THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS INTERNATIONAL BORDER i“ PROTECTION SPECIAL (QPERATIONSDATRON Ptrmancs You Reg, Ve Yo Expect TECHNOLOGY YOUR TROOPS WILL ACTUALLY USE. Designed with the user in mind, Datron radios are ‘engineered lo provide the right feature sot for our customers! requirements. With the adiition of the HH2100V handhold radio and automated digital retransmission capability to the Spectre V° tactical radio series, deployment of full VIF tactical networks is now possible, Frontline troops can ‘communicate securely lo commanders through the nelwork, ‘share data, and have their positions automaticaly reported. ‘back. All this from a radio that fe bull to allow troops to focus on the mission not the technology. To learn moro about the Spectro V° family of radios and other ‘communications solutions from Datron visit us online at wwew.dtwe.comAPRIL/ MAY 2016 CON TEN TS —— www.armadainternational.com ——— 14° LAND WARFARE Mortars have been around foralongtime, but they continue to makea vital contribution to land warfare, Stephen W. Miller explains 08 26 32 TURING LAND WARFARE ‘SEA POWER ‘Aik PoweR TALKING AT THE SAME TIME | BREAK FOR THE BORDER FULL STEAM AHEAD! ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE Tomas Wihington dscueses some | Pater Donaldson hight The market and demand tor Fast | Tamas WA Of the pressing debates regarding | a selection ofthe optreries Dttac Cra i in nid heat, Mabie da Hoc Networang, and | avaiable to help enhance border partially inthe Asio- Poche how such communications maybe | Secunty and protection. Trevor Holingabee explains itnorved nthe fe 44 50 hin Power FUTURE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMME Focus SPECIAL FORCES DECISION TIME DRONE DANGERS THE NEED FOR SPEED SUPPLEMENT Aleve prosching 2 Arte Deg eines The Ute Stes tye rat ee pst Spec moment of reckoning Some ofthe teeeoogiesbeing overhung the way t conducts eipuirreesharh ran Drolega investigates. Capable of cowning UAVs ‘ssosses the options Lamar evoorerts f) ARMADANTERVATIONALCOM - APRL/MaY 2026Scaren super rion ea @ LSM ARMADA olana 20, ewe No.2 Aoi 2008 Piha ory by Moa Tareas ‘Spyiht 2012 sia ens ubching of Msn ravens 2 3605, cna Mose ony 520 ngs Hoo Hang Kong ener Manage ntertional Maketng sl Yes Sole & Manetng Coordination Pa tanh Desir: sano Sermons aiton sanager nes rrtrmen Pride: Fane dtl hit Pci Ofcen Sucker Dana Eni cosapnt abe 1 +40 51 799 902, erarulaamesat gration ‘UG EASTERN EUROPE, GREECE, TURKEY ‘eu 5088) 100 aa ane (900) 785 Sess Usa (EAST/S0UTH EAST, CANADA EAST Tot ac} S756, monpeepuserencon [USA QWEST/SOUTH WEST) BRAZIL CANADA (WEST) Dane Cee 1 (ase) 70 S367, Nace ataem To 4 22042570 Mer 96 962526245, amie scene teat Se Bey Pandy oa rot, 70/8, 14% Poe. em ow Senor isbe reas to reno 285 feat is 0 2 rec vein oat a aa nee 4 ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM ~ APRIL/MAY 2026 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS ‘ae woDUAR 7 NWSI coven ‘COPENHAGEN SENSOR nomee i Tecrno.0cY 2s ostKosH covers DATRON cover? moSDEORONENPORT st ra 5 sor D EURONNAL 43 SuascRPTON i Fur 23 ZuAIR AIRSHOW Ey SeNeRALaTOMes covers fie ihlgid nt err a INDEX TO MANUFACTURERS. a erat ari ie tent foatovenint = a8.51.DMmmgyaere SE ne 6 Henin tion ineey 30 Hiwne-zow-Ha 27 . eda wie 2 Beememe 4.18 Be spurte et fathceoper Sse bros May icueieg 1 Sih a, 8 {im Septutarg Omron 23 ree sinew Tela 24 ° LeotmeeNnsn 35. 52.16 Deck anegneamne 25M Emunron corel tine 4,48 MESTTOelece 30,22 EpaSoutoe 25 Metal ” Fheveceancn 22.53.47 Geren Dramien 21.2,35 40 OTOMetS = Beech ‘Sub Botoeyrenes Sie SerpentARMADA SUBSCRIBE NOW! THE DEFENCE DECISION-MAKER’S FIRST-CHOICE REFERENCE JOURNAL ARMADA INTERNATIONAL & COMPENDIUM SERIES OFFER YOU INSIGHT & ANALYSIS TO STAY AHEAD. ‘Yes, I would like to receive ARMADA [_] lyear [_] 2 years Please deliver the magazine at the below address: Name Position / Rank: Ongamisation / Unit Address city Postcode: Country Tel: Fux Email J Twvoutd like to pay by card 1 Mastercard Cy Visa Card Number Expiry Date: ature: Name on Card Card Security Code 1 By cheque: Cheque made payable to: MAIL or FAX your subscription form to: ARMADA : Media Transasia Ltd., 75/8, 14th Floor, Ocean Tower 2, Soi Sukhumvit 19, Bangkok 10110 THAILAND, Tel +66 2204 2370 Fax: +66 2204 2387 Email: accounts@mediatransasia.com or subscribe viaEditorial t ic Priorities na} June, votersin the United Kingdom, and UK citizens abroad, will vote in a refer endum to decide whether the country remains part of the European Union (EU) This sarguably the most important constitutional question for the UK sincea similar referendum washheld by the Brit ish government on continued membership of the European Economic Community (FEC), the ancestor organisation of today’s EU, on 5 June 1075. The UK had entered the EECin 1073 ‘Campaigning has begun in the UK with tora sides: one favouring the UK’s continuing EU membership, and the other pushing for a Beexit, Great Britain's exit from the multi lateral grouping. The leaders of the UK's three main parties, Prime Minister David Cameron of the centre-right Conservatives, Jeremy Cor byn ofthe centre-left Labour Party and Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party all support the UK's continuing EU membership. However. on Saturday 26 February. Mr. Corbyn and Ms. Sturgeon joined thousands of protes torsin London opposed to the UK renewing its independent muclear deterrent when the Royal [Navy's existing fet of four ‘Vanguard class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines reach theend of theirservice lives next decade. ‘The timing of the protest, and Mr. Corbyn and Ms. Sturgeon’s attendance, was puzzling While both have made no secret oftheir opposi- tion tothe UK remaining as one of the worlds 6 ARWADANTERNATIONAL.COM ~ APRIL/MAY 2028 five official nuclear powers (alongside France, the People’s Republic of China, Russia and the United States) the protest came just one week after Mr, Cameron secured a mumber of agree- ments from the EU which he will use as cam- paigning tools for the UK to remain a member. The decision to attend the protest was a sur- prise given that it took place during the first week of campaigning for the UK to remain an [EU member, a policy which both Ar. Corby and Ms, Sturgeon haveendorsed. Despite their opposition to the UK's own- ership of nuclear weapons, Mr, Corbyn and Ms. ‘Surgeon ignore some fundamental facts, The wworldhas known how tomakenuclear weapons since the United States perfected them during the Second World War, showing their destruc tive effects in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Au- gusti945.The horrors visited onthesetwocities showed to the world the destructive power of ‘these weapons. The destructive power ofthese ‘weapons meant that a war involving them be- ‘came too horrific for the major Cold War parti pants. This helped to preserve peacein Europe as much as the emergence of the EU. The UK disavowingits nuclear deterrent will not make the country immune from nuclear attack, but arguably nuclear attack can only be deterred by other nuclear weapons, Ultimately, these weap- ‘onsare like house insurance: youhope that you will never need i to repair the roof, bt the day the roof looks unsafe, you willbe glad that you purchased coverage. THOMAS WITHINGTON, Editorear VAO eine ‘These extremely light weight booster amplifies are no lightweights when it comes to performance, They increase the range and improve overall tactical rio communications even in extreme conditions. when a quality signal is rtcal, They're tough and simple to ws, Pero eee s Pema ree ARS IN, AN, eee CS aunty , 1 ee eee > Crane Re] a ene P4 5 Tolear more, vst us at wnwanvord.tacical or call us a 425-485-9000. ch coset poeRint Thomas Withington ‘omost people, theword Manet ismoreusuallyassocinted with Edouard Manet, the Frenchartst who ved between 832and883, and was pivotal nthe transition from therealism school to impressionism. In the military domain heshaveshisname with sanacronym which hasbeen similarly revo- lutionary.transtormingthe way that troops ‘communicateonthe battlefield. Inthemlitary context, MANETessen tally referstoa wireless communications network which sable toconfigure itself asa formation of deployed forces, and aon panyingairand seaplatforms, move around 8 ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM thebattlefield and support these troops, CCwviliancell phone netwarksoperate wire lessly,but they are dependent on fixed trans- itters,oftenatop ofbuildings or high eleva: tions, which reeive the transmissions from cell phoneand transmit these toanother tower until they each theirintended des ‘ination. Ascell phones provide full duplex ‘communieations(peoplecantaliand listen atthesametimeasthey would inanormal conversation) cell phone networks handle ‘transmission and reception of communica tions between phones simultaneously, MANET tactical communications networksdifferin thatthe Ultra High apRiL/May 2016 ‘TellisWareisinvolved inpushing forward vis 2-0 MANET tactic commualeations, rolling innovationstothicend onto existing products (OTrellisWare THE SAME TIME MANET or Mobile Ad Hoc Networkingis the glue that holds tactical military communications together. It has revolutionised the radio domain since its introduction, and holds further promise as the technology develops in the future. Frequency (300 Megahertz/MHzto15 Gigahertz/GHz) Wideband Software Defined Radios(SDRs) which comprise these networks not only enable the recep tion and transmissionof voice, dataand imagery traffie, much likes civilian cell phone, butalsoactina similar fashion to acell phone towerasa'router’,The router hhelpstocarry radio traffictoand fromits intended destination. Forexample,an SDR ina vehicle may perform avoice transmis: sion back toa headquarters several miles away. Transmissions leave the vehicles radio, find the nearest SDRin the network, and:skip’from this radioto another radiointhenetwork, and soon, untilthe trans sions reach theirntended destination: process which occurs the speed of light, 1080 million kilometres-per-hour (671mil- lion miles-per-hour) Mobile Ad Foc Networkinghassome keyattractionsfor military communica tionsin termsof logistics, manocuvrabil- ity and survivability Firstly, asthe radios build and maintain the network thereis noneed tomave large numbers of fixed transmitters intothestretocstablished a fixed networkin a similae fashion tocell phone communications: this reduces time toestablish the network,and the accompa nnying cost in termsof financial and human capital Secondly. fixed network will only ‘maintain integrity slongasallof the users operate within range of the fixed trans- rmitters: MANET hasthe advantage that, because itsaccompanyingradiosare also itsrouters it moves with the forces who reusing the network Inland manocwres isespecially important where speed and drive playa vital rolein manoeuvring intoa position of advantage regardingone's adversary. Thirdly, the fat that the MANET. radiosalsoactas outers, means that there is nasingle pointof failure for the com- munications network:a vehiclecarryinga radio maybe incapacitated or destroyed by hostileaction,but this will not mean that theentire networkceasestooperate ‘Arclated benefit concerns traffic vol ‘ome, In terms of radio engineering, SDRs cantypically handle large quantities of voice, dataand imagery traffic,in the order of several hundred kilobits-per-second (icbps) compared to High Frequency (HP: three to MHz) which may only carry tens oflilobits per second, but this attribute comes with acost:SDRsare limited bya line-of sight range, Across flat terrain, at zorosltitude, this is typically arange ofaround4.7kilometres(29miles) fora person standing on the ground holdingthe radio, Ifthe radiowavesdo not hit another radio within thatdistance, they willeontin, ‘uemovingina straight line (although rising inaltitude relative tothe Earth'scurved surface, eventually movinginto space) HP radioshavethe advantage that they eanof- ferintercontinental rangesas they "bounce theirtransmissions off the ionosphere; alayerofthe atmosphere typically atan altitude of oki (37miles)to 000m (620 ‘miles). Yet theserangescome atthe cost ofbandwidth, and HF communications often lack the ability tocarry the data-and imagery heavy communications of their ‘SDR eounterparts (see above). Ultimately, HEF givesyourange, but higher frequencies inthe UHF spectrum give youbandwidth, How does thisaffect MANET? For ground troops UHF and other high frequenciesare preferableas they allow high bandwidth communications, while enabling troops and vehicles toure radios which donot re squire especially Large antennae, preserving theability of troopsand vehiclestomovein arelatively unhindered fashion ‘Nevertheless, battles are not aways performed on flatexpansesofland. Assuch, {erraincan impecle SDR communications bysimply getting in the way’ of radiotrans- iissions. The ability of MANET communi cations to skip across several radios which actasrouters oreach theirintended recip entallowcommunieationstoavord natural obstacles ike mountains. Ifa mountain is betweentworadiostryingtocommunicate, then the radio'stransmissionsskip from one routertoanotheraround the mountain until they reach heirdestination.Sucha capability was particularly important dur- ‘ng US-led combat operations in Afghan stan from 2001 where that country’s rugged topography would have otherwise impeded tactical communications. Away fromthe ARMADAINTERAATIONAL.COM ~ APRIL/MaY 2026 Mobile Ad Hoe Networking continues toplay an {important rolein ensuring (thateallitarlesremata smobile:aparticularly important consideration inhigh-tempomanoeuvre warfare ® erie Hindu Kush, the urban canyons’ of eities such as Fallujah or Tikrit in iraq posed sien lay problems for military communications, asbuildings,floorsandonerete walls couldactas obstacles to communications, hence the importance of MANET toprovide ameanshy which radio transmissions could skip from one radioto another. ‘THERUB Certainly, MANET has brought great benefits toland forces communications, particularly during manoeuvres, but tvemainsaworkin progress, and the consensusin the tactical communica tions community following recent US-led operationsin Afghanistan and lraqis that thereis room for improvement, "MANET hhasexisted fr over ten years,but militar fesare having problems usingit. remarks Haaidong Wang, director of product man- agement at US networking radio special- ists TrellisWare Technologies, He explains that, “moet existing MANET capabilities have limitations such asscalability. How does the network performas the network changes fromastaticenvironment (i when troopsor formations are stationary) toamoving environment when those same unitsare advancing contact with the enemy)?" Otherchallenges, Mr. Wang notes, ncludesa MANET network's ability tohost new nodes the technical terms for the transceivers which alsoset as routers along with behavingas radios)as they en terthe network. Bach of these nades con sumessomeradiobandwidth tomaintain connectivity ina network. UHF uses por- tion of the clectromagneticspectrum from 30MH2to1s Gigahertz. Thismay sound like lot, bu spectrum isa finite resource. Today's battlefield has more than ts fair share of users whodemand radio spectrum tooperate, from troops, to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, inhabited military airraft, 9radarsand satellite communications. This isnottomentioncivilianuserssuch asthe emergency serviees, paramilitary fore civilians with cell phones and satellite tele vision providers, for example. The Afghan and Iragi theatres have illustrated that to- day'sand tomorrow's conflicts may well be performedin theatres where, toanextent, civilian ‘life goes on regardless of military activity, Therefore, adversely civilian communications via military bandwidth demands may not be cond civeto prevailingin theall-Important “battle forheartsand minds’ sointegralto counter-insurgency operations, Given the finite nature of the spectrum, military usersmay want to occupyyall the available space, but may in reality only be frectouse aportion of it,duetothe consid- erations outlined ahove. Armiesdeploying, intotheatre have tothinkabout, “how many nodes can you accommodateon each mega hertz?" asks Me Wang Such considerations mean that MANET lacking scalability sequire"very complexplanning” he contin ues. Moreover,each theatre may havesever- 10 ARWADANTERNATIONALCOM MESITDefenceisheavily involved Eacepentelbidtetien dere! MANET techniques which may bonefitexisting productssuch as the company’sRP 40 Thoroughbred radio © Thomas alsmall MANET networks used by cach formationaf tronpeand "these nnced tobe stitched together into very large network Once you have 300 people,allof whomwant to use the network how will youdeal with this? A singleradio channel ean be narrowed ntermsof the numberof hertz ituses,but how much doyou wwanttonarrowthechannel,asthis ccandegrade performance?” -Ms. Wang's observations chime ‘with those of Ondrej Sobajek. chief technology officer of Czech Reprub- lic tactical radio experts MESIT Defence (formally DICOM): "The number of networkusersis one ‘of the most sensitive parameters. ‘There isa myth that the more network users the better the MANET performance. Thiscomes primarily from logical assumption that particular network nadesin dense networks work more efficiently foreach other'sadvantage re-broadeastingthedata and that there are more communication pathsavailable and higher redundancy, plus the increased stability of the networkand longercom- munication rangesasaresul." The truth, isthat