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THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SINCE 1976
Issue 3/2014
INTERNATIONAL
June/July
Contents_Armada June-July 14:Armada
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THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SINCE 1976
Contents 3/2014 INTERNATIONAL
www.armada.ch | www.armadainternational.com
28 TANK SITUATION
A TANK MARKET SITUATIONAL AWARENESS I Paolo Valpolini A Royal United Services Institute estimate evaluates at 108,000 the number of main battle tanks in service around the world, with 18,000 of them deployed by Western countries and their allies. The most widespread model is the M1 Abrams with around 10,000 serving in the United States, Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, followed by nearly 4,800 Leopard 2s fielded by the armies of Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Singapore and Chile.
06
10
16
38
WHAT’S UP? POST AFGHAN NOX? NOT FOR NORTHROP GRUMMAN I Eric H. Biass
STOP PRESS EUROSATORY
MORTARS
GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION–II
FRENCH WARES TO LOOK FOR AT EUROSATORY 2014
THIS IS MORTAR WORLD
MAPPING THE LAND & JOINT BATTLESPACE
I Paolo Valpolini, Eric H. Biass
I Paolo Valpolini
I Wesley Fox
46
54
68
COMPENDIUM SUPPLEMENT
SATCOM
V-22 MARKET
FULL-CAL 120MM AMMO
SATCOMS ON THE MOVE
SELLING THE OSPREY
THE RIGHT BIT FOR THE RIGHT TARGET
I Peter Donaldson
I Roy Braybrook
I Paolo Valpolini
DRONES POST-AFGHANISTAN ERA I Eric H. Biass, Roy Braybrook and Paolo Valpolini
INTERNATIONAL
3/2014
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Index DEFENCE TECHNOLOG SOURCE FOR THE TRUSTED
Issue 3/2014
Y INFORMATIO
N SINCE 1976
L INTERNATIONA
June/July
I INDEX TO ADVERTISERS AFRICA AEROSPACE AR MODULAR ARMADA DIGITAL AUSA AVALON AUSTRALIA DCI ELBIT SYSTEMS EURONAVAL EUROSAM EXELIS FLIR FNSS IAI ELTA IAI MALAT
C3 71 31 C3 29 41 11 67 13 27 5 23 19 7
IDEAS PAKISTAN IDEX INDO DEFENCE IVECO L3 LINKABIT LAAD BRAZIL LAND FORCES AUSTRALIA LEMO MBDA MTU NEXTER NORTHROP GRUMMAN ODU OTO MELARA
61 57 63 35 53 33 51 11 15 21 45 C2 73 43
PELTOR RADA RAFAEL RENAULT ROSOBORONEXPORT SAGEM SCHIEBEL SELEX TEXTRON SYSTEMS URALVAGONZAVOD
37 49 C4 9 64-66 C4 13 27 C2 31
Companies mentioned in this issue. Where there are multiple references to a company in an article, only the first occurence and subsequent photographs are listed below: ADCOM SYSTEMS
28, 29
AEROVIRONMENT
24, 26, 27 6, 12, 13
FNSS
18, 20, 42
GD C4S
48
GENERAL ATOMICS
AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE 44, 11
GENERAL DYNAMICS
ALICO SYSTEMS
GDLS
48, 49
ARDEC
20
ASELSAN
29, 34
ASN TECHNOLOGY GROUP ATK
17
23, 24, 70, 72, 74
ATLAS
11
AGUSTAWESTLAND
61, 62
AURORA FLIGHT SCIENCES BAE SYSTEMS
12
BAYKAR MAKINA BELL
BOEING
10
QODS AERONAUTICS INDUSTRIES 28 RAFALE
30
RAYTHEON
23
50, 51
RENAULT TRUCKS DEFENSE 20, 12, 14
GIS TECHNOLOGIES
43
RHEINMETALL DEFENCE 17, 30, 69, 70
GIDS
24
ROCKWELL COLLINS
52
ROKETSAN
34
GILAT
HONEYWELL
8
HUTA STALOWA WOLA
17, 18
ROLLS ROYCE
32, 59
ROSOBORONEXPORT
HYUNDAI
IAI MALAT
25
SAAB
34
INNOCON
27
SAGEM
INTEGRATED DYNAMICS
25
SAPURA
IRAN AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING 28
SATUMA
IRKUT
SCHIEBEL
14, 16
26, 27
IAI
4, 13, 14, 16, 19, 24, 25
56, 59, 60, 61, 62
IMI
24, 25, 73, 74
BOEING / INSITU
PIASECKI AIRCRAFT
41
4, 8
BLUEBIRD AERO SYSTEMS
25
RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS
56, 58
BELL HELICOPTER
32 23, 24, 68, 69, 71, 72
25
25
8, 56, 59, 60 61, 62
BELL BOEING
13, 22
PAKISTAN AERONAUTICAL PATRIA
IAI ELTA
13, 26, 30, 32, 40
BARCO
GDOTS
8, 10, 14, 16
12, 13, 19
IVECO OTO MELARA
20
16 16 30, 32 4, 30 24 24 29, 30
SIEMENS DEUTSCHLAND SELEX ES
40
5, 6, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32
SIKORSKY
8,12, 59, 62
SINGAPORE TECHNOLOGIES
19
CARTER AVIATION TECHNOLOGIES 12
KAREM
CASSIDIAN
30
KMW
30
STARK AEROSPACE
5
CHANGHE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES
18
KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES
19
TECHSOLUTIONS
22
CHINA ACADEMY OF AEROSPACE
18
L-3
TEXTRON
62
CHINA AEROSPACE SCIENCE
18
LOCKHEED MARTIN 9, 10, 40, 44, 59
THALES
MBDA
TRANSAS
DASSAULT
3, 32, 34
DENEL
26
DRDO
24, 36, 37
DRS TECHNOLOGIES
13
12, 62
4, 22
10, 11, 12
NESC
25
UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION 17
NAVISTAR
49
URALVAGONZAVOD
34, 36
33, 42, 12, 14, 73, 74
VISHWA ROBOTICS
8, 9
NEXTER
ESRI
40
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
EXELIS
52
OTO MELARA
33
OTOKAR
29
04
4
17
TURKISH AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES 34
ELBIT SYSTEMS 14, 19, 26, 37, 24, 42
FLIR
18, 32, 41, 42, 43, 44
72
NAMMO
INTERNATIONAL
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3, 4, 5, 7, 8
Volume 38, Issue No. 3, June-July 2014 INTERNATIONAL
Entries highlighted with Red numbers are found in Drones Compendium 2014
I INDEX TO MANUFACTURERS
AERONAUTICS AEROSTAR
The Leopard 2 continues its amazing evolution path. Airbus Optronics recently announced a contract for optical and optronics upgrade of Leopard 2s from a Middle East country, that might well be Qatar. See Tank Situation on page page 28
YAMAHA MOTORS ZALA AERO
18 14, 16
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What’s Up?
With amongst others proven in-flight refuelling capability (through dry tests) and constant efficiency improvements, the Global Hawk appears to have many trump cards up its sleeve for future games
Post Afghan Nox? Not for Northrop Grumman As the Afghan campaign draws to an end, the immense territory that was used for over a decade as a playground for drone testing will soon prove unusable to a number of manufacturers and nations as it gradually recovers its sovereignty. Indeed, while certain aircraft were on real, hard duty there, these as well as others were test-flown there, allowing some of their manufacturers to hard-stamp them “Afghanistan Proven”. The fact is that many companies did not have any other choice with drone flight banned over their own home territory. Spain, for instance, has recently realised that it had to get to grips with its legislation to enable its drone manufacturers – like Indra – to test its drones at home instead of Afghanistan.
Eric H. Biass
T
here are dedicated territories in Europe or in America of course, but one cannot beat an area secured by one’s own troops and protected from other nation’s witnessing eyes – and better still – have a first hand helping into real-life operational requirements, especially in a harsh environment. The RQ-4 Global Hawk and its derivatives do not have this problem (they do have other ones though, which we shall see below) since they can fly at altitudes that do not interfere with civilian air traffic, whether this is constituted by airliners or general aviation, because the Global Hawk flies some 20,000
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feet above airliner ceiling, which generally peaks at 40,000. In intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, this high altitude pays another dividend, which is the ability of its sensors to have a better side-looking range and angle. This is particularly the case when mountainous regions are to be monitored. And mountainous regions of course generally constitute favourite hide-aways for all manner of trouble-makers. A quick look at this site (http://www.flightradar24.com/ - one can select any geographical area) reveals the magnitude of the disaster linked with flying drones around the globe at virtually any usable altitude up to 40,000 feet. It also shows that the Global Hawk’s main restriction is to fly inside a limited cylinder of
airspace and to spiral up to its operational altitude in a highly controlled and secure area so as not to run into harm’s way. This particular operation, which is understood to take about 90 minutes, is the main reason behind the grounding of the Eurohawk in Germany. The site, however, shows that unless male drones (the medium-altitude variety) have the pilot-on-board option, very few will be able to patrol areas that are not air-interdicted or riddled with airdefence batteries that are sure to dramatically reduce their life span. This is the case of certain regions of Africa where, unsurprisingly, most European-roundelled drones are currently operated. Drones would appear to be an ideal solution to monitor the shipping lanes in the super-
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busy Channel and catch discharging tankers red-handed. Unfortunately the site mentioned above again proves why this is a no-drone zone, and recently reported nearmisses between airliners and drones – no later than this May over Florida – are here to remind us of the danger. According to Northrop Grumman, the company’s Global Hawk and Triton are still holding a very good position on the home intelligence, surveillance and recce market in spite of the general budgetary cuts and will continue to focus. Exportwise, the Nato AGS is a “great building block” according to a company official adding that “we’re under contract building aircraft […] with five to be produced, they will be operated from the Italian side of Sigonella” (the Naval Air Station located on the Eastern coast of Sicily). Elsewhere, the Asian continent is a market that is likely to develop for an aircraft able to stay aloft for 28 hours and look sideways into waters surrounding islands the sovereignty of which is claimed by several nations as is the case in the South China Sea, not to mention another nation higher up north that is obviously keen on keeping an eye on its neighbour, namely South Korea. As a matter of fact a “letter of acceptance” for four Block 30 Global Hawks for Seoul is currently going
through the inevitable administrative process, which should, all going well, lead to an order in about a year’s time. I IF ONLY WE HAD HAD IT EARLIER
Often pronounced with a bitter taste on one’s tongue, this statement is often made in the defence and aviation circles, and seldom results from technical hurdles but more often from political indecisions or wanderings. In the case of the MH370 tragedy, the use of the Triton – the Global Hawk’s maritime alter ego – wouldn’t have prevented the catastrophe, but certainly helped identifying the likely point of impact of the aircraft in the middle of nowhere, some 2,500 km west or 3,000 km south-west of Perth, with its ability to scan some 40,000 square miles of Earth surface per day. This area is, by the way, larger than Portugal. Australia is amongst the rare nations with such large expanse of national waters to watch. In fact, looking at a map the task looks impossible. And the recent Malysian Airlines tragedy is only here to remind the World that nowadays border and maritime surveillance is not only a military task but also a civilian duty – just as are the monitoring of maritime piracy, drug smuggling and human slavery trafficking areas.
I BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY
As “positive” technology evolves, so does its evil counterpart. Areas to be defended, as a consequence, expand. Just think of it: back in the middle ages or earlier, a sentry on a tower sufficed to alert of the appearance and advance of an enemy along a coast or along a valley. Perhaps the first to have really been taken by monumental surprise more recently were the Germans on Normandy’s coast on the dawn of 6 June 1945. Yet, they were watching – but with the wrong tools in the face of the Allies’ advanced methods, and their enemy was already far too close for any pre-emptive action. They lost the war, and the Soviets their invasion of Europe. This was a small digression, but perhaps a useful one to put the problem of surveillance and its necessary evolution into perspective. So now back to Australia. Australia is moving ahead with its Triton acquisition project. This could involve the initial purchase of about seven aircraft by 2016, although the figure has recently been reworded as “a number” , which could also mean “more” on a longer term basis. The aircraft would be operated by the Royal Australian Air Force from its Edinburgh base in the South Australia State. The Triton, for which the US Navy’s “program of record”
The naval mission version of the Global Hawk took to the air on 22 May 2013 and is attracting strong interest from many nations having to monitor huge national coastal waters and perhaps surfaces beyond them. (Northrop Grumman)
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What’s Up?
Other than the Telephonics AN/ZPN-4 radar it is now testing in flight, the Fire Scout could be able to fire 70mm laser-guided rockets and lay sonobuoys as part of anti-submarine warfare missions. (Northrop Grumman)
This view only partly illustrates the immense task of finding a needle in a haystack the Triton is potentially capable of, from an altitude of 56,000’ feet and over an area of nearly 40,000 square feet in one day. (Northrop Grumman)
includes the eventual purchase of 68 aircraft, is based on the Global Hawk of course, but is modified, particularly in the wing area to enable it to fly down through clouds at lower altitudes to take a closer look as suspect objects or activities spotted from higher up. It can selfdeploy out to over 15,000 km and stay aloft for 24 hours, which no other maritime patrol aircraft with men on board can do. They will thus complement the Poseidons that Australia has recently opted to purchase. Also known as the P-8, the B737-based maritime patrol aircraft has an endurance of four hours and is intended, at least in the United States, to operate in conjunction with the Triton, as it is armed with torpedoes, Slam-Er and Harpoon missiles, and sonobuoys. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan is also interested in a long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone while in Europe, the Scandinavian region could also want a deiced long-range facility to patrol the northern tip of the world and even Britain could be interested in such an aircraft after the demise of the umpteenth version of the Nimrod. I FIRE SCOUT
In another quite special area, Northrop Grumman has hammered a niche for its Fire Scout, even if this followed a somewhat convoluted path. To cut a long story short, as the original, but four-bladed rotor Schweitzer 330-based drone came to maturity, two factors came into play to force the bird to grow from sparrow to frigatebird: first the fact that Sikorsky warned that production of
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the Schweitzer 330 (originally a turbinepowered version of the Hughes 300) was being terminated, and secondly the US Navy’s quest for longer range in 2009. The Bell 407 was found by Northrop Grumman to be the best alternative. Turned into an MQ-8C (as it is known to the Navy) the Fire Scout C boasts a 10-hour hot-day endurance against the B’s 4.5. Somehow amazingly, given the size difference of the two helicopters, Northrop Grumman managed to transfer no less than 95% of the “drone bits” into the Firescout C (aka MQ-C) from the earlier and much lighter Firescout B, of which 30 have been built including prototypes. Twenty of these, incidentally are owned by the US Navy and
are still flying. They are planned to be phased out around the 2018/19 timeframe. There currently are two MQ-8Cs undergoing flight tests, although Northrop Grumman has already chalked up an order for a total of 19 so far from the US Navy, which intends to order a total of 119. The US Marine Corps, however, may well sooner or later add its name to the operators’ list, together with Australia that already realises the savings that would be possible over the use of SH-60, and the additional time it offers for sonobuoys laying for example. In addition to a number of system improvements, the MQ-8C carries an icing detector as well as a vibration monitoring system. The radar currently being tested is the Telephonics AN/ZPN-4 (which had its first flight onboard the C during the author’s visit in San Diego on 6 May). Other systems include the chin-mounted Flir Systems Brite Star II and a Cobra hyperspectral mine detector. A future duty for the Fire Scout C could include signals intelligence.
he Ucas-D programme is providing Northrop Grumman with a sizeable knowledge of drone operation on aircraft carriers. The F-18-sized X-47B made history by achieving a firstever landing on a flight deck on 10 July 2013. Amongst the tasks awaiting the aircraft now are night operations (this may sound absurd for a de facto blind aircraft, but no longer so much when the human environment is thrown into the equation!), demonstrate autonomous wet air-refuelling capability, ability to mix with other aircraft in operations from, and back to, deck, operate under adverse weather conditions, and all other ordinary facts that add to the so particular way of life on board a carrier.
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French Wares to Look for at Eurosatory 2014 A month and a half prior to the opening of the 2014 Eurosatory Exhibition, the major French defence industries, in co-operation with the Ministry of Defence, organised a preview of what France will display at what has become a major land defence equipment exhibition.
