asian military review - july/aug 2012 issue

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ASIA-PACIFICUAV DIRECTORYSMALL ARMS AND SIGHTSAIRBORNECOMMUNICATIONSMARITIME PATROL AIRCRAFT

SUBMARINESGROUND BASED

AIR DEFENCETRAINING AIRCRAFT

SUBMARINESGROUND BASED

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ASIA-PACIFICUAV DIRECTORYSMALL ARMS AND SIGHTSAIRBORNECOMMUNICATIONSMARITIME PATROL AIRCRAFT

JULY/AUGUST 2012VOLUME 20 / ISSUE 4

ContentsContents

01

AirborneWatchers OverThe Waves

l JULY/AUGUST 2012 l

Martin StreetlyThat a region that containstwo of the world’s greatoceans should have investedheavily in Maritime PatrolAircraft capabilities shouldcome as no surprise toalthough provision in theregion varies considerably

Jet Trainers vsTurboprops Airborne

CommunicationsAdam BaddeleyExtending the communicationsnetwork on which aircraft,helicopters and Unmanned AerialVehicles rely is not simply aboutincreasing effectiveness & efficiency.Joint operations demand that eachService work together, usingcommon protocols and interfaces

Adam BaddeleySmall arms define the dismountedinfantryman and marine. Butmaximizing lethality is no longerjust a function of the weaponitself. Users have often chosen toenhance existing designsvia new sights, enabling rapidtargeting at day or night

30

11

24

36

04

David OliverAn unprecedented numberof regional nations acquiring, orplanning to acquire, fifthgeneration combat aircraftand the question of what theappropriate flight trainingsolution should be will have tobe addressed sooner ratherthan later

AMR UAVDirectory 2012Adam BaddeleyThe Asia-Pacific’s UnmannedAerial Vehicle (UAV) rankscontinue to swell with theregion continuing to offereringboth key markets to overseassuppliers and a crucible fordomestic designs

42

Front Cover Photo:A US soldier launching an RQ-11Raven small unmanned aerialvehicle (SUAV) in Afghanistan'sLogar province at ForwardOperating Base Shank. SUAVacquisition in the Asia-Pacific hasbeen slow as AMR's RegionalUAV Directory 2012 shows, butwith an Indian announcement inJune of its intent to acquire 95SUAV systems in 2013, numberslook set to grow © DoD

Infantry Weapons &Sights: Empoweringthe Soldier

Jim O'HalloranThere is no doubt thatthe subject of AirDefence in Asia is acontinual expansion andmodernisationprogramme way beyondthat of those countries inthe West and North ofthe equator. Thosecountries that canaffordto upgrade andmodernise their AirDefence are doing so andwill continue to do so forthe foreseeable future

AirDefencein Asia

CombatSubmarines in theAsia PacificTom WithingtonOngoing programmes aroundthe Asia-Pacific are aimedat revitalising the submarinefleets deployed across the region;upgrading some of its existingsubmarines, while also procuringnew designs, includingboth nuclear-powered andconventional hunter-killer boats

04

48

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Editorialith Leon Panetta's articulation of plans toshift a further ten percent of the US fleetto the Pacific by 2020 to move it fromhalf to sixty percent, the first LittoralCombat Ship to deploy to Singapore

next year, the US, coupled with its long standingwillingness to work with the Middle Kingdom culturally,economically and politically, has signalled its renewed ability to “engage” China inevery potential way.

The bipolarity of this contest is rarely questioned, each corner has its allies (OK sofor China that ally is North Korea which is an ally only if you consider a rabid dogheld back by a frayed length of rope to be good thing) but the consensus is thatthese only have either a supporting role or are catalysts for tension.

Simple then?

That's not entirely true. India isn't so easily categorised and it can't be ignored.

India's status however continues to be brought into view with events like the US-India Strategic Dialogue held in Washington in June. US leaders talk-up therelationship, although phrases like 'alliance' remain firmly stuck in the wings fornow. India's leaders (and they are not alone by any means) are happy basking inthe reflected glory of the US. Shared democracy, recent, significant and ongoingdefence purchases by India and a concern for China's territorial expansion ispresumed to be the glue that will keep the two close and then grow into somethingmore substantial. This assumption is buttressing some of the security calculusregarding future tension with China.

Maybe, but relationships need to be worked on and there remain significantdifferences which need to be addressed and certainly mean an alliance isn't aforegone conclusion. Trade tallies shows that India exports more to China than tothe US, India's proximity to Iran and vulnerabilities to that country sendingresources to Kashmir can't easily be ignored in any dispute, US expectancy thatgood strategic-relations should lead to favours in the award of defence procurementcontracts is unrealistic, economic populism in India wins over US preference forfree-trade and competition not to mention India's hankering for the non-alignedmovement and equal friendship with Russia all create strains that preclude deeperrelationships today.

Perhaps India's biggest near-term concern after Pakistan is what happens after theUS/NATO pulls out of Afghanistan with some members already doing so withunseemly haste. India needs stability in that location. If the US takes the time tounderstand this concern and bring it into their own thinking, India may be lot morereceptive to US priorities in the future.

Adam Baddeley, Editor

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03l JULY/AUGUST 2012 l

MMAARR II TT IIMMEE P A T R O L A I R C R A F T

04 l ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW l

Based on the P-3C, the AP-3C isa Raytheon-sourced upgradethat revamped the baselineconfiguration with new sys-tems such as BAE Systems’

ALR-2001 Electronic Support (ES) System,CAE Electronics’ AN/ASQ-504 MagneticAnomaly Detector (MAD), Elta’s EL/M-2022(V)3 surveillance radar, FLIR Systems’Star SAFIRE® III Electro-Optical (EO) sen-

sor, General Dynamics AN/UYS-503acoustic processor and the Unisys DDC-060data management system.Assigned to the Royal Australian Air

Force’s Nos 10 and 11 Squadrons, the ser-vice’s AP-3C have most recently been thesubject of an ES system upgrade that wentbadly enough wrong to have at one timebeen on the Australian Department ofDefence’s “projects of concern” list. In terms

of future provision, the RAAF is known tohave shown some interest in the acquisitionof a mix of Boeing P-8 manned and GlobalHawk unmanned aircraft to replace the AP-3C post 2015. While such aspirations remainalive, it will be interesting to see what impactthe global economic downturn has on thisand other ambitious Australian defence-related plans in the short to medium term.Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Japanese

Airborne

That a region that contains two of the world’s great oceans shouldhave invested heavily in Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) capabilitiesshould come as no surprise to readers of AMR, with countriesas diverse as Australia, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), India,Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore,Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand all operating or procuring suchplatforms. As might be expected within such a range, provision variesconsiderably, with the high end being exemplified by the multi-role P-3aircraft. Looking at the regional Orion inventory in more detail,Australia continues to operate a fleet of AP-3C aircraft in the roleand is likely to retain the type in service until at least 2015.

bbyy Martin Streetly

WatchersOver The

Waves

P A T R O L A I R C R A F TMMAARR II TT IIMMEE


Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) operatesa considerable fleet of P-3C Update II.5 and IIIaircraft that have been assigned to five mar-itime patrol squadrons based at Kanoya,Hachinohe and Atsugi. Since the JMSDF beganoperating the Orion during 1981, the type hasbeen progressively upgraded with incrementalupgrades such as an enhanced ES architecture,Global Positioning System (GPS) navigationprovision, a satellite communications capabili-ty and a new mission computer. Operationally,the JMSDF’s P-3Cs have been at the forefrontof Japan’s renewed military activity outside itsown borders and have been used to supportinternational anti-piracy operations off thecoast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.Looking to the future, the JMSDF intends

to replace its approximately 80 P-3Cs with 65examples of the indigenous Kawasaki P-1aircraft. Launched in November 2001, the59.8 kN IHI XF7-10 turbofan-powered P-1has been designed with the optimum degreeof structural commonality with Kawasaki’snext generation C-2 transport aircraft. To fit itfor the MPA role, the P-1 is flown by a crewof 10 (pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, observ-

er, navigator/communications operator, atactical system commander and four systemoperators) and is equipped with an X-band (8to 12.5 GHz) Toshiba Active ElectronicallyScanned Array (AESA) search radar, aFujitsu HAQ-2 Forward-Looking Infra-Red(FLIR) sensor, a Mitsubishi HSQ-102 MAD, asonics chain, sonobuoy provision, an ES sys-tem, an internal weapons bay and eightunderwing stores stations. Making its maid-en flight on 28 September 2011 and on the lat-est available information, a total of eight suchaircraft have been ordered during the periodJapanese Fiscal Years 2008 to 2011. Whetheror not the original figure of 65 P-1s will beachieved remains to be seen, particularly inview of the economic impact of the earth-

With as many as 80 in-service, theJMSDF is the largest P-3 Orion userin the Asia-Pacific region © JMSDFWatchers

The JMSDF intends toreplace its approximately 80P-3Cs with 65 examplesof the indigenous KawasakiP-1 aircraft

quake and tsunami that devastated much ofnorth-western Japan in March 2011.Returning to the Asia-Pacific Orion com-

munity, South Korea has procured eight P-3C Update III+ aircraft together with a fur-ther eight P-3CKs. Of these, the P-3C UpdateIII+s are fitted with a Raytheon AN/APS-134(V) search radar and the AN/ASQ-212central computer, while the P-3CKs are re-worked P-3B airframes that have been pro-duced by United States contractor L-3Communications and Korea AerospaceIndustries (six aircraft) and feature a missionsuite similar to that of the country’s UpdateIII+s. In South Korean service, the Orion isunderstood to be assigned to the Republic ofKorea Naval Air Arm’s Nos 613 and 615Naval Squadrons based at Pohang and JejuAir Bases respectively. Further east, the P-3Cis also in service with the Pakistan Navy’s No28 Squadron. A total of 12 such aircraft (threebeing replacements for those lost in a 2011terrorist attack on their base) have been

l ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW l06

The Indian Navy is acquiringthe country-specific P-8I variantof the US Navy’s P-8A platformas its next generation maritimepatrol aircraft © USN

The next generation KawasakiP-1 maritime patrol aircraftmade its maiden flight duringJune 2008 © Kawasaki


acquired and are augmented by additionalsquadrons equipped with the BreguetAtlantic (No 29 Squadron) and MPA config-ured Fokker F27s (No 27 Squadron) respec-tively. Here, both the Atlantics and the F27sare known to have been equipped withThales France’s DR 3000 ES system and avariant of the Thales/Cassidian OceanMaster surveillance radar and all threePakistani MPA squadrons are based atSharea Faisal Air Base.

For its part, Taiwan is acquiring 12 refur-bished P-3Cs that Lockheed Martin haveupgraded with a structural life extensionand new avionics prior to delivery which asoriginally scheduled, was to begin during2012. The remaining members of the Asia-Pacific Orion club – Thailand and NewZealand – operate a small number of P-3Tand six P-3K/K2 aircraft respectively. Here,usually reliable sources report the Thai P-3Tsas being assigned to the Royal Thai Navy’sNo 102 Squadron at U-Tapao, while the

Royal New Zealand Air Force’s half dozenP-3K aircraft are being progressively updat-ed under Projects ‘Rigel’, ‘Kestrel’ and‘Guardian’. In order, ‘Rigel’ introduced(amongst other things) the AN/APS-134(V)search radar, the AN/AAS-36 infra-reddetection set, a new data handling systemand improved navigation equipment.Project ‘Kestrel’ took the form of a life exten-sion effort and involved re-winging, replac-ing the aircraft’s horizontal stabilisers and

refurbishment of their engine nacelles. Soconfigured, the fleet was expected to remainstructurally viable for an additional 20 years.Most recently, the L-3 Communications-primed Project ‘Guardian’ replaces theAN/AAS-36 with the L-3 WescamMX-20 EOsensor, the AN/APS-134(V) radar with theElta EL/M-2022(V)3 sensor, new navigationequipment, an L-3 developed data handlingsystem and a glass cockpit. Now known asthe P-3K2, the first ‘Guardian’ aircraft madeits maiden flight on 11 August 2009, withthe remaining examples being modified in

Pakistan has acquired 12 P-3Cs tosupplement its existing fleet ofAtlantic and Fokker F27 maritimepatrol aircraft © Lockheed Martin

Taiwan is acquiring12 refurbished P-3Cs thatLockheed Martin haveupgraded with astructural life extensionand new avionics


P A T R O L A I R C R A F TMMAARR II TT IIMMEE

country by national contractor Safe Air.Of the remaining cited country’s the

PRC’s People’s Liberation Army Navy isknow to operate at least four Shaanxi Y-8Xand a similar number of Shaanxi Y-8J aircraftas MPAs. Here, the Y-8X is equipped with aCanadian APS-504(V) radarm, while the Jmodel carries the Thales UK X-bandSkymaster combined surface search and air-borne early warning sensor. Of the two, theJapanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) isknown to have intercepted the Y-8J recon-noitring Japanese air space during the recentpast. In a similar context, Japanese fighter air-craft have also regularly intercepted TupolevTu-142 maritime patrol and Anti-SubmarineWarfare (ASW) aircraft operated by the navalair arm of Russia’s Far Eastern Fleet. Usuallyreliable estimates put the number of Tu-142M/MZ aircraft in service with theRussian Navy at around 20.Allocated the NATO Reporting Name

‘Bear-F Mod 3’ (and also known as the Tu-142MK), the Tu-142M is an updated versionof the basic design that is equipped with a

Korshun-K search radar, the Ladoga MAD,an NPK-142M navigation suite, a Strela 142Mcommunications package and the ability tohandle passive and active directionalsonobuoys. For its part, the Tu-142MZ (‘Bear-F Mod 4’) replaces the -142M’s NK-12MVengines with NK-12MP turboprops and fea-tures the Korshun-KN-N-STS anti-submarinewarfare ‘complex’ (Russian terminology for amission system) and the Nashaty-Nefrit son-ics chain. Elsewhere in the region, the IndianNavy has acquired eight Tu-142MK-E plat-forms that are flown from Indian NavalStations Rajali andHansa. Taking the form (asits designation suggests) of an export versionof the Tu-142MK (‘Bear-FMod 3’), theMK-E’smission suite is said to be a less capable ver-sion of that fitted to Russian Tu-142Ms andhas been the subject of an upgrade pro-gramme that was launched in 2003. Here, theupdate is believed to have centred on theintroduction of the Novella/Sea Dragon com-plex which is also a feature of India’s IlyushinIl-38SD maritime patrol aircraft. At least oneupgraded aircraft has been redelivered.

As noted above, the Indian Navy fieldsfive Il-38s which (like the service’s Tu-142MK-Es) have been upgraded with a vari-ant of the Novella/Sea Dragon complex(comprising a new radar, an IR sensor, a newcentral computer system, a MAD and new ESand ASW capabilities) and the ability to carryKh-35 anti-shipping and Brahmos cruise mis-siles. Designated as the Il-38SD, the IndianNavy acquired its first pair of updated air-craft in January 2006 and had received a thirdbefore it suspended contract payments on theprogramme (due to dissatisfaction with theNovella/Sea Dragon system) during the fol-lowing year. Such problems are likely tohave influenced India’s decision to acquirethe Boeing P-8I Poseiden as its next genera-tion full-capability ASW and MPA platform.Generally similar to the United States Navy’sP-8A aircraft, India’s eight P-8Is incorporatesome country specific features including aMAD, an aft-facing Telephonics sea- and air-search radar and provision for Harpoon andpossibly Brahmos anti-shipping missiles.Elsewhere, the Indian Navy has stood up

08 ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW

Over time, Australia, India andJapan have all expressed interestin the acquisition of an MQ-4CBAMS-type high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerialvehicle © Northrop Grumman


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three squadrons of unmanned aerial vehiclesthat are equipped with surveillance config-ured Searcher and Heron air vehicles andoperates approximately 10 Do 228s in theshort-range MPA role. Of these, the Do 228platforms are equipped with a mixture ofThales Super Marec and Elta EL/M-2022A(V)3 search radars and at least one ofthe fleet is known to have been deployed onanti-piracy duties to the Seychelles during2011. In the longer term, India wants toacquire a new medium-range platform withwhich to replace its Dornier patrollers, with arequest for information understood to havealready been issued. Mention of the Do 228leads neatly to the Royal Thai Navy’s fleet ofseven suchMPAs that are assigned to the ser-vice’s No 101 Squadron at U-Tapao.Equipped with a 360° search radar, at leastfour of these aircraft have been equippedwith an Optimare track-while-scan system,with at least one having also been fitted withan EO sensor. Again, at least one Thai aircrafthas had its surveillance radar removed.

