JUNE 2010 US$15 VOLUME 18/ISSUE 4 www.asianmilitaryreview.com RUSSIA’S DEFENCE RELATIONSHIP WITH ASIA HOMELAND AND BORDER PROTECTION SOLDIER MODERNISATION PROGRAMMES IN ASIA SOLDIER MODERNISATION PROGRAMMES IN ASIA HOMELAND AND BORDER PROTECTION RUSSIA’S DEFENCE RELATIONSHIP WITH ASIA MILITARY SATCOM AMPHIBIOUS CAPABILITIES UAVS IN SE ASIA COVERT BATTLEFIELD SURVEILLANCE MILITARY SATCOM COVERT BATTLEFIELD SURVEILLANCE AMPHIBIOUS CAPABILITIES UAVS IN SE ASIA
No matter where or when you need them, Oshkosh Defense delivers light-, medium- and heavy-duty tactical vehicles that perform – with unmatched functionality and reliability. Oshkosh manufactures vehicles that consistently meet the ever-evolving needs of the military, implementing superior technologies and advanced systems to keep personnel and supplies moving quickly and safely, even in the most demanding environments. You want constant readiness. No matter the mission. No matter the vehicle. You get it with the production capacity, proven capability and worldwide aftermarket support of Oshkosh Defense.
Homeland andBorder ProtectionGordon ArthurThe Mumbai attacks highlighteddeficiencies in border andhomeland security not just in Indiabut throughout the Asia-Pacific.New technologies, strategiesand tactics are being urgentlysought and adopted throughoutthe region to avoid repeatingthese mistakes
AmphibiousWarfareCapabilities GrowTom WithingtonWhether it is disaster relief athome, supporting overseasdeployment or a conventionalassault from the sea, navies inthe Asia-Pacific are rapidlyexpanding their capabilities andexperience in this area
UAVs in AsiaDzirhan MahadzirSouth-East Asia’s geography andterrain, comprising long coastlines,large undeveloped and sparselyhabited areas, vast bodies of waterand numerous scattered islands,make it a region where UAVsshould be in high demand, if onlyto patrol and survey its territoriescheaply and effectively
38
32
CovertBattlefieldSurveillanceTom WithingtonIn an ideal world, thecommander on the groundwould have a constant view ofevery nook and cranny of theirarea of operations, 24 hours aday. Though not complete, theexpansion of unseen coverage ofthe battlefield is still givingcommanders critical intelligence
16
Russia developskey defencepresence in AsiaAndrei Chang & Adam BaddeleyRussia’s defence relationshipwith the Asia Pacific spans manydecades supplying most of thekey weapons systems on land,sea and air in the inventories ofthe region’s superpowers:China and India, and manyothers relying on the country’sdesigns for their defence
44
SatcomExpands in AsiaAdam BaddeleySatellite Communications isproliferating accompanying, enableand enhance almost every militaryactivity today. Satcom of someform is now within the means ofall military budgets, creating adynamic market and allowingenabling network centric solutionsto emerge across the region
10
Adam BaddeleyModernising thedismounted soldierhas for many yearsbeen a NATO-centricpursuit, reflectingthe initial lead thosecountries had.Today, severalAsian militariesare develop-ing their ownSoldierModernisationProgrammes andin some casesare overtakingprogrammeselsewhere, whichbegan years earlier
04
24
Editorialt’s often said that militaries prepare for thelast war they fought, but today the questionalso being asked by many militaries isshould they be continuing to prepare for thewars they are already in, at least on the
scale of recent years?
The US and other militaries are having that debate now.
To what extent has counter-insurgency skewed defence investment? Therehas been an enormous effort to optimise troops for counter-insurgencywarfare in terms of equipment, technology and tactics, techniques and pro-cedures. Billions of dollars have been and billions more will be spent in thenext few years.
However, even the US is drawing down in Iraq and due to begin its with-drawal from Afghanistan in July next year.
The US however clearly believes that its recent experience of large scalecounter-insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan isn’t the one it will apply in thefuture. Robert Gates, US Defence Secretary has called this, “forced regimechange followed by nation building under fire.” But when is the time to shiftgears and allocate funds into a broader based force posture, reallocating fundsto conventional war fighting and in terms of counter insurgency, crafting anapproach that is less manpower intensive and more technology driven?
This is a consideration for other countries too. Countries from the regionare deployed in Afghanistan today, a list which also includes Australia,Singapore, South Korea and New Zealand.
This issue doesn’t simply touch upon the countries directly involved. Manycountries seeking full spectrum capabilities look to other for the military les-sons that their own experience thankfully doesn’t provide. Many other statesin the Asia-Pacific Region have an enduring challenge from terrorism andinsurgency and look for any advantage from examining others’ experiences.For countries such as the Philippines, with an enduring link with the US anda military presence aiding their own counter-insurgency fight the lessoncome directly. India’s relationship with the US is also becoming very close.
Is counter-insurgency a hiatus in the process of ‘normal’ defence conduct-ed against states or should irregular enemies be seen as the norm? Eachmilitary will have a different or differing answer but all will be driven to findsolutions that cut costs. The experience since 2001 has shown not that oneway of warfare is more prevalent than another but that anything can hap-pen and that all contingencies must be planned for.
One area where Asia is at a dis-advantage in SMP terms is therelative physical size of theirsoldiers, which impacts themaximum overall system
weight. In Singapore, whose acceleratedschedule for its Advanced Combat Man
System (ACMS) programme is outpacing allothers, the programme has 22Kg of loadavailable, representing a third of the weightof the average Singaporean conscript soldierwhich is 66Kg. This ratio is designed to gen-erate a maximum suitable load for a soldier.For Canada’s Integrated Soldier System
Programme, the average professional sol-dier’s weight is calculated at 82Kg, providinga system load goal of 26.2Kg. The differenceof 4.2Kg, is a considerable advantage in SMPterms, where small savings in weight areactively sought. In Afghanistan, however,these limits have been massively exceeded.The USMarine Corps and British Army stud-ies in Afghanistan and Iraq found that loadsbeing carried by their servicemen regularlyexceed 70Kg.
IndiaIndia’s F-INSAS (Future Infantry Soldier As ASystem) SMP programme provides a usefulinsight to the dynamics in themarket inAsia interm of international solutions being offered.
The programme is divided into three phas-es. The first covers new weapons and person-
SSOOLLDD II EERRMODERN I S A T I O N
Modernising the dismounted soldier hasfor many years been a NATO-centric pursuit,reflecting the initial lead those countrieshad. Today, several Asian militariesare developing their own Soldier ModernisationProgrammes (SMP) and in some cases areovertaking programmes elsewhere, whichbegan years earlier.
bbyy Adam Baddeley
Soldier Modernisation Programmes in Asia:
al equipment including body armour, the sec-ond covers new sensors supporting targetacquisition and the third and final phase willcover new personal radios and C2/SA system.Acquisition of INSAS’ first phase is cur-
rently underway, with India issuing an RFIfor 160,000 carbines in January. The thirdphase of the F-INSAS programme is expectedto begin no earlier than 2015. The situation iscomplicated by the advent of India’s BMSprogramme and poor delineation betweenthis and Phase 3 of F-INSAS. Phase 1 of BMS,valued at RS 350 Crore, calls for three battal-ions to be equipped by 2012, some yearsbefore F-INSAS selects its C4I element.India’s Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) contin-ues to undertake research into F-INSAS withseven of the organisation’s 54 separate labora-tories working on related work. This includesa 1.1Ghz wearable computer which also usesa DRDO Situational Awareness application.India recent opening up of its defence
market has provided opportunities for anumber of companies to offer their solutions,often developed from solutions for othernational programmes for the specifics of the
Indian market.Rheinmetall Defence, the system integra-
tor on Germany’s IdZ-ES programme, isalready active in India, teaming with Tulipfor the BMS integration. A pre-series con-tract for ten IDZ-ES ensembles was awardedby Germany in December with deliveriesdue by the end of 2010, ready for trial in2011. India’s Alpha Technologies estab-lished a joint venture with Israel’s ITLLasers and intends to offer the latter’sAdvanced Infantry Soldier System for the F-INSAS requirement.Northrop Grumman’s solution in soldier
modernisation is based upon their offeringfor the US Ground Soldier Systems (GSS)programme, known as the Soldier LinkSystem which uses C2CE as its C2 softwarewhich is part of a family of C2 productsknown as C2PC and ICS which would haveapplications for India’s BMS programme.Thales is working with Indian firm Rolta
have continued their relationship to offer theMiltrak system coupled as its soldier SA coreand offered as part of a solution dubbed theComm@nder Contact Soldier Systems whichexpands into a wider BMS. The solutionincludes sensor components such as theLucie night vision goggles adopted byFrance’s FELIN and Germany IdZ-ES pro-grammes, as well of its Sophie target acquisi-tion binoculars. Other elements include aTorso computer based on a solution suppliedto Norway’s NORMANS SMP programmewith information provided by combinationof tablet computer, PDA and HMD device.The UK acquired an early version of
Miltrak for its Enhanced Local SituationalAwareness systems, an Urgent OperationalRequirement which currently equips troopsin Afghanistan.At DEFEXPO, the French Army displayed
demonstrated its FELIN (Fantassin àEquipements et Liaisons Intégré) integratedsoldier programme systems to the Indian mil-itary, the only overseas military to do so.Primed by Sagem, France has now ordered atotal of 22,588 FELIN systems with the sys-
tems recently successfully passing itsEVTO operational test in 2009.
For the export market, EADS andSagem have come together to createthe Warrior 21 system, the first suc-cess being the IMESS system forSwitzerland. Within the joint effortEADS is responsible for the C2 andwith Sagem providing sensors suchas the hand held JIM target acquisi-tion device. EADS contribution is
based on its experience in deliveringGermany’s IdZ-Basic Systems now in serviceand is also the prime contractor for Spain’sComfut System.The Warrior 21 system is designed to be
agnostic regarding a number of systems.Although EADS used the Thales SOLARradio in IdZ-BS and Sagem its in-house RIFradio on FELIN, in Switzerland they integrat-ed a third radio, the Kongsberg’s SR600.The two companies have yet to determine
whether to offer Warrior 21 or to go it alonein India. At Defexpo, Sagem displayed analmost entirely FELIN based system, withthe substitution of the FAMAS basedweapon systems with the Warrior 21weapon mounted control unit, installed onan AK47. The device is designed to be fittedto almost any weapon.Italy’s Soldato Futuro programme is being
primed by Selex Communications and isscheduled to be ready for deployment in2011. The system is currently being trialled aspart of the Italian Armed force’s digitizationtest battalion or USD. Selex’s strategy forexporting the system is as a partner withlocal suppliers. It offers a core system, basedaround wearable computing and communi-cations systems, while being able to integratecountry specific sensors and legacy systemsthrough an open architecture.Israel has become a well established sys-
tem supplier in India. Elbit’s DominatorSystems is based on Israel Defence Force’s
India’s F-INSAS programmeprovides a useful insightto the dynamics in themarket in Asia
SSOOLLDD II EERR MODERN I S A T I O N
06 ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
Integrated Soldier System, which successful-ly completed its company trials last year andis progressing towards battalion testing.Elements of the Dominator have been includ-ed in Australia’s Land 125 Phase 2 system.Elbit were also selected by Slovakia supportthe development of the country’s ProkrocilyIndividualny Bojovy System (PIBS) orAdvanced Individual Combat System in atwo year phase begun in 2009.Raytheon have developed a number of
soldier modernisation devices. A C2 applica-tion, Tactical Small Unit SituationalAwareness is designed to run on open sourcehardware and uses Google Android as itsoperating systems also using Google’s map-ping software. The company is also accessingflexible low power wearable display tech-nologies and its Boomerang warrior technol-ogy, through its recent BBN Acquisition toenable acoustic based shot detection fromtwo shoulder mounted sensors.
Asia-Pacific programmesIn Australia, the Land 125 programme hasdelivered its Phase 2B equipment. This com-prises the Selex Personal Role Radio,enhanced combat helmet, personal protectivepadding for the knees and elbows,Individual Combat Load CarriageEquipment - known colloquially as ‘Icicle’and the Thermal Weapon Sight, the QioptiqVIPR2, carried at a section level. The first ele-ment of the follow on Phase 3 will deliver aBattle Management System – Dismounted,which is due for selection during 2010, the
system successfully put forward by the proj-ect team comprised an Elbit Systems BMS,Raytheon Microlight radio carried at platoonHQ level and narrowband Harris AN/PRC-152 down to lower levels with informationdisplayed on both a monocular and tabletdisplay. Phase 4, likely to be tasked withachieving an integrated soldier system, willnot be considered for initial approval beforethe middle of 2010.Australia currently uses the ITT PVS-14
NVG. Under Project 53, new night visiongoggles are likely to be acquired. ITT is cur-rently developing the Dual Sensor NightVision Goggle is developing the opticallyfused Thermal Imaging and ImageIntensification system similar in concept tothe existing US Army AN/PSQ-20 ENVGgoggle but designed for export. The PVS-14goggle is also used by Singapore and thecompany’s Generation III tubes are in servicewith Thailand, Korea and Japan.The first battalion has recently equipped
with ACMS in January 2010 with the focus forthe SAF moving to equipping its mechanizedforces with the ACMS system. While STKinetics has provided the integration for thesystems, the approach has taken componentsystems from companies around the worldincluding the SSR radios from SelexCommunications and the SO35 HelmetMounted Display from Rockwell Collins. Theprogramme began in 1998 with the firstdemonstrator systems rapidly working up tocompany level and representative battalionlevel exercises which concluded in 2009. Thetrials showed that information disseminationspeeds doubled with the accuracy of enemyreporting rising from 30 percent to 80 percent.The first phase of South Korea’s pro-
gramme is due to begin in 2016 with comple-tion scheduled by 2020. Japan began allocat-ing funding for its Advanced CombatInformation Equipment System (ACIES)future soldier programme in FY09 althoughwork has already been undertaken updatingthe Type 89 assault rifle to include railmounted accessoriesMalaysia too, some would say somewhat
stung by Singapore’s success with ACMS,has initiated its own programme knownas ‘Future Soldier’. At LIMA inDecember, Sapura who are the prime con-
tractor for the 1System, national C2 networkand manufacturer of the Thales F@stnet sys-tem under licence had on show a SMPensemble, consisting of the Thales St@rmilleradio and Miltrak SA system. Domestically,the Malaysian armed forces can access thenational Tetra network, however other sol-dier radios have been acquired, most notablytheMAF Pasakau Special Forces, who use theHarris RF Communications RF7800S SPRradio.New Zealand’s SMP efforts use similar
systems to Australia’s Land 125 Phase 2B.New Zealand have arguably placed moreemphasis on digitizing naval boarding par-ties which have operate a systems developedby Cobham Defence Communication using amarinised version of company’s IntegratedDigital Soldier Systems using Cobham’sWaveHawk Command Information
System (CIS) Software, coupled with a mix ofthe firm’s Eagle Close Combat Radios andRaytheon’s DH500 radios. Cobham is nowoffering the system to a wider audience asthe Marine Interdiction Operations System.Danish firm Terma is offering a compet-
ing system known as C-RAID which alsolinks Inshore Patrol Vehicles and RigidInflatable Boats within a CIS network.
