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D European & Security ES & Defence International Security and Defence Journal September 2018 ISSN 1617-7983 SPECIAL ISSUE www.euro-sd.com • • Special Issue September 2018

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SECURITY POLICY INDUSTRY & MARKETS

2 The Geopolitics of Energy – 37 "OCCAR stands ready to take the challenge" Energy Security in the 21st Century Interview with Major General Arturo Alfonso-Meiriño, Joris Verbeurgt Director OCCAR-EA 41 Hard Cases for Tough Times ARMED FORCES Tim Guest 45 European SHORAD Systems Land Combat System Support at the NATO 6 Doug Richardson Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) Jörn Brauer and Robert Elvish 8 "High Range of Capabilities to Support COLUMNS NATO and the EU" Masthead Interview with Brigadier General Rudolf Maus, 32 Director of Life Cycle Management of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) 10 Amphibious Warfare – Index of Advertisers Current Programmes on a Global Scale Jack Richardson Autoflug 25 IDEAS 11 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY IDEX 19 16 UK Armoured Vehicle Programmes David Saw Insitu – A Boeing Company 2nd cover

21 Wave of the Future? I/ITSEC 40 Hybrid and Electric Drive for Nexter 9 Armoured Combat Vehicles Sidney E. Dean Pearson Engineering 1 24 Surviving the Blast – MRAPs and Lessons SOBRA 5 Learned from the Mine and IED Threat John Antal Systematic 4th cover 29 Countering IEDs – TechNet 13 New Developments or More of the Same? Textron 15 Dan Kaszeta Wescom Defence 31 33 Force Multiplication Options for the Infantry David Saw

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 1  SECURITY POLICY The Geopolitics of Energy Energy Security in the 21st Century

Joris Verbeurgt

The existing world energy system was largely shaped by Anglo-American interests, which favoured mar- ket-driven competition over access to energy resources on a demand and supply basis. Global geopoliti- cal shifts in the early 21st century have caused a profound transformation of this market-oriented system to which we need to adapt and react appropriately.

he geopolitics of energy comprises companies that favoured market-driven gigantic hurricanes and tornados have rap- Tthree dimensions: an economic dimen- competition over access to energy resourc- idly risen since the 1990s. The possible con- sion, an ecological dimension, and a secu- es on a demand and supply basis, sensitive sequences of the continued and increasing rity dimension. to price volatility. Due to internal and exter- use of fossil fuels forces stakeholders in the The economic dimension of the geo- nal dynamics, this market-driven system is fields of security and defence and policy politics of energy is twofold: on the one undergoing profound changes in the early makers to take these global disastrous ef- hand, energy is indispensable for mod- 21st century. fects into account when discussing energy ern economies to produce and transport With regard to the ecological dimension, related issues. Where traditional geopo- goods. There is a relatively straightforward the use of fossil fuels by the industry, the litical thinking regarding energy focused relationship between energy and economic transportation sector and households, is on availability, reliability and affordability, development, based mainly on the degree largely responsible for the environmental modern geopolitics of energy involves sus- tainability as well.

Energy Security

Energy security is the third dimension of Photo: U.S. Airforce the geopolitics of energy. There are no uncontested or universally accepted defi- nitions of ‘energy security’; it is a broad, evolving concept, encompassing many elements and aspects the importance or significance of which can alter in relation to the viewpoints, backgrounds or scientific expertise of the person using the defini- tion. Moreover, ‘geopolitics of energy’ is often narrowed-down to ‘energy security’ and both concepts are often used as if they were interchangeable. The origins of energy security date back to the beginning of the industrial revolution. Energy was a vital source underpinning in- dustrial growth, modern technological life Conflicts over energy resources endanger the global balance of power. and economic development. Energy was, and is, tremendously important in every of energy self-sufficiency and on the com- problems and the thereto related health field of life and is a primary concern, second position of primary energy supply. On the issues of the past half-century: lead pol- only to national defence, for the survival and other hand, energy resources are economic lution, acid rain, fine dust pollution and, well-being of developed and developing na- commodities themselves. The rise of the oil the most threatening of all, global warming tions and societies. It is no surprise, then, to industry is interconnected with the rise of and its consequences for the climate. As see that the control over energy resources capitalism and international business, and from the 1990s, more and more scientists (oil, gas, coal, nuclear or renewable) is at the fossil fuels are perceived as the driving forc- claimed that fossil fuels were the principal heart of great power politics. es behind technological advancement and cause of increases in atmospheric concen- The intertwining relations between oil, economic power. In the twentieth century, trations of greenhouse gases, driving up politics and international power first the oil industry became the world’s biggest the mean temperatures of the planet and became evident during the First World business and the first globalised modern causing a worldwide melting of glaciers War, when Great Britain, due to German industry. The existing world energy system and of polar icepacks. Weather related submarine warfare, experienced severe was largely shaped by Anglo-American oil disasters, like severe flooding or drought, shortages in oil supply which threatened

2 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 SECURITY POLICY  the entire war effort. With the begin- ning of the war, the combustion engine had gained prominence (in warships, air- planes, and mechanised transport) which increased the dependence on oil as a premier energy source. The Allies, under the impulse of First Lord of the Admi- Photo: US State Department ralty Winston Churchill, quickly realised the importance of a secure and uninter- rupted supply of oil at a reasonable price. They figured out that the control over energy resources and their secure trans- portation to energy markets would also be vital to their post-war existence and influence. This gave rise to the concept of energy security, and energy resources gained a prominent place in the war and postwar strategy. During the First World War, the Allies altered their strategic ob- jectives with regard to the Caucasus, the To avoid conflicts over energy at an early stage the US set up the US-China Middle East and the Ottoman Empire in Economic and Strategic Dialogue Joint Session on Energy Security. Pictured the light of the presence (or absence) of are former US Secretary of State John Kerry conducting talks with Chinese oil reserves. Regions previously neglected Vice Premier Wang at the US Department of State on 10 July 2013. by foreign policy (e.g. the Saudi Arabian peninsula) now attracted the attention Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, An- lock-up exclusive access to oil and gas re- of politicians, entrepreneurs and the mili- glo-American energy security policy strived serves wherever it can obtain them. Chinese tary. In the Second World War, the con- at controlling most of the world’s energy companies are also trying to buy Western trol over vast energy reserves was an im- resources and at securing the lines of sup- energy companies in their hunt for energy portant determinant of the Axis strategy: ply from producer to consumer. The free resources and technology. Foreign policy Stalingrad was a result of Hitler’s desire market model, based on demand and sup- and the search for energy needed to sustain to gain access to the energy-rich areas ply, favoured the Western energy consum- economic growth, are intertwined through on the Caspian Sea, while the American ing powers and became the blueprint for the (quasi-) state owned energy companies oil embargo against Japan was one of the a global energy system, aimed at (relative) like SinoPec. The Chinese meddling in Suda- main events that led directly to the attack price stability. The oil producing countries nese internal affairs like in the Darfur region on Pearl Harbor. in the Middle East were the cornerstone of – a region rich in fossil fuels - is a classic Ever since, securing energy resources is a that system and Western powers did not example of that policy. The Russian energy- key aspect of foreign policy making and of hesitate to use military force in order to hegemony model suggests that Russia uses military strategy. consolidate their supremacy. The two Gulf its enormous reserves of oil and natural gas wars against Iraq (1990-1991 and 2003) and its geographical position to advance its Energy Security in the and the intervention in Somalia (1993- foreign policy goals by bribing or bullying Modern Era 1995) to protect the Strait of Hormuz, vital to Western (and global) energy security, are While in the previous decades wars were just a few examples. fought over oil, the 1970s confronted the oil consuming countries in the West with a New Geopolitical Challenges Graphic: US EIA frightening new reality: oil used as a weap- on When after the Yom Kippur war and The beginning of the 21st century is char- its aftermath (1973/74) the Organization of acterised by uncertainty and a changing Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to energy landscape. The vulnerability of the boycott the major energy consumers in the whole energy sector can be described as West, the crisis that followed brought the the Achilles heel of the developed world importance of energy security immediately and some predict yet another transition of to the attention of governments, business- the energy paradigm. Five trends can be es and ordinary citizens. The message was identified as the driving forces behind this clear: energy security became a matter of transition: international as well as national concern. On the demand side, we see a diminishing The collapse of the Soviet Union two dec- role for the US in shaping oil markets due ades later enabled a shift from a high de- to the increasing oil demands of the rising pendency on petroleum to a more diversi- Asian powers, notably China and India. It fied energy package: natural gas and re- is argued that the Anglo-American market- newable energy became significant players based model is losing terrain to the petro- in the energy picture, although petroleum mercantilist approach of China and to the Many EU member states are heav- keeps occupying a prominent place in the energy-hegemony approach of Russia. The ily dependent on Russian gas and geopolitics of energy. Chinese petro-mercantilist model seeks to oil supplies.

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 3  SECURITY POLICY both suppliers (in Central and Southwest However, climate change may be the big- all around the world. Terrorist and cyber Asia) and users (the EU). At the same time, gest challenge to energy security; global attacks against refineries, pipelines and Russia uses its energy companies – of which warming poses by far the most important power plants occurred in many countries, energy giant Gazprom is the most notorious challenge to today’s geopolitics of energy. as well as piracy along critical maritime - to exploit the free market. Climate change will profoundly affect en- choke points. On the supply side, rising demands and ergy systems and the possible catastrophic NATO’s energy security agenda is aimed at supply constraints lead to price volatility. consequences raise enormous macroeco- creating awareness of global and regional The world is running out of fossil fuels, nomic security concerns in terms of dis- energy developments and supporting the although real shortages are not to be rupted methods of production, reduced political consultation process with shared feared for in the near future. Largely due household’s purchasing power, drops in intelligence. Although NATO’s contribution to energy security is limited to analysis and consultation, it has become a permanent fixture in NATO’s education and training programmes. NATO sees a role for itself in the three following areas:

Photo: Joachim Kohler 1. Raising awareness by sharing intelli- gence on energy developments, by foster- ing political consultations among allies and partners and by exchanging information and insights with outside experts. 2. Supporting the protection of critical en- ergy infrastructures by sharing best practices, by organising training courses and by insert- ing energy-related scenarios into exercises. 3. Enhancing energy efficiency in the mili- tary by the sharing of national best prac- tices, by using energy-efficient equipment and by developing military energy efficien- The diversification of natural gas supplies, also with liquefied natural cy standards. gas, can reduce energy dependencies. In the near future, NATO will also focus on the energy resilience of the allies. Since re- to the disclosure of new reserves (shale consumer confidence and, finally, reduc- silient energy supplies are vital for collective gas, for example) and to the use of new tions in economic activity. National security defence, NATO support in this area is likely technologies that make the exploitation concerns, such as uncontrolled mass migra- to increase. Cyber threats towards energy of these reserves profitable, scarcity is tion, as well as affordability of energy, will infrastructure will also gain in importance. not as big as anticipated a decade ago. add to the problem. In order to take up these roles, NATO cre- However, the days of energy abundance ated several organisms: an Energy Secu- are definitely over. Assessment, produc- NATO and Energy Security rity Section was established within NATO’s tion, conversion and delivery to where Emerging Security Challenges Division. resources are needed in a cost-effective, NATO discovered energy security at the Bu- The Energy Security Section works to- secure and environmentally benign man- charest Summit in 2008. Although energy gether with outside experts and with the ner, have become a real challenge. The security is largely non-military in nature International Energy Agency (IEA) and with infrastructural needs to transport larger and mostly a national responsibility, NATO the Directorate-General for Energy of the volumes over larger distances through understood that the energy developments European Commission. In 2012, a NATO already crowded and vulnerable choke mentioned above will have serious security Energy Security Centre of Excellence was points are another concern. implications. NATO could not turn a blind established in Lithuania, providing analy- Political instability in and around countries eye to the protection of critical energy in- sis and training across the entire spectrum that play a role – even a marginal one - in frastructure and should enhance energy of NATO’s energy security agenda and the worldwide energy system cause ma- efficiency in the military as well. serving as a unique asset for supporting jor price spikes on the market. Instability Energy security, with numerous implica- and promoting NATO’s energy security creates fear among oil importers and gives tions for allied security, became a real stra- agenda. In 2015, the first Energy Security political power to oil exporters. tegic issue for NATO in the aftermath of Strategic Awareness Course took place Terrorism is yet another factor increasing the Russian annexation of the Crimea in in the NATO School in Oberammergau, uncertainty with regard to energy secu- 2014. For many NATO allies energy supply covering a broad spectrum of energy chal- rity: the attacks of September 2001 have is a challenge. In March 2014, NATO Sec- lenges, ranging from the geopolitics of oil inspired different terrorist groups to new retary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and gas to enhancing the energy efficiency forms of terrorism. Since 2001, world- declared that Europe’s dependency on oil of armed forces. And recently, in February wide attacks on oil or gas pipelines and and gas imports was increasing at a time 2018, NATO held its first energy security on other energy related infrastructure when the energy needs of rising pow- course at the newly created NATO-Istan- are increasing. This so-called ‘economic ers such as China and India were rising bul Cooperation Initiative Regional Coop- jihad’ threatens the safety and security as well. Political instability was haunting eration Centre in Kuwait. Several partner of energy resources and has become an- many energy-producing and transit states, countries, notably Ukraine, attended the other important security challenge for while the quest for energy and other re- training course on the protection of critical both industry and governments. sources had sparked territorial disputes energy infrastructure.

4 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 SECURITY POLICY 

It is clear that NATO’s role in energy security 1. Increasing energy efficiency in order infrastructure by a more efficient use will remain modest, but that it is an essential to reach the proposed 2030 energy of storage facilities, by developing the part of the Alliance’s toolkit and energy de- and climate goals, with the focus on possibility of reverse flows, conduct- velopments are too intertwined with other buildings and industry. ing risk assessments and putting in security issues to allow NATO to ignore them. 2. Increasing energy production in the place security of supply plans at re- EU and diversify supplier countries and gional and EU level. The EU and Energy Security routes. Negotiations are taking place The final aim of the EU energy strategy with Russia, Norway, Saudi Arabia and is to create a real energy union, mak- For the EU, energy security is a matter of countries in the Caspian Sea region. ing energy more secure, affordable and life and death. The EU imports more than Another option for diversification is sustainable. To achieve that goal, the EU half of the energy it needs and its import the increased import of US liquefied wants to facilitate the free flow of ener- dependency amounts to 90% for crude oil natural gas. Safe nuclear energy and gy across borders and a secure supply in and 69% for natural gas. A gas dispute be- renewable energy sources should also every EU country. New technologies and tween Russia and transit country Ukraine in contribute to an increase in European renewed infrastructure should contribute 2009 threatened many EU countries with energy production. to the ideal of a sustainable, low carbon severe shortages and highlighted the vulner- 3. Completing the internal energy mar- and environmentally friendly economy. ability of the EU for supply disruptions and ket and building missing infrastruc- Therefore, the European Energy Secu- infrastructure failures. Even more, many EU ture links that allow a quick reaction rity Strategy was completed by the 2030 countries rely on a single supplier – some in case of supply disruptions. In July Framework for Climate and Energy. countries rely solely on Russia for the import 2018, measures were taken to better Energy security is becoming an important of natural gas. With a total energy import bill integrate the Iberian Peninsula into the issue for NATO and for the EU and plays of more than €1Bn a day, it was necessary European energy market. an important role in the relations with for the EU to draw up an energy strategy 4. Building an external energy policy, Russia. However, it still largely remains and in May 2014, the European Commis- including sharing information about a national responsibility, and nations are sion released its Energy Security Strategy. national planned agreements with reluctant to give up their sovereignty in The aim of the strategy is to ensure a stable non-EU countries that may affect the that vital field of interest. It remains to be and abundant supply of energy for Euro- EU’s security of supply. seen how energy security will be man- pean citizens and the economy. The Strategy 5. Strengthening emergency and solidar- aged in the future by the member states, proposes actions in five key areas: ity mechanisms and protecting critical NATO and the EU. 

7. INTERNATIONAL FAIR OF DEFENCE, SECURITY, PROTECTION AND RESCUE 20. - 23. 9. 2018 Gornja Radgona, Slovenia

ALLIANCE OF TRUST!  ARMED FORCES Land Combat System Support at the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA)

Jörn Brauer and Robert Elvish

This year NSPA is celebrating its 60-year anniversary! Today, NSPA is a key logistics enabler for the support of both NATO and nationally owned military equipment as well as managing contractor support to opera- tions on behalf of the NATO Commands, multinational groups and individual nations.

he Agency is headquartered The strength and attractiveness of the Tin Luxembourg and has pro- Agency is largely due to the wide range grammes based in France, Hun- of experience and capability within the gary and Italy with outstations in business units and the electronic logistics Afghanistan, Kosovo and other solutions available, which are developed locations. Today, NSPA’s estab- and exploited to the fullest extent pos- lishment encompasses more sible. The Agency has a proven record of than 1,350 positions, with 60 of timely and cost-effective delivery, high these personnel deployed on op- levels of transparency and customer erations. NSPA business activity satisfaction and creating economies of has grown nearly fivefold in the scale for customer nations, particularly last decade and now includes the acquisition NSPA’s core business continues to be the in the very successful multinational SP role. Business and workforce growth is pre- life cycle management of equipment and mechanisms. The Agency also has the dicted to continue, with customer nations di- weapon systems. Through the develop- capability to access a broad supplier rectly funding more than 90 percent of these ment of the acquisition role, the Agency base of more than 10,000 companies activities; less than 10 percent comes from now oversees activities in all phases (from using a range of innovative procure- NATO common funding. concept phase through acquisition and in- ment mechanisms. It has a professional The rapid growth of the Agency, political service to disposal) of the system life cycle, Agency workforce and attractive multi- and operational developments and the providing customers with ‘cradle-to-grave‘ national legal frameworks, as well as an need to develop the acquisition role led support. NSPA currently manages 30 mul- integrated suite of IT solutions and the to a comprehensive review and refresh of tinational Support Partnerships (SPs) cover- ability to access transatlantic capability the Agency‘s five-year Strategic Direction ing over 90 major weapon systems. platforms through the NATO structure. in 2017 and led to an optimised organisa- tional structure that is now composed of four main business units: • Life Cycle Management • Support to Operations

• Central Europe Pipeline System Photos/Graphic: NSPA • NATO Airlift Management These are underpinned by four key support functions: Procurement, Finance, Human Re- sources and Information Technology. These are essential to ensure the smooth running and management of the supporting pro- cesses. Authors Jörn Brauer, Staff Officer Life Cycle Management Directorate, NSPA and Robert Elvish, Programme Manager Air and Land Combat System Programme Office, NSPA. The mid-life upgrade of MLRS extended the capabilities and service life of the system.

6 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMED FORCES 

Land Combat System a highly capable workshop facility able to ing logistic solutions for a variety of UAS Support provide a range of direct services to nations systems such as RAVEN, ORBITER, WASP, including repair, maintenance and modifi- FlyEye, BLACK HORNET, SEARCHER MK III, NSPA’s support to Land Combat Systems is cation of mechanical and electro-optical SCAN EAGLE and HUGINN. a perfect example illustrating the range and systems. The United States’ Foreign Military Despite the differences in class and size depth of support provided to NATO and Sales (FMS) are another area in which NSPA of these systems, NSPA adopted a unique Partner Nations. Most support in this domain has significant expertise and through which business model aiming to provide logistic is provided through the NSPA Air and Land it is able to provide support to the partner- support services integrated with configu- Combat System Programme, it provides full ships and individual nations. ration management to comply with the

Left: Manufacturing the TOW/ITAS traversing units demonstrates NSPA's broad range of capabilities. Right: Comprehensive support is granted for the increasingly internationally used MRAV BOXER. life cycle support to a range of weapon The latest major acquisition project is a fleet National Airworthiness regulatory frame- systems with roughly 200 highly skilled of Light Tactical Armoured Vehicles in mul- works. Under the existing logistic support engineers, technicians, logisticians and spe- tiple configurations. This fleet will consist of contracts, NSPA is currently running sev- cialised procurement and finance staff. more than 100 vehicles. Deliveries are ex- eral upgrade programmes triggered by The foundation of multinational coopera- pected to begin in 2019 and to be complete new capability requirements and by the tion and consolidation of requirements is the within two years. The Agency has applied a necessity to align the delivered systems on SP structure structure unique to NSPA. The rigorous project management approach to a unique supportable configuration. SP concept brings together NATO and part- this undertaking ensuring that the customer The BOXER multi-role armoured vehicle ner nations with common requirements, nation is getting the best value while meet- is another example of support provided areas of mutual exchange interest in sup- ing their requirements on time. within the Land Combat Vehicle SP. It is port of fleets, systems and services. Nations Engineering changes, obsolescence man- being supported by NSPA in cooperation provide governance and guidance, whereas agement and mid-life upgrades are an es- with the procurement agency OCCAR the Agency manages the support requested sential part of the Land Combat Systems (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération by the nations. This concept has proven its efforts. The rebuilding of the PzH 2000 Fire en matière d'ARmement/Organisation for effectiveness for 60 years now. Control System is an example of the work Joint Armament Cooperation) ensuring Supported systems in the Land Combat Sys- undertaken in NSPA’s own workshop facil- an efficient cooperation from production tem domain include missile systems such as ity. Likewise, the manufacture of TOW/ITAS to in-service support. Support services for TOW/ITAS, SPIKE, STINGER; artillery systems Traversing Units demonstrates the broad the BOXER include Configuration Man- like the MLRS and PzH 2000; armoured vehi- range of capability available. Mid-life up- agement, Interactive Electronic Technical cles including the LEOPARD, DINGO Light Ar- grades include improvements to the MLRS, Documentation, Logistics Support Analy- mored Vehicle (LAV) and BOXER. The SPs are such as the integration of a new fire con- sis, Technical Data Package management, able to consolidate national requirements, re- trol system and GPS as well as the vehicle common stock management and provi- sulting in economies of scale. NSPA provides drivetrain and turret motor upgrades. The sion of spare parts. In addition, NSPA has competitive international bidding, ensuring Agency also runs a Service Life Extension contracts and outline agreements in place the lowest cost, best value and a centralised Programme for the STINGER missile sys- for industry support services. SP nations point of contact for customer and industry tems. This initiative will see the replacement are currently Germany and the Nether- engagement. of multiple time-expired components, such lands, while future BOXER nations may as the rocket motor and energetic material, join the Support Partnership to take ad- Scope of Support leading to a substantial increase in the ser- vantage of the many benefits provided vice life of this weapon system. through NSPA. The scope of life cycle management support for land combat systems includes acquisi- Examples Outlook tion, engineering, contract management, maintenance & overhaul and warehouse In the Land Combat System domain, the The Agency’s recent exponential business management. Support is provided primarily Agency is also providing Logistics and En- growth is a clear indicator of its success, through contracts with industry, established gineering Support to Unmanned Aerial building on the outstanding levels of ser- through a streamlined international compet- System (UAS) users. The UAS SP was es- vices delivered and high rates of customer itive bidding process. NSPA also maintains tablished in 2014 and is currently provid- satisfaction. 

