Defence Industry Bulletin, April 2015 (Issue #5)

3 :: Defence Industry Bulletin 3
Issue #5 April 2015
Insider knowledge for the discerning defence
and security professional
BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE
READIES FOR GRIPEN
INTERVIEW
Open Architecture
REVOLUTION GAINING
STEAM
SUBMARINES
POLISH BOATS SEEK
NEW MISSILES
COMMANDO
4X4 CONTINUES GLOBAL SALES
DEFUSING THE THREAT WITH PUBLIC-PRIVATE ACTION
CYBER:
A TICKING TIME BOMB?

:: Defence Industry Bulletin1 :: Defence Industry Bulletin
Governments and commercial
organisations are becoming
increasingly aware of the need to
enhance their cyber defences and
bolster digital networks to plug
vulnerability gaps. The challenge
is identifying how best to do
that and keeping up with rapidly
evolving threats and technology.
In this issue of Defence Industry
Bulletin, our expert correspondent
assesses the vulnerabilities of
critical national infrastructure in
the UK and explores how existing
challenges may demand a new
security strategy. We explore the
latest cyber threats and the vital
opportunities for public-private
security partnerships.
In The Briefing Room, we talk
to the Head of Programmes for
the Brazilian Air Force, Brigadier
General José Augusto Crepaldi
Affonso, about the acquisition of
Saab’s Gripen E/F fighters and to
understand more about the testing
of the A-Darter missile.
Also in this issue we bring
you insight into the latest
developments of open architecture
within the defence sector, we take
a look at some of the major global
procurements of armoured fighting
vehicles, examine the rise in urban
operations requirements, and we
analyse new shock mitigation
technology for fast boats.
We hope you enjoy this issue of
Defence Industry Bulletin, which
is now available as a free-to-view
publication for the first time, and if
you have any comments you would
like to share, please don’t hesitate
to get in touch at
haveyoursay@defenceiq.com
Andrew Elwell and Richard de Silva
Cyber 19
Open Archictecture 21
The Briefing Room 23
More Information 32
Welcome to
Defence Industry
Bulletin!
Welcome 1
The Broader Picture 2
Land 5
Air 12
Sea 16

Defence Industry Bulletin :: 2
The Broader Picture
Europe tumbles in defence export table Andrew Elwell
According to the latest
SIPRI data, the US is again
the largest defence exporter,
accounting for nearly a third (31
percent) of all global deals in
the sector. Together with Russia
(27 percent), the two Cold War
superpowers account for well over
half of all defence exports in the
world.
The EU countries saw a dramatic
downscaling in defence industrial
output, accounting for just 12
percent of global arms sales during
the period 2010-2014, down by
almost half in just four years
when it was 21 percent for 2005-
2009. China overtook Germany
as the third largest arms dealer,
accounting for 5 percent of total
sales.
Meanwhile, India again ranks
as the largest defence importer,
accounting for 15 percent of global
deals in the sector. That figure
is treble the size of both Saudi
Arabian and Chinese imports,
which are the second and third
highest respectively.
Diplomatic gulf widens over Swedish-Saudi defence spat Oliver Austin
Sweden’s decision to opt out
of renewing its five-year defence
agreement with Saudi Arabia has
created a diplomatic friction that
may impact the European nation’s
future defence export options.
Between 2011 and 2014, a pact
between the two countries saw
$550 million in revenue flow into
Swedish industry coffers. However,
the new government bent to
pressure from opposition to Saudi
Arabia’s human rights record and
has refused to resign.
In response to the decision,
Saudi Arabia recalled its
ambassador to Sweden, citing
“offensive remarks” made by
Foreign Minister Margot Wallström,
who had criticised Saudi’s judicial
system and stance on women’s
rights on social media. The UAE has
since followed suit, with Emirati
minister Anwar Gargash stating
that the criticisms have constituted
a violation of Saudi Arabia’s
sovereignty.
During the first deal, several
equipment deals were sealed,
including the delivery of ISR and
sensors such as two Saab 200 Erieye
airborne early warning aircraft.
The UAE has also acquired Swedish
systems, from landing craft to
Giraffe AMB radars, and has also
ordered two Erieyes.
Consequences of the decision
are expected to trickle through the
Swedish commercial sector, with
business leaders from the likes
of the automotive, clothing and
telecoms industries claiming there
will be a significant negative impact
to Sweden’s reputation as a trading
partner. Other Middle Eastern
nations may also opt to “boycott”
Swedish business. Diplomatic ties
with Israel were damaged in 2014
over comments made regarding
the conflict with Palestine, leading
to Wallström cancelling an official
visit in January 2015.
Saudi Arabia’s defence future may proceed without further Swedish involvement after a diplomatic falling out (credit: Omar Chatriwala)

:: Defence Industry Bulletin3
Rise of urban warfare spurring wave of special equipment demands
Richard de Silva
The need for militaries
to begin looking deeper into
urban operations is becoming
far more urgent, according to
leading defence and strategic
analysts. Meanwhile, armed forces
worldwide are upscaling their drive
to find equipment suited to help
infantry undertake this type of
warfare.
The latest example comes
from US Special Operations
Command (SOCOM), which
released a Request for Information
in March to urgently seek out
a range of technology for this
specific requirement. Included
in its requests are such high-
end solutions as sensors that
can “see through walls”, stealth
communications that offer low
probability of detection (LPD),
ruggedized GPS, wireless data-
sharing, tools that offer automated
transcripts and translations
of interviews, and even 3D
holographic mapping tools.
The solicitation also prompts for
weapons and armour to be tested
alongside the latest – and lightest –
in wearable devices. While SOCOM
describes the needs as a response
to the demands of ‘unconventional
warfare’, there is much that
indicates this type of engagement
will soon become the norm. At
the same time, as global defence
budgets continue to err on the side
of caution and governments shy
away from committing large-scale
ground troops to foreign lands, the
importance of small task forces of
special operations personnel to the
wider world is coming to the fore.
As of 2015, there were 35
‘megacities’ (populations of over 10
million) in existence, eight of which
have emerged in the last four years.
By 2025, at least ten will exist in the
Far East alone. As many nations,
particularly China, are seeing the
biggest migration of rural dwellers
to urban areas ever, there is an
increasing belief that the conflicts
of tomorrow will take place not it in
the fields, deserts or jungles of old,
but in dense cities.
The need for landpower was
tested at the latest annual Unified
Quest exercise, in which the US
Army simulated a city in 2030 and
coordinated a Red Team to act
as insurgents taking advantage
of a humanitarian disaster and
destabilizing the city further
through a series of cyber, electronic
warfare and anti-access tactics.
In response, engagement had to
take place at ground-level and
infantry squads had to expand
their operations over a wider area.
Commanders therefore believe
that these soldiers need to be
more lethal and have a wealth of
systems supporting them from
combat air support to ISR assets,
enabling the likes of full-motion
video (FMV), autonomous vehicles
and directed energy capabilities.
The aim appears to be to reduce
the logistics load, increase
mobility and ensure the troops
have information dominance, all
of which will provide something
more akin to a deadly sting than
a lumbering tackle. ISR assets,
enabling the likes of full-motion
video (FMV), autonomous vehicles
and directed energy capabilities.
The aim appears to be to reduce the
logistics load, increase mobility and
ensure the troops have information
dominance, all of which will
provide something more akin to
a deadly sting than a lumbering
tackle.
The need for
landpower was
tested at the
latest annual
Unified Quest
exercise
US Special Forces soldiers search for the daughter of a village elder from a simulated hostage situation
during a training scenario at the Urban Operations Center, Nevada. (US mil)
The Broader Picture