another rebroadcast is nothing else than usage (blocking) of thesamecom- munication channel fora specific time and shared transmission capacity isadequately reduced. Mr. Sohajek continues that, as far as thecapabilities of MANET communica tionsare concerned, "itis important to remembera few dogmas, like the defini tiveness of frequency spectrum, physical properties of radio signal propagation and the consequences of the fact that we are working with ashared media: radio chan nels with finite capacity” Developmentis another challenge in realising MANET techniquesand systems, Mr Sohajelestates that deployed MANETs apRiL/May 2016 are typically extremely complexin thet ‘composition. "Methods used in contem porary MANET networksare usually very complex which is why itis extremely. difficult to verily them inconditions of real deployment.” Such networkscan have an“infinite number of possible layouts.” ‘composing different environmental or topographical conditionsto traffic usage ornetwork size. Therefore, as Mr, Solajek continues, accurately replicatingthe ‘real icha MANET may bedeployed ienigh-on impossible. world conditions in wh ‘THEREMEDY Nevertheless, the software world comesto theaid of MANET developers. “Verifica- tion against simulated models isinereas ingly used because the verification ofa network'inaction’is practically impos- sible Mr. Sohajek observes. Yet,as well as offering the developera potentially greatly expanded range of scenarios against which they can test their MANET. architecture it also potentially reduces de velopment and esting costs, compared to having toevaluate every possible scenario withan actual army formation. ‘As Mr. Wangexplainsabove, the chal lenges faced by MANET networks are clear and present. How cantheybe overcome? “The answeristocnsure that your net- workisscalable;"he argues. Trellis Ware's approach employs concept which the ‘company calls the Barrage Relay Network: (BRN), Mr. Wangsaysthat the BRN ap- proach gets the nodes discussed above to collaborate with oneanother. Currently, MANET radiosascertain which path, via skips isbest to move radio traffictvom A to across several nodes. Mr. Wangstates that thisapproach isanalogous tothe igameof Telephone’ in which one person has aphrase which they say toanother, whothen saysit toanather untilit reaches theendofthe lineandtherecipientand originator of the phrase compare their two pphrasestosee howthey have changed in ‘the transmission. The BRN techniques cquivalent tothe person tellingeveryone in the game oftheir phrase simultaneously. ‘Mz, Wangcontiaues that the firm is already using this approach forts tactical radios ‘such as the TW: 400Cub,TW-225 ChectahNet Mini radio, TW-600 Ocelot and TW-850Our Strength Lies Behind Our Past Committed to success since 40 years om @selsan SESS ee‘Thales AN/ Inandheldradioisin extensiveuse with the United Saterarmed forces The companyisheavily involvedin the pan European ESSOR waveform initiative © Thales ‘TSM Ghost and their accompanying TSM ‘waveforms (see below. Like TrelisWare, ‘waveformeare atthe coreof how Thalesad dressesthe challenges posed in ensuring ‘workable, robust MA~ NET networks. Forthe ‘uninitiated awaveform iscseentiallyasoftware algorithm which asks asoldier’radioto ‘behave inaparticular fashion to communicate ima particular way. lt canbe thought ofas similartoacivilian smartphone software applicationor‘app.. Anapp essentially tells acell phone tobehaveinaparticular way toachievea particular task. orexample,a satellite navigation programmetellsthe phone tolisten for satellite transmissions froma Global Positioning System satelite tocnablethe usertofind thei location or theirdirection. Waveformsare beingused toaddress some of the challenges which Me. Wang discusses above such as the quantity ‘of nodes whichcan beaccommodated on singlenetwork ‘Thischallengeisbeingaddressedby the Buropean Secure Software-Defined Radio (ESSOR) initiative. Several Buropean coun tries principally Finland, France, ttaly. Po land, Spainand Sweden are involved inthe ESSOR initiative which isunderthe auspic- ‘es ofthe OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en Matiere d”irmement:Joint ‘Organisation for Cooperation in Arma- ments), Europe-wide organisation which manages multinational European defence programmes, ESSORaims torealisea site of Hand VHF waveforms whichean handle igh data rate transmissions, which canalsocarry simultaneous voice, dataand position information. However, interms ‘of meeting the node challenge, ESSORis ceavisaged tobe able toaccommodate upto s50nodes ona specificnetwork according toavrittenstatement provided to armada byThales.Thisstatement continued that developmentof the ESSOR waveform hhasnow beencompleted, andtesting has, ‘commenced, with interoperability evalua tions hetween different radios completed towards theend of 2015. It isenvisaged that ESSORcotldhe rolled cut aerossthe radios ofthe participating nationsfrom.cirea2020. ‘The ability toprovide wideband com munications erossmobilead hoc networks isalsoat the heart ofthe WF40 wideband networking W/UHF waveform developed byMESIT Defence. The WF40 can handle data rates of several hundzed kilobits-per second, typically supporting transmissions which canskipbetweensevenroutersto reach their recipient Managinga large number of nodeson network and knitting these networks together, sa challenge which Thales recognises. The company. continuesthat ensuring the full connectivity ofsoldierson the battlefield not only viatheir radios, but also inereasingly viatheirall-importantbattle -managementeystemewhich givecartographic information, situational awareness, and timely information and orders, sointrinsictoprevailingagainst one'sadversary. "Transform tion cannotbeachievedthrough dedicated bubbles with lim ited mumberof users. MANET \waveforms(must he designed to insure tactical radio network deployment witha largenum- ber of usersand applications” Although MANET tactical ‘communications have revolutionized the battlefield there ‘isroom forimprovementtocnsure thenext generation of MANET radios isevenmore capable OUSDoD 12 ARMADANTERNATONAL.COM ~ APRL/MAY 2036 Radio engincersthus have their work ccut out. Thedemand for MANET‘ the Future is unlikely to diminish and will only increase. However initiatives such asthe ESSOR waveform discussed above, plus s0-called ‘Cognitive Radio'techniques ‘which, put simply,employ software that automatically configuresa radio to change itsbehaviourtoensureitsoptimum performance, For example, the radio may doteot that a particular segment of the spectrum isheovily congested and thus move its transmissions toanother partof the spectrum toensure that datatrans- ‘mission and receptionisnot adversely affected, Cognitive Radiocould helpto addresssome of the challenges which MA- NET techniques face today. Lessons from recent combat operations will bedigested and incorporated into future tactical radio, hardware and software. MANET may hhave changed battlefield communications beyond recognition, butitisstill farfrom becominga panacea. It has revolutionised ‘the attlefield, but like most revolutions it has sofarfailed tocreateautopia.STATE KYIV DESIGN BUREAU “LUCH” UKROBORONPROM “SKIF” MAN PORTABLE ANTITANK MISSILE SYSTEM PURPOSE “Ski” man portable antitank missile system is intended to destray man power, stationary and moving modem armoured targets with combined, carried or monolithic armour, including ERA (explosive reactive armour), as well as pinpoint targets like weapon Ce ae ee eens ee ea ceo a ee een Rena the risk of the gunner destruction by reply fie attack of the enemy. ‘The system is completed with 130mm and 152mm missiles in transport and launching containers with tandem hollow-charge (RK-2S, RK-2M-) and high-explosive fragmentation (RK-20F, RK-2M-OF ) warheads. Beara) Coo re a Su es Be aa eno eet - tandem hollow-chargo, armour penetration behind ERA, mm See a eet) Weight of missile in container, kg Seu ed Sar a eee cg ‘Weight, kg: aed ae ee as ee eae ee perc) omnia) ceca comeey Seed eae ee ey ed err ee caer ter) oy 38 cy 1360 ro Coe ee 2, Melnikov Str, Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine Phone: +38 (044) 483 0745, 484 1898 Fax: +38 (044) 483 1394 Email: kb@luchkievua www.luch-kiewuaPOD system thatiscarriedby itsfour personcrew.ItisorganictoUS Army light infantry and M: Corps companies providing responsive highexplosive, illumination and smokein support ofsrall unit mancetvre find defence © US DoD Mortarsare aclass of artillery. They differ from guns which have a low, flat trajectory best suited for engaging targets by direct fire and howitzers which typically engage targets not seen from the gun position withan arching trajectory. ‘Stephen W. Miller hemortarfiresa projectile ata high angle allowingitto hittargetsbehind hills, narrow streets,andinside ravinesand trenches; the latter capability madettespectally useful in Fiest World War trench warfare Itcanbe avery simplesystem:justdrop the round down the tube and fireas quickly asthe soldiercandrop the rounds (20 rounds per minute;one every three seconds iseasily possible) Pus,thissystem isportable,a light mortarcan weigh under 23 kilograms kgs (60 pounds Ihs)and evena heavy towed mortaris but sok (330 Ibs) ready toflre ‘which compare favourably toeven the HAE Systems M777 155mmlightweight howitzer st 4200kgs (9300]hs).Yetitean reach out tog kilometres/lem (21 miles) for light mortarsoruptotenkilometres(6:2miles) Torthe latest heavy weapons. ‘The mortar started out primarilyasa siege weapon that ould fire ver the walls of fortifications todestroy the gunsand structures behind them, Since their reintro- duction inthe First World War the British Stokes Mortar saw widespread use during ‘the Second World War, whereittookonan important though often overlooked role in many theatres, Infact, Wehrmacht (Nazi Germany'scombined armed forces) doctrine ‘saw mortarsasthe primary indirect fre support for the infantry as ‘tube’ artillery would be reserved forthe sehwerpunkt or ‘main attack. Here it established tsefas the ‘small unit hip packet artillery;arole which ‘it generally continues toplay today. ‘Modern mortars fallinto three catego 14. ARWADANTERNATONAL.COM ~ APRL/MAY 2026 ries light mortars generally 6omm)used atplatoon and company level, medium ‘mortars Summ for Western or2mm {or Russian/Chinese weapons) used at ‘company orbattalion Ievel,and 20mm ‘mortarsat battalion leveland used in direct fre supportunits. Regardingdismounted {nfantry, the tendeneyisto have the Simm athaitalionlevel whereas mechanized units ‘usually havethe nomm mortar mounted on vehicle. Today's mortarsarelighter, have longer range, greater accuracy and morele~ thality than those fielded just fifteen years ago. Thisisthe result ofthe introduction ‘fnew metal and compositesin the mortar tubes and base plates, utomationand digitization of fire control, and advances in ses and ammunition, These improve ments have enhanced the mortar’scapatiesto filits direct support rales despite the changing dynamics of ground combat with extended frontage, more diverse operations andasymmetrical warfare, In fact,astrong case can he made tha these conditions increase the importanceand contribution ofthe mortartothe tactical commander. LIGHT MORTARS Which weapon is most suited foremploy ent as organic toa particular unit level influenced by two primary factors: first how doesit fit within the mission respon- sibilities ofthat unit evel? In particular, does it match the areaofinterest and of saresponsible toit? Second. isit com: patiblewith the units’ ability to deploy the system;ic.can they move tand support ite Though thereareadvantagesto having weapon witha longer range,ifit requires toomany soldiers tocarry or adltional equipment, it might notbe practical. The difficulties of moving the pieceand pro vidingsufficient ammunition can negate thevalue ofthe additional range. Abal- ancenveds obestruck. A general consen susamongarmiesis that the 6omm mortar is thebest choice forthe light infantry company. The US Army FM7-90 Tactical Employment of Mortars manual stresses: “The valueof the 6omm mortar. mediate responsivenesstothecompany commander’sordersand the speedat which it can be brought intosction: ‘TheUS Army and Marine Corps employ the Mzz4 LWCMS (Lightweight Company Mortar System) withan effective engagement range from 70 metres/im(229 feet/f) to 348om (1262711). The minimum range sas important as the maximum as {Windicates how close in front of friendly troopsthe weapon iscapable of placing. fires. Thiscanbe critical in overcoming. isitsim- Wiis advantages of US acm phere J avingainmedine’y revpoivelndrc re pably tera, coe manoeuvre advantage ‘sunny an assault thatis threateningtooverrana position orblasting out anenemy deter ‘mined to hug friendly positionsso asto avoid opposingartllery fires. The M224 and even the 20-percent lighter M224Atare supplied by General Dynamies Ordnance and Tactical Systems(GDOTS). This ‘weapons family fires High Explosive (HE), ‘Smoke (both white and red phosphorus), Mlumination (visible and infrared) and Practice projectiles. Sab meanwhile of fore Multi-Purpose Anti-Personnel Anti- Materiel round (M1061 MAPAMD which can be used with the Mzz4/Atand isable tobe used more closely to blue forces due toits more controlled fragmentation patter and the ability to penetrate roof oreven light armourand detonate inside ‘Away fromthe US, the Hirtenberger Mo Mortarisa 6omm lightweight infantry ‘weapon, In addition tothe Osterreichisches Bundeshcer(Austrian Army)it was adopted bythe British Army and Royal Marines as the M6-895 with a maximum rage of 3800m, ‘TheUS Army adopted the Elbit Soltam smoothbore ‘nemm mortar whichis designated Mizo in the ground bipod version Itisemployed at battalion level SUS Army (12467ft), The British lelding reversed an earlier plan that would have eliminated the ight mortarin favourofthe hand held grenade launcher. However, combat cexperienceduring the UX’sintervention in Afghanistan between 2001and203 highlighted thebenefitsofthe light mortar causing the substitution to be rethought. ‘Thetripod mounted Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL) isalso sometimes seen as substitute forthe light mortar. However, the light characteristicsof the AGL are closer tothe arching fires fa howitzer, ‘This makesit difficult to reach reverse slopes with the AGL, Moreover, they donot have the diversity of other mission sounds such asillumination and smoke. Anaspectofthe 60mm mortaristhat, though mostaccurateandlongrangefires are performedusingthe bipod and TE (Hraversingand Elevation) mechanism, itean alsobchandheld and visually aimed forquick ‘ngagements, Leveraging this technique, SG Technology/Mortarshas introduced the ‘Mortar. anultra-lightweight 6omm mortar designed forsmallunituse. Atsskgs(twelve pounds)and 900mm (36inches/in)inlength withintegratedaiming itiswell-suited tothe small team which is alsoreflectedin its short akan (07 mile) range MEDIUM MORTARS: ‘The Simm calibre (actually 8.4mm) ismost common in Western armies while the Samm, {sfound in Russian and Chinese weap. Russiannits ARMADMINTERNATIONAL.COM - APRL/MAY 2016 15UTZ. during the Second World War, thes2mm hasbeen replacedby the 20mmin most Russian Army units. The exception wasthe uscofthe 289 Vasilek an automatic 82mm jgun-mortaronawhecled carriage fielded inio70and used during the Soviet Union's intervention in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989. Its stillin use by Russian air borne forces. Unlike conventional mortars, itfiresincitherasingle shot orautomatic modeusing four sound cipstoarange of 4270m (1400911) with high explosive. smo, illumination and anti-armour rounds. The ‘Chinese People's Liberation Army usesthe ‘Type 67a modernization of the Soviet PM- imortar first fielded in1941-Thismortar ‘was widely used inthe Vietnam War: ‘The US has applied technology to improveite Simm mortars with thelatest being the Mas2. At 42.3leg(a31bs) it is found atthe battalion level in army light infantry and isused by the US Marine Corps. The ‘Simm mortar wasalso used the M25 a BAE Systems Mul3 Armoured Person- nel Carrier modifled to carey and fire the mortar through aroo! hatch. Its also used Inthe Matine Corps’ General Dynamics Land Systems'(GDLS) LAV-M Mortar and carried for dismounted support with the GDLS Muzo Stryker mortar carrier. The Masz asa range of 608m (1830800 firing the full ange of simm ammunition. The Mo-8imm LLR (Léger Long Ren- forcé/Reinforced, Light, Long) from Thales is used by the French andlrish armies and isoffered witha 1am (3.71) short barrel (Leger Cour)and (Leger fong)and witha 15m (9ft)barrel. It has astandard range ‘of 3100m io170ft)butspecialextended rangeammunition extends thisto5s00m 16 ARADANTERNATIONALCOM (083727), Elsewherein France, Nexteris inthe business of supplying mortaram- munition viaits Mecar subsidiary which produces range of mortarrounds, suchas ‘the gsmm MPM (Metric Precision Muni- tion) which hasa maximum range of ok (24miles), while the company hasalse developeda versionof its VBCI (Wéhicule Blindéde Combat d Infanterie/Armoured Infantry Combat Vehicle) in use by the Prench Army asai20mm mortar carrier, although no sales ofthis version ofthe vehicle haveyet been performed. Allsimm mortar roundsarefin-sta bilized with the most prevalentbeingthe high explosive round. The introductions ‘of multi-option fuses for igh explosive allow the guncrew tocasilyseleet the detonation of the projectilejust priorto firing Such fuseslike the M734can beset todetonateonimpact,celayed(allowingit topenctrate roof orbunker)or proximity (explodingabove the ground which spreads