MARITIME NEWS – 01 SEPTEMBER AUGUST 2016 Navantia in design study for Australian future program

Disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only Spanish shipbuilder Navantia and the Australian government are to conduct a risk reduction and design study on the company's offering of a future frigate. Work on the initial phase of Australia's SEA5000 Future Frigate Program will be conducted over a one-year period under a Future Frigate Participant Services contract from the Australian Department of Defense. Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and BAE Systems have received similar contracts for evaluation of their ship designs. "Navantia's participation in this program is a significant milestone for the future of Navantia in Australia as the opportunity to be a potential designer of the future will be the most important naval surface shipbuilding program worldwide," Navantia said. "This program has the potential to allow for the development of Navantia Australia's local capabilities and its Operations and Design Center, which will actively participate in this design phase." Source : Space News There are other bidders (see below) but Navantia have an important advantage as they have built two classes of vessels for the RAN which ensures a degree of commonality plus the fact they are well aware of capabilities and problems of the Australian yards. Fincantieri to participate in Competitive Evaluation Process Fincantieri has signed a contract with the Australian Government to participate in the Competitive Evaluation Process, conducted by the Department of Defence, to deliver 9 Future Frigates – to be built in Adelaide, South Australia – for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) under the SEA 5000 programme. Fincantieri is one of three shipbuilders short-listed by the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG), part of the Department of Defence, to participate in the evaluation and selection process, which will last about one year. Similar agreements were signed also by Navantia and BAE Systems. It is offering its Italian FREMM Frigate (ASW, Anti- warfare version), which is currently in service and being built for the Italian Navy (see below). Fincantieri Italian FREMM (ASW Version) for SEA 5000 There are currently 10 ships in the Class – four in ASW (Anti-submarine warfare) configuration (bow sonar plus towed variable depth sonar) and six in GP (General Purpose) configuration (rapid response RHIB ramp at stern). The ships are electric motor driven at low speed for ASW operations and Gas Turbine driven at high speed (at which time the electric motors become alternators). Hangar space is available for two MH-90 sized helicopters. Initial studies have shown that the CEA radars can be easily accommodated with little modification apart from the main mast. Source : Naval Today Flag Foxtrot for ScanEagle FFG tests

Image : US Navy The Navy's (RAN) Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit and the Navy Unmanned Aviation Systems Unit teams have conducted first-of-class flight trials to assess the operability of the ScanEagle system from the three remaining Adelaide-class FFGs. The trials, conducted on HMAS Newcastle , echo earlier serials conducted on other RAN units such as HMAS Choules . In addition to the ScanEagle, a universal Skyhook recovery system was embarked. Both are controlled from the ground control station, where new antennas and interconnections have been installed for this purpose. Navy Daily said testing was conducted over several days, which included electronic interference detection, deck operations, as well as validation of the ship operating limits. Flight operations consisted of launching ScanEagle and conducting multiple approaches to the ship at various relative winds in order to validate a safe flight envelope for the aircraft. The extreme weather and associated high winds off the east coast assisted in testing the highest of these limits. The ScanEagle system is a medium-range, endurance unmanned air vehicle, powered by a 1.9 horse power engine using either heavy fuel or petrol. It is 1.5 metres long, with a 3 metre wingspan, can fly as fast as 70 knots and has an endurance of more than 20 hours. ScanEagle can carry a wide variety of payloads including cameras, sensors, and measuring equipment to assist the controlling ship in building a recognised maritime picture. It is capable of operating by day and night, and in a variety of meteorological conditions. According to Navy Daily, the trials signified the first time that 'flag foxtrot' (used to denote the operation of fixed wing aircraft from a vessel) had flown from non- vessel of the RAN since the WWII veteran HMAS Australia did so to launch her seaplanes. Source : Australian Defence Magazine Great capability during the crayfish season – but no doubt too expensive