Moving south, the Republic of SingaporeAir Force’s No 121 Squadron is equippedwith five Fokker 50 Maritime Enforcer Mk 2maritime patrol aircraft. Flown by a crew ofeight, such aircraft are known to have beenequipped with a mission suite that has (over

time) included a Raytheon AN/APS-134(V)7search radar, a Fokker-sourced TMS-250Vtactical computer, a General DynamicsCanada AN/UYS-503 sonobuoy processor,an Alliant M101E acoustic signals recorder,an Ultra Electronics AN/ARR-502 sonobuoyreceiver, a type specific Elta EL/L-8382MPAES system variant, provision for 60sonobuoys, an EO sensor, a CAE ElectronicsAN/ASQ-504(V) MAD and provision forfour torpedoes, depth charges or AGM-84D

Harpoon air-to-surface missiles. In terms ofrecent operations, one of Singapore’s Fokker50 maritime patrollers is known to have beendeployed to Djibouti for anti-piracy dutiesover the Gulf of Aden during 2011.

The remaining country— Indonesia— list-ed at the start of this survey operates threeBoeing 737-2X9 Surveiller, three CN-235MPAand up to six NC-212-200 aircraft as MPAs. Inorder, the Boeing 737s are combined transport

and surveillance aircraft that are equippedwith a variant of Motorola’s Side-LookingAirborne Modular Multi-mission Radar(SLAMMR) and are assigned to theIndonesian Air Force’s Air Squadron 5 atUjung Pandang/Hasanuddin. Air Squadron 5is also home to at least three IndonesianAerospace Airtech CN-235MPA platformsthat are equipped with a Thales AMASCOSmission suite that includes a Thales/Cassidian Ocean Master radar, an ElettronicaALR-733 series ES system and a Thales ChlioEO sensor. Air Squadron 5 is understood tohave received its first CN-235MPA aircraftduring June 2008 and both Brunei and theIndonesian Navy are understood to be inter-esting in or actually acquiring up to three andup to six examples of the type respectively. Inthe Brunei context, the specified mission suiteis reported to include a Raytheon searchradar, a Selex Galileo ES system and anAN/AAQ-21 FLIR sensor. For their part,Indonesia’s NC-212-200PATMAR MPAs areassigned to the Indonesian Navy’s AirSquadron 800 based at Surabaya/Juanda.Again a product of Indonesian Aerospace, thePATMAR platform is understood to be fittedwith an Ocean Master radar variant, with thefirst example being delivered to Air Squadron800 during May 2005.

One of Singapore’s Fokker50 maritime patrollersis known to havebeen deployed to Djiboutifor anti-piracy duties

During April 2011, the Republicof Singapore Air Force deployedone of its Fokker 50 maritimepatrol aircraft to Djibouti for anti-piracy patrols over the Gulf ofAden © Singapore MoD


Prepared by Adam Baddeley

AMR

UAVDIRECTORY

2012


RREEGG II OONNAALLU A V D I R E C T O R Y

AMR

UAVDIRECTORY

2012

THE NUMBERS and variety ofUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)in the hands of Armies, Navies andAir Forces in the Asia-Pacific as well

as new prototypes and maturing designscreated by the region's industries over thepast twelve months has expanded again. Asbefore, the majority of activity is focused ona few countries: Australia, China, India,South Korea, Singapore and to a degreePakistan although with recent purchasesand deals, like those inked by Indonesia andVietnam, new capabilities and know-how isnow increasingly being injected into the sec-ond tier of UAV adopters in the region.The UAV Directory has been researched

using a range of resources notably AMR cor-respondents, industry experts and servingmilitary personnel throughout the region aswell as open sources.

AUSTRALIA�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDHHeerroonn II,, IAI; Project Nankeen lease viaMacDonald Dettwiler extended to end2012, supporting three-platform Army andRAAF Unit from Kandahar which began inJanuary 2010, flew 4000 hours in first yearof operations.SSccaann EEaaggllee,, Isitu/Boeing; Interim Tier 2 type

requirement until Shadow 200 fielded. Deployed Iraq 2006-8 and in Afghanistansince 2007. In Afghanistan they have flown32000 hours on 6,200 missions, or an averageof 22 hours a day for nearly five yearsRRQQ--77BB SShhaaddooww 220000,, AAI; Selected underJP129 Phase 2 and requested from US DCSAin May 2011. Deployed to Afghanistan inMay 2012.SSkkyyllaarrkk II,, Elbit Systems; Eight systemsordered in Nov. 2005 onwards with 20 STAReg. deployed to E Timor and Iraq, furtherorders subsequently.AAeerroossoonnddee IIIIII,, AAI; Solomons in 2003 fourAerosondes sent to the Solomon Islands onOperation Anode with Army’s 131 STABattery.AAvvaattaarr,, Condarra; 18 UAVs acquired since2001 deployed to E. Timor with ADF SF in2003, status unknown.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTMMaarriittiimmee RRaannggeess SSeennssoorr DDeelliivveerryy SSyysstteemm,,Mincham Aviation; Able to deploysonobuoys 15nm in trials with RAN asof late 2010.HHeerroonn 11,, IAI; Six week, A$5.5m trial withBorder Protection Command May-June 2008with 80 hours flying in maritime surveil-lance trial equipped with ELTA 2022

multimode radar. AAqquuaa PPuummaa,, AeroVironment; Naval trials inearly 2007.PPaattrriioott GGQQ--9900,, Guardian AerospaceSystems; MALE 20 hour endurance, 20Kgpayload, focus on RAN as customer, com-pleted flight test programme.RRQQ--88AA FFiirree SSccoouutt,, Northrop Grumman;Company believes it has interest.RRQQ--44 GGlloobbaall HHaawwkk,, Northrop Grumman;Flew non-stop to Australia in 2001 and tookpast in joint exercise Tandem Thrust.Planned to acquire the UAV as part of itsparticipation in BAMS project but droppedout in 2009 although options remain formaritime and littoral surveillance from 2016.MQ-4C again being pushed by NorthropGrumman.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: Australia may upgrade airfield inCocos Island in Indian Ocean to host US RQ-4 Global Hawk with an estimated $80-$110million cost. Fauntrackway is to supply newUnmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) AircraftLanding Mat (ALM) from the Australianarmed forces. AeroVironment has acquiredexclusive global distribution rights forAustralian firm’s Sentient Kestrel Land MTITier I automated target detection software foruse with small UAVs. The Royal Australian

RREEGG IIOONNAALLU A V D I R E C T O R Y


Australian Shadow UAVs beganoperations in Afghanistan in May© Commonwealth of Australia

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SEE US ATFarnborough 2012

Navy is to conduct trials with the ScanEagle,Aerosonde and Camcopter UAVs on anANZAC class frigate in Sept. and Nov. andon the HMAS Choules in early 2013.

CHINA�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDBBZZKK--000055,, Beijing University of Aeronauticsand Astronautics; MALE UAV thought tohave been in limited service since 2009 witha 40 hr endurance.PPtteerrooddaaccttyyll 11//YYiilloonngg,, AVIC; Predator-likeMALE with 400km range first seen in 2008with initial development completed in 2009and production beginning during 2010 andcan be equipped with AR-1 missiles.WW--3300//WW--5500 sseerriieess,, NRIST; Sometimescalled PW-1 and entered service with thePeople’s Liberation Army during 2005,radius of 100km. Later PW-2 version haslonger range.AASSNN220066//77,, Xian ASN Technology; In serv-ice with PLA.RRMMAAXX,, Yamaha Motor Company; Nine sys-tems procured in 2001 for paramilitary useAASSNN--1155,, Xian ASN Technology; Handlaunched UAV in 2000 largely used for testand proof of concept.AASSNN--110044//55BB,, Xian ASN Technology; Inservice with PLA.AASSNN--220066//220077,, Xian ASN Technology;Developed from mid 1990, limited service,range of 150km, ASN-207 first seen publiclyin 2002.AASSNN--220099,, Xian ASN Technologies; Twin-boom pusher design called Silver Eagle inPLAN service, reported to be tested by PLAas comms relay in June 2011.II--ZZ,, ZZ--33,, ZZ--22,, NRIST; rotary wing designsome military and paramilitary use fromearly 2000s.HHaarrppyy,, IAI; Sold to China in 1994, WhenChina returned the Harpy for maintenance,US concerns over possibility of upgrade toHarop standard, saw Israel return the UAVin 2005.WWJJ--660000,, CASIC; 130Kg MALE design formaritime surveillance, turbo-jet powered,options for air to surface engagement, inearly development, 3hr endurance WJ-600Ahas 5 hr endurance, a number delivered inPLAAF.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTCCHH--33,, CASIC; MALE 12 hr endurance,canard design 108nm radius in advanceddevelopment, first seen in public in 2008,

reported to be fitted with FT-5 small PGMs. LLoonngg HHaauull EEaaggllee,, AVIC; Another GlobalHawk like design, status unknown.SSooaarriinngg DDrraaggoonn,, Xianglong; Global Hawkclass, reported range of 7000km.AASSNN--222299AA,, Xian ASN Technology; 20hrendurance, armed UAV, in testing phasecould enter service in 2011.AASSNN--221133,, Xian ASN Technology; 5Kgdesign with in-flight morphing design firstseen in 2008.NNiigghhtt EEaaggllee,, AVIC; Hand launched, similarto Aerosonde design.WWhhiirrllwwiinndd SSccoouutt,, AVIC; Compact VTOLducted fan design.UU88EE,, AVIC; Lightweight VTOL designshown as Singapore Airshow 2010.SSLL--220000,, CASC; Armed HALE, described as astealthy design.CCHH--880022,, Poly Technologies Inc; Handlaunched similar to Pointer, 3m wingspan,2kg payload, endurance 3hours.VV775500,, Qingdao Haili HelicopterManufacturing Co; Rotary wing UAV.TTiiaann YYii--33,, LOEC; High speed HALE.WWaarrrriioorr EEaaggllee,, AVIC; Only sketches seepublicly and may utilise a morphing wingdesign.SSooaarrhhaawwkk,, Sunward; Described as similar topiston engined ADCOM SAT-400, statusunknown.DDUUFF--22,, BUAA; Hand launched SUAV.WWiinngg LLoonngg,, AVIC; Completed flight testingin Oct 2008, 20 hour endurance and a rangeof 400km.

AAnnjjiiaann//DDaarrkksswwoorrdd,, Shenyang Aircraft Co;UCAV in early development.BBLL--6600,, BVE; K-MAX like rotary design.SSVVUU220000,, Sunward Tech Star-Lite; First flightof rotary wing platform in 2012, plannedendurance of 2+hrs.DDaaooffeenngg//BBllaaddee SSFF--446600,, CASIC; Prototype, 3hr endurance, first seen Zuhai 2010.DDaaooffeenngg 330000,, CASIC, 31kg weight, operatescivil SLR camera, endurance of 3+hrs.BBlluuee EEaaggee 220000WW,, Keyuan; MALE, eun-durance of 12 hours speed of 160kmph,



China’s Wing Longdesign © AJB

equipped with air to ground munitions onsix external hard points.TT--112200,, Hubei Taihang Xinghe AircraftManufacturing; Reconaissance UAV withspped of up to Mach 1.5.TT--110000,, Hubei Taihang Xinghe AircraftManufacturing; Electrically powered SUAV.TTFF--11CC,, Shenyang Aerospace; 1200km rangeendurance of 12 hours.TTFF--55,, Shenyang Aerospace; 13kg SUAV sin-gle CCD camera.TTFF--88,, Shenyang Aerospace, Hand launched

platoon level, 4.7Kg SUAV.ZZ--55,, PLA Research Institute; Shown publiclyin Sept. 2011 rotary wing design.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: China’s aerospace industry con-tinues to produces dozens of new UAVdesigns for evaluation although few are cur-rently reaching service although recentdevelopments suggest a move away fromimported engines to indigenous designs.Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force releasedpictures of what appear to be four examples

of the Scheibel Camcopter design operatingfrom Type 054A missile frigates, either ondeck on in flight.

INDIA�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDSSeeaarrcchheerr II && IIII,, IAI; India’s Army and Navyare understood to have acquired 18 andpossibly as many as 50-70 UAVs. LLaakksshhyyaa,, DRDO/ADE & HAL; High speedreusable drone with 100 now in service.Israel pulled out of Lakshya buy in 2005.HHeerroonn II//IIII,, IAI; IAF/IN order in 2002 forfour UAVs. Navy ordered 12 in 2005 andoperates the UAVs in mixed units alongsideits Searcher UAVs. Potential requirement for50 UAVs.HHaarrppyy,, IAI; 30 in service delivered from2005.HHaarroopp//HHaarrppyy IIII,, IAI; 10 UAV/LoiteringMunition ordered by IAF in 2009 in $100mdeal with video datalink system. Deliveriesstarted in 2011.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTRRuussttoomm 11,, DRDO/ARDE; First successfultest flight in Oct. 2010 after prototypecrashed in Nov. 2009, 12-15 hr endurance,airframe built by Zephyr Aerospace. A fifth,25 minute flight took place in Nov. 2011attaining a speed of 100Kmph.


15 l JULY/AUGUST 2012 l

In Afghanistan, ScanEagles theyhave flown 32000 hours on 6,200missions, or an average of 22hours a day for nearly five years© Commonwealth of Australia

The Yotais X200 is one of a number of designsto emerge from Chinese industry over theyear © AJB

RRuussttoomm HHAALLEE,, DRDO/ADE; MALE UAVin development for tri-service customers,also precursor for UCAV development pro-totype in 2014-15, 12-15 hour endurance and45kg payload.NNeettrraa SSUUAAVV,, ARDE/Ideaforge Technology;1.5m Quadrotor SUAV, altitude 200m, 30min endurance.NNiisshhaanntt,, DRDO/ADE; Development beganin 1990 trial completed in Feb. 2011. 12Nishants ordered in 2005 with four deliv-ered so far and two crashing in April 2010.The balance due in 2013-14.KKaappootthhaakkaa,, DRDO/ADE; Mini-UAV to testISR as well as launch and recovery conceptsPPaawwaann, DRDO/ADE; SUAV in develop-ment.GGaaggaann,, DRDO/ADE; TUAV in development.

GGlloobbaall HHaawwkk,, Northrop Grumman; ListedIndia as a potential customer at Paris Airshow 2011 in maritime and overland roleUCAV, N/A; IAF issued RFI in mid 2010.RRQQ--1166BB TT--HHaawwkk,, Honeywell Aerospace;Demonstrated at the Counter Terrorism andJungle Warfare College at Kanker inChattisgarh in 2010.‘‘HHAALLEE’’ UUAAVV,, N/A; IN HALE RFI issuedOctober 2010. NG reported to have respond-ed with its MQ-4C BAMS which could oper-ate with P-8I Poseidon.TTEERRPP 22,, MKU; hand launched pusherSUAV, 90 min endurance, 10X opticalzoom day camera and Uncooled IR camerarange 10km.CChheeeettaakk--bbaasseedd UUAAVV,, IAI/HAL; discussionsto produce an unmanned version of the

stalwart helo.SSkkyyllaarrkk,, Elbit/BEL; Indianised example onshow at DEFEXPO 2012.LLaakksshhyyaa--IIII,, DRDO; Tenth test flight of targetdrone in January for 30 mins, operatingfrom 12-800m.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: In June India announced plans toacquire 95, 2.5Kg SUAV split between theArmy (60) and Navy (35) with the competi-tion beginning in early 2013. In April,India's Navy announced the inaugurationof the INAS 344 Squ. "Spirited Shadower,"tasked with maritime patrol equipped withtwo IAI Searcher IIs and two Herons andbased in Tamil Nadu from where it willoperate in the Palk Strait, Gulf of Mannarand Palk Bay under Eastern NavalCommand. Two similarly equipped unitsINAS 343 Squ. at Probander and the INAS342 Squ. at Kochi. A fourth unit is plannedfor the Andaman islands.

