Armada Oct/Nov 2014

THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SINCE 1976THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SINCE 1976

Issue 5/2014 October/NovemberINTERNATIONAL

THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SINCE 1976

Cover Armada Oct 2014.qxp:Armada 10/1/14 7:54 PM Page 3


03INTERNATIONAL 5/2014


INTERNATIONAL

Contents5/2014

www.armada.ch

06UNDERWATERWORLD

The recent military strategic shift towards theAsia-Pacific region, and a renewed interest in

submarine capabilities as a national deterrenceand defence in that region have refuelled themarketing and sustainable possibilities of the

conventional underwater warfare industry in ashrinking budget scenario.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTSWORLDWIDE

I Luca Peruzzi

COMPENDIUM SUPPLEMENTNAVAL ROBOTS:SWIMMING INUNCERTAIN WATERSI Peter Donaldson, inputs from Eric H. Biass

COMPENDIUM SUPPLEMENTGROUND ROBOTS:FROM THROWABLES TOMAN-LESS CONVOYSI Paolo Valpolini, inputs from Eric H. Biass

26GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION-IVMAPPING THE SEVEN SEASI Wesley Fox

40RADIO AMPLIFIERSMORE OOMPH PLEASE!I Peter Donaldson, inputs from Eric H. Biass

32LANDING CRAFTSHIP-TO-SHORE CONNECTORSIN EVOLUTIONI Luca Peruzzi

16ARMOURED VEHICLESAN APC AND IFV SITUATIONROUND-UPI Paolo Valpolini

Contents &I ndex_Armada Oct 14:Armada 10/1/14 7:55 PM Page 3

Index

5G Marine 12AAI Coporation 12Abu Dhabi Ship Building 39ACSA 5, 7, 12Admiralty Shipyard 10, 12Aeronautics Defence Systems 12Airbus Defence & Space 9ALSE 14AR Modular RF 44, 46Aselsan 13, 09ATK 20Atlas Electronic 09, 10, 13, 14Australian Shipbuilding Corp 13Autonomous Surface Vehicles 14BAE Systems 08, 13, 15 17, 18, 22Bell 41Beretta 31Bluefin Robotics 9, 15BMT Group 08, 37Boeing 14, 16, 27,Boston Dynamics 11Boston Engineering Corp 11, 17Brahmos 14Central Mechanical Engg. India 17China Shipbuilding & Marine 7, 12, 13Damen 29DARPA 07, 08, 09, 17, 34, 37DCNS 07, 08, 13, 14, 17, 36Denel Land Systems 21DGA 17DRS Technologies 31DSME 07, 08, 12ECA 18, 18Elbit 19, 30Esri 27, 29, 30Eurenco 14Exelis 43Fincantieri 08,09, 38FLIR 29G-Nius 29, 30, 37, 38Gabler 09Gate Elektronik 31Gavia (Teledyne) 20Gaymarine 20General Dynamics 09, 13, 17, 18General Dynamics Robotics 21Global Teknik 21Goluck Naval Shipbuilding 09Harris 41, 43, 44

Havelsan 09HDT Global Protector 3, 27Hyundai Heavy Industries 12IAI 05, 06, 21, 27Itaguai Construcoes Navais 10IDS 09Indra 09International Submarine Engg. 21iRobot 3, 4, 5, 15,16, 17, 21Jeppesen 26Jordan Electronic Logistics Support 33KADDB 33Kairos Autonomi 37, 38KMW 21, 22Koc Savuma 09Kockums AB 22Kockums Shipbuilding 07Kongsberg 08Kongsberg Maritime 22L-3 08, 33Leidos 13Liquid Robotics 7, 23Lockheed Martin 05, 09, 20, 23, 26M Ship 24M-Tecks 19Macro USA 12, 14, 15, 17, 18MAN Diesel 37Maritime Robotics 24MaXentric Technologies LLC 43Mazagaon Dock Limited 10MBDA 08, 10, 12, 14, 29, 30Meggitt Training Systems 24Meteksan Savuma 09MILSOFT 09Mira 35Mistral Secuity 11, 12NASA 26, 27Navantia 07, 08, 09, 10, 12, 37Navionics 26Nexter 18, 20, 21Nexter Nerva 4, 6, 7, 8, 17, 29, 30Njordworks Inc 25Northrop Grumman 26, 28 29, 30Novatiq 8, 9OceanServer Technology Inc 25ODF Optronics 11Office of Naval Research 25Optimess 10Oshkosh 34, 35

OSI Maritime Systems 29Oto Melaras 15, 31, 32, 37Patria 21Pennsylvania State University 26Piap 12Polaris 36, 37Polish Naval Academy 26Qinetiq 16, 17, 26, 28, 30, 37RAE Systems 16Rafael 04, 27Raytheon 08, 14, 28, 29, 31, 46Recon Robotics 5,6Renault 16, 21Rheinmetall 21, 22Robo-Team 10, 11, 18, 19, 28Robosynthesis 12, 24, 25Rolls-Royce 33Ruag Defence 36Rubin Design Burreau 07Saab 03, 07, 10, 07, 13, 27Sagem 10Samvaad 30Sandia National Laboratories 28Seaobotics 28Sedef Shipyard 37Selex ES 32, 37, 38Sera Ingenierie 29, 30Singapore Technologies 28, 38, 39Sterela 28, 29STX Shipyard 36Swiftships 28Tainjin University 29Tecdron 25, 32, 33Teledyne Webb Research 29Terramax Robotics Suite 34, 35Textron 33Thales 08, 11, 10, 14, 17, 21TKMS 07, 08, 09, 12, 13Torc Robotics 36, 37Transas 28, 29, 30Tricom Research inc. 43Trigun 30Tubitak 09Ultralife 44United Shipbuilding Corp 09, 10University of Washington 30USC 07Virginia Tech 30

ARMADA DIGITAL C4AR MODULAR 43ARMADA SUBSCRIPTION 13AUSA C3AVALON 45DSEI C2FLIR 5IMDEX 15IMDS C3LAAD 25MBDA 35NAVDEX C3NEXTER 7

ODU 31OTOMELERA 39OTOKAR 23RAFAEL C4RENAULT 19SAAB 9SAAB C2TEXTRON 11TUS EXPO 11UMEX C2

I INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

I INDEX TO MANUFACTURERSCompanies mentioned in this issue. Where there are multiple references to a company in an article, only the firstoccurence and subsequent photographs are listed below:



Issue 5/2014

October/November

INTERNATIONAL


A Swedish soldier of the Skaraborg Regimentphotographed by our author Paolo Valpolini whilstdemonstrating the Saab Dynamics Carl GustafM4 - the latest version of the multipurpose weaponsystem – a few days ago and which will make its firstinternational public début at AUSA. Full report onthe M4 in our next issue.

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Volume 38, Issue No. 5,October-November 2014

Entries highlighted with Red numbers are found in Ground Compendium 2014 and

Blue numbers are found in Naval Compendium 2014

04 INTERNATIONAL 5/2014

Contents &I ndex_Armada Oct 14:Armada 10/2/14 12:09 AM Page 4



The recent military strategic shift towards the Asia-Pacific region, and a renewedinterest in submarine capabilities as a national deterrence and defence in that regionhave refuelled the marketing and sustainable possibilities of the conventionalunderwater warfare industry in a shrinking budget scenario.

Underwater World

Latest DevelopmentsWorldwide

Submarines Systems:Armada 10/1/14 3:12 PM Page 2


T he Swedish Government decision toreconstitute a sovereign submarineindustrial base, with Saab’sacquisition of Kockums shipbuilding

company previously owned by Germany’sThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS)group, and the award to the Swedish defenceand security group of contracts for thedesign of next generation submarines andmid-life modifications of two in-serviceGotland class submarines, together with theletter of intent signature about the SwedishArmed Forces’ sub-surface capability for theperiod 2015-2024 covering possible ordersvalued at over €1.2 billion (SEK11 billion),added a new player which is capable toprovide from conventional submarines torelated combat and weapon systems.

The underwater conventional industrypanorama already saw, a few years ago, theaddition of South Korea with DaewooShipbuilding & Marine Engineering groupwhich was eventually joined by China withBeijing-based China Shipbuilding &Offshore International. These are competingwith European and Russian designers likeTKMS, DCNS, Navantia, Rubin designbureau and United ShipbuildingCorporation (USC), which have establishedthemselves as key suppliers of emerging orwell-established economic and militarypowers such as India, Brazil and China.

I EUROPE: NEW PARTNERSHIPS?The Old Continent’s shrinking militarybudgets are pushing ministries of defence tojoin requirements and create partnerships toshare acquisition and maintenance costs with.

Northern Europe countries, includingGermany, The Netherlands, Norway, Polandand Sweden are understood to have beenengaged in discussions to explore options forco-operations or collaboration on a newsubmarine acquisition. While the RoyalNetherlands Navy is finalising its requirementfor a next-generation submarine to besubmitted to national Parliament in 2015 toreplace thecurrent fourWalrus-classSSKs, theservice is managing a programme to extendthe life of these boats to 2030, with the first oneplanned to return into service in late 2016.

Involving national TNO researchinstitute, industries and universities, theprogramme includes the introduction of anew command management system (CMS)based on the navy’s Guardion surface ship

Luca PeruzziSaab Kockums’ next generation

submarine programme, the NGU is one ofthe centres of discussions amongst

Northern European nations regardingmultinational co-operation on new

submarine development. Saab is also astrong bidder in Australia’s new

submarine programme. (Saab Kockums)


suite with ImtechMarine consoles as well asthe upgrading of Raytheon Mk 48heavyweight torpedo toMod7ATversion, anL-3 KEO Model 86 non-hull-penetratingelectro-optical mast, new navigation andSHF satcom terminal and a modernisedsonar suite that includes the Kongsbergintegrated passive sonar processing systemandMantamine avoidance and interceptionsuite based on the German L-3 Elac NautikScout sonar. Sweden is seeking internationalpartners for its new-generation submarine.Now being developed by Saab under arecently assigned contract, the type ismainlyintended for littoral operations, but will alsopossess ocean-going capabilities.With a 62-metre length and a surface displacement ofcirca 1,800 tonnes, theNGUwill bepoweredbya conventional diesel-electric package andequipped with a Kockums Stirling air-independent system with an 18-dayendurance at patrol speed. Sporting amodulardesignwith four-capable533and/or400mmtorpedo tubes andanover1.5-metrediameter multi-mission portal designed tolaunchandretrievediversemissionpayloads,including uninhabited underwater vehiclesand special operations personnel andequipment, the Saab Kockums NGUplatform will have advanced so calledGenuine Holistic Stealth properties and anew generation decentralised network-centric ready combatmanagement system.TheNorwegianGovernment is exploring

life-extension alternatives for its Ula-classboats and new-build options for thesustainmentofa submarinecapabilitybeyond

2020. The assessment work has beencompletedwithTKMS(theUla-classbuilder)and BMT in Britain as independent ‘secondsource’ support, while additional data wasprovidedby five submarinebuilders (DCNS,Fincantieri, Navantia, TKMS and DSME) inresponse to a request for information (RFI)issued in November 2012. A decision on thepreferredoption is expectedbyyear-endwitha main gate investment approval decisionplanned for 2017 in order to attain deliverycompletion in2030.

With a strategic document called‘Operational Programme - CounteringThreats at Sea 2013-2022/2030’ published atthe beginning of 2014, Poland has launchedan acquisition programme for threeconventionally-powered submarines toreplace its singleKilo-class and fourKobben-class submarines.The tender is tobe launchedlater thisyear, inorder tohavedeliveries in the2019-2020/2030 timeframe. Bidders includeDCNS and Thales, Navantia, TKMS, aconsortium of Swedish FMV and SaabKockums, and system suppliers. Platformsalleged to be offered include theTKMSType

214, theSaabNGU, theNavantiaS80and theDCNSScorpene, the latterbeingofferedwithMBDAScalp-Naval long-range strikemissile.While BAE Systems is mainly focused onnuclear-powered submarines for the RoyalNavy,BMTDefenceServices isproposing twoinnovativedesignsof conventional boats: theocean-going Vidar-36 (3,600 tonnessubmerged) multi-mission reconfigurableplatform and the littoral warfare-orientedVidar-7 (900 tonnes submerged), bothtailored to currentbudget constraints.

Poland plans to launch a call for tenders forthree new submarines by the end of 2014 toreplace its single Kilo and four Kobben-class.The Kobbens (seen here) are to be retired asof 2015. All European submarine-builders arestanding in line. (Polish MoD)

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems’ (née HDW) boats are the most widely spread subs in the world.Here is a Type 209 for the South African navy, but attentions are also focused on thedeliveries of a new batch of Dolphins to the Israeli navy’s, equipped with AIP and capable tolaunch deep strike nuclear missile. (TKMS)


Underwater World


The joint German-Italian U-212Aprogramme, which sees the involvement ofTMKS and Fincantieri and nationalunderwater industries, has delivered four oftheseboats to Germanyand two to Italywhoalready have proved the capabilities of theseplatforms in exercises with US battle groupsandnuclear-poweredattack submarines.Thetwo services are each about to take deliveryenhanced versions. Largely identical to thefirst batch platform, the German navy’s newU-212Aswill feature tropicalisation toenableworldwide operations, a new AtlasElektronik Isus 90 integrated sonar andcommand and weapon control suite withAirbusDefence&SpaceCassidianOptronicsnew OMS 100 optronics mast and Sero 400attack periscope, an enhanced sonar suitewith a conformal array, a network centricwarfare communication suitewithdataLink11/16, and a newGabler hoistablemast withCallisto towable antenna-bearing buoyenabling communication from the deepsubmerged submarine coupled to an IndraSHFsatcomantenna.While it shares the German’s new Indra

ESMMRBR800 system and Airbus Defenceand Space Cassidian optronics mast andadvancedperiscope, thenewItalianU-212Aswill boast a Kongsberg MSI-90UMk2 withLink11/16networkcentric communications,an enhanced Atlas Elektronik CSU 90-138sonar suite,newCalzonihoistingsystemsandmasts, together with the latest Wass BlackShark Advanced heavy torpedo andadditional fuel tanks.

