AN/USC-66 is transportable in four flight cases and is quick to
build and disassemble.
The WGS initiative will replace the existing Defense Satellite Communications
System-III (DSCS-III) constellation, the last
of the 14 spacecraft which constitute the
DSCS-III network entered service in 2003.
WGS offers a major enhancement vis-à-vis
the quantity of SATCOM traffic that it can
handle. This includes 4.8GHz of instantaneous bandwidth; a ten-fold improvement
on that offered by the DSCS-III. As a means
of comparison, the first WGS spacecraft,
USA-195, offers 2.5GHz of bandwidth;
already more than all of the DSCS-III space-
Advances in miniaturization are reducing the
physical space needed
by military communications systems
placing lightweight
SATCOM terminals in
the hands of the soldier
The United States is
overhauling much of its
military communications
architecture. This includes
the replacement of the
erstwhile Milstar satellite
communications
constellation with the
Advanced Extremely High
Frequency SATCOM network
© Lockheed Martin
ITT Exelis’s GNOMAD provides global satellite
communications on-the-move. This includes
the provision of Ku-band services in both
vehicular and soldier terminals with data rates
of two megabits-per-second © ITT Exelis
Work is ongoing in the US Army to augment existing, conventional tactical radio
systems with SATCOM capabilities. In
January 2013, General Dynamics was awarded a $5 million contract to supply upgrade
kits to enable the force’s AN/PRC-155 multiband manpack transceivers to access the
force’s Mobile User Objective System
(MUOS). The MUOS satellite constellation
will provide narrowband SATCOM at a
maximum rate of 64 kilobits-per-second for
use by the United States and allied forces.
The upgrade will be rolled out across up to
100 AN/PRC-155 sets to facilitate voice and
data communications across the US Navy’s
MUOS constellation. MUOS effectively provides cell-phone style communications services for manpack, vehicular, ship-borne and
airborne radios. In hardware terms, the
upgrade adds a power amplifier along with
the necessary software to support the MUOS
waveform. The upgrade will be completed
by the end of 2013.
Harris and ViaSat
In addition to the DoD initiatives discussed
above, a number of companies lease
SATCOM services to military customers.
They include ViaSat, based in San Diego,
California, which offer K-band and Ka-band
communications using its own spacecraft
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which provide coverage over North
America. Additional spacecraft are expected
to be launched by the company in the coming years which will extend the coverage
offered by ViaSat still further.
Like many commercial SATCOM leasing
houses ViaSat offers a suite of services ranging from straightforward communications
airtime through to comprehensive end-toend solutions in which the company will
roll out an entire SATCOM network for its
client including the provision of hardware.
Along with providing commercial military
SATCOM services, ViaSat furnishes the
US armed forces with its AN/PSC-14
Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN)
SATCOM terminal which can be employed
as either a manpack or vehicular system
providing 422kbps data rates across a
secure link via the International Maritime
Satellite, better known as INMARSAT.
Harris CapRock is another US-based
company offering SATCOM services to military users. Based in Fairfax, Virginia, the
company can establish a comprehensive
SATCOM network via its CommandAccess
service. This can include the provision of
Harris CapRock is one of several companies
which offer a full suite of satellite communications services to military users. This
enables such customers to contract these services
as opposed to developing their own expensive
SATCOM capabilities © HarrisCapRock
The United Kingdom’s military
satellite communications
services are being enhanced
via the Skynet-5 constellation
which has its ground segment
based in southern England
and which provides SATCOM
to fixed and mobile
installations © Astrium
vehicle-mounted and soldier SATCOM terminals and end-to-end SATCOM services
carrying traffic to and from the strategic to
tactical levels. This is done using SATCOM
links which are fully secure conforming to
military standards. CommandAccess made
its debut in 2009 and, since then, has been
used by several NATO nations. The company is currently rolling out a new service
which will see the provision of UHF communications across BLOS ranges using SATCOM. As noted above while UHF can handle large quantities of data, it has a line-ofsight reach. This not only restricts the ability
of UHF traffic to be carried over-thehorizon, but can create problems in urban or
rugged terrain where buildings and mountains sometimes block transmissions. The
ability to move UHF traffic across SATCOM
links is one way to avoid such challenges.
Placing mobile SATCOM in the hands of
the individual soldier could herald important developments on the battlefield. At the
purely practical level, the ability to keep in
touch with comrades and other echelons of
command regardless of physical obstacles
such as buildings and mountain ranges
enables troops to keep in touch irrespective
of where they are. Tactically, the ability to
move large quantities of voice and data traffic contributes to that oft-repeated military
ViaSat provides K-band
and Ka-band communications coverage
over North America.
Additional spacecraft are
expected to be launched
by the company which
will extend coverage
mantra ‘situational awareness’. Critical
information can be passed down to soldiers
on the frontline such as video gathered by
UAV operators in another continent which
may show that a high-value, wanted insurgent is driving their car behind a hill in their
immediate locale. In such a scenario, this
capability may have a strategic effect too,
not only alerting the troops to their nearby
quarry, but giving them the opportunity to
capture a known ‘ne’er do well’ and to
change the course of the conflict. Ultimately,
information is power, and the more of this
that can flow to and from soldiers, the
stronger they will be.
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The government wants an
all-professional force by the
end of 2014, although many
obstacles will likely prevent
this © Gordon Arthur
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MADE
IN TAIWAN
Although the Korean Peninsula has been
grabbing headlines in 2013, another simmering
tension exists between China and Taiwan.
The re-election of President Ma Ying-jeou in
January 2012 could be seen as a vote
for the status quo as ties between the two
Chinese states gradually warm.
by Gordon Arthur
A Dassault Mirage 2000-5Ei of the ROCAF taxis at Hsinchu Air Base. This is currently the most
capable air defence aircraft in the air force © Gordon Arthur
owever,” Taiwan’s Defence
Minister
Kao
Hua-Chu
warned in the country’s 2013
Quadrennial Defence Review,
“to this day Mainland China
has never renounced the use of force against
Taiwan and its annual defence budget
growth has continuously increased at a double-digit rate.” Moreover, in November
2012, Mainland China declared in its 2013
White Paper it would continue “expanding
and intensifying military preparedness” and
“building strong national defence and powerful armed forces commensurate with
China’s international standing.”
