Politics ·Armed Forces · ·Procurement Technology August 2018 • www.euro-sd.com • ISSN 1617-7983 ES & D

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Running Into a Brick Wall – a Classic Case

It takes a great deal of application of dialec- make sure every Trumpism is broadcast to tics to understand how President Donald the world with amplifiers. With more com- Trump can hail the NATO summit as a re- posure in this arena, the discussion would sounding success for his tireless efforts to become more factual and more effective. achieve a punchier NATO. His clumsily pre- But what remains is a deep and justified sented demand that the two percent target mistrust in the bravado of this President should be made binding on all NATO States in changing tack. At the G-7 Summit he by 1 January 2019 is a classic case of running Twittered his withdrawal of his signature into a brick wall. The effect has been more under the communiqué when he was on of a bloody nose than a victory pose. The his aircraft. He promised the President of only problem is that the voters in America North Korea that a manoeuvre would be don’t see it that way and that could cost him called off, without this being discussed with what is left of his credibility in Europe, even his South Korean allies. At NATO, on the if things seem to add up at home. It was a first day he agreed to the passages regard- minor remark by Mr. Trump, almost as an ing allocations of burdens in the communi- aside, that cast light on what else, for this qué, but on the second day he rewrote the President, may be behind the more vehe- chapter. And the meeting with Russia’s Pres- ment demands that the Europeans gear up ident Putin was more agreeable than that their armament holdings and production: if with the allies in NATO? The fact that this the European armaments industry is not able shakes the Europeans’ faith is obvious, even to deliver rapidly and adequately, the US can if the USA is to fulfil faithfully all the NATO do it, immediately. That would waken a few obligations into which they have entered. people up, and sharply. And that is where So anyone who is watching NATO from the the Europeans must stand together. For the outside is well advised not to misinterpret security of Europe, a capable and efficient these internal squabbles. NATO stands by armaments industry is just as important as the Baltic States; even in discussion with having armed forces that are ready to go Putin (as far as we know), Trump did not into action. This applies all the more when give any ground about the presence and the USA can no longer be regarded as the exercise activity of NATO on the northern blindly trusting partner. Taking on additional flank. The facts still hold: No military attack demands has the aim of making the Europe- has been made against a NATO member; ans more capable in performance, and under the security union is working. some circumstances actually making them In the coming year, NATO celebrates its 70th more independent. In this context, the sce- birthday. This is scheduled to be at another nario simply cannot work that the USA only Summit. The Alliance wanted to celebrate provide what the European States can al- this anniversary with a new strategic con- ready procure from their taxpayers. That then cept. This idea has somewhat run aground. means “Europe first”. This is the language There were too many differences of opinion, that Trump understands. even in Europe, in particular with regard to What Trump achieved in Brussels was that strategic issues. Nevertheless, NATO is sup- the rest of NATO stands very much shoulder posed to take on this task. Some years ago to shoulder, maybe even closer than before a group of experts, specialists, and experi- the Summit. The contents of his demands, enced ex-politicians prepared a paper from and the way he delivered them, brought eve- which such a concept was developed. It ryone to the barricades. The unity which was would stand NATO in good stead to accept achieved in the assessment of the security independent advice and suggestions. In this policy situation in the world, and the deter- world, without any real leadership, a clear mination with which NATO has strengthened orientation would be something of high its security resources, were unfortunately strategic value. overshadowed on the second day of the Summit. This is also down to our media, who Rolf Clement

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 1 Content

Friendly Rivals Russian Defence Modernisation Photo:Kremlin Photo: Presidential Palace Iran

Turkish-Iranian Relations Page 16 Achievements, Plans, Objectives Page 36

SECURITY POLICY 58 Combat Aircraft Cockpit Developments Gain Momentum 12 Russia’s Policy of Deception and Denial Luca Peruzzi Eugene Kogan 63 “Our goal is clear: To protect our territories, 16 Friendly Rivals people and forces.” Turkish-Iranian Relations Interview with Yunus Emre Karaosmanoğlu, Korhan Özkilinc Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Defense, Republic of Turkey 21 NATO Assurance Measures in the Baltics 65 After India's Withdrawal: Tomáš Čižik What is Happening with the Su-57? Georg Mader

ARMED FORCES 68 Military CBRN Decontamination Problems and Issues 26 Mind the Gap Dan Kaszeta Amphibious Bridging in NATO Tim Guest INDUSTRY & MARKETS 30 Military Capabilities of the Baltic States Giulia Tilenni 72 Poland’s Defence Industry Base 36 Modernisation of the Russian Armed Forces Eugene Kogan Achievements, Plans, Objectives 76 ASCOD and PANDUR – Vienna Calling! Stephen Blank Jürgen Hensel 42 “The Navy is on the right course” 78 “We have been a supplier to the Bundeswehr Interview with Vice Admiral Andreas Krause, and international customers for more than 60 years.” Chief of the German Navy Interview with Jan-Dirk Hellwege, Managing Director, WesCom Signal & Rescue Germany GmbH 44 Deadly US Navy Accidents Reveal Need to Reform Training 80 European Training Equipment Conference 2018 Sidney E. Dean Readiness, Cyber and Training were the main topics at ITEC 2018. William Carter ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 82 “Proven reliability and durability ” UK Armoured Vehicle Programmes 48 Interview with Markus Kopp, David Saw Managing Director, GEROH GmbH & Co. KG 54 Eurofighter TYPHOON – Who is Next to Join? Esteban Villarejo Ceballos

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THE BRUSSELS BACKDROP General Dynamics European Land Systems 27

34 NATO Summit Marked By Disputes GEROH 21 Joris Verbeurgt IDEAS 19

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Pearson Engineering 3 COLUMNS Renk 49 1 Editorial Rheinmetall 23 4 Periscope SAHA 64 50 Masthead Sensonor 51 SOBRA 7 83 Firms & Faces thyssenkrupp Marine Systems 2nd cover 88 Preview Issue 6/2018

COMBAT SECURITY DEFENCE MANUFACTURING SPECIAL SYSTEMS SYSTEMS SERVICES PROJECTS

PEL 4616 Masterbrand Advert.indd 1 08/03/2018 17:08 5/2018 · European Security & Defence 3 Periscope

Australia’s New Frigates a “cutting-edge air defence system that tive clothing and equipment. This means (df) Australia is investing over €22Bn in anti- will meet the Colombian requirements that posture, force and consequently the submarine warfare frigates as part of its and potentially those of other countries in analytic results correspond to actual use.” “SEA 5000” programme to modernise its the region”, it has been announced. “It is This military RAMSIS was designed in close navy. BAE Systems won the corresponding the first system with these characteristics cooperation between Human Solutions and competition. The winning model, GLOBAL developed in Latin America, as a result of the German Armed Forces with the core COMBAT SHIP – AUSTRALIA, is based on the success of the collaboration between being the integrated equipment library. All the BAE Systems TYPE 26 frigate that the Indra and CODALTEC.” To achieve this goal important equipment of German soldiers Indra and CODALTEC have extended their such as combat jacket, boots, protective already existing collaboration in the field vest, helmet and the newly-introduced elec- of radars (resulting in TADER (Tactical Air tronic back were digitised with 3D scanners Defence Radar)) to the development of and integrated into the library. The RAMSIS command and control systems, one of the mannequin can therefore be equipped as

Graphic: BAE Systems core capabilities of Indra. This system will required to suit the intended use. receive data provided by different sensors and merge it to present a comprehensive M109 Upgrades With and integrated vision of the real scenario Hybrid GENAIRCON company is currently building for the British for military officers. Therefore, the system (df) INTRACOM Defense Electronics (IDE) Navy in Glasgow. However, the nine Aus- will be capable of immediately detecting has delivered first M109 upgrades with hy- tralian frigates are being built by ASC Ship- any risk and deploying the necessary ac- brid GENAIR- building (an Australian state enterprise) in tions to neutralise it. The TADER radar will CON to the Adelaide, Australia. The frigates will serve be a key element of the sensor network in Hellenic Army. in the RAN as the HUNTER class and should the future CODALTEC air defence system. GENAIRCON be able to carry out a variety of missions In addition, the system will be fully interop- is a fully inte- independently or as part of units with erable with any other type of subsystem, grated power

long range and sea endurance. In addition so it can incorporate new capabilities as management Photo: INTRACOM to the primary mission − anti-submarine they appear in the future, or integrate the solution for warfare − the frigates are also to receive equipment used by the Armed Forces of military ve- capabilities or modules for scenarios such other countries. hicles and as humanitarian aid or disaster response. it incorporates a Hybrid Auxiliary Power Special features are the CEA phased array Military RAMSIS Unit (HAPU), an advanced Energy Storage radar developed in Australia and the use Digital Mannequin System (ESS) and a Vehicle Environmental of the American AEGIS system, which is (df) Germany-based Hu- Control System (VECS), all controlled by an equipped with an interface specially devel- man Solutions GmbH has intelligent central Power Management Sys- oped by Saab Australia. According to the adapted their RAMSIS tem. The platform-customisable hybrid GE- RAN, the HUNTER class will boast some of digital mannequin to meet NAIRCON is designed to provide extended the most powerful warships in the world. military needs. RAMSIS “True Silent Watch” capability, contribut- The contract to build the HUNTER class is is a digital mannequin ing to increased survivability in field op- expected to come into force before the used worldwide by car erations. GENAIRCON enables prolonged end of 2018; production could then start manufacturers for the control of the vehicle’s thermal and noise in 2020. optimal ergonomic de- signatures, introducing a force multiplier in sign of vehicle interiors. the contemporary doctrine of operations. Colombian Air Defence It can also enter and exit Furthermore, according to the company, System a vehicle in full combat the system offers significantly reduced (df) The Colombian Corporación de Alta gear, equipped with the fuel consumption and maintenance re- Tecnología para la Defensa (High-Tech most important, up-to- quirements, which increase mission sus- Defence Corporation − CODALTEC) and date army equipment, the tainability. Spanish company Indra will jointly develop company announced. This provides vehicle designers Trophy On US ABRAMS with information on the Tanks ergonomic requirements Graphic: Human Solutions (df) Leonardo DRS has announced that it has of the occupants at an early stage of de- been awarded a contract worth US$193M velopment and therefore leads to shorter to deliver TROPHY active protection systems Photo: CODALTEC development times and reduced costs for to the US Army. TROPHY will installed on late modifications to the vehicle. the ABRAMS tanks in support of immedi- “Ergonomic simulation with RAMSIS De- ate operational requirements. Developed by fense provides vehicle designers with the long-time partner Rafael Advanced Defense practical relevance they need to precisely Systems (Israel) and currently fielding some analyse and design functionality in the ve- 1,000 systems to all major Israeli ground hicle,” says Anton Preiß, Director Mobil- combat platforms, TROPHY provides com- ity at Human Solutions. “Our mannequin bat-proven protection against anti-armour can be realistically equipped with protec- rocket and missile threats. “Leonardo DRS

4 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 We are excited to continue to do so with TROPHY” added Moshe Elazar, Executive Vice President and Head of Rafael’s Land

Photo: Leonardo and Naval Division. “The majority of TRO- PHY components are manufactured by the American defence industry and we Photo: Lockheed Martin are excited by the opportunity to increase manufacturing in the US, including for Is- raeli systems, as the US acquires additional systems.” is proud to be a part of this important ef- fort to bring life-saving technology to our Bahrain Buys F-16 Block 70 ers around the world. Approximately 3,000 warfighters, and we are actively investing (df) Lockheed Martin has received a operational F-16s are flying today with 25 to ensure TROPHY provides a solid, Ameri- US$1.12Bn contract from the US Govern- leading air forces, including the US Air Force. can-made foundation for the Army’s com- ment to produce 16 new F-16 Block 70 air- Bahrain will also benefit from a wide range ing Vehicle Protection Suite programme,” craft for the Royal Bahraini Air Force. The of possible weapons. In concert with the said Aaron Hankins, Vice President and Kingdom of Bahrain is the first customer to US Air Force Lockheed Martin has certified General Manager of the Leonardo DRS procure the F-16 Block 70, the newest and more than 3,300 carriage and release con- Land Systems division. “This award is the most advanced F-16 production configura- figurations for greater than 180 weapon and culmination of several years of hard work tion, the company stated. The F-16 Block 70 store types. “We value our long-standing by a strong, bi-national government/in- features advanced avionics, a proven Active relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain dustry team to protect our warfighters and Electronically Scanned Array radar, a mod- and look forward to beginning production address a critical capability gap in our ar- ernised cockpit, advanced weapons, confor- activities on their first Block 70 aircraft at moured formations.” “Rafael has provided mal fuel tanks, an automatic ground colli- our facility in Greenville,” said Susan Ouzts, protection solutions to US service mem- sion avoidance system, an advanced engine Vice President of Lockheed Martin‘s F-16 bers for over two decades via lifesaving and an industry-leading extended structural programme. “This sale highlights the sig- passive and reactive armour on vehicles service life of 12,000 hours. To date, 4,604 nificant, growing demand we see for new such as BRADLEY, STRYKER and AAV7. F-16s have been procured by 28 custom- production F-16s around the globe.”

Requirements? Meet Solutions:

-8 D G Forcepol sp. z o.o. TAN —S 03-119 Warszawa, Poland PO T: +48 (0)506 502 900 AT MS US E: [email protected] ET ME W: www.forcepol.com

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 5 Periscope

Counter-Drone GlobalEye Heading To has rolled out and then flown GlobalEye,” Drone Contract A Flying Start said Lars Tossman, Saab’s Head of Airborne (df) The US Army has awarded a contract (df) Saab’s new GlobalEye Airborne Early Surveillance Systems. “The flight test pro- for a counter drone system to Raytheon. Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft gramme is running according to plan, with The solution will consist of Raytheon’s achieved a number of significant mile- the flight envelope being opened up, whilst COYOTE unmanned aircraft system (UAS) stones in 2018, commencing with the roll- on the ground the mission system complet- and the company’s Ku-band radio fre- ed all its rig testing. We are very satisfied quency system (KRFS) radar. “Enemy un- with all these results and believe GlobalEye manned aircraft are among the biggest is going to be unrivalled in the capabilities

threats facing our ground troops today,” Photo: Saab it offers.” said Dr. Thomas Bussing, Raytheon Ad- vanced Missile Systems Vice President. Next Generation V-200B “Our small, expendable COYOTE pro- (df) At the Farnborough International Air vides the Army with an affordable and Show UMS SKELDAR announced the launch highly effective solution for countering of the SKELDAR V-200B, a modification of the growing UAS threat.” Equipped with their mid-sized heavy fuel engined Verti- an advanced seeker and warhead, Coyote can identify and eliminate hostile UAVs when paired with the KRFS radar, which out of the first aircraft in February 2018. acquires and tracks all sizes of UAS. COY- At the Farnborough International Airshow Saab explained the achievements being de-

livered with this newest addition to its air- Photo: UMS SKELDAR borne surveillance system family. According to the company, GlobalEye is a true swing-

Photo: Raytheon role multi-mission solution. “It combines multiple sensors and sophisticated data fu- sion into an intuitive mission system on the Bombardier Global 6000 jet, with fully net- cal Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) UAV. The worked communications,” the company SKELDAR V-200B completed trials earlier in stated. “This capability gives excellent flex- 2018, following an intensive modification ibility across the full mission spectrum from audit, based on in-theatre performance OTES can be flown individually or netted peacetime to warfighting, and particularly feedback and the strategic imperative to together in swarms. They are adaptable benefits joint force commanders manag- further widen its competitive advantage. for a variety of missions including sur- ing combined air, sea and land operations.” “It is no secret that more players are at- veillance, electronic warfare and strike. The Development and Production contract tempting to enter the maritime market for Raytheon announced it is finalising de- for GlobalEyewas awarded at the Dubai rotary UAVs,” said David Willems, Head of velopment of advanced COYOTE variants Air Show in November 2015 by the United Business Development at UMS SKELDAR, that will fly faster and farther. Because of Arab Emirates with an initial order for two the UAV joint venture between Sweden’s an urgent operational need, the Army is systems. An additional order by the UAE Saab and UMS AERO of Switzerland. “Re- expected to use COYOTE as a counter-UAS for a third system was announced in 2017. cent navy contracts have stipulated the role solution before the end of 2018. “In a period of just over two years Saab and specification, and this has confirmed our strategy of development is absolutely the right move at the right time. We are able to fly longer - over five hours - at maximum payload capacity through weight savings from design modifications and our 2-stroke engine configuration provides significantly Find us on facebook! unmatched time between overhauls.”

Sea Lion Subject to Qualification (gwh) The first flight of the second pro-  totype in series configuration on July 10, 2018 marked the start of the qualification phase for the NH90 Sea Lion naval helicop- ter in Donauwörth. The helicopter is be- ing tested by a team of representatives of the manufacturer, Airbus Helicopters, and News – Events – Opinions representatives of the Bundeswehr from the Navy, the German Military Aviation www.facebook.com/eurodefence Authority (Luftfahrtamt der Bundeswehr) and the German BAAINBw procurement

6 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 Multitouch Display for jects shown on the display. The projec- Safe and Easy Operation tive capacitive (PCAP) technology used (gwh) The new fanless VistaMaster-17 by the touch sensor supports the use of PPC MFD Multitouch Display from ATM the display even with gloves. The Vista- Computer enables recognition and pro- Master-17 MFD PPC Multitouch automat-

Photo: Airbus Helicopters cessing of information in 16:9 full HD ically scales the video input data. With its resolution. As on smartphones and tab- high, adjustable brightness and contrast, lets, the user makes several simultane- the VistaMaster-17 PPC MFD Multitouch ous touches on the display’s capacitive works well under changing light condi- touch sensor, which simplifies procedures tions, from sunlight to the use of residual agency. The aim is to obtain type certifica- light amplifier glasses. The display has tion so that the helicopter can be delivered: been tested according to current military the Navy is scheduled to receive the first environmental standards and for electro-

three aircraft at the end of 2019. The Sea Photo: ATM magnetic compatibility. Lion was designed from the outset as a naval helicopter and is intended to replace New Red Dot Sights the Sea King Mk41 fleet of the German (ck) Aimpoint, the inventor of red dot Armed Forces. It is compatible with the sighting technology, has launched a new F124 (SACHSEN class) and F125 (BADEN- series of red dot sights, the Aimpoint WÜRTTEMBERG class) frigates, and the ACRO (Advanced Compact Reflex Optic) (BERLIN class) joint support ships. It will series. The small ACRO electronic red dot also be possible to operate the Sea Lion sights were specially developed for use from the planned multi-role combat ship on pistols and other weapon platforms, 180 (MKS 180). The Bundeswehr has or- because for many years the end users dered a total of 18 Sea Lions, which are to have been demanding a small, closed red be delivered by 2022. From then on, the as soldiers are used to this kind of man- dot sight that fits on handguns. The AC- helicopter will also take over the SAR role machine interaction. Multitouch makes RO P-1 offers a closed system that is more of the Sea King. it easy to move, select or enlarge ob- durable than open systems. It is also the

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

ALLIANCE OF TRUST! Periscope

al requirements. Airbus’ HFORCE system basic configuration and scale up gradu- will allow Hungary to equip and operate ally or quickly according to operational their aircraft with ballistic or guided air- needs and budget availability.

Photo: Aimpoint to-ground and air-to-air weapons. The H145M is a tried-and-tested light twin- GPS Anti-Jam Navigation engine helicopter that was first delivered System in 2015 to the German Armed Forces and (ck) Modern navigation, communications has since been ordered by Thailand and and reconnaissance systems, as well as the Republic of Serbia. Powered by two electronic combat systems integrated in- Safran ARRIEL 2E engines, the H145M is to modern platforms, depend on the un- the quietest helicopter in its class and is equipped with full authority digital en- only sight in its size category tested for gine control (FADEC) and the HELIONIX Photo: IAI shock, vibration, temperature range and digital avionics suite. It includes a high other environmental hazards. The sight performance 4-axis autopilot, increasing can perform under tough conditions safety and reducing pilot workload. Last while adding negligible size and weight year Hungary also acquired two Airbus to the equipment. Tested with at least A319 military troop transporters. 20,000 rounds on a .40 cal pistol slide, it is robust and reliable: the ACRO P-1 Modular Air Defence sight was developed for integration onto System pistol slides. The sight can also be used (ck) Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) as a backup sight for magnifying scopes has unveiled the BARAK-MX, a modu- or personal defence weapons. The sight lar naval and land-based air and missile is a 1X (non-magnifying) parallax-free defence system. The BARAK-MX sup- optic that features a 3.5 minute of angle ports radars and launchers, providing (MOA) red dot for fast target acquisition. optimised response to fighter aircraft, interrupted availability of satellite-based It is fully submersible to 25 metres and al- helicopters, UASs, cruise missiles, sur- navigation and timing for their operation. lows continuous operation for over 1 year face-air and surface-surface missiles. Despite this dependency, most platforms on a single CR1225 battery. Dot intensity Based on operationally proven com- do not use countermeasures to protect is adjusted with side push buttons. mand and control, it supports the use of these essential assets, and if they remain three additional interceptor rockets: The exposed, even jammers with low perfor- Hungary Orders 20 H145Ms mance can disrupt or even deny the oper- (ck) As part of the “Zrinyi 2026” military ation of GNSS systems, which impairs the modernisation programme the Hungar- platform's ability to perform its task. To Photo: IAI ian Ministry of Defence has ordered 20 address this threat, Israel Aerospace In- H145M military helicopters equipped dustries (IAI) and Honeywell have joined with the HFORCE weapon manage- forces to develop a turnkey GPS anti-jam ment system. Airbus will also provide navigation system. The joint product in- an extensive training and support pack- tegrates IAI's GPS Anti-Jam system with BARAK MRAD is a short-range, high- Honeywell's navigation products, as a speed vertically launched interceptor subsystem or as an embedded solution. suitable for addressing threats within a Following successful development, Hon- range of up to 35 km. It includes a radar eywell's EMBEDDED GLOBAL POSITION- homing head and a single-pulse engine. ING SYSTEM / INERTIAL NAVIGATION The BARAK LRAD is a medium-range, SYSTEM (EGI) will incorporate the IAI GPS

Photo: Airbus Helicopters high-speed vertically launched rocket Interference Prevention System ADA, an for addressing threats at a range of up advanced system that protects avionics to 70 km. It has a radar homing head systems from GPS interference. with a dual-pulse engine. The BARAK ER is a long-range, vertically launched Ten CENTAURO II Armoured interceptor with an accelerator engine, Vehicles for the Italian Army age. With a maximum take-off weight dual-pulse rocket engine and advanced (cl) Senior management from the Iveco of 3.7 tonnes, the H145M can be used radar homing head. The MRAD, LRAD – Oto Melara Consortium (CIO) have for troop transport, surveillance, air res- and BARAK ER share many elements signed a contract valued at Euros159M cue, armed reconnaissance and medical which is a significant advantage when to deliver the first tranche of ten CEN- evacuation. The Hungarian fleet will be it comes to maintenance and training. TAURO II Armoured Vehicles to the Ital- equipped with a fast roping system, high As an operationally flexible system, the ian Army. CIO was founded on equal performance camera, fire support equip- BARAK-MX allows a choice of radar and participation between Iveco Defence ment, ballistic protection as well as an interceptor type according to the type Vehicles and the former Oto Melara electronic countermeasures system to of threat at hand. The system’s modular company (now part of Leonardo). Iveco support the most demanding operation- nature allows customers to start with is responsible for engines, gearboxes

8 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 and all the automotive components, the FLIR Launches vide its 8x8 amphibious armoured platform hull and final integration for wheeled identiFINDER R200-GN design, core components and services, to variants. Leonardo’s responsibilities are (cl) FLIR has introduced its FLIR identiFINDER support BAE Systems within the framework the weapon systems, sights and fire con- R200-GN spectroscopic personal radiation of their contract with the US Marine Corps. trol systems and the hull and the final detector (SPRD), an addition to its identi- FINDER R200-Series of handheld radiation security solutions. The SPRD is able to de- tect neutron and gamma radiation, alert- Photo Iveco ing first responders to radiation threats. The new neutron capability is an important early warning system as neutrons can penetrate

material and travel longer distances than Photo: Iveco Defence Vehicles other forms of radiation. Recording and sending real-time dose rates and geotag information via a companion mobile app The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is has been made possible by the integrated open ocean-capable, equipped with a new Bluetooth Smart wireless technology. The six-cylinder 700hp engine. The vehicle is integration for the tracked armoured ruggedised pager-sized device is certified mobile in all terrain. The US Marine Corps’ vehicles. The systems of the CENTAURO according to IP67 and protected against Developmental Testing and Operational II are highly advanced in terms of power, dust and water (up to 1 m depth); it is also Assessment has proven its capabilities for observation capability, mobility, ergo- certified according to MIL-STD-810G, guar- water and land operations, payload and nomics, weapons range, communica- anteeing its resistance against salt and fog, survivability. It has a suspended interior seat- tions and crew protection. The new 8x8 and it meets the 1.5 m drop criteria required ing structure for 13 embarked Marines, and vehicle has a power pack delivering over by the performance standards for alarming blast-mitigating positions for a crew of three. 700 HP and an H-drive architecture. The PRDs, ANSI N42.32. system is entirely digital and features a GA-ASI Maximising Fuel modern turret mounting with a 120/45 Iveco Defence Vehicles to Capacity for MQ-25 mm gun. Summed up, the CENTAURO II Deliver Amphibious Platform (cl) By employing an integrated fuel tank will be adaptable to any scenario. In the (cl) Iveco Defence Vehicles, CNH Industrial structure, General Atomics Aeronautical future, 126 more vehicles will be deliv- subsidiary specialised in the construction of Systems (GA-ASI) can maximise fuel of- ered to the Italian Army. protected and armoured vehicles, will pro- fload for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial Periscope

refuelling aircraft for the US Navy. The RADA’s MHR Radars Selec- fuel tanks in a large-scale wing box test ted for US Army IM-SHORAD article and a full-scale wing skin pre-pro- (cl) RADA Electronic Industries Ltd., an duction validation article provide more Israeli provider of tactical land radar for fuel carriage and delivery capacity. Vari- force and border protection, announced Photo: Rheinmetall ous inspections verified the production that its Multi-mission Hemispheric Radar readiness of the co-cured wing and tail (MHR) has been down-selected as a part components. Fuel containment sealing of the Leonardo DRS mission equipment methods, advanced non-linear buckling package (MEP) solution for the US Army’s finite element analysis models and thick Initial Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense composite laminate construction were validated as well as the MQ-25 tool- not be reduced, as the VTAL protrudes ing concepts, lamination approach and only about 25 mm above the mounting processes. The integral fuel tank shall rail. The watertight metal housing has a minimise technical and schedule risk. built-in MIL-STD 1913/STANAG 4694-in- The validation of the outer mould line terface. This laser light package can work tooling approach for the build process in extreme conditions; it is waterproof to enables an accelerated engineering and a depth of 30 metres. To make adjust- tooling fabrication for the MQ-25 pro- ment on the weapon easy, a laser block

gramme. Photo: RADA Electronic Industries Ltd. is integrated at the factory.

Lincad Launches the (IM-SHORAD) capability. The prototype NDMA Awarded Contract ARMADA contract is still to be signed. The radar to Safran Vectronix (cl) Lincad, UK supplier of batteries, can be mounted on the Stryker A1 plat- (cl) Safran Vectronix AG, manufacturer chargers and power management sys- form. It offers a 360°aerial surveillance of portable optronics equipment, will tems, has launched its six-channel bat- enabling the operator to detect and track deliver several hundreds of medium and tery conditioner, the ARMADA. This bat- Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), rotary long range multifunctional thermal imag- tery conditioner is designed for the state wing and fixed wing threats. Four MHR ers to the Norwegian Armed Forces. The of charge (SoC) management of lithium– radars are included in each IM-SHORAD company’s products MOSKITO TI and JIM ion and other battery types. It is com- MEP, capable to be used at the short-halt Compact were selected by the Norwegian patible with IrDA, SMBus smart batteries and on-the-move. This effort needs sys- Defense Material Agency (NDMA) as com- tems that will be provided in early 2019. pact and lightweight handheld devices. MOSKITO IT is a monocular handheld sys- Rheinmetall to Supply tem, weighing 1.3 kg. It includes several

Photo: Lincad Laser Light Package high performance sensors and modules like (cl) The Federal Office for Bundeswehr an uncooled thermal imager, high grade di- Equipment, Information Technology rect view optics (DVO), Low Light TV (LLTV) and In-Service Support, the German channel, a laser rangefinder (LRF), a digital procurement authority, has signed a magnetic compass (DMC) and a GPS re- contract with Rheinmetall. Rheinmetall ceiver. JIM Compact weighs 2 kg. It is a is going to deliver 1,745 lightweight as- binocular and compact long range hand- sault rifle-mounted laser light packages held device. The system combines a cooled and batteries with no communications to the Bundeswehr’s Special Forces As- high resolution thermal imager, advanced interface. As it is able to manage lithium- sault Rifle (Sturmgewehr Spezialkräfte ion batteries to be at less than 30% SoC, Bundeswehr, leicht). The laser light pack- it is designed for users preparing bat- age is based on Rheinmetall’s Variable

teries for air transport in line with IATA Tactical Aiming Laser (VTAL) module. Photo: Safran regulations. Powered from a universal This robust and compact system is de- AC mains supply, the automatic charg- signed for today’s shorter assault rifles. ing and discharging of batteries through It features an extremely strong visible battery interface adaptors, connected via red dot laser, a near-infrared dot laser locking military-standard circular connec- and a near-infrared illuminator, which tors, is carried out by its six independ- can be focused, and is compatible with ent channels. This process, controlled by standard image intensifier devices. Both the system software, must be initiated dot lasers can be adjusted with a colour- TV channel, embedded “see spot” capa- through a push-button interface: LED coded cable switch. Two “Lumenator” bility, infrared laser pointer, a LRF, a LLTV displays give detailed information dur- weapon lights are as well installed on the channel, a DMC and a GPS receiver. The ing operation. As the battery is rugged, weapon, a standard version with a dual combination of the two devices will allow it can operate in military environments, LED head and a special version for hos- day and night observation, target acquisi- and in order to adapt to future technol- tage rescue operations. VTAL can also tion, artillery correction and fire support, ogy, the battery conditioner accepts field be coupled with further tactical weapon forward observer and Joint Terminal Attack software upgrades. lights. Conventional optical aiming will Controller.

10 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 AIR FORCE BASE WATERKLOOF, CITY OF TSHWANE  SECURITY POLICY Russia’s Policy of Deception and Denial

Eugene Kogan

A policy of deception and denial is the cornerstone of Russia‘s same strategy to the annexation of Crimea, which was supposedly necessary to defend overarching strategy of confusion, paralysis and ultimately defeat the endangered Russian population. of the opponent. We must not forget that President Putin has repeatedly said that Russia did not an- nex Crimea, but rather accepted the will of onsistency, conviction and persever- the Russian people living on the peninsula Cance are key words to describe the to return to Russia through the referendum policy of deception and denial. The cases on 16 March 2014, which would make the presented below shed light on the consist- Photo: Kremlin whole story more credible and legally bind- ent pattern of President Vladimir Putin‘s ing. Putin‘s statement was reiterated by government to deceive others and depict Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister, when he Russia as the one that comes to the aid said that Moscow ”will respect the will of of the underdogs, whether in Georgia, the Crimean people“. Ukraine or elsewhere. Syria is a special case Russian media then spread the story that where Russia cannot abandon its military Crimea is legally bound to Russia, and bases to aggressive Western powers. As a throughout Russia people did not under- result, Russia paints an image of an alleged- stand why the West showed such a hostile ly bellicose West that wants to destroywhat attitude. However, the referendum was remains of Syria, while Russia is depicted considered illegal by most members of the as defending the independence and sover- European Union, the United States and eignty of the country against the obtrusive Canada, as it took place at a time when West. In other words, Russia is good, at- Russian soldiers were stationed on the pen- tentive and caring, while the West is evil, insula. Thirteen members of the United Na- irresponsible and careless. tions Security Council voted in favour of President Putin has consistently pursued a resolution invalidating the referendum, and implemented his policy of decep- but Russia vetoed it and China abstained. A tion and denial since the outbreak of the resolution of the UN General Assembly was Russian-Georgian war in August 2008, a adopted on 27 March 2014 by 100 votes in war which Russia blames on Georgia and favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions, in- in which Russia was obliged to come to the President Putin has consistently validating the referendum and confirming aid of the underdogs Abkhazia and South pursued a policy of deception and Ukraine‘s territorial integrity. Nevertheless, Ossetia. Despite the ceasefire agreement denial. Russia refuses to recognise the resolution, between Russia and Georgia signed on 12 which underlines Russia‘s contempt for the August 2008, which provided for the with- opponent as uncontrolled, unpredictable international community and shows that drawal of Russian and Georgian forces to and revengeful. According to Russian politi- Russia‘s national interests take precedence pre-conflict positions, Russian troops did cians, Georgia continues to have a grudge over the resolutions of the international not retreat to the positions they held before against the independent states Abkhazia community. the beginning of hostilities, but remained and South Ossetia, and one fine day – in In addition, the Kremlin’s version of the in the occupied territories of Abkhazia and the not-too-distant future – Georgia will try Crimea story was disseminated in Eng- South Ossetia on the pretext of defend- to reclaim both areas. Even if this is far from lish-language media outlets to convince ing the territories against aggressive and the truth, it is the goal of Putin‘s govern- short-sighted Westerners that it was in- unpredictable Georgian policies. The sub- ment to slander the Georgian government. deed the desire of the Russian majority sequent Russian policy of integrating Geor- Consequently, Russia always holds others in Crimea (about 60 percent) to rejoin gian territory in South Ossetia is seen by responsible for any misconduct and rep- Russia and not remain part of Ukraine. Putin‘s government as a normal thing, and resents Russian actions, such as the oc- Whether a similar strategy can be applied weakened Georgia can do little about it if cupation of territories, as a humanitarian in the Baltic States and Kazakhstan, all it doesn‘t want to provoke Russia; Georgia gesture for vulnerable minorities protected countries with a large Russian popula- simply complains about being encircled by by Russia from militant Georgia. The fact tion, cannot be discussed in this article, Russia. Thus Russia can portray its weaker that Russia is occupying Abkhazia and but this possibility cannot be ignored. In South Ossetia and that the occupied ter- addition, a wealth of articles on this topic Author ritories simply have no choice but to be pro- has been published since March 2014. Russian is denied by Moscow, although the The claim that the people of Crimea wel- Eugene Kogan is a defence reality in the occupied territories looks quite comed unification with Russia only at gun- and security expert based in Tbilisi, different. Russian politicians would imme- point is absurd, the Kremlin claims. The Georgia. diately reject the author‘s analysis, but that Russian soldiers on the peninsula were only is to be expected. Russia has applied the responsible for the proper conduct of the

12 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 referendum, and that was all. For inexplica- ble reasons, the West rejected the Russian narrative and unanimously imposed eco- nomic sanctions against Russia (with the exception of Turkey as a member of NATO‘s Western alliance), which still exist despite President Putin‘s “good will“ to improve relations with the West. Putin laments that his country is punished for a non-existent crime (annexation of Crimea) that Russia

did not commit because it was the free will Photo: Kremlin of the Crimean Russians to belong to Rus- At the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on 28 September 2015, sia. Sanctions, however, did not prevent President Putin declared that the West had staged a coup in Ukraine. Russia from continuing its policy of decep- tion and denial. any involvement. It also rejects all allega- surprise, surprise, they see no discrepancy If one believes the Kremlin, then the tions from the United Kingdom, because between the freedoms taken for granted subsequent war in eastern Ukraine has they are allegedly flawed; according to the and the support of the autocratic regime. shown that there was no Russian military Kremlin, there are actors who are interest- So far the Russian policy of deception and involvement and that since March 2014 no ed in blaming Russia. denial has worked like magic in various Russian soldier has fought on the side of the In short, there is a uniform pattern of Rus- places around the world; Moscow has little separatists. Western reports of this kind are sian behaviour based on deception and de- reason to change it even if the West con- allegedly shameful lies that are supposed nial of Russian involvement; any Western tinues to scold Russia. Moreover, Russian to damage the reputation of the Russian evidence is rejected on the grounds that politicians feel that the West can always military and President Putin as commander- it does not have a sufficient basis and that be outwitted, because the West needs in-chief. If the European Union and NATO Russia has acted correctly or is not involved. Russia more than Russia needs the West. member states provide sound evidence of According to Russian logic, Western accu- This prevailing view finds support among Russia‘s involvement in various operations sations are always unfounded and mali- Western economic circles and lobbyists around the world, the Russians claim that cious. who are campaigning for a rapprochement this evidence is either not concrete enough This is a consistent pattern, and things will with Putin‘s Russia. After all, these circles or is deliberately intended to denigrate go on like this. In support of the author‘s are interested in maintaining economic Russia. Russia‘s refusal to take responsibility claim, I quote James Mattis, US Secretary relations with Russia despite Russia‘s per- for misconduct is therefore in line with its of Defence, who told reporters in Washing- sistent misconduct, which they prefer to policy of deception and denial. Russia does ton on 27 March 2018: “They remove the overlook. In addition to the moneyed cir- not intend to change this policy in the badges from the soldiers‘ uniforms and go cles, various political left- and right-wing near future, as this policy has repeatedly to Crimea. They have nothing to do with parties are in favour of maintaining cordial acquitted Russia of misconduct, while the what the separatists are doing in eastern relations with Putin‘s Russia. Once again, evildoers in the West have repeatedly failed Ukraine. I‘m not sure how they can say Putin‘s useful idiots continue to stand up to provide sufficient evidence of Russia‘s that, but they are doing things they obvi- for Putin‘s Russia, despite the latter‘s con- involvement. ously want to deny.“ This has been Russia‘s sistent policy of deception and denial. It is In another Russian narrative, Syrian Presi- way out of a delicate situation. Whether or uncertain whether the West will come to its dent Bashar al-Assad is said to have called not the West believes in the Russian nar- senses and understand that Putin‘s Russia is on the Russian military to defend Syria‘s rative is irrelevant to President Putin and a destructive force, but one thing is certain: sovereignty and territorial integrity, while his government; having an honest face Putin‘s useful idiots will not disappear from the West came to Syria without invitation and smiling behind the backs of naive the international stage and their numbers and should therefore leave sooner rather Europeans and Americans is Russia‘s way will not decline but rise; their voices will be than later. Once again, Russia appears as of outwitting and dividing the EU and US heard constantly, and Putin will continue a friendly supporter of humanitarian aid, politicians and ordinary citizens. We must to count on their support, as in a good old- while the West is a warmonger who does not forget that Putin has many supporters fashioned marriage. not want to leave Syria. At the same time, in the West who, despite repeated fraud, After all, Russia‘s policy of deception and Russia has no plans to leave Syria in the still want to deal with Putin‘s Russia; Jeremy denial is consistent. Those who are vulner- foreseeable future, although it often says Corbyn, leader of the UK Labour Party, for able become believers and loyal suppor- it is withdrawing militarily. The claim to example, said on 21 March 2018 that he ters; they are 100% convinced of Putin‘s withdraw from Syria has already become would “do business“ with Russian Presi- sincerity and become Putin‘s useful idiots a recurring proverb in Russia. And once dent Vladimir Putin, although he claimed at home and abroad who perceive the again, according to Russian interpretation, “all fingers point to Russia on Salisbury“, West as aggressive and expansive. Russia‘s Russia is right and the West is wrong. Since namely to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal policy of deception and denial, including the West is involved in the Syrian military and his daughter Yulia Skripal. Russia‘s refusal to take responsibility for operation, it should then also pay for the Russia's Western admirers can indeed be misconduct, is a successful strategy for reconstruction of the country after the war. described as Putin‘s useful idiots of the 21st Russia to act from a position of weakness. Yet another Russian narrative refers to century. Many of them live in the Member It remains to be seen whether the West the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his States of the European Union and propa- will accept Russia‘s manoeuvring. It can daughter Yulia Skripal in March 2018, who gate Putin‘s Russia and thus enjoy Western be said, however, that this is an ongoing were allegedly poisoned by Russia. As in fundamental freedoms, while at the same issue on which we have not yet heard the the cases mentioned above, Russia denies time praising Putin‘s autocratic regime and, last word 

