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08 air power Air Chiefs Meet TO TALK TECHNOLOGY IN Dubai The 8th Dubai Air Chiefs Conference was staged the day before the opening of the biennial Dubai Airshow. Andrew Drwiega reports on a selection of the highlights.
12 16 Special Operations and Expeditionary Forces Debrief sea Power Global SOF Restructures as Mission Sets Flourish SWEDISH NAVY KEEPS FUTURE PLANS QUIET As ever more responsibility is given to Special Operations Forces, they are The Swedish Navy, already know for its stealthy naval ships, is looking ahead adapting to change as only they can. There is an increasing focus on greater with industry partner Kockums to the next generation of corvettes, fast attack international cooperation as Andrew White discovers. craft and submarines. Andrew Drwiega visited Sweden to find out more.
24 20 future technologies 28 LAND WARFARE The Twists and Turns of sea power More Power to Your Elbow Countering UAVs Need For Rapid Ship to Shore Endures Peter Donaldson reports on how industry is Gerrard Cowan looks at the new growth in systems Dr Lee Willett examines the resurgence of developing systems to effectively load individual that are coming on the market to disrupt hostile investment in marine forces, amphibious platforms, soldiers with their own power supply. unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which have flexible ships, ship-to shore connectors. proliferated in recent years, sparking a new and escalating threat.
2 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 3 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
ON THE COVER: Saab Kockums has designed a range of stealthy surface ASTRONICS 13 GULF AERO 23 warfare ships to offer the Swedish Navy including a Fast Attack Craft (FAC 55), BALT MILITARY EXPO 27 INDO DEFENCE 19 Mine Counter Measure vessel (MCMV 80) and larger Corvette BARRETT 7 KONGSBERG 9 december 2017/january 2018. Issue 06. (FlexPatrol 98).
Armada Cover Dec/Jan 17.indd 1 12/4/17 3:46 PM DIMDEX 33 REVISION MILITARY COVER 4
EUROSATORY COVER 3 ROSOBORONEXPORT 5
EXPODEFENSA 31 SOFEX 29 Volume 41, Issue No.6, December 2017/January 2018 Published bi-monthly by Media Transasia Ltd. Copyright 2012 by Media Transasia Ltd. GENERAL ATOMICS COVER 2 Publishing Office: Media Transasia Ltd., 1603, 16/F, Island Place Tower, 510 King’s Road, Hong Kong
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Controlled circulation: 25,278 (average per issue) certified by ABC Hong Kong, for the period 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2015. Printed by Media Transasia Ltd., 75/8, 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, Soi Sukhumvit 19, Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Tel: 66 (0)-2204 2370, Fax: 66 (0)-2204 2390 -1 ■ Over The Top ■ Turkey Finalizes S-400 Deal Annual subscription rates: Mortars are a class of artillery. They differ from Turkey’s Minister of Defense announced on 12 Europe: CHF 222 (including postage) Rest of the World: USD 222 (including postage) guns which have a low, flat trajectory best suited November that it has completed the purchase of Subscription Information: Readers should contact the following address: for engaging targets by direct fire and howitzers the Russian S-400 air defense system. Subscription Department, Media Transasia Ltd., 75/8, 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, Soi Sukhumvit 19, Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. which typically engage targets not seen from the Tel +66 2204 2370 Fax: +66 2204 2387 gun position with an arching trajectory. Email: [email protected]
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Untitled-1 1 11/17/17 2:34 PM Editorial
Strategic complexity
t is my great pleasure to take over as the superpower table. editor of Armada International from Spheres of infl uence and becoming less my good friend and colleague Thomas defi ned and old norms challenged. The Russian Withington who is, as the say in show military’s active participation in the Syrian business, a very hard act to follow. confl ict would have been considered an unac- II was born in the early 60s and have clear early ceptable strategic move during the Cold War. But memories of growing up during the Cold War western military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan with regular news of NATO exercises across the and Libya contributed to the rise of Daesh as North German Plain, the importance of protecting well as the rise of Iran’s infl uence itself a the Fulda Gap which was considered one of the worrying development for the economically main routes for any invading Soviet tank attack developing Gulf nations in the Middle East. on West Germany from Eastern Europe, and China’s resurgence took the United States of course the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks o -guard. Now under strong, stable and inter- between America and Russia, know as SALT 1 nationallyAD astute leadership, and fuelled by and SALT II. These were then followed by the economic success and internal transformation, Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty talks (otherwise the country has signifi cantly expanded its known as the START series). infl uence, mainly through soft power, most While the threat of state-on-state war across notably witnessed in Africa. a linear battlefi eld was clear and present, there Island-building in the South China Sea has was an enduring feeling that both sides really given notice that China is determined to shape understood the meaning of Mutually Assured its own region as it sees fi t and, to date, has been Destruction (MAD), and despite all of their successful in achieving this. Ex-President Obama’s weaponry, neither side was eager to pull the trig- strategic ‘pivot’ to Asia was a late recognition ger (although there were a few tense moments). that the status quo there was rapidly changing. The world has changed substantially since This publicly announced change of strategy did those times. The rise of extremism among non- not go unnoticed by Russia, which then took state actors and, most importantly, their access advantage of its best opportunity since the Cold to high technology and their ability to recruit War to reshape its own backyard through actions and spread fear across the world through their that included the Crimea and Ukraine. actions continues to dominate the headlines of And we haven’t even begun to start on the the international media. implications of Kim Jong-Un’s drive to achieve These actions too can have major impli- his goal of owning nuclear tipped, deliverable cations for the world’s traditional and rising Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Uncertainty superpowers and their allies: the United States; a is at its highest level since the Cold War and the resurgent Russia; and China, which has awoken complexity the strategic picture means this is ANDREW DRWIEGA, from its long slumber and has taken its place at unlikely to reduce any time in the near future. Editor
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6 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 7 air Power Segma
Major General Ibrahim Al Alawi, commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence speaking at the 8th Dubai Air Chief’s Conference. The theme of the event was The Future of Air Power: Exploiting Advances in Network Centric Warfare.
Air Chiefs Meet TO TALK TECHNOLOGY IN Dubai Senior international air force commanders and the aviation industry make the biennial Dubai Air Chiefs Conference and Airshow a 'must attend' event for anyone with an interest in the Gulf region.
Andrew Drwiega
he 8th Dubai Air Chief’s the UAE Air Force and Air Defence who fly their own commerically built drones”. He Conference (DIAC), staged this announced that the theme of the conference acknowledged that air power was not assured, year on Saturday 11th November was The Future of Air Power: Exploiting as witnessed in the skies over Syria. 2017, is always the blue-ribbon Advances in Network Centric Warfare. Gen. Wilson added that while the event ahead of the bi-ennial Dubai General Stephen Wilson, vice chief of capability of 5th Generation aircraft would AirshowT which, for the last few years has been staff, United States Air Force gave the opening help to ensure national sovereighty, this staged at the new Al Maktoum International address leading off a broad selection of senior came at a high price in both maintenance and Airport. This is inland from the man-made port military officers. Setting the technology theme, operating costs. Low and slow, together with of Jebel Ali, south of Dubai city. he reminded delegates that “in the globalised, long loiter periods are valuable. Somewhat The guest of honour at DIAC was HH digitised world, over three billion people surprisingly he also noted the value of new, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, now own a smart phone - a figure that will low-end, light attack ‘OA-X’ aircraft that could president of the Dubai Department of Civil double over the next decade. The technology provide ‘danger close’ combat air support to Aviation and chairman of Emirates Airline. He within such phones through apps and their troops enganged on the ground. Although briefly commented on the importance of air connectivity made them a threat in the hands he did not refer to any location specifically, power in the region, pointing out the conflicts of those ‘with malicious intent’. it is a lesson learned not only in Iraq and taking place in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. He said that it had only been 23 years since Afghanistan by NATO and its allies, but also by The welcome was presented by Major the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator had taken allied forces in the fight agains Daesh in Iraq General Ibrahim Al Alawi, commander of its first flight, and now “extremist were able to and Syria, as well as by Saudi Arabia in Yemen.