INDONESIA�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDSSeeaarrcchheerr MMkk IIII,, IAI; fielding in 2012, delayedand originally ordered in 2006 from KitalPhilippines Corp.FFooxx AATT11,, CAC/EADS; Four UAVs with afixed wing design fielded with ArmedForces Strategic Intelligence Agency and AirForce in Bandung in early 2000s. Contractvalued at $10m and issues over non-deliv-ery of rotary wing UAVs. UAVs withdrawnfrom service in 2006.SSSS--55,, PT Wesco Aerospace; one or moresystems reported to be deployed to Acehin 2005.AAeerroossoonnddee,, AAI; Deployed with paramili-tary and Police forces.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTBBBBPPTT--0044CC SSrriittii,, Agency for the Assessmentand Application of Technology; 10km rangetactical UAV using a flying wing design. AALLAAPP,, Agency for the Assessment andApplication of Technology; 25kg, 50kmrange UAV.‘‘TTUUAAVV’’,, Agency for the Assessment andApplication of Technology; 120kg UAVwith a range of 120km. Three design shapeprototypes; the BPPT-01A “Wulung” withHi rectangular-wing, Low Boom T-tail, theBPPT-01B “Gagak” with Lo rectangular-wing, Low Boom V-Tail and the BPPT-02A“Wulung” with a Hi rectangular-wing, Hi



Based in Kandahar, three Heron I UAVs leasedunder Project Nankeen have operated in sup-port of Australian and other forces sinceJanuary 2010 © Commonwealth of Australia



Boom Inverted V-Tail design.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: Pesawat Udara Nir-Awak orPUNA is the Bahasa Indonesia acronym forUAV. Indonesia has been carrying out aprogramme headed by the government'sAgency for the Assessment and Applicationof Technology to develop indigenous UAVssince March 2007. Military announcedTUAV programme in Oct. 2009 to beacquired “from 2011” with the UAVs them-selves to be manufactured locally by PTDirgantara.

JAPAN�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDFFoorrwwaarrdd FFllyyiinngg OObbsseerrvvaattiioonn SSyysstteemm,, FujiHeavy Industries; Development of rotarywing design began in 1991 with three sys-tems equipping Army artillery units from2004. Civil version is the RPH-2.RRMMAAXX,, Yamaha Motor Company; Deployedwith Japan’s Iraq contingent in 2005.BB TTyyppee MMaacchhiinnee IIII,, Fuji Imvac; Deployedover Fukushima.SSccaannEEaaggllee,, Insitu; Two systems on order.TTAAyyoouuttooKK((CC))OOggaattaa MMuujjiinnkkii ((TTAACCOOMM)),, FujiHeavy Industries; Trans. ‘Multi-role smallUAV’. Japan’s Technical Research andDevelopment Institute have been workingon the concept since 1995. Evaluation flighttest in 2001. In 2011 Japan released film oftwo turbo jet powered drones carried by an

F-15J. TACOM launched while aloft andreturns to base using a retractable undercar-riage. A prototype launched from aMitsubishi/Lockheed Martin F-2 was lost atsea in 2010.JJ//AAQQMM--11,, Fuji Heavy Industries; Air forcetarget drone, entered services 1987, indige-nous design.BBQQMM--3344AAJJ,, Fuji Heavy Industries; Navy tar-get drone, licensed development of Firebee.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTRRQQ--88AA FFiirree SSccoouutt,, Northrop Grumman;Company believes it has interest from themilitary.BB TTyyppee MMaacchhiinnee IIII,, Fuji IMVAC, Used tomonitor Fukushima.BBaallll SShhaappeedd UUAAVV;; Development or SUAVfor Urban ops for Army.RRQQ--1166BB TT--HHaawwkk,, Honeywell Aerospace;UUsseedd ttoo mmoonniittoorr FFuukkuusshhiimmaa..GGlloobbaall HHaawwkk,, Northrop Grumman; listedJapan as a potential customer at ParisAirshow 2011 in maritime and overland role.Thought to be as part of 2011-2015 Mid-TermDefence Programme with three of the UAVspotentially required probably working inconjunction with P-3C Orion. Japanese inter-ests first noted in 2004. Improved Satellitesurveillance the main alternative.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: Japan seems far behind others inregards to UAVs. There are however a largenumber of UAV companies in Japan includ-ing Fuji Heavy Industries, Yamaha Motor,Yanmar Agricultural Equipment, KawasakiHeavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy

Industries, Sky Remote, Hirobo, MitsubishiElectric Corporation, Hitachi, NECCorporation, GH Craft, Fuji Imvac andNippi Corporation.

NORTH KOREA�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDPPcchheellaa,, Yakovlev OKB; Unconfirmedreports that North Korea acquired theRussian UAV in 1995.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: Also reports that it operatesTupolev DR-3/M-141 jet-powered tacticalreconnaissance UAVs.

The Remoeye-006 from Ucon Systems has a2.59m wingspan and an endurance of twohours © AJB

SOUTH KOREA�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDHHaarrppyy,, IAI; 100 systems valued at $45mfielded from 1999.RRQQ--110011 NNiigghhtt IInnttrruuddeerr 330000,, KAI; Begandevelopment in 1991 with Ministry fundingwith the Army receiving five systems 2001-2004 for Corps level operation, Navy alsoacquired the system.SShhaaddooww 440000,, AAI; One system in servicewith Navy for evaluation from 2006.SSkkyyllaarrkk IIII,, Elbit Systems; Announcedselection in Dec 2007, equipped with theMicro-CoMPASS E/O payload with first

delivery in 2008.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTKKUUSS--1111 TTUUAAVV,, KAI; Division level solution,awarded development contract in Sept.2010, delivery in 2015.KKUUSS--99,, Korean Air, KAI; Development com-pleted in 2009, work on project now endedDevil Killer, KAI; Miniature UAV weighs25Kg, durance 8 hrs.KKUUSS--1155,, Korean Air; V-tail MALE design,mock up shown at Seoul 2011.NNiigghhtt IInnttrruuddeerr NNII--1111NN,, KAI; Developmentbegan in 2006 with focus on maritime sur-veillance.KKoorreeaann -- CCoommbbaatt UUnnmmaannnneedd VVeehhiiccllee,, KAI;K-CUAV model at Seoul 2011.KKUUSS--XX,, Korean Air; Turbo-jet Delta designwing space 4.5m length 3.5m.UUrrbbaann SSttaarr,, Kyung An Cable Company;VTOL UAV in development.RReemmooeeyyee--000022AA,, Ucon Systems; 1.5mwingspan, range 10km endurance 1 hr. CCDTV or IR with single axis scanning.RReemmooeeyyee--000066,, Ucon Systems; pylon mount-ed high wing design, 6.8kg, 2.59mwingspan, 2 hr. endurance.RReemmooeeyyee--001155,, Ucon Systems; Developmentcomplete in June 2005, 15Kg TUAVendurance 4hrs plus range 40km, CCD TVor IR camera paylaod.RReemmoo HH--112200,, Ucon Systems; In develop-ment, 340CC engine rotary wing designendurance of two hours and rnage of 50km.RRQQ--88AA FFiirree SSccoouutt,, Northrop Grumman;Company believes it has interest.RRQQ--44 GGlloobbaall HHaawwkk BBlloocckk 3300,, Northrop

Grumman; Korea allocating $40m for partialpayment in 2011 budget for four aircraft fordelivery in 2015-16 but since canceled plans.Northrop Grumman had partnered withDACC Aerospace, Foosung, KJF andKorean Air.SSmmaarrtt UUAAVV,, KARI and Ministry ofKnowledge Economy; Tilt rotor designlaunched in 2002 with significant govern-ment funding, unveiled in 2005 was to beginflight testing in 2011, at 500Kmph aircraftdescribed as the world's fastest UAV, altitudeof 20,000ft and operational radius of 200km.FFMMAAVV,, Korea Agency for DefenseDevelopment, Hanwha and USAFRL,Flapping Wing MAV, weigh 200g, endurance25 minutes.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: In January Noh Dae-lae, headof South Korea's Defense AcquisitionProgram Administration has said in Feb.that plans to acquire Global Hawk havebeen canceled following a price hike from$442m in 2009 to $899m in November2011. Korea now plans to open a new com-petition. Collapse of deal has led toAeroVironment Global Obsever andBoeing's Phantom Eye being publicly citedas candidates with Israeli competition alsoexpected notably the Heron TP.

MALAYSIA�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDEEaaggllee 115500BB,, CTRM; Conversion of CTRM’sEagle 150 trainer aircraft into an aircraftwhich could function either as manned air-craft or a UAV, three aircraft and a GCS

A scale model of KAI’s Korean— Combat Unmanned Vehiclewas shown in october © AJB


The Smart UAV developed byKARI and Ministry of KnowledgeEconomy has a maximum speedof 500Kmph © AJB



entered service in 2002 and withdrawn inFeb 2006.AAlluuddrraa MMkk11,, CTRM; Trials from October2008 to late 2010.AAlluuddrraa MMkk22,, CTRM; Mk2 version leased byMalayisan Armed forces since 2008 who willcontinue to operate two from Semporna inEast Malaysia.YYaabbhhoonn AAlluuddrraa,, CTRM/Adcom; co-devel-opment with UAE firm, 500Kg MALEdesign with endurance of 30 hours. Two air-craft to be leased for counter-terrorism sur-veillance via CTRM.SSccaannEEaaggllee,, Insitu Pacific; leased by CTRM toMalaysian Armed Forces.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTCCyybbeerr EEyyee,, Sapura; demonstrated toMalaysian Military, sales to Thailand,Australia and Europe.CCyybbeerr SShhaarrkk,, Sapura; demonstrated toMalaysian Military.CCyybbeerr HHaawwkk,, Sapura; 20Kg with 6 hrendurance.CCyybbeerr QQuuaadd,, Sapura; two sizes, linked toSAKTI soldier programme.SS--110000,, Schiebel; Camcopter was the onlyUAV taking part in LIMA 2011 flightdisplays.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: New leased UAVs due to beoperational in Summer.

NEW ZEALAND�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTKKaahhuu//HHaawwkk,, SKYCAM UAV NZ; NewZealand is exploring SUAV concepts, 80minuted enduracne, 12km rnage.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: New Zealand troops benefitingfrom UAV coverage in Afghanistan. KahuHawk is a 3Kg design operated by 16 FieldRegiment with two systems each of a GCSand two aircraft having been acquiredto date.

PAKISTAN�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDUUqqaabb--IIII,, ACES; First squadron inducted intoPakistan Navy in July 2011 and tasked withMaritime Interdiction Operation. The timingcoincided with the crash of an Uqab-II NavyUAV near an oil refinery. Developed fromEagle Eye system.UUqqaabb,, Integrated Dynamics; Flight testscompleted in March 2008, developed withTurkish help similar to the US Army RQ-7BShadow 200.BBuurrrraaqq,, Pakistan Aeronautical Complex;


The Skyblade 360 is a 9kg handlaunched UAV with a 3 hour endurancealthough a fuel cell solution now indevelopment will double its flight timeand was first flown in May 2011© AJB

KAI's Devil Killer swarmUAV caused a stir at itslaunch last year ©AJB

Based on Falco-Selex Galileo technology andis believed to be intended as Pakistan's mainequivalent to the American Predator to beequipped with NESCom designed laser des-ignator and laser-guided missiles.FFaallccoo,, Selex Galileo; Pakistan bought 4-5unarmed reconnaissance drones from Italy.First Italian produced aircraft operational inearly 2009 after delivery 2006-8. Some pro-

duced locally by Pakistan AeronauticalComplex with local production beginning inAugust 2009. BBrraavvoo++//JJaassooooss IIII,, AWC; In use of thePakistan Air Force since 2004 and supportsOperations and Training Programme.CCHH--33,, CASC; 20 UAVs reported to be onorder from China for delivery in 2011 andequipped with FT-5 PGM.

LLuunnaa,, EMT; Acquired for Pakistani Armyin 2006.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTSS--110000CC,, Scheibel; VTOL UAV tested on PNType 21 frigate in March 2008 in a four hourmission.RRQQ--77 SShhaaddooww 220000,, AAI; 12 UAVs in threesystems requested, confirmed in Jan 2010 bySec Def. Gates. Now in limbo with an esti-mated cost of $150m from the PakistanCounterinsurgency Capability Fund budget‘‘UUQQAABB IIIIII’’,, ACES; presumed designationfor HALE/’Strategic’ version with radius ofoperation of over 300km.KK11,, AWC; Trial by Army in 1997.�� NNOOTTEESS:: Pakistan aviation firms involvedin UAV development include IntegratedDynamics Surveillance & Target UnmannedAircraft, East West Infiniti, Air WeaponsComplex National Development Complex(NDC) and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.Somewhat ironic if true, Tusas AerospaceIndustries signed an MoU in May 2007 withlocal firm Air Weapons Complex workingon a MALE solution.

PHILIPPINES�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDPPrreeddaattoorr AA,, General Atomics; Two of theUAVs operating in Philippines were report-ed to be registered with the Office of theNational Security Advisor. HHuunntteerr RRQQ--55,, Northrop Grumman/IAI;Reported to be from the US Army and oper-ated by the Philippines Air Force.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTBBlluuee HHoorriizzoonn,, UVision Air; Reportedlyobtained for trials and operational testingin 2001.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: First known US drone strike inthe Philippines reported in February on AbuSayyaf base on Jolo island, killing 15 includ-ing three senior leaders including Zulkiflibin Hir/Marwan.

SINGAPORE�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDSSeeaarrcchheerr II,, IAI; Fielded with No. 119 andNo. 128 Sqns RSAF operates at least ten sys-tems, deployed to Afghanistan as part ofSingapore’s deployment since 2010.HHeerrmmeess HH--445500,, Elbit Systems; No. 116 Sqnoperates the UAV with 12 platformsfielded since 2007.



Korean Air’s KUS-9design © AJB



HHeerroonn 11,, IAI; delivered in 2012, equippedwith IAI/Tamam Multimission OptronicStabilised Payload, to replace Searcher 1with 119 Squ first to convert and inductedMay 23rd.SSkkyybbllaaddee IIIIII,, ST Aerospace; Fieldidn withAmry in 2011, equipping units at battalionand brigade level developed by SingaporeArmed Forces (SAF), the DSO NationalLaboratories, ST Aerospace and the DefenceScience and Technology Agency.SSkkyybbllaaddee IIII,, ST Aerospace; delivered to SAFin mid 2005, 5kg range of 8km.SSkkyyllaarrkk,, Elbit Systems; Fielded by RSAFfrom 2006.SSccaannEEaaggllee,, Insitu Pacific; Republic ofSingapore Navy successfully trialed theScanEagle in March 2009, the trials involv-ing the successful operation of the UAVfrom a RSN frigate and LST. Fielded in 2012operated in Exercise in May off RSS Valiantcorvette.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTBBlluuee HHoorriizzoonn,, Singapore TechnologiesDynamics, MALE ordered in 1998 acquiredin 1999.SSTT SSkkyybbllaaddee IIVV,, ST Aerospace, 54nm rangeUAV unveiled 2006.GGlloobbaall HHaawwkk;; Northrop Grumman; ListedSingapore as a potential customer at ParisAirshow 2011, possibly to meet Singapore’srequirements.FFaannTTaaiill 55000000,, ST Aerospace, VTOL SUAV 30min hover endurance 8km range groundand naval role.