UK wasted millions on “botched” GoCo project Joseph Carpenter
Areport from the National
Audit Office (NAO) has
accused the MoD of throwing
away £33m over 30 months in its
attempt to implement a privatised
procurement reform.
The Defence Equipment
& Support (DE&S) staff came
under fire in the document for
underperforming in its partnership
with the armed forces, requiring
better synchronicity between
demand and delivery to avoid
further waste. Analysts claim that
the 2013 attempt to establish a
government-owned, contractor-
operated (GoCo) model to transform
DE&S represented a black hole in
the MoD’s accounts.
The NAO recommends that
the MoD asserts more stringent
oversight and control of DE&S but
did commend the benefits the
process had made in shining a light
on business needs and skill gaps.
When the efforts to introduce the
GoCo model first began, the theory
was that the MoD would eliminate
£2bn a year in bureaucratic waste,
but it faced objections from several
quarters, including unions and US
DoD officials. Only one contractor
bid to implement and manage
the model, effectively collapsing
the plan. Defence ministers have
downplayed the losses as a mere
fraction of the overall annual cost
of running procurement.
NAO Comptroller and Auditor
General Amyas Morse stated that
“DE&S now needs to demonstrate
how, as a bespoke trading entity, it
will address systemic weaknesses
in defence acquisition to ensure
the MoD can deliver an affordable
equipment programme and sustain
this over the longer term.”
Advanced technology also
comes into play here, with new
training and simulation systems
dedicated to urban operations
being pushed heavily by the likes
of Saab, Lockheed Martin, Ruag,
Rheinmetall, Theissen and others.
At the tail-end of 2014, as one
example, Cubic Corporation was
awarded a $12 million contract
by the Canadian Department of
National Defence to fulfil the first
phase of its Urban Operations
Training System (UOTS) capability.
This system complements an urban
village training simulator with
realistic special effects, and will
help forces to understand elements
such as grenade and IED activity,
precision shooting and high-fidelity
tracking in this environment. As
soldiers undertake exercises, video
relay allows for real-time and post-
exercise reviews of the drill.
Given the prevalence of urban
operations in the Middle East, it is
unsurprising that the 2015 IDEX
event in Abu Dhabi uncovered
rising demand for these training
and simulation solutions among
Arabian Gulf states. The UAE is
currently assessing options to
award a contract to deliver its
new urban warfare centre. Saudi
Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are also
understood to be seeking new
training systems, a requirement
said to be more of a priority than
programmes for new vehicles or
protection systems.
Aside to training, all-new tactical
equipment is also being developed
from concept to cope with the
emerging demands. For instance,
the Pentagon is developing
lightweight autonomous UAVs to
act like small birds and insects,
navigating at high speed through
complex, tightly-confined spaces.
The Fast Lightweight Autonomy
(FLA) project being pushed by
DARPA aims to provide all soldiers
with a man-portable device that
can fly for around 10 minutes at
a speed of up to 20 metres per
second and without the need for
GPS waypoints to be programmed
in advance. Such a capability could
provide invaluable intelligence
during hostage situations or in the
search and rescue efforts during
disaster scenarios.
Defence
ministers have
downplayed the
losses as a mere
fraction of the
overall annual
cost The idea for a new model was seeded by the last
Labour government, then launched in 2013 by
former defence secretary Philip Hammond
The Broader Picture

Land
The Armée de Terre (French
Army) has taken an important
step forward in extending the
provision of mobile Satellite
Communications (SATCOM) to
mounted and dismounted troops.
On 22 February, the French
Direction Générale de l’Armament
(DGA) procurement agency
announced that it had ordered
20 Thales VENUS (Véhicules
de commandement Nomades
communiquant par Satellite/
Nomadic Satellite Communications
Command Vehicles) Satellite
Communications (SATCOM)
terminals. These terminals will
equip Nexter VAB (Véhicule
de l’Avant Blindé) Armoured
Personnel Carriers used by the
French Army. The VENUS terminals
will allow VABs so equipped
to communication with the
French Syracuse-III (Système de
Radiocommunication Utilisant
un Satellite/Satellite-Based
Radio-communication System)
used by the French armed forces.
Deliveries of the VENUS terminals
will commence in 2016 and will
conclude in 2017.
The February 2015 acquisition
follows an earlier order made
by the DGA for these terminals
in 2009, which saw deliveries
commence in 2010 as part of an
urgent operational requirement
for French forces deployed to
Afghanistan for a SATCOM-On-
The-Move capability. This capability
enables mounted commanders to
connect to other echelons across
the Syracuse-III constellation. Since
then, the VENUS terminal has been
used in Afghanistan, and during
French Army operations against
Islamist guerrillas in Mali.
The VENUS terminals can
connect with conventional
tactical communications, such as
vehicular radios, to provide over-
the-horizon communications
from the vehicle itself. This allows
conventional communications
systems connected to the terminals
to enjoy global connectivity via
the Syracuse-III constellation.
Moreover, mobile SATCOM allows
deployed forces to outflank terrain
and building obstacles which
can mask conventional radio
communications. Dismounted
troops can access the vehicle-
mounted VENUS terminals using
their own radios. This effectively
brings SATCOM down to the tactical
level, increasing the quantity of
information which can be shared at
range between deployed troops and
their commanders. Connectivity
with the Syracuse-III constellation
is provided by Thales’ System-21
SATCOM waveform embedded in
the VENUS terminals.
According to Patrick Heuline,
Thales’ head of marketing for
communications systems, the
VENUS terminals will provide voice
and data communications across
X-band (eight to ten gigahertz)
SATCOM frequencies with data
rates of up to 128 kilobits-per-
second. The specification of the
VENUS terminals equipped the
French Army VABs as a result of
the February 2015 are the same as
those which equipped the force
as a result of the 2009 order, Mr.
Heuline adds. It has not been
revealed how many VAB vehicles
will be equipped with the VENUS
terminals, although it is assumed
that one terminal will equip each
platform.
France Extends SATCOM On-The-Move Thomas Withington
Sweden’s BAE Systems
(Hägglunds will upgrade 95
Bv 206 D6 amphibious all-terrain
articulated protected vehicles in
service with the Royal Netherlands
Navy’s (Koninklijke Marine) Marine
Corps (Korps Mariniers).
The contract signed with
the Dutch Ministry of Defence’s
armament procurement arm DMO
(Defensie Materieel Organisatie) for
a mid-life upgrade of the vehicles
was revealed on 9 March, however
the contract was only signed in late
2014. The fleet will be re-delivered
between the first and third quarter
of 2018, a company spokesperson
told Defence Industry Bulletin.
According to the contract, BAE
Systems Hägglunds will change and
re-install new engines, drivelines,
complete electrical systems and
tracks the company added.
The contract with the
Netherlands includes the delivery
of one prototype as well as six
pre-series vehicles, with an
option for a further 88 vehicles.
The modernisation of the first
seven vehicles will be carried out
in Sweden, and the remaining 88
vehicles will be upgraded in the
Netherlands.
The vehicle is fielded in several
variants comprising basic vehicle,
repair & recovery vehicle, transport
vehicle and 81mm mortar carrier.
156 of the vehicles were originally
purchased.
The Royal Netherlands Navy’s
Marine Corps were also fielded
with 74 BAE Systems Hägglunds
Viking BvS 10’s purchased in 2006
comprising 46 personnel carriers,
20 Command post vehicles, 4
repair & recovery vehicles and four
MEDEVAC vehicles.
BAE Systems to modernise Dutch “go-anywhere” vehicles Victor M.S. Barreira
Dutch Bv 206D6 vehicles in Norway during Cold
Response 2014 training exercise of NATO
(Ole-Sverre Haugli, Norwegian Armed Forces)

