asian military review aug sept13

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VOLUME 21/ISSUE 5 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 US$15

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SOLDIERMODERNISATION

CORVETTES AND OPVsTANKER ANDTRANSPORT

SATCOM ON THE MOVE

COUNTER IEDAIR AND MISSILEDEFENCEASIA PACIFIC C4ITAIWANDEFENCE

SOLDIERMODERNISATION

CORVETTES AND OPVsTANKER ANDTRANSPORT

SATCOM ON THE MOVE

COUNTER IEDAIR AND MISSILEDEFENCEASIA PACIFIC C4ITAIWANDEFENCE

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013VOLUME 21 / ISSUE 5

ContentsContents

Military HealthInsurance Heaven Sent

AMR editor Thomas Withingtonlooks at some of the latestdevelopments in the fast-movingfield of vehicle and soldiersatellite communications,taking the temperature ofseveral ongoing programmesaround the globe

While the multi-role combataircraft market is characterisedby several firms chasingcomparatively few orders,AMR editor Thomas Withingtonfinds out that things lookaltogether healthier inthe military airlifter market

Connectingthe Dots

Stoppingthe SignalsImprovised ExplosiveDevices characterise modernwarfare and are responsiblefor killing and maimingcountless soldiers andcivilians. UK-based defencejournalist Peter Donaldsonlooks at some of theongoing efforts to renderthem ineffective

06 30

22

42

Hong Kong-baseddefence

photojournalistGordon Arthur

takes a look behindthe headlines at

Taiwan’s current, andfuture, defence

posture andprocurement

priorities across itsground, sea and

air forces

48

Made inTaiwan

Ways and means of monitoring asoldier’s health are fast becominga reality on the battlefield.United Kingdom-based defencejournalist Peter Donaldson takesa look at some of the fascinatingtechnologies helping to save lives

A Shotin the Dark?Ballistic missiles have become abadge of prestige for manynefarious regimes around theworld. The United States is lead-ing efforts to develop defensivesystems to protect against thesethreats. AMR editor ThomasWithington investigates

56

Front Cover Photo:An injured Afghan Army soldierreceives help from a USArmy medic and his Afghancounterpart. Predicting injuriesand monitoring soldierhealth is the subject of thisedition’s ‘Military HealthInsurance’ article © US DoD

Of Atlas andHercules

l AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 l 03

Mumbai-based SaroshBana, executive editor atBusiness India, takes adetailed look at a range ofCommand, Control,Computers, Communi-cations and Intelligenceprogrammes aroundthe region across the land,sea and air domains

OffshoreInvestments

36

United Kingdom-based navalaffairs expert Ted Hootenexamines in detail the latestnews regarding corvetteand offshore patrol vesselacquisition and modernisationprogrammes ongoing aroundthe Asia-Pacific region

14

04

Editor: Thomas WithingtonE-mail: [email protected]

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l ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW l

Editorial

ith the Paris Air Show only justbehind us, although it already feelslike a lifetime ago, a sizeable chunk ofthe world’s defence community will descend on London, refreshed

from their holidays, suited, booted and ready for the biannual Defence Security andEquipment International, better known by its acronym ‘DSEi’.

This year, DSEi will be held between 10th and 13th September. The event is well-established on the international exhibitions calendar and, for the best part of aweek, London’s Docklands, the former port of the City of London, and now home tofinancial institutions, banks and bijou apartments will play host to warships in thedock of the Excel Exhibition Centre, where the event is held, and a cornucopia ofvehicles and defence technologies inside its halls. Unsurprisingly, the show’sorganisers are promising a huge spectacle; 1,400 exhibitors and 40 internationalpavilions. However, this year’s exhibition will be particularly significant in that it willbe the last DSEi before the United States of America and her allies commence theirwithdrawal from Afghanistan.

Your editor first attended DSEi very early on in his career at the start of the 21stCentury. During successive shows he has witnessed an ever-increasing amount ofexhibits designed for the protracted counter-insurgency campaigns being waged inAfghanistan and also Iraq. Light wheeled vehicles, soldier protection and counter-improvised explosive device technologies were all in abundance. This was notsurprising, there was a clear operational need for such materiel, and money wasplentiful with the United Kingdom among several nations requiring the speedypurchase and deployed of kit via Urgent Operational Requirements.

Such wares will no doubt be on show once again in mid-September. It may seemlike (forgive the pun) jumping the gun, but what will the next DSEi look like in2015? Not only will this be the first DSEi in a post-Afghanistan environment, but thedefence budget financial climate in Europe and North America may still be chilly. Ifthis is the case, will the organisers be able to maintain a show as large and wide-ranging as the one we enjoy today? Only time will tell.

Thomas Withington, Editor

Editorial

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IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICECC OO UU NN TT EE RR

STOPPING THESIGNALS

06 l ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW l

Detecting explosives hidden in mudor other media with a high watercontent using non-contact sensorsis the goal of DARPA’s Methods forExplosive Detection at Standoff(MEDS) programme © DARPA


On many different graphs, sta-tistics such as homicides per100,000 people, numbers ofwars between and withinstates, genocides and even

terrorist campaigns trace a downward slop-ing sawtooth. Pinker cites many causes forthe decline; such as broadly effective gov-ernment, spreading literacy, education andmass media, empowerment of women,engagement in international trade and polit-ical bodies, and peacekeeping forces toname but a selection.

He also argues that all terrorist groupsfail in their stated objectives, erode theirown support bases in host populations andeventually die. In one respect, however,they have been very successful; that is interrorising people and consequently forc-ing governments to respond with precau-tions that add to the friction and frustra-tion of everyday life at home and to engage

in wars overseas in an attempt to deny ter-rorists safe havens. One key to that successlies in capturing media attention withImprovised Explosive Device (IED) attacksthat generate distressing images of car-nage, mostly overseas, and a stream ofdead and damaged soldiers coming home.The numbers of casualties may be small incomparison with previous wars, but mostdeveloped societies’ sensitivity to them ishigher then ever, reflecting a growingabhorrence of violence.

Ironically, as societies become less violentand less tolerant of violence, the IED maybecome even more attractive to those terror-ist groups who want to gain leverage fromthe media’s ‘if it bleeds it leads’ culture butfail to take popular disgust into account. Suchpeople could do a lot of damage before theyeventually fail. This argues strongly for con-tinued efforts to defeat the IED, efforts thatare technological as well as social and politi-

cal, the international military draw downfrom Afghanistan notwithstanding. A furtherirony, one with a more positive flavour thistime, is that as the IED threat has becomeinternationalised so have efforts to combat it,drawing together government and militaryrepresentatives from around the world andmotivating them to work together, a furtherviolence-reducing development.

PakistanOn 20th May 2013, for example, Pakistan’sChief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq ParvezKayani, called for a regional militaryCounter-IED (C-IED) forum supported by awider international forum to benefit fromthe experiences of all the countries involved.

In his 2011 book The Better Angels of Our Nature, Harvardpsychologist Steven Pinker presents voluminous statistics from diversesources that chart the spiky and patchy but clear long-term declinein violence of all kinds, offering explanations for what he suggests is themost important thing that has ever happened in human history.

bbyy Peter Donaldson

Chemring division NIITEK, known for its groundpenetrating radar technology, has won a DARPAMEDS contract. Here, its VISOR 2500 systemsare seen fitted to Husky vehicles © US DoD


Gen Kayani’s call came at the end of hisaddress to a symposium at Army GeneralHeadquarters in Rawalpindi in which healso commented: “The participation of rep-resentatives from 28 countries is a vividexpression of the desire of internationalcommunity to fight terrorism. It is alsoreflective of the international community’swillingness to play a greater role in theregion in dealing with the multiple issuesassociated with IEDs.”Gen. Kayani added that: “The threat and

impact of these weapons is not Pakistan spe-cific. IEDs have caused devastation at bothregional and global levels. These have beenused with unfortunate consistency in Iraqand Afghanistan and thankfully, somewhatinconsistently, in other countries of theworld. The recent Boston bombings involv-ing use of homemade IED manifests theinternational dimension of this threat and

serves as a stark reminder that even themost developed nations of the world remainvulnerable to this threat.” The IED is a low-investment, high-payoff weapon that forcesgovernments and militaries to developcountermeasures that are disproportionate-ly complex, expensive and laborious.Defeating it requires a multi-prongedapproach, which the US Joint IED DefeatOrganisation (JIEDDO) neatly encapsulatesin the mantra “attack the network, defeat thedevice, train the force”.

DARPAWhile much progress has been made in thesecond prong, particularly in making it dif-ficult and dangerous to use radio frequencyremote triggers such as cell phones, theproblem of detecting explosives at usefuland safe distances remains a tough nut tocrack. This is the goal of DARPA’s Methodsfor Explosive Detection at Standoff (MEDS)programme, under which the organisationawarded contracts to Quasar FederalSystems (US $1.8 million), the University ofArizona ($1.5 million) and BAE Systems

($427,000) in April 2013.The MEDS effort seeks to rapidly devel-

op and demonstrate non-contact methodsto detect explosives embedded or packagedin opaque media with high water content,such as mud, meat and animal carcasses.The organisation sought proposals fromindustry for proof-of concept systems.Issuing the solicitation in mid-October,DARPA acknowledged two decades of sig-nificant progress in C-IED technologieswith increasing levels of sophistication, cit-ing indirect methods to detect packaging,wiring, or fusing and more direct detectionmethods, which are the subject of the MEDSprogramme.Direct methods can be divided into trace

detection and bulk detection, said DARPA,listing optical absorption and fluorescence,Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), andbiosensors among the trace detection tech-niques. Bulk detection techniques, theorganisation continued, include spectro-scopic methods such as Nuclear MagneticResonance (NMR) and Nuclear QuadrupoleResonance (NQR); imaging using ionising

l ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW l08


A US Marine Carries a Sierra Nevada Thor IIIED jammer. SNC recently completed deliveryof more than 3,000 of the smaller Baldr model© US DoD

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radiation such as X-rays and Gamma rays;and electromagnetic methods using Infra-Red (IR), Terahertz (THz) and millimetrewave radiation. Each technology has itsstrengths and limitations in terms of sensi-tivity, speed, specificity, ability to penetratevarious media, and health effects, saidDARPA, also commenting that their appli-cability can be highly dependent on packag-ing and operational conditions.

Killing CancerDARPA noted that some evolving tech-niques to detect breast cancer also havepromise in the detection of explosives. Thislink is the subject of the organisation’s

award to the University of Arizona Collegeof Engineering’s Electrical and ComputerEngineering Department, where professorHao Xin is the Principal Investigator (PI)leading a team applying thermo-acousticimaging and spectroscopy to the problemwhile continuing to investigate its useful-ness against breast cancer, the original tar-get of professor Xin’s work. What breast tis-

sue has in common with the mud and meatoften used to conceal explosives is a highwater content, which makes it difficult toidentify objects or abnormalities using cur-rent ultrasound or microwave imagingtechniques, according to a University ofArizona (UA) statement. Ultrasoundimages show a clear shape, but the proper-ties cannot be delineated, adds the UAstatement. Microwave images have con-trast, but shapes are not clear. “We startedour research in 2009 with no funding butkept working because we knew it wouldmake a huge difference. Eventually we hadsome internal funding, and here we aretoday.” Professor Xin is the director of theUA’s Millimeter Wave Circuits andAntennas Laboratory.

The UA team is developing a new hybridtechnology intended to combine thestrengths and mitigate the weaknesses of

The US DefenseAdvanced Research

Projects Agency notedthat some evolving

techniques to detectbreast cancer

have promise in thedetection of explosives

A controlled explosion destroys an IED nearNawzad in Helmand. The IED is likely to remaina threat around the world beyond NATOinvolvement in Afghanistan © US DoD



high-resolution ultrasound and high-con-trast microwave imaging to detect IEDs. UApoints out that this technology also miti-gates the harmful radiation effects of X-rayimaging and works without making contactwith the material concealing the explosives.“We take advantage of both technologiesand avoid the disadvantages to increasedetection specificity,” said professor Xin.

Quasar Federal SystemsQuasar Federal Systems (QFS) is also com-bining two technologies under its ownMEDS contract from DARPA, bringingtogether Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) and Quadrupole Resonance (QR)techniques. The company’s ChiefTechnology Officer, Dr Lowell Burnett, willserve as PI on the contract. In medical scan-ning applications, MRI takes advantage ofthe human body’s high water content by

using a powerful, magnetic field to line upthe protons in the hydrogen nuclei, disturb-ing the alignment with bursts of RF energyand then recording the RF energy they emitas they return to their pre-disturbancealignment. The pictures that MRI generatesare highly detailed. QR is a chemical analy-sis technique that can identify individualsubstances by sensing the interaction of theelectric field gradient with the quadrupolemoment of the electric charge distributionin the nuclei of the substances atoms.Further description is beyond the scope ofthis article (and the brain of this writer), butis a non-contact sensing technology that iscomplementary to MRI, and QFS hasexpertise in both.

NIITEKDARPA also awarded a MEDS contract, val-ued at US $2.13 million, to NIITEK in late

June. A business unit of Chemring Sensorsand Electronics, NIITEK is well known forits Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) tech-nology used in mine detection systems fittedto manned and unmanned ground vehicles.“We are pleased to have been given theopportunity by DARPA to continue thedevelopment of this unique detection capa-bility,” said Juan Navarro, President ofChemring Sensor and Electronics.“Although the work in this program isintended to be proof-of-principle experi-mentation, NIITEK and its partners are con-fident that, with proper development, thetechnology can be transitioned into a system

Member of the Cambodia National CounterTerrorism Special Forces walks with a bombsuit during a recent exercise held inconjunction with the Asia Pacific Counter IEDFusion Center © US DoD



that could prove useful to both theDepartment of Defense as well as domesticsecurity and law enforcement.“

Sierra NevadaIn addition to longer-term technology devel-opment, C-IED requirements have also gen-erated urgent needs to miniaturise capabili-ties so that dismounted troops can have sim-ilar protection to that which they could pre-viously only enjoy from within a vehicle.The US Army’s Individual Counter RadioElectronic Warfare (ICREW) programme,under which Sierra Nevada Corporationannounced the delivery of the last of morethan 3,000 soldier-worn Baldr IED jammerunits in June, is a case in point. The Armylaunched the programme last year, ran acompetitive evaluation of candidate systemsand awarded a US $56.5 million contract toSierra Nevada on 16th October 2012. Thecompany delivered the last Baldr unit ontime in May 2013, just eight months aftercontract award.

Named for the Norse god of light andson of top god Odin, Baldr is an four-kilo-gram (8.9lb) transmitter that disrupts radio

trigger signals to Remotely Controlled IEDs(RCIEDs), providing a zone of protectionaround the wearer during dismountedoperations. “SNC is proud to partner withthe U.S. Army and delivers unparalleledsolutions to saving soldiers’ lives,” saidPaul Plemmons, corporate vice president

for SNC’s Electronic Warfare and RangeInstrumentation business area. “SNC’slight-weight, counter-RCIED systems pro-vide the dismounted soldier the confidenceand protection to maneuver in an RCIEDenvironment.”

As new and improved C-IED technologycontinues to evolve and proliferate, the need

for training grows with it, compounded bythe international nature of many operationsthat encounter the threat. Numerous bilater-al and multilateral organisations and rela-tionships are forming as a result. Illustratingthis, the Royal Thai Armed Forces Chiefof Defence Forces, General TanasakPatimapragorn visited his Australian coun-terpart, General David Hurley, in Februaryfor bilateral discussions on, among a rangeof subjects, defeating IEDs. The two coun-tries Armed Forces have already developeda C-IED engagement plan described as deliv-ering an enduring capability to the RoyalThai Armed Forces. “Thailand was one ofthe first countries to sign a bilateralMemorandum of Understanding on CounterTerrorism with Australia (2002) and we havecontinued to work closely together on count-er IED issues, in an effort to combat the glob-al threat posed by improvised explosive

Staff Sgt. Byron Delgado, of the 15th ExplosiveHazard Team stationed at Schofield Barracks,Hawaii, briefs Tentara National IndonesiaAngkatan Darat Soldiers prior to a buildingsearch exercise during Garuda Shield © US DoD



Counter-ImprovisedExplosive Device

requirements havealso generated urgent

needs to miniaturisecapabilities to provide

enhanced protectionto soldiers



devices”, said General Hurley.Thailand is engaged in a protracted

guerrilla war in its southern provinces andso has an on-going need for C-IED training,to which its agreement with Australia con-tributes. Another source of urgently neededexpertise its participation in bilateral exer-cises with the US Army, whose Asia PacificC-IED Fusion Centre in Hawaii providestraining on request throughout the region.Many Asian nations participate in trainingfacilitated by the Centre includingMalaysia, Indonesia, South Korea andAustralia. Royal Thai Army ExplosiveOrdnance Disposal (EOD) soldiers receivedC-IED training during Bilateral ArmyExercise 12 (BAE 12) in Thailand in Juneand July last year. “By teaching these EODguys first, who already know how to handleexplosives, we are creating an enduring

capability that they will in the future,trained their own Soldiers and we justadvise and assist," according to leadinstructor Richard Bell, quoted in a reportby the Asia Pacific C-IED Fusion Centre’sRussell Shimooka. Royal Thai Army MasterSgt Sanchai Kongim, an EOD expert whoparticipated in BAE 12, has good reason tobe keen to pass on his skills to his comrades."A few years ago my team responded to aninitial blast in Yala [province] and weparked our vehicle right over a secondarydevice. There must have been a malfunctionbecause it never detonated. I’m given asecond chance so now I will help otherSoldiers stay alive.”