MMAAVV--11,, ST Aerospace; Low-observabledevelopmental UAV.RRQQ--88AA FFiirree SSccoouutt,, Northrop Grumman;Company believes it has interest from themilitary.SSkkyybbllaaddee 336600,, ST Aerospace's, SUAV indevelopment 9kg 3 hour endurance with 6hours with fuel cell, range 15km altitude900m first flown May 2011.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: In May 2007, responsibility forUAV development, training and operationswere placed under the RSAF’s UAVCommand. Typically using the Generic GCSfrom Singapore Technology mounted onBronco tracked ATV.

SRI LANKA�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDSSeeaarrcchheerr,, IAI; Mks II and III variants equipNo 111 Air Surveillance Squadron basedat Anuradhapura with one or two systemsin service.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: No public plans for new UAVsalthough in 2011 the Sri Lankan militarysaid they were testing an indigenouslydeveloped UAV.

TAIWAN�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDCChhuunngg SShhyyaanngg IIII,, CSIST; Initiated pro-gramme in 2002 unveiled in 2005, enteredservice with 601st and 602nd AirborneBrigades in 2011, 32 platforms ordered.““ZZhhoonnggxxiiaanngg IIIIII UUAAVV"",, CSIST; Prototype

crashed and found by fishermen in June2010, reported counter-radar role.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTT''MMQQ--99 EEqquuiivvaalleenntt'',, CSIST; Concept shownat last Aerospace and Defense technologyExhibition.UUCCAAVV,, CCSSIISSTT;; Could be deployed in sever-al years similar to X-45/X-47B.AAII RRiiddeerr,, Gang Yu Corp; Indigenous six-rotor 1.5Kg design launched at Secutech, inTaipei in April used by Taiwan’s militaryand academic institutions for surveillanceand geographic surveying.KKeessttrreell IIII,, CSIST; Early development non-operational.CCaarrddiinnaall,, CSIST; Hand launched Mini-UAV,1.5 hour endurance military interest reportedBBlluuee MMaaggppiiee,, CSIST; Hand launched Mini-UAV, no military interest reported.

The Heron I was induct-ed into the RSAF's 119Squadron in May © AJB

AALL--44,, Aeroland UAV Inc; Hand launchedUAV ordered by non-Military customerin Taiwan.‘‘GGrraayy--ffaacceedd BBuuzzzzaarrdd’’,, National Cheng KungUniversity; Fuel-cell/lithium battery pow-ered 22kg UAV first flew in 2010.SSppoooonnbbiillll,, National Cheng Kung University;Flew 92km in 52 minutes over water in 2009.

��NNOOTTEESS:: Air Force reported to be interestedin a HALE UAV but not Global Hawk in2010. Focus of April Exercice Han Kuangmilitary exercise inlcuded mass UAV attackfrom China.

THAILAND�� FFIIEELLDDEEDDCCyybbeerr EEyyee,, Sapura; Three systems acquiredfrom Malaysia in 2009.AAeerroossttaarr;; Aeronautics Defence Systemsdesign; One system, ordered in late 2010.RRaavveenn,, AeroVironment; Successive con-tracts with Aeronautics since 2008.SSeeaarrcchheerr II&&IIII,, IAI; One system comprisingfour UAVs and GCS and RVT, since retired.

�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTGG--SSTTAARR,, Innocon/G-Force Composites;based on MiniFalcon 2, RTAF has bought

one system for TUAV evaluation.RRQQ--88AA FFiirree SSccoouutt,, Northrop Grumman;Company believes there is interest.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: Thai Air Force is leading effortson UAV strategy with plans outlined in 2009to equip a squadron and calling for a threesystems with 15km, 30km and 100km rangeaimed at acquiring capability and building adomestic research and production base.Burma denounced unidentified UAV flightson Thai-Burma border in January 2011.

VIETNAM�� TTRRIIAALLSS AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTTRR&&DD UUAAVV//IIrrkkuutt--220000 VVaarriiaanntt;; IrkutEngineering; deal announced in March 2012.

�� NNOOTTEESS:: The Vietnam AerospaceAssociation has signed a deal with IrkutEbgineering for a 100Kg UAV system todevelop UAV competency and experiecnein the country intially for civilian pruposes,later for military applications.

Korean Air's V-tail MALE design was shown atSeoul 2011© AJB

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IWI 5.56mmX95 Flattopwith MEPRO 21 Reflex Sightand Assault Grip © IWI

Equally, significant increases viathe performance of ammunitionin terms of range and lethality areequally difficult to achieve whilebig reductions in weight will only

come via the maturation of technologies suchas case telescoped or caseless ammunitionwhich remain several years away.

Rather than pursuing diminishing per-formance returns at large cost, users haveoften chosen to enhance existing designs viasights, enabling rapid targeting at day ornight at distances that correspond to theeffective range of the weapons.

LethalityWhile the biggest improvements do derivefrom precision engagement devices, that isnot to say that improvements over legacy

weapons are not being pursued, both byreplacing aging or obsolescent weapons aswell as adding new capabilities to the squad.

India is a key small arms market in theAsia Pacific region with two key programmescurrently in competition. The first is the44,000 requirement for a CQB Carbine with aRequest For Information (RFI) for this beingissued in mid 2011. Bids have now been sub-mitted with the customer recently undertak-ing the Technical Evaluation which shouldlead to a request for samples for trials laterthis year. A larger 66,000 requirement for anAssault Rifle was issued via an RFI in 2011with responses due to be submitted in April.The requirement calls for a weapon alongwith a reflex sight, laser pointer and dayscopewith around 7000 Underbarrel grenadelaunchers. It is thought that the expected bid-

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Small arms define the dismounted infantrymanand marine. But maximizing lethality is nolonger just a function of the weapon itself.Limits on weight mean that significant furtherreductions in that area can only be achievedby the use of high-grade aluminium, titaniumor other materials, putting them out ofthe reach of conventional forces.

bbyy Adam Baddeley

Infantry

Soldier

Weapons& Sights:

Empoweringthe

ders for this requirement will includeArsenal, Beretta, Ceska, Colt, Israel WeaponIndustries and SIG Sauer. Not content withone of the largest small arms tenders in theworld, India is also seeking a range of otherweapons. Since the start of the year, there hasalso been a Request for Information (RFI) fora 7.62mm Light Machine Gun for the Army’sParachute (Special Forces) battalions inJanuary. This was joined by an RFI for a 9mm‘Cornershot’ type weapon.

Beretta’s ARX160, developed for theItalian armed forces has been refined follow-ing extensive deployment with the Folgore

Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan.Izhmash’s AK12, launched in 2010 is

offered with 5.45x39mm rounds. From theassault rifle variant other weapons havebeen developed; the AK-12U carbine, PPK-12 submachine gun, SVD-12 sniper riflesand RPK-12 LMG. A range of 5.56x45mmKalashnikov type weapons includes the AK-101 and AK-102.

Colt is expected to begin local productionof the M4A1 for the Malaysian Armed Forcesin 2014. Remington's Adaptive Combat Rifle(ACR) was designed in co-operation withMagPul Industries Corp. and Bushmaster fir-ing both 5.56x45mm and 6.8mm SPC IIrounds. The ACR is designed to be a familyof weapons with a range of modular options

including 10.5”, 14.5”, 16.5” and 18” barrelsand uses a gas piston operating system.

SIG Sauer is heavily promoting its SIG5165.56mm assault rifle concept which uses afour position short stroke gas piston operat-ing system. The rifle also offers enhancedaccuracy through the use of a free floatingforearm and a chrome lined and phosphatecoated barrel. Users can opt between five bar-rel lengths up to 457mm with a high-gradealuminium receiver to reduce weight

Heckler and Koch’s HK416 was original-ly developed in the US with Delta Forcewith a notable difference between it and theM4 which it replaced from 2004 in that unit's


France has adopted the HK417 in a crashprogramme © AJB

SSMMAALLLL A R M S

India is a key small armsmarket in the Asia Pacificregion with two keyprogrammes currently incompetition

An IWI Tavor Star Flattopwith one of the company'sX4 sights © AJB

inventory is with the substitution of a pistondriven gas operating system. From the SFworld, the weapon has been adopted by oth-ers including the armed forces of Norwaywho has acquired the HK416 and its siblingthe 7.62x51mm HK417. In France, the FRF2sniper rifle was replaced in FELIN-equipped units going to Afghanistan withthe HK417 in a crash programme. Franceplans to begin replacing its FAMAS withnew assault rifle in 2015, coincidentally atthe point at which all units will be equippedwith the last of 22,588 soldier systems.The new 7.62x51mm FN SCAR-H TPR

Tactical Precision Rifle was launched in Juneand designed for snipers and marksman anduses a sniper-buttstock and is designed forrapid and accurate fire and short and longranges. Another dedicated sniper rifle is theSako TRG M10 which is being put forwardfor the USSOCOM's Precision Sniper Rifleand supports 7.62x51mm, .300 WinMag and.338 Lapua Magnum.A range of personal defence weapons are

now entering service, a category which

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The Gladius soldiersystems operatesthe Zeiss ZO 4x30sight © AJB

includes sub-machine guns as well as non-9mm parabellum weapons offeringenhanced capabilities over this now elderlyround. The Kriss Super V system, manufac-tured in Taiwan works by eliminating largeportions of rearward felt recoil and associat-ed muzzle recoil by redirecting the recoildownwards. The company claims that theVector weapon results in 60 percent less feltrecoil and 95 percent less muzzle climb. Theweapon is offered in .45 ACP 230g FMJ andhas a cyclic rate of fire of 1200 rpmwith usersswitching between single, two round burstsand automatic, using an ambidextrous fireselector. DEFEXPO saw the stalwart of thepost war submachine gun market, the Uziwith a significant revamp with the launch byIWI of their Israel Weapon Industries UziPro. The 9mm weapon has been made morecompact with Picatinny rails, ergonomic butt,foldable assault handle, pistol style magazinerelease, adjustable shoulder stock and cheekrest. Beretta’s 9mm MX-4 was ordered byIndia’s Border Security Force with an orderfor 34,000 weapons in February 2011 whichhas recently been completed.

Another new design shown at DEFEXPOwas the IWI Negev NG7 7.62x51mm LMGwhich shares 80 percent of the componentswith the 5.56mm Negev. The 700 rpm NG7weighs 8kg and for mobile firing it has asemi-automatic firing mode as well as tritiumnight sights and Picatinny rails.At Eurosatory, Thales and Steyr-

Mannlicher showed their new F90, a jointlydeveloped enhancement to the F88 assault riflecurrently in service with the AustralianDefence Force (ADF) in five versions, buildingfrom the 3.25Kg standard F90 to the F90Gwithintegrated grenade launcher and the F90CQBshort barrel version which weighs just 3.15Kg.

SightsAs with small arms in India, there have beena recent flurry of acquisition activity relatedto weapon sights. This includes a FebruaryRFI for an image intensification (I2) rifle car-bine sight with a figure of merit for its tube of

1700. This was received by a requirement foran uncooled thermal Imaging sight for a7.62mm LMG with a range of 800m.Singapore’s Special Forces have adopted

Aimpoint’s CompM4 sight, although for thecountry’s Advanced Combat Man System theMicro T1 is used with Australia’s SF, conven-tional forces and police also using the sightwith the ADF replacing its legacy M2s withthe newer M4s. New Zealand has recentlymade a decision to equip their police with theBushmaster M4 along with the CompM4sight, beginning in April.A recent development to the Micro T1

sight is the introduction of a two Minute ofAngle (MOA) solution down from a fourMOA to enable greater accuracy at long dis-tances, particularly when used with a 3Xmagnifier, improving effective range of a5.56mm round from 300m to 500m andincrease 7.62mm assault rifles to 500m.In October 2010 the millionth Aimpoint

sight was delivered to the US Army withthe company is in the latter part of thedelivery of 565,000 sights to the US Armyunder a 2009 award.Trijicon have been active in India since

2006 with 100 percent of sales to date beingat a state police and paramilitary level withthe ACOG 4x32 sight and Ruggedised


At Eurosatory, Thales andSteyr-Mannlicher showedtheir new F90, a jointlydeveloped enhancement tothe F88 assault rifle

Pulse Inteco Systems latest MESLAS Sniper'sFire-Controlled Riflescope 10x40 © PulseInteco Systems

SSMMAALLLL A R M S

Miniature Reflex sights as well as olderreflex sights. Indonesia uses a number ofACOG 4x32s with a commercial reticle whilethe ADF has opted for the same sight butwith a custom reticule. Trijicon have alsosupplied conventional scopes on Beretta .50cal sniper rifles.Trijicon is also participating in a competi-

tion to supply sights on the South AfricanDefence Force R4 assault rifles with anannouncement on the outcome expectedfrom the Summer onwards.US firm American Technology Network

has sold their Thor thermal rifle sight toThailand and are currently is discussionabout the potential to supply their latest Thor320 which uses a FLIR sourced VoX corerather then the earlier L-3 core. India hasacquired their MARS 4 and 6 thermal sights.Other customers include the OTIS-17weapon sight to the Peruvian Air Force aswell as the MARS 4 to the Army.The company uses thermal cores and I2

from a variety of course with ATN sourcingI2 tubes from ITT, L-3, Photonis and threeRussian sources.Israel has been an important source of

sights with both Meprolight and MSELimited – part of Star Defense Systems.Meprolight recently launched their new sub-1 Kg Noa Nyx uncooled thermal rifle sightand 700g, 2x Mini-Hunter which can operatefor forty hours on a single AA battery. TheNoa Nyx can detect man sized targets at up to900m and can store up to three sight reticlesdefined by the user and has a sub-five secondwarm up time, running continuously forseven hours on just four AA batteries. MSELtd have approached the requirement for

sights on the dismounted soldier with maxi-mum affordability. The result is the AQCfamily of reflex sights with the AQC-1 havingtwo built in reticle options couple with largewindow size while the AQC-2 adds an IR orvisible laser designator. MSE also offers theOr-Sight weapon mounted night sight.Forsnipers, Pulse Inteco Systems have developedrecently launched the MESLAS 10x40 firecontrolled riflescope, noted for the use of asingle pulse laser to reduce susceptibility todetection from enemy sensors.Bulgarian firm Optix is has sold a number

of night vision devices in the region. Thefirm's ONS-4V/4M I2 weapon sight whichcan use Gen 2 and Gen 3+ as well as XD-4,XR-5 and XR-5 Onyx tubes can detect mansized targets at between 520m and 860m.Czech firm Meopta has developed the

Meopta Modular Systems initially for theArmy of the Czech Republic for use withtheir new CZ 805 Bren assault rifle but whichcan be integrated on other weapons. TheModular Systems comprise the NV-Mag 3night vision microscope, DV-Mag 3 daysightand ZD-Dot red dot sight.QioptiQ’s latest sights comprise the

five strong Dragon Uncooled ThermalImagers. The smallest is the Dragon Combator C which can be clipped onto a weapon.The sub-390g Dragon-C has a magnificationof 2X with an E-Zoom and no focus controlis required. The device has a detectionrange, using a 320x240 detector with 2Xmagnification against a mansized target at1070m. The Dragon-C can be used withadditional day sights with up to 4X magnifi-cation. The earlier VIPR series of thermalsights continue to be used widely. In the I2world, the Dragon family are complement-ed by a three-strong Merlin family, theMerlin SR denoting Short Range and candetect a man sized target in moonlightat 1589m and weighs less than 820g with asingle AA battery supporting 40 hours ofcontinuous use.Leupold recent released its new Mark 4

High Accuracy Multi-Range Riflescope(HAMR) designed for carbines and opti-mised for mid range accuracy and fast acqui-sition in day and low light, the latter via theuse of the company's The Xtended TwilightLens System. In combination with the firm’sDeltaPoint reflex sight a CQB capabilityis added.