the explosiveshrapnel inawidearea from above the target Illumination projectiles cary flare that burns. at 525.000, candle powersuspended from parachute, Thetime fuses, setby the crew so that the case separatesover the target ign ingthe illuminate which then bburnsfor50-60seconds The illuminate compositioncan be configured to provide either ibleor infrared ight. Smoke projectiles are filled witha ‘composition of red phosphorus pellets that are ignited toburn pprovidinga dense obscuring ‘smoke. White phosphorusis apRiL/May 2016 ‘Towed 120mm heavy mortarshave been. sdoptedby the US Marines to provide a Ielicopter transportableindirect fire capability for the vertical assaultelement. The TEFSS uecea TDA zommrifled mortar witha ‘Growlerlightprimemover OUSMC anothermortar projectile that produces smokeand doesso instantaneously while defeating both visual and thermal imaging thurns fiercely and can catseburn casual ties, butdueto ts instantancouseffectitis ideal for marking targets HEAVY MORTARS. ‘The 20mm mortarhas for over the ast 20 _yearsbegunto prevail asthe calibreafchoice in heavy mortars. In some units the heavy mortarisused as anartllery weapon. This is thecasewith the US Marines’ Expeditionary Fire Support System (EPSS) fromGDOTS ‘which equips battalions in the Marine Artil- Jery with thist20mm rifled mortar, derived from TDA Armament’sMo120RT. The EFSS isused tosupport the vertical assault le- ‘mentasitis designed specifically tobecar- ‘ed inside Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion heavylifthelicoptersand Bell Boeing CV) [NV-28 Osprey til-rotors. The EFSS M327 mortaristowed by specially-designed lightweight prime moverandcan besetupin Four minutesand fleeup tofourrounds-per~ ‘minute out tcightkilometres(49:miles). TheUS Army has also movedto the 120mm mortar viaitssmoothbore M20 EIbits SPEAR reduces the recoil forcerof mortar firingsufficently to allow the weapon tobe mounted and ‘accurately fired fromalight tact vehicle. The system hasalready been ‘employed by US Special Forceson pick-up trucksin Afghanistan © EIbitMortar derived from the Bbit Systems’ Soltam K-6,Ithasa range of 200m (23622) Dut likeall heavy mortars the 50kg (330) ficing weight dictates that iteitherhe towed ‘ormounted onavehicle, The US Army ‘mounts the Miz (vehicle version) on its ‘Mosq (Mu3-based) mortarcarrierandon the Mit29 Stryker. The Soltam Cardom used onthe Muzo takes target acquisition data and translatesit to traverse andelevation angles which are automatically sent tothe sguntoprepareforfiving. The Cardom can comeinto action inunder josecondsand hhasa burst rate of 6 rounds-per-minute (cpm) anda four rpmsustained rate of ie Providing mobility tothe 20mm mortar hasbeen afocusof manyeffortsoverthe {yearsand continues today. The approach taken is determined by the end user forcesis italight orarmouredforce? Forlight forces onesolution is offered by Boeing aversion ofits Phantom Badge. Thislightweight ‘combat support vehicle has been config ‘ured with ai20mm mortar mounted in the back. An accompanying trlercarries ready ammunition. Elbit Systems SPEARuses aspectal soft ecoflaystemallowingthe ‘mortar tobemounted inthe bed of alight vehicle like the AM General HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) oreven amodified piek-uptruck. They havealreadysecured acontracttoprovide ‘SPEARto the Royal Thai Army. Steve Rust of Mistral indicated toarmadatthat UUs Special Forces using EIbit soft recoil smortarsin Afghanistan found they offered ‘ideal solution for providingimmediately responsive fres not previously possible for light truck mounted forces” For armoured farces the development and fieldingof tarreted 120mm mortars and gurymortarsis gaining attention Ratherthan firing through aroof hatch fromaplatformwith the round dropped down the tube, these mortars are mounted ina mantel and londed from the breach, Some recent systems are automatically loaded and can engagewith both indirect and direc fires. The Patria/BAE Systems AMOS (Advanced Mortar System) is used bythe Maavoimat (Finnish Army) Itsdual 20mm mortarin a360-degree traversing turret can fire16 rounds-per-minute. By integrating Global Positioning System (GPS) colocation and inertial navigation fire control system the AMOS can move {ntoa position, fire a14-round salvoand then displace in under joseconds. Italso allows Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact ireas one AMOS can fire up tous roundsso thatall ithe target tthe same time. The system automatically adjusts the fring angle ofeach round so that they all hit simultaneously. Patria's NEMO is «essentially asingle barrel version based the AMOS. Jukka Tiainen, cal manager for weapon systems sug- gested, "the majoradvantages of the Nemo ‘unmanned turreted mortarsare that they have the same mobility as units they are supporting while providing continuous protection tothe crew. Plus, thecombina- atria techni Ne VEN ari PROGRESSIVE Sead |o0000LAND WARFARE tion of auto-loadingand automated firing allowsone NEMO todeliver fires equiva- lenttos full battery of traditional guns: The Polish Armament Groupunveiling inlate 2014of ts RAK-n0turreted mortaron the Rosomal(the Polish-built eight-wheel drive Patria Armoured Modular Vehicle) suggests that other armies have recognized the benefitsand broader tactical applica tionsoftheturreted approach. Oneof these istheir direct fire capability which permits theiruseinanassaultsupport role. Turreted mortarscan engage bunkers, buildings and fortifications to1500m (uh) range with highaccuracy. The Russian semi-automatic loadingrifled 289 Nona-Seommhowitzer/ mortarsystem (onthe Volgograd Tractor Plant BMD amphibiousairborne infantry ‘ighting vehicle) and 2823.20mm sel-pro pelled howitzer/mortar (onaneight-wheel dive Arzamas BTR-80 chassis) fllasimilar role. The Russian Motavilikha Plants Cor poration lates leldingin the Noma familys the 2831 Yena,an automated self-propelled mortarwitha longer barrel mountedon the Kurginmashzavod BMP-3amphibious infantry fighting vehicle. Inadditionto ‘conventional rounds talsafirestheGran laser-guided bombagainst point targetsat arangeofkm cight miles). Mortarcarsier variants of the BTR-3 ight-wheeldrivear= moured personnel earrierareavailable from Ukraine's Uksspecexportstatearmaments ‘export company which has supplied the [BTR jM2mortar carrier tothe Royal That Anmyasof203, ‘The AMOSiea tarret mounted s2omm mortar with twin tubes ‘thatareautomatieallyloaded andtesined. Asa reralea single AMOS can deliver theequivalent roundson target asafallbattery of ‘conventional mortars © Patria, ‘Turkey's PNSShas developedazommmortar mounted onthe company’s AcV.igtracked armoured combat vehicle. Known a8 the SPM-120,thisplatform ineorporatesazomm mortar mountedona turntable positioned inthe rear of the vehicle which fires througha hatch in the roof. The ACV-19 chassis itself isavariant of theftrms ACY-15design which is already inservice with the armies of Malaysia, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates. The ACV-19, however, has alonger hull, and asuspension which allowsit tocarry ‘greater payloadsthan the ACV:15, while relaininga spare parts commonality evel ‘of opercent, The SPM-20%s known tobe inservicewith twonations, although these have not heen named. PRECISION PROJECTILES. One benefit of the 0mm mortar round is itsgreaterexplorive power, The dimim pro- Jectilecarries around four kilograms (nine pounds) of explosive while the izomm carries i3hgs 29 Ibs). Another benefitis that itis more easily adapted toadvanced jontypes including ‘cargo’ sub- jon and precision guided projectiles ‘Thisisnot tosuggest that slmm guided projectiles are not possible; infact BAE Systemsand GDOTShaveboth demon- strated thesimm RCGM (Roll Controlled Guided ‘Mortar).ttmodifiestheex- istingBritish mortarbomb with GPS guidance, canard FNSS'ACV.1pisa self propelled tracked mortar with the ome ‘weaponbeingfired through ahateh inthe vehicle roof. oFNSS. 18 ARWADANTERNATONAL.COM ~ APRL/MAY 2036 controls, andan My34A1 multi-option fuse. Soadapted,theround.ean impact within five metres ft) ofits designated target. It canbe fired from the existing Lis or M233 mortars. It provides target caveragewith ‘two rounds that with conventional en- agement techniques would requireten. Itisthisincreased fireefficiency that drives the interest in PMs (Precision Guided Munitions). Considering that, for example, the Muz9 Stryker Mortar carrier carries 60 rounds which also include smoke and illumination), using PGMs allows ten-fold increase in engagements fromon board stowage. The US Marine Corps Precision Extended Range Mor- tarprogrammear PERM isbeingled by Raytheon in collaboration with Israel Military Industries. Itusesa GPS-guided ‘20mm projectile which in 2014 test firings achieved ten-metre(32.8ft)accuracy. An added benclitis that the canardsuused tostcerthe projectile allow an extended range of up to x6km (8.6 miler) Orbital ATK hhas developed. similar GPS-guided pro- jeotile kit known asthe XM305, Itisbased nits ssmm artillery guided projectile. Both the PERM and XM3a5 canbe used by rifled orsmoothbore mortars. ‘Saabs Bofors Dynamics division has taken another PGM path seckinga direct Iitwith its STRIX 20mm terminally guided mortar projectile. The head hasan infrared imaging sensor that detectsaand locks onto the heat signature ofa target and then guides itself onto cred ananti-armoured vehicle round in that by attacking the thinner roof of the targeted vehicleitis likely to penetrate and disable or destroy it. Thesystem of fers a unique organic capability toengagePCO Raytheon wasawarded acontract todeliverits Precision Extended Range Mortar for theUS Marines! 20mm mortars. Itprovidesan reused range of up to 6kin at sells Bet round accuracy with circular error probable better than ten metres © Raytheon armoured forces assembling toattackeven when hidden by terrain, STRIX hasbeen in service with the Swedish and Swiss armies since the late1990s. The GRANis another ‘20mm thermal guided mortarround from KBP in Russiabuttsseckerhomesinon the radiated signal froma laserdesigna torusually operated by a ground observer. Ithasa range of 500m (qo21f) to nine kilometzes EVOLVING CAPABILITIES The combination of highly accurate post tion determination of both targetsand firing mortars with digital computing of firingsolutions has made them ever more responsiveand accurate, Where previ- ously adjustingfiringontoa target might requitethree shots before'Tiring for eff thisadjustment process canbe reduced to bone round or even eliminated entirely. The closed loop system that links the forward observertothe gun and automatically computesand appliesthe firingsolution further refines this process, Adding auto matic loading permits single and dispersed weapons tomatch the targetetTect that previously requived six or more guns ir ingin battery. The addition of precision guided projectiles and the turreted mortar allow the mortar to undertake point target and direct fire support missions forthe smal unit, Together these advances are altering the way that mortars are being used and expanding the roles that they are playingincombat. The technical and performance improvements havebeen, demonstratediitisnow up to the soldiers tocvolvetheirtacticsand employment to capitalize on whatthese can offer. oN ‘ena clammunition prehensive: tanks, arllenyancs vedum-calbre guns (CREATING NEW REFERENCES IN DEFENCE |WTC - Cheek:-by-jow the Californian the right nestles close Border control has never been a more sensitive issue in peacetime than it nowis in Europe and the United States. In Europe, sympathy for people escaping civil war in Syria and state failures in Africa mix with fears of political violence and social disruption, adding to the already-present stress of economic austerity. Peter Donaldson ‘hile technology will not solve the problemsdriv- ingrefugeestoseeka bet terlife,itcan provide ways tochannel thems towards official crossing points by sealing off leak lerareas,and helpingto identify those who sight posereal threats. Optroniesare key lements of integrated multi-sensor sys- tems, providingthe automatic detection, identification and classification of targets and minimising false alarms;thelast of which significantly alleviates overloadon security personnel, Controp marketing and sales vice-president Johnny Carni points out. He also notedadistinet divide developingin the market between the low-end and high end in terms of sensor performance and overalleapability.“The market flooded with optronies)compa- nies, however notallofferthe same levelof technology. In fact, only afew companies offer teuly high endtechnology,” head. The competitions flere, and some of the userschoosetoseitleon ess-advanced technologiesfor various reasons rather than choosing the most advanced systems that can truly solve the problem.” Israel Aerospace Industries’ LAD ‘Tamam division’ director of optronses research and development Naveh Baht, within the company’ssystems, missiles and space group, concurred, adding that some resort to "very, very cheap” cameras bought on Ebay orfrom Amazon, forex- ample, buying them in large numbers and not worrying too much ifsome of thems fall, He contrasts this withreal bor ders” monitored with high-performance cameras, some coveringshort ranges of 20. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM ~ APRIL/MAY 2026 around halfa kilometre (0.3 miles), others ‘with much longer ranges, all connected toimage analysis, target recognition and tracking and database systems and soft ‘ware, The high-end systemsextendinto multiple light wavelengths with visible and short.,medium-and long-wave in- Frared cameras, uncooled for short ranges and cooled for longer ranges, providing ‘opportunities fr image fusion, where im ages from different sources.or produced by different systemsare combined soas tocreate as detailed an imageas possible. ‘Mr Bahat emphasised that this need not mean fusing oroverlaying the images. Instead, fusion would extract the best information fromeach wavelength to Improve tracking performance and vision atlonger ranges and in had weather. Mexicanbordertown of ‘Tijuanain thestateof BaLONG-RANGE, Mr Bahat stressed the importance of stabilisation forlong-range cameras, addingthat thisshould be one ofthe first, decisions to make in specifying border security system. Erie Olson, vice-president for macketingat PureTech Systems, in Arizona, United States, reportsan uptick, in theneed for very long rangedetection inborderand coastal surveillance applica (ions. Part ofthat increase seemstostem from understanding that these long-range detection eapabilitiesare now achiew ableatanaffordable price point." Healso ‘mentioned growinginterest intheuse of airborneand ground mobile platforms including vehicles, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)and acrostats assist border surveillance. The company is activein the border sur of the Middle Bast and North America, andannounced in October 2015 that ithad completed the initia field deployment of the Remote Video Surveillance System ‘This fence constitutes much ofthe US. Mexicohorderin Arizona, illustrating ‘why sophisticated networked sensor ystemewith automatic tamgetdetection and recognition are generatingso much interest US Army National Guard ‘An eracli officer briefs ‘AirForee General (Cenig McKinley, the chief ofthe National ancbrervation post ‘overlookingthe Gaza Stripnear thetsraeli cityof Sderot o US DoD (RVS8) upgrade forthe US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. PureTech, providesthe software forfullmotion video. target detection. sensorcontrol and the geospatial user interface asa member ofthe General Dynamies team that won the RVSS upgrade contract. The RVSS con sists of towers mounted in proximity tothe Us Mexican frontier toimprove border surveillance there. ‘Arie Chernobroy, general manager of EBbit systems’ sceurity systems division, emphasised that most ofthe requirements the company bids for involve the integrs- tion of multiple technologiesinchuding radar based automatic detection systems, unattended groundsensors, video motion detector content analysis and verifica- tion systems usingimaging sensors. Most customers want detectionrangesof at least ten kilometres(62:miles) for targets, hesaid. Growingdetection ranges bring several challenges that are wniqueto surveillance applications, Mr. Olson said, NT citing image instability, environmental {interference and thesmall numberof pixels represented by atarget.