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04 Jan 19. SEA 1000 and future submarine deterrence strike modules. The Attack Class submarines will serve as the tip of the nations strategic deterrence spear. To meet this role, both the US and Sweden have developed concepts to enhance the long-range maritime strike capabilities of the Royal Australian Navy’s future submarines.
Submarines are the ultimate force multiplier and strategic deterrent platform for many modern navies. Australia’s Collins Class, despite a troubled early life, have quickly established themselves as some of the world’s best conventionally-powered attack and guided missile submarines, providing Australia with a potent at-sea deterrence platform.
Building on this precedent, the Attack Class submarines will be required to fill a similar and possibly expanded deterrence role to that of the Collins Class vessels, providing enhanced range, time on station and an advanced suite of weapons systems in a regionally superior submarine platform.
ASPI executive director Peter Jennings highlighted the importance of these strategic deterrence capabilities to Defence Connect, saying, “We need to be placing more effort into developing the long-range strike capability, this includes things like cruise missiles, which can be launched by platforms across the ADF. We also need to place greater emphasis on upgrading the capability provided by Collins, not just as a stop-gap, but as an imperative, as these submarines will continue to form the point of our deterrence spear for some time yet.”
While Defence Connect has extensively covered the evolution of Sweden’s Gotland Class submarines, for which the Collins Class served as the design basis, recent developments made by both Sweden and the US in the space of submarine mounted, vertical launch modules provide interesting design concepts for integrating into Australia’s future Attack Class submarines.
BAE Systems Virginia Payload Module (VPM): The VPM is an additional mid-body section being integrated into the US Navy’s Virginia Class submarines, beginning with the second boat of Block V to begin construction in 2019.
Each VPM contains four large-diameter payload tubes, each capable of storing and launching up to seven Tomahawk cruise missiles. Accessible while at sea, the VPM also offers an unprecedented amount of flexibility in the potential integration of future payloads.
Joe Senftle, vice president and general manager of weapon systems at BAE Systems, said, “The new Virginia Payload Module will bring an additional 28 missiles to each Virginia Class submarine, tripling their payload strike capacity.”
The additional Virginia Payload Tubes (VPT) will add to the existing tubes located in the bow-mounted weapons system of the Virginia Class submarines, which are capable of launching six Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Saab Kockums A26 Vertical Launch System: The Saab A26 is an evolution of the Gotland Class vessels with two distinct variants focusing on different operational parameters. The Oceanic – Extended Range variant incorporates three, six-round (total of 18) vertical launch tubes, similar in function to the VPM.
The design and planned incorporation of this 10-metre module is the first time such a vertical launch module has been designed for incorporating into a conventionally-powered submarine platform, as such land attack cruise missile capabilities are traditionally the realm of larger, nuclear submarines.
Such payload modules are not limited to land attack missile and strike capabilities, as key under-sea technologies including unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, anti-ship attack capacity, mine hunting and special forces support enhance the operational and capability profiles of submarines.
For Australia’s Attack Class submarines, the inclusion of such a vertical launch module/s could serve to dramatically increase the deterrence capabilities of the strategically valuable platforms.
The Attack Class submarines will be delivered as part of the $50bn SEA 1000 program, which will see Naval Group deliver 12 of the vessels to the RAN. Naval Group’s successful Shortfin Barracuda design, which serves as the basis for the new Attack Class, is a conventionally powered variant of the nuclear-powered Barracuda fast attack submarine currently under construction for the French Navy.
The Attack Class will enter service with the RAN at a time when 50 per cent of the world’s submarines will be operating in the Indo-Pacific region. (Source: Defence Connect)
04 Jan 19. US Air Force demonstrates F-35 capacity to hit two UAVs at once. The US Air Force has highlighted the growing capability of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and its ability to engage in and dominate the battlespace following the successful engagement of two airborne targets simultaneously. The Pentagon’s now completed multi-year System Development and Demonstration (SDD) was the test phase for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter variants. The completion of the SDD paved the way for accelerated full-rate production of the aircraft, lasted more than a decade and included more than 46 weapons tests, Lieutenant Colonel Tucker Hamilton, F-35 test director at Edwards Air Force Base, said.
The test involved an F-35 pilot firing two Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) at manoeuvring drones in the air, bringing synchronised attack to a new level for the aircraft using an integrated targeting sensor called the Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS).
Lt Col Hamilton said, “Two AMRAAMs had multiple targets – to shoot two airborne targets simultaneously. It was a complex set-up that happened over the Pacific. They were shooting at drones.”
The F-35 is engineered with an ability to dogfight and engage in air-to-air combat, yet it was also designed with an array of next-generation sensors designed to see, detect and destroy enemy targets from much further ranges than existing fighter jets can.
This versatility is best defined by its two distinct, equally potent load-outs, designed for highly-specialised missions ranging from penetrating enemy air defences and gaining air superiority to deep, precision strike against well defended, integrated enemy air defence networks.