Sagem's newSword Lightuncooled thermalimager © AJB

Qioptiq have supplied a range of sights to theUK's FIST programme © AJB

A R M SSSMMAALLLL

TTRRAAIINNEERRA I R C R A F T S


The answers to this question willdiffer from nation to nation, withsome looking at their whole flighttraining regime from the basic tothe advanced platforms while oth-

ers will integrate new or updated equipmentwith legacy fleets.

Those that can afford it will follow the sys-tem taken by Singapore which has acquired afleet of Pilatus PC-21 basic turboprop trainersplus Aermacchi M-346 Master advanced/lead-in-fighter trainers (LIFT). South Koreahas adopted a similar solution although ithas a three-tier training system that includes

the KAI KT-1 turboprop basic trainer andthe KAI T-50 Golden Eagle supersonicadvanced/LIFT aircraft while retaining itsfleet of BAE Systems Hawk Mk 67 advancedtrainers. Indonesia has decided to mirror theSouth Korean mix, KT-1 and T-50, although

the latter will replace its Hawk Mk.53advanced trainers.

All of these countries have chosen a turbo-prop basic training aircraft over a jet-pow-ered basic trainer of which the ChineseHongdu K-8 Karakorum and India’s HALHJT-36 Sitara. The former it cheaper thanmost turboprop trainers and has been sold toMyanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in addi-tion to the large numbers being delivered tothe Chinese Air Force. India’s Air Force andNavy have a requirement for HAL HJT-36Sitaras to replace the HJT-16 Kiran in its roleas a Stage-2 trainer, although the type has

Jet TrainersTurbopropsJet TrainersTurbopropsvs

Indonesia has decided to mirror the South Korean mix,KT-1 and T-50, although the latter will replace its HawkMk.53 advanced trainers

A I R C R A F T STTRRAAIINNEERR


The new kid on the block, theGrob G 120TP is carving aniche as a cost effective basictraining package © Grob

With an unprecedented numberof regional nations acquiring, orplanning to acquire, fifth generation combataircraft, including Australia, India, Japan,Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea by the endof the decade, the question of what is theappropriate flight training solution will have tobe addressed sooner rather than later.

bbyy David Oliver

had a protracted development and is unlike-ly to attract serious overseas interest.According to market forecasts, the K-8 willaccount for more than 30 percent of annualbasic trainer sales over the next decade tonations that are unable to afford Western tur-boprop aircraft.Meanwhile India has a $1 billion require-

ment to replace its ageing fleet of 150 HJT-16Kiran basic trainer aircraft for which thePilatus PC-7 Mk II has been short listed,beating off the KAI KT-1 and the T-6C TexanII. However this contract has not yet beenconfirmed and India’s basic trainer options

are still open.With the overall market for turboprop

basic trainers predicted to drop by more than50 percent by the end of the decade, one man-ufacturer is hoping to buck the trend. TheGerman Grob Aircraft company that hasdelivered some 400 of its G 115 piston-engined composite constructed aerobatic pri-mary trainer, launched its turboprop G120TP in 2009 that it claims symbolises the21st century evolution of basic flight training.According to the company, simplicity in

pilot operation and system functions makethe G 120TP the only sophisticated mission

training platform that can accommodate typ-ical elementary, basic and advanced pilottraining segments. The cost efficiency of theG 120TP redefines training cost and budgets.High performance, full virtual tactical train-ing capability including HOTAS, combinedwith high dispatch reliability make the G120TP not only the most cost efficient solu-tion for the future, but also the best integrat-ed training system overall.Equipped with the new lightweight

Martin Baker Mk 15B ejection seat and pow-ered by the reliable Rolls-Royce RM250-B17Fturbine provides a power upgrade while

eliminating the need of multiple fuels.G 120TP is the only side-by-side military

training aircraft with a glass cockpit

designed by Elta of Israel certified in the 21stcentury with full aerobatic and military train-ing capability.

Turbine powered high performance com-bined with operating simplicity makes the G120TP the ideal platform for learning thefirst steps of flying all the way to pushingthe envelope at 6g during the aerobatictraining phase. The G 120TP’s flight per-formance and embedded cockpit trainingsimulations could allow any air force tohave the ability to use a single platform totrain and stream student pilots for rotary,transport and fast jet types from the outsetof their training.

Grob Aircraft secured an important new

customer in Asia by winning the selectioncompetition to supply Indonesia with itsfuture trainer aircraft earlier this year. TheIndonesian Air Force will operate the G120TP in the elementary and basic trainingroles but the innovative ‘system of systems’training approach that the G 120TP repre-sents as a complete package, will encompasscomputer based ground training, missionbriefing/debriefing and advanced, state-of-the-art embedded cockpit simulation.Deliveries will commence in 2012.

Grob is focusing on marketing in India,offering the G 120TP to the Indian Air Forcewhich is looking at replacements for the HAL

HPT-32 Deepak elementary trainer, most ofwhich have been grounded for the past twoyears. India is planning to purchase 75 air-craft and Grob is in contention

Chief Sales Officer and Co-ChiefExecutive Officer, Andre Hiebeler says thatGrob sees Asia is seen as a key region for itstotal ’21st Century Turn Key’ operations forthe G 120TP that will deliver the completetraining and operating system including theaircraft, line support, maintenance supportand simulators. In this way, any potential AirForce can concentrate on the flying whilstGrob takes care of everything else on a‘power by the hour’ lease basis which candramatically reduce future defence budgetsfor both support and procurement.

At FIDAE 2012 in Chile, the German man-ufacturer announced a partnership with theArgentine aircraft company FábricaArgentina de Aviones (FAdeA) which willoffer the G 120TP as a package with anupgraded AT-63 Pampa II as the Lead-InFighter Trainer (LIFT) aircraft. The two air-


Grob Aircraft securedanimportant new customer inAsia by winning theselection competition tosupply Indonesia withits [G 120TP]


The top of the range turboprop training aircraftin the market is the Pilatus PC-21 selected bythe Singapore Air Force © Pilatus

craft will have standardised glass cockpits toreduce student conversion time and costswhile retaining the advanced avionics andembedded cockpit ‘virtual training’ modescommon to both types.

Grob CEO, Andre Hiebeler said that theArgentine Air Force has a requirement for 11basic training aircraft, but for other markets,it will be offering the Embraer EMB-314Super Tucano as the LIFT option. Potentialmarkets for supplying its training systemspackage, either by direct sale or under aPPI/PFI contract, include Australia, NewZealand, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Currently Royal Australian Air Force car-ries out all elementary and basic training on itsageing fleet of Pilatus PC-9A aircraft and theHawkMk 127 advanced trainers but the flighttraining system is under review pending the

procurement of up to 100 F-35A Lighting IIaircraft in the next decade. New Zealand hasno fast jet fleet, nor does it have any plans toacquire any, but it has fleets of maritime patroland transport aircraft. Flight training is car-ried out on New Zealand-built piston-enginedPacific Aerospace Ltd CT-4E Airtrainers anda handful of Hawker Beechcraft King Air200s for multi-engine training.

The Philippines has been plagued bysevere budget restrictions until recently buthas pledged to increase defence fundingover the next five years to complete a capa-bility upgrade and proceed to a modernisa-tion programme aimed at meeting basicrequirements to address external securitythreats. In addition to being targeted byGrob for its future basic flying trainingrequirements, Russia’s Rosoboronexport

agency is promoting the Yak-130 Mittenadvanced jet trainer/light attack jet and hastendered for six aircraft to replace thePhilippines retired Northrop F-5A Tigerfighters, and its current fleet of Alenia S-211basic jet trainers. The Yak-130 has also beenoffered to Bangladesh to replace its Aero L-39 jet trainers.

The Malaysian Air Force has an eclecticmix of training aircraft including SMEMD3-160 AeroTiga piston-engined elemen-tary trainers, Pilatus PC-71 Mk I/IIbasic trainers, AleniaMB-339A andHawkMk106 advanced trainers, and NorthropF-5F Tiger II fighter aircraft re-rolled as lead-

The high end of the Lead-In Fighter Trainermarket is the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle which hassold to the South Korean and Indonesian Airforces © David Oliver



Competing with the T-50 is the Aermacchi M-346Master that has been chosen by the SingaporeAir Force © Aermacchi

in-fighter trainers. It has an obvious need toreduce the number of types in its trainingfleet and Grob’s ‘21st Century TrainingSolution’ may well succeed in Malaysia whilethe Aermacchi M-346 Master is seen as aprobable contender for the advanced train-er/LIFT role.China is one of the few nations that does

not have a turboprop aircraft in its traininginventory, the backbone of which is theHongdu JL-8 basic jet trainer and theChengdu JJ-7 advanced trainer that wasbased on the Russian MiG-21US. Over thenext decade, the Hongdu L-15, a develop-ment of the Yak-130, is expected to replacethe JJ-7 in the advanced training/LIFT role.With many nations looking to acquire

multi-mission aircraft, trainer manufacturershave developed light attack variants fittedwith hard points and advanced sensor sys-tems. The target market for these aircraft arethose nations that cannot afford fast-jet com-bat aircraft but have enough funds to pur-chase new advanced trainers/light attack air-craft. This capability was highlighted recent-ly by the United States Air Force’s Light AirSupport (LAS) aircraft requirement for theAfghanistan National Army Air Corps(ANAAC) to be fielded by 2013.

The programme called for fixed-wingsingle-engine turboprop platforms, with anumber of critical requirements that thewinning aircraft had to fulfill including arough-field capability without ground sup-port, dual controls, ejection seats, specificair-to-ground weapons and systems and adefensive-aids system.The two down selected contenders for

both turned out to be adaptations of basictrainer aircraft, the Brazilian Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano and the US HawkerBeechcraft AT-6B Texan II. On 1 January2012 the USAF announced it had selectedthe Embraer A-29 Super Tucano for the LASprogramme and awarded a contract fortwenty aircraft and associated support val-ued at $355 million. Almost immediately,Hawker Beechcraft, manufacturer of thecompeting AT-6, claimed unfair contractingpractices resulting in USAF issuing a stop-

work order on the LAS contract. However,the UAS announced in April that the contestwould be re-run and that the ANAACwould receive its first combat aircraftfor more than a decade.Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) are

marketing armed variants of both the turbo-prop KT-1, the KA-1, and the T-50 advancedjet trainer, the T/A-50, although Pilatus hasno plans to develop an armed variant ofits PC-21 turboprop basic trainer. ThePhilippines operate an armed version of theAermacchi SF-260SP turboprop basic trainerand the Italian company offers a light attackvariant of its M-346 Master that was a west-ernised version of the Yak-130. An armedvariant of the Hongdu K-8 is produced by


BAE System’s widely used Hawk is operated byAustralia, India, Indonesia and Malaysia,illustrated © BAE Systems

The Hongdu K-8, such as this Pakistan Air Forceexample, is proving to be a market leader in thebasic jet trainer sector © David Oliver


Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) andthe prototype L-15 has been modified withunderling hardpoints for the carriage of TL-10 air-to ground missiles and rocket pods.

There is a growing awareness of theimportance of tailoring a flight training sys-tem towards frontline capabilities and theoptions are wide open. A prime example ofnot getting a correct and cohesive training

system in place is India which has a veryhigh attrition rate of frontline combat air-craft, most of which are still second or third

generation fighters.When considering the relative merits of

turboprop versus jet trainers, there is no suit-all solution. The top of the range turboprop,the Pilatus PC-21 has the performance andhandling capabilities of an advanced trainer,and the price tag to go with it, while the GrobG 120TP offers an adaptable and affordabletraining solution for primary and basic train-ing to streaming level.

Some, such as China, have followed theall-jet path for their basic and advanced train-ing regimes, with the Hongdu K-8 as a clearleader in the basic jet trainer market. Forother nations, the trainer/light attack aircraftmay be a cost effective solution althoughworking out the ratio of the differing rolesmay be a challenge. Whatever the mix, thereis a large market in the Asian region for man-ufacturers of training aircraft to focus on overthe next few years.

The Beechcraft AT-6B is competing with theEmbraer Super Tucano in the turboprop basictrainer/light attack aircraft market © David Oliver


AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOWAND AEROSPACE & DEFENCE EXPOSITION

AIRSHOW201326 FEBRUARY - 3 MARCH 2013

GEELONG VICTORIA

Australian Sales TeamBob Wouda T: +61 (0) 3 5282 0538 M: +61 (0) 418 143 290 E: [email protected] Haines T: +61 (0) 3 5282 0535 M: +61 (0) 407 824 400 E: [email protected] McLaglen T: +61 (0) 3 5282 0502 M: +61 (0) 411 147 882 E: [email protected]

www.airshow.com.au

THE ESSENTIAL AVIATION, AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE SHOWCASEFOR AUSTRALIA AND THE ASIA PACIFIC

The Philippines operatean armed version ofthe Aermacchi SF-260SPturboprop basic trainer

AAIIRRBBOORRNNEEC O M M U N I C A T I O N S


A key element to the MalaysianArmed Force's airborne network isthe Rohde and Schwarz’s M3XRSECOS UHF waveform © R&S

C O M M U N I C A T I O N SAAIIRRBBOORRNNEE


The air environment also posesunique challenges not seen on theground or at sea with the resultingcommunications systems needingto meet tough weight, space, and

power limitations, operate in circumstancesof electromagnetic interference as well asaddressing ruggedisation issues related tohigh speed operation, altitude as well asdealing with extreme temperatures, oftenexperiencing both ends of the spectrum in asingle mission.

RadiosThe entry-level requirements for airbornecommunications will remain the provision ofVHF and UHF communications covering airto ground links which if NATO interoperablewill encompass HAVE QUICK I/II wave-forms with a number of proprietary solutionsin place for countries outside the Alliance.

At DEFEXPO 2012, Bharat Electronics Ltdshowed a mock up of its airborne SoftwareDefined Radio (SDR) to meet Indian AirForce requirements and is one of 16 plannedSDR variants in the family with developmentexpected to complete in 2013.

A key element to the Malaysian ArmedForce's airborne network is the Rohde andSchwarz’s M3XR SECOS UHF waveform. Onthe ground, the country's new 8x8 IFV, theAV8 uses the company's M3TR MH3000U inthe ground to air role. In the air, users can optbetween a number of physical housings,specifically the MR6000A in an ARINC 600housing and the ARC-164-sized and remotecontrolled MR6000R and the MR6000L,which is operated via a local control panel.Physical differences between the sets howev-er, shroud internal commonality. The radiosoperate over the 30-400 MHz frequencyrange and support HAVE QUICK I/II, SAT-URN and the company’s SECOS solution.The SECOS is a frequency hopping, encrypt-ed, TDMA waveform supporting throughputof 16 Kbps and offer protection against activejamming even at high speeds with up to 128participants able to exchange informationwithin a network. The radio also supports thewidely used Link 11 waveform.