~This chal lenge is met with increased computing power, software-based stabilisation, more advanced hackground modelling and. expanded feature extraction, fo more ac- curately identify the target of interest” ‘Another challenge is camera barrelling, “which isthe ability to keep the camera's, centre pixel onthe target while zooming inoverseveral kilometres. “Acamera with poor harrellingcan havea target centred at zero percent zoom, but completely lose sight of that ‘ventred target asthe zoom level increases,” he said. “In addition to ‘more precise mechanical design, video analytics software ean be used to compen- sate> Straightforward at short distances, cameracontrol tasks also become harder asrange increases, Mr.Olson told Armada. “Simple movements, suchascentringa target of interest slewing toa location or enablingan automatic camera follow at distances of several kilometres become inereasingcomplexasthe cameta'span, tiltandzoom mustbecontrollablein very fineinerements” ‘Contropemphasisesthat border surveillance requires optronicsthat ‘enable target classification for quick decision-making, arguing that automat ingclassfication improves the quality of decisions made and reduces thenumber ofpeople needed. Furthermore. the use of long-range cameras on towers places even greaterdemandsonstabilisationas ‘The BVSS upgrade accepted by the US CHP features video malytics and geospatialcommand and ‘control developed by DureTech Systemsaspart of General Dynamicr'solutionand includes thisadvanced graphical user sor/nay 2016 21PNT towers move in the wind and an shift as, partsexpand and contract with changes in temperature, The company also notes fgrowingdemand for vehicle- mounted ‘optronics. This, said Mr-Carni, brings a ced for short, medium and long-range capabilitiesand multiple sensorson the same platform, Atshort ranges, cooled infrared camera isnot essential, ag an un- ‘cooled sensor might suffice. Far medium ranges, maximum focal lengths of 250 ‘or 450mm might he enough, while longer ranges need lenses of 720 0r 200mm, It is important for supplicrstoprovidea range of systems and capabilities toserve variety of requirements, some of which result from conditions specificto the borderten 3, he said. "While detection isusually achieved usinga radar, identification and recognition aredone by optzonics, These missions require the highest quality of picture, which ean only be attained by anexcellent thermalcamera with stabilisation." The company has recently introduced anew system known 283D- GUARD, whichit deseribes asin advanced three-dimensional video motion detection system, Each 3D- GUARD system iscomposed of two stationary cameras ‘with fixed fields-of-viewandadetection range of uptoonekilometre. Designed to protect strategic faci and perimetersaswell asborders.stisa lay and night capablesystem that detects moving argetsand intruders automatical lyand generates alerts. Providing precise eg contre GUARD ystems Rtepeerens eevee pion Cowersamdcontratledy ctr lone Toren of viewand provide stereoscopic —— CContrap's TORNADOisa passive lightweight high-speed 360 degree scanning system for ssutomaticintruder detection and tracking upto arange offour kilometres or human, tangets © Controp information on target location, sizeand movement, the 3D-GUARDactsas reliable ‘victual fence’ and can be installed on poles or towers, Mr.Carnisaid,and operatesas afast deployment systemorasastand- alone managed froma central command and control system. "The capabilities of thisnew 'staring'system drastically reducethe nuisance of false alarms that aretypical of other video analyticsystems,” Mr.Carniadded For long-range automaticdetection ‘of movement Controp has developed and recently introduced the TORNADO, whieh itdeseribesasa passive lightweight fast scanning infrared camera that provides 1360 degree panoramic image. TORNADO ‘uses Medium Wave Infrared (MWIR) ‘cameraand provides panoramic coverage rom ground level up to18 degreesabove thehorizon, enablingit codeteet airborne threats, in particular UAVS. “TORNADO uses unique software algorithms, which automatically detect and trackany mov- 22. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM - APRIL/MAY 2026 ‘ngtargetItcan detect very small targets hundreds of metresaway and large targets even tens of kilometres away. Finally, Controp's SPEED-LRisa highly-sophisti cated long-range, wide-area, passive, real time stabilized intruder detection system, which automatically detects motion in a ‘wide panoramic view andcan beinstalled ‘on owers, poles, tripods and other sup- ports. Incorporating along ange thermal imaging camera with a continuous 200m lens,a colour daylight televisioncam- cra,cye-safelaser rangefinder and laser pointer, the SPEED-LR can automatically detect, recognise, identify and trackany ‘moving target up totens of kilometres away, says the company. LONG ENDURANCE Finmeccanicastressed that, inadditionto adequate rangeand resolution, optronics orborder security must be very eile forextended periadsof remote operation with long maintenance intervals. The company’s landand navaldefence clectronics division has developed new ‘generation of thermal imaging cameras designed tooperateunattended for up 030000 hours, For comparison, saysthe company, conventional cooled thermal Imagers typically require a coolant recharge after6000 09000 operating hours. The extra operating time comes fromnew coolingenginesthat the company offers 'SPEED-LR eaturessensore includinga thermalimager with Seortinathston leumeoloa ‘TV.monochromeCCD (Charged Coupled Device)spottes.eye-safe laser rangefinder and pointer ©contropaiai=/a-eomenllalomia) : = idgiomss-]ale , fs\=/=m=|=\'/0)910 mL ead leemeraohentieertEn kod |: MeePNT with ts latest infrared cameras, inclu the Horizon. ‘Thecompany alsorecentlylaunched anew family of multi-sensor optror systems underthename NERIO, offering sedis range, long-range and ultra long-range performance with respective detection ranges of ten kilometres ten toskm(igmiles)and stosokm (3. miles). They comprise acooled thermal imager, colour television cameraand ‘optional laser rangefinder integrated into agyro-stabilised pan andtilt head, which ‘canbe mounted on fixed installations ‘or mobile platforms. The sensor feds canbe integrated into commandand controlsystemsorpracessed locally using Finmeceanica’s VANTAGE or ANTEO software packages SPECTRAL BANDS. Mr. Bahat stressed thal the choice ofcam- crafor day and night capability isnotas simple as might be expected. Forexample itdoes not alwaysmean amix of daylight television and infrared sensors because, dependingon the environment, thelatter ‘can works well in daylight as they doin the dark. The choice of infrared wave bands ‘comes ext, which depends heavily on local ‘TheDistant Sentry isdesigned asaflexible border security, system that canbe configured ‘with ground andmaritime ‘radars, optronics, unattended {ground sensors, wireless ‘communieationsand hybrid powersystems © Pinmeccunica ‘almospherie characteristics, he ‘nid. Mid-wave thermal infrared sensors generally produce -sharperimages, but long-wave ‘cameras are better at penetrat- ingobscurants and dealing with scenes containing wide ter perature variations, Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) offershighreso- Tution and natural-looking black and whiteimagesbecause this, portion ofthe spectrum involves reflected light generated by nats: ralsky-glow, which is present day and night,orfrom SWIRilluy nators. Hecommented that most customers are fairly conservativein the sensors they prefer. "Most of our customers choose day, nightand maybe SWIR systems and they focus on image enhancement and stabilisation” Headded that with SWIR, sensors they want tosee them workingin demonstrations. "SWIR is not a comm _yet although it has been inthe Meld for ssyears” ‘Mr. Bahat pointed toa trend towards ‘multi-eavelength optronics for border surveillance applicationsand hiscompany already offersan open architecture system that can include day television, MWLRand ‘SWIR sensors with integrated laser range- finderand Global Positioning System geolocation capabilitiesinthe form ofits Long-Range Reconnaissance and Observa- Solution (LOROS), This encapsulates ‘these sensors ina highly gyro-stabilised, turret that can be controlled from ground based and airhorne workstations. Weigh- ‘ng 85kgs (187Ibs) and consuminglessthan 700 Watts of power, the LOROS features automatic target tracking,enlbanced image processingand long-range dowalink Torboth videosmagery and data. Users usually base their decision on cost-cffec tiveness” Mr. Carnisaid.“Forshort-range 24. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM ~ APRIL/MAY 2026 missions of up tatwokilometzes(i2miles) they usually choose an uncooled LWIR system, which is less costly. For long-range missions, MWIR would oflenbe the choice. For poor lighting conditions, SWIR would be preferred. incolderelimates, they will "usually gofor cooled EWIR and when rec~ ognition of colouris important they chose visible light cameras” ‘Finmeccanica concurs with that sen sor mix,adding that LWIK sensorsare also preferred when there isaignificantclbscu- ‘ation fromsmokeor other pollutants to penetrate, However, the company stresses that advances it has madein its cooled fo- cal plane array detectors (an array of light sensingpixels used tocompose adigital image) overthe last decade has improved theirperformance in all environments,to theextent that most of tscustomers now select MWIR sensorsin large formats."AS the demands of detection, recognition and identification rangeshave increased, the choice of camera has moved away from ‘uncooled systems nto ull television (640 xsi2pixels)and increasingly high defini- {ion television (i280 x 1024 pixels) sensors.” ‘the company told Armada, Away from Italy, FlirSystems salso in thebordersecurity business, providing equipment tothisend {nthe form ofa large family of thermal ‘optronies. The company’s produetsarein high demand worldwide for such tasks, addition totheirothermilitary and law ‘enforcement offerings. The company's bordersecurity equipment provision includes its HRS Series continuouszo0m ‘cameras, plusthe HCR MCT series, Ther- ‘moVision 2000/3000MS,and PTZ 35140 [MS cameras, Plir Systemsis joined inthis regard by Copenhagen Sensor Technology whose border security products include the Spectre! PTZI-1000 pan, tlt and zoom ‘camera. Likeits American counterparts, ithashelped fortify a number of installa- tionsoverthe years with stch technologies. ureTech’s Mr. Olson alsoreported demand forvisibleband cameras orden tification purposes, combined with MWIR. that, he told Armada, “provides for better tanget-to-background contrast and more pixels on tangetat the desired ranges” He also commented on the growingdemand ities suchas for more csotericcapat hypetspecteal sensing, which combines| cpm aa] imaging with spectral analysisthat can find spectral signatures of individual materials. This isincreasingly used for detecting disturbed ground, which might, bbeachueta the presence of an insurgent ‘bomb, Meanwhile, Ebit's Mr, Chernobrov stressed that the cameraspectral bands selected are affected by the challenges pre- sented by local environmental con: pointingout that conditions in mari time areasare very different from those onbordersin deserts or high-altitude ‘mountain regions, and noting that there arealso significant variations in humidity forexample, within coastal regions. Other requirementsaffecting sensor choice include facial recognition, which requires visible ight or SWIR cameras, and very long-range detection of military targets at night, which usually moves operators towards cooled MWIR cameras with pow- erful optics, he said. Severalof thecompaniesapproached for thisarticle said that they regard radar asacomplementary technology inthese applications, stressing their ability to detect targets in heavy fog, which defeats optronies, and offersystems that include radar. Purthermore, Mr-Olson said that PureTech isadding geospatial capabilities toitscamerasto provide what hecalled “an extremely robust method forcamera-ra- darcollaboration, enablingboth “simple” and “intelligent” slew-to-cue capabilities alongwith friend-or-foe analysis. Simple slew-to-cueis the ability topoiatacamera tan exact point in latitude, longitude and clevation. This includes compensation for thespeed of amovingtarget,sothecamera docs not undershaot. “Intelligent slew-to- industry reports growing need formult-sensor surveillancesystems inaallationsand aircraft Thisisa Spider C-1vehicle from Plasan ® Plasan tes the existence and typeof the target using video analytics and then takes actionsbased on that assessment Mr. Ol- sencontinued. "This could involve invok- {ngan automated camera follow, marking thetarget witha covert laserarinvokinga visual oraudio deterrent.” FUTURE TRENDS Controp’s Mr. Carmi pointed to oppos- ingforcesaffectingthe market sfuture growth, the first beingthe burgeoning ‘ovement ofrefugees,on whichall agreed, swith possible market restraint caused by lowerail pricesaffectingsecurity and defence budgets in oil producing countries. Insensor technology terms, Finmeccanica emphasised thecontinued eduction in camera size, weight and power require smentsand cost of ownership, which wil rmakethem more accessible to less wealthy nations. Aecordingto Mr. Olson today's rather picemeal deployments will move towards ollaborationbetween sensor suites, both static and mobile, with greater information sharing enabling faster more accuratedetcctions. Mr, Chernobrow sald that Elbit istargetingcustomers who need networked multi-sensor, persistent sur vellancesystemstocontto longstretches of border from singlecommand and con- trolcentre. "There are several countries already considering this kindof olution, and ina few years we believe it will become thestandard Finally, IAT's Mr. Bahat c~ knowledged these trends, but witha nodto thelate David Bowie's ake onthe ultimate wunknowabilityof the future "Ldoa'tknow ‘where 'm going rom here, but Ipromsiseit wwon'thehoring” Coo Ruggedized electro-optical solutions for Homeland Security www.copst.com Sean the QR code to see the product rangePa Trevor Hollingsbee cemand for FACis par ticularly noticeable inthe Asia-Pacife region, and this article putsaspottight on developmentsin terms of procurementsand upgradesin thispart of the world. For example, regarding the Ban- sladesh Navy (BN), recent yearshave seen the combat capabilities of the BN’s four "HHegu’ class FACs considerably enhanced by the replacement oftheir old SY-1Anti- Ship Missiles (AShMs) with Chinese Avia- tion Industry Corporation (CAIC)C-7044 [ASH Ms. Coming into servicewith the Ran- aladesh Navy by the end ofthis yearwill be ight indigenously-builti.7 metre/m(38 feet/fl) FACS, with the intended rolesof backing sovereignty claims, and enforeing ‘maritime aw. The state-owned Dockyard and Engineering Works (DEW) Narayan- ‘gant isbuilding the fully composite eraftto the Xizdesign undera technology transfer agreement with Indonesia's PT Lundin, ‘The Xizisa derivative ofthe Swedish Dock- stavarvet Combat Boat 90concept. DEW didnot respond to enquiries astothecost ofthe project, which also includesten full ccabin versions forthe Bangladesh Coast Guard, but Indonesian media eportshave pputthe value of the contract at $6 mil- 26 ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM - APRIL/MAY 2028 lion. Armed with three machine guns, the _35-knot (65 llometres-per-hour) raft will bbe powered by Volvo Pentadiesel engines linked towaterjets, BURMA ‘Tothe southeast of Bangladesh, the growth and modernisation of Burma's navy, over the past decade, hasbeen dramatic, The orce’s commitmentsinclude fishery protection, anti-piracy and anti narcotics operations. also important isthe enforce- ‘mentof claims potentially hydrocarhon- the Bay of Rengel. Burma previously relied mainly upon China for rich areasA SEA POWER Y ‘Thetndonesian Navy's KRITodak FACand the USNavy amphibious FAC capabilities ofitevery largeflet @US Navy thesupply of naval vessels, but now has booming warship construction industry. mnously-built ‘missile-and gun armed FAC have been commissioned, whilea new class of fast motor torpedo boat, reportedly optimised foranti- submarine warfare scoming into service. The Burmese, though, have now tumedto Israel toup their FAC game. In late 2085, six Super Deora Mk3ecraft were ordered from the Ramta division of Israel Aerospace Industries IAD) The acquisi- tion ofthese vessels isa potent symbol of Burma's determination to protect its off- shore assetsata time when bidding for ex ploration rights n the county’s Exclusive ing.1AL neither confirm nordeny the existence of the Bur Economic Zone sinten smese contract, but Mr. David Bogner, Inter national Marketingand Customer Service Managerat IAI Ramta, gave Armodaan update on the Super Dyora Mk3“Itisan exceptionally versatile platform, capable ofover 48 knots(8olem/) it hasstrong pursuit andintereeption capabilites for navaland coast guard roles, but can also land shore parties, and even be beached ifsequired,” Mr. Bogner emphasised the range of options available o operators. ‘Atypical weapons fit might bea Rafael Advanced Defence Systems’ Typhoon sta- bilised cannon, plussmaller weapons, but ‘wecan meet individual customer reguire- ‘ments, We respond tousers' preferences {forsurveillance and fire control radars. Weoffer MTU or Caterpillarenginesfor propulsion. Thearticulating surfacedrive option, utilising surface-picrsing propel lers, both reduces drag, thereby increasing efficiency, and helps enable shallow water operations’ CHINA As wellasbeingasupplierofsuch erat, the People's Republic of China(PRC)was ‘long-term operator of multiple small PACsof varioustypes. The Chinese have rationalised the FACTleet over the past decade though, and now rely mainly upon the z24-tonnes, 43m (iil?) Hoube'class catamaran, which isintended to pose a threat of saturation missile attacks toUS Navy carrierbattlegroups operating in wa- tersadjacent tothe PRC. These 36-knot (67 km/h) craft, powered by twin diese engines, linked to four waterjets,are armed with ight CAICC-803 AShMsas wellasaZBERL AK-630 close-in weapon system. The type providesa relatively stable missile platform, andcan operate upto4o0 nautical miles/ nm (741 kilometres/km) offshore. More than Sosuch vesselsareinservice, with estimates from builders Hudong-Zhong- dhua Shipbuilding puttingthe cost atupto s5omillionper vessel There have beena numberof regional media reports, asyet unconfirmed, that Pakistan planstobuild vessels ofthis typeunderlicence, INDIA ‘ThePRC'serstwhilerival India operates more than 20 FACsof various types, with the'Car Nicobar’class now having prime responsibility forsecurity,and