Thailand is engaged ina protracted guerrilla

war in its southernprovinces and aneed for C-IED

training, to which itsagreement with

Australia contributes

Malaysian military engineers look for IEDsduring Keris Strike 12 at Camp Ulu Tiramnear Johor Bohru, Malaysia 22nd Sept 2012.Keris Strike 12 is U.S. Army Pacific-sponsoredTheatre Security Cooperation Program exerciseconducted annually with the Malaysian ArmedForces © US DoD

Unsurprisingly the AirbusA400M strategic freighter,now named ‘Atlas’ by itsmanufacturer, was on showfor all to see, resplendent in

the colours of the Armée de l’Air(AdlA/French Air Force); it’s launch cus-tomer. Not only could the aircraft be seenclose-up on the ramp, but it also treated vis-itors to daily flying displays, demonstratingits impressive maneuvering. It was joinedin the skies, and on the apron, byAntonov’s

AN-70 with which the Ukrainian airframebuilder hopes to challenge Airbus for ashare of the increasingly lucrative medium-to-heavy freighter market.

Like the A400M, the AN-70 has suf-fered its share of development problems.Unlike the Atlas, these have focused onaccidents involving the aircraft. TheA400M, meanwhile, has been beset onmore than one occasion by the politicalfortunes of the initiative’s partner nations(Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg,

Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom),geopolitical challenges heralded by theend of the Cold War, and funding issues.Nevertheless these difficulties now appearto be well and truly behind both pro-grammes, with the race to eagerly chaseorders around the world well underway.

AirbusThe AdlA has taken delivery of its firstA400M, and will acquire a second beforethe end of 2013. France will be the second-

A N D T R A N S P O R TTT AA NN KK EE RR


OF ATLASAND HERCULESThis year’s Paris Air Show held in the French capitalbetween 17th and 21st June was a perfect opportunity totake the temperature of the world military freightermarket which, in contrast to other parts of the globaldefence industry, appears to be enjoying good health.

bbyy Thomas Withington



largest operator of the type with 50 air-frames, behind the 53 expected to beacquired by Germany. In addition Spainwill obtain 27 examples, the Royal AirForce will get 22; ten will be delivered toTurkey, seven to Belgium, four to Malaysiaand a single example to Luxembourg.

It has been a busy year for the A400M.As well as commencing deliveries to theFrench Air Force, the type achieved fullcivil certification with the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency (EASA) in March

2013. The Atlas is remarkable as it isreceiving dual military and civilian clear-ance which could potentially open addi-tional non-military airfields for thefreighter to use. This is a particularlyimportant consideration given the type’s

anticipated role in supporting humanitari-an operations. Meanwhile, at the militarylevel, the aircraft will continue to be cycledthrough numerous tests and trials until itreceives its military certification.

Although sales of the A400M andAirbus Military’s smaller CN-235 and C-295 turboprop freighters are still verymuch concentrating minds at the firm,the company is contemplating new air-frame designs. Prior to the Paris AirShow, reports surfaced that Airbus

Airbus Military’s A400M Atlas turbopropstrategic freighter is entering service with itslaunch customer, the French air force. By theend of the year, deliveries will have commencedto its second customer, Turkey © Airbus Military

Military was considered the develop-ment of a new freighter offering a small-er capacity between the LockheedMartin C-130J and the Boeing C-17A/B/ER Globemaster-III tactical andstrategic airlifters (see below). The com-pany foresees a new aircraft with a pay-load of between nine and 18 tonnes. Thiscould potentially present Embraer with afuture rival to its KC-390 turbofanfreighter (see below) which is expectedto enter service in circa 2016 offering apayload capacity over 20 tonnes. In fact,Embraer’s development of the KC-390could be the motivation behind AirbusMilitary’s plans to offer an aircraft whichcould occupy this sector of the market.That said, with Airbus now ramping uptowards the full production of theA400M, plus the marketing efforts it isundertaking regarding its smaller turbo-prop aircraft and its larger A330-MRTT(Multi-Role Tanker Transport) platform,

it seems unlikely that any new prototypefreighter will be produced anytime soon.Airbus may well be watching which waythe wind blows regarding KC-390 ordersand deliveries before deciding whetherto move ahead with its initiative.

C-130Although the baseline Lockheed MartinC-130 design will be 60 years old nextyear, having taken its maiden flight on23rd August 1954, the aircraft shows nosigns of retiring. There is a truly stagger-ing number of C-130s of all variants flyingaround the world, along with the new C-130J/J-30 models which are entering serv-ice. Older models continue to obtainupgrades to keep them capable. In June2013, Israel’s Elbit Systems was awarded a

contract worth $62 million to modernizetwelve C-130H/H-30 models operated bythe Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF).The upgrade will include new glass cock-pits and avionics.It is noteworthy that the RoKAF is also

receiving new C-130Js, of which it isexpected to obtain four from 2014. TheRepublic of Korea is not the only nationwith C-130J ambitions. Since the oustingof its erstwhile dictator ColonelMuammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya’s newgovernment has been working hard toretrain, reconstitute and reequip itsarmed forces. Procurement of new airplatforms form an important aspect ofthis policy, and Tripoli is keen to securethe supply of stretched C-130J-30s to thisend. The acquisition could be worth up to$588 million for two aircraft, spare parts,engines and training.In the Asia-Pacific region, new C-130s

are in demand from Bangladesh. Dhaka isreportedly in the market for four C-130Eairframes purchased from United StatesAir Force stocks for circa $180 million.This sum would also include the supplyof engines, documentation and supportequipment. Should the deal go through,


Although the C-130will be 60 years

old next year, havingtaken its maiden

flight in August 1954,the aircraft showsno signs of retiring

The CN-235, like its C-295 sibling, has sold well.Its manufacturer, Airbus Military, has used theairframe not only as the basis for a turbopropfreighter, but for other applications such asmaritime patrol © Airbus Military


The C-17 Globemaster III is the world’s most capable

and versatile airlifter, performing the full range of

tactical and strategic operations: from transporting

troops and heavy cargo, to airdrop, aeromedical

evacuation and delivering humanitarian aid virtually

anywhere. No other airlifter measures up. The C-17.

Proven and ready for a world of missions.

this will add to the four-strong C-130Bfleet already operated by the Bangladeshair force although, having entered servicein the early-1960s, these aircraft are now alittle long in the tooth.Part of the secret of the C-130’s longevi-

ty is the relative ease with which the over-all design has been upgraded andimproved as the aircraft has gone throughits life. Improving engine efficiency playsan important part in this process, andpowerplant experts Rolls-Royce are cur-rently developing a number of improve-ments which could make the AE2100D3turboprops produced by the company forthe ‘Juliet’ variant yet more efficient, andthus cheaper to run. The company is tak-ing a number of components which it hasdeveloped for other powerplants and fold-ing them into the AE2100D design; an alto-gether cheaper option than designing anew engine from scratch.

BoeingSome nations which have adopted the C-130J have also purchased Boeing’s larger

C-17 Globemaster; the United Kingdomand India being two examples. Indiabecame the eighth C-17 operator this yearafter it received its first Globemaster inJune 2013. The country will become thesecond largest operator of the type afterthe US Air Force, and is due to receive atotal of five airframes by the end of 2013,and the same number again in 2014. Thedeal to purchase the ten C-17s was final-ized by New Delhi in June 2012 at a costof circa $1.8 billion. Beyond these ten air-craft, New Delhi has options on a further

six. Australia is the only other nation inthe Asia-Pacific region, save for the USpresence in the area, which operates theC-17, with other users being found in theMiddle East, notably the United ArabEmirates and Qatar, with the Royal AirForce, Royal Canadian Air Force and theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation(NATO) also using the type; the latterunder the terms of a pooling arrange-ment. As noted above India has orderedthe C-130J, buying six examples, with anadditional second order for the samenumber of aircraft expected soon.The recent orders from India, and

from NATO, have breathed life intowhat, for some time, looked like a mori-bund production line at Boeing’s C-17facilities in Long Beach, California. Forthe time being New Delhi’s order of theaircraft guarantees production until 2014,although this could be extended if addi-tional international sales are concluded.Closer to home, by the end of this year,the United States Air Force will havereceived its final two C-17s, topping off atotal fleet size of 223 examples.The company believes that the market

for the Globemaster could be sufficientfor the production of a further 48-60 air-frames. Based on a production rate of tenaircraft per year, this could see the LongBeach plant producing C-17s until2018/2019, providing that these quanti-

Airbus Military offers smaller turbopropfreighters in its catalogue. They include theC-295 which has been widely exported. Thethoughts of the company are now turningtowards what could eventually replace its lighterairlifters in the future © Airbus Military



Lockheed Martin’s C-130 series represents one of the oldest designs of militaryaircraft still flying, but its rugged construction and solid performance haveenabled it to be constantly modernized; the latest example being the C-130Jwhich has won customers around the world © USAF

ties of airframes are purchased. Onecountry which could enter the C-17 clubis Kuwait which has signed a letter-of-intent with the United StatesGovernment regarding the acquisition ofat least one Globemaster which is expect-

ed to complete production by the end ofthis year. The Middle East country hasshown interest in procuring a secondexample, although when this aircraft willbe produced remains to be seen.Ultimately, the future of the C-17 willdepend on securing international orders.

Further USAF purchases seem unlike-ly, so the export market will be crucial forBoeing. Moreover, the Seattle-based

plane-maker will once again face itsperennial rival in the guise of Airbuswhich will soon be ramping up towardsfull production of the Airbus A400M.Nevertheless the C-17 remains the onlyWestern-built turbofan-powered strate-gic freighter in mass production. Becauseof US and NATO involvement inAfghanistan, military operations in Iraq,and a multitude of recent humanitarian


Alenia Aermacchi’s C-27J is aimed at the lighter end of the freighter market. This is anincreasingly lively battleground with several suppliers, both new and established, offeringairframes in this category © Thomas Withington

Although production of the Boeing C-17A/B/ERGlobemaster-III strategic freighter is coming toan end for the United States Air Force, theaircraft continues to sell well around the world.India is one of the latest entrants to the‘Globemaster’ club and will soon have a fleetsize second only to the United States © USAF



undertakings, the C-17 is a thoroughlyproven platform which constitutes addi-tional selling points.

IlyushinDespite the competition posed by the C-17Russian manufacturer United AircraftCorporation (UAC) is continuing toevolve the Ilyushin Il-76 design. Havingperformed its maiden flight on 25thMarch 1971 the Il-76, like its C-130 coun-terpart, has been cycled through a numberof upgrades and enhancements to ensurethat the design remains capable. This hasculminated in the Il-76-MD90A versionwhich includes a glass cockpit and newPerm PS-90A76 engines affording signifi-cant fuel savings compared to the earlierAviadvigatel PS-90-76 powerplantsequipping legacy Il-76-TD90 freighters.Full flight testing of this new aircraft isexpected to be completed by the end of2014. The Russian air force could procure39 airframes with a contract signed to thiseffect with UAC, which oversees the pro-duction of the freighter, in October 2012.The acquisition is worth $4.5 billion and

represents one of the largest Russiandefence procurements in recent times.

New PlayersWhile established companies such asUAC, Boeing, Lockheed Martin andAirbus continue to refine their offerings,new companies are entering the freightermarketplace. For example, HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL) of India, andUAC have joined forces to develop a newmedium-lift freighter known as the Il-214MTA (Medium Transport Aircraft).This will be able to carry up to 20 tonnesof freight with Russia potentially acquir-ing up to 100, and India possibly pur-chasing around 45.

Another much-discussed design isEmbraer’s KC-390 twin turbofan medi-um-freighter. Its manufacturer is confi-dent that the first example of this new air-craft will perform its maiden flight by2015, with the Força Aérea Brasileira(Brazilian air force) expected to purchase23 aircraft. Other orders from LatinAmerican customers could be forthcom-ing including purchases by the FuerzaAérea de Chile (Chilean air force) whichmay obtain six. Embraer believes thatthere may be a market for around 700 air-craft of the KC-390’s size, which boasts a23-tonne payload. This market could inturn be worth up to $50 billion, however,the company will have to compete withthe C130J; the CN-235 and C-295 andAlenia Aermacchi’s C-27J; the number ofcompeting airframes underlining just howlucrative this market is thought to be.

While air forces around the world arelooking hard at the number of combataircraft that they can afford to operateand maintain, freighters, which havearguably been marginalized by some airforces since the Second World War, haveemerged as essential airframes. They areindispensible not only for the projectionof power, but to assist disaster recoveryand humanitarian efforts.


Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation is moving ahead with a new version of the venerable Ilyushin Il-76 design, which features improved avionics and updated engines. The Russian air force hasplaced one of its largest orders in recent times for this modernized airframe © USAF

Freighters have proventhemselves to be

indispensable not onlyfor the projection

of power, but to assistdisaster recovery andhumanitarian efforts

M I S S I L E D E F E N C EAAIIRR AANNDD SSEEAA

A SHOT IN THE DARK?

A Raytheon RIM-161B SM-3 Block-1Atears open the night sky as it roarsfrom the deck of a Japanese MaritimeSelf Defence Force destroyer during atest of this anti-ballistic missileweapon © US Navy


The clandestine missile programmesof North Korea and Iraq both continueto spur Ballistic Missile Defence(BMD) initiatives led by the UnitedStates of America. These efforts aredeveloping Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM)and radar technologies which can beapplied to combat these threats.


The decision of North Korea tolaunch its Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3Unit 2 satellite into orbit on12th December 2012 once againcast dark shadows, not only

over the Korean Peninsula, but over the widerAsia-Pacific region. The launch demonstratedthat North Korean scientists had perfected theability to place an object into orbit, and thatthe country’s rocket technology was suffi-

ciently advanced to attain vast ranges.The ramifications regarding not only

Asian, but global, security of the rocketlaunch are significant: Such techniques couldbe applied to missiles which could traverseintercontinental distances, bringing scores ofcountries across the globe within potentialstriking range of the Hermit Kingdom.North Korea’s ballistic missile programmeand, further afield, the similar programme ofIran, are the two main drivers behind thecurrent BMD efforts of the United States.

These efforts rest on the development ofland-based systems such as the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GBMD) initia-tive, the North Atlantic TreatyOrganisation’s (NATO) European PhasedAdaptive Approach (EPAA) BMD effort;and Raytheon’s MIM-104F PAC-3 (PatriotAdvanced Capability-3) and LockheedMartin’s Terminal High Altitude AirDefence (THAAD) SAM programmes.

At sea, the US is enhancing the capabili-ties of its Lockheed Martin Aegis CombatManagement System (CMS) BMD capabilitywith new features and weapons. All of theseefforts are intended to yield an umbrellacapable of defending the Continental UnitedStates (CONUS) and its allies around theworld using SAMs which can perform bothexo-atmospheric (out-of-atmosphere) andendo-atmospheric (within the atmosphere)engagements. This article will examinerecent developments in each of these pro-grammes in detail.

