Jane's Defence Weekly Online - May 2004

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sponsor
ThyssenKrupp has agreed to buy

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft
(HDW) from its owner, a US
investment bank, in a move that will
unite the German naval industry and
position it to lead European naval
consolidation.
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Special Reports
Shaun Connors, editor of Jane's Military Vehicles and Logistics, looks

at the most recent global developments within the logistics vehicles
industry in JDW's latest special report.
H E A D L I N E
Daily News Digest
N E W S
First sight of Chinese catamaran

New photographs have revealed the existence of a hitherto unknown Chinese
fast-attack craft design based on a wave-piercing catamaran hullform and
exhibiting a...
21-May-2004
UK plans to test high-speed TSV
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to fund the concept exploration and trials
of a high-speed theatre support vessel (TSV) to evaluate...
21-May-2004
ILA 2004: AGS team details timetable, while losers smoulder
The winning TIPS Team, comprising EADS, Northrop Grumman, Thales, Indra,
Galileo Avionica and General Dynamics Canada, has set out its timetable for
implementing...
21-May-2004
ILA 2004: Germany looks beyond AGS to national intelligence needs
The German Ministry of Defence is planning to acquire a second batch of
Northrop Grumman Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE)
http://jdw.janes.com/ (1 of 4)5/22/2004 12:17:52 AM

is the recipient of two
Newsletter & Electronic
Publishers Foundation
2003 Journalism
Awards.
unmanned aerial vehicles...

21-May-2004
Taiwan-US ship deals stalled
Three years after US President George Bush pledged to do "whatever it takes
to help Taiwan defend itself", two arms contracts seen as...
21-May-2004
Turkey moves to focus more on local industry
Turkey's decision to cancel three delayed projects, together worth more than
$10 billion, has signalled a shift in Ankara's strategy to an even greater
emphasis on local industrialisation (JDW 19 May).
21-May-2004
US troops in South Korea to deploy to Iraq
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that it is moving about
3,600 troops from South Korea to Iraq: the first drawdown...
21-May-2004
Turkey cancels attack helicopter, tank and drone projects
Turkey announced on 14 May that it is cancelling three long-delayed multibillion-dollar programmes, including the procurement of Bell Helicopter-Textron
AH-1Z King Cobra attack...
14-May-2004
Czech Gripen lease deal to be signed soon
The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) submitted a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) to the Czech government on 12 May for the lease of...
14-May-2004
Few surprises in Australian budget
The Australian government has deviated little from the recently released
Defence Capability Plan (DCP) in its latest defence budget, with the
announcement of an additional two Wedgetail B737 airborne early-warning
and control (AEW&C) aircraft the only acquisition not foreshadowed in the 10year DCP blueprint.
14-May-2004
France confirms it will not send troops to Iraq
France will not send troops to Iraq even if a multinational force under a UN
mandate is eventually formed to stabilise the country,...
14-May-2004
Gaza attacks force Israel to curb M113 use
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has decided to limit the use of its M113
armoured personnel carriers (APCs) in the Gaza Strip following...
14-May-2004
ICRC calls for contractor accountability in war
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is preparing to
implement a policy to ensure that the humanitarian standards of international
law are upheld by private contractors who support world armed forces in areas
of conflict, according to a senior official within the organisation.
14-May-2004
MEADS clears risk-reduction hurdle with test success
MEADS International (MI) says it has completed the risk-reduction effort (RRE)
phase for the Medium Extended Air Defence System (MEADS) with what it...
14-May-2004
Russians help India to solve SSN snags
India has reportedly resolved many technical problems plaguing its classified
indigenous nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) building programme, known as
Essential
maintenance
notification:
Saturday 22 May
2004
In order to maintain
the quality of service
to you, we plan to
carry out some
essential
maintenance on
Saturday 22 May
2004.
If you would like more
information please
take a look at the
details here.
the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV)....

14-May-2004
Warnings for UK defence and procurement plans
Senior UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials have publicly acknowledged that
the costs of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and the difficulties of achieving
savings in the procurement process are hurting the UK's armed forces.
14-May-2004
Berlin marks first public flight for production NH90
The first series-production NH Industries NH90 multirole medium helicopter
made its inaugural public flight on 11 May at the ILA Berlin Air Show.The...
13-May-2004
Israel reveals Phalcon configuration aboard G550 jet
Elta Electronics, a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries, has released the first
artist's rendering showing the configuration of the Gulfstream Aerospace G550
Compact...
13-May-2004
US to maintain increased level of troops in Iraq
The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 4 May that it would
rotate one US Army brigade and two US Marine Corps expeditionary units into
Iraq during the next few months and that it was likely to maintain a troop
strength of between 135,000 and 138,000 soldiers there until 2005.
07-May-2004
US seeks balanced force, but gaps remain
The US Department of Defense's Office of Force Transformation, in a wideranging appraisal, has commended plans to transform the US armed forces
but noted that additional areas need to be addressed, Director of Force
Transformation Arthur Cebrowski told JDW.
07-May-2004
Russian yard launches latest destroyer for China
The first of the two new modified Sovremenny-class destroyers being built by
Russia's Severnaya Verf shipyard for the Chinese People's Liberation Army
Navy...
07-May-2004
Two-year study could delay UK armoured vehicle project
The British Army is unlikely to begin receiving a new family of medium
armoured vehicles before 2010.
07-May-2004
First flight for series Yak-130
The first series-configuration Yak-130 twin-seat advanced jet trainer/ light
strike aircraft flew for the first time on 30 April at the Sokol facility...
07-May-2004
In Brief - Laser downs rocket in test
07-May-2004
In Brief - Third Greek FAC launched
07-May-2004
In Brief - EU's China arms ban stays
07-May-2004
In Brief - Japan set for $725 million missile buy
07-May-2004
In Brief - Tajik troops to patrol Afghan border

07-May-2004
In Brief - Lawmakers move to delay base closures
Members of the US House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee
approved legislation to delay from September 2005 to mid-2007 the process of
determining...
07-May-2004
Silver Fox to hunt with the marines
The US Marine Corps will deploy four platforms of a new hand-launched
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to Iraq later this month. The Silver...
30-Apr-2004
US assesses interceptor sites in Europe
The US is discussing with European allies the possibility of basing anti-missile
interceptors in Europe later this decade to counter long-range ballistic missiles
in countries like Iran and North Korea that could threaten the European
continent and eastern part of the US.
30-Apr-2004
JSF partners are 'on track' for long-term boom
Opportunities for industrial participation by the international partners in the
multibillion-dollar US-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme are
unfolding well and are on track, despite assertions to the contrary, says the
senior industry official overseeing the aircraft's development.
30-Apr-2004
Mobile laser tracks large-calibre rocket
The US Army and the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 29 April conducted
a test of the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser...
30-Apr-2004
NATO struggles to form new Afghan PRTs
NATO is finding it difficult to meet the goal of establishing five new provincial
reconstruction teams (PRTs), the centrepiece of its planned expansion in
Afghanistan, before the Istanbul NATO Summit in late June.
30-Apr-2004
Pakistan to receive US assistance
Pakistan is nearing agreement with the US for the supply of military equipment
that includes fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, according to US and...
29-Apr-2004
2004 Jane's Information Group. All rights reserved | Terms of use | Jane's Privacy Policy
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JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - MAY 26, 2004
Email Alerts
Headlines
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Europe
German yards set to unite as HDW finds

new owner
Asia/Pacific
Middle East/Africa
DAVID MULHOLLAND JDW Business Editor

London
Armed Forces
Business
Analysis
Features
ThyssenKrupp has agreed to buy Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW)

from its owner, a US investment bank, in a move that will unite the
German naval industry and position it to lead European naval
consolidation.
Interviews
Exhibitions
Editorial Team
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
The German government, unions and media have reacted very positively
to the agreement.
If the deal goes through, One Equity Partners (OEP), the investment arm
of Chicago-based Bank One, will receive EUR240 million ($285 million)
and a 25% stake in ThyssenKrupp's shipbuilding business in return for
OEP's 75% stake in HDW. The cash value of the deal would only cover
HDW's estimated debts. The value of the 25% stake in the ThyssenKrupp
shipbuilding group was not released. However, last year ThyssenKrupp's
yards had a turnover of EUR970 million and the new combined business
should have sales of around EUR2.2 billion a year.
An OEP spokesman refused to comment except to say that the deal was a
"win-win" for both companies and that future prospects were promising.
ThyssenKrupp and OEP see the merger as laying the foundation for
uniting Europe's naval yards.
"We actively support ThyssenKrupp's strategy of becoming a leading
international company in the sector," said an OEP spokesman. "This is the
first step to prepare to build up the international group in the future that
could include French and US companies."
A ThyssenKrupp official said that further consolidating moves could come
in "two to three years, or longer". However, at this stage it is unclear
whether that would be through mergers or partnerships.
http://www4.janes.com/subscribe/jdw/doc_view.jsp?K2...history/jdw2004/jdw07900.htm@current&Prod_Name=JDW& (1 of 3)5/22/2004 12:18:17 AM
The tie-up would create a strong competitor to the aspirations of France's

DCN and Spain's Izar, which both see themselves as important centres of
gravity for consolidating Europe's naval shipbuilding.
Jean-Marie Poimboeuf, DCN's chief executive, said last November that
DCN would be interested in HDW as the Franco-German element of a
wider industry consolidation also including Spain's Izar and Italy's
Fincantieri.
HDW already boasts a strong international presence. In addition to its Kiel
yard, HDW owns Kockums in Sweden and Hellenic Shipyards in Greece.
ThyssenKrupp's shipyards, which are smaller in revenues than HDW,
consist of Blohm+Voss and Blohm+Voss Repair, both in Hamburg, and
Nordseewerke in Emden, Germany.
The combined company, however, will still struggle in the European
shipbuilding market, said an industry source. He noted that the merger
may solve some internal problems, but that the larger problem of pressure
on the civil side of the business will remain.
National pride
The German government, which welcomed the move, had feared HDW
and its sensitive technology would fall under foreign ownership. A
ThyssenKrupp official said that the government was very supportive of a
German takeover of the yard.
OEP's acquisition of HDW created national controversy about the question
of foreign ownership of German defence companies. That led to a law
prohibiting overseas entities from controlling more than a 25% stake in
German defence companies.
The two companies expect to complete due diligence by the end of June
and a merger towards the end of the year.
While the size of the new business would make it subject to review by EU
Commission anti-monopoly authorities, the German government had said
it would support a national defence exclusion under Article 296 of the
Maastricht Treaty if needed, according to the OEP spokesman.
The merger will not threaten continuing co-operation with other
companies, such as HDW's Kockums working with Northrop Grumman on
carbon-fibre composite warships as part of the US company's bid to build
patrol boats within the US Coast Guard's Deepwater programme.
However, the tie-up does appear to block quiet efforts by Northrop
Grumman to acquire HDW's expertise in conventional submarine
technology: HDW builds the Type 212A for the German Navy in
conjunction with ThyssenKrupp's Nordseewerke and the MAN Group's
Ferrostaal yard in Essen as part of the German Submarine Consortium.
When OEP bought its 75% stake in HDW, sources told JDW that Northrop
Grumman was thought to have motivated OEP to take the stake (JDW 15
March 2002). The company is interested in acquiring state-of-the-art
conventional submarine technology to supply the US government's
conventional-powered submarines that have been promised to Taiwan.
Northrop Grumman has also been interested in other HDW technologies,

such as stealthy composite surface combatants. HDW officials have told
JDW it is interested in breaking into the US market.
US efforts to source submarines for Taiwan have been stymied by
Chinese opposition, which has persuaded the German and Dutch
governments to prohibit their technology from Taiwanese end use.
US submarine builders have been seeking conventional submarine
technology because they ceased manufacturing conventional submarines
decades ago when the US Navy switched to an all-nuclear fleet. As a
consequence, US conventional submarine technology is obsolete.
HDW's submarines are a particularly attractive target because of the
investment the company has made in air-independent propulsion. This
allows submarines to stay submerged for weeks at a time, allowing them
to operate in ways previously only possible for nuclear-powered
submarines.
RELATED ARTICLES:
'German Industry: Export drive' (JDW 29 Oct 2003)
'Naval shipbuilding in Europe: a case for consolidation?' (Jane's
Navy International, Oct 2003)
HDW's shipbuilding might: the SAS Isandlwana (F 146)

frigate for the South African Navy and the FGS U31 Type
206A submarine for the German Navy in Kiel
(Source: M Nitz)
An aerial view of the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg,