H
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The two countries maintain a warlike
posture. In September 2012, three retired
Taiwanese officers were arrested amidst
fears they had passed information about
Taiwan’s submarines and naval doctrine to
Beijing. In the worst case of Chinese espionage in 50 years, authorities conceded
Taiwan’s Po Sheng air defence command
and control network could have been compromised by Major General Lo Hsien-che
before his arrest in 2011. William Stanton,
Washington’s de facto ambassador to the
Republic of China (ROC) from 2009-12,
conceded the success of Chinese espionage
and the “potential loss of unknown quanti-
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Destined to replace the BAE Systems M113-based
tracked family, the indigenous CM32 “Cloud
Leopard” from the ORDC is an extremely
important vehicle for the ROCA © Gordon Arthur
ties of classified information...undermines
US confidence in security cooperation
with Taiwan.”
Restructuring
China’s defence budget, the world’s secondlargest, eclipsed Taiwan’s 2013 spending of
USD10.5 billion (2.1% of GDP). Furthermore,
Taiwan expenditure has decreased annually
under President Ma. A US Congress-sponsored report entitled ‘Taiwan’s Declining
Defense Spending Could Jeopardise Military
Preparedness’, published in June 2013,
warned Taiwan’s “diminishing ability” to
maintain a credible deterrent capability
could provide “incentives and create opportunities” for China, including military coercion. The report warned, “Taiwan could find
it increasingly difficult to make progress
toward key modernisation goals, such as
preparing for a wider range of missions at
greater distances from Taiwan, and integrating innovative and asymmetric capabilities.”
In 2004 the Republic of China (ROC)
Armed Forces possessed 385,000 troops.
This has already fallen to 270,000 and will
50
drop to 215,000 by the end of 2014 to produce a “small but superb, small but strong,
small but smart” force. The 2011-14 Jingtsui
modernisation programme is abolishing
conscription, streamlining active-duty
forces and expanding reserves. Taiwan
wants a wholly professional force by the end
of 2014, but the military fell 4,000 short of its
goal of 15,000 volunteers in 2012.
Maintaining conscript levels is unfeasible
because of declining birth rates, but the voluntarism plan is destined to fail unless the
defence budget jumps significantly.
Voluntarism increases personnel costs, but
the decreasing budget prevents benefit
packages from significantly improving. The
corollary is a lack of incentive for young
recruits and retention difficulties. On 1st
January 2013 the original one-year conscription period changed to just four months of
compulsory basic military training.
The previous six headquarters (Army,
Navy, Air Force, Combined Logistics, Reserve
and Military Police) are merging into just
three (Army, Navy and Air Force) as the
country seeks a “Hard ROC” defence capability with seven policy objectives: 1. Building
credible capabilities; 2. Demonstrating
defence resolution; 3. Safeguarding regional
stability; 4. Strengthening intangible combat
capabilities; 5. Enhancing disaster prevention
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and preparedness; 6. Promoting voluntarism;
and 7. Improving welfare for personnel.
Chinese threat
China has the ability to defeat Taiwan, but
the question is at what cost? An amphibious invasion would be bloody, plus China
is hampered by inadequate sealift.
Nevertheless, Taiwan takes this threat seriously and annual exercises practise counterattacking simulated landings. Taiwan’s
fighters and Surface-to-Air Missiles
(SAMs, including Raytheon MIM-23B IHawk, Raytheon Patriot PAC-2+ and PAC3, CSIST Tien Kung II and III) would pose
a major risk to People’s Liberation Army
Air Force (PLAAF) airstrikes. A naval
blockade would be a lengthy undertaking
and produce mounting global pressure
against China.
Thus, a missile decapitation strike offers
the lowest risk to China, and this is why the
Second Artillery Force has 1,500 Short- and
Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM,
MRBM) aimed at Taiwan. While such a
strike would draw severe international criticism, China would have severely degraded
Taiwan’s military response. For this reason,
a credible missile defence capability must
be a priority for the island. In February
2012, medium- and long-range SAM units
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were consolidated within a new Missile
Command subordinated to the General
Staff Headquarters.
To counter overwhelming Chinese missile barrages, Taiwan has invested in making
its forces mobile, strengthening commandand-control infrastructure, and hardening
underground facilities. Another threat is
cyber-warfare, with the head of the National
Security Bureau (NSB) earlier this year
assessing the China threat as “very severe”.
In the first half of 2012, hackers launched
more than one million attacks on the NSB.
Missiles
Taiwan would need to intercept a significant
percentage of Chinese missiles to pose a
major deterrence. Taiwan is presently
acquiring four MIM-104F Patriot PAC-3
(Patriot Advanced Capability-3) batteries
(one already delivered ahead of schedule)
and upgrading three older batteries to PAC2/Guidance Enhance Missile (GEM) and
PAC-3 configuration. A 2010 request to the
USA asked for another two PAC-3 batteries.
Taiwan’s Quadrennial Defence Review
(QDR), released in March 2013, prioritised
the integration of short-, medium- and long-
The Kuang Hua VI is a new missile boat
built by the CSBC Corporation. The 30
171-tonne boats carry HF-II anti-ship
missiles © Ho Ji Yi via Gordon Arthur
range air defence systems and building a
multi-layered interdiction network based on
the principle of “first near then far, first low
then high, first protect vulnerable points
then comprehensive protection”. The vertically launched Tien Keng III (Skybow) SAM
has entered mass production as part of the
air defence network.
A missile defence shield must be tied to
early-warning and tracking capacities,
which underscores the importance of the
Surveillance Radar Programme (SRP). The
induction of a lone radar atop a Loshan
mountain suffered delays but it became
operational on 11th December 2012 when it
tracked North Korea’s Unha-3 ‘satellite’
launch. Taiwan has just one phased-array
radar because political wrangling withheld
funding for a second that would have provided 360º coverage and some redundancy.
The solitary SRP radar is vulnerable as it
would be a priority target in any Chinese
attack. Work is still required to fully integrate the SRP with the Patriot and Po Sheng
command and control networks.
Taiwan has active missile development
programmes, and the latest news concerns
the Yun Feng (Cloud Peak), a land-based
supersonic Anti-Ship Missile (AShM)
Wearing distinctive markings, this Sikorsky
S-70C Blue Hawk is operated by the ROCAF in
the search-and-rescue role © Gordon Arthur
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A series of Chrysler M60A3 TTS (Tank Thermal
Sight) tanks, the most capable in the army
inventory, participates in Exercise Han Kuang in
April 2013 © Ho Ji Yi via Gordon Arthur
come to Taiwan’s aid, plus US arms sales are
an irritant to Sino-US ties as the two become
economically interlocked.
designed to target Chinese invasion fleets.