for Joe Citizen. Bearing in mind it is an airborne, it can probably be easily adaptable for vessels of opportunity. ’s Diamond Gets New Gadgets Some 15 months of work by BAE Systems have gone into the third of the Royal Navy’s Type 45 in Portsmouth Naval Base to get the ship ready for her third operational deployment. Since returning from a Gulf and Mediterranean deployment last year, during which she helped with the removal of chemical weapons from Syria, the ship has gone through a Capability Upgrade Period (CUP), basically beefing her up with the latest communication satellite systems, internal computers and weapons systems as well as Harpoon anti-ship missile system installed in distinctive launchers on the forecastle, just behind her Sea Viper silo. The is now undergoing an intensive period of sea trials in the Channel proving her systems and allowing the ship’s company to get to grips with the new or enhanced kit. Source : Naval Today HMS Diamond to help tackle arms trafficking

Photo: Royal Navy The Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond will sail to the southern Mediterranean to join an operation aimed at countering arms trafficking. The left Portsmouth on Wednesday evening and will replace the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Mounts Bay during a planned maintenance period. Meanwhile her sister ship HMS Daring will sail on Friday to the Gulf to support US aircraft carriers launch strikes against Daesh. Diamond will join Operation Sophia for around two months, which is focused on tackling the human smugglers and arms traffickers who endanger the lives of innocent people. Her focus will be on tackling the movement of arms. She will provide a picture-building capability to help enforce the UN Security Council Resolution prohibiting the trafficking of arms to Libya. The UK has also played a leading role in the counter-smuggling aspect of Operation Sophia and has committed to building the capacity of the Libyan coastguard, so the Libyans are better able to stop boats in their own territorial waters. Earlier this week HMS Enterprise rescued more than 700 people while serving on the operation. Source : Naval Today These help to confirm that the report showing all six alongside was partially due to scheduling for operations, although two are alongside due to manning problems! Aegis light for USN frigate program

USS Freedom The US Navy has selected Lockheed Martin’s COMBATSS-21 as the combat management system for the Navy’s frigate ship program. COMBATSS-21 is the combat management system in operation on the Freedom variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The five-year contract, which is worth up to US$79.5 million, covers fiscal years 2016-2021. COMBATSS-21 (COMponent-BAsed Total-Ship System—21st Century) is built from the Aegis Common Source Library (CSL), and shares a pedigree with the Aegis Baseline 9 software developed for the Aegis cruiser and destroyer fleet, as well as international ships, the Aegis Ashore system, LCS and the Coast Guard National Security Cutters. In many respects the system is ‘Aegis light’, scaled down for a smaller vessel. “Using the CSL enhances life-cycle affordability by reducing costs for integration, test and certification—and delivers an open combat system architecture in line with the Navy’s objective architecture, driving affordability and increasing interoperability across the entire fleet,” Rich Calabrese, director of Mission Systems at Lockheed Martin said. The CSL allows surface combatants to rapidly and affordably integrate new capabilities across the fleet. This means that ships using a CSL-derived combat system can incorporate new sensors, weapons and capability upgrades to keep pace with evolving threats. The benefit of the surface combatant CSL is that these updates become available for rollout across other ship classes. “We can build capability, get it into the CSL and then deploy it in a ship class when the Navy determines the need,” Calabrese said. In this way, capability developed on a forward fit program may be applied to ships already in service. Aegis and Aegis- derived systems are in service in US Navy cruisers, destroyers, Littoral Combat Ships, Coast Guard National Security Cutters and Aegis Ashore sites. The navies of Japan, Spain, Norway, the Republic of Korea, and Australia have also chosen Aegis aboard a number of their ships. Source : Australian Defence Magazine Raytheon, U.S. Navy improve anti-mine sonar Raytheon reports its AN/AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar has been enhanced for better performance, including sharper imaging of objects deep under the sea. The improvement in the system's ability to identify and classify mines is the result of a collaborative agreement with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center -- Division Newport, it