In addition to the Portuguese andGreeknavies’ Type 214 related contracts, TKMSwas contracted in 2011 to provide sixadvanced AIP-equipped Type 214TNs(Turkish Navy) as of 2015. Locally built at

Gölcük Naval Shipyard, they will beequipped with support and systemsprovided by Turkish industries, includingHavelsan, Aselsan, Koc Savuma,MILSOFT,Tubitak, STM,Meteksan Savuma and IDS.After sharing initial Scorpene export

success with DCNS, Navantia is todayleading the national S-80 AIP-equippedsubmarine programme. Involving localindustry and Lockheed Martin, theprogramme encountered challenges giventhe advanced technologies incorporated.Overweight issues andproblemswith theair-independent system development led theSpanish Ministry of Defence to call onGeneralDynamicsElectricBoat for technicalassistance andchange the system’sdeveloper.Amajorunderwater platformbuilder and

systems supplier, the Russian Federationindustry is today promoting the well-provenlatest iteration of Kilo-class on theinternational market. The first of six 73.8-meter, 2,350-tonne surface displacementProject636.3(Varshavyanka-class) submarinefor theRussianNavywasdelivered lastAugustat Admiralty shipyard (United ShipbuildingCorporation) in St. Petersburg, with anaggressive delivery programme to becompleted in the next two years. In themeantime, Russian Federation industry isreported working on a fifth-generationconventional submarine, dubbed ProjectKalina-class,which isplannedtobe fittedwithanAIPsystemandready for testing in2017.Although the new generation Lada-class

(Project 677) has encountered development

09

Fincantieri plans to launch the first of twosecond-batch U-212As for the Italian Navylater this year. These platforms will receive

different upgrades to reduce systemsobsolescence, introduce the latest version oftheWass Black Shark torpedo and network

centric capabilities. (Luca Peruzzi)

Both the Italian and the German naviessecond batch U-212A are being equippedwith, amongst other novelties, new OMS100 observation optronics masts and SERO400 attack periscopes, both produced byAirbus Defence and Space CassidianOptronics. (Luca Peruzzi)

INTERNATIONAL 5/2014


problems the Russian submarine industry iscontinuing to attract new customersincluding Vietnam with six Project 636platforms, two of which already delivered,while Algeria is reported to be in advanceddiscussions over twoadditional submarines.Otheropportunities aremainly concentratedin the enlarged Asia-Pacific region, whereRussian andChineseGovernment signed anagreement to provide latest generationunderwater platforms.

I KNOW-HOW TRANSFER:SINE QUA NONUnder the 2009 strategic defencecooperation agreement betweenFrance andBrazil, DCNS signed detailed contracts forthe constructionby ICS (Itaguaí ConstruçõesNavais), the joint-venture between DCNSand Odebrecht in Brazil, of four ScorpeneSSKs where the French group acts as designauthority and prime contractor whilesupplying selected items under a vast

technology transfer programme, enablingthe Brazilian Navy and defence industry tosignificantly contribute to the programme.DCNS is also providing design assistance –under theBrazilianNavy’s design authority –with the non-nuclear portionof Brazil’s firstnuclear-powered submarine and support inthe design with the naval base and thesubmarine building and maintaininginfrastructures, under construction in Riode Janeiro federal state. According to theBrazilianNavy, the first S-BR submarinewillenter in service in December 2017, with theother units following at 18-month intervalsuntil 2022. The S-BRScorpene is longer andhas a higher displacement and differentpropulsion, with a combat system mainlybased on French systems. These include theDCNS Subtics integrated combat systemwith a communications suite based onThales new-generation systems, a SagemSeries 30 surveillance optronicsmast, Series20 attack periscope and Series 10 CSRnavigation radar mast, a Thales S-Cubeintegrated and modular submarine sonarsuite with planar flank array sonar and EarlCommunication ESM.DCNS also providesContralto torpedo decoys and new-generationF21heavyweight torpedos.A comprehensive technology transfer

programme is also the root of the IndianNavy P75. Mazagaon Dock Limited isconstructing six SSK Scorpenes under apartnership with DCNS, including a“technical data package for progressiveindigenisation”of the submarineproduction.This challenging process is behind arescheduling of deliveries, which today isreported to start in2015 forcommissioningofthe first boat in September 2016 andcompletionof classunits in 2018.The IndianScorpene is based on the basic version andfeatures aDCNSSubtics combat systemwithThales communications suite and Sagemsurveillance, attack and radar masts, ThalesS-Cube integrated and modular submarinesonar suite with planar flank array systemandMoasmineavoidance sonar.Theweaponsystems package include MBDA SM-39Exocet anti-ship missiles but no heavytorpedo has so far been acquired, as thetender from Wass with the Black Shark


The S-80 is the Spanish Navy’s firstsubmarine programme. Built by Navantia, itwill feature a new AIP system, Atlas ElektronikDM2A4 heavy torpedos and a series ofsystems supplied by Spanish, Italian andAmerican. (Navantia)

Last August, the Russian Federation Navy received the first of six Improved Kilo class (Project636.3) from Admiralty shipyard in Saint Petersburg. In the meantime, the same shipyard, part ofUnited Shipbuilding Corporation group, is about to deliver the third of six submarines of thesame type to the VietnamNavy. (Admiralty shipyard)

Underwater World


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Underwater World

(already selected as preferred bidder) hasbeenputonholdby the IndianGovernment.Thedelays thathit this, aswell as the follow-onP-75I programme involving six new-generationAIP submarineswith land-attackweapon systems – plus the upgrade andmaintenanceof theRussianKilo-class andofthe Shishumar-class (Type 209/1500), ispushing the Indian Ministry of Defence toenvisage an interim acquisition of a fewadditional submarines to maintain a viableforce. All the main submarine builders arereported to be proposing AIP-equipped

submarines, includingTKMSwithType214,DCNSwith the Scorpene,Navantiawith theS-80 and Russia’s Admiralty Shipyard withthe Amur 1650, the export version of Lada-class submarine equipped with verticalmissile launchers.

I ASIA-PACIFICThe expansion of the Chinese Navy and ofits underwater warfare capabilities havesparked a “submarine race” in the nearbycountries. In Northeast Asia, Japan andSouth Korea continue to develop their own

underwater capabilities. The long-termrelationship between TKMS and DSMEwith the local construction of the Type209/214, as well as the desire to develop alocal underwater systems industry, has ledto a win in the first international tender toprovide three Type 209s to Indonesia anddevelop follow-on larger platforms withenhanced capabilities for South Korea.Japan is continuing to build platformsbelonging to the intended tenAIP-equippedSoryu class submarines, which attractedinterest fromAustralia.

In the wake of Malaysia, which between2007 and 2009 received two French-builtScorpene-class submarine armed withWassBlackSharkheavytorpedoesandMBDAExocetantishipmissiles, thenVietnamwithsixKilo-class platforms from Russia, Indonesiahas acquired three new Type-209/1400 fromSouth Korean DSME in addition to themodernised Cakra-class (Type-209/1300)submarines. The first of three Type-209/1400acquired from DSME are expected to bebuilt in,anddeliveredto, Indonesia in2018. Inthe long term, the Southeast nation isenvisioning the development of an ambitious12-submarine fleet.

InNovember2013, Singapore announcedtheacquisitionof twoadvancedTKMSType-218SGs to join its Archer-class boats andreplace theSwedishChallenger-classby2020.Reported to be designed for littoral, shallowwaters operations and to be armed with thesame Black Shark torpedoes as the currentboats, the Type 218SG is indicated as acustomised design incorporating features of

Hyundai Heavy Industries has launched the fifth of nine Type 214/KSS-II class AIP-equippedsubmarine for the South Korean navy last July. The same country is working on a class of largersubmarines (KSS-III class) capable to launch deep-strike cruise missiles. (HHI)

Under the Indian navy’s P75 programme sixSSK Scorpene diesel-electric submarines

are being built at the Mazagaon Dockshipyards under a partnership with DCNS,including a transfer of technology package

for progressive indigenisation of thesubmarine production. Deliveries are

expected from 2015. (DCNS)

Based on the Yuan-class submarine project,here seen during the US Navy’s Secretarytour on board Chinese People’s LiberationArmy Navy vessels, CSOC has developed anexport version called S20. (US Navy)


both Type 214 and larger Type 216 ‘conceptsubmarine’, both equipped with fuel-cellsystems. Thailand has recently established asubmarine squadron with a view todeveloping an underwater fleet capability,while the Philippines are now showing akeen interest.China’sBeijing-basedChinaShipbuilding

& Offshore International (CSOC) group ispromoting its S20, derived from the Type 41(Yuanclass),which is the latestChineseNavyconventional submarine.Witha2,200-tonnesubmerged displacement and a length of 66metres, the S20has beenoffered toPakistan,which is alleged to be about to acquire sixwhich, like theType41, featuresAIP system.Bangladesh on the other hand is said to

have decided to adopt older conventionalsubmarines decommissioned by theChineseNavy.

In the southern Asia-Pacific region,Australia is looking for thebest, cost-effectivesolution to replace the current fleet of six 78-metre Australian Submarine Corporation-built Collins-class submarines, theavailability of which have recently improvedthanks to a comprehensive programme.Australia is evaluating different alternatives,from local construction by ASC with BAESystems shipyards to foreign acquisition andbuilding of an off-the-shelf international orEvolved Collins-class design, or a mix of

solutions with a decision to be taken nextyear. Australia has also recently signedtechnology cooperation agreements withJapan starting from hull hydrodynamicssector, while platform solutions are beingoffered by a variety of shipbuilders like theSaab group, which has long relationshipswith Australia, TKMS with the latest Type216 design, DCNS with the Scorpene andNavantia (already a surface-fleet supplier)with a customised version of S-80. TheCombat system is tobebasedon theGeneralDynamics BYG-1, while Mk48Mod 7 is thechosenheavyweight torpedo.

I ROBOTICSThe LTV 38 was developed by Penn StateUniversityAppliedResearchLabwithaviewtoprovidingameansof trainingpersonnel in theuseof largeuninhabitedunderwatersystems–hence itsname, large trainingvehicle,38beingits diameter in inches. It has now joined theUS Navy in view of turn-of-the-decadeentry into service of future large-diametervehicles. As part of the Anti-SubmarineWarfare Continuous Trail UnmannedVessel (ACTUV) programme, constructionis also underway by American companyLeidos of an uninhabited underwater vesseldesigned to track quiet-running SSKs overlong periods of time with minimal humansupervision,with first tests set for2015.

Japanese sources have recently reportedon joint American and Japanese activitiesregarding a large autonomous underwaterplatformpowered by fuel cells providing anendurance of up to 30 days and designedfor patrolling the seas around Japan andalert against foreign incursions. In themeantime, industry and navies areworkingunderwater vehicles that are eitherautonomous or remotely operated fromsubmarines. Saab for example, proposes the


The Large Training Vehicle 38(LTV 38) will be used forpersonnel training andoperational testing of largeautonomous underwater vehiclesin view of turn-of-the-decadeentry into service of futureunderwater vehicles. (US Navy)

Saab has developed the Sea Owl Subrov, anautonomously operated vehicle launchedfrom and recovered by torpedo tube-launchers. Its missions include surveillance,intelligence, inspection and minecountermeasures. (Saab Seaeye)


Subrov, which can be launched from andrecovered by torpedo tubes, and the AUV-62MR, the autonomous vehicle primarilydeveloped for mine reconnaissance andrapid environmental assessment.

I TORPEDO AND ANTI-SURFACE MISSILESItaly is setting a new trend in heavy torpedorequirements, having funded new WassBlack Shark heavyweight torpedo versionsfor both war and training purposes. TheItalianNavyhasgiven its go-ahead to initiallyequip its two new U-212A submarines withan innovative lithium-polymer rechargeablebattery for training and proficiency. Inaddition to provide improved performancescompared to current silver-zinc batteries,the new types allow more firing cycles

and longer life together with reducedmaintenance and life-cycle costs.LastMay,AtlasElektronikandAlsebattery

specialist launched their new lithiumferrophosphate rechargeable exercise batteryadaptable toallAtlas electric torpedoesasanyother electrically propelled heavy torpedoes.The new Black Shark Advanced versions arealso proposed on the international market,competing with Atlas Elektronik DM2A4SeaHake Mod4, the latest Russian test andUgst, the RaytheonMk 48Mod 6 AT/Mod 7CBASS and the new DCNS F21. Alreadyordered by the French and Brazilian navies,the F21 is still under development andexpected tobe firedaspartof its final trials bytheendof thisyear. Itwill armFrance’s fleetofnuclearpoweredsubmarinesandBrazil’snew

S-BRScorpenes. Tobedeliveredby late 2015,the F21 an acoustic sensor jointly developedwith Thales Underwater Systems, a Eurencoinsensitivemunition warhead, while the rearsection developed with Atlas Elektronikincludes thepropulsionsystempoweredbyanhigh-energy density French Saft AgO-AlbatteryandaDCNSMigal fire controlunit.Due to renewed interest in surface-to-

surface strike capabilities, underwater-launchedversionsof anti-ship/strikemissiles,including the Boeing Harpoon, the MBDASM39 Exocet, the Indo-Russian BrahmosAerospaceBrahmosand theRussianClub-S,as well as long-range cruise missiles suchas the Raytheon Tomahawk and MBDAScalp Naval, are gradually moving intothe limelight again.