Based on the Hsiung Feng III (Brave Wind)
AShM, the Cloud Peak is apparently separate to a programme developing an offensive MRBM with expected 647 nautical mile
(1,200 kilometre) range, sufficient to reach
targets in central China. The Chung-Shan
Institute of Science and Technology
(CSIST) will reportedly begin production of
this high-altitude missile next year. The
324nm (600km) range HF-IIE land-attack
cruise missile is deployed in three
squadrons on mobile ground launchers in
northern Taiwan. The existence of such
missiles complicates Chinese strategic calculations and makes potential military
action more uncertain.
Air force
As Taiwan pursues an offshore engagement
strategy, the Navy (ROCN) and Air Force
(ROCAF) are pivotal in keeping Chinese
forces as far as possible from Taiwanese
shores. Investment is needed though as ageing F-5E/F fighters will retire within five
years, and expensive-to-maintain Mirage
2000-5s will be mothballed in five-to-ten
years. In September 2011, the US Congress
was notified of the possible modernisation
of 145 F-16A/B fighters, with a critical element being the retrofit of either Raytheon or
Northrop Grumman Active Electronically
Scanned Array (AESA) radars. Taiwan
signed a $3.7 billion letter of offer and
acceptance in July 2012. As launch customer
for the AESA radar, the expensive upgrade
will push back other programmes.
Incidentally, the Aerospace Industrial
Development Corporation (AIDC) signed
an agreement with Lockheed Martin to
explore offset opportunities, including a
local maintenance centre so F-16s can be
refurbished in-country.
For some time Taiwan was requesting 66
F-16C/D Block 50/52 fighters. The USA
acknowledged a “legitimate need” for them
but President Barack Obama’s government
USA
Taiwan acts as a strategic bulwark for the
USA against Chinese expansion as it “rebalances” to the Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, the
USA is a key component in Taiwan’s dynamic-deterrence equation and, as it struggles
with military preparedness, Taiwan may seek
closer ties with Washington. In any war, the
Ministry of National Defense (MND) aims to
survive a two-to-four-week onslaught, long
enough for the USA to intervene. President
George Bush stated in 2001 that the USA
would do “whatever it took” to defend
Taiwan. However, many Taiwan officials are
beginning to doubt the USA’s willingness to
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stalled on the issue, and finally Taiwan
seems to have decided it cannot afford them.
Taiwan hinted at a possible Lockheed
Martin F-35A/B/C Lightning-II Joint Strike
Fighter (JSF) request, and because runways
would be targeted by China, a Short Take
Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) fighter
such as the F-35B is ideal. However, the USA
insists the JSF will not be made available to
Taiwan for at least a decade. The air force is
also seeking new trainer jets from overseas.
The MND announced the first stage of
the Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF) MidLife Upgrade (MLU) would conclude by the
end of 2013. The ROCAF is upgrading 71
AIDC F-CK-1 fighters with new radars,
head-up displays and digital flight control
systems, and the MLU should offer the IDF
another 20 years of life. Series production of
the CSIST’s Wan Chien standoff air-tosurface missile will commence next year. To
be carried by upgraded IDFs, the missiles
contain 100+ individual warheads.
Four Northrop Grumman E-2T Hawkeye
aircraft were shipped to the USA to undergo
upgrade to E-2K (Hawkeye 2000) standard
with an upgraded Raytheon mission computer, new navigation suite and Joint
Tactical Information Distribution System
(JTIDS), for example. All have returned, joining two other E-2Ks, to give Taiwan a modern Airborne Early Warning (AEW) fleet. In
a rare European military sale, the ROCAF
commissioned three Eurocopter EC225
Super Puma search-and-rescue helicopters
in July 2012, with an option for 17 more.
Navy
Tensions are rising in the South China Sea
and, interestingly, Taiwan controls the
largest island in the Spratly Island chain,
Taiping. The Coast Guard Administration is
in charge of Taiping’s defences. In August
2012, 40 millimetre (1.5-inch) antiaircraft
cannons, 120mm (4.7-in) mortars and AT-4
rocket launchers were deployed there, plus
a tactical air navigation facility is being built
to help C-130 aircraft land on the islet’s 1,200
metre (3,937 feet) airstrip.
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ROCS Wu Chang (FFG-1207) is one of six ‘Kang Ding’ class frigates based on the French
‘Lafayette’ class design © Ho Ji Yi via Gordon Arthur
China’s expanding submarine fleet is of
enormous concern, so the arrival of the first
of twelve refurbished Lockheed Martin
P-3C Orion aircraft on Taiwanese shores
later this year will be welcome. The Boeing
AGM-84L Harpoon-carrying Orions will
replace Grumman S-2T aircraft and they
will be housed at new facilities in Pingtung.
A key problem for Taiwan is its own submarines, with only two serviceable boats.
Taiwan wants eight new submarines but no
European country is willing to raise China’s
ire by selling such equipment. Because the
USA no longer manufactures diesel-electric
boats, Taiwan is in a quandary. In desperation it has proposed building them itself,
a route fraught with risk, but one which
may yet prove the only alternative.
Two reactivated ex-US Navy ‘Osprey’
class minehunters reached the ROCN in
July 2012, whilst Taiwan is contemplating
local construction of six minehunters over a
twelve-year period. Minehunters are vital
in deterring a potential Chinese blockade.
The last 20 ‘Hai Ou‘ class fast attack craft
retired in July 2012 after being progressively replaced by 30 indigenously developed
Kuang Hua VI missile boats armed with
HF-II AShMs.
Last November, the MND announced
Lung Teh Shipbuilding had begun producing a 500-ton missile corvette prototype
under the Hsun Hai programme. Up to
eleven stealthy catamarans are to be manufactured, with the first expected in late 2014.
It is the private shipbuilder’s first military
54
contract, which makes some observers nervous. The corvette will carry up to eight HFIII and HF-II AShMs, a 76mm (2.9-in) gun
and Phalanx Close-In Weapons System.
The navy has been fitting ramjet-powered
HF-III supersonic AShMs to the 580-ton ‘Jin
Chiang’class patrol boats. Seven of twelve
vessels are being upgraded with these 70nmrange (130km) missiles dubbed “carrier
killers”. The same missile is being installed
aboard the first five of eight ‘Oliver Hazard
Perry’ class frigates. Taiwan plans to acquire
120 missiles and they could eventually be fitted to ‘Lafayette’ and ‘Knox’ class frigates too.
The MND is considering buying two more exUS Navy ‘Perry’ class frigates fitted with
Lockheed Martin SQR-19 towed array sonars.
Army
Because of a lack of strategic depth, the ROC
Army (ROCA) is the final line of defence
against Chinese invasion. The army has
restructured into more mobile brigades
(three mechanised-infantry and four
armoured) able to quickly counter-strike an
invasion. Taiwan took the domestic path
with its CM32 “Cloud Leopard” 8x8
armoured vehicle built by the Ordnance
Readiness Development Center (ORDC) to
replace its tracked BAE Systems M113-based
vehicles. Induction was persistently delayed,
but low-rate production is ongoing. An initial order for 368 vehicles is due for completion by 2018, and a requirement for 550
CM32s in a range of variants is envisaged.
