Defence`s Feeds

Americas

• It may have been coming for some time, but the Pentagon has finally admitted that the F-35 will not be cleared for full rate production until 2018. Frank Kendell, the program’s chief weapons tester, had been warning of delays for some time; however, it had been maintained by some that the jet’s initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) would occur as planned in August or September 2017. Now that reality has hit home, the extra six months will be spent retrofitting the 23 aircraft required for IOT&E with the full 3F software and hardware patches.

• USS John Paul Jones was used to validate the ability of the Aegis Baseline 9 to track Medium Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM) targets within the Earth’s atmosphere recently. Supported by the Navy, Missile Defense Agency, and Lockheed Martin the use of the missile destroyer marks the first demonstration of Aegis’s ability to conduct a complicated tracking exercise against an MRBM during its endo phase of flight. The development comes as targets and threats have become more advanced, with Aegis BMD evolving over the last 20 years from a tracking experiment to today’s capability in which it can detect, track and engage targets.

Middle East North Africa

• Leonardo-Finmeccanica has announced that Pakistan will purchase an undisclosed number of AW139 helicopters for Search & Rescue missions. This will add to 11 already in service, and delivery is to commence in 2017. The contract is part of a fleet renewal program spread over several batches, including a logistic support and training package.

Europe

• Ukraine’s Antonov has been tipped as the favorite candidate in Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s. (HAL) medium military transport aircraft program. The company emerged as the frontrunner out of five bids received by the company after meeting all the necessary requirements alongside a recent design with state-of-the-art aviation systems like fly-by-wire, high-efficiency engines and all-weather operations. Antonov or AN class of aircraft have been part of the Indian Air Force (IAF) for over five decades. The IAF has more than 100 AN-32 aircraft recently upgraded on its inventory.

• Sweden’s air force looks set to advance a competition to select its new jet trainer to replace the service’s Saab 105 by the end of the decade. After an initial request for information was issued late last year, the air force and the state’s procurement agency now need to refine their exact needs for the right replacement. Sweden had initially expressed interest in participating in a proposed multinational Eurotraining project however that failed to materialize.

Asia Pacific

• An op-ed piece published last week, suggesting the US should supply AGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles to Japan has received a rebuttal from Chinese researchers. Experts from the China Institute of International Studies stated that while the idea of supplying the missile to Tokyo was not new, it would pose a threat to other countries in East Asia. The warning most likely comes following efforts started last year by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to pursue changing the country’s post-WW2 constitution to allow it to re-arm and expand its forces.

• Israel’s Rafael Advanced Systems looks set to win the Indian Army’s short-range surface-to-air missile (SRSAM) contest with its Spyder system. According to the Economic Times, the Spyder seems poised to win after offerings from Sweden’s Saab and Russia’s Rosoboronexport failed to comply with the Army’s requirements during technical trials. The competition has been running for five years.

Today’s Video

• The “Hell Cannon“: Homemade artillery of Syria’s rebel armies:

SPYDER Mobile Firing Unit
(click to view full)

Israel’s SPYDER air defense system follows a recent trend of using advanced air-air missiles designed for fighter jets as ground-launched surface-to-air missiles (SAM). This truck-mounted system mixes radar and optical tracking with any combination of short to medium-range Derby 4 and ultra-agile short-range 5th generation Python 5 air to air missiles, in order to create a versatile system adapted for a wider range of threats. Hence its inclusion in in our AMRAAM FOCUS article’s “international competitors” section.

India has become the system’s inaugural export customer. SPYDER will reportedly replace India’s Russian-made OSA-AKM/SA-8 Gecko and ZRK-BD Strela-10M/ SA-13 Gopher SAM systems, and the purchase has decisively shelved the Indian DRDO’s failed Trishul project.

More success may be on the way. As India’s Air Force gears up, the Army is reportedly about to follow suit with an even bigger contract.

The SPYDER System SPYDER Systems
(click to view full)

Each SPYDER ADS-SR Mobile Firing Unit can slant-launch up to 4 missiles in either lock on after launch (LOAL) mode, or lock on before launch (LOBL). This short-range version offers 360 degree quick engagement capability and 60-target tracking via IAI’s Elta EL/M 2106 ATAR 3D surveillance radar and TOPLITE optical sensor, a kill range of over 15 km, and openly advertised effectiveness from 20 – 9,000 meters (65 – 30,000 feet).