8 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 AIR POWER
The vital requirement to digitally network spend time and money on networked forces NAVCENT, 5th Fleet, said that the ballistic military systems e ciently was to understand architecture and C4 with a new air operations missiles fi red from Yemen at Riyadh, Saudi how to collect, share and learn from data centre,” he stated. Arabia, gave an example of current dangers quickly, regardless of domain. Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Leight Gordan, now being faced my numerous nations. “The Globalisation was allowing an adaptive head of the Joint Strike Fighter programme, days of the innacurate SCUD are fi nished. enemy with access to digital technology, even Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) said that Non-state actors possessing highly technical relatively low technology that was commercially Australian defence strategy involved becoming weapons threaten both our military and available, to pose major security threats, said a 5th Generation Air Force, fully networked to civilian areas.” Brigadier General Rahed Al Shamsi, deputy deliver leathal and non-lethal air power. “There is already much information commander of the UAE Air Force. Future operational success would mean sharing but it needs to be expanded. Brig. Gen. Al Shamsi repeated the need to “staying ahead of the ever quicker decision Integration, interoperabily, capability and continually reduce sensor to shooter time, for making cycle of our adversaries”. He added an capacity exists today but we need to fi gure out which fast, reliable and secure networks were observation that “the fog and friction of war how to move it around faster,” he said. needed and praised other national forces who will never be completely overcome while war Regarding ballistic missile defence, he said had supported the Air Force’s capability here. remains a human endeavour. Data is the king; that targeting quality data had to be shared very “The UAE is proud to work alongside partners shared awareness is the force multiplier”. quickly between international partners, both who have provide assistance and support. AVM Gordon said that the experiences sensors and shooters, because the widow of Many lessons have been learned and areas of being learned by Australian personnel working opportunity to act was so small. In the maritime improvement identifi ed when networks are abroad was helping to defi ne what needed to environment, naval forces play a critical role, realised,” he said. be more fully understood including “what either as sensor (such as the US Navy’s Sea- He echoed an oft repeated plea by the is 5th Generation logistics, engineering and Based X-Band Radar SBX-1 ship currently military to industry that software and maintenance - what does that look like?”. We operating in the Pacifi c), or an Aegis destroyer hardware needs to be more upgradable need to drive this not only in combat action but as a sensor / shooter. There have also been although he acknowledged that network also business processes. successful engagement made by US Army’s centric systems were not cheap. However, Raytheo MIM-104 Patriot missile systems. future weapons needed to be viewed as mutli- BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT There is no doubt that the ballistic missile role/sensor platform. “The UAE AF will Vice Admiral John Aquilino, commander of threat can be overcome, but the key is rapid
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data exchange between nations and learning to trust, concluded VADM Aquilino. Other speakers included Air Commodore Philippe Adam, commander for Operations, Navy U.S. Aviation Brigade, French Air Force; Lieutenant General Michael J. Hood CMM, commander, Royal Canadian Air Force; Air Vice Marshall Gerry M. Mayhew CBE, commander, No. 1 Group, Royal Air Force; and Air Commodore Robert Adang, deputy The US Navy’s Sea- director, European Air Group (EAG), Royal Based Radar (SBX) is Netherlands Air Force. currently operatingin the Pacific, according Around the Dubai Airshow to Vice Admiral John Aquilino, The UAE Armed Forces made a number of speaking at the Dubai announcements during the show, some of International Air which included older announcements that had Chief’s conference. been repackaged specifically for the show. Major General Staff Pilot Ishaq Saleh Al-Balushi, head of the executive directorate of industries and development of defense all-weather with our radar system. We spend a business. By the end of the year we will have capabilities at the Ministry of Defense, lot of time talking to our customers to find out 75 DB-110s that have been procured and that revealed that a contract would be signed with their mission needs and desires”. are currently operational, or are soon to be Dassault and Thales for the upgrade of the Air Some customers want to expand their DB- so. We also have some MS-110s,” he concluded, Force’s Mirage 2000-9 aircraft. 110 sensors while others want to go to multi- without revealing a number. Lockheed Martin was also an upgrade spectral. “The results from good mission winner, through an annoucment by the planning and data interpritation means that Landing Without the Hassle UAE Armed Forces that it has signed a $1.65 they need to learn how to use this increased One of Raytheon’s discussions during the billion contract that will ensure the UAE data to best effect.” There are two aspects to airshow centred around its development of the AF’s Block 60 F-16 Desert Falcon fighters this: collect and disemination. The ground joint precision approach and landing system receive the latest upgrade. This would address segment changes, as the task of disemminating (JPALS). As part of the Lockheed Martin obsolescence issues in the F-16s which were the intelligence means that tools and training F-35 development, and in particular the F-35B bought back in 2000, said Maj. Gen. Adbullah need to be expanded, particularly among for carrier borne aircraft, Raytheon had the Al-Hashimi, UAE Air Force. the mission planners, the operators and the contract to develop the JPALS system for analysists as to how they interpret data, he the US Navy and the US Marine Corps F-35s. Dual-band to multi-spectral explained. JPALS is a GPS-based precision approach and The UAE’s Ministry of Defence was revealed The DB-110 has had great success with the landing system that assists aircraft to land in as the launch customer for the UTC Aerospace Lockheed U2 and more recently with Northrop all weather conditions. “JPALS uses the GPS Systems/Goodrich 4th Generation multi- Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. The technology system to identify a landing point and could spectral MS-110 reconnaissance pod, derived is no longer a major expense and it can be used then guide an aircraft to within centimetres of from the DM-110 dual-band system which the in more than just defence - drug interdiction, that point,” said Tarik Yusifzai, vice president UAE Air Force already operates on its F-16 maritime security, disaster analysis and relief. of strategic operations, MENA. “As it is GPS fighters. Looking ahead, one adaptation will be guided, it is also more secure than radar Vice president and general manager for “that we will probably have to make the DB- which, once turned on gives the aircraft’s Airborne Systems, Kevin Raftery, explained 110 smaller for a few of the new aircraft, there position away.” A civil version of the system that the multi-spectral MS-110 now provides may be a DB-90 or something similar.” Mr. has already been bought by authorities in the “three and a half times more data in a single Raftery added: “We want a family of systems UAE to manage aircraft landing at several mission - that’s via seven bands of data”. where we take a long-range vision of what the airports, including the still developing Al “In the market segment we are in, we product would look like which would include Maktoum International Airport. have to provide more capablity for less cost,” realestate space and architecture capabilities JPALS is partly integrated with the deck he said. “Our sensors are huge collectors of that would allow us to adapt the system as landing system, but it does “bring the aircraft inetelligence. You will see a transformation technology changes or the mission changes. in to the wire,” confirmed Mr. Yusifzai. over the decade where we will put focus into We could then go and upgrade the system for According to Raytheon, JPALS would get the information sharing, automated recognition our customers without them having to make a aircraft to that point over the ship’s deck: ‘the and cataloguing than we will be building major investment.” two systems would agree with each other, sensors.” “If DB-110 is 3rd Generation, and MS-110 is meaning JPALS could show the pilot on “This involves data fusion and analytics 4th Generation, we think there are 5th, 6th and glideslope and the deck landing system would - you need to analyse what you have got,” he 7th Generations, and to our customers that show the same’. continued. “We are implementing our previous is a big deal,” revealed Mr. Raftery. “We could “Our system provides the trajectory, point five year plan. We go from dual-band (visible potentially do a staggered implementation to land - all of which is displayed on the pilot’s and infrared) to multi-spectral. We provided of their systems and customers like that Head-Up-Display (HUD),” said Mr. Yusifzai. The day/night capabilities and now we provide approach. Application growth is a growing pilot is cued through two symbologies: a large
10 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 air Power
window that shows the general direction of Group and Saab). hours with 40kg of load in a typically average landing when the aircraft is still some distance Expalining this recent successful take-off day, but would of course vary if the UAV was away, which then transforms into a smaller of the Skeldar V-200 Remotely Piloted Aerial operating in more extreme ‘hot and high’ window for absolute precision. At the end of the System (RPAS), Mr. Willems attributed it to conditions, or was required to hover for long mission the two windows close together. finally moving beyond the idea that the V-200 periods. Willems said that a good constant “The other important aspect is that this was a prototype platform. “We flew daily at Aero speed of between 38-48 knots (70-90km/h) is equally applicable for UAVs,” said Yusifzai. India at the beginning of the year - this was the would maximise the fuel consumption with an “You can launch a UAV and bring it back first time at a manned airshow,” he stated. average payload onboard. using our system,” he confirmed. “We have But he feels that the real breakthrough The Skeldar V-200 now has a bigger had successes to within centimetres landing came following a couple of announcements varient, the R-350 which offers two hours on the cable,” he said. Using the example made during the summer. “We reached an endurance with a payload of 30kg. “That is of Northrop Grumman’s MQ-25 Stingray agreement with Jetlease to offer the Skeldar enough to complete a lot of missions,” said unmanned carrier aviation air system V-200 platform as a leasing product for the Mr. Willems. “The R-350 is smaller than the (UCAAS), it would pick up the JPALS signal civil as well as military market. We got a lot of Skeldar V-200 but has been in development for and land autonomously when commanded requests from agencies who don’t want to buy, nearly ten years, although the new product is a to do so. A Raytheon clarification added that, but prefered to trial it or supplement existing redesign of the old product.” theoretically, if a UAV was being flown with a capabilities”. This includes the ‘blue light’ “We are now working on the next version pilot in command at a control station, the pilot emergency services sector as well as emerging of both UAVs, the B versions, but with would see the same instrumentation as the military forces that will not develop their improved performance, upgraded avionics pilot of a manned aircraft. own heavy fuel UAV capable of lifting off at a and more stability. Weight reduction is the “We are also working on a system that will maximum weight of 235kg.. biggest challenge to improve each platform, serve expeditionary forces on the ground,” Mr. Willems offers an example of a and any kilogram saved gives more fuel or said Yusifzai. “It is a derivative of JPALS, as it potential customer: “Perhaps a navy wants heavier payload. We want to make the platform solves classical weather problems such as sand to create a Request for Information (RfI) for lighter but keep the same payload capability”, that might interfere with the radar’s picture. a UAV platform; but they want to assess what sais Mr. Willems. This would be rapidly deployed in a humvee is available in the market before making a The first sale of an R-350 was made to the with four antennas and two operators. decsion. Now we can offer a lease on the V-200 German military. Earlier in the year the R-350 “One system can also control multiple platform for a number of years to allow them conduct trials for the German Federal Office landing sites in a 20nm radius,” said Mr. to trial and assess its capability.” of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Yusifzai. “One location can provide landing The second breakthrough came when Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw). information for up to 50 aircraft in that area, UMS Skeldar announced an agreement with But the main targets are ‘blue forces’ because it is recommending numerous approaches to Sentient Vision Systems to provide the ViDAR easy to deply with a small footprint. avoid threats for up to 30 of those operational (Visual identification Detection and Ranging) Typically two operators are required for aircraft. All the aircraft needs is a GPS receiver system for its UAV systems. This allows the the R-350 and four for the V-200, especially in the aircraft. V-200 to use between five and 10 cameras if it is ship based. Mr. Willems floats the offering between a 180-360 degree awareness idea that both aircraft could work as a pair, Sales Success for Skeldar around the UAV. The ViDAR uses autonomous having heavy fuel engines with multiple “It has been an amazing breakthrough year detection over a wide area to give a better ‘find’ interoperable payloads.” for UMS Skeldar with five sales so far,” said capability than more passive electro-optical David Willems, head of business development sensors, claimed Mr. Willems. The company C2 Debut at Switzerland-based UMS Skeldar talking claims over 80 times better area coverage over The Japanese aircraft maker Kawasaki Heavy on the Saab stand during the airshow (UMS standard EO/IR systems. Industries brought its newly developed C2 Skeldar is a joint venture between UMS Aero The endurance of the V-200 is around five transport aircraft to the Dubai Airshow for a debut appearance. With a maximum take- off weight of 155 tons, it slips between the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules with 74 tons and the Boeing C-17 at 249 tons. After the Japanese Government announced that the development of the aircraft was complete in March 2017, the Andrew Drwiega Japanese Air Self Defence Force began receiving its first aircraft with an eventual requirement of up to 30 C2s. It can house 40 medical litters inside the large cargo compartment (15.6m long; around The Kawasaki Heavy 4m height and 4m wide). Its range with a Industries C2 medium maximum payload is reported to be 2,400nm. transport aircraft Five cameras are sited around the aircraft to made its debut assist the aircrew and loadmaster, who has a appearance at the dedicated workstation at the front of the cargo Dubai Airshow 2017. deck. Representatives said that there was triple redundancy in the control system.
armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 11 Special Operations and Expeditionary Forces Debrief C-SOCC
Defence ministers from the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium sign the Letter of Intent allowing their Special Operations Forces to consider the creation of a Composite Special Operations Component Command.
Global SOF Restructures as Mission Sets Flourish As the international special operations community fights to retain tactical and technological superiority over its adversaries, commanders are being forced to reconfigure force structures in order to optimise the utility of their force multiplying units.