TheMBDA’s sub-launched Scalp Naval (top) isexpected to be delivered for the new Barracudaboats in 2017. The type has been offered toPoland for its three new submarineprogramme. The sub-launch anti-ship Exocet(below) is in service with French and severalforeign navies, including India. Such land-attack capable weapons have recently beenattracting considerable interest. (Luca Peruzzi)

The Italian Navy has clearedthe use of Wass Black SharkAdvanced powered by lithium-polymer batteries from itssecond batch of AIP U-212A fortraining. (Wass)

The heavyweight DCNS F21 torpedo under development is expected to be launched for the firsttime from French Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine later this year. It has been ordered bythe French and Brazilian navies, the latter for its new Scorpenes. (DCNS)

The Atlas Elektronik’s DM2A4 SeaHakeMod 4 is a major competitor in the sector, witha rechargeable battery developed by Alsetraining. (Luca Peruzzi)


Underwater World




“Terminated”: thiswas the judgment given on February 24, 2014, by US Secretaryof Defense Hagel on the Ground Combat Vehicle programme. For the second timein five years the programme aimed at replacing the Bradley in US Army unitswascancelled, leaving the over 30 year-old tracked vehicle battle on as the backbone ofUSmechanised infantry. Is the programme really terminated?

An APC and IFVSituation Round-Up

In the wake of Eurosatory Renaultorganised a demo day on a Gendarmerietraining range, the first chance of seeingits BMX-01 being put through its paces.(Armada/Paolo Valpolini)

Armoured Vehicles

IFV:Armada 10/1/14 3:17 PM Page 2


Q uestions arise when somedocuments state that the Armywill set aside $50 million topreserve the engineering base

associated with the GCV, while another 100millionwouldbeused in theArmy’s researchand development centres involved. Thisshouldmean that theArmywants todrawonwork so far achieved to launch a furtherprogramme, and returning to the drawingboard to develop a new infantry fightingvehicle. An alternative solution would be toorganise another roundof testswith foreign-developedvehicles, ofwhich somescored topmarksduringpreviousevaluations.Whateverhappens, theBradleywill definitely celebrateits 40th in service anniversary in2021.

Nevertheless, one should not forget thatinmid-2013 theCongressionalBudgetOfficeissued four recommendations, of which twoinvolve looking at foreign solutions for theBradley replacement.The tworecommendedvehicleswhere the IsraeliNamer,whichhadaconsiderable edge in terms of survivabilityover theGCVwhile saving$9billion, and theGerman Puma, considered only slightlymore survivable than theGCVbutdefinitelymore lethal. As a boon it is able to carry sixinfantrymen which means that five Pumasare required to replace four Bradleys andthereby potentially saving the taxpayer anestimated$14.8 billion.Themore affordableoption was a further round of Bradleyupgrades that would be expected to make it

as survivable and more lethal than theGroundCombatVehicle, but saving$19.8ontheway. Reduced space, weight increase andlack of electrical power are the mainproblems tobe solved,with lethality increaseremainingon thewish list.

Solving those problems would allow theBradley to turn 50 in the early 2030s, thecancellation of the GCV programme beingthe last on of the Congressional BudgetOffice’s recommendations.And thisnotonlybecause of the termination of successivereplacement programmes: the decision ofGeneral Dynamics Land Systems not tocompete in theUSArmy’sArmouredMulti-Purpose Vehicle programme aimed atreplacing M113s in the Army’s HeavyBrigadeCombatTeams leavesBAESystemsasthe sole competitor, at least toourknowledge.GDLS is of course lobbying to get the

requirement rewritten, which might delaywhat theArmyconsiders a keyprogramme.

Howmuch politics will affect this issue isstill to be seen. What is sure is that if BAESystemsremains theonlycompetitor, thiswillbring inmoreBradley-basedvehicles into theArmy’s inventoryas thecompany’sproposal isbased on the existing tracked vehicle whichwill be modified and developed in fivedifferentversions,quantitiesbeing indicated inparenthesis:General Purpose (522),Medical

Paolo Valpolini

US Army Bradleys lined up in the desert. Intotal contrast with a number of new vehiclesfeatured here, these vehicles will remain inservice for long as their replacement ispushed on the right. (US Army)


Evacuation (790), Medical Treatment (216),MortarCarrier (386)andMissionCommand(993). How much synergies could be foundbetween the Armoured Multi-PurposeVehicle programme and a potential furtherBradley upgrade is anybody’s guess, but itwould certainly make sense to carry out aparallel improvement in certain areas tofurther reduce non-recurrent R&D costs,though the acquisition of a new vehicleheavily based on foreign solutions alsoremains anviableoption.

Another major programme on thewestern side of theAtlanticwas cancelled on20 December 2013: according to CanadianDefence and Army top brass the potentialoffered by an Upgraded LAV III being farsuperior than envisioned (including theinvestment in ISRcapabilities, improvementsin roadside bomb protection etc) makes theCCVproject redundant.This is considerableblow to the three contenders, namelyGDLS-Canada, BAE Systems and Nexter that wereoffering respectively their Piranha 5, theCV9035MKIII and theVBCIwith the hopeof grabbing theUS$2billion contract for 108vehicles plus 30more inoption.

Such an introduction might sound like arequiem for IFVs and APCs, but it is not quitethe case as other programmes are still openon theOldContinent:while the cursorof theDanish replacement for M113s has indeedonly slightly moved to the right, Poland islooking at a whole new family of vehicles,while Spain might resurrect its 8x8programme (although probably withrelatively limitednumbers), Lithuania addeditself to the wheeled IFV potential buyers by

issuing an RfP to nine potential suppliers inlate July 2014. Asia and the Middle East arealso pretty active, while in the America theMarine Corps seems again interested in theMarinesPersonnelCarrier: Theprogrammeis now known as ACV Phase 1 Increment 1(ACV 1.1) and its initial operationalcapability is forecast around2020.

For the latterprogrammethenewPiranha3+unveiledbyGeneralDynamicsEuropeanLand Systems at Eurosatory 2014 seemsperfectly tailored to theCorps’ requirements.The vehicle dimensions are increased notonly to provide greater volume to the 13military on board (internal volume

increasing from13.5m3to14m3),but also toprovide the required buoyancy. Length isstretched to7.72metres form7.30metres forthe Piranha 3, while width and height aremarginally increased, respectively from2.72to 2.78 metres and from 2.22 to 2.25 metres.Empty weight has increased from 13.4 to 16tonnes while payload capacity increasedfrom 9.2 to 11 tonnes, for a gross weightstepping from 22 to 25 tonnes (with growthpotential of 27 tonnes). This required theadoptionof anewengine tomaintain a goodpower-to-weight ratio, the new CaterpillarC13providing520hpcompared to theearlierC9’s 400hp, resulting inan increase from18.2hp/t to 20.8 hp/t at standard gross weight.Thenewengine alsowrenches out 2,300Nmof torque instead of 1,600. The Piranha 3+canbe fittedwithconventional suspensionsorwith hydro-pneumatic suspensions withheight monitoring system at the higherweights. Fatter tyres are also offered,395/85R20 being an option for replacingstandard 365/85R20. As far as protection isconcernedno levelswereprovidedbut itwasmade clear that the 3+ draws on Piranha 5modular solutions and its survivability toblasts should be close to that. Better under-floor maintenance access is obtained: thedriveline features commonalities both withthe Striker and theCanadian LAV-Upgrade.

Unveiled at the Paris exhibition, the Piranha3+ seems to be developed to a USMarineCorps requirement originally known asMarinesPersonnel Carrier (Armada/P. Valpolini)


Armoured Vehicles

At Eurosatory 2014 GDLS Canada exhibited the latest iteration of its Light Assault Vehicle fittedwith a Konsberg remotely controlledmedium-calibre turret. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)


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Although the vehicle exhibited at Eurosatorywas not equipped with propellers, theamphibious version will feature twopropellers and two rudders, shutting louvers,seawater cooling system, trim van andsnorkel, as well as bilge pumps. Theprototype, which was rolled-out the weekprior to the Paris exhibition, could carry acrew of three and nine dismounts – exactlyas per Marine Corps’ requirement – and wasarmed with a Kongsberg M151 Protector.

On 12 June GDELS demonstrated theScout SV PMRS (Protected MobilityReconnaissance Support) to a BritishMinistry of Defence delegation, the futureBritish Army vehicle being based on theAscod 42 platform, which was then unveiledat DVD 2014. On 3 September 2014 GeneralDynamics UK was finally awarded the ScoutSV contract to the tune of over €4 billionincluding 589 units and initial in-servicesupport and training. Deliveries will takeplace between 2017 and 2020, the Scout SVbeing produced in different variants: thoseequipped with the Lockheed Martin turretarmed with the 40 mm CTAI includereconnaissance and strike (198), joint firecontrols (23), and ground based surveillance(24), the latter adding a radar sensor; theturretless version known as PMRS (ProtectedMobility Reconnaissance Support) includesarmed personnel carried (59), command andcontrol (112), formation reconnaissanceoverwatch (34), engineer reconnaissance(51), engineer recovery (38) and engineerrepair (50). All PMRS are to be equipped witha Kongsberg Protector.

At Eurosatory 2014 a new version of theAscod chassis was unveiled, with a grossweight of 31 tonnes and a growth potentialup to 35 tonnes. Its dimensions are very

similar to the original (variations of a fewcentimetres only), with a slightly raised rearroof at the rear to increase the the infantrycompartment volume. What changes moresubstantially is the curb weight, droppingfrom 27.8 tonnes to a mere 22 to bring aconsiderable increase in payload capacity,which rises from 2.2 to 9 tonnes at standardgrow weight and from 3.2 to 13 tonnes atmaximum admitted weight, although poweron tap stays at 721 hp. Rubber tracks offerconsiderable weight saving compared withthe steel variety, although the latter remainavailable. Re-design brought also a 20%increase in internal volume, now 12 m3. Interms of protection GDELS integrated a newmine protection solution that has been testedand certified in February 2014 by a Natocountry with a four high-level blast testcampaign; the new mine protection is basedon a high-resistance hull bottom andincludes innovative shock-attenuatingdevices both for personnel and equipment(no further details were forthcoming). Thereduced curb weight results not only from therubber track solution but also from the newballistic protection which is based onceramics and add-on panels that cover 98%of the vehicle (again, protection levels werenot unveiled). With this new chassis thecompany intends to be more aggressive onthe tracked vehicle market.

Still at at Eurosatory General Dynamicsdisplayed the “LAV Demonstrator”, amodernized LAV III fitted with a KongsbergProtector armed with an ATK 30mm MK44dual-feed cannon. The vehicle is a furtherevolution of the Canadian Army LAV 6.008x8 infantry fighting vehicle currently inproduction. Chassis protection is improvedthanks to the adoption of the Double-V hull

and of a bolt-on passive armour package. Thevehicle looks slightly different, the enginecompartment having been raised to housethe 450 hp Caterpillar C9 coupled to the ZF7HP902 automatic transmission, and the rearhull is slightly higher to yield more room tothe dismounts. The driveline has beenupgraded to cope with the higher outputpower. The Demonstrator has a curb weightof 28.6 tonnes and can accommodate a crewof three and seven dismounts. The vehicle isfitted with improved suspensions.

With VBCI deliveries to the French Armywell underway, Nexter drew on lessonslearned both in Afghanistan and Mali by itsnational customer and from its exportcampaigns with various potential customers inthe Middle East, Canada and Denmark toname but a few. This resulted in the 8x8 APCdisplayed at Eurosatory. The improveddriveline affords an increased GVW of 32tons in turn allowing the adoption of 105mmgun turrets. Propulsion-wise the adoption of apowerpack concept allows full replacementin around one hour, nearly half of the timeneeded in the standard VBCI. Propulsionimprovement also generated a 10% powerincrease to a 600 hp and a higher electricpower generation of 570 A. Standard VBCIsare equipped with differential steering on thefourth axleto reduce turning diameter from21 to 18 metres. A further reduction to 15-16metres by virtue of a fourth differentialsteering axle is offered on option. Payloadcapacity received a considerable boost thanksto the curb weight reduction obtained by theadoption of a new protection package basedon new technologies. These allowed to skimoff round one tonne while keeping the fullLevel 4A/B protection against mines androadside bombes. Ergonomics have also beenimproved with more internal space andcomfort. New energy absorbing seatsdeveloped by Nexter Mechanics have beeninstalled, and most of the equipment is nowfastened to the vehicle to avoid itemsbecoming secondary projectiles in case ofexplosion. Hydraulic jacks operating theramp have been moved outside thecompartment, while air conditioningdistribution has been revised. The driver’scomfort has been increased with more room at

Field experience as well as comments andrequirements from potential customersfollowing tests have led Nexter todevelop a prototype that incorporates allpossible modifications now offered.(Armada/Paolo Valpolini)

Armoured Vehicles



waist level, and episcopes have been movedfrom the hull to the hatch to allow a bettervision when driving with the hatch open. Aday/nightdrivingvisionenhancement systemwith adedicateddisplay is also installed.On-boardvetronicshavealsobeen improvedandnow feature full open architecture: anEthernet network has been added to theexistingCanBus for on-boarddistributionofvehicle surround images (all displays arenowof the same type to ensure full crew-sharingof images and info). Nexter considers thevehicle and the incremental evolutionsimplementedpresentedatEurosatoryas fullyrepresentative of the product currentlyoffered to the customer. A first effect of thenew standards reached by the VBCI will bethe testing of the French 8x8 IFV by theBritishArmy,whichshouldstart as these linesare read, as the service is looking at a utilityvehicle following the cancellation of theFuture Rapid Effect System Utility Vehicle.The new driveline will eventually beretrofitted to the French vehicles. Amongstimprovements soughtby theFrenchArmyarethe IsraeliWaterGenGEN-40Vatmosphericwater generator system and WTU watertreatmentunit thatgeneratesdrinkablewaterfromair conditioning (oneof eachhavebeenordered for tests inviewof a full contract).