The first prototype of
the new CENTAURO 2 8x8
armoured anti-tank wheeled
vehicle is ready and has been
shown for the first time to Gen.
Claudio Graziano, Italy’s Defence
Chief of Staff and the Army’s
former Chief of Staff.
The new vehicle has a maximum
gross weight of around 30-35
tons and is powered with a 720
HP turbodiesel engine for a high
power-to-weight ratio. This,
together with the new transmission
and power-train, will give it
robust off-road performances.
Additionally, the CENTAURO 2
has shown during recent tests an
extraordinary level of protection
against mines and IED thanks to
the newly designed chassis. The
firepower will be similar to that of
an MBT thanks to the evolution
of the Oto Melara HITFACT turret
armed with a 120/45 mm smooth-
bore gun (compatible with the 120
mm ammunition NATO standard).
This new turret is extremely
modular and can accommodate
different kinds of FCS (Fire Control
Systems), armour, weapons (i.e. not
only 120 mm but also 105/51 mm
rifled gun). The vehicle, a product of
Iveco-Oto Melara consortium (CIO),
will replace B-1 CENTAURO in the
Italian Army’s cavalry Recce Units.
The Army’s first requirement
is for 74 vehicles followed by a
similar quantity. Currently only the
development phase is financed,
which includes the building
of a prototype. Next June the
prototype will start the validation
testing phase, while the official
presentation of the vehicle is
scheduled next Autumn.
First prototype of Iveco-Oto Melara CENTAURO 2 ready for testing
Eugenio Po
A CAD drawing of the CENTAURO 2
The Malaysian Army is
currently improving its
armoured capability with the
induction of 257 Gempita 8x8
amphibious multirole vehicles
procured from the local firm DRB-
HICOM Defence Technologies
(DEFTECH) to replace Rpz Condor
4x4 and SIBMAS 6x6 vehicles.
The vehicle, initially designated
as AV8, is a local modification of
Pars design from Turkish armored
vehicles specialist FNSS Savunma
Sistemleri, (a joint venture of
Turkish conglomerate Nurol
Holding and BAE Systems.
The Pars design was selected
over Patria Land Systems AMV and
GDELS Piranha IIIC vehicles, with a
letter of intent (LoI) signed in April
2010 worth about MYR8 million
($2.2 million) and Letter of Offer
and Acceptance (LOA) signed in
January 2012 between DEFTECH and
FNSS Savunma Sistemleri. Malaysia
could consider ordering additional
units of Gempita at a later date.
The vehicle was designed
to meet Malaysia’s operational
requirements in term of
protection, firepower, mobility
and survivability. It will operate
in varied terrain which ranged
from jungles, rivers and hills, in
undeveloped parts of Peninsular
and East Malaysia to the urban
terrain of the cities and to cope
with the tropical and humid
conditions.
12 V-shaped hull units of the
infantry fighting variant with
25mm turret were delivered to the
Army’s 19th Battalion of the Royal
Malay Regiment (19 Rejimen
Malaysia improves its armoured capability Victor M.S. Barreira
Gempita wheeled armored vehicle with Sharpshooter turret (Perajurit)
Land