Andrew White
t a time when resources in the United States where, in August 2016, (GSF), to suggest that the Tampa-based remain scarce and opera- the roles and responsibilities of the US Command uplift its manpower from 70,000 tional tempo is high, Special Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) personnel in order to “…ensure the force is Opera-tions Forces (SOF) are were expanded to include the Countering poised to meet today’s and future threats remoulding and reconfigur- Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) and to alleviate stress on the force due to Aing themselves to maintain operational responsibility which had been transferred persistently high operations tempo over the effec-tiveness across multiple areas of oper- from the US Strategic Command (STRAT- last 15 years”. ation in order to satisfy an ever-expanding COM) following concerns that the latter Outlined in its annual advisory notice range of mission sets ranging from counter- agency had not been paying enough atten- for USSOCOM, SOF Imperatives for 2017, terrorism (CT) and counter-piracy (CP) tion or resources to this particular area of GSF’s document explains growing priori- through to direct action (DA), surveillance/ interest. ties for the international SOF community, reconnaissance (SR), military assistance The transfer of duties has since placed particularly in light of the “…growing (MA), unconventional warfare, counter new strains upon USSOCOM which is assertiveness of Russia and its use of insurgency (COIN), foreign humanitarian already heavily engaged across the world. hybrid or new generation warfare; and the assistance, military information opera- The decision to provide it with such an increased terrorist threat in Africa”. tions, and civil affairs operations. additional role has triggered not-for-profit Although falling short of calling for Nowhere is this better exemplified than organisation, the Global SOF Foundation increased manpower, USSOCOM
12 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 SPECIAL OPERATIONS AND EXPEDITIONARY FORCES DEBRIEF
Commander, General Tony Thomas explained in his annual address to the US Senate Armed Services Committee on 4th May 2017, how the Command continues to witness uplift in demand for SOF. “While challenges endure and new ones emerge, our force continues to evolve in the attempt to present options and decision space for our national leadership. We are providing key integrating and enabling capabilities to support [US Department of Defense] campaigns and operations. We operate and fi ght in every corner The Polish Special Operations of the world as an integrated joint, combined and Component Command has interagency force,” Thomas reiterated. enjoyed the benefi ts of a dedicated and centralised SOF headquarters providing EVOLVING FORCE government leaders with a It is precisely this evolution of the force to which joint capability across the full the international SOF community has become spectrum of operations. increasingly adaptable over recent decades, but in a high tempo contemporary operating environment (COE), the need to continue evolv- ing has never been stronger. This momentum has driven SOF organisations around the world to look at restruc- components around the world. turing in order to maximise their limited e ects on the ground, in Elsewhere in Europe, the Romanian Armed Forces are also in the air, and at sea. the process of establishing a dedicated SOF Headquarters, In the Netherlands, the armed forces have o cially initiated according to Major Geen Marian Sima. Speaking at the Global SOF the process of establishing a Special Operations Command in order Symposium in Bucharest on 27th September, Maj. Sima warned how to fuse the capabilities of the Army’s Korps Commandotroepen only a unifi ed and joint command would be capable of reacting to (KCT) and Royal Netherlands Navy’s Maritime SOF (NL MARSOF), the “frozen confl ict” currently being waged across eastern Europe. as well as considering the introduction of a dedicated special Addressing SOF delegates at the event, he explained how the operations air component. international SOF community must be “strengthened” in order Speaking to Armada International, an o cial source closely to become a “very good tool to counter classical and asymmetric associated with the e ort explained how a Task Force and desig- military tasks”. nated commanding o cer had been established in September 2017 Romania is seeking to achieve an Initial Operating Capability to begin the process of setting up a Special Operations Command. (IOC) for the SOF Headquarters by 1st January 2018. The move The Task Force has been given a deadline of 2018 for the SOCOM to will see a central and joint command structure for the army’s 6th achieve an initial operating capability. “Even though we still have no new government and no o cial notice of an increased budget for the Defence Forces, the task force that has to build the SOCOM organisation has been established and will be in o ce starting this month to begin this challenge,” the source explained. The SOCOM, should it receive a fi nal go-ahead from the gov- ernment, would comprise a joint command structure for KCT and MARSOF components as well as the establishment of a dedicated air component to directly support force elements. Currently, SOF air support is supplied by army, navy and air force elements as opposed to a single, dedicated force. “For the SOF Air Component, the situation is about the same,” the source continued. “The idea is for the Airbus Helicopters AS 532U2 Cougar Mk2 to stay in service as the initial dedicated SOF capability and making the Boeing CH-47F Chinook a designated capability that can support the SOF and Cougar if additional capacity is needed. “All we need now is a political decision to raise the budget and than we can start building,” the source added. Such a capability would allow Dutch SOF to deploy in an expeditionary fashion without any reliance upon not only the conventional forces but also partner nations globally, a situation that is faced not only Dutch SOF but other relatively mature SOF
. - / 13 Special Operations and Expeditionary Forces Debrief
comments made by a member of the Danish Special Operations Forces, Col Michael Hyldgaard, during the Global SOF Sympo- sium in which he pinned the contemporary successes of Danish Special Forces down to the “essential” support of the SOCOM. Established in 2014, Denmark’s SOCOM drew together the Army’s Jaeger Corps, Navy’s Special Warfare Group (also known as Frogman Corps); and Special Support and Reconnaissance Company. Maj Gen Jørgen Høll, commander of the SOCOM explained to Armada International: “There will be plenty of work for Danish special operations capabilities around the world in the future to deal with existing crises and to prevent future crises. I hope to see an The Danish Special Operations Command, established increase in the Danish SOF role in Danish in 2014, continues to develop although service whole-of-government approaches where commanders have already benefited from a unified capabilities from different departments approach, as illustrated with its stra-tegic reach around Europe, the Arctic, Africa and Middle East. work together and complement each other in pursuit of Danish national strategic interests or objectives. That approach will require another type of investment - an investment Special Operations Brigade ‘Mihai Viteazu’ upon the US. President Trump’s ‘America in people who must learn to work together in and Special Detachment of Protection and First’ policy has forced many commanders new ways across department.” Intervention; as well as the Naval Group within the JSDF’s SOF community to con- Describing his efforts to establish the Special Operations Force. The Romanian sider the establishment of a JP-SOCOM to new command, Høll added: “My first priority Ministry of Defence was unable to provide provide strategic effects on a global basis. was to build a strong team. We stood up a Armada International with further details With the combined strength of force new headquarters and took command of but defence sources described how the elements including the Ground JSDF’s two SOF units with very different cultural move would allow ‘ROU SOF’ to expand on Special Forces Group (SFG) and Maritime backgrounds. You cannot work together on its most recent operational projections SDF’s Special Boarding Unit (SBU), the SOF tasks and mission sets without building to Afghanistan in support of the NATO JP-SOCOM would in theory be capable of a strong team grounded in mutual trust and mission. undertaking much of the full spectrum of respect for each other’s competencies and Similar efforts are also underway in special operations, although currently it responsibilities. South America where the Venezuelan Armed still lacks a dedicated air component. “I had to select the right people from Forces officially established a Special Opera- A unified JP-SOCOM, according to the services for my SOCOM staff as the tions Command on 17th August 2017 with a defence sources associated with the various Danish SOF community were too small to view to encouraging further joint operations force elements, would also be ideally suited man a joint level headquarters. We haven’t across the full mission spectrum. to contributing to coalition operations thought strategically about special opera- Based out of Maracay in the Aragua abroad. As an example, the peaceful nature tions in Denmark before, and one of my first State, the SOCOM will enable the army’s of Japanese SOF to situations provides them conclusions was to initiate that strategic 107th and 509th Special Operations Battal- with a unique skill set suitable for intel- level thinking and begin to formulate a joint ions as well as the Parachute Brigade’s Rapid ligence gathering missions in particular; as Danish SOF concept within the guidance I Reaction Unit to work in a more integrated well as liaison with foreign military partners. received from the Danish Chief of Defence,” fashion with the Navy’s Special Operations Defence sources explained to Armada he continued. Command; and the Air Force’s 10th, 15th and International how JSDF SOF components Turning his attention to relationship 17th Special Operations Air Groups. were also ideally suited to human intel- building, which he called integral to both The Venezuelan SOCOM will remain ligence (HUMINT) and CT missions, as developing as a national and international focused on internal security and counter- well as rescue and recovery operations and resource, Høll urged: “I also knew from the terrorism operations particularly targeting the provision of expertise to wider SDF get-go that I had to build a strong relation- the networks of organised criminal gangs components. All this, however, would be ship to the services. We are part of a wider and paramilitary groups. best optimised with cooperation from the team and I do not own a number of the joint Meanwhile, the Japanese Self Defence USSOCOM and other partner forces in Asia enablers necessary to execute today’s special Force (JSDF) continues to consider the Pacific, including the Australian Special operations at the operational level. I also establishment of its own Special Opera- Operations Command, sources added. quickly realised that the knowledge about tions Command (JP-SOCOM) as it seeks The successful establishment of a special operations among the senior deci- to emerge from a recent history of reliance dedicated SOCOM is clearly illustrated in sion makers were limited to what they knew
14 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 Special Operations and Expeditionary Forces Debrief
about the two Danish SOF units. comprised SOF components from “One of my big tasks continues to across the Alliance, capable of pro- be to inform about the wide range of viding capabilites to complement air, special operation tasks and missions maritime and ground forces. especially the softer side of the spec- This, it was suggested, pro- trum, such as military assistance, vided a model for closer coopera- working with partners to build tion from across the international capacity, training advice and assist. SOF community, with a centralised My staff and I work had to reduce the headquarters providing doctrinal, gap of factual knowledge as a pre- training and operational advice to its condition for the best use of Danish members. SOF to protect and support Danish “NATO SOF educates, trains, national interests,” Høll concluded. exercises and evaluates to ensure One option currently being successful generation and employ- considered by Denmark alongside ment of forces. All special operations the Netherlands and Belgium is the activities are centred at the NATO creation of a joint SOF command Special Operations Headquarters structure; a letter of intent for which which provides advice to the was signed by the various defence Supreme Allied Commander Europe ministers on 16th February 2017. [SACEUR] on all matters related to Special Forces Components special operations,” a spokesper- from the triumverate of European son added while explaining how countries have agreed to consider the Command comprised elements the establishment of a Composite from across 36 Alliance members Special Operations Component and three non-NATO entity partner Command (C-SOCC), designed to nations, all of whom are capable of pool knowledge and resources across coordinating SOF capabilities to operational, training and doctrinal meet NATO goals. spheres, Danish SOCOM sources The US Special Operations Command, despite its total Similar sentiments were shared strength of around 70,000 personnel, remains stretched confirmed toArmada International. by the Lithuanian vice minister of across multiple operational areas of interest globally. The Having taken the lead role in the Command has also been awarded an additional role to National Defense, Vytautas Ubra- C-SOCC experiment, Denmark’s SO- Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction. sas who, while describing ongoing COM is looking to report back with a anti-terrorist operations in Ukraine basic concept of operation for the joint com- and elsewhere in eastern Europe, urged: “We mand by the end of 2017, ahead of a projected the SOF community to speak with a single, are sharing information but not working IOC in 2019 and full operating capability unified voice remained a “priority” for as a team to counter these hybrid threats…. (FOC) in 2020. It is the vision of the various NATO. (which) are region-specific and require state actors for the C-SOCC to be certified for To a certain extent, this has already unconventional solutions.” support of the NATO Response Force by 2021. been satisfied by the establishment of the Thoughts were again echoed by the Cooperation would not only involve NATO Special Operations Headquarters Norwegian Special Operations Command’s Dutch KCT and MARSOF force elements (NSHQ) in Mons, Belgium, which according Lieutenant Colonel Asbjorn Lysgaard with Jaeger Corps, Naval Special Warfare to defence sources, has begun a period of who described how integral cooperation Group and Special Support and Reconnais- transition to extend its sphere of influence between SOF components would be in sance Company, but also Belgium’s Special beyond merely doctrine and training to the optimising the operational effectiveness of Forces Group (SFG). operational environment. coalition forces: “Information sharing is the “Information sharing is critical but most important need in order to success- Cooperation for partnering must go beyond for conclusive fully counter terrorist threats,” Greater Effect effect,” Gen. Everard proclaimed, who’s he explained. Despite such moves to increase coopera- comments coincided with the visit of NATO The international SOF community tion and collaboration between services Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, to has never been busier. However, relevancy as well as agencies and other government the USSOCOM headquarters at Macdill remains a critical requirement to these entities, it appears much work still needs to Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida on 20th force components who remain the favoured be completed in order for the international September. course of action for state actors seeking to SOF community to truly become a holistic Mr. Stoltenberg met with USSOCOM exert influence abroad in a military capacity. and effective force. boss, Gen Thomas to discuss ‘stepping up In order to maintain this advantage, SOF Addressing delegates at the GSF Sympo- NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism’, Commands must not only maintain numbers sium in Bucharest, Deputy Supreme Allied service officials from the Command stated. without reducing selection standards, but Commander Europe (DSACEUR), General An official spokesperson explained to also continue to morph as the operating Sir James Everard described how getting Armada International how NSHQ picture evolves yet further.
armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 15 sea power Saab
The Saab/Kockums A-26 will deliver multi-mission capability to the Swedish Navy. Features include a lock system which would allow specialist divers or SOF to enter and exit the boat, as well as launch and retrieve unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). Swedish Navy Keeps Future Plans Quiet Stealthy, economic and effective is how the Swedish Navy has developed - and new plans with Kockums Shipyard aim to progress those progress those attributes even further.
Andrew Drwiega
he Swedish Navy is facing Amending Budget, there would now be an Marines as well as international Special exciting times which looks additional $323 million (SEK 2.7 billion) Operations Forces (SOF) called Exercise set to seeing it recover some per year from 2018 to further extend ‘total Aurora 2017 which focused on the Island of of the strength that it has defence capability’. Gotland and territory north of Stockholm, lost due to defence cuts over Speaking during a media briefing on and Exercise Northern Coasts (NOCO) 2017. theT last few decades. While the number of 22 November, Rear Admiral (RADM) Jens NOCO is a multinational exercise for NATO, vessels in the fleet has been significantly Nykvist, Chief of Staff, Royal Swedish Navy Partnership for Peace and EU countries, reduced since the 1980s, it possesses said that international naval activity in the which has been conducted annually since modern ‘stealth’ corvettes, updated mine Baltic Sea, Sweden’s back-yard in terms 2007 in the Baltic region. This year was hunters and is looking forward to a new of defence with a long exposed eastern particularly busy as it was managed by the class of submarine. Through its industrial coastline, has increased, calling it a “tricky Swedish Navy and involved 50 ships from partner Saab (and shipbuilding subsidiary environment” in which to operate. a wide variety of nations and included the Kockums), the construction of two new RADM Nykvist is an ex-submariner patrol ship HSwMS Carlskrona, as well as A-26 Class submarines has already begun with 15 years “spent below the surface” and two Visby Class stealth-corvettes, HSwMS and designs have already been drawn-up was in command of the Swedish attack Karlstad and HSwMS Härnösand. The for the Swedish Navy’s next generation of a submarine HSwMS Gotland when it began exercise also provided an opportunity to test stealth family of ships. a one year bilateral training exercise with the initial operational capability (IOC) of the On 16 August 2017, the Swedish US Navy anti-submarine warfare forces in new Swedish-Finnish Naval Task Group. government announced an increase in June 2005. “We see more importance in the region defence spending from 2018 onward due Looking back to September, he said that but also uncertainly”, said RADM Nykvist, its perception of ‘the changing security he could not recall a time when there were largely indicating the Russian presence from situation in our region’. In addition to more warships in the Baltic Sea. These were Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg where that existing investments of $60 million largely centred around two exercises - a country brings in around ’40 percent” of its (SEK500m) allocated in the 2017 Spring mainly national exercise bolstered by US imports. He said that Russian naval activity
16 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 sea power
had increased in the small Baltic Sea area that witnesses between 2,000-4,000 maritime vessels in the region at any one time. The Baltic is characterised by being very shallow, with an average depth of Kockums around 65m (to a maximum of 465m), with Gunnar Andrew Drwiega a rocky seabed on the western side going to Wieslander, a more sandy bottom towards the mainland senior vice European coast making it challenging president and head of for submarine operations. In addition to business area, protecting sovereign waters, the Swedish explains the Navy addresses economic factors such as submarine pollution and over-fishing, together with a development non-inconsiderable threat from mines, of process that which there are still around 50,000 in the has led to the new A-26 Class. waters that remain from the wars of the late 19th Century through to the two World Wars. Minesweeping is a regular task undertaken by many nations in the region. all users. There is also the smaller bilateral year’s end. The work upgraded the Sterling SUCFIS between Sweden and Finland, as AIP to a Mark 3 version, as well as the Defence posture previously mentioned, which potentially submarine’s combat and ship management The Swedish defence stance is to create a reached IOC following the analysis of systems together with fins, antennas, and ‘threshold effect’ which balances credible operations during the NOCO exercise. The periscope (now an optronic sensor) and military capability, with good force main objective is to reach FOC by 2023. will allow both of the submarines to remain availability and international cooperation. Another important organisation for operational until 2030. “We have high availability in the Navy, we the Swedish Navy is the Baltic Ordinance Many of upgrade systems going into are professional and we are ‘out there’ to Safety Board (BOSB) which groups Sweden the submarines will also be used in the show how we operate”, confirmed RADM with other Baltic nations in order to A-26 Class (although they will be the latest Nykvist. The main tasks that are regularly focus multinational skills and assets onto versions). However this is already helping practised include maritime surveillance clearing the thousands of mines that still in the de-risking process in terms of crew and reconnaissance to ensure territorial pose a danger to all maritime users. training and familiarisation with the integrity, the protection and sustainment systems. Initial work has already begun on of civilian maritime shipping, and finally What’s next? the two A-26 Class submarines, which are coastal defence operations “if someone is “We have got good knowledge of stealth, and being built in parallel. attacking us”. we are good at it from the prospect of both Kockums has received a new lease of life The surface and subsurface navy is submarines and surface ships. It is vital to after being acquired by the Saab Group from mainly structured around two corvette go undetected for as long as possible,” said the German organisation ThyssenKrupp in naval warfare flotillas, a submarine flotilla RADM Nykvist. He added that the Navy 2014, following a tense tense situation at the and a mine clearance squadron. Manning may look to using two crews to each surface Kockums shipyard in Malmö that involved has been reduced to around 40 personnel on platform to allow the ships to go to sea for the active participation of the Swedish corvettes and 35 on submarines, virtually longer periods. Defence Materiel Administration. all professionals, with the result that “our The Sodermanland Class of submarine Gunnar Wieslander, senior vice personnel take a lot of responsibility”. was modernised in 2010 with a lifetime president and head of business area at Although the armed forces are returning extension programme: “it was basically a Kockums, said that after the takeover Saab to conscription the Navy will not largely new submarine; we split the hull into two decided that a total refurbishment of the participate in this next year (except for a parts and we put in the Stirling AIP [air Kockums Karlskrona facility would be done, few special positions). independent propulsion] plugin section. a move that saw the biggest investment in “My main mission is to build the We have been using this since 1988 and it one site by the Saab Group. threshold effect of the armed forces”, said will also be used in the A-26 Class. It makes The Swedish government was now in a RADM Nykvist, who is currently helping it possible for us to stay down there for position to invest and in 2015 the Ministry to oversee a number of international weeks,” stated RADM Nykvist. of Defence placed an order through its partnerships involving the Swedish Navy. Now two of the Gotland Class FMV/FOI organisation with Saab to build Sea Surveillance Co-operation Baltic submarines are currently being given a two A-26 submarines and to upgrade the Sea (SUBCAS) comprises most of the mid-life upgrade at Kockums facility within Gotland Class. Mr. Wieslander explained nations bordering the Baltic (as well as the naval base at Karlskrona in southern that the submarine development path and the UK’s Royal Navy) and is focused on the Sweden. This upgrade process began at the the integration of the Sterling AIP into provision of general maritime data boosting end of 2015 and both hulls being welded submarines has been core to the Kockums situational awareness leading and leading together this summer sea trials will begin business has We have had the continuous to a safer and more secure maritime area for next year with delivery expected by the development in technology; we take known
armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 17 sea power
a version of the A-26 as a replacement submarine for the Collins Class and has also been in a partnership with Damen for the tender to replace the Royal Netherlands Navy Walrus Class submarines. One version of the - three silos for six vertical launched missiles per silo (potentially 18 Tomahawks - “we prepare the boat for but no t fitted with cruise-type missiles”. It is based on proven technology. We could put this into production ‘before the end of the decade’.