The new confined space-firing capable MMP anti-tank missile features lock-on, after launch, a range of 4,000 metres and armour piercing capability of over 1,000 millimetres. The missile weighs 14 kilos, the launching post 11. (MBDA)
Paolo Valpolini, inputs from Eric H. Biass
M
BDA, at its Le Plessis-Robinson facilities near Paris provided fresh details on the Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP), the ubiquitous Milan and Javelin replacement in the French Army (to begin with) as of 2017. Following the DGA’s go-ahead in December 2013, MBDA worked full steam on this first 5th generation anti-tank missile. New from the ground up, it uses inertial navigation as well as correlation between the sighting
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system and the seeker to provide new capabilities in terms of range and lock-on after launch, not to mention its ability to be launched from enclosures, now a sine qua non in urban warfare. First enclosure firing tests were carried out in April 2014, while first long-range shooting are planned before year end followed by first fully guided shooting in 2015. The 4,000 metre-range MMP should thus be qualified by 2016. In terms of air defence, MBDA showed its
new developments in the form of the Improved Missile Control Post and the Platoon Command Post, the former with a roof-mounted Thales Ground Master 60 3D radar as 10 I-MCPs and 30 PCPs are currently being produced for undisclosed customers – but clearly from the Middle East given the paint job and the stencilled lettering here and there – with deliveries starting in late 2014. Looking into the future, MBDA will launch an iC2 demonstrator that will allow one to virtually anticipate new air defence C2 concepts, including new man-machine interfaces such as multi-touch screens, voice
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T SERIES FOR HARSH ENVIRONMENTS
recognition and eye-tracking with a view to sending keyboards and trackballs to the kingdom of obsolescence. The next presentation took us to Air Base 123 in Orléans-Bricy, home to the Armée de l’Air’s new A400 Atlas. The service was the first to receive the Airbus Defence & Space turboprop transport aircraft and deploy it in operational use in late December 2013 in Mali. Two are currently being used by the “Multinational Entry into Service Team”. While the Orléans base itself is the subject of a series of deep overhauls in terms of runways, taxiways, hangars, tower, etc, brand new buildings house the Atlasrelated training and simulation assets. All pilots follow a conversion course that includes 80 hours on the Level D full-flight simulator, developed by Thales, before carrying out the single qualification flight on the actual aircraft; likewise, a loadmaster simulator ensures the conversion of this personnel, a key element in A400M operations. The two aircraft currently available are cleared only for transport operations and are not yet equipped with a self-protection suite, as full operational capability is expected in 2018 following stepped approaches. Near the first aircraft seen here, the MSN07 “Ville d’Orléans”, the French Air Force also displayed a Samp-T medium-range air defence battery developed by MBDA and Thales, and known as the Mamba in French service. It is also in service with the Italian Army. Our steps next led us to Canjuers in the south-east of France, which is Western Europe’s largest army training range and where we were greeted by a Tiger and a Caiman, the latter helicopter being the French name of the NH-90 TTH. According to a pilot who operated in Mali, five such aircraft were initially deployed. The Tigers there shot over 3,300 30millimetre rounds and 170 rockets (their configuration including
© Crown Copyright - OGL - RAF Photographer
Seen in Orléans was the vast and unobstructed hold of the Atlas (left) at the front starboard end of which is the loadmaster’s office (right) from where all things acquire a sharp sense of balance, so to speak. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)
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Guarding the Atlas on the Orléans tarmac was a Mamba air defence unit (the Samp-T in French Air Force parlance); the Thales Arabel radar segment is seen here mounted on a Renault Kerax. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)
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The French Army Aviation’s latest helicopters, the Tiger attack chopper, which has already seen action in Afghanistan and Mali, and the utility NH-90 TTH known as Caiman. (Armada/Paolo. Valpolini)
rocket pods under one stub-wing and an auxiliary tank under the other). When operating from runways the Tigers were taking off at 6.4 tonnes even in hot conditions (in France max TOW is 6.1 tonnes), although when vertical take-off was required some rockets and part of the main tank fuel had to be sacrificed. OSPEI semipenetrating incendiary round proved their worth against the “technicas” (the rebels’ armed pick-ups), although sand slightly reduced their lethal range against ground troops, but a positive side effect was that this reduced collateral damage. At 1,000 metres the rounds were falling in a 10x10-metre box; however, the Giat Mod. 781 gun was used also at much greater ranges. Availability was higher than 70 percent. Two Nexter VBCIs were also part of the Canjuers display together with a number of Renault Trucks Defense vehicles such as a VAB Ultima, a VBL, a Sherpa Light, a Kerax, and even a 1970s-vintage Acmat veteran with an MBDA pedestal-mounted Mistral firing post. According to an officer from the 92nd Infantry Regiment who deployed to Mali with the VBCI, the combat vehicle proved its worth in terms of mobility and firepower, inter alia allowing his team to neutralise a strong enemy group that was nearly overwhelming a sniper team deployed on a hill to provide cover to a mopup operation. Reliability was high, the vehicles travelling nearly 400 kilometres per day on tracks under an average temperature of 50°C and only four to five hours of rest, during the deployment from Dakar to Gao. Canjuers also gave the authors a handson experience with the VBCI driving and firing simulators – a truly considerable
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The driving simulator (left) and the firing simulator used at Canjuers to train VBCI crews. The driving simulator is deployed only in Canjuers, while firing simulators are available in all VBCI regiments. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
effort to form crews. The camp has the only driving simulators within the French Army, the building hosting six dedicated to the 8x8, plus two for the AMX-10RC armoured car, one for the AMX-30B2 tank, and two for the old AMX-10P (the latter two might be reconfigured for new vehicles). Driving simulators developed by Thales are modular, allowing the cabin to be physically changed according to the vehicle to be matched, while the visual and motion modules remain, being software driven.
VBCI drivers follow a three-week course that includes some six hours on simulators and nine on the real vehicle. Two Ruag/Gavap platoon-level firing simulators are available, each with four cabins for commander and gunner. However, no tactical training is carried out at Canjuers, this being left to regiments who each have a platoon simulator. The French VBCI is arranged to accommodate the Félin soldier system developed by Sagem and demonstrated a short
Two French Army regiments equipped with the Felin system have been deployed to Afghanistan, while the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment is preparing for Africa. The new Félin kit includes the RIF NG new generation radio. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
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walk from the simulators by a team from the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment currently in pre-deployment training for Africa. It took only a week to the young soldiers to adapt to the magic of all the button pushing (which the French quite appropriately call “buttonics”), and during their session at the infantry operational shooting centre at Larzac they obtained a score of over 80 percent, giving them the maximum level both in day and night, something that has not happened in the last decade. To cope with the system weight as well as with new combat techniques that see the infantryman on foot involved in actions at higher speed and on shorter distances, the Armée de Terre expanded its physical training syllabus to increase muscular strength in the back, abdomen and shoulders, and improve anaerobic performance. Regiments are currently receiving the Félin system with the new RIF NG radio that has an increased range in the open, namely 1,400 metres rather than the 800 of the previous RIF BE. It also adds other features such as crypto. Two Nexter’s Caesar 155/52 mm truckmounted howitzers were also part of the Canjuers demo, performing a short livefiring session. Lessons learned from Afghanistan showed how much their longer range allowed coverage to be considerably
Firing at Canjuers, two Caesars echoed the successful use of the type in Africa, where it proved that nowadays fire efficiency only works if it rhymes with high mobility. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)
increased from only two operating bases against three with the 120 millimetre rifled mortars hitherto used in the French area of responsibility. Accuracy was the other key element: a firing mission at 30 kilometre range saw the two adjustment rounds falling within 100 metres of the target, the following 10 fire-for-effect rounds hitting the target within ammunitions’ lethal range.
RTD unveils BMX01
U
ntil recently, the Véhicule Blindé MultiRôles (VBMR) family of vehicles part of the Scorpion modernisation project included three main contenders, namely Thales, Nexter and Renault. With the DGA’s decision to deal with only one entity, all three had to re-adapt their approach and get together to offer one solution. However, both Renault and Nexter had worked on separate projects and the former announced that it will show its BMX01 (photo) at Eurosatory. The situation with Nexter’s project is not clear, but it now seems that
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In Afghanistan indirect fire took 80 percent of all the support fire, artillery getting 44 percent of the indirect fire share, 80 percent of its firing missions being carried out close to friendly forces. As for Mali, keeping the Caesars in the centre of the area of operation enabled them to be dispatched to any place within the extremely large operational area in two days.
discussions are underway between the two former rivals to merge their best solutions into a single vehicle. Renault’s prototype is considered to be a mobility and protection demonstrator, although RTD likes to consider its general architecture as pretty representative of the final VBMR. The multiple-purpose 6x6 is of monocoque construction fitted with hydrostat independent suspensions all round, with central tyre inflation, a combat weight of 24 tonnes and a payload capacity of 4.7 tonnes. The wheelbase between the front and the second axle is of 2,950 millimetres, and of 1,500 millimetres between the second and the third. The power pack is composed of a Renault 400 horsepower turbo-diesel engine coupled to an automatic gearbox. The vehicle can seat 11 military including crew in an internal protected volume of 14.7 cubic metres. Protection level is to be adapted to the mission, with a maximum envisaged of Level 4. The demonstrator travelled some thousand kilometres in France on different types of terrain, including roads, sand and mud and one hull has been successfully submitted to ballistic tests. The demonstrator is not fitted with most of the equipment that will be installed in the final vehicle, such a 12.7 millimetre remote controlled weapon station, an acoustic gunshot detector, a local awareness video system, tactical VHF radios, a battle management system and the vectronics architecture that will allow linking all the on-board systems. According to Renault the final VBMR will maintain the automotive architecture of the BMX01, with some adaptations, Nexter supplying the core of the protection technologies.
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This is Mortar World Indirect fire remains a key element on the battlefield, its capacity of supporting infantry being of paramount importance when things go wrong, as new rules of engagement seldom allow pre-emptive indirect fire missions to “prepare the ground”. Artillery systems are increasing their ranges beyond the 40 kilometre mark, not to mention their accuracy thanks to guided ammunition and enhanced mobility thanks to truck-mounted solutions.
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Paolo Valpolini
T
he drawback of such relatively recent solutions is that there aren’t many models available and their protection hinders their mobility. In addition, as they are mostly used from forward operating bases, their range allows them to reach most of their area of responsibility, but the angle of impact imposed by ballistics does not always enable them to reach targets located close to
Capable to fire an 81 millimetre mortar from the back of a light vehicle, Expal Eimos has recently obtained its first commercial success with an undisclosed country. (Expal)
natural or artificial ground features such as hills, buildings, etc. In other words: “stuff for mortars”. These shorter-range, indirect-fire weapons are definitely a favoured means of close-range support by manoeuvre forces. Not only mortar can easily fire at high angles to reach close and hidden targets, but its time on target is much shorter than that of artillery, if the latter is not operating directly for the manoeuvre unit. Mobile mortars, installed either on tracked or wheeled chassis, are lighter and more mobile than artillery heavy calibres (with some exceptions in the 105 millimetre calibre range), and medium calibres such as 81 millimetre weapons can easily be installed on light armoured vehicles chassis, with the benefit of vehicle logistic commonality. In Eastern Europe self-propelled howitzermortars already existed during the Cold War like the wheeled 2S9 Nona-S or the tracked 2S31 Vena - the latter aquired by Azerbaijan in 2013. In the West, Patria developed two 120 millimetre turreted systems, the twinbarrelled Amos in service with Finland and Sweden, and the single-barrel Nemo. The Amos turret weighs around 4.5 tonnes and the Nemo about a third of that. As most kinetic systems, also the mortar is nowadays required to have pinpoint accuracy. Although its intrinsic characteristics make it sensitive to crosswinds (the higher the angle, the longer the trajectory and the height
reached by the round, the greater the effect of the wind), guided rounds have eventually been developed for mortars as well that reduce collateral damage risks. Better firing data provided by forward observers and even infantrymen, using target acquisition systems of different costs, weights and performances, also contribute to increasing mortars accuracy and effectiveness. As for calibres, the 120 millimetre and the 81 millimetre, with considerable terminal effects, remain the reference (and smart ammunition are also available), while 60 millimetre calibres or lower are mostly used by light infantry and special forces for immediate support with HE rounds. Illumination rounds have also been used extensively in the latest missions, exploiting the deterrence effect on opponents when those are caught in the open at night. I TURRETED SOLUTIONS FROM POLAND
Exhibiting its RAK 120 turreted mortar system on a Marder tracked IFV at the national defence exhibition in Kielce in September 2013, Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) from Poland clearly indicated its willingness to strongly promote it on the international market (the Rheinmetall Defence Marder second-hand market export item that is currently attracting considerable interest worldwide). Although already selected by Poland, which should receive the first eight
Huta Stalowa Wola from Poland developed the RAK 120 turreted mortar system, selected by Poland to be installed on its 8x8 Rosomaks, but also proposed it mounted on a tracked chassis. (HSW)
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FNSS from Turkey developed numerous mortar carriers from its M113-derived chassis such as the ACV15 and ACV19. Here a Saudi M113A4 fitted with TDA’s 2R2M 120 millimetre rifled mortar is being put through its paces. (FNSS)
systems installed onto a Rosomak chassis (as the Polish-assembled Patria AMV 8x8 is known), not many technical details have been unveiled by HSW so far. The turret is made of welded steel providing Level 1 protection and is armed with a 120/25 millimetre breach-loading smoothbore mortar. All actuators are electric, elevation being from +80° to –3°, with full 360° motion in azimuth. The RAK 120 is equipped with a full automatic loading system that allows to reach a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. Ready-to-use munitions are located in a 20round magazine located in the turret bustle. This is manually reloaded by the crew via two openings in the turret rear from the spare rounds available in the vehicle (40 of them are stored mostly on the left side of the rear compartment). The RAK 120 is fully automated, thus the vehicle can be handled by only two soldiers (driver and commander), the commander having full control via the man-machine interface installed in his position. The RAK120 is equipped with integrated C2 and fire control system, as well as with an INS/GPS navigation system integrated with the odometer. Firing can be fully automatic, the call for fire data package being provided to
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the computer via the C2 system, with the fire control system handling bearing the required number of rounds to be fired. However, using a joystick the commander can control elevation and azimuth and can carry out the mission in semi-automatic mode, as the mortar is equipped with a manual backup. In indirect fire the RAK 120 can reach ranges of eight kilometres with standard rounds and 12 kilometres with extended range rounds, but is able to hit targets at ranges of 500 metres in direct fire. The automatic loading and the FCS allow Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact firings, which considerably increase the system’s lethality. A Polish wheeled SP mortar company is said to field eight systems, subdivided in four sections, each with two Rosomak-RAK 120 and one Rosomak command post vehicle, a scout section with four light armoured vehicles, a logistic section with ammunition trucks, and a command element with two Rosomak command posts. I RIFLED FIREPOWER FROM FRANCE
Leveraging the success of its 120 RT towed mortar (in service in France and in many other countries including the United States where the French weapon is being used as a
base for the Marine Corps Expeditionary Fire Support System), TDA, part of the Thales group, developed a self-loading version known as 2R2M (for Recoiling Rifled Mounted Mortar). The intention was to enable 10 to 15-tonne wheeled or tracked armoured vehicles to fire the mortar without the need for structural modifications to the vehicles. The 2R2M uses the rifled barrel of the 120 RT, which is fitted to a 300 millimetre-stroke hydraulic recoil system yielding an efficiency of over 75 percent. Weighing around 1,500 kilograms, it is mounted on a turntable that can be traversed ±220°, elevation ranging from 42° (which is the travelling position allowing the roof hatches to be closed) to 85°. Elevation and traverse are joystick controlled, the system being equipped with a navigation unit and an FCS showing firing data on the section commander and gunner displays. The 2R2M’s semi-automatic loader produces a rate of fire between 6 and 10 rounds per minute. The number of ammunition carried depends on the overall configuration of the vehicle, but typically is of 40 rounds. These can be of two types, standard with a range of 8.1 kilometres, or rocket-assisted with a range of 13 kilometres.
