ISSUE 142 December 2011 Angus Houston’s Vision for the ADF Maritime Search & Rescue Australian Navy Sea Power Conference 2012 Indonesia’s Anti-ship Missiles Sub-standard Ships & Human Costs of Piracy AE-1’s fate and Nordenfelt Gun possibilities An Australian at Jutland... The French Navy: New Capabilities, Current Operations & Future Challenges New RN Air Warfare Destroyers – Daring class JOURNAL OF THE Issue 142 3 Snapshot Contents “My vision for the ADF is that we be a balanced, deployable and networked defence force” – ACM Angus Houston 4 Maritime Search and Rescue as Everyone’s Responsibility 7 National Security and Prosperity headline Royal Australian Navy Sea Power Conference in 2012 10 Indonesia’s Anti-ship Missiles: New Development in Naval Capabilities 12 Sub-standard Ships and Human R etired naval officer David Hobbs spied this “block’ of the future RN carrier Queen Costs of Piracy: The case of Captain Prem Kumar 14 Elizabeth recently on a trip in Britain. Artists concept image below. (Courtesy RN) ICE WARRIOR 16 Focus on the outcome: the debate over the future of maritime aviation warfare officers in Naval Aviation 19 What Happened to AE1? 26 An analysis of probable Nordenfelt F ront page photograph: Gun effectiveness in an engagement Tongan passengers with a surfaced submarine 29 travelling back home to assist family and An Australian at Jutland: the story of friends affected by the Robert Walker onboard HMS Shark 41 disaster on the Tongan island of Niuatoputapu Errata: The French Navy: New Capabilities, A photo in the September edition did Viraat. He rose to the rank of Flag leave the ship on one of Current Operations and Future not clearly name Vice Admiral Nirmal Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the HMAS Tobruk’s RHIB’s. Challenges 44 Kumar Verma, the current Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, and was HMAS Tobruk has delivered equipment Indian Navy, who took office on August appointed Chief of the Indian Navy Prospects for maritime security 31, 2009. upon the retirement of Vice Admiral and supplies to assist cooperation ‘of coral made’ 48 Admiral Verma took charge of Sureesh Mehta. During his career he in the aid effort for the communities affected the Naval Academy in Goa, and has been awarded several decorations, New RN Air Warfare Destroyers – by a recent tsunami. subsequently became commander of a including the Param Vishisht Seva Daring class 52 series of Indian Navy ships, including Medal and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. INS Ranvir, and aircraft carrier INS Book Reviews 70 Issue Number 142 Printed by Visions from the Vault 79 Everbest Printing SPONSORS: Company - RAYTHEON - BOOZ & COMPANY - AUSTAL Style Notes for Headmark 81 ISSN 1833-6531 - THALES NAVAL GROUP - DMS MARITME - QINETIQ - ATI - SAAB ANI Membership Application Form 83 Design & DTP by - AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE CREDIT UNION - LOPAC - BLOHM+VOSS NAVAL Diane Bricknell [email protected] Journal of the Australian Naval Institute 4 “My vision for the ADF is that we be a balanced, deployable and networked defence force” – ACM Angus Houston INTERVIEW WITH SERGEI DESILVa-RANASINGHE fter more than 40 years service in the Australian Defence Force A(ADF), and holding down the top job in Defence, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston has faced the challenges of commanding military forces at all levels. As the Chief of the Defence Force, ACM Houston outlined his view on the major challenges facing the ADF, the current situation in Afghanistan and Australia’s military contribution to the multinational coalition, the ADF’s role in building force structure and capacity, and his vision for the future of Australia’s Defence forces. Q: What have been the major challenges in your role as CDF? T he-then Chief of ACM Houston: In terms of major actually there. What we need is a country that can the Defence Force Air challenges, we have had the highest This year, with the Queensland work, that can be reasonably stable, Chief Marshal Angus operational tempo for many years, floods, we deployed nearly 2, 000 and one that has secure borders. That Houston, AC, AFC certainly since the Vietnam War. personnel. For Cyclone Yasi in north really is what it is all about. and the-then Chief In terms of operational diversity Queensland we committed another The coalition have developed a of Navy Vice Admiral Russell Crane, AO, and complexity the ADF’s current 1,500 or so, and then for the floods in fully integrated counterinsurgency CSM, RAN speaking commitments are probably the most Victoria, about 100 personnel. We also strategy, which is properly resourced at a press conference. serious since World War II, because committed some reservists into