A new SPYDER ADS-MR 6×6 truck version was unveiled at Eurosatory 2006. It’s restricted to LOAL but offers 8 vertical-launch missiles in any mix, adds a dedicated radar vehicle with a more powerful radar, and puts boosters on all missiles, in order to improve advertised range to 50 km/ 30 miles, and performance to 16 km/ 52,000 feet.

A typical SPYDER squadron consists of 1 Mobile Command and Control Unit, plus 4 Mobile Firing Units with their own built-in power supplies and missile sets of 4-8 missiles.

Contracts and Key Events SPYDER MR vs. SR
(click to view full)

May 26/16: Israel’s Rafael Advanced Systems looks set to win the Indian Army’s short-range surface-to-air missile (SRSAM) contest with its Spyder system. According to the Economic Times, the Spyder seems poised to win after offerings from Sweden’s Saab and Russia’s Rosoboronexport failed to comply with the Army’s requirements during technical trials. The competition has been running for five years.

October 26/15: Vietnam has purchased [Vietnamese] SPYDER air defense systems, manufactured by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. The surface-to-air missile system is capable of launching the company’s advanced Derby beyond visual range and Python-5 missiles, with it unclear whether the Vietnamese military has purchased the Short Range (SPYDER-SR) or Medium Range (SPYDER-MR) version, with respective ranges of 20km and 50km.

Aug 18/09: Indian Army’s QR-SAM. The Times of India reports that India’s Ministry of Defence has finally given the go-ahead for the army’s INR 40 billion (about $820 million) Quick-Reaction SAM program. These mobile missiles would protect Indian maneuver elements like armored columns and troop concentrations, as well as important areas and installations. The Army seeks to equip 3 regiments with this contract, which is over twice the size of the IAF’s 18 squadron purchase. The Times of India:

“With the indigenous Akash and Trishul air defence projects not meeting its “user-requirements”… The Defence Acquisitions Council, chaired by defence minister A K Antony, discussed the entire matter on Monday. Though there was no official word, sources said the Israeli SpyDer QR-SAM systems had been selected for the project.

…The projects were in a limbo for quite some time now, with one of the main reasons being the naming of Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael in the Rs 1,160-crore Barak-I deal kickbacks case by the CBI. The government, however, was reluctant to blacklist these Israeli armament firms because it held that it would prove “counter-productive” since there were several “crucial” defence projects underway with them.”

Jan 20/09: SR-SAM – Revenge of DRDO? India Defence reports that neither MBDA nor India’s state-run DRDO have given up on their “SR-SAM” short range air defense proposal. Rumors peg it as a combination of DRDO’s Trishul and MBDA’s VL-MICA system, though Trishul’s failure and VL-MICA’s techologies mean that claims regarding Trishul technology are likely to be about saving face as much as anything else.

The “Maitri” LLQRM proposal’s positioning would be directly competitive with RAFAEL’s SPYDER, and VL-MICA is deployable as a mobile system. That could affect SPYDER’s future expansion within the Indian military, and might even affect its prospects if program problems crop up. MICA’s capabilities mean that SR-SAM/Maitri would also be directly competitive with India’s indigenous Akash, and might even impinge on the proposed medium range MR-SAM deal involving a longer-range Barak missile.

Dec 11/08: The Indian Ministry of Defence confirms that it has signed the Spyder contract – and canceled Trishul. Defence Minister Shri AK Antony, in a written reply to Shri Tarini Kanta Roy in Rajya Sabha:

“Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with M/s Rafael, Israel to procure Spyder Low Level Quick Reaction Missile System (LLQRM) for the Indian Air Force.

The proposal for Trishul system was foreclosed due to its inability to meet certain critical operational requirements. However, it served as a technology demonstrator and the expertise acquired with the technologies developed during design and development phase of Trishul Missile System are being utilized for developing state-of-the-art Short Range Surface to Air Missile System.”

Costs were not disclosed, though some reports place the deal at $260 million; previous reports of R 18,000 crore would be about $362 million at current exchange rates. Nor was the future composition of India’s Spyder force; Spyder systems now come in the 8-pack, booster-enabled SPYDER ADS-MR, and the 4-pack SPYDER ADS-SR. Indian MoD | domain-b.

Oct 13/08: DNA India reports that a new order from the Union government downgraded both IAI and RAFAEL’s position as weapon suppliers to India, and may place the Spyder contract in jeopardy. The issue is not expected to sort itself out until after the 2009 Parliamentary elections. Read “India Downgrades Vendor Status of IAI and RAFAEL” for more.