- Stealth mode: Leverages the low-observability profile and characteristics of the aircraft to enhance its lethality by ensuring that the plane can’t be seen by enemy air, land or sea-based radars, reducing the probability of enemy intercept, allowing the F-35 to prosecute its strike with unrivalled competence. In stealth mode, the aircraft can be armed with a range of weapons, loaded within the internal weapons bays to maintain the stealth profile, these include up to 5,700 pounds of internal ordnance.
- Beast mode: For when discretion has gone out the window and air superiority has been guaranteed, the F-35 takes on an entirely different role and character. Beast mode provides the platform with unrivalled strike capability for an aircraft of its size, enabling the F-35 to carry up to 22,000 pounds of internal and external ordnance.
“We needed to see if it could fly high and fast pulling 9Gs. We also conducted mission system testing of all the sensors which allow us to execute a mission. This included countermeasures, data-links, radar and weapons delivery accuracy to ensure that the F-35 can find, fix and track targets,” Lt Col Hamilton said.
Over the coming years, Australia will purchase 72 of the advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft as part of the $17bn AIR 6000 Phase 2A/B program – which is aimed at replacing the ageing F/A-18A/B Classic Hornets that have been in service with the RAAF since 1985. (Source: Defence Connect)
03 Jan 19. Russia announces successful flight test of Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. Russian President Vladimir Putin on 26 December 2018 announced a successful initial all-up flight test of the Avangard (Vanguard) hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV).
According to Putin, the Avangard HGV (previously designated Objekt 4202, Yu-71, and Yu-74) was launched from the Dombarovskoye missile base in the southern Ural Mountains, flew about 6,000 km, “manoeuvering horizontally and vertically at hypersonic speeds” and successfully engaged a simulated target at the Kura Range in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula.
“The Avangard has fully passed through its test program and will become operational on schedule. The weapon has fully confirmed its specifications,” said Putin.
Developed by the NPO Mashinostroyenia Corporation and furnished with a solid propellant scramjet engine, Avangard has a claimed engagement speed of Mach 27 (32,202.36 kph). The HGV can reportedly be integrated as a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) with the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces’ (Raketnye voyska strategicheskogo naznacheniya – RVSN) RS-18B/UR-100UTTKh SS-19 Mod 3 ‘Stiletto’, R-36M2, and RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The Avangard system has already been integrated onto the UR-100UTTKh ICBM, according to Russian Security Council member, Sergei Ivanov. “We have several dozen brand new UR-100N UTTH ICBMs, with which the Avangard fits very well,” he said. According to Ivanov, the new HGV also complies with the existing strategic arms reduction treaties, including the New START (SNV-3).
RVSN Commander Colonel General Sergey Karakayev confirmed on 17 December 2018 that RVSN’s Dombarovo Missile Division would receive the first Avangard HGVs integrated with the UR-100N UTTKh ICBMs in 2019. The UR-100N UTTH (SS-19 mod. 3 Stiletto) ICBM weighs 105.6 tonnes and carries a 4,350 kg payload. The baseline variant of the missile is fitted with six HGVs. Col Karakayev said the RVSN will stand up two missile regiments, each equipped with six Avangard systems by 2027. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
03 Jan 19. Armed Hurkus-C successfully completes flight and firing trials. An example of Turkey’s locally developed Hurkus-C basic trainer/light attack aircraft with electronic warfare systems installed has successfully completed flight and firing trials, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) announced on Twitter on 29 December. This was the first flight of the Hurkus-C carrying weaponry and defensive systems to facilitate close air support missions, Ismail Demir, head of the Presidency of the Turkish Defence Industries (SSB), said in an interview with CNN Türk on 29 December.
In 2017 the type conducted its first firing test with a local Roketsan-made Lumtas laser-guided long-range air-to-surface anti-tank missile. The Hurkus-C, which features five hardpoints and has a 1,500 kg payload capacity, can also deliver other locally developed munitions, including Cirit laser-guided 70 mm rockets and freefall bombs fitted with Teber INS/GPS-aided laser guidance kits. Additionally, it can be armed with general-purpose bombs as well as 12.7mm and 20mm gun systems, according to the SSB.
Under a Turkish military request the Hurkus-C will also be able in future to carry heavier munitions, according to Demir. Twelve Hurkus-Cs, with a follow-on option for 12 more, are currently planned for production.
“The objective of our Hurkus-C aircraft, equipped with an armoured structure, self-protection systems, night-vision-compatible digital/glass cockpit and advanced avionics systems, is to undertake light attack and armed reconnaissance missions as well as carrying out pilot training requirements at a low cost and with high precision,” said an SSB release posted on its website. “Our aircraft will also have digital secure communications, image and data connections and a thermal imaging/sighting system.”