Taiwan has some 1,100 tanks but these
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are mostly older-generation Chrysler M48H
and M60A3 TTS (Tank Thermal Sight)
designs. The USA earlier rejected a request
for General Dynamics M1A2 Abrams tanks,
so Taiwan is instead likely to pursue 200
refurbished M1A1s. Series production of the
indigenous RT-2000 multiple-rocket launcher commenced last year. Capable of firing
117mm (4.6-in), 180mm (7-in) and 230mm
(9-in) rockets, 43 RT-2000s will be procured.
The type participated in live-fire exercises
on Penghu Island during Exercise Han
Kuang in April 2013.
Taiwan was the first foreign customer to
order the Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopter
in June 2011. The Foreign Military Sale (FMS)
of 30 aircraft gives the ROCA a considerable
step up in capabilities compared to the current Bell AH-1W fleet. The first Apache
should arrive in the third quarter of 2013.
Staying with helicopters, Sikorsky is building the first four of 60 UH-60M Black Hawk
helicopters for Taiwan in a $3.1 billion deal.
These will replace the Bell UH-1H and first
deliveries are expected in March 2014.
Perhaps, after all, China does not need to
attack Taiwan. The QDR warned of China’s
“three-front war” of legal opinion, public
opinion and psychological warfare. China is
“using propaganda and cross-Strait exchange
activities to confuse the public’s awareness of
friend/foe and disunite the people,” it
reported. Many believe China can more
‘cheaply’ conquer Taiwan through economic
investment! Conversely, Taiwan’s best
defence may be trade as China cements its
place in the global economy. Would China
risk international isolation and its prosperity
by militarily invading Taiwan?
A SIA PAC I FI C
C 4 I
S Y S T E M S
CONNECTING
THE DOTS
A fully functional and network-linked C4I system requires access and interoperability with all the three domains across the land and sea based
command and control structures, land, air and sea based communication systems, and tactical and operational command on the ground ©TRS
56
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The expansive Asia-Pacific region has hitherto enjoyed
sustained stability, but increasing competitive interests are
leading the nations in the littoral to bolster their defences.
According a vital impetus to these initiatives towards securing
their interests and their assets are C4I systems that
are evolving as a credible force multiplier.
by Sarosh Bana
he return of Asia-Pacific to the centre of world affairs is the great
power shift of the 21st century. The
region has hitherto enjoyed general peace and prosperity for almost
70 years since the Second World War. But it is
now being unsettled by the emergence of contesting territorial claims from China and the
sporadic belligerence of North Korea.
Thus while the countries in the littoral find
worth in commercial and diplomatic engagement, they see merit also in securing their
interests and their assets. And as they bolster
their defences against external aggression as
well as against terrorism and cyber assaults,
accordingly a vital impetus to these initiatives
are Command, Control, Communications,
Computers and Intelligence (C4I) systems
that are evolving as credible force multipliers.
With the battlespace becoming more complex, dealing with information from multiple
environments like land, sea, air, space, sensors, networks and data sources is complicating combat planning and decision-making.
C4I systems, either by themselves or built
into platforms, form a powerful augmented
T
capability to be used by the commander to
conduct operations by helping integrate the
chain of command and control, information
management, data fusion and dissemination.
Market Size
In its ‘C4I Forecast’ released in May,
Connecticut-based Forecast International
projects that the combined market value of
this domain being worth $51 billion over
the next ten years. However, it foresees less
than half the programmes being completed
within this period, bringing annual sales
down 47 per cent, from $7 billion in 2013 to
$3.7 billion in 2022. The forecast also
expects upcoming defence budgets to be
very tight on account of the global economic downturn. According to the analysis,
Raytheon, General Dynamics, Harris,
Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin
will be the top five C4I defence companies
over the next decade, in terms of sales volume and market share.
Multilateral information sharing in the
Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) was institutionalized in July last
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In May 2013, the Indian Navy received the first
of the eight P-8Is maritime patrol aircraft from
a $2.1 billion order placed with Boeing in
2009. They will be outfitted with the Data Link
II internet-based digital transmission system
developed by state-owned Bharat Electricals
Ltd © Boeing
year with the ten-member grouping’s navies
collectively developing the ASEAN
Information Portal, or AIP. The portal allows
for the swift dissemination and sharing of
information amongst operational commanders and centres to enable effective and efficient responses to maritime threats. Four
months after its launch, AIP helped regional
maritime agencies exchange information on
an incident of a hijacked tanker, which led
Vietnamese authorities to arrest the culprits.
Amber Dubey, partner and head, aerospace and defence at global consultancy
KPMG, maintains that C4I interoperability
has always been a topic of discussion. A
common C4I network platform specific to
the Asia-Pacific may have many practical
hurdles considering the geo-political challenges in the region, he says. “C4I networks
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rating real time data links, optical fiber links,
encrypted radio and satellite communicationsnetworks.
“All defence funding in India is done
through the Ministry of Defence,” mentions
Mr. Dubey. “The cost of BMS alone would
be in billions of dollars, and the project costs
of most of these programmes that are yet to
be implemented are not known in the public
domain.” Rod Hodson, director US operations, ThalesRaytheonSystems Air C2, also
mentions: “We can’t comment on the timeline for any specific country or project.
Generally speaking, national sovereignty is
a fundamental asset for any nation and having systems in place to monitor and protect
sovereignty is a high priority.”
are based on sensitive and classified technology and algorithms,” Mr. Dubey
remarks. “Countries develop these indigenously and sharing between countries is
very limited in this area; unlike NATO or
the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC), there
is no framework for common defence practices in the Asia-Pacific region.”
India
Acknowledging the need for a Cyber
Warfare Infrastructure (CWI), India’s
Ministry of Defence (MoD) has predicated it
on the creation of a C4ISR backbone, where
I2SR is intelligence, information, surveillance and reconnaissance. The development
of an indigenous capability has been gathering momentum with participation from
both the public as well as the private sectors.
Bharat Electricals Ltd (BEL) and the
Centre for Artificial Intelligence and
Robotics (CAIR) have been chosen for developing the Artillery Combat, Command and
Control System (ACCCS). BEL, Tata,
Electronic Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL)
and CMC Ltd are setting up the Tactical
Command, Control, Communications and
Information (TAC-C3I) system for field formations. Ground-based Electronic Warfare
projects are being produced by BEL, CMC
and Tata Power Strategic Electronics
Division. And while the Army Wide Area
Network (AWAN) will be set up by Tata
Infotech and Wipro Technologies, BEL will
be developing the Air Defence Control and
Reporting System (ADCRS).