New Generation Surface Ships Mr. Wieslander revealed Kockums vision of the next generation of stealth naval vessels that it could provide to replace the Visby Class which was designed to offer a stealthy low radar cross-section as well as a low infrared signature. The new corvette would be larger technology and refine it. We mitigate the explained: “We have a long recipe for corvette than the Visby Class (100m risks by extensive testing before we build it.” cooking steel; we are one of the few instead of around 73m) which would have The Gotland Class was the first countries that test the submarines with the capability of surface- surface missile submarine to be built with Sterling AIP depth charges with the crew onboard (SSM), vertically launched air defence system and that will continue into the A-26 [obviously at a predetermined distance for missiles, two guns and anti-submarine Class. According to Mr. Wieslander, “We safety]. We have done this for decades and torpedos and variable depth sonar. The work with modular cylinders which we weld we are happy with the way the steel works. hull would be manufacured in steel with together, a way of working [which] makes We can cut it and weld it together again and the superstructure in composite material, it less complicated. The modular design it still retains its strength.” ending up with a weight of around 2,500 tons. is practical when it comes to inserting In terms of looking for new business, A smaller surface combat ship could cylinder sections for different purposes Kockums has been working with Babcock be either manned or unmanned. “It would although we can still balance the boat. We since cooperating over the Collins Class for not incorporate any of the larger weapons can insert a cylinder if longer range and Australian Royal Navy. These were enlarged system”, said Mr. Wieslander, “but would endurance is needed with more fuel and versions of Kockums' Västergötland Class have an advanced combat management supplies, or we can insert more cabins if (originally Type 471). Kockums proposed system which could then direct smaller more people are required and so on”. “The Gotland was cut in two; we put 20 new systems identical to the A-26 into it Saab Kockums thus mitigating the risks to the A-26. That Concept vessels saves the Navy a lot of time in training and including fast maintenance in the future,” he said. attack craft Kockums has designs for three types of FAC 55, mine the new A-26 Class submarine: the regular counter measure A26 Oceanic; a smaller version called the MCMV 80 and next generation Pelagic with less range; and a bigger version, Corvvette the Oceanic (extended range). Both the Swedish Navy and the Polish Navy will take the standard Oceanic version while the Royal Netherlands Navy has been offered the extended range version. But all will be tailored to the customer, with a weight difference from 2,200 to 3,000 tons. Mr. Wieslander explained that building a longer submarine would mean adjusting the length to beam ratio which would require a new, larger cylinder size. Regarding the strength of the production process, Mr. Wieslander
18 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 sea power
we are finding a ‘street-fighter’ that can be “The Gotland used by itself or sent out in a swarm that is was cut in two; difficult to defend”. we put 20 new The Swedish Navy will need to replace systems identical two generations of corvettes and it is the to the A-26 into it thus mitigating Saab/Kockums vision that this can be the risks to the provided through a larger Class stealth A-26,” said Mr. corvette working in unison with smaller Wieslander. ‘streetfighters’ to reduce both the cost and risk of acquisition, which providing mission flexibility for territorial as well as international deployments. “We believe that this next generation could be as sea between 2025-2030”, if the decision to go ahead with them is made relatively soon, he added. This family of stealth craft is a concept that began over 10 years ago and has been developed with the involvement of the Swedish MoD’s FMV/FOI organisations as well as with the Swedish Navy. boats with different payloads such as SSMs, The system could also be linked to the However, providing an insight into the towed-array systems or torpedoes. They new corvette as well as Saab’s GlobalEye future, Mr. Wieslander concluded with the would work in a network; that’s the beauty airborne early warning and control observation that “autonomous will have of it….It is also more difficult to take out (AEW&C) aircraft, based on the Bombardier quite an impact on surface warfare, and an anything in a swarm.” Express 6000 jet. “We are into this ‘look’ so impact on subsurface sea as well.”
armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 19 LAND WARFARE
More Power to Your Elbow As systems that require power and given to soldiers in the field, and as battery technology improves and reduces in size, a wider range of options is emerging.
BAE Systems Peter Donaldson Broadsword Spine is a wearable garment's insert that attery technology is improving delivers power and rapidly and is focused on a range data connectivity of rechargeable lithium ion through an e-textile chemistries as manufacturers developed by boost energy densities while Intelligent Textiles. taming the risks associated with any It allows electronic B devices to be technology that packs large amounts of connected to the vest energy into a small volume. This will benefit without any cables. soldiers whose reliance on electronic devices to survive and complete their missions is growing constantly, and are burdened with an increasingly unmanageable number, Comparable products are available from from the radio and smart battery charging variety and weight of batteries. Protonex in the form of its VPM-402 Vest from an auxiliary source. It can provide Mitigating technologies are centred on Power Manager and from Tectonica with its power monitoring and management for each a single battery with power distribution and Bantam system. voltage rail and port, fault mode protection management systems ranging from simple Black Diamond's field-proven family circuitry against surges, reverse voltages and power only hub and cable set ups to integrated of hubs, which includes the Bare 1-port, over-currents, plus embedded level three power and data solutions with built-in Assaulter 2-port and Apex 4-port devices add charge control circuitry for a smart battery intelligence. The latter promise to prioritise data capability through USB 3.0 connections, interface within a wide voltage range, says loads without adding to the soldier's already relying on external cabling for connectivity the company. The power port management considerable cognitive burden at critical and an Android or Windows tablet or system can draw on DC sources and provides moments, more of which later. smartphone End User Device (EUD) for a port through which an auxiliary source can control and display. run the whole system and charge a central Power only simplicity Power inputs include 12-35 VDC, AC and battery for extended missions. Typical of the power-only type is EFB's vehicle adapter cables, and it can accept Soldier Worn Integrated Power Equipment power from a number of batteries including Portable auxiliary power System (SWIPES), a United States (US) LI-80 and LI-145, Palladium Energy's The growing importance of auxiliary sources Army programme of record with several conformal wearable battery, the standard is pushing industry to offer a variety of kits thousand in service. Weighing under 2lb BA-5590/2590 and the BB-2590 charger. centred on solar panels that also include (0.9kg), SWIPES consists of a hub, cables other power management accessories and a cable management system inside an Power and data for dismounted soldiers. The BTK-70689 armour rig or a rucksack. It distributes power Ramping up the capability a notch is Glenair's Soldier Portable System from Bren-Tronics from commonly used military batteries Star-Pan VI with Personal Area Network illustrates this point and includes a foldable to trickle charge most individually worn (PAN) ports for up to six devices for use in 62W solar panel, a scavenger lead to charge equipment. This battery-agnostic system, complex missions such as Digitally Assisted batteries from others that are nearly says the company, allows the most efficient Close Air Support (DACAS) in addition to a discharged, a female cigarette lighter adapter, use of power while eliminating the need to designated host/EUD port. solar adapters for radios and batteries, a carry spare batteries for individual devices. Glenair's power port management battery eliminator for radios that enables (SWIPES II builds on this by adding data system is used with a battery and auxiliary them to run from a central soldier system transmission capability.) power source input, back-up power drawn power source, and a set of extension cables.
20 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 LAND WARFARE
Arguably as important as better power The technology is now being tried by also provides a degree of future proofing with sources is standardisation through efforts a number of units in the ‘green’ and ‘black’ regard to the emerging soldier-as-sensor such as the Generic Soldier Architecture communities and with some civilian first concept, he argued. (GSA). Developed to underpin more advanced responders. “A soldier wearing a camera and a GPS soldier system developments under the UK's Essentially an invest power and data and a radio could be a useful set of sensors Land Open Systems Architecture (LOSA) distribution system with an intelligent hub for someone further up the command chain, effort, GSA is being considered for adoption linked to external connectors through what while the soldier himself may not need to as a NATO standard and is attracting interest amounts to a flexible Printed Circuit Board look at any of that stuff.” from Australia and New Zealand. (PCB), UltraLynx is capable intelligent On the intelligent power management side, management of both power and data, with or Ultra drew on its experience with vehicles. The UltraLynx smart power without an end user device. smarts come in with a means of measuring and data A typical soldier system will, as a the power available and sampling the power September's DSEI event in London's minimum, will integrate a radio, a GPS being consumed by the various loads to enable Docklands saw the launch of the UltraLynx receiver, a battery and some kind of EUD to act decisions about priorities to be made. system from Ultra Electronics, which is the as a control and display unit, along with a hub While the intelligence can simply first smart power and data system that fully through which to connect all the cables that be provided by the soldier through an implements the GSA standard, according carry power and data. In a “dumb hub” system, application that shows the battery state to its creator Tony White, chief technology the intelligence lives in the end user device. and the loads and provides a set of software officer (Land) at Ultra Electronics Precision “What that means is that all of the switches to turn them on and off to optimise Control Systems. information flow from all of those devices has the power draw for the mission, that does UltraLynx, he told Armada International, to go through the end user device”, Mr. White little to reduce the cognitive load; that is the production version of Combat Connect, said. “So if I want to get my location and send it requires some autonomy, Mr. White said. a technology demonstrator built with a over the radio, then it has to go from the GPS, mixture of UK Government and company through the hub up to the end user device, Pre-set assumptions funding under the two part Man Worn Power back out of the end user device, back through An initial approach, he suggested, would and Data (MWPD) programme. the hub and back down to the radio”, he added. be to offer pre-sets that based on simple For clarity, it is worth digressing here assumptions such as that power does not into a little history. MWPD 1 was a proof of Unload the EUD? need to be sent to the torch during daylight, concept phase involving teams of companies, “What our intelligent hub does is move some or that the camera should be powered up just one of which consisted of Ultra Electronics of that work away from the end user device before it is needed rather than constantly, or and Cosworth of motorsport fame. These and put it into the hub, making the device that the radio only has to be turned on every two companies parted ways for MWPD 2. simply something that makes use of the half hour, for example, to make a routine call. Cosworth built its Smart Vest technology information flow around the system without “All of those are the kinds of things that demonstrator, focusing on near term having to be the system manager.” soldiers do now, but we can do autonomously capabilities such as integrating current There are several advantages to not on the system.” soldier equipment, while Ultra focused on having the EUD manage the system, Mr. Moving on from such relatively simple implementing more futuristic capabilities White pointed out. Firstly, it is the part that's protocols, a degree of artificial intelligence such as the then new Google Glass and a most likely to get broken, lost or damaged, could be applied to those decisions. gesture controller, for example. so it becomes a single point of failure for “Some of it is quite sensitive”, he said, Towards the end of this effort, Mr. White the whole system. It also makes integration “but you can imagine that if you are in said, Cosworth's new CEO decided to take easier because the applications required contact, then the data coming over the radio the company out of the defence market, so to run the hub and peripherals don't have would give an indication of the situation, Ultra bought Smart Vest and combined the to be installed on EUDs from different and since the system would be receiving technology with its own to create Combat manufacturers. Thirdly, taking the system information the data would run through the Connect, which evolved into UltraLynx. management function away from the EUD hub it could make decisions about what might be essential.” UltraLynx’ physical connectivity flexible PCB technology has been around for decades The Broadsword Spine offers the user around eight connection ports arranged and is used in many industries, making it a low across a garment which provides 180 watts risk solution, Mr. White argued, adding that of power and communicating over USB. the connections between the flexible sections and the processor board are also proven, off the shelf par ts.