“Following the commitment of thePresident in favour of the defence budget, I amabout to launch theScorpionprogramme.Firstdeliverieswill takeplace in2018 for theVBMRand in 2020 for the EBRC.” These are the

words of Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Frenchdefence minister, at the opening of theEurosatory 2014. The go-ahead for theVBMRwill thus take place soon. The BMX-01, the risk-reduction demonstratordevelopedbyRenaultTrucksDéfense (RTD)following the June 2010 developmentcontract (another contract filed to Nextergave birth to theBMX-02)was first unveiledat the Paris exhibition and thendemonstrated on the move the followingweek. As stated by the French DélégationGénéralepour l’Armement theVBMRwill bedeveloped by a team that includes Nexter,Renault Trucks Défense (RTD) and Thales,respectively responsible for the armour, theautomotive-vehicle architecture, and thevetronics. At 22 tonnes with a growthpotential of twomore, theBMX-01has a 4.7-tonnepayloadcapacity and isbasedonanall-welded monocoque with independentsuspensions.Capable to accommodateup to11military in a single 14.7m3compartment,it features a team commander’s seat (whichin the future will be able to turn 90° right)behind the driver, the vehicle’s commanderseat front right, while eight dismounts areseatedon two rowsof energy absorbing seatsin the rear. Ingress and egress take place viathe rear ramp, which features an emergencydoor with a vision block; a wider armouredwindow is available on each side at the rear,and the windshield is divided into twoarmoured glass blocks. Protection will beprovided by armour kits up to Level 4. The

BMX-01demonstrator loggedover7,000kmon various types of terrain in severallocations inFrance, andhasalready sustainedballistic tests. The vehicle is powered by an400hp off-the-shelf Renault turbodieselmated toa standardgearboxandhasa centraltyre inflation system.

According toRTDtheBMX-01representsaround 80% of what the VBMR shouldtechnically be. The hull will bemodified, theroof lowered by about 80 mm, lengthincreasedbyaround200mmtowards the rear(but wheel base remains unchanged with2,950 mm between the front axle and thesecond and 1,500 mm between the secondand the third). The 2,500mmwidth remainsunchanged to comply with civilian roadregulations.RTDis consideringchanging thepowerpack in favour of a new 400-500 hpengine from the Group’s new family ofengines and therebyensure full sustainabilityuntilat least2030.With theVBMRtheFrenchArmy will have a higher mobility and betterprotectedvehicle compared to theVAB, evenif it does not match up with the high-tierVBCI.Aprototype is expected in2016.

Remaining in thewheeled vehiclesworld,as promised at DSEI last year when itunveiled its new vehicle concept, Patriaannouced gave it a name at Eurosatory:AMVXP, for Extra Payload, ExtraPerformance and Extra Protection.While itwas not at the Paris show, a command postAMVwas. TheAMVs are still doingwell onthe international market. The AMV-basedSouth African Badger infantry combatvehicledevelopedbyDenelLandSystemsareundergoing both technical and tactical testand evaluation. Production is expected tostart in 2016, the first order covering 238vehicles in fivedifferentvariants.TheAMVinits different international versions scored afurther success last June when Polandordered34Rosomak8x8s, in the engineeringreconnaissance variant. This new version istobedeveloped, andwill feature aone-tonnecrane and tools that will allow a basic-levelengineering support on the field, a versionwith a four-tonne crane being available for ahigher support level, 17 suchvehicles havingbeenordered inOctober 2013.

First international public appearance alsofor the German Puma, developed andproduced by PSM, the joint venture betweenKMWandRheinmetall.The trackedIFV, thatmight raise again the American interest,carried out hot weather testing in theUnitedArab Emirates in the Fall of 2013 attemperatures that exceeding50°C(oneof the

Although not exhibited at Eurosatory,the new-generation 8x8 by Patria got its

new name announced: AMVXP forextreme performances. (Patria)



two vehicles used were at Eurosatory). Allextreme weather tests have been concludedwithincontractual terms, final approval fromthe German procurement agency wereexpected in late July 2014, but a need tooptimise radio and equipment storage haveled to a further test round without, however,hindering deliveries to the GermanArmy inlate2014.The firstunit to receive thenewIFVis Panzergrenadierbataillon 33. Full-rateproduction is expected to be reached as of2015,peakingat 55vehiclesper yearuntil theroll out of the last of the 350 operationalvehiclesby2020(eightdriver trainingvehiclesare part of the package). All German Pumaswill be delivered to the German ArmyArmour School in Munster where a specificorganisation has been formed. This willreceive personnel from mechanisedbattalions,mate themwith theirnewvehicles,train them to use the new Puma through athree-month course, and finally send themback to theirunit as a completepackage, eachbattalion including 44 Pumas. Anoteworthypoint is that the nine mechanised infantrybattalionswhicharepartof the2011GermanArmy Structure will not receive the fullcomplement of tracked vehicles, inaccordance with the new German Armyequipment policy, as this would mean toprovide them with 396 combat vehicles plussome extra units for the school. Some last-minute changes might also occur: the Armyasked to integrate theMG45.56mmmachinegun insteadof theolder7.62MG3,althoughareturn to that larger calibre might occur, theH&K MG5 and the new 7.62 Rheinmetallnew 7.62 mm machine gun being under

consideration following lessons learned inAfghanistan. Moreover the current grenadelaunchers installedon the rearof the turretonboth sides should be replaced by new 360°coverage systems. Currently developed byRheinmetall, thenew launcherwill consist ina trainable turretwitha roundcontainerwithsix76mmlaunchers in the innercircle and18highvelocity40mmgrenade launchersontheouteroneaffording lethal and less-than-lethalengagements atup to400metres.Turning to the Boxer, the first three

vehicles–all ambulances–werehandedoverto the Dutch Army in early July 2014. So farthe Netherlands had only received the eightdriver trainingvehicles.Theambulancesare infact the first operational Boxers delivered tothe 13th Mechanised Brigade, the unitshifting from tracks to wheels. To show theBoxer flexibilityandcapacityKMWexhibitedat Eurosatory a version of the vehicle fittedwith the155/52mmArtilleryGunModule.Thanks to Rheinmetall, Algeria is

becoming the latest armoured vehicleproducer: in late August 2014 the companyreceived the green light from the GermanGovernment to build facilities there toproduce the Fuchs. No more details areavailable due to anon-disclosure agreement,but what is clear is that this is the beginningof a new trend, Rheinmetall having createdin early 2014 a joint venturewith Ferrostaal,known as Rheinmetall InternationalEngineering, active in engineering,procurement and contracting.The CV90 is now in itsMk3 iteration, but

newdevelopmentsarealready in thepipeline.Numerous countries are upgrading their

vehiclesorplantodoso.Norwayhas launchedits upgrade programme, in which old chassiswill see their turrets removed to becomesupport variants (the Sting engineer vehicle,theMultic multirole vehicle that can itself bedeclined in four variants including logistictransport, VIPand81mmmortarcarrier16ofeach having been ordered) and Stridlecommand posts of which 15 have beenordered. These chassis are being refurbished,retain the original automotive components,but their protection is increased and theirvetronic becomes fully digitised. Mobility isincreased due to the turret removal. NewCV90 Mk3 chassis will be equipped withupgradedturrets, also fullydigitised, “only theseatsandthecannonremainfromtheoriginalturret” a senior BAE Systems engineer toldArmada.ThenewMk3electronicarchitectureis based on Ethernet, a Canbus remaininghoweveractiveasabackup incaseofEthernetfailure.ThenewNorwegianCV9030 featuresover 100 IPaddresses.A further variant is theOPV, which retains the turret while adding amast-mounted ISR package that includes aradar and an optronic suite, the dismountsbeingreplacedbya lessnumerousrecongroupin charge of intelligence gathering. TheNorwegian Army received the first ofupgradedCV9030IFVson25February2014,a combat engineer vehicle based on arefurbishedMk1 chassis having been rolledouton22August.Swedenisalso intheprocessof upgrading its CV90s; the configuration isnot yet frozen but it will certainly include lifeextension, an ergonomic review and theadoption of an improved BMS. Discussionsare underway to finalise the package, a

Armoured Vehicles

The German Army will soon receive its new Puma fighting vehicles,which had their first participation in an international exhibition in Parislast June. (Armada/P. Valpolini)

Deliveries of the latest standard CV90 toNorway started in February 2014; the BAESystems tracked infantry fighting vehicle hassubstantially evolved since its inception over20 years ago – its name originally standing forCombat Vehicle for the 1990s. (BAE Systems)


contract signature being expected for end-2014. Estonia is acquiring 44 CV9035s fromtheNetherlands. As forDenmark, an RfP fortheM113replacementwasawaited inAugust-September 2014, in view of a contract awardwithin the firsthalfof2015.In terms of CV90 further evolutions,

BAE Systems is working on the proof ofconcept of its Adaptiv visual systemcurrently considered at TRL4, while the IRversion is TRL-7 and should a customermaterialise it could be delivered within acouple of years. The company is developing atile that is able to adapt to both infrared andvisible spectra to match the backgroundlandscape. The size of those tileswill dependon the minimum detection range requiredby the customer, and two options will beproposed, a lower cost system with presetpatterns, and a Gucci system with camerascapable to catch the background image and acomputer to tune the tiles to merge thevehicle in the captured background.Hard kill and 360° surroundings vision

are the other two fields of activity. Theformer sees BAE Systems already involvedwith a customer in the choice of an optimalsolution.As for latter the aim is to get in due

time a “transparent vehicle” in which thecommander can see through the armour inany direction. A cheaper system will beadopted for dismounts in the rearcompartment. Co-operation with Soucycontinues, new rubber tracks used on theArmadillo demonstrator having survived6,000 km without any problem. This, andactive dampingwhichwill become standardonall newplatforms,willmark a great step inincreasing “comfort” not only for soldiers

but also for the electronic equipmentcarried. All technology developments arebeing proposed for the PLO-1, the platformdemonstrator introduced at MSPO 2013with cross-airs on the Polish Armyrequirement for a light andmedium trackedfamily of vehicles.First shown at IDEX2013, theVaran 6x6

developed by the Streit Group should reachthe end of its development in late 2014 toenter mass production in 2015. The

Streit is increasing its successes on the international market and its Varan 6x6 armouredpersonnel carrier is nearly ready for production. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)

Superior Mobility under Protection

URAL

COBRA APV

ARMA 6X6

ARMA 8X8

COBRA II



Armoured Vehicles

development of this vehicle and othermilitary-related products is in line with thegroup production shift, Streit aiming at a70%military and 30% commercial split forits 2014 revenues. Themonocoque hull usesSSAB Armox 500T ballistic protection onits sides and topwhile the energy absorbingbottom is made with Armox 440T. Basicprotection can be increased to full Level 4with add-on ceramic armour and anti-minebottom kit. The development of theautomotive components is completed andthe vehicle has undergone thorough testingat the Milbrook Technology Park inEngland, ballistic tests being expectedwithin year end at the IABG test centre inGermany. The Varan can accommodate atwo-man crew and six dismounts. The 6x6APC is powered by a Cummins 400 hpdiesel engine coupled to an Allisonautomatic five-speed transmission, thepowerpack being located front right.Havingvehicles ready for delivery being theGroup’sphilosophy, 250 powerpack and axle kitshave already beenordered,mass productionbeing expected for 2015 as a few orders areclose to be signed, target price for thebaseline model being under one milliondollars. At Eurosatory the Varan prototypewas equipped with a Sarmat remotelycontrolled weapon station developed byState Kyiv Design Bureau “Luch” in theUkraine, armed with a 12.7 mm machinegun and four antitankmissiles.The Šakal modernised infantry fighting

vehicle was exhibited at the ExcaliburArmy stand for its first Eurosatory and

international appearance. Based on theBMP-2, it features a 402hpCaterpillar engine(some 100 hpmore than before) coupled toan improved automatic transmission. Theengine is locatedon the right,with thedriveron the left, commander and gunner seatsbeing located behind the front section. TheŠakal is equipped with an Evpu Turra 30weapon station armed with a 30 mm 2A42cannon and a 7.62 mm co-axial machinegun, with two 9M113 Konkurs missileslocated on the right of the turret. Thearmament can however be replaced withweapon systems of Western origin of thesame category. Ballistic protection is at Level3,while antimine is at Level 1b/2a.