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The 2R2M has been the core of various development programmes, among which is the US Marine Corps Dragon Fire I, and is now being delivered to a series of export customers on different chassis. In the selfpropelled configuration the 2R2M can engage a target within one minute and immediately leave the firing position. FNSS has integrated the system in its ACV-19 tracked chassis (a derivative of the M113A4), of which an undisclosed number have been delivered to Saudi Arabia and eight have been ordered by Malaysia. A second batch of 2R2Ms is being produced for Malaysia, but installed on the mortar carrier variant of the AV-8 8x8 IFV developed by FNSS and Deftech (this combination currently is at prototype stage). In Italy the Iveco Oto Melara Consortium completed a first batch of 12 2R2M-equipped Freccia 8x8 in late 2013 (the type is in its very last qualification trials). It should also be installed on the mortar carrier version of the Dardo tracked IFV, but this programme seems frozen due to financial constraints. The Sultanate of Oman acquired six systems, which have been integrated on Renault Trucks Defense
The XM905 has been developed taking the RMS6-L installed on Stryker mortar carriers and integrating it on a rotating platform. Reloading is the only manual operation to have survived. It is in use in Afghanistan by Special Forces for forward operating base protection. (Ardec)
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VAB wheeled armoured vehicles, while Saudi Arabia installed an undisclosed number of systems on upgraded M113s. Not yet in use in its country of origin, the 2R2M should become the weapon of choice of the Mepac mortar carrier version of the Véhicule Blindé MultiRôles (VBMR), which is to replace the VAB as part of the French Army Scorpion programme. I SPANISH SP MEDIUM CALIBRE SOLUTION
In late March 2014 Expal of Spain announced that it had received a first contract for its Eimos 81 millimetre (Expal Integrated Mortar System) from an undisclosed value and customer, although the Middle and the Far East seem to be likely areas. According to company sources the Eimos was tested by four countries, one of which is the customer plus two considered to be potential customer in the near future. The contract includes the command and control system as well as the Shepherd forward observing drone. The Eimos 81 millimetre is an “elastic platform” that allows recoil forces to be considerably reduced, making it suitable for light vehicles in the Humvee class, as is the case for the Urovesa Vamtac 4x4 of the abovementioned launch customer. The system uses Expal’s long range 81 millimetre mortar
coupled to a hydraulic recoil system which, according to the company, reduces recoil forces by 90 percent with a maximum recoil travel of 300 millimetres. Two electric motors handle azimuth and elevation movements, while aiming data is fed by the C2 system, allowing a first shoot within 10 seconds of pulling the vehicle’s handbrake. In the past the company proposed the Eimos with two levels of accuracy, but now Expal is marketing only the top tier version with GPS/INS navigation system that guarantees an accuracy of less than two metres, aiming precision being improved from 4°° to 2°° both in elevation and azimuth. The 81 millimetre mortar ensures a maximum range of 6.9 kilometres, but can be replaced with a 60 millimetre unit in less than three minutes, the smaller calibre weapon having a range of 4.9 kilometres. The weight of the whole system depends on configuration, but remains under 500 kilograms, weight and recoil imposing minimal or even no modification to the vehicle suspensions, the base diameter being 780 millimetres. In the basic 81 millimetre configuration mounted on the back of a Vamtac the Eimos can carry up to 52 ammunition in two racks of 26 each, on the front left and right of the flatbed. To maintain the system simple and relatively cheap the ammunition is handloaded from the muzzle, six ready-to-fire rounds being available on the turning platform. To shorten the sensor-to-shooter interval Expal developed the Techfire, for Technological Firepower, a computer-based system that collects data from existing assets (it is compatible with all communication systems). Three levels of computers are available, the Elite Tablet and the Elite MiniTablet PCs, that can be employed as ballistic computers on board firing units or as Platoon Commander Computer for fire support coordination. A smaller Personal Digital Assistant is also available to be used as forward observer computer or as ballistic computer on lighter effectors. Expal also
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To improve 60 millimetre mortar accuracy, especially when fired by hand, the US developed a new fire control system derived from one used for 40 millimetre grenade launchers. (USMC)
developed the so-called “unmanned forward observer”. Also known as Shepherd, it is an electrically powered mini-drone shaped like a bird to make it less conspicuous. With a wingspan of 1.65 metres and a length of 0.85 metres, its body is made of Kevlar/Epoxy and its wings are in triple-compound. The Shepherd has a maximum take-off weight of 2.8 kilograms and an endurance of around one hour, with a mission range of 20 kilometres. Its sensor package includes a Super HAD CCD camera capable to operate down to 0,01Lux, though an optional zenithal thermal imager can be fitted either to replace the daylight camera or to complement it. The Shepherd speed varies between 30 and 42 knots, with a loiter speed of 32 knots at 20-300 metres above ground. Its ceiling is 4,000 metres and maximum launch altitude 2,500 metres. Company sources confirmed that Expal is in close talks with the Spanish military, the system being considered not only by the Ejercito de Tierra but also by the Tercio de Armada, the Spanish Navy Marine Corps. I US: ALL-ROUND DEVELOPMENTS
In the United Stated the military are looking at improving static mortars rather than at vehicle-mounted types, following the huge effort deployed to complete the nine Stryker Brigade Combat Teams that received a total of 324 Mistral RMS6-L 120 millimetre systems installed on General Dynamics M1129/M1252 Stryker Mortar Carriers. Mistral is currently ensuring after-sale support with Elbit’s backing, Elbit being the
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original designer of the system following its acquisition of Soltam. A spin-off of these is the XM-905, an answer to a “Joint Urgent Operational Need” issued by the commander, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan, who identified a gap in base protection assets. In the XM-905 the RMS6-L is installed on a round base-plate with three spades and stakes. An electric motor drives the plate over 360° to orient the weapon in azimuth, electric actuators handle elevation, and the whole actuation system is linked to the fire control system to minimise the time to target. Only loading remains manual, with the operator stationed on the turning plate. Mistral received the contract in March 2013, and 20 systems have been pre-positioned in Afghanistan together with support representatives to get fielding process underway and improve forward operating bases protection. Known as the Automated Mortar Protection System it answers the Improved Enhanced Mortar Target Acquisition System (I-Emtas). The Emtas itself was fielded in Afghanistan (10 units) during Operation Enduring Freedom. The Americans are also involved in a series of existing infantry mortar systems enhancements, mostly aiming at reducing weight. Part of the Watervliet Arsenal, Benét Labs are currently working on the M120A1 smoothbore heavy mortar to improve its performances. A new bipod is being designed to enable the fire control system to be moved from the tube to the bipod to reduce exposure and thereby improve accuracy. A
new base-plate that provides more stability, while reducing production cost, is also in the pipeline, as well as a new tube that withstands a higher pressure, allowing for ammunition with greater range to be used. Overall the work done at Watervliet will allow to improve range by 25 percent, to reduce weight by 16 percent. Full qualification of the redesigned 120 millimetre mortar will take place in FY15. The laboratory is also working on the medium and light mortars, although details have not yet been unveiled. Work is also ongoing at the Picatinny Arsenal where the lightweight M252A1 81millimetre Mortar Weapon is being developed, the system saving around 13 percent weight compared to the original M252. In the light mortar field, the US Marine Corps is developing a new fire control unit for its 60 millimetre weapon based on the TechSolutions and L-3 Warrior systems Ballistic Sight Module Enhanced (BSMe) originally developed for handheld grenade launchers. The work is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and carried out by the US Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Experimentation Center in cooperation with industry. The sight is attached to the upper portion of the barrel and features an integral red dot sight with automatic brightness setting for precise daylight aiming, integral infrared aim and illumination lasers for precise aiming in low light conditions, and
ATK won the contract for the Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative in 2010. The rounds were delivered to Afghanistan in early 2011, less than a year later. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)
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An artistic impression of the ATK team solution proposed for the USMC Precision Extended Range Munition programme. For this bid ATK is teamed with GD-OTS and TDA. (ATK)
Teamed with IMI of Israel, Raytheon is the second contender for the Precision Extended Range Munition bid for the US Marine Corps. (Raytheon)
ballistic tables for different munition types. The standard sight, which weighs less than 330 grams, has an aiming laser maximum range of 2,000 metres, the data for the enhanced version being unavailable; however it might get close to the maximum mortar range which is of 3,500 metres. The new system provides much greater accuracy especially when the M224 or M224A1
mortars are used as handheld systems. Tests were so successful that some prototypes have already been deployed to theatre in December 2013. Further improvements developed for the M224 series of mortars come in the form of a new sling, equipped with a heat shield to protect user’s hands, and that ensures a better transport. The problem linked to the clanging of the old sling mount
has been eliminated with the adoption of a new one, thus reducing the risk of giving away position by noise. American forces received precision mortar bombs in spring 2011, when the XM395 was first deployed to Afghanistan. The new round was developed by ATK under the auspices of the Program Executive Office for Ammunition within the Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI). The XM395 is based on the M9933/34 mortar body equipped at the front with a precision guided kit fuse, derived from 155 millimetre artillery applications, with an EPIAFS (Enhanced Portable Inductive Artillery Fuze Setter) interface and canard directional wings that allow guiding the round on the target, while at the back it is fitted with fold-back fins providing steady in-flight stability and M47 charge increments. Target grids are loaded via the Precision Lightweight Universal Mortar Setter, and the system has an accuracy of 10 metres CEP at the maximum range. The 13.8 million contract for 5,480 munitions was filed to ATK in April 2010. The first rounds were delivered in October and deployed in early 2011. The contract
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located in the round’s body. According to the company the round will have a five-metre CEP at its maximum 16 kilometre range, but being guided, it can be aimed 5° off-target aim to fool return fire from the enemy. In September 2013 Raytheon announced the successful completion of its first two “Guide to Hit” test series. The tests confirmed that after launch, the canards and tail fins deployed and that the round transitioned to steady flight. They also confirmed that the round would meet expected range and impact angle requirements. In summer 2014 both the ATK and the Raytheon teams will deliver 42 rounds for evaluation during the demonstration phase of their initial Perm contract. Upon completion of the demonstration, the Marine Corps will evaluate the results and assess them against requirements through the remainder of FY15. The Corps is then expected to issue a request for proposal in FY 2016 for a full and open competitive procurement programme. More developments are expected in the United States: the Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center portfolio includes programmes such as the 120 millimetre Guided Enhanced Fragmentation Mortar, the non-line of sight 81millimetre Precision for Light Forces, the 81 millimetre Automated Direct/Indirect Fire Mortar and the Extended Range Projectile Technology Research. I ISRAEL: WORLDWIDE CO-OPERATION
Elbit recently acquired Soltam, whose Cardom 120 millimetre mortar system has been the base for US Army’s Stryker Mortar Carrier vehicles. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
called for 5,480 XM395 rounds and 156 XM701 inductive fuse setters, linked to the M32 Lightweight Handheld Mortar Ballistic Computer. Initially fielded only with the M120 smoothbore towed mortar, the round has also been cleared for use on the Stryker Mortar Carriers’ M121s in spring 2012. The US Marine Corps is now looking into the Perm, a for a longer range 120 millimetre round for its expeditionary fire support system based on the M327 rifled mortar. Threshold design requirements are a range of 16 kilometres, a CEP of 20 metres and a lethality reaching 80 percent of the current M1101 HE round. Objective performances call for a 20 kilometre range, a
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10-metre CEP and the same lethality as the current HE round. This might be obtained controlling the round fragmentation effect. Two teams are competing for this contract, the winner of the APMI – ATK – in cooperation with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems on the one hand, and TDA of France with Raytheon partnered with Israel Military Industries. The ATK team solution combines the company’s guidance fuse system already in use on the XM395 with GD-OTS extendedrange rifled mortar energetic subsystems. TDA brings its expertise in rifled mortars, while for the projectile Raytheon adopts a backward-deploying cruciform wing set
The Elbit Systems/Soltam Cardom selfpropelled recoiling mortar was mentioned earlier in the context of US Army mortars. This system has a weight of less than 700 kilograms and can also be armed with an 81 millimetre mortar. It can be traversed full circle and can fire up to 16 rounds per minute at a maximum range of 7,000 metres, and can be given a Multiple Round Simultaneous Impact capability. In February 2014 Israel Military Industries announced that its GMM GPS guided mortar bomb was undergoing qualification with the Israel Defence Forces. Fully compatible with existing 120 millimetre mortars, the GMM can be fired to a range of 7-9 kilometres, depending on the mortar, with a ten-0 metre CEP at any range. Guidance is provided by canard wings mounted in the round body, linking the Pure Heart GPS/Inertial navigation and control unit. A semi-active laser-guided version of this round might also be developed, with a laser seeker in the nose.
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Another Army going for the “81 millimetre only” option is the British Army. After the Afghanistan campaign the decision was taken to shelve the commando and bipod Hirtenberger 60 millimetre mortars to reduce costs, the ageing L16A2 thus remaining the only mortar to equip infantry units. Some improvements should be adopted on the weapon itself, although new improved performance ammunition with greater lethality against buildings, armour and equipment might become available in the near future.
While keeping its 120 millimetre mortars in service, Italy is introducing new 81millimetre Expal M-86 or M-98. The 120s are assigned to regimental level, while 81 millimetre mortars provide company level indirect fire support, leaving 60 millimetre mortars for platoon level use. Italy signed a €20 million contract with Expal in late 2011 that includes 371 mortars, an undisclosed quantity of ammunition in various versions, and ballistic computers developed by Expace. An army that is going against the 81 millimetre trend is the Dutch one, which
The Nemo single-barrel turreted mortar from Patria of Finland pictured during a firing session. The company Amos two-barrel version is in service with Finland and Sweden. (Patria)
The Israel Military Industry Guided Mortar Munition 120 and its programillimetreing system. The GMM is currently under qualification by the IDF (IMI) I EUROPEAN TRENDS
According to German Army computation the 81 millimetre calibre is the more effective when engaging an infantry target; this comes from two assumptions, that the more rounds impact on target nearly simultaneously exploiting surprise increases the effect, and that a target may effectively be destroyed in a 20 seconds timeframe. Considering the effect of a 60 millimetre HE mortar round, an 81 millimetre has an effectiveness factor of 2.4 and a 120 millimetre of 7.7. This said, considering the total mass of rounds, the number of weapon systems and the mass of the system, the 81 millimetre mortar wins the deal. This is one of the reasons the Bundeswehr is giving up the 120 millimetre calibre favouring the 81 millimetre, a procurement programme being foreseen in the coming years. The 120 millimetre infantry mortars should be used until 2016. As for the single Wiesel-2 based mortar fighting system, made of eight mortar vehicles, two command vehicles and four Mungo ammunition carrier, this should be transferred from the infantry to the artillery in 2015.
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The Singaporean Srams seen here was displayed at Idex in 2017 on board an RG31 as part of the Agrab Mk1 120millimetre mobile mortar system devised by the Emirati International Golden Group with Denel. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)
recently decided to replace its L16s with lighter 60 millimetre mortars. The tender is for 75 systems, including ammunition, with deliveries to start in late 2015. I LIGHT 120 PLATFORM FROM SINGAPORE
In 2007 Singapore Technologies obtained a first export order for its 120 millimetre smoothbore Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System (Srams). Deliveries are being carried out in 2014, though both the number of systems and the customer remain undisclosed. Featuring a recoil of only 26 tonnes with maximum charge, which allied to its weight of less than 1,200 kilos, it can even be installed on Humvee-class light vehicles. Equipped with a semi-automatic ammunition loading
Ruag Defence Bighorn, here fitted on an FNSS ACV300, has not yet succeeded in attracting a launch customer. (FNSS)
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system, the STK mortar can reach a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. With its 1,800 millimetre-long barrel the Srams has a maximum range of nine kilometres with extended-range ammunition. The Singapore Army installed it on the Bronco tracked allterrain vehicle, while a first export order was obtained in 2007. Although the United Arab Emirates’ International Golden Group (IGG) did not confirm this, the Srams should have been the core of the Agreb Mk1 system, a mobile mortar system based on BAE Systems RG31 chassis. A further order was announced at IDEX 2011 for 72 Agrab Mk2 systems. The main difference should be the vehicle, the new batch of mobile mortars being based on the RG31 Mk6E MPV while the former was based on the Mk5 model. The Agrab is fitted with Denel’s Land Systems Arachnida fire control system and with a FIN3110 GPS/INS navigation system by Selex ES. The first ten Agrab Mk2 were integrated in South Africa, the remaining 62 being integrated at IGG’s facilities in the United Arab Emirates.
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A Tank Market Situational Awareness A Royal United Services Institute estimate evaluates at 108,000 the number of main battle tanks in service around the world, with 18,000 of them deployed by Western countries and their allies. The most widespread model is the M1 Abrams with around 10,000 serving in the United States, Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, followed by nearly 4,800 Leopard 2s fielded by the armies of Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Singapore and Chile. The Netherlands and Belgium decided to forgo main battle tanks, their Leo 2s being put on the market as a result, joining many from Germany following army structure reductions.
Paolo Valpolini
T
he Leo 2 inventory might increase though if Saudi Arabia and Qatar finalise the acquisition of new ones. Some 794 Leclerc were produced for France and the UAE, while Britain manufactured 392 Challenger 1s (currently in service in Jordan) and 446 Challenger 2s that are in service in the British Army and in Oman. The 200 Italian Arietes complete this European inventory to which numerous T-type tanks still in service with Eastern European countries now part of Nato have to be added. In the Far East, India deploys 248 Arjuns in addition to numerous T-tanks, while Pakistan fields mostly tanks of Chinese origin, China being the dominant tank user in the area with over 3,000. As for the 1,000+ Korean K1s, these will probably never leave their native soil, just like the Japanese indigenously produced tanks. As seen, the vast majority of the world’s tank inventory still consists of old T-tanks, T-55, T-64, and partly of more modern T-72 and derivatives deployed by Russia, China, North Korea, and by some Arab countries.
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Although a “Battle of the Bulge” in Europe is most unlikely, and while in many armies their numbers are dwindling, the heaviest representative of the land forces equipment seems to maintain its appeal. Speaking at the Force Protection & Manoeuvre Conference in late November 2013 in Rome, Major Steen Holm Iversen, chief Lessons Learned Branch at the Danish Army Combat Centre in Oksboel, underlined the importance of the main battle tank within his Army battlegroup deployed to Afghanistan, operating mostly in the Helmand valley in support to Danish, British and American troops. Of course the main battle tank cannot reach all the operational areas due to dimensions and weight, but it is clear that in the open it can be considered a game changer due to the protection provided to its crew and the pinpoint accuracy of its firepower, which can deliver excellent fire support as an alternative to close air support, which might not have the same accuracy or capacity to deliver gradual response. “The main role in present operations will be as a fire support platform for infantry operations,” Major Holm Inversen said, underlining that “the MBT must be refitted as a ‘multi tool’ in order to provide the MBT the ability to adjust to its on-going
changing role in the modern battlefield,” while reaffirming that “the basic capabilities of the MBT must be maintained despite the need for configuration adjustments.” Countering those for whom the tank is dead, the Danish officer stated that it “is a vital asset for the Army`s ability to gain and keep the initiative on the modern battle field,” and that “it is vital if the Army should preserve its ability to conduct full spectrum operations!” In 2006 the Danish Army adopted some technical upgrades on its Leopard 2A5s, improving front and side chassis protection as well as belly protection, installing a personal role radio interface to allow direct connection to the infantry, installing wire cutters, and adapting an A-frame for recovery. To improve crew comfort the Barracuda HTR system was adopted; this, together with modifications made to the air conditioning systems tubing, allowed to reduce the core temperature by 5-8 degrees Celsius. The Danish Army developed and produced special deflectors to reduce tank thermal signature as well as heat and dust
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Turkey is one of the few nations that are currently developing a new main battle tank. The Altay is developed by Otokar as prime with the cooperation of numerous other Turkish companies and the consultancy of South Korea. (Otokar)
disturbance caused by the exhaust, thus increasing thermal and visual stealthiness. Improvements were also adopted on the firepower front. Modifications to fire control system increased maximum firing range to 6,000 metres, an extra range that can be used for all ammunition types, except canister ammo. DM14 HEAT rounds have been used in Afghanistan, where tanks were normally supporting operations from the high grounds. Although the general trend calls for upgrades with state-of-the-art subsystems to enhance performances, or the acquisition of second-hand tanks (possibly upgraded), some countries are looking at new vehicles. Amongst these, Poland is considering a family of vehicles based on a Universal Modular Tracked Platform (UMPG). The heavy variant armed with a 120 mm gun with automatic loader and a gross weight of around 35 tonnes is aimed at replacing the T-72. While it also clearly appears that the Israel Army will not field a Merkava 5 since any further development has been stopped, a
programme for a lighter main battle tank dubbed Rakiya was however launched, but future will tell if it survives the announced Israeli defence budget cuts. I THE TURKISH ALTAY
Turkey is one of the few countries where new main battle tanks are being developed. In September 2007 Otokar was selected by the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) of the Turkish Ministry of Defence as the main contractor for the Altay Project Phase I. This phase was to last 78.5 months and was budgeted to the tune of $500 million, including design/development, prototype production and the qualification. The Altay Project Phase I was subdivided into three stages. Stage I covered the conceptual design, which started in January 2009 and ran for about 18 months, covering system requirement analysis and conceptual work. This was followed by Stage II, the detailed design stage that included not only detailed design activities but also the manufacturing of
two prototype test rigs, the Mobility Test Rig (MTR) and the Firepower Test Rig (FTR), which were completed late in 2012. A mockup of the new tank was officially unveiled in May 2011 during the IDEF exhibition in Istanbul. Stage II was successfully completed by May 2013 after running the MTR and the FTR for more than 4,000 kilometres each and several firing tests on FTR. The prototype test rigs have also passed through tough environmental tests under extreme climatic and terrain conditions. The Prototype Development and Qualification Stage – Stage III – started in June 2013. Further testing and optimisation of firing performance activities are currently ongoing on the MTR and the FTR while the manufacturing of the two prototype vehicles (PV1 and PV2) is expected to be completed by mid-2014. These two prototypes will go through System Qualification and Acceptance Tests in the second half of 2014 and during 2015. The Altay is powered by an MTU-Renk powerpack, but over 100 Turkish subcontractors are involved in the project. A major one amongst these is Aselsan which is responsible for the advanced computerised fire control system and battlefield management system. Roketsan provides the armour solution and MKE manufactures the 120 millimetre/L55 smoothbore gun. The Vehicle Control System and Driver’s Integrated Display are developed and manufactured by Otokar itself. According to the prime contractor the subsystem qualification testing for these major items are almost completed. Completion of Phase I is expected to be followed by Phase II that will cover series production. The delivery of a first batch of 250 is expected to start in late-2016 and to be completed in five years. The other main Turkish player in the vehicles arena, FNSS, seems to be involved in the design of a “medium main battle tank” for Indonesia. The company will not comment on the press information released in Indonesia early this year about an agreement at governmental level between Jakarta and Ankara for such development. It is unclear if the agreement has been officially signed, and if the work has already started, the aim of the Indonesian Army being that of deploying a
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tank lighter and more easily deployable than the 103 Leopard 2A4s ordered from Rheinmetall in late 2013 together with logistic support and ammunition. I THE LEO 2
With the main Leopard 2 operators currently reducing their inventory, the KMW tank is definitely the one in the West with the most active second-hand market. Germany, which acquired a total of around 2,350 in the Cold War Era, will in the near future only field four tank battalions, all equipped with the 2A6 configuration, in other words a total of 225 such systems including the Tank School’s. Those tanks feature an all-electric turret and a 120/55 millimetre gun. Protection-wise they are equipped with a new-generation composite armour, but retain the wedgeshaped turret frontal arc of the Leopard 2A5. The Leopard 2A6 also features a 17 kW auxiliary power unit, located in the right side of the hull at the back of the tank. In due time, and funding permitting, the A6s will be replaced by 2A7s: some 20 former Dutch A6s are being transformed into A7s, boasting improved protection against RPGs and roadside bombs, new side-skirts being also fitted. The gun is also modified to accommodate the new DM11 round fitted with a programmable fuse, while firepower is also enhanced with the adoption of a remotely controlled 12.7 millimetre FLW200 installed on the turret. The Leopard 2 has been, is or will be in service in 17 other countries. While, as seen earlier, the Netherlands got rid of theirs, the latest customers are Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which should soon start receiving respectively 200 and 62 A7s, although the Saudi Arabian contract is at risk since the German Parliament has not yet given its seal of approval. Although the company did not clearly spell out its final customer, a recent order announced by Cassidian Optronics GmbH is clearly aimed at the Qatari tanks. Canada, Greece and Spain also field the A6 version, respectively 20 tanks borrowed from Germany and brought to the A6M standard with additional mine protection, 170 A6 HEL licence-produced in Greece, and 219 A6Es manufactured in Spain. Portugal acquired some 37 A6s from the Netherlands in 2007, the latest addition to the A6 users group being Finland, which signed a €199.9 million deal approved on 20 January with deliveries to start in 2015. Sweden fields the Strv 122 variant of the A5 produced under licence. Denmark also fields the A5, with the
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Both Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Defence are proposing versions of the Leopard 2 and upgrade packages on the export market. German Government decisions on export clearances might however have an impact on their businesses. (Armada/Paolo. Valpolini)
modification discussed earlier, Poland acquired 105 former German A5s in late 2013 while Chile might also join the club, with the intention to acquire around 100. Turning to the Leopard A4, users include Austria, Canada, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. Aselsan is proposing an upgrade programme for the Leopard 2, mainly aimed at the 354 Turkish Army tanks, that includes the replacement of all of the electronic, electro-optical, electromechanical and electro-hydraulic systems, the adoption of a next generation fire control system, electrical gun and turret drives and
remote weapon station, increased ballistic protection and improved survivability systems such as laser warning system, battlefield management system, driver’s vision system and fire suppression and extinguishing system. While Austria is considering to soon scrap its A4s in the short term, Indonesia received its first two of 104 in September 2013 (61 should be upgraded to Revolution standard by Rheinmetall, mostly with protection upgrades). Norway is looking at a possible upgrade to A5 standard, while Poland should improve its A4s to Leopard 2PL standard, which should be equivalent to the A7.