Brunei have acquired a modest number ofHarris 7800S radios as part of a wider CNRdeal inked last year. In C2 terms the bignews for Brunei is the decision to acquireIJOCCS. The core of the system is NorthropGrumman’s C2PC and while currently therequirement is for a high level system, thesystem can be scaled down to the individualsoldier. A number of companies have tightlyintegrated C2PC for individual and low levelsituational awareness, notably with theSelex PRR, Harris radios and the ThalesAN/PRC-148 MBITR.
AfghanistanWhile indigenous programmesamongst Asian nations progress, theregion is also becoming a crucible forSMP development, specifically inAfghanistan. Germany fielded itsIdZ-BS system with units operatingin Kunduz, Afghanistan as part ofISAF. This was followed by the USin 2008 by the deployment of Land
Warrior with the 4/9 Manchu Battalion andassociated supporting units to Iraq. This hasbeen crucial to the systems developmentwith considerable ergonomic changes beingimplemented to the system while in theatreand has also provided a combat validation ofthe system.
In Afghanistan, a brigade of LandWarriorensembles, equipping the 5/2 StrykerBrigade was deployed in July with the dis-cussion of a second Brigade being similar-ly equipped. Another battalion of thesystems is being acquired for the 3rdBattalion 5th Special Forces Groupwith this system for delivery in early2010.
The US has recently started anew programme; Ground SoldierSystem (GSS) with a goal of deliv-er 11,538 GSS systems to teamleaders and above from 2012, in afive year production cycle. Threecompanies; General Dynamics,Raytheon and Rockwell Collins
Rheinmetall AG · Corporate Sector Defence · Rheinmetall Platz 1 · 40476 Düsseldorf · Germany
www.rheinmetall-defence.com
More mobile, more effective, better protected
Joi
nt p
rogr
ams
Soldier Modernisation June:AMR 5/31/10 9:56 AM Page 6
were developing competing systems underthe programme.GSS in that it is mandated several by sys-
tems and components, namely the RaytheonMicrolight Radio which will subsequently bereplaced by the Riflemen Radio being devel-oped by the Joint Tactical Radio System andusing the Nacre Quietpro and Peltor headsets,FBCB2 sourced SA software as well as Glenairsourced ‘Mighty Mouse’ connectors.The first FELIN regiment equipped will
be equipped in the part trimester of 2010which could potentially see the systemsdeployed with ISAF from 2011, allowing anoperational combat deployment to further
refine the system.Italy has used Afghanistan not to test its
Soldato Futuro systems per se but rather ele-ments within it, notably the new BerettaARX160 assault rifle which has seen a num-ber of ergonomic changes to the weaponbased on that experience.Precursors to the UK’s Future Integrated
Soldier Technology (FIST) have seen theirfirst service in Afghanistan. This includes theELSA and Synergistic IndividualSurveillance and Target Acquisition (SISTA)UORs, the latter providing elements whichhave also been selected for the first incrementof FIST STA. These include the lightweightinfantry periscope provided by Uniscope,Vectronix’s Rapid Acquisition AimingModule and Moskito targeting system,Elcan’s SpecterOS lightweight day sight andQioptiq’s FIST Thermal Sight and will bedeployed in Afghanistan from 2011. The C4Iincrement for FIST has recently been submit-ted for approval in early 2010 and is stillawaiting approval.
Satcom systems accompany,enable and enhance almostevery military activity today.While the most capable solu-tions are only affordable by
the United States, the past decade has seenboth a rapid reduction in the cost of satcomand a similar increase in availability ofbandwidth. In response, satcom of someform is now within the means of almostevery military, creating a dynamic marketand enabling network centric solutions toemerge across the world.
National systemsThe US operates the most complete suite ofsatcom and milsatcom assets in the world. Itis currently undergoing a major reshapingand modernisation of its constellations, withseveral programmes delivering the next gen-eration of satellite technology. At the highend of capability is the Advanced ExtremelyHigh Frequency (AEHF) programme,designed to ensure mission-critical strategicnetworks that operate in any circumstance.Six satellites will service US needs withCanada, The Netherlands and the UnitedKingdom also signing up and funding theprogramme. AEHF will provide ten timesmore capacity and support six times moreusers than the Milstar satellite it replaces.
Its Wideband Global System (WGS) pro-gramme, now three strong and planned to riseto six and potentially eight, is already sup-
11
SSAATTEELLLL II TTEE
AsiaSatellite Communications (Satcom) is proliferating. Satcom capablesystems, both dedicated and multi-role solutions, the latter alsointegrating terrestrial communications, are populating patrols and fireteams in foxholes and dusty hamlets, commanders in vehiclesconducting manoeuvre warfare, at headquarters in theatre and backin the home country, enabling reachback for political direction,logistics support and intelligence databases.
porting users across Asia and theMiddle East.A single WGS satellite provides the samebandwidth as the twelve DSCS III satellites itreplaces. Australia’s WGS satellite partner-ship with US has paid for the launch of theadditional, sixth satellite. Canada, as part of itsstrategy has looked at the Australianapproach as a potential way forward.The Global Broadcast System, installed on
number of satellite provide one way trans-mission of data such as detailed maps or ISRimagery to over 1000 terminals world wide.Other key capabilities include the MobileUser Objective System (MUOS), designed forlightweight mobile users.While the US is an established Milsatcom
user, others countries are joining the ranks ofnational satcom owners. Germany is a recentadopter of a national system, acquiring thetwo satellite COMSATBw constellation,
being delivered by EADS Astrium, with thefirst satellite being launched in October lastyear and becoming operational in April. Thefirst joint military-civil satellite by theRepublic of Korea, is Koreasat 5, based onAlcatel Space’s Spacebus-4000C1 and whichtakes milsatcom technologies from France’sSyracuse programme for its X-band militarypayload with Ku and C band capabilitiesoffered in its civil payload.Rather than do everything themselves,
countries are beginning to outsource milsat-com capabilities. This is noticeably true ofcountries who have previously operatedtheir own military satellites for decades.The UK’s Skynet 5 is the premier example
of this. The service is provided under theUK’s Private Finance Initiative by ParadigmSecure Communications, using a combined Xand UHF band constellation, provided byEADS Astrium, based on its Eurostar E3000bus design and implementing advanced anti-jam and beam shaping technology. Paradigmprovides the UK with its requirements and isfree to sell spare capacity to other nations.Originally planned to be a two strong con-stellation and initially bringing in earlierSkynet 4 satellites before the latter fail, the
network was subsequently expand-ed to three, with a fourth satel-lite now planned for launchin 2013. Australia,Belgium, Canada,France, Germany,NATO, theNetherlands, Portugaland the USA all useSkynet 5, with the lat-est signatories being theCzech Republic,Slovenia and Norway.In 2010, France indicat-
ed it would sell its ThalesAlenia Space built
Syracuse milsatcom constellation andthen lease back capacity, with ten percentbeing available for other countries on a com-mercial basis. A third Syracuse payload willbe placed on Italy’s Sicral 2 satellite with five
In 2010, France indicated itwould sell its ThalesAlenia Space built Syracusemilsatcom constellation andthen lease back capacity
SHF transponders and one UHF transponderon the satellite.The US-Spanish XTAR initiative is a joint
venture between Loral Space andCommunications and HISDESAT, provides acombination of military X-band and civilianKu band over two satellites with defence cus-tomers including Spain, the US and a numberof European users.This service approach is also being adopt-
ed by organisations too. NATO for examplehas contracted Thales to provide satcomground infrastructure in place over a 70 nodenetwork throughout Afghanistan, linkingintra-theatre headquarters and ProvincialReconstruction Teams.Another solution are hosted payloads,
where military payloads piggyback on com-mercial satellites hosting their own normalcivilian capability, with the latter driving theschedule. Australia, under its Joint Project2008 is acquiring a UHF payload on theIntelsat IS-22 communications satellite to belaunched in 2012. Australia has previous
pursued a hosted payload strategy withSingTel/Optus C1 satellite, from which theAustralian DoD leased transponders. The USis exploring this option through programmessuch as the Internet Routing in Space (IRIS)programme with Cisco, hosted on theIntelsat IS-14 satellite.Leased commercial services provide the
majority of military satcom today. There is noalternative, in the absence of coverage andcapacity by military networks. That is not tosay the military welcomes such reliance.Future demands are unpredictable and com-mercial entities may not have satellites in posi-tion where needed and unsold capacity spare.In addition there are issues of frequency inter-ference and cyber attacks, against which mili-taries may be prepared but many commercialcompanies simply are not. This is driving mil-itaries to look at adapted commercial solutionsthat have ‘hardened’ services. One example isthe use of the Iridium Network used by thou-sands in the US and other militaries, the for-mer accessing it through the EMSS contract. To
SSAATTEELLLL II TTEEC O M M U N I C A T I O N S
WORKS ANYWHERE,DEPLOYED EVERYWHERE
One button and two minutes is all it takes for the iNetVu® to deliver high-speed Internet and VoIP communications via satellite from virtually anywhere on the planet.
iNetVu®, the trusted choice for critical communications of Military forces around the globe.
secure handsets, a Type 1 module can bequickly fitted to approved Iridium handsetsfor secure communications and the DoD hasalso set up a dedicated Government EMSSgateway in Hawaii which the US and someallies, such as the UK have access to.
Small, highly mobile tactical forces havepreviously been limited in their access to sat-com, often limited to UHF voice satcom. Theadvent of Satcom On The Move (SOTM) isproviding voice, data and video to comman-ders’ vehicles at company and even platoonlevel. L-3 and General Dynamics Vertex RSIhave provided SOTM solutions to theWarfighter Information Network – Tacticalprogramme. DRS and Thales have bothdeveloped SOTM C2 systems for land andnaval applications.
While SOTM enables broadband links,there are other battlefield satcom implemen-tations that use a much narrower set of capa-bilities but nonetheless having a significantimpact on the conduct of operations.Operation Iraqi Freedom was the first largescale use of Blue Force Tracking (BFT) capa-bility by the US, tracking the progress ofvehicles and groups of dismounted soldierand enabling limited text messaging.
Northrop Grumman’s off the shelf BFTfor the international market is known asKodiak. It uses the Iridium or Inmarsat net-works, matched with an EMS Satcom satel-lite gateway and operates with the C2PCbattle management software providing an
interoperable SA picture.BFT applications that use satcom but pre-
mium on efficient use of available bandwidth.Norwegian firm Teleplan for example wasdeveloped a successful Blue Force Trackingsoftware, designed to use solutions such asInmarsat, Iridium, Thuraya and VSAT as wellas terrestrial communications.
As countries explore and implement net-work centric solutions, satcom becomes more
relevant as it links up the advanced AEW&Csolution, SINGINT and ISTAR aircraft that arebeginning to reach the region’s inventories.Airborne satcom links place a design premiumon aerodynamics with high-drag, parabolic,satcom radomes, once being necessary arenow being replaced with flat plane antennae.One example is Raytheon’s advanced multi-band communication antenna system whichprovides a 22cm aperture solution. L-3Communications West provides the SHF bandairborne terminals on the UKSentinel/ASTIOR aircraft. IAI’s EL/K-1891mobile/airborne SATCOM terminal isdesigned for X or Ku band after having beendeveloped for the Israel Air Force’s F-16I andAISIS SIGINT aircraft. Thrane and Thrane areproviding the US Air Force with a number ofits airborne satcom terminals; Aero-I, Aero-HSD+ and future Inmarsat Aeronautical SAT-COM, which can offer data rates of up to 492Kbps per IP channel.
Fleets at sea need the same high capacitycommunications as their land basedbrethren. For many states with a maritimefocus, and particularly those tasked withoperating in an archipelagic environmentwhere naval vessels can operate as a readyfloating headquarters for joint operations. Amajor presence in commercial satcom at sea
will be the US Commercial BroadbandSatellite Program (CBSP), designed to contin-ue the US Navy’s (USN) policy of augmenta-tion of Milsatcom with commercial solutionsand replace the current CommercialWideband Satellite Program (CWSP) andInmarsat terminals such as the Saturn B.
Three terminal variants are being deliv-ered’ the Small Ship Variant developed byCVG, which equips vessels in the minesweep-er size; frigate and destroyer class vesselshaving the Unit Level Variant and the ForceLevel Variant equipping carriers and similar,both being provided by Harris GovernmentCommunications Systems Division. Beyondthe two prime suppliers include ComTechand ViaSat, CPI and General Dynamics. TheUSN has noted significant overseas interest inthe terminals, which can be acquired via FMSor direct sales.
The programme supports Ku band to allterminals with FLV also having access to Cand ULVs accessing X-band. Current satel-lites used by CBSP include AMC, Intelsat,New Skies, Telstar and Eutelsat.
The FLV variant provides up to 21.4 Mbpsover C and Ku band up from 4Mbps today.CBSP SSV terminals will be capable of deliv-ering close to 881 kbps over Ku band. CBSPwill equip 230 ships. In 2009 the USN had anallocation of 258Mbps over 46 channels with102Mbps provided by CBSP/CWSP with fur-ther 6.5Mbps being proved by Inmarsat.
Orbit Technology Group is providing itsOsSat Stabilized Mobile SatelliteCommunication and Tracking Antennas tothe French Navy enabling high speed, twoway connectivity in both Ku and C band.
Emergency responseWhile many users in the region do deployoverseas as part of international missionsrequiring satcom links back home, at least asrelevant to them is satcoms’s ability to linktroops and first responders in their own coun-try. Isolated sites such as jungles and moun-tains lack terrestrial links even in normal cir-cumstances and there is also a need to recon-nect locations that have lost their communica-tions infrastructure due to natural disaster.
In 2009 Russia, Finland Sweden and
Norway conducted the Barents 2009 Searchand Rescue exercise in the Kuola Peninsula.This tested their joint response to a trafficaccident with trucks carrying radio activewaste. Outside normal terrestrial networks, alocal wireless LAN linked to an InmarsatBGAN terminal is allowing first respondersto reachback to operational and regional HQs.