Azkar Melayu DiRaja or 19 RAMD)
in December 2014 and 34 more will
be delivered in 2015. The vehicle
will come in 12 variants to arm
one mechanised infantry regiment
and two armoured regiments.
The programme will deliver 178
fighting vehicles outfitted out with
Sharpshooter one-man turret
armed with 25x137mm M242
Bushmaster automatic cannon
and MAG58M 7.62x51mm coaxial
machine gun, LCT-30 two-man
turret armed with 30x173mm
GI-30 automatic cannon and
MAG58M coaxial machine gun,
Reutech Solutions Land Rogue
remote weapon station armed
with machine gun, or turret armed
with GI-30 cannon and launchers
for Ingwe anti-tank missiles;
24 surveillance vehicles with
mast-mounted Vinghøg Vingtaqs
II long-range surveillance and
reconnaissance system integrating
Thales Nederland Squire medium-
range ground surveillance radar,
thermal and daylight cameras, laser
pointer and laser range finder; 13
command posts; 8 mortar carriers
with TDA Armements 2R2M 120mm
rifled mortar system; 4 engineering
and NRBC reconnaissance vehicles;
9 ambulances; 9 recovery vehicles, 9
maintenance vehicles; and 3 signal
vehicles.
Standard equipment on the
Gempita includes a 530hp diesel
engine (BF8M 1015), 7-speed
automatic transmission (7HP 902S),
open information communication
system (VSys-net), HF and VHF
tactical radios (HF3000 SKYF@ST
and PR4G F@stnet respectively);
a digital intercom (FONET), battle
management system, power
management system, platform
management system, thermal
cameras and CCD camera; a central
tyre inflation system, auxiliary
power unit, self-recovery winch, air
conditioning unit, NBC detection
system, NBC filtration system,
automatic fire suppression system,
navigation system, unity vision
periscopes and reversionary sights;
76mm grenade dischargers, a laser
warning system, and additional
armor. The vehicle’s V-shaped hull
is made of composite aluminum
and steel armour. The turrets also
feature DNGS T1 gunner’s sight
with Catherine XP thermal imager,
and grenade launchers.
Several foreign and local
companies are involved with
the programme including
TDA Armaments, Deutz, MMC
Defence, Denel Land Systems,
Denel Dynamics, FN Herstal, ZF
Friedrichshafen, WB Electronics,
IHI, Sapura Thales Electronics,
M-Pol, Orbital ATK, Suria-Medik,
Hutchinson, Thales, UCM,
NorthStar, Rohde & Schwarz,
Smith Detection, Kent Periscopes,
Barincorp, FNSS Savunma
Sistemleri, Vinghøg, SecuGlass and
Bioquell Defence.
The Malaysian Army has
previously embarked on a
modernisation programme for
its armour capability with the
procurement of the Polish ZM
Bumar-Łabędy (of Polski Holding
Obronny) and 48 PT-91M Twardy
(locally designated Pendekar)
armed with 125 mm smooth-
barrel gun, as well as six WZT-91M
recovery vehicles, three MID-91M
engineering vehicles and five PMC-
91M bridge layers with Krauss-
Maffei Wegman (KMW) Leguan
bridge system.
The tanks joined 211 FNSS
Savunma Sistemleri’s AC-300
(locally known as Adnan) tracked
armoured vehicles of several
variants, including fighting vehicles,
signal, 81mm mortar, command,
ambulance, anti-tank, fitter and
recovery vehicles, purchased in
August 2004 from DEFTECH and
another 48 similar vehicles and six
stretched ACV-S mortar vehicles
with the 2R2M system purchased in
April 2008. Several of the ACV-300s
were produced by DEFTECH.
Malaysia received between
1993 and 1995 around 100 Doosan
Infracore K200A1 tracked vehicles
in several variants.
Several foreign
and local
companies are
involved with
the Gempita
programme
Malaysian PT-91M main battle tank
(Janusz Walczak)
Land

Swedish firm BAE Systems
Hägglunds has handed over the
first CV90 armoured tracked vehicle
of the infantry fighting variant in
serial production to the Norwegian
armament procurement arm
(Forsvarets Logistikk Organisasjon
or FLO).
The £462 million ($689 million)
contract awarded by FLO to BAE
Systems Hägglunds in 2012
includes the upgrade of the Royal
Norwegian Army’s existing fleet
of 103 CV9030N Mk I and the
production of 41 new-build Mk III
chassis, giving the Army a total of
144 vehicles in five configurations.
Another 7 protected turrets
armed with 30mm cannon will be
produced.
The programme, which is key for
the Army’s modernisation strategy,
will provide enhanced capabilities
in the areas of protection,
survivability, situational awareness,
intelligence, and interoperability
for emerging battlefield and conflict
scenarios.
The Norwegian Army will
incorporate five different
configurations of the CV90,
comprising 74 infantry fighting
vehicles (SPV), 21 reconnaissance
vehicles (OPV), 15 command post
vehicles (STRILED), 16 engineering
vehicles (STING), 16 multi-role
vehicles (MultiC) and two driver
training vehicles until 2017. The
multi-role vehicles can fulfill
different functions, including
mortar carrier and logistics roles.
All the vehicles will include
digitised vehicle information
systems, an inertial navigation
system, GPS, TCE 621/M new
mobile IP encryption device,
SOTAS intercom, tactical radio
system, the norBMS command and
control suite, Kongsberg Protech
Systems Protector Nordic remote
weapon station, rubber tracks, Prox
Dynamics PD-100 Black Hornet
nano unmanned air vehicle and
an integration kit for NORMANS
(NORwegian Modular Network
Soldier) dismounted soldier system.
All the core elements are integrated
via data distribution services (DDS)
technology.
The SPV, STRILED and OPV
vehicles feature the Mk III chassis
with Mk I turrets, Saab UTAAS
(Universal Tank and Anti-Aircraft
Sight) sight and fire control
system, and LED-based (Light
Emitting Diode) WiseLED Xtruder
searchlight. The OPVs also have
the Vinghøg Vingtaqs II long range,
target acquisition and surveillance
system. The mobile mortar variant
includes an 81mm mortar system,
Vinghøg VingPos mortar fire control
system and Kongsberg Defence
Systems ODIN fire support system.
The engineering variant will feature
mine clearing equipment from
Pearson Engineering and handling
crane of Hydrauliska Industri
(HIAB).
Several Norwegian companies
are involved with the programme
including Kongsberg Defence
Systems, Nammo, CHSnor, Vinghøg,
Thales Norway and Ritek.
The CV90 combat vehicle has
been selected by Norway, Sweden,
Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and
The Netherlands. Denmark and
Poland are other nations where the
CV90 design is competing to meet
the local requirement for AFVs.
Norway inducts first CV90 IFV Victor M.S. Barreira
The Portuguese Army is
currently in the process of
receiving additional Pandur II 8x8
armoured vehicles. The fleet will
complement 166 vehicles inducted
prior to the original February 2005
contract with General Dynamics
European Land Systems (GDELS)
being canceled in October 2012 by
the Portuguese Ministry of National
Defence (MDN). An agreement was
reached in September 2014 with the
aim to deliver the Army 22 more
vehicles.
The agreement included 8
infantry fighting vehicles; 5 anti-
tank vehicles; 2 repair and recovery
vehicles; 6 communications
vehicles; and 1 ambulance. The first
vehicle was inducted in December
2014 while the last is scheduled for
delivery by early August 2015.
Three contracts were signed
in 2005 comprising one worth
EUR344.2 million ($374 million)
for the acquisition of 240 vehicles
for the Army and 20 amphibious
vehicles for the Navy’s Marine
Corps and an option to later buy
33 vehicles with 105mm turreted
gun system for the Army. A second
deal worth EUR20.3 million ($22
million) was signed for spares and a
third worth EUR516.3 million ($561
million) was signed for offsets.
Portugal receives further 22 Pandur II AFVs Victor M.S. Barreira
Portuguese Pandur IIs of infantry fighting, repair
& recovery, and command versions
(Victor M. S. Barreira)
Infantry fighting variant of the modernised
Norwegian CV90 armoured vehicle
(BAE Systems Hägglunds)
Land