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 7  ARMED FORCES “High Range of Capabilities to Support NATO and the EU”

Interview with Brigadier to avoid “reinventing the wheel”, clos- General Rudolf Maus, ing national expertise or resource gaps Foto: NSPA or freeing up national resources, which Director of Life Cycle Manage- then can be reallocated to other national ment of the NATO Support and priorities. Therefore, from this perspective, we see Procurement Agency (NSPA) ourselves not only as an executing agent for collective solutions, but also as an alternative to national initiatives under ESD: What led to the recent restruc- national responsibility. turing of NSPA by building two new di- rectorates out of your previous area of ESD: Acquisition of military systems has responsibility, one for Support to Op- become a new area of responsibility erations and one for Life Cycle Manage- for NSPA – what has changed or will ment? change? Maus: Until the end of 2017, I was re- Maus: The NATO Council allocated the sponsible for all operational capabilities Acquisition role to NSPA in 2015. Al- of the NSPA in both domains, the sup- parent way within scope, time, budget though this task was not new to NSPA port for operations as well as the Life and at high quality. (we ran acquisition projects already in Cycle Management, which represents a The Agency is offering a proven platform the Armoured Vehicles, Helicopter, very wide spectrum of different capa- for multinational cooperation and with Unmanned Aerial Systems, Deployable bility portfolios. The Agency is facing a that the ability to consolidate national Camps and Ground Based Defence do- continuous rapid business growth in all requirements, to contribute to interop- mains), the Agency took further initia- areas, including an increase in the new erability, to provide the know-how and tives to strengthen this capability. acquisition role. experience exchange amongst nations. As I mentioned before, we optimised our To give you an indication, NSPA business This often leads to new initiatives and organisational structure by establishing activity has grown nearly fivefold in the to achieving collective solutions with a new Directorate responsible for “cra- last 10 years and reached more than four the advantage of building capabilities dle to grave” Life Cycle Management. billion Euros in 2017. Within the growing together, which one nation alone could The Directorate of Life Cycle Manage- business portfolio, we also had to focus not achieve. Economies of scale – but ment is covering all Acquisition activities on the further development of the sys- also a high degree of efficiency – come from concept phase to the fielding as tems acquisition capability and the man- with it. In particular, in areas where re- well as In-Service Support and – later in agement of the exponentially expanding sources are scarce, a collective approach the life cycle – upgrading of systems, as Life Cycle Management activities. also avoids unnecessary competition be- well as Disposal, Dismantling and De- Beside this, it was necessary to concen- tween allies, an effect we all know, for militarisation, which in our view is also a trate all resources to support NATO and example, in the operational environment growing domain. Currently, we do sup- the nation’s missions. Due to the chang- where reacting markets often create ex- port more than 90 weapon systems in ing geopolitical situation, the Agency tra burdens. different phases of their life cycle. has to be ready to support NATO’s cur- A further advantage represents the very This includes responsibility allocated to rent and future missions, which also successful mechanism of a very direct us in 2017 of the project management cover European areas of interest. and effective governance model ex- for the concept phase of the “Alliance Mainly this growth in portfolio, scope ercised by the nations in currently 30 Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC)”, and variety led to the restructuring to established multinational Support Part- which can be seen as a first example in maintain a manageable span of control nerships. Member nations who decide the major acquisition domain. and a focused customer engagement at to follow common goals and achieve This new organisation has been opera- senior management level as a vital ele- defined products and services build the tional since 1 January this year. ment to achieve customer satisfaction. legal framework in which they decide Next to this, we introduced an Acquisi- on – amongst other characteristics – the tion Planning & Development Office in ESD: Focusing on the continuous required goal, scope, budget and work my staff, which provides us with the very growth of the NSPA, what do you see force and approve the desired outcome. important capability to cover the very as major success factors from the cus- This mechanism keeps our governance early pre-project acquisition phase. As tomers’ point of view? fully committed to the programme and NSPA’s point of contact for future acqui- Maus: The Agency’s recent exponential focused on a successful outcome. sition initiatives, this team of acquisition business growth is a clear indicator of its Finally, making use of NSPA’s capabili- experts will, in a close dialogue with the success to achieve a high degree of cus- ties means using a highly skilled and customer nations, ensure the develop- tomer satisfaction in delivering projects very experienced work force in a very ment of an initial business case includ- and services in a responsive and trans- wide capability spectrum; this can help ing project plan, life cycle cost and risk

8 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMED FORCES 

analysis. It is designed to ensure a pro- ment towards European Union member earlier, the customer base of the Agency, fessional project and Integrated Project nations. Is this an area that NSPA can including our partner nations, already Team set-up, following the vital princi- manage? encompasses all EU nations. We are very ple: “Get it right from the beginning!” Maus: In July 2016, the joint NATO-EU experienced in the set-up, execution and This team will also help to continuously declaration was signed with the intent implementation of collective solutions. improve the acquisition processes and to increase the cooperation between the There are already several successful ex- execution in the Agency. two entities, to avoid duplication and to amples of support provided to and co- From this perspective, NSPA also took spend money wisely to gain a maximum operation with EU nations. For instance initiatives to further enhance our fully of capabilities. the NATO-owned MRTT programme, integrated Project Management tool, We see today a strong drive in the com- which is based on a European initia- which also allows us to build up IPTs by munity of the European nations, based tive and executed in cooperation with embedding national representatives as on EU investment funds, PESCO and OCCAR, the build-up/operation and IPT members with real-time direct access capability requirements like described maintenance of a fully equipped hospi- into our Project Management system. in the initiative on military mobility as tal for the deployed troops in Kosovo, This opens a completely new way of in- well as in operational environments. I the logistics support to sustain EU Bat- teracting with our customers remotely do see many cooperation opportunities tle Group deployments, the naval fleet and across borders. One example is a with the EU nations in the armaments, support in Mediterranean Sea opera- series of projects, which we are con- procurement and logistics capability tions, logistics support in operational ducting for a nation, in which the Pro- domains, but I also see a risk of du- theatres like Iraq and Mali, as well as ject Manager function is filled in by an plicating already existing, established, a variety of support to nearly all indi- MOD member and executed from the proven and well-performing capabili- vidual nations. home base in that country. This is just ties. From my perspective, this should From this perspective, I also would like one example of further innovation we be avoided to the benefit of the na- to highlight the very good and success- are looking at, and there will be many tions, as it will reduce inefficient money ful cooperation established with OCCAR more possibilities in the future. spending. in programmes like the MRTT, BOXER, Building on existing complementarity, A400M, TIGER Helicopter and Cobra. ESD: The last question is about your view synergy and strengths should be the way regarding NSPA's support opportunities forward. NSPA would like to be seen as The interview was conducted by in capability development and sustain- an option in this domain. As I explained Gerhard Heiming.

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 ARMED FORCES Amphibious Warfare Current Programmes on a Global Scale Jack Richardson

In the last century there have been several large-scale amphibious landings around the world, from D-Day and the Pacific campaign in World War II to the Inchon landings and the Falklands War. More recently, the US and UK forces invaded Iraq from the sea across the Al Faw Peninsula in 2003, and there have been am- phibious elements to the ongoing Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. That is why the British Ministry of De- fence sees amphibious capabilities as being important in the future.

he importance of amphibious opera- Ttions continues to endure, with the UK MoD’s “Future Operating Environment 2035” document singling out the littoral (particularly where urban areas are con- cerned) as a key operating environment going forward.

United States

Currently, the force offering the most advanced and comprehensive range of amphibious capabilities is the US Marine Corps (USMC), which deploys seven Ma- rine Expeditionary Units (MEUs, three on each seaboard and one in Japan) to meet contingencies. They can be scaled up in size if necessary, but each consists of a battalion-sized unit of Marines as stand- ard, augmented by artillery, reconnais- sance and armoured elements in addition

to logistics and aviation units. Respectively, Graphics: U.S. National Archives these are termed Ground Combat Element An artist's concept of LHD-1, similar to the LHA-1 amphibious assault (GCE), Logistics Combat Element (LCE) and ships. LHD-1's primary mission is to embark, deploy and support all ele- Aviation Combat Element (ACE). Each MEU ments of a Marines landing force, using amphibious vehicles, helicop- of 2,200 personnel is overseen by a Com- ters and HARRIER aircraft. The electronic and communication systems mand Element. of the 844-foot ship allow it to serve as a command post. The MEU is integrated with an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). The ACE (centred on ity will feature in the AMERICA class from is now reaching obsolescence and is due to the MV-22 OSPREY tiltrotor, supported by LHA8, it was omitted from LHAs 6 & 7 to be replaced by the Amphibious Combat Ve- helicopters and AV8B HARRIER IIs, which are prioritise aviation). These play a significant hicle (ACV). The winner of the competition being replaced by the F-35B) is embarked role in transporting the GCE and LCE to was announced in June 2018 as the Iveco in either a WASP class Landing Helicopter and from shore, able to carry 75 and 125 SUPERAV 8x8, after many years of evalua- Dock (LHD) or an AMERICA class Landing tonnes of equipment respectively. Within tion following the cancellation of the Ex- Helicopter Assault (LHA). They also carry the ARG, the Landing Ship Docks (LSDs) peditionary Fighting Vehicle. With an initial part of the GCE with capacity for 1,687 Ma- of the HARPERS FERRY, WHIDBEY ISLAND contract for 30 vehicles with an option for rines, who can be transported ashore us- and ANCHORAGE classes provide logistical up to 204 more to fully replace the AAV in ing either three Landing Craft Air Cushion support. The other core component of the incrementally upgraded variants by 2035, (LCAC) or two Landing Craft Utility (LCU) ARG and MEU is a Landing Platform Dock the SUPERAV will have a crew of three and held in a well dock at the stern. This facil- (LPD) of the SAN ANTONIO class. These up to thirteen Marines with the capacity were designed to replace various legacy for various weapon payloads. This base- Author classes and carry up to 800 Marines and line vehicle, and a dedicated Command their equipment, who can be ferried ashore and Control (C2) variant, will have greatly Jack Richardson is a professional with either two LCAC or a single LCU. Ad- improved mobility and protection over the UK-based author and a regular ditionally, the SAN ANTONIO class can carry AAV and will be able to keep up with the contributor to ESD specialising in up to fourteen Assault Amphibious Vehicles M1 ABRAMS Main Battle Tank (MBT) and defence and security. (AAVs). Despite being able to carry up to the Light Armoured Vehicle 25 operated 25 Marines from ship to shore, the vehicle by the USMC.

10 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMED FORCES 

The other shortlisted vehicle for the ACV reported the RFA CARDIGAN BAY acted toral manoeuvres to fill this gap. However, requirement was the TERREX 2 APC from as the base for RM VIKINGs conducting given their size and potential vulnerability, Singapore Technology (ST) Kinetics who raids into Somaliland. Also, the 1998 Stra- this is a controversial prospect. Under the had partnered with US contractor SAIC to tegic Defence Review (SDR) made clear 2010 SDSR, the number of POINT class produce this 8x8, V-hulled vehicle. Able a requirement for six Strategic Transport ships went from six down to four and one to carry eleven passengers in addition to a Ships of the POINT class. Operated under a of the ALBION class was placed in extended three-member crew, the TERREX 2 evolved private contract, these ships play a key role readiness. Indeed, as the UK MoD battles over the original TERREX to operate at up transporting equipment around the world continuing budget shortfalls, there is specu- to SEA STATE 3 and, like many other vehi- to support UK expeditionary operations, lation in the UK press that these ships could cles, can be equipped for different roles. an example being the buildup to the 2003 be withdrawn from service altogether, leav- At the same Expo, ST Kinetics showcased invasion of Iraq. ing a significant capability gap even though the latest member of its BRONCO fam- Despite being highly capable, and also re- amphibious capabilities remain important ily. Composed of two tracked cabs, this ceiving an upgraded, twelve passenger, across Europe with a number of states re- amphibious vehicle is marketed as being LCAC capability in 2010, the UK’s amphibi- newing their fleets. able to operate in different terrains from ous forces have been through significant mountain ranges to desert environments upheaval in recent years. In 2018, the RN’s The Netherlands in a variety of roles from troop-carrying to only Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH) HMS C2 and ambulance. OCEAN was decommissioned and sold to One force with which the RM retains a Brazil. In addition to their carrier strike role, close relationship is the Royal Netherlands The UK one of the QUEEN ELIZABETH class aircraft Marines. Ever since they forged close links carriers will use helicopters to conduct lit- in the Cold War to guard NATO’s Northern A similar vehicle called the VIKING (built by BAE Systems, Land Systems Hägglunds of Sweden) was operated by the Royal Marines (RM) in Afghanistan to great ef- 10th International Defence Exhibition And Seminar fect. The RM is built around 3 Comman- do Brigade, which trains for a variety of amphibious contingencies. It comprises three battalion-sized formations (one of which is optimised for maritime security operations) alongside supporting artil- lery, logistics, engineer and intelligence elements (some of which are detached from the British Army). The brigade also features 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group, responsible for guarding the UK’s nuclear deterrent at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde in Scotland. For its traditional 27- 30 November 2018 role of amphibious warfare, 3 Commando Karachi Expo Centre Brigade relies upon the two ALBION class www.ideaspakistan.gov.pk LPDs. These 19,000-ton vessels can rou- tinely carry 256 troops and their equip- ment (with a surge capacity of 405) in ad- dition to up to 30 armoured vehicles or six CHALLENGER II MBTs. These are ferried ashore from the Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel (LCVP) Mk 5, which can trans- port a company of fully equipped Marines (or an armoured vehicle similar to the VI- KING) over 210 NM. A larger type is the LCVP Mk 10, which can carry up to 120 Marines at 10 knots. Both of these types can also be operated from the BAY class LSD, which can carry up to 400 troops and up to 24 CHALLENGER IIs. These ver- satile ships, crewed by the civilian Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) are also suitable for a wider variety of roles including humanitar- ian relief in the Caribbean and maritime security in the Gulf. The primary task in the latter is supporting the RN Mine Coun- termeasures Vessels in the region, but the Official Publisher of Show Daily Media Partners ships have played host to US Riverine Com- mand Boats. Furthermore, in 2012, it was

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France

Photo: IVECO Also bolstering its amphibious capabilities is the French Marine National (MN), which over the last decade has taken delivery of three MISTRAL class LPDs. These ad- vanced vessels enjoy extensive C2 capa- bilities, accommodation for 450 to 700 troops and fully equipped medical facili- ties. They have the ability to transport a large number of helicopters (either 16 in the medium category or up to 35 lighter types) and have greater on-board space due to azimuth thruster propulsion. From the large floodable well-dock facility in the stern, each ship can deploy two Engins de Débarquement Amphibie Rapides (EDA-R) catamarans. These large craft can achieve 30 knots and travel 400 NM with up to 80 tons on board. Images from the re- cent Catamaran 2018 exercise with the An Iveco 8x8 SUPERAV launched from an LHD-1. The SUPERAV is capable of RN show these vessels discharging a wide supporting littoral operations in open ocean beyond sea state 3. The vehicle range of vehicles from the French Army’s can carry a 10 t mission load, including an overhead weapon station mount- 9th Brigade (its specialised, all arms, ma- ing up to a 40mm cannon. The SUPERAV platform is equipped with a new rine formation). Vehicles shown ranged 700 hp powerpack and driven in water by two propellers. from the VBCI 8x8 Infantry Fighting Vehi- cle to the AMX-10RC 6x6 reconnaissance Flank, the two forces have coordinated train- be deployed. There is also the Joint Support vehicle. ing for a variety of contingencies. The extent Ship HNLMS KAREL DOORMAN which not of this is such that the BAY class LSDs are only supplies fuel and solid supplies to Dutch Spain derived from the Dutch/Spanish ENFORCER warships around the world but contains am- LPD design. The Royal Netherlands Navy re- phibious shipping to support the Dutch Ma- As amphibious capabilities become more tains two of these ships in service. HMNLS rines. The versatility of these ships is under- prominent in Europe, there is another design ROTTERDAM is able to support up to 611 lined by the fact that all three have operated which stands out. The Spanish Armada’s troops and has a hangar that can accommo- off Somalia as motherships in the anti-piracy JUAN CARLOS I strategic projection ship date six medium-sized helicopters in addition role. This forms part of a trend whereby roles was commissioned in 2010 and has a large to a well-dock from which LCVPs can be de- of amphibious and other naval ships are be- well-dock (that can take up to four LCVPs), ployed. Her sister ship is HMNLS JOHAN DE coming blurred. The ABSALON class support in addition to a fully equipped hospital and WITT which has the same aviation, C2 and ships operated by the Royal Danish Navy are dental surgery. The ship supports the Span- hospital facilities but benefits from a dou- used to carry LEOPARD II MBTs, as their mis- ish Marine Corps (who also benefit from the ble lane well-dock, from which both LCVPs sion decks were designed for a broad spec- support of two GALICIA class LPDs, similar and LCACs (with the parting removed) can trum of operations. to HNLMS ROTTERDAM) which consists of two infantry battalions, a mechanised one (containing the AAV-7) and supporting ele- ments. Up to 913 troops can be accommo- dated on the JUAN CARLOS in addition to Photo: UK MoD a broad range of helicopters (twelve in the hangar and another six on deck). There is also a ski-ramp which can launch the Span- ish Armada’s AV-8B HARRIER II, but it is cur- rently unclear whether funding will permit these to be replaced by the F-35B. Such are the capabilities of this ship, the Turkish Navy is procuring a similar one named ANADOLU, from which the F-35Bs may be operated.

Italy Also in the Mediterranean, the Italian Ma- rina Militare operates the San Marco brigade with three regiments, the first a composite, expeditionary force, the second orientated towards maritime security operations and Royal Marines Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) Mk 5 the third towards training. The force, over-

12 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMED FORCES  seen by command and support elements, celled in August 2015 following a back- tion Army Navy (PLAN) has built six Type is looking to recapitalise with a new LHA/ lash from the US and Eastern European 071 LPDs. Similar to the SAN ANTONIO LPH type of vessel. Currently, the brigade is states, in the context of Russian aggres- class, these can transport a battalion of operated from the three small SAN GIOR- sion in Crimea. The following year, how- 800 Marines and land them using LCVPs, GIO class LPDs, from which a battalion of ever, France succeeded in selling the two LCACs and helicopters. China also plans marines, various landing craft and three ships to Egypt, where they were renamed to build an uncertain number of Type 075 helicopters can be deployed (though they GAMAL ABDEL NASSER and ANWAR LHAs. Displacing 40,000 tonnes, these lack a hanger). As the need for amphibious EL-SADAT. These vessels provide Egypt ships will be able to carry up to 30 helicop- capabilities has spread to the Middle East with a valuable expeditionary capability ters, offering increased power projection and North Africa (MENA) region, two similar from which aforementioned quantities of in the disputed South China Sea region. ships have been procured, one for Algeria troops and armoured vehicles can be de- and another forthcoming for Qatar. Though ployed. It is, however, unclear what types Japan they have the core features of medical and of aircraft the Egyptian vessels will oper- C2 facilities, these have greater offensive ate, with suggestions Egypt may deploy This has sparked a response from Japan, weaponry than traditional amphibious ships. Russian types including the KAMOV 52 which is in the process of raising significant These include an Oto Melara Rapid 76mm coaxial rotor attack helicopter from the amphibious forces in the added context of gun for countering surface and aerial targets ships. Despite the setback of failing to the controversial moves by Shinzo Abe’s in addition to a silo aft of the superstructure purchase to MISTRAL class ships, Russia is government to establish a more asser- capable of launching MBDA ASTER air-to-air planning a new LPH by 2022 and is procur- tive defence policy. In 2018, the Japanese missiles which are supported by a powerful ing smaller support ships. Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF) activat- Active Electronically Scanned Array. ed the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Bri- China gade (ARDB). Composed of approximately Russia and Egypt 2,100 personnel, parallels have been drawn In East Asia, however, progress has been between this new unit and USMC MEUs One of the more significant amphibious more rapid. Perhaps the most significant because Japan has purchased V22 OS- warfare developments in the region how- efforts are those of China, which has es- PREYs and AAV-7 APCs. This is in addition ever lies on the Suez Canal. France had tablished two all-arms marine brigades to considering the purchase of new Land- originally been contracted in 2011 to build with a third in the process of being stood ing Craft and, controversially, F-35Bs to two MISTRAL class LHDs for the Russian up. To support this 20,000-strong (and operate from Japan’s existing IZUMO class Navy. However, this purchase was can- growing) force, China’s People’s Libera- helicopter carriers.  ARMED FORCES

Australia

As part of this trend of proliferating am- Photo: Crown phibious capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia has been at pains to enhance its amphibious capabilities with the commissioning of the LHDs CAN- BERRA and ADELAIDE in 2014 and 2015 respectively. These are derived from the JUAN CARLOS LPH operated by the Spanish Navy and are able to carry four LCM 1E Landing Craft to move up to 1,000 personnel ashore. This has meant significant changes for the Australian Defence Force, including the re-role of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regi- ment to provide specialist capabilities to secure the beachhead before the main force in brought ashore. These ships, which operate alongside the LSD HMAS CHOULES (procured from the RFA in 2011) have already been proven in exer- cises with the US and in their secondary role of providing humanitarian assis- tance after Cyclone Winston devastated Fiji in 2016. Amidst regional geopolitical A Royal Marines Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk10 B2 conducting cross concerns, this is also a key priority for decking drills with the French Marines with a French EDA-R catamaran states in the region. India purchased the landing craft in the background former AUSTIN class LPD USS TRENTON in 2007 (there is an ongoing competition to procure four multi-role support ves- sels), whilst a specialist marine brigade is being raised by the Indian Army. Photo: U.S. Navy Singapore

One state which, as previously men- tioned, has pedigree in producing am- phibious vehicles is Singapore. The Re- public of Singapore Navy operates four ENDURANCE class LPDs and is seeking a more capable replacement class. Along- side the TERREX 2 at Eurosatory 2018 was a private venture by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and NEXTER which has re- sulted in the Amphibious Protected Ve- hicle Tracked (APVT). This is an amphibi- ous APC which on land is controlled by a driver and commander sitting side by side but upon entering the water (a pro- tective screen is erected at both ends), is propelled in the opposite direction us- ing pump jets. Driven by a diesel engine on rubber tracks, APVT has a remote A Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) launches from the deck of amphibi- weapons station and a payload of up to ous assault ship USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6). five tons. To date, it has been tested over multiple types of terrain and is marketed South Korea capabilities and medical facilities to form for riverine or open water operations. a key part of the ROKN’s vision to be- The large number of amphibious warfare Similarly, South Korea is studying the come a blue water navy. This is through projects around the world, from these possibility of deploying the F-35B from carrying 700 Marines (South Korea has next-generation vehicles to large scale its DOKDO class LPHs. With one of these 29,000 in total over two divisions and a amphibious shipping, underlines the in- vessels in commission and another un- brigade), six tanks and AAVs in addition creasing value of these highly specialist der construction, they possess the C2 to LCACs. capabilities. 