floods for the first time with around 140,000 (Photo by Lauren Vietnam was focused only on Vietnam. in the Carnarvon areas in Western coalition troops and an increasing Black – ADF) At one stage we had Iraq and Australia. In January this year, we had number of Afghans – fast closing on Afghanistan at the same time, and on 3,500 people committed to natural 300,000 personnel. The Afghan security top of that a fairly difficult situation in disasters in Australia. Counting the forces are probably around 280,000 at Timor-Leste during 2006. Indeed, in 3,300 on overseas operations, we had the moment, but later this year they 2006 we ran five evacuation operations more than 6500 people committed to will have reached 305,000 personnel. including one out of Lebanon. We operations. If you add 300,000 plus the 140,000 have completed 39 operations, and we coalition troops we are talking about a still have another 17 ongoing right now. Q: What is the current situation in total security force strength of around We have committed around 11,000 Afghanistan? 440,000 personnel. That is a huge troops to operations, which includes ACM Houston: We are in Afghanistan increase over the numbers we had in those deployed, those in training and to ensure that it never again becomes 2005. preparing to be deployed, and those a haven for terrorists. We do not want Q: Tell us about Australia’s military who have just returned. Even though to see Al Qaeda training with impunity, contribution to Afghanistan? the number deployed at any one time as they were before 9/11. We would like ACM Houston: Afghanistan came might be in the order of 3,300 overseas, to see Afghanistan being able to take at the start of my time as CDF when we have to sustain that over time so it care of its own affairs and to provide the government had been invited involves a lot more people than those security and governance for its people. to basically join the ISAF Stage 3 Journal of the Australian Naval Institute Issue 142 5 T wo P3 Orions parked expansion, which required us to The Special Operations Task Group 30,000 Iraqi troops by the time we at the airbase in the partner with the Dutch in Uruzgan is also deployed, and their job is to withdrew, and the ADF battle group United Arab Emirates. Province. We ended up putting a small provide enhanced security and force did an excellent job. No. 11 Squadron Provincial Reconstruction Team in protection for our people who are In Afghanistan, the mentoring and operates two P3 Orions in the Intelligence, there, preceded by the insertion of doing the mentoring work with the reconstruction task force has evolved Surveillance and a Special Operations Task Group. Kandaks (battalions). They go out and into a training and mentoring task force. Reconaissance role in Initially, we conducted what NATO target Taliban sanctuaries and leaders, We train the battalions as they come support of Operation might call a stabilisation operation, but and have been successful in disrupting out of the training school in Kabul after Slipper. (LAC Aaron the Taliban were resurging as we have the Taliban. Indeed over the last three only a few weeks training. They arrive Curran - ADF photo) seen in the past few years. to four weeks we have had a very good in the province and we teach them the Australia is the largest contributor run – basically detaining, capturing or basics of combat: how to patrol and to of forces outside of NATO. We are in killing over 10 medium value Taliban organise themselves; how to provide fact the tenth-largest contributor to leaders, including a shadow district the necessary support to patrols that are the ISAF coalition, with an average of governor. out there, logistics, fire support, and so 1550 people deployed in Afghanistan at Although we have regained the on; and how to integrate the operations any one time. In terms of Afghanistan momentum, the gains are still fragile of two patrols in the same area of we have a very effective contribution and still reversible. The next fighting operations, and so on. in Uruzgan, and at this point of the season will be crucial for the coalition. This campaign in Afghanistan will campaign I would say the strategy is It starts in May-June this year and I not be won by military means alone, right. expect the upcoming fighting season to but if we can train and mentor the 4th While all this is going on we be very demanding. I think the Taliban Brigade we will improve the security are also undertaking governance, will present a very capable insurgency of Uruzgan Province. If we can do development and police work. We force and we will have to confront that that we have basically achieved an have large number of people involved with our Afghan allies to prevail. important part of the mission.