GBMDDesigned to protect the CONUS, the GBMDinitiative uses SAMs deployed at two bases,namely at Fort Greely, Alaska andVandenburg Air Force Base (AFB),California. Each of these bases can launchRaytheon Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles(EKVs) carried by an Orbital Sciences inter-ceptor; the former of which destroys the mis-sile by sheer force of impact. As the EKV’sname suggests, it is designed for space-basedinterception. Although the United States cur-



Former US Defence Secretary Robert Gates (left)inspects one of the missile silos and interceptorsof the United States’ Ground-Based MidcourseDefence system. Two sites in Alaska andCalifornia host these interceptors. © US DoD

The ramificationsregarding not

only Asian, but global,security of North

Korea’s December 2012Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3

Unit 2 satellite launchare significant

rently has two GBMD sites, both of whichare located on the west coast, plans are afootto construct a third base on the east coast.The Fiscal Year 2014 Defence AuthorisationBill includes $140 million of funding towardsthe construction of this site. While this facili-ty is still some way from being built, it couldprovide additional protection to the easternseaboard of the United States.Whereas the facilities in Alaska and

California are designed to provide protectionagainst missile threats from North Korea, thenew facility could protect againstIntercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)launches from Iran. However, the eventualconstruction of a new base on the east coastcould trigger objections from Russia, whichhas historically been critical of US BMDefforts arguing that they alter the strategicbalance by potentially blunting the potencyof Moscow’s nuclear deterrent. At the time ofwriting (early July 2013), a GBMD interceptortest was expected to be performed against arepresentative ballistic missile targetlaunched from Kwajalein Atoll in theRepublic of the Marshall Islands, with theinterceptor launched from Vandenburg AFB.In other technical news, US defence contrac-tor Bechtel announced that it had completedconstruction of three interceptor launch fieldsat the Fort Greely base. Bechtel was awardedthe contract for their construction in 1997alongwith several other elements of the over-all GBMD architecture. Boeing is the primecontractor for the GBMD programme.

EPAAWhile the GBMD is designed to protect theCONUS, the EPAA initiative is aimed atprotecting NATO’s European membershipand US interests on the continent from bal-listic missiles launched from the MiddleEast. The EPAA is being rolled out acrossseveral phases: Phase One has seen theauthorization of a permanent deployment ofUS Navy Aegis CMS-equipped (see below)warships capable of performing BMD topatrol in the Mediterranean, and the activa-tion of a Raytheon AN/TPY-2 X-bandground-based air surveillance radar to east-ern Turkey. This supplements an existingUS-operated AN/TPY-2 already operationalin Israel. The two radars provide a means ofdetecting missile launches from the Middle

East, most notably Iran, and the capability tointercept those missiles via the warshipswhich will operate from the Spanish port ofRota by 2015 at the latest.The warships, which will include

‘Arleigh Burke’ and ‘Ticonderoga’ classdestroyers and cruisers, will commenceoperations at the same time as Phase Two ofthe EPAA commences. Phase Two will see

the establishment of a land base in Romaniaequipped with Raytheon RIM-161 StandardMissile-3 (SM-3) SAMs at Deveselu AFB inthe south of the country. Initially RIM-161CSM-3 Block-IB SAMs will be based at thissite. These missiles have a two-colour infra-red seeker alongside their semi-active radar-homing guidance system, an advanced sig-nal processor and throttle-able divert atti-tude control systems to improve their agili-ty. RIM-161 SM-3 missiles have a range ofcirca 500 kilometres (270 nautical miles), anda ceiling of 160km (86nm). They are expect-ed to be operational at the base from 2015.By 2018, these SAMs could be exchanged for


Raytheon’s Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle formsa key part of the Ground-Based MidcourseDefence system. It is mounted on top of aninterceptor missile and destroyers its targetduring a collision at high speed © Raytheon


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RIM-161D SM-3 Block-II missiles which willhave a higher target intercept speed and aredesigned first stage. The combination ofthe Aegis ships, and the land-based RIM-161C/D SAMs, will provide protection formost of Europe’s NATO members againstshort- and medium-range ballistic missileslaunched from the Middle East.

Phase Three will see the establishment ofa second land-based facility, this time atRedzikowo on the northern Baltic coast ofPoland, which will host RIM-161 (undesig-nated) SM-3 Block-IIA missiles. Theseweapons will have an improved target dis-crimination seeker and a more advancedkinetic warhead. Expected to occur in the

2018 timeframe the activation of the facilityin Poland will provide complete a BMDumbrella to protect all of NATO’s Europeanmembership against ballistic missile attack.The EPAA was supposed to have included afourth phase which would have implement-ed an anti-ICBM element into the EPAAarchitecture via the procurement of RIM-161(undesignated) SM-3 Block-IIB SAMs.However, the procurement and develop-ment of this weapon has now been cancelledand instead the United States will purchaseadditional GBMD interceptors for deploy-ment at Fort Greely, Alaska (see above). Thiswill increase the number of interceptorsdeployed at the base from 30 to 44.

The US Army is currently equippingwith Lockheed Martin’s TerminalHigh Altitude Air Defence surface-to-air missile system. This willprovide theatre-level ballisticmissile defence, and has also beenacquired by the United ArabEmirates and Oman © US DoD



Patriot and THAADWhile the EPAA and GBMD (see above) bothprovide a strategic-level defence against bal-listic missile attack, investment is flowinginto deployable capabilities which can pro-vide protection at the theatre level, mostnotably via the Raytheon MIM-104F PAC-3and Lockheed Martin THAAD programmes.

The MIL-104F PAC-3 configuration ofPatriot includes command and control soft-ware enabling improved tactical ballisticmissile search and engagement compared tolegacy MIM-104 variants. Moreover, theMIM-104F has a new missile in the form ofthe PAC-3 round; four of which can behoused in a single legacy MIM-104F launchbox. Four boxes are mounted on each Patriotlauncher giving a total complement of 16PAC-3s. These missiles are outfitted with aKa-band active radar seeker which enhancesthe missile’s reaction time during the endgame and enables it to perform a highlyaccurate interception of a ballistic missile tar-get, via the specific destruction of the target’swarhead. To this end, a number of engage-ment options exist on the missile including ahit-to-kill mode, or the employment of alethality enhancer which projects a stream ofsteel fragments into the path of an incomingmissile. On 11th June 2013, PAC-3MSE(Missile Segment Enhancement) rounds suc-cessfully intercepted and destroyed a tacticalballistic missile target with a second missiledestroying a representative BQM-74 cruisemissile at White Sands Missile Range, NewMexico. The MSE enhancement is currentlyin the developmental stage and focuses on anew design of fin, and an enhanced rocketmotor for the PAC-3 missile.

The THAAD system has a range of circa108nm (200km) and, like the PAC-3 (seeabove), employs a hit-to-kill interceptor toeffect the ballistic missile’s destruction. TheAN/TPY-2 (see above) provides targetdetection and fire control giving THAAD acapability against short-, medium- andintermediate-range ballistic missiles. In theshort term, a third THAAD battery isplanned for activation at Fort Bliss, Texas.So far, two batteries are active with the USArmy’s 4th Air Defence Artillery Regiment,11th Air Defence Artillery Brigade, and theservice’s 2nd Air Defence ArtilleryRegiment. Beyond the United States, sales of

Raytheon’s MIM-104 Patriot series ofmedium-to-high altitude surface-to-airmissiles is receiving a majorenhancement via the PAC-3 (PatriotAdvanced Capability-3) initiative whichupdates the missile system with a newround considered highly capableagainst ballistic missiles. © US DoD



THAAD have been concluded to the UnitedArab Emirates and Oman; the latter acquisi-tion being announced on 27th May 2013.Both countries are in close proximity to Iranand hence that country’s clandestine ballis-tic missile programme, with the delivery ofTHAAD no doubt providing some impor-tant additional protection.

AegisThe last piece of the United States’ on-landand at-sea ballistic missile defence jigsaw isthe Aegis-BMD initiative. Essentially, thiscombines Lockheed Martin’s Aegis CMSwith Raytheon’s RIM-161 SM-3 family ofSAMs to create an at-sea BMD capabilitywhich can protect a naval task force, or pro-vide theatre-wide BMD coverage.

At the CMS level, Lockheed Martin hasdeveloped a series of enhancements to theAegis combat management system to pro-vide it with progressively increasing capabil-ities to intercept ballistic missiles. At present37 current and future US Navy ships have, orwill have, Aegis CMSs able to perform BMD.Four standards of BMD enhancement for theAegis CMS are in service or development.The most numerous Aegis-BMD configura-tion in use by the USNavy today is the BMD-3.6.1 standard. This outfits 25 ‘Arleigh Burke’and ‘Ticonderoga’ class vessels (two of thelatter, and 23 of the former). The BMD-3.6.1standard enables these ships to deploy RIM-161B SM-3 Block-IA SAMs which have a sin-gle-colour infra-red seeker and a solid divertattitude control system. This allows theseships to perform the exo-atmospheric inter-ception of short- and medium-range ballistic

missiles, along with some intermediate-rangethreats. ICBM targets can be tracked by theBMD-3.6.1 standard architecture, and target-ing information shared with other users.

The BMD-4.0.1 standard is in serviceonboard a single US Navy vessel, the‘Ticonderoga’ class cruiser USS Shiloh. Itadds a Ballistic missile Signal Processor (BSP)to the BMD-3.6.1 architecture and the abilityto deploy the RIM-161C SM-3 Block-IB mis-sile (see above). Four vessels, meanwhile,have the BMD-4.0.2 enhancement which cor-rects some of the technical issues discoveredduring interception tests performed using the

BMD-4.0.1 standard, but continues to use theRIM-161B SM-3 Block-IA SAM.

The latest version of the Aegis BMDarchitecture is the BMD-5.0 standard. Eitherthis configuration, or the BMD-4.0.2 archi-tecture, is earmarked for the forthcomingseven ‘Arleigh Burke’ class destroyers thatthe US Navy has under construction. BMD-5.0 will fully integrate the BMD architectureinto the overall Aegis CMS as opposed torunning the system using separate hard-ware. It will also configure ships with thissoftware standard to deploy Raytheon RIM-

156A SM-2ER Block-IV and RIM-141 SM-6Extended Range Active Missiles for theendo-atmospheric engagement of ballisticmissiles. Furthermore, the BMD-5.0 stan-dard is expected to equip the EPAA bases inPoland and Romania (see above).

The United States’ BMD efforts haveearned their fair share of criticism in recentyears. Opponents of these various schemes,particularly the strategic-level initiatives,argue that they will destabilize the nuclearbalance between the United States andRussia by enabling the US to neutralize aRussian missile attack, or to launch a similarattack on Russia under a protective BMDumbrella. Other detractors point to the highcost of these systems, arguing that themoney could be better spent fighting terror-ism in Afghanistan, for example.

However, Washington’s BMD efforts werearguably never intended to destroy largeICBM attacks, although as noted above, somesystems will have a residual anti-ICBM capa-bility. Instead, they are intended to destroysmall salvoes of shorter-range weapons of thetype that could be employed by North Koreaor Iran. At the financial level, some support-ers have argued that these BMD efforts areakin to an ‘insurance policy’ by which themoney spent, and the systems deployed, areintended to dissuade an adversary from everperforming such an attack.


Washington’s BMDefforts were never

intended to destroylarge ICBM attacks,

although some systemswill have a residual

anti-ICBM capability

At the heart of Lockheed Martin’s Terminal HighAltitude Air Defence system is the AN/TPY-2 X-band radar. This system has been deployed in itsown right to provide ballistic missile surveillancein Turkey and Israel © Lockheed Martin


M O D E R N I S A T I O NSSOOLLDD II EERR

MILITARYHEALTH

INSURANCE

All complex military hardware,vehicles and weapons in particular,have built-in health and usagemonitoring sensors. For the mostpart such capabilities are missingfrom the most capable, flexibleand complex battlefield asset ofthem all; the soldier.

bbyy Peter Donaldson

A soldier lies exhausted duringmarksmanship training in 100°Fheat on a firing range in Iraq.Heatstroke can be fatal so wearablesensors that monitor temperaturehave a high priority © US DoD


31l AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 l


Efforts to remedy this situation aregathering pace internationally,gaining leverage from miniaturebiometric sensors that can be inte-grated into advanced combat

clothing and linked to smart devices and tac-tical communication systems. Besides earlydetection of wounds, biosensors promise toprovide timely warnings when soldiers areapproaching physiological limits such asexhaustion or heat stress, dangers thrown intosharp relief by the July deaths of threereservists undergoing selection for the BritishArmy’s Special Air Service (SAS) duringunusually hot weather in the Brecon Beacons,Wales. While the causes of these soldiers’deaths had not been ascertained at the time ofwriting, the combination of intense physicalexercise and high temperatures is likely to beat the centre of the investigation. Increasingsocial and legal pressure to recognise asoldier’s right to life in training and even

in combat is a potent drivingfactor behind research into

biosensor technology.

Sensing exhaustionThe first human tests have been carried out ofa biosensor able to provide warning of whensomeone – athlete or soldier – is about to col-lapse or ‘hit the wall’ from extreme physicaleffort, according to a July report (seeElectromechanical Tattoo Biosensors forReal-Time Noninvasive Lactate Monitoringin Human Perspiration, Journal of theAmerican Chemical Society (ACS)). Thereport describes the work of a team led byJoseph Wang at the Department ofNanoengineering at the University ofCalifornia San Diego in La Jolla. Applied tothe skin like a temporary tattoo, the biosensorsamples sweat and accurately measures lev-els of lactate, which is a form of lactic acid.

“Lactate forms when muscles need moreenergy than the body can supply from theaerobic respiration that suffices during mildexercise”, according to the article. “The bodyshifts to anaerobic metabolism, producing lac-tic acid and lactate. That helps for a while, butlactate builds up in the body, causing extremefatigue and the infamous ‘bonking out’,where an athlete just cannot continue.Current methods of measuring lactate arecumbersome, require blood samples or do notgive instant results,” it continues.

Tests on ten volunteers reportedlydemonstrated the ‘tattoo’ sensor’s ability toaccurately measure lactate levels in sweat

during exercise. “Such skin-wornmetabolite biosensors could lead to use-ful insights into physical performanceand overall physiological status,

hence offering considerable prom-ise for diverse sport, military, andbiomedical applications”, accord-ing to the study.

Understanding blast While physical exhaustion and envi-

ronmental stresses are constant dan-gers in training and operations, injuries

from survivable Improvised ExplosiveDevice (IED) blasts and their long-term

effects remain a major issue in counter

The Headborne Energy Analysis and DiagnosticSystem measures linear and rotationalaccelerations experienced by the soldier’s headin blasts to provide information for treatment ofTraumatic Brain Injury (TBI) © BAE Systems

insurgency operations, and mitigating theirlegacy for soldiers and society looks set to beimportant for decades to come. As well asobvious major trauma such as loss of limbs,blast has more subtle effects that in somecases can take time to show up in soldierswho have been exposed to it. Better under-standing leading to better treatment of theless obvious blast injuries is the goal of theUS Army Rapid Equipping Force’sIntegrated Blast Effect Sensor Suite (IBESS)which the service approached Georgia TechResearch Institute (GTRI) in 2011 to develop.IBESS is part of a US Department of Defence(DoD) Information Analysis Center (IAC)programme to measure the physical envi-ronment of an explosion and collect data tocorrelate what the soldier experienced withlong-term medical outcomes, TraumaticBrain Injury (TBI) in particular.

“At GTRI we are developing an integrat-ed system that is intended to help collectdata relevant to traumatic events that sol-diers are experiencing in Afghanistan”, saysDouglas Woods, GTRI’s IBESS program

manager. “Primarily it is intended to cap-ture data from blast events that soldiers arebeing exposed to.”

IBESS consists of a systemworn by the sol-dier that works with a vehicle sensor suite.The soldier worn part features a data recorderlinked to four pressure sensors attached toshoulder straps that place two of them on thechest and two on the back. This positioningadds directional information to the sensors’shock wave and overpressure measurements.To minimise power consumption, the systemremains in sleepmode until pressure or shockwaves cross a threshold and switch therecorder on. The recorder time stamps blastevents using time signals from aGPS receiver.The vehicle system not only records blastevents that affect the vehicle, it automaticallycollects any data recorded by the soldier sys-

tem, using Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) technology to activate a Bluetooth linkto download any data the soldier system has.

Rapid progress has been a hallmark ofthe IBESS programme; following contractsignature in July of 2011, researchers hadcompleted preliminary designs bySeptember and testing and refinement wasunder way by early 2012. August 2012 sawthe first overseas shipments and by April ofthis year IBESS had been issued to morethan 650 troops. It is scheduled for fitment to42 vehicles in Afghanistan. “We know peo-ple are coming back with these injuriescalled mild traumatic brain injury. It was thefirst system of its type to record any of thedata relevant to the environment that thosesoldiers were exposed to that we think pro-duces those injuries”, says Mr Woods.