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© 2018 AAI Corporation.  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY UK Armoured Vehicle Programmes

David Saw

For almost 44 years the primary mission of the British Army was to be prepared to fight a high-intensity mechanised conflict on the North German Plain. For some 40 of those years, that mission would be conducted under the auspices of NATO. Then the world changed.

he end of the Cold War and German In many respects, the British Army was in the FV432, although old, had demonstrated Treunification marked the end of the a good position as far as armour was con- that, whilst it might not be the greatest ar- primacy of the British Army of the Rhine cerned. At the start of the 1990s, the CHAL- moured vehicle in the world, there were (BAOR) in British Army operational thought. LENGER 1 had proven itself to be a very ef- plenty of missions it could perform for the The consequences of this massive change fective tank in combat in the Middle East. British Army. were that the British Army would need to Furthermore, as it had only been in service The evolution of British armour after the reinvent itself to remain relevant in the face for some eight years by the early 1990s, it end of Operation Granby in February 1991 of new security realities. had plenty of potential for upgrade and ser- has proven to be a saga of complexity, im- mense frustration and failure. Indeed, some 27 years after Granby, the British Army still operates the WARRIOR, the CVR(T) family and the FV432 along with its numerous vari-

Photos: UK MoD ants. It must be noted that, as of 2018, the WARRIOR has been in service for 31 years, the CVR(T) first entered service 45 years ago and FV432 entered service 55 years ago. There are numerous factors that have con- tributed to the British failure to effectively modernise their armoured vehicle fleet. Ob- viously one of the primary factors was poli- tics in the post-Cold War world; the British Government, like many other European gov- ernments, looked to reduce defence spend- ing to obtain a ‘peace dividend’ that could be spent on more politically useful purposes. Consequently both military budgets and the size of the military shrank. With no clear national defence strategy having emerged to reflect conditions in the post-Cold War world, defence matters were left to drift. The CHALLENGER 2 LEP aims to modernise the tank to provide a preci- Events in the Balkans in the 1990s would sion direct fire manoeuvre capability, but doubts exist that all tanks will find the British Army involved. Operation go through the LEP. Grapple saw major British deployments to Bosnia initially as part of the United Nations Although the Cold War might have ended, vice life extension. Yet, the CHALLENGER Protection Force (UNPROFOR) and later as the British Army that was built to fight the 1 began to be withdrawn from service in part of the NATO Intervention Force (IFOR). Cold War found itself deploying to the Mid- 1996, with its replacement being the CHAL- Deployments to Bosnia commenced in Oc- dle East in 1990/91 in what was known to the LENGER 2. The first batch order consisted of tober 1992 and continued throughout the British as Operation Granby. This meant the 127 tanks and 13 Driver Training Tanks DTT. 1990s. Later, in 1999, British troops de- deployment of two armoured brigades and A second batch order in June 1994, covered ployed to Kosovo for peacekeeping missions the HQ of the 1st (UK) Armoured Division; 259 tanks and nine DTT. The first CHAL- as part of the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR). 221 CHALLENGER 1 tanks and thousands of LENGER 2 tanks were delivered in 1998, Both Bosnia and Kosovo were major troop other vehicles were employed. Apart from with deliveries completed in 2002. deployments and asset intensive. the CHALLENGER 1, which entered service The WARRIOR had also performed ex- The arrival of Tony Blair as Prime Minister in in 1983, in terms of armour there was the tremely well in Granby and would remain in 1997 saw the British Government embrace a WARRIOR IFV in multiple variants, this had production until 1995, with the British Army policy of liberal interventionism. Britain was entered service in 1987, the CVR(T) family of acquiring 789 vehicles, although the original committed to peacekeeping/peacemaking vehicles, which entered service in 1973, and requirement actually called for 1,053 vehi- missions; Kosovo was an example of this, the FV432 family of vehicles that entered cles. The CVR(T) vehicle family had contin- as was Operation Palliser in Sierra Leone in service in 1963. ued to demonstrate how useful it was, while May 2000. The Sierra Leone military inter-

16 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  vention was both rapid and decisive, which numbers as of 1 April 2017 were 82,650 and reduced by 40% and the number of heavy is what the British Government hoped to as of 1 April 2018 were 81,160, with these artillery systems by 35%. Currently, the Brit- achieve in these missions. Unfortunately numbers including mobilised reservists and ish Army has 227 CHALLENGER 2 tanks; in then came Afghanistan and Iraq, major mis- Gurkhas. This indicates that the British Army 2010 they had 316. sions that were neither rapid nor decisive. is under strength; the FTTS personnel num- The Defence Committee report mentioned Major involvement in Iraq (Operation Telic) bers are the key measure of usable troop the CHALLENGER 2 Life-Extension Pro- lasted from 2003 until 2009, while Opera- numbers. Furthermore, retention of trained gramme (LEP) and also referenced the WAR- tion Herrick in Afghanistan lasted from 2001 personnel is proving difficult and recruiting is RIOR life-extension, a programme with an to December 2014. The negative impact of not providing the bodies necessary to meet estimated cost of £1.3Bn. The report then Afghanistan and Iraq on the British Army requirements. stated that: “Reports emerging from the cannot be underestimated, and the effects are still being felt today.

Politics and Personnel

Between 1990 and 2015 the British Gov- ernment embarked on a number of de- fence reviews, the first of which was ‘Op- tions for Change’ in 1990, followed by ‘Front Line First’ in 1994, both of which were force reduction and cost cutting ex- ercises. The Labour government that came to power in 1997 had their first review, ‘Strategic Defence Review (SDR)’, in 1998, which continued the trend of force reduc- tion, cuts and restructuring. Post 9/11, the security situation had changed and this led to an addition to the SDR known as ‘SDR Next Chapter’ in 2002. This was followed by another review ‘Delivering Security in a Changing World’ in 2003, unsurprisingly more restructuring and more cuts were on the agenda. After that came the ’Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS)’ of 2005, the aim here was to come up with a strategy that would In 2010/2011, BAE Systems were awarded a contract to modernise CVR(T) give the military the equipment that they armoured vehicles to the CVR(T) Mk 2 configuration, as illustrated by this needed, when they needed it and at best SCIMITAR Mk 2 vehicle on operations in Afghanistan. value for money. Key to this was the do- mestic defence industry that was to sustain To summarise, the British Army has suffered National Security Capability Review (NSCR) capability in key technology areas. In 2010, from years of overcommitment and under- suggested that the number of WARRIORs a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition investment, added to which the procure- due to be upgraded would be substantially government came to power, and their first ment system has proven to be unfit for the reduced.” In addition, it was noted that: review, the ‘Strategic Defence and Security purpose on far too many occasions. On the “The army is procuring the next generation Review (SDSR)’, of 2010 contained more positive side, there are now a number of of Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV), a pro- force reductions. By this point, an overspend procurement programmes in action that will curement taking place outside of the MDP. of some £38Bn by the UK MoD had become see the acquisition of new armoured vehicle We took evidence on this in April (2018) and, a major political issue, further increasing the capabilities, either through the upgrade of at that time, the MoD was not in a position pressure for more cuts in defence expendi- existing systems or the acquisition of new to provide detailed figures on how much ture. The most recent SDSR was in 2015 and equipment. However, these programmes each vehicle would cost. A failure to manage called for the British Army to have a regular are not without their problems, and there costs could put further strain on an equip- force of 82,000 trained troops and 35,000 are doubts whether the army, in its current ment programme already under enormous reservists. anaemic state, can absorb or even actually pressure.” To provide some context, in 2015, the Brit- needs all of these promised new armour Rectifying the serious deficiencies in quanti- ish Army had 87,060 regular troops, 2,870 systems. ties of armour and armoured vehicles avail- Gurkhas, 25,880 volunteer reservists and A recent report by the House of Commons able to the British Army, as noted above, 4,680 other personnel. By 1 April 2018, Defence Committee ’Beyond 2%: A pre- would appear to be a work in progress. there were 81,120 regular troops, 3,150 liminary report on the Modernising Defence Evidence includes the CHALLENGER 2 LEP, Gurkhas, 29,100 reservists and 4,410 other Programme (MDP)’ issued on 12 June 2018, the WARRIOR Capability Sustainment Pro- personnel. However, according to the ’UK noted that: “there are serious deficiencies in gramme (CSP), the 589 AJAX armoured ve- Armed Forces Quarterly Service Personnel the quantities of armour, armoured vehicles hicles order from General Dynamics Land Statistics' as of 1 April 2018, published by and artillery available to the British Army.” Systems-UK and, as explained in the official the MoD on 17 May 2018, British Army The report stated that after the 2010 SDSR, MoD statement at the end of March, the Full-Time Trained Strength (FTTS) personnel the number of CHALLENGER 2 tanks was decision to “rejoin the BOXER programme

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 17  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

CSP, AJAX and MIV. All of which appear, at least on the surface, to be highly logical and just the sort of armour capabilities that the British Army needs. The downside is that the army is still under strength, reten- tion and recruitment are still problematic and the procurement system is still plagued with issues. While there is talk in certain po- litical circles of the need to increase defence expenditure, very few actually expect more money to be made available. Indeed the pressure is on to save money; programmes that are not going according to plan or are becoming difficult to justify for other rea- sons will become increasingly vulnerable to cancellation. Of the four armour programmes, only two can be regarded as safe and secure at this point. The first of these is the AJAX, this is a family of vehicles with 589 being acquired under a £4.5Bn contract and the vehicle en- tering service in 2020. The AJAX contract covers six variants: 245 AJAX reconnais- The AJAX armoured vehicle prototype on display near the future vehicle sance vehicles, 93 ARES reconnaissance assembly site in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. AJAX will replace the CVR(T). support vehicles, 112 ATHENA command vehicles, 50 APOLLO support repair vehi- and explore options to equip the army with supply chains for BOXER, as well as value- cles, 51 ARGUS engineer reconnaissance the 8x8 troop carriers to modernise its vehi- for-money. Any deal will be subject to vehicles and 38 ATLAS recovery vehicles. cle fleet and meet the army's Mechanised commercial negotiation and assessment Even if the MoD wanted to, it would prove Infantry Vehicle requirement.” The state- in 2019, and the aim is to have the first very difficult to modify the AJAX contract ment added that: “The MoD is now tak- vehicles in service with the army in 2023.” in any significant way at this point. ing forward negotiations with the Organi- The other secure programme is MIV, the sation for Joint Armament Cooperation Survival decision to rejoin the BOXER programme (OCCAR) and Artec. Looking forward to to meet the MIV requirement is somewhat the Assessment Phase concluding in 2019, As previously discussed, there are four ironic. Back in March 1998, Britain had its this will consider the comparable benefits major British Army armoured vehicle pro- Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle (MRAV) re- of manufacturing locations and different grammes: CHALLENGER 2 LEP, WARRIOR quirement; it was participating in the mul- tinational BOXER programme to meet that requirement and intended to purchase 775 vehicles. Then, in July 2003 Britain cancelled MRAV, after spending some £57M on the programme. Now, some 15 years later, Brit- ain is back into the BOXER programme and intends to order some 800 vehicles initially and perhaps more subsequently. Admit- tedly, there is still much work to be done on the BOXER programme in terms of both costs and contracts, but at this point, unless something absolutely calamitous emerges, this should be a guaranteed programme.

Uncertainty

The WARRIOR CSP programme got under- way in June 2009, at which point the aim was to upgrade in excess of 550 vehicles. Originally, Britain acquired 489 Infantry Section Vehicles (FV510), 84 Command Ve- hicles (FV511), 52 Artillery Observation Ve- hicles (FV514), 19 Battery Command Vehi- cles (FV515), 39 Recovery Vehicles (FV513) WARRIOR (FV510) Infantry Section Vehicles with additional protection and 105 Repair Vehicles (FV512). The cur- provided by the TES(H) configuration in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, rent declared fleet is 336 FV510/511, 44 in 2013. FV514, 20 FV513 and 56 FV512. The WAR-

18 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 

290718_IDEX 2019_AMittler 148x210mm.indd 1 7/29/18 9:44 AM  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

RIOR CSP was awarded to Lockheed Mar- noted that the CHALLENGER 2 LEP will on- have responded to the invitation to tender tin in 2011 and up to 380 vehicles (in five ly be an interim capability and that a new for the Demonstration, Manufacture and In- variants) are to be upgraded. tank system will be needed from the mid- service support (DMI) contract, with the DMI The problem with the WARRIOR CSP is that 2030s. This explains British interest in the proposals to be evaluated after the AP of- the programme has been running late and Franco-German Main Ground Combat Sys- ferings have been received. After which, by over budget. Added to which, structural de- tem (MGCS), but here politics comes into mid-2019, the CHALLENGER 2 LEP contract ficiencies are reportedly being identified in play: attempting to join a European tank should have been awarded. some WARRIOR vehicles, and this will cause programme might not be an astute politi- Original planning for the CHALLENGER further problems. All of this makes the pro- cal move in domestic British terms at this 2 LEP called for the programme to cover gramme vulnerable. WARRIOR CSP is one point. Equally, there has been little enthusi- all 227 remaining CHALLENGER 2 tanks. of a number of British programmes whose asm in Paris and Berlin for British participa- Whether all of these tanks will actually size and cost were predicated on the Brit- tion in the major Franco-German defence go through the LEP process is becoming ish Army adopting a particular operational/ programmes that have emerged recently. increasingly doubtful. Potentially only 170 or even fewer tanks could be upgraded. What the current, accident-prone British Government will be keen to avoid is an- other procurement-related scandal, and this is something that should preserve the LEP programme, although it cannot pro- tect the number of tanks to be upgraded. Outside of these armour programmes, there are a number of studies taking place within Active Protection Systems (APS), in both soft-kill and hard-kill formats in the UK for both tanks and other armoured vehicles. In the MEDUSA Technical Assess- ment Programme (TAP), the Defence Sci- ence and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), is investigating a number of APS options. As a part of this, Dstl has awarded QinetiQ a contract to evaluate an APS for armoured vehicles; this will use the Hensoldt MUSS (Multifunctional Self-Protection System), a soft-kill APS system as used on the Ger- man Army PUMA IFV. Other industrial partners in this assessment programme include Textron and Frazer-Nash. A German Army BOXER armoured vehicle participating in an anti-tank Dstl also acquired the Rheinmetall ROSY exercise in Lithuania rapid obscuring system and have tested it on a CHALLENGER 2. They have also organisational structure. The problem is that Potentially, this could mean that Britain has acquired elements of the IMI IRON FIST structure is changeable and not set in stone. to look for other partners to meet a future hard-kill APS for testing on CHALLENGER As a result, the number of systems that tank requirement. 2 as well. In September 2017, Dstl placed are necessary also changes and usually the Prior to the CHALLENGER 2 LEP, there had a contract with Leonardo to participate in number goes down. In the context of WAR- been numerous failed tank upgrade pro- the Icarus Technical Demonstration Pro- RIOR CSP, you have a delayed programme grammes in Britain, including the CHAL- gramme (TDP) to develop a Modular Inte- that still has risk, and the possibility of the LENGER Lethality Improvement Programme grated Protection System (MIPS). Leonardo unit cost per vehicle rising as numbers are re- (CLIP) and the CHALLENGER 2 Capability will be responsible for the development of duced. As of November 2017 the MoD had Sustainment Programme (C2 CSP). How- an MIPS Electronic Architecture (EA). Ac- spent £381M on WARRIOR CSP, the possi- ever, the LEP became a reality, with five cording to Dstl, the MIPS EA will: “provide a bility of the MoD deciding to cut its losses on teams bidding for the programme that was common infrastructure that will deliver UK this programme cannot be ruled out. aimed at providing what the MoD called a operational sovereignty and enable ‘best of The other major armour programme is the “precision direct fire manoeuvre capability breed’ commercial off-the-shelf APS sen- CHALLENGER 2 LEP, and this is also poten- across a broad spectrum of operations.” sors and countermeasures to be selected, tially vulnerable on a number of different In December 2016, competitive Assessment integrated and deployed to defeat a wide fronts; there are those who feel that a tank Phase (AP) contracts for the CHALLENGER range of current and future battlefield is too big and too heavy, and that the Brit- 2 LEP were awarded to BAE Systems and threats.” Leonardo has listed their industrial ish Army should be a medium-weight and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH. Each com- team for Icarus as: BAE Systems, Lockheed therefore more easily deployable force. The petitor was provided with two tanks; one of Martin UK, Ultra Electronics, Frazer-Nash, opposing view is that, if the British Army which was in operational condition, while Vetronics Research Centre, Abstract Solu- is to confront a ‘peer’ competitor, it is go- the other was to be used for subsystem in- tions, Roke Manor Research and SCISYS. ing to need the firepower and protection tegration and testing. The plan is that the Dstl is also working on a number of other provided by a tank and for that reason the two teams will complete the AP contracts in APS developments with both domestic and LEP programme is vital. It should also be December 2018. By that time, industry will foreign partners. 

20 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  Wave of the Future? Hybrid and Electric Drive for Armoured Combat Vehicles

Sidney E. Dean

Electric drive and hydrogen-electric fuel-cell based hybrid drive have become a technically and economically viable power source for civilian passenger and commercial vehicles. Armed forces are increasingly looking to introduce this cutting-edge technology into their own fleets. Diesel-electric hybrid drive is also under serious consideration.

lectric drive: An electric drive system is Epowered by high-capacity battery packs which are connected to drive units mount- ed directly in the wheel hubs, eliminating Graphics: US Army the need for heavy and bulky mechanical drive shafts (“drive-by-wire”). While the battery packs themselves tend to be heavy, the elimination of the mechanical transmis- sion system can balance out the additional burden. Batteries must be charged from an external generator or power grid. Electric drive vehicles currently have a shorter op- erational range than conventionally pow- ered vehicles. Hybrid drive: A hybrid drive system consists of an on-board power source which acti- vates on-board electric generators. These generators in turn are linked via cable to The Next-Generation Combat Vehicle which the US Army hopes to field electric drive units mounted directly in the in the 2030s is expected to have electric or hybrid drive. wheel hubs, again eliminating the need for a mechanical transmission system. The • instantaneous high torque for improved United States most frequently considered power sources acceleration and potentially improved are diesel engines (“diesel-electric hybrid speed; The United States Army experimented with drive”, although any internal combustion • improved manoeuvrability for 6x6 and electric drive options for the Abrams Main engine type is feasible) and hydrogen fuel 8x8 vehicles, as the hub-mounted elec- Battle Tank (MBT) as early as 2010; even cells (“hydrogen-electric hybrid drive”). Hy- tric motors allow the driver to adjust the earlier (2003-2009) the Army envisioned its brid systems generally offer an operational rotation speed of individual wheels; abortive Future Combat System vehicles to range comparable with conventional com- • lower propulsion system weight; all be equipped with hybrid diesel-electric bustion engine propulsion systems. • fewer moving parts to maintain; propulsion systems. While the concept of Currently the focus is on military utility vehi- • stationary on-board power generation electric/hybrid drive appeared promising, cles which are, for all intents and purposes, (enabling operation of additional elec- the technology at that time proved to be too rugged counterparts of civilian trucks. How- tronic systems including directed energy immature. But that is changing, according ever, there is considerable interest in even- weapons, active protection systems and to Donald Sando, head of the Capabilities tually replacing the diesel engines of heavy electronic warfare suites); Development and Integration Directorate of Armoured Combat Vehicles with electric or • on-board water generation; the Army Manoeuvre Centre of Excellence hybrid propulsion systems. Electric or hy- • less danger of explosion or fire if hit by (AMCE) at Fort Benning, Georgia. brid drive would have several advantages enemy ordnance; Speaking at the Association of the US Army over the current hydrocarbon-based pro- • significantly reduced thermal and (AUSA) annual convention in October 2017, pulsion: acoustic signature, and no visible ex- Sando declared that the Next-Generation- haust (all-electric and hydrogen-based Combat Vehicle (NGCV), which is expected Author hybrid systems); to become a family of armoured combat vehi- • in some instances significantly reduced cles replacing both the M2 BRADLEY IFV and Sidney E. Dean is President of logistics footprint. the M1 Abrams MBT, is likely to run with elec- Transatlantic Euro-American Industry and armed forces of numerous na- tric motors and high-capacity batteries capa- Multimedia LLC. and a regular tions are pursuing or investigating next-gen- ble of being recharged with 10 kW to 50 kW contributor to ESD. eration propulsion concepts for armoured generators. “That’s a generational change. combat vehicles. include the following: And we’re going to do it,” Sando said. “If

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 21  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

they’re not electric or hydroelectric [that is, veloping and marketing the E-X-DRIVE iQ, the HUB-DRIVE in its current configura- hydrogen fuel-cell driven] then I’m wrong.” (a hybrid-electric drive transmission de- tion could be retrofitted on all operational During the same presentation he categori- signed for tracked military vehicles up to 8x8 armoured vehicles. Be eliminating the cally ruled out retrofitting current combat and including 70+ tonne MBTs) and Qi- need for the current under-vehicle drive- vehicles with an electric propulsion system. netiQ’s HUB-DRIVE Unit (designed for train, the technology would allow greater Major General Cedric Wins, commander wheeled armoured vehicles). QinetiQ has flexibility when designing next-generation of the Army Research, Development and been pursuing the technology since 1999, vehicles. In 2015 and 2016 the Penta- Engineering Command (ARDEC), agreed and provided it to the US Army for testing gon’s Defense Advanced Research Pro- with Mr. Sando’s assessment. Also address- in 2012. jects Agency (DARPA) awarded QinetiQ ing the AUSA convention, Wins spoke in The E-X-DRIVE and HUB-DRIVE concepts contracts to make the firm’s hybrid drive terms of 15-20 years for fielding. In fact, the call for replacing the standard diesel en- available for the agency’s Ground-X Ve- hicles Technologies (GXV-T) programme. The GXV-T programme, in DARPA’s own words, “seeks to disrupt the current trends in mechanised warfare” by identifying Photo: QinetiQ technologies to radically improve mobil- ity and survivability of armoured fighting vehicles while simultaneously reducing weight and signature.