DRDO laboratory, Armament Research
and Development Establishment (ARDE), has
developed F-INSAS (Futuristic Infantry
Soldier as a System) that is designed to turn
India’s infantry into fully-networked, digitised, self-contained 21st century warriors. FINSAS will be rolled out in stages by 2020 and
is said to be similar in scope and objectives to
infantry modernisation projects such as the
US Army’s Future Force Warrior initiative.
Franco-American ThalesRaytheonSystems
(TRS) has provided C4I platforms and subsystems to the Indian defence establishment,
but the development and integration of the
network and its systems have been executed
by Indian defence labs or entities like BEL,
ECIL and CAIR.
In May 2013, the Navy received the first of
58
Indonesia and Singapore are among 15 nations
where the Lockheed Martin FPS-117 radar is in
operation. The company says these systems have
accumulated over 1,000 system-years of
operating experience and are adding one more
year every four days, with more FPS-117 systems
in operation today than all other competitive
radars combined © Lockheed Martin
the eight Boeing P-8I Poseidon maritime
patrol aircraft. The P-8Is will be outfitted with
the Data Link II internet-based digital transmission system developed by BEL. This
Indian-made technology will enable exchange
of tactical data and messages between aircraft,
ships and shore installations.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched
the Air Force Net (AFNET), a dedicated
secure communications infrastructure for
network-centric operations. AFNET integrates information sharing between
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs),
Airborne Early Warning and Control
Systems (AWACS), space-based assets, combat fighters operating in air defence role, air
defence sensors, air defence weapons, and
command and control authorities incorpo-
The Indian Air Force has
launched the Air Force
Net (AFNET), a dedicated
secure communications infrastructure
for network-centric
operations
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Australasia
Lockheed Martin Australia Pty Ltd announced in June 2013 that it is teaming up with
four Air Traffic Management (ATM) technology providers to offer its Skyline
Enterprise solution for Airservices
Australia and Australian Department of
Defence (DoD) ‘oneSky Australia’ procurement. The four partners are Australiabased
Adacel
Technologies
Ltd,
Daronmont Technologies, Frequentis
Australasia Pty Ltd and Airbus ProSky,
with subsidiary Metron Aviation. Skyline
Enterprise will harmonise civil-military
operations ensuring defence readiness and
more secure skies. In its Defence Capability
Plan issued in September 2011, New
Zealand is acquiring the Defence
Command and Control System (DC2s) system, a high-level decision support and
intelligence system for joint operations. It is
expected to be completed by 2016. The
majority of the country’s tactical C4I capability will be delivered under its NetworkEnabled Army programme.
Thailand
Saab was awarded two contracts by the
Royal Thai Navy in June 2011 for the
upgrade of combat management and fire
control systems on two Naresuan Class
frigates. Dan Enstedt, president and chief
executive officer, Saab Asia Pacific, says that
under the contract, his company will supply
the 9LV Mk4 combat management system
(CMS), CEROS200 fire control system and
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A SIA PAC I FI C
C 4 I
S Y S T E M S
data-link equipment, the deliveries expected
to be completed by 2014.
The 9LV Mk4 CMS consists of MultiFunction Consoles (MFC) providing input
and display facilities to control the system
and integrated sensors and weapons. The
CMS is integrated with the EOS-500 smart
sensor system, navigation radar, surveillance radar, small or medium calibre gun,
Data Link Processor (DLP), transponder,
global positioning system and wind sensor.
The system will perform command and control, identification and tracking, as well as
weapons engagement. Shipboard data links
will allow communication between the
frigates, JAS-39 Gripen warplanes and Saab
340 Erieye Airborne Early Warning aircraft
of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF).
In 2008, C4i Pty. Ltd delivered the existing Air Defence System that provides RTAF
with a complete nationwide end-to-end
Internet Protocol (IP)-based solution. The
system consists of over 20 operational sites
across the country, linked together via an
advanced IP network to provide a true “system of systems” solution.
Malaysia
TRS’s Mr. Hodson says the Malaysian Air
Defence Ground Environment Sector
Operations Centre III (MADGE) has completed full system acceptance by Malaysia’s
Ministry of Defence. The system operates in
real-time and features multi-radar tracking
and a flexible human-machine interface.
Sapura Technologies Sdn Bhd, a Malaysianowned technology-based organisation, and
its technology partner Thales have also been
developing ‘Sakti’, Malaysia’s future soldier
programme, which is part of the country’s
push towards Network Centric Operations
(NCO) that will integrate existing C4I systems. With the establishment of this unit,
Malaysia will become the second ASEAN
country, after Singapore, to formally induct a
future soldier programme into its army units.
Specialising in Electronic Warfare (EW), test and evaluation equipment, engineering, and
engineering services, ITT Exelis C4i undertakes systems checks and quality control of its
advanced products before delivery. The company says that its history testifies to the delivery of
high quality technology products © ITT Exelis
Three Phalcon AWACS mounted on Ilyushin-76
aircraft are already operational in the Indian Air
Force under India’s $1.1 billion tripartite
agreement with Israel and Russia, and there is a
proposal for the purchase of two additional such
platforms © Michael Sender
South Korea
Mr. Dubey points out that the Republic
of Korea’s Tactical C4I is being built on
a $3.8 billion Tactical Information
Communication Network (TICN) being codeveloped by Samsung-Thales, and other
Korean companies Huneed Technologies
and LIG Nex1. Due to begin in 2014, this
project will be an integrated C4I system
linking the army, air force and marines.
According to Mr. Hodson, TRS has provided software systems to Korea’s Master
Control Reporting Centres. Known as the
Book Kuk Sung (BKS) programme, the centres provide situational awareness and asset
control capability for the country’s national
air defence system.
Japan
Lockheed Martin and its trading partner
Itochu Corporation have supplied Japan’s
Ministry of Defence 19 AbleSentry systems
for detection and early warning of a possible
chemical, biological or radiological attack.
Designed for the tactical battlefield,
AbleSentry’s array of networked, remote
sensors uses a sophisticated detection algorithm for threat detection, while minimising
the potential for false alarms. Networked
sensors eliminate the possibility of a single
sensor causing a system-wide alarm.
South East Asia
Lockheed Martin has a teaming agreement
with Indonesian technology firm PT CMI
Teknologi to improve airspace surveillance,
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Pakistan’s signing of a $1.13 billion contract with
Saab for its Saab 2000 aircraft equipped with the
Erieye radar revived the platform’s production.