“What we don’t really have is informa-tion about how a soldier was injured”, addsDr. Shean Phelps GTRI technical director,health systems. “We don’t really know, inan underbelly blast, all the pieces of the puz-zle. So getting this type of informationallows us to build a more complete picture.You can also take that information to informthe physician or the medical team to say that


IBESS is worn bythe soldier. It works

with a vehicle sensorand has a data

recorder linked to fourpressure sensors

Optical sensing of blood chemistry is an evolvingtechnology that can be applied to wearablesensors and handheld monitors based on smartphones © Worcester Polytechnic Institute


this person was in this type of event, weexpect these types of injuries and start look-ing for them.” IBESS’ open architecture willenable it to form the heart of a system thatincludes other sensors to measure, for exam-ple, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen andhydration levels, body temperature andEKG activity, says GTRI.

Continuing development work is goinginto a structured database and tools toanalyse the information in it and into sen-sors that fit into communications headsetear cups. These sensors are designed tomeasure linear and rotational accelerationsin six axes and, following tests, are plannedfor issue to 200 Army Rangers.

HEADS upThis kind of research and development is

also going on within industry, with meas-urement and recording of accelerations ofthe head that can lead to TBI being the pur-pose of BAE Systems’ Headborne EnergyAnalysis and Diagnostic System (HEADS).The light, slim sensor system fits unobtru-sively inside the top of the AdvancedCombat Helmet (ACH). Around 40,000 ofwhich had been delivered to the US Armyby the time of the 2013 Brain InjuryAwareness Day held on 13th March 2013 inWashington DC. “It is an ideal locationbecause the soldiers, whenever they go outinto combat, they have the helmet on, theydon’t always wear headsets or skull caps”,said Scott Hartley, Protection Systems, BAESystems Support Solutions, at the event.“What we are measuring is linear and rota-tional acceleration in all three axes. So weare taking six channels of information. Weadded a seventh channel, which is for pres-sure data because we have an embeddedpressure sensor. Also there is a time stampassociated with it, so it tells you exactly atwhat time the event occurred.”


A soldier takes a drink from a comrade’sCamelbak. Light based sensors have shownthat they can measure reductions in bloodvolume and may be capable of detectingdehydration © US DoD

As with the IBESS sensors, HEADS onlyrecords data that exceeds a predeterminedthreshold. After such an event, an LED lightsup to warn the soldier and his or her com-rades of a potential head injury. Data canthen be downloaded via a USB port or awireless connection when interrogated viaantennas at a forward operating base, forexample. These antennas can interrogate allthe HEADS units within range to identifyany soldier who may have been affected byan explosion. “Once you understand whatthe forces are, you can start developing bet-ter equipment or solutions”, Mr. Hartleycontinues. “One of the things that BAESystems does is make helmets, so under-standing those forces that are being trans-mitted to the head will, in theory, allow us todevelop better protective measures for the

head.” The HEADS product was first fieldedin 2008, and BAE Systems is currently devel-oping the HEADS Generation-II version.

TBI markers in bloodPortable diagnostic tools could supplementthis kind of system in the near future. InSingapore, for example, the Institute ofMicroelectronics (IME), which is part of theAgency for Science, Technology andResearch (A*STAR), is workingwith US com-pany SFC Fluidics on a sensor that can detectup to three biomarkers associated with TBI ina drop of blood. A*STAR describes the pro-posed tool as a fully-integrated, automateddevice that will display its readings on aneasy-to-read screen with an indicator to alerta caregiver to the severity of the injury. “Thiscollaboration exemplifies the extension of

“More-than-Moore” technologies to health-care. Building on our core capabilities in sili-con-based microfluidics and biosensor tech-nology, we can help our partner create inno-vative diagnostic tools to improve TBI treat-ment,” said Prof. Dim-Lee Kwong, ExecutiveDirector of IME, speaking when the projectwas announced in November 2012.

Blood loss warningEfforts are also being made in the early andautomatic identification of blood loss withthe use of wearable biosensors. August 2012saw the announcement of a three-yearresearch and development programme at theUS Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)into miniaturised wireless sensors able tosimultaneously measure seven physiologicalparameters, including early detection of



blood loss, and contribute to saving the livesof wounded soldiers. WPI is conducting theUS Army funded effort in collaboration withthe University of Massachusetts MedicalSchool (UMMS). Dr. Ki Chon, professor andhead of WPI's Biomedical EngineeringDepartment, and Dr. Yitzhak Mendelson,associate professor of biomedical engineer-ing, are leading the project. Dr Mendelson’steam will develop the wearable sensordevices while Dr Chon’s laboratory willwork on signal processing algorithms andalso on adapting the technologies for smartphones that medics can use as handhelddiagnostic tools.

The new sensors will use a much moresophisticated version of the technology usedin today’s pulse oximeters that clip on to apatient’s finger to measure blood oxygen

levels. They will shine infrared and visiblelight through the skin and detect how dif-ferent wavelengths are absorbed by arterialblood and use the signal processing algo-rithms to correlate subtle shifts in the spec-tra to a wide range of physiological parame-ters, says official information released byWPI. The smartphone diagnostic tool willuse the device’s video camera to provide the

light source and record the reflections.This effort is building on previous work

by Dr. Chon and Dr. Mendelson that devel-oped wireless sensors and algorithms thatsuccessfully measured heart rate, heartrhythm, respiration rate, skin perfusion(delivery of blood to capillaries) and bloodoxygen saturation, the information contin-ues. Such light-based sensors have demon-strated the ability to detect early signs ofreducing blood volume and may be able todetect dehydration in patients and soldiersnot suffering blood loss.

The sensor system will also featureembedded accelerometers to measure bodymovement and posture. This is importantbecause maintaining accurate measure-ments in the face of signal degrading noisecaused by body movement is among thetoughest challenges in sensor development.“This is not a trivial matter, so we hope thatour strategies will work to overcome thisnoise,” Dr. Mendelson says. “Unless we canprove that the information is consistentlyaccurate and reliable, medics and traumaphysicians won’t trust or use the device.”UMMS will evaluate both sets of technolo-gies in an observational study of traumapatients directed by Dr. Chad Darling, assis-tant professor of emergency medicine, andDr. David McManus, assistant professor ofmedicine at the medical school.

“This is a very exciting program, andwe're pleased to be able to work with theWPI team, Dr. Darling of UMMS said. “Themajority of trauma victims we see have ablunt-force injury, with no visible signs ofbleeding. So we are always concerned aboutinternal bleeding, and typically order a CT(Computed Tomography) scan to see what'shappening inside. An early-detection sys-tem for internal bleeding would be helpful,and certainly would be very important forfirst-responders in the field.”

Integrating this kind of sensing capabili-ty into soldier systems looks set to be anincreasingly important theme in soldiermodernisation programmes.


The new sensors willuse a much more sophi-sticated technology thantoday’s pulse oximeters

that clip on to a patient’sfinger to measure

blood oxygen levels

Physical training has to push soldiers hard;working out just how hard to push them or toallow them to push themselves has always beendifficult. Wearable biomedical sensors promisevaluable supporting data © US DoD


OFFSHOREINVESTMENTS

36

In assessing the region’s capabilities in theCorvette/Offshore Patrol Vessel (C/OPV) market themost important question is what is the differencebetween these two platforms, and what makes thesetwo diverse vessel types exceptional?

bbyy Ted Hooten

The Royal Malaysian Navy's KDKedah blurs the line between OPVand corvette. Officially an OPV theships have interfaces for advancedweapons and are to receive anti-ship missiles © BAE Systems

A N D O P V SCCOORRVVEETTTTEESS



The question can best be under-stood by looking at Malaysia. Tomeet its New Generation Patrolvessel (NGPV) requirement theRoyal Malaysian Navy selected

the Blohm & Voss MEKO 100 design as the‘Kedah’ class. They seem to be OPVs at firstsight for their armament consists of a 76mm(three-inch) gun and a 30mm (one inch) gunbut they feature a sophisticated combat man-agement system, an electro-optical director,a chaff launcher and are equipped to operatesurface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-airmissiles and an electronic warfare suite.These are not installed but it was recentlyrevealed that Kuala Lumpur now intendsadding anti-ship missile systems to them.They are rated in the naval bible, Jane’sFighting Ships as corvettes and will be joinedby DCNS ‘Gowind’ class ships ordered lastyear from France’s DCNS with the firstexample to be delivered in 2017. The French

Navy operates one as an OPV but the designcan be used as a corvette and Malaysiaintends operating them in this role.OPV-type platforms can be used as

corvettes for both are generally around the1,000-2,000 tonne mark but the OPV is morea law-enforcement platform. It is designed toprotect a nation’s resources within theExclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) extendingsome 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres)from shore and also to assert national sover-eignty and law while providing a search andrescue as well as an environmental protec-tion capability with some having a hydro-graphic survey capability. Compared with acorvette it tends to be slower but with high-er endurance often operating a helicopterwhile some have sophisticated commandand communications systems to interactwith foreign agencies, but they are generallyarmed with nothing larger than a 76mm gun.The corvette is a surface combatant usuallyoptimised for Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW)and featuring surface-to-surface missiles andconsequently it has more sophisticated sen-sors than the OPV with higher speeds forrapid transit or manoeuvres.The largest OPV operators in Asia are

China, India and Japan, which have tosecure green or blue water interests, while anumber of countries such as Indonesia relyon their surface combatants in the offshorerole. This can sometimes ratchet up tensionin times of crisis, such as the recent con-frontation off Borneo between Malaysia andIndonesia, while the OPV acts as a lessthreatening platform.

ChinaMost of China’s OPVs are operated byChina Maritime Surveillance (CMS) which

continues to be expanded and is scheduled toreceive another 36 hulls of various sizes. Boththe Indian Navy and Coast Guard operateOPVs, the former operating a fleet of six ves-sels and the latter having about a score ofhulls from 1,200 to 2,200 tons and due toreceive half-a-dozen Advanced OffshorePatrol Vessels with a displacement of 2,230tons. There has been a considerable degree ofcross-pollination between the services in OPVdesign and the navy’s latest requirement forNaval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPV), the2,215-ton ‘Saryu’ class, whose first-of-classwas commissioned in December 2012, isbased on the Coast Guard’s ‘Sankalp’ class.

JapanJapan’s Coast Guard has some 50 OPVs,including the biggest in Asia in the two 5,204-ton ‘Mizuho’ class. Following clashes withthe CMS off the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands lastyear Tokyo is expanding its Coast Guard andwill purchase four 1,000-ton OPVs by the endof 2014. Neighbouring South Korea has aCoast Guard which operates four OPVs ofsome 1,200-tons and is receiving a small

expansion of some five vessels from theHyundai yard including a 3,000-tonne OPV.

South East AsiaWithin South East Asia Brunei has three 80-metre (24-feet) ‘Darussalam’ class OPVs, theMalaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency(MMEA) has two ‘Langkawi’ class OPVs, thePhilippines Navy operates three ‘Jacinto’class ‘corvettes’, which are actually OPVs,and has acquired two former US CoastGuard ‘Hamilton’ class High EnduranceCutters, and may acquire a third to meet along-standing requirement for three OPVs. Itis now considering installing anti-ship mis-siles in these vessels to make them fullcorvettes. Thailand has requirements for fiveOPVs of which four would be sophisticatedcraft, reportedly having the same design asOPVs built for Trinidad and Tobago but sold

the Brazil, while one will be amore basic ves-sel. It operates two ‘Pattani’ class ‘corvettes’which are also actually OPVs.

Indian OceanAround the Indian Ocean Burma operatesthree ‘sheep in wolves’ clothing,‘Anawrahta’ class ‘corvettes’ which are actu-ally OPVs, while Bangladesh acquired twoformer Royal Navy ‘Castle’ class OPVs andthe ‘Hamilton’ class cutter USCG Dallas butthere is a requirement for three more OPVs.The cutter will be upgraded to a corvettewith a combat system, anti-submarine tor-pedoes and anti-ship missiles. Sri Lankaoperates a number of former Indian and USCoast Guard OPVs but might well expandthe force. In the Pacific, New Zealandacquired two ‘Protector’ class OPVs whichare unusual because they have ice-strength-ened bows to operate in Antarctica.Australia has a plan, Project Sea 1180 for a2,000-tonne Offshore Combat Vessel (OCV)which would meet a variety of roles includ-ing acting as an OPV. This $3.1 billion pro-gramme is unlikely to be implemented untilthe first half of the next decade.

The demand for true corvettes hasgrown steadily in the past couple ofdecades replacing requirements for Fast

An artist’s impression of the Gowind 170 whichwill form the basis of the Royal Malaysian Navy’scorvette-type Littoral Combat Ship © DCNS

Japan’s CoastGuard has some 50

offshore patrolvessels, including the

biggest in Asiain the two 5,204ton

‘Mizuho’ class



Attack Craft (FAC). FACs are small plat-forms especially vulnerable to air attackbecause their surveillance radar antenna isrelatively low reducing the search area andcounter-measures reaction times, they can-not mount a significant air defence systemwhich makes them vulnerable even to heli-copter stand-off attack and their lack ofcompartments means a bomb or missilestrike can inflict catastrophic damage. Thecorvette overcomes most of these problemsmaking them a useful surface combatantwith superior radar search area, more com-partments and the introduction of damagecontrol while bringing the prospect of bet-ter air defence protection. It is also a moreversatile platform for it can be used forAnti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) throughthe installation of sonars and lightweighttorpedo launchers.

IndonesiaIt should be noted that not all corvettes havesurface-to-surface missiles, and Indonesia’sformer East German ‘Parchim Is’, or ‘KapitanPattimura’ class, are unusual in being dedicat-ed ASW platforms with hull-mounted sonar,augmented in some ships by variable depthsensors, armed with both anti-submarine tor-pedoes and mortars. Indonesia augmentsthese 16 ships with seven Dutch-built vessels;three 30-year-old ‘Fatahillahs’, which also fea-ture a strongASW suite, and themostmodernDamen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS)‘Diponegoro’ class which are one of Damen’sSigma family (Sigma 9113), with their shapedhulls to reduce the radar cross section.The Sigmas form the keel of a new fami-

ly of corvettes (also designated ‘lightfrigates’) to meet the Guided Missile Escort(Perusak Kawal Rudal) 105 requirement

which are being designed by DSNS and thedomestic yard PT PAL under an August2010 agreement. Based upon the Sigma10514, these 2,400-tonne vessels will be opti-mised for ASW with the first of two sched-uled to be laid down this year and to enterservice in 2016 but it is unclear how manyare required. Priority may have been givento a requirement for three submarines withwork starting next year.

MalaysiaNeighbouring Malaysia’s requirements havebeen mentioned earlier and it should be


The BAE Systems’ built Amazonas, acquired forBrazil, is typical of modern OPVs and includes asophisticateed command system which canexchange data with other law enforcementagenecies © BAE Systems


noted that the Royal Malaysian Navy alsooperates six corvettes; four former Iraqi‘Assads’ (as the ‘Laksamana’ class) and twoGerman-built ‘Kasturis’, while Singaporehas six ‘Victory’ class ships based upon theLürssen MGB 62 design but with an excep-tionally high mast for its search radar.Nearby Thailand operates seven corvettes ofwhich the five ‘Khamronsin’ and ‘Tapi’ classare ASW vessels. There is no requirement fornew vessels with Bangkokmore interested inacquiring frigates and upgrading its vessels.

VietnamBy contrast Vietnam is expanding its corvette

fleet steadily from the original four ‘Tarantul’(‘Project 1241E’) class, with an ASW capabili-ty, and two domestically-built ‘ImprovedPauks’ (‘Project 12418’) and is acquiring up toten ‘Improved Tarantuls’ (‘Project 1241.8’) allof which are pure ASuW vessels. In 2011DSNS revealed they were discussing the saleof four ‘Sigma 10514s’ to Vietnam, of whichtwo would be built domestically Vietnam isalso acquiring Russian-built frigates, two ofwhich have been delivered, reflecting thepreference of some Asian navies for larger,multi-role platforms capable of projectingpower in ‘blue water’ environments. SouthKorea, for example, which operates 23 ‘PoHang’ class ASuW/ASW corvettes willreplace them with the ‘FF-X’ frigates and the‘Gumdoksuri’ class fast attack craft forcoastal operations in offshore islands, with

the first FF-X ship having been delivered in2012. By contrast Japan has never been inter-ested in corvettes.