Sweden and Finland

An early attempt to field tactical vehicles with hybrid drive is Sweden’s SEP armoured vehicle series developed by BAE Systems Hägglunds. Testing began in 2000 on a tracked variant, and in 2003 on the 8x8 armoured personnel carrier. The vehicle is outfitted with two Steyr diesel engines which are connected to ZF electrical gen- erators. The generators are connected by cable to the electric motors embedded in The E-X-DRIVE hybrid propulsion system for tracked vehicles each wheel hub. When the SEP is not in motion, the generators charge the vehi- NGCV is still in the early planning phase. gines of armoured vehicles with on-board cle’s batteries. When switching to battery Concept demonstrators have been ordered diesel generators to produce electricity. power, the SEP can run in silent mode. An- but will not be delivered until 2022. Over The drive shafts, differentials and trans- other advantage of the system is reduced the next six years, various technologies mission systems would be replaced by diesel fuel consumption, as the SEP runs will be explored for their suitability on the compact electric motors. The design sig- part of the time on electric drive. However, NGCV. Proposals include hydrogen fuel- nificantly reduces weight while improving the SEP was cancelled in 2008. Notably, the cells and all-electric propulsion systems. torque and vehicle mobility and “poten- Ministry of Defence explained the decision “There is a huge amount of investment tially” fuel economy. According to Qinet- with the high cost of developing the SEP that would have to occur in research and development” before electric or hybrid powered armoured fighting vehicles could become operational, Wins cautioned. Both Sando and Wins pointed to private in- Photo: US Army dustry’s advances in alternative propulsion systems, and they clearly stated that the mili- tary intends to capitalise on that expertise. Put another way, the army does not plan to lead the R&D efforts itself, but will rely on and coordinate with industry to determine which civilian developments can be adapted to mili- tary requirements. “It’s hard to believe that if industry moved in the direction of electric- powered vehicles, that the army would not be somewhere near there,” General Wins said at the AUSA convention.

United Kingdom All manned vehicles of the proposed Future Combat System were to be equipped with hybrid drive. The programme was terminated in 2009 In the United Kingdom, QinetiQ and BAE over cost issues and technical difficulties, not specifically related to the Systems have partnered to continue de- drive concepts.

22 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 without at least one foreign partner; had Britain joined the programme as originally expected, Stockholm would have procured the hybrid-drive vehicle. The Swedish Ar- my ended up buying the Finnish-built BAE Patria AFV and the Patria Combat Vehicle 90, both with conventional diesel engine propulsion.

Israel

Outside Europe and North America, Israel is

a leader in hybrid propulsion research and Photo: BAE Systems development. The Israeli Defence Force BAE Systems has partnered with QinetiQ to market hybrid propulsion (IDF) is currently pursuing Project Carmel, systems for armoured fighting vehicles. BAE Hägglund’s SEP armoured a technology demonstrator for a next-gen- vehicle, shown here in the tracked configuration, was developed in eration light tank to be fielded in the late 2004 with an optional diesel-electric hybrid drive. 2020s. According to IDF Brigadier General (retired) Didi Ben-Yoash, who now runs being developed by NORINCO, The new ywhere; liquid hydrogen for hybrid-driven Project Carmel, hybrid drive is considered IFV – presumably being developed by tanks would, by contrast, have to be shipped essential for the new tank. Details of the NORINCO – might be the unidentified new into some regions. As an alternative the mili- system are still under development. At this armoured vehicle whose photo was posted tary could set up in-theatre facilities to ex- point observers speculate that the hybrid on the CJDBY website in February 2017. tract hydrogen from military grade fuel, but drive will be of the diesel-electric variety The Chinese Army has been experiment- this would be a new logistical burden, and rather than hydrogen-electric. ing with non-conventional drive for some would still require convoys to supply the op- time, including testing of an MBT prototype erational vehicles in the field. Likewise, pure- Epsilor Electric-Fuel, an Israeli subsidiary of US- dubbed the T-95E circa 2010. Based largely ly electric vehicles would require access to based Aerotech, is currently developing en- on the abortive Russian T-95, the T-95E fea- an established power grid, or would require hanced battery solutions for the Merkava IV tured a hybrid diesel-electric drive; lessons mobile generators (and the fuel to operate MBT deployed today. These new lithium-ion from that testing programme will have sup- them) to accompany combat units. Estab- batteries have three times the energy-density ported the current IFV development. lishing a power grid in underdeveloped and of currently employed lead-acid batteries, yet hostile terrain could end up dwarfing the retain the standard T6 form employed in Logistics impact logistical and engineering challenge of es- heavy armoured vehicles. These new batter- tablishing fuel depots and convoys. ies are primarily designed to enable extended Despite the promised performance en- Perhaps this is why acceptance of non-tra- silent watch operations (during which the hancement of electric and hybrid systems, ditional drive concepts for heavy armoured tank shuts off its engine but continues to it is the logistics aspect which is receiving vehicles has remained slow. STK’s TERREX run sensors and other electrically powered the most attention. Advocates of new pro- Armoured Fighting Vehicle, in production equipment) by today’s generation of heavy pulsion systems stress the benefits of elimi- since 2006, was originally designed with tank. However, Epsilor and numerous other nating the reliance on hydrocarbon fuels an optional hybrid drive system; neither companies are constantly pursuing greater such as diesel and J-8. Main Battle Tanks Singapore nor Indonesia nor Turkey were efficiencies. Lithium-ion batteries’ cost per (MBTs) and Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) interested, opting instead for conventional kilowatt-hour has dropped by sixty percent are the most fuel-intensive ground vehi- diesel propulsion. More recently, in 2015, over the past five years, said Epsilor’s vice- cles. For example, a single M1 ABRAMS Turkey’s Otokar proposed an electric drive president for marketing, Felix Frisch; during MBT requires nearly two gallons per mile for Ankara’s new Altay MBT. The Turkish the same timeframe the energy density of travelled. A company of 14 M2 BRADLEY Army preferred to stay with a tried-and- lithium-ion batteries has improved by 35 per- IFVs consumes 2,300 gallons of fuel daily true conventional drive system, which cent. If this trend continues at the same pace, during operations in rugged terrain, ac- Otokar is now offering in its 2017 bid battery technology will be well positioned to cording to a US Army logistics forecasting for the Altay development project. And support hybrid-drive armoured combat vehi- model published in 2016. Over the past in 2013 BAE’s platform manager for the cles in the next decade. “Militaries that em- two decades heavy brigades have repeat- CV90 stated that his firm was considering brace this revolution early on will be the first edly stalled in combat zones because they upgrading that vehicle to a hybrid drive, to benefit from the way electric power can be had outrun their supply vehicles and had to both in order to reduce fuel consumption used to change the way armoured vehicles wait for fuel. The other side of this coin: a and to enhance performance; however, are used and supported in the field,” Frisch significant percentage of coalition casual- no decisions have been announced to said during a manoeuvre warfare conference ties in Afghanistan and Iraq were suffered date. Until laboratories demonstrate bat- in May 2017. by supply convoys. Reducing or eliminating tery packs and hybrid systems with greater the reliance on diesel fuel would enhance efficiencies, most Western armed forces China operational flexibility and reduce risk. will be wary of experimenting with prom- On the other hand, switching to a hydro- ising but unproven battlefield technology. China is developing an as yet unidenti- gen-based hybrid propulsion system could It seems that China, and perhaps Israel, fied (in the West) state-of-the-art Infantry conceivably even complicate battlefield lo- appear more willing to accept the risks in Fighting Vehicle which is thought to have gistics, at least in some theatres. Diesel can order to reap the tactical advantages the a hybrid propulsion system. Presumably be procured from local suppliers almost an- new technology purports to offer. 

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 23 3-2

 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY Surviving the Blast MRAPs and Lessons Learned from the Mine and IED Threat

John Antal

Mines and IEDs kill and wound more soldiers on today's battlefields than any other weapon. Armoured vehicle designers have therefore drawn important lessons for the development of Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) concerning crew survivability.

echnology changes warfare. In the Tpast 17 years of war, the US and its NATO allies have been fighting against the never-ending threat from mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). If this threat was from mechanically activated mines and IEDs, much like the pressure or

tilt-rod mines of WWII and the Cold War, Photo: US Department of Defense the legacy set of equipment developed in the late 20th century could have handled the challenge. As it was, the exponential commercial development of mobile com- munications and the miniaturisation of components that occurred in the past 20 years has created a perfect blast storm that made most of the deployed military systems vulnerable. The result was a rush to retrain soldiers to deal with the threat and then a heroic effort to enhance ve- hicle protection. Vehicle protection was upgraded primarily by adding more steel to existing vehicles, then by fielding spe- A US Army paratrooper takes cover from behind a MAXXPRO MRAP as cial Mine Resistant Ambush Protected ve- he fires his M4 carbine at insurgents during a firefight in Afghanistan's hicles (MRAPs), and also by adding elec- Ghazni province, 30 June 2012. MRAPs address the threat of mines and tronic systems to find and jam command- IEDs in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. detonated mines and IEDs. New threats are emerging as the US soldiers on today’s battlefields than any ballistic and blast-protected COUGAR pro- and NATO focus on challenges from ne- other weapon. They also know that the vided much of that capability. The COU- ar-peer competitors. As armies consider development and employment of MRAPs GAR MRAP is touted as the most survivable how to develop the next generation of on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanis- MRAP on the market. It is produced by Ge- combat vehicles, the lessons of the past tan have generated significant lessons le- neral Dynamics Land Systems. The COU- two decades are being assimilated. Ar- arned with regard to crew survivability for GAR comes in two main configurations: moured vehicle designers understand Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) design. Category I (4x4 wheel) and II (6x6 wheel) that mines and IEDs kill and wound more As the US and NATO contemplate the versions. The COUGAR 4x4 can transport 6 development of the next generation of soldiers while the COUGAR 6x6 can seat 10 Author combat vehicles, these lessons are being combat-equipped soldiers. The COUGAR’s incorporated into new designs. Let’s re- anti-mine, anti-IED capabilities are signifi- John Antal is an expert on military view some of the best armoured vehicles cant and include a “V” shaped hull; the affairs. He has published 14 books to see how the mine and IED threats are ability to add side armour to inhibit mine on military and leadership subjects being addressed. and RPG attacks; ballistic glass to provide and over 500 articles in military vision for troops to see and engage enemies professional journals. He served 30 MRAPs through the gun ports in the glass while not years as a soldier in the US Army, exposing themselves to fire; multi-point, ra- retiring as a Colonel, having com- Cougar cing style harnesses to allow crewmembers manded combat arms units from The US military spent nearly US$50Bn to to better survive a roll-over; internal fire ex- platoon to brigade. quickly field 29,000 MRAPs for service in tinguisher systems; and the ability to sup- Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The advanced port electronic countermeasures including

24 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 

the AN/VLQ-12 CREW DUKE V3 counter remote-controlled IED (RCIED) electronic warfare system, which neutralises electroni- cally activated, remote-controlled road-side bombs and IED attacks.

MAXXPRO The MAXXPRO MRAP was designed by International Truck, Navistar Defense, in cooperation with the Israeli Plasan Sasa, Photo: Spc. Elisabeth Freeburg / US Army who designed the state-of-the-art light- weight ballistic protection and surviva- bility armour. MAXXPRO can survive a 7 kg (15 lb) land mine blast without any injuries. The MAXXPRO’s anti-mine, an- ti-IED capabilities are significant and in- clude ballistic glass protection; roll-over harnesses; add-on armour capability; and can support counter RCIED electronic jammers. The MAXXPRO comes in two The M-ATV (Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected All-Terrain Vehicle), built categories: the MAXXPRO Dash (Cate- specifically for the mountainous Afghan terrain, parks next to the larger gory 1) and the MAXPRO Plus (Category MAXXPRO DASH MRAP. The first M-ATVs designated for Afghanistan ar- 2). The MAXXPRO has a V-shaped hull rived at Kandahar Airfield by air transport on 22 October 2009. and a two-piece design that adds to crew and vehicle survivability. To date, Navistar Dash variant), MAXXPRO MEAP (MRAP (18-wheeler truck’s front end, but with mi- has produced seven MAXXPRO variants Expedient Armor Program), the MAXX- ne protection) variants. The MAXXPRO’s under contract: the original MAXXPRO, PRO Dash for Afghan operations, and the “V” shaped hull "does a very good job of MAXXPRO Air Force, the MAXXPRO Plus MAXXPRO Recovery Vehicle (MRV), for redirecting energy,” reported Bob Walsh, with improved protection, MAXXPRO am- recovering stuck vehicles. The firm has al- the Vice President and General Manager bulance (production orders were for the so developed a cargo flatbed and tractor of Navistar Defense, LLC. Walsh also remar-

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ESD_AFG_CSLAND_OM_210x150mm_RZ.indd 1 31.08.18 14:53  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY ked that the MAXXPRO is easier to repair manoeuvrability that could run like a HMM- rate according to the mission requirements.” than many other MRAPs: "Being cab-on- WV. The answer was the L-ATV (Light Com- The basic L-ATV has no armament, but the chassis, you're able to pull off this body bat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle) by Oshkosh. vehicle can be fitted with a wide array of and slide a new chassis in.” In September In 2015, the US military selected Oshkosh machine guns, grenade launchers, and 2017, Navistar Defense was awarded a to produce the L-ATV. This vehicle carries smoke dispensers. Oshkosh was awarded US$29.6M federal contract by the US Army four combat-equipped soldiers, has impro- a US$6.75Bn low rate initial base contract Contracting Command for system sustain- ved mobility and protection, including blast with eight option years to procure the first ment and technical support services for the protected seats for the crew. According to 16,901 vehicles for both the army and Ma- in-production and out-of-production Mine Oshkosh:“The L-ATV’s armoured capsule rines. According to the study “Joint Light Resistant Ambush Protected MAXXPRO is scalable and can accept multiple armour Tactical Vehicle (JLTV): Background and family of vehicles. configurations to protect troops from IEDs Issues for Congress, by Andrew Feickert", and today’s other prevalent battlefield thre- the Oshkosh L-ATV "offers protection levels L-ATV (Light Combat Tactical ats. The capsule is optimised for protection, greater than those of up-armoured HMM- All-Terrain Vehicle) weight and mobility, and its modular and WVs and comparable to those of original In spite of their success, many MRAPs are flexible design allows the vehicle to accept a MRAP class designs, but in an overall vehic- often criticised for their size and lack of greater range of upgrades and continuous le package that is considerably smaller and manoeuvrability. Recognising the need to enhancements. The protection system can lighter than vehicles procured under the US protect from mines and IEDs, the US mili- withstand underbelly blasts. The L-ATV can Marines MRAP procurement.” tary needed a wheeled vehicle built like a accept add-on armour packages and a host tank, but with lower weight and greater of counter RCIED electronic systems to ope- Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV) Wescom Defence’s Portable Explosives Minefield Breaching T-15 ARMATA BMP Systems (PEMBS) Russian developers at Uralvagonzavod (ck) Unconventionally deployed mines, booby-traps, unexploded ordnance and man- have taken notice of the counter-mine made obstacles are designed to bring military operations to a standstill. Portable Explo- and counter-IED strengths of MRAPs sive Mine Field Breaching Systems (PEMBS) are designed to mitigate these threats and and, using their previous experiences in are an effective means to safely eliminate them. PEMBS are also used for humanitarian Afghanistan and Chechnya, are building de-mining. new capabilities into their advanced IFV A minefield is designed to create an obstacle which will take out the momentum of designs. The T-15 BMP (Боевая Машина movements of military forces. To maintain the advancement of troops and avoid rerout- Пехоты, or BMP, stands for IFV) uses the ing the troops to a position that could favour the enemy forces, a fast and effective way same chassis as the T-14 ARMATA Main to overcome minefields is essential in combat. Battle Tank. It is expected to replace the Wescom Defence’s Portable Explosives Minefield Breaching Systems (PEMBS) offer a BMP-2 IFV and MT-LB Armoured Person- quick and effective way to safely eliminate deployed land-mines as well as man-made nel Carrier (APC) in the Russian Army. The obstacles, such as triple barbed wire. These systems are categorised into Heavy Portable T-15’s engine is located in the front of the Systems, Light Portable Systems and Heavy Duty Portable Systems. hull to allow an infantry squad to be carri- PEMBS feature a detonating cord with a package of explosives contained in either one ed under armoured protection in the back or two rucksacks which is deployed across the chosen area by means of a rocket. Prod- of the vehicle. The T-15 BMP three-man ucts from WesCom include the Heavy Portable Explosive Minefield Breaching System crew sits in a protective capsule in the hull (H-PEMBS), which features a rocket projected detonating cord, attached to containers behind the engine, but forward of the re- filled with high explosives. The detonation creates a clearly visible path (approx. 55 mote-controlled turret. The T-15 includes metres) through a minefield. There is a Light Portable Explosive Minefield Breaching the Malakhit dual-layered reactive armour System (L-PEMBS) alternative, which leaves a footpath of approximately 74 metres after and active and passive protection systems, detonation and a Heavy Duty version – the Heavy Duty Portable Minefield Breaching and special paint to reduce its infrared si- System – which is manufactured with a rocket projected detonating cord, designed like gnature and provide enhanced stealth. a rope ladder. For this product, metal tubes are filled with highly explosive material and The T-15 also includes a reinforced hull for after detonation form a path up to 80 metres wide through the minefield. counter-mine and counter-IED protection Ongoing training is essential for effective use. WesCom Defence offers a selection of as well as an electronic jamming system to appropriate training products, including the Training Heavy Portable Minefield Breach- neutralise radio-controlled anti-tank mi- ing System (THPEMBS), which can be re-used several times in practice. A version of the nes and command detonated IEDs. lightweight portable system is also available as a training system - the Training Light Portable Minefield Breaching System (TLPEMBS) - and a Training Heavy Duty Portable NAMER Heavy APC and IFV Minefield Breaching System MRL80. The NAMER is an Israeli Ordnance The portability and the simplicity and effectiveness of these systems make PEMBS a Corps-made Heavy APC that is based on suitable tactical solution for major battlefield threats. the MERKAVA 4 Main Battle Tank chas- WesCom Defence, part of WesCom Signal and Rescue, is a world-renowned special- sis. Developed in 2008, the NAMER is a ist in pyrotechnic products for signalling, illumination, training and simulation. Thanks major part of the Israel Defence Force’s to the company's experience and extensive production capacities, WesCom Defence (IDF) modernisation plan and saw combat can develop tailor-made pyrotechnic products for the defence industry based on the with the Golani Brigade during the 2014 latest developments in pyrotechnic technology. For more information about WesCom Gaza conflict. In Hebrew, NAMER means Defence, to see the full range of products and product capabilities, or to contact the Leopard and also serves as an abbreviati- company, please visit: www.wescomdefence.com on for "Nagmash" (APC) and "Merkava" (Tank). The NAMER weighs 60 tonnes

26 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 

power the ARMATA to automatically de- tect, track, and intercept incoming kinetic and tandem anti-tank munitions. Unlike legacy tanks in the NATO armies, stealth technology has been built into the design to generate reduced visibility and "dyna- mic signature changes" in the radio, inf- rared, and magnetic bands. This feature is reported to inhibit recognition of the