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 13 Viewpoint from Kuala Lumpur

Business as Usual

Dzirhan Mahadzir

t the time of writing in July, more pected to occur, except that such activities and its population, unlike measures agreed Athan two months have passed since could possibly be reduced due to cost-sav- upon by the previous administration where Malaysia elected the Pakatan Harapan ing measures, as the new government has Malaysia’s participation in the BRI had coalition into office, overturning 60 years to contend with a debt of RM1Tr (€210Bn) solely benefitted China. Mahathir and his of continuous government by the Barisan inherited from the previous government. administration had swiftly moved to can- National coalition. Ironically the end of the Mahathir has proposed that the Spratly cel all such programmes though it remains Barisan National’s rule was brought about Islands countries de-escalate and reduce to be seen how much Malaysia will have by Mahathir Mohamed, Malaysia’s longest tensions by reducing the presence of their to pay China in compensation for these serving prime minister from 1991 to 2003, marines and conducting joint patrols in the cancellations. Malaysia’s Finance Minister who joined the then political opposition region only with lightly armed ships. At the Lim Guan Eng will visit China in late July to to campaign against then Prime Minister same time, he has declared that Malaysia discuss these issues and Mahathir himself is Najib Tun Razak with the result that Ma- will retain the five islands all claimed un- expected to follow up with a visit to China hathir is now once again prime minister der Mahathir's government during his first in August. of Malaysia. Mahathir's first term as prime term as prime minister and where it has Mahathir and his government as a whole minister was often marked by his willing- deployed forces. are expected to maintain a balance in re- ness to speak out against Western politics, lations with the United States and China although Malaysia continued to strongly Foreign Relations while ensuring that Malaysia benefits from cooperate with Western countries behind its relations with both countries. Regionally, the headlines, including in defence. Ironi- The current developments in regard to Ma- Malaysia is expected to follow the principle cally, it was the then Secretary of Defense, laysia’s position on the South China Sea of non-interference in the internal affairs Najib Tun Razak, in 2002, who stated in a and Spratly Islands is similar to Malaysia’s of ASEAN countries. However, relations speech to the Heritage Foundation in the outlook in Mahathir’s first tenure as prime with Singapore are likely to be somewhat United States that the United States and minister, in that the overall situation and contentious, given Mahathir’s past history Malaysia have a long history of military co- claims by countries there are of limited con- of rocky relations with the island state and operation and will continue to do so. cern to Malaysia so long as it does not af- the perception in some quarters in Malay- fect or touch upon Malaysia’s claims there. sia that Singapore benefited too much at The Spratly Islands Dispute Mahathir’s policies in his first tenure were the expense of Malaysia during the Najib marked by the fact that Malaysia was open administration. Relations with Japan are ex- Similarly, Mahathir has now made public to any arrangement or agreement, as long pected to grow significantly, given the mu- statements that he does not want to see as the arrangement benefitted Malaysia or tual admiration that Mahathir and Japan too many warships in the South China Sea, its people and was not in violation of in- have for each other and Japan was the first but at the working level there have been ternational law. Thus Mahathir has stated foreign country that Mahathir visited after few political changes in terms of coopera- that Malaysia is open to participation in he entered his current premiership though tion and engagement with foreign military China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) but on such growing of relations is expected to be forces, and no significant changes are ex- the condition that it must benefit Malaysia more in the economic and technological

14 European Security & Defence · 5/2018

sphere rather than in defence and security. been put on hold due to funding issues budget will be tabled. The Mahathir ad- Ties with the UK and Europe are expected and the 2018 General Election. No state- ministration will then indicate any changes to be steady, though the contentious is- ment has come from the minister so far in regard to defence plans under the 11th sue of the EU’s plan to ban palm oil may as to whether these upgrades will be pur- Malaysia Plan of 2016–2020 which out- result in the Malaysian government being sued or alterative plans considered. The lines the overall Malaysian government less inclined to consider European defence opinion of some in the RMAF is for the spending for a five-year period. The pre- purchases if the ban becomes reality. It re- HAWKs and S-61 NURIs to be replaced vious Najib administration had not made mains to be seen how Malaysia’s relations rather than upgraded, the HAWKs with any significant defence procurement al- with the Middle East will be. Saudi Arabia the Light Combat Aircraft requirement location under the 11th Plan. However has yet to react officially to Malaysia issuing that the RMAF has formulated (though the Mahathir administration is likely to be the recall order for its two C-130 Hercules this is an RMAF requirement that has yet cautious on defence spending, given that and military personnel in Saudi Arabia that to be endorsed or approved by the gov- it campaigned on cutting excessive gov- formed part of the Saudi coalition against ernment) and the NURIs with additional ernment spending. After assuming office, Yemen, which the previous Najib admin- H225Ms to add to the 12 that the RMAF Mahathir stated that the previous admin- istration had committed to. Beyond that, already operates. istration had left Malaysia with excessive the current Malaysian Government has not Little has been said also on the Royal Ma- debt, thus spending on defence in light of turned much attention to the Middle East. laysian Navy’s Littoral Mission Ship pro- this will be politically unviable. gramme. The Najib administration had Procurement Programmes ordered four of the 68-metre ships, two Change or Continuity to be built by China Shipbuilding and Off- At the Ministry of Defence, Defence Min- shore International Co. Ltd and two by In conclusion, much remains to be seen ister Mohamad Sabu is finding his way Malaysia’s Boustead Naval Shipyard, with in regard to Malaysia’s defence policy around there. He himself admitted on his the first two built in China to be delivered and development, but for the moment appointment that he has much to learn in 2019 and 2020, followed subsequently in regard to military engagements with and little knowledge on defence. Unfor- by the Malaysian-built ships. Post election, various countries, it remains business tunately this means that he has yet to controversy has arisen over the costs of the as usual. The main exercises include an address some outstanding issues in the RM1.17Bn contract (€247M) for four ships RMAF contingent of 5 F/A-18 HORNETS Ministry of Defence, the main one being which were lightly armed with a 30mm and an A400M taking part in the Pitch the yet-to-be-signed contract for MBDA’s gun and two 12.7mm guns, though the Black Exercise in Australia held in July– MICA surface-to-air missiles that are to ships were planned to also incorporate August this year; the joint Malaysia-China equip the under construction MAHARAJA three mission modules containers of 6 exercise Aman Youyi, which will focus on LELA class Littoral Combat Ships which are tonnes each. There is also debate around counter-terrorism and maritime security, based on Naval Group’s GOWIND design. whether Malaysia should be having its na- is scheduled to be held in mid-October The first of the six-ship class was originally val ships being built in China, given China’s this year, with Thailand invited as observ- scheduled to conduct sea trials and com- claims on the South China Sea included ers, while around August–September missioned in 2019, but it is now highly portions of Malaysia’s EEZ. The Mahathir this year, the Malaysian phase of the US likely that this date will slip. The minister administration, on assuming office, stated CARAT (Cooperation Afloat and Readiness has also not address the outstanding is- that all contracts involving China would be Training) exercise will be carried out, involv- sues of upgrades for the Royal Malaysian reviewed and scrutinised, though no state- ing at sea and amphibious landing exer- Air Force’s BAE HAWK fighter aircraft, ments have been made in regard to the cises. Thus, overall, no policy changes in Lockheed Martin C-130 transports and LMS contract. regard to military engagement with foreign Sikorsky S-61 helicopter fleet. All these Outwardly the biggest indication as to countries have occurred, though it remains were supposed to have been carried out where Malaysia is heading in defence to be seen as to whether this will continue by the previous administration but had will be in October 2018, when the 2019 or be changed next year. 

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 15  SECURITY POLICY Friendly Rivals Turkish-Iranian Relations Korhan Özkilinc

A geopolitical perspective on the Turkish-Iranian relationship is that expanded into a proxy war. The so- important, as Turkey and Iran are the main regional powers in the called Islamic State (IS) usedthe unstable Middle East. It is impossible to influence regional policy without situation in Syria and Iraq to proclaim a “Caliphate State”, which was the begin- the participation of both countries. ning of a long long reign in the Middle East. As if all this was not enough, Kurdish na- tionalism reached its peak in Northern Syria ue to the historical and cultural ties in According to the treaty, Mesopotamia fell and Northern Iraq. The terror organisation Dthe region, they have established mul- to the Ottomans and Yerevan to the Sa- PKK with its offshoots PJAK in Iran and tifaceted relations with neighbouring coun- favids in the South Caucasus. Diplomatic PYD in Syria ruthlessly tried to establish tries, which makes them competitors. The relations were intensively expanded from a Marxist–Leninist Kurdistan. Due to the unstable political situation in Lebanon and the assistance of Iran and Syria, Hezbollah is strongly represented throughout the Le- vant, but could also cause violence in Israel. In Yemen, the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, are fighting their arch-enemy Saudi Graphic: Amir Ebrahimi Arabia and turning the situation in the southern Gulf region into a witch's caul- dron. Iran is a deeply divided country with a very conflict-ridden political landscape with revolutionary ideology that empha- sizes self-sufficiency and resistance to the "imperial" West. In contrast to Iran's strategy, Turkey is trying to undermine Iran's ambitions by restoring political and economic stability in the region. Unfortunately, little attention is paid to Irani- an water policy in geopolitics. Isa Kalantari, former minister of agriculture and now min- ister of the environment of the Rohani gov- ernment, recently said in an interview: "Iran with its 7,000-year history will no longer be habitable in 20 years if water resources con- tinue to be destroyed so quickly. Iran must fear water scarcity more than nuclear war, Israel or the United States." The Kurdish population is distributed between Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Armenia. Iraq and the Kurds

two countries pursue different approaches 1835 onwards through the international Wars have been raging in the Middle East in international politics, but are not only po- deployment of the first Ottoman ambassa- for decades for various reasons. Iran and litically but also economically interdepend- dor Esad Efendi. Despite all this, the tension Iraq fought each other between 1980 and ent, especially in energy and water security. between the empires continued into the 1988, resulting in millions of deaths. The 19th century, but the Qasr-e Shirin Treaty Second Gulf War followed in 1991, caused Historical Background resolved all conflicts. It is worth noting that by the occupation of Kuwait by Iraq; the today the borders between Turkey and Iran USA and its partners liberated Kuwait Relations between Iran and Turkey date back and Iran and Iraq are designed in accord- from Saddam Hussein. Finally, Iraqi Presi- to the Ottoman Empire (Turkish, Sunni) and ance with the Qasr-e Shirin Treaty. dent Saddam Hussein was overthrown by the Safavid Empire (Persian, Shiite). From the US in the third Gulf War (Iraq War) in 1514, both empires were continuously in- The Crisis-Ridden Middle East 2003. The end of the US occupation was volved in wars for over a century and fought announced by former US President Barack for supremacy in the Caucasus and Mesopo- After the end of the Cold War, dynamic Obama, and troop withdrawal was com- tamia; the confessional differences, in particu- changes took place in Turkey and Iran, pleted on 18 December 2011. lar, reinforced the conflicts. The treaty of Qasr- prompting both Ankara and Tehran to re- Unfortunately, the American withdrawal e Shirin ended the sporadic wars between the define their strategies of influence. In 2011, from Iraq has created a power vacuum Ottomans and the Safavids in 1639. a small spark in Syria triggered a civil war and plunged the country into chaos. Iran

16 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 SECURITY POLICY  has used this to its advantage and influ- enced the Iraqi government with the help of machinations. There are no longer any Sunni members of the government as be- fore; the members of the government are mainly Shiites. This has led to tensions be- tween Turkey and Iran with far-reaching Photo: Free Gaza Movement consequences in the Arab world. The for- mer Iraqi government under Nouri al-Maliki and the present government under Haider al-Abadi are also constantly trying to con- solidate their control over Iran's political institutions and security services in order to curb the freedom of the Sunni Arabs and Kurds in Iraq. Turkey has a strong interest in a politically stable, independent and economically prosperous Iraq, but classifies Iran's ambi- tions as very dangerous. Iraq's ties with Iran should be prevented by a close relationship The Israeli attack on the Turkish ship MAVI MARMARA in 2010, in which between Ankara and the Kurdish regional ten Turkish citizens were killed and several dozen injured, strained government in Northern Iraq. Not only has israeli relations with Turkey. the economic development of the Kurd- ish areas led to prosperity in Northern Iraq, large participation of the Kurdish people, an independent Kurdish state. This devel- but the Kurds have also become politically the Iraqi government declared the referen- opment must not obscure the fact that the more self-confident. dum unconstitutional. The result was that political supporters of the Kurds were Isra- As a result, the Iraqi Kurds, led by Masud the two competitors Iran and Turkey were el and the USA at the time. Apart from the Barzani, held an independence referen- in agreement this time, because both Kurdish question, Ankara and Tehran have dum on 25 September 2017, despite the countries have large Kurdish minorities in recently become good friends in the Qatar ban by the Supreme Court. Despite the their own country and are strictly against crisis. Both countries were on Qatar's side  SECURITY POLICY Photo: US State Department

The representatives of the UN Security Council’s five permanent members, China, France, Russia, the UK and the US, together with Germany and the EU negotiated with Iran about its nuclear programme.

when an alliance of several states such as dreds of deaths and also engulfed other the Hezbollah militia, which is seen as a bul- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain Arab countries. The damage was devastat- wark against Israel. Allegedly Iran is fighting accused the Gulf state of terrorist support ing and caused the deaths of thousands in Syria with its Revolutionary Guard and and politically isolated it in June 2017. of people. From a Turkish perspective, the Shiite mercenaries with more than 250,000 Turkey is fighting more intensively against Arab Spring was a "democratisation pro- fighters. the Kurdish terror organisations PKK, PJAK cess", but from an Iranian perspective it Things became even more complicated (Iran) and PYD (Syria) than Iran, because was an "Islamic revolution”. In the initial when Russia gave Bashar Al-Assad political Tehran sees the Kurdish terror organisa- phase, many Arab countries saw Turkey's and military support to expand its sphere tions as an important instrument against position positively, but when the protests of influence in the Mediterranean region. Turkey and wants to keep them as lever- in Egypt were bloodily suppressed by the This was also one of the reasons why the age. These developments could profoundly armed forces and democratically elected US chose the Syrian branch of the terrorist change relations between the two coun- Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was organisation PKK, the PYD, as a partner tries. Obviously, Tehran has recently come overthrown and sentenced to death, the in Syria instead of its long-standing NATO to the conclusion that a cooperative Turkey Turkish government sided with the Egyp- partner Turkey. When IS and PYD gained brings more advantages than disadvan- tian people. Since then, Turkey’s attitude a lot of ground, Ankara took the initiative tages. towards Egypt and some Gulf states has to drive the PYD and IS from the Turkish– Turkey has three objectives in Iraq: firstly, been viewed with suspicion; political rela- Syrian border through Operation Euphrates the elimination of the terrorist organisa- tions with Egypt have come to a standstill Shield and Operation Olive Branch, which tions IS, PKK, PJAK and PYD in the Qandil and many military exercises and projects aroused US opposition. The Syrian bor- and Sinjar mountains. Secondly, Turkey have been suspended until further notice. der towns Afrin and Manbij, former PYD wants to maintain Iraq's sovereignty and, strongholds, are now under the control of thirdly, to prevent a “Shiite Crescent“ unit- Proxy War in Syria the Turkish armed forces. The main pur- ingIran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Iran wants pose of the operations is to address Tur- a weak Iraq to maintain its supply routes to As part of the Arab Spring in early 2011, key's security concerns. Russia, Turkey and Syria and Lebanon on the one hand, and the protests against Assad's authoritar- Iran are currently trying to end the proxy a controllable Iraq capable of facing the ian regime in Syria began. As the protests war in Syria and have therefore started the resurgence of the IS groups on the other. turned into a civil war, foreign influence Astana process without the participation of The "Shiite Crescent" would allow Iran to and participation grew and, as a result, the the USA and the West. influence the region from the Caspian Sea Syrian civil war evolved into a bloody proxy to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf and war. In Syria in particular, the differences The Palestinian Question impose its geopolitical will on the world. between Turkey and Iran are clearly vis- and Israel’s Policies ible. Turkey calls on Syrian President Bashar "Arab Spring" Al-Assad to take clear steps towards de- For centuries, Turkey has been good friends mocratisation and refrain from repressive with the Jewish citizens and for decades “Arab Spring" is an allusion to the Prague measures against his people, but Assad has with the State of Israel. This attitude has Spring of 1968 and has its origins in Tu- not yet complied. The partnership between been translated excellently into economic nisia. On 17 December 2010, protests Damascus and Tehran dates back to the and military relationships. The relationship began against the head of state Zine el- Iranian Revolution, when both countries between Ankara and Tel Aviv was actu- Abidine Ben Ali, which, until his escape showed solidarity against Iraq. At the same ally so good that Israeli fighter pilots were from Tunisia, caused uprisings with hun- time, the two countries are supporters of trained in Turkish airspace for a long time.

18 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 SECURITY POLICY 

The Turkish–Israeli friendship was for a long hostile attitude of Iran and Armenia has sible site for nuclear experiments alongside time observed with great concern by Teh- prompted Azerbaijan to intensify coopera- the research reactors in Tehran, Bonab and ran, because Iran feared that Israel could tion with Turkey and Israel in military and Ramsar. According to US reports, Iran car- use Turkey for its military attacks against defence matters. Azerbaijan supplies most ried out a nuclear programme under Shah Iranian installations. It is no secret that Iran of its natural gas and oil to the international Mohammad Reza Pahlavi until the end of has used the PKK terrorist organisation in markets through Turkey, and recently the the 1970s and is suspected of developing order to destabilise Turkey from within. main section of the TANAP Trans-Anatolian nuclear weapons. But Israel's aggressive attitude towards Natural Gas Pipeline was completed. Tur- It is an open secret that the Islamic Repub- the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, key and Azerbaijan call themselves "one lic regards nuclear capability as a deterrent has weighed on relations between Ankara nation, two countries", the economic de- against the threat emanating from the USA and Tel Aviv. A tragedy, which marked the velopment of both countries has not yet and its partners, in particular Israel and lowest point in Israel and Turkey's relation- reached its peak and also holds enormous Saudi Arabia. It is worth mentioning that ship, occured in May 2010 as part of the potential for foreign investors. Saudi Arabia is considered a great threat, peaceful protests to lift the Gaza blockade. because Saudi Arabia and Iran claim to be Israeli commandos attacked the ship "Mavi The Iranian Nuclear the rightful leaders of the Muslim world. Marmara" in international waters, killing Programme Turkey is very concerned about Iran's nu- ten Turkish citizens and seriously injuring clear programme, as an Iranian nuclear several dozen. Ankara broke off all relations Iran has its own uranium deposits in power would destabilise the Middle East with Israel. Although Israeli Prime Minis- Anarak, Gchine and Yazd; uranium ore is and trigger a regional arms race. The con- ter Benjamin Netanyahu apologised a few currently being mined in Saghand. The mili- sequences would first affect Saudi Arabia years later for the deaths of several Turkish tary facility in Parchin is considered a pos- and then Egypt. Moreover, Ankara does civilians, his aggressive attitude towards the Palestinians caused relations with Ankara to stall. As long as relations between Turkey th and Israel remain reserved, Iran will ben- 10 International Defence Exhibition And Seminar efit, but if the Palestine question were to be resolved, this would be detrimental to Iran. Turkey would not only strengthen its relations with Israel, but the peace process would give Ankara an enormous reputa- tion in the Arab world. In other words, not only Tehran, but also Cairo and Riyadh do not want a peaceful solution to this issue.

Turkish Dominance in the Caucasus and Central Asia Thanks to former President Turgut Özal, 27- 30 November 2018 Turkey has cleverly exploited the collapse of Karachi Expo Centre the Soviet Union and expanded its sphere www.ideaspakistan.gov.pk of influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Turkey benefitted in particular from its strong cultural ties with Azerbaijan, Ka- zakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. In addition to Turkey's reputation, this has also benefitted the Turkish economy, par- ticularly the Turkish defence industry. In the Caucasus, Iran is supported only by Armenia and in Central Asia only by Ta- jikistan. Iran's relations with the Tajiks are good, as 85% of the Tajiks are of Iranian origin. Good relations with Armenia are important for Iran, because Tehran needs a counterweight against the strategic alliance of Turkey and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus. In the explosive conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Iran is supporting Armenia instead of the Shiite Azerbaijan. In doing so, Iran wants to keep Azerbaijan weak in international politics and prevent Armenia's geographical isolation.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan and Iran have un- Official Publisher of Show Daily Media Partners resolved conflicts such as Iran's claim to the energy resources of the Caspian Sea. The

IDEAS SECRETARIAT C-175, Block-9, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Near Aziz Bhatti Park, Karachi. Tel: (92-21) 34821159, (92-21) 34821160 Fax: (92-21) 34821179 Email: [email protected]  SECURITY POLICY

Tehran should be watched carefully, espe- cially the conservative camp. But Turkey will continue to have a lot to do in the future,

Photo: Wikipedia because Ankara has recently begun con- structive talks with Tehran, which would help the West.

Conclusion

As a NATO partner, Turkey holds a unique position in the Middle East and stands on multiple sides in regional conflicts, fre- quently in opposition to Iran. The govern- ment in Ankara wants to safeguard the sovereignty of its territory and therefore has begun to construct a 688 km wall along the Iranian border in 2017. The first section with a length of 144 km will be completed this year. Turkey is cracking down on the Kurdish terrorist organisa- tion PKK and its Iranian branch PJAK. In addition, the wall will cut off the logistical routes, but Ankara also wants to stop or curb the smuggling of people from Iran and Afghanistan. In August 2017, Turkey, Iran A demonstration against President Assad’s authoritarian regime in and Russia signed a trilateral agreement to Douma near Damascus, Syria, during the "Arab Spring" establish a consortium of three partners: In the near future, the Turkish energy com- pany Unit International, the Russian energy company Zarubejneft and the Iranian in- vestment company Ghadir will exploit and Photo: Kremlin distribute Iranian oil and gas reserves. In addition, the three countries have two important objectives. Firstly, the Astana pro- cess under Russian leadership should restore peace in Syria. There is still a discrepancy in the common strategy; Turkey wants a sover- eign, stable Syria without Bashar Al-Assad, but Russia and Iran want a controllable Syria under the leadership of Bashar Al-Assad. Time will tell us how it will turn out. Sec- ondly, the three countries want to extend their scope for action on and around the Silk Road through cooperation. It is in the nature of things that countries gear their geopolitics to their own inter- ests. As a result of Iranian-Turkish rivalries tensions will continue to arise, but there will also be some constructive develop- Russia’s President Putin met with President of Iran Hassan Rouhani and ments; for instance, Iran and Turkey will President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 22 November 2017 to continue economic cooperation in defi- discuss a peace settlement in Syria. Turkey and Iran are the main ance of the American policies. But it is in- regional powers in the Middle East. appropriate to speak of a "Turkish-Iranian axis". In the future, the USA will be more not want Iran to be cornered by sanctions na, France, Great Britain, Russia, the USA supportive of Turkish interests than those and economic embargoes, because that is + Germany) has been successful until very of Kurdish organisations, because if it what makes Tehran erratic and aggressive. recently. Iran was allowed to buy Western were not for Turkey, US foreign policy in Turkey has cooperated with Iran twice in aircraft and consumer goods, but with the the Middle East would come to a stand- the past, first in May 2010, when Turkey US withdrawal from the Iran agreement still. Moreover, neither Israel nor Saudi and Brazil signed a uranium enrichment under the Trump government, the positive Arabia can replace Turkey in the Middle agreement with Iran, and later, as Erdoğan developments were brought to a halt. This East. Furthermore, Turkey is fully aware mediated between Iran and the P5+1. strengthened the hardliners in Tehran, who and is also expected to adapt to a chang- The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action now claim that good relations with the West ing security environment as NATO's most (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 (Chi- would be impossible. The developments in important partner. 

20 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 SECURITY POLICY  NATO Assurance Measures in the Baltics

Tomáš Čižik

Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine and the annexation of the 100,000 deployable soldiers near NATO’s eastern border (in the western military Crimean peninsula in March 2014 have changed the European security district); it carries out massive “offensive” architecture. These measures have surprised every state and disturbed military exercises, often involving the use of nuclear weapons. The number of Rus- relative security in Europe. sian air force flights into NATO airspace has also increased significantly in recent years. The most difficult one was the “suc- ussia’s aggression, however, has been was unable to successfully defend the ter- cessful” simulation of a nuclear attack on Rincreasing gradually since 2008, as ritory of its most exposed members during Stockholm in March 2013, and in recent many events showed: Vladimir Putin’s this period and that NATO had very limited years Russia’s military capabilities have im- speech at the Munich Security Conference opportunities to take countermeasures. proved significantly both qualitatively and in 2007, the suspension of the implementa- Further simulations by RAND Corporation quantitatively. As Kaarel Kaas argued in tion of the Treaty on Conventional Armed have shown that approximately seven bri- his 2014 article, “one of the strategic goals Forces in Europe in 2007, the Russian gades, including three heavy tank brigades, of Russia’s political elites is to create forces “peace mission” in Abkhazia, followed by can successfully prevent the rapid flood- that can, firstly, guarantee Russia’s military Russian intervention in Abkhazia and South ing of the Baltic states. Of course, it would superiority over the entire territory of the Ossetia in 2008, major military exercises on require adequate support from air forces, former Soviet Union and in neighbouring Russia’s western borders near Georgia and land fires and other ground-based facilita- areas; and secondly, to project limited mili- Ukraine, or several attacks on the air sover- tors who are prepared to fight at the start tary force on a strategic, global level. The eignty of many NATO member states. of hostilities. In Moreover, since NATO’s enlargement to in- addition, such an clude Central European and Baltic states in initiative would re- 1999 and 2004, there has been little invest- quire the commit- ment in the development of NATO infra- ment of all NATO structure in these states. The main reason member states and is that nobody (except Poland and the Baltic increased defence states) perceived Russia as a direct security spending. threat. In fact, it was Poland and the Baltic States that demanded an increased pres- Russian ence of the Alliance on their territory. Dur- Federation ing this period, NATO member states tried and Baltic to build a “strategic partnership” with Rus- sia, but Russia’s use of military hardware Countries and equipment was not conducive to this Russia is using hy- initiative. But everything has changed with brid warfare to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula change the Euro- by the Russian Federation. Relative security pean security ar- in Europe and the “strategic partnership” chitecture and the with Russia disappeared, and NATO had entire world order. to face the new security challenge in the Russia’s involve- immediate vicinity of its borders. In the ment in Syria, the summer and spring of 2015, RAND Corpo- attempted coup ration investigated the form and probable in Montenegro in outcome of a short-term Russian invasion 2016, interference of the Baltic States. They noted that NATO in the US presiden- tial elections or the Author use of chemical nerve gas in the Tomáš Čižik is director of the UK are clear insults. Bratislava based think tank Centre for However, Russia European and North Atlantic Affairs behaves differently (CENAA). in the Baltic States. Russia has about

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 21 Photo: NATO

NATO’s 2018 Summit at the level of Heads of State and Government with Georgia and Ukraine at NATO’s new headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. NATO is pursuing a dual-track approach towards Russia: meaningful dialogue on the basis of a strong deterrence and defence posture.

strengthening of Russia’s military capabili- sation there have been two main trends Air Base near the Latvian border was reo- ties last year was made possible above all by that have shaped the Russian armed forces pened and staffed with a full-fledged Army the higher defence spending and military in the Baltic Sea region – the strengthening Air Brigade (home of 50 of the latest attack reforms announced by Russian Defence of existing units and the formation of new and transport helicopters). Thirdly, in 2013 Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in October units and military bases. Since 2009, the an air base was opened on the territory of 2008. Russia has significantly increased in- staff of the main manoeuvring units has Belarus, hosting 24 Su-27M3 fighters. vestment in its military since 2013, and the been doubled and three new units have Since 2007, Russia has been significantly Russian military budget has risen by 26%. been created and stationed near the Bal- strengthening its Baltic Fleet, which was hit In addition, Russia’s modernisation efforts tic States: First, the 25th Motorised Rifle hard by the dissolution of the Soviet Union. have focused primarily on the Western mili- Brigade, which was set up as a completely Currently, Russia’s Baltic Fleet consists of tary district, the Baltic Sea and the North- new unit at the Vladimir Lager military base two attack submarines and 55 warships ern Fleet. Since the beginning of moderni- near the Estonian border. Secondly, Ostrov (including destroyers, frigates, corvettes, guided missile corvettes, base minesweep- ers, landing ships and landing crafts). More- over, Russia is strengthening its military presence in the Arctic region. As proof, we can mention numerous military exercises,

Photo: Holger Ellgard the modernisation of military equipment or the reopening of old Soviet-era military bases. In addition, Russia has already de- ployed a brigade with special training for an operation in the Arctic in Alakurtti near the Finnish border (60 kilometres away). The second brigade is to be deployed in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region behind the Urals by the end of 2016. Russia also conducted numerous mili- tary exercises in the Nordic-Baltic region. In 2009, Russia and Belarus conducted a military exercise called Zapad 09, which included the defence scenario against an attack by Baltic “nationalists”; Russia tried to invade and occupy the Baltic region, with a corridor of about 100 kilometres west of Aurora 2017 was a three-week exercise in September 2017, in which the Russian border. Another large military 19,500 soldiers from Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, France, Norway, the exercise called Zapad 2013 took place in USA and Finland simulated defence against a fictitious invasion. It was the 2013, once again a joint military exercise of biggest military exercise since the end of the Cold War. At the same time, Belarus and Russia. The aim of the exercise Russian armed forces were holding the Zapad 2017 exercise in was to fend off an attack on Belarus. How- Belarus with (reportedly) 12,700 soldiers from both countries. ever, the Zapad 2013 scenario was couched

22 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 SECURITY POLICY 

in an “anti-terror narrative”. In August prices and exchange rates from 2010). The of Maritime Patrol Aircraft and Standing 2015, Russia launched an Arctic military cumulative increase in spending for the pe- Naval Forces to provide maritime situational exercise involving more than 1,000 sol- riod 2015 to 2017 is more than US$46Bn. awareness and the execution of training diers, 14 aircraft and 34 special forces. As However, there are only 5 NATO member and exercises across the eastern border to one commander of the Northern Russian states that spend 2 percent or more on de- improve interoperability. naval fleet said, “the drills aim to increase fence: the United States, Greece, the Unit- One of NATO’s first security measures for the security of the Russian Arctic, to secure ed Kingdom, Estonia and Poland. Increased the Baltic states was air policing, which the economic freedom of our state in this defence spending is the most important began immediately after the Baltic states region and to protect our territory from countermeasure taken by the Alliance to joined NATO in 2004. Air policing aims to possible military threats.” The last, largest improve its deterrence and improve its maintain the airspace integrity of the Baltic military exercise was Zapad 2017, which territorial defence. By March 2014, most States. It is carried out as a collective 24/7 took place along the entire western border defence budgets of NATO member states task on a four-month rotational basis. Air of Russia. In addition, this exercise exceed- were in decline. In 2009, defence spend- Policing is currently led by Portugal, which ed the officially stated 12,700 personnel. ing by all NATO states reached a peak of has sent four F-16AM FIGHTING FALCONs Rather, based on observations, more than 3.28 percent of GDP, in 2017 it will be only to Lithuania. Other participants are France, 100,000 servicemembers participated in 2.42 percent of GDP. Increasing defence with four MIRAGE 2000-5Fs in Estonia, Zapad 2017. It is necessary to mention that spending was the absolutely necessary step and Spain, with six Eurofighter TYPHOONs NATO is also conducting military exercises towards improving security in the Baltic Sea in Lithuania. in the region. However, NATO’s military ex- region. In 2014, NATO implemented Assur- The second Assurance Measure in the ercises always have a defensive character. ance Measures consisting of land, sea and Baltic States is the NATO Response Force air activities in, on and around the eastern (NRF). Founded in 2002, the NATO Re- Defence Spending and part of the Alliance territory. sponse Force is a highly ready and techno- NATO Assurance Measures Assurance measures include AWACS em- logically advanced multinational force com- ployment to preserve airspace integrity, posed of land, air, sea and special opera- At the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014, increased intelligence, surveillance and re- tions forces (SOF) components that can be member states pledged to increase de- connaissance activities along the eastern deployed quickly and on demand. The NRF fence spending to 2 percent of GDP. As the borders, enhanced Air Policing to supple- is based on a rotational system in which al- data show, NATO Europe and Canada’s de- ment national air policing capabilities, assis- lied nations deploy forces for a period of 12 fence spending increased 3.08 percent in tance to nations to refine their Special Op- months. NRF can respond quickly to all se- 2016 and 4.87 percent in 2017 (in terms of erations Forces capabilities, employment curity challenges from crisis management

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to collective defence. The NATO Summit AWACS surveillance aircraft as well as a is a good thing”. Nevertheless, the same in Wales in 2014 approved the creation of wide variety of national JISR assets from studies have shown that 21 percent of Slo- Very High Readiness Joint Task Forces, the the space, air, land and maritime domains. vaks believe “NATO is a bad thing” and main goal of which is to enhance NATO One of the most important of NATO's As- that 31 percent of Slovaks would vote to Response Forces and allow them to move surance Measures is Enhanced Forward leave NATO. Strengthening the resilience rapidly and respond to potential challeng- Presence (EFP). After the annexation of of NATO member states against Russia’s in- es and threats. VJTF will be able to deploy Crimea, NATO has enhanced its pres- terference in their domestic policies should within a few days to respond to challenges ence in the eastern flank of the Alliance. not stop with the Baltic states. Therefore, that arise particularly on NATO’s periphery. NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence rep- NATO member states should also engage VJTF consists of about 20,000 personnel resents four multinational battlegroups in campaigns to improve public knowledge and includes a multinational land brigade situated in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and of NATO and its importance, but also to of around 5,000 troops and air, maritime Poland. These battlegroups are led by the improve their internal resistance to disinfor- and SOF components. Leading elements UK, Canada, Germany and the US. Their mation campaigns and conspiracy theories. The public should be aware that it is directly or through proxies influenced by the Krem- lin and what instruments the Kremlin uses. NATO member states should also improve Photo: US Army their national cyber-security systems to fur- ther improve their security and the security of all Allies.