TaiwanHowever, both China and Taiwan wantlarge surface combatants and corvettes. Lastyear China’s first two ‘Jiangdao’ (‘Type056’) class corvettes were launched and willjoin the fleet this year. They were revealedto be modern vessels similar to the‘Diponegoro’ class with shaped hulls, but at1,440-tonnes (compared with 1,692 tonnes)they are slightly smaller. They are reported-ly to replace the 40-year-old ‘Jianghu I/I’(‘Type 053H/H1’) class frigates and the‘Houxin/Houjian’ (‘Type 037 1G/2’) fastattack craft/patrol craft. These ships arebeing built by the Hudong-Zhonghua and

The launch of Thailand’s new OPV HTMSKrabi at Mahidol Royal Dockyard in December2011 © BAE Systems



Huangpu yards, who also built the‘Jianghus’ and it is reported that ten are atvarious stages of construction with at leasttwo more on order.

Taiwan, which has previously relied upona combination of major surface combatantsand fast attack craft, has its own corvette pro-gramme as ‘Hsun Hai’ (‘Swift Sea’). Revealedin April 2012 the programme envisages‘stealthy’ corvettes of 900-1,000 tonnes withsupersonic surface-to-surface missiles whichare reportedly to be introduced to combat theChina’s new aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. Itwill be a domestically-designed and pro-duced vessel with some ASW capability, pos-sibly incorporating weapon and sensor sys-tems from the Taiwanese Navy’s decommis-sioned ‘Gearing’ class destroyers, its current‘Knox’ class frigates and ‘Jin Chiang’ classfast attack craft. The requirement is for adozen vessels with deliveries beginning nextyear. It is expected that they will be con-structed by Lung The Shipbuilding.

IndiaThere is interest in corvettes around theIndian Ocean. The Indian Navy itself hasoperated corvettes since the 1960s and orig-inally relied upon Russian designs current-ly using four ‘Abhay’ (‘Modified Pauk II’)ASW ships, which may be re-engined, andtwelve ‘Tarantul I’ or ‘Veer’ class ASuWships. The first indigenous ships were the‘Khukris’ (‘Project 25’) which were planned

as ASW vessels but were built as ASuWplatforms, their only ASW capability beingin the helicopter for which there is a deck,and the same applies to the improved ver-sions of the ‘Kora’ (‘Project 25A’) class, themost significant difference being thereplacement of first generation SS-N-2‘Styx’ surface-to-surface missiles with SS-N-25 ‘Switchblade’.

The latest Indian corvettes are the ‘Project28’ ships of the ‘Kamorta’ class. Like allIndian corvettes they are intended fordeployment in offshore waters but these aremulti-role vessels which incorporate ‘stealth’technology. They also possess a considerableASW capability with hull-mounted andtowed array sonars, helicopter torpedo-launchers and mortars as well as a usefulAnti-Air Warfare (AAW) capability throughtheir local-area defence Barak 8 surface-to-airmissiles. However, construction of theseships has been unusually protracted with thefirst-of-class laid down in 2006 but notscheduled for commissioning until the third

quarter of 2013. Four ships are currently onorder, with the last to be delivered in 2016,and the difficulties and delays encounteredin producing this class must put at risk NewDelhi’s plans for twelve ships but these maybe overtaken by plans for ‘Project 28A’ classships which might involve a trimaran hull.

PakistanNeighbouring Pakistan prefers its surfacefleet to consist of a mixture of frigates andfast attack craft while Sri Lanka focusesupon OPVs. However, Bangladesh hasincorporated requirements for corvettes inthe ambitious defence procurement plan itpublished in February 2009. Two small, 600tonne, corvettes or patrol craft are in theplan but China’s separate tender for twocorvettes has been accepted and Dhaka isconsidering a long term plan to order fourmore corvettes from Turkey.

The choice of corvettes and/or OPVs byAsian navies will clearly be shaped by a raftof factors including cost, theatre of opera-tions and the need to have dedicated craftfor the small surface combatant role. It isclear, however, that these vessels will con-tinue to be found in Asian naval inventorieswell into the decade.


The choice ofcorvettes and/or OPVs

by Asian navies willclearly be shaped by a

raft of factorsincluding cost and

theatre of operations

The DSNS Sigma design has been acquiredby Indonesia as the Diponegoro class and willbe the basis for the Indonesian Navy’s newcorvettes © DSNS


Traditionally the military hasrelied on High Frequency (HF) 3-30 Megahertz (MHz) radio forBLOS communications. Theadvantage of HF compared to

Very High Frequency (VHF/30-300MHz)and Ultra high Frequency (300MHz to threegigahertz) communications, both of whichare limited to line-of-sight ranges, is its envi-able range made possible by the ability ofHF signals to skip across the upper reachesof the atmosphere to reach their destination.Yet HF has a major disadvantage for mili-tary users; chiefly its inability to be used forthe transmission and reception of significantquantities of data.

Six decades ago during the SecondWorldWar when HF communications began to beused en masse this was not so much of aconcern, but on today’s battlefield where theneed to transfer large quantities of imageryand written information, as well as voicetraffic, the narrow bandwidth offered by HFfor data transmission is a significant imped-iment. SATCOM, on the other hand, pro-vides a capability by which large packagesof data and voice communications can bemoved across global distances. In the pastmilitary SATCOM has primarily been usedto connect static headquarters in the fieldback to National Command Authorities(NCA) or to other fixed installations in theatre. Nonetheless, advances in miniaturiza-

tion are reducing the physical space neededby military communications systems andantenna technology which is in turn placinglightweight SATCOM terminals in thehands of the individual soldier both in theform of soldier-carried flyaway terminalsand vehicle-mounted equipment. Suchapparatus can use a range of dedicated SAT-COM frequencies including the L- (1-2GHz),X- (8-12GHz), Ku- (12-18GHz) and Ka-bands (26.5-40GHz).

L-3 CommunicationsAustralia is one country which is enhancingits mobile SATCOM capabilities. L-3Communications of the United States is

S A T C O MMMOOBBIILLEE

HEAVEN SENTSince the dawn of the space age, SatelliteCommunications (SATCOM) has providedBeyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) ranges forthe transfer of large quantities of voice anddata traffic. Increasingly SATCOM transmittersare being miniaturized, enabling troops andvehicles to stay in touch with other echelonsof command far away.



Satellite communications are now anindispensable part of contemporary militaryoperations. The United States WarfighterInformation Network-Tactical (WIN-T) isproviding mobile SATCOM to several echelonsof command © US DoD


supplying the Australian Defence Force(ADF) with Hawkeye-III Lite 1.2 metre(three feet) diameter Very Small ApertureTerminals (VSATs). Deliveries of these ter-minals will commence in 2014. Once inservice, they will carry X-, Ku- and Ka-bandtraffic with the Ku-band communicationsutilizing the United States Army’s StrategicCommand (ARSTRAT) network. As well asusing ARSTRAT, Australia is a partner inthe United States Air Force WidebandGlobal SATCOM initiative.

ThalesFrench defence electronics specialists Thalesare heavily involved in the world of militarySATCOM. Unsurprisingly, they have wonsignificant business in their home market, aswell as with other customers worldwide.The firm is currently performing work toextend Internet Protocol (IP) network archi-tecture to the ground component of theFrench armed forces joint SYRACUSE-3(Systeme de Radio Communications

Utilisant un Satellite-3/Satellite RadioCommunications-3) satellite constellation.SYRACUSE-3 provides SATCOM to

French users across the Extremely HighFrequency, X- and Ku-band frequencies. Thecurrent work that the company is undertak-ing is important as it adds an IP network toKa-band intra-theatre and theatre-to-NCAcommunications. Along with providingextra SATCOM capability to mobile plat-forms such as ships, these improvementscan be utilized for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAVs). SYRACUSE-3 works alongsideThales’s System-21 SATCOM terminalwhich can be used on-the-move and has thecapability to ‘remember’ the position of itssatellite in the heavens, should its gazebecome temporarily obscured by tall build-ings or natural features.The System-21 product is at the heart of a

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)initiative involving Thales which is enhanc-ing the Alliance’s Electronic ProtectionMeasure (EPM) secure SATCOM modem

system, known as the NATO-EMS (NATOEPMModem System). The NATO-EMS pro-vides a secure link between mobile andfixed SATCOM terminals and Thales is per-forming work to increase the quantity of

traffic which the NATO-EMS can handleand extending its bandwidth to enable moreusers to employ the NATO-EMS whenrequired. Thales is implementing a solutionbased upon the firms’ System-21 product

IsraelAlongside Thales, Israeli defence electron-ics specialists Elbit Systems is well-versedin the design and production of specialistSATCOM on-the-move terminals. The com-pany’s offerings include the ELSAT-2100

Thales is heavily involved in the provision ofmilitary satellite communications. The French-based company provides full SATCOM spacecraftpayloads as well as individual terminals © Thales


product which is terminal designed to out-fit wheeled and tracked vehicles. In 2012,Elbit announced that it had won a contractto equip an unnamed Latin Americancountry with the ELSAT-2100 product. Thisis not the only mobile SATCOM product inthe Elbit Systems stable. Other offeringsinclude the MSR-3000 tactical SATCOMproduct which provides tri-band (X, Kuand Ka) communications in a packageweighing a mere twelve kilograms (26lbs).The MSR-2000, meanwhile, has beendesigned as a vehicular SATCOM packageoperable with Elbit’s MSR-R and MSR-PROrugged broadband receivers.

United StatesA quiet revolution is ongoing in the UnitedStates regarding tactical conventional radiocommunications used by its armed forceswhich has witnessed the restructuring of the

erstwhile the former Joint Tactical RadioSystem (JTRS) programme. Similarly impor-tant work is being performed regardingSATCOM on-the-move. In June 2013, theSpace and Terrestrial CommunicationsDirectorate (STCD) belonging to the USArmy’s Communications ElectronicsResearch and Development EngineeringCentre (CERDEC) announced the com-mencement of development for an open sys-tems standard to facilitate the procurementof Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS)Distributed Aperture SATCOM (DAS)antennas to equip current and future classesof US Army vehicles.These antennas, as their name suggests,

will be distributed around a vehicle’s hull toprovide mobile SATCOM. Once the openstandard is developed, it could be applied tothe Distributed and Embedded StandardSATCOM On-The-Move TerminalArchitecture (DESSTA), itself part of the USArmy’s Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) which is providing mobilevoice and data BLOS communications to USArmy vehicle platforms. The goal of the DAS

open architecture initiative is to develop stan-dards which will enable the utilization ofCOTS antennas and equipment to beinstalled with ease on vehicles to provide X-,Ku- and Ka-band mobile SATCOM. Thisdevelopment will enable vehicle mobile SAT-COM terminal manufacturers to developproducts which can adopt these open stan-dards and thus be easily installed.Looking towards WIN-T several devel-

opments have been witnessed over the pastyear. In September 2012, SATCOM special-ists L3 Linkabit announced that it had suc-cessfully tested its RMPM-1000 modemusing an Over-The-Air (OTA) multiband,multi-beam configuration across the UnitedStates Air Force’s WGS-3 (Wideband GlobalSATCOM-3) satellite. This satellite formspart of the planned seven-spacecraft WGSSATCOM constellation being funded by theUnited States and Australian Departmentsof Defence. The test was performed usingthe Network Centric Waveform (NCW)which forms part of Increment-1 of WIN-Tto provide dynamic SATCOM at optimizedbandwidths. WIN-T Increment-1 enables


General Dynamics’ Warrior product line providesa number of military SATCOM products. The firmis a leader in the field of military satellitecommunications, much as it is in the conventionaltactical communications domain © US DoD


networking at-the-halt at the operational,core, division, brigade and battalion levels.NCW also forms part of the United StatesMarine Corps (USMC) Network-On-The-Move (NOTM) mobile command and con-trol system.The demonstration performed by L3

Linkabit highlighted the ability of theRPRM-1000 modem to provide a linkbetween a fixed X-band hub and two Ka-band mobile SATCOM terminals. Beyondthe RPRM-1000 modems, L3 Linkabit pro-vides the AN/USC-66 KaSAT Ka-bandlong-range SATCOM terminal for the WGSarchitecture. The AN/USC-66 is trans-portable in four flight cases and is quick tobuild and disassemble.The WGS initiative will replace the exist-

ing Defense Satellite CommunicationsSystem-III (DSCS-III) constellation, the lastof the 14 spacecraft which constitute theDSCS-III network entered service in 2003.WGS offers a major enhancement vis-à-visthe quantity of SATCOM traffic that it canhandle. This includes 4.8GHz of instanta-neous bandwidth; a ten-fold improvementon that offered by the DSCS-III. As a meansof comparison, the first WGS spacecraft,USA-195, offers 2.5GHz of bandwidth;already more than all of the DSCS-III space-

craft combined. Four of the WGS satellitesare operational and the constellation couldeventually include seven birds.Other important milestones for the WGS

programme were reached in 2012 includingBoeing’s demonstration of its Ka-band SOTMterminal. The demonstration saw these termi-nals used to carry voice, data and imagerytraffic between three locations in theContinental United States and Australia. Theterminals carried the traffic which wasrelayed from AM General High MobilityMultipurposeWheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs)equipped with cameras connected to vehicu-lar radios which also carried the data andvoice traffic. The significance of this experi-ment was that it underlined the ability ofvehicles to handle SATCOM traffic acrossintercontinental ranges.

Work is ongoing in the US Army to aug-ment existing, conventional tactical radiosystems with SATCOM capabilities. InJanuary 2013, General Dynamics was award-ed a $5 million contract to supply upgradekits to enable the force’s AN/PRC-155 multi-band manpack transceivers to access theforce’s Mobile User Objective System(MUOS). The MUOS satellite constellationwill provide narrowband SATCOM at amaximum rate of 64 kilobits-per-second foruse by the United States and allied forces.The upgrade will be rolled out across up to100 AN/PRC-155 sets to facilitate voice anddata communications across the US Navy’sMUOS constellation. MUOS effectively pro-vides cell-phone style communications serv-ices for manpack, vehicular, ship-borne andairborne radios. In hardware terms, theupgrade adds a power amplifier along withthe necessary software to support the MUOSwaveform. The upgrade will be completedby the end of 2013.

Harris and ViaSatIn addition to the DoD initiatives discussedabove, a number of companies leaseSATCOM services to military customers.They include ViaSat, based in San Diego,California, which offer K-band and Ka-bandcommunications using its own spacecraft



The United States isoverhauling much of itsmilitary communicationsarchitecture. This includesthe replacement of theerstwhile Milstar satellitecommunicationsconstellation with theAdvanced Extremely HighFrequency SATCOM network© Lockheed Martin

Advances in miniaturi -zation are reducing thephysical space neededby military communi -

cations systemsplacing lightweight

SATCOM terminals inthe hands of the soldier

ITT Exelis’s GNOMAD provides global satellitecommunications on-the-move. This includesthe provision of Ku-band services in bothvehicular and soldier terminals with data ratesof two megabits-per-second © ITT Exelis

which provide coverage over NorthAmerica. Additional spacecraft are expectedto be launched by the company in the com-ing years which will extend the coverageoffered by ViaSat still further.

Like many commercial SATCOM leasinghouses ViaSat offers a suite of services rang-ing from straightforward communicationsairtime through to comprehensive end-to-end solutions in which the company willroll out an entire SATCOM network for itsclient including the provision of hardware.Along with providing commercial militarySATCOM services, ViaSat furnishes theUS armed forces with its AN/PSC-14Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN)SATCOM terminal which can be employedas either a manpack or vehicular systemproviding 422kbps data rates across asecure link via the International MaritimeSatellite, better known as INMARSAT.