Photo: Ishaiabigail tank’s systems. Russian Uralvagonzavod The NAMER is an Israeli-made armoured fighting vehicle based on the officials, who built the tank, claim that MERKAVA tank chassis that is used by the Israeli Defence Forces. In the ARMATA is “invisible to radar and in- 2012, the NAMER was tested by the US Army at the Maneuver Battle frared detection due to radar-absorbing Lab's Ground Combat Vehicle assessment at Fort Bliss, Texas. paint and the placement of components with heat signatures deep within the hull.” and has a crew of three positioned in the LYNX KF41 is slightly larger and can carry The tank is also capable of generating a hull. The NAMER can be equipped with 3+8 soldiers. Rheinmetall’s LANCE turret multispectral smoke screen in the infrared a number of different automated turret for the KF41can support a 30mm or 35mm and millimetre wavelengths to conceal the systems, and in 2017 the Israeli Defence cannon and the turret ammunition is sepa- tank from enemy weapons. These capa- Ministry unveiled an IFV version fitted with rated from the crew for added protection. bilities combine to hide the ARMATA and an unmanned turret armed with a 30mm Both versions can be configured for IFV, C2 could inhibit targeting and the timing of cannon and the ASPRO-A TROPHY Active (command and control), reconnaissance, command-detonated mines and IEDs. To Protective System (APS) to defeat inco- repair and recovery, and ambulance vari- compensate for the flat hull, the ARMATA ming projectiles. The combat-proven TRO- ants. The vehicle interior has a spall liner, has additional armour plate in the hull for PHY APS, developed by Rafael Advanced decoupled seats, and mine and IED pro- counter-mine and counter-IED protection. Defense Systems Ltd., provides all-around tection packages that can be exchanged in Although untested in combat and with coverage against RPGs, anti-tank missiles the field. The KF41 does not have a V sha- fewer than 100 systems to be deployed to and tank HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) ped hull, but its mine protection is highly the Russian Army by 2020, the ARMATA rounds. Once the TROPHY system detects effective against heavy blast mines, explo- appears to be a formidable next-genera- a threat, it automatically tracks, classifies sively formed projectile mines and IEDs. tion tank design that NATO armies can the threat, determines the best intercept The KF41 also has passive and reactive sys- learn from to develop their own next-ge- point, and then launches a countermea- tems to defeat rocket-propelled grenades neration combat vehicles. sure. The Israeli-made 4th-generation and antitank guided missiles and provides SPIKE tandem warhead anti-tank missile roof protection against cluster munitions. M1A2 SEPV3 can also be added for the IFV configurati- Rheinmetall’s SOLAR SIGMA Shield Mobi- The M1 ABRAMS Main Battle Tank has on. The NAMER has a specially designed le Camouflage System can also be fitted to been the cornerstone of the US Army and V-hull belly armour pack and electronic the entire vehicle to reduce heat loading as US Marine Corps’ ability to fight combined counter-mine and counter-IED systems well as thermal and IR signatures. arms warfare since the early 1980s. The can also be added. In 2012, the US Army US Army deployed M1 Tanks to Iraq, but considered the NAMER for the Ground Main Battle Tanks not to Afghanistan. The US Marines used Combat Vehicle (GCV) programme and M1 Tanks in both Iraq and Afghanistan. tested the vehicle at Fort Bliss, Texas, but T-14 ARMATA In Iraq and Afghanistan several M1 Tanks the GCV programme was cancelled in The latest Russian-made tank, the T-14 were disabled due to mines or IEDs. 2014. Undaunted, the Israelis continue ARMATA (Армата), is an innovative, To counter the mine threat, a variant of to praise the NAMER and in 2015, Israel’s fifth-generation, main battle tank that re- the M1 Tank, the M1150 Assault Breacher MoD stated: "The NAMER is considered presents a technological leap in manned- Vehicle (ABV), nicknamed "SHREDDER", to be the most protected armoured com- tank design. The ARMATA’s weaponry was developed as a mine- and explosi- bat vehicle in the world, which proved its and armour have been maximised for ves-clearing vehicle and equipped with a abilities during fighting in Operation Pro- open combat, and much of its new tech- mine-plough and explosive line charges. tective Edge against many threats." nology is truly impressive. It appears that The US Marines used the M1150 SHRED- the Russians have taken the mine and IED DER in Southern Afghanistan in 2010 wi- KF41 LYNX IFV threat seriously in the design of the T-14. th great success. In 2013, the US Army The Rheinmetall LYNX KF41 (KF stands The tank is modular and divided into three deployed six SHREDDERs to Korea to the for "Kettenfahrzeug", or tracked vehicle compartments: a forward crew area; a re- 2d Infantry Division, but there are only a in German) is a German-made next-ge- mote-controlled unmanned-turret positi- handful of these special tanks. The major neration family of vehicles that offers sta- oned on top of the hull configured with challenge for the army and Marine Corps te-of-the-art firepower, mobility and pro- a 125mm 2A82-1M smoothbore cannon is how to upgrade new versions of the tection. The LYNX consists of a modular with a 45-round automatic loader; and M1 to keep the tank fleet relevant in view design that comes in two primary versions: the engine is at the rear of the tank. of the extensive mine and IED threat. The the KF31 and KF41. Both versions have a The three-man crew sits in an armoured M1A2 SEPV3 (Systems Enhanced Package driver in the hull and a two-man crew in capsule composed of the equivalent of Version 3) is the answer to this question the turret. The engine is in the front and 900 mm of Rolled Homogeneous Armour and the latest adaptation of the M1 se- the exhaust in the rear. Weighing up to 38 (RHA). The tank’s millimetre-wave radar ries tank. The M1A2 SEPV3 has significant tonnes, LYNX KF31 can seat 3+6 soldiers. and Active Protection System (APS) em- upgrades that include enhanced fire cont-

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 27  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

rol, power generation, and improved crew Krauss-Maffei, now Krauss-Maffei Weg- ded €118M to upgrade 104 LEOPARD 2s protection. Learning from mine and IED mann (KMW), of Munich, Germany. KMW for the Bundeswehr to LEOPARD 2A7Vs. attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, the de- developed a mine-protected tank version in The new LEOPARD 2A7V will enter service velopers of the M1A2 SEPV3 have increa- July 2004 with a kit that consists of add-on between 2019 and 2023. sed the tank’s passive defence by adding armour that includes a new armoured plate Attack from below is only part of the pro- a new armour package for the hull and to reinforce the hull against mines and IEDs. blem to countering mines and IEDs. Attack turret. In addition, the M1A2 SEPV3 has Tests conducted in February 2004 demons- from the top is the next big challenge to the AN/VLQ-12 CREW DUKE V3 counter trated that the new LEOPARD 2 armour address in the development of Next Gene- ration Combat Vehicles. For example, the Russian military is developing a top-attack antitank mine designated as the PTKM-1R. The PTKM-1R mine is a green cylinder the size of a fire extinguisher that weighs close to 20 kg and is designed, according to the Russians, to create an impenetrable mine- field. The PTKM-1R is similar to the US Tex- tron Defense Systems M93 HORNET Wide Area Munition (WAM) and represents the new capability of top-attack smart mines. Photo: Staff Sgt. Timothy R. Koster / US Army Conclusion

Surviving the blast has become a prere- quisite for next-generation armoured ve- hicle design and should not be considered US Army M-ATV MRAPS at the demarcation line outside Manbij, Syria, just a special case for counterinsurgency in July 2018 (COIN) operations. MRAPs have saved many lives, but they are predominantly remote-controlled IED (RCIED) electro- package successfully protected the tank wheeled vehicles and primarily defensive. nic warfare system. This state-of-the-art crew from the detonation of an anti-tank Modern armies will not employ MRAPs as jamming technology is the latest version mine under the tank. A small number of they do tanks and IFVs in combined arms of the RCIED system used on MRAPs in LEOPARD 2 A4Ms were deployed by Ca- combat against a peer-adversary. MRAPs Iraq and Afghanistan and employs an nadian, Danish, and German NATO forces are only armoured trucks that have limi- advanced software-defined architecture to Afghanistan with success. Several of the- ted offensive capability for high-intensity that supports rapid reconfiguration to se LEOPARD 2s were damaged by mines operations. As heavily armoured troop adapt to the constantly evolving threat and IEDSs but were repaired. The greatest carriers, MRAPs do not meet the require- environment. In 2015, the US Army pro- shock to the LEOPARD’s counter-mine and ments of the new mission set emerging in vided US$92.2M to General Dynamics counter-IED reputation occurred in 2016, Europe and Asia. As new, smarter mines Land Systems to upgrade its M1A2 SEPV2 when 10 Turkish Army LEOPARD 2A4 are developed – consider the develop- ABRAMS tanks to the M1A2 SEPV3 confi- Tanks (older export versions without some ment of the Russian top-attack smart an- guration. The first ABRAMS M1A2 SEPV3 of the countermine upgrades) were destro- ti-vehicle mine PTKM-1R – the ability to initial production vehicle was delivered to yed in combat during Operation Euphrates counter the mine and IED threat becomes the US Army in October 2017. Also that Shield. The Turkish LEOPARD tanks were even more important. Most legacy AFVs October, General Dynamics Land Systems ambushed by ISIS fighters using a combi- are not designed with robust active or received a US$270M contract from the nation of mines, IEDs and anti-tank missi- passive counter-mine or counter-IED ca- US Army Tank Automotive Command to les at al-Bab, in northwest Syria. ISIS took pabilities. Reinforcing existing hulls with manufacture 45 ABRAMS M1A2 SEPV3 photos of the destruction and posted them new materials such as the new “Super tanks. Unit fielding is expected to be- to their social media sites to brag about Bainite” steel may provide a solution for gin in 2020. "These vehicles are not just the destruction of Germany’s “best” tank. legacy vehicles, but the cost of new ma- about assuring our allies, or deterring or To address this challenge and upgrade the terials technology and the simple physics coercing potential adversaries," Maj.Gen. tank for use by the Bundeswehr, Rheinme- of armour versus counter-armour makes David Bassett, program executive officer tall has produced a new LEOPARD 2A7V a “silver bullet” solution unlikely. Passive for Ground Combat Systems said in an configuration (V stands for improved). The and active counter-mine and counter-IED October 2017 interview. "They are about LEOPARD 2A7V has new state-of-the-art systems, as well as stealth, should be con- compelling our enemies and winning the capabilities to meet emerging threats in sidered as an integral part of next genera- multi-domain battle.” With these de- Europe and includes upgraded protection tion combat vehicles. Armoured vehicles velopments it appears that the US military to address the mine and IED challenge. The have a long shelf-life as few militaries can is adapting its legacy M1 tanks with the LEOPARD 2A7V model is equipped with a afford to start over with totally new sys- lessons of mine and IED combat in Iraq modular protection kit with passive armour tems. The design of the next generation and Afghanistan in mind. modules to provide 360° protection to the of combat vehicles, either manned or crew from anti-tank missiles, rocket-pro- unmanned, must incorporate the lessons LEOPARD 2 pelled grenades (RPGs) and reinforced hull learned from the past 17 years if vehicles The German built LEOPARD 2 Main Batt- shielding to protect against mines and IEDs. and crew members are to survive the le Tank was produced in the 1970s by In September 2017, Rheinmetall was awar- blast. 

28 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  Countering IEDs New Developments or More of the Same?

Dan Kaszeta

IEDs are usually a cheap and primitive threat, but that's why they're dangerous, because they are wide- spread and can be manufactured and planted quickly. There is a range of countermeasures from very low to very high technology. For every high-tech widget in the Counter-IED box there is a torch, a shovel and a wheelbarrow that are probably just as useful.

hreats from improvised explosive devices world obviously focuses on the high technol- as the EU’s Bomb Data System, which is T(IEDs) are not a new phenomenon. They ogy products now available, but much of the funded by member states specifically for have existed in one form or another since counter-IED world is basically low-tech. For sharing information on IEDs. the advent of gunpowder. Indeed, the UK every high-tech widget in the EOD team’s has an unofficial holiday (Guy Fawkes Day), truck, there is a flashlight, a shovel, and Electronic Countermeasures which commemorates an unsuccessful IED a wheelbarrow, which likely get at least as incident in 1605. The various post 9/11 con- much use. So, therefore, the role of simple IEDs need some mechanism to cause them flicts, principally but not exclusively the wars everyday items in counter-IED work should to function. A wide variety of means have in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen have not be forgotten. However, this article seeks been used to set off IEDs, including radio seen large numbers of IEDs used in asym- to provide an overview of new developments communications (especially mobile phones), metric warfare against both military and in the field. wire, timing, and various types of sensors civilian targets. IED casualties have been an ranging from crude booby-traps to sophis- important factor in these conflicts. Interna- Philosophy ticated repurposing of intrusion detection tional and domestic terrorists make frequent technology. An entire discipline of elec- use of IEDs to further extremist agendas. An overarching development has been the tronic countermeasures has arisen around Consequently, governments have spent evolution of a philosophical framework. Fi- the overall goal of disrupting the radio large amounts of money to counter the IED nally, one important development has been communication used to detonate an IED. A threat. philosophical. The major western militaries typical device might include a mobile phone and their security services now tend to look or something less sophisticated such as a Counter-IED Operations at the IED threat as a system. The use of IEDs involves a variety of activities ranging from Counter-IED (C-IED) operations include a procurement of materials and production of

broad range of disciplines, including search devices, through reconnaissance and target Photo: Harris operations, intelligence, combat engineer- selection, placement, and detonation of the ing, and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), device. A comprehensive counter-IED strat- to name only a few. Also, C-IED is related egy looks at every part of this operational to, but distinct from, traditional counter- cycle or system and plots to disrupt any plot- mining operations (mines are not impro- ted use of IEDs. vised) and disposal of ordnance that did A large part of the effort to disrupt, de- not function (these are malfunctions, not ter, or prevent IED employment, across intended devices). Many of the products the full “system” involves intelligence and technologies from one discipline are efforts, traditional security disciplines, used by the other. diplomacy, and law enforcement. These However, mine warfare and demining are efforts occur, by necessity, well before somewhat beyond the scope of this article. the construction and emplacement of de- The threat from IEDs can be described as a vices. While much of this work is, by ne- largely low-technology threat which is com- cessity, very sensitive, a number of tools bated with a spectrum of countermeasures and products are marketed to aid these The Harris CREW Vehicle Receiver/ ranging from very low technology to very activities. Numerous software tools are Jammer (CVRJs) is a vehicle-mount- high technology. Much of the defence media aimed towards the C-IED market. Indeed, ed electronic jammer designed to these are too many to mention. Some prevent the detonation of IEDs, Author are proprietary tools developed within which are often triggered by off- government organisations. Commercial the-shelf technology like mobile Dan Kaszeta is Managing Director at products are available as well. One that phones. CVRJ counters existing Strongpoint Security Ltd. and a regu- keeps appearing in the European space is and evolving Radio Frequency (RF) lar contributor to ESD. iThink, a product by Indra (Spain). Also of threats by jamming transmitted RF note are information-sharing efforts such signals.

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 29  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

that can detect the presence of bulk ex- plosives, obviously of interest in vehicle- borne IED (VBIED) detection. This has

Photo: L3 Micreo led to vehicle-mounted systems that can literally drive down the street, scanning vehicles and looking for the presence of explosive materials. These tend to be lower energy systems, using principles like “backscatter” so they are safer to oper- ate around the public than massive cargo scanning systems that can represent a ra- diation safety risk. Point detection methods, however, are in- herently dangerous, because they involve close proximity to dangerous devices. De- tection of possible IEDs at some degree of stand-off distance would be greatly desir- able. Effective stand-off detection of IEDs remains a bit of an elusive target for the L3 Micreo’s SILVERSHIELD is intended for vehicle-mounted use against major militaries of the world, but serious IEDs using mobile phones. research and development efforts have gone into this area of inquiry. remote control toy as the primary means of or by means such as sensors and pres- Systems designed for standoff detec- detonation. A large variety of techniques can sure plates are still difficult to counteract. tion of explosives concealed on a human be used, ranging from very crude jamming There is a distinct and persistent opera- body, such as suicide bombers, is some- of large swathes of the radio spectrum to tional requirement for the detection of what easier than stand-off detection of extremely sophisticated specialist methods. IEDs. However, detecting IEDs from a safe vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) such as car Myriad products in this space exist, largely distance is still quite difficult. Numerous and truck bombs, or roadside devices of but not completely for use in military opera- techniques are available for point detec- many descriptions. This is because, from tions. Two large programmes of particular tion of explosives, such as trace detection, a technical perspective, it is far easier to interest in the electronic countermeasures manual search techniques, and the use of “see” through clothing than, say, a car or (ECM) space are worthy of specific mention. detection dogs. While there are incremen- truck. Systems that work in the infrared The Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Impro- tal improvements in this area, radical or radar spectrum can vised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare new developments in these es- sense when someone (JCREW) is a very large US Navy-led pro- tablished techniques are few at has some bulk mate- gramme to develop and procure the latest this time. rial (like explosives) generation of smart jamming technology. It is worth examining X-ray de- and/or wiring under The prime contractor is Northrop Grum- tection technologies as useful their clothing. These man, and the expected overall programme technologies for the detection systems have been in value of the various contracts may exceed of IEDs. The use of x-ray systems use for some years, US$500M. There is a dismounted version for detection of objects in con- but the operational for use with soldiers and marines, a vehicle- tainers and baggage has been ranges are both limited mounted edition, and systems for fixed site ubiquitous for many decades now, and classified. However, use. Several generations of JCREW equip- and still has a place in the detection distances of perhaps 100 ment have served long and hard in places of IEDs. Smaller, more portable sys- metres or so are certainly like Afghanistan and Iraq. tems are used by EOD technicians to feasible. The author did An Australian effort in this ECM arena is examine suspicious devices. Larger some consulting work something called the SILVERSHIELD pro- systems are in use at ports, bor- on a prototype system gramme, with L3 Micreo. SILVERSHIELD is ders, and at checkpoints that 10 years ago. One cur- intended for vehicle-mounted use against can scan cars, trucks, cargo IEDs using mobile phones. Approximately containers, and even rail- QinetiQ’s SPO 13,000 systems are being provided to Af- way carriages. Companies system enables ghanistan for use in force protection for mili- such as Smiths Detection the operator tary and police users. This particular system (UK), AS&E (USA), Rap- to scan crowds is part of a broader programme called RED- iscan (USA), L3 (USA), and search for WING, which has fielded systems such as and Scanna (UK) are anomalies with- the GREYGUM for use on light vehicles and all leaders in the out the need the GREENGUM for use by soldiers on foot. conventional x-ray to disrupt the Photo: QinetiQ space. Of par- flow of foot Detection: ticular interest traffic through Point and Standoff in recent years the area. has been the Not every device can be interrupted by advent of x- ECM. Devices initiated by a command wire ray systems

30 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 

Robotics: UGVs and UAVs

Remote detection is still in its infancy.

Photo: U.S. Army There is a need to get close to possible IEDs in order to verify their danger or to render them safe. The time-honoured method for this is to use robotics. There have been interesting developments in either the conventional ground robots, or “unattended ground vehicles” (UGVs) as well as in the aerial drone/UAV space. Small robots have been used for decades for reconnaissance, detection, investiga- tion, and disruption of IEDs. Small and large UAVs do much reconnaissance work in route clearing and scouting for possi- ble IEDs, as well as monitoring suspicious activity that might be IED emplacement. The DOK-ING MV-4 Mechanical Anti-Personnel Mine Clearing System Small, remote controlled UGVs for C-IED is used to clear areas infested with land mines. The machine digs and work are numerous and there are dozens, pounds the soil, which results in the detonation or shattering of anti- if not hundreds of manufacturers in this personnel (AP) mines. space. However, an area where some in- teresting developments have occurred has rent system is the COUNTERBOMBER, a has been plagued by pseudoscience and been on the larger end of the robotics mar- product by the company Rapiscan (USA), frauds, resulting in deaths. Various devic- ket. Large UGVs, some the size of trucks, and it has seen service with the US mili- es, often claiming to use “magnetic reso- can provide an element of brute force that tary. QinetiQ (UK) has a system called the nance” or to be the equivalent of “divining small robots cannot. Larger systems, such as SPO which uses passive millimetre wave rods” have been appearing on the market the DOK-ING (Croatia) series of UGVs, can technology. Various versions of the QINE- periodically for decades. Now discredited knock holes in walls, push cars off the road, TIQ system have been marketed, often trade names like “Sniffex” and “ADE-651” and clear potential IEDs while the operators for transportation security purposes, for are associated with a decade. these scams and A promising technology worth exploring frauds. A UK busi- is laser spectroscopy. The basic concept is nessman was sen- that lasers can be used at some distance to tenced to prison interrogate objects. The laser light would for selling discred- interact with molecules of explosives ited products in (or related molecules of interest such as this field. None has by-products or precursors) and a sensor ever been demon- would be able to discern this interaction strated to work, from a distance. Techniques like Raman nor has any ever and FTIR spectroscopy clearly work at very been proven to short distances (i.e. centimetres) and are have any functional used for a variety of chemical identifica- components with tion applications. However, using lasers at any scientific basis. a distance poses a number of challenges, It is likely not a co- not the least of which is the hazard of set- incidence that the ting off a device by shining a laser on it. various large con- Also, the wide variety of materials in the tracts for their pro- environment makes for interesting prob- curement happen lems in interpreting signals. However, pro- to occur in coun- gress has been made. Some firms, such tries infamous for as Laser Detect Systems (USA/Israel) have corruption in pub- fielded products. Advertised range is low, lic procurement. however. Laser Detect System’s R-SCAN However, the fact boasts a range of 30 metres, well within that there clearly is the hazard range of all but the smallest demand for prod- IEDs. However, this is an area where tech- ucts that promise nology is likely to improve. A variety of a magic solution prototype systems are in the development to a hard problem pipeline and several governments, first and shows how difficult foremost the US Government, are expend- the IED problem is ing resources to fix this capability gap. for some parts of It is worth mentioning that IED detection the world.