Germany. Blohm+Voss parent company ThyssenKrupp has
agreed to buy HDW: a move that will consolidate almost all
of Germany's naval industry
(Source: Michael Nitz)
2004 Jane's Information Group

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DEFENCE EXHIBITIONS GUIDE

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JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY
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JDW Exhibitions Online

May 2004
Europe
Asia/Pacific
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5-8
IDEE 2004
Trencin, Slovak Republic
www.idee.sk
Business
Analysis
Features
Interviews
Exhibitions
Editorial Team
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Daily News Digest
6-7
Gulf Coast Military Exposition and Symposium 2004
New Orleans, USA
www.gcmexpo.org
6-8
AHS International 60th Annual Forum and Technology Display
Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
www.vtol.org/calendar.html#may04
10-13
2004 Small Arms Symposium & Exhibition
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
www.ndia.org
10-13
US Special Operations Command Week and Advanced Planning Briefing
for Industry
Tampa, Florida, USA
www.meetingmattersplus.com/USSCOMMain.html
10-16
ILA2004 Berlin-Brandenburg International Aerospace Exhibition &
Conference
Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany
www.ila-berlin.de
11-12
EW 2004 Electronic Warfare
http://www4.janes.com/subscribe/jdw/doc_view.jsp?K2D...w/history/jdw2002/jdw00412.htm@current&Prod_Name=JDW (1 of 8)5/22/2004 12:18:20 AM
London, UK
www.shephard.co.uk/exhib.ew_04
11-13
AFCEA TechNet International 2004
Washington, DC, USA
www.technet2004.org
15-20
2004 Armor Conference
Ft Knox, Kentucky, USA
www.knox.army.mil/arconf
16-19
Association of Old Crows Roma Symposium and Expo
Rome, Italy
www.crows.org/EVENTS/2004/ROMA/roma.htm
20-22
World EOD Foundation International Conference & Exhibition
Bangkok , Thailand
www.eod.org
25-26
Electronic Warfare 2004
London, UK
www.electronicwarfare2004.com
25-27
AFV Attack and Survivability 2004
RMCS Shrivenham, UK
www.symposiaatshrivenham.com
25-28
CIDEX, China International Defence Electronics Exhibition
Beijing, People's Republic of China
www.cidexshow.com
26-28
Ordnance, Munitions and Explosives - Test and Evaluation
RMCS Shrivenham, UK
26-29
HEMUS 2004, 6th International Exhibition of Defense Equipment
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
www.hemusbg.org
June 2004
2
2nd US-UK Defense Industry Symposium
London, UK
www.ndia.org
2-5
Indo Defence 2004 Expo & Forum

Jakarta, Indonesia
www.napindo.com
2-6
The 8th International Symposium on Protection against Chemical and
Biological Warfare Agents
Gothenburg, Sweden
www.cbwsymp.foi.se
3-4
AUSA Symposium Space Support and Global Operations
Long Beach, California, USA
www.ausa.org/chapweb/glc/glac/index.html
7-9
XIth European Air Defence Symposium 2004
RMCS Shrivenham, UK
8-10
AFCEA Tranformation Technet
www.afcea.org/transformation04/
8-10
American Helicopter Society 60th Annual Forum &Technology Display
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
www.vtol.org/60cfp.html
9-10
US Naval Submarine League Annual Symposium
Washington, DC, USA
www.navalsubleague.com
14-18
Eurosatory
Paris-Nord Villepinte, France
www.eurosatory.com
22-25
UDT Europe
Nice, France
www.udt-europe.com
23-25
Balt-Military-Expo, Baltic Military Show
Gdansk, Poland
www.baltmilitary.pl
28-29
NATO Summit
Istanbul, Turkey
www;natoistanbul2004.org.tr
28-29
American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Day 2004

Washington, DC, USA
www.navalengineers.org/Events/ADAY2004/AD04Index.html
29-1
July Indirect Fire 2004
RMCS Shrivenham, UK
30-1 Jul
DVD 2004
Millbrook, UK
www.theevent.co.uk/exhibitor
July 2004
6-10
REA 2004, Russia Expo Arms 2004
Nizhny Tagil, Russia
www.rearms.ru/
15-16
UV 2004 London
London, UK
www.uv2004.com
17 & 18
Dayton Air Show
Dayton, Ohio, USA
www.usats.org
19-25
Farnborough International
Farnborough, UK
www.farnborough.com
August 2004
3-5
AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America 2004
Anaheim, California, USA
www.auvsi.org/symposium/
3-6
ONR Naval-Industry R&D Partnership Conference
Washington, DC, USA
www.onr.navy.mil/about/conferences/rd_partner/"
30-2 Sep
MSPO, 12th International Defence Industry Exhibition
Kielce, Poland
www.mspo.pl
September 2004
1-3
IICDES
New Delhi, India
Email: Satcon@nde.vsni.net.in
7
US Naval Institute-US Marine Corps Association Forum 2004
Washington, DC, USA
www.mca-usniforum.org
13-15
Air Force Association Annual Symposium and Exhibit
Washington, DC, USA
www.afa.org
14-16
Modern Day Marine
Quantico, VA, USA
www.marinemilitaryexpos.com
14-17
IDEAS 2004, International Defence Exhibition & Seminar
Karachi, Pakistan
www.ideaspakistan.com
21-23
Helitech 2004 Latin America
Sa Paolo, Brazil
www.helitechlatinamerica.com
21-25
Africa Aerospace & Defence
Pretoria, South Africa
www.aadexpo.co.za
22-24
China 2004, InterAirportAsia
Beijing, PR China
www.interairport.com/asia
29-30
US Naval Institute 9th Annual Warfare Exposition and Symposium
www.usni.org/seminars/warfare/warfare.htm
October 2004
4-6
Milipol Qatar
Doha, Qatar
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5-9
DEFENDORY 2004
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6-10
Japan Aerospace 2004
Yokohama, Japan
www.aero-space.jp
17-20
Association of Old Crows 41st Annual International Symposium and
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San Diego, California, USA
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18-21
Infotech 2004 Conference & Exhibition
Dayton, Ohio, USA
www.afcea.org
19-21
UDT Hawaii
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25-27
AUSA Annual Meeting
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26-28
HELMOT XI (Helicopter Military Operations)
Williamsburg, VA, USA
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25-29
Euronaval
Paris, France
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November 2004
1-7
Airshow China 2004
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24-27
Iran Air Show
Kish Island, Iran
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30-3 Dec
Exponaval
Valparaiso, Chile
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December 2004
6-9
I/ITSEC, The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education
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Orlando, Florida, USA
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8-10
Combat Vehicle Survivability Symposium
Defence Academy, Shrivenham, UK
January 2005
February 2005
1-3
West 2005 AFCEA & Naval Institute
San Diego, California, USA
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www.usni.org/seminars/west/
9-13
Aero India 2005
Yelahanka-Bangalore, India
www.aeroindia.gov.in
12-17
IDEX 2005, 7th International Defence Exhibition & Conference
Abu Dhabi, UAE
www.idex-uae.com/2005/
16-18
Homeland Security Asia
Bangkok, Thailand
www.eod.org/HSA
March 2005
15-20
Australian International Airshow 2005
Avalon Airport, Victoria, Australia
www.airshow.net.au
22-24
Sea-Air-Space Expo
Washington, DC, USA
www.navyleague.org
April 2005
26-29
LAAD 2005 Latin America Aero & Defence
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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May 2005
3-5
IDET 2005
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Brno, Czech Republic
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First sight of Chinese catamaran
Europe
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Yihong Chang JDW Correspondent

Toronto
Additional reporting Richard Scott JDW Naval Editor
London
New photographs have revealed the existence of a hitherto unknown
Chinese fast-attack craft design based on a wave-piercing catamaran
hullform and exhibiting a high degree of radar-cross-section (RCS)
reduction in its topside design.
Interviews
Exhibitions
Editorial Team
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
The vessel, carrying the pennant number 2208, was observed

outside the Qiuxin shipyard following its launch in April.
The design is characterised by a wave-piercing catamaran hullform,
a centre bow to reduce the incidence of slamming and four waterjet
propulsors aft (two in each hull).
The vessels are almost certainly made from aluminium alloy, already
widely used in commercial fast ferry designs.
Furthermore, photographs show the extent to which the vessel's
designers have sought to reduce RCS by faceting the outer hull,
bridge and topside structures and reducing external fittings.
Also apparent are modifications to reduce the RCS of the AK-630 gun
mounting fitted forward. The presence of other weapon and sensor
systems is less easy to discern. However, the wedge-shaped
structures aft may be housings for anti-ship missiles, while some
form of electro-optical director appears to be installed above the
bridge deck.
Analysts believe that the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy
(PLAN) may be looking to introduce into service a large number of
missile-armed fast- attack craft based on the wave-piercing
catamaran hullform adopted by unit 2208.
Observers believe that these vessels could act as nodes in a wider
networked platform and sensor grid, while their stealth features have
raised the possibility that they have been designed as a counterpoint
to the Taiwanese navy's new Kwang Hua 6-class fast-attack craft.
Chinese research into the application of novel hullforms for military
and security applications has its origins in the 1970s. However, it
was not until 1999 that the Chinese customs service received its first
two 220-ton small-waterplane-area twin-hull vessels.
The PLAN's new wave-piercing catamaran

(Source: Yihong Chang)
Stern view of the PLAN's new wave-piercing

catamaran
(Source: via Yihong Chang)
Another view of the PLAN's new wave-piercing

catamaran
(Source: via Yihong Chang)

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UK plans to test high-speed TSV

Richard Scott JDW Naval Editor
London
Asia/Pacific
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to fund the concept exploration and

trials of a high-speed theatre support vessel (TSV) to evaluate its potential
in maritime expeditionary logistics operations.
Business
Analysis
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Funding has been earmarked in the MoD's research programme for the
TSV concept phase and trials programme. Science and technology group
QinetiQ is to manage the lease of a suitable vessel, together with the trials
and evaluation programme, on behalf of the MoD.
Exhibitions
Editorial Team
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
The UK's evaluation of the potential afforded by TSVs reflects growing

military interest in the utility of fast passenger and vehicle ferry designs for
logistics needs. The US has three wave-piercing catamarans - Joint
Venture (HSV-X1), Spearhead (TSV-1X) and Swift (HSV-2) - operating
under lease from Incat of Australia. In addition, US Military Sealift
Command operates the 101m catamaran ferry WestPac Express under
charter from Austal Ships, also of Australia.
The MoD has previously monitored the application of TSV and associated
enablers through its Fast Ship Technology Watch programme. Work to
examine the potential contribution of TSVs has also been undertaken by
the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. According to QinetiQ,
work to define the UK's TSV trials plan has begun, with an invitation to
tender for the lease of a suitable vessel expected to emerge in the next
few months.
An initial assessment programme will be run sometime between this
October and March 2005. This will allow the MoD to take advantage of the
lower lease rates available in the European 'off-season'.
The trials programme will assess vessel seakeeping, cost of ownership,
human-factor issues and the costs associated with placing the vessel
under Lloyds Register of Shipping naval rules. Another component of the
evaluation will be the development of TSV onload/ offload requirements
with the British Army's 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistics
Corps at Marchwood Military Port near Southampton.
Possible applications where the benefits of the TSV will be assessed are
intra-theatre logistics, including seabase offload, consolidation within the
seabase, casualty transfer and personnel transfer. A key element is to
assess how high-speed vessels could free up helicopters for other priority
taskings.
Results from the programme will inform MoD equipment capability
managers for logistics and support, littoral manoeuvre and above water
effect, and programmes such as Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability,
and Joint Seabasing. QinetiQ says that, depending on the results of the
initial evaluation, a follow-on trials programme may be developed running
through to 2007.
This is not the first time that the UK has explored the potential of novel
high-speed craft. For example, the Royal Navy trialled a variety of
hovercraft types during the 1970s and also procured a high-speed jetfoil,
HMS Speedy, in 1979 to evaluate its performance in the offshore patrol
role. Neither technology found mainstream utility, although the Royal
Marines have operated four Griffon 2000 TDX(M) light hovercraft since
1994.