Japan’s first appearanceEurosatory 2014marked the first appearance of the Japanese defence industry.No real vehicles were actually shown, the only armoured vehicle – an 8 x 8 fromMitsubishi Heavy Industries was exhibited in model form, here photographed bythe author. The vehicle would be about 8metres long, 2.2metres high, 2.98metres width, and its curb weight 18 tonnes offering an 10-tonne payloadcapacity. In APC guise it can carry a total of 11men and a version with raisedrear compartment for ambulance or command post applications is alsoavailable. Equipped with independent double wishbone and hydropneumaticsuspensions, it runs on 395/85R20 rubber. Powered by a 535 hpMHI 4VA 4-cylinder diesel located front-left, it can reach over 100 km/h on road. Protectionlevels were not provided, the APC being equipped with all-round bar armour, theflanks of the troop compartment being apparently protected by reactive armour.Armedwith a 12.7mmmachine gun for self-defence purposes, the vehicle’sample payload capacity would clearly enable it to carry medium or even heavycalibre turrets although the Japanese policy remains that of proposing nonaggressive equipment on themarket.

A consortium of Slovakenterprises led by Excalibur Army hasdeveloped the new BMP-basedSakal IFV. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)




Marine charting started in ancient times, and the power of a navy has since beenmatched by the quality of its charts. On a predominantly oceanicworld, mapping themaritime environment amounts to sum up all the know-howand constraints described inthe previous Geospatial information releases: the complexity of coastal, surface andsubsurface features is augmented by specific human occupation of the littoral, thechanging and dynamic nature of the seas, aswell as their peculiarweather patterns; ontop of this, navigational and traffic control information is adding up an extra, criticaldimension. Fortunately, digital-age information products translate this complexity intocritical decision-making tools.

Geospatial information-IV

Mapping the Seven Seas

T his is probably why the leadingcharting companies described in theair and space part, Jeppesen orNavionics for example, also provide

high-grademarinecharts forcommercial andmilitary users. Nautical charts, however,complywithspecific requirements todescribecoastlinesandmaritimeareas, aswell asoceandepths and main seabed features, natural orman-madenavigationalaids,marinecurrentsand tidal activity. Such knowledge rests onnationalhydrographicoffices, coordinatedbythe InternationalHydrographicOrganisation(IHO). Within historical naval powers, the

National Oceanographic and AtmosphericAgency in America, the old BritishOceanographic Office, or the French ServiceHydrographique et Oceanographique de laMarine, thus produce official marine charts(e.g. the famous British Admiralty charts),updatedona regularbasis.

I ADVANCED SENSORS, BETTER DATA,NEW STANDARDSThe maritime domain forms a complexinteraction between the sea floor, watercolumn, the sea surface, air column, anddynamic information about navigation,weather and obstacles. To comply with thesafety and security missions of most navies,this specific battlespace is monitored by a

wide variety of subsurface, surface, air andspace sensors, mostly of dual-use betweengovernments and themilitary.

The Nasa Jason satellite, for example,provides accurate measurement of waveheight and sea levels worldwide; its data canbe consumed in near real-time to plan navalescorts topirate-threatenedmaritimetraffic in

Wesley Fox Next-generationmaritime domain awarenesssystems will hide the complexity of maritimegeospatial information and integrate on-board sensors and shore-based intelligenceand information services, to present a fused3D rendering of recognised environmentalandmaritime pictures focused onmissionmanagement. (Armada/Wesley G. Fox)

Geoinfo 4:Armada 10/1/14 3:22 PM Page 2


the Horn of Africa. Airborne imaging orranging sensors like lidars provide accuratecoastal contours, or gather bathymetricinformation in shallow waters (using forexample ablue-green laser topenetratewaterand infra-red laser tomeasure surfaceheight).Meanwhile, shipborne or submarine

sonars, from single beam to multi-beamecho sounders combining sensor swathewith attitude sensors, gyrocompass, andinertial navigation, deliver bathymetricinformation to map deep seafloor features.Other sensors survey ocean temperature,salinity, and tidal flows. The resultingamount of data can be extremely complex tointegrate on a single, standardised supportsuch as the old paper map; the stillexperimental or academic use of the mostadvanced hydrographic or bathymetricsensors also adds to the data exploitationchallenge. This is why marine charting hasfound the useful help of digital technologies,givingway to electronic navigational charts(ENC); departing from scanned marinecharts toprovidedynamic information,ENCstranslatevastamountsof informationintosetsofstandardiseddata,producingintelligentandinteractive maps able to manage and displaymulti-layered information, often combiningraster and vector data (see GeospatialInformationpart I).Thewide array of data collection sensors,

and their scientific orientation, have sloweddown standardisation, still lagging behindcomparable land and airmapping products.Commercial geospatial information systems

have only recently started to cope withmaritime geospatial information, both forthe production and the exploitation ofintelligent digital maps. The mostinternationally recognised format inmarineelectronic charting is the IHO-approved S-57, along with its S-63 encrypted variant.Companies like Boeing’s Jeppesen provideconversion tools to bring legacy and exoticdata onto S-57 maps. However, this

maritime standard is slowlybeingaccepted incommercialGIS. Luciadwas early toprovideS-57 visualisation tools, thanks to its earlyinvolvement with Thales at the turn of thecentury to deliver shipborne and shore-based command information systems,notably for the new-generation SIC 21maritime C4I system-of-systems for theFrench fleet command. Esri followed suit,developing its ArcGIS for maritimeoperations alongside its version 10.1 in theearly 2010s. This suite of functionalitiesleverages Esri’s prior involvement inenterprise GIS for NOAA and othermaritime users inAmerica. It complementsEsri’s ocean basemap services released in2011 on ArcGISonline, filling a gap anddemonstrating how poorly the world’soceans aremapped today.Oceanbasemap isplanned tomove in scale from today’s 1/500000 to 1/72 000 aroundAmerican coasts.As S-57 was developed when computing

powerwas far weaker, electronic charts soonreached their limits in incorporatingmarinedata. So the rich metadata associated withmaritime informationsystemshave led to thedevelopment of S-100 and S-101 formatsdesigned to replace S-57 for new-generationENCs in the mid-2010s. These new, moreopenIHOstandardsaugmentpuregeospatialinformation with marine-relevant dynamicinformation. The S-100 hydrographic

Asmore andmore people of our ocean planet live on coastal areas, we realise how little weknow of the complex, disputedmaritime environment, and how strategic it is for any power tobuild andmaintain maritime domain awareness. (IHO)

An artistic rendering of NASA’s Jason oceansurvey satellite, gathering real-timesea level and wave height measurements.The distribution of this informationover web services adds up to the buildingof an accurate environmental picture.(Nasa/Thales Alenia Space)


geospatial standard for marine data andinformation supports multiple data sets:bathymetry,3Dandtemporal information,ortracking sensor data, such as radar tracks orAIS (Automatic Identification System).Beyond at-sea navigation, the new formatenables route planning, coastal and harbournavigation, and takes into account dynamictidal models. The S-101 implementation,tested in 2014-2015, will transform ENCs toricher Electronic Chart Display andInformation Systems (ECDIS) which

combine ENC data with positioninginformation, to plot course and warn offorthcoming dangers, and cross-analysedifferentgeo-enabled information toprovidea rich, multi-layered situational awareness.Among the most awaited type of dynamicinformation are weather data. Alreadyavailable in standardised GRIB files, they

bring additional graphic layers of wind,pressure, precipitation, temperature, waveheight and tidal streams. This richenvironmental information can be used toplan intelligence, surveillance andreconnaissance resources,maximisingsensorplanningandmulti-sensor exploitation.

I FROM LOCAL TO COMBATINFORMATIONSince July 2012, ECDIS are scheduled tobecome compulsory on-board majorcommercial andgovernment ships,becomingthe centrepiece of integrated bridge systems.This growingmarket is populatedby leaders,quickly taken over by major defencecompanies, such as Transas, RaytheonAnschütz or Northrop Grumman SperryMarine. Based in St-Petersburg, TransasMarine produces a range of ECDIS (like theTRIMS integrated bridge management



The United States Naval Ship Impeccableocean surveillance ship is immenselyvaluable to monitor andmap theunderwater environment thanks to its towedarray sensor system. It was chased fromChinese waters off the nuclear submarinebase of Hainan in 2009, triggering a seriousdiplomatic incident. (US Navy)

Disputed Palawan atolls in the South China Sea. Nautical charts combine natural andhuman features for navigation and route planning purposes. Their move to electronic formatsmakes for higher accuracy and automated update. (NOAA, via TerraMetrica)


system, available only for Russian and CIScustomers), and has teamed with the Britishhydrographic office to provide the TransasAdmiraltyDataService for rich, certifieddatacontent and faster update of its charts.Raytheon Anschütz has developed theSynapsisECDISas aPC-basedapplication todisplay both raster charts and S-57 or S-63vector electronic charts. Synapsis is used foron-board navigation, course plotting, andtrackdisplay,withweather chartoverlayasanoption. It is akeybuildingblock inautomatedbridge management systems adopted on-board Damen’s Sigma-class corvettes andlight frigates in service with Moroccan,IndonesianandsoonVietnamesenavies.Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine’s

VisionMaster FT ECDIS is its closestcompetitor, also featuringpicture-in-picturefor visualisation of video, radar or sonarinformation; it is similarly a key buildingblock in Sperry Marine’s TotalWatch singleintegrated bridge display. In both solutions,however, true sensor fusion (where geo-referenced sensor data actually replacemapinformation) is still not achieved.To move from a ship’s bridge to major

combatants tactical operations centres,military applications of ECDIS need to takegeospatial information one step further, byproviding additional military layers (e.g.reading information fromatactical editororasensor track manager) and interfaces tocombat management systems (whichmonitor and integrate a ship’s targetacquisition and weapon systems). Thiscombat application is the role of WarshipECDIS (WECDIS) described in Nato andmajornavalpowers since theendof the2000s.

In 2011,NorthropGrummanwas granted acontract to install its WECDIS version ofVision Master on the next HMS QueenElizabeth aircraft carrier. The very lack of aWECDIS and the reliance on papermaps tonavigate was a key issue in the grounding ofHMSAstute, the Royal Navy’s latest nuclearattack submarine, in October 2010. It ledto an Admiralty recommendation to installWECDIS throughout the class. In thesubmarine branch, OSI Maritime Systemsprovide Tactical Dive Navigation System,a Nato-certified WECDIS dedicated tounderwater operations. TDNS usesVancouver-based OSI Geospatial ECPINS-W Sub software, compliant with STANAG4564 for integration of additional militarylayers (a standardised catalogue of object ofmilitary interest) intomaritime informationsystems. In April 2014, the same softwarewas retained for the integratedbridge systemonboard Royal Navy T45 Class guidedmissile destroyers.

I MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESSBringingmaritimegeospatial information tobear with missionmanagement systems is alogical step, taken by ECDIS providers in

mission-specific solutions for maritimesafety andsecurity. Supporting thecompany’sarrayof coastal surveillance radars,RaytheonAnschütz provides the SmartblueC2 systemto provide local situational state aroundports, naval bases, or oil and gas facilities. Itscontainerised version provides a compactsolution to deployment requirements incoastal and offshore environments.Smartblue can extend to Land perimeterprotection, diver detection, and intrusioncontrol, thanks to a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) extensionmodule.Beyond point surveillance and for shore-

based higher-level command & controlapplications, themost recent solutions comefrom information services providers;their level of IT, and sometimes Natostandardisation, enable system integrators to

embed them in Maritime C4I applications.Esri’smaritimeoperations suite combines thecommercialGISeditor’s large ecosystemwiththeir substantial referencebase in thedefenceand intelligence areas. Noted in 2010 for arich operational use-case for fighting piracyoff the Somali coast by combining satelliteimagery, open data and geospatial queriesacross multiple thematic layers (frommaritime charts to human terrain of tribaloccupation of the Somali coast), Esri havecombined enterprise geospatial services andopendataproviders (such as IHSandLloydsmaritime informationdatabases).Their ArcGIS for maritime operations

suite offers operational preparation of themaritime battlespace, starting with availabletemplates andopen tocustomers’ intelligencedatabases. Multi-layer information querieslead toarichsetofanalysis tools,merginggeo,

29

Standardised S-57 Electronic navigationcharts can be used as a repository ofgeoreferenced data layers, such as IHSFairplay, AIS live, or specialised layers such asoil & gas infrastructures. (IHS)

INTERNATIONAL 5/2014

Multi-sensor input has brought positive and negative elevation tomarine charting,enhancing visualisation through electronic navigation charts, illustrating themulti-dimensionalaspect of theMaritime domain. (Jeppesen)

“The very lack of aWECDIS and the relianceon paper maps to navigatewas a key issue in thegrounding of HMS Astute,the Royal Navy’s latestnuclear attack submarine,in October 2010”


hydro, oceanographic and meteorologicaldata, against which patterns of activity,coming from open sensors (such as AIS),military ISR,orcommercialdatabases, canbedisplayed.The resulting time-space analyticscapability showcases the extent of consistentcommercial solutions open to standardisedexploitation in military C4I. The first C4Isystem integrator to leverage this richecosystemwasThales,EsriGoldpartner since2010. Stepping onboard their ArcGIS V10release the same year, Thales demonstratedintegration of legacy andWeb 2.0 solutionsby integrating their SIC21 maritime C4I(just delivered to the FrenchNavy), with anEsri server hosting Gigabytes of open data

(such as IHS AIS worldwide, Fairplayharbour& shipsmaritimedatabases, and oil& gas exploitation infrastructures andboundaries). Both were connected to web-based Common Operation Picture (COP)viewer in Nato Vector Graphics (NVG)standard to manage large volumes ofbattlespace objects. The following year,Thales won the Nato COP project, servingtheAlliancewith JointC4I (leveragingNatocore Geospatial GIS delivered by Siemens,based onEsri).Nato’s upcoming environmental and

maritime functional services will make fulluse of latest information standards andarchitecture, since information associationthrough web map services brings maritimedomainsituationdescriptiononestep furtherfromtherealmofmilitary-grade information.There seems to be virtually no limit inassociating own-ship sensor information,fleetwide situational awareness, andbusinessapplications drawing information fromfisheries, customs, port authorities, coastguards andnavies–all georeferencedona setofdynamicgeospatial layers.This newhorizonhas givenbirth to anew

generation of Maritime C4I systems

designed to connect with on-boardWECDISorCombatManagement Systems,and augment them with professionalinformation services. This complies withNato’s newest requirements for theirenterprise functional services, as a set ofmilitary applications resting on a service-oriented architecture, brokering informationon a pull rather than a push basis, under theso-calledUser-DefinedOperational Pictures(UDOP). This allows operational users toconsume information frommultiple legacysystems and new services (like theaforementioned Jason2 satellitewaveheightmeasurement, broadcast innear-real time asa web service by the Australian Navy), andbring themonto an interoperable frameworkto create mission-tailored informationproducts for decision support. In thiscontext, the release by Thales of its latestComm@nder integrated C4I system,Comm@nderMaritime in 2013, is targetinga follow-on to the ageing MaritimeCommand & Control Information System(MCCIS) delivered to Nato by NorthropGrummanUK in the early 2000s.The IndianNavy has taken a similar path

with the Trigun and Samvaad C2 software


Transas Marine Electronic Chart Display andInformation Systems equip commercial andgovernment ships worldwide; this Russiandesign accepts the latest standards inmaritime information services (Transas)

Esri’s ArcGIS for the warfighter leverage the GIS editor’s rich partner ecosystem to offertailored information services in themaritime domain, like this maritime battlespace analysisapplication to mine warfare. (Esri)



suites designed to leverage sensor and navigation information between networkedsubmarine, surface and air platforms, networkedwithmaritimeoperations centres tobuild and sharemaritime across the board.