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I ABRAMS
Although it is not yet clear how many tanks will eventually remain in the US Army inventory, what is obvious is that the Abrams, deployed in the Cold War Arena in 1983 in its M1 version armed with a 105 millimetre rifled gun, will remain as the mainstay of US Army armoured formations for quite a while. Requests for FY15 include $549 million for Abrams and Bradleys under the Research Development Test & Evaluation chapter, 112.5 million for the M1A2, and 345 million under the Weapons and Tracked Combat Vehicles acquisition chapter, 237 million being for the Abrams. This money will mostly be used for vetronic upgrades such as the Data Distribution Unit and the Viasat Blue Force Tracking 2 (BFT-2) the network and transceivers of which considerably improve situational awareness through faster Position Location Information (PLI) refresh rates and timely C2 communications across the battlefield compared. The RDTE money will also be used to support the Engineering Change Package (ECP-1) currently being developed by General Dynamics Land Systems. The aim of the ECP-1 is to integrate the latest configuration of the Army Digital Network into the tank, new hardware allowing to save weight and space and to reduce power consumption, to implement the new line replaceable module electronic boxes that will considerably simplify maintenance and help managing the system, and finally to install an under armour auxiliary power unit. ECP-1 will undergo the Critical Design Review in May 2014, and then GDLS will start developing prototypes, the scheduling calling for a shift into production in 2017. The Army aims at applying the ECP-1 to all its fleet of M1A2 SEP v2 that will then become M1A2 SEP v3. At AUSA 2013 General Dynamics exhibited a diesel engine version of the Abrams. Indeed the gas turbine propulsion of the Abrams has raised discussions since its unveiling, the main concern being fuel consumption, especially at idle. In 2009 National Defense Authorization Act directed the Department of Defense to establish the office of Operational Energy Plans and Programs, with a view to identifying solutions to reduce energy consumption of military units, from infrastructures to combat vehicles. Using company funds, GDLS looked at the possibility of integrating a modern diesel engine into the Abrams in a four-step effort: a) verifying the possibility
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US Army tank inventory might face further cuts, but the remaining Abrams will be improved. Beside the electronic and optronic upgrades, the future might also see considerable changes in propulsion. (US Army)
of integrating the engine without changing the vehicle’s structure; b) prove the suitability of the 1,500 hp diesel powerpack (the Tognum America/MTU 12V883 adopting the Common Rail technology being the selected diesel engine); c) demonstrating that the system generates the required fuel efficiency; and finally d) testing the system prototype. Currently the first three steps have been completed, the work having been carried out in close cooperation with the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. According to data provided at AUSA, the diesel solution provides considerable fuel saving: what is referred to as the Heavy Combat Vehicle Test Bed would have a day consumption of 784 litres versus the turbine’s 1544 litres on a same mission profile. Simulations have also shown that in terms of acceleration data remain similar. No dieselisation programme is yet planned, the Army being currently carrying out cost-benefit analysis before taking any further decision. While the Army is investing on its Abrams fleet, the US Marine Corps do not plan any
upgrade of its M1A1 fleet in the close future. The Abrams is also used by four foreign countries, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, and Australia, which by all being part of the Abrams User Nations Group allows them to remain abreast with the latest developments of that weapon system. Saudi Arabia is currently receiving its M1AS2, which adds to the M1A1 and M1A2 SEP common components a hull power control box, a commanders display panel, a turret power control box, Panther radios and Sotas intercom. The need to reduce thermal and noise signature as well as fuel consumption when operating from static positions led Kuwait to develop a study for adding an auxiliary power unit to their tanks; this was based on a twocylinder diesel engine producing 2 to 7 kW of 28 V DC electrical power, sufficient to operate the turret and all its sensors. No decision has apparently been made on a general upgrade of the Kuwaiti Abrams fleet. With a total of around 10,000 units in line in six services, the Abrams is the most widely produced western main battle tank, and one that will remain in active service for quite few more years.
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level. Nexter is also supporting Emiraje Systems that upgrades the Leclerc C4I system; however no details of that upgrade are forthcoming. As for France, of the 406 Leclercs originally acquired only 254 are currently employed in four regiments, each with 54 tanks. The 2013 White Paper forecasts a further cut to around 200 tanks, which might be obtained by reducing the number of tanks per regiment (originally each French tank regiment deployed 80 Leclercs in two battalions). I ARIETE
While the Ariete is definitely not an export item, it is however interesting to see how Italy is considering its armoured element. Following the cuts resulting from the end of the Cold War, 200 Arietes were produced, the plan being to equip four tank regiments. One of them has recently been disbanded, therefore the Army is planning to reduce the number of Arietes in service to 150, current regiments fielding 41 each, the remaining tanks being assigned to the Cavalry School and being used as logistic buffer. Although no heavy investment on those tanks is being made due to financial restrictions, at least one upgrade programme is running: Oto Melara recently received a contract for the development of an antimine-roadside bomb kit that would improve protection in high
risk areas. The contract includes a similar package for the Dardo IFV. A maximum weight increase of 2,500 kilograms is accepted. Also included is the development of one prototype for evaluation followed by the upgrade of five tanks to the new standard. An upgrade kit for the Ariete has already been prepared by the industry and includes a new 1,500 horsepower powerpack, wider tracks, all-electric actuators and Centauro 2 optronics, which would bring the Ariete on a par with its modern western counterpart. When will money be available for such a mid-life update remains matter for conjecture. According to Armada sources the Italian Army intends to upgrade 50 Arietes for expeditionary purposes, while 100 would be kept for use on national territory. This being said, it was possible to see seven Arietes on the Oto Melara assembly line at time of writing being fitted with add-on equipment such as a 12.7 millimetre machine gun, cameras providing peripheral vision to the driver and to the commander, and other minor systems; these are being readied for the Tank Biathlon that will be held in Russia in July-August 2014, three tanks being used for training while the remaining four will actually take part in the international competition, providing the tensions generated by the Ukraine situation will not lead to a cancellation of the Italian participation.
I CHALLENGER
In Britain, the Challenger 1 was first deployed in Fall 1984 during exercise “Lionheart” and in Challenge 2 guise will remain the backbone of the Royal Armoured Corps for quite a while. The Ministry of Defence has decided to invest on new engines and communication equipment for Challenger 2s. The British Army tank component will be reduced to three regiments, each one fielding 56 Challenger 2s, although a few more tanks will probably be kept in service to meet the needs of the Armoured School and used as spares as no tank factory has survived in Britain. I LECLERC
As for the Leclerc, there is nothing much to write home about. The United Arab Emirates have received their 13 tanks equipped with the Azur urban warfare kit, consisting of 17 “boxes” per side to protect the tank from RPGs and other hollow charges threats, and a slat armour that protects the rear half of the hull, the rear and back of the turret. An undisclosed number of other tanks was outfitted to receive the same add-on armour kit, which can be installed in half-day at unit
This rear view of an Emirati Leclerc clearly shows the add-on armour and the slat-armour fitted to the tank. Of the 400 Leclercs acquired by France, only 200 will remain in service in the new Army structure. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
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The British Royal Armoured Corps will retain less than 200 Challenger 2s in service in three regiments; a few more might be retained for cannibalisation purposes. (British Army)
I THE Ts…
Although not yet seen in public, it is common knowledge that Russia’s Uralvagonzavod’s T99 Universal Combat Platform is in its final stages of development. Known as the Armata, the chassis is to be used for a variety of purposes. In tank form, the new 125 millimetre smoothbore gun will fire all existing ammunition as well as laser guided missiles, and will be installed in a remotely controlled turret with an automatic loading system, the three-man crew being hosted within the chassis. No indication is given regarding combat weight and protection. It is unclear if the new tanks will be fitted with an active protection system, such as the Arena-E. The engine output should be in the 1,400 to1,600 horsepower range, firepower being completed by two coaxial weapon that should be an AGS-57 automatic grenade launcher and a 12.7 millimetre machine gun. According to available information the first prototypes should be tested in 2014, with the initial production launched in 2015, first deliveries being expected for the following years; a total of 2,300 such tanks should be produced by 2020. In the meantime Uralvagonzavod continues to market its T-72 Modernised, T90 and T-90S. The latter is proposed with a series of enhancements amongst which the remote-control heavy machine gun, a 7 kW auxiliary power unit on the left rear side, an uprated main engine, modular passive/active protection especially around the ammunition carousel, an automatic screening system linked to laser warning receivers, all-round surveillance and improved fire control system.
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In early February 2014 Ukroboronservice, a Ukrspecexport, delivered a first batch of five Oplot tanks to Thailand, this Asian country having ordered 49 for more than $200 million in 2011. The T-84 Oplot is a derivative of the T-80UD that includes numerous improvements, among which a new turret, new generation Nozh explosive reactive armour and a new diesel engine yielding 1,200 horsepower – 20 per cent more than the original. The tank maintains the 125 millimetre KBA3 smoothbore gun with 40 rounds (with 28 in the automatic loader), but adds a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and a remotely controlled 12.7 millimetre machine gun. It can fire all 125 millimetre rounds as well as the 5,000-metre range Kombat antitank missile. A westernised version of the
Oplot, known as the Yatagan, is also part of the Ukrspetsexport portfolio. Slightly lighter, at 49.5 tonnes versus 51, it is armed with a 120 millimetre smoothbore gun and retains the autoloader, which hosts 22 of the 40 rounds on board. For its tanks the Ukrainian company also proposes its Kontrast multi spectral camouflage cover, Varta electro-optical countermeassure system and Zaslon hard kill active protection system. Ukroboronservice also sold 50 T-64BV-1 Bulat tanks to an undisclosed country, believed to be the Democratic Republic of Congo, which thus becomes the export launch customer for the Bulat, which is already in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. A 45-tonner, it is powered by an 850 hp 5TDFM diesel engine and retains the
Of the 200 tanks produced, some 150 Ariete are being retained in service in the Italian Army and about one third might be upgraded for expeditionary use. An anti-mine/roadside bomb kit is currently under development. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
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While developing the T-99 for the Russian Army Uralvagonzavod is actively marketing the latest versions of its T-tanks, such as this T-90S pictured at Eurosatory in 2012. (Armada/EricH. Biass)
weight of 55 tonnes – marginally heavier than the K1A1, but with a much greater power-toweight ratio of over 27 hp/tonne. A national powerpack might be adopted in future. Hyundai Rotem is also active on the export market, and in Fall 2013 it offered the Black Panther to Peru, the package including the local assembly of 110, and other offsets. I ARJUN
same armament as the Oplot, but the 12.7 millimetre MG is however manually operated. It is fitted with the same fire control system adopted in the Oplot and can be fitted with similar explosive armour. At the top of the scoreboard in terms of numbers built, the T-72 also benefits from the most numerous upgrade kits from numerous countries. Apart from Russia and the other former Warsaw Pact countries that deployed it during the Cold War, upgrade packages are also available from nations such Israel, where Nimda proposes a 1,000 horsepower powerpack based on a Perkins engine and an Allison transmission. Selex ES, for its part can supply a secondgeneration fire control system. Peruvian Army tests of the Uralvagonzavod T-90S are due to start by the time these lines are read and following the end of the SITDEF defence technology exhibition at the army’s headquarters in Lima. The Peruvian army has been trying to replace its ageing T-55 since the late 1990s. The last serious effort sought to procure 80 Norinco Type 90-IIs, but this was abandoned in 2009. Local sources indicated that about 70 out of Peru’s 249 T-55s are still operational. Anyhow, the T-90S is being considered in competition with former Dutch Leopard 2A6 and the new Ukrainian T-84 Oplot. Neighbouring Chile is rumoured to be in the process of acquiring 100 Leopard 2A5s from Germany.
already received an order for 100 Black Panthers, and some 500 more tanks are expected to be produced. While the K1A1 brought a considerable improvement thanks to its 120/44 millimetre smoothbore gun compared to the 105 millimetre gun of the original K1, the K2 marks a further step forward with the adoption of the 120/55 millimetre gun, which increases muzzle speed and range. The new tank also adopts a bustlemounted autoloader that hosts 16 of the 40 rounds available on board. Powered by a 1,500 horsepower MTU 883 the K2 has a combat
Displayed last 26 January in New Delhi during the Indian National Day parade, the Arjun Mk II is the upgraded version of the Arjun developed in the last decade by the Defence Research & Development Organisation. The Mk II is the result of a series 89 improvements required by the Army, 15 of which are being addressed separately as they pertain to the ammunition field. The new tank weighs seven tonnes more than the 60-tonne Arjun Mk I, and the parade images reveal the adoption of ERA on the turret front and sides of a remote-control station armed with a 12.7 millimetre machine gun. The gun barrel life has been considerably improved and the Mk II has also been fitted with new thermal sights and laser warning receivers, believed to be the result of an
I … AND THE Ks
With 1,027 K1s and 484 K1A1s in its inventory, the Republic of Korea Army should get its first new K2, also known as the Black Panther, in 2014. Hyundai Rotem has
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Ukraine succeeded on the export market with its upgraded versions of the latest T-series tanks (here an Oplot). To what extent the current crisis with Russia will impact Ukrspecexport remains to be seen. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
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First seen in public at the National Day Parade in January 2014 the Arjun Mk II is an improved version of the original Arjun, which showed many problems when put into service in the Indian Army. (Indian MoD) The K1A1 in service in the South Korean Army should soon be joined by the K2 Black Panther, which features a longer gun, an autoloader system and other improvements. (US DoD)
Israeli-Indian cooperation, Elbit Systems being the DRDO partner. A noteworthy point is that Elbit announced in late March 2014 the award of a $290 million contract for a tank upgrade programme “by an undisclosed customer in the Asia-Pacific
Region”. The original auxiliary power unit was substituted for an 8.5 kW model. The powerplant remains the same and is based on the MTU 838 KA-501 diesel engine. The final round of trials started in summer 2013, while the last phase should start in May
2014. Armed with a 120 millimetre rifled gun, the Arjun Mk II can also fire the IAI Lahat anti-tank missile, although some problems encountered in the first trials might delay final testing. According to defence ministry speech before the Parliament in 2011, India intends to order 250 Arjun Mk IIs.