Erieye is an active phased-array pulse-doppler
multi-mode radar that combines air and sea
surveillance with an effective surveillance area
of 500,000 sq km (193,051 sq miles) © Saab
safety, and management over the Indonesian
archipelago in support of Jakarta’s defence
revitalisation initiative. The partnership will
jointly pursue the National Airspace
Surveillance–Republic of Indonesia (NASRI)
programme with the intent to produce more
than 40 TPS-77 and FPS-117 long-range surveillance radars. Integration of these sensors
with Indonesia’s command and control system will assist the NASRI network in greatly
enhancing air sovereignty and surveillance
over the country’s circa 17,000 islands.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin has supplied
Singapore with PSTAR and FPS-117 radars
that bolster the country’s integrated air
defence environment through long and short
range detection.
On 6 August 2013, Filipino President
Benigno Aquino announced a $1.8 billion
military upgrade to help defend his country’s maritime territory against “bullies”, in
the wake of another face-off with China
at the Scarborough Shoal in the South
China Sea. The upgrade will extensively
cover the Philippines’ surveillance capabilities. The announcement came on the day
Manila protested to Beijing over the “illegal
and provocative” presence of a Chinese
warship and two other vessels at the
disputed shoal. “We will also improve
our communications, intelligence and surveillance systems,” the President added.
62
Pakistan
Pakistan’s signing of a $1.13 billion contract
with Saab for its Saab 2000 aircraft equipped
with the Erieye radar revived the platform’s
production. While the number to be procured has varied between six and eight, the
fourth Saab 2000 Erieye was delivered in
September 2011. This induction is perceived
as a response to India’s $1.1 billion tripartite
agreement with Israel and Russia for the
purchase of Phalcon Airborne Warning and
Control System (AWACS) mounted on
Ilyushin-76 aircraft. Pakistan also has on
The development and
operation of potent,
effective and modern
C4I capabilities are at
the core of China’s
military modernisation
programme
order four Chinese ZDK-03 AWACS from
China, which itself is said to have around 20
AWACS in a mix of new and old systems.
Taiwan
Apart from providing radars ranging from
the GE-592 solid-state 3D radar to the TPS117, Lockheed Martin is helping Taiwan
upgrade its command and control capabilities and providing C4ISR solutions that will
help the country support its programmes
such as the Automated Air Defence System.
China
Lieutenant General (retd) Davinder Kumar,
an army veteran who specialises in
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Network Design Implementation, having
conceptualised, designed and fielded a
variety of communication and computer
networks for the Indian Army, says that the
development and operation of potent C4I
capabilities are at the core of China’s military modernisation programme.
Northrop Grumman, in its report to
the US-China Economic and Security
Review Commission after having been
recently awarded two important contracts
in the domain of cyber security, suggests
that Beijing is adamant in creating
diverse and technically advanced cyberspace abilities. It observes that the Chinese
military’s close relationships with large
Chinese telecommunications firms have
created a path for China to penetrate
supply networks for commodities used
by the US government, military and the
private sector.
China’s cyber capabilities appear
advanced enough to disrupt US military
operations in case of a conflict, the report
notes, adding, “A few weeks before a potential conflict over Taiwan, the People’s
Liberation Army of China may mount a
computer network attack on systems operated by the U.S. Pacific Command and
Transportation Command to confuse the
U.S. command and control picture.”
Such probabilities are driving research
in evolving ever more secure C4I systems.
After all, success is about staying one
step ahead of an adversary through
every phase of a mission. To remain in
this advantageous position, information
superiority is key. Once obtained, information can be turned into the most
lethal resource.
REGIONAL NEWS
s o u t h
A N D
a s i a
D E V E L O P M E N T S
ASIA PACIFIC PROCUREMENT UPDATE
by Pierre Delrieu
On 25th July, Sri Lanka’s
military announced it would be
demilitarising 13 army camps in
the Jaffna peninsula, the island’s
former northern civil war zone.
All military troops are planned
to be removed from the camps
and the sites, “for which the
army paid rent, will be handed
over to the original owners,”
said military officials.
Sri Lanka has faced growing
international criticism for
failing to demilitarize the area
since the 25-year long civil war
ended in 2009, and the
decisions may mark a defining
change in the government’s
stance. Just last year, Sri Lanka
president Mahinda Rajapaksa
had rejected international calls
to demilitarise the region,
refusing to undermine national
security because fears of
remaining active Tamil rebels
in the region. The move is seen
as politically-motivated, coming
after the government called for
provincial council elections in
the Tamil-majority Northern
Province, once the theatre of
several battles between rebels
and government troops. The
government, however, said the
decision and the elections were
not related, adding the military
has gradually been reducing
the presence of troops in the
Jaffna peninsula region where,
at the height of the war, some
30,000 troops were stationed.
Although the date for the
vote has not yet been fixed, the
first council elections in the
province since the end of
the war are likely to be held
in September.
Astrophysics in Bangalore, who
were asked to determine what
exactly the Chinese army had
been witnessing. The
astronomers identified the
UFOs by analyzing the planets’
movements across the sky.
China claims about 90,000
square kilometers (35,000
square miles) of land in the
northeastern Indian state of
Arunachal Pradesh, while
India says the Chinese army is
illegally occupying 38,000
square kilometers (15,000
square miles) of the western
Himalayan territory on the
Aksai Chin plateau.
China is also a long-time
ally and weapons supplier to
Pakistan, India’s historical
rival. Beijing on the other hand
does not look favourably on the
presence of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and
the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile in India and is
also growing suspicious of
New Delhi's ties with the
United States.
SRI LANKA TO
DEMILITARIZE FORMER
CIVIL WAR ZONE
INDIA DEVELOPS
TIES WITH BURMA
TO COUNTER CHINA
India is developing its
diplomatic and military
relations with its neighbour
Burma, a strategy to counter
the growing influence of
China in the region.
India announced it will
help Burma build Offshore
Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and
train its troops at Indian military facilities. The decision to
build OPVs was reached during talks between Indian Navy
chief Admiral Devendra
Kumar Joshi and Burmese
Navy chief Vice Admiral
Thura Thet Swe, during a visit
THE INDIAN
ARMY’S CASE OF
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
The Indian military spent
the past six months investigating “Chinese spy drones” that
were violating its air space,
only to discover that the drones
were in fact Venus and Jupiter.
The two planets were
reportedly mistaken for
unidentified flying Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) after
being repeatedly sighted over
the eastern Himalayan region
64
of the latter official in India.