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ILA 2004: AGS team details timetable, while

losers smoulder
Asia/Pacific
Middle East/Africa
ROBERT HEWSON Editor, Jane's Air-Launched Weapons

Berlin
Armed Forces
Business
Analysis
Features
The winning TIPS Team, comprising EADS, Northrop Grumman, Thales,

Indra, Galileo Avionica and General Dynamics Canada, has set out its
timetable for implementing NATO's Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS)
programme (JDW 28 April).
Interviews
Exhibitions
Editorial Team
It is hoped that the first, two-year, design-and-development contract worth some EUR300 million ($358 million) - will be agreed in the first
quarter of 2005.
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
The losing team, the Co-operative Transatlantic AGS System (CTAS)

group, which includes Raytheon and others, is disputing the status of the
TIPS Team's win and is not giving up hope that NATO might re-open the
competition.
At the ILA Berlin launch of what is described as "the first joint NATO
programme since AWACS", the TIPS Team provided details of how the
AGS will be structured.
The design-and-development phase will conclude with a critical design
review to clear the way for a full engineering, manufacturing and
development (EMD) contract award in early 2007.
The EMD phase will involve two A321 aircraft and three Global Hawk
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), plus ground systems and support gear.
For risk-reduction purposes the Transatlantic Co-operative AGS Radar
(TCAR) and mission equipment will be flown and tested in parallel on the
two A321s.
The Global Hawks will support EMD and system verification with a mix of
radars and mission equipment. Initial operational capability is planned for
2010, but the delay in signing the design-and-development contract from
this year to 2005 means that full operational capability is not expected until
2013.
NATO has not yet decided the final number of AGS platforms. The
optimum solution offered by TIPS included five A321s and seven Global
Hawks (plus 49 fixed and mobile ground stations). TIPS said that NATO
has the prerogative to change these numbers.
Some of those close to the AGS programme have complained that the
TIPS Team's April programme win was not sufficiently transparent and
came without any formal request for proposals. NATO has been accused
in some quarters of making a politicised decision that was influenced by
factors not set out in the original requirements documents. Responding to
this suggestion, Thomas Enders, head of Defence and Security Systems,
EADS, said: "There has been a competition and the idea that an overnight
decision was reached is just not true. It was a four-year process and the
TIPS Team prevailed."
Enders said that NATO has allocated a budget of between EUR3 billion
and EUR4 billion for the total programme. With EADS officials quoting a
cost of some $4.8 billion for the TIPS Team solution, Raytheon says its
proposal was at least $1.7 billion less. Raytheon maintains that radar
development costs will add another $1.5 billion.
Some within the TCAR group think that the programme may collapse
under spiralling costs and so are positioning themselves for a restart and
rebid. Enders said that the NATO nations are committed to the AGS
programme and that he was convinced the required budgets would
"show".
The EMD phase for NATO's Alliance Ground

Surveillance system will involve two A321 aircraft as
well as three Global Hawk UAVs
(Source: EADS)

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ILA 2004: Germany looks beyond AGS to

national intelligence needs
Asia/Pacific
Middle East/Africa
Robert Hewson Editor, Jane's Air-Launched Weapons

Berlin
Armed Forces
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Analysis
Features
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Editorial Team
The German Ministry of Defence is planning to acquire a second batch of

Northrop Grumman Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE)
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Germany is expected to sign a deal with Northrop Grumman and EADS
for the supply of a first batch of six Euro Hawks (five, plus one prototype,
to be based on the RQ-4B platform) that will be tasked with an electronic
intelligence-gathering mission.
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
The proposed second batch would comprise six Global Hawks with
synthetic-aperture radar - similar to those that will be operated by NATO
under the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme.
These aircraft would conduct imagery intelligence (IMINT) missions under
German government control. They will handle national, EU and NATO
surveillance and monitoring missions, forming part of the wider integrated
intelligence-gathering network that Germany is now establishing.
One senior programme source said the UAVs would be part of a system
that will combine medium-altitude, long-endurance and HALE UAVs along
with satellite assets. They will be used for crisis management and national
decision-making support.
"We need a system that can stay up for three months, 24 hours a day if
needs be, operating as part of a net-centric warfare concept. If we look
back at the air war over Kosovo, the only people who could do the
targeting there were the Americans because only they had the assets. We
never want to be in that position again," he noted.
Germany's IMINT Hawks will be acquired around the 2008-10 time frame,
to become operational as an equivalent capability becomes available to
NATO under its AGS programme. Germany's aircraft will have some links
with the AGS aircraft in terms of maintenance, mission planning, support

and logistics.
However, there is an admission within the AGS programme that the core
NATO AGS fleet of approximately five manned and seven unmanned
aircraft will not be enough to support all NATO's requirements and so it will
have to be augmented by other national assets - such as Germany's
proposed IMINT Hawks and others.
The Northrop Grumman/EADS system concept

for Euro Hawk
(Source: EADS)

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Taiwan-US ship deals stalled

ANDREW KOCH JDW Bureau Chief and
WENDELL MINNICK JDW Correspondent
Washington, DC, and Taipei
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
Business
Analysis
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Three years after US President George Bush pledged to do "whatever it

takes to help Taiwan defend itself", two arms contracts seen as key to the
US aid are mired in political and financial troubles, defence sources in
Taipei and Washington told JDW.
The deals for the proposed sale of eight diesel-electric submarines promised by Bush in April 2001 - as well as Aegis combat systemequipped ships, long sought by Taiwan, could be shelved by mounting
political and financial problems.
One primary problem for the boats, defence sources in Taiwan
complained, is that the US has still not secured a modern design that
meets Taipei's satisfaction. No US shipyard has built conventionally
powered submarines since the 1950s, leaving Washington dependent on
external sources of supply.
According to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems president Philip Dur, the
company is offering a modernised version of the Barbel-class submarine
similar to the USS Blueback. The offer, Dur said, is being made in
partnership "with a European submarine house". A US defence official
confirmed that the company is Howaldtswerke- Deutsche Werft (HDW).
The design would use USS Barbel's hullform fitted with HDW's pressure
hull and modern components such as air-independent propulsion. The
'improved Barbel' would have a displacement of 2,644 tonnes submerged,
a maximum speed of 21kt, six torpedo or missile-launch tubes and a
maximum cruising distance, without refuelling, of 19,000nm, according to
a Northrop factsheet.
However, there is a drawback: "At the moment it doesn't appear that the
government that controls technology from that shipyard is enthusiastic
about sales to Taiwan," Dur said. Other officials noted that with HDW's
recent sale to Thyssen-Krupp, the likelihood of the German government
approving such a deal appears even more remote. Likewise, General
Dynamics has had intermittent discussions with Spain's Izar for a

submarine design, but no deal appears to be settled.
"Nothing has changed since 2001," the sources in Taiwan said, adding
that higher-than-expected costs and insistence that the boats be built incountry, have also soured the deal. They noted that the latter provision "is
very likely going to kill the whole deal", adding that Taiwan lacks both the
construction and testing infrastructure needed for such a project. US
military officials have said they cannot move forward to settle any of these
issues until a down payment for the submarines is secured from Taiwan.
Further, no such funding is expected until at least 2006 (JDW 16 July
2003).
Similarly, Taiwan has long sought Aegis-equipped surface combatants.
While Taipei bought four ex-Navy Kidd-class destroyers as an interim
measure pending addition of Aegis, to date no progress has been made
on securing the system further than a promise, made several years ago,
that it would be approved 'in principle'. With the prospect of US policy
toward arms sales to the region shifting dramatically if there is a change in
administration following the November presidential elections, time for
deals could be running out.

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Turkey moves to focus more on local

industry
Europe
Asia/Pacific
LALE SARIIBRAHIMOGLU JDW Correspondent

Ankara
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
Business
Turkey's decision to cancel three delayed projects, together worth more

than $10 billion, has signalled a shift in Ankara's strategy to an even
greater emphasis on local industrialisation (JDW 19 May).
Analysis
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Editorial Team
The Executive Committee of the Turkish Defence Industries

Undersecretariat (SSM) decided on 14 May to cancel the acquisition of
145 Bell Helicopter-Textron AH-1Z King Cobra attack helicopters, the
coproduction of a new generation of 1,000 main battle tanks (MBTs) and
the acquisition of 40 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It was the first time
the committee had met in 18 months.
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
A source close to the committee told JDW that the Turkish General Staff
was concerned that the cancellation of the AH-1Z project would have
repercussions on Ankara's relations with Washington, which have recently
been improving following a downturn at the onset of Operation 'Iraqi
Freedom'. The SSM will issue a new request for proposals (RfP) shortly
for the direct purchase of 91 attack helicopters.
Turkey announced on 21 July 2000 that it had selected the AH-1Z; it was
to be co-produced in three batches beginning with an initial batch of 50
aircraft. However, negotiations stalled on the issues of technology transfer
and cost.
A government budget crunch is another reason for the procurements'
collapse.
Some Turkish sources suggested that the AH-1Z cancellation could also
be linked to Ankara's aspirations to join the EU. The US aircraft was
selected over the Agusta A129 International Mangusta and the Eurocopter
Tiger.
New tank strategy
A severe financial crisis caused the Turkish government to suspend the

acquisition of a new MBT in 2000 after it evaluated five bids:
* the Alenia/OTOBreda Ariete;
* a diesel version of the General Dynamics Land Systems M1A2;
* the Giat Industries Leclerc;
* the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2; and
* the Ukrspetsexport T-84.
Turkey later signed a controversial deal with Israel Military Industries to
modernise 170 M60A1s for an estimated $700 million (JDW 24 September
2002).
To meet the army's immediate MBT requirement, the SSM now plans to
buy 250 used tanks as an interim measure while a Turkish consortium is
sought to develop an indigenous tank prototype by 2010.
Ankara also has other options for its long-term tank requirement. In 2003
officials from South Korea and Turkey discussed the possible codevelopment of a new MBT (JDW 16 July 2003). Earlier this year
Pakistani and Turkish officials discussed the possibility of co-producing
Pakistan's new Al-Khalid (MBT 2000) tank (JDW 4 February).
UAVs
Following the committee's cancellation of a project launched in March
2002 to acquire 40 UAVs for a joint service requirement, a new RfP will be
released under which a local Turkish contractor will develop a national
drone system.
Turkish sources told JDW that the UAV could be based on the Israel
Aircraft Industries Harpy anti-radar drone, which is already in Turkish
service. Deliveries of a reported order of 108 Harpy UAVs began in mid2002.
MilGem proposal
The committee also decided to change the acquisition strategy for the
stalled patrol and anti-submarine warfare National Vessel (MilGem)
project and to issue a new RfP. A foreign designer will be selected to
assist a Turkish yard in developing and building a prototype corvette.

