VOLUME 25/ISSUE 1 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 US$15 ASIA PAcific’s LARGEST CIRCULATED DEFENCE MAGAZINE AUSTRALIA MODERNISES INDIA’S AIR FORCE FROM SHIP TO SHORE AIR FORCES DIRECTORY INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES AIR COMMAND AND CONTROL www.asianmilitaryreview.com Contents FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 VOLUME 25 / ISSUE 1 AMR’s comprehensive and concise Air Forces 20 Directory returns with Alan Warnes at the helm. Front Cover Photo: Personnel are winched from a Royal Australian Navy Sikorsky MH-60R naval support helicopter. We look at the Australian armed forces in Claire Apthorp’s Defence Down Under article in this issue. THE CHINA SYNDROME 14 42 54 60 Are You Going Fighting Talk Picture This Sharpening the to Scarborough Stephen W. Miller examines A myriad of technological Tiger’s Teeth Shoal? a host of infantry fighting approaches are used to Joetey Attariwala looks at In the first article inAMR’s vehicle programmes across develop air command and the trials and tribulations new Strategic Analysis section, the region, drawing some control systems in the of the Indian Air Force’s Veerle Nouwens discusses important lessons for future Asia-Pacific, writes efforts to develop a robust ASEAN’s relationship acquisitions. Thomas Withington. fighter fleet. with China. 38 46 06 Defence Down From Ship To Under Shore Claire Apthorp takes stock Dr. Alix Valenti discusses of the procurement and technological innovations in the upgrade programmes landing craft domain, and the ongoing across the Australian Catch up on all the latest defence radio frequency news and enduring appeal of the hovercraft. armed forces. analysis in Thomas Withington’s regular Pulse column. | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 | 03 Index of Advertisers AERONAUTICS 45 ALMAZ ANTEY 13 Editorial AMR SHOW DAILY 55 BOEING P-8 COVER 4 BOEING V22 23 BORDER SECURITY 65 TROUBLED DSA 59 DSEI 57 ELBIT COVER 1 WATERS FLIR 9 GULFSTREAM 27 he Pentagon’s ire was barely concealed; the IAI 5, 25, 31 the incident was, it said: “inconsistent with IDEF 47 both international law and the standards of IMDEX 51 IMDS 61 professionalism for conduct between navies at sea.” The occurrence in question was ISDEF 63 Tthe seizure of a US Navy Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) on 15th December 2016. L-3 WESCAM COVER 3 MAST 49 According to reports, a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessel, reported to be a ‘Type- NEXTER 11 922’ class rescue and salvage ship, seized a UUV which had been deployed by the USNS RAYTHEON 7 Bowditch, a ‘Pathfinder’ class survey ship operated by the US Navy. The UUV in question was ROSOBORONEXPORT 37, 41 SAAB 29 believed to be a Teledyne Brown Engineering LBS-G (Littoral Battlespace Sensing Glider), SEA AIR SpaCE 53 according to some reports. The seizure occurred 50 nautical miles (92.6 kilometres) northwest UTC AEROSpaCE 17 of the Philippines island of Luzon, facing the South China Sea. The location of the seizure VIKING AIR 19 made the incident all the more delicate. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has competing maritime and territorial claims, particularly concerning the sovereignty of the Spratly and Advertising Offices Paracel archipelagos which is also disputed by Brunei-Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the France/Spain Philippines, the Republic of China and Vietnam. More details regarding these disputes can be Stephane de Remusat, REM International found in this issue’s article by Veerle Nouwen entitled Are You Going to Scarborough Shoal? Tel: (33) 5 3427 0130 E-Mail: [email protected] Meanwhile, the US government is keen for the South China Sea to remain internationally Germany recognised as international waters. To this end, the US Navy has performed so-called Freedom Sam Baird, Whitehill Media of Navigation exercises, during which the force has despatched warships to the South China Tel: (44-1883) 715 697 Mobile: (44-7770) 237 646 E-Mail: [email protected] Sea to patrol and to assert its right to navigate freely there. East-Central Europe/Turkey/UK Zena Coupé Although the UUV seizure was resolved peaceably with the PLAN returning the UUV to Tel: +44 1923 852537, [email protected] the US Navy on 20th December, the incident served to underscore the tense relations which Nordic Countries/Italy/ Switzerland exist between the two forces. On one hand, the incident can be read as the PLAN asserting its Emanuela Castagnetti-Gillberg Tel: (46) 31 799 9028 position in the South China Sea by indicating that the force is prepared to challenge the US E-Mail: [email protected] presence there. On the other hand, the US Navy’s actions in deploying the USNS Bowditch Russia to the South China Sea to perform hydrographic work illustrates that Washington DC is Alla Butova, NOVO-Media Ltd, Tel/Fax: (7 3832) 180 885 Mobile : (7 960) 783 6653 prepared to uphold its argument that this stretch of sea must be considered as international Email :[email protected] waters. Perhaps most importantly the UUV seizure, and its subsequent return, did show that USA (East/South East)/Canada (East) the two navies can cooperate and work together when crises strike which, as sure as the sun Margie Brown, Blessall Media, LLC. Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581 setting in the west, will happen in the future. Email: [email protected] USA (West/South West)/Brazil/Canada (West) Both the US and the PRC have an interest in keeping the peace in the South China Sea. The Diane Obright, Blackrock Media Inc author and strategist Robert D. Kaplan stated in his book Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Tel : (+1 858) 759 3557 Email: [email protected] Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific that half of the world’s merchant shipping tonnage passes All Other Countries through the South China Sea annually. Thus the PRC depends on a peaceful South China Sea Jakhongir Djalmetov, Media Transasia Limited for its exports, as much as the United States does for imports of competitively-priced consumer Tel: +66 2204 2370, Mobile: +66 81 6455654 Email: [email protected] goods from the PRC, and from elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific. Fortunately, this latest incident has shown how both sides can avoid conflict when crisis strikes. Roman Durksen, Media Transasia Limited Tel: +66 2204 2370, Mobile +66 9 8252 6243 E-Mail: [email protected] Thomas Withington, Editor Editor: Thomas Withington Tel: (33) 562 271 697, E-mail: [email protected] Publishing Office: Chairman: J.S. Uberoi Audit Bureau Of Circulations Media Transasia Limited,1603, 16/F, Island Place Tower, 510 King’s Road, Hong Kong Controlled circulation: 21,271 (average per issue) certified by ABC Hong Kong, Operations Office: for the period 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2015. President: Egasith Chotpakditrakul Subscription Information Gaurav Kumar Chief Financial Officer: ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW can be obtained General Manager: Jakhongir Djalmetov by subscription. Subscription rate for one year International Marketing Manager: Roman Durksen (8 issues) is U.S.$ 100.00 Readers should Digital Manager: David Siriphonphutakun contact the following address: Sales & Marketing Coordinator: Wajiraprakan Punyajai Subscription Department, Graphic Designer: Khakanaa Suwannawong Media Transasia Limited. Production Manager: Kanda Thanakornwongskul Group Circulation Manager: Porames Chinwongs 75/8, 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, Soi Sukhumvit 19, Media Transasia Ltd. 75/8, 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, Soi Sukhumvit 19, Sukhumvit Rd., Bangkok 10110, Thailand Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Tel: 66 (0)-2204 2370, Fax: 66 (0)-2204 2387 Tel: 66 (0)-2204 2370, Fax: 66 (0)-2204 2390 -1 Email: [email protected] 04 | ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW | Block the GPS Jammers Your GNSS Navigation is Safe with the ADA Anti-Jamming Solutions • Versatility - airborne, surface, munitions • Support multi-GNSS & GPS m-Code • Integrated GNSS receiver or RF add-on • MCAST simulation & testing suite • One stop shop - design, integration, validation SEE US AT AERO INDIA 2017 Israel Pavilion, Hall A, Stand A1-1a www.iai.co.il AVALON AIR SHOW 2017 [email protected] Chalet S7 by Thomas Withington Ukraine has introduced new ground-based air surveillance radars, while the Czech Republic procures similar systems from Israel. Morocco is to receive new electronic warfare equipment, while Airbus has extended its SATCOM coverage to the Indonesian armed forces. Boeing is in the midst of enhancing the USAF’s F-15 family fleet with improvements USAF to these aircraft’s radars. These jets are also receiving new electronic warfare suites. Radar Meanwhile, looking towards the United States, in early Ukrainian defence electronics specialists the Iskra State December Boeing announced that it had been awarded a contract Enterprise Scientific and Production Complex has providedAMR modification worth $558.4 million to perform Version 3 and with details regarding the firm’s 79K6 Pelican ground-based air Version 1 radar upgrades for the Raytheon AN/APG-63 X-band surveillance radar, following the news announced in October (8.5-10.68GHz) radars used by the United States Air Force’s 2016 that the Ukrainian military had successfully tested this new (USAF) McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15C/D Eagle fighters, system. This mobile radar transmits in the S-band (2.3-2.5/2.7- and the AN/APG-82 radars used by McDonnell Douglas/Boeing 3.7 gigahertz/GHz) with a minimum range of 3.2 nautical miles/ F-15E Strike Eagle fighters. Under the terms of the modification, nm (six kilometres/km), and a maximum instrumented range of Boeing will: “provide procurement, installation, initial spares 216nm (400km), providing 360 degrees of azimuth and up to 35 and support” for 42 AN/APG-63(V)3 radars and 29 AN/APG- degrees of altitude detection, according to the company’s official 83(V)1 radars with all of this work being completed by January literature.