Logica’s Merlot series is a range of applica-tions, merging a variety of communicationsincluding satcom, TETRA and 3G for to pro-vide a C2 solution for emergency and para-military forces up to the control room level.
Iridium phones remain a key element ofindividual satcom communication and theyare ubiquitous in any military deployment
today. With the advent of S-band servicesvoice andmedium high data rates are possiblein a ‘smart phone’ format, without the bulkantenna associated with earlier handsets. Thehandsets also allow normal 2G and 3G com-munication allowing the user to switch to amore expensive satcom network only whenterrestrial networks are unavailable.
US firm Terrestar launches a NorthAmerican service this year with similar serv-ices scheduled to be available in Europe from2011 with the headsets enabling two way sat-com communication. Once these commerciallinks are proven it is only matter of timebefore they are used by military and militaryspecific applications are fielded.
MIJET Family™For all sizecommercial, business ormilitary aircraft
StarCar™For emergency, search & rescue and militaryvehicles
StarRail™For high-speed trains
StarPack™For portable connectivity in the field
SeaborneApplicationsFor all naval vessels
www.starling-com.com
SatCom On-The-Move. Always & All Ways.
StarPack™
StarCar™
Broadband connectivity for civilian and military applicationsSTARLING’s performance-proven SatCom Ku antenna systems assure unsurpassed, reliable connectivity on all fronts - air, land and sea.Their extremely low-profile, lightweight, aerodynamic design is ideal for any mobile platform and On-The-Move environment.Internet, e-mail, mobile phones, video, VoIP, VPN, live TV and more.
Fleets at sea needthe same high capacitycommunications astheir land based brethren
Technology is still a long wayfrom this ‘Holy Grail’, andalthough Unmanned AerialVehicles (UAVs) are playing amajor role in providing a bird’s
eye view of the battlefield, they still strug-gle to see through foliage, and to determinethe origin of a gunshot in the middle oftown. Yet troops on the ground and com-manders in headquarters depend on beingable to see enemy movements, perhapsthrough dense foliage, and to know whentheir enemy is moving vehicles in readinessfor an attack. Moreover, soldiers need thisinformation during the day and in the deadof night. At the same time, they cannot ofcourse watch every part of their immediatelocale in an unblinking fashion. They havemissions to perform, meals to eat and sleepto catch. Fortunately help may be at handfrom the Unattended Ground Sensor(UGS). Advances in radio communicationsallow discreet, battery-operated sensors to
be deployed in disparate locations, perhapsaround a fire base or a squad of troops inbivouacs; where they can return imagery,sound, seismic and magnetic detectioninformation data to their human operatorsat a laptop screen.
UGS products can save lives and theyalso need not be expensive. Costs havebeen kept relatively low for the crop ofUGS products surveyed in this articlethanks to the use of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technology. Furthermore,from a legal point of view, the develop-ment of UGSs has also allowed the fieldingof a vastly more humane protection system,
compared to the anti-personnel mineswhich had previously been used to safe-guard a perimeter.
Given the casualties that the US Armyhas sustained from attacks on its bases,vehicle-borne and dismounted troops, it isperhaps unsurprising that the force is pour-ing considerable investment into fieldingUGSs for its troops in the field, and forthose who will go into battle during tomor-rows’ conflicts. For example, the USArmy’s now-defunct Future CombatSystem (FCS), which has been transformedinto the Brigade Combat TeamModernization (BCTM) programme hasseen several of the elements of erstwhileFCS carried through into this new initia-tive, such as the unattended ground sen-sors that will be rolled out as part of theBCTM project. The UGSs to be used by tothis end include the small-sized, tripod-mounted AN/GSR-9(V)1 Tactical UGS (T-UGS) for open area, roadside and perime-
17
BBAATTTTLLEEFFIIEELLDDS U R V E I L L A N C E
In an ideal world, the commander on the ground would have aconstant view of every nook and cranny of their area of operations24 hours a day in order to thoroughly dispel the ‘fog of war’with an exact, real time picture of the tactical situation as it unfolds.They would have the location of every sniper, improvised explosivedevice and suicide bomber in the urban jungle unmasked, alongwith every reconnaissance team, mortar battery and forward aircontroller revealed in the forests and valleys.
bbyy Tom Withington
JUNE 2010
Advances in radiocommunications allowdiscreet, battery-operatedsensors to be deployedin disparate locations
BattlefieldCovert
Surveillance
CovertBattlefield
Surveillance
ter radiological and nuclear agent detection,and general Intelligence, Surveillance andReconnaissance (ISR) operations using aElectro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) camerasand air sampling sensors.Textron is responsible for the constructing
the T-UGS which will be connected to a gate-way linking these sensors to higher echeloncommand and control networks. The T-UGSsensors themselves have a modular construc-tion enabling them to perform several mis-sions, along with providing EO/IR imageryand air sampling detection, including seis-mic, magnetic and acoustic sensing to pro-vide an accurate location of both personneland vehicles. In February, the US Army hasbegun Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) ofthe AN/GSR-9(V)1. LRIP of the accompany-
ing UGS for the BCTM initiative, theAN/GSR-10(V)1 Urban Military Operationsin Urban Terrain Advanced Sensor System(U-UGS), has also been authorised. TheAN/GSR-10 which has been designed foruse in the urban domain to provide surveil-lance of convenient hiding places such asstairwells, and subterranean tunnels and,like the AN/GSR-9(V)1, links back to higherechelons of command via a wireless datalinkconnecting to the gateway. The decision tobegin LRIP follows tests at Fort Bliss, Texas
in September 2009 which put the systemsthrough their paces during a series of battal-ion-level exercises.Textron is not only providing UGS tech-
nology to the USArmy, it is also outfitting theUS Marine Corps with the battery-poweredAdvanced Air Delivered Sensor (AADS).Using both acoustic and seismic detection,the AADS is delivered from an aircraft andpenetrates the ground on impact. Using satel-lite communications (SATCOM) the sensorwill be able to relay its data back to a centralnode along with its Global PositioningSystem (GPS) location. The AADS harks backto the days of the Air Deliverable SeismicIntrusion Detectors (ADSID) which wereused by the United States Air Force duringthe Vietnam War to sense movement alongthe Ho Chi Minh Trail running from theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam to SouthVietnam, to aid air-to-ground interdictionefforts against the People’s Army ofVietnam’s logistics network. ADSIDs wereequipped with a geophone to detect themotion of humans and vehicles at ranges ofbetween 30m and 100m respectively.Other wares in Textron’s UGS portfolio
man-portable product, which includesacoustic, seismic, EO/IR and magnetic sen-sors that are tied together to a central node.The company notes that the TerrainCommander can provide round-the-clockremote surveillance from its portableCommand and Control Station. The TerrainCommander’s sensors can acoustically detecta truck at 500m, a tank at 2,500m and a heli-copter at 10,000m. In terms of the perform-ance of its EO/IR sensors, these can recog-nise a vehicle at 500m and personnel at 150m.Moreover, long-term deployment of the sys-tem is not a problem given that the sensorshave around 30 days of battery life.
Joining Textron as a significant supplier ofUGS products is L-3 Communications whichdeveloped the AN/GSR-8(V) Remotely
Monitored Battlefield Sensor System-II forthe US Army, better known as ‘Rembass-II’,along with the AN/GSQ-257 UGS set for theUSMC, and the AN/PRS-9 Battlefield Anti-Intrusion System. The Rembass-II is usedwidely by the US forces most notably by itsStryker Brigade Combat Teams and alsoSpecial Forces troops. Moreover, this UGS isproviding the basis for the UnitedStates Air Forces’ Air Deliverable Remote
Sensor System (ADRSS). As its name sug-gests, the ADRSS is designed to bedespatched by either UAVs, fixed-wing air-craft or helicopters. The AN/GSR-8(V) usesacoustic, seismic, IR and magnetic detectionvia its accompanyingMk.2965, 2966 and 2967sensors. Tracked vehicles can be detected at arange of around 350m, and personnel at 75mdistance. Detection data is transmitted usingVery High Frequency radio transmissions atranges of up to 15km, although this can beextended by the use of either a UAV-basedcommunications relay, or a repeater radiostation to the AN/PSQ-16 hand held monitorfrom where the ADRSS is controlled.Northrop Grumman is also outfitting the
US Army with the Scorpion UGS which com-bines magnetic and acoustic sensors whichoffer a detection range of up to 30mfor personnel and up to 100m for vehi-cles. The system can also use EO/IRcameras. Scorpion can be deployedfrom long periods as it retains suffi-cient battery power for up to sixmonths’ operation. The radio linkused by the sensors allows them to beconnected up to two kilometres apartvia the use of an encrypted satellitelink which reaches back to the sys-tem’s remote gateway. What is more,in terms of ease of movement, theScorpion UGS can be carried in tworucksack loads.Along with L-3 Communications,
Lockheed Martin has also developedan air-droppable UGS in the shape ofthe Surveillance Collection andObservation Unit, better known by itsSCOUT acronym. Combiningacoustic, seismic and EO sensors witha range of up to 20 km, SCOUT con-nects these sensors together via a 30-34MHz datalink which can handle upto 22 kbps of data. Detection rangesfor the camera are 250m and 400mduring the night and day respectively,while the EO sensor has a range of up
to 350m. Lockheed Martin is also responsiblefor the Persistent Threat Detection System(PTDS) which is mounted on an aerostat.Although not strictly a UGS, the PTDS’s pri-mary function is to watch ground activity inthe same fashion as its earth-bound counter-parts surveyed above. The attributes of theproduct in this regard have been noted andin November 2006 Lockheed Martin won acontract to provide these aerostats to the USArmy. The PTSD is equipped with an EO/IRpayload to watch the locale, and has its gazedirected by radar towards any objects ofinterest.Joining L-3 Communications and
Lockheed Martin as a UGS provider is HarrisCommunications, which is arguably betterknown for its tactical radio product line. Thatsaid the company is responsible for the RF-5400VH FalconWatch systemwhich connectsvarious sensors to Harris RF-5400VH-MS/SScommunications nodes. These nodes can
support a single passive IR (12047-373X),magnetic (12047-372X) or seismic (12047-371X) sensor (in the case of the RF-5400VH-SS), or several sensors in the case of the RF-5400VH-MS. These sensors have a detectionrange of 15m for vehicles and 50m for per-
sonnel, in the case of the 12047-371X;25m for vehicles and three metres forpersonnel for the 12047-372X, and upto 100m for personnel and 50m forvehicles vis-à-vis the long-range ver-sion of the 12047-373X. Harris’s RF-5410 sensor management and RF-6910C2PC-CNR situational awareness soft-ware can be loaded onto a laptop com-puter to control the Falcon Watch, andthe addition of the RF-5400VH-RUradio relay can increase the range ofthe sensors.However, the production of UGS is
not restricted to North America. Anumber of European companies pro-vide similar systems which includeSelex Galileo’s Hydra NetworkedSurveillance product. Using a secureradio network, sensors can bedeployed at ranges of up to 500m fromthe central sensor node. The systems’cameras offer a detection range of
In the urban environment,one of the biggestthreats to deployed forcescomes from snipers
between five metres (for a human) and 25m(for a vehicle). Meanwhile, Hydra’s acousticsensors can detect a light wheeled vehicle at50m and a heavy vehicle at 500m, with fixedand rotary aircraft detected at up to threekilometres. As well as using acoustic andcamera-based sensors, Hydra can work withmagnetic, seismic; chemical and biologicaldetectors. These sensors link back to a local,handheld operating terminal. Alternatively,Selex Galileo also notes that Hydra can be
linked into a customer’s command and con-trol architecture.
Away from Italy, Sweden’s Exensor pro-duces the UMRA Multisensor 1G ID system,primarily for vehicle detection, although theproduct can also detect people at a range ofup to 200m, and uses battery-poweredacoustic, seismic and magnetic sensors linkedto a deployable central computer. These sen-sors are linked back to their computer via a15km range line-of-sight 138-144MHz radio
connection. The central computer system isbasically a laptop with the necessaryUMRAwin software on board with takes thesensor data from the radio base station.UMRAwin is programmed to match the sen-sor data it receives with an in-built library ofvehicle signatures, providing the user with anindication of the kind of vehicle that is in theirvicinity. The UMRA Multisensor 1G ID hasentered service with the armed forces ofFinland, France, German, Sweden, the UnitedKingdom and United States. Moreover, likeHydra, the UMRA Multisensor 1G ID can beused either as part of an integrated C2 system,or as a stand-alone product.
As well as using the UMRA Multisensor1G ID, the French armed forces are obtainingThales’ SPECTRE (Système de Protection desÉléments Terrestres) Area Protection infra-structure following a 2006 contract award bythe DGA (Délégation Générale pourl'Armement). Using a combination of sen-sors, SPECTRE will provide warning andnotification of intruders and threats across awide area.
In the urban environment, one of thebiggest threats to deployed forces comesfrom snipers. Space is insufficient to discussall of these products in detail, but somenotable UGSs are on the market in thisregard. They include AAI’s Protection,Detection and Cueing (PDCue) GunshotDetection System which uses acoustic tech-nology to pinpoint the origin of a gunshot.Joining the PRCue is BBN Technologies’Boomerang shooter detection system, ofwhich around 1,000 are operating inAfghanistan and Iraq. Sniper detection sys-tems are also using infrared technology. Tothis end, Rheinmetall and Diehl BGT havejoined forces to produce the a 360° surveil-lance system known as First which scans thesky five times per minute and warns theoperator, via algorithms, of any new objects(such as bullets) in the sky.
Products like First, and UGS, may not fullydispel the fog of war, but they will undoubted-ly enhance and improve the general situation-al awareness of military personnel, and thesecurity of their bases and installations.
Areliable defence of littoral areas is themost critical task facing South-East Asiancountries.The Rosoboronexport
Corporation offers several versions of theTornado missile/gunboat to successfullydischarge the afore-mentioned task.Tornadowarships can equally well operate both inlittoral area, and shallow waters, suchas navigable rivers, river mouths, and other‘narrow’water areas.
Tornado-family ships have a full displacementof 560 tons, a length of 61.45m, and a beam of9.6 m.CODAD diesel engines, ensure a fullspeed of 26 knots, while the water jets ensurehighmanoeuvrability and propulsion in shallowwaters.Tornado warships are based on stealthtechnologies, which increase their concealment.
Tornado-family ships are fitted with the Sigma-E Action Data AutomationWeapon Systems(ADAWS). It ensures battle management throughintegration of radio-electronics into a singlesystem and automation of weapon systemsemployment.Being able to generate tacticalenvironment data either for itself or a task force,anyTornado-family warship can act as a
command and control (C2) ship.Given awide employment of automatics, the crewstrength amounts to 29-39men depending onthe ship version.