166 vehicles were inducted by
the Army’s Intervention Brigade
(Brigada de Intervenção or BrigInt)
with the aim to replace the V200
Chaimite 4x4 vehicle and to
provide expanded protection and
mobility capability to the brigade,
comprising 105 personnel carriers
with mount for a 12.7mm machine
gun; 7 personnel carriers with a
Protector M151 remote weapon
station armed with a 12.7mm
machine gun; 22 infantry fighting
vehicles with an SP30 turret armed
with 30mm automatic cannon and
two 7,62mm machine guns; 16
command posts with workstations,
communications and auxiliary
power unit; 7 ambulances with four
stretchers, stretcher-rack system
and brackets on vehicle’s roof; 4
battlefield surveillance vehicles
with Thales BOR-A 550 surveillance
radar and electro-optical payload
with thermal imager, TV camera
and laser range finder; 5 repair &
recovery vehicles with welding
equipment recovery winch and
Palfinger Europe telescopic crane.
As standard, the vehicle is
outfitted out with Theon Sensors
NX-199A night vision driver’s
viewer, M27 type periscopes,
Bruker RAID XP chemical and
radiological detection system, EID’s
PRC-525 tactical radio and ICC-201
intercom, add-on armor, thermal
identification beacon, threat
detection system, GPS, grenade
dischargers, central tire inflation
system, life support system, fire
extinguishing system and combat
identification panel.
The vehicle’s powerpack features
Cummins ISLe diesel engine with
455hp and ZF Friedrichshafen 6HP
602C automatic transmission.
The original contract also
comprised 31 mortar carriers with
120mm CARDOM system of Elbit
Systems Land & C4I, 9 engineering
vehicles with mine clearing
equipment of Pearson Engineering,
and another 10 anti-tank vehicles
and two ambulances; however they
will not be received.
Other armoured vehicles in the
Portuguese Army inventory include
Leopard 2A6 and M60A3 TTS main
battle tanks, M109A5 self-propelled
howitzers, VBL scout cars, V-200
Chaimite personnel carriers,
V150 S Commando fire support
vehicles, M88A2 and M578 recovery
vehicles, M60A1 bridge layers, M548
ammunition resupply vehicles,
M113A1/A2 personnel carriers,
M577A2 command posts, M106A2
and M125A2 mortar carriers, M728
engineering vehicles, M901 anti-
tank vehicles, M730A1/A2 carriers
for Chaparral air defence system,
as well as HMMWV’s M1025A2,
M1151A1 w/B1 and two M1152A1 w/
B2 carriers.
The acquisition of 192 4x4 light
tactical armoured vehicles in
several variants is envisaged to be
set up by the Portuguese armament
procurement arm (DGRDN) over the
next 4 years.
37 Leopard 2A6 battle tanks plus one Leopard
2A4 driver training tank were received from the
Netherlands (Victor M. S. Barreira)
Between the summer of
2015 and the spring of 2016,
the French Army engineers units
will receive 60 VAB Ultima Génie
4x4 armoured engineering vehicles.
It will provide the front-line
engineers units with the same
support capabilities as the infantry
units, with which they cooperate
closely. The vehicle is another
variant of the modernised VAB
Ultima.
The fleet ordered on 27 June
2014 is an option part of the
2011 contract awarded by French
armament procurement arm DGA
(Direction Générale de l’Armement)
to Renault Trucks Defense for the
modernisation of 170 in-service
VAB (Véhicule de l’Avant Blindé)
vehicles to VAB Ultima standard.
Modernisation of an initial 120
troop carriers was ordered in 2009.
230 of the 290 modernised VABs
are of the VAB Ultima Infanterie
version for infantry troops. The
programme will be concluded after
the 60 vehicles are delivered.
The engineering variant allows
engineers to carry out all types of
engineering missions through its
basic engineering kit, plus one of
the six mission specific kits.
Renault Trucks Defense (of Volvo
Group Government Sales or VGGS)
together with the French Army
Technical Unit (Section Technique
de l’Armée de Terre or STAT)
and the French Army Engineers
School approved the loading of all
possible engineer corps kits on the
prototype.
French Army to induct engineering AFVs Victor M.S. Barreira
The French Army will induct 60 VAB Ultima
Génie vehicles (RTD)
Land

Fittings on the VAB Ultima include
Kongsberg Protech Systems
Protector M151 remote weapon
station armed with 12.7mm
heavy machine gun or Heckler
& Koch GMG 40mm automatic
grenade launcher; structural
modifications; improved mine
and ballistic protection by IBD
Deisenroth Engineering; storage
boxes; integration kits for
Sagem FELIN-equipped soldiers
(Fantassin à Équipements et
Liaisons INtégrés); Sagem SITEL
(Systeme d’Information Terminal
ELementaire) information system;
Elno SRI-1200 intercom system;
suspended seats by Schroth Safety
Products; slat armor by Amefo;
protected mounts for light machine
guns; Metravib SLATE (Système de
Localisation du Tireur Embusqué)
gunshot sensor; large mount for
antennas; protective glass systems
of Rheinmetall Chempro, jamming
system; and improved brake and
suspension systems.
About 4000 VAB vehicles of
several variants were delivered
to the French Army. The type will
be replaced from 2018 by 1722 of
the Griffon 6x6 multi-role vehicle
being developed by a consortium
formed by Nexter Systems,
Renault Trucks Defense and Thales
Communications & Security as part
of a contract placed by the DGA on
5 December 2014.
The Bulgarian Army has
inducted the 10 COMMANDO
Select 4x4 armoured vehicles
acquired from Textron Systems
through the US foreign military
sales (FMS) scheme, for use in
Afghanistan.
The fleet comprises seven
personnel carriers with 40/50
standard turret armed with 40mm
Mk19 Mod 3 automatic grenade
launcher and 12.7mm heavy
machine gun, two command posts
with the company’s OSRVT (One
System Remote Video Terminal)
remote video terminal technology
that enables personnel to remotely
downlink streaming video, images
and geospatial data from a variety
of sources including unmanned
systems, and one ambulance for
protected medical evacuation.
The contract worth $15.2 million
was awarded by the US Army
Contracting Command (ACC) to
Textron Systems on 19 September
2014. It also included integrated
logistics support package with
spares, training services and
technical documentation. Two
Bulgarian companies were involved
in the program including Terem
SHC which will supply spares, with
another local firm providing field
support.
The vehicles were delivered in
January by the manufacturer to
the US Government and shipped
from the US at an unknown date
to Afghanistan for operation by
the Bulgarian military contingent
deployed there.
COMMANDO Select feature a
gross vehicle weight of 17.2t, length
of 6.2m, width of 2.7m, height of
3m, top speed of 100km/h and
maximum autonomy of 644km,
The vehicle’s power train consists
of Cummins 6CTA8.3 diesel engine
with 280hp and 6-speed Allison
Transmission MD3560 automatic
transmission.
Bulgaria previously received
seven COMMANDO Advanced 4x4s
in April 2008 for use in Afghanistan.
The contract of 2014 also includes
spares for the seven vehicles.
Bulgaria receives 4x4 AFVs from Textron Systems Victor M.S. Barreira
The French Army will induct 60 VAB Ultima Génie vehicles (RTD)
Land