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US troops in South Korea to deploy to Iraq
Europe
Asia/Pacific
Joshua Kucera JDW Staff Reporter

Washington DC
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
Business
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that it is moving

about 3,600 troops from South Korea to Iraq: the first drawdown of its
forces from the Korean peninsula in more than 15 years.
Analysis
Features
Interviews
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Editorial Team
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
The 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division will be deployed in JulyAugust as part of Operation 'Iraqi Freedom 3' and will stay for up to a year,
defence officials said. They added that no decision has been made on
whether to send the brigade back to Korea once its tour in Iraq is over.
About 37,000 US troops are in South Korea now.
The departure of the mobile infantry brigade will not affect South Korea's
security, military officials said. One defence official said that the
redeployment was part of a larger plan to build up the capabilities of US
forces there.
The US has equipped Patriot air-defence batteries with Patriot Advanced
Capability-3 missiles; is rotating battalions of Stryker 8 x 8 light armoured
vehicles into Korea; and investing "billions" in command, control,
communications, computers and intelligence there, the official said. All
that will compensate for a smaller number of troops, the official added.
"We have moved troops off of the [demilitarised zone] where, frankly, they
were performing nothing except a kind of useless - and indeed, I would
say, counterproductive - tripwire function," said Deputy Secretary of
Defense Paul Wolfowitz.
US forces are thinly stretched as 135,000 remain in Iraq, while fewer are
in Afghanistan and the Balkans. However, defence officials said that
moving the brigade from Korea was not a sign that the US is struggling to
find enough soldiers for Iraq. Wolfowitz told a Congressional committee on
18 May that the move has been under consideration for a year. "We had
planned on some reductions. We needed an extra brigade in Iraq and the
one in Korea was ideally suited for that," he said.
According to reports in the South Korean press, South Korean Foreign

Minister Ban Ki-moon said the drawdown would not result in a security
vacuum there. He added that Seoul intends to fulfil its 3,600-strong troop
commitment for Iraq. Earlier this year South Korean officials delayed the
promised deployment after concerns that the troops would be used in
combat rather than peacekeeping when they are sent to Kirkuk in northern
Iraq (JDW 24 March).
On the move: the 2nd Brigade, part of the US
Army 2nd Infantry Division, shown here in the
demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, will
deploy to Iraq
(Source: PA)

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Turkey cancels attack helicopter, tank and

drone projects
Europe
Asia/Pacific
LALE SARIIBRAHIMOGLU JDW Correspondent

Ankara
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
Business
Turkey announced on 14 May that it is cancelling three long-delayed multibillion-dollar programmes, including the procurement of Bell HelicopterTextron AH-1Z King Cobra attack helicopters (JDW 31 March).
Analysis
Features
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Editorial Team
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
A written statement distributed to the press after a four-hour meeting of

the Executive Committee of the Turkish Defence Industries
Undersecretariat (SSM), the government's senior procurement decisionmaking body, said that co-production of 50 attack helicopters would not
proceed.
It also said that the local production of 1,000 new-generation main battle
tanks and the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles were cancelled.
"New requests for proposals with an emphasis on new procurement
models based on higher local industrialisation will be issued," said the
statement.
All three projects have been under negotiation for more than four years.
Turkey stated earlier it might cancel the attack helicopter project as
Ankara was not satisfied with the level of technology transfer despite
increased involvement of Turkish industry in Northrop Grumman's lastminute offer centred on the helicopter's mission computers.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chief of General Staff Gen
Hilmi zkk and Defence Minister Vecdi Gnl participated in the
committee meeting.

http://www4.janes.com/subscribe/jdw/doc_view.jsp?K2DocK...jdw/history/jdw2004/jdw07845.htm@current&Prod_Name=JDW&5/22/2004 12:18:47 AM
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Czech Gripen lease deal to be signed soon

Jiri Kominek JDW Correspondent
Prague
Asia/Pacific
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) submitted a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) to the Czech government on 12 May for the lease of
14 JAS-39 Gripen multirole fighters for the Czech Air Force.
Business
Analysis
Features
Interviews
Exhibitions
Editorial Team
The MoD and the Gripen consortium, consisting of Saab Aerospace and
BAE Systems, have already signed the MoU.
The government informed Minister of Defence Miroslav Kostelka that it
would take a two- to three-week break before giving the minister the goahead to sign the MoU as well as a Kcs20.3 billion ($752 million) contract
for the lease of the aircraft and a second contract for industrial offsets.
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
"This does not mean that the decision has been delayed, since the cabinet
originally gave itself until the end of June 2004 to approve the MoU as well
as the contracts for the lease and offsets," said MoD spokesman Ladislav
Sticha.
"We expect the cabinet to give the MoD the authority to sign the
agreements in the near future since Czech Air Force pilots are scheduled
to travel to Sweden and begin flight training in July 2004."

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Few surprises in Australian budget

IAN BOSTOCK JDW Correspondent
Sydney
Asia/Pacific
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The Australian government has deviated little from the recently released
Defence Capability Plan (DCP) in its latest defence budget, with the
announcement of an additional two Wedgetail B737 airborne earlywarning and control (AEW&C) aircraft the only acquisition not
foreshadowed in the 10-year DCP blueprint.
Exercising the option to increase the AEW&C fleet from four to six aircraft
for A$326 million (US$232.8 million), Defence Minister Robert Hill said
that the "investment is about 10% of the original contract price for a 50%
increase in capability".
Editorial Team
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
The larger AEW&C fleet makes it commercially viable to have four of the
aircraft fitted out at Boeing Australia's facility in Brisbane. This work is
expected to create around 170 new jobs.
The first two Wedgetail aircraft will be handed over to the Royal Australian
Air Force (RAAF) in November 2006 and all six aircraft will be delivered by
2008.
About A$50 million will also be allocated to fund the RAAF's Bomb
Improvement Programme. This project will involve acquiring guidance kits
for existing iron bombs in the inventory to enable F/A-18 Hornet strike
fighters to conduct all-weather precision bombing operations.
Two systems have been nominated as candidate solutions: the Enhanced
Paveway II and Joint Direct Attack Munition. The respective system
manufacturers will receive a restricted request for tender this year. The
initial integration of the preferred bomb kits will be complete by 2008.
The RAAF's C-130J-30 Hercules transport aircraft fleet will receive a A$20
million upgrade to improve self-protection and ballistic tolerance from
ground fire. This will include the installation of missile warning receivers, a
countermeasures dispensing system and limited armoured protection to
selected areas. All 12 C-130J-30s will be fitted with the new systems by
2005.
An A$815.6 million funding boost over four years will strengthen logistics
support for Australian Defence Force (ADF) deployable units. The
additional funds are in response to the ADF's increased operational
commitments over recent years in both local theatres and ones further
afield.
This cash will be allocated for maintenance, refits and/or upgrades for a
range of ADF platforms and systems. These include: the underway
replenishment ship HMAS Success; the RAAF's AP-3C Orion maritime
patrol aircraft; ANZAC-class frigates; PC-9 turboprop training aircraft;
maritime helicopters; Kalkara aerial target drones; S-70A-9 Black Hawk
utility helicopters; Ninox surveillance and night fighting equipment;
Battlefield Command Support Systems; F/A-18 Hornets; C-130J-30
Hercules transports; Collins-class submarines; and explosive ordnance.
Operationally, the ADF will benefit from A$313.9 million in funding for its
operations in northern Australia (Operation 'Relex II'); the Solomon Islands
(Operation 'Anode'); East Timor; and Iraq. Since 2002-03, A$776.3 million
has been provided for ADF operations in Iraq.
The budget also provides A$300 million over three years to meet the cost
of maintaining and enhancing facilities such as base infrastructure and
facilities, airfields and fuel farms (see box).
In total, the budget contains an additional A$1.8 billion spread over four
years. This, Canberra claims, increases Australia's budget to A$16.35
billion in 2004-05.
* A$50 million for new facilities for 1 Aviation Regiment at Robertson
Barracks in Darwin;
* A$39 million for new facilities at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville,
Queensland;
* A$38 million to prepare for the introduction of AEW&C aircraft at RAAF
Base Williamtown in New South Wales;
* A$25 million to upgrade RAAF Base Richmond, west of Sydney, in
support of the Air Lift Group based there; and
* A$11.5 million to redevelop the Australian Army rotary-wing training base
at Oakey, Queensland, to support the introduction of the new fleet of Tiger
armed reconnaissance helicopters from December 2004 onwards.
Facilities to be maintained and enhanced

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France confirms it will not send troops to

Iraq
Europe
Asia/Pacific
J A C Lewis JDW Correspondent

Paris
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
Business
France will not send troops to Iraq even if a multinational force under a UN
mandate is eventually formed to stabilise the country, French Foreign
Minister Michel Barnier said last week.
Analysis
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Daily News Digest
In an interview in the Paris daily newspaper Le Monde on 13 May, Barnier

said it was "out of the question" to send forces to Baghdad. He added:
"There will be no French soldiers in Iraq, not now and not later."
However, the minister said Paris was ready to play a part in future efforts
to stabilise Iraq and to reconstruct the country politically and economically.
The French contribution could include "training police and paramilitary
personnel", he said.
A spokesman for French President Jacques Chirac said Barnier's
statement accurately reflected French policy but it appeared to suggest a
hardening of France's position regarding the conflict in Iraq. Some months
ago Chirac hinted that French troops could take part in a stability force in
Iraq if the operation were conducted under a UN mandate.

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Gaza attacks force Israel to curb M113 use
Europe
Asia/Pacific
ALON BEN-DAVID JDW Correspondent

Tel Aviv
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
Business
Analysis
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has decided to limit the use of its M113
armoured personnel carriers (APCs) in the Gaza Strip following two
incidents in which 11 troops were killed in M113s attacked by rocketpropelled grenades (RPGs).
Features
Interviews
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"However," IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj Gen Gabi Ashkenazi told JDW,
"there is no way we will stop using M113s, as it is our main platform. We
will have to seek other solutions."
Editorial Team
Special Reports
Daily News Digest
As an intermediate solution the IDF has begun to deploy more heavily

armoured APCs to Gaza. These are mainly the IDF Engineering Corps'
Puma APC, which is based on the Centurion main battle tank (MBT)
chassis; the Nagmachon heavy APC, also based on the Centurion; and
the Achzarit heavy APC based on the Russian T-54/-55 MBT.
"However, in the long run we have to adapt our M113s to the new threat
and find better ways to deal with the roadside bombs and anti-tank fire," a
senior source in IDF's Southern Command said.
In the first incident, on 11 May, an RPG struck an M113 that was carrying
100kg of explosives intended to demolish workshops in which the IDF
claims indigenously designed Qassam rockets are being produced (JDW
10 September 2003). The blast completely destroyed the APC, killing six
soldiers. The following day an RPG hit an M113 carrying almost 1,000kg
of explosives earmarked to destroy tunnels under the Israeli-Egyptian
border in Rafah. Five personnel were killed when the M113 was
completely destroyed.
"We were completely aware of the vulnerability of our APCs before those
incidents," said an IDF senior source. "The only reason we didn't have
more casualties before is because the Palestinians did not realise that the
M113 can be penetrated by RPGs. Also, we had dozens of incidents in
which M113s were hit by RPGs, but luckily were not penetrated."
Israel's State Comptroller warned in September 2003 of the vulnerability of

the IDF's APCs and called for more investment to armour them. The report
criticised the IDF for stalling a project for equipping the M113s with better
protection from RPGs.
The IDF has issued an initial contract for the upgrade of 50 M113s with
Israel Military Industries (IMI) and Rafael Armament Development
Authority for their M-02 light armour suite (JDW 6 August 2003). The
Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been negotiating with IMI for additional
upgrades but it is not yet clear whether there is sufficient funding.
"We will continue using M113s in Gaza and even continue carrying
explosives in them," IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Moshe Ya'alon said. "We
had those discussions [with IMI] before the recent incidents." A senior IDF
source added: "The M113 is simply what we've got. There is no way to
fully protect all of our vehicles."
The Israeli Achzarit heavy armoured personnel

carrier is based on the T-54/-55 tank chassis
(Source: PA)
The Mifletset is a further conversion of the Nagmachon

heavy APC, which is used as a command vehicle for
operations in urban areas
(Source: PA)
A heavily uparmoured M113 armoured personnel

carrier deployed on the West Bank
(Source: PA)

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ICRC calls for contractor accountability in

war
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MICHAEL SIRAK JDW Staff Reporter

Washington, DC
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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is preparing to

implement a policy to ensure that the humanitarian standards of
international law are upheld by private contractors who support world
armed forces in areas of conflict, according to a senior official within the
organisation.
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The case of abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, west of

Baghdad, and the alleged but yet-to-be-substantiated transgressions of
several private contractors who served there as interrogators for the US
Department of Defense (DoD) have drawn attention to the issue of
contractors' legal rights and responsibilities.
Although the current situation in Iraq was not the impetus for the ICRC's
new policy - the topic has been under study for several years - it does
demonstrate the need for clear articulation of the roles and obligations of
such contractors, said Claude Voillat, the ICRC's deputy head of privatesector relations.
Under the ICRC's new "triangular strategy" approved earlier this year,
Voillat said the committee will privately approach any company that
supplies these workers if there are concerns that their activities do not
honour the required standards or training and expertise in them is lacking.
At the same time, the ICRC will also discuss the situation with the military
organisations that hired them and the country of origin of the company to
bring to bear the need for compliance, he added.
Although the effort is three-pronged, the overriding goal is to affirm the
responsibilities of countries in this issue, said Voillat. "For us it is important
that there is a line of accountability," he told JDW. Attempts by states to
place these contractors outside the law would be unacceptable, he noted.
The use of private contractors is not new, although the practice has
burgeoned in the last decade. As armed forces have been reduced they
have sought to save funds by assigning support activities to contractors.