The Indian Defence Ministry
refused to give details on the
agreement, including on the
type, the number or design of
the OPVs. The Indian Defence
Ministry is also considering a
demand by Burma for
helicopter pilot training for its
soldiers, including on attack
helicopters. Burma has already
received four Islander maritime
patrol aircraft and naval gun
boats from India. Beyond this,
the two countries are also discussing a border management
project, a decision that some
analysts see as an attempt to
supervise China’s activities in
the Indian Ocean region.
of Ladakh, near the disputed
border area between India and
China. Between April 2012
and February 2013, the Indian
military documented some
155 air violations by UFOs over
the Indian-Chinese border,
known as the Line of Actual
Control (LAC).
As tensions increase
between the two countries,
India believed China was
launching UAVs across the border. But two astronomers from
the Indian Institute of
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A N D
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asia
D E V E L O P M E N T S
SINGAPORE NAVY
CONDUCTS
SUCCESSFUL HARPOON
LIVE FIRING TEST
The Republic of Singapore
Navy (RSN) conducted a livefiring of a Harpoon missile in
the South China Sea earlier as a
part of CARAT exercise which
Singapore held with the US.
PHILIPPINES TO SEND
WARSHIPS TO EX-US
NAVAL BASE
The Philippines’ government announced on 29th July
that it may shift some of its key
air and naval assets to Subic
Bay base, a former US naval
base in the South China Sea, in
order to boost its response time
to waters contested by The
People’s Republic of China.
Subic Bay, which is a natural
The missile, fired by an RSN
Maritime Patrol Aircraft
against a surface target, successfully hit the target.
The exercise was witnessed
by Senior Minister of State for
Defence Chan Chun Sing, who
noted the value of the CARAT
series of maritime exercises,
which the SAF and the United
States Navy (USN) have conducted annually since 1995.
“Not only has the exercise
strengthened the overall
defence relationship between
Singapore and the US,
it has also significantly
enhanced the level of
interoperability between both
navies,” said Mr Chan.
deep sea port capable of accommodating warships, was an
important US naval facility
until 1992, when the Philippine
government converted it into a
busy sea port.
The plan would include
the transfer of two key
warships acquired from the US,
announced the country’s
Ministry of Defense, as well
as the expansion of an
airport near Subic, currently
used by the air force.
Considered one of the weakest armed forces in the Asian
region, the Philippine military
has been relying mostly on
excess US military vehicles and
equipment to boost its capability. In 2011, it acquired a
decommissioned US coastguard cutter and transformed it
into its naval flagship: the
Gregorio del Pilar.
The Philippine fleet is mainly
used to patrol sea borders and
detect and counter any Chinese
military build-up in the region.
Earlier in June, the Philippine
government had announced it
was drafting a plan allowing
shared use of its bases with the
United States and Japan, also
locked in a sea dispute with
China. China claims nearly all
of the South China Sea, even
waters that are close to its
neighbouring countries, a dispute that has long been considered a potential flashpoint of
conflict in the region.
The Republic of
Singapore Navy (RSN) Fleet
Commander Rear-Admiral
(RADM) Timothy Lo and the
United States Navy (USN)
Commander, Logistics Group
Western Pacific RADM
Thomas F. Carney officiated
at the opening ceremony
of the 19th Singapore-US
Cooperation Afloat Readiness
and Training (CARAT) exercise at Changi Naval Base.
RADM Lo highlighted that
Exercise CARAT has come a
long way since its inception
and noted the commitment of
both navies to push the boundaries of the exercise. He also
recognised the professional
value the exercise has provided
to the RSN and the USN and
noted its importance in bilateral
relations. “CARAT Singapore is
a vital component of the growing range of RSN-USN interactions and plays a part in
enhancing defence relations
between countries,” he added.
Russian Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters. The RCAF announced it
only intends to use the helicopters for humanitarian purposes,
although the helicopters can
potentially be fitted with air-toground weapons.
Beijing is Cambodia’s single
biggest military patron and the
helicopter purchase deal is one
of a growing number of trade
deals, grants and loans signed
between Cambodia and China
over the past few years, a
relationship which also increases China’s political and economic leverage in the country,
one of its allies in the region.
CAMBODIA ACQUIRES
NEW MILITARY
HELICOPTERS FROM
CHINA
The Royal Cambodian
Armed Forces is acquiring 12
new Harbin Z-9 military helicopters from China as part of a
$195 million deal made in
August 2011. The Harbin Z-9,
also known as “Haitun”, is a
Chinese military utility helicopter. It is modelled on the French
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin and
manufactured by Harbin Aircraft
Manufacturing Corporation. The
new model will be replacing an
aging Cambodian fleet of
66
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AND US NAVIES
CONDUCTS MARITIME
EXERCISE CARAT
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REGIONAL NEWS
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A N D
s
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i
a
D E V E L O P M E N T S
A Japanese defence paper,
released on 21st July by the
country’s newly elected government, says the country's military
needs to strengthen its capabilities and adopt a more assertive
role in the region’s security, due
to increased threats from North
Korea and China.
Some of the changes outlined by the interim Defence
Ministry’s paper, if implemented, would be a major shift in
policy for the Japanese military
activity as threats to the regional peace and stability, and
urged that Japan steps up its
capabilities. According to the
report, China's military has
become a security concern to
the region, including Japan,
increasingly aggravating national security concerns. The paper
urges Japan to increase its surveillance capabilities, consider
the use of unmanned aerial
vehicles capable of long-range,
high-altitude monitoring
around the clock and constitute
a marine force with amphibious
capabilities to defend disputed
islands in the East China Sea.
as it is currently limited to selfdefence under a pacifist constitution dating back to the post
World War Two years.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,
who recently returned to
power, wants the previous
defence policy, established by
the more moderate Democratic
Party government, revised to
give Japan's military more
strength and freedom.
The report repeatedly cites
China’s military and maritime
“This report will guide the
focus of the direction that the
Self Defence Forces should be
taking”, said the Japanese
Defence Minister Itsunori
Onodera. Although the JapanUS security alliance remains "the
cornerstone" of the Japanese
defence policy, added Onodera,
Japan must improve its ability to
respond to ballistic missile
attacks as concerns grow regarding North Korea's missile and
nuclear development.
JAPANESE
GOVERNMENT TO STEP
UP COUNTRY’S
DEFENCE CAPABILITIES
SOUTH KOREA
RE-OPENS
BID FOR
NEW FIGHTER JETS
During a meeting chaired
by South Korean Defense
Minister Kim Kwan-Jin on
25th July, the South Korean
Defense Acquisition Program
Administration (DAPA)
announced it would be reopening bids on a $7.4 billion
fighter jet deal in August,
after initial bidding
procedures were temporarily
suspended.