Conclusion

Its aggressive actions against Ukraine and its interference in the domestic policies of NATO member states make Russia the big- gest security threat to the Alliance. These measures have also changed the European security architecture. As shown above, Russian behaviour is clearly offensive and has the long-term goal of dissolving NATO from within through hybrid warfare and tactics. The most vulnerable members of Estonia opened the new NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU HQ) building NATO are the Baltic states most exposed in Tallinn on 12 June 2016. to the Russian threat. To meet the Russian challenge, NATO decided to improve the will be ready to move within two to three presence sends a message that an attack security of the Baltic states through NATO days. NRF also consists of the Initial Follow- on one ally will be considered an attack assurance measures. These measures send On Forces Group (IFFG), which is another on the entire Alliance. EFP demonstrates a strong political message to the Krem- high-readiness force that can be deployed the strength of the transatlantic bond, and lin: NATO stands behind all its members quickly following the VJTF. IFFG are made it is the biggest reinforcement of NATO’s and each Member State is determined up of two multinational brigades. Both collective defence. Based on data from Feb- to defend its allies. Collective defence is VJTF and IFFG forces are based in their ruary 2018, the total number of all troops NATO’s most important role and one of home countries, but they are able to be in all four battlegroups is around 4,600. the reasons for its creation. NATO’s secu- deployed to wherever needed. NFR also As mentioned above, all NATO Assurance rity measures in the Baltic States are not fulfil another important role – cooperation Measures have a defensive character, and offensive and their main objective is to in education and training, increased exer- they are designed to improve the security improve the Alliance’s readiness for future cises and better use of technology, which of the NATO’s eastern flank. Russian measures that could target the is crucial for interoperability of Allied forces. However, such measures are perceived dif- Baltic States. The NATO Summit in Brus- Finland and Sweden are also participating ferently by Russia. The Kremlin portrays sels in July 2018 is a crucial moment for the in NATO exercises; both countries are not NATO as an aggressor threatening Rus- future of the North Atlantic Treaty, which NATO member states but perceive Russia sia by moving ever closer to its territory. will determine the Alliance’s future path. as a security threat. Such a story also appears in pro-Russian The summit will focus on six main areas: In February 2016, the defence ministers de- disinformation media throughout Europe. strengthening deterrence and defence, clared initial operational capability (IOC) for Many disinformation campaigns spread promoting stability and the fight against NATO’s Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and information that NATO is moving troops terrorism, enhanced cooperation with the Reconnaissance (JISR) initiative. This initia- to the Russian border to trigger a new con- European Union, modernising NATO, a tive should enhance the situational aware- flict. These campaigns are often supported fairer distribution of the burden and an al- ness of the NATO Response Force through by local politicians and extreme right-wing liance of common values and transatlantic heightened proficiency in collecting, pro- political parties who use this story to win unity. NATO is a unique project that has cessing and exchanging intelligence. JISR the support of their constituents and create brought peace to Europe and its impor- assembles data and information gathered chaos in the minds of citizens. The Globsec tance remains. However, NATO cannot through projects such as NATO’s Alliance investigations in 2018 showed that only stand still and must adapt to new security Ground Surveillance (AGS) system of NATO 37 percent of Slovaks believe that “NATO threats and challenges. 

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Ministry of Defence Egyptian Armed Forces Ministry of Military Production  ARMED FORCES Mind the Gap Amphibious Bridging in NATO Tim Guest

Amphibious bridging capabilities among NATO members have taken and the Turkish AAAB from FNSS are in a back seat for many years, but the Alliance is now at a critical point use predominantly by their national armies. where its river-crossing assets must be addressed as a priority. The fact is, there is an urgent need for new thinking, standards and decisions to ensure a future where NATO can deploy the right number of bridging systems capable of car- ATO has some big rivers to cross if Yes and No rying not only the loads of today, but also Never a major conflict breaks out in the vehicle variants that are in the pipeline Europe. Whether advancing eastwards, NATO’s armies certainly have various means and likely to be fielded in the years to come. or withdrawing westwards, the same and capabilities to cross rivers should the water obstacles that faced both sides in need arise. From individual vehicle capa- A Voice of Authority WWII will face any future armies at war bilities such as snorkelling, to assault craft, in the European theatre. And with cur- pontoon bridging systems all the way up This state of affairs has been repeatedly rent political tensions and uncertainties to state-of-the-art amphibious ‘bridging highlighted in recent years by Lieutenant across the continent, not least caused by and ferry’ systems. So, yes, we can cross a General Ben Hodges, Commanding Gen- Mr Putin’s curiously aggressive Russia, river, but the “no” is that we currently do eral of the US Army in Europe until Decem- that is no longer as farfetched an idea not have enough bridging systems to face ber last year. Before, during and after the as it was just a handful of years ago. So, every eventuality and those we do have will major NATO exercise “Operation Anacon- da” in 2016, he voiced his concerns about the effectiveness of the Alliance’s bridging capabilities in the face of the threat from the east. He said that heavy military equip- Photo: UK MoD ment such as SP artillery and main battle tanks could not be moved fast enough from Western Europe to the eastern flank of NATO due to limitations that included insufficient rail transport and bridging. On the Baltics, Hodges said that NATO would be unable to defend those three nations from Russian attack due to the time it would take to get materiel in place, adding all three countries would likely be overrun within a matter of 36 hours. It is worth noting that during Anaconda a combined engineer unit consisting of the German Army’s 130th Engineer Battalion (PzPiBtl 130) and the British Army’s 23 En- gineer Regiment, operated the longest M3 floating bridge ever built to allow NATO GDELS’ M3 amphibious bridging and ferry system is widely used in NATO. forces to cross a 350 m span of the Vistula river near Chełmno, Poland. The bridging if 27 allied nations did find themselves in not be able to support future and current operation connected 34 UK and German need of delivering troops, armour and vehicles. Investment is one of the factors M3 Amphibious Rigs together, (8 British supplies to positions that require major behind this state of affairs. Engineering and 22 German) in only 35 minutes, and river crossings, could they do it? Well, the capabilities like amphibious bridging have vehicles that crossed included some 200 answer is both yes and no, and the fol- taken a serious budgetary back seat for US Army vehicles such as STRYKER AFVs lowing article tries to address that ques- many years. As a result, all too few Alli- and others. General Hodges was reported tion in more detail by looking at current ance members have amphibious bridging as saying at the time of the Vistula record- thinking, capabilities and equipment, as capabilities, or sufficient floating bridge breaking crossing that it was the best bridge‎ well as imminent requirements. capabilities and the organisation would be he’d ever seen and that it was a wonderful hard pressed to deploy successful bridges example of interoperability with two allies Author in every location needed in a Europe-wide providing the capability that everybody else conflict. The M3 amphibious bridging and in the Alliance needed. Neither the FNSS Tim Guest is a defence and aero- ferry system from General Dynamics Eu- AAAB, nor the EFA system from CEFA were space journalist and former Royal ropean Land Systems (GDELS) is currently deployed during Anaconda. Artillery officer. the most widely adopted solution in NATO, The kind of interoperability demonstrated while the French EFA system from CEFA by the M3 during Anaconda is key, not

26 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES 

only according to General Hodges but also according to leading industry players who see interoperability as crucial to any future system. Equipment from different countries must be able to be combined in the field so it work together easily; during Anaconda three countries, the US, the Netherlands and Ger- many interoperated effectively with their re- spective pontoon bridge capabilities, and the British and German engineer capabilities also

combined and interoperated effectively to- Photo: UK MoD gether to deploy the longest ever M3 bridge. The longest M3 floating bridge ever built spanned 350 m across the Effective interoperability was demonstrated Vistula river. more recently in the M3’s latest outing dur- ing the June 2018 “Sabre Strike” exercise in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. This involved 19 NATO nations during which Brit- ish and German engineers once again de- ployed the M3, this time in a 200 m crossing Photo: French MoD scenario of the Neman river on the outskirts of the Lithuanian city of Kaunas. Some 150 vehicles and 700 troops made the crossing assisted by more than 40 British Royal Engi- neers and their German counterparts, who jointly deployed the M3. Once again, neither the FNSS AAAB, nor the EFA system from CEFA were deployed during Sabre Strike and, indeed, EFA and AAAB have not been deployed during NATO exercises so far. The army of France relies on the EFA system from CEFA.

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5/2018 · European Security & Defence 27 gdels.com

20180719_210x150_EuropSecDef.indd 1 23.07.18 11:14  ARMED FORCES

Rigs in Use can carry loads of up to MLC 85T/132W to erect by eight men. In the ferry mode and can be crossed by all types of Main it can carry one heavy tank, two medium The M3 is the most widely used of three Battle Tank (MBT) including the LEOPARD tanks, or four infantry combat vehicles. amphibious bridging systems in NATO, the 2, M1A2 ABRAMS or the CHALLENGER 2. The Armoured Amphibious Assault Bridge other two being the Turkish Armoured The M3 offers interoperability with other (AAAB) from Turkish manufacturer FNSS, Amphibious Assault Bridge (AAAB), and bridging solutions such as the SRB (Stand- which is very similar to M3, though much the French EFA system, both latter systems ard Ribbon Bridge)/FSB (Floating Support heavier with two more axles and a lower used predominantly in isolation by their Bridge) and IRB (Improved Ribbon Bridge). MLC carrying capacity, is another bridge own national forces. GDELS also offers coupling devices to en- and ferry system designed specifically for the Turkish Armed Forces. In its capacity as a ferry the AAAB can carry MLC70 T vehicles when in a two-bay configuration. By deploying ramps, which are carried by the AAAB’s hydraulic crane, three AAABs

Photo: Groupe CNIM can be coupled together and from ramp to ramp MLC100 W vehicles can be transport- ed on inland waterways. When 12 AAAB systems are coupled together from ramp to ramp, a 150 metre bridge can be cre- ated, capable of supporting the crossing of MLC100 W and MLC70 T vehicles. Wider spans can be crossed using more AAABs.

Industry Thoughts for NATO

Most countries have two lines of thinking regarding bridge-crossing capabilities. One is to have an asset that is easy to store and The CNIM Motorised Floating Bridge is also in service with the French Army. procure and that sways users towards a pontoon bridge preference. The second is a need for a fast deployable solution, in which case an amphibious answer is preferred; this

Photo: FNSS is also the preferred solution for modern armies, which want the least manpower- intensive system possible. And while, in the procurement phase, amphibious bridges are more expensive than pontoon options, in the end, after their operational lifetime, amphibious solutions like the M3 will end up cheaper. Pontoon solutions are more manpower intensive and will also need ad- ditional equipment to aid their deployment, including trucks and logistics vehicles are needed to transport, deliver and deploy them, all adding to their overall lifetime cost. So a system like the amphibious M3 will be more cost effective in the long run. The Turkish Armoured Amphibious Assault Bridge produced by FNSS It seems, however, that NATO’s needs are not all black and white. The results of vari- The M3 offers high mobility, availability and sure a correct interface at any time with ous NATO exercises and comments from seamless land to water transition. The rig different types of equipment used among the likes of General Ben Hodges make can be driven directly into a river without the Alliance members. The M3 was combat it very clear that NATO does not, at this preparation and used as a ferry or, when a proven in Iraq by UK forces. time, have enough floating bridge capa- number are joined together from bank to The EFA amphibious bridging and ferry bilities available. But decisions as to which bank, as a bridge. The M3 can carry MLC85 system from French defence manufacturer to procure between pontoon or amphibi- tracked vehicles, (in bridge or ferry configu- CEFA is a 45-tonne system that can enter a ous are really for each country to decide. rations), and eight M3 units and 24 soldiers water obstacle once it has inflated rubber European countries to the east are still can build a 100 m bridge in 10 minutes. The floats; it has high mobility on land and in pontoon oriented, while western nations system can deploy on the move, in or out of the water. It can act as either as a ferry, lean more towards amphibious solutions. water, with no on-site preparation to enter raft, or bridge, with an MLC-70 loading ca- That said, NATO forces including the Ger- the water needed. It can be controlled from pacity. It can be used for wet and dry gap mans and British, are currently looking for inside the cab when ‘swimming’. It can be crossings and is operated by a two-man a follow-on system to the M3, as the M3’s operated by a crew of two. Used as either crew. A 100-metre bridge requires 4 EFA intended end life will be reached around a bridge, or as a multi-bay raft, the M3 vehicles and will take around 15 minutes 2030. The choice, however, is still not clear

28 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES 

vehicles, or above, new and clearer stand- British Presence Confirmed ards are crucial. NATO countries must all Lt Gen Patrick Sanders UK Commander Field Army in Germany was reported in August be able to carry not only their own vehicles last year as saying that the British were now looking to maintain and extend their am- but also the vehicles of all their NATO allies. phibious engineering/M3 capability, reviewing the issue until the start of 2018. He said that the ”partnership between the German First Panzer Division and the British 3UK Conclusion Division remains very close with the two working on a lot of division capabilities includ- ing interoperability, in parallel to the fact that they are serving alongside each other in NATO must address its floating bridge the Baltics.” capabilities as a matter of urgency. While It now seems the review of the matter has borne positive results. In the middle of July MLC classes have evolved steadily since 2018 the British Army announced that it is committed to supporting critical NATO assets WWII, we are now entering a next-gen- in Germany, including a combined river crossing capability and facilities to allow for joint eration phase of new ‘standard loads’ at training. In a statement it said that “there is a requirement to enhance support to NATO a time when NATO forces do not have and to strengthen ties with our European allies. We are committing to a combined river enough floating bridges available to ful- crossing capability with the German Army (Bundeswehr), known as the M3 wide-wet fil their tasks. These are what need to be gap crossing capability, and associated shared facilities in Minden. We will also use the defined by NATO to ensure manufacturers Training Area at Sennelager and supporting infrastructure in Germany to enable live fire know which way they have to go; should training by UK and NATO forces.” Good news for all concerned. they look to MLC100/110/120 and then to a general MLC class, or to a specific product-oriented MLC class? What new as to whether an amphibious, or pontoon main problem is that all the leading NATO vehicle variants and weights/widths/deck system will be chosen as the next solution. countries are increasing the MLC classes of pressures will need to be carried by a next- The decision may be for a mix. What is their tanks. How far vehicle upgrades can generation amphibious solution? And will clear, while this whole matter is still in the go is something manufacturers are looking NATO opt for purely an amphibious so- investigation phase, is that NATO countries at carefully. They have to watch which way lution, or a pontoon system, something are aware they have to do something to the countries develop MLC classes. These completely new? Industry can only respond increase their floating bridge capability. issues make it critical for the standards with the right system when it knows what That said, the M3 remains state-of-the-art groups to come up with new standards for the Alliance wants and these requirements at this time and can carry the heaviest ve- the next 25 to 30 years, and with countries need to be identified urgently. hicles currently in the NATO ORBAT. The now considering the building of MLC120 Meanwhile, over in the east… 

Scan the QR code XV INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION October 9-12, 2018

General Information General Media Technical Partner Partner Partner

Ukraine, Kyiv, Brovarsky Ave, 15  ARMED FORCES Military Capabilities of the Baltic States

Giulia Tilenni

In ESD 5/2017 we discussed why and how the Baltic States were planning to upgrade their military capabilities to better respond to geopolitical threats. One year later, what progress has been made? Photo: US Air Force

The BALTOPS exercise has gained in importance as a signal of the Alliance’s commitment to the countries on the eastern flank. During BALTOPS 2016, a US Air Force B-52 STRATOFORTRESS leads a formation of aircraft, in- cluding two Polish F-16 FIGHTING FALCONs, four US Air Force F-16 FIGHTING FALCONs, two German Eurofighter TYPHOONs and four Swedish GRIPENs over the Baltic Sea on 9 June 2016.

fter the crisis in Ukraine, Estonian, Lat- whether the Portuguese, Greek or Belgian The Baltic states’ new defence plans for the Avian and Lithuanian political leaders governments (to give a few examples) 2020 timeframe have been built around took a closer look at the defence of their would accept human losses to protect Tal- three key predicates: raising the defence countries. linn, Riga or Vilnius. The EU could provide budget to 2% of GDP (according to the Although NATO has been responsible for similar military assistance under Article NATO request formulated in 2016), bol- their defence since 2014, the Baltic states 42.7. The fact that European defence ca- stering national security strategies to make wondered whether NATO allies would ac- pabilities are limited and the different in- them respond to current threats, and pro- tually provide them with military assistance terpretations of what the activation of this curing new military systems to boost armed in the event of an attack. In theory, this article really means could prevent any form forces’ efficiency. right is granted to all NATO members by of military support. All this considered, the Article V. In practice, it is difficult to judge three Baltic states have been struggling Spending More, and More how long a NATO response could take and to achieve at least some form of autono- Efficiently mous military capabilities to be able to put Author in place limited military operations in case Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius consider it neces- of need. Although these military capacities sary to increase the defence budget not Giulia Tilenni is an analyst would not be sufficiently strong to neu- only to better adapt their defence systems for international affairs based tralise eventual threats, they could help to to current security threats, but also to in Paris, France. provide more time while waiting for sup- strengthen their many negotiating posi- port from the Allies. tions in NATO. Part of the defence budgets

30 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES  of the Baltic States will be used in particular penses. Lithuanian leaders are confident acquisitions. About €40M of the total de- to improve military infrastructure and fa- that the country’s military spending could fence expenditure will be spent on equip- cilities, increase interoperability with NATO reach 2.5% of GDP by 2030. ping the Army and the National Guard. soldiers and increase the contribution to Lithuanian defence expenditure will focus NATO activities (such as by pledging sol- An Overview of Defence on enhancing mobility and intelligence diers and funds for joint operations in areas Investments capabilities, developing and upgrading in- such as landmines and cyber). Estonia was frastructure, and technological capabilities one of the first NATO countries to meet the Each of the three states has defined the (such as C2 structures, cybersecurity and 2% objective (along with the US, the UK, programmes to be financed according to information systems). Greece, Romania and Poland). In fact, its its military planning for the near future. Ac- level of military spending has been above cording to the geopolitical scenario of the The Estonian Example the 2% threshold since 2015. In 2018, the Baltic Sea region, the three states have a Estonian defence budget accounts for special focus on the procurement of new Estonia is probably the Baltic state with the approximately 2.14% of GDP, reaching equipment in order to increase the efficien- most advanced military industry. In fact, €523.6M compared to €479.2M of the cy of their armed forces. In Estonia, most of the country has developed highly relevant previous year. In details, Tallin will spend the 2018 defence investments will be dedi- capabilities in the ITC domain and, con- 30% for personnel, 27% for procurement cated to the mechanisation of the Scout sequently, remarkable technical capacities and investment, and the remaining 43% to battalion. They will include the procure- in the cyber domain. In theory, Estonian cover other defence-related costs. Procure- ment of ammunition and weapons, as well niche capabilities are so technologically ad- ment will mainly concern the support of ar- as communications, clothing and different vanced that they have no rivals within the moured manoeuvring capabilities, and the forms of equipment (IT, personnel special EU. However, Estonia is still struggling to modernisation of training conditions and equipment and personal protective find its place within the European defence facilities (including shelters for armoured market, in which a limited number of coun- combat support vehicles, maintenance tries control more than 80% of the whole and training garages, barracks for Esto- marketplace. Initiatives such as PESCO and nian and NATO troops, and communica- the growing NATO-EU cooperative ef- tions associated with this infrastructure, forts in the cyber domain could to be built in Tapa). Furthermore, as Estonia serve as basis for consolidating is a NATO Security Investment Programme Estonian position among its al- recipient, extra funds will be available lies and, consequently, within

in addition to the €538M base Photo: Milrem Robotics the European market. For in- budget for 2018. stance, the Estonian In 2016, Riga spent defence minister has 1.4% of its GDP on de- recently declared fence. Two years later, that the country will Latvia reached the propose, with Fin- 2% objective by rais- land and Latvia, ing its defence spend- a joint project for ing to €576.4M, a sig- the development nificant increase compared of an autonomous to 2017 – when the budget was land vehicle. This will €449.6M, 1.7% of GDP. The largest be included in the sec- part of the Latvian defence budget will The ond wave of PESCO pro- fund investments (43%), while 24% and Estonian- jects, expected in November 33% of the budget will be used, respec- manufactured 2018. Such a project will allow tively, to fund maintenance and personnel. Milrem THeMIS Estonia to demonstrate its will to ex- According to the Latvian ministry of de- with a PROTECTOR RWS pand its defence industrial capabilities be- fence, investments will fund infrastructure, yond the cyber domain, with a particular air control and defence capabilities, addi- equipment). The National defence League interest for robotics. A growing number of tional mechanisation of their Land Force (the part of the Defence forces consisting Estonian firms have been already using the Mechanised Infantry brigade, and the up- of reservists) will receive defence funding know-how developed in the ITC domain to grade of armed forces and the National as well, with a particular focus on amelio- implement robotics solutions. Unmanned Guard’s combat and response capabilities. rating land forces’ protection, rapid reac- vehicles are the core of this process, as dem- Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania has joined the tion and management capabilities. Other onstrated by the Estonian company Milrem exclusive club of NATO countries spending investments will fund equipment for intel- (awarded the CV90 maintenance contract more than 2% of their GDP for defence. In ligence and special operations, and naval with BAE systems in April 2018). When 2018, Lithuanian defence expenditure has minehunters' life-cycle maintenance. the Milrem UGV THeMIS was presented will reach €873M, about 2.01% of its GDP. Latvia is expected to invest in military trans- at DSEI in 2015, the firm was a newcomer This means a €149.2M or 20.6% increase port (28% of the total amount), ammuni- in the defence domain. In three years, the compared to 2017. In detail, 41.6% of the tion (15%), weapons (13%) and individual company has not only been able to fur- Lithuanian defence budget will be spent equipment (8%). Seventy percent of the to- ther develop THeMIS’ modularity (one of on personnel and 13.5% on weapon and tal procurement budget will be dedicated the most relevant features of the system), military equipment, 20.2% on investments to supporting existing programmes, while but has also established several partner- and 15.3% on maintenance and other ex- the remaining part will be used for new ships with international firms (includingST

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 31  ARMED FORCES

able surface-to-air missiles, to be delivered by 2020. The contract includes an option for the purchase of up to €100M in ad- ditional missiles. Thanks to this contract

Photo: MoD Lithuania – the third between the two parties, as Estonian forces have been using MISTRAL since 2009 – Estonia will be one of the first countries to deploy MISTRAL 3 missiles. The agreement also includes the procure- ment of training missiles, simulators and testing equipment. In the same month, Tallinn signed an agree- ment with South Korea for the purchase of Samsung Techwin K9 THUNDER self-pro- pelled 155mmm howitzers, to be delivered between 2020-2021 and 2026. This €46M contract includes 12 artillery systems, train- ing, maintenance and spare parts. The “National Plan for 2022” focuses On 15 December 2017, the Lithuanian Armed Forces received their first mainly on land capabilities, as this opera- two VILKAS/BOXER training IFVs. tional environment is the most crucial for the country. However, Estonia is planning Kinetics, Raytheon, FN Herstal, MBDA) sponse.” The 1st Infantry Brigade, located to further develop its mine warfare capa- for evaluating the integration of different in Tapa, will be equipped with a mix of ex- bilities as well as its aerial capabilities, es- weapon systems on its platform. Numer- isting and new materiel. The ones already pecially in regard to the ability to perform ous armed forces are currently conducting in Estonian armed forces’ inventories in- surveillance missions autonomously. tests to evaluate possible purchases of the clude JAVELIN anti-tank missiles and PASI systems. Should Estonian firms be able to XA-180 EST armoured personnel carriers. The Most Relevant affirm their technical capabilities in robot- New equipment will include self-propelled Procurement Programmes ics, Estonia could increase its heft within artillery systems and new personnel equip- in Latvia the EU defence market, thus multiplying its ment, weapons and ammunition, as well as chances of wielding influence in it. 44 BAE Systems HÄGGLUNDS AB CV9035 In Latvia, too, the increase in the defence Estonia is also trying to gain the confidence infantry combat vehicles and auxiliary ve- budget will have a positive impact on pro- of its allies through political measures. In hicles, purchased from the Netherlands in curement programmes, in particular on im- particular, Tallinn is working to reaffirm its 2014, with deliveries between 2016 and proving the Mechanised Infantry Brigade cooperative attitude in the defence field. 2019. These systems will be joined by an- and, more generally, on strengthening the Some 50 Estonian soldiers were sent to other 37 in the next years. Bought from combat capabilities of the land forces and Mali to participate in the French military Norway, they need to be refitted before the National Guard. mission in the country. Estonia is well aware use. A bid is open to decide which firm On 12 February 2018, Riga signed a €108M that this small contingent will have no sig- will be in charge of this modernisation, and contract with EuroSpike (a Rafael joint ven- nificant military impact on the mission. the contract could be awarded later this ture company) for the purchase of SPIKE However, Tallinn sees this presence as a year. The 2nd Infantry Brigade, expected anti-tank missiles, to be gradually inte- kind of compensation for the allies’ efforts to reach its full readiness by 2022, will be grated by 2023. SPIKE will equip the 123 to protect the Baltic States. Estonia recently based in Luunja. Its equipment will include Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) signed the Letter of Intent to launch the JAVELIN anti-tank missiles, 155mm how- SCIMITARs bought in 2014 from the Unit- European intervention initiative promoted itzers, and the equipment and weapons ed Kingdom (€48.1M) and in delivery until by French President Macron to facilitate needed to reach combat readiness. 2020. joint planning and establish a rapid reac- The year 2018 is an important one for the Tactical mobility, communication and per- tion force to neutralise threats to European Estonian armed forces, as the country has sonnel equipment are considered impor- security. This initiative welcomes the par- concluded three main deals for the mod- tant assets to enhance Latvian armed forc- ticipation of non-EU countries, in particular ernisation of its defence capabilities – SHO- es’ capabilities. In order to make its Armed the United Kingdom after Brexit. RAD (Short Range Air Defence), automatic forces and the National Guard more effi- rifles and howitzers. cient, Latvia procured different types of off- Estonia: Constant Spending In March 2018, Estonia launched a €54M road vehicles in 2018. These include three Means Better Military tender to purchase M107 howitzer pro- different models of 62 Polaris all-terrain Planning jectiles, as well as propellant charges and vehicles (about €428M, co-financed by the others. The country is also expected to US), procured in January, and the military Estonia has been extensively working on procure new ammunition for the JAVE- version of BPR OUTLANDER MAX 650XT, raising its defence forces’ readiness. Ac- LINs thanks to US funds granted to Baltic procured in June (€11M contract) with de- cording to Estonia’s “National Plan for States to ameliorate their defence capabili- liveries to be completed by next year. 2022”, the country plans to enhance its ties ($170M in total). In terms of personnel equipment, the defence capabilities by establishing “two In June, Estonia signed a €50M contract armed forces, National Guard and Border fully manned, armed and equipped infan- with MBDA to procure additional MISTRAL Guard will progressively be provided with try brigades that are capable of quick re- short-range air defence missiles/man port- new Heckler & Koch G-36 assault rifles,

32 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES  purchased in 2018 under a €13M seven– Moreover, Vilnius signed a €109M contract to improve its military infrastructure. The year–long contract which also includes with Kongsberg in October 2017 for the country has also launched (May 2018) the other types of weapons (undisclosed). supply of NASAMS medium- to long-range second stage of negotiations for the pro- Moreover, the Latvian armed forces and air defence missile systems. curement of 4X4 light and medium-sized National Guard are progressively receiving Lithuania is also trying to modernise its tactical vehicles. The Estonian MoD plans their new military tactical radio as a result defence system according to the “total de- to invest more than €2.4Bn between 2019 of the two contracts (one in 2016, the other fence” approach, which focuses on enhanc- and 2022. Investments will likely fund am- in 2017) signed with the US producer Har- ing Lithuanians’ resilience. Thus, the country munition, communications, brigades’ pio- ris. The aim is to reinforce command capa- is multiplying its pedagogic efforts to raise neer capabilities, as well as airborne and bilities within the Latvian army and to ame- awareness about how Lithuanians should naval capacities. Moreover, Estonia is ex- liorate interoperability with NATO allies. Latvia is also working to modernise its aer- ial capabilities, thanks to US funds. While the small air force, 250 regular servicemen, relies on two transport aircraft and fewer Photo: US Army than ten transport helicopters, the Army does not have any aerial capability. Thus, Riga procured two AeroVironment RQ- 20A PUMA UAS units for about €733,000, with deliveries expected in 2019. The first unmanned assets in Latvian armed forces’ inventories will provide the country with persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR), over-the-hill and force protection capabili- ties. Riga is also working on enhancing its airspace security and the efficiency of air traffic surveillance, considered crucial ca- pabilities for Latvia, which is already using three Lockheed Martin radars – the AN/ TPS-777 model. In March 2018, the coun- try received the first (of three) Scania-based Lockheed Martin TPS-77 Multi-Role Radar, Latvia just bought two RQ-20 UAS units to to increase its surveillance bought in 2015. capabilities.

Lithuania: Procurement handle an eventual crisis or conflict, and is pected to create its first cyber command by Programmes, Urban Warfare implementing the 2015 decision (unique in 2022. Lithuania plans to spend more than and Conscription Europe) to reintroduce conscription. €2.5Bn in modernising its armed forces by Vilnius is also at the forefront of urban 2022. In 2018, Lithuanian investments in defence warfare training thanks to two dedicated In addition, all three are working to im- materiel slightly declined compared to 2017 centres, used by both national and NATO prove the relationship between the mili- (from €156.7M to €117.8M). However, Vil- armed forces. In the next years, Lithuania tary and the civilian population in order nius plans to spend €2.2Bn on modernising plans to double the size of these training to strengthen the idea of “total defence”. its armed forces in the 2017-2022 period. facilities. The Pabrade training area will be- These include investments in psychologi- The three main modernisation projects will come able to host a battalion-sized group cal defence and domestic security to better concern the procurement of BOXER (to be (up to 1,200 soldiers), while the Gaiziunai support the population when necessary. renamed VILKAS) armoured infantry vehi- area will be able to train servicemen up to However, the approach with which the cles (to provide the two infantry battalions battalion level. three countries are improving their de- with greater mobility, force protection, and fence capabilities differs when it comes to firepower), self-propelled PZH2000 how- Final Remarks the national defence industry. Latvia and itzers (to make the artillery battalion’s fire Lithuania are highly dependent on foreign support capabilities more efficient), and NA- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are struggling procurement, due to the limited size of SAMS (which will enhance the robustness to reaffirm some autonomous defence their domestic defence industry, and Latvia of air defence systems). Lithuania received capabilities to better adapt them to the is struggling for its place in the European its first two BOXER prototypes in June 2018. regional geopolitical scenario, as well as defence market. The fact that the remark- The two vehicles will remain in Germany to the current political evolutions within able skills acquired in the cyber field could for qualification and test campaign for the NATO, the most effective military alliance soon be complemented by highly relevant whole year. During this time, Lithuania and they are part of. robotic capacities could serve as an impor- ARTEC (the KMW-Rheinmetall consortium In the immediate future, the three countries tant driver in strengthening Estonia’s role in responsible for the vehicle) will finalise the will continue the modernisation of their the European defence market. Indeed, re- last modifications before the start of serial armed forces and territorial defence units markable robotic capabilities will be a first production. Vilnius procured 89 IFV-config- through increased investments and new in the EU and could make an important ured BOXERs in four different variants. Deliv- programmes. For example, Latvia plans contribution to the EU’s efforts towards eries are expected between 2019 and 2021. to invest about €50M per year until 2021 strategic independence. 

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 33

 ARMED FORCES The Brussels Backdrop

NATO Summit Marked By Disputes

Joris Verbeurgt

n Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 cussion and discord between the Allies, no resilience to chemical, biological, radiological OJuly 2018, the 29th formal meeting effort was spared to prevent a repetition and nuclear-related risks, and the promotion of NATO Heads of State and Government of the harsh words between the US on the of the ‘women, peace and security agenda’. took place at the new NATO Headquar- one hand and the European allies on the The two organisations already intensified ters in Brussels. After a short opening other. However, the Secretary-General's cooperation in the field of maritime security, ceremony, during which NATO Secretary passionate plea, the symbolic signs of good countering hybrid threats and fighting ter- General Stoltenberg outlined the Alliance’s will and the demonstration of good inten- rorism. The exchange of real-time warnings on cyber attacks is already taking place and NATO and the EU participate in each other's exercises and cooperate in the refugee and migrant crisis.

Burden Sharing and the Fight against Terrorism Fair burden sharing has been a burning Photo: Presidential Office of Ukraine issue for the USA for many years. Under the Trump administration, however, it has become a an obsession. In May 2017, Presi- dent Trump openly scolded European al- lies for not spending 2% of their GDP on defence, as they should do, according to the NATO rules. Speaking ahead of the Brussels Summit, it was Secretary-General Stoltenberg who brought up the subject by saying that the Allies will deliver on fairer burden sharing and that the European Al- NATO’s 29th Summit took place in Belgium on 11-12 July 2018. lies and Canada are expected to spend an extra US$266Bn on defence between now achievements in building peace and secu- tions could not conceal the deep dissension and 2024. Stoltenberg's démarche did not rity and praised the professionalism and within NATO between US President Trump prevent President Trump from insulting one dedication of the Alliance’s armed forces, and European heavyweights Jean-Claude of NATO's most important allies on the first the leaders of the 29 NATO member states Juncker and Angela Merkel. day of the meeting when he scolded Ger- and 20 partner nations discussed pressing many for participating in the North Stream NATO matters. Also present were repre- NATO and EU Leaders Sign pipeline project, paying billions of dollars a sentatives from the United Nations, the a New Joint Declaration year for the supply of natural gas from Rus- European Union, the World Bank and the sia. Chancellor Angela Merkel countered NATO Parliamentary Assembly. The aim On 10 July, before the official beginning that Germany is an independent country of the meeting was to strengthen NATO's of the meeting, NATO Secretary General that takes its own decisions. attitude of deterrence and defence, to in- Stoltenberg, European Council President To step up NATO’s role in the fight against tensify the fight against terrorism and to Donald Tusk and European Commission Presi- terrorism, the leaders agreed to launch a achieve a fairer distribution of the burden dent Jean-Claude Juncker signed a new Joint new training mission in Iraq, with hundreds - in other words, the traditional issues that Declaration on Cooperation between NATO of NATO trainers. The professionalism of the have been recurring at every NATO meet- and the EU. The new Declaration, two years Iraqi forces will be increased by the establish- ing for two decades. In view of the painful after the initial agreement made in Warsaw, ment of military schools, while key partners experiences of the Warsaw Summit (July states that NATO and the European Union will in the Middle East and North Africa, including 2016) and the Brussels Summit (May 2017), strengthen cooperation in a number of areas, Tunisia and Jordan, will receive more support when the world witnessed criticism, dis- including military mobility, counter-terrorism, from NATO.

34 European Security & Defence · 5/2018

ARMED FORCES 

The Four Thirties The door has been opened for Skopje to Aftermath: Trump and open accession negotiations. Once the the Future of NATO To strengthen NATO’s deterrence and de- historic agreement on the name issue has fence, the Heads of State and Government been concluded and implemented, NATO On 16 July, four days after the NATO adopted the "Readiness Initiative". Com- may invite the former Yugoslav Republic meeting, Presidents Trump and Putin met monly known as the "Four Thirties," this is of Macedonia to become the 30th NATO in Helsinki to discuss relations between a commitment to have 30 mechanised bat- member under its new name, the Republic NATO and the Ukraine and Georgia. On talions, 30 air squadrons and 30 combat ships of Northern Macedonia. 19 July, Putin warned NATO against main- operational within 30 days or fewer by 2020. The Heads of State and Government also met taining closer relations with these former Furthermore, the Allies agreed on a new with close partners Georgia and the Ukraine Soviet republics bordering Russia, say- NATO Command Structure, including a new to discuss regional challenges, defence re- ing such a policy was irresponsible and command for the Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia, form and NATO’s continuing support. Both would have "unspecified consequences and a command for military mobility in Eu- countries are keen to join the Western military for the Alliance". Later, in an interview rope in Ulm, Germany. Staffing levels of these alliance, but have seen their chances of join- with Fox News, Trump (once again) ques- new commands are set at 1,200 personnel. ing hampered by Russian territorial incursions. tioned NATO's purpose and the common They will ensure that NATO has the right forc- Under NATO rules, countries with territorial defence obligations of Article 5. Trump es in the right place at the right time. In addi- conflicts cannot join NATO. wondered why America should risk the tion, the Allies discussed NATO’s response to The summit ended with a discussion on Af- Third World War with Russia for a coun- hybrid threats and agreed to set up a Cyber ghanistan, during which the NATO partners try like Montenegro (NATO member since Operations Centre and new counter-hybrid decided to support the Allies. "Our presence June 5, 2017). In his election campaign, support teams to help NATO members at risk. in Afghanistan is crucial to ensure that the Trump was already very critical of NATO These actions fit in the overall plan of protect- country never again becomes a safe haven and America's commitments to allies who ing the Alliance and its members against “any for international terrorism," said the Secre- contribute little or nothing to the Alliance, potential threat”, according to Stoltenberg, tary General. Heads and to bolster combat readiness by easing the of State and Govern- transport of troops across Europe in the event ment are expected

of a crisis. Although Stoltenberg stressed the to extend the fi- Photo: NATO fact that the new structure does not involve nancing of the Af- an increase in the number of NATO troops, ghan armed forces it is no secret that the new measures are in beyond 2020 and to response to perceived increased threats from express their support Russia. for President Ghani's peace initiative and Key Security Challenges reform efforts. At the end of the NATO also addressed key security challeng- meeting there was es with leaders from Finland and Sweden, a somewhat wrong as well as with the Presidents of the Euro- tone when EU Com- pean Council and the European Commis- mission President sion. Sweden and Finland are already very Jean-Claude Juncker important NATO partners. Both countries was filmed at the ga- are enhanced opportunity partners (EOP), la dinner with wob- NATO’s heads of state walk through the agora of participate in the NATO response force bly feet. Assisted by NATO’s new Brussels headquarters on 11 July 2018. (NRF) and in exercises with the Alliance on the Dutch and Portu- a regular basis. As liberal democracies and guese Prime Ministers, Juncker struggled to to American security or to the defence of advanced industrial economies with high- keep his balance among the other world lead- American interests. President Trump has tech expertise and capabilities that have ers. The media immediately insinuated that been repeatedly irritated by NATO and the military significance, both countries are he was drunk as this was not the first time way in which the burden is shared among well integrated in the EU and share the core that the EU leader had tripped at a summit. the Member States. Although Trump political values on which NATO has been However, his spokesman categorically denied was immediately refuted by high-ranking founded. Could the renewed threat from that Juncker was drunk. According to the members of his own Republican Party and a self-confident Russia encourage Swe- spokesman, he suffered "a particularly painful the Democratic Party, this is a very danger- den and Finland to become full members sciatica attack accompanied by convulsions". ous development for Europe, because the of NATO like the other Nordic countries of Thus began and ended the 29th NATO sum- US can do without NATO in a multipolar Norway, Denmark and Iceland? mit with controversies. world but the EU cannot.