Sept 1/08: The Spyder contract was delayed for almost 2 years by political accusations, but those have apparently been put to rest. Defense News reports that a $260 million contract has now been signed with Rafael. The Indian Air Force will receive 18 Spyder systems, with deliveries beginning in early 2011 and finishing by August 2012. Unusually, the contract will not include any mandatory industrial offsets.

March 19/07: Reports indicate that MBDA is working on a deal with the DRDO, whose Trishul short range anti-aorcraft missile project continues to flounder. DRDO’s Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) would team with MBDA to develop a “new-generation low-level, quick-reaction missile (LLQRM) system” known as ‘Maitri’, for the Indian Navy and Air Force. India Defence.

The project is said to be worth $500 million and is to be signed in May between the Hyderabad-based DRDL and MBDA. It is retry to revive the work done under the unsuccessful Trishul LLQRM project,

October 2006: India Defence quoted Air Chief SP Tyagi as saying India is close to wrapping up a deal to purchase quick reaction surface-to-air missiles from Israel as a mobile air defense system. Under the deal, India proposed to buy 18 SPYDER (Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby) missile systems and accompanying missiles in a deal worth more than Rs 1,800 crores (18 billion Indian rupees, or about $395.4 million at the time). RAFAEL would be the prime contractor, and Israel Aircraft Industries the major subcontractor.

Additional Readings

• RAFAEL – SPYDER ADS-MR

• RAFAEL – SPYDER ADS-SR

• RAFAEL – Python 5: Full Sphere IR Air-to-Air Missile

• RAFAEL – Derby: Beyond visual Range Air-to-Air Missile

• Israeli Weapons – SPYDER

• Army Technology – SPYDER Surface-to-Air Python 5 and Derby Air Defence Missile System, Israel

• DID – India’s IGMP Missile Programs. Including the canceled Trishul and the medium range Akash SAM.

• DID – India & Israel Introducing MR-SAM. Based on a longer-range version of the Barak missile.

The US Navy has awarded a $152m advance planning contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) for the construction of the third Gerald R Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Enterprise (CVN 80).

Raytheon has started delivering pulse power containers (PPCs) to support the US Navy's railgun programme.

The Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) has taken delivery of the first high-speed support vessel (HSSV), RNOV Al Mubshir, from Austal.

Emanating from Russia in the east and the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the south, the EU has been increasingly hit by destabilising messages amounting – in different forms and to different degrees – to coherent hostile ‘strategic communications’ campaigns, or the processes of infusing communications activities with an agenda or plan to impact the behaviour of a target audience. Both Russia and ISIL have engaged in aggressive messaging and deceptive media campaigns, albeit with distinct narratives, targets and audiences. This paper analyses the ‘what’ and the ‘how’: the respective narratives of each actor, their specificities, their similarities and their differences. The analysis also draws attention to strategic communications efforts undertaken by the EU, which are vectored into defensive (react and respond) and offensive (probe and push) dimensions. This understanding of the present context finally allows for an evaluation of what actions can be taken to enhance the effectiveness of the EU’s own strategic communications.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 30 May, SEDE will exchange views with Rear Admiral Waldemar Gluszko, Deputy Director General of the EU Military Staff at the European External Action Service on the Clearing House Mechanism. This Mechanism offers the possibility for the EU to coordinate the provision of military equipment, services and other assets and capabilities coming from Member States, Third States and International Organisations in order to enhance partner countries’ ability to manage crises by themselves.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Americas

• USAF commitments to maintain 1,900 aircraft beyond 2021 may be in trouble according to the Pentagon’s annual aviation, inventory, and funding plan for fiscal years 2017 through 2046. Budget constraints across the armed forces are requiring the Air Force to retire more aircraft than it procures; with the report predicting the fleet to reach its lowest in point 2031. The report notes that the service plans to sunset John McCain’s beloved A-10 between FY18 and FY22, but hints that those plans “are subject to change,” while Congress’s desire to restart the F-22 Raptor production line looks increasingly like a non-runner.

• Huntington Ingalls has been awarded a $152 million US Navy contact for advance planning for the construction of the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 80). The third aircraft carrier in the Gerald R. Ford class was named in honor of the Navy’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Work to be carried out includes engineering, design, planning, and procurement of long-lead-time material, and will be performed at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division through March 2018. Construction is to commence in 2018 and be delivered to the Navy in 2027.