Video and data can be relayed from a Hurkus-C to a ground station in real time, according to TAI. The Hurkus-C is currently powered by a 1,600hp Pratt & Whitney engine, although Turkey’s Tusas Engine Industries (TEI) is developing an indigenous replacement powerplant. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
02 Jan 19. Upgraded ‘Backfire-C’ long-range bomber makes maiden flight. On 28 December an extensively upgraded Tupolev Tu-22M3 ‘Backfire-C’ supersonic long-range strategic bomber, now designated the Tu-22M3M, made its maiden flight at an airbase belonging to the Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ). According to the press office of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the flight lasted for 37 minutes and was conducted in a routine mode at an altitude of 1,500m.
“During the flight the crew checked the functioning of upgraded subsystems and items of hardware, which were working without any drawbacks. It marks the beginning of the air platform’s factory flight test,” UAC said in a statement.
The Tu-22M3M prototype has been fitted with a Russian-made onboard digital avionics suite and has received new targeting, navigation, communications, engine control, and electronic warfare subsystems. About 80% of the systems interacting with the aircraft’s ‘electronic brain’ are new. The modernisation has thus given the ‘Backfire-C’ increased combat, navigation, automation, and maintenance capabilities and an avionics suite sharing commonality with that of the updated Tu-160M ‘Blackjack’ strategic bomber.
The Tu-22M3M has been built under the long-range/strategic aviation modernisation programme being implemented by Tupolev. Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) combat experience from recent conflicts, including operations in Syria since 2015, has informed the upgrades made under the programme.
The next stage of the programme envisages joint state trials of the Tu-22M3M and the upgrade of the first batch of aircraft. According to UAC’s JSC Tupolev, the Tu-22M3M has a high-altitude top speed of 2,300km/h, a low-altitude top speed of 1,050km/h, a subsonic flight range of 2,200km, and a service ceiling of 13,000m. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
02 Jan 19. New in 2019: The Army and Marines will test-fire next-gen weapon prototypes this summer. The long-awaited replacement to the standard M16/M4 service weapon and the squad level light machine gun are expected to be on the firing line in summer 2019. The Next Generation Squad Weapon program has seen rapid changes and a flow of top-tier support that may bring an end to close combat reliance on a weapon that’s been in service for more than half a century. After much public guessing on what caliber the new weapon might fall into, the Army selected 6.8mm as the caliber for both its M16/M4 and Squad Automatic Weapon replacement with a prototype notice posted in October. The weapon will go to close combat Army, Marine and special operations forces — primarily the “close combat 100,000,” which is mostly infantry, cavalry scouts, reconnaissance and some combat engineers.
Prior to the selection, officials asked industry to give their best bets on a round that would meet ramped up distance, accuracy and lethality on impact somewhere between 5.56mm and 7.62mm, the current standard rounds.
Before that notice posted, the Army selected five companies to provide six prototypes for the automatic weapon portion to test fire in June.
Those companies are:
- AAI Corporation Textron Systems
- FN America LLC
- General Dynamics-OTS Inc.
- PCP Tactical, LLC.
- Sig Sauer Inc.
Each will submit one prototype for the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle, except for FN, which has been allowed to submit two variants.
Until the caliber selection notice, the goal was to first develop the NGSAR and then allow its advancements to inform the development of the M4 replacement, the NGSW-Rifle.
But, Brig. Gen. Anthony Potts, who heads Program Executive Office-Soldier, said the new approach will be to develop both with the same round.
Key to the weapon system will be its new fire controls. Those will incorporate a Heads Up Display that uses a Rapid Targeting Acquisition Technology.
The technology allows troops to fire their weapons around corners from concealment and, paired with an advanced binocular night vision, to see through smoke, fog and dust as they fire.
Also, the display will allow for units to see where friendly forces are, like a mini-Blue Force Tracker, and mark waypoints and other items to communicate visually on the move. The soldier or Marine will have an “augmented reality” vision of the battlefield in the display, a layer of combat-relevant data much like what helicopter pilots see in their helmet while in flight. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Military Times)
02 Jan 19. New in 2019: The Army, Marines will put four robotic gear mules to the test in rugged, austere conditions. Finding new ways to incorporate robots and autonomous or semi-autonomous vehiclesinto warfighting has captured the attention of researchers, programs and top commanders in recent years. But nothing as basic and practical as the gear mule concepthas come so close to reality.
This year, soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division and 10th Mountain Division and Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, received batches of four different variants of the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport.
Four companies have offered their versions for soldiers and Marines to test in rugged terrain and in austere conditions.
They are the MRZR X, based off the Polaris MRZR currently in service with the Marines; the General Dynamics 4×4 Multi-Utility Tactical Transport or MUTT; the Howe and Howe RS2-H1; and the HDT Global Hunter WOLF, or Wheeled Offload Logistics Follower.
The MRZR X is a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle; and the MUTT is an eight-wheeled vehicle with a flatbed configuration.
The Hunter WOLF is a six-wheeled vehicle that uses a morphed tire/track for traction; and the RS2-H1 is the only tracked vehicle submission.