5/20185/2018 · ·European European Security Security & & Defence Defence 35  ARMED FORCES Modernisation of the Russian Armed Forces Achievements, Plans, Objectives

Stephen Blank

One of Vladimir Putin's most important legacies is his reform of the Russian military, but many Western experts do not understand what military reform in Russia means, to where it could lead and how Russia's future defence policy could look.

herefore Western observers cannot Tcome to terms with Putin’s defence legacy or the threats that it poses. Without such an understanding of context, content and direction, they complacently argue that Photos: MoD Russia Russia's problems, which are real, will ne- gate any threat.

The Defence Establishment

By situating Putin’s reform of the entire defence establishment in the context of Russian history, this essay aims to alleviate commonplace misreading of Putin’s ac- complishments. Defence reform, as under- stood in Russia, entails the accompanying or preceding overhaul of the state admin- istration and economy to support the new army that emerges out of a period of major change, either through revolution or “great reforms”. Defence reform therefore goes beyond the Ministry of Defence and the Putin's youth organisation "Young Army" (Junarmija) is a resumption armed forces; it aims to clarify relations be- of the pioneer organisations of the Soviet era, with an emphasis on tween that Ministry and the General Staff, military patriotic education and Russian Orthodox values. revise the military-industrial complex (OPK, Oboronno-Promyshlennyi Kompleks) that of his predecessors, Putin’s reform of the Russian historian S.F. Platonov described as supports those forces and transform the armed forces entailed a systematic over- the pattern of Russian history, namely that state administration that provides the haul of the entire state administration and the collapse of a system of rule is ultimately money, manpower and resources needed the national economy to support a new followed by the restoration of a new form to support a large defence establishment. kind of armed forces suitable for contem- of state power, culminating a few years In other words, and as happened with all porary challenges. This comprehensive later with a transformed army as the true reform also includes a fundamental reas- incarnation of that state power. Author sessment of the nature of contemporary warfare and world politics, as the armed Dr. Stephen Blank is a Senior Fellow Tsar Alexander II forces are structured in response to the per- and Lenin-Stalin at the American Foreign Policy Coun- ception of current and future warfare and cil. He is the author of numerous international relations. Putin apparently abandoned this pattern; foreign policy-related articles, white Seen in the light of Russian history, the de- by putting economic reconstruction above papers and monographs, specifically fence reform that began in 2008 is the cul- other considerations, he apparently tran- focused on the geopolitics and geo- mination of reforms begun by Gorbachev. scended the fundamental historical tenden- strategy of the former Soviet Union, Gorbachev's reforms led to the crisis of cies of Russian statecraft, which repeatedly Russia and Eurasia. He is a former the 1990s, and because of the economic sacrificed the economy to the military and to MacArthur Fellow at the US Army downturn there were no major reforms in great power aspirations. But actually he was War College. the state structure. The current arms build- emulating his Tsarist and Soviet predeces- up also suggests a repetition of what the sors, particularly Tsar Alexander II and Lenin–

36 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES 

Stalin after 1921, all of whom had reorgan- ised the economy and the state first before transforming their respective militaries. Therefore Putin too had to achieve those tasks before even contemplating defence sector reform, because the scope of the lat- ter obliges Russia’s leader to have suitable instruments at his disposal to execute and support reforms, and before 2008 these instruments were not available to Putin. Al- though they were first administrative and economic, Putin’s reforms may well have been intended, or at least set the stage, for the comprehensive defence reform that has occurred in the decade since 2008. But he also initiated a process in which eco- nomic development should not only serve growth itself, but be the basis for an am- bitious global policy to maintain Russia's supposedly inherent superpower status and be independent of foreign constraints. This Russia's army and military industry have shown innovative capabilities. policy logically means a significant increase Here, Nikolai Pankov, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federa- in military expenditure and a stronger em- tion, is opening the "Start in Science" festival at the Orenburg Presiden- phasis on defence issues that are characteris- tial Cadet School. tic of Russian history. Worse still, it inevitably contributes to the spread of great power imise rather than comply with MoD com- a major part of civilian industrial produc- tensions along military lines, some of which mands and/or rent-seek. They have fewer tion, this figure hints at a return to some are already surfacing; the US European degrees of freedom than private Western Soviet ways of thinking and doing business. Command's call for more troops in Europe defence corporations like Boeing, but are Overall responsibility for the programme is is at least partly due to an unforeseeable self-motivated to efficiently produce in ac- vested in the Ministry of Industry and Trade situation in Russia and there is growing will- cordance with Herbert Simon’s bounded and total funding through 2020 would be ingness in some sectors of the US military to rationality framework and William Baumol’s RUB1,067Bn – that is, over RUB200Bn an- see Russia as a potential threat, particularly satisficing concept. This bolstered OPK initia- nually. with regard to nuclear weapons. tive when the MoD stopped prioritising mili- These attributes of the programme under- Thus the reform of the Russian defence- tary R&D. Putin beat the odds by imposing score the ambitious targets for the renova- industrial sector appears to have been de- firm discipline and containing rent seeking, tion of the defence industry. While this pro- liberately planned in 2001-02 as a long-term buttressed with competitive reforms and gramme was being formulated, announced, process that entailed a comprehensive re- sufficient material incentives. These policies, and in the early stages of its implementation, form of the sector and of the state admin- which went largely unnoticed in Western Russia was also formulating the state arma- istration as a precondition to support the literature, provided the basis for the surge ments programme (SAP) or defence pro- overall transformation of the economy and we have seen in this decade and will also gramme for 2018–2027. Although the SAP the state as a whole to support that long- provide the foundation for the targets for naturally was the object of a lot of bureau- term process. Thanks to those processes, current and 2018–27 defence programmes. cratic contention, by 2016 Putin made it clear we are now witnessing an ongoing surge Indeed, not only are the current and fu- that at some point in the in the next decade in Russian defence production. The surge ture defence programmes ambitious, even (if not earlier) defence spending would peak in Russian weapons cannot be explained by if they are being slightly moderated, Mos- and then decline due to the economic cri- revving up idled production lines for fourth- cow also has comparably ambitious plans ses of 2014-16: collapsing energy prices, the generation equipment; instead it reflects for the overall development of the OPK. devaluation of the ruble, and Western sanc- modernisation of weapon characteristics, In 2016, the government approved a new tions on top of the structural impediments to updating old production lines, building programme for the development of this growth. This commitment to make a retreat modern production facilities and switching sector. This programme incorporates some in defence spending at the end of this decade from managerial regimes rewarding execu- earlier federally targeted programmes and or beginning of the next one remains em- tives for mass production rather than mili- is largely classified. But we can discern from bedded in policy. But even though Russian tary R&D. published data the scope of the transfor- officials believe Russia is now (2018) com- However, unlike Soviet arrangements, state mation Moscow wants to see. From the ing out of recession, its economic prospects ownership doesn’t bar OPK enterprises or published sub-programme, we see the gov- are hardly rosy. Moreover, starting in 2016 public–private partnerships (PPP) from com- ernment urging an increase in this sector’s high-ranking officials, possibly perceiving a peting among each other. Military industrial output by 75% in 2020 compared to 2014, deteriorating international situation that has firms (including holding companies) are per- labour productivity is supposed to increase only worsened since 2016, started advocat- mitted to operate on a for-profit basis. They by 137.5% and average monthly wages by ing even more mobilisation of the state and compete for state orders and export sales 77%. Civilian output of the defence indus- economy towards a wartime footing. (contracts) and can outsource. Shareholders try was forecast to grow by 28% by 2020 Thus the new SAP or defence plan for 2018- and/or managers are variously incentivised compared to 2015. And since the defence 27 carries within it an unresolved ambiva- to profit-seek and incompletely profit-max- industry, as in Soviet times, continues to be lence if not contradiction. Reduced defence

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 37  ARMED FORCES spending denotes the leadership’s satisfac- a mass-mobilisation army to meet 21st cen- and the defence industrial sector dates tion that the basic international situation tury security threats. "There was only one back to 2001. The government decisively and Russian defence capabilities do not way out," Putin emphasised, “we had to determined then that, before moving to warrant alarm and can therefore decline. build a new army." Moreover, in midsum- “a new generation” of weapons, it would But this spending fell by much less than mer 2000, the disaster of the Kursk subma- have to undertake a general modernisation Western analysts imagine, because they are rine confirmed that the rot also engulfed the of the overall economy and, in this context, unable to fathom Russia’s highly opaque ad- navy and that the generals would not tell the means of production of new weapons based on new technologies. The govern- ment would first create the new technolo- gies needed to produce the new weapons required by its assessment of contemporary war. Only then could mass production of new weapons begin. Before comprehen- sively overhauling the armed forces, the state economy had to be transformed to the point where it could support the huge expense of defence reform and begin in- troducing a new generation of weapons to overcome the procurement holiday that had been forced on the armed forces due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Concurrently, something few foreign ana- lysts had noted but that was vital, the ad- ministrative reform of the state after 2000 also preceded defence reform. In that con- text and in tandem with the defence reform that began in 2008, Putin and then Presi- The gradual militarisation of Russian society is exemplified by the dent Dmitry Medvedev postulated the need Yekaterinburg Suvorov Military School. for further reform of the state structure to make it ready for mobilisation for strategic ministrative procedures. On the other hand, the truth about their situation. Indeed, he purposes already in the national security published budgetary figures show that due long since knew that the military could not strategy of 2009 and the defence doctrine to the rise in energy prices and despite state- reform itself before he became president. of 2010. Those documents summed up and ments to the contrary, spending in 2018 has The high command was torn by personality launched discussions and projects that had actually grown from what was originally and procurement rivalries between Igor Ser- begun earlier and that have led to the crea- envisaged. The upshot of all this is that – geyev and Anatoly Kvashnin, the Defence tion of a state structure that can mobilise despite too much fatuous analysis that the Minister and Chief of the General Staff re- resources from the private sector or beyond defence sector is hopelessly corrupt, that the spectively. the formal defence structures for defence of economy is failing and that NATO is so much Moreover, Putin also quickly understood the realm at home, still perhaps the great- stronger – Moscow can field the armed that neither the inherited economy nor the est security threat, and also create private forces it needs not only to deter NATO but state structure permitted Russia to maintain as well as paramilitary forces like the Wag- to sustain its superiority in the theatre from any viable military forces in an era of accel- ner force we have seen in Syria and now in the Arctic to the Black Sea against NATO erating change in warfare and of multiply- Africa. But it also entailed the creation of a and enhance its conventional and nuclear ing risks to Russia’s great power status. Thus vast number of other forces attached to the capabilities for some time to come. his military moves had to proceed against Ministry of Interior or local governments or this backdrop of weakness, incompetence, funded by plutocrats, all of whom aimed Defence Reform to 2008 obstruction, and resistance, not to mention to defend the regime, and many of which endemic corruption. And since Putin came were consolidated into the heavily armed Upon entering office and confronting the to power through the military and plans for National Guard of 2016. Chechen insurgency, Putin found that he war in Chechnya, the military took this op- could barely cobble together 65,000 men portunity to demand access to state funds Nuclear Issues and the from disparate units stationed all over Rus- that would have destroyed the economy. So Nature of Contemporary War sia. As he subsequently stated, “In order Putin had to take real control over the mili- to effectively respond to the terrorists, tary and then rebuild the state and national The reform of the defence sector began in we needed to assemble a force of at least economy in order to restore a credible mili- 2008 and preceded the war with Georgia, 65,000 people. And in the entire army, in tary instrument that was truly subordinate to but the military performance during that war the combat-ready units, there were 55,000 centralised authority and not an independ- confirmed the need for reforms. Reform also people, and they were scattered across the ent bureaucratic player. entailed new nuclear weapons and procure- country. The army had 1.4 million people, In February 2000, he ordered the FSB to ments that probably began around 2005-06 and no one to fight. And here they sent un- monitor military units’ allegiance and be- because the nuclear weapons and defence seasoned boys out under fire.” In his article come once again a centralised agency uni- reforms were part of a new perception of in Rossiiskaya Gazeta (2012), Putin became fying counter-intelligence and the political contemporary war. Already in 2003–04, even clearer. Describing the military legacy police within the army. Likewise, the stra- the the government concluded that it was he inherited, Putin depicted the inability of tegic plan to rebuild Russia’s armed forces fighting a new kind of political warfare with

38 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES  the West; on 18 January 2005, Defence around joint missions and command, while encourages leaders to take offensive meas- Minister Sergei Ivanov told the Academy of the entire command and control structure ures, because they know that the threat of Military Sciences: “Let’s face it, there is a was reorganised culminating in the National nuclear weapons brings potential oppo- war against Russia under way, and it has Defence Management Centre (NDMC), nents to a standstill. been going on for quite a few years. No one opened in 2014. Meanwhile, existing nucle- We see this coming true in Moscow’s behav- declared war on us. There is not one country ar weapons were modernised and new ones iour and apparent nuclear strategy. Russian that would be in a state of war with Russia. created. Both types of nuclear weapon were doctrine says that nuclear weapons deter But there are people and organisations in integral parts of the strategy and essential to local wars, namely, campaigns like those in various countries, who take part in hostilities the continuation of reform. Georgia, Ukraine, and now Syria. This is be- against the Russian Federation.” Indeed, as Sir Richard Shirreff, NATO’s Depu- cause the document detailing that strategy More recently, Dmitri Trenin, Director of the ty SACEUR from 2011-2014, stated, “Russia and conditions for nuclear use is classified Moscow office of the Carnegie Endowment, hardwires nuclear thinking and capability and its doctrinal statements are hardly re- observed that, for some time, ”the Kremlin to every aspect of their defence capability.” vealing. It is hardly revealing to say that nu- has been de facto operating in a war mode.” Dmitry Adamsky likewise observes that, clear weapons could be used in a first strike One sign of this war is that by 2007-08, that “The nuclear component is an inseparable if the survival of the state is at risk, especially is, a decade ago, European Security services part of Russian operational art that cannot if it is haunted by the spectre of state disin- were reporting across the board an enor- be analysed as a stand-alone issue,” be- tegration and cannot afford to lose a war it mous expansion in Russian espionage, both cause it abets Russian conventional threats is waging. But Russia’s “nuclear behaviour” traditional and economic, across Europe. and aggression through the deterrence of is sufficient grounds for real anxiety. That war is manifested in current military adversaries’ counteraction to that aggres- Russian thought as the promotion of “col- sion. Similarly, Major Amos C. Fox (USA) Nuclear Escalation Dominance our revolutions", which the Russian military writes that the strategic defence provided regards as any insurgency against authori- by Russian nuclear weapons and the IADS Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris ob- tarian regimes. In 2006, Ivanov publicly facilitate the attainment of all of Russia’s serve that, “Whatever the correct inter- stated that the greatest threat perceived by conventional warfare objectives: deterring pretation of Russia’s nuclear strategy is, Russia was alleged foreign efforts (and since NATO expansion into Russia’s historic sphere Moscow seems to be administering that domestic ones are also invariably special of influence, retaining regional hegemony in strategy more dynamically and offensively operations fomented by the West all such Eurasia, and demonstrating improvements than it did a decade ago. Russian officials revolutions are inherently foreign) to alter to Russian military capabilities. have made many statements about nu- the constitutional order in any of the CIS states, including Russia. These perceptions drove an asymmetric strategy that we now see, for instance, the heavy reliance on a Russian concept of in- formation and cyber warfare. Thus Ivanov observed in 2007 that, “the development of information technology has resulted in information itself turning into a certain kind of weapon. It is a weapon that allows us to carry out would-be military actions in prac- tically any theatre of war and, most impor- tantly, without using military power. That is why we have to take all the necessary steps to develop, improve, and, if necessary – and it already seems to be necessary – develop new multipurpose automatic control sys- tems, so that in the future we do not find ourselves left with nothing.” Ivanov’s statement strongly suggests that Putin has succeeded in reconnecting Russia´s military to modern Russia sees its cyber capabilities as giving it technological developments. asymmetric or alternative ways to counter Western challenges and threats by what are That much is obvious. But beyond that, the clear weapons that appear to go beyond clearly militarily superior adversaries. presence of nuclear weapons is perhaps the the published doctrine, threatening to Accordingly, the 2008 defence reform first critical component for modern hybrid potentially use them in situations that do aimed at creating an asymmetric force warfare. Nuclear weapons provide protec- not meet the conditions described. For that could deter the West through nuclear tion against a massive ground response to example, officials explicitly threatened to parity and information war (IW), while at an incremental war; the offensive nation use nuclear weapons against ballistic mis- the same time creating sufficient conven- that possesses nuclear weapons knows that sile defence facilities, and in regional sce- tional post-Soviet power to ward off and the adversary is unlikely to commit large narios that do not threaten Russia’s sur- quickly overcome NATO-backed challenges forces to a conflict for fear of the aggres- vival or involve attacks with weapons of or other threats on former Soviet territory. sor employing those weapons against those mass destruction. Moreover, the fact that The bloated Soviet establishment was jet- ground or naval forces. This dynamic em- Russian military planners are pursuing a tisoned, brigades replaced divisions and ar- boldens the aggressor nation. In the case broad range of existing and new versions mies and new military districts, organised of Russia, possession of nuclear weapons of nuclear weapons suggests that the real

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 39 envisions limited nuclear strikes on NATO targets early in a conflict in a bid to frighten Western leaders into suing for peace on terms favourable to Moscow. Even if such strikes are never employed, the possibility enhances Russia’s coercive leverage in a crisis and to blackmail threats in peacetime.” Given steadily deteriorating perceptions of the external security order and growing ap- prehensions about the threat, and in view of Russia’s continuing conventional inferiority to a fully mobilised NATO and US, this per- ception and strategy for nuclear weapons creates strong pressures for first strike use. “Honour – Duty – Motherland”: A military aviation parade at Migalovo As Kipp and Kroenig observe, “Russia’s nu- air base near Tver on 5 June 2018 clear forces and strategy also present a num- ber of weaknesses, however, that could be doctrine goes beyond basic deterrence While such a scenario has not yet occurred subject to Western exploitation. Russia does and towards regional war-fighting strat- and is not immediately likely, the Russian nu- not prefer dependence on nuclear weap- egies or even weapons aimed at bluntly clear threats show not only brazenness, but ons, but is forced to rely on them largely in causing terror.” more importantly, how nuclear scenarios are order to offset conventional disadvantages. As Colin Gray observes, although there is intertwined with conventional wars. Indeed, This creates a number of problems, includ- no sign of Russian discourse coming true escalation dominance is attainable only ing imposing demands for rapid escalation concerning the use of a nuclear weapon if Moscow can also obtain sufficient con- in the case of successful initial operations to defeat NATO in limited nuclear scenar- ventional superiority in the theatre to win by opposing forces. In addition, leaders in ios, Moscow talks as if it can achieve this in the initial phase of the war before NATO Moscow must confront the prospect that outcome. He writes that Putin and others or anyone can react. Arguably a seamless limited nuclear warfare might be conducted have decided to explicitly introduce ruthless web leads from conventional scenarios up across the depths of Russia’s homeland if threats, including nuclear ones, into Russia's to and including these supposedly limited NATO honours commitments to the Baltic argumentation about acute international nuclear war scenarios, perhaps using tactical States and the conflict escalates to the nu- crises. They hypothesize about the high po- nuclear weapons for which the West as yet clear level.” litical value that would accrue as a result of has found no response. Or, as Finnish LTC Pertti Forsstrom argues, nuclear use on a limited scale. The hoop, ap- Thus Jacob Kipp and Matthew Kroenig ob- “In this way the content of the concept of parently, is that the NATO enemy, certainly serve that, “In the past decade and a half, traditional strategic deterrence is broadened the less robust members, at least, would be Russia has come to rely more on nuclear to cover both Russian nuclear and conven- outgunned either by the actuality, or more weapons as a means of deterrence and for tional assets. On the other hand, the abol- likely only by the credible threat of nuclear war fighting to manage local wars. The pos- ishment of the restrictions for the use of nu- use, especially in a first-strike mode. sibility of a local war against NATO remains clear weapons means that the dividing line Not surprisingly, and in conformity with Moscow’s highest priority security threat. between waging war with conventional or our argument above, Gray concludes that Russia relies on the early resort to nuclear with nuclear weapons is vanishing. When Russia seeks escalation dominance. Gray use in part to offset its aggregate conven- the principle of surprise is connected to this continues: “In the language of now-classic tional inferiority vis-à-vis NATO. Moscow’s idea, it seems that Russia wants to indicate strategic theory from a past generation of concept of “de-escalatory” nuclear strikes that non-strategic nuclear weapons could be theorists, the Russians currently are talking with apparent seriousness about nuclear escalation dominance. Russian theorists claim, perhaps expect, they could win a war wherein Russia employs nuclear weap- ons on a very modest scale. This expec- tation follows from a Russian belief that Moscow’s employment of a few nuclear weapons would give them a decisive co- ercive edge in the diplomacy that should follow. Russian authors have advised us ironically that the use of these weapons would prove to be a decisive de-escala- tory move – de-escalatory because NATO would be expected to capitulate. The high determination shown unmistakably by the fact of Russian nuclear use would surprise, even shock, audiences politically around the world. Thus with unmatched boldness Russia should achieve a considerable politi- cal, perhaps even military, victory.” Russia's military moves back into the middle of society.

40 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES  regarded as “normal” assets on a conven- before) mobilised the civil administration, it at home by the threat of force and the in- tional battlefield. This is the basis upon which even mobilised banks to pay soldiers in the vocation of the maxim that the fatherland Russia regulates the level of deterrence for field and hospitals to establish field hospi- or motherland is in danger. This, of course, example in the Kaliningrad exclave. By intro- tals during those exercises, a true sign of is hardly a uniquely Russian phenomenon, ducing the concept of pre-emptive strike to mobilising the entire state structure on be- but it does mean the systematic generation its military means, Russia is trying to enhance half of a large war where the survival of the of a war psychosis replete with demands its non-nuclear deterrence even further.” state is obviously at some risk. Likewise, the for military action and readiness along with Zapad 2017 exercise highlighted a concept high spending and allocational priority as A New Stavka? of operations that correlates nuclear drills under Soviet power. and exercises with the mobilisation of civilian Nevertheless the Russian defence estab- And if one looks at Russia's nuclear procure- administrative authorities and institutions as lishment has developed a coherent, evolv- ment plan until 2025, then the fusion of in Zapad 2017 and in Kavkaz 2016. Zapad ing, and adaptable theory of contempo- nuclear weapons with Russia's war strategy 2017 also pointed to an anticipation of ac- rary and future war as it moves towards becomes even clearer. Thus, current trends tual nuclear war fighting. Therefore contro- hypersonics, additive printing, robotics after a decade of reform and consolidation versies over the role of nuclear weapons in and artificial intelligence. It has reformed indicate a heightened readiness and war Russian strategy and the question of wheth- and greatly improved its defence admin- psychosis orchestrated by the government across the media as well as in the state ad- ministration. For example, Russian analysts told Asia Times Online that a new Stavka – the central operational command organ under Stalin in World War II – that would mobilise the entire country in wartime is now in the making. This follows a decade of organisational reform. Already, the 2009 National Security Strategy insisted upon an overhaul of the state administration to make it more effective and usable in war- time. Since then, defence reform abolished most army divisions and corps, replacing them with brigades that are increasingly capable of complex joint operations, and it introduced new military districts congruent with civilian administrative structures, such as the joint Arctic Strategic command in Putin is emulating his Tsarist predecessors, particularly Tsar Alexander 2014 and the 1st Guards Tank Army, which II: Festive Easter Liturgy at a joint exercise of Russian and Belarusian augmented some brigades facing Ukraine Airborne Forces in Brest on 13 April 2018 where the danger of war is most acute, and defence reform also created the NDMC. er or not Russia has a high or low thresh- istration and force quality as well as the The NDMC will presumably function as that old for nuclear use remain unresolved. But ability of its defence industry to service Stavka, given its ability to monitor develop- the reform of conventional forces that has those forces. Its capacity for sustained ments across the entire country, coordinate created a formidable Anti-Access Area De- force projection has been validated, and regional and civilian administrations with nial (A2AD) combined naval and air defence may be expanding through the innova- the military and mobilise the state and civil capability and great striking power, along tive use of “private” forces, like Wagner institutions. Putin has also created dozens of with heightened exercises, and unmistak- or those raised by oligarchs in conjunction private military forces, including the Wagner able superiority in electronic warfare – even with Ukraine and Russia’s campaign for force, paramilitaries of all sorts, and then – in if surface ships are inferior – has given Russia naval bases throughout the Middle East 2016 – the National Guard, whose two main a truly formidable military force. There is little and the Mediterranean. It is building, de- functions are the suppression of civil unrest doubt that such a force can achieve rapid spite punishing sanctions, truly formidable and the conduct of military operations that strategic objectives along its frontiers in the conventional, nuclear and unconventional the Army would prefer not to handle or that initial stages of conflict, although protracted informational – and possibly biological and would slow down its operations, or drain conflicts are another matter entirely. chemical – weapons for future conflicts. the state budget, or complicate strategic in- The Russian government and media have Meanwhile it has also greatly strength- terests and decision-making. The creation clearly highlighted moves that suggest the ened its administrative control over the of the National Guard and the use of such likelihood of a major war with the West entire country, should mass mobilisation formations, including Cossacks, to suppress and the return of this contingency to centre become necessary. Indeed, to date Russia unrest as the latter did in May 2018 is also a stage in military planning. While there is no has won all of its wars since 2000, while process that began over a decade ago and discernible serious Western military threat the US record is hardly brilliant in this re- continues to evolve. – notwithstanding blaring Russian propa- gard. Therefore the complacency that too We also see preparations for mobilisations in ganda to that effect – it is also possible that many Western “experts” and observers Russian exercises, many of which, if not all, this lurch towards structural militarisation – a still express concerning Russia’s military also have a nuclear component or accompa- term coined by the late Vitaly Shlykov – de- prospects is therefore not only unwar- nying exercise. In the Kavkaz 2016 exercises, notes as well a comprehensive movement ranted and misguided, but also exceed- Russia not only once again (having done so directed towards stifling any public protest ingly dangerous. 

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 41  ARMED FORCES “The Navy is on the right course”

Interview with Vice Admiral Andreas Krause, Chief of the German Navy

ESD: In the past three years the Navy has part needs to be produced in an elaborate been stretched to its limits in terms of per- and time-intensive manner. But here too sonnel and materiel by the large number the right steps are being taken. With the of deployments, running in parallel, in second set of submarines, we have also response to crises and conflicts. Has this initiated the procurement of a spare parts situation eased, or is it still going on? package for all the boats, and we have also Krause: In the past we have been se- concluded a framework maintenance and verely stressed with regard to personnel repair contract with the industry concerned. and materiel in respect of capacity for Both measures are aimed at cutting down deployment, But, despite that, we, the dockyard times, and making things easier to German Navy, have been in a position to plan. That is in any event what I am antici- fulfil the orders and tasks assigned to us, pating, and expecting. A particular focus of every time and any time. This is thanks attention for me, as well as this challenge, is not least to the high commitment of the the issue of the Navy addressing the certifi-

men and women who serve in the Navy, Photo: Bundeswehr cation of our submarine crews as a top pri- at every level. In this context, I adopt the Vice Admiral Andreas Krause, ority, so as to get this weapons system back principle that anything which does not di- Chief of the German Navy in full operational readiness once again. rectly contribute to effectiveness in or for deployment, or to the defence of the Alli- and how should the inadequate state be ESD: The process of shrinking the fleet has ance and the country, is consistently to be overcome? come to an end. The time has come for it regarded as of secondary concern. Things Krause: I am now glad to say, with regard to start to grow again, and for new vessels will definitely ease in the middle term with to the situation involving submarines, that to be laid down. What shape is the Navy regard to the readiness for action, both by the end of the year we will be able to use procurements programme taking, and for personnel and materiel. A precondi- three submarines again, and perhaps actu- which units and weapons systems need tion for the course which has been set ally four. U31 has in the interim successfully to be replaced or produced as new? does however entail all the planning being passed its performance trials, and is regularly Krause: The shrinking of the fleet, which backed financially, and that we have our going to sea. This is where the economies went on for years, is happily now behind sights set jointly on our targets. necessarily incurred from the peace dividend us. Even if this is still in the planning, over have at last caught up with us. Because for the next 10 years the Navy should be re- ESD: The state with regard to materiel reasons of costs we have been obliged, ceiving every year at least one seaborne (readiness for action of weapons systems) among other things, to do without spare or airborne weapons system. One special of the Federal Armed Forces is at the pre- parts packages on the scale required, we are project in this respect is without doubt sent time inadequate. This also relates faced today with the situation that we rapid- the MKS180 multipurpose warship. This to the Navy, for example, with regard to ly reach the limits of our capacities, especially is a vessel which will be equipped with a submarines. What are the causes of this, with unforeseen events arising. Every spare unique range of capabilities, such as the Navy has never seen before. The MKS 180 cannot be replaced by a K130 corvette, or indeed any other seagoing combat re- source. This applies, incidentally, to all the Graphic: MTG ships, boats, and aircraft of the Fleet: Eve- ry seagoing weapons platform is unique, with its specific capabilities, and it is only as a composite, in joint effect, that the Fleet is in a position, as a whole or in ap- propriate mixed formations, to conduct war at sea in three dimensions. This is why I always speak of the “balanced” Fleet, which we need to direct with its full range of capabilities to achieve high intensity of effect. Only then can we, with one and the same Fleet, be confident of the de- In late 2025, the German Navy will receive its first MKS 180 multirole frigate. fence of the nation and of the Alliance

42 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES  and equally of responding to international crises and resolving of conflict. It does not work the other way round. But back to the Photo: PZM MKS 180. For the first time, and as a direct consequence of the armaments agenda, we are already pursuing new courses even with the invitation to tender. This is not only Europe-wide, but also conjectured as an iterative process. The aim is mini- misation of risk. Better that the invitation to tender takes more time, but leads to a satisfactory construction contract, with realisation risks which can be overcome at the same time, rather than suddenly be- ing confronted in the construction phase with problems which cost us not only time but money too. There can be no question, then, of the present invitation to tender process being interrupted. On the con- trary, everything is going to plan, and is going to continue to do so. The executive of the BMVg is holding to the previous course. I am anticipating the launch of the first MKS 180 by the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026. As well as the MKS180 project, we are also working intensively on the German- The Class 130 corvettes will receive a UAV capability. Norwegian submarine cooperation under- taking, the successor to the Sea-Lynx, the country and the Alliance. This defence of the future Baltic Maritime Component extending of amphibious capabilities, and a the country and Alliance in context is what Command in Rostock, the strong position UAV for the K130 corvette. Double-hulled dictates the structure and capability. For of the German Navy in international inter- tankers, and successors to the units of sea this reason, it is correct and important that action will be emphasised still further. All mine defence capacity, are all intended to the entire spectrum of possible tasks is in- in all, the Navy is on the right course to build up the German Navy of the future. corporated in the development of capabili- sustain its success in the future. The bilateral agreement which I signed in ties, with concentration on high-end capa- December last year with my Norwegian bilities. We need the flexibility and stamina ESD: What are the greatest challenges counterpart will among other things result to be able to be deployed on anything from facing the Navy in the years to come? in the procurement of two further sub- police actions in the crisis management Krause: The greatest challenges lie in the marines as from the middle of the next context through to high-intensive, three- realisation of planned new units, and in decade. As well as that, the contract for dimensional warfare. upholding the availability of existing ves- the second set of five corvettes was al- This position is being constantly broad- sels, at a high level. In this context, the ready signed in September 2017, before ened in response to the wishes of the part- effort must also be sustained to have the the Bundestag elections. ner nations to intensify the cooperation, in right men and women on board. To do To round off this question, I would like to order to master together the challenges of this, it will also be necessary to achieve the make one further point. Despite an essen- our times. What is clear is that no nation inner positive attitude, the “mind-set”, of tially positive assessment for the years ahead, can achieve this alone. If we take a look every single member of personnel, men I must say that the procurement process at our partners in the EU, this has mani- and women, to embark on new courses needs to be overall faster, more flexible, and festly been recognised, and is reflected in as well. Thanks to the winds of change in more committed to its aims. In many areas the Permanent structured Cooperation, personnel, materiel, and finances, we are procurement is still simply taking too long. PESCO for short. PESCO is strengthening at the start of the upswing, and the most military cooperation in Europe. comprehensive modernisation of the Navy ESD: In view of the resurgence of defence We, as the German Navy, can justly and since it was founded. This will be a cam- for the country and for the Alliance, the rightly contend that we are already ahead paign involving everyone. It will be a chal- Baltic has once again become a geostra- of our time. The German-Norwegian co- lenge for all of us. We may perhaps also tegic focus for NATO. What stance is the operation in the submarine sector is also have to consider taking a step back, and German Navy adopting to the situation, as to be seen as a beacon project in line with then making another run-up. Achieving all the largest navy in the Baltic region? PESCO, even without Norway being a this will demand a lot from us, one way or Krause: If we consider the geostrategic lo- member of the EU. another. But it will be worth it. We are in cation of Germany on its own and within But also close-knit cooperation and in- the process of creating a Navy which will NATO, the German areas of maritime inter- tegration with the Dutch Navy, and the be even more ready for action, and more ests extend from the northern flank to the interaction in the context of the “Baltic attractive to serve in as well. Mediterranean. But they also extend into Commanders Conference”, are ongoing the Indopacific region. In this situation, the proof that the Navy is very well placed to The questions were posed by paramount focus is on the defence of the face the future. With the building up of Dieter Stockfisch.

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 43  ARMED FORCES Deadly US Navy Accidents Reveal Need to Reform Training

Sidney E. Dean

Between June and August last year, two destroyers of the 7th Fleet of the US Navy were rammed laterally by merchant ships, with seventeen servicemembers killed. Both warships were severely damaged. There was no personal injury or significant damage to property on the merchant ships, whose displacement was three to four times greater than that of the destroyers.

he US Navy’s Japan-based 7th Fleet or danger signal or to notify the CO even Texperienced four major ship accidents after the danger was recognised; became in 2017, including two deadly collisions in confused and issued contradictory orders;

June and August, with a total of 17 service- Photos: US Navy and failed to sound the collision alarm. The members killed. The two latter collisions report also faulted personnel of the Com- also caused hundreds of millions of dollars bat Information Center (CIC) for “failing to in damage to the two destroyers, while comprehend the complexity of the operat- the commercial vessels (each of which had ing environment” (by misinterpreting radar three to four times the destroyers’ displace- data) and not communicating effectively ment) experienced no casualties and only with the bridge regarding potential threats. superficial damage. With regard to the collision between Navy investigations determined that, in USS JOHN S. MCCAIN (DDG 56) and the three of the four incidents, faulty shiphan- tanker ALNIC MC on 21 August in the dling by the military crew was to blame. A heavily trafficked Straits of Singapore, the report released on 1 November 2017 fol- Navy cited two major contributory factors: lowing the review of the two fatal collisions “MCCAIN's commanding officer disre- cited failures and violation of operational garded recommendations from his execu- rules by watchstanders, as well as leader- tive officer, navigator and senior watch of- ship inattention to crew compliance with ficer to set sea and anchor watch teams standard operating procedures, to be the in a timely fashion to ensure the safe and primary cause of the accidents. “Both of effective operation of the ship. With re- these accidents were preventable,” said gard to procedures, no one on the bridge Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral watch team, to include the commanding John Richardson following release of the officer and executive officer, were prop- report. “We must do better.” Admiral Philip Davidson is erly trained on how to correctly operate currently Commander, US Pacific the ship control console during a steering Report Faults Watchstanders Command. casualty.” This was partially because sev- eral members of the bridge watch had only Specifically regarding the 17 June colli- by the CO’s standing orders); maintained recently transferred from a cruiser; while sion between USS FITZGERALD (DDG 62) too high a speed in a sea lane with moder- these sailors were inadequately trained on and the container ship ACX CRYSTAL 100 ately heavy traffic; repeatedly failed to cal- the MCCAIN's bridge systems, they were kilometres southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, culate course and speed of vessels within entrusted with steering controls. The of- the report found that the bridge watch’s 5,000 metres proximity; repeatedly crossed ficer responsible for training standards was Officer of the Deck (OOD), responsible for the bow of ships (in one case within 600 himself deficient in vital aspects of the con- the safe navigation of the vessel, repeated- metres proximity) rather than astern as pre- trol system. ly failed to notify the commanding officer scribed by the international nautical rules of In the minutes leading up to the collision, when the FITZGERALD approached within the road); attempted to calculate the course the MCCAIN's helmsman demonstrated 5,000 metres of other vessels (as required of the CRYSTAL by radar, but miscalculated difficulty handling both steering and by 1,400 metres (it is unclear whether the thrust control. This prompted the captain Author officer was even tracking the correct ves- to order thrust control transferred to the sel); ignored warnings by the Junior Officer lee helm station (immediately to the right Sidney E. Dean is President of the Deck that the CRYSTAL was on a of the helm station). Inadvertently, steer- of Transatlantic Euro-American potential collision course and ignored sug- ing control was also transferred, prompt- Multimedia LLC. and a regular gestions to alter speed and course until col- ing the helmsman to declare emergency contributor to ESD. lision was imminent; made no attempt to loss of steering. Secondary to this loss of communicate with the CRYSTAL by radio control, the rudder had been automatically

44 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 centred while the two propellers operated with different thrust settings, causing the MCCAIN to deviate from its course and cross into the ALNIC’s path. The bridge watch, focused on trying to regain steering control, initially remained ignorant of this deviation. Full control of steering and thrust were regained within two minutes, but the distraction caused the bridge to lose situ- ational awareness until seconds before be- ing rammed by the tanker.