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Geospatial Information - II
Mapping the Land & Joint Battlespace Making use of digital geospatial information to prepare, infiltrate and dominate the land battlespace is still the privilege of higher echelons of command, able to access and exploit multiple sources of intelligence. But the rise of onboard or personal networked terminals is also offering rich functionalities to insert land forces in complex human and natural terrain. 38
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the higher-level generation of a God’s eye view, and the lower tactical echelon, constrained by limited connectivity and onboard information processing. I COMMON OPERATIONAL PICTURE OR RECOGNISED ENVIRONMENTAL PICTURE
Look closer and you may spot out the Super Puma flying among the trees. This is proof of how army aviation is closely following ground manoeuvre, relying mostly on human skills. New-generation battle management systems will include fine-grain representation of ground features, including vegetation (Airbus helicopters)
The notion of shared “situational awareness” can be simply defined to answer the critical “who’s where” question in military operations. In its ultimate form, it is delivered as a Common Operational Picture (COP); but this multi-layered, geo-located view has hardly become a reality in higher headquarters, challenged by a refined description of the operational environment, defined as the Recognised Environmental Picture. The latter is an ambitious endeavour to describe in digital formats all aspects of the operational environment: geography, hydrography, oceanography and meteorology. It is thus capable of serving all military users (army, navy, air and special operations forces), and can be seen as the foundation of the common operational picture. Building a Recognised Environmental Picture, however, entails leveraging the very best of terrain, water and weather generation tools; and this finding is even more acute in the land environment where natural and human features converge to load topography with surface details. Its components have been found for some time, although in a proprietary format, held by a loose community of topography, oceanography and meteorology specialists. Today, leveraging new and increasingly standardized geospatial products, REP is at hand in a handful of countries, from
where it will logically spread to most defence staffs. Due to the high volume of data, modern IT is seen as a powerful enabler to bring together environmental data: enterprise services, subscribing to distant networked communities, service-oriented architectures and Web 2.0 technologies all combine to allow access to user-defined information services and building of ad hoc information products. This will give rise to new specialties in network-centric operations, such as an REP manager, tasked with pulling geospatial information to serve dedicated demand for such operational services as weather overlays for drone operators, helicopter landing zones for army aviation units, or route computing for logistic planners. In the United States, Britain, France and other Nato countries, Recognised Environmental Picture is slowly being experimented to fuel planning or command and control of network-centric operations. The 2013 edition of CWIX (Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXpertimentation) allowed Nato command staffs to refine requirements expressed in previous editions, and test the robustness and relevance of tailored environmental information products. The French DGA participated with Thales to show the first results of their REP advanced study, a forerunner of the several hundred million euro Geode 4D, aiming at leveraging geospatial information throughout the C4ISR user community by the middle of this decade. This will shape the future of current geospatial information programmes (which are still largely map-driven in key countries. Within Nato, similar requirements will
Wesley Fox
T
he digital battlespace has been enabled by a revolution in geospatial information technologies (see Geospatial information part 1). Increased resolution sensors, automated production tools, and standardised dissemination are shaping the way military operations are planned and led. The particularly complex land environment, obstructed by weather, elevation, vegetation and human activity, is to benefit massively from this augmented digital description. However, this process differs widely between
This Recognised Environmental Picture shown during CWIX displays a situation of Somalia to prepare a joint operation, including special forces insertion, drone and amphibious operations. REP will at last create operational pictures where the sea is no longer flat and the sky no longer empty (NATO).
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A brigade-level graphical operational order, overlaid on highly accurate geospatial data of the Panshir valley in Afghanistan, merges text, ranges, tactical symbols, waypoints and artillery fire missions. This Recognised Ground Picture is ready for dissemination to Army tactical units via combat net radios (French MoD).
database exploitation, and advanced data visualization features. Although in its early phase, human terrain analysis in counterinsurgency operations remains shrouded in controversy about the use of social sciences to “winning hearts and minds”. I ON-BOARD GEOSPATIAL BATTLE MANAGEMENT
leverage core geospatial services deployed in the Organisation’s headquarters since the early 2010s by Siemens Deutschland and Esri. This move will also shape the future of the American Commercial Joint Mapping Tool Kit (CJMTK) delivered earlier by Northrop Grummand Mission Systems and the same Esri. In Britain, the first step of the more recent Picasso GeoINT programme was initiated by the 31.5 million dollar Future Deployable Geospatial Intelligence (FDG) contract won by Lockheed Martin UK in early 2014. FDG is ambitioning to bridge the gap between operational levels by disseminating tailored geospatial information products to tactical users. This capability will replace the Esri-based Dataman, introduced as an urgent operational requirement with the British Joint Aerospatial and Geographical Organisation in 2009, and progressively deployed in Afghanistan. As a member of the 27-nation, NGA-sponsored MGCP group (under the Nextview outsourcing contract for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency), the British Ministry of Defence produces its share of geospatial data; the choice made in 2012 to launch a production run on Lebanon and Syria has certainly met strategic priorities in 2013-2014, and these products will most likely be in high demand for dissemination by FDG means. In Australia, the Joint Programme 2064 (Geospatial Information Infrastructure & Services) fulfils a similar ambition. The current, four-phased JP 2064 provides dissemination of geospatial services
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via a web portal to distant users. Lockheed Martin Australia, granted with a 200M AU$ contract, is currently delivering phase 3, allowing forward digital map dissemination. Beyond static environmental data, the current operational environment has brought the need for accurate information about human activity in places often alien to Western culture: Afghanistan, Iraq, Mali or Somalia. In these highly traditional regions, the notion of human terrain brings value to deployed forces in terms of settlement, allegiances, or centres of local power, all valuable notions for intelligence gathering, psychological operations, or urban control. Although human terrain is usually associated with the intelligence preparation of the battlespace, it is valuable to police and military operations as well, as long as it enables forces in the field to better insert their actions in a complex social and cultural fabric. The US Army embarked on the Human Terrain System program in 2007, initiated by a contract to BAe Systems to recruit and train social science specialists to serve as field scientists and advisors (human terrain teams) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Closer to a psychological operations project than geospatial intelligence, the abovementioned human terrain system programme has produced anthropological data not easily integrated in a common GIS. However, it can leverage non-traditional use of geospatial exploitation, powered by new functionalities such as pattern analysis, cross-
The powerful, layer-based geospatial information management has found a growing demand beyond higher-level command posts, for intelligence preparation of the battlespace or mission planning. The tactical exploitation of this powerful knowledge is far less advanced, though, due to cultural and technological obstacles. On cultural grounds, we must bear in mind that the special skills required for geospatial data exploitation are seldom to be found in deployed command staffs below brigade level, where mission execution leaves few seats for intelligence or geospatial analysts. The digitization of the battlespace thus comes at a slower pace for the mobile soldier, despite his thorough skills for traditional map reading and field navigation. Northrop Grumman mission systems became famous for their use of “blue force tracking” (now a patented Northrop Grumman acronym) only when severe weather in Iraq during the 2003 invasion disrupted visibility (as well as voice communications) so that armoured vehicle crews had to resort to switching on their “screens”, namely ruggedised computers attached to their combat net radios. To their surprise, they displayed tactical symbols on a pan-and-zoom map, showing type and position of friendly units. Since the mid2000s, this capability has been slowly disseminated throughout land forces as Battle Management Systems (BMS). A battlefield management system hosts several operationally useful features on a tactical computer: message handling, editing facility, map management, usually coupled to a data communications interface to the combat net radio. This allows commanders, typically from battalion command posts to
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A modern-day Joint Operations Centre leverages digital geospatial information at all levels, from J6 (communications and information systems, left), to J3 (operations, right), around a multi-window information wall, displaying on-demand layers of the Common Operational Picture. (Barco)
individual vehicles, to prepare, exchange and display tactical orders, shifting from the legacy structured text messages (inherited from standardised voice orders) to map-based graphical situations. From the lengthy, text-based situational awareness of the early 2000s, battlefield management system users have moved on to largely automated dissemination of alerts and operational or fragmentary orders, based on geo-located, standardised tactical symbology known in the American military as MIL-2525 or in Nato parlance as the APP-6. Commanders can thus create, exchange and update tactical layers of unit, manoeuvre or volume types describing their position, course of action, and boundaries. On technical grounds, this process, inherited from the paper maps and tactical drills that bloomed in WWII, hits a number of limitations. The most obvious is the limited bandwidth available to share data over tactical radios; most legacy combat net radios allow either voice or data exchanges, and the most recent ones (such as the Thales PR4G F@stnet or the Harris PRC-117) allow a few tens of kilobytes of voice and data between a limited number of mobile users sharing the same VHF network. This tailors tactical exchanges to friendly force tracking, or alert dissemination, while dissemination of a commander’s intent can take up to a few minutes to display as a graphical map overlay in each vehicle. Another constraint is the limited computational power available on board. Rugged personal computers or multi-function tactical displays are more comfortable with static, low-resolution imagery (satellite pictures or raster maps) than heavy sets of vector data to dynamically pan, zoom, or refresh to match vehicle speed on a map. This set of constraints explains why most tactical geospatial exploitation rely mostly on “dots and arrows on a map”, whereas advanced C4I functionalities remain absent from lower tactical echelons. The fast evolution of CPU and GPU (graphic processors) is easing up these bottlenecks though, and the latest battlefield management systems are now endowed with powerful map
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Geospatial Information - II
This map of heroin production in Afghanistan is an example of how human terrain data can merge with operational missions to prepare tailored actions (NATO ISAF)
management functionalities featuring computation of line-of-sight, waypoints, weapon and sensor footprints; the resulting shared situational awareness is transforming Army manoeuvre in the digital age. Thales Communications, concentrating most of the European integrator’s C4ISR expertise (from tactical radio to command & control information systems and cyber security), has been prompt to leverage commercial and Nato state-of-the-art capabilities. Its Comm@nder family of integrated C4I systems has been featuring exploitation of rich geospatial information on tactical computers since 2007. In 2010, Comm@nder Battlegroup brought a new dimension to battle management, by integrating information from vehicle electronics (vetronics) and specific mission systems according to vehicle type (reconnaissance, infantry combat, direct or indirect fire support, etc.) into the battlefield management system. This allows integrating tactical data and video information with geospatial analysis in three dimensions,
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displaying accurate navigation, vehicle status, and sensor and weapon footprint down to each combat vehicle. This solution has been selected by Malaysia for their new generation of 8x8 combat vehicles produced by FNSS in twelve variants, all able to operate in networked battlegroups. A steady improvement curve is also reflected by the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems series of FBCB2 battle management systems. Fielded in the early 2000s as a “Blue Force Tracker”, the Joint Capability Release version of FBCB2 common to the US Army and Marine Corps can handle imagery, video and cartography to display graphical situations and exchange tight data sets in Variable Massage Format (the data link-like standard compatible with US combat net radios). Although less integrated to vehicle subsystems than the Thales Comm@nder, the FBCB2 rests on a proven, massive installed base; as a key information superiority enabler, though, it is not exported much (Australia is known to be a Foreign Military Sales beneficiary), even if the
Samsung-Thales KBMS entering service in Korea looks very similar in capability. Elbit follows a similar path, with tactical terminals displaying simple map-based tactical situations with little vehicle subsystem information (outside gun laying and target acquisition for main battle tanks) in their WIN BMS family. The French SIT (Système d’Information Terminal) installed by Nexter in combat platforms, or the Sagem SITel fitted in armoured personnel carriers and light vehicles are contemporary solutions with similar functionalities, using mostly raster map as background. The ambitious French networked integrated battle-group programme, Scorpion, has shifted the requirement for battle management to a higher ground with the Système d’Information de Combat Scorpion. Breaking with the terminal level of command & control messages and situational awareness, SICS is designed as an army equivalent to a naval combat management system; it features advanced target allocation and firing solutions computation functionalities, although its level of geospatial information management remains inherited from the legacy of map displays rather than leveraging
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true geospatial information power. Scheduled to equip the new generation of digitised combat vehicles around 2016, SICS is being developed by Bull, a French software house. It will have to closely match the new generation of software-defined radios developed by Thales under the multi-billion euros Contact programme running parallel to Scorpion. At the other end of the spectrum lie commercial-based software products designed to leverage the best of current enterprise GIS technologies. Systematic SitAware family is proposed by the Danish software house in a BMS configuration, leveraging Esri’s Arc GIS geospatial exploitation software over a Microsoft suite in a rugged commercial laptop. Although handy for deployed tactical command posts, this solution rapidly encounters the technical bottlenecks of tactical radios and vehicle integration though, especially with Systematic’s use of automated database replication mechanisms, ill-adapted to combat radio networks. This is why SitAware has been slower to satisfy truly tactical needs for mobile combat-oriented forces, beyond its Slovenian, Irish and Romanian references.
A BMS embedded in a reconnaissance vehicle displays both imagery and geospatial data, with decision aids to identify an observed vehicle or attach it to the right symbology. This local situational awareness saves the bandwidth of constrained tactical radios by sending only georeferenced tactical objects (Thales)
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Geospatial Information - II
I GEOSPATIALLY-ENABLED SOLDIER
Soldier modernisation programmes augment human eyes with day and night surveillance and target acquisition optronics. Local situational awareness in soldier C4I calls for basic but critical information: where
is my vehicle, my team leader, or my fellow riflemen? Putting this information on a map takes a light, ruggedised form of personal digital assistant in many soldier modernisation programmes, with the drawback of having to look down at a small
screen in a firefight. This is probably why soldier C4I comes either as a dismounted kind of BMS or an “enriched” kind of digital compass. It can combine both, like in the Norwegian Normans programme or the British Fist. It can also leave map-based situations for the platoon leader, like in the Sagem Félin in France. But a new approach to tactical terrain reading can come also from innovative start-ups, like the Ground Guidance software from Primordial, a Minnesotabased small business created in 2002 by an MIT graduate. Ground guidance uses
A Joint Command & Control System in a Middle East country is showing tactical symbology over satellite imagery. The latest solutions use web map services to build mission-oriented georeferenced layers of tactical information (Airbus Defence & Space)
The Ground Guidance software was included in the early phases of the Land Warrior programme to provide an intuitive route planning tool displaying terrain costs in terms of concealment, distances, and physical costs (Primordial)
The French Scorpion field experimentations of 2008-2012 explored advanced use of geospatial information. This capability demonstration tool was deployed alongside battlegroup commanders to assess radio connectivity for both mission planning and execution (Thales)
standard map-data to compute various operational features: fastest route, but also least exposed or least slope for vehicles or foot soldiers in open or urban terrain; intervisibility, with an optical vegetation penetration model; alternate or randomised routing in urban terrain. Able to analyse terrain from the pixels of a raster map to digital elevation models and vector data, ground guidance also comes with its own GPU-based route computing algorithm which is 22 times faster than its CPU equivalent. Used for both mission planning or mission execution by small army units and special forces, ground guidance software development kit is deployed in Falcon view or XPlan, and has been included by Lockheed Martin in the eyepiece of its Ground Soldier Ensemble. Such innovative geospatial information solutions are still few and far between, but they are called to spread, offering missiontailored functionalities which can leverage digitial geodata at a level similar to that of geoINT systems deployed in higher command posts.
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Nexter, creating new references in defence
TITUS® is the last armoured vehicle designed by Nexter in order to meet all the constraints of the modern hybrid warfare. Continuing the famous long lineage, including Leclerc MBT, VBCI and Aravis®, all combat proven in many theaters, Nexter combined the best of its experience and technology to offer to the tactical commander a full range of possibilities with the multi role armoured vehicle of the XXIst century. From APC to combat utility variants, from Peace Keeping Operation to Counter Insurgency, TITUS® brings the technology and the Nexter touch into the heart of the action.
www.nexter-group.fr
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Satcom
Satcoms on the Move While Satcom-On-The-Move, also known as Sotm, is available for hand-held devices globally, at all latitudes, from the 66-satellite commercial Iridium network, it is limited to low data rates of between 2.4 and 10 kbps. Broadband satcom requires higher frequencies as found in the UHF band (300 MHz to 3 GHz), the X band (8 to 12 GHz), the Ku band (12 to 18 GHz) and the Ka band (26.5 to 40 GHz). It also requires high-gain antennae, which have narrow beams, that must be accurately pointed at the satellite at all times, a major engineering challenge for vehicle-mounted systems that must maintain connectivity on the move over rough ground.
Providing reliable satcom on the move capability to special forces and other units who rely on small boats for littoral and riverine operations is very challenging because of the extreme pitch, roll and heave motions to which they are subjected. (US Navy)
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Peter Donaldson
S
uch systems have been available for a few years now, but early systems are large, heavy and costly systems with prominent antenna domes that make satcom-equipped vehicles obvious targets and limit their access to parking structures in urban areas. Also, military satcom bandwidth is in high demand and short supply, so a new satellite constellation along with innovations in mobile ground equipment from low profile antennae to the porting of satcom waveforms into fielded software defined radios are generating excitement. “Based on lessons learned and after action reviews, the number one documented communications shortfall for the mobile warfighter is beyond line of sight communications on the move,” Captain Paul Ghyzel, US Navy, said in his 9 September 2013 overview of the Department of Defense’s newest narrowband UHF satellite communication system known as the Mobile User Objective System (Muos). Capt Ghyzel heads PMW 146, the Navy’s communications satellite programme office.