Harris CapRock is another US-basedcompany offering SATCOM services to mil-itary users. Based in Fairfax, Virginia, thecompany can establish a comprehensiveSATCOM network via its CommandAccessservice. This can include the provision of

vehicle-mounted and soldier SATCOM ter-minals and end-to-end SATCOM servicescarrying traffic to and from the strategic totactical levels. This is done using SATCOMlinks which are fully secure conforming tomilitary standards. CommandAccess madeits debut in 2009 and, since then, has beenused by several NATO nations. The compa-ny is currently rolling out a new servicewhich will see the provision of UHF com-munications across BLOS ranges using SAT-COM. As noted above while UHF can han-dle large quantities of data, it has a line-of-sight reach. This not only restricts the abilityof UHF traffic to be carried over-the-horizon, but can create problems in urban orrugged terrain where buildings and moun-tains sometimes block transmissions. Theability to move UHF traffic across SATCOM

links is one way to avoid such challenges.Placing mobile SATCOM in the hands of

the individual soldier could herald impor-tant developments on the battlefield. At thepurely practical level, the ability to keep intouch with comrades and other echelons ofcommand regardless of physical obstaclessuch as buildings and mountain rangesenables troops to keep in touch irrespectiveof where they are. Tactically, the ability tomove large quantities of voice and data traf-fic contributes to that oft-repeated military

mantra ‘situational awareness’. Criticalinformation can be passed down to soldierson the frontline such as video gathered byUAV operators in another continent whichmay show that a high-value, wanted insur-gent is driving their car behind a hill in theirimmediate locale. In such a scenario, thiscapability may have a strategic effect too,not only alerting the troops to their nearbyquarry, but giving them the opportunity tocapture a known ‘ne’er do well’ and tochange the course of the conflict. Ultimately,information is power, and the more of thisthat can flow to and from soldiers, thestronger they will be.



Harris CapRock is one of several companieswhich offer a full suite of satellite com -munications services to military users. Thisenables such customers to contract these servicesas opposed to developing their own expensiveSATCOM capabilities © HarrisCapRock

ViaSat provides K-bandand Ka-band com muni -

cations coverageover North America.

Addi tional spacecraft areexpected to be launched

by the company whichwill extend coverage

The United Kingdom’s militarysatellite communicationsservices are being enhancedvia the Skynet-5 constellationwhich has its ground segmentbased in southern Englandand which provides SATCOMto fixed and mobileinstallations © Astrium


The government wants anall-professional force by theend of 2014, although manyobstacles will likely preventthis © Gordon Arthur

M I L I T A R YRREEGGIIOONNAALL

However,” Taiwan’s DefenceMinister Kao Hua-Chuwarned in the country’s 2013Quadrennial Defence Review,“to this day Mainland China

has never renounced the use of force againstTaiwan and its annual defence budgetgrowth has continuously increased at a dou-ble-digit rate.” Moreover, in November2012, Mainland China declared in its 2013White Paper it would continue “expandingand intensifying military preparedness” and“building strong national defence and pow-erful armed forces commensurate withChina’s international standing.”

The two countries maintain a warlikeposture. In September 2012, three retiredTaiwanese officers were arrested amidstfears they had passed information aboutTaiwan’s submarines and naval doctrine toBeijing. In the worst case of Chinese espi-onage in 50 years, authorities concededTaiwan’s Po Sheng air defence commandand control network could have been com-promised by Major General Lo Hsien-chebefore his arrest in 2011. William Stanton,Washington’s de facto ambassador to theRepublic of China (ROC) from 2009-12,conceded the success of Chinese espionageand the “potential loss of unknown quanti-

MADEIN TAIWAN

49

Although the Korean Peninsula has beengrabbing headlines in 2013, another simmeringtension exists between China and Taiwan.The re-election of President Ma Ying-jeou inJanuary 2012 could be seen as a votefor the status quo as ties between the twoChinese states gradually warm.

bbyy Gordon Arthur

l AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 l

A Dassault Mirage 2000-5Ei of the ROCAF taxis at Hsinchu Air Base. This is currently the mostcapable air defence aircraft in the air force © Gordon Arthur


ties of classified information...underminesUS confidence in security cooperationwith Taiwan.”

RestructuringChina’s defence budget, the world’s second-largest, eclipsed Taiwan’s 2013 spending ofUSD10.5 billion (2.1% of GDP). Furthermore,Taiwan expenditure has decreased annuallyunder President Ma. A US Congress-spon-sored report entitled ‘Taiwan’s DecliningDefense Spending Could Jeopardise MilitaryPreparedness’, published in June 2013,warned Taiwan’s “diminishing ability” tomaintain a credible deterrent capabilitycould provide “incentives and create oppor-tunities” for China, including military coer-cion. The report warned, “Taiwan could findit increasingly difficult to make progresstoward key modernisation goals, such aspreparing for a wider range of missions atgreater distances from Taiwan, and integrat-ing innovative and asymmetric capabilities.”

In 2004 the Republic of China (ROC)Armed Forces possessed 385,000 troops.This has already fallen to 270,000 and will

drop to 215,000 by the end of 2014 to pro-duce a “small but superb, small but strong,small but smart” force. The 2011-14 Jingtsuimodernisation programme is abolishingconscription, streamlining active-dutyforces and expanding reserves. Taiwanwants a wholly professional force by the endof 2014, but the military fell 4,000 short of itsgoal of 15,000 volunteers in 2012.Maintaining conscript levels is unfeasiblebecause of declining birth rates, but the vol-untarism plan is destined to fail unless thedefence budget jumps significantly.Voluntarism increases personnel costs, butthe decreasing budget prevents benefitpackages from significantly improving. Thecorollary is a lack of incentive for youngrecruits and retention difficulties. On 1stJanuary 2013 the original one-year conscrip-tion period changed to just four months ofcompulsory basic military training.

The previous six headquarters (Army,Navy, Air Force, Combined Logistics, Reserveand Military Police) are merging into justthree (Army, Navy and Air Force) as thecountry seeks a “Hard ROC” defence capabil-ity with seven policy objectives: 1. Buildingcredible capabilities; 2. Demonstratingdefence resolution; 3. Safeguarding regionalstability; 4. Strengthening intangible combatcapabilities; 5. Enhancing disaster prevention

and preparedness; 6. Promoting voluntarism;and 7. Improving welfare for personnel.

Chinese threatChina has the ability to defeat Taiwan, butthe question is at what cost? An amphibi-ous invasion would be bloody, plus Chinais hampered by inadequate sealift.Nevertheless, Taiwan takes this threat seri-ously and annual exercises practise coun-terattacking simulated landings. Taiwan’sfighters and Surface-to-Air Missiles(SAMs, including Raytheon MIM-23B I-Hawk, Raytheon Patriot PAC-2+ and PAC-3, CSIST Tien Kung II and III) would posea major risk to People’s Liberation ArmyAir Force (PLAAF) airstrikes. A navalblockade would be a lengthy undertakingand produce mounting global pressureagainst China.

Thus, a missile decapitation strike offersthe lowest risk to China, and this is why theSecond Artillery Force has 1,500 Short- andMedium-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM,MRBM) aimed at Taiwan. While such astrike would draw severe international crit-icism, China would have severely degradedTaiwan’s military response. For this reason,a credible missile defence capability mustbe a priority for the island. In February2012, medium- and long-range SAM units


Destined to replace the BAE Systems M113-basedtracked family, the indigenous CM32 “CloudLeopard” from the ORDC is an extremelyimportant vehicle for the ROCA © Gordon Arthur


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were consolidated within a new MissileCommand subordinated to the GeneralStaff Headquarters.To counter overwhelming Chinese mis-

sile barrages, Taiwan has invested in makingits forces mobile, strengthening command-and-control infrastructure, and hardeningunderground facilities. Another threat iscyber-warfare, with the head of the NationalSecurity Bureau (NSB) earlier this yearassessing the China threat as “very severe”.In the first half of 2012, hackers launchedmore than one million attacks on the NSB.

MissilesTaiwan would need to intercept a significantpercentage of Chinese missiles to pose amajor deterrence. Taiwan is presentlyacquiring four MIM-104F Patriot PAC-3(Patriot Advanced Capability-3) batteries(one already delivered ahead of schedule)and upgrading three older batteries to PAC-2/Guidance Enhance Missile (GEM) andPAC-3 configuration. A 2010 request to theUSA asked for another two PAC-3 batteries.Taiwan’s Quadrennial Defence Review(QDR), released in March 2013, prioritisedthe integration of short-, medium- and long-

range air defence systems and building amulti-layered interdiction network based onthe principle of “first near then far, first lowthen high, first protect vulnerable pointsthen comprehensive protection”. The verti-cally launched Tien Keng III (Skybow) SAMhas entered mass production as part of theair defence network.A missile defence shield must be tied to

early-warning and tracking capacities,which underscores the importance of theSurveillance Radar Programme (SRP). Theinduction of a lone radar atop a Loshanmountain suffered delays but it becameoperational on 11th December 2012 when ittracked North Korea’s Unha-3 ‘satellite’launch. Taiwan has just one phased-arrayradar because political wrangling withheldfunding for a second that would have pro-vided 360º coverage and some redundancy.The solitary SRP radar is vulnerable as itwould be a priority target in any Chineseattack. Work is still required to fully inte-grate the SRP with the Patriot and Po Shengcommand and control networks.Taiwan has active missile development

programmes, and the latest news concernsthe Yun Feng (Cloud Peak), a land-basedsupersonic Anti-Ship Missile (AShM)

Wearing distinctive markings, this SikorskyS-70C Blue Hawk is operated by the ROCAF inthe search-and-rescue role © Gordon Arthur


The Kuang Hua VI is a new missile boatbuilt by the CSBC Corporation. The 30171-tonne boats carry HF-II anti-shipmissiles © Ho Ji Yi via Gordon Arthur


designed to target Chinese invasion fleets.Based on the Hsiung Feng III (Brave Wind)AShM, the Cloud Peak is apparently sepa-rate to a programme developing an offen-sive MRBMwith expected 647 nautical mile(1,200 kilometre) range, sufficient to reachtargets in central China. The Chung-ShanInstitute of Science and Technology(CSIST) will reportedly begin production ofthis high-altitude missile next year. The324nm (600km) range HF-IIE land-attackcruise missile is deployed in threesquadrons on mobile ground launchers innorthern Taiwan. The existence of suchmissiles complicates Chinese strategic cal-culations and makes potential militaryaction more uncertain.

USATaiwan acts as a strategic bulwark for theUSA against Chinese expansion as it “rebal-ances” to the Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, theUSA is a key component in Taiwan’s dynam-ic-deterrence equation and, as it struggleswith military preparedness, Taiwanmay seekcloser ties with Washington. In any war, theMinistry of National Defense (MND) aims tosurvive a two-to-four-week onslaught, longenough for the USA to intervene. PresidentGeorge Bush stated in 2001 that the USAwould do “whatever it took” to defendTaiwan. However, many Taiwan officials arebeginning to doubt the USA’s willingness to

come to Taiwan’s aid, plus US arms sales arean irritant to Sino-US ties as the two becomeeconomically interlocked.

Air forceAs Taiwan pursues an offshore engagementstrategy, the Navy (ROCN) and Air Force(ROCAF) are pivotal in keeping Chineseforces as far as possible from Taiwaneseshores. Investment is needed though as age-ing F-5E/F fighters will retire within fiveyears, and expensive-to-maintain Mirage2000-5s will be mothballed in five-to-tenyears. In September 2011, the US Congresswas notified of the possible modernisationof 145 F-16A/B fighters, with a critical ele-ment being the retrofit of either Raytheon orNorthrop Grumman Active ElectronicallyScanned Array (AESA) radars. Taiwansigned a $3.7 billion letter of offer andacceptance in July 2012. As launch customerfor the AESA radar, the expensive upgradewill push back other programmes.Incidentally, the Aerospace IndustrialDevelopment Corporation (AIDC) signedan agreement with Lockheed Martin toexplore offset opportunities, including alocal maintenance centre so F-16s can berefurbished in-country.For some time Taiwan was requesting 66

F-16C/D Block 50/52 fighters. The USAacknowledged a “legitimate need” for thembut President Barack Obama’s government

stalled on the issue, and finally Taiwanseems to have decided it cannot afford them.Taiwan hinted at a possible LockheedMartin F-35A/B/C Lightning-II Joint StrikeFighter (JSF) request, and because runwayswould be targeted by China, a Short TakeOff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) fightersuch as the F-35B is ideal. However, the USAinsists the JSF will not be made available toTaiwan for at least a decade. The air force isalso seeking new trainer jets from overseas.The MND announced the first stage of

the Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF) Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) would conclude by theend of 2013. The ROCAF is upgrading 71AIDC F-CK-1 fighters with new radars,head-up displays and digital flight controlsystems, and the MLU should offer the IDFanother 20 years of life. Series production ofthe CSIST’s Wan Chien standoff air-to-surface missile will commence next year. Tobe carried by upgraded IDFs, the missilescontain 100+ individual warheads.Four Northrop Grumman E-2T Hawkeye

aircraft were shipped to the USA to undergoupgrade to E-2K (Hawkeye 2000) standardwith an upgraded Raytheon mission com-puter, new navigation suite and JointTactical Information Distribution System(JTIDS), for example. All have returned, join-ing two other E-2Ks, to give Taiwan a mod-ern Airborne Early Warning (AEW) fleet. Ina rare European military sale, the ROCAFcommissioned three Eurocopter EC225Super Puma search-and-rescue helicoptersin July 2012, with an option for 17 more.

NavyTensions are rising in the South China Seaand, interestingly, Taiwan controls thelargest island in the Spratly Island chain,Taiping. The Coast Guard Administration isin charge of Taiping’s defences. In August2012, 40 millimetre (1.5-inch) antiaircraftcannons, 120mm (4.7-in) mortars and AT-4rocket launchers were deployed there, plusa tactical air navigation facility is being builtto help C-130 aircraft land on the islet’s 1,200metre (3,937 feet) airstrip.


A series of Chrysler M60A3 TTS (Tank ThermalSight) tanks, the most capable in the armyinventory, participates in Exercise Han Kuang inApril 2013 © Ho Ji Yi via Gordon Arthur


China’s expanding submarine fleet is ofenormous concern, so the arrival of the firstof twelve refurbished Lockheed MartinP-3C Orion aircraft on Taiwanese shoreslater this year will be welcome. The BoeingAGM-84L Harpoon-carrying Orions willreplace Grumman S-2T aircraft and theywill be housed at new facilities in Pingtung.A key problem for Taiwan is its own sub-marines, with only two serviceable boats.Taiwan wants eight new submarines but noEuropean country is willing to raise China’sire by selling such equipment. Because theUSA no longer manufactures diesel-electricboats, Taiwan is in a quandary. In despera-tion it has proposed building them itself,a route fraught with risk, but one whichmay yet prove the only alternative.

Two reactivated ex-US Navy ‘Osprey’class minehunters reached the ROCN inJuly 2012, whilst Taiwan is contemplatinglocal construction of six minehunters over atwelve-year period. Minehunters are vitalin deterring a potential Chinese blockade.The last 20 ‘Hai Ou‘ class fast attack craftretired in July 2012 after being progressive-ly replaced by 30 indigenously developedKuang Hua VI missile boats armed withHF-II AShMs.

Last November, the MND announcedLung Teh Shipbuilding had begun produc-ing a 500-ton missile corvette prototypeunder the Hsun Hai programme. Up toeleven stealthy catamarans are to be manu-factured, with the first expected in late 2014.It is the private shipbuilder’s first military

contract, which makes some observers nerv-ous. The corvette will carry up to eight HF-III and HF-II AShMs, a 76mm (2.9-in) gunand Phalanx Close-In Weapons System.

The navy has been fitting ramjet-poweredHF-III supersonic AShMs to the 580-ton ‘JinChiang’class patrol boats. Seven of twelvevessels are being upgraded with these 70nm-range (130km) missiles dubbed “carrierkillers”. The same missile is being installedaboard the first five of eight ‘Oliver HazardPerry’ class frigates. Taiwan plans to acquire120 missiles and they could eventually be fit-ted to ‘Lafayette’ and ‘Knox’ class frigates too.TheMND is considering buying twomore ex-US Navy ‘Perry’ class frigates fitted withLockheedMartin SQR-19 towed array sonars.

ArmyBecause of a lack of strategic depth, the ROCArmy (ROCA) is the final line of defenceagainst Chinese invasion. The army hasrestructured into more mobile brigades(three mechanised-infantry and fourarmoured) able to quickly counter-strike aninvasion. Taiwan took the domestic pathwith its CM32 “Cloud Leopard” 8x8armoured vehicle built by the OrdnanceReadiness Development Center (ORDC) toreplace its tracked BAE Systems M113-basedvehicles. Induction was persistently delayed,but low-rate production is ongoing. An ini-tial order for 368 vehicles is due for comple-tion by 2018, and a requirement for 550CM32s in a range of variants is envisaged.