Disciplinary Action and On the evening of the accident, the USS FITZGERALD bridge crew only Courts Martial looked out to port, although the radar showed several hits on star- board. The approaching container ship CRYSTAL was visually detected Between the FITZGERALD and the MC- only three minutes before the collision. CAIN, a total of 18 crew members of all ranks, including the commanding and executive officers of both ships, were dis- ciplined over the collision. At this time, several officers still face courts martial on charges of negligent dereliction of duty re- sulting in death and hazarding a vessel, but charges of negligent homicide have been dropped. Special attention has been paid to the ac- tions of the junior officers of the deck (en- sign through lieutenant). On the FITZGER- ALD in particular, junior officers were charged with the primary responsibility for the accident, as they were the rank- ing personnel on the bridge and in the CIC when the collision occurred. The dis- ciplinary hearings for these junior officers confirmed the findings of the November report, namely that several lieutenants had demonstrated gross incompetence, igno- rance of basic operating procedures and/or negligence during the incidents. Defence Bridge simulator at the Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, attorneys and witnesses presented mitigat- Rhode Island ing circumstances. The Fitzgerald’s OOD’s inability to properly calculate the course of sleep daily; caffeine and energy drinks were es, shared the results with fleet and ship the oncoming CRYSTAL was due – at least reportedly consumed in high quantities. Fa- commanders on 4 June; the results were in part – to the radar having been set to tigue was exacerbated by watch schedules made public on 6 June. the wrong frequency (by whom remains which did not correspond to a normal cir- Admiral Brown described the findings as unclear). Additionally, the radar and other cadian rhythm. “sobering”. Only 17% of the tested OODs vital equipment aboard the FITZGERALD demonstrated a full mastery of navigational was known to be in poor operating con- 83% of Junior OODs Display skills, bridge technology, and proper op- dition. A post-accident comparison found Competency Gaps erating procedures. Eighteen percent sig- that the CRYSTAL’s radar had registered 30 nificant deficits, while the majority dem- radar contacts in the same timeframe that Between January and March 2018 the Navy onstrated “some cause for concern” in a the FITZGERALD registered five. While the conducted random fleetwide evaluations few areas. Two primary areas of concern prosecution faulted the junior officers for of junior officers to determine whether the were noted: operating and interpreting the not taking initiative to correct these condi- performance issues observed aboard the navigation radar, and mastering the nauti- tions, the FITZGERALD’s former weapons FITZGERALD and MCCAIN were aberra- cal rules of the road. With regard to the officer testified that she had warned the tions or represented a widespread prob- latter, 91% of evaluated officers passed commanding officer – only months before lem. A total of 164 junior officers – all of the written test, but more than half had the accident – that the ship was not safe them rated qualified as OOD – were tested. difficulty applying the rules of the road dur- for sea duty. Fatigue was also presented The evaluation included an experience sur- ing the bridge simulation, especially when as a mitigating circumstance. Already in vey, a written test of their knowledge of the degraded visibility was added to the sce- early 2017, an internal Navy study found nautical rules of the road, and a 35-minute nario. Finally, the survey noted inadequate the average work week aboard 7th Fleet bridge simulation set in light to moderately preparation for dealing with near-miss and warships exceeded 100 hours, with junior heavy ship traffic. Vice Admiral Richard other emergency situations. “While most officers citing an average of four hours' Brown, Commander of Naval Surface Forc- of the 164 officers assessed were able to

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 45 avoid near collision situations, those that found themselves in extremis were often ill-equipped to take immediate action to avoid collision,” Admiral Brown stated in his 4 June message.

Current Training System Inadequate Many former officers fault training sys- tem “reforms” instituted over the past two decades in order to reduce costs and, purportedly, increase efficiency. Un- til 2003, junior officers went through a Navigation watch on an ARLEIGH BURKE class destroyer 12-14-month intensive training cycle at the Surface Weapons Officers School (SWOS) before reporting for their first sea duty. In 2003, as the US military began to concen- trate its resources on counterinsurgency operations, this training was scrubbed completely; junior officers were given a set of training diskettes which they were ex- pected to master on their own while at sea. When this approach proved disastrous, a shortened SWOS phase was reintroduced. However, this nine-week Basic Division Officer Course (BDOC) includes very little preparation in navigation and shiphandling and focuses primarily on introducing the various ship departments. Junior officers are still expected to receive most of their shiphandling training at sea from the ships’ more experienced officers. This approach ignores the reality that an extremely high operational tempo, combined with a gen- eral reduction of crew size over the past A total of seven crew members of the USS FITZGERALD were killed; two decades, leaves mid-grade and senior among the injured was the captain, whose cabin was directly affected officers very little time for training and test- by the impact. ing junior officers.

Navy Introducing Training System Reforms Navy leadership has been aware of this problem for some time. Following the FITZGERALD and MCCAIN tragedies, more than 100 proposals for improving readiness have been evaluated. Several measures to reform the junior officer training system are being implemented or are in the pipeline. As an immediate step, BDOC’s naviga- tional radar training was extended from a scant two hours to eleven hours. Admiral Brown proposes to increase this to a full two weeks and to elevate the navigational training standard to that of the US Coast Guard. Beginning in 2019, BDOC will be augmented by a six-week course dedicated to watchstanding procedures; the curricu- The VALIANT class harbour tugboat MENOMINEE (YT 807) assists the AR- lum for this course will be guided by the in- LEIGH BURKE class guided-missile destroyer USS FITZGERALD on 11 July ternational STCW convention (Standards of 2017 as it moves to Dry Dock 4 at Fleet Activities Yokosuka to continue Training, Certification and Watchstanding). repairs and assess damage sustained from its collision with a merchant Since 2014, junior officers have been at- vessel. tending a three-week Advanced Division

46 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMED FORCES 

tions and adding high-density traffic. Near- collision scenarios and shipboard emergen- cies will be included in simulator training, so that OODs will not be psychologically overwhelmed during real-world naviga- tional crises. Maritime skills training centres (MSTCs) will be established in Norfolk and San Diego to support high-fidelity individ- ual and team training for fleet personnel. These shore-based facilities will be aug- mented by improved shipboard simulators for enhanced training of personnel at sea. Finally, it must be underscored that training deficits were not the sole reason for the tragic mistakes made aboard the FITZGE- RALD and MCCAIN. Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, who was forced to retire from his position as 7th Fleet commander because of the accidents, cites chronic understaff- Damage to the port side is visible, as the destroyer USS JOHN S. MCCAIN ing aboard ships as a contributing factor. steers towards Changi Naval Base, Singapore, on 21 August 2017 follow- In combination with the high operational ing a collision with the merchant vessel ALNIC MC. Significant damage tempo which forced the fleet to defer in- to the hull resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew dividual and group training as well as vital berthing, machinery, and communications rooms. Damage control ef- maintenance, manpower problems led to forts by the crew halted further flooding. overworked and fatigued crews. The Navy

The USS JOHN S. MCCAIN is loaded onto the heavy lift transport MV TREASURE at Changi, Singapore, on 11 October 2017. TREASURE transported JOHN S. MCCAIN to Yokosuka for repairs.

Officers Course (ADOC) prior to beginning positions or transferring to a new ship class. has, in the meantime, acknowledged the their second sea tour. ADOC will also be Admiral Brown emphasised that simply fatigue factor, and it has mandated a re- augmented by an additional three week extending training is not sufficient; quality vised duty plan that should provide all crew course dedicated to leadership, team buil- and applicability must be improved as well. members six hours of sleep daily and return ding, and operational planning. The course Subjects such as operational risk manage- watch schedules to a standard 24-hour cy- will prepare junior officers for the responsi- ment are to be incorporated at every train- cle to match the human circadian rhythm. bilities of duty as senior Officer of the Deck ing milestone. Team building and effective A new oversight body has also been estab- on the bridge and in the CIC. Follow-up communications will be given high priority. lished within the 7th Fleet; it will exercise testing will be conducted one year after Hands-on training in yard patrol craft will oversight of technical and crew readiness course completion. In addition, officers of augment theoretical and simulator train- and prevent ships from deploying if major all ranks will receive refresher training or ing. Simulator scenarios will be made more deficiencies are found, even if this means testing before assuming new leadership realistic by varying environmental condi- cancelling planned missions. 

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 47  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-

48 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  vention was both rapid and decisive, which is what the British Government hoped to achieve in these missions. Unfortunately then came Afghanistan and Iraq, major mis- sions that were neither rapid nor decisive. Major involvement in Iraq (Operation Telic) lasted from 2003 until 2009, while Opera- tion Herrick in Afghanistan lasted from 2001 to December 2014. The negative impact of Afghanistan and Iraq on the British Army 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 In 2010/2011, BAE Systems were awarded a contract to modernise CVR(T) to power in 1997 had their first review, armoured vehicles to the CVR(T) Mk 2 configuration, as illustrated by this ‘Strategic Defence Review (SDR)’, in 1998, SCIMITAR Mk 2 vehicle on operations in Afghanistan. which continued the trend of force reduc- tion, cuts and restructuring. Post 9/11, the by another review ‘Delivering Security in a After that came the ’Defence Industrial security situation had changed and this led Changing World’ in 2003, unsurprisingly Strategy (DIS)’ of 2005, the aim here was to to an addition to the SDR known as ‘SDR more restructuring and more cuts were on come up with a strategy that would give the Next Chapter’ in 2002. This was followed the agenda. military the equipment that they needed,

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5/2018 · European Security & Defence 49 Masthead European Security & Defence Issue 5/2018 · August 2018 when they needed it and at best value for money. Key to this was ISSN 1617-7983 · www.euro-sd.com the domestic defence industry that was to sustain capability in key technology areas. In 2010, a Conservative/Liberal Democrat Published by coalition government came to power, and their first review, the Mittler Report Verlag GmbH ‘Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR)’, of 2010 con- A company of the Tamm tained more force reductions. By this point, an overspend of Media Group some £38Bn by the UK MoD had become a major political is- sue, further increasing the pressure for more cuts in defence Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Peter Bossdorf (pb) expenditure. The most recent SDSR was in 2015 and called for Managing Editor (Magazine): Stephen Barnard (sb) the British Army to have a regular force of 82,000 trained troops Managing Editor (Newsletter): Dorothee Frank (df) and 35,000 reservists. Industrial Editors: Rolf Clement (rc), Waldemar Geiger (wg), Gerhard Heiming (gwh), To provide some context, in 2015, the British Army had 87,060 Jürgen Hensel (jh) , Christina Langer (cl) regular troops, 2,870 Gurkhas, 25,880 volunteer reservists and Sub-Editors: Christopher Ellaway-Barnard (cb), Christian Kanig (ck) 4,680 other personnel. By 1 April 2018, there were 81,120 regular Correspondents: Rolf Hilmes (Army Technology), Peter Preylowski (Airborne Systems) troops, 3,150 Gurkhas, 29,100 reservists and 4,410 other per- Regional Correspondents: Tamir Eshel (Israel), Tim Guest (UK), Jaime Karremann (The ’ Netherlands), Beka Kiria (Georgia), Shinichi Kiyotani (Japan), Yury Laskin (Russia), sonnel. However, according to the UK Armed Forces Quarterly J. Bo Leimand (Denmark), Jay Menon (India), Chet Nagle (USA), Korhan Özkilinc (Tur- Service Personnel Statistics' as of 1 April 2018, published by the key), Luca Peruzzi (Italy), David Saw (France), Joris Verbeurgt (Belgium/EU/NATO), MoD on 17 May 2018, British Army Full-Time Trained Strength Esteban Villarejo (Spain) (FTTS) personnel numbers as of 1 April 2017 were 82,650 and as of 1 April 2018 were 81,160, with these numbers including Layout: mobilised reservists and Gurkhas. This indicates that the British CREATIV.CONSULTING GmbH, Germany Army is under strength; the FTTS personnel numbers are the key Production: measure of usable troop numbers. Furthermore, retention of Lehmann Offsetdruck GmbH trained personnel is proving difficult and recruiting is not provid- 22848 Norderstedt, Germany ing the bodies necessary to meet requirements. To summarise, the British Army has suffered from years of over- Office address: Mittler Report Verlag GmbH commitment and underinvestment, added to which the procure- Baunscheidtstraße 11, 53113 Bonn, Germany ment system has proven to be unfit for the purpose on far too Phone.: +49 228 3500870, Fax: +49 228 3500871 many occasions. On the positive side, there are now a number Email: [email protected], www.mittler-report.de of procurement programmes in action that will see the acquisi- tion of new armoured vehicle capabilities, either through the Director of Marketing upgrade of existing systems or the acquisition of new equipment. Jürgen Hensel (jh) However, these programmes are not without their problems, and Baunscheidtstraße 11, 53113 Bonn, Germany Phone: +49 228 3500876, Fax: +49 228 3500871 there are doubts whether the army, in its current anaemic state, Email: [email protected] can absorb or even actually needs all of these promised new armour systems. Advertising Representatives: A recent report by the House of Commons Defence Committee UK/Ireland/Eastern Europe/Israel/Turkey: ’Beyond 2%: A preliminary report on the Modernising Defence Stephen Barnard, c/o Mittler Report Verlag GmbH Programme (MDP)’ issued on 12 June 2018, noted that: “there Phone: +49 228 35 00 886, Email: [email protected] are serious deficiencies in the quantities of armour, armoured ve- hicles and artillery available to the British Army.” The report stated USA/Canada: that after the 2010 SDSR, the number of CHALLENGER 2 tanks Susan Spilman-Gardner was reduced by 40% and the number of heavy artillery systems Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 817-751-5888 by 35%. Currently, the British Army has 227 CHALLENGER 2 tanks; in 2010 they had 316. Russia & CIS: The Defence Committee report mentioned the CHALLENGER 2 Laguk Co., Yury Laskin, General Director Life-Extension Programme (LEP) and also referenced the WAR- Krasnokholmskaya Nab., 11/15, 132, RF-109172 Moskau, Russian Federation RIOR life-extension, a programme with an estimated cost of Phone: 007-495-911-1340, Fax: 007-495-912-1260, Email: [email protected] £1.3Bn. The report then stated that: “Reports emerging from Subscription/Reader Service: the National Security Capability Review (NSCR)suggested that the PressUp GmbH, Postfach 70 13 11, number of WARRIORs due to be upgraded would be substan- 22013 Hamburg, Germany tially reduced.” In addition, it was noted that: “The army is procur- Phone: +49 40 38 66 66-319, Fax: +49 38 66 66-299 ing the next generation of Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV), a Email: [email protected] procurement taking place outside of the MDP. We took evidence European Security & Defence on this in April (2018) and, at that time, the MoD was not in a © 2018 Mittler Report Verlag GmbH position to provide detailed figures on how much each vehicle would cost. A failure to manage costs could put further strain on The views expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. an equipment programme already under enormous pressure.” All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior Rectifying the serious deficiencies in quantities of armour and written permission of the publisher in Bonn. armoured vehicles available to the British Army, as noted above, Cover Photos: US Army, UK MoD, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeuge would appear to be a work in progress. Evidence includes the CHALLENGER 2 LEP, the WARRIOR Capability Sustainment Pro- Annual subscription rate (8 issues): gramme (CSP), the 589 AJAX armoured vehicles order from €49.80 incl. postage General Dynamics Land Systems-UK and, as explained in the

50 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 official MoD statement at the end of March, the decision to “re- join the BOXER programme and explore options to equip the army with the 8x8 troop carriers to modernise its vehicle fleet and meet the army's Mechanised Infantry Vehicle requirement.” The statement added that: “The MoD is now taking forward nego- tiations with the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and Artec. Looking forward to the Assessment Phase GYRO concluding in 2019, this will consider the comparable benefits of TACTICAL GRADE manufacturing locations and different supply chains for BOXER, as well as value-for-money. Any deal will be subject to commercial negotiation and assessment in 2019, and the aim is to have the first vehicles in service with the army in 2023.”

Survival

As previously discussed, there are four major British Army ar- moured vehicle programmes: CHALLENGER 2 LEP, WARRIOR 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, retention and recruitment are still problematic and the procurement system is still plagued with issues. While there is talk in certain political circles of the need to increase defence expendi- 1:1 scale ture, 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 reasons 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 STIM210 is a small, lightweight Three Axis a family of vehicles with 589 being acquired under a £4.5Bn con- tract and the vehicle entering service in 2020. The AJAX contract Gyro Module for accurate pointing and covers six variants: 245 AJAX reconnaissance vehicles, 93 ARES stabilization, fl ight control and guidance reconnaissance support vehicles, 112 ATHENA command vehicles, 50 APOLLO support repair vehicles, 51 ARGUS engineer recon- applications. naissance vehicles and 38 ATLAS recovery vehicles. Even if the MoD wanted to, it would prove very difficult to modify the AJAX contract in any significant way at this point. • ITAR free The other secure programme is MIV, the decision to rejoin the • Small size, low weight, power and cost BOXER programme to meet the MIV requirement is somewhat • Insensitive to magnetic fi elds ironic. Back in March 1998, Britain had its Multi-Role Armoured • Low gyro bias instability (0.3°/h) Vehicle (MRAV) requirement; it was participating in the multina- tional BOXER programme to meet that requirement and intended • Low gyro noise (0.15°/√h) to purchase 775 vehicles. Then, in July 2003 Britain cancelled • Excellent performance under vibration and shock MRAV, after spending some £57M on the programme. Now, • Available in 1, 2 or 3 axes some 15 years later, Britain is back into the BOXER programme • Fully calibrated and customer confi gur able to the and intends to order some 800 vehicles initially and perhaps more specifi c application subsequently. Admittedly, there is still much work to be done on the BOXER programme in terms of both costs and contracts, but • Weight 55 grams, volume <2cu.in, power 1.5 W at this point, unless something absolutely calamitous emerges, this should be a guaranteed programme. STIM210 is fi eld proven in Missile systems, Target acquisition systems, Airborne surveillance, DIRCM, Uncertainty Remote Weapon Systems, Launch vehicles, Military Land navigators and Satellites. The WARRIOR CSP programme got underway 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 Vehicles (FV511), 52 Artillery Observation Vehicles (FV514), 19 Battery Command Vehicles (FV515), 39 Recovery Vehi- cles (FV513) and 105 Repair Vehicles (FV512). The current declared fleet is 336 FV510/511, 44 FV514, 20 FV513 and 56 FV512. The When size, performance and robustness matter WARRIOR CSP was awarded to Lockheed Martin in 2011 and up to 380 vehicles (in five variants) are to be upgraded. [email protected] • www.sensonor.com The problem with the WARRIOR CSP is that the programme has been running late and over budget. Added to which, structural de-

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 51  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

ing to need the firepower and protection provided by a tank and for that reason the LEP programme is vital. It should also be noted that the CHALLENGER 2 LEP will on- ly be an interim capability and that a new tank system will be needed from the mid- 2030s. This explains British interest in the Franco-German Main Ground Combat Sys- tem (MGCS), but here politics comes into play: attempting to join a European tank programme might not be an astute politi- cal move in domestic British terms at this point. Equally, there has been little enthusi- asm in Paris and Berlin for British participa- tion in the major Franco-German defence programmes that have emerged recently. Potentially, this could mean that Britain has to look for other partners to meet a future tank requirement. Prior to the CHALLENGER 2 LEP, there had been numerous failed tank upgrade pro- The AJAX armoured vehicle prototype on display near the future vehicle grammes in Britain, including the CHAL- assembly site in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. AJAX will replace the CVR(T). LENGER Lethality Improvement Programme (CLIP) and the CHALLENGER 2 Capability Sustainment Programme (C2 CSP). How- ever, the LEP became a reality, with five teams bidding for the programme that was aimed at providing what the MoD called a “precision direct fire manoeuvre capability across a broad spectrum of operations.” In December 2016, competitive Assessment Phase (AP) contracts for the CHALLENGER 2 LEP were awarded to BAE Systems and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH. Each com- petitor was provided with two tanks; one of which was in operational condition, while the other was to be used for subsystem in- tegration and testing. The plan is that the two teams will complete the AP contracts in December 2018. By that time, industry will have responded to the invitation to tender for the Demonstration, Manufacture and In- service support (DMI) contract, with the DMI proposals to be evaluated after the AP of- ferings have been received. After which, by WARRIOR (FV510) Infantry Section Vehicles with additional protection mid-2019, the CHALLENGER 2 LEP contract provided by the TES(H) configuration in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, should have been awarded. in 2013. Original planning for the CHALLENGER 2 LEP called for the programme to cover ficiencies are reportedly being identified in unit cost per vehicle rising as numbers are re- all 227 remaining CHALLENGER 2 tanks. some WARRIOR vehicles, and this will cause duced. As of November 2017 the MoD had Whether all of these tanks will actually further problems. All of this makes the pro- spent £381M on WARRIOR CSP, the possi- go through the LEP process is becoming gramme vulnerable. WARRIOR CSP is one bility of the MoD deciding to cut its losses on increasingly doubtful. Potentially only 170 of a number of British programmes whose this programme cannot be ruled out. or even fewer tanks could be upgraded. size and cost were predicated on the Brit- The other major armour programme is the What the current, accident-prone British ish Army adopting a particular operational/ CHALLENGER 2 LEP, and this is also poten- Government will be keen to avoid is an- organisational structure. The problem is that tially vulnerable on a number of different other procurement-related scandal, and structure is changeable and not set in stone. fronts; there are those who feel that a tank this is something that should preserve the As a result, the number of systems that is too big and too heavy, and that the Brit- LEP programme, although it cannot pro- are necessary also changes and usually the ish Army should be a medium-weight and tect the number of tanks to be upgraded. number goes down. In the context of WAR- therefore more easily deployable force. The Outside of these armour programmes, RIOR CSP, you have a delayed programme opposing view is that, if the British Army there are a number of studies taking place that still has risk, and the possibility of the is to confront a ‘peer’ competitor, it is go- within Active Protection Systems (APS), in

52 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  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. Dstl also acquired the Rheinmetall ROSY rapid obscuring system and have tested it on a CHALLENGER 2. They have also acquired elements of the IMI IRON FIST hard-kill APS for testing on CHALLENGER 2 as well. In September 2017, Dstl placed a contract with Leonardo to participate in A German Army BOXER armoured vehicle participating in an anti-tank the Icarus Technical Demonstration Pro- exercise in Lithuania gramme (TDP) to develop a Modular Inte- grated Protection System (MIPS). Leonardo breed’ commercial off-the-shelf APS sen- Martin UK, Ultra Electronics, Frazer-Nash, will be responsible for the development of sors and countermeasures to be selected, Vetronics Research Centre, Abstract Solu- an MIPS Electronic Architecture (EA). Ac- integrated and deployed to defeat a wide tions, Roke Manor Research and SCISYS. cording to Dstl, the MIPS EA will: “provide a range of current and future battlefield Dstl is also working on a number of other common infrastructure that will deliver UK threats.” Leonardo has listed their industrial APS developments with both domestic and operational sovereignty and enable ‘best of team for Icarus as: BAE Systems, Lockheed foreign partners. 

19 - 20 SEPTEMBER 2018 MILLBROOK, BEDFORDSHIRE

DVD2018 will offer the opportunity to join in with discussions, engagement and insight at THE event for Land Equipment:

• Demonstrations of technology • Insight into Strike, Specialised Infantry Group, RLN, Deep operations & C4I systems • Discussions on 21st Century Manoeuvre • Feedback on equipment to inform future innovation • Engagement with Year of Engineering and STEM development initiatives

For further information visit www.theevent.co.uk

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 53  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY Eurofighter TYPHOON – Who is Next to Join?

Esteban Villarejo Ceballos

With campaigns in Belgium, Malaysia, Poland and Colombia ongoing F-35 LIGHTNING II the "new European and with Qatar (2017) and Kuwait (2016) having joined Europe's largest fighter". On 14 February, the UK submitted its fi- defence programme, Eurofighter may expect additional customers or nal offer to Belgium, in a proposal com- new procurement efforts in Germany, Spain and/or Saudi Arabia. prising 34 Eurofighter TYPHOON aircraft and support services, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced. The aim of the competition announced by the fter a confident year in 2017 with the UK (33%), and Leonardo in Italy (21%) also Belgian Ministry of Defence is to replace Aannouncement of a new contract with rely on old customers. These include the its fleet of 54 F-16AM/F-16BM in the Qatar and the delivery of the first aircraft to Royal Saudi Air Force, which recently placed mid-2020s. Belgium wants deliveries of the Royal Air Force of Oman, more positive a new order, while opportunities to update successor aircraft to begin by the end of news for the Eurofighter TYPHOON con- the fleets of German PANAVIA TORNADO 2022 and to be fully operational by 2029. sortium, whose order backlog has grown and Spanish F-18 aircraft at short notice also The cost of the Belgian programme is es- to 623 aircraft in nine countries, may come presented themselves. timated at around €3.7Bn. “It’s an offer that is all about Europe first rather than America first. We recognise that it is a straightforward competition between ourselves and F-35 - a European versus US solution - and we believe our Photo: Bundeswehr advantage lies in being the European so- lution,” said Anthony Gregory, campaign director for Belgium at BAE Systems. In a way, it is paradoxical that the British BAE system defends the "Euro solution" in the uncertain times of the Brexit nego- tiations. For this reason, the British state- ment underlined: "The proposal has the full support of the governments of the four Eurofighter nations Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK as partners in Europe's largest joint military aircraft programme. The new aircraft - whether the Eu- rofighter TYPHOON or the F-35 - will be purchased under an intergovernmental agreement and the Belgian government EUROFIGHTER pilots of Tactical Air Force Wing 31 "Boelcke" test the Guid- might announce its decision in July, pos- ed Bomb Unit 48 (GBU-48) at the military training area in Vidsel, Sweden sibly during the NATO summit in Brussels, on 6 September 2017. Eurofighter sources told ESD. Along the way, the Boeing F/A-18 SUPER this year. According to sources close to Here are the main market opportunities HORNET and SAAB GRIPEN decided to Eurofighter's export campaigns, there are for Eurofighter TYPHOON to sell more air- retire from the tender, while Dassault’s five or six countries in which the TYPHOON craft in 2018: RAFALE was not mentioned in the last could be successful in the coming years and statement of the Belgian MoD. there is a real possibility of adding a new Belgium: the Mother of The proposal from BAE Systems includes customer in 2018. Belgium, Poland, Ma- All Battles 34 Eurofighter TYPHOON aircraft and laysia, Canada, Colombia or even Switzer- the associated weapons package, under- land are the main “battlefields” where the If there is one country where the combat- pinned by the offer of a comprehensive Eurofighter TYPHOON jet will have to face proven Eurofighter TYPHOON is fight- strategic, defence and industrial partner- old (F-18, F-16 and RAFALE) and not-so-old ing hard for a deal, it is Belgium. It is a ship between the governments of Bel- competitors (F-35). country in which the European defence gium and the UK. In addition to these new markets, Eurofight- and aviation sector is risking its reputa- The UK also offers Belgium the possibil- er partner companies Airbus DS in Germany tion, while the Trumpist "Make America ity of establishing a National Network (33%) and Spain (13%), BAE Systems in the great again" is betting on making the Cyber Centre, a Cyber Innovation Centre

54 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 When you absolutely have to get there NOW

Enemy aircraft in restricted airspace: ‘SCRAMBLE’

The EJ200 engine provides so much thrust that it can get the Typhoon from ‘brakes o ‘ to 40,000 feet in under 90 secs. When it matters most, the EJ200 delivers. The engine‘s advanced technology delivers pure power that can be relied on time and again. Want to make sure your next mission is a success? Choose the EJ200. The EJ200 and EUROJET: Making the di erence when it counts most Visit us at www.eurojet.de  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY and a Cyber Research Partnership, all un- derpinned by a partnership between the British and Belgian governments. Eurofighter also believes that its proposal will create between 6,000 and 8,000 new and highly skilled jobs in Belgium over Photo: Crown Copyright the life of a 30-year programme. “Over 25 years, the Eurofighter proposal could deliver €19Bn into the Belgian economy, with an additional €6.2Bn from wider economic multipliers,” said Eurofighter. On the other hand, Lockheed Martin is offering 35 F-35s for US$6.5Bn: “Lock- heed Martin and the Belgian military and industry have a long-standing working relationship, partnering on programmes such as the C-130 HERCULES and F-16 FIGHTING FALCON since the 1970s,” said Lockheed Martin. The UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and Austria are already customers of the Eurofighter TYPHOON jet in Europe. At the same time, the UK, Italy, The Netherlands, Den- mark and Norway are the F-35 custom- ers on the old continent. Interoperability with allies will be another key factor in the final decision of the Belgian Ministry A Royal Air Force TYPHOON performing an air display at RAF Coningsby. of Defence. The TYPHOON provides the RAF with a multirole combat aircraft, capa- ble of being deployed across the full spectrum of air operations, from Poland: 50 Soviet-Era Aircraft air policing and to peace support, through to high-intensity conflict. to be Replaced €94,3M per unit may be prohibitive for the The Ministry of Defence of Malaysia wants The Eurofighter consortium declared last Polish MoD; and the Eurofighter TYPHOON, to replace its 18 MiG-29N - nearly half of September that Poland should consider the with Italian Leonardo leading the bid. which are grounded. Dassault's RAFALE Eurofighter TYPHOON to replace its fleet of Other contenders could be Boeing’s and the Eurofighter TYPHOON offered by 32 MiG-29 FULCRUM (air-to-air role) and F/A-18 SUPER HORNET, SAAB’s GRIPEN or BAE Systems are considered the only options 18 Su-22 FITTER (air-to-ground missions) the cheaper solution of second-hand F-16s. when the Malaysian government finally de- aircraft, which have been in service for 30 And finally, there is the possibility that the cides to purchase the new fighter aircraft. years. “Eurofighter TYPHOON augments "Harpia Programme" may be postponed, BAE Systems will give Malaysia a UK gov- existing capabilities and further comple- taking into account other priorities of the ernment-backed financing deal if Malaysia ments a powerful deterrence against any Polish Ministry of Defence, such as new decides to replace its fleet of combat jets potential threat to Poland’s borders. The submarines, missile artillery systems or with the Eurofighter TYPHOON, a senior TYPHOON with the F-16 Block 52+ will be multi-purpose helicopters. “Joining the Eu- company official told Reuters last month. a perfect combination,” Raffael Klaschka, rofighter programme would bring new and The competition, worth over US$2Bn, is one head of marketing at Eurofighter GmbH, additional pportunities to Poland – both of the largest fighter aircraft bids in Asia, commented at the MSPO defence exhibi- from a military and economic perspective, although a decision has been delayed due to tion in Kielce, Poland. The Polish Ministry of with a number of possible options in scope, the forthcoming national elections in June Defence announced two months later the from assembly and manufacturing to sup- and a shift in focus on improving air surveil- launch of the “Harpia programme” to pro- port and maintenance. And, of course, lance capacity in Malaysia. “We have an of- cure a new multirole combat aircraft. Poland would play a role in the definition fer on the table. It’s competitively priced and The operational requirement for this pro- of any future development of the aircraft, we have offered UK government financing gramme is defined as “enhancing the ca- which will continue to be in service well so the Malaysian government can spread pability to carry out missions within the beyond 2050. We take Polonisation needs the payment over a longer period,” said framework of offensive and defensive com- seriously, and would make it a guideline for Alan Garwood, the Group Business Devel- bat against the enemy air power, as well as our engagement,” the head of marketing opment Director for BAE Systems, in an in- missions to support land, naval and special at Eurofighter said. terview with Reuters in Kuala Lumpur. “We operations Multi-Role Combat Aircraft and can offer training, local partnership and lots Airborne Electronic Jamming Capabilities”. Malaysia: a Great Oppor- of jobs,” he added. Still in a primary phase of “market analysis”, Financing would be provided via the UK Ex- the Polish MoD sees three main options to tunity in Asia-Pacific port Finance export credit agency. replace its Soviet-era aircrafts: the F-16V After setbacks in India and South Korea, Malaysia is also a customer of the Eu- (Lockheed Martin) which includes an active the Eurofighter lacks a customer base in ropean aeronautic industry, with four electronically scanned array (AESA) radar; the Asia-Pacific region, but Malaysia offers Airbus A400M transport aircraft already the F-35 LIGHTNING II although the cost of a great opportunity to win back customers. delivered.

56 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 

Canada: a Last Movement Switzerland: the Return of an the innovative CAPTOR-E E-SCAN radar. from Airbus Old Opportunity for Airbus Oman: In June 2017, the Sultanate re- ceived its first Eurofighter TYPHOON. The The Royal Canadian Air Force seeks to In a press talk last December, Fernando contract was signed in 2012 for BAE Sys- replace its fleet of 77 CF-18 aircraft de- Alonso (Airbus DS) also mentioned Swit- tems to supply 12 TYPHOON for £2.5Bn. livered between 1982 and 1988. Canada zerland as a novel prospective customer Saudi Arabia: In June 2017, BAE Systems has a strong partnership with the Lock- for the Eurofighter TYPHOON. In May delivered the 72nd and last Eurofighter heed Martin F-35 programme taking part 2014, Swiss voters had rejected in a refer- TYPHOON to Saudi Arabia. An additional in the Concept Demonstration Phase endum a CHF3.1Bn (€2.8Bn) order for 22 procurement from the Saudi Air Force is (US$10M) and the System Development Phase (US$150M). Eventually, however, it did not acquire any F-35 LIGHTNING II aircraft to replace its version of the F-18. A recent change in the aerospace industry Photo: U.S.M.C. has brought the Eurofighter consortium back to the table: Airbus and the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace have joined forces to build CSeries civil aircraft. Some military experts see this as an oppor- tunity for Airbus to sell the jet fighter. Boe- ing could also participate in the programme with the new F-18: The American company has informed the Canadian government that it is interested in a new order to supply 88 new fighters.