Thousands of contractors, for example, currently work for the US-led
coalition in Iraq.
However, a more alarming trend, say some outside legal observers, has
been the gradual shift of contractors into missions that play a direct role in
hostilities, such as military interrogators or front-line advisers, security
personnel and bodyguards (JDW 22 May 2002).
Civilian challenges
While the consequences of transgressions such as mistreating prisoners
of war or harming civilians indiscriminately are clearly articulated for
soldiers, and the military chain of command has an obligation to ensure
proper conduct, the task of holding contractors accountable is currently
more challenging, say some experts in the laws of armed conflict.
"Except in the rarest of cases, contractors are not subject to military
discipline or the military justice system," said Michael Schmitt, professor of
international law at the George C Marshall European Center for Security
Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. "Therefore, they are much
more difficult to control than uniformed personnel, or even civilian
government employees.
"I am particularly concerned that there is generally no reliable way of
ensuring they are properly and adequately trained in the law of war,
particularly the third Geneva Convention [on the treatment of prisoners of
war].
"The keys to compliance with the law of war is comprehensive
dissemination and adequate means for enforcement," he continued. "The
use of contractors threatens both."
Yet, for some US defence officials, the lines of accountability are already
in place. "Such civilians would be subject to any provision of US criminal
law that has extraterritorial application," a senior army lawyer told JDW.
This is bolstered, he noted, by the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act
of 2000, enacted in November that year, which extends US criminal
jurisdiction over civilians accompanying the US military who commit
serious offences overseas when a host country does not exercise
jurisdiction.
"It will work in this case, too, I submit," if the army establishes any
misconduct on the part of the contractors in the Abu Ghraib case, said this
official.
Maj Gen Thomas Romig, the US Army's judge advocate general, told a
US Senate oversight panel during a hearing into the detainee abuse issue
on 11 May that the DoD has drafted new implementation procedures for
the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. He noted that the US Air Force has
already prosecuted two cases against contractors under it.
US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (left)

with US military personnel during a visit to the
Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad on 13 May
(Source: PA)

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MEADS clears risk-reduction hurdle with

test success
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Armed Forces
Robin Hughes JDW Deputy News Editor

London Additional reporting Michael Sirak JDW Staff Reporter
Washington, DC
Business
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MEADS International (MI) says it has completed the risk-reduction effort

(RRE) phase for the Medium Extended Air Defence System (MEADS) with
what it describes as "a successful system-interface demonstration" in
Practica di Mare, Italy, on 6 May.
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MI is a partnership incorporating MBDA (Italy), EADS/LFK (Germany) and

Lockheed Martin (the US).
Special Reports
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MEADS is the next-generation mobile ground-based air and ballistic

missile defence system designed to replace the US MIM-104 Patriot
systems, the MIM-23 Hawk systems in Germany and the Nike systems in
Italy. The 6 May demonstration included for the first time the prototype of a
new undesignated, multifunction fire-control radar with X-band accuracy
and specially developed software together with the command centre,
launcher and the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) hit-to-kill missile
interceptor.
MI won the 32.5-month $260 million RRE contract on 10 July 2001 to
evaluate measures to reduce development risks and costs for critical
elements of MEADS. These efforts include assessing technologies
identified in the participating countries' evolving air-defence concepts. The
partnership received a $41 million RRE modification (RREM) contract for
an additional seven months when the RRE contract expired at the end of
March this year. This aims to serve as a funding bridge until the start of
the design and development phase, projected for later this year (JDW 17
March). The US provided 55% of the funding for the RRE phase, while
Germany supplied 28% and Italy 17%.
The test marked the second of two systems-interface demonstrations
required under the contractual obligations of the RRE phase. While this
exercise was supposed to be completed under the original RRE contract
by the end of March, the programme was able to slip the date of the
demonstration into May because of the RREM contract. The first systeminterface demonstration took place at Lockheed Martin's facility in
Syracuse, New York, in August 2003.
Under the RRE programme, MI successfully demonstrated the prototype
lightweight missile launcher and reloader in June 2003 during acceptance
tests in Brescia, Italy. Missile launcher demonstrations were completed
there the following September.
The MEADS system is designed to roll on/roll off C-130 and A400M
transport aircraft: a quantum leap in terms of mobility over systems such
as the Patriot.
MI said the roll-on/roll-off capability of the newly developed launcher in a
C-130 was also demonstrated successfully at the 6 May test.
MEADS employs advanced surveillance and fire-control sensors as well
as plug-and-fight command, control, computers, communications and
intelligence battle management architecture.
The latter architecture is also the basis for the Lockheed Martin-led Team
Athena UK Ground-Based Air-Defence Phase 1 battlefield-awareness
situation command-and-control system. This will link the UK's Rapier Field
Standard C and Starstreak short-range air-defence systems (JDW 17
September 2003).
MEADS is expected to achieve an initial operational capability around
2012. However, the US Army has said it would like to incorporate the
MEADS launcher and battle-management element into the Patriot system
later this decade to add to the latter's robustness and enhance its
deployability before the entire MEADS is available for operational use
(JDW 5 November 2003).
The MEADS system has a roll-on/roll-off capability for

transportation in a C-130 aircraft
(Source: MEADS International)

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Russians help India to solve SSN snags

RAHUL BEDI JDW Correspondent
New Delhi
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India has reportedly resolved many technical problems plaguing its

classified indigenous nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) building
programme, known as the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV). A locally
built SSN could now be ready for trials around 2008-09, claim Indian
sources.
A senior Indian source said assistance from Russian technicians had
"considerably" helped Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) and Defence Atomic Energy (DAE) scientists resolve difficulties
that have delayed the project by several years.
The same source also said that India has concluded a lease-to-purchase
deal with Moscow to acquire two Akula- (Bars-) class Type 971 SSNs with
an option for a third (JDW 6 February 2002). He said the boats would cost
$700 million each and that the first submarine would be delivered in two
years. The Russian government refused to confirm that an agreement had
been reached.
Although the Indian Navy (IN) refuses to comment on the ATV
programme, there have been periodic semi-official references to the
programme over the years (JDW 22 July 1998). The ATV is crucial to the
navy's ambition to contribute to India's nuclear deterrent, which is currently
provided by the army and the air force.
The IN has selected P C Bhasin, a retired vice admiral, to succeed R N
Ganesh, also a former vice admiral, as director general of the ATV project
(JDW 22 November 2000). Bhasin, whose appointment is expected to be
confirmed after the formation of a new government later this month, was
the navy's chief of materiel and was associated earlier with the ATV
programme.
The ATV design is reported to be based on the ex-Soviet 'Charlie 1'-class
Type 670 SSN, one of which the IN leased from 1988-1991.
With Russian assistance India is believed to have overcome problems in
miniaturising the 40-55MW pressurised water reactor. Sources said the

ATV's reactor is expected to begin tests "soon" at the Kalapakkam atomic
research centre near Madras.
Over the past four years Moscow has provided India with 58 tonnes of lowenriched uranium for the Tarapur atomic power station near Mumbai (JDW
28 February 2001). It is also building four nuclear reactors at Kudankulam
in coastal Tamil Nadu.
The ATV programme received a boost in 2001 when the Mumbai-based
private engineering and military equipment builder Larsen and Toubro
(L&T) became involved (JDW 4 July 2001). L&T is also developing a
missile launcher for the Sagarika (Oceanic) submarine-launched cruise
missile that is intended to arm the ATV.
L&T has located its project offices for both programmes at the Hazira
dockyard, where it has already built large portions of the ATV's hull. These
have been floated to the IN's Visakhapatnam dockyard for assembly. If the
ATV enters series production it is intended that the boats will be built at
Mazagon Dockyard Limited in Mumbai.

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Warnings for UK defence and procurement

plans
Europe
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DAMIAN KEMP JDW Staff Reporter

London
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Senior UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials have publicly acknowledged

that the costs of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and the difficulties of
achieving savings in the procurement process are hurting the UK's armed
forces.
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UK MoD Chief of Defence Procurement Peter Spencer told the House of

Commons Defence Committee on 12 May that "poor performance is
endemic" in procurement. On the same day Permanent Undersecretary of
State for Defence Kevin Tebbit warned that a shortage of funding is
hurting the armed forces, while First Sea Lord Adm Alan West said that
defence restructuring would cost ships and naval jobs.
Daily News Digest

Spencer said it was unlikely that efficiency targets introduced in the
government's Smart Procurement initiative would be achieved this year.
"The problem is systemic. If you have [a low scoring average] you will not
change that with a few good scores," Spencer said.
"We gave the integrated project teams an amnesty this year: we told them
if they had something to get off their chest they should do it now. We are
getting out of the [failure] cycle but we are [still] failing to meet targets. We
are getting better but that is not enough. Smart Acquisition needs to be
refreshed from time to time."
Spencer also repeated a warning made at the time of the last National
Audit Office (NAO) Major Projects Report, which covered the 12 months to
31 March 2003 (JDW 28 January), saying it is still too early to fully assess
the impact of Smart Procurement. "The fact is that smart projects are
going better than legacy projects but they are also at earlier stages," he
said.
The 2004 NAO report will evaluate more projects than the 20 highestvalue ones previously examined. Lower-value category B and C projects
will be scrutinised to determine whether they have achieved Smart
Procurement targets.
"We will make more efficient use of funds during [the] assessment phase
to verify the degree of maturity. Historically, only 2% of project funds have
been spent at [the] assessment phase but we are now currently on 4.4%,"
Spencer said.
Spencer said cost overruns were caused by "a lack of understanding of
risk". Derisking projects and maturing technology could eventually take up
20% of a programme's budget.
Tebbit went before the committee earlier in the day and said increasing
equipment costs, continuing deployments and successful recruiting had
put more pressure on the defence budget. He said despite promises that
they would be funded, operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone
are having an impact on the defence budget.
Adm West, speaking to The Times daily newspaper, said there would
need to be a reduction in the size of the UK Royal Navy and that the
number of Type 42 destroyers, Type 23 frigates and nuclear-powered
attack submarines required would need to be evaluated.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon foreshadowed these force reductions
when he released the government's Defence White Paper last December
(JDW 17 December 2003).
"There are going to be some hard choices and ministers will have to
review all implications, including industrial ones," Adm West said.
Spencer said an upcoming hole in naval building programmes could have
an impact on local capability. "Surface-ship building is an important
capability but we have a looming gap. How do we keep the skills in
place?" Spencer asked.