These new trends illustrate the recent move of geospatial information fromplatform-centric, to network-centric. New standards ease transition from electroniccharting toopenmaritime information systems; richmaritimegeospatial informationprovides a recognised environmental picture on which to map general surveillance(AIS, navigation radar) or mission-specific (e.g. surveillance or target acquisition)sensors. The border has become blurred between on-board and shore-basedapplications, since the former can leverage rich databases from fleet command, andthe latter canconsume locally-built tactical information to create, share andmaintain afully recognisedmaritimepicture for the broadermaritimedomain.

I THE DISPLAY CONUNDRUMThe limits to thismulti-layered exploitation rest in our current visualisation tools. Theclassical 2Ddisplays inherited frompaper chartsmaywell be reaching their limits. Therise of web-enabled 3D visualisation, combined with growing graphicalcomputational power carried by standard computers ormobile devices, is fuelling apromising research and technology effort. As the maritime space is a naturalcandidate to multi-dimensional visualisation (from ocean surveillance satellites tosubmarine sonars), newdirections are investigated to render themultiple volumes ofmaritime activity, maximising exploitation of congested shores, or opening newhorizons for bluewater operations.

MarineCadastre is a civil project, started in the early 2010s byNOAAand theUSBureauofEnergyManagement, to presentmaritime information as anon-demand setof information layers visualised in 2D or 3D. Another promising direction is beinginvestigated by the defence industry. Battlespace Vista is an advanced concepttechnology demonstrator (ACTD) showcased by Thales in 2014 as an innovationinitiative, pooling the group’s advanced C4I solutions between Thales SecureInformation & Communication Systems, Thales Raytheon Systems, ThalesUnderwater Systems, andThales Research andTechnology.

Its application toMaritimeDomainAwareness for the 2014Euronaval exhibitiondemonstrated a 3D, immersive and interactive environment (thanks to active 3Dglasses trackedby sensors to slave the display to the commander’smotion) to visualisean integrated battlespace from the ocean bottom to the higher atmosphere on high-grade geospatial data, completewith every shipposition and ID, sensor footprints, andcommunications links. There is no doubt that such innovation will transform thewaywe look at the complexmaritime domain, relegating electronic charts to the pastas surely as they replaced century-old paper charts. As more reliable and opengeospatial information becomes available for new situational understandingsolutions, naval powers of today and tomorrowwill demand these new informationsuperiority tools as surely as their ancestors craved admiralty charts.

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Anything wrong in this latest Zumwalt-class DDG-1000 notional operationscentre rendering? Geospatial information displays, for sure, stuck in the late 1990sand unworthy of today’s Warship Electronic Chart Display & InformationSystems. (General Dynamics)



The widened range of missions to be carried out by increasing more capable amphibiousship fleets around the world – from traditional launch and recovery of forces ashore tohumanitarian and disaster relief operations topped with a large range of threats during thosemissions – require higher performance landing craft. Ironically enough their developmentand acquisition are hindered by shrinking development and acquisition budgets.

Landing Craft

Ship-to-Shoreconnectors in evolution

Landing Craft:Armada 10/1/14 3:27 PM Page 2


I MORE CAPABLE LANDING CRAFTON THE HORIZONNowadays a landing craft is tagged as a ship-to-shore connector andencompasses awholerangeof configurations fromtraditional hullto air cushion craft. They need to reach highspeeds and offer long endurances for over-the-horizon missions, together withcomfortable payload capabilities to reduceoperations timeframe. These requirementsnaturally cascade into other enhancements,including capable and integrated command,

control, computer, communication andnavigation (C4N) equipment, crew comfortandpassive andactiveprotectionnotonly forpersonnel but also for the platform.Shipbuilders and naval industry worldwideare responding to these requirements withadvanced or conventional solutions,dependingonavailable budgets.

I US LEADING THE REQUESTSEnd of last August, the Naval Sea SystemsCommand awarded a contract modificationfor the construction of the US Navy’s firstproduction-standardship-to-shoreconnector(SSC). Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC –pronounceL-cac)101 is thesecondcraft in theSSC class. It was designed as an evolutionaryreplacement of currently ageing fleet ofLCACs, for which a service life extensionprogrammeisunderway.

The industrial team ledbyTextronwhichincludes aluminium manufacturer AlcoaDefense and command, control, computers,communications and navigation specialistL-3 Communications, is today working onthe detailed design and construction of theSSC test and training craft (LCAC 100),which is to be delivered in February 2017.The 101 is the first of 72, with an initialoperational capability targeted for 2020.Although it externally resembles the currenttype, the new craft includes enhancementsdriven by design service life extended to 30years sans service life extensionprogramme,increased payload capacities thanks to two,instead of four but new more powerful,Rolls-RoyceMT7 turbine engines (the type isderivative of the Osprey tiltrotor aircraft),reduced flight crewandworkload, increasedreliability andmaintainability.

Luca Peruzzi

In addition to Spanish Navy, the Navantiashipbuilding group has sold its LCM-1E

designed LCM to Royal Australian and Turkishnavies, respectively 12 and 4 units. With bothservices, the LMC-1E will operate from Juan

Carlos I type LHD, which has been selected byboth navies. (Spanish Navy)

Last August US Navy awarded the contract to build the first production Ship-to-Shore Connector(SSC). The LCAC 101 is the first of 72 operational craft to be delivered fromAugust 2017, with a targeted initial operational capability in 2020. The test and training craft isexpected to start construction by November this year. (Textron)


The SSC will be able to carry a load of 74tonnes – say an Abrams – in Sea State 3 at aspeed ofmore than 40 knots to a shore somefrom 25 nm away. The US Navy is alsoplanning to begin the procurement of a newSurface Connector (X) Replacement –SC(X)R – in Fiscal Year 2018, to replace theageing Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 1610fleet. A so-called Analysis of Alternativecompleted in the first half of 2014 favoured alow-risk evolution of the LCU design toreplace the current 32 1610s onaone-to-onebasis. Nevertheless theUSNavy andMarineCorps are studying concepts to bridge theship-to-shore connector gap in the comingyears. During the Advanced WarfightingExperiment in conjunctionwith theRimpac2014 multinational exercise led by the USForces this summer, theMarineCorps testedthehalf-scaleprototypeof theUltraHeavy-liftAmphibiousConnector (UHAC).Fundedbythe Office of Naval Research and built byNavatek, a full-scale craft is expected to carrythree times thepayloadof anLCACandbeat10-foot high seawalls.

The US Navy’s fleet of LCAC is being subjected to aservice life extension programme. The newMobileLanding PlatformMontford Point is here seensuccessfully conducting interface tests off the coastof Camp Pendleton Last June. (US Navy)

An Analysis of Alternative (AoA), completed in the first half of 2014, favoured a low-riskevolved LCU design to replace the current 32 LCU 1610 LCU, seen here, on a one-of-onebasis, tentatively starting from Fiscal Year 2018. (US Navy)


Landing Craft


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I EUROPEAN NEW DESIGNSThe French naval industry is waving theinnovation flag in this sector. IndeedConstructions Industrielles de laMéditerranée(Cnim)developedandpatentedanewconceptofa fast landingcraft capable tocarry out LCU, LCT and LST type-vesselduties. Known as the L-CAT (for landingcatamaran), it is based on the concept of avariabledraft system,bywhichcharacteristic itnavigates as a catamaran, but it transformsinto a landing barge for landing ashore orentering a well deck, this thanks to a mobilecentral platform that raises or lowers tomodifybuoyancy. Orderedin2009byFrance’s

DGA procurement agency and built byFrenchSocarenamshipyard, fourL-Cat-basedEDA-R(EnginsdeDébarquementAmphibie–Rapides,orAmphibiousLandingCraft-Fast),enteredservicebetween2011and2012.With a length of 30metres and a width of

12, the craft consists of two aluminium alloyhulls that frame a 126 sq. metres mobilecentralplatformthatcanaccommodatean80-tonne load. Once the platform is raised, thefourMTU12V2000M93dieselsdriving fourMJP650waterjetsprovideamaximumspeedof25-30knotsemptyor18knotsatmaximumload.Endurance is400nmat12knots. Ithasacrew of between four and eight with the

possibility to carry 40 men. Employed byMistralclassBPCsandSiroccoclassTCDs, thecrafthavedemonstrated their interoperabilitywithUSNavyamphibiousvessels.DCNS has however developed a more

conventional but new Landing CraftMedium (LCM) design (see our cover),which was chosen by the Russian Navy toequip the two Vladivostock-class BPC-typevessels under construction and finaloutfitting by STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire(as a subcontractor to DCNS) with the co-operation of the OSK Russian shipbuildinggroup. Ordered as part of the two-BPCdeliverypackage in fourunits tobedeliveredwith the first ship, theCTMNG(ChalanddeTransport de Materiel de NouvelleGeneration) as it has been redesignated,introduced improvements compared to thealready-in service CTM with the FrenchNavy.Witha lengthandbeamof respectivelyaround27 and7metres, compared to 23 and6.3 metres of the in-service craft, they differfor a roll-on/roll-off capability thanks to abow and stern ramp, with the transfer of thecrew station on the left side. The craft hulldesignhasbeen redesigned tooffer better seakeeping capabilities, providing a maximumspeed of around 20 knots without load. Anorder for another fourCTMNGs is expectedfor equipping the second ship.

Cnim in France is proposing a family of L-Cat concept based craft, among whichthe EDA-R seen here in service with the French Navy. (US Navy)

During the AdvancedWarfighting Experimentin conjunction with the Rimpac C 2014multinational exercise lead by US Forces thissummer, the USMarine Corps tested the half-scale prototype of the UHAC currently underdevelopment. (US Navy)

In Britain, the portfolio of Griffon Hoverworkair cushion craft for military and paramilitaryapplications include themost popularmedium lift Griffon 8000TD and the longestrunning Griffon 2000TD, here seen in theTDX version in service with the RoyalCommandos. (UKMoD)


Landing Craft



TheBritishnaval industryhas alsobeenafront-runner in new designs for landingapplications, with a long and successfultradition in hovercraft andmore recently inthe Pascat (Partial Air Cushion SupportedCatamaran) prototyping programme.Griffon Hoverwork has developed and isproducing amphibious hovercraft for bothcommercial and military/paramilitaryapplications. The latter product portfolioinclude the longest runningGriffon2000TD,capable to carry up to 16 soldiers at a speedof 34knots, to themost popularmedium-liftGriffon8000TD,whichcancarry eight to tentonnes, dependingonconfiguration, orup to56 persons in addition to its two-man crew.The latest customers include theColombianand Peruvian navies, as well as the SouthKorean and Indian coast guards. A long-standing British requirement for a fastlanding craft with an ‘over-the-horizon’(from 30 nm offshore) reach to replace thecurrentMk10LCUs, led to theevaluationofasurface effect ship (SES) design based on thePascat.Qinetiqheads an industrial teamthatincludes Griffon Hoverwork and the BMTGroup. The latter’s Caimen FLC family isbased on a tri-bowmonohull of aluminiumconstruction, and a bow ramp positionedwell above the waterline, but folded toprovide excellent visibility from thewheelhouse.With a lengthof 33metres andabeam of 7.7, the medium Caimen 90 FastFLC can carry a 90-tonne load at a speed of22knots, or reach40knots unloaded.