All can be run with a one-handed remote control. Two can be driven using non-line of sight maneuvering with onboard sensors and cameras.
The MRZR X is an “optionally manned” vehicle that can be driven either by a human driver in the seat or by remote control.
The testing moving forward will see if the vehicles can carry enough gear for a nine-soldier squad — nine rucks, two fuel jugs, two water jugs and three days’ worth of Meals Ready to Eat — as well as carry batteries and charge them while on mission.
The three basic requirements for the vehicles are to carry 1,000 pounds, travel 60 miles in 72 hours, and charge up at a 3-kilowatt rate while stationary and a 1-kilowatt rate while on the move.
Soldiers and Marines will have nearly all of 2019 to put the vehicles through their paces and then provide feedback. A downselect to two designs is expected later this year, with the final winner picked in 2020. But officials didn’t rule out selecting two vehicle designs for fielding, depending on what each vehicle offers as planners look to the terrain challenges of dismounted operations. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Army Times)
03 Jan 19. India set to receive deliveries of S-400 from Russia. India has announced it will begin receiving S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems from Russia and all the five squadrons of deliveries are expected to be completed by April 2023. In October, India signed an agreement with Russia to acquire the missile systems for $5.43bn. In response to a question on the contract in the Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said: “The deliveries will commence from October 2020 and will be completed by April 2023.”
According to Bhamre, the system can offer air defence coverage to vulnerable areas or points.
Despite warnings from the US, India went ahead to sign the deal with Russia, reported Times of India.
The US has announced sanctions against Russia for its alleged interference in its presidential election in 2016.
Under the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the US can punish countries entering major defence transactions with Russia or oil transactions with Iran. CAATSA came into effect from January 2018.
Bhamre said the Indian government was ‘aware of all developments that may impact’ weapon systems procurement.
He added: “The government takes sovereign decisions based on threat perceptions, operational and technical aspects to keep the armed forces in a state of readiness to meet the entire spectrum of security challenges.”
However, the Trump administration has the authority under the 2019 US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to waive CAATSA sanctions with regard to defence deals with Russia if the military hardware costs less than $15m. The S-400 is not only expensive but also an advanced weapon system and does not fall into the criteria.
The CAATSA sanctions are not likely to be imposed on India given the growing consensus in the US Government about India’s role as a strategic partner. The imposition of CAATSA on India may jeopardise the partnership, reported The Diplomat. S-400 Triumf is a mobile medium and long-range air defence system that can engage and destroy targets such as cruise missiles, stealth aircraft, drones and medium-range ballistic missiles. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
29 Dec 18. China’s Electromagnetic Railgun Is Apparently Already Roaming The High Seas. China’s futuristic electromagnetic railgun may already be the most powerful cannon to ever roam the high seas — ahead of schedule.
In June, a U.S. intelligence assessment estimated that the Chinese military planned on fielding its own version of the electromagnetic railgun on naval vessels as early as 2025, far outstripping the Pentagon’s truncated efforts to develop its own version of the much-hyped supergun. Now, new photos appear to show the railgun perched on the bow of its test ship at sea.
This is clearly the Haiyang Shan, the same Type 072III-class landing ship that was spotted in January 2018 docked at the Wuchang shipyard in China’s central Hubei province, the largest of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s inland shipyards and a major production hub for the country’s conventional submarines.
The Chinese railgun was first developed in 2011 and tested in 2014, but a People’s Liberation Army-run news outlet claimed in February that the Chinese navy had achieved a “breakthrough” during sea trials for the new railgun. Indeed, the June U.S. intelligence assessment suggests the supergun underwent trials even earlier than the PLA said, with initial tests underway as early as December 2017.
Meanwhile, the Office of Naval Research was still trying to figure out how to fire multi-shot salvos with its version of the railgun amid budget challenges and changing research and development priorities within the Pentagon. As of now, the U.S. Navy has yet to successfully mount the railgun aboard a naval platform, although the service is reportedly integrating the necessary infrastructure to power the system in its next class of large surface combatant warships.
But in terms of actually developing an operational shipboard prototype, things may be looking up for the Navy. The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act included an additional $20m for Innovative Naval Prototypes Advanced Technology Development (0603801N) explicitly to accelerate the development of a shipboard tactical demonstrator, well beyond the $15 m recommended by Rep. Jim Langevin, a Democrat from Rhode Island and co-chair of the Congressional Directed Energy Caucus, in last year’s NDAA to help the railgun make the transition from shore to ship.
When taken with the additional $20m allocated in the 2019 NDAA for the Army’s distinct railgun efforts, this suggests that the Pentagon hasn’t totally given up hope of fielding the supergun despite existing obstacles. “With China and Russia challenging our technological superiority, we cannot just play defense,” said Langevin of the defense budget back in May 2018. “Instead, we must promote and accelerate the adoption of game-changing technologies including hypersonics, directed energy, and applications of artificial intelligence.”