Broadsword Spine progress BAE Systems' rival Broadsword Spine system is now in production at the company's facility in Rochester in Kent in the South of England, and the company is providing initial units to potential customers on a trial basis at the moment, according to Sarah Davies, assistant capture manager, Soldier Power.
armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 21 LAND WARFARE
Davies’ system. the company, with an eight-way contact “As an example I’ve configuration for power and high speed data. got a light down here, I can Glenair's MouseBud is a circular switch that off manually connector with a self-locking, auto-coupling from here to conserve and trigger released mechanism, spring- power as I wish. I can loaded pins and gold-plated contacts for switch my WebCam on and durability and ease of cleaning, stainless off, and if I want to I can see steel shells and bayonet coupling rings. that data. The push-to-lock mechanism works in four “That is all open orientations. Rated for a life of 2,000 coupling source as well. That is up cycles, it is rated to Mil-Std-810G for shock, to the customer if they vibration and immersion, says the company. want that sort of capability Additionally, connectors in particular Black Diamond's they can write their own have to be both durable and easily repairable provides a family of software to do so.” in the field, argued Mr. White, because they hubs, which includes This system provides are both essential and the parts that soldiers the Bare 1-port, power and data connec- are most likely to scuff, break or bend, he said, Assaulter 2-port and Apex 4-port devices tivity in a very different something to which he has paid a great deal of which add physical manner, using attention with UltraLynx. data capability Intelligent Textiles’ He regards connectors in general as the through USB 3.0 conductive fabric in place weak point for the soldier power and data connections. of cables, which offers a management industry as a whole, because no weight saving of around single connector vendor meets all perceived Wearing the system on the BAE Systems 40 percent according to company estimates, end-user requirements, he said. stand at DSEI, she reported that the centralised along with other benefits. “As a consequence all of the connector power solution was attracting particular “There are advantages over cables in that vendors are talking to all of us. So there are interest, emphasising that Broadsword Spine you can bend it and you can flex it and fold it about five or six vendor is who are making the is completely power agnostic. in ways that cables are often limited, and it is kind of connectors that would do some of the “We want to the customer to be able to also pretty comfortable to wear.” job, but none of them do all of the job.” choose whatever power is right for them. One unresolved issue in terms of He is emphatic that this is a problem It might be what they have existing or new standardisation is connectors, of which there that has to be solved because the credibility solutions that they want to use. We provide are many on the market and, as with other of the generic soldier architecture approach an open interface, so whatever source they systems Broadsword Spine can be specified depends on all industry players knowing choose they can plug into the system.” with different options. what they are building because all of the Expanding on this, she pointed out that “We are offering it with three different interfaces are defined. her system was using a Bren-Tronics battery, connector variants”, said Ms. Davies. “The first thing you look at when you talk while a colleague’s was powered by one from “We’ve got two on the production line: the about interfaces is how do I plug it in? At the Denchi and the company also had a battery AB MagNET connector and the Glenair moment there isn't the connector”, he said. from Revision on the stand. MouseBud connector and we are also looking “As a consequence until we've got a Broadsword Spine’s central power and at the new Fischer connector.” defined connector we are always going to sit data manager supports hot swapping of in this slightly vague space questioning the batteries, she emphasised, easing a routine Making connections point of having a generic architecture if all task that today is an onerous one for soldiers. Launched at DSEI, Fischer Connectors’ new the connectors are going to be different. LP360 is a rugged, low profile power and data “I think that is something that is going to Hot swapping support connector sealed to IP68 standard down to drill out over about the next 18 months or so.” “They can plug two batteries into the 20m immersion that is designed to be fully system, let one run down and system will cleanable and to connect at any angle to allow More requirements shaping automatically swap over to the next one, so as near as possible straight external cable While BAE Systems and Ultra represent the from the user perspective you don't have to runs between the soldier's vest and other high end of the market at the moment, they think about the need to swap over. There is a body worn equipment. are expected to face competition from Thales lot less manual involvement.” The half of the connector attached to the in the near future. While the power and data manager external cable has seven pins while the vest The big decisions for militaries will controls the flow of both automatically, the mounted portion has six concentric ring involve balancing immediate needs for basic system accepts an EUD Ms. Davies’ kit had a contacts and a central disc, a combination power and data management capabilities Samsung mobile phone in a ruggedised case that enables contact to be made at any angle. against longer term needs for more advanced that can display the state of the power source AB describes its rectangular MagNET as ones, with considerations of longevity and and the consumers and provide the user with an auto aligning, self-coupling, self locking growth capability to the fore. Mr. White direct control. connector with an automatic magnetic expects a couple more years of “requirements For demonstration purposes, the latching system that enables “one-handed shaping” educating potential customers as Samsung phone EUD had BAE Systems’ blind mating”. Receptacles attached to to the pros and cons of various approaches own Broadsword Spine app installed, which clothing are flush flat and abrasion resistant before any big procurement programmes showed all the equipment plugged into Sara so they don’t need protective caps, says emerge.
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Untitled-2 1 11/17/17 9:52 AM future technologies AUDS
The AUDS team has enhanced the counter-swarm capability of the system, with the radar system already capable of detecting hundreds of targets simultaneously.
The Twists and Turns of Countering UAVs Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have proliferated in recent years, sparking an increased emergence of systems designed to counter them. A number of companies have launched or are developing solutions that use electronic warfare (EW) or cyber techniques to disable and disrupt this new menace.
Gerrard Cowan
he threat to militaries from UAVs. The system’s operations can be identification of UAV targets. This can be UAVs has rapidly expanded, divided into three broad areas, according enhanced through the use of an electro- with small, commercially to the company. The first is ‘detect’. Silent optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera. When available systems capable of Archer uses an air surveillance radar, EW visual identification is made, the operator carrying out surveillance or and direction-finding systems to scan can confidently decide on what actions to evenT carrying explosive payloads. UAVs the airspace for low, slow and small (LSS) take against the threat, if any. have moved from the low-threat hobbyist airborne targets, collecting information on Finally, there is ‘defeat’, which uses the arena ‘to ISR missions - providing enemies areas like radio frequency (RF) signatures, EW system in a number of different ways: with situational awareness of friendly 3-D location, and so on. for example, jamming the communication forces - to weaponised tactics such as ‘Together, these technologies accurately links of the unmanned system, which kamikaze (attacks) and weapon delivery’, detect, track and identify hostile UAVs makes it return to its base or carry out an said Dave Bessey, assistant vice-president, for making effective decisions regarding emergency landing. counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) at threats,’ the company states. SRC has designed the system to be SRC, the manufacturer of the Silent Archer The second area of focus is ‘decide’, configured for use in different roles, counter-UAV system. for which the system utilises radar including vehicle-mounted expeditionary Silent Archer is designed to detect, signature data and electronic surveillance deployment, fixed-site installation, ‘or fly- track, classify, identify, and disrupt hostile information to allow for the positive away kit packaging for quick-in, quick-out
24 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 future technologies
missions’. The company is also looking This ‘characterisation’ element is a While working on the range testing, to integrate new technologies to further crucial aspect of counter-UAV technology, the company found the system was picking increase the system’s capabilities. telling the operator exactly what the threat up false alarms, he said: “If people were SRC supplies its counter-UAV is and enabling him or her to decide on walking around or vehicles were being technology to the US Army and Air Force the appropriate response. Icarus has been driving, or if there was a windsock out there, (USAF), and has seen rising demand, Bessey programmed to recognise more than 40 these were causing alarms”. added. Mr. Bassey said Silent Archer is commercially available UAVs, he said. The company has been able to aimed mainly at defeating smaller UAVs “By characterising them based on an decrease many of these false alarms, (Classes 1-3), “since they are the most image, an RF signature, or an acoustics Booth said, through further enhancing challenging due to their small size, low signature, w e can determine in some the characterisation capabilities of Icarus. altitude, slow speed and staggered flight cases exactly what type of drone it is,” he “When you’re talking about force protection patterns”. explained. you don’t want the device giving false Mr. Bassey also pointed to the danger If the operator decides the UAV does alarms all the time because then it becomes of ‘swarm’ attacks featuring numerous represent a threat, Icarus provides them a nuisance, not a support tool,” he said. UAVs, saying that Silent Archer’s approach with a number of tools with which they can In addition, Lockheed Martin has also worked in this area, “since jamming respond. One of these involves the use of focused on further ruggedising the system, of the RF band can defeat multiple targets cyber electromagnetic activity to disable so that operators can use it in a variety of simultaneously”. the onboard camera or take control of the environments without being concerned Doug Booth, director of strategy & system. Alternatively, the user can deploy about its durability. “We got feedback from business development, cyber solutions EW techniques to jam the UAV’s command our customers in a lot of the field trials that at Lockheed Martin - manufacturer of and control (C2) link. they want to be able to set it up and forget the Icarus counter-UAV system – also Lockheed Martin is working with a about it, they just have it sit there and highlighted the danger of swarm attacks. number of customers now on further operate it for much of the time,” Mr. Booth While just one small, commercial-off- enhancing Icarus, including US military said. “So we worked on heavy duty the-shelf (COTS), Class 1 drone is a threat, clients, Booth revealed adding that the ruggedisation of the product.” capable of carrying 5lb (2.2kg) of explosives, company has focused on increasing the Finally, Lockheed Martin has focused on the prospect of large numbers of similarly detection range of the system over the miniaturising the system, creating a version equipped systems increases the danger course of 2017. that can be carried in a backpack. This system exponentially. “On an earlier test Icarus was good out has much of the same capabilities as the larger “When you think about swarming to about half a kilometre,’ he explained. version. “The miniaturisation enables you to drones all carrying 5lb of payload, that’s ‘We’ve been able to double that range in be able to have some of the same detect and an even more significant threat, and it’s 2017, so we’re out beyond a kilometre for our defeat capabilities on an individual walking something that you have to be able to detection and for our defeat capability.’ around, or driving in a truck or car,’ he stated. defeat,’ he said. Icarus has been upgraded through the development process to better deal with swarm attacks, Booth added. Whereas SRC earlier versions were capable of engaging an individual UAV every half a second, “now we have the ability to engage multiple devices at one time”. This ‘swarm solution’ has been field trialled with customers this year, Mr. Booth added. Icarus is designed to identify and intercept UAVs, allowing operators to either disable or take control of a hostile system. It is based on three elements, he explained. First, a multi-spectral front end detects the threat. The system then utilises Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics to determine that the potential threat is in fact a UAV, rather than a bird, for example.