• Weapons testers upgrading the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk have commenced laser-printing simulated ice for ice-shape testing on the UAV. Using a process known as “selective laser sintering,” it is possible to characterize ice buildup on the aircrafts wings and V-tail, a common problem found on most aircraft. The testing will now allow operators to know the airframe’s exact tolerance to buildup when carrying different fuel loads. In use since the late 1990s, the USAF is looking to extend the UAV’s lifetime through to 2034 instead of early retirement.

Middle East North Africa

• Saab has announced increased interest in its configuration of a Bombardier 6000 business jet with the company’s GlobalEye system for the UAE. The $1.27 billion deal will see the heavily adapted Global 6000 to be capable of conducting airborne early warning and control (AEW&C), maritime and land surveillance, and electronic intelligence duties. Included in the package is Saab’s improved Erieye ER active electronically scanned array radar, now capable of a 70% greater detection range than its previous sensor, and the ability to spot challenging targets, such as cruise missiles, small unmanned air vehicles and hovering helicopters. Combining its below-fuselage mounted maritime search radar and electro-optical/infrared sensor will enable operators to locate surface threats and submarine periscopes, while its primary sensor’s synthetic aperture radar and ground moving target indication modes will be used to locate land targets.

Europe

• The first two Dutch F-35As have successfully landed in the Netherlands, marking the Joint Strike Fighter’s first eastbound transatlantic journey. Dubbed AN-01 and AN-02, the fighters were welcomed by a crowd of 2,000 including Minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. The aircraft will now spend the next few weeks conducting noise and environmental tests over the country, designed to determine the levels of noise disturbance the residents experience. The jets will perform flights over the North Sea range and then appear and fly at the Netherlands’ Open Days in June.

Africa

• After showcasing its Parabot super robot at this year’s SOFEX in Jordan, South Africa’s Paramount Group is setting its sights on increasing their defense collaboration with US firms. With partnerships already existing with Boeing, Airbus, and firms in Kazakhstan and Jordan, Paramount’s founder, Ivor Ichikowitz, believes the company has much to offer the US defense industry, not just in supplying technology, but in philosophy, as the US attempts to rethink how it acquires defense capabilities. Having known nothing but government budget restrictions since its foundation in early post-Apartheid South Africa, Ichikowitz said, “We’ve always had to come up with technologies that give our customers the most capabilities for the least amount of money.”

Asia Pacific

• The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) successful test-firing of an indigenous Advanced Air Defense (AAD) missile interceptor on May 15 is being called into question following claims that the launch didn’t occur in the first place. Initially it was claimed that the missile successfully tracked, engaged and destroyed a naval version of the Prithvi missile, which was fired to simulate an enemy target. However “informed sources” talking to The Hindu newspaper claim that the test was a failure as the interceptor was never launched. Perhaps its back to the drawing board for the DRDO, again.

Today’s Video

• Recording of the F-35A’s arrival in the Netherlands:

Arabian/Persian Gulf
(click to view full)

In November 2009, Saab announced a 1.5 billion SEK (about $220 million) contract from the United Arab Emirates for 2 of its Saab 340 regional turboprops, equipped with Erieye active-array radars that can scan large airspace volumes, and with related command and control systems. The Saab 340 AEW contract also includes ground equipment, initial spares, and support services.

The UAE is just the latest buyer of Saab’s Erieye system.

The Erieye, and Its Competitors cutaway view
(click to view full)

The Erieye family of Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft offer of small size, lower purchase price, dual air/sea scan capabilities, and comparatively cheap operating costs are making it one of the world’s most popular AEW systems. The antenna reportedly provides coverage out to 450km, with a detection range of 350km even inchallenging conditions. The Erieye Ground Interface Segment (EGIS) provides a 2-way exchange of data via an associated “Link-E” datalink sub-system, and the plane’s capabilities can can also reportedly be used to support border control or even rescue operations.

The UAE joins Sweden, Pakistan, and Thailand, who have all ordered systems based on Saab’s S340/S2000 regional passenger turboprops. Brazil, Mexico, and Greece all ordered R-99As/ EMB-145 AEW&Cs that pair Erieye with Embraer’s ERJ145 regional passenger jets.