This is a good sign for the future of the Navy’s powerful supergun, true. But with the Haiyang Shan prowling the high seas — and tensions between the U.S and Chinese navies at a boiling point — this funding may simply be too little, too late. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/taskandpurpose.com)
31 Dec 18. US Army seeks continued support bolstering ground vehicle survivability. In the US Army’s bid to better protect soldiers inside ground vehicles from an array of threats, the service wants to continue its partnership with the Michigan Technical University (MTU) developing Ground Vehicle Survivability and Protection (GVSP) technologies.
“MTU is the only known source with the capability, as it has amassed a substantial unique knowledge base of army-specific GVSP research and this procurement will build off that knowledge,” the service wrote in a 21 December notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website. More specifically, the service wants MTU’s continued help researching, developing, testing, and evaluating a host of technologies, including: combat vehicle threat detection, and neutralisation; route clearance; vehicle and crew survivability for tracked and wheeled tactical ground vehicles; bridging and gap defeat; track and suspension improvements; power management; noise reduction; unmanned applications; countermeasures; construct, maintain, and improve routes, infrastructure, and obstacles; and the design, analysis, and testing of survivability, assured mobility, and manoeuvre support materiel solutions. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
29 Dec 18. The Corps’ HIMARS are going airborne as Marines bring them to targets via KC-130s. The same innovative rocket artillery unit that fired HIMARS from a ship is once again mixing things up, but this time they’re doing it with aircraft. The tactic is called HI-RAIN, which is short for HIMARS Rapid Infiltration, where the Corps takes its precision-guided rocket artillery system, stuffs it in a KC-130 and flies it to a location to destroy a target. Once on the ground, the HIMARS crew offloads the system and strikes a target and then rapidly exfils from the target site. The Corps says HI-RAIN is the progression of an aerial artillery raid capability they already have, which can be done with sling loaded M777 howitzers hauled by the Corps’ heavy lift helicopters like the CH-53. The MV-22 Osprey is also capable of lifting the M777. Aerial artillery raids provide battlefield commanders flexibility by inserting a long-range fire capability beyond a captured beachhead or behind enemy lines to quickly destroy a target.
But the HIMARS will greatly extend the Corps’ range of that existing raid capability, which should prove useful should the Corps find itself stretched thinly across the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean in a fight with a sophisticated adversary like China.
A Marine HIMARS unit known as 5th Battalion, 11th Marines, recently executed a HI-RAIN mission on Dec. 7 as part of an annual exercise with the 1st Marine Division dubbed Steel Knight.
For the exercise, Marines with 5/11 loaded two HIMARS systems onto two KC-130 aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton, California, and flew to Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah. Once on the ground, the a HIMARS unit fired one M31A1 GMLRS – Unitary precision rocket, striking a target approximately 15 km away. The GMLRS round is short for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System.
HIMARS are capable of striking targets several hundred kilometers out, the short range was due to range limitations, Marine officials said.
The Corps says 5/11 began aerial embarkation testing with KC-130s in 2014, and since then have carried out many HI-RAIN missions across the U.S. from Alaska to Arizona, all during training exercises.
Other Marine HIMARS units are honing the same skill.
The Corps is also capable of carrying out artillery raids inserting howitzers via helicopter.
In August, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, carried out the first lift in an austere environment in Australia of an M777 howitzer using an MV-22 Osprey. The Marines of 5/11 are known for their innovative experimentation firing HIMARS from the deck of the amphibious transport dock Anchorage in fall 2017. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Marine Times)
30 Dec 18. Russia’s Aerospace Forces will get their first medium-range surface-to-air missile system S-350 Vityaz next year, the Defence Ministry said. “In 2019, the Aerospace Forces will receive the brand-new missile system, S-350 Vityaz, for the first time ever,” the statement reads. The troops will also be equipped with around a dozen of Pantsir-S air defence missile-gun systems and S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) long-range air defence weapons, the ministry added. (Source: Google/Sputnik)
28 Dec 18. Australia’s first Hobart-class destroyer completes weapons, systems evaluation. Key Points:
- Australia’s first-of-class air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart has successfully demonstrated its ability to conduct co-operative fleet-area air defence operations
- The trials validate the Royal Australian Navy’s capacity to interoperate with the US Navy in high-intensity combat operations
The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) lead Hobart-class air warfare destroyer (AWD) has marked another milestone by completing its weapons and systems evaluations, including a series of at-sea trials known as the combat system qualification trials (CSSQT), with the US Navy (USN).
The trials, which included a variety of combat scenarios including evasive manoeuvres against anti-ship missiles, fighter aircraft, and surface combatants, were completed in late-2018 at an undisclosed location off the US West Coast.
In November 2018, Hobart also demonstrated its ability to establish secure data links with the USN’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Finn as part of trials to validate the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) real-time sensor network, which the AWDs are now part of.