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 31 Masthead European Security & Defence Special Issue · September 2018 are safely well away from the action. One DOK-ING system, the ISSN 1617-7983 · www.euro-sd.com MV-4, was adopted by the US military as the M160 and has seen much combat in Afghanistan, surviving very large explosions. A Published by company making similar products, MineWolf, faced financial diffi- Mittler Report Verlag GmbH culty and their intellectual property was acquired by Pearson (UK). A company of the Tamm Media Group Disruption

Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Peter Bossdorf (pb) When an IED is found, it can be avoided and bypassed for some Managing Editor (Magazine): Stephen Barnard (sb) time, but often the problem will persist until something is done Managing Editor (Newsletter): Dorothee Frank (df) about it. The neutralisation of IEDs can take many forms. The Industrial Editors: Rolf Clement (rc), Waldemar Geiger (wg), Gerhard Heiming (gwh), stereotype of a man in a bomb suit clipping a wire is based on Jürgen Hensel (jh) reality, but the true reality is that every other option for dispos- Sub-Editors: Christopher Ellaway-Barnard (cb), Christian Kanig (ck) ing of an IED will be considered before putting a highly trained Correspondents: Rolf Hilmes (Army Technology), Peter Preylowski (Airborne Systems) technician at risk. Disablement and disruption techniques range Regional Correspondents: Tamir Eshel (Israel), Tim Guest (UK), Jaime Karremann (The Netherlands), Beka Kiria (Georgia), Shinichi Kiyotani (Japan), Yury Laskin (Russia), from crude to elegant, but most are significantly low-tech in J. Bo Leimand (Denmark), Jay Menon (India), Chet Nagle (USA), Korhan Özkilinc (Tur- their approach, such as controlled explosions and the use of dis- key), Luca Peruzzi (Italy), David Saw (France), Joris Verbeurgt (Belgium/EU/NATO), ruptors (the early ones were often based on shotguns, or indeed Esteban Villarejo (Spain) actual shotguns) to attack critical components of the device. An area where technology comes into the disruption business is Layout: the possible use of high-energy lasers. The Australian branch of CREATIVE.CONSULTING GmbH, Germany L3 responded to Australian requirements for C-IED technology by Production: developing the HELA, the high-energy Laser Array. This project ap- Splash Printing Ltd. pears to still be in the development pipeline, but shows the promise London, UK of using lasers to burn through the outer layer of IEDs and disrupt the components. Similar projects are in the development pipeline in Office address: Mittler Report Verlag GmbH the USA and elsewhere. Baunscheidtstraße 11, 53113 Bonn, Germany Phone.: +49 228 3500870, Fax: +49 228 3500871 Forensics Email: [email protected], www.mittler-report.de After the discovery, disruption, or use of an IED, there are a range of Director of Marketing activities that can exploit the materials recovered from an incident. Jürgen Hensel (jh) IED forensics is a growing discipline and both material exploitation Baunscheidtstraße 11, 53113 Bonn, Germany Phone: +49 228 3500876, Fax: +49 228 3500871 of intact or disrupted devices and post-blast investigation after a Email: [email protected] detonation can provide extensive intelligence information and/or forensic evidence useful in criminal prosecutions. There are tech- Advertising Representatives: nologies and products for the examination of explosive material. UK/Ireland/Eastern Europe/Israel/Turkey: Many of these are very similar to those used for detection and iden- Stephen Barnard, c/o Mittler Report Verlag GmbH tification of chemical warfare agents and hazardous materials, ad- Phone: +49 228 35 00 886, Email: [email protected] dressed in previous issues of this publication. Both manufactured and homemade explosives leave much evidence of their origin, and USA/Canada: this can lead to the networks that procured and made the devices. Susan Spilman-Gardner Other techniques exist for forensic exploitation of electronic com- Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 817-751-5888 ponents. For example, even a highly damaged mobile phone can reveal interesting information. Further, conventional criminological Russia & CIS: evidence, such as fingerprints, can be gleaned from fragments and Laguk Co., Yury Laskin, General Director components. To be useful, however, literally dozens of processes Krasnokholmskaya Nab., 11/15, 132, RF-109172 Moskau, Russian Federation and techniques need to be used together. Phone: 007-495-911-1340, Fax: 007-495-912-1260, Email: [email protected] One excellent example of IED forensics in practice is the French Subscription/Reader Service: Counter-IED Exploitation Laboratory. This is a combined deploy- PressUp GmbH, Postfach 70 13 11, able asset which has everything that technicians could want or 22013 Hamburg, Germany need to exploit IEDs or the components thereof. The French lab Phone: +49 40 38 66 66-319, Fax: +49 38 66 66-299 was demonstrated at NATO headquarters and has deployed to Email: [email protected] Mali. Indra, the Spanish company, makes entire deployable IED European Security & Defence labs for interested customers. © 2018 Mittler Report Verlag GmbH The views expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. Conclusion All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior The IED threat is complex and is not amenable to an easy solu- written permission of the publisher in Bonn. tion. C-IED comprises a bewildering array of low- and high- Cover Photo: Crown Copyright technology processes and solutions. There is a thriving mar- ketplace serviced by both large defence conglomerates and Annual subscription rate (8 issues): smaller firms, with some interesting and possibly revolutionary €49.80 incl. postage technologies now in use and in the development pipeline. 

32 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  Force Multiplication Options for the Infantry

David Saw

perational requirements based on recharged and all at a lighter weight than soldiers with all of this wonderful equipment Oexperience gained in the field should previous generation batteries. The changes if utilising it will put them on the injured list. offer a far better guide to what is truly nec- driven by operational experience gained Furthermore, these injuries can have long- essary than requirements based on theo- since 2001 cover practically every area term consequences with the potential to retical studies. Of course that assumes that experienced by the infantry soldier, from force early retirement. the right lessons are learned from actual combat clothing and boots to combat hel- combat operations, something that is not mets and beyond. Carrying the Load always guaranteed, and that the funding In principle, all of these positive develop- is available to support the acquisition of ments from uniforms and boots, to protec- The scope of the problem of injuries as new equipment and the tactical/technical tion, to weapons and sights, sensors and they impact the US Army was revealed innovations made necessary by operational communications equipment should have during testimony by General Mark A. Mil- experience. increased the combat power of the infantry. ley, US Army Chief of Staff, in testimony The US and European militaries can now In theory this is correct, but in reality things to the Senate Armed Services Committee draw on extensive operational experience are very, very different. All of these expand- on 25 May 2017. General Milley noted gained in the crucible of combat in Afghan- istan, Iraq, West Africa and other parts of the world. There is no doubt that much has been learned in these conflicts and that this has resulted in significant changes at the operational and tactical levels. However, while combat experience drives change and the acquisition of new or modified equipment, the process of understanding the real lessons learned and of absorbing new equipment is only part of the story. In many respects the reaction to opera- tional requirements driven by recent com-

bat experience can be characterised as be- Photo: Sergeant Joseph R. Chenelly, U.S. Marine Corps ing a process of looking for more perfor- mance and effectiveness in a format that is less weight intensive. There is a need for more firepower, but this is not just suppressive firepower; what is needed is more accurate and therefore effective fire. Potentially, this is to be achieved by weap- ons and ammunition that are lighter than those currently in service with the infantry. Another requirement is for increased pro- tection for the individual soldier, but the key is that this additional protection comes US Marines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in No- with a reduced weight burden. vember 2001. The amount of weight the individual soldier was carrying Other areas of concern include communi- had grown to such an extent that operational effectiveness was lost cations. Here the need is to operate reli- due to fatigue and load-derived injuries. ably and securely, to be capable of moving ever increasing quantities of voice, data and ed capabilities come with a cost and that that while recruitment and retention video communication and again the aim cost is in increased weight. In Dismounted goals were being met, the problem was is to reduce the weight burden on the in- Close Combat environments the increased that readiness was not at the levels re- dividual soldier. More performance is also weight burden that the infantry is expected quired, predominantly due to manning wanted from night vision equipment and to carry reduces their mobility and in turn issues. At the root of this readiness/man- weapon sights, with reduced weight as a that reduces tactical flexibility and can in- ning problem is the number of non-de- part of the package. Added to this is the crease their vulnerability. The other aspect ployable troops in the US Army. need for higher performance batteries ca- of increased soldier loads is the prevalence Although General Milley did not disclose pable of delivering higher performance for of orthopaedic or musculoskeletal injuries. the full extent of the non-deployable prob- longer periods and capable of being rapidly There is very little point in providing your lem in the US Army, in questioning by Sen-

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 33  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

ator Jack Reed (Democrat, Rhode Island) out the current force structure and then use United States Special Operations Com- some more facts came to light. Senator this as a basis for expanding the size of the mand (USSOCOM) is working on a pro- Reed said that: “I understand 10% of the force in the future. gramme known as the Tactical Assault non-deployable personnel are non-de- Apart from restoring its numbers, the US Light Operator Suit (TALOS). Thus far, un- ployable for medical reasons?” In response Army has also developed a number of powered versions of this exoskeleton have General Milley stated that: ”About 85% modernisation priorities. General Milley been tested. The objective is to provide the to 90% are medical, the rest of them are and then Acting Secretary of the Army operator with increased protection as well as enhanced mobility and load-carrying ca- pability. It had been hoped to have a fully functional TALOS system ready this year, but now the plan is to have a fully powered version of TALOS ready in 2019. If all goes well at that point, they will look to upgrade

Photo: U.S. Marine Corps the materials used in the construction of TALOS and that will be the precursor to the system being deployed operationally. TALOS is far more than a technology dem- onstrator. The objective for USSOCOM is to get a fully operational system deployed into the field as soon as possible. Lockheed Martin has been working on exoskeleton programmes for some time. Their current offering is the ONYX system which is an exoskeleton focused on the lower part of the body, or, to be more precise the legs. ONYX will enter field test- ing by the end of this year with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. The process will see an initial user Marines in the Infantry Officer Course during a live fire exercise at the testing phase, with user ideas then incor- Twentynine Palms training area. The US Marines conducted a study on porated into an evolution of the system soldier loads in combat and discovered that the assault load of a Marine and then a further testing phase, followed rifleman was 44 kg (or 57% of body weight); the recommended maxi- by more user input and more testing. By mum was 30% of body weight. the time this activity is complete in 2020 and, assuming that all has gone well, the legal or other reasons.” The Senator then Ryan D. McCarthy issued a document ONYX system would be ready for produc- enquired whether the medical causes of called “Modernisation Priorities for the tion and subsequent service entry. the high non-deployable rate were due United States Army” in October 2017. ONYX will not make a user cover the to enhanced training, lifestyle or other Amongst the listed priorities was ‘soldier ground faster but it will increase endur- factors? General Milley responded: “The lethality'.The document described this as: ance and reduce fatigue, enabling soldiers majority (of those medical causes) are or- “Soldier lethality that spans all fundamen- to carry heavy loads of equipment with thopaedic-type injuries. Most are recover- tals – shooting, moving, communicating, fewer ill effects. The system will also reduce able with some extended profiles. So they protecting and sustaining. We will field not stress on the legs and this will go a long are non-deployable in the short-term. Total only next-generation individual and squad way to reducing the incidence of orthopae- Army, out of the one million-plus troops, combat weapons, but also improved body dic injuries. There are still issues to resolve about 20,000, two percent or so, are hard armour, sensors, radios, and load-bearing though. One of these is power, and here down. They will never be able to deploy. exoskeletons.” the requirement is for a lighter weight bat- And those we are working through the In- tery system with more power output. The tegrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) Exoskeletons and Arms weight of the ONYX system is another area system.” (Note: IDES is the precursor to the to be tackled, with new materials being an soldier being released from the military and This listing of ‘soldier lethality’ modernisa- area of interest. their care handed over to the Veteran’s Ad- tion priorities is highly significant, especially There are also a number of unpowered ex- ministration). the reference to load-bearing exoskeletons. oskeleton programmes being worked on in The loss of 20,000 trained personnel is an The US military has been interested in the the US, as well as programmes focussed on extraordinary number to be dealing with possibilities offered by exoskeletons since the powered systems, often also referred to as and the US Army is taking steps to reduce 1960s, the problem was that while the con- ‘wearable robotics’. The US is not alone in the numbers of non-deployable troops cept might be understood, the technology working towards exoskeleton capabilities. caused by medical problems. This process is and materials necessary to make it a valid Russia has been working on both powered helped by the fact that high-intensity com- proposition was not available at that time. and unpowered systems and Hyundai in bat deployments are fewer than previously, Now the situation is very different; the neces- the Republic of Korea (ROK) have demon- meaning fewer medical injuries. However, sary technology and materials are available, strated powered exoskeletons for medical it is worth noting that US Army readiness is and there are a number of exoskeleton and and industrial uses, with the same tech- far lower than it needs to be. As recruitment related programmes on the verge of deliver- nology obviously providing the basis for a targets are being met, the objective is to fill ing a deployable capability to the US military. military system.

34 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 

In September 2007 the US Marine Corps generated a report by the Naval Research Advisory Committee, under the auspices of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of State of the Navy (Research, Development and Ac- quisition). The report was entitled “Lighten- ing the Load” and work commenced on the study in February 2007. Sources consulted included the US Marine Corps, US Army, US Department of Defense (DOD), and US Navy Science and Technology (S&T) organisations and industry. Also consulted were foreign militaries from Canada, France, Germany, Singapore and the UK to understand how they were developing Lightening the Load (LTL) initiatives. The context for the study focused on the

Photo: Lockheed Martin three main load categories of a Marine The Lockheed Martin ONYX is an exoskeleton focused on the lower part rifleman: the Assault Load, the Approach of the body and is due to start trials with the US Army shortly. ONYX will March Load and the Existence Load. The as- increase endurance and reduce fatigue, enabling soldiers to carry their sault load covers what is needed to conduct heavy loads of equipment with reduced injury risk. combat operations indefinitely with mini- mal degradation in combat effectiveness. Meanwhile, researchers at the US Army concern over the loads soldiers were car- The recommended soldier load is 22.68 kg, Research Laboratory (ARL), part of the US rying in combat. This led to a search for or some 30% of soldier weight based on Army Research, Development and Engineer- more information and it was discovered the average 76.77 kg weight of a Marine. ing Command, have developed a system that the US Army had never performed The study found that theactual combat load known as the THIRD ARM. In response to a study of soldier combat loads; the only of a Marine rifleman was 44 kg or 57% of ongoing requirements to increase soldier le- data they could find were drawn from a body weight. The approach march load is thality, ARL came up with the THIRD ARM US Marine Corps report based on data based on conducting a 20-mile (32.18 km) device. Although development is still at an from August 1942. This resulted in the march within eight hours, maintaining 90% early stage, the device is already showing Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) combat effectiveness. The recommended considerable promise. On the surface, it is being commissioned to conduct a study load in this context is 34.47 kg or 45% of not a sophisticated device, it is unpowered of battlefield loads in “The Modern War- body weight, in reality the actual load was and has a rather simple design, and it is at- rior’s Combat Loads, Dismounted Opera- 55.79 kg or 73% of body weight. The exist- tached to the waist of the soldier. Made tions in Afghanistan”, with research being ence load covers limited movement within from composite materials, it is a lightweight conducted in the field in April/May 2003. the confines of transportation platforms and device (1.8 kg) and its function is to stabilise Unsurprisingly the study established that limited marching from landing zone into a the weapon that the soldier is using and also soldiers were carrying loads that were far secure area. The recommended load is 57.6 remove the weight burden of the weapon too heavy. kg or 75% of body weight, in reality the load on the arms of the soldier. The end result is a system that reduces fatigue due to reduced weight burden and is more accurate as the weapon is stabilised. The system has been tested with the M4 and the M249, as well as with the M240B machine gun that weighs Photo: US Army ARL 12.25 kg. Studies on the device continue, with one of the next steps being the integra- tion of other heavier weapons.

Other Approaches

What is immediately apparent is that in the US strenuous efforts are underway to deal with the intertwined issues of reducing the impact of soldier loads, which leads to less fatigue, fewer injuries and an end result of a more effective soldier. The real surprise is why it has taken so long to start look- ing at solutions to increased soldier loads and the negative consequences of carrying The US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has developed a system known such loads. as the 'THIRD ARM'. The objective of the system is to stabilise the weapon When the US Army became engaged in and reduce the weight burden on the arms of the soldier. The M249 shown Afghanistan, there was suddenly great here being supported by the system has a basic weight of 8.16 kg.

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 35  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

was 75.75 kg or 99% of body weight. increasing Intelligence, Surveillance, Recon- combat loads has been understood. Thus Significantly, the LTL report noted the pau- naissance (ISR) and communications con- far, fielding reduced-weight equipment city of information on soldier loads and the nectivity - and could approach 10% of the alternatives for the individual soldier has impact that these loads had on the effec- squad load.” made limited progress, although any loss tiveness of a soldier – remember that the Finding a solution to the overload problem of weight helps. The provision of vehicles first Marines deployed in Afghanistan in proved difficult. The LCL report commented to carry soldier loads is an obvious avenue 2001 and in Afghanistan in 2003. Which that there was no “silver bullet” to weight for weight reduction; the problem is that begs the question, why did it take so long to reduction at the squad level. They stated conventional vehicles require a driver and think about these issues? The LTL report also that:”Load reduction must be addressed in impose their own logistic burden. The ob- vious solution to this dilemma was what the US Army called an “autonomous lo- gistics and equipment vehicle” or more commonly the “robotic mule.” A few early systems were tested in Afghanistan, but Photo: Rheinmetall now the US Army is looking to procure between 2,700 and 5,700 (depending on funding) of these Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) under the Squad Mul- tipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET) programme. Four contenders have been shortlisted for the SMET programme: the Polaris Industries/ Applied Research Associates /Neva Systems MRZR-X, General Dynamics Land Systems Multi-Utility Tactical Transport (MUTT), HDT Global HUNTER WOLF and the Howe and Howe Technologies RS2-H1. They will be evaluated and a winner selected with the system to be fielded by 2021. According to the US Army the objective of the SMET sys- tem is for the UGV to carry some 453 kg of The Rheinmetall Canada MISSION MASTER Unmanned Ground Vehicle soldier load. (UGV) already has its first export customer. The system is capable of Other UGV alternatives exist. For example, semi-autonomous or autonomous operation, and the cargo variant can at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris in June, carry a 600 kg payload. Systems of this nature are an effective means Rheinmetall Canada displayed their MIS- of reducing infantry combat loads. SION MASTER UGV. This system is ready for deployment, indeed there is already a first quoted a statement from the Commanding terms of S&T efforts for future weapons and customer for the system, and the variant at Officer, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, on 14 equipment, weight transfer off the squad Eurosatory was outfitted for the carriage November 2006, who said: ”We were or- members and new tactics.” The LTL report of cargo, although other missions include dered to wear everything everywhere in the noted: ”Improved/specialised nutrition, casualty evacuation/rescue, surveillance, mountains all the time… Even if you were physical training, and ergonomics would CBRN detection and combat. For example, in great shape, you couldn’t keep up with have a positive, but minimal impact on load Germany has reportedly shown interest in a the enemy.” Again, one has to wonder who carrying capability.” version of the MISSION MASTER mounting thought that was a good idea. Solutions were possible though. The report the MBDA ENFORCER guided-missile sys- The LTL report also decided to look at the believed that planned S&T efforts could tem as a combat UGV. MISSION MASTER soldier load question in a different man- make some headway in reducing the over- can be operated autonomously or semi- ner to the previous US Army effort. They load weight at the squad-level. They be- autonomously and carry a 600 kg payload. focused on the Marine Rifle Squad, which lieved that 136 kg or 33% of the overload It is quite possible that the powered full- consists of the squad leader and three four- could be saved through “weight reduction body exoskeleton will provide the ultimate person fire teams, as well as an attached developments in advanced personal protec- solution to the requirements of the infantry US Navy hospital corpsman for a total of 14 tion and other equipment.” Added to which for load carriage, increased endurance and personnel. The average load of a squad in another 136 kg or 33% of the overload reduced fatigue. While we wait for exoskel- combat is given as some 735 kg, which is could be saved through “the use of small- eton technologies to evolve into deployable some 408 kg in excess of the recommended unit organic vehicles or other weight transfer production systems, it would seem that the soldier load in combat. The LTL report broke techniques.” Finding a way to the save the optimum LTL strategy is to reduce the soldier down squad load into four categories: 37% other 136 kg of overload was not addressed. load by transferring it to vehicles, depend- was weapons, ammunition and optics, 35% ing on requirements, such systems could be was Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), The Problem Remains UGVs or something as simple as an All Ter- 26% was food, water, clothing and other, rain Vehicle (ATV). We have now reached the while 2% was accounted by communica- It is now 11 years since the LTL report was point where the need for LTL for the infantry tions equipment. The LCL report noted that published and it would fair to say that is well understood and justifiable, now the the communications load “will increase dra- there has been progress on LTL initiatives, challenge is to actually make it happen and matically in the near and mid-term due to or, to be more precise the need to reduce field solutions. 