search and rescue within India's Exclusive Economic Zone. These shipshave been invelved ina amumber of kinctic actions against pirates inrecent years. The crafts main armament isa MedakCRNot30mm cannon, backed by apairof machine guns, and KB Mashi- nostroyeniya oK38 Iga surface-to-air missiles, AFurono navigation radaranda Bharat Electronics Limited Link-I tact caldata link are also fitted. These vessels can each 36 knots, and thefinalvesselin the 1g-strong330-tonne class is currently at Garden Reach isthelatest version of thevery potent, versatileand well- proven, “Super Dvora! class which insct togivethecountry'srapidly ‘expandingnavalcapabilitiesa further boost s1AL ARMADANTERATIONALCOM - APRL/MaY 2028 27Ea ‘The People'sLiberation Army Navy Hoube’ class FACsarcinserviceinlarge numbers. These raft pose potential threat toUS. Navy aiveraft carrier battle groupsoperatingin waters Adjacent to China GUSNavy Shipbuildingand Engineering (GRSE)at ‘Kolkata, GRSEdid not respond to requests forinformation on costsand other aspects of the project. INDONESIA Expansion of the Indonesian PAC inventory isin progress as Jakartaseeks toenhancesurveillance and response ‘capabilities nits coastal waters. rogres- sively supplementingexistinglargertypes ‘of FAC such asthe Todak’classisa planned eet, according todeputy defence minister ‘Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, ofatleast 40locally-built'KCR-40'and "KCR.60' class FACS. These newelasses, ‘under construction since 201, haveamain armament of CAIC/PT Pindad C-705In- donesian/Chinese manufactured AShMs; the 'KCR-4o‘classhastwo ofthemissiles ‘ited, while the longer KCR-60' class ‘has our. Gun armament for the’KCR-40° classisajommCMSNG-8 cannon, and {wo20mm Denel Vektor eannon, while the KCR 60" class featuresa BAE Systems Boforss7mm cannon. Shipyardsinvolved inthe programme include PT PAL. PT Palindoand PTCitia,withamanufactucer’s «estimated project cost of s10.2millon per vessel for the 40m gift) variant. According toPTPAL procuctiondirector Edy Widarto, prospects for overseas manufacture of the vesselarealsobeing explored. interms of sensors,ChinaNorth Industries TR-47C and SR 47AG naval surveillanceradarsare carviedby the vessels while triple MAN Viidieselsenableaspeed of about 30 knots (sskim/t), Jakarta last year stated that, de spite the prototype having been destroyed inafire,the programmetobuild four 63m in Indonesia would continue. Nevertheless, conus Februazy; constructors PT Lundin announced that only oneexample willbe completed. PAKISTAN, Pakistan operatesa range of FACS of vary- ‘ngantiquity. The PRC, nowadays Pakistan's prime supplier of naval vessel, delivered.a ‘new 570-tonne, 63m (207f1) FAC, the Azmat toPakistan in 2012. Thisship wasconstruct- cedby the China Shipbuildingand Offshore Corporation (SOC) Since then, afurther example hasbeen builtin Pakistanby the 28 ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM - APRAL/MAY 2026 Karachi Shipyard and Engineering works (KSEW) company, incooperation with (CSOC. The ship has been commissioned, while in April2015 the first steel was uton athirdexample at KSEW.Afourthvesel is planned. Designed primarily for the littoral, the armament ofthis 30 knot (56km/h) PAConsists of eight CAICC-802AShMs, azjmmeannonandan AK-630close-in ‘weapon system, KSEWhasquotedaunit cost of $50-millionpervessel PHILIPPINE NAVY ‘The Hukbong Dogat ng Pilipinas (Phil- ippine Navy) hasavery mixed fleet of sgun-armed FACS, featuring both indige- nously-built raft and vessels acquired sec- cond-hand from other nations. The newest PACSare six Multi-Purpose Assault Craft (MUPAC). These 40-knot(74km/h assets, ‘The PhilippinesNavy Ibasaix MPAC craft inservice, withdval sssaultand PACroles; somehaveseenactive ‘ctvice. Threemore sretobe built jointly byLungtTehand Propmech ©Lung ‘Teh ShipbuildersEEN Aesigned primarily for coastal and riverine use, can aet asboth assault eraftand FAC: andean carry 6 troops forlandingviaa forward drop-ramp, The MPACé arearmed with three machine guns. Three 5m (galt) versions were built by Lung Teh of Tawa theothers, constructed by Propmech in the Philippines, are7m (56f¢) long. Now, Manila proceeding with apro {gramme to build another three examples, with $57 million allocated forthe project. In late Februnry 2016 the Department of National Defence announced that the work on the new vessels will be shared between Lung Teh, and Propmech. The projected craft will he optimised for FAC daties, and will carryalight surface-to-surface missile system, probably Rafael’s Spike. They will reportedly also he armed witha remote controlled General Dynamics/US Ord- nance M2}1B Browning 2.7mm machine gun, and (wo US Ordnance Mo0 762mm machine gun. SINGAPORE ‘Thelatest addition to Sin gapore’s littoral combatant inventoryisthe'Independence! clas, wi havingbeen launched by local shipbuildersSTMarinein.Fune 2018. Jointly designed by Kock- ‘ums (now Seab),and ST Marine, the 27-enot(S0kam/) warship Islargerand more capable than the Fearless class patrol craft ‘which itreplaces. strong armament suite consists ofan OTO Melara/Fin- ‘meceanica 76mm gun, mounted forward together withatwelve- cell vertical Iaunchsystem for theships’ MBDA Mica SAM system. There arealsotwo side-mounted OTO Melara/ Finmeccanica titrole emote-controlled ‘machine guns. anda Rafael Typhoon 25mm automatic cannon the stera, Meanwhile, anaft flight deckcan supportoperations the first of class ‘The Republic of Singapore Novy Formidable’ class frigateand Valour’ dass corvettes The new ‘Independence’ class helicopter capable FACE will considerably ati ce Singepore'slittoral ‘surveillance and defence © USNavy 7 KONGSBERG KONGSBERG creates and deliver high technology solutions for people that operate under very challenging conditions — on the oceans, in the deep subsea, in defence, in space. KONGSBERGEa ‘The Republic of Korea Navy “Yun Youngha'class PACs ‘more heavily armed than itz predecessors, and enhances ‘Scout littoral and coastal ‘capabilities, smaller variant isplanned © Republicof Koren Armed Forces byanaval support helicopter, whileastern wellenables the embarkation and launch- ingofarigid-hull inflatable boat. A novel featureof theshipis an integrated bridge and combat management centre, with the sinips'sensor package including Thales'NS- 100 navalsurveillanceradas.ST Marinedid not respond torequestsforinformationon thecost ofthe Independence’ class. ‘SRILANKA ‘The SriLankan Navy's Fast Attack Flotilla hasan FAC order of battle which includes ‘Dvora f;Dvora2’and'Dvora3' vessels plas "shaldag’ class designs, and the locally developed Series I class. Thes3-knot (o8.km/hy'Series IV featuresa Rafael ‘Typhoon weapon fitted with an Orbital ATK Bushmaster 20mm cannon, A Furuno FRe8250 radar isused for navigation and propulsion is provided by twin Deutz Vio diesel engines and two Arneson ASD16 articulatingsurface drives. ‘TAIWAN Alongwithbeing supplier of FACS Taiwan hhasin recent years bolstereditscoastal and iltoral naval fleet with twelve*Ching Chiang’ class vessels, and30"Kuang Hua’ class FACs, bth equipped with ASM. Ta waneseeapabilitesare nowbeingfurther ‘upgraded. At theend of 2014 the Tuo ang. the first of anewclassof wave piercing catamaran-hulled warships commenced trials. These 560-tonne 6o.4m (9841) long, craftare beingconstructed by Lung Teh uilders. Lung Teh president Sheldon Huangtold armada that leven ofthe ships willbebuil.“They re offshore-capable _gunand missile platforms, twin diesels linked towaterjets enablingaspeed af 45 ‘knots @akm/t), with acruisingspeed of 25 Jknots (6hm/h)."he said. Mr. Huangeon- firmed that thecompany isaimingtoexport the type." Weintend tomarket these vessels worldwide, hesaid. Official estimateof thecost ofthe programme is $843.4 million ‘Thesenew FACS are, fortheir size, very heavily armed. Their missile fitinchudes ight CSIST Hsiung Peng I.and eight Hs ‘ung FengIlT ASRMS.There sa TO Melara/ Finmeccaniea 76mm general purpose gun. anda Raytheon Phalanxclose-in weapon system forair defence,aswellastwo1z7mm ‘machine guns,and wo triple Mlc32torpedo launchers Theadvanced hull formofthe ‘ChingChiang’class should enable uclef- ficiency, seaworthinessand manocuvrabil ity, while the superstructure incorporates stealth features toreduce vulnerability to detection, and tomissile attack. The ships are intended primarily for littoral warfare. However.they can operateat Sea State Seven(with wavesup tonine metres/3oftin height) havea range of 2000nm (3706Lm), and could therefore also engage PRC war- ships fa from Taiwan, The armament and performanceof these latest Taiwanese ‘warships should therefore pose somechal- lenges for Beijng’snaval strategists REPUBLIC OF KOREA (Onthe northern coast of the East China Sea, the Republicof Korea's(RoK)navyisseeing, amajorupgradeof its coastal and littoral capabilities, phasingin newly-constructed ‘Yoon Youngha’class FACs. Thisclass carries Agency for Defence Development/LIC [Nexl SSM-700K HaesseongAShMs, backed upbya Hyundai Wia 76mm gun. Atotalof 1Bof the570-tonne, 45m (sit) Iong'Yoon Youngha’classareplanned tobe con- ‘30 ARWADANTERNATIONAL.COM - APRIL/MAY 2028 structedby Hanjin Heavy Industriesand ‘STX and most are now inservice Interms ofsensors, these shipscarry an STX Radar ‘S¥S-100Kand LIG Nex SPS-<30K naval surveillance radar-For their propulsion, a combined MTU12V595 TEa0dieselengine and General Hlectrie LMs00 gas turbine propulsionsystems linked towaterjets, cnablesaspeedof over 40 knots (r4kim/h). Hanjin hasgivenacostestimate of $38 rillion pervessel VIETNAM Alongside the RoK, the Vietnam People’s Navy(VPN)isalsoconcerned about ejing’s naval machinations. Currently thenavy relies on its Russian-designed “Molniya’ class corvettes. Gasturbines give these 480-tonne,. 56m (840 long vessels top speed of 42 knots (78km/). Their main armament is16 Raduga P15 Termit or Tac- tical Missiles Corporation Kh-3sU AShMs, backed up bya Gorky 76mm dual-purpose gun and two AK-630 close-in-weapon systems, Four are known tabe inservice with the VPN, Twomore arecurrently un~ derconstruction in Vietnamaceordingto recent regional ports, witha further four expected tobe constructed under licence {in Vietnamat an undisclosed date. ‘SUMMARY Regional tevitorial disputes,andmaritime crime, demand that Asia-Pacificnavies maintainsignifcant high andlow intensity combat,coastaland ttoral waterinterven- tion capabilities. it would, therefore be surprisingif new types of FACS, customised forsingleor multiple olesasrequlred, did not continue toenter service with regional naval forcesin significant numbers) eet ag sanaAlthough still considered a niche capability, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) is being emplo; yed by a growing number of armed forces worldwide, who recognise the importance that such an asset can play: Thomas Withington SARracesits roots back to the First World Was, when the Royal Navy's Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) introduced its Armoured Car Section. Employing Rolls-Royce armoured cars un derthe leadership of Commander Charles Samson, the RNAS used these vehicles to rapidly reach and resewe RNAS aircrew thathadbeen forced toland in hostile territory. Becoming the Royal Naval Ar- moured Car Division, the unit eventually comprised20 squadrons and was deployed both in the Western European and Medi terrancan/Middle East theatres, The CSAR concept was refined stil further during the Second World War when both the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe (German Air 32 ARMADANTERNATIONALCOM in getting their personnel out of danger when things go wrong. Porve)operated fast boats to eseue aie crew who had been downedin the North ‘Seaand English Channel during dogfights, and specific CSAR aircraft, often in the form of flying boats, fora similar mission However, it wasduringthe United Slates’ involvementin the Vietnam Wan, between 1965 and 975 when CSAR really ‘came of age. This was thanks in no small micasure to the perfection ofthe helicop tern the years immediately following the Second World War, andits subsequent ‘employment in warfare, initially by the Prench armed forces during the Alge rian War of Independence between 1054 and1962.ForCSAR, the helicopter was revolutionary because, unlike a fied wing aiveraft,aCSAR helicopter had the ability tohover directly above, ornear, downed aircrew and then winch them to safety That conflict saw dedicated CSAR helicop ters, often medi: lift utility rotorcrat, escorted toacrash site by attack helicop- ters or fixed wing aireraft,sometimessup- portedhy tankers, ifthe mission was ofa longrange,and Special Forces commandos wweresed for the locationand recoveryof theaircrew. The CSAR helicopters would also becutfitted with medical equipment toprovide treatment as soonas possible f the aircrew had sustained injuries. MODERN TIMES. Sincetheadvent of modern CSAR during the Vietnam War, this capability hasbeen used successively in majoreontlets. Dur{ngthe1993 Battle of Mogadishu, which saw the United Statesarmed forees hat tlingthe Somali National Alliance(SNA) and A/Queda clements between 3and40c- toberthat year, CSAR wasdeployed inthe formof the United States Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron which played a ‘major rolein the rescue of crewmembers from two US Army Sikorsky UH-60 family medium Kft utility helicoptersshot down, by SNAcadres. This mission was later sade famous by Mark Bowden's1999 book, Black Hawk Down. Twoyyearsafter the So ‘mali operations, the US armed forces were once again inaction, this time over the Balkans during Operation DENY FLIGHT, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) initiative toenforcea United Nations-sponsored No Fly Zonc over Bos- nnia-Herzegovinato prevent Bosnian Serb forces from initially using their aircraft to attack Bosnian civilians, The mission later expanded toallow NATO toattack Bosnian, Seebartilleryshellingciviliansin Sarajevo, thecapital of Bosnia-Herzegovina.On2 June 1995, USAF Captain Seott O'Grady ejected from his General Dynamies/Loct heed Martin F160 Fighting Falcon fighter landing inenemy territory. Afterseveral days on the run evading Serb forces, he was rescued by US Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Although the US armed forees have arguably written therule bookas faras aly hasrecenthy deployed NH 907TH Inelicopterstoassist CSAReffortein Northern Iraq Thecountry has alsodeployed similar capability to Afghanistan eltalian Army CSARisconcerned,theinterest of other nations inthis capability, both within and withoutthe NATO area, is growing. CSARprovidesamenns, not only tozescue downed aircrew, but also to rescue other troops who may bein danger, orwhohave ‘been captured, or civilian hostages, as well asmeansof infiltrating and exfiltrating Forces toand from their targets, Jormation regarding recent de velopmentsin the Special Forcesdomain canbe foundin Andrew White's Special ‘Operations Compendium in thisissue. Italy isonecountry whieh has picked up the CSARbaton, announcing in early March that it would deploy four NH Industries “The USAF'sHHI 606 Pave Hawk CsARhdicoptersaredueto bereplaced by anewaircraft ‘which will we the MEI-606 design asits base ©USDoD ARMADANTERATIONAL.COM - APRL/MaY 2026 33 noes NH-90TTH medium-lift helicopters, reinforced with the samenumberof Agus taWestland/Finmeccanica AH-129A/C/D -Mangustaattack helicopters, tolrag to support US led multinational effortsto roll ack the territorial gains in western Tragand eastern Syria made’by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgent group throughout 2014. These helicopters willbebased in Erbil,in the north of Iraq, with aircraft being drawn from the Eserci {to Haliono (Italian Army)sth and 7th Army Aviation regiments, with this CSAR force followinga similar composition to that de- ployed hy taly toHerat in south-western Afghanistan to provide Combat Search and Resctieas part of ongoing NATO opera tions in the Central Asian country. Growing CSAR interest and uptakehas been helped innosmall measure bythe range of robust and capable medium. lft utility rotoreraft which areon the marlet, such s the NHL-90TTH, the AgustaWest Jand/Finmeceanica AW-101 family, the Sikorsky S-g2and the Airbus Helicopters/ Burocopter H-225M Super Cougar. Russian offerings in thisregard include the Mil M-17 {amily while the US Marine Corp'smew Bell Helicopter UH-1Y Venom and the Bell-Boe- ing CV/MV 228 Osprey tltrotors, the latter of whicharealsousedby the US AirForee, ‘illo doubt find themselves deployedin theCSARroleduringtheir careers COUGAR TOWN ‘The H.225M hasemergedasa popularCSAR choice since the aircraft wasfist deliveredAIR POWER source reports statingin June 2015 that Kuwait has expressed an interest in this aircraft, withthe possibility of acquiring uptozdtoequipitsair force. WHISKEY-A-GO-GO ‘The United states remainsthe world’s largestuserof dedicated CSARaircraft.In October 2015 it was reported that the US had deployed anumber of CSARAssets to Dyarbakirairbasein south-eastern Turkey to support Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, the “ongoinganti-ISISoperationsin Iragand Syria, Assets deployed tothisendinslude The USAF SMC woPaircraft | Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk CSAR eli sccbelngreplacedlythe | coptes,Theseaireraft are operated by the meeemewetensetthe | SaP andalothe Republic af Koren Air ‘unniagt io turboprop | Force, which designate the aircraft asthe freighterfsily BUSAP | HH-6OP.Other HH-60G variants operated bythe USAF include the ME-606 which s dlesigned for Special Forces searchand res cue missions, equipped withan air-to-air refuelling capability lnsg-range Fl tanks, an improved radar relative toother UH-60 tothe French armed forcesin2005.Prance | combat missions, suchasthescarch for | family modelsanda FLIR. The USAF is ‘vas the first customer fr this aireral Malaysian Aislnes tight M1370, Boeing | now movingahead with the HH/MIL ‘which snow inservicewithboth the Armee | 777-200ERairkinerthatdisappearedon8 | 60G replacement va the Combat Rescue deltir(Prench AirForce)andthe Aviation | March2014andhasyet tobe found. These | Helicopter(CRH) initiative. Launched via Legere de LirméedeTerre(Erench Army | aizceaftweredeployed oncemoreinJune | aUSAF request forproposalsin October Light Aviation) ehichhothusethesireraft_ | 2o1sduringthe relicfetfortfollowingthe | 2012, theairforce annosinceditsintention tosupport SARand Special Foreesmis- | Sabahearthguakein western Malaysia. sions. Todate,the twoforcesoperatecizcaus | Such operationshave no doubt assisted ofthe aircraft Other orders forthe #f-225M | thesppeal ofthe H-235M, with open havesinceheen forthcoming from Bri Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysiaand That land. France performed the first deploy- sent oftheaizcralt in thesummer of2006 toassist the evacuation of foreign nationals fom Lebanon dusing Operation BALISTE following the commencement of hostilities between laricland the Hezbollah Palestin ‘an militia organisation on 2July 2006 Since then, these aircraft were deployed to Afghanistan in December ofthat yearto support the multinational NATO-led force fighting Al Qaeda and Taliban clement ‘operatingin the country. Subsequent tothis deployment, these aircraft were upgraded with the addition of door-mounted Nexter machine guasanda Sagem Forward-Look sng infrared System (FLIR). Away from France other H-225Ms, no tably those flown bythe Royal Malaysian ie Force RMAF), have heen weed for nom ‘cantvibution othe twurvivalradio, inwidespread use around fewer TD victors Combelocated © USMC 34. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM ~ APRIL/MAY 2016toprocure the legacy areraft'sreplace- ment, The requirement is being met by joint Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin team, with Sikorsky supplyingthe aircraft, tobe based on the existing MH-60 design, and Lockheed Martin providing the hel copter'smission systems, An award was made tothe teamby the USAFon26.June 2014 worth $13billion tocoveran initial delivery of four aircraft, with asubsequent airframes tobe procured for s79billion, with deliveries ofall of these airerat being envisaged by 2029. The aircraft willbe offi- cially designated asthe HH-OOW Whiskey when they enter USAF service. ‘When performing CSAR and associ- ated Special Operations missions, in USAF service, the HH/MH-606 aircraft are reinforced with the USAP Special Operations Command's Lockheed Mastin -MC-1305 Combat Shadow II turboprop freighter, which usethe firm's KC-130 tankerasits baseline design. In USSO- COM serviee, the MC-1304 replacesit’s erstwhile MC-130E/Paircraft, with anew design which has an extensively modified in-flight refuellingsystem,astrength- ened wing toextend the aireratt’s service life,anda so-called Enhanced Cargo Handling System, plus new optronies ‘and provision for enhanced electronic warfare systems during the aireralt’s Lifetime. The USAF has ordered a total of 37 MC-go. aircraft. On 28 March it wae reported that Lockheed Martin had received acontract worth sisbillion to deliver eight MC-130Js for the USAF, plus five FC-1304 planes forthe United States Coast Guard. Like the MC-Ig0l, the HC- 1304 isalso used by the USAF forthe CSAR mission. Current plans call for the USAF. toprocure an eventual total of78 HC-130) airframes, following the commencement of deliveries in November 202. Yet CSAR isnot all about specialist aireraft;specialist subsystems forma vital component tothe mission. [n March, Cubic Global Defence was awarded acon: tract to supply AN/ARS-6(V)2 Personnel Locator Systems via a United States De partment of Defence indefinite-quantity/ indefinite-supply contract expected to continue until 020, The AN/ARS-6(V)12 is used tolocate downed airerew andisin extensive use with NATO and US forces. Using radio frequency transmission across the Very and Ultra High Frequency bands of 8-407 megaliertz, the system providesvoice communications with ‘combat survival radios such asthe Gener alDynamics Mission Systems’ AN/PRC- 2G, Elbit Systems’ AN/PRC-434 and Boe ing AN/PRO-7F survival radios. The AN/ ARS-6(V)i2 formsa vital partof the CSAR ission as tallows aircraft carryingthe system todetect downed aircrew, and to ‘communicate with them across their sur~ vival radios, toascertain their location and thus their physical condition. The AN/ARS-6 family has been in service for cv a2ptile rotor aircraft ideal forthe CSAR ‘alelon, Other countries which purchase the aireraftmay employ it for similar missions © USAP over two decades, and thelatest AN/ARS- (V2 version packages the eapabilities of legacy AN/ARS-Gexamples jes discussed above, Looking forwards the future, the democratisation’ of the CSAR clubisinteresting. Asthisarticle has Istrated, neweountries have entered this domain, Brsziland Malaysia’sacquisition of aCSAR capability via their respective 1-225M acquisitions discussed above is instructive inthis regard These countries, hhowever, are arguably acquiring this capa bility asanadjunct toan overall acquisi- tion of rotorcraft which can support a range of missions, both for Special Forces and conventional operations, which also include CSAR This maximises the invest- ment ofthese countriesas they gaina true ‘mult-role rotorcraft. For now, dedicated CSARunitsare expected toremain the preserveof a handful of foreessuchasthe air forces of Prance, talyand the United States. These are countries which desire, andean afford, to havea dedicated CSAR force although these nationsalsodo not confine their CSAR assets tosolely sup- porting this mission assuch aircraft are ‘versatile and can assist other tasks.CSAR isundoubtedly here tostay asanindis pensable capability although itis one that willincreasingly be performed by mult- rolenirframesasopposed todedicated halicoptere and fixed-wing aircraft. ARMADANTERATIONAL.COM - APRL/MaY 2026 35DECISION TIME The decision to discard the Airbus Helicopters /Burocopter BC-665ARH Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter gunship announced in the Australian government's Defence White Paper this February has ener ta tse cee cC ones Andrew Drwiega 36. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM - AFRIL/MAY 2026Wha z= he EC-665ARH attack helicop- ter programme can he seen as Dothasuecess anda partial failure. The success is that four nations, Australia, France, Germany and Spain, eventually fielded a newly-designed, complexattack helicopter coneeived in Europe. Its drawback has been painfully long fielding process togetalofthe versions ofthe platform flowaby the nations above up to full op- crational capability somethingthat one of the partners, Austr it Ay toachieve toitssatisfactionin the form originally envisaged whenit was selected. Ithasnow declared tha its EC 665A RH usage will be terminated despite proposed Mid-Life Update(MLU) which shouldcome intoctiect in the mid-2020s. Foracustomertobeunwillingtogofor~ ‘ward on the MLU, bearingin mind that this ‘wasa helicopter that began tobedelivered toboththe Freachand German customers in Marchand April 2005 respectively, and to the Australiansin December2004, points toascriousbreakdown inmanulacturer- customer understandingand support, ora failure of procurement rigour,orboth, The fact that the Australian Defence Force(ADR, ‘which includesthecountry’snavy.army and irforee)hascontimually complained thatithasbeenat theendof'averylong screwdriver‘hasnot helped. ‘The 2016 Defence White Paper, issued by the Australian government on 25, February doesnot detail the reasons behind the decision but revealed that it ‘would “replace the 22 Tiger Armed Recon- anaissance helicopters with a new armed reconnaissance capability from the mid- ‘020s." Australia has done this before, ‘with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) eventually rejecting the Kaman SH-2G Seasprite naval support helicopter order inz0u, However, that programme did not advanceas faras the Australian Army EC-665ARH programme. By nolonger having toinvest aplanned st-2billion into the EC-665ARH ML, ‘The ADP'SEC 66AltHhelicopterwill | which wasset outin the original capabil Se Settee! | rites etalon sempccigi cata, | iomontbsoresticsi ceeapernnateprertts | hrmedmcoonsanceiiye byOCCARand manufacturer Airbus | Capability Assurance Programme, will go Seeeseis, | cecksiee tli gieenectey attack helicopters, asyetstilltohe ia has now admitted /ARMADAINTERNATIONAL.COM = APRL/otsy 2028 37identified. Inamove ofextraordinary insight considering what was later released, Bell Helicoptersignedan agreement ‘with BAE Systems duringthe Singapore Air Show to,asLisa Atherton, execu tivevice president of military business for Bell Helicopterexplained,“establish the groundwork...forfuturecustomers of Bell Helicopter military rotorcraftin Australia” That now placesits AHT-1Z Viper _gunship firmlyinthe frame sa replace- ment,although the reference olight'in the White Paper might also et nother potential candidates such as Booing’s AH- Little Bird, MD Helicopters! MD-530Gand pethapseven another Airbus Helicopter rotoreraft such asthe H-gsM or H-145M which are light, armed military variants of ivilhelicopters(the H-13shasalready been selected asthe Royal Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy traininghelicopter) TIGER UPGRADES With Australianow almost certainly out of any major investment in the Tiger -MLU, Airbus Helicopters will till go shead with the ambition of upgrading the Ec. 665UHT/HAD Tigersownedby France, Germany and Spain towhat hasbeen deseribedas the Tiger Mk3standard. ‘The project actually comesunder the purview of the OCCAR (Organise tion Canjainte de Coopération en matiére dalrmement/Joint Armament Naterial Cooperation Organisation), an organisa established by the defence ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the UKon 12.0ctober 1996 to provide more effec tiveand efficient arrangements forthe management ofcertainexistingand future cooperative armament programmes, condingtoitsmandate, ‘The programmewasplaced under OCCAR supervision when the organisa tion was legally activated in 2001There ‘were initially three versions of the EC-665 ineludingthe two French HAP(HElicop- ‘tare d4ppui et Protection/Protection and Escort Helicopter) and HAC (Helicoptere Anti Char/Anti-Tank Helicopter) variants and the German EC-665UBT (Unterstat ungshubschrauber/Support Helicopter) version. When Spain joined in 2004 tadd- eda new version, the HAD (Helicdptero de Ataque y Destrucvion/Attack and Destruc- ‘ion Helicopter). Australia’sown version and membership was formalised in 2008. In July 2015, OCCARtook the leadin ‘38 ARWADANTERNATIONAL.COM - APRIL/MAY 2028 anarchitecture study of the EC-6650n Dehalfof Prance, Germany and Spain, In contract with Airbus Helicopters, twill beresponsible fordefining the potential improvements which would frame the work required to produce the Tiger Mk3, specifleations. Thisthrough-life management strat egy isbeingapplied tothe EC-665 family sothatitwill remain ‘at the eutting edge ofattack helicopters in the world overthe next decades.” OCCAR describes the pro- cessas evolving an MLU roadmap whieh ‘will inelude”promising now features and improvements" toenhance the current versions ofthe attack helicopter, partiew- Iarly in terms of lifecycle costs, planned maintenance and survivability. Its Aevelopingan initial research framework founded on theexisting perceived require- ‘ments suggested by all of the EC-605, ‘operators twill earn from the lessons gained fromthe operational deployment (which have included French and German deploy ‘ments ofthe aircraft to support North Atlantic Treaty Organisation-and US-led ‘combat operations in Afghanistan and Libya respectively) of the EC-a6s by itsCHINA LEADING TO THE LARGEST AEROSPACE MARKET IN ASIA | VNIHD MOHSUIV ASHSALH 2016.11.1-6 El aR RS ZHUHAL GUANGDONG. CHINA www.alrshaw.com.cn‘operators, and willstudy technologies thatwould take the platiorm forward: capability. he result will then be placed before the military customers from France, ‘Germany and Spain toallow them tosclect “which combinations of equipment, func- tions, performancesand architectures should be selected.” Whether there willbe joint agreement on this ill beinterest Ingo note.aswill the capacity of Airbus Helicopterstodelivernation-specific packages should they be required. its ALTERNATIVES ‘The AHL iZisalready being fielded withthe United States Marine Corps(UUSMC)and will bein production until20ai at current ‘estimates. As the AH-VZisalready marin- ‘sedit would beimmediatelybettersuitedto naval/ittoral deploymentsthan the BC-665 which isnot at thesamelevelof marinisa- tion_Due toitsservice with the USMC, the AH-Ziscorrosion resistantanditsengines, General Blectrie GETy00 turboshafisare the same asthose used bythe Sikorsky _MH-60R aval support helicopters wl arecurently being introducedinto service ‘with the Royal Australian Navy. Itean also beequipped with foldingblades(it now has {four-bladed main andtailrotors)and its systems are shielded from electromagnetic interference. ‘The AL Z'sarmamentwould cer tainly provide enough firepower: General Dynamics M97 20mm three-barrelled Gatlingcannon with a750-round maga- zine,and up tosixpylons on the stub wings tocarry guided or unguided rockets, up to Alaser guided Lockheed Martin AGM Hellfire family Air-to Surface Missiles (ASMs) and even wingtip points for apair ‘of Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder family air- to-airmissiles. AspartoftheUS Department of Defense (Us DoD) 2016 budget, Bell Helicopter was recently awardedanadditional o1million forthe delivery of 6 Lot 3 AH-1Z Vipersand 12 Lot Bell Helicopters UH-1Y Venom light lilt heicopterstogetherwithauailiary fuel Kits. The 2017 US DoD budget proposal nnolesan intent toaceelerate"the procure ‘ment of the final 78 AH.12/UH1V blicop- ters" There will eventually be 189 AH-1Zsin the US Marine Corps, 1Inzo1y the US Navy will begin the procurement of twonew missiles. One of ‘these, the multi-service Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Ground Missile(IAGM), willbe inchuded in the AH-1Z’srange of weaponry. Thisair-to-surface missile AO. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM ~ APRIL/MAY 2026 hasbeen developed to replace avange of current ASMSs, specifically the Raytheon BGM-7land AGM-65 Maverick missiles, as wellas the AGM-t14. Twoother potential alternatives ora new Australian'armed reconnaissance capability include Boeing's AHI-6iand MD Helicopters’ MD-5306 light reconnaissance rotorcraftsixof the latter were recently acquired by Malaysian Army Aviation Au. ‘The AHL 6S waspprimarily developed by Boeing or the now defunct Armed Aerial ‘Scout (AAS) programme and was demon- strated tothe US Army for that require ‘ment in October 2012, Since the pro _gramme's demise, Bosing has positioned it asthe AH-6iGinternational for export but ithasbeen slow toattract orders. The Jor~ danian Army was interested and received aircraft demonstrations but nofirmorder ‘was forthcoming, The fist publicly-ac- knowledged customers the Saudi Arabian ‘National Guard (SANG) which has ordered. 36 AH-is, 24 likely tobe delivered this year. ‘The order wasannounced through the US. DoD contracts bulletinon29 August 2014, Itstatedthat Noeing had been awarded the 5234 million Foreign Military Sales FMS)9" International Defence Exhibition and Seminar IDEAS 201E- PAKISTAN ARMS FOR PEACE 22 - 25 November, 2016 Karachi Expo Centre www.ideaspakistan.gov.pk Event Manager against staat Sempra : © 5 1) rn oSSES EES eam woitStites | tonaneseree, | ease atari ae eae a semis MILITARY REVIEW TECHNOLOGY TT 85 ovis, SEY IDEAS SECRETARIAT 6-175, Block-9, Gulshan-o-ebal Near Aziz Bhatti Park, Karachi, Tol: (92:21) 34821159, (92-21) 4821160 Fax: (92-21) 34821179 Emait:info@ideaspakistan.gowpkTay contract forthe production and delivery of 24 AH-6I aircraft, initial spares package and ground support equipment, ‘The AHL 6iis amore complexsmall helicopter than it first appears, Mike Burke, ex directorof attack helicopter business development at Boeing wasoften heard toannounce, "When the AH-6iwakes up inthe morning itthinks t'san Apache” does have commonalities with the ‘company’s AH-64E Guardian gunshipas ‘wellas with the MHL-6M Little Bird wsed bythe US Army's 60th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR). Ithasa digital cockpit, modern mission computer that manages the onboard weapons, Itssensor is the L-3 Weseam MX.15Di optronics sys tem with laser rangefinder and designator. ‘Thei6th SOAR’s MH-6M is fitted witha central‘plank’across the airframe which allows fora combination of weapon loads, from AGM-114 ASMs and guided unguided 275in rockets, through togua pods. ‘The Australian Defence White Paper alsomade reference tothe potential growth of unmanned systems within the ADE Boeing has had an unmanned ver~ sionofthe AH/MHL-6 Little Bird sincean initial demonstration in 2004. In recent years this has been demonstrated tothe Republic of Korea Army and in 2014 tothe US Marine Corpeat Quantico, Virginia, 42. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM -over-the-horizon search, Inthe reconnaissance role, Boeing states that its mission profile would include supply, communications relay and surveillance capabilities.” Mp-5300 hola the Australian government ike the ideaofthissmaller attack/reconnaissance helicopter, but ina more vanilla form, they could takeote of ALD Helicopters recent announcement of afurtherarder tostpply ‘six MD-530G Scout attack helicopters to Malaysia's Ministry of Defence see above), with deliveries beginningbytheendofthe yearand completingby springzorz. ‘The MD-s30Gs will ncludea MOOG Stores Management System whichis ableto support upto four weaponsstations which can integratea combination of guns and ‘missiles These could inelude the Dillon ‘Aero M-134D-H Mini-Gun, PN Herstals Heavy Machine Gun Pod (HME) which hhousesa27 mm FN Herstal M3P machine (gan, an FN Herstal Rocket Machine Gun Pod (RMP)aswellasan Amol Defence ‘M26 seven-shot rocket pod. They wouldbe carried usingthe MACE Aviation Extended. ‘Range Weapons Wing (ER2W). Anoptronies turret, ikely tobe the L-3 Weseam X10 seriessensorandlaser designator eanalso bbeincorporated onto the MD-5306. apRiL/May 2016 ‘Theone that got away: Boeing's new AH-64E ncighbour fully mature attack helicopter entre the ADP MD Helicopters owner Lynn Tilton hhas steered the company away from what was set to bean jgnominiousend before she bought the company through Patri arch Partners, an investment enterprise, in.2005. Her key move has been to gain ‘foothold once morein the military market which shedid with EMS sales to the Afghan Air Force of the MD-530F. Six were intially sold for training but then additional orders were placed for armed variantswith the latest flet size planned tobe around 30 MD-5i0Fs, most of which willbe armed. Finally should the ADF still wishtore- place the EC-663ARH witha lass-for-class capability then there isalwaysthe recourse tothe AH-66E which regional friendly rival Indonesia is buying. Boeing was warded 28295 million contract to supply the Indonesia Army with eight AH 64E Apache attack helicopters witha completfon date scheduled for28 Pebruary, 2038. They will, alsobe supplied with nine Lockheed Martin ‘Modernized Target Acquisition Design tion Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensorsand wellasstandard AGM Forthetimebeingat least, Australia’s decisionto putts EC-b65ARH machines out topasture after such ashorttimeseems tobeprovokingmorequestionsthan itanswers missiles.| LA” a Providing by BRANDENBURG BOW Y sx illili Messe BerlinTee) Having created a bow wave of enthusiasm and a new industry around Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) ofall sizes, there is now a pressing need by governments and the military to be able to bring them down, or at the very least prevent them from reaching an intended target. Andrew Drwiega and Thomas Withington 4d, ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM ~ APRIL/MAY 2026‘Controp's Tornado anti-UAV system providesa detailed 360-degreeimage of the surrounding airspace displaying UaVsand conventional aireraft as this picture ofits display illustrates ‘©conteop Atrio of British firms have developed the ‘Anti-UAV Defence System, betterknowa as AUDS, capable of aking controlofa UAV andlandingitsafely © Blighter nate October 2014, strange Uniden tifled Plying Objects (UFOs) were reported hovering overseveral nuclear power stations in France. Conspiracy theorists rushed to tell the world that the UFOs were visitors from another world, performingan initial reconnaissance fora massed, alien inva. sion of Earth, Why these visitors were so interested in nuclear powerstations was not explained by the theorists, who instead “urged vigilance in ease our extraterrestrial Visitors had now taken human form and were living amongst us, The truth of the incident was far more prosaic, but cause for concern. Between that month, and the end of November 2014,consumer-purchased UAVS, known, as ‘drones’ in the commercial world, had been flown over 3of the nuclear power plants operational in France by environmental protestors to highlight thelack of security against airattackat these facilities. Defending such installa ae ee) ons against attack from the alr major concern. In the wakeof the 2001 Af Qaeda attacks on New Yorkand Washington DC, France rushed to deplay airdefences around its nuclear power stations, which generate 75 percent of thecountry’s electricity, according to March 2016 figures published by the World Nuclear Association, an industry group. Across the Channel, the response of the United Kingdom to the perceived threat ‘wasto deploy’extra police” September PARROT FASHION ‘Theineident discussed above raises some serious issues, That environmental protestors wereabletofly theiraircraft bverand above the nuclear power stations undetected and unchallenged, illustrated thatthose with more nefarious intentions maybe able todotthe same thing, poten- tially mounting explosiveson the UAVand crashingit into the reactor hall oranother partofthecomplex, which could ead tothe dispersal of radioactive material Small UAVscouldalso be used totarget important individuals, This was nowhere Detter illustrated than whena Parrot AR UAV hovered then landed infront of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and defence minister Thomas de Maiziere duringa rally in theeastern German city of Ree ess ARMADANTERVATIONAL.COM - APRL/MaY 2026 45 |Tee) Dresden on 1s September 2033. While itwas lreatedas an annoying distraction at the time, security specialistsareslarmed at the very rel threat today that something similar could carry aremote-controlled bomb onboard tobe detonated in close proximity to the target, Away fromthe homeland security situ ation, troops on the battlefield also Face thethreat of UAV attack Small, com mercially available drones, which canbe purchased fora few hundveddollars, but, mounted with explosives, couldbe used Dy nsurgentsto target squads of soldiers, individual vehicles, oreven command cen- tresmaking thema potentially devastat ingasymmetrie weapon. Similarly. these dronescould be outfitted ta carry chemical, biological or radiological agentstoattack either tzoops, oeivilian targets. Tomake matters worse, such fiying machines are ‘often small in physical size making them challenge todetect by radar, and tothen ‘engage usingsurface-to-air missiles, or anti-aireraftartllery.Clearly then, there isa growing nced to protect people and in- stallations from thesesmaller,sometimes individually-controlled, UAVS. VENOM Acompany usually reputed for its exper in UAVS, Northrop Grumman, has developed its own counter UAV system called Venom. Demonstrated at the Army. ‘Manoeuvre -Fires Integrated Experiment (MFI held at Fort sill, OKlakoma, on8 December 2015 the Venom confirmed its ability to identity and tracksmall UAVs, even when mobile, The Venom combines a Lightweight Laser Designator Range~ finder (LLDR)ona universal, stabilised and gimballed mount. The system re- ceivesslew-to-cue messages which allow ittoidentify, old and tracklow-flying, small UAVs, The US Army’sinterestin anti-UAV technologies has increased sig- nificantly in recent years. Forexampl July and August 2015, the US Department ‘AB ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM - APRIL/MAY 2026 the worldin 2015 Itemploysradarsand optronicstodetectaUAV,and ‘then employs RF jamming oforce the UAV toreturn toils point oforiginor tocrath OIAL ‘of Defence (DoD) held Exercise BLACK DARTat Point Mugu, California, towhich the US Navy, US Army, US Air Foree and US Marine Corpsall sent representatives, alongwith severalallied nations, and per- sonnel from industry, to test and evaluate technologies which could be employed for theant®-UAV mission, ‘The DoD hasin act heen performing the BLACK DART exercises since 2002, although these initiatives, as theexercise ‘name suggests, were in the"black untilthe DoD revealed theirexistencein2014.n 2014, Exereise BLACK DART included live fire trials against UAVs over avasiety of environments uchasland, the ittoraland the open ocean. The exercise also focused closely on detecting and intercepting small UAVs. This has gained added interest in theUsand beyond when, inan incident closely vckingthat involving Dr. Merkel dis- ccussed above, civilian Quadcopter UAV crashed into the South Groundsof the White House in Washington DC in January 2015, sparkingthe lockdown of the commander-in-chief's residence and prompting questions withinthe Secret Service, which guards the US President, andthe widerdefenceand security com- ‘munity, how such incidentscan be pre- ventedin the future. The use of UAVs for alor violent activity clearly isalso concern forlaw enforcement officials asmuchasitisfor soldiers, This means that the solutions which are developed to protect against such threats must not only able o perform theirrole, but must be affordable or policedepartments which ‘may not have similarbudgetstotheir amilitary counterparts, FALCON SHIELD Away from the United States, the inci- dents in Franceand Germany discussed above have prompted significant interest in Burope's defence and security estab lishment regarding the small UAV threat During the 2015Defence Security Equip. ‘ment International exhibition in London therewerea number of counter-UAV systems launched including the Falcon Shield from Finmescanica's Selex BS divi- sion, tisamodularand scalablesystem that combines a radar with an optronies systemto “find fx. track, identify and defeat” the perceived threat, according to the company ‘The Falcon Shield adopts an interest- ingapproach. employs both optronics and an Electronic Support Measure (ESM. ‘Theoptronics and ESM combine their talentstodetect the UAY, with the optron jes performinga visual detection, and the ESM listeningforthe Radio Frequency (RF) transmissions that the UAV requires {ofly.Forexample, in the US, the Federal Communications Commission, whic imanagesthe lectromagneticspectram there, allocates77to 49 Megaherta(MH2) ARMADANTERATIONAL.COM - APRL/MaY 20268 47 ae ee) within the high end ofthe High Frequency (three to30MHz) and the low end of the Very High Frequency (VHF) radio spec trum of 30-300MHztobeused forcivilian radio-controlled models. Thus the ESM. willbbeable todetect the UAV's RF emis: sionsand thengeolocatethe aircraft, aided bythe optronicsanda radarorganictothe Falcon Shield, According to Pinmevcanica the Falcon Shield will then ‘electronically attack the UAV's RF command link to de coupleit from itssourceandland it, rather ‘than completely breaking the linksnd have the airerat fallout ofthe sky ontoa random location. ‘This takes care of two aspects of air defence against UAVS, firstly employing the RFlinkbetween the aircraft and its controller as the‘Achilles Heal" by which the interdiction of the aircraft can take place. Secondly, by taking control of the UAV and landingit safely, this avoids the hazard the airerat simply falling out of the sky and posinga danger tothose ‘on the ground, Such attributes could be Inraclisacentre ofexcellence for UAV airdefencesystems, with RADAhaving developed anumber ofradars which canbeusedto ‘detect such threats © RADAirs of particularinterest tolaw enforcement “organizations that may have to tackle legal drone use in built-up areas, where theuseorkinetie weaponry may also be impossible and also too expensive. Ae cordingto Steve Williams, the capability manager for Falcon Shield, the range of interception will reduce correspondingly with a reduction in size af any potential VAY threat In May 2015, three British compa- niesannounced their own collaborative Anli-UAV Defence System (AUDS).They comprised Blighter Surveillance Systems (amanufacturer of ground surveillance radars), Chess Dynamics(a producer 48 aguaDAneTERNATIONAL.coM Northrop Geum r's Venom UAV aie defence system hasbeen demonstrated inlive-fire cxercisceinthe United States. Interest inauch technolog jesin the USisgrowingsigaificanlly ©NorthropGramman of optzonicsurvellance systems) and Enterprise Control Systems,aspecialistin Jamming technology. The frults oftheir la Dourhave produceda counter UAV system that uses radar for det fortrackingand adirectional RP jammer which disrupts the UAV's flight. The AUDS ccanscan in a180 degreeare. Once identify inga potential threat, itsjammingcapabil- ity will breakthe RFcontrol channel be- ‘pweenthe operatorand the UAY, allowing ittobe brought down under control. Initial test results showed that micro-UaVscould bedetected at around one nautical mile/ 1am (two kilometres/m), while mini-UAVs could be seen as faraway as 43am (cight tion, optronics kilometzes) Although it can only disruptone UAVat atime, the AUDScan keep tracking several simultaneously. Gra hham Beall, managingdirector of Chess Dynames, told Armada, “You could run the whole thing offargamp plug” Elsewhere in Europe, Airbus defence and space division has developed its own anti-UAV system knownasthe C-UAV which combines sensor datawith data fusion, signal analysis and jamming. Accord ingto Airbus, the system uses “operational radars, infrared camerasand direction finders from the (company’s) portfo Ho toidentify the (UAV) and assessits threat potential at ranges hetween 26-53nm (five toten kilometres)" The direc tion finder will also reveal the location of he operator, use fal bonus for the authorities, ‘Thesystemisexpected tobe operational from mid-206. ISRAELI INGENUITY Drone Guard, asystem from Israel Aerospace Industries’ (AD subsid. lary ELTA, wasalso revealed in 2015. This ‘uses combination of three- dimensional (5D) radarsand optronies to detect and identify target, then ajamming system toprevent the UAV from continuingon its course, The jamming interferes with the flight of the UAV tothe point where it cither automaticaly returns tots point of origin orerashes. IAL uses 3D radars, suchas the BL/M-2026D, EL/M-20268 and EL/M-2026BP for short (5.3m/ ten kilometres), medium (eight nauti cal miles/iskm) and long (0.72m/20km) range detection, The company confirms that the Drone Guard has been “exten-ae ee) sively and successfully tested against variety of different dronesand scenarios, including simultaneous multiple drone penetrations or attacks.” According to Nissim Hadas, IAL executive vice presi dentand ELTA president, demonstrations topotential customers are already being conducted, Staying in Israel, RADA Electronie Industries, whose MLIR Very Short Range AirDefence radar hasheen ordered by the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) to guard the country’s southern border,is another Israoli product capable of detecting UAVs The MHRS-Band (2.3-25/27-376H2) family comprise Pulse-Doppler,active clectronically seanned array radars which ‘employ sophisticated beam forming. capabilities and advanced signal process- ing, The manufacturer states thatthe system can detect "from significant ranges {commercial Low, Slowand Small aerial vehicles such as quadcopters Israelis no strangerto the UAV threat Although the country isa centre of excel: lence for UAV design and production, aandits armed forces an avid user of such platforms, it inereasingly facesa threat fromsuch aircraft by non-stateactors. In 2012 and 2013, small UAVs were flown from Lebanon into Israel to gather Imagery Intelligence (IMINT), and onhoth acca- sions, these were shot down by Israeli Air Porce fighters. Speaking in 2012, Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general ofthe Hezbollah Palestinian insirgent organ zation, stated that Hezbollah had flown a UAV arsnm (4okm) into Israel airspace While these previous sorties have ems ployed small UAVs.allegedly supplied by Iran, to gather IMINT, the understand able fearof the Israclidefence establish rmentis that such aircraft may be used in the future tocarry explosives, or worse, Little surprise then that other Israeli companies are involved in developing aanti-UAY systems. For example, Controp has devised the Tarnado optronics-based alrsurveillance system which provides 360-degree panoramicimageevery twosecondsand can operate ina stand alone modeorbe integrated with other defensive systems. Controp statesthatit candetect anything from conventional aircraft to small UAVS. Assuccessive US-led military opera tionsin Afghanistan, the Balkans and Iraq have illustrated over the past two decades, UAVsare a feature of modern ‘warfare and arc hereto stay, with their ‘employment expected to only increase in the future. However, recent events in France, Germany Israel and the United States underline the dangers posed by UAVs falling into the hands of eriminal or guerillaclements, addition tothe threat they pose tosoldierson the battle- ficld asan asymmetric weapon. Yet the minds of defence science and technology engincersare already turning their attentions tothis threat, and devising @ EURONAVAL cea hoc cae cna OCTOBER 17"_ 21* 2016 PARIS LE BOURGET eonfrre) ‘The CV/MV-22R entered service swith the US Marine Corpsin 2007 Mistheonly eurrently fielded aircraft with vertial and short take-offand landing, and high speed horizontal light capabilities @usme THE NEED FOR SPEED Helicopters have added a new dimension to the conduct of military operations since their introduction by the French army and air force during the Algerian War of Independence between November 1954 and March 1962. — Stephen W. Miller house of helicoptersto support vertical envelopment allows the insertion of acombat force without regard for geographic obstacles and to doso where the opponent mayleast expect, This hasadded anew option to manoeuvre. Since the Algerian conflict, advances in helicopter design and improvements have increased performance particularly in payload and liftcapacity. However, the topspeedand range of contemporary medium and heavy: ft utility helicoptersappearto have approached their upper limits Forexample, the latest F model of the