Rosoboronexport offers its customers threemainTornado versions.The first one is armedwith the Grad-M system, designed to destroycoast-based area targets.The weapon systemdoes not need describing in detail, since it is ashipborne version of the worldwide renownedGradmultiple rocket launcher system (MRLS).A simultaneous salvo of two 20-tube launchers,firing 122mm rockets, can reduce to dust anytarget at a range of 5 to 20 km and clear abeachhead for a landing party.
Some of the weapon systems, mounted onTornado warships, are unique.The highlyefficient 100mmAK-190 Universal gunmount,designed to kill sea-, coast-, and air-basedtargets, is placed in front of the pilot house.Firecontrol is exercised with the help of the uniqueLaska-M system, featuring a radar and anoptronic channels.
Air defence is provided by the 3M-47 GibkaSHORAD system, firing Igla infrared seeking
missiles.The launcher fires single fire-and-forgetmissiles or salvos of two suchmissiles.Targetsare engaged at a range of 500-6,000mwithin analtitude envelope of 5 to 3,500m.The system isdesigned to kill both air and small-size surfacetargets.Air defence systems, mounted onTornado gunboats, are enhanced by two 30mmAK-306 six-barrel gunmounts and a pair of 14.5mmMTPU heavymachine guns.They can alsoengage surface and coast-based targets.Thestern and the fore are equipped with pedestals forthree 7.62mmmachine guns. In addition to thatthe gunboat may be fitted with the Anapa-MEdipping sonar, designed to detect combat divers,and the DP-64 anti-saboteur grenade launchers.
Besides, two PK-10 decoy systems aremounted on each side of the stern behind thesuperstructure.They are designed to boostthe efficiency of the gunboat’s air defence.ThePK-10 systems launch decoys to break the trackof or seduce the optronic seeker of an incomingthreat missile.
The inclined slip, closed by a stern ramp,accommodates a fast inflatable boatwith an aluminium-alloy bottom. It is
ROSOBORONEXPORT
AMR Marketing Promotion
designed to conduct sea rescue and searchoperations, as well as land reconnaissance andsabotage parties.The design of the slip allows theinflatable boat to be launched when the warshipis on themove.
The secondTornadomodification, a missileboat, differs from the first version in its Uran-Eanti-ship missile systems, which replaces theGrad-MMRLS system.Anti-ship missilelaunchers are mounted in amidships.The Kh-35Emissile, launched by the Uran-E system, has arange of 130 km. It is worth mentioning that theoperational range of theTornadomissile boat at acruising speed has grown up to 2,300 nauticalmiles.The sameTornado variant can also bearmed with supersonic anti-ship missiles,launched by theYakhont system and featuring arange of up to 300 km.TheYakhont system hasreplaced the Uran-E anti-ship missile system.TwoYakhont launchers are placed behindcovers in the aft.
The third variant slightly differs from the firsttwo versions. It is an offshore patrol vessel (OPV),based on theTornado gunboat. Its dimensions
have somewhat been increased.TheOPV vesselhas a length of 64.8 m, a draught of 2.2.m, a fulldisplacement of 600 tons, an operational range ofup to 2,500 nautical miles at a cruising speed of12 knots.The armament suite has beenmodifiedin compliance with themission. It includes a 30mmAK-630 or AK-306 six-barrel gunmount, two14.7 mm heavymachine guns, and three 7.62mmmachine guns.Air defence capabilities havebeen augmented by eight Igla MANPADS.However, themain difference of this version fromotherTornado-family boats consists in thehelipad.The helipad can accommodatehelicopters with a weight of up to four tons.TheOPV vessel is capable of discharging the entirerange of tasks, pertaining to economic zone andterritorial waters protection.
The standardised platform and highlystandardised armament and electronics ofTornado-family littoral warships allow quite apowerful force to be established at a relatively lowcost.Tornado-family littoral warships can carryout a wide scope of missions in littoral areas frompatrols (Version 3) up to strikes against enemy
ships (Version 2).At the same time they (Version1) can provide fire support to friendly marine andground forces.
Tornado-class ships, offered byRosoboronexport, have a flexible openarchitecture.At the request of the customer boththe armament suite and the ship propulsion plantcan bemodified, and other specific requirementscan bemet.The great modernisation potentialallows the ships to be upgraded for years tocome.This fact will considerably husbandresources, while maintaining a high combatefficiency of warships.
The Russian Navy has already had a chanceto appreciate combat capabilities andperformance of the newTornado gunboat.TheProject 21630 first-of-class ship, namedAstrakhan, entered service with the CaspianFlotilla in 2006 and has since proven its worth.Twomore gunboats are being completed atSt.Petersburg-based shipyards and will soon becommissioned.Several moreTornado-familyships are expected to be built under the RussianNavy comprehensive re-equipment programme.
The team then infiltrated Mumbaito their designated targets andproceeded to shoot weapons andthrow hand grenades. After a 59-hour gun battle, elite National
Security Guard (NSG) commandos finallyended the deadly episode at the Taj MahalHotel at 08:00 on 29 November. By the timethe audacious Islamic-extremist attack wasover, 173 victims lay dead and just oneLashkar-e-Taiba terrorist had been captured.What was most alarming was India’sunpreparedness and disjointed response to
this Pakistani-controlledoperation that exploitedGPS, Google Earth,mobile phone andBlackberry technologies. It
took hundreds of policemen,NSG commandos and regular
soldiers to subdue just ten attack-ers! An official report later criticised
the emergency-response leadership, afailure to act on intelligence warnings,
inadequate police weaponry, plus theabsence of any Mumbai SWAT team. TheDelhi-based NSG had to be brought in, andeven then there was no helicopter available totransfer them from Mumbai’s airport. Thecommandos lacked advanced communica-tions gear and floor plans of their objectives.Another deficiency was the failure of coastalradar and port patrols to pick up the intruders.
The threatIndia’s “26/11” highlighted deficiencies inborder and homeland security (HLS). There
were 756 terrorist and insurgent attacksworldwide in the month of January 2010alone, and Asia has more than its fair share ofHLS threats. Some nations seem to haveintractable security problems – for example,India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Thailand –though one notable success was Sri Lanka’smilitary defeat of the Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam in May 2009. The Philippinesfaces ongoing insurgencies from the commu-nist New People’s Army, as well as Islamicsecessionist groups like the Moro IslamicLiberation Front (MILF). Some security issuespeak at particular junctures, as was the casein the lead-up to Philippine national electionswhen 57 died in a chilling ambush inMaguindanao province in November 2009.Global expenditure on HLS in 2010 is esti-
mated at $50 billion, driven by the big-spending USA. Experts predict Asia-PacificHLS expenditure will increase 110 percent by2015 to $15.8 billion annually, with India andChina alone growing 390 percent in this peri-od. The Asia-Pacific region offers tremen-dous growth potential for defence compa-nies. Most money is being spent on airportand port security measures, although theregional level of technology adoption islower than in Europe and North America.HLS and border threats appear in many
guises in Asia-Pacific’s cultural, linguistic,religious and geographical melting pot - vio-lent extremism; terrorism; criminal gangs;piracy; narcotics and human smuggling;weapons proliferation; weapons of massdestruction (WMD); chemical, biological,radiological and nuclear (CBRN) attacks; pan-
On 26 November 2008, Indiawas stunned when a squad ofPakistani terrorists began wreakinghavoc in Mumbai. After departingKarachi, ten Islamic militantstransferred to a hijacked Indianfishing vessel. The well-primed ganglanded in Mumbai on an inflatabledinghy, thus avoiding all bordercheckpoints.
bbyy Gordon Arthur
and Threats for
AsiaNew Technologies
HHOOMMEELLAANNDD
demics; and natural and manmade disasters.Military, police and internal security agenciesare thus required to counter a variety ofthreats. Nuclear proliferation and the dangerof attacks by groups like al-Qaeda meanWMD threats loom large. On 7 February 2010,Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented,“The biggest nightmare that many of us haveis that one of these terrorist-member organisa-tions within this syndicate of terror will gettheir hands on a WMD.”
Unmanned VehiclesHistoric security paradigms relied on “guns,
gates and guards”, but technology is herald-ing new changes. Galvanised by militaryoperations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the utili-ty of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) forintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance(ISR), especially against asymmetric threats,has been repeatedly demonstrated. The 20thcentury has seen an explosion in UAV use,with year-on-year double-digit growththroughout the last decade. Unmanned tech-nologies are attractive because of lower costsand reduced risks to operators.
At the recent Defexpo exhibition in Delhi,held 15 months after the Mumbai attacks,
India showcased new technologies for itssecurity forces. The Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation (DRDO) show-cased robotic platforms and unmanned sys-tems like the Netra Micro Air Vehicle (MAV)and Takshak Disrupter Mounted Robot.Although few countries can afford UAVs aslarge as the RQ-4 Global Hawk, most nationsare employing smaller systems. India’sNishant UAV is one such craft destined toserve in border areas like Jammu and Kashmirwhere Pakistani extremists regularly infiltrate.Drone technology is well-suited to suchremote areas, especially when bad weathermight ground piloted aircraft. South Korea isanother country ramping up indigenous UAVdevelopment for land and maritime borderISR. Korean Air’s KUS-9 and Korea AerospaceIndustries’ (KAI) Night Intruder 100N arehoping to win future contracts. Furthermore,KAI’s prototypical weapon-carrying K-CUAVillustrates the attractiveness of unmannedcombat aerial vehicles in the mould of theAmerican MQ-1 Predator. The vertical takeoffand landing (VTOL) UAVmarket is also set toexpand with systems like NorthropGrumman’s MQ-8 Fire Scout, thanks especial-ly to their ship-borne utility. For Asian nationswith remote borders and vast coastlines andterritorial waters to protect, UAVs offer aneconomic way of doing so.
and numerous Asia-Pacific countries operateIsraeli-manufactured craft. Israel also utilisesUnmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) like theGuardium from G-NIUS (an Elbit Systems-Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) joint ven-ture). The Guardium has been patrollingIsraeli borders since 2008. Its 300kg payloadcan include electro-optical and thermal cam-eras, microphones, loudspeakers, two-wayradio, small-arms detection system andCBRN “sniffers”. Such systems can be usedto patrol remote borders, with the benefit ofreducing risks to border guards. The cost-saving and life-saving advantages of UGVsfor tense land borders such as in India,Thailand or on the Korean Peninsular areobvious. The deployment of UGVs beyondtheir current explosive ordnance disposalrole has not really taken off in Asia yet.Although their potential is yet to be realised,confidence in UGVs should grow in comingyears. Lethal and non-lethal weaponisationof UGVs will be another trend. For example,India’s DRDO is currently perfecting a Gun-Mounted Remotely Operated Vehicle suit-able for counter terrorism and hostage rescuemissions. Remote weapon stations (RWS)
mounted on armoured vehicles are becomingmore commonplace in Asian countries, withthese offering personnel complete under-armour protection.
One weakness for many Asian nations ismaritime border security, and this is whereUnmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) comeinto their own. The USV market is yet to gaintrue recognition, although unmanned craftare ideal for coastal, port and harbour secu-rity. Singapore, an advocate of high-techweaponry, is exploring the use of such craft.ST Electronics has developed the 9m-longVenus USV, which can be equipped for minecountermeasure, force protection, anti-sub-marine warfare, electronic warfare, maritimesurveillance or precision-fire missions. In thepresent trend of navies seeking smaller andfaster craft for coastal and port protection,USVs represent a cost-effective solution.
Other technologies andequipmentNew technology is being mooted as an HLSpanacea, often because of the vast areas thatneed to be protected and a limited supply offunds with which to do it. Technology indeedhas a force-multiplying effect, and this isillustrated by the spectre of automated sur-veillance systems along frontiers. India iscurrently seeking a Battlefield SurveillanceSystem (BSS) that allows forces to cover more
territory with fewer people. At Defexpo,Raytheon was offering a BSS solution featur-ing increased radio bandwidth transmissionat ranges of up to 35km. Helicopters and air-craft with ISR equipment are also indispensa-ble for effective border control.
Ironically enough, new digital technolo-gies designed for national security can oftenaid adversaries in their quest to create may-hem. Cyber-warfare is correctly considered aserious HLS threat, with militaries in many
countries leading efforts to shore up nationalcomputer networks. In June 2009 the USAestablished a four-star cyber-command, andcyber attacks on Google accounts in Chinarapidly became an international diplomaticissue when the US government waded intothe fray. Australia inaugurated its CyberSecurity Operations Centre within theDefence Signals Directorate on 15 January2010, Defence Minister John Faulkner stating,“Cyber attacks on government and criticalinfrastructure constitute a real threat to
Many countries suffersecurity problems in Asia,and while new technologiesare being employed,funding remains an issue
JUNE 2010 27
S E C U R I T Y
HHOOMMEELLAANNDD
Australia’s national interest.” South Korea’sMinistry of National Defence established acyber-warfare centre in mid-January 2010 tocounter threats emanating from North Korea.Even Vietnam is getting in on the act, withplans to invest $42 million over the nextdecade to secure sensitive information fromcyber threats.
Some aspects of HLS are usually a civilrather than military responsibility. In theUSA, 21,000 containers enter ports daily, ofwhich only 4 precent are inspected.Handheld radiation detectors are useful, asare non-intrusive inspection systems likemobile portals for detecting radioactivematerials. Biometric identification is in itsinfancy in terms of large-scale border controlusage, although the USA is leading the waywith its US-VISIT immigration system that
matches fingerprints and facial photographsagainst a criminal database.
However, it is not just state-of-the-arttechnology that military forces need forHLS. Many underfunded Asian militaryforces lack even basic equipment that wouldmake their job much easier. One member ofthe Philippine Marine Corps confided to theauthor that terrorist groups like the AbuSayyaf Group were often using night visiongoggles that were simply unavailable to themilitary. Provision of suitable vehicles iscrucial for successful internal security mis-sions. India is currently seeking new mine-resistant patrol vehicles to equip its militaryand paramilitary forces. At Defexpo, com-peting mine-resistant vehicle designs from
Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors and BAESystems were all being promoted. Similarly,Thailand recently acquired 87 SouthAfrican REVA III 4x4 mine-resistant vehi-cles specifically for duty in the restivesouthern provinces that suffer an averageof 23 attacks per month. These specialistvehicles are obviously much moreeffective than riding motorbikes,which is what commonlyoccurred previously.