Key global competitors for Erieye systems include Boeing’s developmental E-737 ordered by Australia, South Korea, and Turkey; Israel’s Phalcon system (active on 707, IL-76, and Gulfstream G550 jets), and Northrop Grumman’s carrier-capable E-2 Hawkeye. That may become relevant, as some reports depict the Saab 340 Erieye as an interim system for the UAE, on the way to a final purchase of additional AWACS platforms.

The UAE’s aircraft order also fits into a regional trend, as the Emirates move to establish a leadership position within the Gulf Cooperation Council’s accelerating command-and-control efforts. Over time, the GCC’s ability to fuse the UAE’s efforts with local infrastructure like long range radars, Saudi Arabian 707-based E-3 AWACS/TASS planes, and other assets, may begin to produce cooperative situational awareness on a regional level.

Contracts & Key Events Thai S340 Erieye
(click to view full)

May 25/16: Saab has announced increased interest in its configuration of a Bombardier 6000 business jet with the company’s GlobalEye system for the UAE. The $1.27 billion deal will see the heavily adapted Global 6000 to be capable of conducting airborne early warning and control (AEW&C), maritime and land surveillance, and electronic intelligence duties. Included in the package is Saab’s improved Erieye ER active electronically scanned array radar, now capable of a 70% greater detection range than its previous sensor, and the ability to spot challenging targets, such as cruise missiles, small unmanned air vehicles and hovering helicopters. Combining its below-fuselage mounted maritime search radar and electro-optical/infrared sensor will enable operators to locate surface threats and submarine periscopes, while its primary sensor’s synthetic aperture radar and ground moving target indication modes will be used to locate land targets.

February 18/16: Following a custom $1.27 billion two-aircraft deal to provide an early warning and control (AEW&C) system to the UAE, Saab has officially launched the new early warning aircraft to the wider market. The GlobalEye combines the Erieye ER active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar with Bombardier’s Global 6000 business jet. The Erieye had been previously offered on the Embraer 145, Saab 2000 and Saab 340, but its incorporation on the Global 6000 will allow it much greater altitude and endurance capabilities, flying at 11,000 ft for 11 hours. The business jet will likely be armed with Saab’s RBS-15 anti-ship missile and a lightweight torpedo; possibly a EuroTorp weapon. Saab’s announcement comes as they look to provide maritime, land, and air surveillance capabilities to countries increasingly involved in anti-terrorism, anti-piracy, or territorial monitoring operations.

November 10/15: Saab has received an order for two additional Airborne Early Warning aircraft from the United Arab Emirates in a deal valuing $1.27 billion. The Swing Role Surveillance System (SRSR) will incorporate the company’s Erieye radar and other sensors aboard two Bombardier Global 600 business jet platforms. The UAE already operates two Saab Erieye-equipped AEW turboprop aircraft, ordered in November 2009 through a $220 million contract.

March 16/11: The Khaleej Times reports that Sweden’s Saab Group will deliver the 2nd S340 Erieye to the UAE slightly late, in April 2011. It quotes Swedish Ambassador Magnus Scholdtz as saying that “We’ve offered to the UAE to sell 4 more such aircraft… it is up to the UAE to decide.”

Nov 17/09: 1.5 billion SEK (about $220 million) contract for 2 of Saab’s S340 Erieyes announced. An official statement hinted at more orders to come, saying that:

“The UAE Air Force & Air Defence is currently evaluating several options to purchase permanent solution Command and Early Warning aircraft to meet the UAE Armed Forces operational requirements.”

Local defense media picked up on this theme amd noted the order’s interim status, pending a wider buy that could involve more Erieyes, Boeing’s 737 AEW&C, or Northrop Grumman’s new E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Deliveries of the 2 Erieye planes are scheduled for Q3 2010, and Q1 2011. Saab [PDF] | Arabian Aerospace | Dubai Airshow 09 | Khaleej Times | UAE’s The National.

Additional Readings

• Saab Group – Erieye AEW&C Airborne Border Surveillance

• DID – UAE Looking to Become a Regional C2 Leader. They bought the required back-end ground systems for national command and control first, so they could make full use of AEW&C systems when they finally bought some. Smart.

• DID (Oct 11/10) – Saab’s Mysterious S-2000 AEW&C Customer? Saudi Arabia. Essentially the same plane & system as the UAE is buying.