The US Navy’s Muos 2 satellite is encapsulated in a five-metre diameter payload fairing before being mated with an Atlas V rocket. Muos is a next-generation tactical satcom system designed to boost communications for American and allied forces on the move. (US Navy)
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Satcom
conference calls with more than five participants. Data rates of up to 64 kbps have been demonstrated. This is the latest in a series of tests in which General Dynamics has connected its manpack and handheld radios to the Muos constellation. In August 2013, the company connected an AN/PRC-154 Rifleman radio to a Muos spacecraft via an AN/PRC-155. This followed secure radio-to-radio voice and data tests through Muos in April, building on the first demonstration of such communications in February 2012, which made use of a satellite simulator and an AN/PRC-155 loaded with the Muos waveform. I FALCON III TO MUOS
GD C4 Systems’ AN/PRC-155 manpack radio, which can accommodate the Muos satcom waveform. Lab tests in August of 2013 demonstrated that it can connect an AN/PRC-154 Rifleman radio to a Muos spacecraft. (GD C4 Systems)
As the Mobile User Objective System demonstrates growing capability, development of mobile terminals for broad spectrum of users of this next-generation narrowband satcom system is gathering pace. On 22 January, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command issued a request for information from industry on Muos-capable terminals in preparation for an Over-TheAir (OTA) communications demonstration and a concurrent set of terminal tests as early as the end of March. This will no doubt whet the appetites of companies such as Harris and General Dynamics C4 Systems who have recently demonstrated Muos capability in key mobile radios. I GD MANPACK TO MUOS
On 15 November 2013, GD C4S announced that a pair of its AN/PRC-155 manpack radios successfully made voice and data calls via Muos satellites in equatorial orbits, the software-defined radios having been loaded with the Muos waveform. From Arctic – and Antarctic – latitudes, connecting with satellites in geostationary equatorial orbit is a challenge because they are very close to the horizon. As the Earth flattens near the poles – its shape is an oblate spheroid – satellites in that orbit are invisible from some areas on the surface. “Exposed to sub-freezing temperatures and blistering Arctic winds, the PRC-155 Manpack radio is the first and only military radio to deliver secure voice and data connectivity with the Muos system from the
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highest latitudes on the planet,” said Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics C4 Systems. This demonstration, which took place in mid-October, covered several of what General Dynamics describes as realistic operational scenarios from fixed sites around Anchorage and Barrow in Alaska and aboard aircraft flying throughout the Arctic Circle. The two-channel AN/PRC155, says the company, completed multiple one-to-one voice and data calls in addition to
The AN/PRC-155 has also shown the ability to connect to Muos in the high Arctic, both from sites on the ground and aboard aircraft. Demonstrations in October completed multiple one-to-one voice and data calls and conference calls with more than five participants. (GD C4 Systems)
Shortly afterwards, Harris announced successful connection of its AN/PRC-117G Falcon III multi-band manpack radio to the Muos constellation on 02 December 2013. Again, these tests took place above the Arctic Circle, a region under served by the current military UHF system, this time with a Falcon III radio aboard a cargo aircraft flying from Alaska toward the North Pole and back. According to Harris’ figures, there are more than 30,000 deployed AN/PRC-117G radios ready to accept the Muos waveform software as an upgrade. I ALICO PHASED ARRAY TERMINAL
While phased array antennae are familiar in radar applications, they remain relative rarities in the world of communications. However, Alico Systems has incorporated
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this technology into its Broadband Distributed Aperture Sotm terminal, details of which the company released in June of last year. Illustrations of this X-band system depict four small rectangular flat-plate antennae mounted around the top of the hull in the case of the M1 Abrams and the M2 Bradley and around the roof hatch of a Navistar MaxxPro vehicle. This is a particularly discreet design for a broadband satcom antenna array, adding nothing to the vehicle’s visual profile and, says the company, avoids any signal blocking that might be caused by gun turrets or cargo on top of the vehicle or might occur on particular headings with more conventional systems. This implies, as Alico claims, full hemispherical coverage from zero degree on the horizon to 90 degrees at the zenith and zero degree to 360 degrees continuous in azimuth. With electronic beam steering, the system operates autonomously, pointing the beam and tracking the satellite at 100Hz, meaning that the system updates its calculation of the satellite’s relative position 100 times every second. Distributed phased array antennae also eliminate “key hole” and “gimbal lock”
Alico Systems has introduced phased array technology with its new Broadband Distributed Aperture system. The four low-profile antennae are designed to provide full hemispherical coverage and autonomous pointing via electronic beam steering. (Alico Systems)
problems. The first is an issue with stabilised electromechanical antenna systems that have less than 90 degrees of elevation range, which leaves an area of the sky around the zenith potentially uncovered by the antenna’s beam; the second is an issue in which systems with more than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees of elevation coverage have trouble with smooth tracking of a satellite past the zenith when the gimbal reaches its elevation limit and the azimuth gimbal has to rotate through 180 degrees to continue tracking. Broader beams can mitigate this issue, but high gain antennae have narrow beams, forcing a trade-off. With
some overlap between the regions covered by the phased array antennae, hand off between them is easily managed electronically. Designed to handle voice, data and streaming video on the move, the full duplex system can work with a range of spacecraft constellations including the American Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) and XTAR, SpainSat and the British Skynet system. Consuming 700 W at either 115 V AC or 28 V DC, the system weighs 150 lb (68 kg). Consuming 700 watts at either 115 volts AC or 28 volts DC, the system weighs 150 pounds (68 kilograms).
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Satcom
Using innovative passive waveguide planar panel technology, Elbit’s new Elsat 2000E terminal measures 50 centimetres in diameter, weighs 15 kilograms and offers 30 Mbps downlink and 5 Mbps uplink speeds along with a triple tracking mechanism for robust connectivity on the move. (Elbit Systems) I ELBIT ELSAT 2000E
Building on its MSR-2000 family, Elbit Systems launched its next-generation antenna at London’s DSEI exhibition in September of 2013. Offering full coverage of the Ku band, the Elsat 2000E uses new passive waveguide planar panel technology that the company describes as a significant improvement in performance terms over the printed circuit multi-element panel technology employed in the Elsat 2000 that the new 2000E model supersedes. Measuring 50 centimetres in diameter and weighing 15 kilograms, the Elsat 2000E delivers more than twice the performance and efficiency of its predecessor from the same form factor. Elbit quotes 30 Mbps downlink and 5 Mbps uplink speeds. A key feature that the company emphasises is the advanced triple tracking mechanism with a 100 degree elevation capability that improves both tracking and relocking performance on the move. The company claims a G/T ratio of seven dB/K, which is basically a measure of the signal to noise ratio that the antenna can achieve – the higher the ratio, the better it is at pulling weak signals out of background noise. Like the larger Elsat 2100, whose technology it shares, the 2000E is integrated with Elbit’s InterSky 4M military tactical satcom platform that provides “seamless” broadband connectivity in line of sight, beyond line of sight (blos) and over the horizon modes.
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The system combines its flat-panel array with mechanical scanning to maximise its angular coverage, an Elbit spokesman told Armada. “You get 360° coverage and elevation from zero degree to 100 degrees, which is very different from other systems. Usually you have either a complete dish, which has better gain but a very high profile, which makes it very easy to detect.” I IBETOR X-BAND TERMINAL
A low profile for reasons of discretion is a key feature of the new X-band Ib-Sotm 100X
terminal, which Spanish company Ibetor launched on 28 February at the Satellite 2014 exhibition in Washington DC. Just 20 centimetres high, the antenna system is designed to ensure both aerodynamic efficiency and discretion while offering efficient and reliable connectivity over what the company describes as the most challenging terrain. Designed for installation on ships and aircraft as well as ground vehicles, the Ib-Sotm 100X incorporates an Ibetor-designed Antenna Control Unit (ACU) containing an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), dual GPS receivers working at one kHz, tri-axial gyros, accelerometers and magnetometers. This combination contributes to a claimed pointing accuracy of better than 0.3 degrees, acquisition of the satellite with the vehicle in motion and “instantaneous” reacquisition, thanks in part to the software routine that keeps the mechanically scanned antenna pointed in the satellite’s direction even if the signal is blocked. Key parameters include a claimed 500 MHz of instantaneous frequency available, a G/T ratio of 7.5 dB/K, and an uplink data rate of up to 8 Mbps in the centre of the beam. Depending on configuration, the Ib-Sotm 100X weighs from 75 to 80 kilgrams. The system is already in service with the Spanish military, says Ibetor. I INDRA’S ALTERNATIVE
Spanish rival Indra’s Sotm solution operates in the X and Ku bands and offers a low-profile antenna as an option and features integrated inertial navigation. The system provides satcom services for patrols through IP radios
Gilat Satellite Networks’ low-profile RaySat StealthRay 300X-M is 55.6 centimetres long by 49 centimetres wide by 25 centimetres high and weighs 15 kilograms. While the internally mounted antenna control unit adds another 4.5 kilograms, it can be used with an integral MLT-1000 modem instead. (Gilat)
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and backbone capacity for brigade and battalion level formations. Indra also emphasises that it has been designed to fit any kind of vehicle and even small ships. Further options include an extended Ku band frequency range from 13.75 to 14.5 GHz, encryption, an uninterruptible power supply providing 20 minutes of run time and an on board generator capable of powering it for more than 10 hours.
Communicating over both military and commercial satellites, Exelis’ Gnomad is centred on a low-profile antenna that offers data rates of up to 2 Mbps. (Exelis)
I GILAT SR300X-M
Hot on the heels of the Ibetor system comes another low profile terminal with the 11 March launch of Israeli company Gilat Satellite Networks’ RaySat StealthRay 300XM. Designed to work with any X-band satellite, including WGS, on vehicles moving over rough ground, the StealthRay 300X-M incorporates multiple motion sensors that enable accurate tracking, minimal initial acquisition time and “instantaneous” reacquisition, says the company. Designed for easy installation on unmodified vehicles, the system consists of an external antenna that measures 55.6 centimetres long by 49 centimetres wide by 25 centimetres high and weighs 15 kilograms.
The smaller internally mounted Antenna Control Unit (ACU) weighs another 4.5 kilograms. However the SR300X-M can be used with an integral MLT-1000 modem, eliminating the need for the ACU. Gilat quotes a G/T ratio of 2 dB/K for its new baby, and respective transmit and receive gains of 23 and 25 dBi. It receives
from 7.25 to 7.75 GHz and transmits over a frequency range of 7.9 to 8.4 GHz. The SR300 family also includes low profile antennae for Ku- and Ka-band Sotm applications. I DRS X46-V CERTIFICATION
With certification of its X46-V terminal for use on the United States Department of
Brisbane, Australia
22-25 September
LAND FORCES MEANS BUSINESS www.landforces.com.au
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Satcom
Defense’s high capacity satellite networks announced in May of last year, DRS Technologies can provide X-band access to the Global Information Grid (GIG) for more isolated and widely dispersed military units. Issued by the DoD’s Joint Satcom Engineering Center and the Army Strategic Command, the ticket permits X46-V users to connect to the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) system with voice, data and video capabilities at rates of up to 6 Mbps. Besides American forces, those of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand can use the WGS constellation. Additionally, K-y and Kaband operation enables them to use other commercial and military satellite networks for extra flexibility and redundancy. L-3 Linkabit, which provides a range of Sotm terminals, received an updated Alsat Permanent Mobile Earth Station licence to operate its Ku-band terminals on all authorized domestic satellites in the United States and some other commercial spacecraft, the company announced on 27 August. The terminals covered by this licence are the L-3 Datron FSS-4180-LP (0.33 x 0.46 metres) or FSS-4180-LC (0.46 metres circular) small aperture tracking antennae, as well as the Linkabit MPM-1000 Network Centric IP satcom modem. L-3’s terminals are used by the US Army in its Warfighter Information Network - Tactical (WIN-T) and the US Marine Corps in its Network On-The-Move. I GNOMAD ON STRYKER
With the integration of the Global Network On the Move Active Distribution (Gnomad) system into the Stryker armoured vehicle, Exelis has extended a combat-proven system to another key US Army platform, the company reported on 20 March, with the first installation completed during the seventh Army Expeditionary Warfighting Experiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Gnomad, says Exelis, is easy to install and requires no modifications to the vehicle. It consists of the satellite antenna, RF components and a baseband modular chassis that can be installed on a wide variety of vehicles, including Humvees, in the American military inventory as well as commercial vehicles. The low-profile 45 x 35 x 7 inches (114. 3 x 88.9 x 17.78 centimetres) antenna weighs less than 85 pounds (38.55 kilograms) with the baseband chassis adding another 55.8 pounds (25.31 kilograms) and can use both commercial and military satellites. With an open architecture, the Gnomad can operate in conjunction with
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Available in X, Ku and Ka frequency bands, Thales’ solutions offer long-range connectivity to combat net radio systems such as the VHF PR4G network in France’s Venus programme. This vehicle provided blue force tracking reachback in French Phonex II experiment. (Armada/Peter Donaldson)
many line-of-sight radios and satellite modems, providing full-duplex voice, data and video communications over the latter. Coupling to UHF or VHF radios, such as the Sincgars and the embedded GPS receiver, it enables it to inject blue force tracking data directly into the common operating picture. Transmitting over frequencies between 14.0 and 14.5 GHz and receiving between 10.95 and 11.7 GHz or 11.7 and 12.75 GHz, the Gnomad offers respective data rates of up to 512 kbps and 2 Mbps. The G/T figure is at least 8 dB/K at 30 degrees elevation and 23°C. I SWE-DISH ROCK AND ROLL
The combination of a Rockwell Collins SweDish CommuniCase Technology terminal and a four-axis stabilised platform from Saab defines a Sotm terminal intended for tough land and maritime applications ranging from light off-road vehicles and small boats to command post vehicles and medium-sized littoral vessels. In all these applications, high speeds and violent pitch, roll and sway motions make establishing and maintaining satellite connectivity very difficult. Rockwell Collins emphasises that the system can easily handle high sea states at speeds up to 50 knots and uneven terrain at speeds greater than 40 kph, automatically recovering a lost link in less than a second, while enabling broadband
communications at up to 10 Mbps. Rockwell Collins quotes a weight for the complete system of around 308 pounds (140 kilograms). The company claims a G/T of 19 dB/K at 20 degrees elevation and 11.0 GHz. I THALES’ BULLET-PROF OPTION
The French Army first deployed its Sotm systems in Afghanistan in 2010 and has also used the Thales-developed equipment in Mali, principally integrating it into VAB wheeled armoured vehicles. Available in X-, Ku- and Ka-band configurations, it brings continuous voice, data and video capabilities to mobile forces deployed in remote, hostile areas. These Sotm systems provide long-range connectivity to combat net radio systems, principally the VHF PR4G network in the case of the French Army’s Venus programme, although they also integrate easily with V/UHF systems, says the company. An active antenna – Thales was an early adopter of phased array technology – with “unrivalled” tracking performance off road, modern waveforms, resistance to jamming, counterIED transmitters and even a bullet-resistant antenna dome are incorporated to ensure the satellite link is as robust as possible. Satellite on-the-move communications capability is attracting a lot of innovation, and there is clearly more to come.
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V-22 Market
Selling the Osprey Anyone who was involved in marketing Britain’s Harrier knows that the combination of vtol and high speed capability leads to an expensive, hard-to-sell product. Everybody was fascinated by the technology, but only armed services with very special needs bought it. America’s Osprey is another fast vtol aircraft, but it has the advantages of a more substantial domestic market and stronger political support. International sales are beginning to take off.
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Roy Braybrook
T
Somewhere in the Arabian Sea, MV-22B serial 165849, c/n 0035, assigned to VMM-261 ‘Raging Bulls’, receives its final checks prior to take-off from LHD-7, USS Iwo Jima. (US Navy).
he technological challenge of filling the gap between the basic helicopter and a conventional fixed-wing aircraft has led to many different approaches, of which currently the best established is the tilt-rotor. Every helicopter tilts its rotor to generate a forward thrust component and thus accelerate from the hover into forward flight. However, in a conventional helicopter the angle through which the rotor can tilt relative to the airframe is mechanically restricted. What is different in what has become known as the ‘tilt-rotor’ is that the rotor can be inclined through approximately 90 degrees relative to the airframe and thus generate far higher propulsive thrust. A tiltrotor is much faster than a basic helicopter, but not as fast as a turboprop, because its rotor tips (turning at large radius) run into compressibility effects at lower airframe Mach Numbers. The basic tilt-rotor idea is old. In the early 1920s Henry Berliner, in the United States demonstrated a biplane helicopter with two rotors that could tilt through a substantial angle. A 1930 US patent by George Lehberger illustrated a single-engine helicopter with coaxial, contra-rotating rotors and a drive shaft that was articulated just above the fuselage. However, the front fuselage restricted tiltangle, and the concept failed to address the basic necessity to keep the rotor thrust acting through the centre of gravity, regardless of tilt angle. What arguably set the precedent for current American developments was a British patent for the ‘Baynes Heliplane’ in the late 1930s, which had wingtip-mounted tilting power plants and rotors. In practical terms, the father of tilt-rotor aircraft appears to have been the 950kilogram Focke-Achgelis Fa 61 of 1936, which had non-tilting rotors mounted on tubular trusses on either side of the fuselage. It is mainly remembered for 1938 demonstrations by test pilot Hanna Reitsch inside the Deutschlandhalle stadium in Berlin. The Fa 61 led to the 4,315-kilogram Fa 223 assault transport of 1940, the first helicopter to have neared mass production status (Allied bombings ensured this did not happen). The company’s success with a fuselagemounted engine driving ‘outrigger’ rotors led to the Focke-Achgelis Fa 269, a tilt-rotor vtol fighter project, designed to operate
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On December 18, 1958, US Army serial 54-148, the second Bell XV-3, originally designated XH-33-BF, became the first tilt-rotor to complete conversion from vertical take-off to wingborne flight. (Nasa/National Museum of the US Air Force).
from dispersed sites. Strangely, it was given pusher propellers, which for take-off and landing were turned downward. Great as a lawnmower, not so good for an aircraft! This arrangement also necessitated a very long undercarriage that telescoped to allow retraction. A 1941 RLM (Reichluftministerium = State Air Ministry) design study contract led to tunnel tests and the construction of a Fa 269 mock-up, but this was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944. The project was then abandoned, as it appeared unlikely to fly before 1947. The Fw 61 also inspired some rotorcraft developments in the United States, notably the Platt-LePage Aircraft XR-1A, which won a US Army Air Corps competition in 1940 and flew in 1941. Although of limited success, the XR-1A led the company to plan a 24,000 kilogram tilt-rotor project, for which a patent was granted in 1955. One of the engineers who worked for PlattLePage went on to found Transcendental Aircraft, whose 800-kilogram Model 1-G tiltrotor aircraft began hover trials in 1954 under partial US Army/Air Force funding. It explored much of the conversion envelope, but
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never completed a full transition to wingborne flight. The first tilt-rotor project to achieve full transitions between rotor- and wing-borne flight was the 2,220-kilogram Bell XV-3, which (like the Fa 269) had a single fuselagemounted radial engine, but the more practical arrangement of tractor rotors that tilted upward for low speed operation. The first of two prototypes began hover tests in 1955. Between 1959 and 1962 the XV-3 completed 110 transitions. The XV-3 was one of three designs developed and tested under the US Army/Air Force Convertiplane Program, which aimed to achieve major improvements over simple helicopters in hover duration, cruise speed and range. However, the Convertiplane was (optimistically) supposed to retain the low disc loading of a helicopter, in order to produce at the hover the moderate downwash desirable for rescue operations. Although it experienced serious problems during flight trials, the XV-3 paved the way for the twin-turboprop 6,000kilogram Bell Model 301 or XV-15. This was the real precursor of today’s V-22 Osprey, having wingtip-mounted tilting power plants (it may be noted that the competing Boeing-Vertol Model 222 tilt-rotor had
The technology demonstrator that paved the way for the Bell Boeing V-22 was the Bell XV-15, which first flew on May 3, 1977 and set a speed record of 456 km/hr. Illustrated is the second aircraft, registration N703NA. (Nasa-Armstrong).
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fixed wingtip-mounted engines). The first of two XV-15 prototypes began flight trials in 1977 under Nasa funding. The second aircraft continued flying until 2003 in support of the Osprey programme.