Silent Archer is designed to detect, track, classify, identify, and disrupt hostile UAVs. The system’s operations can be divided into three broad areas: detect, decide and defeat.
armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 25 future technologies
the UAV and its pilot or its navigation. The system has a range of target markets, including military users, and has seen Hensoldt increasing interest in recent years, with the majority of this is outside Europe, he added. The company has carried out a number of demonstrations with customers from which “we are deriving insights into customer requirements and scenarios which we in turn use for further development’. However, while the counter-UAV solutions are developing all the time, so are the UAVs themselves, admitted Booth. “Adversaries and users of drones who are trying to cause damage have done reconnaissance against our counter-UAV The Xpeller system has a range of target markets, including military users, and platforms,” he said adding that they were has seen increasing interest in recent building their own countermeasures. They years, according to Hensoldt. Above, a are deploying technology to lower the RF demonstration in Switzerland. vehicle,” Mr. Radford said, adding that this signature of their systems “which makes it configuration is proving popular on the harder for our devices to pick up the threat export market. coming in”. In addition, they are investing not Mark Radford, chief executive officer The AUDS team has also enhanced the only in new technologies, but in improving of Blighter Surveillance Systems, which counter-swarm capability with the radar their flying abilities, he said: “That means is part of the team that manufactures the system already able to detect hundreds they’re able to fly these devices in ways that Anti-UAV Defence System (AUDS), said of targets simultaneously. The team can manoeuvre around the sensors.” speed of deployment and reducing size, has developed new technology to more According to Mr. Booth, these are two weight and power (SWAP) are big issues for effectively defeat multi-drone swarm areas of particular focus for Lockheed some customers. attacks, but could not provide further Martin as it continues developing Icarus. “Our customers want a fully integrated details at this stage. They will feature in field trials with counter-drone system that is quick and easy to Decreasing the false alarm rate is a customers in late 2017 and early 2018. deploy,” he told Armada International. “That’s key concern, said Robert Barthel, product Bessey said that in the future, counter- why we have introduced a new, ruggedised manager for Xpeller, a counter-UAV system UAV systems will be able to do more version of AUDS that can be deployed on manufactured by Hensoldt. “That’s why with less. They will need to be capable of military trucks or commercial surveillance you need advanced algorithms to carry out carrying out several missions, he said. vehicles to provide rapid ‘on-the-pause’ classification based on the data coming “Radar equipment will need to be able to protection for a temporary base, mobile force from the sensors,” he said. “You can carry handle more than one mission, such as air or convoy under attack from drones.” out classification on the radar data, to surveillance and counterfire missions,” he AUDS comprises three elements, each differentiate a bird from a UAV, or you said. “Electronic Warfare equipment will made by a different, UK-based company. could do optical classification on top of the need to be multimission (counter-IED and First, the Blighter A400 series air security videofeed to achieve the same thing.” counter-UAV),” he concluded. radar is used to detect small UAVs. Second, Effective classification stems from Barthel said that Xpeller’s hardware the Chess Dynamics Hawkeye Deployable automation, he said, in which “the system will remain largely the same in the coming System and EO Video Tracker are used to decides whether an airborne object is an years. However, the level of automation track and classify the potential threat. And actual threat that must be countered, or if will increase, further cutting down on false finally, the smart RF inhibitor made by it’s just a bird or even a friendly drone.” alarms. “All this can be rolled out through Enterprise Control Systems can be used to This level of automation is beneficial for a simple software update… Every customer selectively interfere with C2 channels on the customers in terms of life-cycle costs, buying an Xpeller system today will get UAV, to disrupt its mission. Mr. Barthel explained. “If the level of those updates and will increase the level of The company displayed a field mast automation is too low, they need specialised automation all the time.” version of the system at the Defence & operators,” he said. ‘If there is a high level The threat from UAVs will change, he Security Equipment International (DSEI) of false alarms, this will result in a low level said, meaning systems like Xpeller have to show in London in mid-September. of trust in the system. That’s why you need also be able to evolve. The hardware has AUDS is also available in several other modern technologies like machine learning or been designed to be generic enough to adapt configurations, including the new version deep learning to support decision making.” to future threat scenarios. But the market for vehicle deployment. Xpeller uses a multi-spectral approach to is very dynamic: “Nobody knows what the “We made it more robust to withstand detect and identify drones, and then utilises a threat will look like in several years”, he the shock and vibration experienced in a UAV interceptor to interrupt the link between observed.
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Untitled-1 1 11/17/17 9:32 AM sea power US Navy
A French Navy L-CAT landing catamaran, launched from the amphibious assault ship Mistral (background), approaches the well-deck of the US amphibious vessel USS Wasp, during the ‘Bold Alligator’ amphibious exercise off the US east coast in 2012. The L-CAT is Need For Rapid Ship able to support operations ashore, as well as conduct to Shore Endures tasks at sea. High speed at the high end: amphibious forces continue to deliver theatre entry at distance from the sea
Dr Lee Willett
mphibious operations are the beach from the sea also has relevance at contested sovereignty claims. returning to the international lower ends of the operational spectrum. The United States has a significant military fore. Around the world, In the Asia-Pacific region, amphibious amphibious presence around the world, naval and other services are platforms are used to provide presence including in both the Asia-Pacific and European investing in marine forces, in areas of interest but have also played a theatres. High-end amphibious activity has Aamphibious platforms, flexible ships, ship-to- significant part in providing a sea base from also returned to Europe. Here, the focus is on shore connectors, and supporting airframes as which humanitarian assistance and disaster two particular arenas – the High North and they seek to deploy personnel ashore from the relief (HADR) support can be delivered ashore, the eastern Baltic. The areas are of significant sea, at speed, and at distance. for example in the wake of a natural disaster. strategic importance to both NATO and Russia. Operational emphases always tend to In recent years, sea-based HADR operations move through phases. The requirement using amphibious platforms have been The amphibious concept to deliver high-speed manoeuvre at sea conducted in response to cyclones that struck According to some analysts, critics of the to generate effect ashore has always been Fiji and Vanuatu and an earthquake that utility of amphibious warfare might see the essential for modern navies. However, struck New Zealand. opening scenes of the film Saving Private there have been times when other concepts However, it is at the higher end of the Ryan as evidence of a flawed concept, with sea for example, in the 1990s, long-range operational spectrum where the impact of based ground forces thrown ashore against conventional land attack have taken strategic improving amphibious capability is most a concrete and steel wall. However, such priority. noticeable. In the Asia-Pacific region, assessments arguably miss the point. Today, the requirement to build Australia, China, Japan, and South Korea in At a strategic level, the use of an amphibious amphibious capacity is driven by a number of particular (along with Indonesia, Singapore, invasion gave the allies the opportunity to factors. Notably, while amphibious operations and Thailand) are building robust amphibious launch their sea-borne forces across the beach in their truest sense are one of the highest capabilities. In this region, there is the risk of at the place and time of their choosing. of high-end warfighting capabilities, with conflict erupting over a number of territorial At an operational level, amphibiosity is the raison d’etre being to provide capacity disputes; in such instances, there is the designed to see forces inserted ashore precisely for forcible entry ashore in a contested question of whether amphibious forces might where the adversary’s presence is weakest or environment, the ability to project power over be put ashore on islands over which there are absent altogether. This effectively obviates the
28 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 THE th
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Untitled-1 1 11/30/17 10:49 AM SEA POWER
ship to shore. Other participants also provided platforms: for example, the Polish Navy US Navy deployed two Lublin-class landing ship tank (LST)/minelaying vessels, ORP Gniezno and ORP Krakow. In order to be able to manoeuvre to an objective, fl exibility is central to the concept of amphibiosity. Arlington’s fl exibility is based in large part around the 800 or so marines it can carry. The ship’s commanding o cer, Captain Patrick Hannifi n, pointed to the key role played by the LCACs in supporting ship- A US Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey fl ying from the to-shore manoeuvre. The LCACs “are very expeditionary transport dock vessel Lewis B. Puller as part of multimission, and can move things fast whether visit, board, search, and seizure serials during the ‘Alligator Dagger’ amphibious exercise in September 2017. The platform it’s a tank, a couple of AAAVs, Humvees, or and airframe pictured are both central elements of US over 100 marines”, he told embarked media capability to project amphibious e ect ashore. during ‘BALTOPS’. “You can (do) ship-to-shore movements, and from a distance: you can do (this) quite rapidly.” Marines and LCACs are only part of the need for a forced entry by using rapid ship-to- capable forces o shore, insert them and if fl exibility that a platform such as Arlington can shore manoeuvre. Moreover, contemporary necessary withdraw them quickly and fl exibly bring. “Typically, single platforms aren’t designed technologies enable amphibious forces to reach ‘across the seam’ between the maritime and to handle (tasks) across the board,” said Capt well beyond the beach. land (domains) could make the di erence Hannifi n. However, he noted that an amphibious Amphibious operations have continued between being willing and able to intervene and ship such as Arlington can mix and match to have signifi cant strategic e ect. During infl uence a crisis, and not doing so.” capabilities to refl ect operational requirements. the Gulf wars, in 1991 an amphibious feint As a result, amphibious capability While amphibious operations are the primary was conducted by US Marines towards Iraqi alongside carrier strike and cruise missile function, the ship is “rather capable in a number positions in Kuwait while the main thrust of land attack, is one of the highest of high-end of functions …. The ship fi ts its function (very) the assault wheeled left from Saudi Arabia and conventional capabilities. The enduring well, with the versatility we have.” straight into Iraq; in 2003, amphibious forces requirement to insert force ashore from As well as providing rapid reaction and assaulted the Al Faw peninsula as Iraqi forces the sea was demonstrated in NATO’s recent fl exibility in capability, large-deck amphibious reeled from the ‘shock and awe’ of the initial ‘BALTOPS’ exercise. platforms are self-sustaining in theatre. air- and sea-launched cruise missile strikes. Signifi cant lift capacity also is enabled by the For the Afghanistan campaign, which began ‘BALTOPS 2017’ large fl ight deck and well deck. The former can in late 2001, one of the fi rst steps taken was Since 2014, NATO navies have shifted accommodate several rotary-wing aircraft to insert hundreds of coalition marines and dramatically back towards a focus on types, including the Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey; special forces ashore from aircraft carriers