The Navantia shipbuilding group inSpain is today offering amore conventionalfast landing craft design that has beenselected or is in service with differentimportant navies. To replace the LCM-8 inservice with Spanish Navy, the shipbuilderdeveloped the LCM-1E for theGalicia-classLPDs and the Juan Carlos I LHD. With alength of 23.3 metres and beam of 6.4,

roll-on/roll-off capabilities, a crew of fourand aC4Nallowing amphibious operationsstarting over-the-horizon (over 20nm), theLCM-1E is powered by two MAN dieselengines providing a maximum speed of 22knotswhenunloaded and 13.5 knots atmaxloading. The latter can include amain battletank, up to six Humvees or 170 soldiers,according to Navantia. In addition to theSpanish Navy, thanks to the designinteroperability with the JuanCarlos I-typeof LHD, the LCM-1E has been acquired byAustralia, namely 12 units to work inconjunctionwithCanberra-class twoLHDs(four LCM-1E for each ship). The first fourarrived inAustralia last April. InDecember2013, the Turkish Undersecretariat forDefence Industries announced a teammadeup of Navantia and the Sedef shipyard hadbeen selected to begin negotiations for thedesignandconstructionof anLHDbasedonthe Juan Carlos I, and four LCM-1E landingcraft together with a technology transferpackage for their local construction withNavantia assistance. A contract signature isexpected in the comingmonths.

In addition to the Spanish Navy, Navantia hassold its LCM-1E designed LCM to the RoyalAustralian and Turkish navies, respectively 12and 4 units. The first four LCM-1Es deliveredto Australia last April operate with the firstCanberra-class LHD. (Royal Australian Navy)

The Italian Navy LCM, here seen during a rescue mission of illegal immigrant traffic betweenAfrica and Italy, forms the base of the LCM built in Algeria for the new multipurposehelicopter landing platform dock ship to the Algerian Navy under a technology transfer contractwith Italian Orizzonte shipbuilding company. (Italian Navy)



In early September, Orizzonte SistemiNavali, the Italian joint ventureofFincantieri(51%) and Selex ES (49%), delivered the new8,800-tonneKalaat Beni-Abbes multipurposehelicopter landing platform dock to theAlgerian Navy at Fincantieri’s Muggianoshipyardnear La Spezia. The contract signedin 2011 by Orizzonte and Algeria alsoregarded a full training and technologytransfer package for local construction oflanding craft. Orizzonte acknowledged tohave provided design supervision,constructionmanagementandco-ordinationwith technology transfer to Algeria for threeLCMs to be used with the new amphibiousship.Thecraftwerebuilt atECRN(Enterprisede Construction et Réparation Navales) atMers-El-Kebir, to the navy’s full satisfaction.Their design is based on ItalianNavy’s LCM,which were designed and built by CantiereNavale Vittoria at Adria (Rovigo) in North-Eastern Italy. With a 19.5-metre length and5.1-metre beam, these landing craft arepoweredby twoIvecodiesel enginesaffordinga maximum speed of nine knots. With a fullload displacement of 65 tonnes and amaximum load of 30, they are built to Rinarules and equipped with an armouredwheelhouse to provide the needed level ofballistic protection, together with a fullnavigationandcommunication suite.Other European shipbuilding groups are

proposing landing craft solutions of variousdimensions.These include theDutchDamenshipbuildinggroup(which supplied theLCMand LCVP to the Royal Netherlands Navy),the Turkish Adik shipyard (which deliveredeight Adik class Landing Craft Tanks to thelocal navy between 2009 and 2013), the newKership joint venture between Piriou andDCNS (whichproposes the 650-tonneLCT-

50 design) and the Portuguese Arsenal doAlfeite with the new family of larger LC560landingplatformsup to900 tonnes.The Russian shipbuilding industry is

today involved in new fast landing craftactivities with Dugon-class assault landingvessels (Project 21820).Designed byNizhnyNovgorod bureau, these air cavity platformsare adynamicvarietyof air cushions,where alayer of compressed air at the bottom of theship is due to themovementof the ship.Witha length and beam of respectively 45 and 8.6metres, these280-tonne fast landingcraft canreach a top speed of 35 knots and can carryup to three Russianmain battle tanks or fivearmoured vehicles to the tune of 140 tonnes.All three classes have been launched, the

third last June, and the first-of-class hasstarted shipyard trails in theBaltic Sea.

I LATEST WORLDWIDE SOLUTIONSThe increasingnumberof amphibious, crisisresponse, humanitarian assistance anddisaster relief operations, especially in theAsia-Pacific region, has pushed regionalnavies and industries to develop their owncapabilities, with foreign acquisitions asalreadymentioned, local designs or throughtechnology transfer agreements.In theAsia-Pacific region,Singaporeandits

local shipbuilding industry were the first tolocally develop both amphibious vessels andlandingcraft. TodaySingaporeTechnologiesMarine offers the waterjet-propelled Braveseries of shallow-water fast landing craft,providing both high speed and variedpayload.Thecraftaregivenascomplementsofthesameshipyard’s seriesofEnduranceLPDs.The smaller Brave-4T and 18T models,respectively capable tocarry loadsof fourandeighteen tonnes at speed of over 25 knots,were instrumental in carryingpersonnel andheavy equipment between The Republic ofSingapore Navy’s Endurance class LPD and

Amongst the European shipbuilders, Damengroup has built the LCM and LCVP for theRoyal Netherlands Navy in addition to theEnforcer LPD series also selected by othernavies. Damen also built the RoyalNetherlands navy’s new Joint Support Ship,which entered service recently. (US Navy)

Landing Craft

While China has developed its own designed air-cushion landing craft, it hasalso acquired four huge Ukrainian-built Zubr (Project 1232.2) hovercraftmodified for local requirements, two of which are already delivered. The othertwo are to be built locally with Ukrainian support. (US Navy)


shoreduring the2004Tsunamidisaster reliefoperations. The other threemodels – the 27-metre Brave 30T, the 42-metre 75T and the47-metre 150T – can carry a 30, 75 and 150tonnesof goodsover respectively 90, 160and280 square metres of clear deck at a speedrangingbetween18and25knots.TheseFLCsare candidates for a reported interest by localMoDfora largerEndurance-160LHD.China is the latest customerofUkrainian-

built Zubr (Project 1232.2) air-cushionlandingcraft andhasalready takendeliveryoftwo.A further twoare tobebuilt locallywithUkrainian support.The need to equip Indonesian Navy’s

newest multirole, amphibious vesselBanjarmasinandBanda Aceh, commissionedrespectively in 2009 and 2011 with newlanding craft, pushed the service to sign acontract in 2014 with Indonesian PT TescoIndomaritimshipyard for themanufactureoftwo24.3-metre longutility landingcraftable tocarry a maximum of 26 tonnes of vehicleand/or materiel or 100 men and reachmaximum and economical cruise speeds ofrespectively 40 (unload) and20knots.In the Middle East, the United Arab

Emirates shipbuilding and ship repair group

Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) groupannouncedduring the IDEX2013 exhibitionthat it had been selected tomeet the KuwaitNavy’s future landing craft requirements.This programme involves the supply of two64-metre and one 42-metre landing craftplus five 16-metre composite landing craft,which are being manufactured at ADSB’sfacilities in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi (UAE).This important contract builds on theprevious programs for the Royal BahrainNaval Force and the UAE Navy. The firstservice received two 42-metre and two16-metre craft while the second operateswith two 42-metre craft of the sametype. Manufacturing for Kuwait Navycommenced in 2013, with the programmelasting approximately 24months.In South America, the Cotecmar

shipbuilding group of Colombia deliveredthe first of a series of Buque DesembarcoAnfibio (BDA) vessels to the ColombianNavy lastmay.With a full load displacementof around 600 tonnes, a 45.8-metre lengthand 11-metre beam, these amphibious shipscan carry up to 210 tonnes of cargo or 322passengers for both military, paramilitaryanddisaster relief operations.

Singapore Technologies Marine offers thewaterjet-propelled Brave series of FLC tooperate in shallow waters, providing bothhigh speed and varied payload. Heredepicted is the model of the 42-metre 75TBrave designed to carry 75 tonnes between18 and 25 knots. (Luca Peruzzi)



Radio Amplifiers

While the software-defined radio represents one of themost important enablingtechnologies formobile communications right across the board, there is one area inwhichit lags older technologies – power. There’smore to it than that, of course, and the reallimitations lie in the relationship between output power, signal characteristics, heatdissipation andweight. Power densities of the latest software-defined radios can be fourtimes lower than those of the AM/FM radios they are replacing because their advancedwaveforms andwide bandwidthsmake efficient use of amplifiers difficult.

More Oomph Please!

Soldiers from the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division familiarise themselveswith the Thales AN/PRC-148MBITR. AMTI offers a 20W amplifier for this and other

handheld radios covering the 30 to 512MHz frequency range. (US DoD)

Radio Amplifiers:Armada 10/1/14 3:33 PM Page 2


A round40-50%of the50-55kg thatinfantry soldiers carry intocombatis power related and about 30% ofthe load that a typical platoon

carries is composed of batteries andparaphernalia topower their radiosandotherelectronics. Two recent breakthroughs intechnology applied to amplifiers promise tomake a significant difference to the soldier’sburdenandability to communicate.The first of these involves a better way of

applying the envelope tracking principleinvented by Bell Laboratories in 1937 as ameans of matching an amplifier’s powersupply to theneedsof its transmitter tomakepower usage much more efficient. Thesecond isbymeansof layeringgalliumnitride(GaN) on a diamond substrate to producesemi-conductor amplifier components thatrunmuchcooler, and thereforewaste far lessenergy as heat, thanolder technologies.

I MATCHING POWER TO SIGNALNujira, aBritishcommunications technologycompany based near Cambridge, describesitself as an envelope tracking specialist andhasdevelopedanewHighAccuracyTracking(HAT) technique that it has successfullyimplemented in commercial cellular andbroadcast communication systems and isapplying it tomilitary radio systems.The latest software-defined radio systems

and battlefield communications networksuse a variety of protocols that rely oneither Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) or QuadratureAmplitude Modulation (QAM) – or both –and make use of frequency hopping andadaptive signal to noise encoding schemes,Nujira points out. The Soldier RadioWaveform (SRW) relies on QAM, forexample, while the Wideband NetworkingWaveform (WNW) for ground-to-groundand ground-to-air communications usesorthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexingmodulation, as does the Tactical Targeting

NetworkTechnology (TTNT) systemused inairborne sensor, shooter and ordnancecommunications.TheMobileUserObjectiveSystem (muos) satcom network uses bothOFDM and QAM and the Wideband CodeDivision Multiple Access (W-CDMA)technology in common use for commercialcellular communicationsnetworks.

Nujira points out that QAM and OFDMin particular need faithful reproduction ofthe transmitted radio signal’s amplitude, andit is this constraint thatmakes efficientuseofpower in conventional amplifiers difficult.Such amplifiers are at their most efficientwhen operating at or near peak power, ormore accurately, as Nujira puts it, then theradio frequencyenvelopewaveformis closestto peak power. Efficiency is a functionof the signal’s peak-to-average-power ratio

Peter Donaldson, inputs from Eric H. Biass

A USMarine Corporal on patrol with a Harris AN/PRC-152in Sangin, Afghanistan. All handheld radios can benefitfrom the extra range that the power of a supplementary

amplifier can provide. (USMarine Corps)

“Efficiency is a functionof the signal’s peak-to-average-power ratiowhere the higher the peakpowerwith respect to themean power, the lowerthe efficiency.”


where the higher the peak power withrespect to the mean power, the lower theefficiency. So a signal that exhibits tall peaksthat are much higher than the average levelcannot use conventional amplifiersefficiently andwastemuch of their power asheat. It is the modulation and codingscheme that determine the peak-to-average-power ratio, and QAM, OFDM and W-CDMAare all peaky.With envelope tracking, instead of a final

RF stage power transistor optimised for aconstant voltage, the supply to the PowerAmplifier (PA) output transistor isdynamically synchronised with the radiosignal, dramatically reducing the energydissipated, saysNujira.While the benefits ofenvelope tracking have been known formore than three quarters of a century, it isonly recently that industry has been able tomake power supply modulators with theaccuracy, bandwidth and noise levels toenable the systemas awhole to save energy.