Plugging the gapsIt is all very well to tightenfrontiers, but this doeslittle to reduce theoverall threat if gapingborder holes remainelsewhere in at-riskcountries. In response
One weakness for manyAsian nations is maritimeborder security, and this iswhere Unmanned SurfaceVehicles come into their own
S E C U R I T Y
HHOOMMEELLAANNDD
to reinforced border security, groupslike Jemaah Islamiyah simply shift
people/materiel transportation topoorly monitored maritime or land borders.Some culprits with porous borders inSoutheast Asia are Indonesia, Malaysia andthe Philippines. These archipelagic nationsare attempting to counter rampant maritimeinfiltration by pirates, terrorists and criminalgangs. One major effort to clamp down onillegal movement is Coast Watch South in thesouthern Philippines. This cooperative pro-gramme envisages a network of 17 radar sta-tions in the Mindanao archipelago, backedby naval patrols and helicopter surveillance.The USA and Australia are supplying techni-cal assistance, training and finances to makeCoast Watch South a reality. Likewise,Malaysia is seeking maritime patrol aircraftand is creating a network of nine radar sta-tions on its Sabah coast. It is vital that nationsplug such gaping border holes, otherwiseillegal elements will continue to cross inter-national borders at will.
Interagency cooperationThe attempted downing of an American air-liner on 25 December 2009 by the Nigerian“underwear bomber” reignited calls forstricter airport security. Ironically, the great-est failing on that occasion was intelligencewarnings that went unheeded. This demon-strates the point that interagency coopera-tion and intelligence sharing are vital ingre-dients in any technological network.Technology needs to be interoperable, par-ticularly in communications and databases,and systems need to be integrated for seam-less information sharing.
HLS and border protection requires care-ful collaboration between various stakehold-ers such as militaries, paramilitaries, police,immigration and customs. In terms of mar-itime security, coast guards are key players,with Malaysia and Indonesia having estab-lished coast guards in recent years. Japan hasarguably the strongest navy in Asia, but italso maintains a large coast guard.Interestingly, the Japan Coast Guard often
complains about the level of funding itreceives in comparison to the well-resourcedJapanese Maritime Self-Defense Force(JMSDF). This kind of interagency rivalry forresources does little to improve overall effec-tiveness. As for internal security, civil policeforces generally take the lead. However,many Asian police forces are paramilitary innature, boasting an array of weapons andeven armoured vehicles for internal securityor limited wartime duties. For instance,China possesses the People’s Armed Police(PAP) estimated at 1.5 million personnel.During the unrest in Tibet and Xinjiangprovinces, the PAP and PLA worked togeth-er to restore a measure of calm.
ConclusionHistory clearly shows the effectiveness ofsecurity technologies degrades over time asquarries adapt their behaviour. Illegal ele-ments employ four principal counter-tech-nology strategies: (1) change operationalpractices to make defensive measures lesseffective; (2) use new technologies to counterthem; (3) move location to avoid defensivemeasures; and (4) directly attack securitytechnologies. These adaptive behavioursmust be considered whenever new defensivetechnologies are implemented.
Many countries suffer security problemsin Asia, and while new technologies are beingemployed, funding remains an issue.However, as in the case of India, a single dev-astating attack can form the catalyst that final-ly forces governments to decisively act andequip their forces with essential equipment.For militaries, one of the key technologicalgrowth areas is unmanned aerial, ground andmarine systems. Yet, it must be rememberedthat security is not solely dependent on tech-nical systems, but is a product of organisa-tions and the people who use them. The keyingredient is not what exotic technologies arebeing deployed, but whether they are beingused efficiently by respective security agen-cies. Despite the best technologies, in the endit generally comes down to individuals toapprehend insurgents or terrorists. Ensuringfrontline soldiers and policemen have basicequipment like reliable firearms, communica-tions, transport and ballistic protection is thebare minimum.
GrowNatural disasters have an unpleasant way ofconcentrating the mind. Asia has witnessedseveral horrifying catastrophes in recent yearswhich began with the Indian Ocean Tsunami in2004 and have since been followed by the2007 Bangladesh Cyclone and the BurmeseCyclone one year later.
Assistance from several naviesaround the world was vital inassisting the clean-up opera-tions after all of these calami-ties A particularly important
role was played by the military amphibioussupport ships which were rushed to theregion to help rescue survivors, coordinatethe provision of aid and provide on-boardmedical assistance to the multitude of peoplesuffering injuries.
The devastation in Bangladesh promptedthe United States Navy to dispatch the USSKearsage, a ‘Wasp’-class Landing Ship Dock(LSD) equipped with a humanitarian assis-tance team together with elements of the22nd United States Marine CorpsExpeditionary Unit. The Kearsage was ableto provide over 757,000 litres of fresh water,which the vessel can itself produce, and shewas later jointed in the operation by the USSTarawa a ‘Tarawa’-class Landing Helicopter
Assault ship which had, coincidentally, alsoassisted humanitarian efforts in Bangladeshafter a cyclone there in 1991. One year later,the US Navy was once again assistinghumanitarian operations in the South andSouth East Asian region with theExpeditionary Strike Group led by the USSEssex, a ‘Wasp’-class ship, comprising theUSS Harpers Ferry and Juneau LandingPlatform Docks (LPDs), plus the USS Mercyhospital ship. However, Washington’s offersof assistance met a cold reception from thereclusive Burmese Junta.
Today’s amphibious support ships comein all shapes and sizes, from the small utilitylanding craft (LCUs) which can take person-nel and vehicles from ship to shore, to thelarge Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) andLPD vessels which can house LCUs andLanding Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) in theirwell decks, along with vehicles and aircraftin their hangers. These vessels also possess aflat-top flight deck from where helicopterscan be operated. Moreover, the latest crop ofLHD and LPDs such as the Marine National(French Navy) ‘Mistral’ class ships are alsofurnished with well-equipped hospitals(which has around 70 beds, seven of which
The devastation inBangladesh prompted theUnited States Navy todispatch the USS Kearsage,a ‘Wasp’-class LandingShip Dock
ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW34
can be used for intensive care patients), pluslarge, open office spaces which can be rapid-ly configured as command centres to coordi-nate rescue efforts on land. Of course, as wellas humanitarian missions, these ships canalso be used to support offensive amphibiouslandings, but such is their large and flexibledesign, that they exhibit an impressive levelof flexibility.The deployment of the American vessels
to assist in the wake of the cyclones, the vitalroles that amphibious support ships playedin the wake of the Tsunami, and the age ofexisting amphibious vessels and acuteregional security concerns has prompted sev-eral navies around Asia to look afresh at theiramphibious capabilities, and invest in theseassets accordingly. Richard Bitzinger, aSenior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School ofInternational Studies in Singapore, believesthat this ‘amphibious renaissance’ in Asia ispart of a; “global trend towards an increasein naval amphibious and expeditionary war-fare capabilities.” The influence of humani-tarian operations in the thinking of severalnavies around Asia has also been noted byProfessor Geoffrey Till of the Joint ServicesCommand and Staff College in the UnitedKingdom: “Disaster Relief does have consid-erable play in the Asia-Pacific region because
general purpose ships and amphibious war-fare ships are awfully useful for this kind ofmission.” Professor Till adds that this pursuitof amphibious capabilities in the Asia-Pacificregion is part of a widening of the strategicvision of several navies around the region;“For example, the Republic of Korea hasbranched out from just focusing on NorthKorea. Taiwan has branched out from onlyfocusing on the South China Sea. What one isseeing is a general development of naviesthat have an all-round mix of capabilities, ofwhich the ability to project amphibiouspower is one part.”Australia is one such nation which is
investing in new amphibious capabilities.Currently, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)operates a pair of ‘Kammible’ class amphibi-ous support ships which were obtained fromthe US Navy in 1994, and were formallyknown as the USS Saginaw and USS Fairfax
Country, both ‘Newport’ class vessels, alongwith six ‘Balikpapan’ class heavy landingcraft. These vessels are to be supplementedby the two ‘Canberra’ class LHDs as areplacement for the 1980s-vintage HMASTobruk Landing Ship Heavy. To be namedAdelaide and Canberra, the first of these twovessels is expected to commission in 2011,and each will displace around 27,851 tonnesand having the wherewithal to accommodateup to 150 vehicles and 1,000 soldiers. Onenoticeable feature of the vessels, remarksBitzinger, is that the design; “retains a skijump, which makes almost a quarter of thedeck unusable for helicopters because of theangle. But, it ever Australia decided to buythe short-take-off, vertical-landing variant ofthe Lockheed Martin F-35, this design featurewould technically give them two aircraft car-riers.” The upshot of the Canberra class pur-chase, he notes, makes the RAN; “muchmoreoriented towards expeditionary warfare thanit was ten years ago.”The RAN is not the only force taking
delivery of large amphibious support ves-sels, the Republic of Korea Navy has fol-lowed suit with its ‘Dokdo’ class ships. Thefirst of this class of a planned three LPDs waslaunched from the Hanjin Heavy Industriesand Construction Company shipyard inBusan, southeast Korea on 25th July 2005.Although lacking the ski-jump of theCanberra class, the Dokdo class vessels havean 18,800 ton full displacement and can
The latest crop of LHDand LPDs such as theMarine National ‘Mistral’class ships arealso furnished withwell-equipped hospitals
N A V A LP L A T F O R M S
accommodate up to 200 vehicles and around720 marines, along with ten tanks and trucks,seven amphibious assault vehicles, threefield artillery pieces and two LCACs. Theycan also operate ten helicopters from theirflight deck. The Dokdo class vessels join thefour ‘Gojunbong’ class LSTs that the navycurrently operates, along with its ‘Solgae621/631’ class fast landing ships, of which ithas five. As Richard Bitzinger notes, thesenew LPDs have an interesting name choice:“The Koreans always see themselves in com-petition with the Japanese. The Japanesedeveloped the ‘Osumi’ class Landing ShipTanks, so not to be outdone; the Koreansbuilt the Dokdo class. To call this class theDokdo class is an extremely politicized movebecause Seoul is currently contesting the sov-ereignty of a group of islands that they callthe Dokdo, but the Japanese call Takeshima.”
Japan’s Osumi LSTs, of which theJapanese Maritime Self Defence Force(JMSDF) operates three, have since been bol-stered with the addition of the service’s first‘Hyuga’ class helicopter carriers, the largestsurface combatants operated by the JMSDFsince the Second World War. Displacing18,000 tons when fully-loaded, these shipscan embark up to eleven helicopters. The firstHyuga class vessel, the eponymous ship inthe class, was commissioned on 18th March
2009. The second example, named Ise, isexpected to commission in March 2011.Towards the end of 2009 it was reported thatthe JMSDF may yet acquire an even largerhelicopter carrier which could displace up to19.500 tons which could carry up to 4,000troops, 50 trucks and accommodate up to 14helicopters. However, there is no word yeton when the design and construction of thisvessel may get underway. Other amphibiousplatforms in JMSDF service include two‘Yura’ class LSUs, two ‘1-Go’ class LCUs,twelve ‘YF-2121/2150’ class Landing CraftMechanized and six LCACs.
Humanitarian and disaster relief are notthe only missions being contemplated for theAsia-Pacific’s amphibious platforms as thesecond decade of the twenty-first centuryunfolds. India, along with other nationsaround the region, is also keeping its strate-gic considerations in mind regarding its
expeditionary naval doctrine: “If you look atIndia’s naval doctrine”, notes Professor Till,“you see a clear interest in its development ofa capability for engaging in contestedamphibious operations, and India’s strategiccontext is quite clearly Pakistan.”
To this end, in 2009, the Indian Navy com-missioned the last of its ‘Shardul’ class LSTs,the INS Airavat. The Airavat joins its sisterships Shardul and Kesari which were com-missioned on 5th April 2008 and 19th May2009 respectively, and which displace 5,560tons. In terms of accommodation, the Shardulclass can carry up to 500 troops, eleven tanksand ten armoured vehicles. Moreover, thesevessels can also house a helicopter.
Despite the impressive size of the Indianfleet, and its acknowledged blue-water capa-bilities, the Navy still suffers from somethingof a dearth of amphibious vessels. The forcehas begun to partially redress this shortcom-
ing with the introduction of the INSJalashwa, the former USS Trenton ‘Austin’class amphibious support ship in 2007. TheJalashwa, which displaces 16,590 tonnes, isthe second largest vessel in the Indian Navy’sfleet after the INS Viraat aircraft carrier (for-merly the Royal Navy’s HMS Hermes). Theaddition of the Jalashwa brings an importantqualitative enhancement to the Indian Navyas the vessel can accommodate four ‘LCM-8’class landing craft Further expansion of theNavy's amphibious capabilities cannot beruled out, particularly given the experienceof the country during the Indian OceanTsunami in 2004. Although the precisedesign of any future Indian amphibious crafthas yet to be finalised, along with the numberof vessels that the service will purchase, it isstrongly expected that the navy will con-struct additional amphibious support vesselsin the short term.
The country which took the brunt of the2004 Tsunami was Indonesia. Prior to the dis-aster, the nation’s amphibious capabilitieshad been languishing for a number of years,
although they did receive an importantenhancement in 2008 with the commence-ment of the construction of the first of five'Tanjung Dalpele' class LPDs. These vessels,which are being constructed by shipyards inthe Republic of Korea, will be vital for sup-porting humanitarian operations and mis-sions by the country's Korp Marinir com-mando units.
Meanwhile, to the north; Malaysia hasperformed a similar enhancement of itsamphibious warfare capabilities followingthe Navy’s decision to convert a former com-mercial ship into a military vessel for use inanti-piracy efforts, although this craft alsohas the wherewithal to support amphibiouslandings. The MV Bunga Mas Lima is nostranger to piracy; having suffered a numberof attacks when in service with the MalaysianInternational Shipping Corporation.However, the vessel has now been repaintedin Malaysian naval colours and outfittedwith a helicopter deck, medical centre andself defence weapons to support the opera-tion of small raiding craft by naval comman-does to deter piracy. This vessel's ability tosupport such forces also places it in an idealposition to assist small littoral operations. Inaddition to this vessel, the Royal Malaysian
Navy is also keen to expand its amphibiouscapabilities with new dedicated LPD craft.Once again, the tragic 2004 Tsunami hasacted as a powerful incentive for the navy toenhance its competencies in this regard.
Although its Pacific Fleet often receivesscant attention, Russia still maintains a navalpresence in the Asian region thanks to itsnaval bases in the east of the country. Severalobservers have noted the moribund natureof the Russian Pacific Fleet’s amphibiouscapabilities, but there are nevertheless someinteresting clues as to how the fleet's capabil-ities in this regard may develop in the future.Russia recently announced that it wouldpurchase a 'Mistral' class helicopter carrierfrom France. It is expected that the force willinitially acquire a single example and thatthis vessel will be deployed with Russia'sfleets in the west of the country. However,Moscow may in the future, decide to pur-
chase an additional Mistral class ship anddeploy it to the Pacific to provide its fleetthere with a much-needed enhancement ofits naval capabilities?