higher-end operations, with exercises the latter can deploy a range of large and small and amphibious platforms deep into a land- focused on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) craft. In Arlington, “We can fi ll the well deck locked country. and amphibious operations, amongst other and carry multiple other craft in there as well,” In the late 1990s and around the time of the elements. NATO concern about the security Capt Hannifi n continued. second Gulf War, operational focus for many of its Baltic member and partner states has While NATO’s operational and exercise navies turned towards littoral operations. This seen ‘BALTOPS’ focus fi rmly on preparations focus arguably only turned back to higher- included the need to conduct manoeuvre in to conduct amphibious operations. As well end taskings in 2014, its maritime strategy this confi ned space, but also to project power as improving NATO’s amphibious capacity, (published in 2011) highlighted the importance inshore towards operational and strategic such training is designed to provide assurance of amphibious capability in supporting objectives, known in a number of Western to the Baltic and other member and partner the core alliance requirement of collective navies as ship-to-objective manoeuvre (STOM). states and to send deterrent messages to any defence. According to the ‘Alliance Maritime According to Professor Geo rey Till, in his prospective adversary. Strategy’, possessing ‘superior’ amphibious book Seapower: a Guide for the Twenty-First The focus on Baltic security in the most forces is central to NATO’s collective Century, “STOM relied greatly on improved recent ‘BALTOPS’ iteration, held in June conventional deterrence and defence methods of delivery.” Today, the requirement 2017, saw amphibious landings carried out capability, contributing to the ability to deliver to deliver e ect ashore from stand-o ranges in Ventspils, Latvia, and Ustka, Poland, and rapid, decisive force against an opponent, deep in-land remains, but has evolved in an amphibious feint conducted o Putlos, including through forced entry. conceptual terms as new capabilities arrive. Germany. The amphibious activities were Nick Childs, senior research fellow for also bolstered by an increased focus on air/sea CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT Naval Forces and Maritime Security at the integration designed to enhance support for While ‘BALTOPS’ demonstrated NATO’s focus International Institute for Strategic Studies operations ashore. on amphibious operations, it also underscored (IISS), told Armada that the world’s evolving The exercise’s amphibious capability was the alliance’s growing requirement to boost security context underlines the continuing based around 300 US marines embarked in amphibious capability. NATO is hoping that need to project power, including ground forces, the San Antonio/LPD 17-class amphibious more member states will invest in amphibious ashore from the sea. “With a growing proportion assault ship USS Arlington. The LPD carried forces and commit such forces regularly to of the world’s population concentrated in the two landing craft air cushion (LCAC) vessels exercises such as ‘BALTOPS’. littoral - including in ever growing, unstable, to transport the marines, in their armoured The US Navy is increasing its presence and and insecure megacities the ability to poise amphibious assault vehicles (AAAVs), from capability in the European theatre once again:
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the UK re-capitalised its amphibious capability with the building of two landing platform dock (LPD) amphibious assault ships, HMS Albion
US Navy and HMS Bulwark. The UK’s amphibious capability also includes one landing platform helicopter (LPH) amphibious vessel, HMS Ocean, and three Bay-class LSTs. The amphibious flotilla was designed to support the deployment of a brigade-sized Royal Marines Commando assault force. The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) announced that the UK would “enhance a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier to support this amphibious Demonstrating the flexibility of large-deck amphibious platforms, the Royal Navy’s capability”. This was especially important landing platform dock (LPD) assault ship HMS Bulwark is pictured here leading the with Ocean due to retire in 2018. The carrier in Combined Maritime Forces CTF-58 maritime security operation in the Gulf in 2006. There question is second ship HMS Prince of Wales. is currently a risk that the UK’s specialist amphibious shipping – Bulwark and sister ship While the carrier does not have a well-deck, HMS Albion – will be withdrawn, as adjustments are made to the UK’s force structure STOM capacity will be provided by delivering within spending reviews. marines ashore via Boeing CH-47 Chinook, Leonardo AW101 Merlin, or perhaps even in amphibious terms, alongside Arlington’s Virgin Islands to deliver aid ashore. Osprey helicopters (if US Osprey airframes are presence for ‘BALTOPS’, this has been One US platform designed specifically certified to operate from the carriers). demonstrated recently with the deployment of to support concepts such as STOM and the The UK has also adjusted the scope of the the Bataan amphibious ready group (ARG) to wider delivery of high-speed effect ashore are Commando force it intends to be able to deploy the Sixth Fleet area of operations (AOR). the four Montford Point-class expeditionary ashore: this force will now be an 1,800-strong The ARG comprised the Wasp-class transport dock vessels (known originally Lead Commando Group. amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, as the Mobile Landing Platforms). These Notwithstanding these developments, Arlington’s sister ship USS Mesa Verde, and platforms can provide a base at sea from there are currently questions over the the Whidbey Island-class landing ship dock which various maritime security tasks can be future of the UK’s re-capitalised specialist (LSD) vessel USS Carter Hall. Rotary-wing conducted, but the ability to deploy LCACs and amphibious shipping capability, following capacity included MV-22 Ospreys from Marine a range of helicopters also enables the ships to BBC reports that as part of discussions within Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365. support various operations ashore. government of options to reduce defence Embarked in the ARG were more Another navy demonstrating dimensions spending the two LPDs and up to 1,500 marines than 2,200 marines from the 24th Marine of amphibious capability is the French Navy, may be withdrawn. Expeditionary Unit (MEU). According to with its L-CAT ship-to-shore high-speed a US Navy (USN) press release, the MEU’s landing craft. L-CAT has been in service with Shifting sands? pre-deployment training had focused on the French Navy since 2011, and is embarked in The need to deliver rapid effect deep ashore the spread of operations, from amphibious the navy’s Mistral-class amphibious assault from distance offshore has become more raiding, to maritime security activities, to ships. According to builder CNIM, L-CAT relevant in the current strategic environment. HADR tasks. When the ARG arrived in the can operate on a global scale and can support The development of significant anti-ship AOR in early March, its commanding officer “civilian assistance operations” as well as missile capabilities notably, ballistic missiles Captain Larry LeGree noted that the ARG higher-end tasks. Alongside delivering troops (in the case of China’s People’s Liberation is “flexible and capable for any mission that ashore, the L-CAT’s 700nm range also enables Army Navy) and cruise missiles (in the case should come our way”. it to support wider maritime security and of the Russian Federation Navy) are creating The Bataan ARG sailed for home in surveillance tasks. The platform has a top greater anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) September. The US Navy told Armada that speed of 18kt with a full load, and is designed threats to Western forces. According to Childs, amphibious presence in the Sixth Fleet AOR for rapid loading and unloading of equipment. “the increased potency and reach, as well as currently is boosted by USS San Diego, a third CNIM documentation states that such loads the proliferation, of A2/AD capabilities pose San Antonio/LPD 17-class ship and assigned to can include: a fully motorized infantry new challenges for amphibious operations, the America ARG. platoon, complete with equipment and and increases the premium of being able to The rapid ship-to-shore capability vehicles; a single heavy main battle tank; or 80 deploy possibly even from over the horizon, delivered by US amphibious forces supports tons of military or disaster relief equipment. at speed, to avoid hazarding amphibious the STOM operational concept. With this shipping and retaining tactical surprise.” concept based around delivering effect UK case study China itself is also developing significant quickly, from distance at sea and to deep The UK naval service arguably is the pre- amphibious capability, and has been deploying in-land (for high-end combat or HADR eminent exponent of amphibiosity amongst amphibious platforms in task groups and as activities), the ‘connectors’ embarked in these NATO’s European members, and has for some single ships. Such single ship deployments amphibious platforms must be able to deliver time built STOM into its amphibious concept have been seen in the Indian Ocean and west support ashore at distance and at speed. This of operations (CONOPS). With the arrival of Suez. However, perhaps the most notable is certainly the case in terms of the LCACs, but of the UK’s two new Queen Elizabeth-class aspect of China’s amphibious capability is the also in terms of the Osprey aircraft. The recent aircraft carriers, the UK’s amphibious concept use of amphibious groups to conduct training spate of hurricanes to hit the Caribbean region has evolved into the concept of Carrier- in assaults ashore underlining the potential has seem US amphibious ships and Ospreys Enabled Power Projection (CEPP). risk of escalation in the Asia-Pacific region deployed to, for example, Puerto Rico and the Around the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, over territorial disputes.
32 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018
seamedia power alert
MEDIA ALERT FOR FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
EDITORIAL TOPICS
■ The Air War - 4th and 5th Generation Fighters
■ Artillery Systems - from Light to Heavy
■ Projecting Air Power from the Maritime
■ Mobile Command Centres: Digital Networks in the Field
■ Special Operations and Expeditionary Forces Debrief
■ Compendium Military Rotorcraft - Expanding the Envelope (New and Upgrades)
MAGAZINE CIRCULATION: DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018 www.armadainternational.com 25,278 copies (ABC audited) worldwide
08 air power AiR ChiEfs MEEt tO tALK tEChNOLOGY BONUS DISTRIBUTION iN DUBAi The 8th Dubai Air Chiefs Conference was staged the day before the opening Mobile Deployable Communications, Poland, 1-2 Feb of the biennial Dubai Airshow. Andrew Drwiega reports on a selection of the highlights. Enhancing Tactical Comm’s for the Warfighter, Rome: 1-2 Feb Singapore Airshow: 6-11 Feb Countering Drones, Jordan, 27-28 Feb
12 16 special operations and expeditionary forces debrief sea power IWA , Germany, 4-7 March global sof resTruCTures as Mission seTs flourish swedish naVY Keeps fuTure plans QuieT As ever more responsibility is given to Special Operations Forces, they are The Swedish Navy, already know for its stealthy naval ships, is looking ahead adapting to change as only they can. There is an increasing focus on greater with industry partner Kockums to the next generation of corvettes, fast attack international cooperation as Andrew White discovers. craft and submarines. Andrew Drwiega visited Sweden to find out more. Defence Logistics, Czech Republish: 6-7 March Future Soldier Tech, UK: 12-14 March DIMDEX,Qatar: 12-14 March 24 20 future technologies 28 land warfare The TwisTs and Turns of sea power More power To Your elbow CounTering uaVs need for rapid ship To shore endures Peter Donaldson reports on how industry is Gerrard Cowan looks at the new growth in systems Dr Lee Willett examines the resurgence of developing systems to effectively load individual that are coming on the market to disrupt hostile investment in marine forces, amphibious platforms, flexible ships, ship-to shore connectors. 4th Annual Coastal and Maritime Surveillance Africa 19-21 March soldiers with their own power supply. unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which have proliferated in recent years, sparking a new and escalating threat. 2 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 armadainternational.com - december 2017/january 2018 3 DefExpo, Goa, India: 28-31 March
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