Taiwan has some 1,100 tanks but these

are mostly older-generation Chrysler M48Hand M60A3 TTS (Tank Thermal Sight)designs. The USA earlier rejected a requestfor General Dynamics M1A2 Abrams tanks,so Taiwan is instead likely to pursue 200refurbished M1A1s. Series production of theindigenous RT-2000 multiple-rocket launch-er commenced last year. Capable of firing117mm (4.6-in), 180mm (7-in) and 230mm(9-in) rockets, 43 RT-2000s will be procured.The type participated in live-fire exerciseson Penghu Island during Exercise HanKuang in April 2013.

Taiwan was the first foreign customer toorder the Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopterin June 2011. The ForeignMilitary Sale (FMS)of 30 aircraft gives the ROCA a considerablestep up in capabilities compared to the cur-rent Bell AH-1W fleet. The first Apacheshould arrive in the third quarter of 2013.Staying with helicopters, Sikorsky is build-ing the first four of 60 UH-60M Black Hawkhelicopters for Taiwan in a $3.1 billion deal.These will replace the Bell UH-1H and firstdeliveries are expected in March 2014.

Perhaps, after all, China does not need toattack Taiwan. The QDR warned of China’s“three-front war” of legal opinion, publicopinion and psychological warfare. China is“using propaganda and cross-Strait exchangeactivities to confuse the public’s awareness offriend/foe and disunite the people,” itreported. Many believe China can more‘cheaply’ conquer Taiwan through economicinvestment! Conversely, Taiwan’s bestdefence may be trade as China cements itsplace in the global economy. Would Chinarisk international isolation and its prosperityby militarily invading Taiwan?

ROCS Wu Chang (FFG-1207) is one of six ‘Kang Ding’ class frigates based on the French‘Lafayette’ class design © Ho Ji Yi via Gordon Arthur



C 4 I S Y S T E M SAASSIIAA PPAACCIIFFIICC


CONNECTINGTHE DOTS

A fully functional and network-linked C4I system requires access and interoperability with all the three domains across the land and sea basedcommand and control structures, land, air and sea based communication systems, and tactical and operational command on the ground ©TRS

The return of Asia-Pacific to the cen-tre of world affairs is the greatpower shift of the 21st century. Theregion has hitherto enjoyed gener-al peace and prosperity for almost

70 years since the SecondWorldWar. But it isnow being unsettled by the emergence of con-testing territorial claims from China and thesporadic belligerence of North Korea.

Thus while the countries in the littoral findworth in commercial and diplomatic engage-ment, they see merit also in securing theirinterests and their assets. And as they bolstertheir defences against external aggression aswell as against terrorism and cyber assaults,accordingly a vital impetus to these initiativesare Command, Control, Communications,Computers and Intelligence (C4I) systemsthat are evolving as credible force multipliers.

With the battlespace becoming more com-plex, dealing with information from multipleenvironments like land, sea, air, space, sen-sors, networks and data sources is complicat-ing combat planning and decision-making.C4I systems, either by themselves or builtinto platforms, form a powerful augmented

capability to be used by the commander toconduct operations by helping integrate thechain of command and control, informationmanagement, data fusion and dissemination.

Market SizeIn its ‘C4I Forecast’ released in May,Connecticut-based Forecast Internationalprojects that the combined market value ofthis domain being worth $51 billion overthe next ten years. However, it foresees lessthan half the programmes being completedwithin this period, bringing annual salesdown 47 per cent, from $7 billion in 2013 to$3.7 billion in 2022. The forecast alsoexpects upcoming defence budgets to bevery tight on account of the global econom-ic downturn. According to the analysis,Raytheon, General Dynamics, Harris,Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martinwill be the top five C4I defence companiesover the next decade, in terms of sales vol-ume and market share.

Multilateral information sharing in theAssociation of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) was institutionalized in July last

year with the ten-member grouping’s naviescollectively developing the ASEANInformation Portal, or AIP. The portal allowsfor the swift dissemination and sharing ofinformation amongst operational command-ers and centres to enable effective and effi-cient responses to maritime threats. Fourmonths after its launch, AIP helped regionalmaritime agencies exchange information onan incident of a hijacked tanker, which ledVietnamese authorities to arrest the culprits.

Amber Dubey, partner and head, aero-space and defence at global consultancyKPMG, maintains that C4I interoperabilityhas always been a topic of discussion. Acommon C4I network platform specific tothe Asia-Pacific may have many practicalhurdles considering the geo-political chal-lenges in the region, he says. “C4I networks


57 l AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 l

In May 2013, the Indian Navy received the firstof the eight P-8Is maritime patrol aircraft froma $2.1 billion order placed with Boeing in2009. They will be outfitted with the Data LinkII internet-based digital transmission systemdeveloped by state-owned Bharat ElectricalsLtd © Boeing

The expansive Asia-Pacific region has hitherto enjoyedsustained stability, but increasing competitive interests areleading the nations in the littoral to bolster their defences.According a vital impetus to these initiatives towards securingtheir interests and their assets are C4I systems thatare evolving as a credible force multiplier.

bbyy Sarosh Bana

are based on sensitive and classified tech-nology and algorithms,” Mr. Dubeyremarks. “Countries develop these indige-nously and sharing between countries isvery limited in this area; unlike NATO orthe Gulf Corporation Council (GCC), thereis no framework for common defence prac-tices in the Asia-Pacific region.”

IndiaAcknowledging the need for a CyberWarfare Infrastructure (CWI), India’sMinistry of Defence (MoD) has predicated iton the creation of a C4ISR backbone, whereI2SR is intelligence, information, surveil-lance and reconnaissance. The developmentof an indigenous capability has been gather-ing momentum with participation fromboth the public as well as the private sectors.Bharat Electricals Ltd (BEL) and the

Centre for Artificial Intelligence andRobotics (CAIR) have been chosen for devel-oping the Artillery Combat, Command andControl System (ACCCS). BEL, Tata,Electronic Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL)and CMC Ltd are setting up the TacticalCommand, Control, Communications andInformation (TAC-C3I) system for field for-mations. Ground-based Electronic Warfareprojects are being produced by BEL, CMCand Tata Power Strategic ElectronicsDivision. And while the Army Wide AreaNetwork (AWAN) will be set up by TataInfotech and Wipro Technologies, BEL willbe developing the Air Defence Control andReporting System (ADCRS).DRDO laboratory, Armament Research

and Development Establishment (ARDE), hasdeveloped F-INSAS (Futuristic InfantrySoldier as a System) that is designed to turnIndia’s infantry into fully-networked, digi-tised, self-contained 21st century warriors. F-INSASwill be rolled out in stages by 2020 andis said to be similar in scope and objectives toinfantry modernisation projects such as theUS Army’s Future Force Warrior initiative.Franco-American ThalesRaytheonSystems

(TRS) has provided C4I platforms and sub-systems to the Indian defence establishment,but the development and integration of thenetwork and its systems have been executedby Indian defence labs or entities like BEL,ECIL and CAIR.In May 2013, the Navy received the first of

the eight Boeing P-8I Poseidon maritimepatrol aircraft. The P-8Is will be outfitted withthe Data Link II internet-based digital trans-mission system developed by BEL. ThisIndian-made technology will enable exchangeof tactical data andmessages between aircraft,ships and shore installations.The Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched

the Air Force Net (AFNET), a dedicatedsecure communications infrastructure fornetwork-centric operations. AFNET inte-grates information sharing betweenUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs),Airborne Early Warning and ControlSystems (AWACS), space-based assets, com-bat fighters operating in air defence role, airdefence sensors, air defence weapons, andcommand and control authorities incorpo-

rating real time data links, optical fiber links,encrypted radio and satellite communica-tionsnetworks.“All defence funding in India is done

through the Ministry of Defence,” mentionsMr. Dubey. “The cost of BMS alone wouldbe in billions of dollars, and the project costsof most of these programmes that are yet tobe implemented are not known in the publicdomain.” Rod Hodson, director US opera-tions, ThalesRaytheonSystems Air C2, alsomentions: “We can’t comment on the time-line for any specific country or project.Generally speaking, national sovereignty isa fundamental asset for any nation and hav-ing systems in place to monitor and protectsovereignty is a high priority.”

AustralasiaLockheed Martin Australia Pty Ltd anno-unced in June 2013 that it is teaming up withfour Air Traffic Management (ATM) tech-nology providers to offer its SkylineEnterprise solution for AirservicesAustralia and Australian Department ofDefence (DoD) ‘oneSky Australia’ procure-ment. The four partners are Australia-based Adacel Technologies Ltd,Daronmont Technologies, FrequentisAustralasia Pty Ltd and Airbus ProSky,with subsidiary Metron Aviation. SkylineEnterprise will harmonise civil-militaryoperations ensuring defence readiness andmore secure skies. In its Defence CapabilityPlan issued in September 2011, NewZealand is acquiring the DefenceCommand and Control System (DC2s) sys-tem, a high-level decision support andintelligence system for joint operations. It isexpected to be completed by 2016. Themajority of the country’s tactical C4I capa-bility will be delivered under its Network-Enabled Army programme.

ThailandSaab was awarded two contracts by theRoyal Thai Navy in June 2011 for theupgrade of combat management and firecontrol systems on two Naresuan Classfrigates. Dan Enstedt, president and chiefexecutive officer, Saab Asia Pacific, says thatunder the contract, his company will supplythe 9LV Mk4 combat management system(CMS), CEROS200 fire control system and

The Indian Air Force haslaunched the Air Force

Net (AFNET), a dedicatedsecure communi-

cations infrastructurefor network-centric

operations

Indonesia and Singapore are among 15 nationswhere the Lockheed Martin FPS-117 radar is inoperation. The company says these systems haveaccumulated over 1,000 system-years ofoperating experience and are adding one moreyear every four days, with more FPS-117 systemsin operation today than all other competitiveradars combined © Lockheed Martin



SINGAPORE AIRSHOW 2014 HIGHLIGHTS

Organised by: Supporting Publications:Official Media Partner: Supported by: Held in:

data-link equipment, the deliveries expectedto be completed by 2014.The 9LV Mk4 CMS consists of Multi-

Function Consoles (MFC) providing inputand display facilities to control the systemand integrated sensors and weapons. TheCMS is integrated with the EOS-500 smartsensor system, navigation radar, surveil-lance radar, small or medium calibre gun,Data Link Processor (DLP), transponder,global positioning system and wind sensor.The system will perform command and con-trol, identification and tracking, as well asweapons engagement. Shipboard data linkswill allow communication between thefrigates, JAS-39 Gripen warplanes and Saab340 Erieye Airborne Early Warning aircraftof the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF).In 2008, C4i Pty. Ltd delivered the exist-

ing Air Defence System that provides RTAFwith a complete nationwide end-to-endInternet Protocol (IP)-based solution. Thesystem consists of over 20 operational sitesacross the country, linked together via anadvanced IP network to provide a true “sys-tem of systems” solution.

MalaysiaTRS’s Mr. Hodson says the Malaysian Air

Defence Ground Environment SectorOperations Centre III (MADGE) has complet-ed full system acceptance by Malaysia’sMinistry of Defence. The system operates inreal-time and features multi-radar trackingand a flexible human-machine interface.Sapura Technologies Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian-owned technology-based organisation, andits technology partner Thales have also beendeveloping ‘Sakti’, Malaysia’s future soldierprogramme, which is part of the country’spush towards Network Centric Operations(NCO) that will integrate existing C4I sys-tems. With the establishment of this unit,Malaysia will become the second ASEANcountry, after Singapore, to formally induct afuture soldier programme into its army units.

South KoreaMr. Dubey points out that the Republicof Korea’s Tactical C4I is being built ona $3.8 billion Tactical InformationCommunication Network (TICN) being co-developed by Samsung-Thales, and otherKorean companies Huneed Technologiesand LIG Nex1. Due to begin in 2014, thisproject will be an integrated C4I systemlinking the army, air force and marines.According to Mr. Hodson, TRS has provid-ed software systems to Korea’s MasterControl Reporting Centres. Known as theBook Kuk Sung (BKS) programme, the cen-tres provide situational awareness and assetcontrol capability for the country’s nationalair defence system.

JapanLockheed Martin and its trading partnerItochu Corporation have supplied Japan’sMinistry of Defence 19 AbleSentry systemsfor detection and early warning of a possiblechemical, biological or radiological attack.Designed for the tactical battlefield,AbleSentry’s array of networked, remotesensors uses a sophisticated detection algo-rithm for threat detection, while minimisingthe potential for false alarms. Networkedsensors eliminate the possibility of a singlesensor causing a system-wide alarm.

South East AsiaLockheed Martin has a teaming agreementwith Indonesian technology firm PT CMITeknologi to improve airspace surveillance,

Specialising in Electronic Warfare (EW), test and evaluation equipment, engineering, andengineering services, ITT Exelis C4i undertakes systems checks and quality control of itsadvanced products before delivery. The company says that its history testifies to the delivery ofhigh quality technology products © ITT Exelis



Three Phalcon AWACS mounted on Ilyushin-76aircraft are already operational in the Indian AirForce under India’s $1.1 billion tripartiteagreement with Israel and Russia, and there is aproposal for the purchase of two additional suchplatforms © Michael Sender

safety, andmanagement over the Indonesianarchipelago in support of Jakarta’s defencerevitalisation initiative. The partnership willjointly pursue the National AirspaceSurveillance–Republic of Indonesia (NASRI)programme with the intent to produce morethan 40 TPS-77 and FPS-117 long-range sur-veillance radars. Integration of these sensorswith Indonesia’s command and control sys-tem will assist the NASRI network in greatlyenhancing air sovereignty and surveillanceover the country’s circa 17,000 islands.Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin has suppliedSingapore with PSTAR and FPS-117 radarsthat bolster the country’s integrated airdefence environment through long and shortrange detection.

On 6 August 2013, Filipino PresidentBenigno Aquino announced a $1.8 billionmilitary upgrade to help defend his coun-try’s maritime territory against “bullies”, inthe wake of another face-off with Chinaat the Scarborough Shoal in the SouthChina Sea. The upgrade will extensivelycover the Philippines’ surveillance capabil-ities. The announcement came on the dayManila protested to Beijing over the “illegaland provocative” presence of a Chinesewarship and two other vessels at thedisputed shoal. “We will also improveour communications, intelligence and sur-veillance systems,” the President added.

PakistanPakistan’s signing of a $1.13 billion contractwith Saab for its Saab 2000 aircraft equippedwith the Erieye radar revived the platform’sproduction. While the number to be pro-cured has varied between six and eight, thefourth Saab 2000 Erieye was delivered inSeptember 2011. This induction is perceivedas a response to India’s $1.1 billion tripartiteagreement with Israel and Russia for thepurchase of Phalcon Airborne Warning andControl System (AWACS) mounted onIlyushin-76 aircraft. Pakistan also has on

order four Chinese ZDK-03 AWACS fromChina, which itself is said to have around 20AWACS in a mix of new and old systems.

TaiwanApart from providing radars ranging fromthe GE-592 solid-state 3D radar to the TPS-117, Lockheed Martin is helping Taiwanupgrade its command and control capabili-ties and providing C4ISR solutions that willhelp the country support its programmessuch as the Automated Air Defence System.

ChinaLieutenant General (retd) Davinder Kumar,an army veteran who specialises in

Network Design Implementation, havingconceptualised, designed and fielded avariety of communication and computernetworks for the Indian Army, says that thedevelopment and operation of potent C4Icapabilities are at the core of China’s mili-tary modernisation programme.

Northrop Grumman, in its report tothe US-China Economic and SecurityReview Commission after having beenrecently awarded two important contractsin the domain of cyber security, suggeststhat Beijing is adamant in creatingdiverse and technically advanced cyber-space abilities. It observes that the Chinesemilitary’s close relationships with largeChinese telecommunications firms havecreated a path for China to penetratesupply networks for commodities usedby the US government, military and theprivate sector.

China’s cyber capabilities appearadvanced enough to disrupt US militaryoperations in case of a conflict, the reportnotes, adding, “A few weeks before a poten-tial conflict over Taiwan, the People’sLiberation Army of China may mount acomputer network attack on systems operat-ed by the U.S. Pacific Command andTransportation Command to confuse theU.S. command and control picture.”

Such probabilities are driving researchin evolving ever more secure C4I systems.After all, success is about staying onestep ahead of an adversary throughevery phase of a mission. To remain inthis advantageous position, informationsuperiority is key. Once obtained, in-formation can be turned into the mostlethal resource.