This pair of MV-22Bs from VMM-263, an air element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, was pictured flying along the Egyptian coastline during Exercise Bright Star 2009. (US Marine Corps).
I OSPREY
What brought urgency to the development of a high-speed rotary-wing aircraft was the catastrophic failure of America’s Eagle Claw Operation of 1980, aimed at liberating the 52 hostages held by Iranian militants in the United States embassy in Tehran. In 1981 the Pentagon launched the JVX (Joint Vtol Experimental) programme, initially under US Army leadership, although two years later the lead was to switch to the US Navy and Marine Corps. Undoubtedly influenced by the successful flight trials of the Bell XV-15, in 1983 a preliminary design contract was awarded to the Bell Boeing team, and in 1986 full-scale development of the V-22 project was launched. At that stage all four US services had requirements for the JVX, but in 1988 the US Army left the programme. The first of six Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey FSD (full-scale development) aircraft (c/n 90001-6, BuAer 163911-6) began hover trials in March 1989. This batch was followed by four EMD (engineering manufacturing development) aircraft (c/n 90007-10, BuAer 164939-42). Nine years of low-rate initial production in FY97-05 followed. The first four runs (Lrip-I to –IV) totalled 29 MV-22 Block A aircraft (c/n 90011 to 90039), which were
used by the Marine Corps only for training. The third aircraft from Lrip-III (c/n 90025, BuAer 165839), which had been delivered to the Marine Corps in 2001, was later converted to become the first CV-22B (serial 99-0021), which included substituting different radios and adding a terrain-following radar. In September 2005 FRP (full-rate production) was approved. Two years of FRP in FY06 and 07 (Lots 10 and 11) were followed by the first Multi-Year Program (MYP), covering 174 aircraft in FY08-12 (Lots 12-16). This has led to MYP-II,
covering 99 aircraft in FY13-17 (Lots 1721). The Program of Record calls for 360 MV-22Bs for the US Marine Corps, 50 CV22Bs for the US Air Force, and 48 MV-22Bs for the US Navy, although the Navy buy is currently unfunded. The MV-22B achieved initial operational capability in June 2007 with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-263 ‘Thunder Chickens’ replacing the Boeing Vertol CH-46E. In late 2007 the unit deployed from its base at MCAS New River, North Carolina, to Iraq with ten Ospreys aboard the LHD-1, USS Wasp.
An MV-22B of VMM-263 taxies to the parking area after landing at Al Asad Air Base in the west of Iraq on September 4, 2007. This was the first of ten Ospreys that ferried from LHD-1, USS Wasp, operating in the Persian Gulf. (US Marine Corps).
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Some MV-22Bs wear the dark green paint scheme of Marine Helicopter Squadron One, HMX-1 ‘Nighthawks’, tail code MX. The unit is based at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, Virginia, and is tasked with VIP transport and operational test and evaluation duties. (US Marine Corps).
The CV-22B entered service with Afsoc’s 8th SOS (Special Operations Squadron) ‘Blackbirds’ at Hurlburt Field, Florida in 2006, and attained initial operational capability in March 2009. The 8th was deployed to Iraq in 2009 and to Afghanistan in 2010. The CV-22B augments the Lockheed Martin MC-130 series, infiltrating, exfiltrating and resupplying special forces. I DESCRIPTION
The V-22 has a maximum vertical take-off weight of 23,859 kilograms, although in operational short take-off it can gross 25,855 kilograms, while maximum ferry take-off weight is 27,443 kilograms. It has a rotor diameter of 11.6 metres, giving a vto disc loading of 113 kilograms/square metre (compared to 73.6 for a Sikorsky MH-53E). Maximum cruise speed is 493 km/hr, making it almost twice as fast as a helicopter. It has a service ceiling of 24,000 feet, but is not pressurised, hence when transporting personnel it cruises at 8,000-13,000 feet. Under sea level standard conditions it can deliver 24 troops to a radius of 780 kilometres, or 1,280 kilometres with one aerial refuelling. It can carry 9,000 kilograms
of cargo internally, or a combined total of 5,670 kilograms as two sling loads. It is equipped for in-flight refuelling and is designed to ferry 3,400 kilometres with one aerial refuelling. It is the only rotary-wing aircraft capable of self-deploying quickly anywhere in the world. Its rotors fold and its wings rotate to facilitate stowage in an aircraft carrier or hangar. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, all subsystems, the digital avionics and fly-bywire controls. Bell is responsible for the wing, tail surfaces, transmissions, rotor systems and engine installation. Bell also carries out final assembly at its facility at Amarillo, Texas. Rolls-Royce provides the 4,586-kW AE1107C turboshaft engines. Standard fuel capacity is 6,513 litres in the case of the MV22B, and 7,667 litres for the CV-22B. The V-22 is currently in service with 14 US Marine Corps and four Air Force squadrons. It suffered some accidents initially, but after various modifications and improved pilot training in the last ten years it has had one of the lowest Class-A mishap rates of any tactical rotorcraft in Marine Corps service. The V-22 was designed to satisfy the amphibious/vertical assault needs of the US
Marine Corps, the long-range special operations needs of the US Air Force, and the strike rescue, special warfare and fleet logistic support needs of the US Navy. However, there have been concerns over the suitability of the V-22 for the rescue mission (due to its strong downwash at the hover), and the Navy appears to be assessing it primarily as a replacement for the 24,600kilogram Northrop Grumman C-2A Greyhound COD (carrier onboard delivery) aircraft, of which the service has around 35. I RESCUE
Although criticised for its unpressurised cabin, which would mean flying through (rather than over) bad weather, the V-22 would provide far greater operational flexibility than the C-2A. It would be able to supplement US Marine Corps MV-22Bs in the assault role and Navy’s Sikorsky MH-60S in the combat search-and-rescue role. In its basic mission, the US Navy Osprey would be able to deliver cargo to smaller ships, and would provide longer range and faster resupply than current VOD (vertical onboard delivery) helicopters. It could also operate by day and night, which the C-2A cannot.
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The sun sets at St John’s, Nova Scotia, behind a US Air Force CV-22B, one of four 8th SOS Ospreys deploying 9,800 kilometres from Hurlburt Field, Florida to Mali in Africa for Exercise Flintlock in 2008. (US Air Force Special Operations Command)
The versatility of the V-22 may be further enhanced by the development of a rollon/roll-off aerial refuelling kit, which interests the US Marine Corps as providing a tanker for the Lockheed Martin F-35B. A preliminary series of flight tests funded by the Bell/Boeing team was carried out in August 2013, using a high-speed hose-anddrogue system on an MV-22B of Marine Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron VMX-22 ‘Argonauts’, based at MCAS New River, North Carolina. The MV-22B would probably be the better choice for a C-2A replacement in the long term. However, in the present costcutting environment the Navy may be forced simply to have its C-2As refurbished and upgraded, and delay their replacement.
“In the case of casualties, it is vitally important to commence treatment in the ‘golden hour’ after injury, and the V-22 makes this far more feasible.” I EXPORTS
Considering that the MV-22B has been in service for seven years, international sales have clearly been difficult to achieve. Aside from a series of accidents in the 1990s (four hull losses and 30 fatalities), foreign interest has been deterred by the relatively high cost of the aircraft. In March 2014 a single CV-22B was
ordered for the US Air Force at a cost of $ 76.1 million. The FY15 budget request asks for 19 MV-22Bs at a unit cost (without spares) of $ 80.7 million, almost as much as a $ 88.9 million Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules. Doubts over the suitability of the V-22 for the Csar (combat search-and rescue) role were partly allayed by the March 2011 rescue of a US Air Force F-15E pilot from Libya by an MV-22B from LHD-3, USS Kearsarge, operating at a radius of 245 kilometres. In striking at Gaddafi’s forces from ships off the coast and tanker orbits over the Mediterranean, coverage was limited by the reach of Csar assets, beyond which cruise missiles were used. The availability of MV22Bs was therefore crucial to the success of Coalition air operations. In addition,
Proximity trials to assess the Osprey’s tanker potential employed MV-22B BuAer 165942, c/n 0043, registration N204TR from Marine Tiltrotor Test & Evaluation Squadron VMX-22 ‘Argonauts’, based at Mcas New River, North Carolina. The VW tail-code of the F/A-18 indicates VMFA-314 ‘Black Knights’ from Mcas Miramar (Bell Boeing)
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downed aircrew knew that help was coming twice as fast as with traditional helicopters. In the case of casualties, it is vitally important to commence treatment in the ‘golden hour’ after injury, and the V-22 makes this far more feasible. The MV-22B is exposed to enemy fire for a shorter time period than a helicopter, and can fly above small arms fire. Its faster cruise also means that it can be escorted by fixed-wing combat aircraft, such as the Boeing F/A-18, rather than an attack helicopter. The MV-22B has proved its usefulness in several humanitarian relief operations. For example, in January 2010 MV-22Bs from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Wing took part in Operation Unified Response, after a major earthquake struck Haiti. Likewise, after Typhoon Megi/Juan hit the Philippines in October 2010, MV-22Bs from VMM-262 ‘Flying Tigers’ assigned to the 1st Marine Air Wing delivered humanitarian aid and transported evacuees to Clark Air Base. The same squadron, as part of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, was again involved in relief Operation Damayan, after Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda struck the Philippines in November 2013.
Military use of the V-22 gave credibility to the commercial AgustaWestland AW609 project, until 2011 the Bell/Agusta Aerospace BA609. The first prototype, US registration N609TR, had its maiden flight on March 6, 2003. (AgustaWestland).
Israel has reportedly been interested since 2011 in acquiring V-22s for the Csar role and the insertion and recovery of special forces. In January 2014 America’s DSCA (Defense Security Cooperation Agency) notified Congress of a possible FMS (Foreign Military Sale) to Israel of six V22B Block C aircraft in a package worth around $ 1.13 billion (a remarkable $ 188 million per aircraft). Included in the deal were 16 engines, plus “aircraft ferry services” and tanker support. Israel’s urgent need for these aircraft is evidently such that they will be taken from existing American
Department of Defense orders and ferried to Israel, presumably refuelled by US Air Force tankers. The second export order is evidently to be for Japan, which has just launched a five-year (FY14-18) defence build-up programme, addressing concerns that include Chinese activities in the East China Sea. One longrunning problem is that China (among several other territorial disputes with its neighbours) claims sovereignty over what it terms the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls its Senkaku. In addition, China’s new East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone
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Bell’s proposal for the US Army Joint Multi-Role (JMR) technology demonstration programme is the V-280 Valor, shown here in mock-up form. Note that the engines are fixed, partly to maximise field of fire from the cabin. (Bell Helicopter Textron)
overlaps with Japan’s own Air Identification Zone. Japan’s Defence Ministry in its latest National Defence Programme Guidelines has warned that China may “attempt to change the status quo by coercion”. Japan needs the ability quickly to insert forces from the new Gsdf amphibious brigade (which is being trained by the US Marine Corps) to any of the disputed islands, and the best way to do this is the V-22. The new MDTP (Mid-Term Defense Plan) states
that the Asdf will acquire 17 V-22s, with the first order placed in April 2014. The MDTP also states that Japan is considering the purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35Bs to operate from the 27,000tonne DDH-183 Izumo- and 19,000-tonne DDH-181 Hyuga-class helicopter destroyers. Any such extension of the role of these ships would arguably make the purchase of additional V-22s more likely. Following the Great East Japan
Karem Aircraft is promoting the Optimum-Speed Tilt-Rotor (OSTR) concept, illustrated here by the company’s TR75 proposal for the Joint Heavy Lift (JHL) programme. The smaller TR36D is proposed for JMR. (Karem Aircraft).
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Earthquake of 2011, that nation is also very aware of its vulnerability to large-scale disasters. It might therefore be conjectured that additional V-22s will be acquired later in this context. The United Arab Emirates likewise has disputes over islands, in this case with Iran over three in the Persian Gulf, and this may motivate the purchase of V-22s. In addition, there are reports that the United Arab Emirates shares Israel’s interest in the ability (in the event of war) to insert special forces into Iran to strike at mobile ballistic missile launch sites. Other countries interested in acquiring the V-22 are said to include Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The versatility and spectacular performance improvement provided by the V-22 over a conventional helicopter, coupled with its good safety record in recent years, have provided a major boost for exports. They have also significantly enhanced prospects for the commercial 7,620-kilogram (8,164kilogram in sto) tilt-rotor AgustaWestland AW609, which is expected to achieve European and US certification in 2017. In addition, these factors have encouraged use of the tilt-rotor concept in the US Army’s JMR (Joint Multi-Role) technology demonstration programme, the precursor of the FVL-M (Future Vertical Lift – Medium) programme to replace the Boeing AH-64 and Sikorsky UH-60. Tilt-rotors are used in two of the four competing designs: the Bell V-280 Valor and the Karem TR36D.
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Mirage
FAST MISSILE BOATS FROM RUSSIA QUICK AS LIGHTNING (MOLNIYA) DECEPTIVE AS MIRAGE (MIRAZH) DANGEROUS AS SCORPIO (SCORPION)
O
n October 21, 1967, two Egyptian Soviet-built 70-ton Project 183R Komar-class missile boats (hull No. 504 commanded by Lieutenant Commander Shaker Ahmed Abd ElWahed and No. 501 under command of Captain Lutfi Jadallah) sank the Israeli British-built 1710-ton destroyer Eilat in the Mediterranean Sea with four P-15 anti-ship missiles. It was the first-ever successful combat use of high-speed missile boats in the history of naval battles. Since then October 21 has been celebrated as Egyptian Naval Day, while the victory over the more powerful enemy forced to change the attitude to the “mosquito fleet.” There came saw a real boom in the construction and purchase of missile boats around the world. The Soviet Union,
alone, built 112 Project 183R boats in various modifications, 80 units were purchased by a dozen countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. In the 21st century, Russia remains one of the world’s largest shipbuilding nations. Its national shipbuilding industry can design and build warships and auxiliary vessels of all classes, as well as produce all kinds of naval weapons and equipment. The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya handed over recently to the Indian Navy is a dramatic proof of that. There are currently over 150 companies in Russia specialized in designing and building warships, civilian vessels and offshore drilling platforms. Among them are not only shipyards, research institutes, and design offices, but also marine engineering,
instrumentation and electronics plants that employ about 200,000 people. Russian developers are traditionally strong in the systems approach to marine equipment design. With its high level of science, design and shipbuilding technologies, strong production capacity, skilled personnel and extensive experience of foreign trade activities, Russia holds its position as the world’s leading exporter of naval equipment and armaments. These competencies of Russian shipbuilders have long been appreciated by Rosoboronexport’s foreign customers. Over the past half-century since the beginning of Russian naval equipment deliveries, more than two thousand surface combatant ships, submarines, missile and patrol boats, supply vessels and naval weapons have been exported. Last year, the Company’s naval exports slightly exceeded the world average level (16 percent) and amounted to over 17 percent. In currency terms, the figure turned out to be quite impressive – more than two billion dollars.
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Molniya
Russia competes favorably with the world’s major naval equipment and arms exporters. This is largely due to Rosoboronexport’s successful activities. However, the main role in the process is played by the domestic shipbuilding enterprises, most of which are part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), one of the leading manufacturers of hightech ships and vessels in the interests of the international market. Currently, Russia is the largest exporter of combatant and patrol craft. Back in the 1960s-90s, our country delivered abroad approximately twice as many combatant boats as Great Britain, France, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Italy combined. Today, there is growing demand in the world for combatant and patrol boats with a displacement of 20 to 500 tons. The requirement for them is quite high in the Middle East, Southeast Asian, African and Latin American markets. Russian companies have something to offer in this sector to international buyers. Today, the combatant craft is a fast, well-armed, advanced electronictechnical system capable of successfully performing a wide range of missions in wartime and peacetime. Russia pioneered in applying bottom devices to small ships. With lift vector control, the world’s unrivalled Project 14310 Mirazh (Mirage) patrol boat can achieve speeds up to 50 knots, significantly reduce rolling and pitching motions and cut down specific fuel consumption. The Project 12418 Molniya (Lightning) missile boat is designed to
engage enemy surface combatant ships, boats and vessels on the high seas and in coastal waters, both independently and in conjunction with the fleet striking forces. It is equipped with the Uran-E anti-ship missile system capable of penetrating current shipborne air defenses and assuredly engaging any surface target. In terms of firepower, the Molniya is unrivalled among its foreign counterparts. Throughout its history, the boat was repeatedly studied by foreign experts. Designers and military highly praised its combat and speed performance, survivability, and simplicity of design. In its issue of May 26, 1992, New York Times named the Molniya boat of the first modification one of the fastest and deadliest ships of this class in the world. New versions of the Molniya boats significantly outperform their predecessors in fighting capabilities. Among combat missions assigned to
the Molniya are engaging enemy combatant boat and ship detachments, landing detachments and convoys, providing cover for friendly ASW forces, landing detachments and convoys, conducting tactical reconnaissance, and providing surface situation awareness. In peacetime, the boat is used to protect the state border, perform patrolling, ensure safety of navigation, fight piracy and participate in rescue operations. All these capabilities have been appreciated by the sailors of Turkmenistan’s Navy, which recently purchased a batch of such boats. The Project 12150 Mangust (Mongoose) fast planing patrol boat has great export potential. It is capable of achieving speeds up to 50 knots and is designed to intercept virtually all high-speed sea targets. Its armament mix includes a 14.5mm naval pedestal machine gun mount and the Igla-S MANPADS. Project 12150 Mangust
Armada Marketing Promotion
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The Project 12061E Murena aircushion landing craft is unique in its combat and performance characteristics. It is designed to take on forward landing parties’ military equipment and personnel from a hard beach or a beach, large landing ships and transports; provide their sealift and landing on unequipped coast and shallow water. The Murena can also be used to patrol coastal areas, naval base and seaport areas. The Murena landing craft offers improved design features and seaworthiness through the use of corrosion-resistant alloys, extruded
engage enemy surface ships and combatant boats, landing craft and transports, provide fire support to amphibious landing parties, conduct tactical reconnaissance. In peacetime, the Katran can carry out patrol missions as part of the Coast Guard forces. To reduce radar visibility, Katran’s hull and superstructure are made using stealth technology. The main striking weapon of the boat is the Uran-E anti-ship missile system with 3M-24E anti-ship missiles accommodated in eight transport-launch containers. Air defense is provided by an AA missile/gun Murena
sections and panels, and a highperformance power plant. The boat and its armaments remain operable at a wave height of up to 1.5 m and wind speed of up to 12 m/s. Its troop capacity is impressive: 2 infantry fighting vehicles, or 2 armored personnel carriers, or 3 armored vehicles, or 2 amphibious tanks, or 1 medium tank, or 130 marines. Its armament corresponds to the assigned missions: two 30mm AK306 lightweight automatic guns controlled by an optical sighting device (ammunition load: 500 rounds per gun) and eight Igla-S MANPADS sets. The Project 20970 Katran patrol boat is designed to counter enemy surface ships and combatant boats, patrol the maritime area in the open coastal waters of the seas and oceans and in inland waters. It can effectively
system, the 3M-47 Gibka shipborne turret mount with four Igla-S SAMs, and the 30mm AK-306 lightweight automatic gun mount. The PK-10 decoy dispensing system (four KT-216 launchers, 40 rounds) is used for passive jamming. The Katran patrol boat is capable of achieving a maximum speed of about 40 knots and covering up to 2200 miles at maximum fuel capacity. Its endurance is five days. The Project 12300 Scorpion (Scorpio) is even a more powerful missile/gun boat. It is designed to engage enemy surface combatant ships, boats and transports independently and in conjunction with fleet striking forces. Its full displacement is about 460 tons, hull length – 57 m, beam – 10.3 m. With such dimensions, the Scorpion has a top speed of about 40 knots, cruising range
Armada Marketing Promotion
at maximum fuel capacity is about 2,000 miles, and endurance is 10 days. Like on the Katran, modern radar signature reduction technologies are also effectively used here. Upon customer request, the Uran-E anti-ship missile system may be replaced with the Yakhont anti-ship missile system consisting of two launchers (with two missiles each) and 3R50E-12300 shipborne control system. In addition to striking missile weapons, the Katran carries an AA missile/gun system; the 100mm A-190-5P-10E universal gun system (consisting of the A190 gun and the 5P-10E universal fire control radar), as well as the PK-10 decoy dispensing system (two or four KT-216 launchers) for passive jamming. Depending on customer’s requests, economic and technological possibilities, Rosoboronexport offers co-production of high-speed missile boats both at Russian production facilities and at buyers’ shipyards. Licensed boat construction by partner states is also possible. Such a policy has enabled Rosoboronexport to significantly expand its sales geography. Moreover, the Russian special exporter constantly seeks to assist customers in military expenditure optimization by tying in its recommendations for choosing Russian arms with the cost-effectiveness criterion. “Currently, Rosoboronexport is pursuing an active marketing policy, which is based on analysis of the interests and needs of our potential customers throughout the entire life cycle of the supplied weapons, military equipment and machinery, - says Oleg Azizov, Head of the Company’s Navy Equipment Export Department. – We keep on improving the quality of aftersales service, level of training, expanding the export of spare parts, and offering to establish the technical infrastructure, training and retraining centers on the territory of the importing countries. I‘m sure that Russian missile boats will be in demand on all continents for use in the most challenging climatic conditions and combat situations.”