Air
The fleet of Rafale multi-role
fighters set to be delivered by
France to the Egyptian Air Force
will first be modified to remove
their ASMPA (air-sol moyenne
portée améliorée) nuclear missile
capability and NATO-standard
communications system, reports
indicate.
The deal, signed in February,
marked Dassault Aviation’s first
foreign export sale of the jets,
seeing 24 aircraft, an accompanying
(DCNS) FREMM frigate and a supply
of MBDA air-to-air missiles set to
be provided for $5.7 billion. There
is currently an ongoing dialogue
between the countries on the
exact delivery schedule because
a ‘substitution’ effect rests on
deliveries that had previously been
due for the French Navy and Air
Force. The frigate, Normandie, was
also initially built for the French
Navy.
Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi is understood to be
aiming to end a US monopoly over
defence sales to Cairo. In order
to foot the bill, France and Egypt
are negotiating a loan guarantee
with Coface, France’s export credit
agency, which would support half
of the deal outside of a 15 percent
downpayment. Dassault Aviation is
set to deliver five Rafales to France
this year, along with up to six to
Egypt by December.
Five other competitors were
beaten to the contract: Lockheed
Martin F-16 (of which Egypt already
operates the fourth largest fleet in
the world), the Boeing F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet, Mikoyan MiG-
35, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and the
Eurofighter Typhoon, which placed
second in the competition for this
latest deal.
Other potential Rafale orders
may come from Qatar and India,
with the latter deal close to sealing
126 aircraft for around $12.8 billion
but stalled by indecision for over
three years. Qatar and Egypt are
currently ramping up their airborne
capabilities in concerted efforts to
strike IS targets.
France delivering modified Rafales to Egypt Joseph Carpenter
The Indian authorities
mformally accepted the initial
two modernised combat aircraft
Mirage 2000 I/TI. The acceptance
ceremony of the first two aircraft
for the Indian Air Force (IAF) was
held at Dassault Aviation’s Flight
Test Centre located in Istres, France
on 25 March 2015.
Dassault Aviation and Thales
were contracted by India in July
2011 to upgrade 51 Mirage 2000H
Vajra (including several twin-seat
aircraft) of the IAF inventory to
the company’s Mirage 2000-5 Mk
2 standard. The maiden flight
of its first upgraded aircraft was
completed on 5 October 2013,
following a two year development
phase. The remaining aircraft
will be upgraded in India by the
local aerospace firm Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with
assistance of the French companies.
As part of the modernisation
programme, the aircraft are being
outfitted out with RDY-3 multimode
fire control radar, modular mission
computer, Totem 3000 inertial
navigation system with GPS
technology, ICMS Mk4 electronic
warfare suite, identification friend
or foe transponder and interrogator,
as well as an advanced avionics
suite consisting of heads-up display
(HUD) and multifunction hands
on throttle and stick (HOTAS)
systems, two MFD 54 and MFD 55
multifunction displays, as well
as integrated electronic standby
instrument that provides the
pilot with attitude, altitude and
airspeed indications in a single line
replaceable unit.
The aircraft is also getting the
capability to fire MBDA France MICA
(Missile d’Interception, de Combat
et d’Autodéfense) advanced
beyond-visual range air-to-air
missile system. India purchased
comprehensive quantities of MICA
EM (with radio frequency guidance)
and IR (featuring infrared guidance)
missiles in January 2012.
India receives initial modernised Mirage 2000 fighters Victor M.S. Barreira
Egyptian procurement of the Rafale could help push through negotiations with India and Qatar.

The first Italian F-35A has
rolled-out of the Cameri Final
Assembly and Check Out (FACO)
facility in northern Italy. The
aircraft is the first Lightning II
assembled internationally and the
first of 8 aircraft currently being
assembled. The aircraft, designated
as AL-1, will now proceed to
additional check-out activities
before its anticipated first flight
later this year.
The Italian FACO is owned by
the Italian Ministry of Defence and
is operated by Alenia Aermacchi in
conjunction with Lockheed Martin.
The Cameri FACO will build all
Italian F-35A and F-35B aircraft,
and 800 full wing sections for the
US production. Moreover, the plant
is programmed to build F-35As for
the Royal Netherlands Air Force
and retains the capacity to deliver
to other European partners in the
future.
In December 2014, the Italian
assembly plant was selected by the
US DoD as the F-35 Heavy Airframe
Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and
Upgrade (MRO&U) facility for the
European region. The 500,000 m2
facility includes 22 buildings and
more than 124,000 m2 of covered
work space, housing 11 assembly
stations, and 5 maintenance, repair,
overhaul and upgrade bays. At full
stretch the plant can assembly
two F-35 aircraft every month and
is a scaled down version of the
US Forth Worth plant, which has
maximum capacity of 22 aircraft
every months.
The first full F-35A wing section
was recently completed and will
soon be shipped to Lockheed
Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, F-35
production line for final assembly.
The Italian F-35As and F-35Bs will
replace the legacy TORNADO and
AMX fighter-bomber in the Italian
Air Force and AV-8B+ VSTOL aircraft
in the Italian Navy’s Air Force. Italy
has a requirement for 90 F-35s, 75
for the Air Force (60 F-35As and 15
F-35Bs) and 15 F-35Bs for the Navy.
In 2016, aircraft AL-1 together with
other 2 aircraft will be sent to Luke
Air Force, AZ to start Italian pilot
training. The Italian Navy’s pilot
training will start at MAS Beaufort,
SC in 2017.
Roll-out of the first Italian F-35A Eugenio Po
Many of the RAF’s MQ-9s are being placed in storage
The first three AgustaWestland
HH-101 Combat SAR helicopters
are ready for delivery to the Italian
Air Force. The first two helicopters
should be delivered to the Air
Force soon. The Italian Air Force
has a total requirement of 15
helicopters – the programme is for
12 machines plus 3 in options – and
the programme will have a total
cost of around EUR750 million ($812
million).
The HH-101 CSAR has a probe
for in-flight refuelling, which can
improve autonomy. The helicopter
has a maximum weight of 16
tons, which is 1 ton heavier than
the original EH-101 and is armed
with 3 7.62 mm 3 barrel M-134D
Gatling gun built by Dillon with
a rate of fire of 3,000 rounds for
minute. The engines are the new
GE CT-7 8E producing 2,041 SHP;
the transmission is improved and
the helicopters have newer blades
(BERP-3 instead of BERP-2).
The cockpit is entirely new with
5 upgraded multifunction displays
while the avionic system has a
STARSAFIRE FLIR system, a self-
defence counter measure system
(DIRCM) and a laser avoidance
system (LOAM).
HH-101 for the Italian Air Force Eugenio Po
One of the first HH-101 in flight
Air