36 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 INDUSTRY & MARKETS  “OCCAR stands ready to take the challenge”

Interview with Major General Arturo Alfonso-Meiriño, Director OCCAR-EA

work of the defence market in Europe – a Moreover, OCCAR market traditionally operated nationally and has established it- individually by European nations on the basis self as a true cen- of "national security interests" and thus very tre of excellence much fragmented. in its field of com-

Photos: OCCAR This European vocation needs to be framed petence and has in the historical context of 1998. At that proven not to be ESD: This year, OCCAR commemorates its time, the European Security and Defence a closed club. The participation of nations 20th anniversary. What were the reasons Policy was still emerging, and far from such as Lithuania and Slovenia in the 8x8 and the motivation to establish OCCAR as "Common". Equally distant was the crea- BOXER armoured vehicle programme is a an international procurement agency 20 tion of the defence-related European institu- good example. years ago? Who was involved? What were tions, such as the Military Staff of the Euro- With regard to our tasks, the Convention sets the objectives? pean Union (EUMS), the Military Committee out that OCCAR can: perform management Alfonso-Meiriño: The Organisation for (EUMC), or the EDA. The OCCAR Conven- of assigned cooperative and national pro- Joint Armaments Cooperation (OCCAR), tion also predates the involvement of the grammes, including In-Service Support (ISS) whose Executive Administration I have the European Commission (EC) in industrial and and research; contribute to the harmonisa- honour to lead, celebrates the 20th anni- defence market issues, made official with tion of technical specifications; coordinate versary of the signature of its Convention the publication in 2009 of its defence re- joint research activities and studies. How- by the governments of Germany, France, lated directives. ever, since OCCAR received its legal status Italy and the United Kingdom, that took in 2001, it has consolidated its expertise in place on 9 September 1998. This Conven- ESD: In what way has the task spectrum the development, production and ISS phases. tion was then ratified by their respective of OCCAR developed and changed in the Although all tasks can be accomplished, OC- parliaments in 2001, and by Belgium in course of the 20 years of its existence? What CAR is not active in research and technology 2003 and Spain in 2005. services can OCCAR offer to non-OCCAR that is of low technological readiness, nor The OCCAR Convention, which is based nations? the harmonisation of requirements, where on the 1995 Franco-German "Baden- Alfonso-Meiriño: Twenty years after its the European Defence Agency (EDA) has a Baden Principles", assigned to that new introduction, the vision of the founding fa- clear role. Organisation the specific mission of pro- thers of OCCAR, regarding the European moting cooperation, improving efficiency identity of security and defence, has become ESD: What reasons are behind new na- and reducing the costs of armament pro- a reality. tions joining OCCAR? curement programmes. And all with the The evolution of the European Security and Alfonso-Meiriño: I believe the OCCAR vision to become a centre of European ex- Defence Policy, now called "Common", has business model holds some key differentia- cellence in the management of complex been unstoppable in recent years. The lead- tors that have helped OCCAR build its repu- armaments programmes. ership of the EU Council in the more political tation as a centre of excellence. With a clear European vocation, referred issues of defence, and of the EC in those The OCCAR model is based on a Central to in its preamble and articles, and a strong related to the defence industry and market, Office (CO) that supports the Programme support to the European identity of Secu- always in coordination with the European Divisions (PDs) in all corporate issues. Moreo- rity and Defence and to the strengthening Parliament, are today a fact. An undeniable ver, the PDs are operationally autonomous, of the European Defence Technological fact even for Eurosceptics, both traditional although always under the responsibility and Industrial Base (EDTIB), it pursued the and those that have arisen on the political and supervision of the Director. Besides, the industrial consolidation of the sector and scene in the last electoral rounds of several current size of OCCAR-EA, minimally hier- the unification of the regulatory frame- Union Member States (MS). archical, allows a fast and effective admin-

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 37  INDUSTRY & MARKETS

jects with diverse participation of 25 of the 28 MS of the Union. The European Secure Software Defined Radio Programme (ESSOR) is one of the 17 identified PESCO projects and is being managed by OCCAR. It started in 2008 with the joint work of the governments of Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden, and has recently entered the Op- erational Capabilities phase (OC1), with- out the participation of Sweden, but with the integration of Germany under way. This programme has an important require- ment for interoperability and a clear Eu- ropean identity and is aimed at providing efficient communications at the level of army brigade and below, building a se- cure high-speed mobile ad hoc network. The ESSOR programme is undoubtedly an The BOXER Programme provides the armies of Germany, The Nether- excellent candidate for the EDIDP, thus if lands, Lithuania, Slovenia, Australia (shown) and perhaps in future the funded by this EC initiative it would receive UK with a new generation of all-terrain armoured utility vehicles. an additional 10% bonus. But there are other PESCO projects, the istration of the corporate and programme respective programmes, protecting the Maritime Semiautonomous Systems for aspects, and entails a very low administra- joint and individual interests of OCCAR, Mine Countermeasures Belgian-Nether- tive cost overhead of only 1.3%. as well as of the MS or non-MS. lands initiative, or the family of armoured The supervision of the six MS in the man- This is what OCCAR offers to the non-MS. vehicles led by Italy, that may come to OC- agement of the Organisation ensures the As you can see, the same rights and obliga- CAR in the future if they develop further continuous updating and harmonisation tions in the programme they participate in, and the nations so wish. OCCAR stands of its legal and regulatory framework, and minimum overhead cost and total control. ready to take the challenge. the rapid and efficient integration of new programmes, new phases in existing pro- ESD: Which future tasks resulting from ESD: The TIGER helicopter fleet is to be- grammes or new Participating States (PS). PESCO initiatives could be accomplished come subject to a midlife upgrade. What In practical terms, it means that there is no by OCCAR? is to be accomplished? What is the task of need to go looking for common ground Alfonso-Meiriño: On 8 December last OCCAR in the scope of this programme? every time a new programme/phase/Pro- year, the Council of the EU established Alfonso-Meiriño: The TIGER Helicopter gramme Participating State is integrated. the Permanent Structured Cooperation Programme is one of the complex capability- The roles defined for the so-called Pro- (PESCO). PESCO will allow MS, whose building programmes managed by OCCAR, gramme Boards and Programme Commit- military capabilities meet higher criteria, currently going through a transition phase. tees, in which representatives of each of to make binding commitments within the This programme has been managed since the PS are integrated as customers, ensure framework of the EU; on 6 March this 2001, although it started as a Franco- Ger- total transparency and control over their year, this initiative materialised in 17 pro- man development in September 1998. This system, already operational in the armies of Germany, France, Spain and Australia, is available in four different variants. Germany has contracted 68 UHT helicopters of the 163 ordered by the three European nations, with 67 already delivered, and the last one expected during the month of July, and with it, the end of the UHT production. The UHT variant can be deployed for armed recon- naissance, anti-tank missions, anti-helicop- ter tasks and escort/combat support mis- sions, depending on the choice of weapons. The TIGER programme is entering into the preparation phase of its Mid-Life Upgrade with the aim to get the first entry into ser- vice of the Mark III helicopter in 2025 for France and 2026 for Germany. The three nations are currently harmonising their re- quirements with the view to place the Mark III development contract in 2020. OCCAR The TIGER helicopter programme is one of the complex capability- would be entrusted by the Programme PS building programmes managed by OCCAR. to manage the Mark III programme.

38 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 INDUSTRY & MARKETS 

The upgrade has the double objective of tackling the obsolescence and the modi- fication of its systems, including arma- ments, and thus requires an important technological development.

ESD: After Germany, The Netherlands and Lithuania, Slovenia and Australia have selected the BOXER vehicle. The UK is considering rejoining the programme in light of the country's MIV requirement. What effect does this have on OCCAR's work? Alfonso-Meiriño: As I mentioned earlier, the Convention has a clear European vo- cation, and the BOXER programme is an obvious example, as it comprises a Mem- ber State, Germany and two non-MS, The MALE RPAS programme is a candidate for EU funding. the Netherlands and Lithuania, that will shortly be joined by Slovenia and the UK interest from its observer status that was ob- to achieve it, in supporting the EDTIB. (currently in integration). tained in 2017. OCCAR’s role in support of these efforts Australia has decided to procure the BOX- The programme is currently in the final steps will very much depend on the will of these ER vehicle but directly through industry, of its stage 1 for the definition phase that nations. so for the moment they do not intend to started in 2015. The PS have already decided Then again, OCCAR’s core business is join OCCAR. to go ahead with a second stage of a global the management of complex armaments The Convention allows for this model, nature, which will involve a contract for the programmes, which is the case in these where MS work with non-MS in a pro- development, production and initial in-ser- two initiatives, and one of the missions gramme, but OCCAR is so flexible that vice support in the course of 2019 of a RPAS. assigned by the founding fathers was even a programme with participation of MALE RPAS is expected to have a takeoff precisely to support the EDTIB. OCCAR is non-MS would find a place in the Organi- weight of approximately 11 tonnes, will be ready to take the challenge, if these two sation. powered by two turbo-prop engines and is nations so wish. The fact that Slovenia and the UK are in scheduled to enter into service in 2025. the process of integration means of course The industrial set-up is currently under nego- ESD: The UK is planning to leave the EU that some activities need to be undertak- tiation and counts with Airbus Defence and (and thus the Common Defence and Se- en, such as the conclusion of a MoU, Pro- Space GmbH at the level of main contractor, curity Policy) in 2019. Will Brexit have an gramme Decision and contract placement. and with Leonardo, Dassault Aviation and effect on OCCAR? In this particular case, as the PD already Airbus Defence and Space S.A.U. as major Alfonso-Meiriño: As you know, the UK exists, it is up to the Division to proceed subcontractors, but will undoubtedly bring is one of the founding members of the with these integration activities; which on board a broad spectrum of European Organisation and since OCCAR is not part can require that the nation in integration SMEs for future phases, given the EU initia- of the European Union, BREXIT does not provides Detached National Experts (DNE) tives requirements. affect it, a priori. to cope with the extra work. This is the Taking into account the developmental OCCAR nations are studying the impact on case with the UK, which has already sent nature of this programme and that the in- the A400M programme, as it follows UK several DNEs to work with the PD in Bonn. dustrial set-up complies with the EU EDIDP law. Also, the potential impact on the trade The integration process also requires the requirements, I believe this programme is a or the transfer of defence-related products involvement of the OCCAR CO, and thus firm candidate to receive EU funding as well. is being evaluated, but it is our understand- the integration of any new Programme ing that there will always be a trade agree- Participating State or new phase or pro- ESD: Based on last year's political direc- ment between the UK and the European gramme is subject to approval by OCCAR’s tives, the bilateral armaments cooperation Union to facilitate such transactions. Board of Supervisors. This is the highest of France and Germany seems to be get- The participation of the UK in programmes decision-making body in OCCAR, and their ting momentum? What support can OC- managed by OCCAR, funded by the EDIDP decision, based on my assessment of the CAR render in the scope of these efforts? initiative, would also constitute no barrier, resources needed for the completion of the Alfonso-Meiriño: Indeed the meeting of as I particularly do not believe that these integration, is meant to avoid other areas the French and German Ministers of De- fund incentives have sufficient weight to suffering from the new processes to be un- fence on 19 June with the signature of the invalidate other reasons that would bring dertaken, as this would result in damage to two Letters of Intent for the collaboration any nation to a bilateral/multilateral coop- our reputation. in the Future Combat Air System and the eration with the UK. Main Ground Combat System has meant a ESD: What are the current participants in step forward. France and Germany have a ESD: What are the advantages resulting the European MALE RPAS programme? long history of cooperation, they are both from the cooperation with other inter- What are the next steps? pushing for the European strategic auton- national organisations like EDA, NSPA, Alfonso-Meiriño: The MALE RPAS has omy requested by the High Representative EATC? four PS; Germany, Spain, France and Italy. Federica Mogherini in her Global Strategy, Alfonso-Meiriño: OCCAR has a long- Belgium follows this programme with great and these future programmes are a means standing cooperation with the EDA,

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 39  INDUSTRY & MARKETS

with which an Administrative Arrange- document), transition the programme to On the other hand, NSPA is an OCCAR ment (AA) was signed in 2012, and an OCCAR. So we see each other as mutual customer for the MMF Programme, and interface document with the organisa- reinforcing partners, with no duplication OCCAR procures the aircraft, currently 8 tion was updated only last year. The EU of efforts. but with a potential to become 11, should Council of 2012 invited EDA to seek the OCCAR has a long-standing collaboration more nations decide to join. greatest synergies with OCCAR, noting also with NSPA. OCCAR is a customer of I believe the cooperation between the two the close working relationship between this NATO Agency for some diverse activi- organisations is a great example of the re- the two organisations. EDA has a role ties in the In-Service domain for some of lationship and complementary efficiency in in the identification and preparation of its programmes. For instance, in the case the domain of acquiring and supporting new cooperative opportunities between of TIGER, a Service Level Agreement was the military capabilities needed for the Eu- its participating MS, so they have an im- concluded for the invoicing through an IT ropean nations. portant role in the upstream part of the system, called NAMSIS, whereas for BOXER And last but not least, our cooperation with definition of a programme. Then, when the Service Level Agreement was signed EATC focuses on the A400M and aims to a programme is mature, they may, using only last year for the ammunition of the achieve an efficient European air transport the existing mechanisms (AA, interface Lithuanian variant. and increased European airlift capability. Within the European air transport domain, there are common activi- NATIONAL TRAINING AND SIMULATION ASSOCIATION ties relating to the A400M capa- THE WORLD’S LARGEST MODELING & SIMULATION EVENT bility within the remit of EATC. We actually meet at least once a Aerospace Simulation & Training year, also with EDA, because we Aircrew Trainers consider that increased coopera- Applied R&D tion between the three entities Applied Systems Engineering AR/VR INTERSERVICE/INDUSTRY TRAINING, can bring significant added value Big Data to their respective MS by exploit- Classroom Training Products SIMULATION & EDUCATION CONFERENCE ing synergies and maximising cost & Services LAUNCHING INNOVATION IN LEARNING: READY, SET, DISRUPT! Cloud Computing effectiveness, enabling the suc- Computer Hardware cessful multinational operation of Construction / Mining the aircraft is in the benefit of the Consultancy/Project Management respective MS. Cyber Disaster Relief/Planning Simulations Distance Learning ESD: Can you confirm that Ger- Distributed Simulation and Learning many has plans to join the ESSOR Educational Products & Services project and has accepted to pay Electronic Components Electronic Training/Synthetic a share of the development costs Engineering/Damage Control already invested? Trainers Alfonso-Meiriño: The ESSOR PS Exercise Management indeed recognise the strategic im- Flight Simulation & Training Gaming portance of Germany joining the Homeland Security Simulation & ESSOR Programme. On the other Training hand, Germany fully recognises Instructional Systems Design the significant effort and invest- LVC (Live, Virtual, Constructive) Manufacturing ment provided by the ESSOR PS Medical Simulation & Training in order to achieve the results that Mission Planning/Mission Rehearsal are today on the table, as well as Modeling Services the new developments foreseen Oil, Gas, Energy Operational & Maintenance Services in the OC1 Phase, which repre- Operator/Driver Trainers sent the foundation to complete Physical Training Equipment the development of the High Pre-Brief/After Action Review Data Rate (HDR) waveform. Research & Development Shiphandling Trainers Germany is willing to participate in Simulation Security an active role in the future devel- Simulation Software opment of ESSOR and will benefit Simulation Toolkits from the ESSOR outcomes and Small Arms Training Small Business knowledge so far accumulated, Staffing/Logistics Support therefore Germany’s contribution STEM to the programme will take into Tactics Trainers account the investments and risks Trade Publication / Media Training Products Why I/ITSEC? sustained by the other ESSOR PS Training Services u 16,200 attendees to achieve the successes of the Transportation u 485 exhibitors programme to date. Vehicle Trainers Verification & Validation u 186,000 sq ft exhibit hall The interview was conducted Visual Computing u 1,800 international Visual Display Products attendees, from 50 by Peter Bossdorf. Weapon Systems Trainers & Equipment countries

WWW.IITSEC.ORG u NOVEMBER 26-30, 2018 u ORLANDO, FLORIDA

IITSEC2018MittlerAdFull.indd 1 4/3/18 2:56 PM INDUSTRY & MARKETS  Hard Cases for Tough Times

Tim Guest

Rugged cases, for the shipping and transit of vital and often sensitive native interiors comprising rigid rack mount systems, instead, such as with cases used as equipment, weapons and ammunition over tough terrain, are widely mobile armouries to house several rifles. used by both military and civil agencies alike. Vendor Views

etting sensitive devices and critical and, depending on the application, internal Lucio Sirotti, Export Director at the MAX Gequipment across rugged terrain and moulding to provide a fitted, shaped in- cases' manufacturer, Plastica Panaro, told ensuring it arrives at its destination in one terior for a specific device is usual. At the ESD that its cases, used by UN agencies and piece and fully operational cannot be guar- same time, bespoke solutions for specific military organisations around the world, anteed if it makes the journey unprotected. users and uses are also offered by most. are produced with an injection moulding Uphill, down dale, over rocks and water, And while many OEMs provide a one-stop process, using a polypropylene-based com- everything from electronic devices, radios, shop making both the case shell and the pound that the company has developed. optical equipment, search and rescue (SAR) custom foam interiors, the latter is also the Plastica Panaro makes its own custom foam devices, weapons and ammunition need preserve of specialist companies working inlays and screen prints its cases, if required, to be protected en route to their point of application if a mission, military or other- wise, is to be successful. And whether such equipment is man-portable and carried by individuals, or transported by vehicle, boat or aircraft, there are numerous options Photo: Peli-Hardigg from a wide variety of vendors available to encase and protect equipment in order to ensure its integrity and operability. The following article looks at the need for rugged cases to carry tactical mission equipment, as well as some of the process- es involved in their manufacture and some of the vendors and their products active in this sector.

Setting the Scene

The increasing use of, and reliance on, high- tech devices and electronics by military, special operations forces, security, SAR and other user groups has seen a grow- ing need for protective and often bespoke, application-specific cases to protect equip- ment from the rigours of often perilous Rugged, militarised cases keep even the most sensitive electronics and transport. While military cases through the comms equipment intact in the harshest environments. ages have been constructed from a variety of metals and woods, today’s cases draw with the outer shell OEMs; companies like with a customer logo or brand name. Max on the latest injection-moulding processes Weepack in France, which specialises in cases, IP67 certified and meeting Stanag using state-of-the-art polymer-based ma- polypropylene ‘mousse’ interiors. Accord- 4280 and DEF STAN 81-41, go through rig- terials. Many vendors produce standard ing to commercial director Gilbert Juan, orous testing including vibration testing to off-the-shelf systems that can be shipped talking with ESD, Weepack often works ensure they are dustproof, shock resistant, quickly for more common applications. with end customers who have procured waterproof and can operate without los- Airtight, waterproof, dustproof and corro- OEM cases such as Peli and MAX cases, ing their integrity in temperatures between sion resistance are typical in most portfolios and 3D design polypropylene interiors for +90 and -30°C. Key solutions include its specific needs and user specs. In the defence MAX540 H245 TR with a telescopic handle Author and aerospace field, such customers have and wheels, cubed foam and padded divid- included the French Ministry of Defence, ers internally; the MAX800GPB (convolut- Tim Guest is a defence and aero- as well as leading vendors like Rolls Royce, ed foam interior), MAX800S (cubed foam space journalist and former officer in Thales and UTC Aerospace. interior) and MAX800SAD (high-density the Royal Artillery. And as well as foam interiors, cases used in foam interior), all systems for a range of many operational scenarios may require alter- military uses. Another example for secu-

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 41  INDUSTRY & MARKETS rity/military use is the MAX620 all over the world with many military H250 BL, which is tailored to and security-related customers. Be- carry pistols and magazines. spoke solutions include blast and bul- Managing Director at CP Cases Peter let-proof cases for specific international Ross, told ESD that the manufactur- security agencies. ing process in relation to the com- pany’s own cases uses modern high- Vendors on the Case performance materials, such as com- posites and multi-shot moulded Peli-Hardigg cases are some of the products, which have “elevated best-known solutions in widespread the mechanical performance of military use and like other manu- the company’s range of rugge- facturers follow stringent develop- dised cases and containers for mili- ment and production processes to meet tary deployment”. The users’ choice exacting user requirements and military of product type is usually dictated by standards. What the company calls its Ad- the application. CP Pro flight cases vanced Case Solutions combine materials were the first of their type in Europe, science, packaging engineering, project introduced in 1971, and still designed management and manufacturing pro- Photo: Plastica Panaro and manufactured today when the cesses that deliver de facto industry stand- application demands, typically when large Drone station carried in a MAX ards such as its cushioning curve formula. and/or heavy and delicate equipment is be- case from Plastica Panaro Its single-lid containers have been adopted ing handled by third parties. When essen- by many defence and security agencies tial equipment is used in war zones and the been in use recently with the Italian civil worldwide to protect sensitive technologies like, in latitudes that span the tropics to the emergency rescue services assisting in the deployed in the most demanding environ- poles, more sophisticated rugged enclo- Genoa viaduct motorway collapse. The ments, from drones to communications sures are required. They still have to accom- ‘rotationally-moulded’ AMAZON range and electronics equipment and devices, to modate violent drop, shock, vibration and are among the company’s most popular personal small arms and weaponry of many climate protection, but then also have to be military-certified products and are in use kinds. lightweight, and small. Ross added that the company offers a “one stop shop” to its customers, delivering complete design and manufacturing services from start to fin- ish. “We design and build all our interiors, with a fully functioning foam engineering Photo: DroneCases shop, 3D modelling facilities and prototyp- ing service.” The company seals its prod- ucts against ingress from extreme climatic conditions as a long-time, tried-and-tested service. It uses in-house rain and immersion test facilities and all its mail product lines have been through accredited third-party test and accreditation to both military and commercial test specifications, such as MIL- STD-810 (US specs) Def Std (British specs) IP and STANAG specs. The company has four primary product lines for military applications, all depend- ent on customer requirement and field use demands. These are: the AMAZON range, the ERack lightweight 19” racks, suitable for EMC-screened applications, the Air- Ship ultra-lightweight rigged containers for man-pack carrying applications and fi- nally climate-controlled 19” racks for rapid deployment scenarios where both heating and cooling systems are incorporated to protect sensitive electronics, communica- tions and encryption equipment. According to Ross, CP Cases maintains readily available stock for quick-ship re- quirements, and has been called upon many times to deliver in days, and some- times only hours, when an urgent need arises. He said the AMAZON cases had Tethered drone flying from its DroneCases military case

42 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 INDUSTRY & MARKETS 

ing units; they are used to carry and deploy a wide range of field medical instruments and critical supplies. Italian specialist case maker HPRC produc- es a wide range of standard, off-the-shelf case designs, as well as custom fit cases for various end user groups for civil as well as security applications. Its custom inlays are made from polypropylene of different densities and its milling processes enables the production of single-piece inlays but with several different depths. Multilayer inlays are made for customers whose re- quirement is to carry many small or dif- ferent pieces of equipment in the same case. All HPRC cases go through stringent testing to withstand drops, impacts, wa-