• Aviation Week (Feb 13/08) – Low-Cost and Effective AEW Systems Find Buyers

• C4ISR Journal (Jan 4/08) – AEW&C contenders confident as UAE decision nears

American Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker Aerial Refueling Tanker

British companies have developed a new thermal metal coating for use on the flight deck of the UK Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers.

The Italian Navy's sixth Frégate Européen multi-mission (FREMM) vessel, ITS Luigi Rizzo, has sailed out to sea from Fincantieri shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia) for the first time to begin its maiden sea trials.

The Indian Navy has inducted a new water jet fast attack craft (WJFAC), INS Tarmugli, into its fleet at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.

1/ Schutz der Schengen Außengrenzen
Gewährleistung der Kontrolle der grünen Außengrenze gemäß des Schengen Borders Code und der Frontex-Verordnung (HU-SRB, HU-CRO): ca. 270 Mio. € im Jahr 2015, das entspricht 0,2 % des ungarischen BIP. Nur 1 % dieser Summe wurde von der EU kofinanziert, hier die im Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspakt vorgesehenen Flexibilität anzuwenden war nicht möglich)
Grenzpolizisten: 102 in Slowenien, 31 in Mazedonien und 30 in Serbien, Angebot für Bulgarien
Angebot über 85 Grenzpolizisten für Frontex in Griechenland und 3 Beamte (einschl. Fahrzeugen) für das EASO

2/ Ursachenbekämpfung
fast 1.000 Soldaten dienen in NATO-, UN- und EU-Missionen, mehrheitlich in Krisenregionen oder an Transportrouten
125 Soldaten sind im Irak im Einsatz (globale Koalition gegen ISIS) * 106 Soldaten sind im Einsatz in Afghanistan (NATO Resolute Support)
Teilnahme an anderen Missionen mit 2 bis 10 Soldaten und Beamten: EUNAVFORMED Sophia; EUTM Mali etc.

3/ Humanitäre Hilfe
Beteiligung am EU-Türkei Paket I bis 2019: 14,6 Mio. € frontloading, davon 2016 bereits 10 Mio. € (statt der vorgesehenen 4,3 Mio.)
Syria Recovery Trust Fund: bilaterales Angebot 3.000.000 € + 200.000 €
Africa Emergency Trust Fund: 700.000 €
Krankenhausprojekt in der Kriegszone: 5.000.000 € (Syria Pledging Conference) * World Food Programme: 377.000 € (eingezahlt)
andere UN und internationale Programme: ca. 1.200.000 € (z.B.: Peace Oasis youth center in Jordanien);
1.000 Betten für Griechenland
bilaterale Sachleistungen für Serbien, Mazedonien und Slowenien: 1.906.500 €
(+ 350.000 € humanitäre Hilfe für die Ukraine)

BOTSCHAFT VON UNGARN IN BERLIN·MARDI 24 MAI 2016
Stand: 24. Mai 2016
Quellen

Tag: FRONTEXHungary

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Ensuring swift and safe recovery of personnel isolated, missing, detained or captured in a hostile territory has become a high-priority component of all EU-led Crisis Management Operations. Through its dedicated “Project Team Personnel Recovery”, the European Defence Agency (EDA) actively supports its participating Member States to enhance Personnel Recovery capabilities and improve interoperability - with tangible results.

 

The article below appeared in the 10th edition of European Defence Matters, the EDA’s official magazine, which you can read by clicking here.

 

European Defence Matters, Magazine issue 10

Any Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) military operation or civilian mission carries the risk of deployed personnel being trapped, isolated, captured and/or maltreated by enemy forces. If it occurs, such an incident can have an adverse impact not only the operation’s security but also the troops’ morale as well as general public support. It is therefore imperative to ensure the effective and quick recovery and reintegration of isolated personnel. In this regard, all possible diplomatic, civil and military options should be combined and utilised. “Keeping personnel recovery high on the EU’s agenda conveys the right signal to our soldiers on the ground”, EDA’s Capability, Armament & Technology Director, Air Commodore Peter Round stressed. He further stated that “It is our responsibility to make sure that robust and effective personnel recovery capabilities and tools are in place and available, as an integral part of any deployment”.

Since 2007 EDA’s Project Team Personnel Recovery (PT PR) has been working in support of its participating Member States (pMS) in order to enhance their Personnel Recovery (PR) capabilities and to effectively address these challenges. Under the German chairmanship and with the active participation of its 14 pMS, the PT has delivered tangible results and valuable studies. In its activities the PT is also supported by the European External Action Service’s bodies; the European Union Military Staff and the Crisis Management and Planning Directorate as well as of the newly established European Personnel Recovery Centre (EPRC), a close partner of the Agency.