said. "Together with NUWC, we've applied our collective expertise to enhance this critical undersea warfare technology -- and we've achieved outstanding results," said Paul Ferraro, vice president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems' Seapower Capability Systems. "Building on the system's proven performance, we've increased its ability to go further and see objects more clearly -- critical abilities for the Navy's mine warfare mission." The collaboration -- through a company-funded "work for private party" contract -- included at sea testing of the sonar enhancements. In the tests, the AN/AQS-20A's optimized sonars captured images of the ocean floor with enough clarity to see the contents of lobster pots, Raytheon said. The AN/AQS-20A is the only mine-hunting sonar currently in production for the U.S. Navy. It is also the only system certified for deployment from the Navy's Littoral Combat Ships. Source : Star Wars Is North Korea Building a New Ballistic Missile Submarine? Kim Jong-un’s new diesel-electric ballistic missile submarine has purportedly been under construction since 2009. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un purportedly ordered the construction of a new 3,000-ton diesel-electric submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles, according to a researcher working for a North Korean dissident organization based in Seoul, NK News reports. Kim Heung-kwang, an analyst working for North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity (NKIS), claims that North Korea has been developing a new submarine. Once completed, the submarine will supposedly be significantly larger than the 1,650-ton (when submerged) Sinpo-class conventionally powered ballistic missile submarine (SSB) currently in service with the Korean People’s Navy (KPN). “From the various human intelligence sources we have gathered, Pyongyang since 2009 has been developing new 3,000-ton class . The goal is to finish the development by October 2017.” Kim explained. “The decision for this development was made by Kim Jong-un and his advisors, who wanted to create an environment in which the U.S. and international society can’t easily underestimate the North’s preemptive nuclear strike capability,” he added. Reinforcement works of the submarine’s body were allegedly completed in 2014. The remodeling of the sub’s interior was purportedly completed in the same year. A new radar system will be installed by the end of the year. The boat will reportedly also be armed with new submarine-launched ballistic missiles within the next four months, based on information provided in a NKIS handbook reviewed by NK News. Kim was unable to provide many additional details, though apparently the new submarine will incorporate Russian parts. “The North, in 2008, purchased two old submarines from Russia, and their plan is to use the parts from the two subs to make a new one,” he said. In addition to the new 3,000-ton submarine, Kim also claims that North Korea is planning to construct a new nuclear-powered 3,500-ton class submarine by 2018. The revelation comes after North Korea test-fired a KN-11 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a submarine off its eastern coast near Sinpo on August 24. Sinpo is home to North Korea’s ballistic missile submarine base. Near the base, the regime has been constructing a massive new underground facility either in support of Pyongyang’s ballistic submarine or KN-11 missile program. The North’s Sinpo-class SSB is still first and foremost a test platform with limited operational capability. Next to the Sinpo-class, the KPN’s submarine fleet consists of “20 Romeo-class vessels, 1 800-ton diesel-electric subs based on 1950s Soviet technology; 40 domestically-built 370-ton Sang-O-class diesel-electric submarines specifically designed for the insertion of special operation forces into the South but also capable of laying mines and conducting anti-surface warfare; and approximately ten 130 tons Yono-class midget submarines,” I noted last year. Source : The Diplomat This is quite likely as they have been working on the missile for a long time and Kim Yong-un may be a nut case but is not absolutely stupid. He is, in fact, quite innovative – especially when executing people, including family, who irritate him. The use of mortars and flame throwers were very imaginative. He has recently discovered that an AA gun is highly effective too, as did the poor educational officer who dozed off during a meeting and the agricultural minister whose policies were apparently seen as a challenge to Kim! HMS Richmond Joins EU’s Med Mission