Vessel tracking information and fire control data were exchanged between Hobart and John Finn as part of the trials, which were conducted off the coast of Hawaii. The RAN’s Hobart-class destroyers are the first warships outside the USN to feature this capability.
Completion of these trials have validated the AWD’s ability to provide a multilayered and collaborative at-sea defence system against hostile aircraft and precision-guided munitions for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and those of its partners, particularly the USN.
Australia’s Hobart class is derived from the Spanish Navy’s (Armada Española’s) Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate, and incorporates the Aegis combat system. The frigate’s suite of sensors includes the Lockheed Martin and Raytheon AN/SPY 1D(V) phased array radar, and the Northrop Grumman AN/SPQ-9B surface search radar. The warship class has an overall length of 146.7m, an overall beam of 18.6m, and a hull draught of 4.9m. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
21 Dec 18. India Provides Navy with Second Strike Capability. The Indian Navy is receiving the K series of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The state-run Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is leading this program. The K-5 can deliver a nuclear warhead out to a distance of 5,000 kilometers. This missile will undergo a series of developmental trials before its induction. Other members of the K series are the 750-km range K-15 (B-05) Sagarika and 3,500-km range K-4. These systems have already been test-fired several times. The K-15 is the SLBM version of the land-based Shaurya missile. The K-15 missile is integrated with the INS Arihant class submarine. INS Arihant will receive the K-4 in the near future. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/Forecast International)
26 Dec 18. Putin oversees hypersonic weapon test, says it’s ‘invulnerable.’ Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a test Wednesday of a new hypersonic glide vehicle, declaring that the weapon is impossible to intercept and will ensure Russia’s security for decades to come. Speaking to Russia’s top military brass after watching the live feed of the launch of the Avangard vehicle from the Defense Ministry’s control room, Putin said the successful test was a “great success” and an “excellent New Year’s gift to the nation.”
The test comes amid bitter tensions in Russia-U.S. relations, which have sunk to their lowest level since the Cold War times over the conflict in Ukraine, the war in Syria and the allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Putin’s hopes for repairing ties with Washington under President Donald Trump have fizzled amid investigations into allegations of Trump’s campaign ties with Russia, and tensions have escalated as the U.S. administration slapped Russia with new waves of sanctions.
The Avangard was among the array of new nuclear weapons that Putin presented in March, saying that Russia had to develop them in response to the development of the U.S. missile defense system that could erode Russia’s nuclear deterrent.
In Wednesday’s test, the weapon was launched from the Dombarovskiy missile base in the southern Ural Mountains. The Kremlin said it successfully hit a designated practice target on the Kura shooting range on Kamchatka, 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) away.
“The Avangard is invulnerable to intercept by any existing and prospective missile defense means of the potential adversary,” Putin said after the test, adding that the new weapon will enter service next year with the military’s Strategic Missile Forces.
When first presenting the Avangard in March, the Russian leader said the new system has an intercontinental range and can fly in the atmosphere at 20 times the speed of sound, bypassing the enemy’s missile defense. He emphasized that no other country currently has hypersonic weapons. Putin has said that Avangard is designed using new composite materials to withstand temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,632 degrees Fahrenheit) that come from a flight through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
24 Dec 18. Yemen – Sa’ada: Houthis claim downing Saudi-led coalition drone via surface-to-air missile engagement. On 23 December, Houthi rebels issued a statement claiming to have shot down a Saudi-led coalition Chinese-made CH-4 drone over Yemen’s Sa’ada Governorate via the employment of a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. In addition, the Houthis released a video of the alleged engagement showing the likely use of an improvised SAM system comprised of either a modified Russian-made R-27T (AA-10b ALAMO) or Russian-made R-73 (AA-11 ARCHER) infrared air-to-air missile (AAM) launched in a ground-based role. The video appears to show the CH-4 drone suffering a catastrophic hull loss due to the engagement though no statement by the Saudi-led coalition has been released to date. The specific range and altitude limitations of modified AA-10b and AA-11 AAMs used in a ground-based role is unclear at this time; however, we assess such systems at a minimum would be capable of engaging air targets at altitudes over FL300 and ranges out to at least 12.4 miles (20 km). An intelligence dossier released by the Saudi-led coalition in December 2017 revealed that Houthi rebels were developing improvised SAM systems using modified AA-10b and AA-11 infrared AAMs in a ground-based air defence role.