BocingCH-47Chinook family of heavy lift helicopters hasa maximum speed of 70 knots (a1skilometres-per-hour) anda mis sion range of199,7 nautical miles/am (370 kilometres). The CH-47F is followed by the ‘Russian Mil Mi-35M gunship which hasa maximum speed of 1673 knots 310km/h) and a248.3nm (450km) range. AgustaWWest- land/Finmeceanica’s AW:101 medium it utility helicopter witha maximum speed (0166.8 knots (jooks/b) while the firm's AW-g9Ma new generation twin-turbine medium-liftutility helicopter hasatop speed of 165.2 knots 306km/h). Asdemon- strated by this list ofthe Tastes’ speeds of just over 1619 knots (300 km/h) isasfastas ‘current designscan fy Air cruise speeds important asitdrives the ability ofanaireraft to turn-around'on 50 ARMADAINTERNATONAL.COM ~ APRL/MAY 2036 ‘amission, The faster ahelicoptergoesthe soonerit eaches the objectiveand can then return topick upanddeliver additional troops and supplies. The rapid build-up of foreeson the ground scritcalto the succes ofavertial envelopment (see above). Thus Deingableto tly moresortieseveraperiod of timeisextremely valuable. Going asteralso adds toaircraft survivability by reducing the time theaircraftisexposed to observers and ‘enemy gunnerson the ground. ‘High operational range alsois highly desirable; however, increased range largely relates to fuel payload. The aircralts primary mission has, in the past, been ade termining factorin devating more payload tofuel and, therefore, increased rangeMediuas-and heavy-lifthelicopters ike the Mil Mi-26 which has 431onm (8o0km) rangeand Sikorsiy’sCH-S32 witha 530.4nm (999km) range need such reach to ‘undertake multiple sorties without refuel ling. Meanwhile refuelling probes fitted toaircraftsuchasthe CH-s3E or US Air Force special mission Sikorsky MH-60G/U Blackhawks offer the capability to under take long-range, deep insertion missions. However, ange and capable airspeed are from apractical operational sense closely linked: Though an aireraft mayhave the range toreachalandingzoneat hundreds of nautical milesdistance, the length of the transit and retura time would resultin prolonged build-uptime, Aircraft would bheunableto ‘turn’ missions quickly dueto the travel time. So tomake best use of long operational range theaireraft should be faster once again, TILT ROTOR Despite teethingproblemsanderiticism by sceptics the Bell-BocingCV/MV-228. Osprey tilt rotor, which started fein 1981 as thejoint Vertical Take-Off/Landing Ex perimental (JVX)initiativeisalteringthe ‘way vertical lift operations arecondacted. First fielded with the US Marine Carps in 2007 and with US Air Force Special Oper tions in 2009, 1 has now been employed not only in combat (during US-led inter- ventions in rag and Afghanistan), but also in humanitarian and disaster relief opera tions, for example assisting the response to Typhoon Haiyan which devastated part of the Philippines in2013.The Marine CCorps,in particular saw the MV-22B asain answer its problem of needing to launch fis vertical assault from the sea with ships stationed well heyond the horizon, This was possible with the Roeing CH-45E. PROGRAMME FOCUS With the V-280 Valor Bell: Bocing staking the lessons Tenrned fromthe CV/MY" 228, and incorporating the latest technology, materials, and ‘production techniquesto provideamoreadvance tilt rotoraireraft © Boeing theavy-lifthelicopter witha lengthy transit that was unacceptable. It left the landed forces exposed with limited numbers andincreased thetime neededto build theirstrength. ‘The unique characteristics and expabil ties ofthe MV-228 addressed this. tt could still take-off vertically from amphibious ships butwhen transitioningto horizontal fighthy rotating the engines downwards itcould flyat 2699 knots (500km/n). This wwasmorethan double the airspeed ofthe CCH-a5E which meant tcould reduce the flighttime tothe same landingzone by more than half. Plus itsgreater 380.8nm (72zkm) combat radiusand higher20000 pounds/Ihs(9070 kilograms kgs) payload and s000lbs(6800lgs) of external payload furtherenbanced tselfectiveness. The hands-on results and lessons learned with the MV-22Bhave stimulated interestand heightened the promise for next-genera tion vertical lift. Thisshould he especially trae considering that the CV/MV-228 was essentially drawingonig7ostechniques, ‘materialsand design and manufacturing Sikorshy’s8-97 hlicopteremploys twocounter rotating overhead blades andanaftpasher propeller. This has snot only allowed it todemonstrate high cruise speeds, but exceptional side to fideand even reverse fight ©sikorsky processes that haveadvanced substantially overthelast three decades. FUTURE EFFORTS ‘Theaviation industry hasbeen workingon approaches to break the top speed limiton hhlicoptersas discussed above. The chal- lenge toinereasingspeedispartly duetothe ‘very provess that makes the helicopter ea pable of vertical light the overhead rotat {ng blades. Factors that mast he overcome includethe“drag’ of thebladesand airframe, retreatingblade stall,airflow reversal, and air compressibility. A technical discussion ofthese could require several pages.but the common connection is that these factors must beaddressed in some way taalter the dynamics of helicopter flight. Inattempting todosoanumber of very different diree- tionsarebeingtaken by designers. For example, Bell Helicopter has taken the CV/MV-226's proven iltrotor concept and adaptedit forits 280 Valor tiltotor design. As Steve Mathia, director of global business development foradvanced tilt rotor systems forthe firm described, "The 280 design and manufacturing takes the lessonslearned and the proven opera ‘ional impact from the (CV/MV-228) and improves it with advanced design and build technology.” One of the key improve ments he explained is found inthe ¥=z80"s nacelles. With the CV/MV'22B, the entire nacelle tilts. athe V-280, only the rotors and gear boxes tilt while thenacelleand engines remain stationary. Thisallows forsafeingress/egress while keepingthe engine housing out of the way and redue- ARMADANTERATIONAL.COM - APRL/MaY 2026 SLfrie) ing maintenance requirements. Designed toprovidea multi-mission capability the V-280issmallerthan the CW/MV-228. It willeruiseat280 knots (s20kn/), havea ‘combat range in excess of 00nm (930m), hover at 6000 feet/U (1828.2 metres/m)and fly in temperaturesof 32 degrees Celsius (osdegrees Fahrenheit) witha full combat load, and exceed the agility of current he- licopters. Tamed with Lockheed-Martin, Bellisoffering the V-280.s partof the US Future Vertical Lift Joint Multi Role ‘Technology Demonstration (FVLIMR. ‘TD)programme. The team anticipatesthe ‘280s first flight n August 2017 x2 ‘Meanwhile, Sikorsky and Boeing are part nered for the FVLJMR-TD programme tooffertheSR-1 Defiant helicopter. The 30000Lbs 03636. shgs) aircraft they propose Airbus Helicop Xadesignemployed short winge that ‘would beginto provideliftat 30 nots with two. tucboprop for forward speed. Pilotsfiwourably ‘commented on the iyo ‘the aircraft © Airbus Helicopter uses Sikorsky’sX2 counter rotating coaxial design with apusher propeller-The Sikorsky-Bocinzapproach takesadvan- tage of 2010 X2 Technology Demonstrator test flights where the 6o00lbs (27z0kgs) airerait achieved arecord-breaking230 knots (453km/h)airspeed. In 2015 Sikorsky unvelled its 5-07 Raider, a prototype for alight tactical mult-mission helicopter weighingcirea ng00lbs(5000kgs). Chris Van Buiten, viee president of Sikorsky’s Innovationsdivision, who leads the effortstated, "Flying farther and faster witha rigid coaxial helicopters certainly key performance objective. However, with the S-97 we expectto show next ‘generation rotozeraftcan outperform. ‘conventional helicoptersin every mission performance parameter, particularly at lowspeedand hover” The secret behind the X2coaxial design iethat the counter- ‘52. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM - APRIL/MAY 2026 By usingan aftpusher propeller andtwin boom tail Stabilizers the S97 isaleeady noticeably quieter in flight ‘than traditional helicopters ‘Whea high speed isnot needed ‘but stealth i'declutching’ the pusher propmakesit nearly tileat © Sikorsky rotating main rotors provideliftand Forward flight without a tail rotor. Above 150 knots (278km/h) thrust is provided by the pusher propso that the main rotor blades do what they dobest—provide lift" (Ma. Van Busten further predicts that the S-o7and SB-taireraft“will change the way military aviators fly and fight with heli: copters.” By the time Sikorsky and Boeing fy their SB-aircraft in 2017 Sikorsky will have flown three Xzaireraftin less than tenyears, and proven the design's inherent ability tobescaled to the sizeof «Sikorsky. UH. 60 Black Hawk family medium-lift utility helicopter, HYBRID DESIGNS Airbus Helicopters formerly Eurocopter) hhas taken a hybrid approach for future Ihelicoptersthat takeson some ofthe attri- butes of conventional aircraft like stubby swings. These have been successfully dem ‘onstrated to signifleantly improve forward speed with itsX3 technology demonstrator achieving 255 knots (72 km/h) inflight testing in 2012 (overtaking the X2 record. ‘The X} design combinesatoprotorforlift inhover with short wings mounting turbo- propellers that provide forward thrust thusthe term hybrid, It has no rear rotor bbutrather ahorizontal stabilizer support ing vertical in stabilizersonenchend. In forward flight at speeds over 80 lenots (48 lkm/h)the wings begin to provide addition-alliftand at highspeed nearly theentize iftfortheaireratt. Airbus has not yet revealed its plans fora new military aircraft using the ap- proach demonstrated by theX3, However, ‘company spokesperson suggested that ‘many ofits current helicopters couldin- corporate these design principles: the X3drew froma heavily modified Airbus Helicopters AS-365N3 Dauphin light utility helicopter airframe this seems entirely possible. The X3 was dem: onstratedto the US military but finally was not considezed for the PVL JMR-TD. Airbus had indicated itsintent to focus on search and rescteand isunderstood to bbe working on an X3-derived aircraft that could flyin 2019. RACHEL “Milsuggested in 2009 that twasdevelop- ingthe Mi-Xiwitha moreaerodynamic designand retractable landing gearcoupled witha proprietary Stall Local Elmina tion System (SLES) Their claim was that the Mi Xi will havea cruise speed of258.4 knots (475km/h) and maximumspeed of ‘upto280.7 enots(520 km/h) I August 2015 Mildisplayeda demonstrator of RACHEL, (Russian Advanced Commercial Helicop ter)advertised asa high speed helicopter atthe MAKS AirShow in Moscoxt The hilicopter issaid tobe designed tocarry up 024 passengersora2ton payload with ‘maximum rangeof 48549 knots @00km) and top speed of 2639 knots (500 km/h). Milstated flight teste would begin that December with production in2022. In De ccember2015a highly modified Mi-24K was publically demonstrated with new curved tiprotorblades. Their purpose isto reduce bladedragtoimprovestabiityandallow higher helicopter speeds. Mil anticipates theexperimental aircraft wil increase its ‘maximum speed from 179.8 knots(a3skm/h) 02159 knots (400 km/h). fit is possibleto refit thecurved tipblade to other aireraft Milsuggeststhey could sea further30 percent increasein airspeed. X-PLANE AMV,asmall US company, hasbeen devel- opingits owa design for a high speed verti. callift aircraft employing ans positioned ‘within its short wings. The prototypes clearly suggest aconvergence between the VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft anda high speed helicopter. AMV PROGRAMME FOCUS ‘The FVLIMR-TD programme'sobjective istodevelop and field sircraft with significantly ‘mission oles from, reconnaireanee and attack toassaull transport and heavy lift Rell hasflownits X plane concept demonstra torandprojectsits AMV-2u1 could archivea maximum speed of 260, knots (483km/h) and cruise of 217 knots (4o2km/h) offering 593.9nm (ok) range. Although it sub- mitted a proposal for the FVL JMR-TD the design was not selected and the company is continuingits development. VECTORED THRUST Another candidate for the requirement uses Piasecki Aireralt’s proprietary Vectored Thrust Ducted Propeller(VTDP) design with the addition of lifting wings. thas flown asthe X-49 Speed Hawkina four bladed, twin-engine experimental ‘model utilizing the airframe ofa Sikorsky SH.-SoP Seahawk naval support helicopter. ‘Theeffort was initially funded by the US Navyaand then the US Army to demon. stratea way toincrease the speed of exist- ing helicopters to194.3 knots 360km/h). Firs flyingin 2007 t hasachieved speeds of 4s knots (268 km/h). It was not selected for the FVLJMR-TD requirement, REASON PREVAILS Armumber of the world mili ries including severalof the US and NATOarmed forces ARMADANTERATIONAL.COM - APRL/MaY 2026 53friar) face widespread obsolescence oftheir he- licopterfleetsin the comingdecade. Many currently-fieldedaireraft were introduced {nthe 98osand are approaching their 30- yearlifespan, Forexample, the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache gunship family was first fleded in o86and des amumber of improvements hasessentially the same flight characteristics. The UH-60 family seven older, it was first operated, {n974.The latest UH-60M has fly-by-wire systems, commonavionicsarchitecture, and increased powerand reliability in its engine but retainsthe same speed. The first target ofthe FVLJMR-TD will likely be toreplace the UH-60 series, which may explain the similarities of the programmes’ candidate cabin designsto the former fam- ilyof rotoreraft, ‘Thus, military usersare inevitably lookingat replacing airerat. The ques- tion they ae facing is whether tostay with proven designs, albeit incorporating NEXT SSUE: JUNE/SULY 2016 PUBLICATION DATE: TUNE ADVERTISING DATE: 16 MAY Tune ‘rear cokn provid unique init and nai rapurcng he ober rae and delence ‘eammuncaons dane. The market or new sores and voles of ‘tng ets isa ound the ot ssTacricaL MosiurTy Prexaminaon ofthe gis vices which es re ‘TheSB-risanother EVLIME-TD candidate. Itseales upSikorsky'sS-97 ‘design to mect the requirements ‘ofa UH-Goseries medium lift utility helicopter © Sikorsky digitalelectronicsand avionics, ly-by wire,and composite materials,orto move to designs that offera new levelof performance. A second factor isthe pos- sibility of developing common aircraft that can fill multiple mission roles. The US Army initially sought tofind atthe most threeairframesto fulfil allthe missions itenvisioned, Thisideahasbeen modi- ‘ed several times sothat they are now the Light Scout airframe (2030 introdue- tion), the Medium-Lightairframe,a Medium- Utility Medium-Attack airframe forintroduction in by2028,anda Heavy CCargoairframe for introduction in 2035, Inaddlition, the US Army envisagesan “ltrs airframe asa new vertical iftcarge aircraft witha performance equivalent to fixed-wing turboprop freighter like the Lockheed Martin C-130J or Airbus A4ooM, with introduction planned for2025.Based onaUS Department of Defence ai January briefingby Jose Gonzalez, deputy: to appt and force ing th mission {STANKER/TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT “No on ick ess without aor as goes the eda We evamine the infighting mare. ilar vies re ne mere tan dead mea wstout the poplson ssn we examina ecent tends Sein nthe darks indspensable fos tay ily pectin, wth tcl this ere desig ‘54. ARMADANTERNATIONAL.COM - APRIL/MAY 2026 ofland warfare, munitions and tactical warfare systems, itappears this ischang- ingagain. [tis now proposed .o categorise basedon the required capabilities rather than weight. These new categories ave not yet heen announced, Even without the‘Ultra’ airframe, this aireraft concept has not only technical challenges but also couldbe viewed as infringing on the mission domain of the Us air Force:thisis an ambitious pro- .grammeand schedule. tis likely from ‘an operational standpoint that some aie frame approaches may be preferable over another in various missions. Already the ‘across the fleet commonality focus of the US Army has begun toshift to subsystems like cockpits, controls, and avionics. A major question isalsoobtainingadequate funding forsuch a programme and how the price tag would impacton otherarmy modernizationefforts, FLYING FORWARD Fieldexperience with the CWMV-22B. isuncoveringbenefltsand new waysto capitalize on the aircraft's unique capal ties, The US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) hasalready indicated interest in increasing their initial requirement forthe CV/MV-228 based on these results. Sufficient experience from the pre-FVL. IMR-TD Xashows the feasibility of high speed, enhanced agility and greater flight range, is nowaguestion of determining their viability, scalability and adaptability, aswellascost, tofiteach ofthe mission roles. High speed helicoptersareclearlyon, the horizon; in what forms and how soon remain unknown. “he USA ito rca tet na borer fora geneaton Amado estes ths tae ‘OPERATIONAL FOCUS - KILLING ISS ‘fos agp he wore mest cous inset grup fl under Armode’ ure ‘*MoDERN SOLDIER SUPPLEMENT We te a dead okt developments the ‘fairy slertchnlogy man.DEFENCE & SECURITY INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 2016 EUROSATORY 13 - 17 JUNE 2016 / PARIS THE LAND & AIRLAND ‘ SOLUTION Identify your company as aa a key player Pare ineeea GICAT” —swwweeurosatory.com @COGESThe mission demands innovation. No one gives you more. Reducing troop exposure to threats on the battlefield. Optimizing mobility Cee eee eee Se eee ace? Oshkosh Defense tactical vehicle systems give military and security forces Bee ee eee sae ee ere me San a teed Fea ttt | i Ce eae oy DEFENSE #8050