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Berlin marks first public flight for

production NH90
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Damian Kemp JDW Staff Reporter

London
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The first series-production NH Industries NH90 multirole medium

helicopter made its inaugural public flight on 11 May at the ILA Berlin Air
Show.
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The helicopter's designation is TGEA01 and it is destined for the German

Army as a tactical transport helicopter. As one of 80 on order from
Germany, it will eventually be part of a fleet of 50 in the tactical transport
role for that army. The first public flight came almost exactly four years
after production was given the green light at the same air show in 2000.
The first flight, on 4 May at Eurocopter's Donauwrth plant in Germany,
lasted for two hours and five minutes.
Some 325 NH90s have been ordered by nine European countries:
Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal and Sweden. There have also been options for a further 86
platforms.
The first series-production NH90 flew for the first

time in public on 11 May: a week after its initial
flight
(Source: Eurocopter)

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Israel reveals Phalcon configuration aboard

G550 jet
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Michael J Gething JDW Aerospace Consultant

London
Additional reporting Alon Ben-David JDW Correspondent
Tel Aviv
Elta Electronics, a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries, has released the
first artist's rendering showing the configuration of the Gulfstream
Aerospace G550 Compact Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) aircraft for the
Israel Air Force. The first platform will be delivered in early 2005.
Under the terms of an August 2003 contract, valued at $473 million,
Gulfstream will supply four G550 long-range business jets (with an option
for two more) for use in the CAEW programme.
Daily News Digest

The latest information indicates that only two of these four aircraft will be
equipped for the CAEW role, while the other two will be used for
'intelligence'.
Jane's analysis suggests that this might indicate a ground-surveillance
role, similar to the US Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System or
UK Airborne Stand-off Radar programmes.
The contract also includes a 10-year logistics support package (JDW 10
September 2003). Initial crew training on the G550 simulator in the US
was completed in February.
The heart of CAEW is Elta's Phalcon AEW system. The AEW
configuration comprises one fixed antenna mounted on either side of the
fuselage in a conformal 'bulge' between the wing and cockpit area.
The slightly bulged nose and tail radomes suggest fixed fore- and aftlooking antennas to give 360 coverage.
The Phalcon system also includes electronic support, electronic
intelligence (ELINT) and communications intelligence (COMINT)
capabilities. The underwing pod probably relates to these capacities.

However, according to Jane's Electronic Mission Aircraft, Gulfstream
already has a separate $174 million contract (received in December 2001)
to supply three signals-intelligence (SIGINT)-configured Gulfstream V
aircraft.
In April 2002, the Israeli Ministry of Defence awarded Elta a contract to
provide three 'next-generation' SIGINT systems for installation on the
three G500 aircraft (as the Gulfstream V was redesignated).
This suite is likely to be based on Elta's EL/I-3001 Airborne Integrated
SIGINT System.
Artist's impression of the G550 CAEW business

jet, the first of which is due for delivery to Israel's
air force early next year
(Source: IAI/Elta)

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US to maintain increased level of troops in

Iraq
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Washington, DC
Additional reporting by Ian Kemp JDW News Editor
London
The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 4 May that it would
rotate one US Army brigade and two US Marine Corps expeditionary units
into Iraq during the next few months and that it was likely to maintain a
troop strength of between 135,000 and 138,000 soldiers there until 2005.
The announcement comes as the Pentagon prepares for the third major
rotation of troops to Iraq, known as 'Operation Iraqi Freedom 3' (OIF-3),
which will begin around September.
Daily News Digest

US Air Force Gen Norton Schwartz, Director of Operations on the Joint
Staff, said the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade and the 11th and 24th
Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) would arrive in theatre by early July.
These would replace two brigades of the army's 1st Armored Division and
the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (Light), which had their 12-month
deployments extended in April.
Commander of US Central Command Gen John Abizaid requested
additional troops in April and about 30,000 personnel had their
deployments extended with the promise that they would not spend more
than 90 additional days in Iraq and would be home within 120 days.
Officials said that the DoD is honouring this commitment by moving the
army brigade and two MEUs quickly into theatre. The brigade from the
10th Mountain Division returned to Fort Drum, New York, from combat
operations in Afghanistan in December 2003.
Gen Schwartz said the Pentagon is hoping to achieve a "one-to-one dwell
time", enabling service personnel to spend a period at home equal to their
previous operational tour. He stressed, however, "that is a wartime
metric".
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced on 4 May that he had

approved Gen Abizaid's request to maintain higher troop levels for the
time being. Before his request, the DoD had planned to reduce troop
levels to around 115,000 personnel.
Gen Schwartz said the rotation would comprise about 37,000 troops to
replace soldiers in Iraq on a one-for-one basis. About 16,000 of these
troops will come from reserve components.
The deployment of these units is occurring outside of OIF-3. Gen
Schwartz said the DoD had finalised the list of active component units that
would be deployed for OIF-3 but was not announcing all of the units until
they had been notified they would be going to Iraq. Reserve component
units participating in OIF-3 have already been announced because of the
extended predeployment period required by such forces.
Gen Schwartz said that units deploying for OIF-3 would be more heavily
equipped than units now in Iraq, which have about one third of their heavy
armoured vehicles with them. Out of an army heavy brigade's nine
manoeuvre companies, five companies would be motorised and four
would deploy with their armoured vehicles - either M2 Bradley infantry
fighting vehicles or M1A1 main battle tanks.
US Army Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) Lt Gen Richard Cody said the
service intended to "cascade" its armoured High-Mobility Multipurpose
Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) in theatre to the incoming units at the same
time as it continued to procure additional armoured HMMWVs.
The headquarters of Combined Joint Task Force 7 is still considering how
to realign forces following the withdrawal of the Spanish-led brigade from
Iraq.
A UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson dismissed as "speculation"
reports in UK newspapers on 6 May that Prime Minister Tony Blair would
order the deployment of an 800-strong Royal Marines commando to
reinforce the 8,000 UK troops now in Iraq.
US Army High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled
Vehicles (pictured) and an M2 Bradley infantry
fighting vehicle in Baghdad following an
explosion outside a US office complex on 6 May.
Units deploying for OIF-3 will bring more heavy
armoured vehicles such as the M2
(Source: PA)
US Army High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled
Vehicles and an M2 Bradley infantry fighting
vehicle (pictured) in Baghdad following an
explosion outside a US office complex on 6 May.
Units deploying for OIF-3 will bring more heavy
armoured vehicles such as the M2
(Source: PA)

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US seeks balanced force, but gaps remain

Andrew Koch JDW Bureau Chief
Washington, DC
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The US Department of Defense's Office of Force Transformation, in a

wide-ranging appraisal, has commended plans to transform the US armed
forces but noted that additional areas need to be addressed, Director of
Force Transformation Arthur Cebrowski told JDW.
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Cebrowski said that "if executed, these plans in aggregate will deliver a
highly capable, well-balanced force" but noted several 'gaps' in the plans.
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Among the latter was the lack of a joint road map for developing directed
energy weapons and a deficiency in planning for the needed mobility and
lift around the future expected non-contiguous battlefield.
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Further, the appraisal noted, there are several "big bets we have not
made...yet", including re-directable energy weapons, demand-centred
logistics, tactically responsive satellites and other space capabilities, as
well as seamless integration between platforms and systems.
The appraisal examined the transformation plans of each service in
addition to Joint Forces Command and compared them to a number of
goals outlined in the strategic planning guidance as well as other factors.
These included lessons learned from Operation 'Iraqi Freedom' and
Operation 'Enduring Freedom' in Afghanistan.
The appraisal is intended to provide "a strategic planning tool, not a
programming tool", Cebrowski noted.
The plans also need to place a higher priority on non-traditional ways of
thinking about security, Cebrowski said, noting: "We are in time of great
change and potentially great peril."
The Fiscal Year 2006-2011 strategic planning guidance has categorised
four future security challenges:
* Traditional, such as conventional force-on-force warfare;
* Irregular, such as asymmetric warfare;

* Catastrophic; such as an attack so huge it would attempt to paralyse US
leadership and power; and
* Disruptive, such as adversaries trying to mitigate US power by achieving
their own breakthrough in potentially revolutionary technologies like
directed energy, space and information operations.
While all of the services were planning to deal with these issues in some
way, Cebrowski said, in areas other than traditional warfare, "we did not
get the same sense of coherence" in those plans.
The appraisal also listed some trends, which Cebrowski noted "are not
options; they are observations of what is in fact happening". For the US
armed forces they include:
* A shift in focus from being just responsive to being responsive and
preventative. Such a move will place a heavier burden on the need for
battlefield information and intelligence. "You have to know more, sooner,"
Cebrowski said, noting in particular that better early warning and improved
sensors will be vital;
* A change in thinking from being event driven to "keeping the larger world
[security] system up and running". This shift is one reason behind changes
already under way in the composition of the US armed forces and where
those forces are based, Cebrowski said;
* Plans to increasingly address the full spectrum of military operations
rather than preparing primarily for major conflict;
* Thinking of homeland security as "defence in-depth" rather than focusing
on specific geographic areas;
* Planning to operate in a world where, due to globalisation and the
increasing number of activities with security implications, security is
becoming increasingly internationalised. As such, co-operation with allies
will become more important.
Further, Cebrowski noted, increasing numbers of civilians will be involved
in defence.
"As professional armies get smaller, the total number of people involved in
wars becomes very much larger," he said.
One of the revolutionary ideas being proposed by Cebrowski that is not in
the current transformation plans of the armed services is the development
of re-directed energy weapons that can strike targets over the horizon.
Briefing documents of the strategic appraisal proposed that an
experimental system be developed in Fiscal Year 2005 using high-altitude
airships to carry a payload capable of re-directing laser shots, such as
from the Airborne Laser, against enemy ground targets, cruise missiles,
ballistic missiles or aircraft.
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Russian yard launches latest destroyer for

China
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JDW Correspondent
Moscow
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The first of the two new modified Sovremenny-class destroyers being built
by Russia's Severnaya Verf shipyard for the Chinese People's Liberation
Army Navy (PLA(N)) was launched in St Petersburg on 27 April.
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Ordered through Russia's state armaments export agency,

Rosoboronexport, in January 2002 at a cost of just over $1 billion, the first
Project 956EM destroyer was laid down late in 2002 and is due to be
handed over to the PLA(N) in late 2005. The second ship was laid down in
2003 and is due for completion in 2006.
Designed by the Severnoye Project Design Bureau, the Project 956EM is
a modified variant of the earlier Project 956E. Main differences include the
removal of the aft AK-130 twin 130mm gun mounting, replacement of the
AK-630M close-in weapon system with the Kashtan inner-layer defence
system and an extended flight deck. The Project 965EM ships will also
carry an improved version of the 3M80 Moskit supersonic anti-ship
missile.
The PLA(N) already operates two Project 956E destroyers, Hangzhou and
Fuzhou, delivered in December 1999 and November 2000 respectively.
Both ships had originally been laid down for the Russian Federation Navy
but funding problems prevented their completion. China and Russia
signed a contract for the completion of the two ships in September 1996.
The first of two Project 956EM destroyers for China

(Source: Jane's 0563988)
956EM project destroyer

1- Ka-28 or Zhi-9 naval helicopter
2 - Moskit anti-ship missile system (two quad
launchers, eight 3M-80MVE missiles)
3 - Shtil-1/Uragan air-defence system (two
launchers, 48 9M317 missiles)
4 - Kashtan/Kortik air-defence missile-gun
system (two combat modules, two quad
launchers, 32 9M311 missiles)
5 - Twin 130mm AK-130 gun
6 - Torpedo tubes (two twin launchers 533mm
DTA-53)
7 - RBU-1000 (two six-round launchers, 48
300mm rockets)
8 - Fregat-M2EM radar
9 - Positive-ME radar
10 - KRS-27E multifunctional radar
11 - Navigation station
12 - 130mm gun control station
13 - Electronic warfare system
(Source: Jane's)