Colombia: a Buy or a Second Hand Option? The Colombian Air Force needs to replace its 19 Israeli-built multirole combat aircraft KFIR C-10/C-12/TC-12 in service since 1989. Bogota has studied different options, includ- ing the GRIPEN NG and the F-16 Block 50. The Eurofighter TYPHOON consortium has also offered its aircraft in a campaign led A Eurofighter TYPHOON with the Spanish Air Force based out of Morón by Airbus in Spain. led by Airbus in Spain. Air Base, Spain, refuels from a KC-130J HERCULES on 13 August 2016. Fernando Alonso, head of military aircraft at Airbus DS, said in a recent meeting with GRIPEN fighter jets; 53.4% of the voters always on the table. But nothing is for specialised journalists, ESD included, that opposed the contract. Still, the Swiss gov- certain in the Kingdom, especially after Colombia was a potential export customer ernment intends to replace the 30 F/A-18 the recent political changes. for the Eurofighter. At the last Expode- fighter jets; Swiss Defence Minister Guy Austria: The new government will recon- fensa 2017 in December, Airbus displayed Parmelin said he would see no alterna- sider the previous government's decision the flight simulator for the Eurofighter TY- tive to buying new jets. Airbus (Eurofighter to terminate a €2Bn Eurofighter Jet pro- PHOON in Bogota. TYPHOON), Boeing (F-18), Dassault (RA- gramme prematurely, said new Defence The choice of a new fighter aircraft was one FALE), Lockheed Martin (F-35) and SAAB Minister Mario Kunasek recently. His prede- of the main subjects of debate. (GRIPEN) are again the known options. cessor Hans Peter Doskozil started an un- “However there is an intermediate option,” The decision should be taken in 2020 and precedented legal dispute with Airbus and a Colombian military source told ESD, “the the new fleet of fighters should be fully the consortium a year ago, accusing them of second-hand Eurofighter option.” This deal operational in 2030. fraud and malicious deception in connection would involve the Spanish Air Force, which with a US$2Bn Eurofighter order in 2003. It could sell Eurofighter Tranche 2 to their Brief Comments on … seems that Airbus and Austria are approach- Colombian colleagues in a government-to- ing an understanding of the matter. government agreement. Qatar: Last December, Qatar and BAE Sys- Spain and Germany: Airbus CEO Tom “The deal could include logistic and training tems signed a contract for the supply Enders said on 15 February that further support, some weapons and the integration of 24 Eurofighter TYPHOON aircraft in a Eurofighter orders, both from new export of the METEOR air-to-air missile,” the same £6Bn deal, making Qatar the ninth customers and "repeat orders” may be sources said. customer. Deliveries are expected to begin available soon. It is known that the German This deal would allow the Spanish govern- in late 2022. and Spanish air forces will have to replace ment to order new Eurofighter aircraft Kuwait: Last year, production started on their 88 Panavia TORNADO and 85 F-18s (Tranche 3). A package of 14 units was can- the Eurofighter TYPHOON for Kuwait. The in the next 3-5 years. "The Eurofighter celled by the Spanish government in 2013 due contract for €8Bn between Leonardo and (Tranche 3) is the most likely choice to re- to budgetary constraints. Perhaps it would be Kuwait was signed in 2016 to supply 28 Eu- place these old fighters," the Spanish Min- an opportunity to resume this initiative. rofighter TYPHOONs; this version will have istry of Defense disclosed to ESD. L

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 57  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY Combat Aircraft Cockpit Developments Gain Momentum

Luca Peruzzi

The amount of information and situational awareness needed in today's air combat operations, as well as the energy requirements and data processing capabilities imposed by the new generation of sensors and mission systems, require new cockpit architectures and core mission subsystems.

o improve the human–machine inter- are looking into new cockpit architectures, US Platforms Tface (HMI) and reduce pilot workload including large area displays (LAD) and hel- while facilitating target search and en- met displays (HMD) with or without new The US Navy’s latest Block III F/A-18 E/F gagement cycle, both upgrades and new low-profile head-up displays (HUDs), which SUPER HORNET and upgrade programme production combat aircraft programmes further improve flight safety. for Boeing aircraft currently in service will incorporate new sensors and networks to operate together with the Lockheed Martin F-35 LIGHTNING II stealth platform. Work- ing in unison with the E-2D ADVANCED Photo: UK MoD HAWKEYE early warning, command and control and Boeing EA-18G GROWLER EW aircraft platforms, the latest Block III version will be able to engage both airborne and ground targets spotted by stealthy F-35Cs scouting ahead into hostile airspace. In ad- dition to structural improvements to extend its service life to 9,000 hours, conformal fuel tanks to increase its range, speed and available wing hardpoints (for additional ordnance), as well as a reduced aircraft ra- dar signature, the Block III version will fea- ture a new mission system centred on the Distributed Targeting Processor-Network (DTP-N) computer, the Rockwell Collins- provided Tactical Targeting Network Tech- Panoramic display in the cockpit of an F-35 II LIGHTNING nology (TTNT) and the Advanced Cockpit System (ACS), in addition to new sensors and updated satellite communications. Together with Raytheon’s APG-79 AESA radar and an improved defensive coun- Photo: RCVES termeasures system based on Raytheon’s ALR-67(V)3 RWR and BAE Systems’ ALQ- 214(V)3 Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures suite, the Block III will be equipped with Lockheed Martin’s Infra- Red Search and Tracking Block II, enabling passive triangulated airborne engagement through the new onboard mission system. By boosting the computing capability of the current SUPER HORNET mission computer (Block II) seventeenfold and processing all data on board the aircraft using an open architecture that is amenable to future up- grades, the DTP-N receives, processes and distributes data over the TTNT network, which is also used on the EA-18G and E-2D The F-35 Gen III HMD system allows the pilot to “see through the plane” platforms. The TTNT enables the fast trans- by providing a 360° view. mission of large amounts of data, even in

58 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 

the event of hostile jamming, and is part of the NIFC-CA (Naval Integrated Fire Control

– Counter-Air) system. All data provided by Photos: Saab different sensors and networks are pooled together, presented, managed and distrib- uted by the crew through the highly in- tegrated Advanced Cockpit System (ACS). Developed by Boeing, the completely re- designed cockpit architecture is based on a new Elbit Systems of America 10x19-inch touchscreen high-definition large area dis- play (LAD), which replaces the existing mul- tifunction displays alongside a new low- profile HUD and the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) supplied by Rock- well Collins ESA Vision Systems (RCEVS), a joint venture between Rockwell Collins and Elbit Systems of America. The ACS provides increased situational awareness, 3D target tracking for the effective coordination of long-range attacks, fault tolerance/built-in Cockpits of a Saab GRIPEN E (left) and the new GRIPEN E/F. redundancy and scope for future growth. The first version of the Block III will go into maiden flight birthday and will receive new the latest mission requirements as the US series production delivery in early 2021, capabilities. US and foreign customers of is upgrading its USAF and Air National while the modernisation of in-service Block the EAGLE and STRIKE EAGLE versions F-15C and F-15E fleets to keep the platform II will begin in 2022. The deployment of have sought to improve the capabilities and in service until 2040 and beyond. The lat- Block III aircraft is planned for 2022, and extend the service life of these platforms. est mission system update is based on the production will run until 2025. Boeing has worked in both directions to advanced Suite 9 hardware and software The Boeing F-15 is approaching its 50th introduce new onboard systems to meet package including the new Advanced Dis-

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European_Security_and_Defence_2018.indd 1 3/12/2018 4:05:30 PM with operational needs. Qatar is the first customer for this option; Qatar will receive its F-15QAs (QATAR ADVANCED) together with an extended weapon package. The 5th-generation F-35 LIGHTNING II be- came the first combat aircraft to feature a cockpit layout centred on a 20x8-inch LAD produced by L3 Aviation Products and a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) system produced by RCEVS. These two systems provide all the mission and flight information, which is a huge advantage compared to previous generation cockpits based on multiple multifunction displays

Photo: B AE Systems and HUDs. By using Northrop Grumman’s In addition to providing flexible weapons cueing during both night and electro-optical Distributed Aperture Sys- day, BAE Systems’ new STRIKER II digital day/night binocular HMD pro- tem (DAS) integrated into the skin of the vides target tracking and 3D audio. stealth platform, the RCEVS F-35 Gen III HMD system allows the pilot to “see through the plane” by providing a 360° view. This advanced interface features a biocular 40x30° field-of-view, high-

Dassault Aviation brightness and high-resolution display, with integrated night digital vision, pro-

Photo: : viding the pilot with accurate and readable information in the virtual HUD and signifi- cantly expanding situational awareness. Combined with low latency, the F-35 Gen III HMDS delivers mission critical informa- tion through its intelligent pilot interface. However, the development of threats to be faced by 2025 and beyond requires the US MoD and Lockheed Martin to intro- duce capability improvements, including the integration of additional weapons and upgrades to the electronic warfare system, datalink systems, radar and other sensors. An essential element of the F-35 avionics upgrade is the Technical Refresh The new RAFALE has a well-thought-through cockpit with a modern HMI 3 (TR3) hardware upgrade programme. and larger side touchscreens. Being developed to fully support Block 3F functionality and to allow incorporation play Core Processor (ADCP) II computer, es a completely new Advanced Crew Sta- of all Block 4 capabilities documented in which is claimed to be the fastest flight tion (ACS), features even more advanced the System Requirements Document mission system available; it is capable of innovations, such as a Digital EW System (SRD), TR3 hardware redesign is required processing up to 87 billion instructions per (DEWS), Lockheed Martin’s SNIPER pod, to support the required fourfold increase second. The new suite opens up advanced IRST, the digital Joint Helmet Mounted in processing power, based on current es- capabilities that will be common to both Cueing System (JHMCS), a digital fly-by- timates for all 3F capabilities. It features EAGLE versions, including the EAGLE Pas- wire and two additional hardpoints. A key an improved integrated core processor, an sive/Active Warning and Survivability Sys- option for the ADVANCED EAGLE is the improved panoramic cockpit display, and tem (EPAWSS) upgrade, which will allow new ACS with a Large Area Display (LAD), a a more capable aircraft memory system. the platform to cooperate closely with the low-profile HUD and the ADCP II. Centred In June 2017, Lockheed Martin Aeronaut- F-22 and the F-35. The upgrade package on a decoupled LAD for the front and rear ics contracted Elbit Systems of America to also includes AESA radars, conformal fuel cockpits and developed by Elbit Systems develop a panoramic cockpit display unit tanks (National Guard), Lockheed Martin’s as part of what was previously known as to replace the fighter’s current L3 Avia- IRST21-equipped LEGION pod to operate CockpitNG (Next Generation), the LAD re- tion Products cockpit display. In the same in radar-denied environments and poten- places the previous multifunction displays month, Lockheed Martin contracted Har- tially a new gateway system (Talon HATE) with a single, large, touchscreen, high-def- ris to improve the F-35’s data storage, dis- for communications between the EAGLE inition, colour display, which provides the play processing and throughput capabili- and 5th-generation aircraft, in addition to crew with the primary flight information ties. The TR3 avionics upgrade is part of new weapons systems, such as the Small and sensor data. According to Boeing, the the F-35 Block 4 enhancing package. It will Diameter Bomb II. The ADVANCED EAGLE LAD uses latest-generation smartphone be added during the Block 4.2 increment programme for the export market, which is technology and allows the pilot to select in order to incorporate a number of up- based on the US upgrade but also introduc- and expand the display information to cope graded sensors and other capabilities. The

60 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  new panoramic cockpit display will have the same dimensions as the current Large Area Avionics Display (LAAD) provided by L3; the display will have a size of 20x18 inches overall, divided electronically into Photo: BAE Systems two 10x8-inch side-by-side screen ele- ments, said Lockheed Martin, which plans to finalise the display design in late 2018. Harris will provide the new Aircraft Mem- ory System (AMS) and Panoramic Cockpit Display Electronic Unit (PCD EU), which are based on an open architecture and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technol- ogy. The solid-state mass storage AMS is an essential element of the F-35 avionics suite, as it is the repository for avionics op- erational flight programmes, mission and theatre data, prognostics and health data, audio, display video, and aircraft paramet- ric data. The PCD EU provides processing for the new panoramic head-down dis- play in the cockpit. The current technol- BAE Systems’ wide-field-of-view LiteHUD in a TYPHOON cockpit ogy development phase will be followed by a system qualification phase in early Elbit Systems’ Brazilian subsidiary, the avion- partner nations, a rash of sales in the Mid- 2019 and a subsequent 5-year production ics specialist AEL Sistemas, as partner in the dle East to Oman, Kuwait and Qatar, and contract phase. technology transfer agreement to provide Saudi Arabia’s commitment for additional the Wide Area Display (WAD), Head-Up aircraft, the Eurofighter TYPHOON pro- European Platforms Display (HUD) and the TARGO HMD, which gramme is regaining momentum. Among will be integrated into the GRIPEN NG (as the consortium’s partner customers, the Sweden and Brazil have contracted Saab Brazil calls the new platform) as part of the UK is today leading the aircraft’s evolu- to develop and deliver the latest version Brazilian F-X2 programme. Being the core tion with the national “Project Centuri- of the GRIPEN multirole fighter (GRIPEN element of the cockpit arrangement, the on” which is based on the four partners’ E/F), the airframe, systems and avionics Wide Area Display is a single intelligent platform evolution roadmap and on in- suite of which are completely new. The and fully redundant, full-colour,large (19x8 crementally phased enhancements (PE) next generation GRIPEN programme aims inches) multipurpose display system, with to which the aircraft is subjected and to build a long-term strategic relation- continuous image presentation and cutting- which respond to customer and poten- ship between the two nations, industries edge touch-screen controls. It is the primary tial user requirements. The UK's “Project and air forces, with technology transfer source of all flight and mission information Centurion” will allow the retirement of the agreements, local co-design, develop- in the cockpit. While the WAD and its HMI TORNADO in 2018, and it provides the ment and assembly, which includes the represent a huge enhancement in cockpit TYPHOON with a number of enhance- Brazilian avionics specialists AEL Sistemas and mission management, with all the rel- ments including the integration of MBDA’s to supply the cockpit’s main interaction evant information provided in a single large STORM SHADOW stand-off cruise missile technologies. The latter are centred on screen, the HUD and HMD are contributing and the METEOR beyond-visual-range air- LAD and have become cockpit options to achieving safety, immediate situational to-air missile (BVRAAM) (under P2E inter- for potential customers of the Gripen E/F. awareness and combat capabilities. The national efforts), in addition to MBDA’s The new aircraft’s avionics suite is based new TARGO HMD will provide night cue- Dual-Mode Seeker (DMS) BRIMSTONE on an innovative, scalable and hard- ing and display capabilities. The Swedish Air (under the follow-on international phase ware-independent architecture concept Force’s future GRIPEN E aircraft are currently 3E). The UK MoD and other TYPHOON known as DIMA (Distributed Integrated configured for a three-screen display system operators are also working to ensure that Modular Avionics) which segregates while having selected AEL Sistemas, TARGO the TYPHOON can operate in conjunction flight-critical functions from non-critical HMD. The GRIPEN E is equipped with Leon- with the F-35 to maximise the benefits of applications. The new architecture, certi- ardo’s sensors suite including the Raven ES both platforms. Both the Eurofighter and fied to commercial standards, not only AESA radar, which features an innovative the Euroradar consortiums are committed enables Saab to speed up the pace of roll-repositionable AESA antenna offer- to provide TYPHOON with the E-Scan or initial development, but also shortens the ing superior situational awareness, a SKY- the Captor-E active-electronically scanned time required for new capabilities and WARD-G IRST passive sensor and a phased array (AESA) radar, which will see initial ca- weapon integration. array IFF system, integrated with Saab's pability phase-in on Kuwait’s TYPHOONs The GRIPEN E introduced a new generation new-generation MFS-EW (Multi Functional manufactured on Leonardo’s assembly cockpit architecture which, together with System) suite, which is based on the AREXIS line from 2020 on. All these enhance- a new set of state-of-the-art sensors and EW product family and a communication ments require new software and HMI weapon systems, significantly enhances the package. The latter includes both Link 16 developments. According to Eurofighter, situational awareness and net-centric and or a customer-specified data link and Saab's the TYPHOON is at the forefront of sensor combat capabilities of the new multirole intra-formation data exchange system. fusion and decision-making technology, fighter. The Swedish company has selected With the renewed commitment of the with the cockpit centred around large,

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 61  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY colour multifunction displays, wide field- investigating potential enhancements such supplement the current Link 16 in addition of-view HUDs, BAE Systems’ STRIKER in- as a new cockpit layout and an enhanced to a modified avionics system, and civilian tegrated helmet-mounted display, HOTAS avionics structure. At DSEI 2017, BAE Systems and SYRACUSE IV military SATCOM. and direct voice input (DVI). The current declared that they are studying a series of TY- The RBE2 AESA radar will benefit from cockpit configuration has so far proven PHOON cockpit upgrade concepts centred new air-to-ground modes and the Thales/ itself under combat and operational con- on a large-area touchscreen display and ex- MBDA SPECTRA EW suite will feature ex- ditions and can handle the current and ploring the potential of augmented reality us- tended frequency band coverage and im- planned short-term enhancements with ing its STRIKER II HMD. Replacing the current proved emitter geolocation capabilities. further refinements. Over time, however, three-multifunction-display (MFD) cockpit Both systems will also be equipped with the existing cockpit configuration will reach with a single large touchscreen would greatly gallium nitride (GaN) technology, while the its limits in terms of the amount of informa- facilitate the necessary sensor fusion with the RAFALE Front Sector Optronics (FSO) will tion a pilot can handle. new sensor such as the AESA radar and the receive a new generation of IRST optimised new generation of targeting pods that will for air-to-air engagements. Due to the well be introduced on the aircraft and whose ad- thought-out and balanced environment ditional data will be available to the pilot. and the modern HMI, the cockpit is expect- Moreover, the LADs are significantly cheap- ed to receive new, larger side touchscreens Photo: UK MoD er to produce, maintain and lighter than and see various other adjustments. current MFDs. BAE Systems has already set The innovation is to close an operational up a TYPHOON cockpit demonstrator with gap by introducing HMD. It has been re- a LAD, and Airbus is pursuing a similar ef- ported that the specifications for the new fort. In the cockpit configuration envisaged devices are compatible with the systems of by BAE Systems, the company’s STRIKER various providers. In January 2017, routes II HMD system would augment the LAD. were flown with an HMD on export air- BAE Systems is also developing a portable craft, similar to the Elbit Systems TARGO cockpit technology based on the STRIKER II system, but no official explanation was II HMD, which projects augmented and vir- published. Meanwhile, in March 2018, the tual reality interactive cockpit displays and French MoD officially launched the "Man- controls directly in front of the pilot's eye, re- Machine-Teaming" preliminary advanced placing the current physical cockpit layouts. study programme (PEA MMT) for the devel- BAE Systems has also successfully devel- opment of artificial intelligence technologies oped a new HUD family, which has been for combat aircraft after 2025. already selected for the Turkish HURKUS B The PEA MMT was awarded in December trainer, the SCORPION light attack aircraft, 2017 to Dassault Aviation as the leading the AC-130J gunship and BAE Systems’ AD- company for the air combat system and VANCED HAWK concept demonstrator, in Thales as a co-contractor with regard to addition to three other undisclosed plat- the man-machine interface and sensor forms. The LiteHUD is a small and compact and aims, among other things, to develop HUD that offers space and weight advan- artificial intelligence technologies in the tages combined with the latest digital dis- following areas: definition of an intelligent Cockpit of an RAF TYPHOON play technology, revolutionary waveguide cockpit and HMI, introduction of a "virtual optics and highly reliable electronics. assistant", application of innovative tech- The Eurofighter consortium is working with In March 2017, the French MoD approved nologies in the field of human/machine the partner nations to complete a Phase 4 En- the start of development of the new Das- teaming within the cognitive air system, hancement (P4E) and to prepare the subse- sault Aviation RAFALE F4 standard. Con- in particular with regard to decision au- quent P5E packages. Potential candidates are tinuous development processes are to draft tonomy and machine learning, and the new weapons and dual-carriage common standards to adapt the aircraft to new re- development of technologies for smart/ weapon launchers, conformal fuel tanks, a quirements; the F4 standard series RAFALEs learning sensors in addition to mainte- new laser targeting pod, an E-Scan radar, are to enter into service from 2025, but nance and logistical support. satellite communications, enhanced data some standard equipment or capabilities With a budget of €30M, around 30% of links suite and BAE Systems’ new-generation are expected to be added to the inventory these funds will be earmarked for the crea- STRIKER II digital day/night HMD. The latter in advance thanks to a building block ap- tion of an ecosystem of some 200 French builds on the success of the original STRIKER proach based on software upgrades. The start-ups, SMEs and research centres spe- helmet, which is in service in eight nations F4 standard is based on new-generation cialising in artificial intelligence, robotics and with decades of proven combat experience. networking equipment and capabilities, human-machine interfaces. Dassault and The fully digital colour day/night binocular sensors and weapon system enhancement Thales have already defined the research STRIKER II HMD system provides enhanced or new versions, cockpit evolution and pre- topics and will award R&D contracts for situational awareness, target tracking and 3D dictive support/availability. 12–18 months until about October, which audio, in addition to flexible weapons cue- The F4 standard provides for the integra- will be repeated over the same period in ing night and day, thanks to an integrated tion of new Thales CONTACT software- 2019 as part of a three-year overall pro- night vision camera which removes perfor- defined radios, which are to be tested for gramme. It is expected that the PEA MMT mance and pilot ejection limitations with RAFALE as early as in 2020, as well as a will influence the successor of RAFALE to existing night vision goggles. What is more, new point-to-point, directional, discrete F4 standards and may be retrofitted for the Eurofighter is looking beyond the P5E with data link for communication and data con- fighter aircraft, in addition to new combat the long-term evolution (LTE) initiative study, nection only between RAFALEs, which will aviation programmes. L

62 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  “Our goal is clear: To protect our territories, people and forces.”

Interview with Yunus Emre Karaosmano˘glu, Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Defense, Republic of Turkey

gone through important changes in recent 2018, a key phase was completed. As a con- years. Particularly since 2014, we have been sequence, another 2,000 square kilometres facing unprecedented challenges from were cleared of these terrorists. Both opera- many directions. These challenges emerge tions created a 500-kilometre-long terror- in different forms and sometimes reach free border line between Turkey and Syria. the level of risk or threat. Whether con- Despite these national operational engage- ventional, asymmetric or hybrid, these risks ments, Turkey spares no effort to contrib- and threats need to be properly addressed. ute to various NATO, UN, and EU opera- Our goal is clear: To protect our territories, tions and missions. In this regard, to name

Photo: MoD Turkey people and forces. but a few, Turkey takes part in NATO’s Therefore, improved readiness and respon- missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo (RSM ESD: In many Western countries, the siveness, both at national level as well as and KFOR), maritime operations (NATO’s changed security situation in Europe has in NATO, are key to overcome the current Operation Sea Guardian and Counterpiracy prompted governments to provide ad- challenges. We are now working nationally Operation CTF-151), EU’s operation in Bos- ditional resources for defence and arma- and with our Allies to bolster our defences nia and Herzegovina (Operation ALTHEA), ments. To what extent and in what way has to deter potential aggressors and protect and the UN's UNIFIL Mission in Lebanon. this trend affected things in your country? our people from the threats emanating Due to the unstable international and re- Karaosmanoğlu: We are located in a from multiple sources and directions. gional security environment briefly depict- unique geographical region which is full of All these factors necessitate increased ed above, Turkey had already increased its difficult challenges. These challenges are defence expenditure and sufficient capa- defence spending in recent years. Turkey not only limited to various terrorist threats bilities. Back in 2014, Allied leaders com- allocated 1.46% and 1.56% of its GDP to originating from Syria and Iraq but also mitted themselves to the Defence Invest- defence expenditures, respectively in 2016 include other challenges such as irregular ment Pledge at NATO’s Wales Summit, and 2017. In comparison to 2017, the 2018 mass migration, foreign terrorist fighters, and work is now underway to fulfil the Budget of the Ministry of National Defence drug trafficking and a great number of in- commitments. increased at a rate of around 40%. Con- ternally displaced people who are in need In fact, the security environment around sequently, the expected share of defence of humanitarian assistance. Turkey had already compelled us to take expenditures in GDP for 2018 has risen to I would like to stress the undisputable fact necessary measures at the national level. In- 1.77%. These figures reaffirm Turkey’s de- that these terrorist organisations, against stability and conflicts in Syria and Iraq have termination to meet the 2% criterion by which Turkey has been fighting for several had direct implications for our security and 2024. In the meantime, Turkey has already decades, also pose a clear and significant prosperity, in the form of increased terror- been well above the 20% threshold of threat to the security of many other coun- ist threat as well as more than 3.5 million spending in the major equipment systems tries in Europe. refugees. In fact, Turkey is the Ally who has at a ratio of 31.55% in 2018. As such and unlike any other European suffered most from the scourge of terrorism. Turkey’s determination to protect her country, Turkey is a NATO ally that shares In response, last year we successfully con- people and territories remains firm. Thus, land and sea borders with the crisis regions. ducted the Operation Euphrates Shield we will continue to invest more in our The Turkish Armed Forces are responsible (OES) against Daesh and cleared an area of defences to accomplish this clearly stated for securing and controlling the borders in over 2,000 square kilometres from Daesh goal. this volatile region which affects the secu- terrorists. More than 2,600 terrorists were rity of Europe as well. neutralised. Unfortunately, Daesh is not the ESD: What are the most important arma- Against this backdrop, Turkey has been only terrorist organisation along NATO’s ment programmes in your country, both increasing funds devoted to defence and southeastern borders. PKK/PYD/YPG ter- current and forthcoming? armaments in order to tackle the afore- rorist elements were also intensifying their Karaosmanoğlu: We attach great impor- mentioned challenges. In this regard, attacks against Turkey. Therefore, in Janu- tance to the design, development and man- some taxes and levies have already been in- ary 2018, Turkey launched Operation Olive ufacture of indigenous defence systems. creased. Additional spending is planned to Branch (OOB) against both PKK/PYD/YPG Through a strong defence industry, Turkey be allocated for major equipment systems, and Daesh in Syria in accordance with inter- has embarked upon a number of projects including modernisation and ammunition. national law and our right to self-defence. and programmes. Here below are some The international security environment has With the liberation of Afrin city on 18 March examples:

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 63  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

• ATAK Helicopter Gunship, taken with the UK. Furthermore, Turkey of Turkey's critical role. Turkey’s role in • ALTAY Main Battle Tank, is taking part in multinational initiatives Europe, therefore, cannot be overstated. • Heavy Lift Helicopter, with our Allies, such as A400M and F-35 This reality needs to be recognised, in- • MPT-76 indigenous modern infantry rifle, JSF projects as well. Hence our Allies are cluding in the context of the EU’s efforts • SAMUR mobile amphibious assault playing a key role in our capability devel- to contribute to European security and bridge, opment efforts. Taking this opportunity, defence. • Multi-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship I would like to express our gratitude to The EU should engage Turkey as a non- (LHD), all Allies that are in close and effective EU NATO Ally in its security and defence- • "İ" class Frigate, cooperation with Turkey in supporting related efforts, including EDF and PESCO. • TF-2000 class Anti Air Warfare Destroyer, our capability development efforts. So far, the EU’s efforts have been carried • F-35 JSF, forward in a largely closed manner that • TFX Fighter Jet, ESD: In what way do you intend to con- excludes non-EU Allies. Some of these • A-400M, sider the PESCO concept? initiatives are still at an early stage, but • Stand-Off Munitions (SOM), Karaosmanoğlu: Turkey’s defence and they must not become new barriers to us. • ANKA MALE Class UAV, security is directly linked to that of Eu- An inclusive and transparent approach • Tactical and mini UAVs. rope. Our support to the EU’s Common is needed. Pursuing such an approach Security and Defence Policy from the would also be consistent with and under- ESD: Which of these are carried out in very outset is an expression of this real- pin the large-scale defence cooperation international partnerships, and who are ity. Whether some EU members deny it or projects underway between Turkey and your partners? not, Turkey is an integral part of Europe’s several allies which are also EU-member Karaosmanoğlu: We are cooperat- security and defence both by virtue of our countries. ing with our Allies in many projects. geostrategic position and our advanced We would like to see that the EU’s efforts To name just a few, on air and missile capabilities. are carried forward in a complementary defence systems we are working with Turkey's efforts to combat terrorism, our manner with NATO. The EU should avoid France and Italy. Discussions are under- efforts to prevent foreign terrorists, our duplicating the efforts of NATO, which way with the US for the PATRIOT system. role as a country that prevents the addi- are essential for overall security and de- On the Multi-Purpose Amphibious As- tional influx of migrants into Europe, and fence in the whole Euro-Atlantic region. sault Ship Project cooperation contin- our flanking position in the face of the ues with Spain. On the TFX Fighter Jet many challenges posed by state and non- The interview was conducted by Project many important steps have been state actors need no further explanation Peter Boßdorf

AEROSPACE DEFENCE TECHNOLOGIES STRATEGY

DEFENCE

64 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  After India's Withdrawal: What is Happening with the Su-57?

Georg Mader

Alongside the US and China, only post-Soviet Russia has succeeded in developing a stealth-optimised fifth-generation fighter aircraft. However, the T-50 project launched in 2010 – now called Su-57 – has recently suffered a major setback.

or the time being, India is obviously Fwithdrawing from the programme, in- cluding its billions of programme share. In Photo: Sukhoi ten years, India fears, the aircraft will not yet be technically mature and there will be too many unfinished subsystems, excessive costs for too few "Made in India" prod- ucts and – in view of 12 missing squad- rons – probably too low a sales volume. But Su-57 is far from being completed and the programme needs Indian resources to get there. The question now arises as to whether Russia will be able to carry out such a large programme on its own, both technologically and financially, and thus be prepared for significant series production, even if only at a frozen standard. In April, the local Indian IHS Jane's corre- spondent R. Behdi wrote that India as a long-term programme partner will with- draw from the FGFA (Fifth Generation Fourth prototype of the Su-57 Fighter Aircraft) programme, as the Na- tional Security Advisor Ajit Doval and De- launched LCA TEJAS Mk.1A whose carrier cross-section (RCS) or the degree of cam- fence Secretary Sanjay Mitra already com- version was rejected as inadequate by the ouflage in the general design of the Su- municated in February to a Russian delega- Indian Navy has been under development 57 no longer meets current requirements. tion. After 11 years of cooperation, India, for about 30 years. The same holds true for New findings in the areas of materials, de- which has a development share of €330M, the BAE HAWK: 22 years passed before the sign, manufacturing techniques, tracking does not want to invest more money in the beginning of local production. technologies and computing power are unfinished system, even if Russia provides creating new solutions that must be con- another billion dollars. Russia has been re- Technically Unfeasible stantly integrated, because otherwise the fusing to share blueprints and source codes formerly intended effect would be greatly indispensable for the production in India. Nevertheless, Indian sources claim that diminished, as history has shown for all With these resources, India would be bet- the production version of the ‘super- weapons. In view of all this, it would be ter off developing its own stealth jet AM- cruise’ (supersonic without afterburner) surprising if the Russians could manage the CA. This may be the case, but this is where engine AGGREGATE 30 had not made its development on their own. Conceptually, the question has to be asked: By when? maiden flight until last December, or that the Indians had no say in the basic design After all, Indian development or procure- the three-part AESA radar located in the anyway, since their 40 or 50 changes from ment processes can certainly be called aircraft nose (X-band) and leading edge T-50 to FGFA would have mostly affected ‘Byzantine’, and they may take decades. structures (L-band) is not expected before subsystems, communication/data link, Here are just two examples: The recently 2020. Over the years, India cut the num- software or weapons. At least that was the ber of jets ordered from 214 down to 127, state of knowledge at the end of 2016, Author as the IAF’s repeated demand of a two- when the press releases conveyed consider- seater for complex missions was “more or ably more optimism. For example, Mikhail Georg Mader is a defence corre- less ignored by the Russians”, an Indian Pogosjan, the former head of Sukhoi and spondent and freelance aerospace Navy test pilot said. India does not need a OAK, stated publicly that 800 aircraft journalist based in Vienna, Austria, PAK FA (Перспективный авиационный would be a realistic production number for and a regular contributor to ESD. комплекс фронтовой авиации) nor the both countries plus exports. Meanwhile, F-22 and F-35. What is worse, the radar there are also enough new reasons, such

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 65  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY

as concerns about the US Government's With regard to the achievable RCS, it was The Indians obviously agree. A few years sanctions against Russian arms suppliers, rumoured early on in India that the Russian ago, the author was a keynote speaker at which have convinced decision-makers at side – similar to the Chinese J-20, whose the Aero India Seminar in Bangalore, at- several levels. relatively rapid development is closely ob- tended by HAL and the IAF. In the course served by India – prefers a low detectability of this seminar, he realised that the Indians India’s Loophole to high-frequency radars (3 to 30 GHz) at much prefer a stealth approach that cov- the front. ers the entire plane, since the Indians want In regard to the FGFA programme, India The defence doctrine for own airspace or to carry out an offensive attack within de- wants to keep a loophole, at least for the bases against air attackers – especially the fended enemy (mostly Chinese or Pakistani) foreseeable future. In order to save both F-22 with the BVR dual K-77/AIM-120D mis- airspace in order to destroy priority targets sides' faces, the Indian partner confirmed in sile – considers the low detectibility in front on the ground. At least at this point, there its announcement that India would recon- as a priority, because in this way – with is a difference between the Indian and Rus- sider its withdrawal if the Russian industry calculated loss – the opponent is forced to sian basic orientation for the FGFA aircraft, could prove that it has overcome all techni- the classical fight within sight. In this way, which is already reflected in the plans. cal difficulties and can deliver a ready-built the German EUROFIGHTERs have already Among other things, this different orienta- 5th generation fighter in a reasonable time. defeated the F-22. But the super manoeu- tion has led to the decision to withdraw. India’s ambassador in Moscow, Pankaj Sa- vrability through thrust vector control, ran, confirmed this statement in early June: which the Russians always hold so dear, Made in India? “Discussions on the FGFA continue, which would then take effect, said LII-Gromov's Another point of contention was the pre- vailing industrial philosophy "Made in India", proclaimed by the government of the Indian Prime Minister Modi. Under this dogma, it was the Indians' wish that the

Photo: Georg Mader FGFA be produced as far as possible in In- dia and partly assembled at HAL. But to implement the 40 to 50 national changes mentioned, it would have been necessary for Suchoj or OAK – that is, ultimately the Russian Government – to hand all drafts, CAD drawings and, above all, the software source codes of the flight control and mis- sion systems to India. For a long time this was not an issue, neither when India contributed around US$300M to the launch of the programme, nor when the two sides agreed years later on an equivalent financing of around US$3.7Bn for production readiness. These figures are, of course, given without procurement costs, which have been estimated at up First image of the SATURN (Изделие) 30 turbofan nozzle engine for the to US$30Bn for the 250 Russian and 144 Su-57. According to the Indian authorities, the Изделие 30 integrated in Indian aircraft planned to date. In view of the second prototype made its maiden flight last December. these amounts, the Indians were dissatis- fied with Russian secrecy. will help to better understand each other's boss and hero test pilot P. Vlasov during a There was also no agreement on the use priorities and plans for the future.” And MiG-29M2 flight, and he continued: “This of Indian test pilots in flights, which was indeed, the Russian side has not officially would empty the American's stealth purse confirmed to the author by the Su-57 commented on or confirmed the Indian quickly – and then he will die. Especially main programme test pilot Sergei Bog- withdrawal. Only some bloggers and fo- the F-35." dan. Indian technicians also had no ac- rum users are happy to "finally get rid of No wonder the Americans and British dis- cess to the 6th prototype damaged in an the annoying Indians", but now that Su- agree on this point. Any Lockheed man- engine fire in 2014. And finally, the Rus- 57 has to make progress without Indian ager or F-35 test pilot will tell you how sian partner has demanded up to US$7Bn money, they also have no solution as to unlikely this result would be in view of for the complete technology transfer, how to proceed. the immense sensory overview of West- which was considered too much by the ern "network warriors". Something would Indian side, taking into account all the What Kind of Stealth? have gone fundamentally wrong if you had difficulties and problems. been forced into a visual battle with Su- Even before the contract for the joint de- 57s or J-20s. This question would require An F-35 for India? velopment of the then PMF (Perspective a separate article on eastern cyber warfare Multirole Fighter) as a Stealth Fighter was against western networks. But Western For decades, Russia was the main supplier signed in 2010 by HAL (Hindustan Aero- experts swear that it is impossible to com- of weapon systems for India’s Air Force. The nautics Ltd.) and Sukhoi, joint working promise the air force's networks and that 272 Indian Su-30MKIs (220 delivered up to groups discussed the design in great detail. pilots are fully trained in this philosophy. the present) may have even saved the Rus-

66 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  sian fighter industry in the 1990s. Today, it mobile parts and a fully electronic FADEC No Unlimited Funds is obvious that India is buying its weapon control. Furthermore, Sergei Bogdan men- systems increasingly in the US, as indicated tioned very innovative solutions, like the Unlike China, Russia has limited funding by India’s recent purchase of the C-17, P-8, new modular avionics network ИМА БК opportunities for several simultaneous ar- AH-64 or C-130J. However, India's with- with a code of four million lines, multi-core maments programmes (submarines, battle drawal from the FGFA programme does not multiprocessors and fibre-optic capacities tanks, nuclear weapons, space travel). The automatically mean that the only alterna- of 8 Gbps versus 100 Mbps of its predeces- question therefore arises as to what priori- tive would be an Indian F-35 JSF. When it sor BAGAT launched in 2004 and devel- ties the Russian Air Force VKS sets and what comes to combat aircraft, India’s MoD and oped for the Su-35. Last year, an intelligent proportion of the funding the project will re- the IAF want full-scale modernisation and monitoring system was launched, which, ceive. It is worth mentioning once again that adaptation authority over the entire lifespan like a ‘living organism’, is designed by the the Su-57 was not designed to stay above of the product, and this would mean getting structure-connecting fibre-optic mycelium enemy airspace for hours, as the Western access to the F-35’s EW systems and their to govern neuronal dynamics and to react air forces have done for years in mostly un- threat libraries. And this is where it all ends: in real time to mechanical influences and protected airspaces of developing nations. The US Government or Lockheed Martin changed statuses. Even in a system like today's Russia, there would never grant India access to the F-35’s In light of such remarkable achievements, are additional factors, such as the influence key IT systems, even if India were to pay crude propaganda coups like the two Su- of important persons in the Russian power US$7Bn. In addition, India would have to 57 prototypes deployed to Syria for a few structure. As long as former Sukhoj boss share sensitive data with the US. Moreover, days in February are not really necessary. Michajl Pogosyan was managing director as already reported from Dubai with respect But perhaps the Indian withdrawal was al- of the OAK consortium, the Su-57 seemed to the Emirates, the US military leadership ready known at that time, and those videos to have absolute priority. ROSTEC manag- would not allow F-35 technology to oper- in which one or two Kh-59 air-to-ground ers may see things differently. At the be- ate next to opponent (Russian) systems. As cruise missiles were "successfully launched ginning of the programme in 2010, it was the two nations might fight each other in against Islamists" were shown as a publicity said that the first 10 test aircraft would be cases of conflict, they certainly will not ex- stunt. But the weapons in the video were available in 2012 and 150 aircraft would change data packages. This is a similar situ- completely red, as is usual for new Russian enter service in 2016. ation to Turkey, which bought the Russian ordnance, which rather indicates a first regu- At the end of 2014, there were only 55, S-400 air defence system and then wanted lar test within the two internal weapon bays. and these were to be delivered from 2020. to buy 100 American F-35s. So far only Israel Some weapons associated with the Su-57 And in 2015, Deputy Defence Minister is allowed to modify the architecture of the on posters and brochures have so far only Yuri Borisov said that production planning F-35I (”ADIR”) to adapt, modify and fill its been known as mock-ups exhibited at the would initially be reduced to 12 examples onboard systems nationally. Russian MAKS Air Show at the stand of to buy more 4.5 generation Su-30SM, This is why the AMCA is once again in Russian missile manufacturer TMC. As the Su-34 and Su-35. In the same year, VKS demand in India; the Advanced Medium author has observed, there has been a simi- Commander Viktor Bondarew said that Combat Aircraft is to become a stealth lar situation with the AESA fire control radar production would start in 2017 after twin engine in the 20- to 25-tonne class. developed by Tikhomirov and its suppliers, completion of all tests. In this context, we The design definition phase is completed, which was exhibited at several MAKS shows. are now waiting for the integration and and a prototype will be exhibited at HAL In general, as far as the high-tech sec- verification of the new 'Unit 30' engines. in 2019, possibly with the help of Saab, tor of the Russian defence industry is VKS acceptance tests will now begin in since Ulf Nilsson is the head of their avia- concerned, grand designs do not always Aktyubinsk in 2019. Mr. Borisov confirmed tion division. lead to big production. This also has to in the spring that "Su-57 is part of the do with the availability of key parts and state armament programme 2018–2025. Will Russia Carry on with the machines. For semiconductors, Russian An exact number cannot be given today." Project? industry is still dependent on microchips This shows that the Su-57’s obvious descent from Taiwan and South Korea, which are on Russia's priority list could also have in- To avoid misunderstandings: PAK FA / T-50 not always reliable. fluenced the Indians. The descent coincides or Su-57 is a remarkable design, with an The continuing weakness of modern manu- with the advent of Russia’s new hypersonic RCS about 30 times smaller than a standard facturing capacity for real mass production weapon recently praised by President Pu- Su-27. Despite popular comparisons drawn coincides with another crucial aspect: Over tin, ISKANDER's sibling Kh-47M2 KINZHAL between the RCS of the F-35 and that of a the next two years, Russia's defence budget which flew over Red Square attached to bird, it should be noted that these are only will continue to decline as a percentage of two MiG-31Ks on 9 May. It offers increased laboratory values from so-called anechoic GDP (RUB83Tr or €119Bn in 2017), due to attack potential of up to 2,000 km with- chambers that have never been tested dur- slow economic growth and Western sanc- out risking valuable aircraft. Although two ing a real operation. tions due to the Ukraine/Crimea crisis. The of the nine existing Su-57 prototypes were Last December, the second prototype Duma Defence Committee estimates that also shown, stealth takes significantly lower ”No. 52“ with the Cyrillic letters LL for security spending will fall by 0.1% of GDP to priority in Russia, as the country has excel- “Letajushaya Laboratoriya” made a first 2.7% in 2019 and by a further 0.1% to 2.5% lent Su-35, Su-30SM2/3 and soon MiG-35 flight with the promising SATURN engine in 2020. The defence budget for 2017 has aircraft immediately available in large num- Изделие 30 (“Unit 30”). Compared to the been estimated at RUB2.84Tr. That would bers. When looking at these figures, the fol- AL-41F1 engine (resp. 117S) in the Su-35, have been about 10% less than in 2016. lowing can be predicted: If the remarkable the maximum thrust once again increased Moreover, the military budget had already Su-57 survives as a flagship project, it will from 147 kN to its current 186 kN and will fallen slightly from RUB3.16Tr to RUB3.15Tr, barely reach the 300 units sold on the F-35 provide enough power for supercruising, after spending had steadily increased since that Lockheed Martin recently announced in contrast to the Chinese J-20. It has fewer the beginning of Vladimir Putin's era. as delivered. 