The country is aiming to
replace its aging McDonnell
Douglas F-4 and Northrop
Grumman F-5 jets which were
introduced decades ago, and
to buy 60 new planes.
Discussion over the acquisition
had however been delayed for
months because South Korea
would not bid over the $7.4
billion approved by the country’s parliament. DAPA
spokesman Baek Yoon-Hyeong
told reporters that the bidding
will resume mid-August
under the same conditions as
previously cited.
The American companies
Boeing and Lockheed Martin
and EADS, the European aerospace consortium, were in
competition over the military
contract, as South Korea
was to decide between
Boeing’s F-15 Silent
Eagle, Lockheed Martin’s
F-35 Lightning II and
the Eurofighter Typhoon.
To encourage South Korea
Chelyabinsk, in Russia’s Ural
Mountains region. The drills will
be held in three phases, including troop deployment, war planning and campaign drills, said
the Chinese Ministry of Defence.
They are meant to enhance
pragmatic cooperation and
mutual trust between the
Chinese and Russian armed
forces, explained the Chinese
command headquarters
and improve their capability
to combat terrorism.
CHINA AND RUSSIA’S
PEACE MISSION 2013
China announced on 27th
July that it would be sending
military personnel and
equipment to Russia, where
they will participate in joint
anti-terrorism drills held
by both countries over a
period of 20 days
The exercises, named “Peace
Mission 2013”, is scheduled to
run from 27th July 27 to 15th
August, will be carried out in
68
to choose the Typhoon, the
Eurofighter consortium had
offered a $2 billion investment
in a separate project to help the
country develop its own
advanced fighter jets. Lockheed
Martin, on the other hand, had
offered to support South
Korea’s effort to develop and
launch military communications satellites, while Boeing
promised to buy billions of dollars worth of parts from
Korean companies.
As a reflection of the close
US-South Korea military
alliance, the country’s military
procurement needs have
overwhelmingly been met by
US suppliers in the past,
especially where its air force
is concerned.
In January the Anglo-Italian
company AgustaWestland
outbid the American defence
giant Sikorsky for a $567
million contract to supply six
helicopters to the South Korean
Navy, which had fueled
EADS’ hopes of obtaining the
fighter jets contract.
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IN ASSOCIATION WITH
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER
REGIONAL NEWS
a u s t r a l a s i a
A N D
D E V E L O P M E N T S
AUSTRALIA SELLS FOUR
RECONDITIONED
MILITARY AIRCRAFT TO
INDONESIA
On 19th July, Australian
Ambassador to Indonesia Greg
Moriarty and Indonesian
Defence Minister Purnomo
Yusgiantoro signed a $56
million agreement granting
four reconditioned Lockheed
Martin C-130 Hercules aircraft
to Indonesia.
One of the aircraft is reportedly ready to be delivered,
while the three other aircraft
still need to be renovated
before being delivered to
Indonesia sometime between
AUSTRALIA’S
FIRST MH-60R
SEAHAWK ROMEO
The first Australian
Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk
Romeo naval helicopter successfully completed its first test
flight on 26th June 2013.
Destined for the Royal
Australian Navy (RAN), the
first of 24 MH-60R anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare
helicopters successfully passed
a range of tests conducted during an 80 minute long flight,
including controllability, vibration analysis, engine perform-
BAE AWARDED
CONTRACT BY
AUSTRALIA FOR MK127
HAWK FLEET UPGRADE
The Minister for
Defence Materiel for the
Commonwealth of Australia
has awarded a £90m contract
for the upgrade of their
Mk127 Hawk fleet.
70
next October and December
2014, reported Indonesian officials. By signing the agreement
with Indonesia, the Australian
government hopes to strengthen the pre-existing bilateral
relations between the two
countries.
ance, and navigation.
A further three Australian
helicopters are said to be currently in various stages of
assembly with the first two
planned to be handed over to
the RAN by December 2013.
This first flight comes just two
years after the $3 billion deal
was signed between Sikorsky
and the Australian
Government, and some six
months ahead of the original
schedule approved in 2011.
The 24 helicopters will
replace 16 Sikorsky MH-60B
Seahawk helicopters currently
in service, expanding naval
surface strike capability with
will additional air-to-surface
strike capability. On 24th July,
the RAN’s first MH-60R
arrived at Lockheed Martin
Mission Systems and Training
in Owego, New York, for the
second phase of aircraft
completion, namely the
installation of the digital
cockpit and integrated mission
systems and sensors.
The MH-60R aircraft is to
become a significant contributor to Australian maritime
security in the Pacific region,
and will provide the RAN
with the most capable antisurface and anti-submarine
helicopter available today,
officials say. Australia is
expected to take delivery of all
24 completed MH-60R aircraft
by the end of 2016 via the US
Government’s Foreign
Military Sales program.
Known as Project
AIR 5438, the upgrade to the
Australian Hawk fleet will
deliver an enhanced training
capability and also encompass
the supply of three Full
Mission Simulators,
RAAF aircrew/groundcrew
training and support.
The upgrade of the
Australian Hawk fleet will
ensure its effectiveness
into the next decade and
provides a solid foundation for
the progression of aircrew
onto the F/A-18 Classic
and Super Hornets and the
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
when it is introduced
into service.
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ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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The maintenance contractor
appointed by the Australian
government, Qantas Defence
Services (QDS) has vast experience in handling C-130 type
Hercules aircraft and is the
only company appointed by
Royal Australia Air Force
(RAAF) to carry out maintenance on these aircraft.
Indonesia is also looking to
acquire several C-130
Hercules’s from other sources
and, while discussions are
under way, the Defence
Ministry announced it would
be sending pilots to Australia,
to undergo training on operating the aircraft.
US, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN
NAVY COMPLETE
TALISMAN SABER 2013
TORPEDO EXERCISE
The Arleigh Burke-class
guided-missile destroyer USS
Lassen (DDG 82) and a Royal
Australian Navy (RAN) submarine participated in a torpedo exercise in the Coral Sea,
July 19, in support of exercise
Talisman Saber 2013 (TS 13).
TS 13 is a biennial training
event aimed at improving
Australian Defense Force
(ADF) and U.S. combat readiness and interoperability as a
Combined Joint Task Force.
“This has been a great
opportunity for our Sailors to
participate in realistic and relevant training for the forwarddeployed region,” said Master
Chief Jason Haka, command
master chief aboard Lassen.
The exercise gave more than
400 U.S. Navy and ADF
crewmembers the opportunity
to hone their skills and demonstrate their operating ability.
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