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Two-year study could delay UK armoured

vehicle project
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Analysis
CHRISTOPHER F FOSS JDW Land Forces Editor

London
Additional reporting Ian Kemp JDW News Editor
London
The British Army is unlikely to begin receiving a new family of medium
armoured vehicles before 2010.
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The UK Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) announced on 5 May that it

will select a single systems house for a two-year assessment phase (AP)
of the multi-billion-dollar Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) family of
armoured vehicles.
Industry sources suggest that the protracted AP is an indication that
pressure on the defence budget does not allow the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) to move to the development and production phase more rapidly.
In 2002 MoD officials told industry that they were planning a fast track
programme to achieve an initial operating capability of a baseline vehicle,
such as an armoured personnel carrier, in 2009. Given that the
assessment will not be completed until late 2006 this will now be difficult to
achieve.
It was expected that UK armoured vehicle manufacturer Alvis Vickers
would be awarded the assessment contract without competition but the
MoD abandoned this strategy in early 2003 under pressure from other
companies that hoped to be the prime contractor. A proposal for a cooperative approach to harness the extensive experience of Alvis Vickers,
BAE Systems and Thales was also rejected late last year (JDW 12
November).
FRES is intended to bridge the gap between the British Army's current
light and heavy forces and give the UK the capability to rapidly deploy
overseas a medium force that will have a network-enabled capability.
The assessment will be run by a systems house that is independent of
product or manufacturing capability and will be selected by the DPA for its
capabilities in a number of key areas including programme management,

risk management and systems engineering.
The selected systems house is to provide an objective view of the range of
technologies and potential solutions for FRES as well as harness the
broadest range of industrial capability.
The MoD said that the systems house will be selected by the end of this
year. Contenders are understood to include EDS, IBM, Logica, PA
Consulting, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC),
QinetiQ and WS Atkins.
There are only two clearly defined programmes that are similar to FRES.
The most ambitious is the US Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS)
project, for which the lead systems integrator is Boeing and SAIC; the two
platform suppliers are General Dynamics Land Systems and United
Defense.
The second is the Swedish SEP (Splitterskyddad Enhets-Plattform, or
multirole armoured platform) programme for which the Swedish MoD is
looking for an international partner to enable development to be completed
(JDW 5 May).
The SEP is being developed for the Swedish Defence Materiel
Administration (FMV) by Sweden's Alvis Hgglunds, the Swedish
subsidiary of Alvis plc. There have already been discussions between
FMV, the DPA and industry about possible collaboration on the further
development of the SEP. The third SEP technology demonstrator is now
being built and this will be closer to the FRES requirement.
The UK's armoured vehicle industrial base has been reduced to two Alvis
Vickers facilities, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Telford, but the latter is now
running out of production work. Unless additional home or export orders
are won in the near future, the company will find it difficult to justify two
production sites.

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First flight for series Yak-130

HENRY IVANOV JDW Correspondent
Moscow
Additional reporting by Michael J Gething JDW Aerospace Consultant
London
The first series-configuration Yak-130 twin-seat advanced jet trainer/ light
strike aircraft flew for the first time on 30 April at the Sokol facility in
Nizhny Novgorod, where the aircraft will be produced.
The Russian Federation Air Forces (RFAF) plan to procure 200 Yak-130s
to replace ageing L-39s as basic and lead-in fighter trainers with a
secondary strike role.
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The first flight, planned for late last year, had been postponed several
times. Sokol blamed the delays on late deliveries of components. RFAF
commander Gen Vladimir Mikhailov has already admitted that there have
been problems with the aircraft's power plant: the ZMKB Progress AI-22225 turbofan (rated at 24.5kN thrust).
Six engines were delivered in 2003, and eight more are due this 2004, to
equip the first batch of four series Yak-130s that Sokol must complete by
the end of 2005. ZMKB Progress assembles the AI-222 turbofan (a
production version of the DV-2S) in Zaporozhie, Ukraine. Moscow-based
MMPP Salyut will undertake series production of the RFAF Yak-130
engines, using parts made at Ukraine's Motor-Sich.
This Yak-130 series configuration is a further development of the Yakovlev/
Aermacchi AEM/Yak-130D demonstrator, which was first flown in April
1996 and has performed 485 test flights. The fuselage now has a smaller
cross-section, featuring new nose and air intake profiles. The redesigned
wing is smaller by 1.5m2, while the maximum take-off weight has been
increased to nine tonnes.
Kevlar armour protects the cockpit area and engines and the Zvezda K36D ejection seats have been replaced with the newer D36LT3.5 version.
In place of the original analogue (dial) instrumentation, three 6 x 8in
multifunctional liquid-crystal displays equip the production aircraft. A new
Elekroavtomatika-developed fly-by-wire flight-control system, which is
reprogrammable to emulate various aircraft types, has been installed.

For the strike role, the Yak-130's eight hardpoints can carry a 3,000kg
weapon load, including KAB-500 smart bombs, Kh-25 air-to-surface
missiles, R-73 air-to-air missiles, Platan designator pod, free-fall bombs
and unguided rockets.
NPK Irkut now owns Yakovlev (JDW 5 May) and, according to Irkut
president Alexei Fiodorov, investment in Yak-130 research and
development has exceeded $100 million. However, it will still take "three to
four years to get the product ready for export sales", he says. Irkut hopes
to sell more than 1,000 Yak-130s over the next 20 years at a unit price of
$13 million.
Meanwhile, in Italy Aermacchi began taxi trials of its own M-346 variant of
the original Yak-130D on 28 April. The M-346 is fitted with a digital 'steerby-wire' facility.

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In Brief - Laser downs rocket in test

Northrop Grumman's Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) testbed
shot down a large-calibre rocket for the first time during a test on 4 May at
White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The company said the threatrepresentative rocket, which carried a live warhead, is a more stressing
target than the slower and lighter Katyusha rockets and artillery shells that
the demonstrator has destroyed in tests since 2000 with its megawattsized deuterium fluoride chemical laser. The company is developing an
MTHEL prototype for the US Army and the Israeli Ministry of Defence
(JDW 5 May).
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In Brief - Third Greek FAC launched

The UK's VT Shipbuilding and Greece's Elefsis Shipbuilding have
launched the Hellenic Navy's third Super Vita-class fast attack craft (FAC),
HS Kristallidis. The ship will commence sea trials in 2005 for planned
acceptance in November of the same year. The first of class, HS
Roussen, is due to be handed over in July and the second, HS Daniolos,
late this year. Another two are under construction.
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In Brief - EU's China arms ban stays

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has tried to increase pressure on the EU to
lift its arms embargo on China during a tour of Europe, which started on 2
May and is expected to end on 13 May. While a new joint declaration on
ties between Germany and China was finalised, there was little EU
support for, or discussion of, the lifting of the arms embargo.
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In Brief - Japan set for $725 million missile

buy
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The US Congress has been notified of the potential Foreign Military Sales
sale to Japan of nine SM-3 Block 1A Standard Missiles with Mk 21 Mod 2
canisters, Aegis weapon system upgrades, containers, spares and repair
parts, logistics support and other equipment worth up to $725 million.
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In Brief - Tajik troops to patrol Afghan

border
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Tajik troops will take over the role of guarding the Tajikistan-Afghanistan
border from Russian guards under a plan announced by Tajik President
Imomali Rakhmonov. Tajik border officials said in 2003 that they would be
ready to take over patrolling the border this year. They already patrol more
than a quarter of the 2,000km border and the country's entire 500km
border with China.
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In Brief - Lawmakers move to delay base

closures
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Members of the US House of Representatives' Armed Services

Committee approved legislation to delay from September 2005 to mid2007 the process of determining which US military bases will be shut
down domestically and globally as part of the next round in the base
realignment and closure process. Supporters of this measure say current
military operations are placing stress on the armed forces that preclude
informed decisions on future basing. The full committee was expected to
vote on the measure on or around 12 May as JDW went to press. If
approved, it could move to the Senate for consideration.
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Date Posted: 30-Apr-2004
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Silver Fox to hunt with the marines
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MICHAEL J GETHING JDW Aerospace Consultant

London
and ANDREW KOCH JDW Bureau Chief
Washington, DC
The US Marine Corps will deploy four platforms of a new hand-launched
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to Iraq later this month. The Silver Fox
small tactical UAV is intended to provide 'eyes on the ground' to forward
combat units.
The Silver Fox has a 2.4m wingspan and 1.8m fuselage and weighs about
9kg. Powered by a small petrol (gasoline) engine similar to those which
power model aircraft, it can cruise at 60kt for periods in excess of six
hours at altitudes over 1,000ft.
Payload packages up to 1.8kg can be carried, including a high-resolution,
colour, zoom camera. Video images can be transmitted to a ground
station in near real-time. One ground station can handle up to 10 UAVs.
The Silver Fox was conceived by the Office of Naval Research and
developed with the Tech Solutions group teamed with Advanced Ceramics
Research (ACR) of Tucson, Arizona, through the Small Business
Innovation Research programme.
Four Silver Fox tactical UAVs will be deployed to

Iraq later this month to support the US Marine
Corps
(Source: ACR)

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US assesses interceptor sites in Europe

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The US is discussing with European allies the possibility of basing antimissile interceptors in Europe later this decade to counter long-range
ballistic missiles in countries like Iran and North Korea that could threaten
the European continent and eastern part of the US.
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US Air Force Lt Gen Ronald Kadish, who heads the Missile Defense
Agency within the Department of Defense, said his current activities
remain focused on establishing an initial, rudimentary shield by the end of
this year to protect the US homeland from intercontinental-range missiles.
This defensive system will feature interceptors based at two sites on the
US West Coast, along with satellite sensors and terrestrial-based radar,
that are optimised to protect all 50 US states from a limited attack from
North Korea (JDW 27 August 2003).
At the same time, Gen Kadish revealed that the US is considering erecting
a third interceptor site in Europe beginning in 2006 to protect the
European continent and add redundancy to the capabilities shielding the
US by that time.
"The location of this site is still subject to negotiation with no final
architecture defined nor investment committed until [Fiscal Year] 2006," he
told US lawmakers on 21 April.
The interceptor site would probably consist of 10 three-stage groundbased interceptors (GBIs), the anti-missile missile of the Ground-based
Midcourse Defense element that will form the core of the Ballistic Missile
Defense System (BMDS).
One knowledgeable source told JDW that Poland remains a promising
candidate for the third GBI site. The Polish defence industry has entered
into partnerships with Boeing and Lockheed Martin, two of the leading US
missile defence contractors, and has been supportive of US policy (JDW
11 February). Polish officials could not be reached for comment at press
time.
At the same time, this source said: "Don't count the Brits out," noting that
there may be more than one GBI base in Europe.
The UK signed a memorandum of agreement with the US in 2003 on BMD
co-operation and granted the US permission to upgrade the latter's earlywarning radar at Fylingdales in northern England to serve in a BMD role.
Those upgrades are expected to be complete in 2005, giving the US an
enhanced capacity to defend itself against missiles from the Middle East,
even without a GBI site in Europe.
The US is also looking at other measures to improve its umbrella of
protection against missiles approaching the US homeland from the east. It
remains in consultation with Denmark regarding the upgrade of the earlywarning radar at Thule in Greenland. As a potential measure, it has plans
to procure a second sea-based X-band (SBX) radar that could be
stationed near there. Already Raytheon is building one SBX that will be
stationed off the coast of Alaska in 2005.
Gen Kadish told reporters on 28 April that he is confident that the US will
have the BMDS operational around September, although he
acknowledged that the system will not have as many interceptor missiles
and other assets available initially as originally planned.
He said he expects to have five GBIs operational in silos at Fort Greely,
Alaska, around September, with a total of three or four additional
interceptors in place by the end of the calendar year at Fort Greely and
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
While the Aegis cruiser-based Standard Missile 3 most probably will not
be available by the end of the year to shoot down short- and mediumrange missiles, several Aegis ships are expected to be ready as
surveillance platforms to track missiles of all ranges.
The delivery of the prototype Airborne Laser aircraft has also been
postponed indefinitely due to developmental delays. The agency had
hoped to have it ready to provide a limited capability to shoot down
missiles in their boost phase. However, engineers are still trying to
integrate the system's megawatt-class laser onto its host 747 platform.
Nonetheless, Gen Kadish said the BMDS that will go online this year will
still be robust enough to make any potential adversary "think more than
twice" before challenging it.