In the Phoenix II Exercise held by France in 2011an aerostat was used as the airborne platformto support a communications relay © AJB

AirborneExtending thecommunications networkon which aircraft,helicopters andUnmanned AerialVehicles (UAVs) rely isnot simply aboutincreasing effectiveness and efficiency in the air through improvingsituational awareness and sharing targeting information. Jointoperations demand that each Service work together, requiring theground, air and naval communications networks be merged or at thevery least, establish interoperability protocols and interfaces.

bbyy Adam Baddeley

Networking the Communications:

Skies

Elbit’s SDR-7200AR was launched inIndia in 2011 and is based on its groundbased, vehicular SDR-7200. For airborneapplications, changes to support integrationwith avionics have been made along withother aviation related enhancements. Theradio supports VHF, UHF, L-Band, S-Bandand SATCOM. The product is fully compli-ant with the Software CommunicationsArchitecture (SCA) version 2.2.2.Rockwell Collins’ 5th Generation ARC-

210 remains a dominant force in airbornecommunications both for NATO and non-NATO countries. Its most recent iteration isthe Gen5 radio which was recently adoptedby the US with key features including anincrease in frequency range from 30-400Mhzto 30-941 MHz, enabling for example com-munications in the public safety arena and isalso able to support Line Of Sight data trans-fer rates up to 80 kbps in a 25 kHz channel.Rafael’s Broadband Mobile Ad-hoc

Network SDR or BNET was developed fromits Globelink/Netcor airborne communica-tions system is an SCA compliant system.The Globelink system includes the RTDNGlobal Link Voice-Data Link in V/UHF andprovides and L-band datalink and theRavnet-300 which is an adapted ARC-210.The Raytheon AN/ARC-231 Skyfire sup-

ports Airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMASATCOM Communications System and isused throughout US Army segments of theBlackhawk and Apache fleets and the entireChinook fleet US users now include MH-

60L/M and UH-60L/M Black Hawks, MH-47E/G and CH-47G Chinooks as well as anumber of NATO users. Outside NATO, theexport version of the ARC-231 is the MX4000.In South Africa, Reutech Communications’

10Kg ACR 500 airborne radio has been sup-plied to a number of countries including Indiaand South Africa, to platforms that includethe Lynx, A109E LUH, Mi-17, Mi-26 and Mi-35. The company’s latest, second generationSDRs for airborne platforms are the newACR5020-L and ACR3020-UL.For rotary wing aircraft, Thales’ Nextw@ve

radio has been in service on AH-64D Apachesin service with the United Arab Emirates forthe past three years and is also in service onEurocopter Panther, Fennec and Tiger plat-forms in French service.

SatcomRaytheon has recently validated the renewalthe satcom capacity of its 5000 in serviceAN/ARC-231 airborne radio terminalswit the instantiation of the new UHFIntegrated Waveform (IW)waveform aftersuccessful testing.Novelsat launched its NS3 third genera-

tion satellite modulation technology inNovember which has been shown to boostsatellite capacity by 28-70 percent using theDigital Video Broadcasting (DVB-S2) stan-dard. The company describes the benefits ofthis as reducing satellite leasing costs andantenna size by a third as well as improvingthe aerodynamic profile of the aircraft onwhich it is installed. N3 technology can cur-rently support data speeds on up to 358Mbpstoday on a 250MHz transponder and is sched-uled to increase to 1Gbps by the end of 2012.In the same month, ViaSat demonstrated

an high capacity secure throughput from its12-inch VR-12 Ka airborne satellite antennaand ArcLight 2 modemHD video supportingbackhaul, video conferencing, IP phone com-munications, and web browsing. A forwardlink with a maintained throughput of 4 Mbpswith the return link performing at 6 Mbps.Hughes Network Systems has recently

been contracted by the US to provide sat-com for airborne intelligence, surveillance,and reconnaissance (ISR), using the compa-ny’s HX System, HX satellite Gateway, HX200 satellite router and Expert NetworkManagement System.

Comms relayWithout the availability of satcom, usersmust rely on traditional terrestrial communi-cations for data rates above those offered byhigh frequency radios. Line of Sight commu-nications are as its name suggests limited byphysical and human geography and the cur-


A key element to theMalaysian Armed Force’sairborne network is theRohde and Schwarz’s M3XRSECOS UHF waveform

Rafael’s RAVNET 300uses the AN/ARC-210as its base © AJB


vature of the earth. Overcoming that requiresthe use of relays to extend the range of com-munications. In distributed operations and indifficult terrain the need for multiple com-munications nodes dotted around the battle-field, each requiring its own force protectiondetail means this is almost impossible toachieve on today's battlefields. Instead, usersare increasingly mounting relays on airborneplatforms and particularly UAVs to gain therange extension they need as they provide alow cost, high endurance option relative tomanned platforms. In addition to extendingrange, this is increasingly matched with anonboard server technology to allow the'smart' distribution of information.In February, the United States Air Force

awarded Northrop Grumman a $47m con-tract to provide two further BattlefieldAirborne Communications Node (BACN)payloads, an internet protocol based relay,on two Block 20 Global Hawk UAVs. BACNsupports Single Channel Ground andAirborne Radio Systems, UHF DAMA sat-com, Enhanced Position Location ReportingSystem, the EPLRS Situation AwarenessData Link (SADL); Havequick' I and II, Link16, Tactical Targeting Network Technology(TTNT), Tactical Common DataLink (TCDL).The US has also fielded BACN on threeBombardier E-11A aircraft and participatedin the US Network Integrated Evaluation12.1 in November last year.In November, Lockheed Martin, the prime

contractor on the US Airborne andMaritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical RadioSystem (AMF JTRS) undertook a major capa-


To supportairmobilecommunications,France hasintegrated Link16 in its ALATairbornecommand posts© AJB

The JTRS AMF terminal has been integrated onthe AH-64D Block III as part of its developmentprogramme and has also been included inthe Network Integration Evaluation exercise ©Lockheed Martin


bility demonstration of pre-engineering devel-opment model AMF JTRS Small Airborneradios on board the AH-64 Block III Apachehelicopter using the ITT Exelis Soldier RadioWaveform (SRW), the key waveform forensuring high capacity links at low level tacti-cal echelons, even for dismounted soldiers.The demonstration included several scenariosincluding an aerial range extension for SRWover mountainous terrain, replicating circum-stances in Afghanistan and did this automati-cally, while carrying out its core mission ofclose air support.In addition to dedicated airborne relays,

advanced communications packages withradio and waveforms that support MobileAd Hoc Networking, communications sys-tems can be used to automatically and oppor-tunistically support range extension whenthey fly into range and do so without pre-planning. When they move out of that areanetworks, rather than collapsing it, systemthen automatically reroute signals again tomaintain connectivity.A range of UAV based relay solutions

have already been adopted and assessed bythe US in Iraq and Afghanistan using adapt-ed versions of well known conventionalradios. Harris AN/PRC-152 radios have beenincluded in the tail of a Shadow 200 UAV tosupport SINCGARS as part of theCommunication Relay Package-Light pro-gramme which deployed to Iraq in mid-2007,subsequently being deployed to Afghanistan,achieving a range extension of 170km. Dual


Samsung Thales has developedand produced the Link–Ksolution for the Republic ofKorea’s military © AJB

The Royal Thai Air Force GripenJAS-39C/D has been acquired aspart of an integrated packagethat comprises a Saab 340 andCommand and Control systemwith data links © AJB


Thales AN/PRC-148 JTRS Enhanced MBITR(JEM) radios have been used in a similar rolein the VHF/UHF Lightweight Multi-bandAirborne Radio effort which is packaged in astandard Air Transport Radio (ATR) typeenclosure and has been used on a range ofUAVs including the Extended Range/Multi-Purpose Platform.

In August last year, Boeing demonstrated along range narrow-band relay on the PumaAEand ScanEagle platforms. Other systemsinclude the AAI Corporation/ViaSat/TextronSystems Overwatch consortium which hasdeveloped the Forward Airborne SecureTransmission and Communication or FAST-COM pod which relays information down toa platform as small as a smartphone. UltraElectronics' Advanced Tactical Systems havedeveloped two relay systems; the 68 Kg JointAerial Layered Network TacticalCommunications System which has beenflown onboard AeroVironment's hydrogen-power Global Observer high-altitude longendurance UAV and the Tactical AirborneCommand control and intelligence POD orTACPOD which supports Link 16, SADL,TDL and the Automatic IdentificationSystem. The US Naval Aviation Center ofRotorcraft Advancement also recently com-pleted tests of a helicopter based 3G/4G relaycomprising a Rockwell Collins QNT-200Cand Harris AN/PRC -117G radios along withan OCEUS Xiphos portable 4G LTE mobilebroadband capability.

Communications relays are rare in the AsiaPacific although the People's Liberation Army

Navy (PLAN) was reported to have fielded aX'ian ASN-209 UAV based package in 2011.

DatalinksSituational Awareness in the air is thedomain of the data link, sharing informationof the location of airborne platforms in thenetwork in effective real time resulting inimproved decision cycles and much reducedsusceptibility to fratricide amongst those inthe network.

India has oped to advance its data linkcapabilities through its Operational DataLink (ODL) programme with IsraelAerospace Industries in a $4.2 million con-tract signed in 2009 following a three yearcompetition with the capability originallydue to be fielded on manned and unmannedplatforms in 2012.

Samsung Thales has developed and pro-duced the Link–K solution for the Republic ofKorea's military. The system comprises fourelements; the Datalink Processor HardwareType I and a second Type II variant,Transceiver and GPS. The system is designedto support access to multiple communicationstypes including D-TDMA and CSMA/CA.

The spread of Link 16 has moved progres-sively from a NATO only solution to a globalstandard including in the Asia-Pacific regionand to other allies. Users now include SaudiArabia who will see it included in 84 new F-15SA Eagle combat aircraft. In February,Datalink Solutions a joint venture announcedcontracts with Taiwan and South Korea forthe Taiwan P-3 and Ground Link-16Programmes and Republic of Korea AirForce’s KF-16 fighters using the latestMultifunctional Information DistributionSystem-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS LVTs).

Traditional UHF LOS datalinks such asLink 16 do however have disadvantages inthat it requires rigid network preplanningand is stovepiped. Some changes have beenmade to the original link itself to provideenhancements such as the Joint RangeExtension Applications Protocol allowingconnection of messages to IP and to use net-works outside of the closed Link 16 network.

As in other domains, ad hoc networkingsolutions are progressively replacing them.One of the most prevalent is the RockwellCollins' TTNT solution designed to providehigh capability high-capacity links betweenaircraft for as well as ISR feeds and will alsoallow TTNT to quickly enter and movebetween networks on an ad hoc basis. Lastyear TTNT was used to control a NorthropGrumman Corporation built X-47Bunmanned aircraft as part of the UnmannedCombat Air System Carrier Demonstrationprogramme from a controller on board a USNavy F/A-18D aircraft.


The spread of Link 16 hasmoved progressively from aNATO only solution to aglobal standard including inthe Asia-Pacific regionand to other allies

The Indian Air Force has funded thedevelopment of its Operational Data Linkvia partner Israel Aerospace Industries aspart of its network centric strategy © AJB


CCOOMMBBAATTS U B M A R I N E S


Malaysia has also taken thedecision to buy new SSKs,alongside Indonesia. Thisinvestment into conven-tional submarines is mir-

rored in Japan which is purchasing a newSSK class to replace legacy vessels, whileSouth Korea is taking important steps for-ward in developing an indigenous series ofconventional submarines. Rather than pur-chase new submarines, Singapore has takenthe decision to obtain second-hand boatsfrom Sweden, although performing an exten-

sive refit of the vessels to enable them tooperate in tropical waters. Last but by nomeans least, Australia has recently detailedplans to replace its Collins class boats.

ChinaIn the Asia-Pacific region, China possessesone of the largest submarine fleets. Details ofthe People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN)subsurface fleet are occasionally hard to comeby but at present it is thought to comprisearound 79 boats spread across nine differentclasses. At the strategic level the nuclear bal-

listic missile submarine fleet comprises fourType-94 ‘Jin’ class boats, with a fifth vesselreportedly under construction. These four Jinsubmarines are supplemented by a singleType-92 ‘Xia’ class submarine which is cur-rently thought to be undergoing a conversioninto an SSGN. The nuclear powered attacksubmarine fleet of the PLAN comprisesaround four Type-3 ‘Shang’ class SSNs, andthe same number of Type-91 ‘Han’ class ves-sels. Despite having a sizeable nuclear sub-marine fleet, the PLAN continues to maintaina similarly large fleet of SSKs. To this end, five

Combat Several programmes are ongoingaround the Asia-Pacific aimedat revitalising the submarine fleetsdeployed around the region. China, for example, is upgrading someof its existing submarines, while also procuring new nuclear-poweredballistic missile (SSBN) and conventional hunter-killer (SSK) boats.It is also upgrading some of its nuclear-powered attack submarines(SSNs) to deploy cruise missiles (SSGN). Likewise, India isobtaining new SSBNs along with a Russian-origin SSN, and a fleetof new conventional boats.

bbyy Tom Withington

The Republic of Korea Navy also uses the‘Son Won Il’ class of SSK, itself adevelopment of the highly successfulGerman Type-214 design. The Koreanboats feature an advanced low-probabilityof intercept radar system © US Navy

Submarines

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Three of the Royal AustralianNavy’s ‘Collins’ class conventionalsubmarines have now enteredservice. These boats are the largestsuch vessels in the world. Thoughtsare now turning to the design oftheir successor © US Navy

in the Asia PacificSubmarines

Type-39A ‘Yuan’ class boats are joined by thesame number of Type-39 ‘Song’ class SSKs.The largest classes of SSKs in the PLANincludes the twelve-boat strong ‘Kilo’ class,the 14 submarines comprising the ‘Ming’class and the 30 ‘Romeo’ class submarineskept in reserve which are used for training.The PLAN is currently performing some

important changes to its subsurface fleet. TheType-91 ‘Han’ class SSNs are beingwithdrawnand replaced by the Type-93 ‘Shang’ sub-marines, with a possible two additional boatsjoining the four already delivered. The Shangboats are thought to be capable of achieving atop speed in the region of 30 knots, with theability to launch cruise and Anti-Ship Missiles(AShMs), plus torpedoes. Similarly as regardsthe SSK fleet, two additional Type-39A ‘Yuan’class vessels are expected to be joining thefleet. These submarines are thought to beequipped with six torpedo tubes and capableof reaching a top speed of over 20 knots.

IndiaChina’s nearest regional rival, as far as sub-marines are concerned, is India. The coun-try’s submarine fleet has a total of 14 boats.These include ten ‘Sindhughosh’ class andfour ‘Shishumar’ SSKs. Nevertheless, India’ssubmarine fleet is currently undergoing asignificant overhaul. In line with the coun-try’s roll-out of nuclear weapons across itsair, land and sea forces, the Indian Navy istesting a single ‘Arihant’ class SSBN. Thiseponymous vessel was launched in 2009 andis currently said to be undergoing sea trials.The Navy may yet receive a total of six boats,with the INS Arihant expected to enter serv-ice in around 2015. She will join the in service

INS Chakra, formerly the Nerpa; a renamedRussian Navy Project-971 ‘Akula-II’ classSSN which will be leased to India for tenyears. She commenced her service with theforce on 4th April this year.India’s conventional fleet is also undergo-

ing a major overhaul. This modernisationeffort will replace the 14 conventional boatsthat the navy currently operates with atranche of new SSKs in the form of theProject-75 ‘Scorpene’ class submarines whichare based on a design from the French ship-builder DCNS. These submarines are beingconstructed at Mazagon Docks, Mumbia. Thefirst Scorpene boat is expected to be commis-sioned in June 2015, with a total of six vesselsscheduled to be delivered by 2019. Theseboats can accommodate MBDA SM.39 ExocetAShMs, plus up to 18 heavyweight torpe-does, or 30 mines. The submarines can reacha speed of around 20 knots and have a rangeof up to 1,020km when submerged and trav-elling at five knots. The Royal MalaysianNavy is another member of the Scorpene cluboperating two such vessels in the ‘TunkuAbdul Rahman’ class

PakistanWhile Malaysia and India have both chosenDCNS’ Scorpene class of SSK, Pakistan oper-ates the French ‘Agosta’ class design.Pakistan acquired two boats; PNS Hashmatand PNS Hurmat in the early 1980s. These

were then followed by a further three vesselsbuilt as modernised Agosta-90B vessels. Thisimproved the diving depth of the boats, low-ered their acoustic signature and reducedtheir crew size. Pakistan operates three of theAgosta-90B class the last of which, the PNSHamza, was commissioned in 2006. Thesesubmarines are thought to be capable ofreaching 10.5 knots submerged, and areequipped with four torpedo tubes.