Afreshly released RFI
from USAF reveals that
commanders are placing a heavy
focus on the future of electronic
warfare (EW) for the coming years.
The document calls for information
from industry on the potential
hardware and software provisions
of a near-to-midterm technological
road map for EW receiver
systems, along with cost and risk
assessment.
With a heightened risk of
conventional conflict and a
contested environment, the
requirement to counter the likes
of active electronically scanning
array (AESA), wide radio frequency
operating bandwidths and
adaptive/interleaved multi-mode
waveforms, could prove decisive in
future engagements.
The RFI is being facilitated
by the Air Force Research
Laboratory and Air Force Life
Cycle Management Center who
hope to identify possible next-
generation technology to enable a
more “agile” service. According to
the request, foreign radar weapon
system developments have led the
USAF EW component to “become
increasingly concerned about the
current state of practice of EW
receiver’s ability to address radar
waveform agility advancements
and the complex electromagnetic
operating environment that are
part of the modern battlefield.”
Meanwhile, Department of
Defence staff have established a
senior- level committee to study
the full range of EW capabilities
across the US military. Co-chaired
by Pentagon acquisition chief Frank
Kendall and US Navy Admiral
James Winnefeld, the board will
oversee efforts to retain the
country’s the present advantage
when it comes to defensive and
offensive electronic measures.
Robert Work, vice chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff and Deputy
Secretary, announced the initiative
at a conference in March during
discussions over the mounting
threats of other nations investing
heavily in this domain. “We
still have a lead, but that lead is
diminishing rapidly,” Work said.
US Air Force seeks Electronic Warfare solutions Joseph Carpenter
Lobbying from
AgustaWestland has reportedly
been delaying the efforts of the UK
MoD to sign off on replacements to
the British Army’s WAH-64D Block
I Apache Longbow AH.1 helicopter
fleet.
According to information
released by the BBC in March,
AgustaWestland, who provided
the current license-built Boeing-
developed Apaches to the Army
Air Corps, is seeking work on the
new procurement programme,
splitting the MoD on whether to
support a major and trusted British
defence firm at the risk of more
than doubling the unit cost of each
aircraft. The alternative option,
said to be favoured, is to take up
Boeing’s offer on the purchase of US
Army AH-64Es at a cost of $30m per
helicopter, offset by a multi-year
procurement package.
The existing Apache fleet
is in a race to be retired owing
to the depleting stockpile of
its processing chips, which are
no longer manufactured. It is
expected that there will be no
available replacements by 2017,
putting pressure on the MoD to
make a decision or allow a serious
capability gap to emerge. Currently,
the deadline is said to have been
set for March 2016, which may not
stagger the introduction of new
helicopters to 2020. UK-certification
of the airframes will also need to
be carefully considered, given the
recent problems experienced by the
Royal Air Force in its procurement
of the Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint
reconnaissance fleet from the US.
AgustaWestland responded to
the reports only by confirming
they were working to provide
an option for the MoD’s Attack
Helicopter Capability Sustainment
Programme (CSP) and that it has a
“proven track record of delivering
value for money on the UK Apache
programme”. 50 new aircraft may
be purchased under the CSP, should
the capability be approved for
renewal.
UK Apache replacement race delayed by lobbyists Joseph Carpenter
Department of
Defence staff
have established
a senior-level
committee to
study the full
range of EW
capabilities
Air

Presents
CONFRONTINGTHESHAREDCHALLENGESTOCOLLABORATIVE
AIRDEFENCEOFNATIONSINTHEREGIONANDBEYOND…
MAIN CONFERENCE:
28-30TH JULY 2015
VENUE:
WARSAW, POLAND
Eastern Europe
AIR & MISSILE DEFENCE:
THE TOP PRIORITY FOR EASTERN EUROPE
Eastern European states are faced with avariety of airborne challenges to the command oftheir air space and to their infrastructure and
citizens, including the return of more traditional ballistic missile threats, aerial reconnaissance and more general trends in the field of air defence.
KEY ISSUES INCLUDE:
I Constructing a holistic view of Air and
Missile Defence – how can states formulate a
comprehensive strategy to tackle all threats to
the integrity of their air space?
I How will Airborne and Ground-based
interceptors work in tandem to safe guard the
skies, avoiding lethal incidents such as blue-on-
blue fire or malicious forces entering the
sovereign air space?
I What is the expectation for cooperation and
coordination between nations, in particular
in the realm of sensor arrays and early-warning
capabilities, over the short to middle term?
The conference in 2015 will see a number senior Air
Defence Commanders, Operational Commander
and Heads ofStrategy and Policy attending from
across Eastern Europe: including Poland, Hungary,the
Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Estonia and MANY
OTHERS.
CONTACT US:
The full agenda will be released over this coming week. Keep up to date at:
www.missiledefenceeurope.com
To ensure you are the first to receive a copy ofthe
agenda please email enquire@defenceiq.com stating:
“Integrated Air and Missile Defence Eastern Europe
agenda request” or call +44 (0)20 7036 1300
WHAT’S NEWFOR 2015!
I A specific focus on the countries in the region with the
most significant requirements and challenges – how can their
neighbours learn from their experience of Air Defence and the
value of the current industry solutions to those nations?
I What is the future of regional coordination between and
integration of air defence and early warning assets? How far
have nations progressed with their national integration efforts?
I Share in discussions regarding the upgrade of National sensor
arrays. How are nations planning to pool and mutually benefit
from these early warning capabilities?
SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
MajorGeneral SlawomirKaluzinski
Chief of Staff of the Operational Command,
Polish Air Force
MajorGeneral Dan Cavaleru,
Deputy Chief,
Romanian Air Force
Ms Marina Pendeš,
Deputy Minister for Policy and Planning,
Bosnia and Herzegovinan MOD
Senior Representative,
Capabilities & Armaments Directorate,
Lithuanian MoD
SeniorRepresentative,
Staff HQ,
German Air Force
SeniorRepresentative,
Staff HQ,
BulgarianAirForce