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 67  ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY Military CBRN Decontamination Problems and Issues

Dan Kaszeta

The threat of use of chemical, biological, radiological, and/or nuclear (CBRN) weapons poses many tacti- cal, strategic, and technical problems. By any realistic measure, one of the most serious aspects of CBRN defence is the prospect of short-term or long-term contamination of people, equipment of every size and shape, and terrain.

ndeed, given that technology allows for Iprotection of military personnel from in- juries due to chemical attack, on the mod- ern battlefield it is the prospect of serious contamination that can sometimes pose a Photo: Dan Kaszeta greater risk to military operations than im- mediate casualties. Contamination of ports and airfields can slow the deployment of military forces. Contamination of armoured vehicles and artillery pieces will force sol- diers to operate in a protected posture, de- grading their performance and increasing stress. Contamination of roads, bridges, and other key terrain features can reduce the mobility of military forces and constrain a commander’s courses of action.

Neutralising Contamination

Decontamination, which is the art and sci- ence of removing or neutralising contami- nation, is often the least glamorous aspect of the CBRN defence disciplines. It is also, from a products and technologies stand- An Italian decontamination suite for military vehicle and personnel point, a relatively static element of the decontamination market space, particularly compared to some of the more high-tech disciplines like defence needs to understand, and this tamination needs to occur at some defined computer modelling and detection/iden- article attempts to highlight these areas place on the map, preferably where it poses tification. This correspondent surveyed of concern. no threat to others, but close enough that products, procurement programmes, and it can be supplied by logistical channels and major manufacturers in the decontamina- Decontamination is a that contaminated platoons or companies tion space for this journal in 2016. Radical Burdensome Task do not need to travel far. The third burden changes and major breakthroughs have is time; decontamination is time consum- not occurred since that issue was pub- CBRN decontamination is a thoroughly ing. A single aircraft or tank may take hours lished, so the overview provided in 2016 unpleasant and intensive business that to decontaminate, depending on the type is still largely valid today. However, there has tremendous operational and logistical and extent of contamination and the meth- are a number of vital technical and doc- impacts on military personnel and units. od of decontamination. trinal issues in decontamination that any- Decontamination operations, whether The fourth burden is labour. Decontamina- one who is seriously interested in CBRN formal or improvised, impose a number tion of military vehicles can require a lot of of important burdens, which need to be personnel. Since the personnel conducting Author understood by commanders and planners. the decontamination operate while wear- The first burden is operational displace- ing protective clothing, they cannot work Dan Kaszeta is Managing Director at ment. Soldiers, equipment, and units that non-stop, particularly in warm climates. It Strongpoint Security Ltd. and a regu- are undergoing decontamination are out of can, therefore, take a large group of soldiers lar contributor to ESD. the battle until they are decontaminated. to decontaminate a company of tanks or The second burden is geography. Decon- mechanised infantry. Nor is decontamina-

68 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY 

tion the unskilled labour it might appear these burdens mean that military planning Some militaries place great reliance on Con- to be to outsiders. This poses the issue to for decontamination is difficult. Although tamination Avoidance in order to have to militaries of who actually will do all of the decontamination in a civil setting, after acts place less emphasis on post-attack decon- required decontamination operations. Even of terrorism, poses some interesting chal- tamination, in particular the British Army. at the height of the Cold War, few armies lenges as well, these 5 burdens are generally Contamination Avoidance can basically be adequately staffed decontamination units, applicable as well. An important point to described as a collection of measures and preferring to rely on mobilisation of reserv- make here is that technology and new prod- technologies to improve situational aware- ists or conscripts. In many modern NATO ucts may help address these burdens, none ness so that military forces avoid becoming armies, for example, there is an absolute of them are problems that are amenable to contaminated in the first place. Detection deficit of decontamination force structure easy technical solutions. For example, the and identification instruments detect the and, if, for example, the British Army had finest decontamination equipment is great, presence of hazards. Reconnaissance vehi- to decontaminate a tank battalion, there is but if there are no soldiers to operate it and cles and teams conduct surveys to identify some question as to where the forces to do the tanks that need to be decontaminated areas affected by contamination. Model- it exist in the table of organisation. cannot be pulled out of battle, then the ling, whether by manual or computerised The fifth burden is resources, both generic technology has not solved the problem. As means, predicts the extent of hazard areas. and specific. Decontamination needs equip- well as, and perhaps because of, these five Warning and reporting systems spread this ment. It also needs raw materials, usually burdens, decontamination has competitors. information throughout deployed forces, decontamination solutions and often lots so that everyone knows which areas should of water. As a young CBRN officer in the “Contamination Avoidance” be avoided. However, even if everything US Army, I quickly learned that the greatest is a Valid CBRN Discipline works properly, the best contamination problem in planning decontamination op- avoidance measures will only reduce, not erations in arid climates was supply of water. The colossal difficulties posed by large de- eliminate, the need for decontamination. During the first Gulf War (Operation Desert contamination operations have long been Contamination Avoidance is, in many ways, Shield/Desert Storm) the water logistics be- understood by military staffs. It is not surpris- cheaper than decontamination. But it can- hind decontamination planning were daunt- ing that an entire strain of military thought not and should not be a substitute for the ing, given the dry environment and lack of that roughly says “if decontamination is adequate provision of equipment and per- suitable local water supplies. Any kind of such an operational pain, then we need to sonnel decontamination. large-scale decontamination operation re- do whatever we can to avoid having to do Incidentally, from a market and products quires a complex supply chain to keep oper- it” has evolved. This is the CBRN defence dis- perspective, Contamination Avoidance ating. These resources cost money. All five of cipline called “Contamination Avoidance.” causes an interesting internal conflict

XI INTERNATIONAL AVIATION AND SPACE SALON AVIASVIT-XXIAVIASVIT-XXI

9-12 October 2018

International Exhibition Centre Ukraine, Kyiv, Brovarsky Ave, 15, “Livoberezhna” underground station tel./fax: +38 044 201 11 63, 201 11 64 5/2018 · European Security & Defence 69 e-mail: [email protected] www.iec-expo.com.ua, www.tech-expo.com.ua competed with generic alternatives. Many types of decontamination chemicals are commercially available, but few of them are cheap. Some are prohibitively expensive, if a country were to want to use them for extensive operations and maintain a viable stockpile. For all the sophistication of the CBRN threat, one fundamental truth continues to surface through all kinds of trials and testing. For the large majority of threats,

Photo: US Air Force soapy water is actually not a bad way to de- A US airman processes through a decontamination area while two other contaminate things, whether it be exposed airmen wash contaminants off his level-A hazmat suit during hazmat skin or the side of a tank. Decontamination decontamination training. All three airmen are with the 380th Expedi- is about both removal and neutralisation. tionary Civil Engineer Squadron Readiness and Emergency Management Soapy water, or even in absence of soap, Flight. The flight performs chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear just water, actually is not a bad decontami- (CBRN) detection and decontamination operations. nating agent. For example, all of the nerve agents react with water. Anthrax spores, within the CBRN industry. One segment credibility to a “fight through it, continue once they are wet, do not pose wide area of the industry is devoted to making sure the battle, and some of the problem will respiratory hazards. Radioactive fallout is that you do not need so much of another go away on its own” approach. Obviously, generally dust, and it reacts just as non- segment. Because detection and identifica- the details are scenario-specific. However, radioactive dust – it washes off. tion is an area where much new innovation companies seeking to develop solutions Manufacturers of specialty decontami- has occurred and the products are more and sell products in this sector need to un- nation equipment and specialised deter- interesting and dramatic, it is possible that derstand the mindsets they might encoun- gents and solutions have a much harder decontamination producers have lost out a ter. In effect, decontamination competes burden than makers of detection equip- bit to companies who sell Contamination with individual and protective collection ment or medical countermeasures. The Avoidance solutions. My own direct expe- technology for expenditure of scarce budg- generic equivalent to a nerve agent detec- rience is that this is more theoretical than etary resources. tor doesn’t really exist. The alternative to actual. However, it does explain a lack of a protective mask is no protective mask. integration in the industry. Generic Alternatives But the alternative to a bucket of specialty chemicals that might cost €100 could be a Is it Needed? An inherent feature of the CBRN decon- bucket of free water and 50 cents of soap. tamination market is that expensive de- However, there is no bucket of specialty A different philosophy to Contamination contamination equipment and specialty chemicals that a manufacturer can sell to Avoidance bears no discrete name, but decontamination chemicals have always a military that is 200 times more effective can be summed up as “we are not going to let contamination stop us from fight- ing the war.” Advances in both individual and collective protection systems mean that modern fighting forces can prevent injury and death and continue to operate for increasingly longer periods of time in contaminated environments. Furthermore, many CBRN threats go away over time any- Photo: Courtesy of Cristanini spa way. Some radioactive isotopes are short- lived. Some chemicals are non-persistent. Most biological pathogens do not survive lengthy exposure to direct sunlight. This intellectual approach also has the great tactical value of negating much of the al- leged offensive value of persistent chemical weapons, thus possibly reducing their likeli- hood of use. This is the “well, why should we bother with chemical weapons because they aren’t going to stop the enemy from attacking or make them retreat; they’ll still fight us hard so we might as well use weap- ons that destroy tanks and not just make them dirty” approach, and it is a valid one. Although one of the alleged axioms of mili- The SX 34 sensitive equipment decontamination kit, produced by tary decontamination is to decontaminate Cristanini (Italy). It is one of the rare products on the market for as soon as possible, there is a great deal of dealing with contaminated electronic systems.

70 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 ARMAMENT & TECHNOLOGY  than a bucket of water and some soap. It Decontamination on a large scale is still such a labour, are likely to be needed to might be twice as effective in some circum- widely treated as too hard to contem- conduct wide area decontamination, and stances, and 20% more effective in others. plate. In military CBRN training, it is often countries serious about this as a require- It might ease the logistical burdens and re- given only token consideration in publica- ment need to look into how to provide quire less water. But it still costs 200 times tions and training. It is rarely exercised. the necessary resources. the generic alternative. This is a conundrum While notional processes and procedures for both militaries and industry. tend to exist in manuals, they call for Conclusions amounts of time, labour, and materials Sensitive Item that are stunning in their magnitude. If It is clear that decontamination poses Decontamination CBRN warfare threats are to be taken se- many complex issues, both in practical riously, this gap in capability needs to be operational and logistical terms and in One area where products and technolo- addressed. This is an area where indus- terms of technology. The CBRN segment gies can make a clear impact is the decon- try, if sufficiently motivated by govern- of the defence industry has long sought tamination of sensitive and fragile items. ment requirements, could really do some to provide technology and products to The warm soapy water than may be fully interesting work if adequate resources solve the problems of CBRN defence. adequate for the exterior of a tank is not were committed to it. Products and tech- However, some of the intractable issues going to be very pleasant for sensitive nologies are largely absent in this area. of decontamination are only mitigated, avionics, communications equipment, or Furthermore, non-technical resources, not solved, by current technologies.  computers. Neutralising or removing con- taminants from expensive and highly use- ful pieces of equipment in a non-destruc- tive matter is one of the few areas in CBRN decontamination that is moving forward NATIONAL TRAINING AND SIMULATION ASSOCIATION at a reasonable pace. While this article is THE WORLD’S LARGEST MODELING & SIMULATION EVENT not a survey of manufacturers, this is an area where companies like Cristanini (It- Aerospace Simulation & Training Aircrew Trainers aly) and Steris (USA) are doing interesting Applied R&D work, particularly with decontamination Applied Systems Engineering processes that fumigate contaminated AR/VR INTERSERVICE/INDUSTRY TRAINING, Big Data items and areas, or use specialty sorbents Classroom Training Products SIMULATION & EDUCATION CONFERENCE that are not harmful to electronics. While & Services LAUNCHING INNOVATION IN LEARNING: READY, SET, DISRUPT! Cloud Computing effective products and technologies are Computer Hardware available here, they are not by any means Construction / Mining cheap. For sensitive item decontamination Consultancy/Project Management Cyber to become a full component in military Disaster Relief/Planning Simulations CBRN defence operations, it will need to Distance Learning Distributed Simulation and Learning become more economical. Educational Products & Services Electronic Components Electronic Training/Synthetic Wide Area Decontamination: Engineering/Damage Control Buildings and Terrain Trainers Exercise Management The vast majority of decontamination Flight Simulation & Training Gaming doctrine, technology, and equipment in- Homeland Security Simulation & volve cleansing things that are moveable, Training Instructional Systems Design like tanks or people or aircraft. Buildings LVC (Live, Virtual, Constructive) and land are not moveable. Persistent Manufacturing chemical agents or radiological particu- Medical Simulation & Training Mission Planning/Mission Rehearsal lates could be used to contaminate key Modeling Services terrain, like road junctions, bridges, ports, Oil, Gas, Energy Operational & Maintenance Services or runways. Likewise, buildings can be Operator/Driver Trainers contaminated and rendered unfit for oc- Physical Training Equipment cupation. Cold war-era Soviet chemical Pre-Brief/After Action Review Research & Development warfare doctrine called for long-range Shiphandling Trainers systems such as SCUD missiles to use Simulation Security Simulation Software persistent agents to contaminate ports Simulation Toolkits and airfields that the USA was likely to Small Arms Training use to reinforce continental Europe, as Small Business Staffing/Logistics Support well as contaminate large stockpiles of STEM vehicles stored by the US Army for use Tactics Trainers in wartime scenarios. Contamination of Trade Publication / Media Training Products Why I/ITSEC? runways with persistent agents like VX Training Services u 16,200 attendees or so-called NOVICHOKs could place a Transportation u 485 exhibitors runway out of service longer than attacks Vehicle Trainers Verification & Validation u 186,000 sq ft exhibit hall with conventional weapons. Visual Computing u 1,800 international Visual Display Products attendees, from 50 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 Poland’s Defence Industry Base

Eugene Kogan

The country’s defence sector is currently in a process of rapid struc- 2017, exports account for 15% of the Pol- ish defence industry’s turnover, with the tural change, facing major challenges from increased competition. Middle Eastern and developing countries Like other industrial sectors, the defence industry is required to deliver being the main export hubs. In 2017 the PGZ achieved sales worth PLN798M increased efficiency in order to provide value for money. (US$228M). This was a 40% increase over 2016 sales worth about PLN560M (about US$150M). Compared with the neighbour- n January 2017, it was reported that the nies are the WB Group based in Ozarow ing Czech Republic, which in 2016 achieved IPolish Armaments Group (known under Mazowiecki, followed by Gdynia Shipyard sales worth CZK20Bn (or about US$910M), its Polish acronym PGZ Group), which is Remontowa Shipbuilding. Decisions on Polish arms exports are not just too low under the authority of the MoND, would what to do remain unclear. but also lagging behind. Thus, something change its status. It was planned to change Even though a new Strategic Defence Re- substantial needs to be done in order for the management structure and procure- view (SDR) was completed by the govern- the PGZ Group to achieve better results. ment mechanisms. Not all of Poland’s de- ment in May 2017, a revised version has The PGZ’s Code, which is to be discussed later, may help the group to become bet- ter integrated, better coordinated and per- haps more successful on global markets. Whether or not the whole process of fur- Photo: Kubsson ther integration, coordination and, as a re- sult, achieving success on the arms market can be accomplished remains to be seen.

PGZ Group as the Country’s National Champion PGZ consists of 60 companies with 17,500 employees and has three major sharehold- ers: the MoND with 37.13%, PHD with 33.51% and ARP with 29.36%. PGZ Presi- dent Jakub Skiba said on 20 May 2018 that “Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) [in particular] is probably the best facility among PGZ Group’s subsidiaries. All contracts assigned to this entity are being executed in a proper manner.” Skiba’s statement is supported by the HSW revenue achieved in 2017, which exceeded PLN500M (or about US$140M) out of a total PLN798M. HSW informs that in 2018 planned consolidated revenues are expected to amount to PLN1Bn. In addition to the 60 companies under its umbrella, PGZ took control of the Polish Na- PGZ Group, headquartered in Radom, is Poland’s largest defence val Shipyard Company (Stocznia Marynarki company. Wojennej, SMW) headquartered in Gdynia on 20 December 2017. The SMW was bank- fence industry is state-owned; there are not yet led to a restructuring of the de- rupt at the time and PGZ had to overhaul the also several large, privately owned defence fence industry. What is evident, however, shipyard’s finances and restructure the com- companies or subsidiaries of foreign com- is that the defence industry cannot expect pany. According to an e-mail to the author panies. The largest private defence compa- to continue receiving state subsidies indefi- from PGZ’s Communication and Marketing nitely. State support has made the industry Department, PGZ is currently in the process Author less efficient; sluggish arms export results of restructuring the SMW. No further infor- are a sign that the defence industry has mation on the issue was provided as of 2 Eugene Kogan is a defence become inward-looking and lost some of July 2018. In spite of the Naval Shipyard’s and security expert based in Tbilisi, its competitive edge. According to a report financial losses, Cezary Cierzan, the PGZ Georgia. prepared by the Polish Strategic Defence representative said at the Maritime Security Intelligence (SDI) and published in March Forum in January 2018 that: “No plans ex-

72 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 INDUSTRY & MARKETS  ist to radically lay-off shipyard employees. dustry. A harmonised approach is also im- companies within the group. The code Nevertheless, certain personnel adjustments portant in cooperation between PGZ and would also introduce a coherent commu- will be made.” Cierzan did not elaborate any external partners from the EU and the US. nications and exports strategy to promote further on the company’s human resources. The PGZ’s code puts down several measures the group on export markets and increase The idea of uniting the Polish defence in- to enhance cooperation within the group: PGZ’s share group in those markets. In the dustry under one roof seems to have been Seven domain bureaus are to be created future, PGZ intends to present its offers abandoned. The management structure of within PGZ which are to coordinate the uniformly within a coordinated and real- the PGZ Group is therefore still subject to implementation of the major programmes istic strategy. It should also be noted that considerable changes. In November 2017, in the areas assigned. For instance, Land the agreements concluded between the for example, PGZ introduced the so-called Performs Directorate is to coordinate the PGZ Group and the individual companies PGZ Code, which lays down the rules for MBT, IFV and APC programmes, as well should make it possible to define the rules cooperation between the group’s compa- as programmes concerning the vehicles for for cooperation, as there is no holding law/ nies. According to the code, the companies the special operations component. regulation in Poland. of the group are to complement each other According to an e-mail to the author from The Polish defence sector, although for- in order to avoid internal competition and PGZ’s Communication and Marketing De- mally consolidated, needs more integration may involve external companies in poten- partment, in addition to the Land Performs and cooperation. The gradual introduction tial tenders in order to make the customer Directorate, directorates for Naval Plat- of the PGZ Code is the opportunity to a more attractive and cost-effective offer. If forms, Aviation Platforms, Firearms and achieve integration. At the same time, if the carried out correctly, the code can be a step Ammo, Ground Based Air-Defence and country’s defence spending successfully in- towards consolidating the Polish defence Missile Defence and Barrel and Rocket Artil- creases in the coming years, the defence industry within the PGZ Group, as the new lery are currently under construction. There industry would have to produce military rules can be an effective means of integrat- are also directorates that are working on products for the country’s armed forces. To ing the defence sector in Poland. interdisciplinary projects such as C4ISR sys- take advantage of this unique opportunity, The division of labour between the individ- tems, EW, cyber security and R&D projects. the consolidation of the defence industry ual companies to create competences that The directorates will also distribute compe- must be completed and PGZ must become complement each other in a system is the tencies among the companies and plan the a successful defence company. In addition key to success. Otherwise, billions of Polish further development of capabilities offered to PGZ’s WB Group and other companies zloty to be spent on modernisation would within the respective domain. The aim is listed below, the following companies are not bring technological progress in the in- to develop focused and purpose-oriented also part of the defence sector. unmanned systems, which have been and are accompanying the Polish forces dur- ing foreign deployments. Based on experi- ence gathered during those missions and by our foreign customers, we know that these systems performed greatly in armed conflicts.” In November 2017, the MoND signed a breakthrough agreement with WB Group to purchase 1,000 WARMATE UAVs manufactured by the company. De- signed by the Military Institute of Arma- ment Technology under the aegis of the MoND, WARMATE might be equipped with warheads manufactured by the PGZ subsidiary Belma; the cooperation could open up an area of collaboration between

Photo: WB Group the WB Group and the PGZ Group. Engineers of WB Group, Poland’s largest private company in the defence Wojciechowski further clarified company sector, observing the first military exercise with the company’s WAR- relations with the PGZ Group by saying MATE system on 31 May 2018. that: “We are a part of numerous consor- tia, enjoying equal rights with befriended WB Group – a Success Story Piotr Wojciechowski, President of WB entities of the PGZ Group. We are support- of the Polish Private Sector Group’s Management Board, said in Sep- ing our colleagues from PGZ companies tember 2017 that “We at the WB Group with all of our expertise, to the best of our The private WB Group was founded in deal with development of comprehensive abilities. Our colleagues working at PGZ 1997 and currently employs 800 peo- UAV systems, creating operational con- are working with us, within the scope of ple. Of crucial importance for PGZ is cepts and concepts for conducting joint the process of the implementation of chal- the fact that WB Group has created operations with other systems: command, lenging and technically complex military a branch known to all customers and reconnaissance, artillery or fire-mission projects. Cooperation in areas where joint manufacturers of defence systems, systems. Within that scope the user is effort takes place is very good, at all levels.” which everyone knows is a brand from trained, and we gather knowledge pro- In addition to its success on the domestic Poland. The Polish Development Fund vided by the customers, on the require- market, WB Group has also expanded its (PFR) paid PLN128M in November ments that need to be met to enhance presence to Malaysia and the USA; its sub- 2017 for the acquisition of 24% of WB our systems [performance] and make sidiary WBE Technologies Sdn Bhd is based Group’s shares, demonstrating confi- them more universal. Our UAVs have been in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and focuses on dence in the UAV technologies devel- used in combat during the last 15 years. warranty services, spare parts supply and lo- oped by the company and the possible In Poland, we remain the sole exporter gistical support for WB Group programmes opening of the domestic market for the and manufacturer of UAV systems. We in Southeast Asia. On 18 April 2018, WB company for further UAV orders. are also the sole Polish manufacturer of Group represented by WBE Technologies Photo: ZMBL

The Armour Factory Bumar-Łabędy (ZMBL), a subsidiary of PGZ Group, is cooperating with Rheinmetall to modernise Poland’s fleet of LEOPARD II MBTs.

74 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 INDUSTRY & MARKETS 

Sdn Bhd officially signed the offset contract building, said in February 2018: “For many commitment in Poland. Leonardo produces for technology transfer (ToT) with the Ma- years the Remontowa Shipbuilding facil- AW149 helicopters at its Polish subsidiary laysian MoD and the Malaysian DRB-Hicom ity has been carrying out complex work. PZL Swidnik, while Lockheed Martin’s Polish Deftech Sdn Bhd. It not only provides jobs for its own staff, subsidiary PZL Mielec produces the S-70i ex- WB America was founded in January 2018 as the shipyard also creates jobs for more port version of the BLACK HAWK helicopter. with the aim of marketing and distributing than 2,000 employees of its cooperation However, the additional workload for the WB Group products in North and South partners. Although Remontowa Shipbuild- subsidiaries depends on the international America; the new company will offer a ing is a private company, it maintains close tenders in Poland and other countries. wide range of products in the areas of spe- cooperation with state industrial plants and Secondly, Rheinmetall Defence Polska is a cial electronics, communication systems research centres. This was proven by the subsidiary of Rheinmetall Landsysteme Gm- and UAVs. One of Fonet’s products has construction of the KORMORAN II MCMV. bH. The company was founded in Poland in already been integrated into the US Army When the first Polish minehunter was built, August 2016. The company is a partner of Stryker and Joint Light Tactical Vehicles Remontowa Shipbuilding worked closely the local defence industry and supports the Polish armed forces in technical and logistical support and in the development of logistics Forcepol concepts with a focus on the modernisation (sb) Forcepol sp. z o.o. is a trading company headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, and programme for the Polish LEOPARD 2 MBT with offices in Brno in the Czech Republic. Their mission is to deliver products for both fleet. Rheinmetall Defence Polska is also the defence and civil industries, according to specific requirements in Poland, the Czech Polish hub for all Rheinmetall Defence com- Republic and throughout Europe. panies and acts as a central contact point Deliveries are mainly to the Armed Forces (Armies, Air Forces and Navies) of the region, for the Polish government, the military and with specific, highly-specialised demands from paramilitary and Special Forces, and also Polish companies. first Responder and Police forces, and other pro-security and pro-defence organisations, Rheinmetall Defence Polska is repre- being met, reliably and regularly. sented at two locations: A liaison office Within the complex and highly competitive Polish market Forcepol also represents a was set up in Warsaw to be close to the number of US, European and other companies: “Our reputation and highly ethical and authorities, and in order to optimally sup- effective support for both our industrial as well as our political and military customers port Zaklady Mechaniczne Bumar-Labedy ensure a strong, sustainable level of success for everyone involved” says Agnieszka (ZMBL, member of the PGZ Group) in the Ulasiuk, CEO. modernisation of Polish LEOPARD 2 MBTs Forcepol generally works with acclaimed, established, world-class companies and or- and to offer services around the LEOP- ganisations that operate around the world: the company cooperates with the defence ARD 2, a second location was established and security industries, as well as with universities, laboratories and research centres. in Gliwice. New products are continually being introduced into their portfolio and the list of their The further consolidation of PGZ Group suppliers and partners is both extensive and growing in order to provide access to spe- and the expansion of WB Group beyond cific products individually requested by their clients. Poland underline the current trend in “Together with our clients and partners, we develop, refine, and deliver best-performing the Polish defence industry. To be on products and systems to meet the most exacting requirements with the highest level safe ground, both the development of of precision and complete satisfaction”, said Ulasiuk. “We are focussed on reliable and the armed forces’ domestic procurement well-established business partners who share our totally ethical and professional ap- contracts and the expansion of foreign proach to business cooperation.” exports should go hand in hand. The ex- A cross-selection of Forcepol partners includes: PROTOTYPA-ZM (Czech Republic), port portfolio of the PGZ Group is still EDH Doppler (South Africa),Fireco (Italy), Scandinavian Avionics Group (Denmark), IKEY too small for such a large state-owned (USA), NSI (Germany), Vital Seating & Systems (UK), Coastal Environmental Systems company. The future looks promising, (USA), NISSENS (Denmark), Avalex (USA), Scanfiber Composites (Denmark), VarTech but in the real world competition for Systems (USA), among many others. market share is becoming tougher and ToT is a must. Whether PGZ Group is pre- pared to do this remains to be seen. WB (JLTVs). For the years 2016-17, no financial with CTM and the Technical University of Group has expanded its activities beyond data were provided to the author. Gdansk. The institution cooperates with Poland. Regarding the company’s finan- In addition to the WB Group, the Polish research institutions under the patronage cial results, the author did not receive a shipyard Remontowa Shipbuilding, a sub- of the Polish MoND, including the Warsaw- response from the WB Group, although sidiary of Remontowa Holding Capital based Military Institute of Chemistry and he had contacted the Group’s Communi- Group must be mentioned. Radiometry and the Zielonka-based Mili- cations and Advertising Department. The A contract for the delivery of two more tary Institute of Armament Technology. cooperation between PGZ and WB Group modern minehunters was signed in War- The company’s net sales in 2015 (the only and Remontowa Shipbuilding should be saw on 27 December, 2017. The new KOR- data available) amounted to €285M, while continued, as it leads to positive results MORAN II MCMVs will be built by a consor- net profit amounted to €8,5M. and all parties involved benefit from the tium led by Remontowa Shipbuilding. The cooperation. The role of foreign subsidi- other two companies in the consortium are Foreign Subsidiaries aries in Poland is rather limited, but it the Centre for Maritime Technology (CTM, gives foreign companies an advantage in also known as OBR CTM) and PGZ SMW, On the one hand, Leonardo’s Augusta the country and thus plays an important both based in Gdynia. Westland and Lockheed Martin acquired role in Poland’s arms procurement and Bartlomiej Pomierski, Vice President of the local subsidiaries, making them the only modernisation programmes for the next Board of Directors of Remontowa Ship- foreign companies to establish a long-term decade. 

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 75  INDUSTRY & MARKETS ASCOD and PANDUR – Vienna Calling!

Jürgen Hensel

t the end of May 2018, General Dyna- 2. "Membership" of GD's global supply With the latest development status imple- Amics European Land Systems chain; mented, the vehicle can handle slopes up (GDELS) invited a group of journalists 3. New business development through to 60%, slide slopes (tilt) of 40%, can cross to their GDELS-Steyr facilities in Vienna, technology partnerships between local ditches and trenches up to 2.5 metres, Austria, to draw attention to a number SMEs and GD ford in waters up to 1.5 metres deep and of new developments to be presented 4. GD's global leverage to obtain busi- step-climb obstacles of up to 1.1 metres in first at this year's Eurosatory exhibition ness from other industry partners in height. Based on advanced suspension and and with a focus on the new ASCOD IFV the country. driveline technology, the vehicle platform and MMBT (Medium Main Battle Tank) features reduced weight, noise, vibration variants. ASCOD and roll/swing characteristics and provides Thomas Kauffmann, GDELS' VP Inter- for optimum shoot-on-the-move capabili- national Business and Services, was the José M. Lineros, GDELS' Vice President En- ties due to improved vehicle stability. The first presenter with a briefing on the gineering, briefed the group on the two vehicle's APC version can be airlifted with General Dynamics Group's portfolio and combat vehicle variants to be presented A400M, C-17 (2) or IL-76 respectively (tur- capabilities as well as GDELS' particular first at Eurosatory, namely the ASCOD IFV reted options to be confirmed). approach to industrial cooperation on and MMBT. A special contribution to export markets. Both versions crew survivability is made are based on Design study of with the vehicle's floating Portfolio and Offset Strategy the common the new PANDUR floor, which has replaced platform prin- 6x6 EVO for the the conventional footrests. With 98,600 employees and ten busi- ciple and de- Austrian Army The modular design of the ness units in four operating groups, GD signed with an vehicle allows for inter- generates a turnover of US$31Bn (2017). open architec- changeable mine protec- Of that, the business unit European Land ture to provide tion and add-on armour, Systems (GDELS) has a share of US$6Bn the optimal turret solutions range from with 2,200 people and customers in 44 combination 25 to 120mm calibres with countries around the globe. In accordance an additional anti-tank with the group's decentralised company Photos: GDELS guided missile as an op- strategy GDELS has manufacturing facili- tion. ties in Austria, the Czech The IFV variant presented Republic, Denmark, in Vienna was equipped Germany, Romania, with the UT30 MK2 un- Spain (European HQ) manned turret from Elbit and Switzerland. and the ATK MK 44 ABM In essence, the com- 30mm gun. The turret, a pany's capability port- downgraded version of the folio comprises ground 120mm MERKAVA MK 4 combat platforms (in- turret, was subject to a cluding light tactical separate briefing by Mai- vehicles), wheeled ar- mon Ifergan, Elbit's VP Inter- moured vehicles, tracked national Land Programs, who vehicles, bridging systems, also used the opportunity to artillery systems and ammu- draw attention to the IRON VISION nition, and integrated logistic head-mounted display that provides support (ILS). In the case of IFVs and 360° situational awareness even if used APCs, the design philosophy centres on a of tactical mobility, manoeuvrability and in a closed-hatched armoured vehicle. The common base platform – mainly the lower fightability. Lineros emphasised that the turret, a co-development with the Israeli vehicle hull – for a variety of different ve- two new vehicle variants were the result of Defence Forces (IDF), allows for the integra- hicle variants. consistent development efforts and invest- tion of an ATGW – as currently is the plan In response to increasing offset and com- ments in a common vehicle platform that with SPIKE in Croatia with tests ongoing pensation requirements in the scope of ex- was first implemented with the two early in Spain – and can be upgraded to carry a port programmes, the company has devel- ASCOD (Austrian-Spanish Cooperative De- 40mm gun. oped an offset strategy for the involvement velopment) variants, namely PIZARRO in The MMBT (Medium Main Battle Tank) of local industries that is supported by four Spain and ULAN in Austria, followed by the version on display is based on the proven main pillars: DONAR SP artillery system and the repair/ ASCOD running gear and was equipped 1. Direct participation in the programme recovery versions through to the British with a HITFACT 120mm turret from as a partner, subcontractor or supplier; AJAX variants. Leonardo (formerly Oto Melara), which

76 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 was also subject to a separate presenta- tion by Alessandro Tognetti, Leonardo's Capture and Development Manager. Both vehicles were also the subjects of dynamic displays at the company's out- door area.

PANDUR 6x6 EVO (Evolution)

In the scope of an ongoing procurement ASCOD MMBT (left) and the new ASCOD IFV with the UT30MK2 turret effort, GDELS has been tasked to deliver on display at the outdoor area of GDELS-Steyr in Vienna, Austria 34 PANDUR vehicles in APC configuration (Austrian designation: MTPz - Mannschaft- tract with the Austrian MoD includes an battle tank (heavy) fleet, particularly in such stransportpanzer) to the Austrian Army. option for a follow-on order to be exercised countries where defence procurement is The vehicle which – according to Florian by the end of 2019. also seen as a measure to strengthen the Bernhard, GDELS-Steyr's Deputy Head of local defence industrial base. Engineering – has been designed "with Perspectives The ASCOD IFV, on the other hand, is a con- tracked vehicle experience", features a 8.9 L tender in the scope of the BMP-2 replace- Cummins engine with 6-speed ZF ECOMAT Obviously, the decision to invest money in ment programme in the Czech Republic and automatic transmission, a power pack that the development of the ASCOD MMBT is thus facing competition with BAE Systems' is also in use with the 8x8 version of the ve- based on the assumption that the changed CV90, PSM's PUMA, Rheinmetall's LYNX hicle. In response to a requirement from the European security environment with a new and possibly others. While all serious con- Austrian military, the vehicle has a C-130 priority alignment on territorial defence tenders will probably be in a position to of- roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) capability and can will stimulate the international market for fer vehicle designs that can respond to the accommodate up to 11 personnel. Deliver- armoured combat vehicles. As such, the requirements from a technical point of view, ies are to commence in September, with 5 idea of offering a lighter-than-usual main the level of industrialisation that can be of- vehicles to be delivered in 2018, 21 in 2019 battle tank (gross vehicle weight 42 t) will fered as part of the respective proposals may and the remaining 8 in 2020. Some 190 certainly find its way into the consideration become a decisive factor. In this context, Austrian subcontractors and suppliers are of all those whose budgets do not allow for GDELS' offset strategy as described above participating in the programme. The con- the acquisition of a latest-generation main is certainly worth noting. 

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European Security Defence - 210x150mm.indd 1 23.07.2018 10:03:49  INDUSTRY & MARKETS “We have been a supplier to the Bundeswehr and international customers for more than 60 years.”