As CSDP Crisis Management Operations (CMO) involve many different Member States, Third States and other partner Organisations there is a growing need for ensuring common PR principles, practices, standards and capabilities that are interoperable. As Major Constantinos Hadjisavvas, EDA’s Project Officer on PR, underlines “developing a common personnel recovery culture supported by the relevant capabilities is vital in ensuring that an effective safety net is in place for those in need in the theatre of operations”.

 From conceptual framework to operational PR support

Personnel recovery is a complex process involving five main tasks: reporting, locating, supporting, recovering, and reintegrating. The first task, reporting, includes the recognition and notification that personnel have or may have become isolated. This information can be generated by an accountability mechanism, visual sightings, intelligence, and reconnaissance or even through direct contact with the isolated personnel themselves. The second step, the locating task, includes actions to find and geo-locate the isolated personnel, immediately followed by the supporting task aimed at providing them with mental, physical and emotional support. It is only once these essential preparatory steps have been taken that the core part of any PR mission, the actual physical recovery, can be launched. PR operations are finally concluded with the reintegrating task of the recovered personnel through medical assessments and debriefings before returning them back to duty and/or their families.

Situational awareness, information management, command and control aspects as well as appropriate capabilities are thus absolutely crucial for any successful PR operation. However, as Major Hadjisavvas stresses, “even with the most cutting-edge technology, personnel recovery cannot be successful unless you have trained and motivated personnel”. Working on four different but interrelated work strands (Concept, Command & Control, Equipment and Training), the PT aims at addressing the full spectrum of PR; from the cultural and conceptual context through training aspects to the development of advanced technologies.

 PR FAS ATD: an operational output of EDA

PR provides the capability to safely recover isolated personnel. However, it was identified that an operational technical solution to plan, launch and monitor personnel recovery missions was missing. To close this critical gap, EDA has developed a conceptual framework which led to the successful development of the Personnel Recovery Functional Area Service Advanced Technology Demonstrator (PR FAS ATD), one of the most important operational outputs of PT PR so far.

This ATD is an information management and Command & Control (C2) system designed to increase the efficiency of PR missions and operations. In fact, PR FAS ATD supports planners and controllers with numerous functionalities and a significantly improved situational awareness.

The system is portable and works on a ‘plug and play’ basis, so it can be used by directly connecting to a number of laptops or integrating into existing networks in command posts or headquarters. Significantly, the ATD does not need any additional client software due to access via internet browser. This minimises the rollout effort and increases Information Technology (IT) security.

The demonstrator was successfully evaluated and tested during multinational courses in 2015. In mid-2016, an important milestone was reached when PR FAS ATD was finally distributed to all pMS. They can now use the tool as a web based and stand-alone system during national or multinational trainings and exercises.

 Deployment Support, Training, New Projects

At this stage, the PR FAS ATD is still only a demonstrator, albeit an advanced demonstrator. In order to achieve operational capability additional organisational and technical measures have to be taken. Most important tasks include interfacing existing air command and control systems as well as the provision of service support. EDA is leading these tasks by providing deployment support to pMS, addressing the various aspects of the through-life management of the tool and ensuring its viability.

Furthermore, the Personnel Recovery Controller and Planner Courses (PRCPC), run by the six contributing Member States (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Sweden) as an EDA project ensures that trained personnel are available to support any future PR activities under CSDP. Seven editions of PRCPCs have taken place so far, the most recent in April at the EPRC in Poggio Renatico Air Base (Italy).

Additionally, by the end of 2016, pMS will also obtain a web-based e-learning tool for Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE), based on the existing Swedish e-training tool. The SERE project aims to provide pMS with PR training for their military personnel before being deployed. Instead of developing a new tool, EDA was authorised by the Swedish Armed Forces to translate the Swedish tool into English and disseminate it to all pMS. “SERE is a model of how pooling & sharing of assets and best practices can save time, resources and money”, Major Hadjisavvas explains. This tool could also be useful for the personnel deployed in the context of CSDP civilian or other humanitarian missions.