IndonesiaIndonesia’s submarine fleet comprises justtwo Type-209/1300 ‘Cakra’ class SSKs. Theseboats are based upon a German design andcan carry up to 14 torpedoes which can befired form any of the vessels’ eight 533-mmtorpedo tubes. In terms of performance, theycan achieve a range of 740km travelling at fourknots, although they have a top speed of 22.5knots when submerged. The Indonesian Navyis now receiving three Type-209/1400 sub-marines, which are themselves an evolution ofthe Type-209/1300 boats that the fleet alreadyoperates. The Type-209/1400 boats have a dis-placement of 1,586 tonnes, compared to the1,390 tonnes of the Type-209/1300, and asmaller complement of 33 crew. All three ofIndonesia’s Type-209/1400 boats are expectedto be commissioned by 2018.


Singapore has replaced its ‘Challenger’ classsubmarines with two ‘Archer’ class boats fromthe Royal Swedish Navy. These vessels haveundergone a comprehensive upgrade to makethem suitable for operations in tropical waters© Kockums

The Republic of Korea navy uses the‘Chang Bogo’ class of SSKs. These boatsdisplace around 1,285 tonnes whensubmerged and are equipped with eight533mm torpedo tubes © US Navy


JapanLike Indonesia, Japan is enhancing its subma-rine fleet. The Japanese Maritime Self DefenceForce currently possesses 20 SSKs of varyingdescriptions, including two ‘Soryu’ class, ten‘Oyashio’ class, six ‘Harushio’ class and two‘Asashio’ class vessels; the latter of which areused for training. Currently, two Soryu SSKsare under construction, and will be fitted witha Stirling Air Independent Propulsion (AIP)system with deliveries completing by 2013.Another two vessels are also scheduled forconstruction. The Soryu boats are expected toreplace the Oyashio class once in service.

North KoreaMuch mystery surrounds the submarine fleetof the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK). The fleet is thought to be quite anti-quated, consisting of around 25 Project-633‘Romeo’ class SSKs, which are thought to havebeen built locally using Chinese-suppliedcomponents. Supplementing the four ‘Romeo’class are four Project-613/644/665 ‘Whiskey’class SSKs. Both of these classes are vintage tosay the least. The Whiskey class design cantrace its routes back to the late-1940s/early-1950s, while the ‘Romeo’ class design is alsoaround 50 years old. In addition to these circa29 boats, the DPRK navy is thought to operate

some 25 ‘Sang-O’ class coastal boats, whichhave a range of up to 2,800km and a top speedof nine knots submerged, plus up to 50 ‘Yugo’class midget submarines which can reach afour knot top speed submerged.

South KoreaThe balance of sea power in terms of sub-marines on the Korean peninsula is more thanequalled by the subsurface fleet possessed bythe South Korean Navy. Currently this coun-

try’s fleet includes three Type-209 ‘Son WonIl’ class SSKs, nine ‘Chang Bogo’ convention-al submarines, plus three ‘Tolgorae’ and‘Cosmo’ class midget submarines. Someimportant enhancements are occurring asregards the South Korean submarine fleet. Sixadditional ‘Son Won Il’ class submarines areexpected to enter service. These vessels are

based on the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche WerftType-214 conventional submarines whichinclude an air independent propulsion sys-tem. One interesting feature of these boats isthe addition of a Thales Sphinx-D radarwhich has a low-probability of intercept,although it can also operate with an openpulse mode allowing the radar to be visible tofriendly electronic support measures.Deliveries will commence this year as designwork continues on the KSS-III attack subma-rine programme. This project may yield theconstruction of up to nine 1,800-ton sub-marines by 2018.

SingaporeWhile countries like South Korea have pur-chased German designs of submarines, andFrench designs have proved popular withIndia, Malaysia and Pakistan; Singapore hasfurnished its navy with Swedish boats. TheRepublic of Singapore Navy (RSN) currentlyoperates four ‘Challenger’ class SSKs whichwere acquired from the Royal Swedish Navyin the mid-1990s. As these boats were pur-chased second-hand and are all said to beover 40 years old, a major programme is nowongoing to equip the RSN with new sub-marines. This is being facilitated by theacquisition of two ‘Archer’ class boats fromthe Royal Swedish Navy. Prior to their trans-fer to Singapore, they underwent a compre-hensive overhaul to outfit them for opera-tions in tropical waters. They also contain anair independent propulsion system. Twoboats comprise the fleet; RSS Archer and RSSSwordsman; both of which have now beencommissioned into the RSN.

TaiwanDespite the sophisticated equipment used byits land, sea and air forces, the Taiwanesenavy has a relatively old submarine fleet. Thesubsurface inventory currently includes two‘Hai Lung’ class submarines which commis-sioned in the late 1980s. During their servicelives, these boats have undergone a numberof improvements including the addition ofBoeing UGM-84 submarine-launchedHarpoon AShMs and, most recently, theBlock-II version these weapons. TheTaiwanese navy is also reported to maintaintwo ‘Hai Shih’ class SSKs, themselves formerUS Navy ‘Guppy’ class SSNs for training.

AustraliaNo article on submarine developments in theAsia-Pacific region would be complete with-

At the strategic levelthe [PLAN’s] nuclear ballisticmissile submarine fleetcomprises four Type-94 ‘Jin’class boats, with a fifth vesselreportedly under construction

S U B M A R I N E SCCOOMMBBAATT


out also mentioning the Royal AustralianNavy’s (RAN) fleet. Currently, the RAN oper-ates three ‘Collins’ class conventional boats.Said to be the largest conventional sub-marines in the world they replaced the RAN’sformer ‘Oberon’ class SSKs. Eventually, theRAN plans to have six Collins boats in serv-ice. In terms of performance, the boats canachieve 21 knots submerged, and have arange of 900km submerged travelling at four

knots. The weapons payload of these vesselsincludes 22 torpedoes which can be firedfrom standard 530mm torpedo tubes, orUGM-84C anti-ship missiles.

Plans are already afoot for the eventualreplacement of these boats. The RAN expectsto obtain new submarines in circa 2025, withtwelve boats to be delivered to this end. Thenew submarines are expected to be outfittedwith an air-independent propulsion system,plus the wherewithal to carry cruise missilesand possibly to deploy midget submarines.The design and construction work will alsotake place in Australia. The final approval forthe submarines’ construction is expected tobe given by Canberra in circa 2015.

RussiaOne must also not forget Russia. The coun-try has one of the largest submarine fleet inthe Asia-Pacific region. This currently com-prises five Project-667BDR ‘Delta-III’ classSSBNs. These are reinforced by threeProject-949A ‘Oscar-II’ SSGNs, the samenumber of Project-971 ‘Akula’ SSNs andaround nine Project-636 ‘Kilo’ class conven-tional boats. How many of these boats areactive is difficult to ascertain. Many of theDelta-III boats are now over thirty years old,

and several have been removed from serv-ice, although both the Podolsk and SvyatoyGeorgiy Pobedonosets are still thought to beactive with the fleet.

The stealth that the submarine offers con-tinues to make it a highly desirable vessel fornavies around the world, particularly in theAsia-Pacific region. Submarines, be they con-ventional or nuclear-powered, offer anunseen method by which targets on land canbe struck, other submarines countered andspecial forces commandoes infiltrated andexfiltrated quietly, not to mention their strik-ing power against surface shipping. As onequotation from one US Navy submarinerstates; “some ships are designed to sink, oth-ers require our assistance.”


The Indonesian Navy is nowreceiving three Type-209/1400 submarines, which arethemselves an evolution ofthe Type-209/1300 boats thatthe fleet already operates


On paper, Russia has possibly the largest submarine fleet in the Asia-Pacific region, although howmany of these boats are operational remains unknown. Included in the fleet are ‘Delta’ classballistic nuclear missile submarines © US Navy

The Soviet-era ‘Kilo’ class of conventionalsubmarine has is used by two services in theAsia-Pacific region, chiefly China’s People’sLiberation Arm Navy, and Russia’s Pacific fleet© Wikimedia Commons

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Moving East into the IndianOcean there has been muchsaid and written about theexpansion of the IndianArmed Forces and their

future Air Defence Systems. Indeed evenfrom within the Ministry of Defence therehave been indications that all is not well andthat up to ninety per cent of the Indian AirDefence capability may be obsolete. Thenagain, the wording of obsolescence should bebetter defined than just thrown around as ifall of the Indian defence was non-opera-tional. Some of their equipment is of an agethat has long passed into the history bookssuch as the very old ex-Soviet S-75 (NATOSA-2 Guideline) systems, along with itscounterpart the S-125 (NATO SA-3 Goa). TheS-75 is now believed to be held in reservewhereas the S-125 can still be found in someform of operational capability but is expectedto be superseded by more modern systemswithin the next two to five years.Both of these systems were originally

designed way back in the 1950s and 60s inwhat was then the Soviet Union.Remembering that memories of the SecondWorld War were still extremely fresh in thedesigners minds, these systems wereexpected at that time to deal with a threatthat had barely changed from the 1940swhen massed air-raids from low-to-medi-um altitude bombers were used extensivelyby both sides during the war. Immediatelyfollowing the cessation of hostilities, andbefore the start of what was described asthe Cold War, this type of air raid wasexpected to continue at least into the 1950sand most likely beyond into the 1960s. Aconsequence of the German scientists beingcaptured at Peenemunde and distributed tothe four major allied powers, France, UK,US and Russia, those that went to Russiawere used to develop what is now knownas the Soviet missile industry. The first ofthe Air-Defence missiles was the S-25 thatthen leads on to the development andexport of the S-75 and S-125 to many coun-tries in the world and in particular to thoseAsian countries that now found themselveschoosing sides either with Communism or

the West. Many Asian countries such asVietnam, China, India, Burma, Myanmarand Cambodia were recipients of these sys-tems in one form or another. To be fair, therehave been many upgrades and modernisa-tion programmes applied to both these sys-tems since then, but what still remains is thebasics, and that is showing its age. India has in the more recent past set con-

tracts with Israel for the modernisation ofsome of its Air Defence and should beforevery long see many improvements to comesoon. The Indian Navy for instance is now

operating with the Barak system, a muchimproved defence capability over the olderOsa (NATO SA-N-4 Gecko) that was previ-ously mounted on their ships. The new andimproved land-based variant Barak-8 is com-ing to the end of its development and shouldbe with the Indian forces very soon. At the other end of the scale, India has

now joined a very exclusive club by develop-ing (and proving) its very own PAD/AADBallistic Missile Defence System(ABM/ATBM). Flight trials with missilesfired from Wheelers Island at targetslaunched from the Orissa Test Range atChandipur-on-Sea (70 km away fromWheelers Island) have proved the system iscapable of tracking and engaging such targetsboth endo- and exo-atmospheric. By makinguse of the Israeli “Green Pine” early warningand tracking system, the PAD/AAD missiletests have been very successful and placedIndia into a club of only a handful of coun-tries that can honestly boast an ABM defencecapability. The “Green Pine” radar is beingreplaced in India by an indigenous producedvariant known as the “Sword Fish”. Moving further east and into Myanmar,

Vietnam and Thailand, their armies havekept some sort of pace with technology main-ly with man-portable SAMs such as theRussian Igla and Chinese copy known as theQW family of systems. Strategic Air Defencehowever is not up to much, and could dowith being upgraded in the future should athreat deem this to be necessary. For instance, Myanmar took delivery

many years ago of the ex-BritishBloodhound Mk2 system which was left inSingapore when the British pulled out ofthe Island and was subsequently sold bySingapore. It is very dubious if this systemis capable of being operationally deployedtoday and even if it is the system should

Air Defence Asia

in

India has now joineda very exclusive club bydeveloping (and proving) itsvery own PAD/AAD BallisticMissile Defence System

The new and improved land-based variantBarak-8 is coming to the end of its developmentand should be with the Indian forces very soon© Rafael

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Singapore is one of a number of Mistraloperators in the Asia-Pacific region © Commonwealth of Australia

There is no doubt that the subject of Air Defence in Asia is a continual expansion and modernisation programme way beyond that ofthose countries in the West and North of the equator. Furthermore,as we see the shrinking of the US Empire and the vacuum leftbehind in certain areas from South East Asia through the PacificRim, there is hard evidence that those countries that can afford toupgrade and modernise their Air Defence are doing so and willprobably continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

bbyy James C O’Halloran

Air Defence

have been retired a long time ago. The otherstrategic systems in country include the S-125, S-200 and even some ex-Chinese HQ-2systems. The HQ-2 is a direct copy of theold Soviet S-75. The medium-to-short-rangesystems in country include the RussianBuk-M1-2 and the Tor-M1 and the veryshort-range Igla.

Vietnam on the other hand has orderedand is receiving the Russian S-300P familyof systems that will replace the S-75 and S-125 that have been in country since the war

with the US in the 1960s and 70s. The oper-ational deployment of the S-300P is a majorstep forward in the order of modern tech-nology. But even the S-300P with all its bellsand whistles is not in the same class as thatof the US THAAD, or the European Asterfamily of missile systems. Within Russia,the S-300PS and PT variants that originally

used the 5V55R and 5V55K missiles arenow considered obsolete and are beingreplaced as quickly as production of moremodern systems will allow.

Taking a look at Malaysia, Singaporeand Indonesia, these countries like thoseothers in the area, appear to be much moreconcerned about upgrades and modifica-tions with their medium-to-short-rangeSAM systems. Although in the case ofSingapore, the Aster missiles that are nowdeployed with the Navy will provide a veryvaluable means of Air Defence should theyconsider this to be necessary.

Malaysia does not really possess anystrategic long-range SAM systems but relies


This Chinese TD-2000B air-defence system hadIndonesia as its first export customer, equippedwith QW-4 missiles © Gordon Arthur

Vietnam on the other handhas ordered and is receivingthe Russian S-300P familyof systems that will replacethe S-75 and S-125

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primarily on short-range systems such as theMBDA Rapier. Although a purchase madefrom China of the KS-1A system has raisedseveral eyebrows. Meanwhile, for at least thelast ten years Malaysia has been looking atand listening to the Russian offer of the Buk(NATO SA-11 Gadfly) and this year at DSA2012 had a briefing on the Buk-M2E variant.Should this Buk purchase ever go ahead, itwould replace the Chinese KS-1A that is con-sidered by most western analysts as very oldand tired technology.

Indonesia like many other Asian countriesdoes not possess a dedicated long-rangestrategic SAM system. It has however startedto replace its ageing Rapier systems withmore modern weapons such as the Polish(Bumar) system Poprad that uses the Grom

missile. It has also purchased from Chinasome new and modern QW man-portableSAMs that were initially purchased for usewith its UN peacekeeping forces. It is veryunlikely therefore that at any time in the nearfuture Indonesia will have any desire to pur-chase and deploy those medium-to-long-range missiles for its Air-Defence.

Australia, New Zealand and the PacificIslands like most others have updated recent-ly there primary Air-Defence which arebased on either man-portable systems orshort-range missiles. In particular Australiaand New Zealand have purchased systemsfor use with their army assets that are for thedefence of the front line troops whendeployed on either peacekeeping roles or inconflicts such as Afghanistan.


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The Rapier family haveserved with both Malaysiaand Indonesia © MBDA

Rafael's Spyder systems is designedto allow multiple missile types tobe fired, the Python originally a IRAir-to-Air Missile © Rafael

This now leaves that part of Asia where iftrouble is to be found it will be here; NorthKorea, South Korea and Japan. Both SouthKorea and Japan continue to update andimprove their Air-Defence capabilities withthe threat of North Korea in mind.Japan whilst developing its own indige-

nous systems such as the Type 81 Tan-SAM,Chu-SAM and Kin-SAM does rely heavily onUS strategic systems for its long-rangedefence. TheMIM-23A andMIM-23B HAWKand I-HAWK are gradually being replacedby the Patriot systems, both PAC-2 and PAC-3. These SAMs are being deployed not onlyin defence of high value military and politicalassets but also in and around cities for thedefence of civilian populations, somethingmost other countries not do. It would there-fore be logical that as and when new andimproved US defence systems become avail-able, that Japan would be looked upon as afavourable country and potential customerfor such weapons.South Korea has recently (late 2011)

released information on a new medium-range SAM system, the Cheongung (some-time translated as Cheong Ung) or IronHawk II, that has been developed in countrywith the help of the Almaz/Antei Concern ofAir Defence in Moscow. It is understood thatthe system is based on the Russian S-400 sub-system missile 9M96. It is also understoodthat the Iron Hawk II will replace the USHAWK system in country as and when pro-duction allows. For its long-range strategicdefence South Korea has the US Patriot PAC-2 GEM/T variant.North Korea continues to display during

its many parades some of the older SAM sys-tems that have either been supplied orcopied from China or Russia. These includethe ex-Soviet S-200, the ex-Chinese HQ seriesof missiles. There is no doubt that these sys-tems are in country and deployed, and thatthey are getting to a point where withoutproper servicing and maintenance theireffectiveness could be called into question.Even so, replacement of these older systems


Indonesia has the Polish Popradsystem mounting six Grom missilesin service © Gordon Arthur

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must be on the minds of the Generals for thefuture or the Air-Defence of the North couldbe called into question.