At present, several Asian navies havelooked to enhance their amphibious capabili-ties with ship purchases from abroad.Nevertheless, Professor Till expects that, in thefuture, countries may decide to develop andbuild more of their amphibious assets domes-tically: “I think that it is a standard approachthat most of the Asian navies seem to follow,to purchase an initial amphibious unit out-right and then to try and develop an indige-nous capacity That's what the Indians havebeen doing with their submarines and theiraircraft carriers.” This could lead to a furtherexpansion of naval amphibious capabilitiesaround the region. It seems that the 204Tsunami represented a harsh awakeningaround the region, and several of Asia's naviesare determined that they will not be caughtunprepared for such a calamity again.
Although its PacificFleet often receives scantattention, Russia stillmaintains a naval presencein the Asian region
South-East Asia’s geographyand terrain, comprising long coastlines,large undeveloped and sparsely inhabitedareas, vast bodies of water and numerousscattered islands, make it a regionwhere UAVs should be in high demand,if only to patrol and survey its territoriescheaply and effectively.
bbyy Dzirhan Mahadzir
39JUNE 2010
RREEGGIIOONNAALLU A V s
Despite this however, with theexception of Singapore, currentusage of UAVs in the region hasbeen fairly limited, despiteacknowledged interest in them.
Several reasons exist for this situation. Asalways budgetary constraints are a major fac-tor, exacerbated by the fact that manySoutheast Asian militaries face the challengeof replacing obsolescent equipment andmodernising their forces. This is coupledwith the fact that UAVs are specialised vehi-cles, limited to surveillance and reconnais-sance, while Southeast Asian militaries areprioritising boosting their firepower capabil-ities with the purchase of combat equipmentsuch as AFVs, warships and combat aircrafttaking precedence.
Another factor preventing UAVs frombeing in widespread use in the region arenational politics. In the case of Indonesia,plans to purchase UAVs from Israel werestalled and appeared to have been abandoneddue to objections by lawmakers in theIndonesian Parliament over Muslim majorityIndonesia, purchasing equipment from Israel.Indonesia and Malaysia have instead bothchosen to develop domestic UAVs. In eachcase, the reasons for given for pursuing this
indigenous route have been a combination ofself-reliance and a need to develop localindustry. However, the downside to thismethod is that UAV usage in both countrieshas been low, owing to the need to wait fortheir local industries to develop such vehicles.
In Thailand, other than the purchase of threeSapura Cyber Eye UAVs in 2009 by the RoyalThai Air Force, there has been no furtherexpansion of Thailand’s UAV capabilities,despite their potential utility in combating theongoing insurgency in the south of the coun-
try. This is due to three factors; first-ly the budgetary problems thathave been faced by Thailand’s
military; second Thailand contin-ued civil disturbances and politi-cal fighting, which have resulted
in much of the government’s decisionmaking being paralyzed and finally
the Thai Army, rather than usingUAVs in Southern Thailand haveopted for a controversialAirship surveillance systemthat, has been currentlyreported as being unable to
perform as required.Given this situation,it is possible thatThailand may seekto purchase UAVsto make up for the
airship’s failure though this will also dependupon Thailand stabilising its political situa-tion, allowing both the military and govern-ment to properly focus on the development ofthe Thai military.
Given the budgetary issues faced by SouthEast Asian nations in procuring UAVs, theUnited States attempted in 2007 to offer ajoint cooperative programme which wouldinvolve the use of the USAF’s NorthropGrumman RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs, sta-tioned in Guam. This initiative was stalledfor several reasons, firstly the US programmewould be conducted on a multilateral basisrather than a bilateral arrangement with eachcountry and thus all information gatheredwould be shared between all participants.Both Malaysia and Indonesia were said tohave reservations over this, particularly withSingapore also being part of the programme.Both countries were reluctant to share infor-mation, mainly due to the fact that being asmall country, much of the activity inSingapore’s territory could already be seen
and was not really of much interest toIndonesia and Malaysia. Conversely, both
countries would be giving a significant viewsof their territory to Singapore. A Malaysiandefence official told the author that the mainproblem of sharing such information withSingapore in such situations was thatSingapore would gain much and in turn gavelittle that would be of use or interest toMalaysia or Indonesia. Additionally all theASEAN countries that the United Statesapproached, were reluctant to have neigh-bouring countries having access to surveil-lance information of their territory. This wascoupled with the fact that countries such asIndonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines also
had concerns regarding allowing USAFUAVs to conduct surveillance operationsover their territory and how that might beseen in a domestic political context. As suchthe US initiative appears to be stillborn,given the concerns of the countries involved.Currently only Singapore, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Thailand field UAVs whileIndonesia is developing an indigenousdesign scheduled to be fielded later this year.
SingaporeSingapore is the largest user of UAVs in theregion, an unsurprising situation given the
country’s focus on technology in order tocompensate for its limited military manpow-er. It operates a mix of foreign and indige-nous UAVs in contrast to other countries inthe region which either operate wholly for-eign built or indigenously built fleets. UAVoperations there come under the Republic ofSingapore Air Force’s UAV Command (UC),inaugurated in May 2007. With theCommand’s responsibility for development,training and operations of UAVs throughoutthe Singapore Armed Forces, it comprises ofpersonnel from all three services and theJoint Staff. The UC comprises a Headquarters(HQ UC), four squadrons (three UAV andone Air Logistics Squadron) and a UAVTraining School. The three UAV squadronsare No. 119 and No. 128 Sqns which bothoperate the Searcher UAV, and No. 116 Sqnwhich operates the Hermes H-450 UAV. TheRepublic of Singapore Navy successfully tri-aled the Scan Eagle in March 2009, the trialsinvolving the successful operation of theScan Eagle from a RSN frigate and LST
though no sale has been recorded publicly.The Army operates a number of indigenous-ly built tactical UAVs, notably the SingaporeTechnologies (ST) Aerospace’s Skybladeseries of tactical UAVs. The latest SkybladeIV measures 2.0m in length with a wingspanof 3.5m and operates with a range of up to100 km from the launch and recovery site,with operating altitudes/survivable altitudesup to 15,000 ft for both day and night opera-tions and has a maximum payload of 12kgwith an endurance of 6-12 hours. TheSkyblade series have been a collaborativeeffort between the Singapore Armed Forces,the DSO National Laboratories, STAerospace and the Defence Science andTechnology Agency (DSTA). All four are car-rying out various research on tactical and
The Skyblade series have been a collaborativeeffort between the Singapore Armed Forces, theDSO National Laboratories, ST Aerospace andthe Defence Science and Technology Agency
Singapore is the largestuser of UAVs in the region,an unsurprising situationgiven the country’s focus ontechnology in order tocompensate for its limitedmilitary manpower
RREEGGIIOONNAALLU A V s
micro UAVs though the details remain classi-fied. Singapore has often been talked aboutas a potential customer for the Global Hawkthough little has developed in regard to that.
MalaysiaMalaysia’s UAV beginnings started in mid2001 with the ‘odd’ Eagle AerialReconnaissance Vehicle (ARV), a collabora-tion between BAE Systems and Malaysia’sComposite Technology Research Malaysia(CTRM) that turned CTRM’s Eagle 150 train-er aircraft into an aircraft which could func-tion either as manned aircraft or a UAV.Three aircraft were converted as such andentered service with the Royal Malaysian AirForce (RMAF) in mid 2002 with the ARVsstationed in the East Malaysian state ofSabah. The rationale for the approach ofbuilding a hybrid vehicle was that the devel-opmental process would be shortenedthrough the use of an existing locally pro-duced aircraft and thus eliminating the timerequired by the need to design and build aUAV airframe, controls and engine. In addi-tion, the use of a UAV which was also amanned trainer aircraft allowed the EagleARV to sidestep the difficulties posed by civilaviation regulations which at time did notcover the use of UAVs. However thisapproach meant that the RMAF was basical-ly operating two platforms in one, a mannedaircraft with it’s specific support require-ments and a UAV with it’s different supportrequirements which in turn meant the costswere much higher than the RMAF simplyoperating either a manned aircraft or a UAVsystem alone and thus it was not surprisingthat the Eagle ARV was withdrawn fromservice in February 2006 due to high operat-ing and maintenance costs.
This experience, nonetheless enabledCTRM to develop the expertise needed todesign its own tactical UAV and the compa-ny was working with Malaysian companyIkramatic Systems in 2004 to develop a 35lbgross weight design known as the SR-01.Meanwhile, another Malaysian company,System Consultancy Services (SCS), had sep-arately developed a similar but smaller UAVnamed Nyamok with both groups lookingtowards fulfilling a potential MalaysianArmed Forces requirement for UAVs.However in 2005, the Malaysian Defence
Ministry directed the three companies towork jointly towards developing a commonplatform. This resulted in the formation of aCTRM-led consortium in December 2006called Unmanned Systems Technology (UST)that would develop the SR-01 into the SR-02,which was subsequently renamed Aludra(Allianced Unmanned DevelopmentalResearch Aircraft). A developmental contractwas awarded by the Defence Ministry inMay 2007 to the consortium. In October2008, deployment and field testing of threeAludra Mk. 1 in Sabah with the MalaysianJoint Forces Command began with UAVS
being used to support the JFC’s permanentlyongoing Operation Pasir (Pandanan AndSipadan Island Resort) which was initiated in2000 following the kidnapping of foreigntourists from the Pandanan and Sipadanisland resorts by Abu Sayyaf terrorists fromthe Philippines. The AludraMk. 1 has a 50kmdata link range, a maximum speed of220km/h with a loiter speed of 100km/h andendurance of three hours. Maximum opera-tional ceiling is 12000ft and the payloadweight is 25kg. The field trials are expectedto end this year but indications are that theMalaysian Defence Ministry are not wholly
satisfied with the UAV’s performance.Defence Ministry Secretary General Dato’Abu Bakar Abdullah stated at the DefenceServices Asia 2010 exhibition that theMinistry of Defence would only sign a serv-ice contract for up to six UAVs and no pro-duction or purchase contract would besigned until the capabilities of the Aludrawas improved. UST is developing the Mk. 2Aludra which features an increased payloadof 50kg, an improved endurance of six hoursand an increased datalink range to 150kmwhile maintaining the same performance ofthe MK.1 in all other aspects.There have been reports that the various
technical issues have yet to be overcome inregard to the Aludra. If so, Malaysian com-pany Sapura is more than ready to step inwith its Cyber Eye UAV should the Aludrafail. Rather than develop it’s own UAV,Sapura chose instead to purchase a majoritystake in Australia’s Cyber Technology whichthen immediately gave it an existing range ofUAVs to market along an existing R&Dcapability and knowledge in UAVs. Thecompany has been heavily marketing itsCyber Eye and Cyber Shark UAVs to theMalaysian government, tying it’s proposedintegrated communications network systemfor use by Malaysian government and secu-rity agencies in which the UAVs would formpart of Sapura’s C4ISR network solution. Sofar its success has been limited to the sale
and delivery of three Cyber Eye systems tothe Royal Thai Air Force in 2009 and anunspecified number to an unidentified cus-tomer this year.
IndonesiaIndonesia has been carrying out a pro-gramme headed by the government's Agencyfor the Assessment and Application ofTechnology to develop indigenous UAVssince March 2007. Although western sourcesstate the design is known as PUNA, this isactually the Indonesian abbreviation of UAVand the overall name for three different cate-gories of UAVs being developed under theprogramme. The first category is a 120kgUAV with a range of 120km, with three dif-ferent design shape prototypes, the BPPT-01A “Wulung” with Hi rectangular-wing,Low Boom T-tail, the BPPT-01B “Gagak”with Lo rectangular-wing, Low Boom V-Tailand the third being the BPPT-02A “Wulung”with a Hi rectangular-wing, Hi BoomInverted V-Tail design The other two cate-gories are a 25kg, 50km range UAV known asALAP and a 6.5kg, 10km range tactical UAVusing a flying wing design and known as
Sriti. Tests are currently ongoing for thesedesigns with no date yet scheduled for entryof service. The UAVs are designed with therequirements of the Army’s StrategicCommand (KOSTRAD) in mind.
Thailand and The PhilippinesDespite an ongoing insurgency in both coun-tries, limited use of UAVs has been made byboth countries. Budgetary issues are the chiefreason for this, though it should be notedthat in Thailand, the political situation hasresulted in a greater emphasis being placedon countering anti-government demonstra-tions rather than the Southern insurgency. Asmentioned earlier, the RTAF purchased threeCyber Eye Systems from Sapura in 2009.However it is expected that with the failureof the Army’s airship surveillance programand once the Thai government obtains amodicum of political stability, a requirementfor UAVs is likely to materialize. In thePhilippines, the country is known to havetwo Predator As, registered with office of theNational Security Advisor, and two HunterRQ-5s from the US Army have been said tohave been acquired by the Philippines AirForce. The Army is said to be operating itsown developed tactical UAV though littledetails have been revealed on this. It wouldseem likely though that given the close mili-tary links between the United States and thePhilippines and the US interest in providingsupport to the Philippines in combating theinsurgency there, the Philippines makes upfor its lack of UAVs through covert usage ofUS UAVs.
Indonesia has been carryingout a programme headedby the government’s Agencyfor the Assessment andApplication of Technologyto develop indigenous UAVssince March 2007
That relationship is continuing,measured at the very least by thevolume of arms sales by Russiato the region. Russia’sRosoboronexport announced earli-
er this year that overall defence exports hadreached over $3.5billion by May, with China,India and Malaysia figuring strongly in thatperformance. Defence sales in general arepredicted to rise beyond 2009’s export figuresby 12 percent and reach $9.5billion by theend of the year.
The announcement underlined the newtechnology that was on show at the RedSquare Victory parade, marking the 65thAnniversary of Victory in Europe on May9th, also illustrating that Russia continues toinnovate. Moving through Red Square wereseveral new vehicle designs included thetracked TOS-1A Buratino fire support vehi-cle, the Pantsyr-S1 8x8 self-propelled airdefence system and the KamAZ-43269 Dozorlight armoured vehicle. Also crossing RedSquare were a range of combat proven, exist-ing systems including the BMP-3, BTR-80and T-90. Overflying Red Square were front-line combat aircraft such as the Su-27 andMiG-29 and a complete range of supporting
platforms, ranging from the new Yak-130advanced jet trainer/light-attack aircraft, theIl-78 refuelling tanker, Il-80 airborne com-mand post and A50 AEW.