Pakistan’s signing of a $1.13 billion contract withSaab for its Saab 2000 aircraft equipped with theErieye radar revived the platform’s production.Erieye is an active phased-array pulse-dopplermulti-mode radar that combines air and seasurveillance with an effective surveillance areaof 500,000 sq km (193,051 sq miles) © Saab


The development andoperation of potent,

effective and modernC4I capabilities are at

the core of China’smilitary modernisation

programme


A N D D E V E L O P M E N T S

INDIA DEVELOPSTIES WITH BURMATO COUNTER CHINA�� India is developing itsdiplomatic and militaryrelations with its neighbourBurma, a strategy to counterthe growing influence ofChina in the region.India announced it will

help Burma build OffshorePatrol Vessels (OPVs) andtrain its troops at Indian mili-tary facilities. The decision tobuild OPVs was reached dur-ing talks between Indian Navychief Admiral DevendraKumar Joshi and BurmeseNavy chief Vice AdmiralThura Thet Swe, during a visit

of the latter official in India.The Indian Defence Ministry

refused to give details on theagreement, including on thetype, the number or design ofthe OPVs. The Indian DefenceMinistry is also considering ademand by Burma forhelicopter pilot training for itssoldiers, including on attackhelicopters. Burma has alreadyreceived four Islander maritimepatrol aircraft and naval gunboats from India. Beyond this,the two countries are also dis-cussing a border managementproject, a decision that someanalysts see as an attempt tosupervise China’s activities inthe Indian Ocean region.

THE INDIANARMY’S CASE OFMISTAKEN IDENTITY�� The Indian military spentthe past six months investigat-ing “Chinese spy drones” thatwere violating its air space,only to discover that the droneswere in fact Venus and Jupiter.The two planets were

reportedly mistaken forunidentified flying UnmannedAerial Vehicles (UAVs) afterbeing repeatedly sighted overthe eastern Himalayan region

of Ladakh, near the disputedborder area between India andChina. Between April 2012and February 2013, the Indianmilitary documented some155 air violations by UFOs overthe Indian-Chinese border,known as the Line of ActualControl (LAC).As tensions increase

between the two countries,India believed China waslaunching UAVs across the bor-der. But two astronomers fromthe Indian Institute of

Astrophysics in Bangalore, whowere asked to determine whatexactly the Chinese army hadbeen witnessing. Theastronomers identified theUFOs by analyzing the planets’movements across the sky.China claims about 90,000

square kilometers (35,000square miles) of land in thenortheastern Indian state ofArunachal Pradesh, whileIndia says the Chinese army isillegally occupying 38,000square kilometers (15,000

square miles) of the westernHimalayan territory on theAksai Chin plateau.China is also a long-time

ally and weapons supplier toPakistan, India’s historicalrival. Beijing on the other handdoes not look favourably on thepresence of the Tibetan spiritu-al leader the Dalai Lama andthe self-declared Tibetan gov-ernment-in-exile in India and isalso growing suspicious ofNew Delhi's ties with theUnited States.


ASIA PACIFIC PROCUREMENT UPDATE

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SRI LANKA TODEMILITARIZE FORMERCIVIL WAR ZONE �� On 25th July, Sri Lanka’smilitary announced it would bedemilitarising 13 army camps inthe Jaffna peninsula, the island’sformer northern civil war zone.All military troops are plannedto be removed from the campsand the sites, “for which thearmy paid rent, will be handedover to the original owners,”said military officials.Sri Lanka has faced growing

international criticism forfailing to demilitarize the areasince the 25-year long civil warended in 2009, and thedecisions may mark a definingchange in the government’sstance. Just last year, Sri Lankapresident Mahinda Rajapaksahad rejected international callsto demilitarise the region,

refusing to undermine nationalsecurity because fears ofremaining active Tamil rebelsin the region. The move is seenas politically-motivated, comingafter the government called forprovincial council elections inthe Tamil-majority NorthernProvince, once the theatre ofseveral battles between rebelsand government troops. Thegovernment, however, said thedecision and the elections werenot related, adding the militaryhas gradually been reducingthe presence of troops in theJaffna peninsula region where,at the height of the war, some30,000 troops were stationed.Although the date for the

vote has not yet been fixed, thefirst council elections in theprovince since the end ofthe war are likely to be heldin September.

bbyy Pierre Delrieu



SINGAPOREAND US NAVIESCONDUCTS MARITIMEEXERCISE CARAT�� The Republic ofSingapore Navy (RSN) FleetCommander Rear-Admiral(RADM) Timothy Lo and theUnited States Navy (USN)Commander, Logistics GroupWestern Pacific RADMThomas F. Carney officiatedat the opening ceremonyof the 19th Singapore-USCooperation Afloat Readinessand Training (CARAT) exer-cise at Changi Naval Base.RADM Lo highlighted that

Exercise CARAT has come along way since its inceptionand noted the commitment ofboth navies to push the bound-aries of the exercise. He alsorecognised the professionalvalue the exercise has providedto the RSN and the USN andnoted its importance in bilateralrelations. “CARAT Singapore isa vital component of the grow-ing range of RSN-USN interac-tions and plays a part inenhancing defence relationsbetween countries,” he added.

CAMBODIA ACQUIRESNEW MILITARYHELICOPTERS FROMCHINA�� The Royal CambodianArmed Forces is acquiring 12new Harbin Z-9 military heli-copters from China as part of a$195 million deal made inAugust 2011. The Harbin Z-9,also known as “Haitun”, is aChinese military utility helicop-ter. It is modelled on the FrenchEurocopter AS365 Dauphin andmanufactured by Harbin AircraftManufacturing Corporation. Thenew model will be replacing anaging Cambodian fleet of

Russian Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicop-ters. The RCAF announced itonly intends to use the helicop-ters for humanitarian purposes,although the helicopters canpotentially be fitted with air-to-ground weapons.Beijing is Cambodia’s single

biggest military patron and thehelicopter purchase deal is oneof a growing number of tradedeals, grants and loans signedbetween Cambodia and Chinaover the past few years, arelationship which also increas-es China’s political and eco-nomic leverage in the country,one of its allies in the region.

PHILIPPINES TO SENDWARSHIPS TO EX-USNAVAL BASE�� The Philippines’ govern-ment announced on 29th Julythat it may shift some of its keyair and naval assets to SubicBay base, a former US navalbase in the South China Sea, inorder to boost its response timeto waters contested by ThePeople’s Republic of China.Subic Bay, which is a natural

deep sea port capable of accom-modating warships, was animportant US naval facilityuntil 1992, when the Philippinegovernment converted it into abusy sea port.The plan would include

the transfer of two keywarships acquired from the US,announced the country’sMinistry of Defense, as wellas the expansion of anairport near Subic, currently

used by the air force.Considered one of the weak-

est armed forces in the Asianregion, the Philippine militaryhas been relying mostly onexcess US military vehicles andequipment to boost its capabili-ty. In 2011, it acquired adecommissioned US coast-guard cutter and transformed itinto its naval flagship: theGregorio del Pilar.The Philippine fleet is mainly

used to patrol sea borders anddetect and counter any Chinesemilitary build-up in the region.Earlier in June, the Philippinegovernment had announced itwas drafting a plan allowingshared use of its bases with theUnited States and Japan, alsolocked in a sea dispute withChina. China claims nearly allof the South China Sea, evenwaters that are close to itsneighbouring countries, a dis-pute that has long been consid-ered a potential flashpoint ofconflict in the region.


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SINGAPORE NAVYCONDUCTSSUCCESSFUL HARPOONLIVE FIRING TEST �� The Republic of SingaporeNavy (RSN) conducted a live-firing of a Harpoon missile inthe South China Sea earlier as apart of CARAT exercise whichSingapore held with the US.

The missile, fired by an RSNMaritime Patrol Aircraftagainst a surface target, suc-cessfully hit the target. The exercise was witnessed

by Senior Minister of State forDefence Chan Chun Sing, whonoted the value of the CARATseries of maritime exercises,which the SAF and the United

States Navy (USN) have con-ducted annually since 1995.“Not only has the exercisestrengthened the overalldefence relationship betweenSingapore and the US,it has also significantlyenhanced the level ofinteroperability between bothnavies,” said Mr Chan.

CHINA AND RUSSIA’SPEACE MISSION 2013�� China announced on 27thJuly that it would be sendingmilitary personnel andequipment to Russia, wherethey will participate in jointanti-terrorism drills heldby both countries over aperiod of 20 daysThe exercises, named “Peace

Mission 2013”, is scheduled torun from 27th July 27 to 15thAugust, will be carried out in

Chelyabinsk, in Russia’s UralMountains region. The drills willbe held in three phases, includ-ing troop deployment, war plan-ning and campaign drills, saidthe Chinese Ministry of Defence.They are meant to enhance

pragmatic cooperation andmutual trust between theChinese and Russian armedforces, explained the Chinesecommand headquartersand improve their capabilityto combat terrorism.

JAPANESEGOVERNMENT TO STEPUP COUNTRY’SDEFENCE CAPABILITIES�� A Japanese defence paper,released on 21st July by thecountry’s newly elected govern-ment, says the country's militaryneeds to strengthen its capabili-ties and adopt a more assertiverole in the region’s security, dueto increased threats from NorthKorea and China.Some of the changes out-

lined by the interim DefenceMinistry’s paper, if implement-ed, would be a major shift inpolicy for the Japanese military

as it is currently limited to self-defence under a pacifist consti-tution dating back to the postWorld War Two years.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,

who recently returned topower, wants the previousdefence policy, established bythe more moderate DemocraticParty government, revised togive Japan's military morestrength and freedom.The report repeatedly cites

China’s military and maritime

activity as threats to the region-al peace and stability, andurged that Japan steps up itscapabilities. According to thereport, China's military hasbecome a security concern tothe region, including Japan,increasingly aggravating nation-al security concerns. The paperurges Japan to increase its sur-veillance capabilities, considerthe use of unmanned aerialvehicles capable of long-range,high-altitude monitoringaround the clock and constitutea marine force with amphibiouscapabilities to defend disputedislands in the East China Sea.

“This report will guide thefocus of the direction that theSelf Defence Forces should betaking”, said the JapaneseDefence Minister ItsunoriOnodera. Although the Japan-US security alliance remains "thecornerstone" of the Japanesedefence policy, added Onodera,Japan must improve its ability torespond to ballistic missileattacks as concerns grow regard-ing North Korea's missile andnuclear development.

SOUTH KOREARE-OPENSBID FORNEW FIGHTER JETS�� During a meeting chairedby South Korean DefenseMinister Kim Kwan-Jin on25th July, the South KoreanDefense Acquisition ProgramAdministration (DAPA)announced it would be re-opening bids on a $7.4 billionfighter jet deal in August,after initial biddingprocedures were temporarilysuspended.The country is aiming to

replace its aging McDonnellDouglas F-4 and NorthropGrumman F-5 jets which wereintroduced decades ago, andto buy 60 new planes.Discussion over the acquisitionhad however been delayed formonths because South Koreawould not bid over the $7.4billion approved by the coun-try’s parliament. DAPAspokesman Baek Yoon-Hyeongtold reporters that the biddingwill resume mid-Augustunder the same conditions aspreviously cited.The American companies

Boeing and Lockheed Martinand EADS, the European aero-space consortium, were incompetition over the militarycontract, as South Koreawas to decide betweenBoeing’s F-15 SilentEagle, Lockheed Martin’sF-35 Lightning II andthe Eurofighter Typhoon.To encourage South Korea

to choose the Typhoon, theEurofighter consortium hadoffered a $2 billion investmentin a separate project to help thecountry develop its ownadvanced fighter jets. LockheedMartin, on the other hand, hadoffered to support SouthKorea’s effort to develop andlaunch military communica-tions satellites, while Boeingpromised to buy billions of dol-lars worth of parts fromKorean companies.As a reflection of the close

US-South Korea militaryalliance, the country’s militaryprocurement needs haveoverwhelmingly been met byUS suppliers in the past,especially where its air forceis concerned.In January the Anglo-Italian

company AgustaWestlandoutbid the American defencegiant Sikorsky for a $567million contract to supply sixhelicopters to the South KoreanNavy, which had fueledEADS’ hopes of obtaining thefighter jets contract.

A N D D E V E L O P M E N T SRREEGGIIOONNAALL NNEEWWSS

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AUSTRALIA’SFIRST MH-60RSEAHAWK ROMEO�� The first AustralianSikorsky MH-60R SeahawkRomeo naval helicopter suc-cessfully completed its first testflight on 26th June 2013.Destined for the Royal

Australian Navy (RAN), thefirst of 24 MH-60R anti-subma-rine and anti-surface warfarehelicopters successfully passeda range of tests conducted dur-ing an 80 minute long flight,including controllability, vibra-tion analysis, engine perform-

ance, and navigation.A further three Australian

helicopters are said to be cur-rently in various stages ofassembly with the first twoplanned to be handed over tothe RAN by December 2013.This first flight comes just twoyears after the $3 billion dealwas signed between Sikorskyand the AustralianGovernment, and some sixmonths ahead of the originalschedule approved in 2011.The 24 helicopters will

replace 16 Sikorsky MH-60BSeahawk helicopters currently

in service, expanding navalsurface strike capability withwill additional air-to-surfacestrike capability. On 24th July,the RAN’s first MH-60Rarrived at Lockheed MartinMission Systems and Trainingin Owego, New York, for thesecond phase of aircraftcompletion, namely theinstallation of the digitalcockpit and integrated missionsystems and sensors.The MH-60R aircraft is to

become a significant contribu-tor to Australian maritimesecurity in the Pacific region,and will provide the RANwith the most capable anti-surface and anti-submarinehelicopter available today,officials say. Australia isexpected to take delivery of all24 completed MH-60R aircraftby the end of 2016 via the USGovernment’s ForeignMilitary Sales program.


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BAE AWARDEDCONTRACT BYAUSTRALIA FOR MK127HAWK FLEET UPGRADE �� The Minister forDefence Materiel for theCommonwealth of Australiahas awarded a £90m contractfor the upgrade of theirMk127 Hawk fleet.

Known as ProjectAIR 5438, the upgrade to theAustralian Hawk fleet willdeliver an enhanced trainingcapability and also encompassthe supply of three FullMission Simulators,RAAF aircrew/groundcrewtraining and support.The upgrade of the

Australian Hawk fleet willensure its effectivenessinto the next decade andprovides a solid foundation forthe progression of aircrewonto the F/A-18 Classicand Super Hornets and theJoint Strike Fighter (JSF)when it is introducedinto service.

AUSTRALIA SELLS FOURRECONDITIONEDMILITARY AIRCRAFT TOINDONESIA �� On 19th July, AustralianAmbassador to Indonesia GregMoriarty and IndonesianDefence Minister PurnomoYusgiantoro signed a $56million agreement grantingfour reconditioned LockheedMartin C-130 Hercules aircraftto Indonesia.One of the aircraft is report-

edly ready to be delivered,while the three other aircraftstill need to be renovatedbefore being delivered toIndonesia sometime between

next October and December2014, reported Indonesian offi-cials. By signing the agreementwith Indonesia, the Australian

government hopes to strength-en the pre-existing bilateralrelations between the twocountries.

The maintenance contractorappointed by the Australiangovernment, Qantas DefenceServices (QDS) has vast experi-ence in handling C-130 typeHercules aircraft and is theonly company appointed byRoyal Australia Air Force(RAAF) to carry out mainte-nance on these aircraft.Indonesia is also looking to

acquire several C-130Hercules’s from other sourcesand, while discussions areunder way, the DefenceMinistry announced it wouldbe sending pilots to Australia,to undergo training on oper-

ating the aircraft.

US, ROYAL AUSTRALIANNAVY COMPLETETALISMAN SABER 2013TORPEDO EXERCISE �� The Arleigh Burke-classguided-missile destroyer USSLassen (DDG 82) and a RoyalAustralian Navy (RAN) sub-marine participated in a torpe-do exercise in the Coral Sea,July 19, in support of exerciseTalisman Saber 2013 (TS 13).TS 13 is a biennial training

event aimed at improvingAustralian Defense Force(ADF) and U.S. combat readi-ness and interoperability as aCombined Joint Task Force.“This has been a great

opportunity for our Sailors toparticipate in realistic and rele-vant training for the forward-deployed region,” said MasterChief Jason Haka, commandmaster chief aboard Lassen. The exercise gave more than

400 U.S. Navy and ADFcrewmembers the opportunityto hone their skills and demon-strate their operating ability.

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