Way Ahead

The need for enhancing interoperability of European Armed Forces’ PR capabilities will be further enhanced by the increasing multinational character of CSDP operations and the volatile environment that the EU is operating in. Topics currently under consideration in the EDA to further advance this important work includes among others, the contribution to the possible revision of the EU’s conceptual framework for PR in support of CSDP and enhancing the PR efficiency with the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) support.

Finally in November 2016 the Agency in cooperation with the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) will organise a PR Conference in order to enhance awareness of the importance of PR in saving lives and protecting the EU’s reputation.

Americas

• Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $331.7 million foreign military sales contract by the US Army. The sale will see the company provide the defense departments of Israel, Singapore, Finland and Jordan with the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) which includes 290 alternative warhead rocket pods, 34 unitary rocket pods and 529 reduced range practice rocket pods. Work and delivery of the system is expected to be completed by March 31, 2018.

• Sikorsky’s HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter is to move into the detailed design phase after successfully passing an air vehicle preliminary design review by the US government. The UH-60 Black Hawk variant will now enter a 75-month engineering and development phase which will see nine aircraft produced, including five “system demonstration test articles” to support operational testing. The design includes air force and mission-specific avionics, equipment and defensive countermeasures, plus a larger internal fuel capability and cabin area when compared to its UH-60 cousin and is unique enough to warrant its own development phase and even a separate assembly line.

Middle East North Africa

• British-made cluster bombs have been discovered in a village in northern Yemen, all but confirming that the banned munition is being used by the Saudi-led coalition in the region. The BL-755 cluster bombs, originally manufactured in the 1970s, were purchased by the air forces of Saudi Arabia and UAE to be used on the British made Tornado fighters. Locals described the ordinance as “hanging off trees”and are believed to have been there since air strikes in July and August.

• An advanced missile approach warning system has been integrated on Israeli CH-53 transport carriers, giving the helicopters an extended service life until 2025. Dubbed Dragon Block 3, the system provides 360 degree coverage alongside a more effective warning of missile attack and fast activation of countermeasures equipment. The troop transports have had their fair share of trouble from rocket attacks having seen extensive use in conflicts in south Lebanon and the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Europe

• Russia’s Defence Ministry looks set to become the first customer of the Mil Mi-38 multi-role helicopter. The helicopter’s manufacturer Russian Helicopters made the announcement in a press release last week, and it is expected to pass a series of flight tests according to the ministry’s requirements. Designed to take part in a variety of missions, the Mi-38 is capable of carrying either troops or cargo as well as participating in search & rescue and offshore operations.

• Italy is to release $179.5 million toward the development of the Centauro II wheeled tank program by the consortium of Italy’s Iveco and Leonardo-Finmeccanica. An update of the older Centauro wheeled tank, it will include a new hull, better armor and upgunning to a 120mm gun compared to the 105mm found on the original. However the cash injection will be lacking in other programs with the planned arming of Italy’s UAVs to be postponed and only $23.5 million made available for procurement of the light-weight Freccia armored vehicles.

Africa

• Prosecutors in South Africa are to appeal a court ruling that they should reconsider corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma. 783 charges against the controversial president were dropped just weeks before the 2009 election in which he was elected. The allegations stem from a $5 billion arms deal in 1999 which involved companies from Germany, Italy, Sweden, the UK, France and South Africa. In 2005, Schabir Shaik, Zuma’s former financial advisor was jailed in connection with the deal after being found guilty of soliciting a bribe on behalf of the president.

Asia Pacific

• US President Barack Obama has announced the lifting of a decades long arms embargo on Vietnam. Speaking in Hanoi with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and under a looming bust of Communist leader Ho Chi Minh, Obama said that the move will end a “lingering vestige of the Cold War” and pave the way for more-normal relations between the two countries. The move comes as Vietnam looks to recenter allies amid a growing spat with China over ownership of islands in the South China Sea, while also looking to lessen their reliance on Russian weapons manufacturers, factors that may make Hanoi one of Washington’s new best friends in the region.

Today’s Video

• Boeing’s latest commercial for the Advanced F-15:

Saab has secured an order, worth approximately Skr1.53bn ($184m), from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to develop and produce a new lightweight torpedo (LWT) system.

General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) has been awarded a contract modification to build and deliver digital modular radios (DMR) for use on the US Navy's new surface vessels and submarines.

Dassault Aviation has delivered a new maritime surveillance aircraft, Falcon 50 Surmar, to the French Navy at the Lann-Bihoué military base.