ChinaRussia’s defence relationship with China hasrecently come under strain. Western coun-tries established a military embargo againstChina after the Tian Nanmen massacrewhich occurred in 1989. The collapse of theSoviet Union in 1991 gave the Chinese mili-tary a new opportunity to return to Russia’smilitary systems. Since then the People’sLiberation Army has purchased 48 Su-27SK,28 Su-27UBK fighters, two VashayankaKILO, two KILO 636 and eight KILO 636Mclass diesel-electric submarines, 956E/EMguided missile destroyers, around twelvebattalions of S300PMU1 and eight battalionsof S300PMU2 long range surface to air mis-siles, 34 Tor-M1 short range surface to airmissiles and many naval radars and sonar forindigenously built guided missile destroyers.China also purchased the assembly line forthe Su-27SK for the Shenyan fighter factoryin 1999, with contracts giving Shenyan theright to build 200 Su-27SKs. However, the
Russia further develops its defencepresence in AsiaRussia further develops its defencepresence in Asia
Russian and Chinese military cooperationhoneymoon has been short. The Russian sidefound that the Chinese Shenyan fighter facto-ry had begun to copy the Su-27SK, callingthem the J11B without Russian permission.Other copied weapon systems have keptMoscow surprised, including ChineseSmerch MRLS, the Chinese S300 called HQ9,Chinese Fregat M2EM naval radar andChinese Shtil-1 SAM called HQ 16 and so on.Exactly how the two countries relation-
ship will continue in terms of military techni-cal co-operation is under review. InDecember 2009, General Guo Boxiong, ViceChairman of China’s Central MilitaryCommission, headed a Chinese militarytechnology delegation to Moscow and hadthe latest round of talks with his Russiancounterparts. The two sides did not sign anysubstantial military technology cooperationagreements except for the conference min-utes and a memorandum.China was reported to have had disagree-
ment over issues such as the acquisition ofIL-76 transport aircraft. Russia’s position onthis was very clear: Russia plans to manufac-ture this batch of IL-76 transport aircraft forChina within Russia rather than through
Uzbekistan with an upgraded version of theIL-76, with a corresponding new price.Regarding the issue of Su-33 fighter, the
principles of the Chinese side is that Chinahopes to import only four Su-33 fighters inthe first phase, whereas Russia intends toexport a total of 40. The two sides did notreach any agreement during the latest roundof talks. Russia has decided not to discuss theSu-33 issue with Beijing any more.Nonetheless, the source from Russia said
affirmatively that Russia had no plans towork with China in the development of fifthgeneration fighter aircraft and Russia didnot provide to China any fifth generationcombat aircraft technologies either.Moreover, the Su-35 was not a topic of dis-cussion in the latest round of talks.There were areas of agreement. Russia
committed at this round of talks that itwould fulfill the agreement to deliver thecontracted D-30KP-2 engines and wouldbegin delivery in 2010. China altogetherordered approximately 240 units of this typeof aircraft engine.In the area of submarine upgrades, Russia
and China have made major progress andare close to reaching final agreement.
DDEEFFEENNCCEEI N D U S T R Y
45
Russia’s defence relationship with the Asia-Pacific spans manydecades. Today most of the key weapons systems on land, sea andair in the inventories of the region’s superpowers: China and India,and many others, are Russian designs.
bbyy Andrei Chang & Adam Baddeley
Russia further develops its defencepresence in Asia
Russia further develops its defencepresence in Asia
ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
According to the plan, China hopes to gettechnological support from Russia toupgrade the two Vashayanka and two earlierversions of the KILO 636 submarines import-ed some years ago, so that they can fire the3M-54E anti-ship missile. An issue that needsto be resolved in the negotiations was thatRussia insisted that the upgrading workmust be undertaken in Russia, while Chinaheld that it should be done in China. Theposition of the Russian sided was that Russiawould not be able to agree to such a propos-al, as this would mean that Russia needs toinvest in the Chinese factories to upgrade theequipments. As a result, no official agree-ment was signed between them.Another area that progress was made in
the latest round of talks between Russia andChina involved combat helicopters. As it iswidely known, Russia started to manufac-ture three Ka28 anti-submarine helicoptersfor China in 2009, and Russia will altogetherexport to China nine Ka28 helicopters, thedelivery of which will start in 2010.In addition to the working conference on
military technology cooperation, Russia andChina have reached agreement in principlethat Ulan-Ude Aircraft Company will pro-vide China with more Mi-171 helicopters. Anofficial contract has yet to be signed. TheChinese side has formally expressed thatthey need more Mi-171helicopters. Chinahas not been import-ing Mi-171 or Mi-17V5/7 serial helicop-ters for about two
years. Regarding the number of helicoptersinvolved in the new deal, the two sides arestill in negotiations. The two sides haveagreed in principle that an official contractwill be signed in 2010. Of course, this newbatch of Mi171 helicopters shall be exportedto China in the name of “civilian technolo-gies” so as to avoid the mediation ofRosoboronexport. Nonetheless, Russia isfully aware that these helicopters will obvi-ously be used for the PLA.The basic principles regarding Russia’s
continued export of AL31F/FN and RD93aviation engines to China were determinedat this latest round of talks. As to the issue ofthe RD93 aviation engine, there are hugedifferences within the Russian militaryindustry. The pro-India faction in Russia, aswell as some people from the UnitedAircraft Corporation insist that Russia
should not continue exporting RD93engines to China, as it would offend Indiaand have negative impact on the futureexport market of Russian fighters. However,mainstream opinions from the above twoengine factories hold that they need cash,and that due to the inferior technologies ofChina’s JF17 fighters, it will not impact theexport of Russian fighters in the future. Aresult of the compromise among differentfactions of the military industry is that
The basic principles regard-ing Russia’scontinuedexport of AL31F/FN andRD93aviation engines toChina were determinedat this latest round of talks
Russia has agreed to continue providingChina with the above two aviation engines.
The cold ice in Russia-China militarycooperation has not yet been broken. Instead,China’s imitation of Russian arms has givenrise to concerns on the part of Russia on thedamage it may possibly bring about toRussia’s own arms export market.
IndiaIn contrast with China, recent military tech-nological co-operation and industrial part-nership between Indian and Russia is flour-ishing. The two countries have recently con-cluded an agreement to continue militarytechnical and defence political co-operationuntil 2020, notably addressing issues of afterservice support and well as new acquisitioncovering further Su-30MKI, MiG-29KUB car-rier aircraft and Mi-17IV helicopters as wellas additional T-90 MBTs
opment of the SS-N-263M55 Oniks/Yakhontsystem is illustrative of a change in Russia’srelationship with defence customers.
The first Brahmos equipped Army regi-ment was declared operation in 2007 and anaval variant of the missile will equip a num-ber of Indian Navy vessels including threeProject 1135.6 ‘Talwar’ class guided-missilefrigates currently being constructed at theYantar shipyard in Kaliningrad. Work hasnow begun on producing an air-launched vari-ant to be operated from the Sukhoi Su-30MKIwhich is planned for flight testing next year.
Manufacturing facilities for BrahMos havebeen set up in India by the Defence Researchand Development Organisation atHyderaband, with Russian assistance fromNPO Mashinostroyenia who are supplyingthe majority of Brahmos components.
The two countries are also co-operating onexporting the BrahMos. A large number ofpotential export customers have been identi-fied including Asia-Pacific countries, such asIndonesia and Malaysia. India and Russiahave also begun designing a hypersonic ver-sion of the BrahMos II which will have anenhanced precision strike capability.
Other arguably more advanced solutionsare also underway. India and Russia have alsopartnered on the Sukhoi T-50/PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter which had a successfulflight in April this year. The two plan to beginwork on developing a two seat version of theaircraft. By 2017, the Indian Air Force hasplans to field 280 Su-30MKIs with 150 beingconstructed locally under licence. In themean-time, India is considering the MiG-35 aircraftin the MMRCA programme. India has soughtto combine Russian and Israeli technology for
its airborne early warning and control(AEW&C) with the Ilyushin Il-76TD aircraft,two of which have been delivered with a thirddue later this year. The programme saw theadaption of an Il-76 A-50 heavy transport air-craft with IAI’s Phalcon system.
The Indian market has also seen the suc-cessful marrying of Russian with westerntechnology, managed with local partners.One of the more recent examples of this is theMiG-29 in which the Russian AircraftCorporation MiG, Hindustan Electronics andThales are co-operating in installing the lat-ter’s NATO STANAG compliant TSB 2500combined IFF interrogator and transponder.
Advanced technology is also being madeavailable to India via the Nerpa submarine,an Akula II design which will shortly betransferred to the Indian Navy under a tenyear leasing deal and will be known as theINS Chakra. The Nerpa is the second SSNleased, India operating a Charlie I SSN forthree years from 1998.
South East AsiaIndia and China are both traditional partners,dating from the earliest Cold War days. Inthe South East Asian region however, Russiahas in recent decades developed a growingpresence in new markets.
Perhaps the clearest example of this is theRoyal Malaysian Air Force who operate boththe Su-30 and MiG-29s, with Russia winningthe competition against US and Europeancompetititors. Russia is becoming more inter-esting in pursuing additional non traditionalmarkets in the region. Reports suggest thattalks between Rosoboronexport and theBrunei Ministry of Defence have taken place
with analysts suggesting that Russia will bebest placed to meet the countries require-ment for maritime patrol vessels.
Of course, Russia has traditional cus-tomers which continue to look to it toVietnam has bought a number of Su-27/30aircraft and is being touted as an early cus-tomer for the T-50. In December, a $1.8billiondeal was announced in which Vietnam wasacquiring six Kilo-class diesel-electric sub-marines. This was followed up with anannouncement in Russia that the two coun-tries would co-operate on construction ofnew submarine base and other naval dock-yard facilities. Other naval sales to Vietnaminclude the Svetlyak class fast attack craftand two Gepard class frigates.
Russia is expected to offer two of its StPetersburg built Kilo class submarines forIndonesia’s resurrected diesel electric sub-marine requirement. The vessels are due toto become operational in 2016. Russia isalso competing to supply Myanmar withnew combat aircraft, with the MiG-29being offered.
ASIA PACIFIC’S LARGEST CIRCULATED DEFENCE MAGAZINEDSIDEFENCE and SECURITY
of INDIA
AMR■ Only ABC audited defence magazine in Asia Pacific region.
■ Reliable source of information for all key decision makers.
■ Authoritative provider of unbiased & objective information to its AsiaPacific readership comprising military, government, industry & academia.
■ Even & balanced distribution to all major countries in Asia Pacific.
■ Magazine is proven source by which Asian military professionals arekept up-to-date on national & international defence & security issues.
DSI■ India’s only magazine on national security, strategic affairs & policy matters.
■ Focuses on defence & security issues through insightful & analytical articles ondefence policy, procurement, terrorism, insurgency & border management.
■ High quality strategic affairs magazine with South Asian perspective coveringregion's linkages with China, Indian Ocean region, near Middle East & SouthCentral Asia.
■ Reaches to decision makers in Armed & Para-Military Forces, policy makers inGovt., strategic analysts, security agencies, domestic & international defencemanufacturers who are looking at India as a potential market.
MAXIMISE YOUR REACHMAXIMISE YOUR REACHIN THE FASTEST GROWING DEFENCE MARKETS IN ASIA & INDIAIN THE FASTEST GROWING DEFENCE MARKETS IN ASIA & INDIA
AUSTRALIARAN’s combat helicopterproject enters formal competitivesolicitation phaseAustralia has embarked on plans to acquire anew naval combat helicopter as part ofDefence Capability Plan project AIR 9000Phase 8. The project will see a fleet of 24 air-craft acquired to provide the RoyalAustralian Navy (RAN) will a continuousfrigate-based helicopter capability.The Australian Minister for Defence,
Senator John Faulkner, announced the thattender documents had been released to theUnited States Navy and Australian helicop-ter group, Australian Aerospace, on 28 April.The project achieved first pass approval in
February, and a final decision on the success-ful aircraft will be made in 2011.In the running for the contract are the
Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin MH-60R to beobtained by the US Navy and the NATOHelicopter Industries NH90 NFH, to besourced through Australian Aerospace.The new helicopter fleet will enhance the
RAN’s maritime combat, anti-submarine andsurface warfare capabilities. The competitionis currently running on schedule and consid-eration will be given by the government tocapability, cost and interoperability with theexisting helicopter capabilities of theAustralian armed forces; as well asAustralian industry opportunities, whenmaking their final selection.
Future ADF communicationsboosted by new contractThe Australian government had made thedecision to exercise an option to upgrade to
the full ultra-high frequency (UHF) payloadon the Intelsat IS-22 communications satellitein support of Australian Defence Force (ADF)operations in the Middle East.Senator John Faulkner, Minister for
Defence, announced the decision to purchasethe full UHF payload on 28 April, in the inter-ests of improving operational effectivenessand enhancing communication support todeployed troops, as part of Under DefenceCapability Plan Joint Project.The government is already increasing pay-
load coverage over the Indian Ocean Range,and the newest upgrade brings the total pay-load purchase cost to A$475.1 million.Faulkner also announced the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)between Australia and the US that will see theUS utilise the Australian payload on the IS-22communications satellite, through the sharingof narrowband UHF communicationsresources. The ADF will gain access to PacificOcean region communications capacity fromUS satellite resources. The announcement isexpected to provide more robust communica-tions capabilities for both nations, and strength-en Australian-US defence relationships.Intelsat will launch the IS-22 UHF in 2012.
The satellite, built by Boeing Space andIntelligence Systems and based on a Boeing703B bus, will be positioned at 72° East longi-tude, covering the Indian Ocean Region.
Australia aims to eliminatewasteful defence spendingAustralia and the US have been named as theworld’s two most wasteful nations in thepurchase and maintenance of their militaryequipment. The report, compiled by global
consultants McKinsey, ranked a total of 33nations on the effectiveness of their defencespending, and named the least wastefulnations as Brazil, Poland and Russia.McKinsey conducted a review of ADF
spending under the Rudd government, rec-ommending that a total of $20 billion over thenext decade must be saved to fund the majordefence acquisition programmes currentlybeing undertaken and planned by the gov-ernment. A ‘waste elimination programme’was undertaken in response to the findings.The report also highlighted the fact that
nations who are investing in their indigenousdefence industries see a lower equipmentoutput for every dollar spent than those thatsource off-the-shelf products through theinternational market. The Australian govern-ment has already been criticised for its planto build 12 submarines to replace the RAN’sCollins class boats at an estimated cost of $35billion, rather than purchasing a ready-madereplacement from abroad.Systematic ‘over-optimism’ in defence
acquisition projects has been blamed forAustralia’s poor showing in the report.Defence Minister Senator John Faulknerclaims the Australian government has madeeliminating waste in its defence spending ahigh priority.