Since the early 1990s many countries par-ticularly in Asia have studied those warsand local conflicts that have occurredthroughout the world involving the NATOallies and Coalition Forces. One of the majorinfluences directly leading to the outcome ofthese wars has been the initial phase wherethe SEAD (Suppression of Enemy AirDefence) tactics have been employed allow-ing the NATO/Coalition forces dominanceof the air. It is absolutely essential thatbefore boots can be employed on the groundenemy air defence sites including airfieldsmust be neutralised in order to reduce the

loss of troops and equipment on the battle-field. Even so, with the best Air-Defenceequipment in the world, sporting the mostforward technology, those Air-Defencetroops must show willing to stand and fightwith their equipment.

There is no question that should thishave happened during any of those conflictsthat have taken place over the last decadeNATO and Coalition forces would or could

have taken more casualties both in the airand on the ground. This may not havechanged the outcome of those wars butwould most certainly have swayed the civil-ian population in the west who now seesuch conflicts beamed direct into theirhomes via the world TV or computer inter-net. Civilians particularly in the west do notlike to see their own forces taking casualties,especially when shown live on the TV intheir living rooms. A link could thus befound directly between modern or upgrad-ed Air-Defence systems and the demoralisa-tion of the civilian population both of whichcould possibly effect the fighting efficiencyof the ground forces.

Most countries in Asia will continue toimprove Air-Defences as long as it can beseen or proved that with good, effective andwell trained Air-Defence troops freedom ofthe skies can be contained and thus denying

a potential adversary the advantagesthat would almost certainly give

the ground troops a massiveadvantage.


Japan whilst developingits own indigenous systemssuch as the Type 81Tan-SAM, Chu-SAM andKin-SAM does rely heavilyon US strategic systems

The Mistral missile is offered by MBDA with a range oflauncher options for land sea and air platforms © MBDA

DEFENCEAA II RR

The AN/TWQ-1 Avenger, a HMWWVbased air defence platform is inservice with Taiwan with 70 systemsacquired © Raytheon

SOUTH ASIAAir Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, head ofthe Indian Air Force has visited FFrraannccee wherehe met with senior French officers, the DGAand an Armee de l’Air squadron equippedwith the Rafale. The UUSS has asked India tocontribute defence equipment, financial andtraining personnel in support of AfghanNational Security Forces. Lt Gen KuldipSingh, Director General of Army Air Defencehas said that India is making changes toaddress the use of air platforms by non-stateactors. Pipavav Defence and OffshoreEngineering has been formally selected byMazagon Dock as its partner in a new jointventure in the construction of warships andsubmarines for the Indian Navy.Plans to begin Phase IIA of the upgrade of

the Indian Navy’s new West Coast strategicport of Karwar have been passed to theCabinet Committee on Security for review. Ifsuccessful, the programme will see the num-ber of major warships and submarinesaccommodated at the base rise from 11 to 32by completion in 2018/19. The first fifteenMiG-29K aircraft that will operate from INSVikramaditya when it arrives in Decemberhave been declared operational by the IndianNavy. A further 29 of the aircraft are on orderunder a $1.5 billion award announced in

2010. The future INS Tarkash has begun seatrials in the Baltic. The Improved Talwarclass frigate will join the INS Teg whichentered the fleet in April, in October. TheIndian Navy’s new base in the LakshadweepIslands was commissioned in May. The INSViraat completed 25 years of service with theIndian Navy in May, travelling some 500,000nautical miles in the process. It completed itlast refit in 2009. The Indian Coast Guard hascommissioned the ICGS Rajtarang, the sec-ond of eight, 50m Inshore Patrol Vessels.The long awaited contract for 75 Pilatus

PC-7 Mk II basic training aircraft has beensigned by the Indian Ministry of Defencewith delivery beginning in late 2012. Thecontract, worth $640 million includes optionsfor additional aircraft by 2015. The Indian AirForce had its request to participate inExercise Malabar, the fifteenth bilateral Indo-US event which was held off the coast ofChennai in the Bay of Bengal. The IAF hadplanned to send its Jaguar maritime attacksquadron but this was declined. The IndianNavy’s assets included INS Satpura, destroy-ers INS Ranvir and INS Ranvijay, and thecorvette INS Kulish along with the replenish-ment oiler INS Shakti. India’s HindustanAeronautics Ltd and RRuussssiiaa’’ss UnitedAircraft Corporation have signed a contractto jointly develop and produce 205 Multirole

Transport Aircraft with 100 for Russia, 45 forthe Indian Air Force and with a planned 60for export, all built by the MultiroleTransport Aircraft Ltd joint venture. TheIndian Air Force has successfully tested its25km range Akash surface to air missile, testfiring two missiles at the Integrated TestRange at Chandipur near Balasore in Odisha. The procurement of 145 M-777A1 155mm

Ultra Light Howitzer has been endorsed bythe Defence Acquisition Council. The $560million Foreign Military Sale deal is withBAE Systems through the United States. AnIndian Army Cheetah helicopter has crashedon Siachen Glacier.PPaakkiissttaann has released details of a test launch

of its new Hatf-9 Nasr surface-to-surfacemissile. The nuclear capable missile has a rangeof 60km. Two Pakistan Air Force SuperMushshak MFI-17 basic trainer aircraft collidedin mid-air during a training flight killing four.BBaannggllaaddeesshh has request four Lockheed

Martin C-130E Hercules transport from theUS. The deal, valued at $180 billion will coverthe refurbishment of surplus US aircraft.Bangladesh currently operates four C-130Baircraft.Pakistan is reported to be seeking to sign a

deal to double its four F-22P/Jiangwei II(Type 053H3) class Frigates. The originalorder for the frigates was signed in 2005.


India has taken a key step toacquire 145 BAE Systems M-777A1155mm Ultra Light Howitzers in a$560 million deal © DoD

RREEGGIIOONNAALL NNEEWWSSA N D D E V E L O P M E N T S

Asia Pacific Procurement UpdateAsia Pacific Procurement Update


SOUTH EAST ASIAIInnddoonneessiiaa and AAuussttrraalliiaa have completedExercise Cassowary off the coast ofDarwin in which patrol boats from thetwo countries practiced coordinatedpatrols, boarding party procedures, mar-itime safety and search-and-rescue opera-tions. Australia sent the Armidale-classpatrol boats Ararat and Larrakia whileIndonesian sent the Kakap-class boatsKakap and Tongkol. Indonesia has inkeda deal to buy 37 amphibious BMP-3Fthrough Russia's JSC Rosoboronexport ina $114 million deal. The Indonesianmarines will begin receiving their newIFVs in July next year. Pakistan hasrenewed its offer of licensed protection ofthe JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft to theIndonesian Air Force.

The PPhhiilliippppiinnee Navy has issued whatits goals for its fleet in 2017 are under itsnew “Philippine Fleet Desired Force Mix"strategy. The list includes six frigates and12 corvettes with helicopters, 18 offshore

patrol vessels, three submarines and three mine mine hunters. This would becomplemented by four strategic transportships, landing craft and support ships aswell as a large number of fast patrol boastand RIBs. In the air, the Navy also wanteight maritime patrol aircraft as well as18 ASW helicopters and eight supporthelicopters. The former USCGS Dallashas reached the Philippines and will berenamed the BRP Ramon Alcaraz whereit will join its sister ship the BRP GregorioDel Pilar which underwent minor main-tenance in May. The Philippines isreported top be consider non-US aircraftto meet its fighter requirements. The con-cerns are begin driven by the long termsupport costs associated with the F-16which the Philippines had previouslybeen seeking in similar deal to that ofIndonesia. Instead President BenignoAquino has floated the idea of buyingnew aircraft from and undisclosed coun-try for the same price as second handUS aircraft. Who that might be has con-

centrated on Taiwan’s AIDC F-CK-1AChing-Kuo and South Korea’s F/A-50Golden Eagle.

The CChhiinneessee training vessel theZhenghe visited Port Klang in Malaysia asits second stop on its round the world tourbegan in April, setting off from Dalian.

All six of SSiinnggaappoorree’’ss Sikorsky S-70BSeahawks were declared operational inMay. They recently participated with theRepublic of Singapore Navy operatingfrom Formidable class frigates.

TThhaaiillaanndd''ss defence budget has risen toTHB180.8 billion for 2013, an increase ofseven percent. The Royal Thai Army isallocated roughly roughly half of the total.With the Navy and Air Force takingroughly a quarter each. In a visit to Chinain late April, Thai Defence MinisterSukumpol Suwanatat inked a deal for thejoint development development of a newguided multiple launch rocket systembuilding on earlier work between the twocountries which resulted in the Dti-1, aversion of china's WS-1 302 mm.


The former USCGC Dallasbefore it become the BRP RamonAlcaraz in May © DoD



EAST ASIAAs the cost of TTaaiiwwaann''ss planned new andupgraded F-16s, the latter with the first everactive electronically scanned array on boardhas risen from $8 to $10 billion with a further$3.7 billion for the upgrade, Taiwan is report-ed to be now actively discussing a request forthe F-35 Joint Strike Fighter if the US stallsfurther on the F-16C/D. Taiwan is scheduledto take delivery of two ex-US Navy mine-hunters in July. The Osprey class vessels, theformer USS Oriole and Falcon were decom-missioned in 2006 and will be renamed YungJin and Yung An. The roll out of Taiwan'snew Hsiung Ffeng (Brave Wind) III anti-shipmissiles, characterised as a carrier-killer hasbeen extended to the first five of eight OliverHazard Perry class frigates with work oninstallation on fast patrol boats beginningrecently. Taiwan plans to acquire 120 of themissiles in a $400 million programme.Chung Mong-joon, a hardline-conservative

presidential hopeful in SSoouutthh KKoorreeaa has calledfor the deployment of US tactical nuclearweapon to the country.The HMAS Ballarat hasjoint the Sejong Daewan and nine other ROKNvessels and submarines for Exercise Haedori-Wallaby near South Korea's Jeju Island. TheAnti-Submarine exercise is the first such event

held by the two countries. The HMAS Ballarathad previously joined the PLA(N) for drillsnear Shanghai. South Korea and the UUSS haveundertaken their Max Thunder joint airdefence exercise in May in the south west ofthe country. South Korean Forces will take onthe role of the aggressor while a combinedblue team made up of aircraft from the twocountries will fly against them. The aircraftinvolved include the F-15K and KF-16 as wellas US F-16, A-10 and KC-135.South Korea's third E-737 Peace Eye air-

craft has been delivered to the Republic ofKorea Air Force by Boeing. A total of four air-craft are begin delivered under a contractwarded in 2006 with the first two aircraftarriving in 2011. Following the disclosure bySeoul of the new 1500 Km Hyunmu-3C long-range cruise missile in April, South Korea hasoutlined a five year plan to fund new missileacquisition worth $2.1 billion which includeslong range cruise missiles. Thales AAuussttrraalliiaa has signed a contract

with ITT Exelis to provide acoustic genera-tors for the RReeppuubblliicc ooff KKoorreeaa Navy's newclass of minesweeper hunters being deliv-ered by GMB USA. The Republic of KoreaNavy has selected Rheinmetall’s MASS(Multi Ammunition Softkill System) navalcountermeasures system for its new Landing

Ship, Tank vessels class ships. The Navy hasalso requested 18 UGM-84L HARPOONBlock II All-Up-Round Missiles worth $18million.JJaappaann and Australia have signed a nation-

al security agreement committing the two toinformation sharing, considered the first stepto wider co-operation in the areas of militarytechnology and intelligence.CChhiinnaa is completing the final phase of a

new base near Shuimen on the cost of the eastChina Sea allowing aircraft there to reach bothTaiwan as well as Japan's Senkaku islands.The US DoD's annual report to Congress onChina’s military strength stated in May thatChina may already have begun work on anew carrier to an indigenous design andcould be ready for delivery in 2015. China'sKuznetsov-class aircraft carrier, the Varyagcompleted two sea trials in May.The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

has released pictures of what appear to befour examples of the Scheibel S-100 UAV fly-ing from a Chinese Type 054A missilefrigate. Two PLA(N) frigates, the Type 054Amissile frigates Zhoushan and Xuzhou andthe Beijixing intelligence-gathering ship,operating in international waters, sailedthrough Japan’s Osumi Strait, the first timeChina has done this in nearly a decade.

Boeing delivered the third Peace Eye737 Airborne Early Warning andControl aircraft to the Republic ofKorea Air Force on May 16th © Boeing



Australian and Indonesiannaval vessels participating inExercise Cassowary in May ©Commonwealth of Australia

AUSTRALASIAAAuussttrraalliiaa and CChhiinnaa have completed

their first joint maritime exercise withHMAS Ballarat travelling to Shanghai toconduct a Passage Exercise with theChinese frigate Anqing in the mouth of theYangtze River. The Australian governmenthas cancelled the Land 17 self propelledartillery programme and postponed thepurchase of the Joint Strike Fighter result-ing in savings of A$3.1billion. The RoyalAustralian Navy has advertised for therecruitment of former US sailors and offi-cers with expertise in amphibious warfare,air warfare and also helicopter systems.

The Australian Defence Force havebegun using the newly acquired SHADOW200 UAVS replacing the Boeing ScanEaglewhich has been deployed there since 2007.Australia's Department of Defence hasopted to acquire ten C-27J Spartan aircraftto meet its requirement for tactical trans-port to replace the DHC-4 Caribou for a costof $1.4 billion with delivery taking placefrom 2015-16. Australia temporarilygrounded its training programme for its 19of 22 new Tiger attack helicopters that arecurrently operational after fumes entered acockpit of one of the aircraft.The Aegis design for Australia forth-

coming Hobart Class of air warfare destroy-

ers has successfully completed a key testundertaken by Lockheed Martin at a USNavy test site.NNeeww ZZeeaallaanndd has increased its defence

budget by nine percent for the next finan-cial year with a budget of NZ$3.07 billion.New Zealand has released a new DefenceWhite Paper which calls for savings of $302million annually in operating costs withroughly a third of that retained for mod-ernisation. New Zealand's Ministry ofDefence is to withdraw its troops fromAAffgghhaanniissttaann in 2013 rather than the previ-ous planned 2014. the troops are currentlydeployed in a Provincial Reconstruction inBamyan province.

Offshore threats are increasing, but military budgets are not. SH-2G ASW is the ideal maritime defense solution for international navies worldwide.

Proven over 1.5 million hours, the aircraft is highly capable, with advanced features that include dipping sonar, surface surveillance radar, FLIR,

digital automatic flight control system, composite main rotor, and more. With capabilities that include true “return to home” single engine

capability and best-in-class hover performance, SH-2G ASW is the world’s most versatile intermediate maritime helicopter. Only from Kaman.

FIND THE THREAT.

HELICOPTERS DIVISION | CONNECTICUT USA | 1-860-242-4461 |S t e v e . R u t t e r @ k a m a n . c o m

asian military review - july/aug 2012 issue

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