Photo: Peli-Hardigg tertight integrity and are suited for use in Cases from a range of vendors are used in a wide variety of operational temperatures between -40 and +80°C. Its applications in command posts, temporary field medical records stations HPRC3500 is a backpack case suited for ap- and many more settings. plications such as drone/UAV carriage and can incorporate a cubed foam interior. It The company designs the internal make-up sonal small arms, sights and magazines meets ATA300, IP67, STANAG 4280 and of its cases, from simple foam cushions to are accommodated by the designs of rack DS 81-41 approvals. extremely complex metal structures for use mounts and moulded interiors. Cases are Maibach in Germany produces the MIL- in dramatically diverse shipment, storage also offered for grenade launchers, such TAINER-TSC (Transport and Storage Con- and user conditions to ensure interior sta- as the M19, sniper rifles, such as the M24 tainer) range, which is constructed of glass- bilisation for any equipment is total. From with scope, and machine guns such as the fibre reinforced plastics meeting German deck-mounted equipment to bezel-mount- M240B together with a spare barrel and, military specification VG 95 613. While the ed electronics with integrated exhaust fans, in the case of the new M240G, its infantry range includes larger storage containers in as well as cases with multiple access points modification kit. its TSC, HD (heavy duty), MD (medium duty), and interface portals. Metal decks or cradles are used to secure heavy equipment, and elastomeric shock mounts isolate metal fixtures from the case shell. Shock-absorbing foam is de- signed and shaped specifically to custom Photo: Peli-Hardigg fit any equipment or component, with a variety of densities and material composi- tions available depending on application and need. Peli Advanced Case Solutions cases are designed to operate in extreme temperatures, to withstand radical oscilla- tion or direct impact, to remain water tight when immersed in water, and to maintain seal integrity when exposed to chemicals or fine dust particulates. When military and OEM customers need to certify a case will perform to such specific requirements, Peli’s Advanced Case Centres in the UK, France and the US subject cases to a range of rigorous lab tests including drop, vibra- tion, leak, heat and dust tests under precise Tactical mission equipment of all kinds can be safely transported, knowing control conditions. it will remain intact over the toughest terrain and road journeys. Peli-Hardigg mobile military cases cover operational scenarios from mobile armour- Peli’s mobile medical cases are rotomould- LW (lightweight), and RM (rotomoulded) ies, to mobile medical and other mission ed solutions and include in-field portable ranges, it also comprises smaller portable critical carrying needs. Its mobile armoury solutions that are watertight, airtight and and wheeled cases for tactical applications range, for example, offers over 40 kinds of impact resistant and many combinations in its IM (injection moulded) range that are cases to house various numbers of rifles and customisations of interiors can be shock resistant, have been drop tested to (such as the M4 Carbine), pistols (such as made to meet varying mission require- ATA300 and MIL-STD-810 standards, com- the M11 and Beretta 9mm), from a single ments. Some of its MEDCHEST range have ply to IP67 waterproof requirements. The weapon up to six or more M4s, or 24 M9 wheels for mobility and can be outfitted LW range includes stable portable systems Berettas and more. Combinations of per- with custom drawer dividers or foam divid- for use as tactical containers for manual

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 43  INDUSTRY & MARKETS

transportation in the field, with parts such example, it claims to be “the longest rifle IP67 standards and certifications include as fasteners and wheels recessed into the case” available on the market, is suited to to STANAG 4340, DEF-STAN 81-41 Level body of the case to enhance resilience in carrying a .50-cal sniper rifle. The company J, DEF-STAN 81-144, MIL-STD-810G and extreme environments. says that mechanical strength is one of the ATA300. Like some of the other players in this sector, Leafield uses rotational mould- ing to produce detailed and robust cases, including those in its AEGIS range that it says, due to the process, are more resilient and durable than aluminium or wooden Photo: Peli-Hardigg cases. They have more consistent wall thickness than blow-moulded cases, are more economical to ‘tool’ than injection- moulded cases and, in this age of environ- mental concerns, are completely recyclable. Leafield says that the process allows cases and lids to be produced with twin walls for greater strength and rigidity, and fit- tings and features can be readily moulded into the case walls and incorporated in the overall design. The company has developed its own ‘multi-part mould’ approach that it says enables handles, tie-down points and other features to be incorporated into the products. From a customer perspec- Cases to transport personal small arms and weapons, as well as special- tive this means that bespoke specs can be ist sniper rifles and field armouries, are offered by several case makers. designed into a case quickly to meet spe- cific needs. DroneCases in Germany works Another Italian player active in this sector is most important aspects of such a long case; with Leafield and its AEGIS range, as well GT Line, which produces its Explorer Cases protecting and maintaining a zero POA/POI as using plastic cases from SKB to support range of waterproof/watertight cases that during transportation, the case must keep the growing use of drones in military and are made from copolymer propylene at its rigidity, although without compromis- civil sectors. three manufacturing plants which it says ing transportability, or becoming too heavy. are “strategically based around the world” This is where GT Line’s construction process Not to Forget Good to support the needs of its international comes in, with the properties of the copoly- Old Wood customer base, which includes humanitar- mer polypropylene offering extreme rigidity. ian, security and offshore industry users. It The case balances the use of ribbing with the With all this talk of polypropylene and ro- produces a range of heavy duty gun cases polymer compound to deliver its high specs. tational moulding you’d be forgiven for as well as offering armoury configurations In the UK, Leafield Cases, delivers solu- thinking that other, traditional materials are of its appropriate cases to suit a wide range tions to sectors with mission critical needs a thing of the past for the supply of cases for of small arms. Its Explorer Case 15416, for that are waterproof and dustproof to defence applications. One company prov- ing this assumption wrong is Luxembourg- based No-Nail Boxes, which produces over 300,000 collapsible plywood boxes per year with some 90% of those meeting spe- cific customer requirements; many of those Photo: Peli-Hardigg clients are military in nature. It supplies its products, including ammunition/munitions boxes, to the likes of the Belgian, Dutch, French and Netherlands Armies and other NATO organisations.

Final Thought

With the plethora of heavy duty, high- spec, rugged cases available for a wealth of vendors, there is no excuse for sensitive and critical equipment to arrive at its op- erational destination in anything but one piece. Defence and security users have a huge choice and given the processes avail- able and on offer from most makers even the most exacting end-user needs can be Peli’s AIR cases are available for a range of demanding security accommodated into a case design to pro- applications. tect mission equipment of all kinds. 

44 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 INDUSTRY & MARKETS  European SHORAD Systems

Doug Richardson

On the night of 6 January 2018, a swarm of 13 piston-engined drones attacked Russia’s Hmeimim Air Base in Western Syria and a Russian naval facility in the nearby port of Tartus.

ccording to Russian statements issued Afollowing the attack, seven drones were shot down by missiles launched by Pantsir SHORAD (short-range air defence) systems, while the remaining six were de- feated by electronic-warfare measures. The Photo: Rosoboronexport most recent significant incident to involve the use of SHORAD systems, it illustrates the tactical importance of these unglamor- ous but vital missile systems. SHORAD systems protect high-value ground targets against attacks by aircraft, helicop- ters, and air-to-surface missiles. Most have a maximum range of around 10 km, but some recent developments have extended this to around 20 km or more, overlapping with the lower end of the range coverage of medium-range SAM systems. Most are mounted on wheeled or tracked vehicles to have the mobility needed to pro- vide defence coverage either for a temporary asset such as a refuelling or regrouping area, or for rapidly-moving friendly forces. Where Recent combat experience in Syria may have enhanced the sales prospects fixed assets such as an airfield or command of KBP's PANTSIR (SA-22 GREYHOUND) combined gun and missile system. centre need permanent protection, a SHO- RAD system could be installed on a shelter RAL, which used a surface-launched ver- The RAPIER used semi-active command or other form of redeployable cabin, but a sion of the IR-guided SIDEWINDER air-to- to line-of-sight (SACLOS) guidance. As mobile system is able to rapidly change loca- air missile. CHAPARRAL remained in op- the operator tracked a target using an tion in order to avoid being attacked. erational service from 1969 until the 1990s, optical sight, a sensor would detect any The first Western attempt to create a mobile but the US made no further attempts to de- deviation between the missile's flight SHORAD system was the General Dynam- velop a more effective SHORAD solution. path and the line-of-sight to the target, ics MIM-46 MAULER programme, begun As a result, this class of weapon became a then send the radio commands needed by the US in the late 1950s with the aim of European speciality, and has remained so to steer the missile back onto the line- developing a self-contained system mount- until the present day. of-sight. ed on a single-tracked chassis. The 54 kg By the end of 1962, the UK had can- The complete system was designed in a missile would have used radar beam-riding celled its planned PT.428 missile system, towed configuration, and consisted of a guidance coupled with passive infrared (IR) a radar-guided weapon broadly similar to launcher armed with four missiles (two terminal homing, but the programme was MAULER. Since a practical SHORAD mis- mounted on either side of a surveillance ra- plagued by technical problems and inad- sion required a less complex engineering dar), a tripod-mounted optical tracker, and equate funding and was cancelled in 1965. solution the one that had been planned for an optional MARCONI Blindfire radar. Its In the US, MAULER was replaced by the MAULER and PT.428, the obvious choices designers were sufficiently confident in the Philco-Ford (later Loral) MIM-72 CHAPAR- were either semiautomatic command-to- potential accuracy of the system that they line-of sight (SACLOS) guidance or passive decided to use a missile whose 0.5 kg semi- Author IR homing. Engineers at what was then armour-piercing warhead had no proxim- British Aircraft Corporation concluded that ity fuze, but relied on a contact fuze. Fol- Following an earlier career in a SACLOS missile coupled with an optical lowing the Falklands War in 1982, RAPIER engineering, Doug Richardson is a tracking system seemed to be a more prac- was initially credited with having downed defence journalist specialising in tical and potentially low-cost solution. They 14 Argentinean aircraft, and achieving a topics such as aircraft, missiles, and started work on a programme originally further six "probables", but later analyses military electronics. known as Sightline, then as ET.316, before suggested that a more realistic figure was finally being designated as RAPIER. around four "kills".

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 45  INDUSTRY & MARKETS

In 1963 Nord Aviation of France and Bölkow of Germany began a study that resulted in the launch of the Roland pro- gramme as a joint development in 1964. The two companies later became Aéros- patiale and MBB of Germany, and found- ed the Euromissile company that would become responsible for ROLAND, with

Aerospatiale focussing on the ROLAND 1 Photo: Rosoboronexport day/clear-weather system and MBB tack- JERNAS is the export version of MBDA's RAPIER Field Standard C. ling the ROLAND 2 all-weather system. Both used SACLOS guidance. Most of the CROTALE systems produced be controlled from a central location. This The French Army ordered a version based for the French Armed Forces or for export version was designated RAPIER DARKFIRE, on the Giat Industries AMX-30R tracked were mounted on a P4R (4 × 4) wheeled and was deployed by the UK forces as Field chassis. A total of 83 ROLAND 1 and 98 vehicle, but a shelter-mounted variant was Standard B2. ROLAND 2 systems were delivered. Deliv- also produced to protect static targets. The The new fire unit developed for RAPIER eries of 140 systems to Germany began in system evolved through five variants – the Field Standard 3 is armed with eight mis- June 1981. ROLAND 1 became operational original 1000 series, the 2000 series incor- siles, with four being mounted on either in 1977, followed in 1984 by ROLAND 2. porating IFF and a TV camera, the 3000 se- side of the new electro-optical (EO) tracking Export customers for the system were Ar- ries with automatic TV tracking), the 4000 system, while a separate 3-D Dagger radar gentina, Brazil, Iraq, Nigeria, Qatar, Spain, series with a radio datalink that replaces the was used for surveillance. Full-scale produc- Slovenia, the US and Venezuela. inter-vehicle cables used in earlier versions, tion of Field Standard 3 began in 1993, and The US order proved controversial. Al- and the 5000 series which added an optical the system entered service three years later. though Hughes was awarded a devel- tracker and an improved surveillance radar The only customer for Jernas export version opment contract in January 1975 for an with a range of up to 18 km. was Malaysia, which ordered the system in American version of the ROLAND II, the Versions designated SHAHINE were de- 2002, and declared it operational in 2006. resulting programme was repeatedly re- veloped for Saudi Arabia. SHAHINE 1 was The 1990s also saw the introduction of a duced in size. Issued to only a single Army based on the CROTALE 1000 series and new Mk2 variant of the RAPIER missile. This National Guard battalion, the system was used the AMX-30 tank chassis, while the has a maximum range of 8 km, and is fitted withdrawn from service in 1988. follow-on SHAHINE 2 was based on the with an IR proximity fuze. Development of what would become the 4000 series and delivered in versions based Thales Defence Systems’ CROTALE NG is CROTALE system began in 1964 when on the AMX-30 chassis or a towed shelter. based on the VT-1 missile. This has a maxi- South Africa awarded what was then By the 1980s, RAPIER, ROLAND, and CRO- mum speed of Mach 3.5, and a range of Thomson-Houston a development con- TALE were showing their age, so all three re- about 11 km. CROTALE NG entered pro- tract for a mobile SHORAD system. Once ceived an injection of new technology. The duction in 1990, and is currently in service again, SACLOS guidance was used. The end results were the RAPIER Field Standards with the French Air Force, and has been resulting system used separate radar- B2 and C, CROTALE NG, and ROLAND 3. exported to Finland, Georgia, and Greece. equipped acquisition vehicles and firing In 1985, development started on a new Firing trials of a new CROTALE NG variant vehicles. It entered service with the South RAPIER tracker fitted with an IR thermal known as CROTALE Mk3 started in 2007, African Armed Forces in 1971 under the imaging system in place of the original and the new variant has demonstrated a designation CACTUS. In the same year, the optics. The launchers were upgraded to range of more than 15 km. It can operate in French Air Force ordered one acquisition carry six missiles, while a Tactical Control a stand-alone mode or in conjunction with vehicle and two firing units for trials. Console allowed four RAPIER launchers to other Mk 3 systems. Introduced in 1989, the ROLAND 3 missile has a more effective warhead, an improved proximity fuze, and a maximum range of 8

Photo: MBDA km. In 1998 France and Germany embarked on a VMV upgrade programme intended to allow their ROLAND systems to remain in service until 2015/20. This involved replac- ing the existing optical sight with a GLAIVE electro-optical integrated IR sight assembly whose 8-12 micron band thermal imager, eye-safe laser range-finder, and IR localiser would give the system a third operating mode. It also simplified the man/machine in- terfaces by installing a microprocessor-based BKS system consisting of the LS control and guidance computer, KS co-ordination com- puter, and the BK commander’s operations and fire unit control panel. Upgraded French ROLAND systems will be A modernisation programme has maintained the effectiveness of able to fire the VT-1 missile, but Germany did MBDA's ROLAND system. not require this capability. Although devel-

46 European Security & Defence · Special Issue September 2018 INDUSTRY & MARKETS  opment of an improved missile designated RM5 was funded by France and Germany, it failed to attract orders and was shelved in 1991. Development of a further-improved ROLAND system designated M3S was be- gun in 1996. This adds new surveillance and tracking radars to the VMV configuration, but has yet to attract a customer. In 2001, MBDA made the first vertical ground launches of MICA air-to-air mis- siles. These and subsequent tests con- firmed the viability of MICA as a SHORAD system, and in 2005 France announced its first order for what became designated VL MICA. The system is made up of a Tacti- cal Operations Centre (TOC) and between three and six multi-round launchers for

MICA missiles fitted with either IR or Ra- Photo: MBDA dio Frequency (RF) seekers. It can provide MBDA displayed the land-based version of its CAMM missile at the DSEI 360 degree coverage against aircraft, heli- 2017 exhibition in London. copters and air-to-ground missile threats. Once launched, the missiles fly under iner- system. Other components of the system are design of the missile and launch vehicle. tial guidance, then transition to the seeker a truck-mounted Saab GIRAFFE Agile Multi- Series production of the resulting OSA-M for the homing stage of flight. Beam (AMB) medium-range 3D radar, and a began in 1971, allowing the system to en- MBDA and Diehl BGT Defence are develop- Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Modular, ter service in the following year. The OSA ing the LFK NG short-range missile which Integrated C4I Air & Missile Defence System system was mounted on a wheeled vehicle is intended to replace the FIM-92 STINGER (MIC4AD) fire-control centre. fitted with an H-band surveillance radar, MANPAD missiles that currently equip Ger- many’s WIEZEL 2 OZELOT short-range air- defence vehicles. Due to be fielded under

Germany´s Flugabwehr (SysFla) SysFla air-de- Photo: MBDA fence project, the LFK NG is a 28 kg missile with IR-homing guidance, and a maximum range of 8 km. By the late 1990s, the UK faced the prob- lem that RAPIER (and the Royal Navy's SEAWOLF short-range SAM systems would need to be replaced. Realising that a single type of missile could meet both require- ments, MBDA began work on the Com- mon Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM), a 99 kg vertically-launched missile suitable for land and naval use. Once launched out of its canister by a cold- gas system that will produce a minimal launch signature, the missile will fly a turno- ver manoeuvre towards the threat, ignite its rocket motor, then fly towards its target. Initially it will use inertial guidance updated by a dual-band two-way datalink, switch- ing to a Ku-band active-radar seeker for The use of a vertical-launch technique has given MBDA's MICA air-to-air terminal homing. missile an additional SHORAD role. Fighter aircraft and surface-to-air The CAMM missile first entered service as launchers can draw on a common stock of RF – or IR-guided missiles. part of the SEA CEPTOR naval SAM system aboard the Royal Navy's Type 23 class frig- Russia's first SHORAD systems were IR a J-band target-tracking radar, an 9Sh33 ate ARGYLL, which made its first firings last guided weapons similar in concept to electro-optical tracker, and four ready-to- year. Development efforts are now focussed the US CHAPARRAL. Although the 9K31 fire 9M33-series missiles. These are steered on the land-based variant. A truck-mounted STRELA-1 (SA-9 GASKIN) and 9K35 STRE- by a command-guidance system. launcher able to carry 12 missiles was used LA-10 (SA-13 GOPHER) were deployed The system sold well on the export market, for early test firings, and a similar scheme in large numbers, Russia's equivalent to entering service with around 25 countries, was adopted for the Rheinmetall MAN RAPIER, ROLAND and CROTALE was the and production ended in 1998. Although Military Vehicles HX77 8x8 launcher vehicle radar-guided Almaz-Antey 9K33 OSA at least five users have retired the system, which is now being delivered to the British (SA-8 GECKO). Test firings began in 1965, the numbers remaining in service have Army as part of the SKY SABRE air defence and showed the need for an extensive re- made the OSA an attractive candidate for

Special Issue September 2018 · European Security & Defence 47  INDUSTRY & MARKETS

modernisation schemes that replace much sis. Both will be armed with vertically- sor unit to handle a second. The new radar of the existing electronic subsystems with launched missiles. The tracked system will operates at a frequency of about 40 GHz, modern equivalents. These include the include a fire-control system incorporating and can guide missiles against three targets Tetraedr 9K33M3-1T OSA-1T, and the Pol- a 3D phased-array search and track radar, simultaneously, while the EO subsystem han- ish OSA-AKM-P1 Zadlo. and an electro-optical system incorporat- dles a fourth engagement. The designation First fielded in 1986, the Almaz-Antey TOR ing thermal and daylight TV cameras, but PANTSIR-S2 has been associated with a ver- (SA-15 GAUNTLET) is based on a tracked the wheeled version will have no sensors sion that is reported to team six 57E6E mis- chassis whose turret carries a target-ac- but will be linked to a command control siles with two 30 mm cannons. quisition radar, a tracking radar, and eight system via a mast-mounted datalink. Planned developments of several SHORAD vertically-launched missiles. The first version Russia's KBP 2K22/9M311 TUNGUSKA systems look to blur the boundaries between to enter service was the 9K330. This was (SA-19 GRISON) combines gun and missile this class of weapon and medium-range based on the GM-355 chassis manufactured armament. Intended to defend motorised SAM systems. The PANTSIR-SM variant cur- by MMZ. This was followed by the 9K331 and armour formations, it consists of a GM- rently entering service has a new missile with Photo: Aselsan Photo: Rosoboronexport

Turkey's HISAR-A will be deployed in the truck-mount- Almaz-Antey's TOR (SA-15 GAUNTLET) vertically ed configuration shown here, or on a tracked chassis launched missile system has attracted orders equipped with vertical launchers. from more than ten export customers.

TOR M1, which used the GM-5955 chas- 352 tracked chassis fitted with an E-band a maximum range of 40 km, while in March sis and had a second guidance channel, so search radar, a J-band tracking radar, eight of this year, Russia's Interfax news agency re- could engage two targets simultaneously. Fakel-designed KBM-built 9M311 missiles, ported that work was under way to develop The next major upgrade was the 9K332 and two 30 mm liquid-cooled 2A38M a hypersonic missile for PANTSIR that would TOR-M2E. Offered on an either wheeled twin-barrel cannons. The guns can be fired have a maximum range of 50-60 km. or tracked chassis or in towed form, it has on the move, but the vehicle has to halt in MBDA has studied a longer-ranged version an improved fire control radar coverage, order to fire its missiles. of its CAMM missile. Developed as a private and four guidance channels, allowing up to This tactical limitation was removed in the venture, CAMM Extended Range (CAMM- four targets to be engaged simultaneously. follow-on system. KBP's 96K6 PANTSIR- ER) would use an elongated missile pow- It can be armed either with eight 9M331 S1 (SA-22 GREYHOUND) retains the two ered by a new rocket motor of extended missiles or 16 of the newer 9M338 missiles. 2A38 30 mm guns of the TUNGUSKA (with length and increased diameter, and fitted HISAR-A is the short-range component a reduced ammunition load), but can fire with cruciform strakes intended to improve of Turkey's planned tactical SAM system. guns or missiles while moving. The system the missile's lift-to-drag coefficient. These Like the longer-ranged HISAR-O, it uses entered service armed with 12 command- changes would give the missile a maximum a single-stage missile powered by a dual- guided 9M335 missiles (also referred to as range of 45 km. The first customer for the pulse solid-propellant rocket motor guided the 57E6). These are similar to the 9M311 new variant was Italy, which needs to re- initially by datalink, switching to an imaging missiles used on TUNGUSKA, but have a place its current ASPIDE/SPADA systems. infrared (IIR) seeker for terminal homing. longer tandem boost motor and a larger- Despite the US DoD's traditional disinter- Both missiles have a high degree of com- diameter second stage. These changes ex- est in the SHORAD mission, it seems that monality, and use the same seeker, con- tend the range to 12 km, or 18-20 km in the the concept is now being re-explored. In trol system, high-explosive fragmentation case of the 57E6E export version. February 2017, the US Army sought sources warhead, and impact and proximity fuzes. Initial TV reports of the Russian deployment for “Manoeuvre-SHORAD” solutions. But Development of the radar, command & of PANTSIR to Syria showed the standard ver- it is questionable whether this will prove a control, and fire control systems for both sion, but later footage showed the much-im- marketing opportunity for European sys- programmes is by Aselsan, while Roketsan proved 72V6-E4 combat vehicle, which has a tems. In the mid-1970s, the US ROLAND is responsible for the missiles. surveillance radar based on two phased-array programme was touted as a demonstration Two types of self-propelled launch system antennas mounted back-to-back. The origi- that the US DoD was prepared to procure are planned; one based on an armoured nal radar could conduct only a single engage- a major weapon system from Europe. In vehicle, and the other on a wheeled chas- ment, leaving the system's electro-optic sen- practice, it proved the opposite. 

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