Australia to receive seven newCH-47F ChinooksThe Australian Army is to receive seven CH-47F Chinook helicopters under a Foreign
50 ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
Asia PacificProcurement Update
RREEGGIIOONNAALL NNEEWWSSA N D D E V E L O P M E N T S
RREEGGIIOONNAALL NNEEWWSSA N D D E V E L O P M E N T S
Military Sales (FMS) programme with the USfollowing the signing of the contract betweenthe Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) andthe US Army Security Assistance Command.The contract, signed on March 19 at the
Australian Embassy in Washington, will alsosee the acquisition of two simulators andassociated spares. The contract is worth anapproximate $513.5 million, and is part ofProject AIR 9000 Phase 5C.The seven aircraft will replace the fleet of
six CH-47D Chinook in service with the CSquadron of the 5th Regiment in Townsvillein the country’s north, and will strengthenthe Army’s heavy lift capabilities for trooptransport, equipment and artillery move-ment, and battlefield re-supply. The first two aircraft of the new fleet are
slated for entry into service with the Army in2014, with the remaining five scheduled to beoperational by 2017. Primary aircraft elements will remain
unchanged in order to maximise the benefitof US Army engineering support, howeversome ADF-specific mission equipment will beintegrated, including crashworthy crew andpassenger seating enhancements, fitment ofMiniguns, and underfloor ballistic protection.
Australian C-130 Herculesreaches flying milestoneThe Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) C-130 Hercules has reached a major milestone,surpassing 20,000 flying hours since it wasdeployed to support Australian and Coalitiontroops in the Middle East in February 2003.
In that time the fleet of three aircraft haveflown more than 11,300 sorties and transport-ed more than 140,000 personnel and nearly31,000,000 kg of cargo and equipment, witheach aircraft flying an average of 50 hours perweek. The milestone was reached during anaero-medical evacuation of Australian sol-diers wounded in an Improvised ExplosiveDevice (IED) attack.The RAAF has operated the C-130J
model in the Middle East since mid 2008,before which the newer C-130J shareddeployment with the older C-130H model air-frame. The RAAF’s C-130Js operate fromBase Richmond’s 37 Squadron, in NewSouth Wales.
Australia signs for newLightweight trailer capabilityAustralian Minister for Defence, Materiel andScience, Greg Combet, has announced thesigning of a contract for the supply of 973Lightweight and Light trailers to theAustralian Defence Force (ADF).The contract with Brisbane-based company
Haulmark Trailersm is worth an approximateA$70 million, and will see the delivery andsupport of the trailers that have been purpose-ly designed to operate in conjunction with theGWagon vehicles on order with MercedesBenz Australia/Pacific. Delivery is slated forApril 2012 to February 2015.As part of LAND 121 (Overlander) project,
the $6.6 billion programme to upgrade theAustralian Army’s land vehicles, the trailerswill replace the existing trailer capacity, giv-
ing the ADF a ‘new generation of transportsystems that will enhance its mobility andlogistics capability’ according to Combet.
Australia becomes firstSuper Hornet F/A-18F operatoroutside USThe Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) hastaken delivery of the first five Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets aircraft at a ceremony atRAAF Base Amberly attended by theAustralian Minister for Defence, SenatorJohn Faulkner, and President and CEO ofBoeing Defence, Space & Security, DennisMuilenburg. The delivery makes Australiathe first international operator for the multi-role fighter.The RAAF placed an order for a total of 24
Super Hornets in March 2007. The SuperHornet, an advanced, networked weaponssystem, will bring the next generation of aircombat capability to the RAAF. The remain-ing 19 aircraft will be delivered to Australiaover the coming two years. The Super Hornet F/A-18F is a truly multi-
role aircraft, able to perform every mission inthe tactical spectrum. It features day/nightstrike capabilities with precision guidedweapons, air superiority, and is able to carryout combat, fighter escort, close air support,maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward aircontrol, as well as tanker missions.The Super Hornets are equipped with the
Raytheon-built APG-79 Active ElectronicallyScanned Array (AESA) radar, giving crewstotal situational awareness, and the ability toconduct simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground operations.
RREEGGIIOONNAALL NNEEWWSSA N D D E V E L O P M E N T S
INDIAIndia test-fires BrahMossupersonic cruise missile fromvertical launcherIndia has carried out a successful test oftheir BrahMos supersonic cruise missile inMarch from a vertical launcher on INSRanvir off the Orissa Coast. It was the firstvertical launch test of the Russian-Indianbuilt missile, and was declared a 100 percent success by CEO and President ofBrahMos Aerospace, Dr A.S. Pillai.During the test, the missile performed
supersonic manoeuvring following theexact flight path, striking and destroyingdecommissioned target vessel, INS Meen.The test was part of pre-induction trials
for the Indian Navy. India plans to fit threeTalwar class ships, currently under con-struction in Russia, and the three 15 AAlpha class ships being built at MazaganDocks in Mumbai with the VerticalLauncher fitted on the INS Ranvir.The Universal Vertical Launcher used in
the test fire is a state-of-the-art launcherdeveloped by BrahMos Aerospace. Thelauncher is an under-deck system, giving pro-tection from atmospheric conditions, as wellas giving stealth characteristics to the system.The BrahMos missile, capable of speeds of
Mach 2.8, with 290 km range, is able to carryconventional warheads of 200kg to 300kg. The Indian Army also has plans to
induct the BrahMos missile system, andplans have lately been confirmed that theIndian Air Force’s Su-30MKI fighter jetswill be fitted with an air-launched versionfollowing trials scheduled for 2011.
India commissions its armedforces’ first indigenously-builtstealth frigateIndia’s first indigenously-built stealthfrigate INS Shivalik has been commissionedwith a ceremony in Mumbai by DefenceMinister Shri AK Antony. During a speechat the commissioning the Defence Ministerheralded a shift in Indian Navy (IN) policyfrom a ‘buyer’s’ Navy to a ‘builder’s’ Navy.The first of three Shivalik class frigates, the
INS Shivalik will become the central main-stay of the IN for the coming forty years.Along with the class’s two follow on vessels,Satpura and Sahyadiri, the INS Shivalik wasconceived and designed by IN design teams.
The Shivalik class vessels incorporate anumber of in-built structural, thermal andacoustic stealth features, including signa-ture management and radar cross-sectionreduction features; and is fitted with thelocally designed and developed CMS-17combat management system; enablingseamless integration of systems, weaponsand sensors giving a Co-operativeEngagement Capability (CEC) foradvanced detection and engagement of sur-face, sir and sub-surface threats.The vessels will be equipped with two
multi-role combat helicopters, as well asnuclear, biological and chemical protectionsystems. The Shivalik class is expected togreatly enhance the IN’s maritime defencecapabilities; with the commissioning of thisfirst vessel, India has become one of only afew nations in the world capable of success-fully building stealth warships.
India set to purchase C-17Globemaster IIIUS Congress has been notified by the USDefence Security Cooperation Agency of thepossible sale of ten Boeing C-17 GlobemasterIII to the Indian Air Force (IAF) as part of aForeign Military Sale (FMS) at a value ofapproximately $5.8 billion.The IAF is keen to purchase the C-17
fleet to enhance its heavy lift capabilitiesand replace the older, less reliable aircraftcurrently deployed in this capacity, as partof an ongoing modernisation programmeof its aircraft. If it goes ahead the FMS islikely to include training for aircrew andmaintenance personnel, training equip-ment, spare and repair parts, test equip-ment, ground support equipment, technicaland engineering assistance and services, aswell as IAF-specific modification work, andongoing logistical and technical support.The C-17 is seeing increasing deployment
by the world’s Air Forces, and has provenhighly reliable in the extreme environmentalenvironments of Afghanistan and Iraq. Theaircraft is able to take off from a 7,000 footrunway and land on runways of 3,000 feet orless carrying payloads of up to 164,000 lbs.
Thales selected to upgradeIndia’s MiG-29 avionicsThe Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) MiG-29multi-role fighter aircraft are to be fitted
with Thales’ IFF1 Combined InterrogatorTransponder (CIT) and CryptographicNational Secure Mode (NSM) as part of thefleet’s retrofit.The retrofit, being carried out by Russian
Aircraft Corporation MiG (RSK-MiG), willenable the MiG-29 fleet to be interoperablewith Western military aircraft, and avoidfriendly fire. The programme to upgrade thefleet is part of India’s goal of achieving a firstnational secure identification capability forprotecting its own assets. The first CIT will be delivered during
2010. The Thales equipment is part of theTSB 2500 family, provides a modern digitalcapability that is compliant with the NATOStandard MKXA2 modes. The TSB 2500 IFFCombined Interrogator Transponder is oneof the most advanced and capable systemscurrently available; and operates securelywith cryptographic national mode, or theMode 4 / Mode 5 NATO modes.The retrofit will also upgrade the MiG-29
fleet’s multi-role capabilities and improvetheir ability to carry advanced weapons.
Indigenous naval destroyer INSChennai launched in MumbaiIndia’s newest naval destroyer, INSChennai, was launched by the DefenceMinister Shri AK Antony’s wife SmtElizabeth Antony, in Mumbai on April 1.Built at the Mazagon Docks, INS
Chennai is a 163 metre long, four-gas tur-bine propelled indigenously designed ship,that will be deployed in a number of rolesincluding anti-piracy and coastal surveil-lance and defence following its commissioninto the India Navy (IN) in August 2013.The vessel will feature state-of-the-art
weapons and sensors and stealth features,and will be fitted with the Russian/Indianbuilt BrahMos surface-to-surface missilesystem. For air defence the vessel will be fit-ted with the vertical launch, long range sur-face to air missile system; and close-inweapons will include four AK-630 rapid-fire guns, and MR gun for naval gunfiresupport. Anti-submarine warfare will becarried out by Indian-designed twin-tubetorpedo launchers and rocket launchers. INS Chennai is the third destroyer con-
structed under Project 15 Alpha, the pro-gramme aims to upgrade and enhance theIN’s maritime defence capabilities.
56 ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
THAILANDThailand orders threeadditional EADS DS HELLASsystemsThe Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) hasordered a further three Helicopter LaserRadar (HELLAS) obstacle avoidance sys-tem from EADS Defence and Security(DS) to equip its Sikorsky S-92 helicopters.Three HELLAS systems have already
been installed by EADS DS on theRTAF’s Bell 412 helicopters. The systemdetects obstacles that are visually invisi-ble for pilots, such as high-voltagepower lines, enabling missions to be car-ried out under poor and difficult visibil-ity conditions.Incidents involving low visibility
missions are one of the leading causes ofhelicopter accidents. The HELLAS sys-tem uses a laser beam to scan the air-space to detect invisible objects, with ahigh accuracy in distances of up to 1,000metres, greatly reducing the opportuni-ty for human error. The pilot is able tonavigate using a grey-scale in-depthimage of the landscape in front of theaircraft, with potential obstacles display-ing as a red signal.The systemwas developed specifically
for use on helicopters, and has been usedfor several years by paramilitary helicop-ter groups around the world, includingtheGerman Federal Police helicopter unit.
RREEGGIIOONNAALL NNEEWWSSA N D D E V E L O P M E N T S
SOUTH KOREAROKN awards follow-oncontract with Herley Industriesfor IFF shipboard interrogatorsHerley Industries has secured a follow-oncontract from the Republic of Korea(ROK) Navy (ROKN) for the installationof Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) ship-board interrogators, transponders andancillary equipment on a number ofROKN patrol vessels.The award, valued at an approximate
$7.5 million, will see Herley Industriesproduce the equipment and provide on-site field engineering during the ship’s
radar integration, as well as assisting inthe cryptographic certification.The IFF system will enhance the com-
mand and control systems onboard theROKN vessels, by interfacing with theships’ air search radars, central fire controlsystems, and Electronic Support Measure(ESM) equipment. The follow-on contract, received by
Herley CEO and President Richard F.Poirier and Division President for HerleyLancaster Howard Eckstein in SouthKorea, marks the continued successfulgrowth of Herley Industries within theinternational marketplace.
JAPANJapan receives C-130Haerial refuelling tanker The Japan Air Self-Defense Force(JASDF) has taken delivery of a C-130Haerial refuelling tanker from the BoeingCompany and partners KawasakiHeavy Industries (KHI) and CobhamMission Systems.Delivery took place in February at
KHI Gifu Works following modificationwork including Cobham air-to-air refu-elling pods and Boeing design modifica-tions to the structure, wiring and fuelsystem. Currently providing refuellingfor the UH-60J search and rescue heli-copter, the aircraft will now undergooperational testing with the JASDF.
MALAYSIAMalaysia to acquire EurocopterEC275 fleet, SimulatorMalaysia has selected the Eurocopter EC725helicopter to replace the Royal MalaysianAir Force’s ageing Sikorsky S-61 Sea King(‘Nuri) helicopter fleet, joining a growinglist of nations within the Asian region opt-ing to operate the EC725 aircraft.The deal will see 12 aircraft acquired that
will deployed in a search and rescue capaci-ty. The first helicopters are due for deliveryin 2012, with the remaining fleet cominginto service over the following two years.The EC725 is a medium lift helicopter, fit-
ted with a five-blade main rotor, and is aleading aircraft within the 11-metric tonnecategory. The aircraft is an upgraded versionof the Eurocopter Cougar family, featuringlonger range, increased payload, more pow-
erful engines and state-of-the-art avionics.The deal is expected to be finalised in the
coming weeks.Malaysia also signed a contract with
DCNS for the delivery of a training and nav-igation safety and combat simulator systemand associated services as part of the RoyalMalaysian Navy’s (RMN’s) Scorpene sub-marine programme.The simulator system, including sensors
and periscope operations, will enable theRMN to enhance their training practices forthe first Scorpene submarine, the KD TunkuAbdul Rahman, which arrived in the coun-try in September 2009, and is currentlyundergoing tropical water and weapons tri-als off the coast of Sabah. Malaysia ordered two Scorpene sub-
marines in 2002; the second is due to arrivein Malaysia mid-2010.
SEASPRITE by KAMAN
Mission Proven.Mission Ready.
HELICOPTERS DIVISION | CONNECTICUT USA | 1-860-242-4461 |[email protected]
Immediate Maritime Security SolutionSH-2G(I) multi-mission maritime helicopters are backed by 1.5 million hours of service with Egypt, Poland, New Zealand and the United States.
The aircraft are fully mission-capable in extreme sea states, provide true return-to-ship single-engine performance, and may be operated by two crew members. Plus, Seasprites maintain power in hot desert environments.
Available Now for your Multi-Mission Requirements: anti-piracy drug interdiction surface surveillance anti-surface warfare anti-submarine warfare search and rescue and more