After a change of name in October 2017, the Bremerhaven-based pyrotechnics company that was formerly known as Chemring and Drew Defense is today called WesCom Signal & Rescue Germany GmbH. ESD spoke with the company's Managing Director, Jan-Dirk Hellwege. Photos: WesCom

ESD: What were the reasons for the name rotechnic sea rescue means for profession- change? Who owns the company? al shipping applications, WesCom is the Hellwege: The name change had become world market leader with its brands Comet obligatory for legal reasons. Our former and Pains Wessex. Our defence business parent company Drew Marine was sold. comprises the segments of Signal & Illu- The new owner insisted on retaining the mination, Training & Simulation, as well as exclusive rights to the name, so there was portable minefield breaching devices. no alternative to changing the name. The In essence, the Signal & Illumination seg- name WesCom is to be a reminiscence to ment includes sophisticated parachute sig- our core brands Pains Wessex and Comet. ESD: What are the core capabilities of the nal cartridges as well as handheld signals WesCom Signal & Rescue Germany is still company? Where are your markets? in the white light and IR spectrum, several owned by The Jordan Company, L.P. in the Hellwege: WesCom develops, builds and signal cartridges of different calibres, and United States. sells pyrotechnics. In the area of civilian py- ground signal devices.

Smoke signature of the ManPADS M 176 simulator. The right-hand picture shows (left) the product and (right) the WESS

78 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 INDUSTRY & MARKETS 

The Training & Simulation namely, the Portable segment is made up by both Explosive Mine- pyrotechnic products for the field Breach- realistic presentation of ing System weapon and battlefield (PEMBS) and effects, as well as elec- the ManPADS tronic launchers for the se- simulator. What is it cure handling of these devices that customers of these in military training operations. two products take par- The mine breaching segment is charac- ticular advantage of? terised by ergonomic and low-weight ap- Hellwege: Despite fre- plications for the quick engagement of Applications of quent condemnation the mines, obstacles and IEDs. For both our the Portable Explosive mine threat is still present. civilian and military products we rely on Minefield Breaching System Besides, the neutralisation of an above-average level of automated pro- (PEMBS) include the neutralisation IEDs is an imminent require- duction. This provides for comprehensive of anti-personnel mines, IEDs and ment. As a means that can be deployed production safety, a high quality level and man-made obstacles. quickly the PEMBS offers a sustainable increased competitiveness. The technical response. In pilot training, the reaction expertise necessary for automation in an Hellwege: In FY2017 we generated around to threats imposed by man-portable air explosive-processing environment is main- 20% of our sales in the defence business. defence systems (ManPADS) has again tained and preserved internally. For more This year, FY2018, we have noticed increas- gained in importance. The pyrotechnic than 60 years we have been supplying the ing interest in mine breaching systems, bat- ManPADS M 176 simulator presents an Bundeswehr, several NATO states and in- tlefield illumination and pyrotechnic simula- extremely realistic signature of such a ternational customers from Bremerhaven. tion of ground-to-air missiles. We are cur- missile at launch. In addition, it has the rently developing tailor-made solutions for advantage that it has a total self-con- ESD: What is the ratio between your mili- these programmes in particular. We make sumption effect, which also contributes tary and civilian business? What are your more than 90% of our turnover in export. to the attractiveness of this training tool. current programmes in the defence arena? What share of your total turnover is gener- ESD: From our point of view there are two The questions were asked by ated by exports? products that require special attention: Jürgen Hensel.

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William Carter

he 2018 European International Train- out-of-the-box thinking is required, he said, and Instrumentation (STRI), headquartered Ting Equipment Conference and Exhibi- particularly in the cyber area. He also men- in Orlando, Florida. His theme was "Readi- tion (ITEC) was held at the Messe Stuttgart tioned an increase in the use of drones, for ness 2025", an integral part of the US "Force Exhibition Centre, conveniently located on which more training is required to control, 25" concept, and the head of the US Army, the north side of Stuttgart airport. Before deter and counter them. General Mark Milley, had recently stated the main exhibition opened, there was the Rear Admiral Simon Williams of Clarion that "Readiness is our Number One prior- usual day of presentations by members of Defence recalled that ITEC started in ity". On Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) the international Simulation Interoperabil- 1990, the year that Saddam Hussein in- training, General Cole said that in exercises, ity Standards Organisation, the so-called vaded Kuwait. Since then there has been we need to link the L, V and C domains. As "SISO day". Subjects included NATO Stand- constant change in the training world well as Virtual simulation, the Constructive ardisation of Modelling and Simulation by and the challenge is how to keep ahead. element is most valuable for battle staffs

ITEC 2018 was held in Stuttgart, Germany.

Agatino Mursia of Leonardo, Distributed In- Defence capability, he said, is the sum and commanders, and we still do "quite a formation Systems (DIS) by Patrice Leydour of manpower, equipment and training. bit" of live training. He quoted French Gen- of Thales, Cross-domain Security by Wing Looking at manpower, he used figures eral Foch as saying in 1917 that "it takes Commander Colin Palmer and Squadron from World Mapper to show that world about 15,000 casualties to train a major Leader Rebecca Collis of the Royal Air population in most regions is due to rise general," but General Cole was pleased to Force, and the latest version of the Real- steadily, particularly in the Middle and Far be able to say that, today, these "casualties" time Platform Reference Federation Object East, but that of Russia is forecast to fall, are now in computer exercises. As an exam- Model (RPR FOM V3) by Bjorn Möller of with important implications for the fu- ple of current training, at Fort Riley the "Big Pitch Technologies. Other subjects included ture balance of power. High-tech warfare Red One" Division with some 4,500 soldiers, Medical Simulation, Metadata and Open uses modern weapons and includes the has one battalion in field training, another in Standards, M&S as a Service (MSaaS), and cyber domain, he said, but we must also simulators and another in constructive train- Urban Combat Training. These are signifi- consider the use of "crude" weapons by ing. The significant point is that the colo- cant subjects, and it was disappointing that insurgents. We therefore need to train for nel, who is coordinating the results, often there were only about 60 attendees – per- both the high- and low-tech areas. Strat- cannot tell the difference between which haps in future years the SISO event could egy, he suggested, should take into ac- of the LVC elements is being used. The L, be integrated more closely with the main count both intelligence and force which V and C elements originally were different conference so that more people have the he characterised as "David and Goliath", areas of operation, but we have now inte- opportunity to attend. and we need to allow for Artificial Intelli- grated them, he said. Larger LVC exercises gence (AI) and the so-called "Super Intel- take place up to army level, although some Keynote Addresses ligent" systems of the future. The world work is needed to standardise the interfaces is changing, and we must change with it, between the three elements. In some exer- Introducing the keynote addresses on 15 he concluded. cises, Automated Forces (AF) are inserted, May, conference chair Udo Keuter of Airbus The next address was from US Army Briga- where a few operatives control thousands of Defence emphasised the theme of "Readi- dier General William Cole, Principal Execu- automated personnel and vehicles in the ex- ness". With current and future threats, tive Officer (PEO) for Simulation, Training ercise. He also pointed out that vehicle and

80 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 troop movements are recorded during exer- cises, plus the audio within each vehicle. At the moment these data are not kept – but in the future they should be, he said, to be able to show long-term trends. Turning to Cyber training, he mentioned the Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE); this is a closed system, because live cyber training risks ex- posure of classified techniques and data. On medical training, he mentioned the new Defence Health Agency (DHA) for which PEO STRI is the coordinator on behalf of the DoD. Training manikins are becoming more realistic, with simulated blood, body move- ments, sounds and even simulated death,

and the so-called "Star Wars" training Photos: Ian Carter facility at Fort Polk now includes medical Keynote address by US Army Brigadier General William Cole, Principal manikins as well as other training devices. Executive Officer (PEO) for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (STRI) A recent development is the Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin (WIAM), a specially- systems, we need simple tablet-based sys- night imagery and so forth. Displays varied instrumented dummy for training in injuries tems for individual training, right up to high- from domes, screens of various shapes, flat from blast or mines. fidelity systems with built-in Augmented displays large and small, to Head Mount- Turning to multinational training, he men- and Virtual Reality (AR/VR). In training the ed systems in which the visual scene can tioned standards for laser-based systems young, we have to realise that they don’t be seen wherever you look. Some of the within NATO. Because many European na- like reading manuals, he said, but they often smaller simulator motion systems were on tions have different laser coding systems have good knowledge of computing and IT show, but the large hexapods used in Full compared to the US, so called "bilingual" systems, and future training systems should Flight Simulators are too big and expensive laser systems have been developed and are take this into account. to bring for just a few days. being used in increasing numbers, for in- stance at the US Army European training Conference Presentations Summary and Conclusions complex at Grafenwoehr, NE of Nurem- burg. Another recent example of a multi- In several conference rooms next to the The exhibition gave a good feel for progress national exercise was in April at Fort Bragg, exhibition there was a good programme in modelling, simulation and training. The North Carolina, where the British Army of presentations. Subjects included, in presentations covered a large range of activ- participated in battle command exercises. alphabetical order, Blockchain Technol- ity from the general to the highly specialised, This shows that pre-planned variable lev- ogy, the Cloud, Cyber Training, Disruptive and that by US Army Brigadier General Cole els of security can be used, in which, he Technologies, Distributed systems, Low- was particularly significant because of the said "we are better but not perfect", and cost Simulation, Management of Training, crucial role of his STRI organisation in US and the key words are "pre-planned" for dif- Medical Training, Modelling & Simulation NATO simulation and training. ferent security levels for multinational ex- as-a-Service (MSaaS), Multi-domain Train- The Stuttgart venue is very convenient, be- ercises. Finally, although there is an enor- ing, and Threat Simulation. This was in cause the exhibition centre is on the north mous number of Procurement Regulations, addition to the presentations mentioned side of the airport. There are hotels at the there is also an Other Transaction Authority earlier on SISO day. Presenters came from airport and more in Echterdingen, one (OTA) system for quick action for new and 14 countries, including the following from stop on the S-bahn towards the centre prototype systems. outside Europe: Australia, Canada, Ghana, of Stuttgart and a half-hour walk to the The final keynoter was Jürgen Michel, Pakistan, and the USA. Conference Centre. ITEC has also been to head of international sales at Rheinmetall Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne, Lausanne, Defence Electronics (RDE), headquartered The Exhibition Lille, London, Prague, Rome, Rotterdam in Bremen. Training needs to be available and Stockholm. All have good exhibition where units are located rather than just on The exhibition occupied about two-thirds of facilities, but they are some distance from ranges, he said, and training for the overall Halle 9, the number of halls illustrating the the airport, and some need a double jour- mission should be recognised as more im- enormous size of the Stuttgart Airport Exhi- ney, first to the city and then to the Exhibi- portant than training for individual weap- bition Centre. 93 companies were listed as tion Centre. The ITEC exhibition is small ons. For mission training, modern systems exhibiting, led by the USA with 23, followed compared to the equivalent US event, in such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and "Big by the UK (19), Germany (17), France (10), both numbers of attendees and company Data" should be used, and he noted that Canada and Italy with 4 each, Sweden and booths. In the US, numbers increased sig- Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) systems Switzerland with 3, then 7 other countries. nificantly once I/ITSEC stabilised its loca- reduced both procurement time and cost. Overall attendance was about 2,500, similar tion in 1996 at the Orange County Exhibi- With threats varying from individual terror- to last year in Rotterdam, and people came tion Centre in Orlando, Florida, at which it ists, through insurgency to full conflict, the from about 40 different countries. will be from 26-29 November 2018. Look- future is unpredictable, he said, and Training Displays at the exhibition booths showed ing to next year, ITEC is in Sweden from and Simulation systems need to be designed that simulator visuals continue to improve 14-16 May at the Stockholmsmässan at to be flexible so that they can keep up with in fidelity and in real-world effects such Älvsjö on the south side of Stockholm, last changes. Looking at the variety of training as weapon, weather and special effects, visited by ITEC in 2008. 

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 81  INDUSTRY & MARKETS “Proven reliability and durability ”

As a specialist in mobile telescopic masts, the German company Photos: Geroh GEROH has been an exhibitor at several MSPO exhibitions. To mark this year's MSPO in Kielce, Poland, ESD had the opportu- nity to speak to GEROH's new Managing Director Markus Kopp.

mast such a great product. Our experienced and highly skilled design team customises our solutions to any specific requirement. In addition to that WILLBURT, ITS and MAD products allows us to always offer the per- fect mast for any application, having the best price-performance ratio. The latest innovation in the 100-year history of the WILLBURT company is the patented Remote Locking System for pneumatic masts. It sig- ESD: How long have you been in your cur- nificantly increases the safety of the mast rent position as Geroh's Managing Director? operator and is unique in the world. We can What is your personal background? Are you clearly say the WILL-BURT group is the mar- a shareholder of the company? ket leader in mobile telescopic masts. Kopp: My adventure started in July 2018 and I have known the company and some ESD: How much of GEROH's business is of the employees for many years. I am proud generated from military programmes? What to be a member of this great team. GEROH are your best practice references with the is part of the WILLBURT group, the world's Bundeswehr and other forces? premier manufacturer of mobile telescopic mast and tower solutions and pan and tilt The 4.5 m Spindle Mast is a fully positioners. Before I started to work with integrated solution including an GEROH, I was the General Manager of auto-stow and cable management. ECCO SAFETY GROUP GERMANY (ESG) lo- cated in Ulm. ESG produces beacons, light service and maintenance concept, COTS bars and backup alarms for vehicle-based or if needed tailored to our customers’ re- applications. quirements. An excellent example is our first spindle mast series which has been in use in ESD: What is GEROH's portfolio of capa- Thailand since the early ‘90s. We are also bilities? In which areas do you consider the very proud to be a long-standing partner of company to be a market leader? Bundeswehr with projects like the FENNEK Kopp: We are specialised in mast systems or the RMB system based on the FUCHS and trailer solutions mainly for military appli- APC or YAK and many more. cations and we constantly increase our mar- ket share in the commercial market. After 72 ESD: We understand that GEROH is going to years, more than 40,000 GEROH masts and exhibit at this year's MSPO in Kielce. Is this the hundreds of special purpose trailers are in first time that you participate in this exhibi- use all over the world – partly under extreme tion? What are the highlights of your exhibit? environmental conditions. GEROH MIL-STD Kopp: Together with our partner SUNDOOR masts with proven reliability and durability we have been an exhibitor at MSPO for many offer highest precision even under difficult years. On our joint stand we will present our wind conditions and payload capacities for Geroh’s brand new patented bestsellers for commercial and military ap- heavy antennas, radars or optical systems Remote Locking System for Pneu- plications, i.e. the crank mast series KVR and with weights up to 300 kg and more, which matic Masts allows safe operation a high precision spindle mast SPM as well as clearly is the main criterion for a MIL-STD from a distance. WILLBURT´s lightweight carbon fibre compos- mast. Our most recent development is a ite STILETTO mast. SUNDOOR and GEROH spindle mast with a nested height of only Kopp: Traditionally the majority of our busi- have had a relationship for more than 20 years. 0.8 m which extends to a height of 3.3 m. ness is done in the scope of military pro- The combination of precision, payload ca- grammes, as we offer highest precision The interview was conducted by pacity and long service life makes a GEROH and longest possible lifetimes and a great Jürgen Hensel

82 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 Firms & Faces

Introducing New Capabilities on a New Team for NATO BMD Combat-Proven Fighter Command and Control (df) Aero, the biggest Czech aircraft man- (df) Lockheed Martin and ThalesRaytheon- ufacturer, and Israeli Aerospace Indus- Systems are joining forces to provide NATO tries (IAI) introduced their cost-effective, with a territorial Ballistic Missile Defence combat proven fighter attack aircraft at Photo: Safran Vectronix AG Farnborough. The F/A-259 STRIKER is a multirole aircraft for close air support, counter-insurgency operations and bor- der patrolling with interception capabili- Photo: US Navy ties. “The F/A-259 STRIKER combines the robustness and effectiveness of its suc- cessful predecessor, the L-159 ALCA, with ing System (THIS) programme. MOSKITO the latest advances in avionics and aircraft TI is a lightweight combination of several systems technology,” the companies an- high performance sensors and modules nounced. “Powered by the same ‘best in including uncooled thermal imager, high its class’ Honeywell F124 engine and using (BMD) command and control capability. grade direct view optics (DVO), Low Light benefits of a wet wing, F/A-259 STRIKER This teaming agreement, signed in the TV (LLTV) channel, a laser rangefinder provides superior performance, great ma- presence of Raytheon and Thales, estab- (LRF), a digital magnetic compass (DMC) noeuvrability, and a high range.” “The lishes a transatlantic team that combines and a GPS receiver. These features can be F/A-259 is able to operate from unpaved the decades of expertise from Lockheed used for day and night observation, target runways and has seven hard points for any Martin and Raytheon with Thales’ Europe- acquisition, artillery and fire correction, for- combination of fuel, weapons, or mission an air command and control capabilities. ward observer and Joint Tactical Air Con- ThalesRaytheonSystems will be prime con- troller. MOSKITO TI can work in all-weather tractor and system integrator for the de- environments. The delivered systems will fence solution, which will combine opera- be used by the Dutch Armed and Special Photo: IAI tional experience and components coming Forces. from different partners. Lockheed Martin developed the ballistic missile defence MBDA’s New Facility in Bolton planning capability through its Defence De- (df) MBDA’s new high-tech manufacturing sign System. Additionally, both Lockheed facility in Bolton has been officially opened Martin and Raytheon bring in expertise by Gavin Williamson MP, UK Secretary of and experience as prime contractors for State for Defence. The new facility houses the United States’ ballistic missile defence some 670 design, engineering and manu- capability. The focus of the programme is facturing employees and is to be used for equipment, allowing smart weapons inte- the upgrade, test and integration of NA- the production of inert missile equipment gration and standoff weapon capabilities. TO’s command and control (C2) systems and systems. An opening ceremony con- As an optional upgrade, the F/A-259 can and underlying communication network ducted by the Secretary of State marked be equipped by EASA radar and helmet to enable effective information exchanges mounted display. Another optional up- between various NATO and national missile grade is air-to-air refuelling, increasing the defence systems. With the ever-increasing

aircraft’s range and endurance,” said Ben- threat of proliferation of ballistic missile Photo: MBDA jamin Cohen, General Manager of IAI’s technology and weapons of mass destruc- Lahav Division. “With advanced 4th gen- tion, NATO is redoubling its effort to deal eration avionics the F/A-259 STRIKER has with this threat and to protect European an open architecture concept, allowing fu- populaces and territories, which, accord- ture updates based on customers’ require- ing to Western leaders, is a key element of ments and use of Real Time Data Link, NATO’s collective defence. This integrated supporting a high situational awareness system-of-systems architecture will provide capability. The advanced digital cockpit is NATO forces with the capability to defend the completion of five years of develop- equipped with two large multifunctional NATO territories. ment and £50M of investment by MBDA. displays, electronic flight instrument sys- The new Bolton site is where a number of tem, and other features.” Giuseppe Gior- Safran Wins THIS Contract key missiles are being produced for the UK do, President and CEO of Aero, added: (cl) The Defense Material Organization Armed Forces, delivering operational sov- “Nowadays, national air forces are looking (DMO) of the Netherlands awarded Safran ereignty and freedom of action to the UK. for a solution how to fulfill a great variety Vectronix AG, a subsidiary of Safran Elec- These systems include BRIMSTONE, AS- of missions in an affordable way, while tronics & Defense providing state-of-the- RAAM, CAMM (SEA CEPTOR and LAND keeping high survivability of the aircraft art optronic equipment, systems and sen- CEPTOR), SPEAR, and METEOR, for which and its crew. Aero and IAI are introducing sors, a contract to deliver more than 1,000 final assembly for all six European partner a multirole fighter, F/A-259 STRIKER, with units of the next-generation MOSKITO TI nations is carried out at MBDA Bolton. The a wide range of combat capabilities that thermal imaging and targeting systems in site will also play a key role in exports, un- meet those needs of air forces.” the frame of the Thermal Handheld Imag- derpinning the UK Government’s Prosper-

5/2018 · European Security & Defence 83 Firms & Faces

ity Agenda. “This £50M factory supports successful and have taught us a lot about observer and passed to the gun crew via 700 jobs in Bolton, showing how central the possibilities of such systems and sen- a joint fires cell or similar element – to be a strong British defence industry is to our sors; the ability to operate in Belgian’s digitally transferred into an artillery fire- national prosperity,” said Williamson at confined airspace; opportunities for the control system (FCS), where the ballistic the ceremony. “MBDA’s investment has domain of coastal security; and prospects calculations are made. Even though it created more than 100 new jobs, and this for further developments,” said the officer has a high level of automation there will has been supported by a £400M contract in charge of the Belgian Navy’s Maritime always be operator verification before the from the Government, helping to create a Tactical UAS (MTUAS) Project Team, LtCdr mission is carried out, the company said. further 100 roles within the company. You D. Biermans. “Given the complexity of in- “The threat posed by counter-battery fire can’t have prosperity without security. MB- troducing a MTUAS within the Navy and on the modern battlefield necessitates the DA in Bolton is keeping Britain safe while its impact on the concepts of operation ability for artillery systems to ‘shoot-and- creating highly-skilled jobs and opportuni- and tactics, this was a first informative step scoot’ while maintaining accurate target- ties, demonstrating our commitment to the and will be part of a series of tests and ting,” explained Hans Jørgen Bohlbro, Sys- people of Bolton and the North West.” experiments with a variety of vehicles and tematic’s Vice President, Defence Product sensors. “These flights were the first S-100 Management, “One of the benefits of the Raytheon Wins Laser customer demonstrations with the recently new function is the ability for artillery sys- Development Contract integrated PT-8 OCEANWATCH payload. tems to quickly conduct fire missions and (df) Raytheon has won a US$10M US Army This wide-area maritime search capability redeploy before they can be engaged by High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Dem- offers a powerful naval patrol capacity and enemy fire.” onstration (HEL TVD) programme con- thus solves the challenge of searching for tract. Within this contract the company small objects over vast areas. The employed SANDCAT With Mission will develop a 100kW class laser weapon combination of two payloads proved to be Management System system preliminary design, for integration an ideal solution for the tested scenarios. (ck) Israeli companies Plasan and BIRD Aer- onboard the family of medium tactical “With its small footprint, exceptional ca- osystems have teamed up to offer a SAND- vehicles (FMTV). Upon HEL TVD Program pability and state-of-the-art payloads, the CAT armoured vehicle equipped with a Option Two completion, one supplier will CAMCOPTER S-100 is the perfect platform mission management system. The special be awarded a system development and for maritime and land-based SAR mis- intervention vehicle was displayed for the demonstration contract by the Army to sions,” said Hans Georg Schiebel, Chair- first time at Eurosatory 2018. The protected build and integrate a weapon system on man of the Schiebel Group. SANDCAT, Plasan’s family of 4x4 armoured the FMTV. A system, development and vehicles, offers flexibility and robustness demonstration contract decision, valued at Fire Support for Danish Army’s nearly $130M, is expected in early 2019. New Artillery Systems “The beauty of this system is that it‘s self- (df) Systematic has been contracted by the

contained,” said Roy Azevedo, Vice Presi- Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Photo: Plasan dent of Intelligence, Reconnaissance and Organisation (DALO) to deliver a new fire Surveillance Systems at Raytheon’s Space and Airborne Systems business unit. “Multi- spectral targetting sensors, fibre-combined lasers, power and thermal sub-systems are incorporated in a single package. This sys- Photo: US Army while maintaining manoeuvrability and tem is being designed to knock out rockets, agility, even when equipped with surveil- artillery or mortar fire, or small drones.” lance and communications systems. The SANDCAT has been designed to support Camcopter Successfully Demon- various missions including law enforce- strated to the Belgian Navy ment, Special Forces, homeland security, (df) Schiebel successfully demonstrated the border patrol and armed conflict. SAND- search and rescue as well as maritime sur- support capability for the Danish Army’s CATs are also used to transport troops or veillance capabilities of the CAMCOPTER latest artillery systems. Under the contract, as command posts. More than 600 vehicles S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) from Systematic will deliver a fieldable solution in have been sold worldwide. Equipped with June 21 to July 1, 2018 to the Belgian Navy. the 2020 timeframe, with integration and BIRD Aerosystems' MSIS, the SANDCAT “The trials with the S-100 have been very firing trials scheduled for 2019. This new armoured vehicle can participate and lead capability will be deployed on the Danish task force ground missions while communi- Army’s new CAESAR self-propelled howit- cating in real time with the other task force zers and CARDOM 10 mortars, which will segments, whether aircraft, helicopters, or be integrated on PIRANHA V armoured ground sensors. BIRD's Multi-Sensor Inte- Photo: Schiebel vehicles. The new function builds on the gration System (MSIS) manages the mission Fire Support Module developed for Sys- profile and ensures that all operating teams tematic’s SitaWare Headquarters solution share a unified, real-time situational aware- and will significantly shorten the sensor-to- ness. The MSIS is part of BIRD’s Airborne shooter engagement cycle, among other Surveillance, Intelligence and Observation benefits. The new capability enables fire (ASIO) solution. The system allows collect- mission data – first generated by a forward ing and processing of large amounts of

84 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 information gathered from airborne plat- Systems and German Naval Yards Kiel will forms and automatically classifying and ef- cooperate to submit their BAFO. A final ficiently displaying them. The information decision in the award procedure is not ex- Photo: Diehl is then shared in real–time with the ground pected before 2019. segments of the Task Force such as the C2 centre and ground intervention vehicles, Thailand Procures IRIS-T Missiles and enables all operating teams to share a (ck) Diehl Defence has signed a contract unified situational awareness picture. for the supply of short range air-to-air IRIS- T (Infra-Red Imaging System - Tail/Thrust Damen and SAAB to Cooperate on Vector Controlled) missiles to Thailand. As their GRIPEN and later also their F-16 fight- Brazilian Corvette early as 2011, the Royal Thai Air Force opted er aircraft. In addition, integration of the (ck) In order to meet the needs of the Bra- for the European short-range missile to arm missile into the F-5 fleet is planned as part zilian Navy, Damen Schelde Naval Ship- building and Saab will cooper- ate to deliver the project that will supply four TAMANDARÉ class corvettes. The companies are world-leading references in the development of naval solu- tions: Damen will be responsible for supplying the SIGMA 10514, a proven platform that will be adapted to meet the demands of the client. SAAB will provide its 9LV combat management system, used by navies from several countries; the system is known for its flexibility and easy integration of third-party mod- ules. In addition to supplying the corvettes, SAAB and Damen are proposing a technology transfer programme for much of the pro- ject, which will benefit Brazil's national defence industry.

Cooperation in MKS 180 Tender (ck) thyssenkrupp Marine Sys- tems und German Naval Yards Kiel have entered into a coop- eration agreement for the fur- ther bidding process in the MKS 180 multi-role combat ship pro- curement project for the Ger- man Navy. German Naval Yards Kiel is participating in the MKS 180 award procedure as a gen- eral contractor: if German Naval Yards were to win the contract thyssenkrupp Marine Systems would perform a substantial share of the required develop- ment and engineering work as a subcontractor. The German defence procurement agency BAAINBw will be sending the bidders in the MKS 180 award procedure a precise specifica- tion for the vessels and request a best and final offer (BAFO). On this basis thyssenkrupp Marine

290718_IDEX 2019_AMittler 148x210mm.indd 1 7/29/18 9:44 AM Firms & Faces

of the new procurement, so that IRIS-T will now also become the standard weapon Designed To Survive: Peli Launches Video Competition in the Thai Air Force. IRIS-T is one of the (ck) Peli, a manufacturer of protective cases, has announced a video contest. Under world's most modern short-range air-to- the hashtag #DesignedToSurvive the company is looking for creative fans who want to air missiles. In addition to defeating enemy show what their Peli Case can do. The company's marketing message reads: "We want fighter aircraft, a self defence capability fun, we want atypical, we want your best adventures in a video!" Professionals and against attacking air-to-air or ground-to-air amateurs are invited to send videos that show the challenges their Peli cases face. The missiles is provided by IRIS-T. Even attacks best video will receive a prize of €1.000,- in Peli Products, the second prize is €750,- and from behind can be successfully fended off the third prize is €500,- at Peli Products. Peli's video competition is open to submissions by the pilot with IRIS-T, without having to from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Applicants are asked to shoot a video story change the course of the aircraft. IRIS-T of a Peli case in action and then upload the video to Instagram using the hashtag #De- was developed and procured by Germany, signedToSurvive. The competition runs from 20 August to 20 September 2018 and the Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, and Sweden winning videos will be selected by an internal Peli jury and announced on Peli Facebook as the successor to ageing SIDEWINDER and Instagram by the end of September. Detailed information on the competition rules, missiles. Series production began in 2005 the award ceremony and the evaluation procedure can be found at www.peli.com/blog and other user countries include Austria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Thailand. As a multi-purpose weapon, IRIS-T is also used as a surface-to-air missile in a ground- based air defense role.

New CEO for IAI (ck) Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has named Brigadier General (Res.) Nimrod Sheffer, IAI’s VP of Strategy and R&D, as IAI’s new CEO. Sheffer will replace Photo: IAI Joseph Weiss, who is step- ping down on reaching retire- ment age. The nomination is now pending Cybersecurity Training the student’s responses. The system is also the approval of (cl) In cooperation with the Carlos III Uni- able to evaluate the student’s performance the State Com- versity of Madrid, Minsait, Indra’s digital and provide aid proactively. In addition, it panies Authority and the Defence and Fi- transformation business unit, will provide will have tools to automatically compose nance ministers. This is the first time that personalised training programmes on its new exercises based on a catalogue of prior IAI has named a CEO who is not an IAI CYBER RANGE platform due to grow- knowledge and the professional’s person- alumnus. Sheffer joined IAI recently from ing demand for cyber experts to protect alised needs. As a consequence, it will be the highest ranks of military command; he advanced societies against cyber attacks. able to meet the specific needs of organisa- retired from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) The platform has been designed to sup- tions and companies by taking into account two years ago. In his most recent role, he port individual and group training in tech- the desired level of training, the type of or- headed the planning division of the IDF’s niques related to cyberdefence, cyber at- ganisation and the area of attack, without General Staff where he was responsible tacks and forensic analysis. The system will losing the practical aspect of mass training. for drafting and executing the IDF’s work adapt to each student in an autonomous Minsait offers security guarantees to pro- plan, including the shaping of long term way and in real time. Instructor interven- tect classified content; it has a private cloud strategic processes and managing the tion is no longer needed, which minimises equipped with technical security measures. army’s resources. Among others, Sheffer the required resources. The adversary’s ac- The platform has been tested by more than has led the talks with the Israeli govern- tion, as defender as well as attacker, will 1,000 cybersecurity professionals from fifty ment on the defence budget, the IDF’s be automated by the system, reacting to countries. streamlining processes, renewal and tech- nological development projects and the Kongsberg to Acquire Rolls-Royce external relations of the military. In his pre- Commercial Marine

vious roles, Sheffer served as deputy com- Photo: Indra (cl) Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (Kongsberg), mander of Israel's air force and headed an a company operating in automation, navi- aerial division. Combat pilot by training, gation and control systems, has signed an Sheffer holds a degree in geophysics from agreement worth GBP500M with Rolls- Tel Aviv University and a master’s degree Royce to acquire the latter’s Commercial in Public Administration and Policy from Marine division, a technology business Harvard University. within maritime operations, providing pro-

86 European Security & Defence · 5/2018 pellers, propulsion systems, handling sys- counter fire, and two firing modes: lock tion to the Turkish customer’s preferences tems and ship design. Kongsberg thus takes on before launch (LOBL) and lock on after and future business opportunities in Turkey. over the marine products, systems and af- launch (LOAL). MMP has a dual mode seeker Peli Products operate on markets including termarket services businesses supplied by (uncooled infrared and visible colour chan- fire fighters, police, defence, aerospace, en- Rolls-Royce’s subsidiaries but not Bergen nels) and fibre-optic data link which mini- tertainment, industrial and consumer. Engines nor Rolls-Royce’s Naval Business. mises collateral damage. With its remote op- Thanks to the complementarity of the two eration, it can be adapted to the UGV. It also Terma and MASS to Deliver EWLS firms this acquisition enables Kongsberg to provides an Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Solution improve its market position in the global Acquisition & Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capa- (cl) Terma and MASS will cooperate to provide maritime industry and especially enables bility and, through direct integration with a a global Electronic Warfare Lifecycle Support the company to provide solutions for the C4I network delivers battlefield intelligence. (EWLS) solution which will be able to sup- industry’s key drivers: technologisation and IMPACT is a 250kg motorised turret carry- port any fleet. The two partners complement digitalisation. Even though the activity level ing the day/night sensors of the MMP fire each other’s capabilities: Terma Group is a of the Commercial Marine has seen some control, additionally to two read-to-fire mis- Danish Aerospace, Defence & Security Group reductions, this fusion will strengthen the siles and a 7.62 mm self-protection machine providing control and integration of any global position of Kongsberg as Rolls-Royce gun and its ammunition. The commands combination of sensors and countermeas- is represented in 34 countries. The compa- are displayed in the vehicle cab to keep the ure systems. MASS, a Cohort plc company, nies, jointly, have equipment and deliveries crew out of danger. MMP will be combined employs experts in Electronic Warfare data associated with around 30,000 vessels. Af- with TheMis UGV, a fully modular diesel- ter clearance by regulatory authorities, the electric UGV. It has a top speed of 22km/h acquisition process is expected to be com- and can carry a payload of 750kg. TheMis pleted in the first quarter of 2019. The final can be operated line of sight, via cameras purchase price depends on Commercial and equipped with an autonomy kit even

Marine’s cash, debt and working capital at operates autonomously. The UGV aims to Photo: Terma Group the time of completion of the transaction. exchange humans whose heat signature can easily be detected for robots on the battle- MBDA and Milrem Robotics to field in order to assure soldier’s safety. Develop Anti-Tank Unmanned Ground Vehicle Peli Products Announces its (cl) The European missile systems designer Expansion in Turkey and producer MBDA and the Estonian un- (cl) Peli Products, a design and manufactur- manned vehicles manufacturer Milrem ing company of high performance protective management. The company is experienced in Robotics decided to cooperate to develop cases and advanced portable lighting sys- threat vulnerability analysis and countermeas- the first unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), tems, continues its expansion since its foun- ure development. The service of the future designed for anti-tank purposes. The new dation in Barcelona in 1997 and opens new EWLS solution will comprise countermeasure product will be a combination of MBDA’S offices in Ankara. Since then, the enterprise development, mission data generation and Integrated MMP Precision Attack Combat has expanded in the European, Middle East flight data replay and debrief. It will also of- Turret (IMPACT) system and Milrem Robot- & African (EMEA) region and is represented fer control and exploitation of proprietary ics’ TheMis unmanned ground vehicle. MMP in 140 countries. Additionally to the increase Electronic Warfare data and information as is an anti-tank guided land combat missile, of the production in Europe, Peli Products well as expert advice and consultancy that but may also be used against personnel and now strengthens its presence in Turkey supports the development, maintenance and infrastructure. It has been developed for which was built up since 2011. The central full exploitation of EW equipment capability. mounted and dismounted applications. As position in Ankara will enable the firm to es- Moreover, the EWLS solution shall be cost- a “fire-and-forget” missile, it has a 4km+ tablish new relationships to local customers effective and shall minimise the time taken in range that reaches further than the enemy’s and thereby facilitate the company’s adapta- providing support.

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TERRIFFIC Project to Counter ECL. R&D partners can supply leading Thales and Microsoft Develop CBRNe Incidents edge technologies and SMEs already op- Defence Cloud (cl) To fight the increasing threat of radio- erating in military or first responder mar- (cl) To accompany the digitalisation of armed logical dispersal devices (RDD) combining kets develop key innovative components. forces, Thales and Microsoft announce to radioactive components and convention- TERRIFFIC is a research and innovation cooperate in the development of a common al explosives, the TERRIFFIC project is a project funded under the European Com- Defence Cloud solution for modern armed cooperation of ten European organisa- mission’s Horizon 2020 programme. The forces. This new cloud will be based on the tions which will develop Tools for early research is based on results from prior Microsoft Azure Stack platform which will and Effective Reconnaissance in cbRne European projects in this sector. It fo- be cyber-secured by Thales by integrating (Chemical, Biological Radiological or Nu- cuses on enhancing the effectiveness of its end-to-end cybersecurity and encryption clear explosives) Incidents providing First first responders during the first hours of solutions. The two companies combine their responders Faster Information and ena- radiological or nuclear explosive events, knowledge in IT and cybersecurity to meet bling better management of the Control but also treats the applicability on inci- the demand of armed forces to keep clas- dents with chemical and biological weap- sified data inside their own infrastructures, ons, in order to minimise response times, but to use the capacities of clouds to store health and safety risks for the response and communicate data. The combination teams and human intervention in general of Microsoft’s Azure Stack and Guavus Re-

Photo: TERRIFFIC by employing automated processes, mo- flex analytics platform will enable soldiers to bile detection capabilities and technolo- analyse big amount of data in real time, to gies like detectors, algorithms, drones, use military Internet-of-things (IoT) applica- robots, dispersion models, information tions or exchange data with mobile applica- management software and decision sup- tions. This cloud will be useable in national port systems. For example, mixed reality command centres and individual theatres technology will provide continuously up- of operations; the interoperability will be zone (TERRIFFIC). The ten partners, espe- dated information during operations to reinforced. To ensure its operability even in cially SMEs and practitioners, are ARKTIS first responders. Furthermore, the devel- remote locations and theatres of operations, Radiation Detectors, NEXTER Robotics, oped components will be standardised. each integrated system will have a level of AERACCESS, Bruhn NewTech, ARTTIC, Like this, they are adaptable to existing autonomy and be capable of working with- ISEMI, TL & Associates, LIST, CEA and and future solutions. out connection.

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