Analysis
EASA along with the US, UK and German civil aviation authorities have each issued strict guidance to operators, mandating flights be deferred to airports in the country and within the airspace over Yemeni territory, with the exception of airways R401, UL425, UM551 and N315. France currently requests French operators not to enter the entirety of Yemeni airspace. Previously, Houthi rebels downed a US military MQ-9 Reaper drone over Sana’a using an improvised SAM system on 1 October 2017 and Saudi-led coalition US-made F-15S fighter jets were targeted over Yemen on 8 January and 21 March. Two Saudi-led coalition US-made F-16 fighter jets operated by the UAE were reportedly damaged over Sana’a via Houthi rebel improvised SAM employment on 27 March. In addition, the Saudi-led coalition released an additional intelligence dossier on 26 March claiming that Iran had provided Houthi rebels with Iranian-made Sayyad-2 radar-guided conventional SAM systems. The Saudi-led coalition claims the Sayyad-2 systems are being operated near Sana’a and that it had conducted a series of airstrikes in an attempt to degrade Houthi air defence capabilities. The Sayyad-2 has the capability to engage air targets at altitudes up to FL660 and at ranges out to 50 miles (80 km). On 18 August, the Saudi-led coalition stated it had conducted airstrikes targeting a Houthi rebel Russian-made 2K12 Kub (SA-6 GAINFUL) conventional SAM system near Sana’a. This is the first confirmed operational deployment of an SA-6 by the Houthis since 2015 and it remains unclear if the rebels have additional operational GAINFUL conventional SAM systems in their inventory. The SA-6 has the capability to engage aircraft at altitudes up to FL450 and at ranges out to 15 miles (24km). Although Houthi rebels remain focused on targeting Saudi-led coalition and US military forces, such attacks also pose a direct threat to civilian air traffic. Yemen is assessed to be an EXTREME risk airspace environment at all altitudes.
Advice
Military Air Activity: Increased military air operations; to include airstrikes, have the potential to cause airspace congestion and impact the safety of civil aviation flights. Any significant increase in the amount of air operations over the country may impact the availability of airports along with access to the airspace. Aviation operators should monitor airport/airspace-specific airspace-specific notices, bulletins, circulars, advisories, prohibitions and restrictions prior to departure to avoid flight schedule disruption.
Missile Launches: Unannounced rocket and missile launches that transit airspace used by civilian aircraft pose a latent threat to operations at all altitudes. The country has a history of not issuing adequate notice of activities in its airspace that could affect flight safety. Leading civil aviation governing bodies have standing notices advising operators of the threat to civil aviation in the airspace due to unannounced military activity, rocket test firings and or missile launches.
Shoot-down Policy: The country has an aggressive air intercept and shoot-down policy which allows air and air defence forces to intercept and disable aerial targets violating airspace regulations. Military air and air defence assets may be employed to down aerial targets under the auspice of the policy. While legal civil aviation flights are unlikely to be directly targeted, there remains a latent but credible risk of misidentification and interception by military air and air defence assets.
24 Dec 18. Afghan Air Force performs first night sorties in Super Tucano. The Afghan Air Force (AAF) in the past two weeks performed its first night sorties using the Sierra Nevada Corporation-Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft, according to a SNC executive.
SNC vice-president Taco Gilbert told Jane’s on 17 December that the aircraft had the night sortie capability when it was first delivered to the AAF in January 2016, but the nascent air force was not experienced enough to use it on its own. Gilbert said these sorties were also the first time the AAF deployed munitions at night. Gilbert said the AAF deploys many non-precision munitions as the Super Tucano’s slower speed and better visibility allows more precise targeting. This also allows the air force to use cheaper munitions as it does not have put expensive precision-guided munition kits on non-precision weapons, he added.
US Central Command (USCENTCOM) deferred comment on 20 December to the Afghanistan Ministry of Defence, which had not returned a request for comment at the time of publication. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
23 Dec 18. British Army receives pioneering bomb disposal robots. The British Army have taken delivery of the first four cutting-edge bomb disposal robots following rigorous trials, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced. The delivery comes from a total contract of £55m for 56 robots. The Harris Corporation’s T7 unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) are equipped with high-definition cameras, lightning-fast datalinks, an adjustable manipulation arm, and tough all-terrain treads, allowing them to neutralise a wide range of explosive threats. The game-changing platform endured a variety of tests during an eight-week ‘acceptance’ trials period at UK and US sites specifically chosen to put the robots through their paces. The robots were pushed to their limits by trials including multi-terrain driving, a series of battlefield missions, weightlifting and dexterity tasks, climatic and vibration testing, high stress capabilities, live-firings, maximum traversing angles and interoperability assessments.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “These robots will go on to be an essential piece of kit, preventing harm to innocent civilians and the brave operators who make explosives safe. The robots will provide the Army with the latest bomb-disposal technology and will prove to be trusted companions both on UK streets and in deadly conflict zones.”
Col Zac Scott, Head of the Defence EOD & Search Branch said: “Remote Control Vehicles (RCVs) are critical to the safe conduct of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) tasks. The Harris T7 harnesses cutting-edge technology to provide EOD operators with unprecedented levels of mobility and dexterity. It represents a step-change in capability for our service personnel and it will save lives.”
The bomb disposal robots have been procured by Defence Equipment and Support, the MOD’s procurement organisation, under Project Starter. The deal was announced in September 2017 at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) Exhibition in London.