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JSF partners are 'on track' for long-term

boom
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Opportunities for industrial participation by the international partners in the

multibillion-dollar US-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme are
unfolding well and are on track, despite assertions to the contrary, says
the senior industry official overseeing the aircraft's development.
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Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin's executive vice president and JSF

general manager, said the eight partner nations have done well to date with the possible exception of Norway - in securing workshare for their
industry on the next-generation stealth multirole fighter aircraft, given the
fact that the programme is only in the third year of an 11-year system
development and design (SDD) phase and most of the opportunities lie
ahead.
"Our international partnerships are, in my view, strong and we are
continuing to work to make them stronger," Burbage told JDW on 22 April.
"In the cases where certain countries have not been as successful as they
would like to be, we are working very hard to make them more
successful."
In addition to Norway, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands,
Turkey and the UK are partners in the programme.
Lockheed Martin has a strategic plan that tracks the progress of each
partner nation and indicates where it should be at given points in order for
it to receive a fair return on its investment over the life of the F-35
programme. "In almost every partner country, we are on our plan or close
to our plan, and in almost every partner country the returns are exceeding
the investment [made by that country to date]," he said.
Just as the partners have not provided their funding support for the SDD
phase in one up-front lump sum, they should realise that the opportunities
for their industry will emerge over time and not all at once, Burbage
added.
"Some of the [partner] countries have expected a quicker return, as if we
had all of the programme funding in hand today and we could actually
release contracts, but we don't," he said. "We get funded on an annual
basis and our production contracts don't start until 2007.
"Whether or not people want to accept it, there is a time-phasing of the
opportunities. We have always been very up front on the fact that the
opportunities would come over time and not be instantaneous."
Exception
The case of Norway is more the exception than the rule, said Burbage.
"Norway has been the least successful of the partner countries in winning
business, but it is not due to a lack of opportunities being presented," he
said. "We will continue to present opportunities and identify opportunities
and continue to offer those to Norwegian industry as we go forward. In
fact, we are working real hard to do that right now."
The Norwegian parliament is expected to discuss the country's Defence
White Paper on 9 June, with the JSF and Norway's role in the programme
a likely topic of debate. A Norwegian official told JDW that the country is
frustrated that the strengths of its industry - highly skilled integration of
components - have not been recognised to date. There is concern that
companies which win F-35 contracts early in the programme will develop
the tooling and manufacturing processes and have a significant
competitive edge the next time a similar contract is available and
Norwegian firms vie for it.
Despite the fact that the F-35 programme remains committed to a 'bestvalue' approach in deciding who gets the work, with no guarantees of
winning contracts, Burbage said one emerging avenue of opportunity for
Norway's and the other partners' industry is the 'second sourcing' initiative
that Lockheed Martin, along with its JSF partners BAE Systems and
Northrop Grumman, is in the midst of developing.
The plan will identify companies in these nations that could participate in
building the aircraft once the programme shifts from low-rate initial
production to higher numbers and exceeds the capacity in some of the
programme's primary manufacturing facilities.
Northrop Grumman, for example, has already identified companies in
Norway and other partner nations like Australia, Denmark and Turkey that
could play a role in producing the F-35's centre fuselage once the
production rate approaches its maximum level, said Steve Briggs, the
company's vice president and F-35 programme manager.
"The concept looks good to us," he told JDW on 22 April. "We see a major
benefit coming, both to the corporation and the team partners."
Dutch industry has also complained of a lack of opportunities to compete
for JSF work (JDW 24 March). Burbage said, in contrast, he believes that
"the Dutch industry is one of the most successful cases on the
programme . . . in terms of involving academia, the research institutes,
small businesses and large businesses." The Netherlands is tracking "on
or ahead" of schedule on the programme's timeline for when it should
expect a return on its investment, he noted.
The main issue in the UK is not so much industrial workshare, but rather
finalising the teaming arrangements and technology disclosure
agreements so that BAE Systems can discharge its role in the
programme, said Burbage.
Approval
As JDW went to press, the programme was awaiting US government
approval of the ninth amendment to the JSF disclosure agreement that will
cover technology release for the remainder of the SDD phase.
"Barring one or two areas where we are still in discussion, I am confident
that we will be able to discharge the work that we have to do," said Tom
Fillingham, BAE Systems' vice president and deputy general manager.
Fillingham told JDW that the company is also looking into ways to create
more involvement for the partner nations' industry. "We have got
Australian engineers working in the UK now and are in the process of
integrating some of our Turkish colleagues on to our team in the UK," he
said.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme will in the

long term bring dividends to the eight partner
nations, Lockheed Martin officials insist
(Source: Lockheed Martin)

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Mobile laser tracks large-calibre rocket
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Robin Hughes JDW Deputy News Editor

London
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The US Army and the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 29 April

conducted a test of the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL)
testbed at the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility at White Sands
Missile Range, New Mexico.
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The MTHEL testbed consists of the Tactical High Energy Laser Advanced
Concept Demonstrator (THEL/ACTD) with changes to its acquisition and
tracking software that enable the laser to be directed at differing targets.
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The principal objective of the test was to establish a viable laser track of a
large-calibre rocket. Preliminary data indicated a track was established but
the secondary objective of destroying the target was not attempted. This
was the first attempt to establish a track on such a target.
The Israeli MoD and the US Army agreed in late August 2003 to jointly
pursue a MTHEL concept. The Northrop Grumman design concept was
selected in August 2003 and the company is building a prototype model
that the army expects to have available in 2007. The goal is to achieve a
four-to-one reduction in size over the fixed-site THEL (a deuterium fluoride
chemical laser) advanced concept technology demonstrator built in the
late 1990s.
The MTHEL is envisaged to be able to take down short-range rockets and
artillery projectiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles and some cruise
missiles (JDW 12 December 2001). To date, the THEL demonstrator has
during tests shot down 28 Katyusha rockets, fired singly and in salvos,
and five artillery projectiles.
The MTHEL is managed by the US Army Program Executive Officer, Air,
Space and Missile Defense, Short Range Air Defense Project Office,
based in Huntsville, Alabama. Northrop Grumman Space Technology of
Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the THEL
demonstrator. In Israel the MTHEL is managed by the MoD's Directorate
of Defence Research and Development (DRDD) and involves several

Israeli defence industries.
The MTHEL is envisaged to be able to take
down short-range rockets and artillery projectiles,
as well as unmanned aerial vehicles and some
cruise missiles
(Source: Northrop Grumman)

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NATO struggles to form new Afghan PRTs
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LUKE HILL JDW NATO and EU Affairs Correspondent

Brussels
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NATO is finding it difficult to meet the goal of establishing five new

provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs), the centrepiece of its planned
expansion in Afghanistan, before the Istanbul NATO Summit in late June.
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NATO officials and allied sources contacted by JDW said leadership for
only three new PRTs had been tentatively identified in advance of a 5-6
May meeting in Brussels of the 26 allied chiefs of defence.
A push to "whip capitals into quicker action", said one NATO official, is
under way by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who
visited Kabul with NATO ambassadors on 26-27 April before travelling to
Istanbul on 29 April to discuss plans for the June summit of NATO
leaders.
NATO provides the command structure and most of the 6,500 troops
serving with the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in
Kabul and protects one PRT, which has been operated by Germany since
1 January when it assumed responsibility for the PRT in Kunduz from the
US. Sources say that three new PRTs under Italian, Turkish and joint
Nordic-UK command will be launched by early June, but a lead nation or
nations for a fifth one remains elusive.
NATO sources are expecting that command of the UK-led PRT in Mazar-e
Sharif will be transferred from the US-led Combined Joint Task Force 180
to NATO in time for the Istanbul summit. This would then represent a fifth
NATO PRT.
Italy announced earlier this year that it would lead a PRT in Bunima, but
sources told JDW that it might be leaning towards the western hub of
Harat.
Norway, Denmark and non-NATO countries Sweden and Finland backed
away from an earlier idea of a Nordic-led operation and decided to support
a new UK-led PRT in Meymaneh in northwest Afghanistan. The UK also
plans to construct a forward support base at Meymaneh and has offered

to take over leadership of the entire north for NATO.
A Nordic diplomat told JDW on 30 April that Finland, Norway and Sweden
each plan to supply 20 to 25 troops for the Meymaneh PRT, to be
operational "within four to five weeks".
Each Nordic contingent will have at least one patrol unit of about eight
troops. "These are the crux of the PRTs, those who travel around and
communicate with the people. They will be in a jeep-type vehicle, not an
[armoured personnel carrier]. They will be armed but the whole intention is
to have a soft profile," the diplomat said.
Turkey has made no final decision but is "very interested" in PRTs and is
considering leading one in the north, where there are Turkish-speaking
inhabitants, a diplomat said. "It is the right way to go in the reconstruction
of the country; NATO has to not just provide security but do something for
the civilians."
The five new PRTs comprise 'stage one' of NATO's expansion in
Afghanistan, mainly focused on the north. Stage two will involve
"sweeping out over the west", one allied source said, but no PRT numbers
have been agreed. The US operates six PRTs in the south, including
Kandahar, protects the UK and a New Zealand PRT and plans to start
another three by June. With the transfer of Mazar-e Sharif, there will be
five NATO PRTs in the north as well as nine US and one led by New
Zealand.
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen James Jones, said that
work to complete stage one of the expansion plan was 85% complete.
NATO sources said lack of finalisation of the PRT programme meant that
an overall force protection plan for ISAF remains unclear.
"The gaps are not huge numerically, but the PRTs drive the force
protection and it all has to come together," a NATO source said.
"The force structure is going to be determined by the PRTs themselves where and how they are going to be established and what security
umbrella is needed," another said. "Only once we establish the PRTs, then
we might be able to assess the impact on the whole force structure."
NATO envoys visited Kabul on 26 April. Gen James

Jones, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is
greeted by Afghan President Hamid Karzai
(Source: PA)

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Pakistan to receive US assistance

ANDREW KOCH JDW Bureau Chief
Washington, DC
Asia/Pacific
Middle East/Africa
Armed Forces
Pakistan is nearing agreement with the US for the supply of military

equipment that includes fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, according to
US and Pakistani military officials.
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The deals, the first of which could be announced in the next few weeks,
involve 26 Bell 412 utility helicopters and a yet-to-be-determined number
of P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
Pakistan has been seeking P-3C aircraft for several years but a relative
shortage of the aircraft and high operational tempo has meant few are
available as excess. Therefore, the officials said, the acquisition and
upgrade of excess P-3B Orions is also being considered, although no final
decision has been made.
The deal for Bell 412 helicopters would replace a previous request for up
to 40 Bell 407 helicopters that was announced by the US last September
(JDW 1 October 2003).
Senior Pakistani defence and security officials have placed the acquisition
of equipment such as helicopters that assist in mobility as a top priority.
Payment for the new equipment is likely to come at least partially from $3
billion in assistance, half of which is planned for defence, that the US will
provide Pakistan over five years starting in Fiscal Year 2005.


Jane&#39;s Defence Weekly Online - May 2004

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