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Full-Cal 120mm Ammo
The effect of a DM11 round against a brick wall. Developed as a tank killer, the 120 millimetre smoothbore gun needed new round types for differing targets. (Rheinmetall)
The Right Bit for the Right Target A
Paolo Valpolini
The development of the 120 millimetre smoothbore gun was the consequence of the advent of the 125 millimetre smoothbore on Soviet tanks. At that time western main battle tanks were mostly equipped with 105 millimetre rifled guns. The German Leopard 2 was the first tank to enter service with the new calibre, soon followed by the M1Abrams. However, when those tanks deployed in the Balkans after the fall of the Iron Curtain they lacked the right ammo, since the chances of a tank versus tank engagement were really poor. Sub-calibre penetrators were not anymore the ammunition of choice. 68
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s a tool, the specialised drilling bit had to become more flexible. Fullbore multipurpose ammunition were thus urgently required. Twenty years later new ammunition are still being developed to fully answer tank crew needs. A good example of a multi-purpose ammunition developed for current scenarios is the Rheinmetall DM11/Rh31. This was actually developed by and is produced by the German company within its Defense Munitions International Joint Venture with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems based in Red Lion, Pennsylvania. The new round is based on the requirements from the German Bundeswehr and the US Marine Corps. Germany was looking for a multi-role round able to defeat different types of target. The first was the anti-tank missile position, covered or non-covered, at a range of 5,000 metres, which required air burst (thus a time fuse) and axial fragments in the form of tungsten balls. The round was
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With its treble-mode fuse the DM11 round, developed by Rheinmetall in Germany and also produced in America by Defense Munitions International, the joint venture between Rheinmetall and GD-OTS. (Rheinmetall)
required to engage dismounted mechanised infantry, which required again time fusing as well as axial fragments, to which radial fragments were to be added, generated by heavy shell fragments. To defeat covered targets in buildings, mission number 3, a thick shell as well as a delay fuse were needed. Point detonation was pivotal for destroying light armoured targets as well as soft targets at long combat ranges. Flexibility was a priority, the round allowing to modify combat mission and change the fuse mode while the ammunition was already chambered. The Marine Corps’ requirements
Kinetic energy and high explosive rounds from Rheinmetall; with the addition of the DM11 the German company provided a true multi-purpose tool to tank crews. (Rheinmetall)
were similar as they intended using the new round to engage dismounted infantry and squad in wedge formation, hence the need for air burst with time fuse and axial and radial fragments. Simulation showed that 27 out of 30 soldiers in wedge formation would be hit by shrapnel using only two rounds. The second focus was against walls, the round being required to breach an eightinch double reinforced concrete wall, perforating and detonating within the wall thanks to a thick shell and a delayed pointdetonating fuse. The third requirement was the destruction
of earth and timber bunkers, something requiring impact fuse as well as high firing accuracy, the round needing to detonate inside the sand bags. The new 120 x 570 millimetre HE ammunition for the Leopard 2 was thus equipped with a programmable fuse, located in the rear of the warhead body, the front ballistic cap hosting over 6,000 tungsten balls and the mid-section 2.17 kilograms of insensitive high-explosive generating nine kilos of steel fragments from the heavy shell. A signal cable runs from the fuse to the back of the round, where the igniter hosts the data link. Programming data
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A concept drawing of the future XM1069 Advanced Multi Purpose munition that should soon join the US Army inventory. (Ardec)
are provided by the fire control computer. An additional control box is added to the loader’s control box to provide status information and a button to select the HE-PD with or without delay. The fuse is programmed via a cable and the contact pin that transfers the data to the igniter data link. Compared to systems using an external solenoid, for example, this solution allows programming data to be changed even with the round in the chamber – as requested by the German Army. A modular round, the DM11 becomes the Rh31 if fitted with a simple point-detonation fuse and a less powerful propulsion module affording a 3.5 kilometre maximum range and a much lower cost per round. This solution, which obviously does not require the wiring and the above-mentioned programming electronic boxes and multipurpose fuse, was adopted by Denmark, which took delivery of 2,500 rounds in 2013. Back to the DM11, beside the US Marine Corps which was the first service to receive 450 rounds as urgent operational requirement for its M1A1s in Afghanistan and the German Army, the round has also been ordered by Greece and Norway (a total of 6,500 rounds). With 44 calibre-long barrels, the muzzle velocity of the DM11 is approximately 970m/s, while in the latter version of the Leopard 2 equipped with an L55 gun it increases to 1,000m/s. [I have not expanded m/s as I am not too sure what it stands for so please check.] The DM11 can be used in any climate, being qualified for zones A1, B3 and C2, and can thus be fired from 46°C to +71°C environments. While delivering its first production DM11s Rheinmetall had embarked on the development of a training round, the TP-T RH88, which is now qualified and which will start being available in early 2015. The RH88 answers all current requirements for range shooting such as low cost, safe handling and temperature firing conditions. Tracers are visible from at least 2,000 metres, propellant is non-polluting and ballistics, it goes without
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Among the new capabilities required by the US Army are long range anti-tank team neutralisation and wall breaching. (Ardec)
saying, are identical to match the original ballistic cards and reduced safety area requirements. Interestingly, it has also been designed with another purpose in mind: a real target does not always require the terminal effect of a combat round; sometimes, including when collateral damages needs to be reduced, a training round can offer an optimal solution even in a real engagement. Rheinmetall engineers are nevertheless still pretty active. The company is indeed already looking into devising more tools for its 120 millimetre smoothbore gun: the main battle tank being the best- protected vehicle in military inventories (even if not always the one with the best mobility in limited spaces), its use in urban operations is no more a taboo, thus new and more appropriate rounds for such scenarios have to be developed. Wall-breaching, high-incendiary effects, reduced muzzle blast (to avoid dust blow that blinds the gunner for long periods), shorter ranges, scalable and programmable effects, these are the performances that the German company is considering for its future urban warfare rounds.
myriad differing targets, including M830 HEAT-MP-T, M830A1 HEAT-MP-T, M908 HE-OR-T and M1028 Canister. The AMP, according to recent briefings, will have three modes of operation: pointdetonate, delay, and airburst. This allows the user to defeat anti-tank missile teams beyond 500 metres and to breach reinforced concrete walls. According to Ardec illustrative material, the round will have a data link in the cartridge base, a multiprogrammable base-detonating fuse located at the rear of the projectile, and a targetpenetrating blast-fragmenting warhead. Known as the XM1069, it will allow reducing the number of types of ammunition on board the tank to two,
I ADVANCED MULTI-PURPOSE
The US Army is aiming at replacing four round types with a single one, known as the Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP). Not only will this simplify logistics, it will also endow the Abrams with new capabilities. Currently the US Army and the Marine Corps use M829A1 and M829A3 APFSDS-T kinetic energy rounds to defeat enemy armour, plus a paraphernalia of rounds to deal with a
The effects required by the US Army against four types of targets, bunkers, light armour, reinforced wall and infantry in the open ground. (Ardec)
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hile the M830 is a true full-calibre hollow-charge round, the M830A1 here photographed by the author is a sabot sub-calibre projectile that retains a shaped-charge warhead, but its higher muzzle velocity (1,400 metres per second versus 1,140) increases its hit probability at all ranges, including against… helicopters. The M908 Obstacle Reduction round, for its part, is a derivative of the type just mentioned, in which the front fuse was replaced with a steel nose to allow the round to penetrate the obstacle before detonating, thus destroying obstacles and barriers such as concrete, rock, dragon’s teeth, etc. According to ATK the new round showed better performances than the 165 millimetre M123A1 HE round used on British Army Centurion AVRE and on US Army M728 engineer tanks. For neutralising enemy on foot at medium range (up to 500 metres), the Abrams is equipped with the M1028 canister round that carries around 9.5 millimetre-diameter tungsten balls, the round opening up soon after leaving the muzzle to generate a cone of over 1,100 balls in front of the tank, as a shotgun would. This is of course the limiting factor in terms of range. While looking for new solutions the M1028 round might well see some improvements; GD-OTS, which developed the round with American Government support, was required to improve the ammunition performances in very high temperatures, a feedback from the Afghan conflict. The company worked on a hybrid propellant solution, the round being now usable in temperatures up to 71°C. GD-OTS now hopes to receive a contract within 2014, both for new rounds and for the conversion of existing M1028 to the new standard.
W
Other divisions: rf/microwave instrumentation • receiver systems • ar europe The Battle Tested logo is Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM. Off. # 3,821,099. Copyright© 2014 AR. The orange stripe on AR products is Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM. Off.
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Developed by GD-OTS and Nammo the 120 millimetre IM HE-T features a manual dualmode fuse that provides good flexibility at a relatively low cost. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
The GD-OTS version of the M1028 canister round (left) contains over 1,100 tungsten balls, the round opening up as soon as it exits the barrel. Known as the M242 Multi-Purpose High Explosive round in US Marine Corps parlance (right), this round is normally called the Multi Purpose Munition and is the American version of the German DM11. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
namely the AMP and the M829E4 Advanced Kinetic Energy round. Apart from lightening the logistic footprint it solves the crew’s “battle-carry dilemma”. Mentioned earlier in this article, the Defense Munitions International joint venture is proposing its DM11 derivative currently in service with the US Marine Corps as the M242 Multi-Purpose High
Explosive round. A further evolution of the current design is currently under development to better cope with Army requirements. The other main contender, ATK, is carrying out internal research and development until Congress clears a budget for the XM1069 the engineering and manufacturing-development phase. With Nammo, GD-OTS proposes its 120
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millimetre Insensitive Munition High Explosive round (IM HE-T) designed to defeat most targets with the exception of heavy and medium armour. Both the propellant and the warhead are insensitive increasing crew safety, the latter containing 3.2 kilograms of insensitive explosive, over twice the HE compared to current in-service HEAT rounds according to GD-OTS. A front
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The Nexter family of 120 millimetre ammunition; a new round with a treble-mode fuse should soon join the collection. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
two-mode hand-settable fuse allows the tank commander to select a point- detonating function for maximum fragmentation/blast, or a delay function for detonation after target penetration. Training versions of the round are also available in the form of inert rounds with tracer, and spotting rounds with spotting charge and tracer. I ISRAEL
Israel always had the need to equip its tanks not only with tank-killing rounds, but also with multi-purpose ammunition to provide adequate support to its infantry when engaged in urban areas (the latter, incidentally, having been the IDF’s standard field of operations in the last decades). Beside APFSDS penetrators (most will remember the picture of the hole drilled by one of those into a T-72 gun barrel), the Israeli requirements called for multiple-purpose rounds. With the shift from 105 millimetre rifle to 120 millimetre smoothbore the Merkava III and IV needed new rounds. Israel Military Industries, in charge of the gun and ammunition, now has one kinetic energy round (the M322 APFSDS-T) in its inventory plus three multi-purpose rounds that allow Merkava crews to deal with non-armoured targets: the M325 High-Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose (HEAT-MP-T), the M339 High Explosive Multipurpose (HE-MP-T) and the M329 AntiPersonnel/Anti-Material better known as the Apam. While the M325 HEAT-MP-T’s main task still remains the destruction of medium- and light-armoured vehicles, its blast and fragmentation effects also allow to incapacitate infantry. The M339 HE-MP-T was purposely developed to meet urban combat needs, and thanks to its
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ATK developed a full family of ammunition for the Abrams (left). The US military intends to maintain a dual source approach for its tank ammo procurement. The right picture shows the ATK version of the M0128 120 millimetre canister round developed to provide the Abrams with a shotgun-type capability to be used against infantry at short range. (ATK)
programmable multi-functional fuse it can be used in Delayed Impact, Super Quick or Air Burst modes. The M339 is able to penetrate a 200 millimetre-thick, doublereinforced concrete wall; choosing the right detonation mode the round allows to destroys bunkers, urban structures and light armour, while being also highly lethal against dismounted infantry. The M329 Apam was developed from the 105 millimetre version and entered service in 2009. It is made of six stacked warheads that can be exploded sequentially along the round’s path, for example to saturate a street with their fragments and hit infantry hidden in side streets. This is however only one of the five modes available, the other being super quick point detonation, point detonation delay, air burst, the stacked warheads exploding as The M339 is the Israel Military Industries multi-purpose round and as other similar rounds it features a treble-mode fuse to allow maximum operational flexibility. (Armada/Paolo Valpolini)
NEXT ISSUE AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014: 4 AUGUST ADVERTISING: 18 JULY Soldier Protection: We will analyse the most
recent developments in ballistic protection, both for body armour and helmets, new flame-resistant fabrics (burns being typical injusries resulting from bomb explosions), as well as other other systems that might increase the soldier capability to survive battlefield threats with no harm or with limited injuries.
Guided Bombs: Germany and the United
States both employed radio-guided bombs during World War Two. Although television- and radarguided ordnance followed, in Vietnam Americandeveloped laser-spot homing emerged as the lowcost precision system for clear-weather daylight strikes. Adding satellite guidance brought the operational flexibility needed for round-the-clock
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attacks. Several other countries are following America’s lead. Aerostat Observation: With a history stretching back at least to the American Civil War, the use of tethered balloons for observing enemy forces is the oldest military application of aviation technology. Modern aerostats have proved invaluable in recent wars in exactly the same basic role, but combined with modern sensor suites and communication system they provide a less mobile but far more persistent surveillance capability than manned aircraft and drones. Peter Donaldson assesses the state of the art in aerostats and the mission systems tailored for them. Littoral Combat Ships and HLDs: Geospatial Information Part 3 ‘’Mapping Thin Air’’: will address geospatial information solutions in the air and space domains, where value lies less
unitary warhead, and anti-helicopters. Last but not least, when confronted with some situations, IDF tank crews can employ the M337 stun round which provides deterrence, thanks to its flash, bang and blast, which are very similar to those of standard ammunition. I FRANCE
Currently being developed by Nexter is the 120 HE M3M with a three-mode programmable fuse. This allows the round to detonate in the typical point detonation mode, to be used in a delay mode, (e.g. to destroy buildings or hitting targets behind protection), or in air-burst mode (the fuse giving an “indirect firing” capability against masked targets). Though equipped with a base fuse this munition will have the same ballistics as the current 120 HE F1 round. The contract awarded by the Direction Générale de l’Armement will lead to the full development and to the qualification of the new round on board the Leclerc, which will thus acquire a much greater operational flexibility. in terrain features than in defining, positioning and navigating airspace volumes, trajectories, sensor footprints and weapon envelopes, in compliance with standardized procedures for use of air and orbital space Radio Compendium: Radios are the bedrock of awareness and teamwork in today's battlespace. Their combination of digital RF technology and software defined flexibility is increasingly vital as military forces continue to break out of stovepiped communication systems to enable combined arms, combined service, international and allied operations and provide combatants with broadband access to the information they need, when and where they need it. Armada’s Radio Compendium also presents essential data on the leading systems from the international industry through its now legendary four-page, fully illustrated fold-out chart.
2014 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FORUM
13 -15 OCTOBER 2014 WALTER E. WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTER WASHINGTON, D.C.
WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND Join over 28,000 people from the worldwide defense community Network with key leaders from the Army, DoD, Congress and the defense industry View over 500 exhibits featuring the latest technology, products and services Participate in panel discussions on the state of the Army and the future of national defense
Exhibit Space Available AUSAANNUALMEETING.ORG
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