The UK warship HMS Richmond has joined the EU mission in the Mediterranean to tackle migrant smugglers and has new powers to stop and detain suspected migrant smugglers and disable their vessels. The ’s arrival comes after the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2240 (2015) which gives her Commanding Officer the authority to conduct enforcement action on the high seas, including the boarding and seizing of boats suspected to be involved in migrant smuggling. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: These new powers are an important step forward. We will now be able to board the boats and detain the smugglers. Sending HMS Richmond to join HMS Enterprise in the Mediterranean shows Britain’s determination to tackle this trade in human misery at source. We’ll hit the traffickers hard. A FRONTEX liaison officer will be on board HMS Richmond to advise her crew on legal issues including the identification, collection and preservation of evidence which could be used in criminal proceedings. HMS Richmond joins UK survey vessel HMS Enterprise which continues its activity to locate the migrant smugglers operating on the high seas in support of this phase of the mission. Source : Naval Today The current and scheduled deployments are impressive when bearing in mind the limited number of hulls! READER COMMENT 1. Regarding the axe bow and its equivalents from other yards. The argument is that the fine lines forward reduce slamming, which makes sense. But does that not also mean that the reduced buoyancy forward and the absence of flare will cause the bow to sink deeper into an oncoming swell? How much more freeboard is required to offset that, not just in terms of keeping the vessel dry, but in terms of avoiding the submarining that was at times, I have been told, a real risk with the strike craft, and which had sunk a few bulk carriers. I am reminded that the German Navy of WW 3 added so called ‘clipper bows’ to the battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, and to the heavy cruisers of the Hipper class, specifically to make the drier and reduce the risk of green water over the upper deck. Not being a naval Architect, I can but give my home grown perception, bearing in mind that the design has become very popular and the Ocean Warrior confirms it as she will be ‘working’ in the Southern Oceans. I served in strike craft in very rough weather (the rescue of the yacht Kaleo in 1980 was during the worst weather experience off the Natal coast in years and covered in a book about it) and never felt unsafe, in fact during the above rescue we listened to the distress calls from a Ro Ro carrier not that far away and watched the Pumas on their way back from rescuing the crew after she capsized and sank. I see it as a ‘fishing hook’ theory. Using a bent pin, you remove it quickly but a real hook, like a flared bow, goes in easily but is a bugger to get out! Most of the bulk carriers broke their backs after being caught by freak (superimposed waves) due to their length. 2. Your note about hair. Imagine sitting behind one of these afro-hairstyles in the classroom, you won’t see the board. I remember the days of the “beehive” and the many complaints from cinema goers not being able to see the screen. Same scenario. A very logical approach. But then school kids have not learnt logic yet (or discipline) but still think they can rule the world. One must also not accept that the style is an exclusive black domain!

3. After reading the one reader’s comment on lean manning and the HMS NOTTINGHAM/ Wolf Rk incident I was reminded of my time doing OST on AMAT in 2007 in SW England Practice Area. NOTTINGHAM had been repaired by then and was one of my consorts for many exercises. In fact I recall we started OST on the same day and her CO (he was replaced during the OST) and I shared stories of expectations and how to deal with preparations, the staff etc. We were berthed next to each other in Devonport for the harbour week and Staff Sea Check preps. In 2007 she appeared to still be suffering from the consequences of her accident, with several breakdowns in the propulsion/ shafting (move) environment still occurring during the OST. Amongst all the single ship sea exercises we did at OST were two very interesting and challenging day long serials which were critically evaluated and determined progress for the ship with OST: An exercise which simulated the exact circumstances and damage experienced by NOTTINGHAM with identical simulated multiple floods, failures etc. (called an F10 I think) An exercise which simulated the HMS SHEFFIELD BRUISER hit, including pre briefed (but surprise to the Command Team) ships company casualties exactly as SHEF experienced them, smoke etc. These were very complex scenarios and quickly overwhelmed the Command’s ability to cope, prioritise and decide. Unless one applied the principles taught (and learned in battle) the ship would be lost after a 12 hour exercise, resulting in a “Below Standard” assessment. Hardest training, but best of my career! The value of reader comment is proven again. AGS