I HIGH ACCURACY TRACKINGA technique known as High AccuracyTracking (HAT) is beginning todemonstrateimpressive power efficiency improvements.Nujira has developed a HAT powermodulator module for integration intopower amplifiers that measures 70 x 70 x 18mm and runs an algorithm that tracks theRF signal very accurately in both timing andamplitude. It does this, says the company, bycalculating the amplitude from the digitalsignal and applying a simple function toarrive at the best instantaneous drainvoltage.Whilemodulator causes a delay, theHAT algorithm also calculates this andapplies an identical delay to the radio signalbefore sending it to the amplifier.Accordingto Nujira, HAT can take, for example,standard AB class amplifiers from a littleabove 30% efficiency to above 60%. Radiosthat use powermore efficiently canmanagewith smaller, lighter batteries or run formuch longer on their existing batteries.Newamplifiers are also at the heart of the

AN/PRC-155 two-channelmanpack radio’sability to communicate via the Mobile UserObjective System (muos) satellite network.On 14 January, the US Army announced asole-source award to GD4S for muos HighPowered Amplifier (MHPA) kits for theAN/PRC-155. This follows an initial awardannounced a year earlier, worth around US$5million, for 100 field replaceable amplifierkits and supporting software to upgrade in-service sets. The upgrade adds muos


General Dynamics C4 Systems’ SidewinderSRW-Appliqué integrates the rifleman radio

and the amplifier from an AN/PRC-155 in a new vehiclemount, both improving power and connecting soldier

radios to vehicle networks. (GD 4S)

This gallium nitride on diamondwafer features diamond as a substrate, benefiting fromhigh thermal conductivity that will enable future radios to combine high power output withcool running and significantly longer battery life. (Darpa)

Radio Amplifiers


capabilities to a radio that already runs the Soldier RadioWaveform(SRW), theWidebandNetworkingWaveform(WNW)plus the SingleChannelGround andAirborneRadio System (Sincgars).Technical details were scant in both cases, but envelope tracking

technology has certainly been considered in connection with muos.As long ago as 2010, for example,MaXentricTechnologies LLCwonaUS DoD Small Business Innovation Research award for a high-efficiencyW-CDMApower amplifier for amuoshandheld radio. Thecompany’s proposal was based on its GreenAmpMini, which uses adynamic modulator to provide an adaptive DC supply to the poweramplifier. AsMaXentric described it, the dynamic supplymodulatortracks the envelope of themuos signal. “Since theDCpower supply ischangingwith the input envelope signal, theoverall transmitterwill notconsume extra DC power in a low output power region,” said thecompany. “When themuoshandset is not transmitting, theDCpoweris not provided to the transmitter,minimising thepower consumptionin the system and improving the overall system efficiency, whichincreases battery lifetime significantly.”Fast forward to2013and thecompanyreceivedanotherSBIRaward,

this time under Socom’s Next Generation Portable Power Amplifierprogramme, with its GreenAmp Lite the focus of the work. TheGreenAmp Lite combines envelope tracking with a MonolithicMicrowave IntegratedCircuit (MMIC)poweramplifier ina single smallfootprintpackage, says thecompany, emphasising that tight integrationismade possible through the extremely high efficiency and low powerdissipationprovidedbyenvelope tracking.This alsoenables theuseof asmallerbattery that canbe integrated into thehandheldpoweramplifier.As they requirenocalibrationor tuning, says the company,GreenAmpLitemodules canbepluggeddirectly into systemsoutof thebox.

I AMPS BOOST SOLDIER VEHICLE NETSSupplementary amplifiers are key components of theUSArmy’s SRWvehicle appliqué systems developed to extend the reach of soldierradios into wider battlefield networks. Four companies— Exelis,GDC4 Systems, Thales Defense & Security and Harris—all woncontracts in April to supply equipment for this requirement. WhileExelis SideHat is a one-box solution with an integral amplifier thatputs out up to 23.4W in the UHF band and 28W in the L-band, theothers package their soldier radioswith compact add-ondevices.Harris SRWappliqué systems consist of a Falcon IIIwideband radio

andasmall formfactorwidebandpoweramplifier,most likely theTCR-MBA-50 WB from Tricom Research, in a cradle mount. Capable ofputting out up to 50W, this software-defined amplifier is designed to ��

Other��divisions: rf/microwave instrumentation • receiver systems • ar europe The Battle Tested logo is Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM. Off. # 3,821,099.

Copyright© 2014 AR. The orange stripe on AR products is Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM. Off.

Tricom Research provides the TCR-MBA-50WB amplifier for HarrisSRW vehicle appliqué systems and can also “seamlessly” integrate intonew line-of-sight and satcom special communicationsmodes forspecial forces. (Tricom Research Inc)


extend the range of modern handheld andmanpack transceivers and supportsnetworking waveforms including SRW andHarris’ Adaptive Networking WidebandWaveform (ANW2) as well as legacywaveforms such as Sincgars and Havequick.The amplifier can also integrate seamlesslyinto systems using new line of sight andsatcom Special Communications Modes(SCM)developedforAmericanspecial forces,says thecompany.In this application, the combination

provides seamless connections betweensoldiers, their command centres and higherheadquarters, says Harris, delivering voice,video anddata though compact installationsin space constrained vehicles.“The network remains one of theArmy’s

highest priorities,” said George Helm,president,Department ofDefense business,Harris RF Communications. “Our SRWappliqués deliver cost effective SRWcommunications in vehicular applications,connecting the soldier at the tactical edge tothe network. The appliqués also addressspace challenges in army vehicles that areunable to accommodate larger, manpack-based solutions.”Thales and GDC4 Systems are providing

different solutions based on the jointlydeveloped AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio.The Thales Viper (Vehicle Integrated PowerEnhanced Rifleman) system combines theRiflemanwith a 20W tactical amplifier fromUltralife, acompanythatalsomakesarangeofamplifiers to boost the power of a number oftactical radios, includingdismountedsoldier-focusedA-320V1-R225 to 450MHz“pocketamplifier” which, at 0.68 kg, the companyclaims is the lighteston themarket andwhichsupports theANW2andEnhancedPosition&

Location Reporting System (EPLRS)waveforms. GDC4 Systems’ SRW-Appliquéputs the Rifleman Radio into a Sidewindervehicle mount alongside a 20W amplifierfromtheAN/PRC-155manpack radio.Worth aroundUS$115,000 to eachof the

companies, the initial contractwas intendedto provide the US Army with engineeringand field service support to demonstrateSRW-Appliqué capabilities duringNetworkIntegration Exercise 14.2, which concludedon 22May. The companies will compete forsubsequent orders and the systems will bedistributed toBrigadeCombatTeamsaspartof future army capability sets.On foot again, amplifiers for handheld,

manpack and bodyworn radios are a fact oflife for soldiers who need to boost the rangeand power of these sets, and they areavailable from radio manufacturers andindependents such as Ultralife, who designproducts tobe compatiblewith radios fromawide range ofmanufacturers, offering themas stand-alone units or as kits with cradle,cabling and antennas.Under the AMTI brand, Ultralife offers

the 24-ounce (680-gram), combat provenA-320, a 20W device that offers its full ratedpowerover the 30 to 512MHzrange and, thecompany emphasises, canprovide full-ratedpower for 15 hours on average from a single5590batteryor 24hours ona5390.Designedto work with most radios used by themilitary, government agencies andhomeland security, including Thales’AN/PRC-148MBITR,Harris’AN/PRC-152and RF5800, the A-320 is certified to Mil-Std-810F and 461E, says the company.Instead of using wideband or bypass

harmonic filters to make the amplifiercompatible with Havequick and Sincgars,techniques that can result in interferencewith other friendly networks, says AMTI,the A-320 uses “exceptional” harmonicfiltering and spectrumsensing technology.ARModularRF, for theirpart, announced

that they are introducing two newnetworking-capable amplifiers able tooperate in conjunctionwith software-definedradios (the term now becoming extraredundant by theway, since software-drivenradios are the norm) such as theHarris AN-PRC-117G and the Thales/GeneralDynamics AN-PRC-154A. Known as theAR55L and AR20R, these are galliumnitride-based amplifiers and are of courseable of high-speed carrier detection andswitching to guarantee a seamless,unattended operation.

The company is also introducing theAR20, an ultralightVHF/UHF30-512MHz20W amplifier for man-pack radios whichit claims to be the smallest and lightest of itskind on the market. Typically designed tooperate in conjunction with radios like theAN PRC148 from Thales, or the ANPRC152 from Harris, it is suitable for anysingle or multiband radio within theoperating frequency band.

I GaN ON DIAMOND A SOLDIER’SBEST FRIEND?Mismatching of amplifier power level andsignal demand isnot theonly energy sappinggenerator of waste heat; excess resistance intoday’s semi-conductor technology isanother. The United States DefenseAdvanced Research Projects Agency(Darpa) is pushing for big improvements—up to threefold—in efficiency forRF systemsacross the board in communication andsensor systems through advances in semi-conductor technology in power amplifiersbased on GaNMMICs with fundamentallymuch lower resistance that don’t generatethatwaste heat in the first place.As the Darpa describes it, much of this

resistance comes at the thermal junction atwhich the substrate material of the circuitconnects to the GaN transistor. If thejunction and the substrate have poorthermal properties, says the organisation,temperature will rise and performance willdecrease. The agency’s efforts to overcomethis limitation are focused on its NearJunction Thermal Transport (NJTT)programme, underwhich it is workingwithindustry to replace the current siliconcarbide (SiC) substrate material with


Ultralife supplies the 20W amplifier that is akey component of Thales’ Vehicle IntegratedPower Enhanced Rifleman (Viper) systemshown here, along with the 0.68 kg A-320V1-R225 to 450MHz “pocket amplifier”. (Ultralife)

ARModular RF’s new AR20R is part of a familyof new amplifiers aimed at the Thales/GDAN/PRC-154A and Harris’ AN/PRC-117G anduses the latest GaN technology RF powerdevices and rapid carrier detection andswitching. (ARModular RF)

Radio Amplifiers


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diamond, because diamondhasmuchbetterthermal conductivity.Discussing the results of an early

demonstration of High Electron MobilityTransistor (HEMT) technology at the endofApril 2013, the Darpa’s programmemanager Avram Bar-Cohen said: “TheseGaN-on-diamond HEMTs could enable anew generation of RF PAs that are threetimes smaller than the current state-of-the-art GaN amplifiers. Smaller amplifierswould lead to RF systems with better size,weight and power characteristics.Alternatively, PAs like these would be ableto generate three times as much outputpower, leading to a stronger signal forcommunication systems or longer rangeradar. Almost any RF system could benefitfrom the combination of higher power,higher efficiency and reduced size enabledbyGaN-on-diamond amplifiers.”Avram Bar-Cohen went on to explain

that, in power amplifiers built using MMICtechnology, the steepest temperature risehappens in the first few microns below thejunction of the two materials and is directlyrelated to the thermal conductivity of theentire wafer. “Providing a high conductivitysubstrate in intimate contact with the GaNgets us unsurpassed heat tolerance anddissipationcapability.Weexpect this advancewill substantially improve the thermally-limitedhighpowerRF systemsof today.”

I TRIQUINT, RAYTHEONBREAKTHOUGHSThe first company to demonstrate such athreefold improvement was TriQuintSemiconductor, working under the NJTTprogrammewithpartners at theUniversityof

Bristol, Group4 Labs and LockheedMartin.TriQuint describes its breakthrough asinvolving the successful transfer of asemiconductor epitaxial overlay onto asynthetic diamond substrate, providinghighthermal conductivity and low thermalboundary resistance while preservingcriticalGaNcrystalline layers.TriQuint engineers used a new epitaxial

transfer method—one that overlays onecrystalline substance in a precise orientationon another—to remove the GaN from itsgrowth substrate and place it in intimatecontact with a synthetically grown andspecially prepared diamond substrate.Synthetic diamond is said to have thehighest known thermal conductivity of anyman-made material, more than 10 timesthat of silicon semiconductor.Another of the companies involved is

Raytheon, which announced a comparabledemonstration of GaN on diamondtechnology on 1 April this year. Raytheondemonstrateda10x125µm(1.25mm)Gan-on-diamond HEMT, which represented a

buildingblock–“unit cell”– for constructingpower amplifier MMICs. This result, saysRaytheon, builds on prior achievementsincluding its “industry-first” demonstrationofGaN-on-diamond transistors in2009, andGaN-on-diamondMMICs in2011.Until GaN-on-diamond technology

matures, gallium nitride on silicon carbide(GaN-on-SIC) represents the state of the artinminiature amplifier technology. Targetingpoint-to-point and point-to-multipointdigital radiosandsatcomterminals,NorthropGrumman has announced two newamplifiers thatoperatedover the27 to31GHzfrequency range, namely the APN228 andAPN229,whichprovide saturatedoutputs of13 and 8W respectively. Both are HEMTdeviceswith0.2um((pleaseuse the “micron”signhere))waferson4-mil SiC substrates.Unglamorous components they may be,

but radio amplifiers represent a vitalenhancing technology that provides thepower and bandwidth needed to make thesmartphone-like functionalityandalways-onconnectivity a realityon thebattlefield.

Radio Amplifiers

NEXT ISSUEDECEMBER 2014-JANUARY 20151 DECEMBER,ADVERTISING: 17 NOVEMBER 2014

� Rapid Deployment VehiclesThese are vehicles that need to be light enough tobe moved to where they are urgently needed, incase of crisis for example, but also adequatelyequipped for self protection and ballistic protection,which often brings a notion of contradiction sincerapid generally means light. The article reviews thedevelopments that help bridge the gap.

� Small Arms UpdateAn revision of all the major and minor develop-ments that enable small arms to become moreefficient and smarter, and this does not onlyinclude ammunition but also critical points suchas ergonomics and materials.

� Fast Patrol BoatsThe role of a fast patrol boat is to be able tomove from A to trouble spot B in a minimum oftime. With B often a trouble maker or a smuggler,the boat often needs to be armed. Since inter-ventions normally take place within nationalwaters, little time is available before B reachesthe shores. This also means speed and adequatecommunications.

� CyberWarfareNothing is more complicated to counterthan an invisible enemy. It is like plague and itspresence is generally detected because thedamage suddenly, or worse, gradually becomesvisible. Fighting electronic intrusion mainlyconsists of knowing which are the preferredloopholes used by malevolent bitstreamsto block them.

� Geospatial Information 5“Mapping Urban Canyons” will detail geospatialsolutions tailored to describing the complexurban environment, merging topography,infrastructure, and utilities to support operationsin congested, contested and fragmentedurban spaces.

� Soldier-Worn Night Vision andNight Rifle SightsWe see the progress made in the field ofelectro-optical devices in our everydaylife without really realising it, when theheadlights of our car switch on automaticallywhen entering a tunnel, for example. Well suchautomated and synchronisation systemshave achieved such miniaturisation thatthey made their way into all manner ofsoldier viewing systems.

The second of AR Modular’s new amplifiers intended for the PRC-154A and the PRC-117G isthe AR55L, which produces 50W PEP between 1.2 and 1.9 GHz in a compact 13.22 kg packagethat handles current and legacy waveforms. (AR Modular RF)




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