Project Starter will procure 56 Harris T7s to support Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams. The programme is designed to replace the Army’s fleet of Wheelbarrow Mk8B remote-controlled EOD robots which have been used across the globe by UK Armed Forces since 1972.
Lt Col Thornton Daryl Hirst, Section Head of Remote Controlled Vehicles within DE&S’ Special Projects Search and Countermeasures team, said:
The first four production standard vehicles have been delivered early to the British Army enabling us to conduct train-the-trainer packages from January onwards.
The hard work and dedication of my team has helped ensure that this critical project has run to time and cost and the trials exceeded our performance expectations.
The Harris T7s robots use ‘advanced haptic feedback’ to allow operators to ‘feel’ their way through the intricate process of disarming from a safe distance, protecting UK soldiers from threats such as roadside bombs. The haptic feedback function is designed to provide operators with human-like dexterity while they operate the robot’s arm using the remote-control handgrip. The unit gives the operator physical feedback, allowing intuitive detailed control. All 56 robots are due to be delivered to the UK and in service by December 2020. (Source: U.K. MoD)
20 Dec 18. Why DARPA thinks air assets will be the last to get laser weapons. It’s been a running joke inside the defense technology community for years: lasers are the weapons of the future … and always will be. But while experts have long predicted laser systems, also known as directed energy weapons, are just over the horizon, more and more technology experts have said they believe lasers are truly in the realm of the possible in the near-term for the Pentagon. Which raises the question: who gets them first?
Speaking at the Washington Post earlier this month, Steven Walker, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said, if possible, the Air Force would love to get directed energy up and running tomorrow.
“I never met a four-star general who didn’t want a laser on his airplane,” Walker said. “It would be really neat. That would be a really neat technology and capability.”
But weight remains an issue, Walker warned. Quite simply, the technologies needed to support a laser weapon are heavy. “All this power generation and cooling adds up in terms of weight,” he said.
As a result, “I think airplanes will probably be the last, sort of, application of it, but I think we’re very close to having a ship-based capability,” he said. “The Navy’s done some demonstrations in that space. I think ground capability, lasers from the ground, from trucks, are being worked pretty heavily. And those will be closer than a laser on the airplane.”
One capability Walker is specifically excited about is solid-state fiber laser technology, in which researchers bundle together a group of small kilowatt fibers in order to produce a larger beam.
“There are a lot of advantages to doing that from an integration standpoint,” Walker said. “So we’re making pretty good progress on solid state fiber laser technology, being able to look at tens of kilowatts.”
Asked if that means Americans will one day see movie-like beams of energy flying from guns, Walker replied, “It’s always easier in the movies, but certainly you can envision capabilities like that, and I think we’ll be seeing some of that over the next decade.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
21 Dec 18. Second Lot MARS II. The German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) commissioned Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) to convert the remaining 18 MARS (Mittleres Artillerieraketensystem) rocket launchers to the MARS II armament level. This conversion will enable the rocket launchers to fire GPS-supported M31 Unitary missiles as part of the European Fire Control System (EFCS). In addition to improved accuracy at the target, the rocket has an increased range of 75 km. Each launcher will also be equipped with new electric directional drives and a fire extinguishing system. The launcher is equipped with two launch containers, each containing six missiles, which can be fired in less than one minute. The MARS rocket launcher was jointly developed by the USA, Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy in the 1980s as part of the international MLRS programme and introduced in the Bundeswehr in 1990. Germany has received the first lot of MARS II in 2013. Italy and France also have MARS II. (Source: ESD Spotlight)
20 Dec 18. USAF receives first LRASM missiles. The US Air Force (USAF) has received into service the first Lockheed Martin AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASMs), the company announced on 18 December. The rollout of an undisclosed number of missiles to unspecified operational units coincides with the declaration of early operational capability (EOC). Lockheed Martin told Jane’s that EOC is similar to initial operating capability (IOC) in that it is defined by the delivery of a quantity of missiles. The US Navy (USN), which oversees the LRASM programme, had not responded to a request for information at the time of writing. In USAF service the LRASM will be carried by the Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber (up to 24 missiles in its internal weapons bay), while the USN is integrating it on board its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets (eight missiles on its underwing pylons). With the first LRASMs now with the USAF, the USN should begin receiving its missiles in 2019. The LRASM is a stealthy subsonic cruise missile that is designed to meet the anti-surface warfare (ASuW) needs of both services in contested environments. Armed with a 1,000 lb penetrator and blast-fragmentation warhead, the LRASM utilises a multimode sensor, weapon datalink, and an enhanced digital anti-jam Global Positioning System to detect and destroy specific targets within a group of ships. Developed as a successor to the Lockheed Martin AGM-158A Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) and AGM-158B JASSM-Extended Range (ER) missiles currently fielded by the USAF, the LRASM will also replace the AGM-84 Harpoon fielded by the USN. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
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