Sea
Guardia di Finanza – the
Italian Custom and fiscal Police
under the control of the Minister of
Economy – has introduced its last
biggest Patrol Vessel into service.
Named MONTE CIMONE, it is the
second of the MONTE SPERONE
class.
It’s an Italian version of the
STANPATROL family of the Damen
Shipyard built by Cantiere Navale
Vittoria in Adria, Rovigo. The
ships are 58 m long, 9.55 m wide
with a displacement of 460 tons.
The maximum speed is over 28
knots while the range is over 2,000
nautical miles. The power plant is
an “all diesel” system with 2 MTU
20V4000 M93L of 8.6 MW with 2
Rolls-Royce blades. The MONTE
CIMONE can be armed with a 12.5
mm Browning machine gun while
2 RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats)
can be added afterward.
The Italian Coast Guard has
recently started operating its two
new big OPVs, the DATTILO class.
The last ship, called UBALDO
DICIOTTI, has a displacement of
3,200 tons, a length of 94.5 m, a
width of 20.5 m. The ship has a
new diesel electric power plant
(CODELOD, Combined Diesel
Electric Or Diesel) with 2 diesel GE
(2,289 kW), 2 electric motor ABB (25
kW) and 2 diesel Isotta Fraschini V
1708 C2 (650 kW). The vessel has a
multipurpose area with space for
two 20 feet shelters, a flight deck
for a medium size helicopter (AB-
212 or AW-139), and a system for
firefighting and anti pollution.
New OPVs for Guardia di Finanza and Coast Guard Eugenio Po
Many of the RAF’s MQ-9s are being placed in storage The Guardia di Finanza’s MONTE SPERONE
The Indian Navy is looking
to acquire up to 50 naval
shipborne UAVs to perform ISR
operations and monitoring of sea
lines of communications (SLOC)
across the maritime domain. An
RFI released in February by the
Directorate of Naval Air Staff
(DNAS) indicates that the fleet will
be employed to oversee protection
of the Exclusive Economic Zone,
search and rescue, anti-piracy and
anti-terrorism efforts.
DNAS has stipulated that the
aircraft should have the capability
to launch from ships of at least
50 metres (with or without a
helicopter deck), be able to perform
day and night operations, and be
capable of navigating either by
pre¬programmed coordinates or
remote pilot guidance.
Currently, the IN operates two
squadrons of Heron and Searcher
Mk.II UAVs based at the Indian
Naval Air Station (INAS) 342 at
Kochi and INAS 343 at Porbandar in
Gujarat.
Also underway is the Indian
MoD’s evaluation of responses to
its Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH)
programme RFI, issued in October
2014. Up to ten local manufacturers
have been considered for provision
of a fleet of 100 twin-engine
helicopters. Aside to state-owned
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL), competitors are belived
to include Axis Aerospace &
Technologies, Bharat Forge,
Dynamatic Technologies, Mahendra
Aerospace, Larsen & Toubro
(L&T), Reliance Industries, Taneja
Aerospace and Tata Advanced
Systems Limited.
Indian Navy seeking shipborne UAVs and utility helicopters Oliver Austin

Poland is on the cusp of
releasing its tender for a new
submarine fleet due to be signed
at the end of 2015. The plan is to
receive three new boats by 2023
under the programme known as
ORKA.
According to Polish Defense
Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, the
nation has also consulted with
France and the United States
to help arm the submarines
with cruise missiles. Raytheon’s
long-range Tomahawk missiles
are understood to be a distinct
possibility.
Deputy Defense Minister Maciej
Jankowski said the government did
not want to disclose the estimated
value of the planned contract for
fear of influencing its negotiating
position, but he was prepared to
confirm that the programme “is
a multiyear programme and its
financing will be spread over time
until 2024.”
Two of the submarines are
scheduled for delivery by 2022,
with the third following in the
final year, as per the MoD’s Military
Modernization Plan. The contract
includes the establishment
of a submarine service and
maintenance centre in Poland.
Amid the discussions, Siemoniak
indicated that 10,000 NATO soldiers
will take part in military drills in
Poland as part of the quick-reaction
force, while the government has
alsopublished an executive order
on mandatory military training
of reserve forces. The country
has adopted a 10-year spending
programme valued at $40bn in
response to Russia’s annexation of
Crimea. Aside to submarines, Polish
Armed Forces also plan to acquire
new land-based missile systems,
fighter jets, transport aircraft,
tankers, UAVs, armoured vehicles
and multi-role helicopters.
Poland preparing to find new submarines, missiles Oliver Austin
The anti-submarine warfare
(ASW) configuration of the
French Navy’s Caïman Marine
(of NH90 NFH type) naval multi-
purpose helicopter achieved initial
operational (IOC) capability on
13 March after being qualified
to operate the MU90 lightweight
multi-role torpedo. The torpedo –
weighing 304 kg with maximum
engagement of 12km and a top
speed of 50kts – is being built by
EuroTorp, a joint venture of Thales
Underwater Systems (TUS), DCNS
and Whitehead Sistemi Subacquei
(WASS). The torpedo features a
digital multi-frequency acoustic
seeker, V350 explosive warhead,
guidance & control unit, AgO-Al
energy module, brushless motor
driving a cavitation free pump-jet,
after body and stabilizer.
The first firing of the MU90
torpedo by a Caïman Marine
helicopter was carried out on
5 February 2014 by the Navy’s
CEPA/10S aerial testing centre.
France purchased 27 Caïman
Marine helicopters from NH
Industries, which is a joint
venture between AgustaWestland,
Airbus Helicopters and Fokker
Aerostructures, in two different
configurations and capable of
performing a wide range of
missions. 13 of them include the
capability to launch the torpedo
and will later be armed with the
ANL (Anti Navire Léger) guided
weapon being developed by MBDA
for anti-surface warfare (ASuW).
Main fittings of the helicopter’s
ASW variant include 360°
surveillance radar, Sagem Euroflir
410 electro-optical payload, Thales
Underwater Systems FLASH Sonics
dipping sonar, as well as electronic
warfare system, identification
friend or foe system and chaff and
flare dispensers.
24 helicopters will be delivered
until 2020 in line with the current
Military Programming Law 2014-
2019. The helicopters are operated
by the 31F and 33F flotillas mainly
from frigates of Aquitaine-class and
Horizon-class, as well as Mistral-
class amphibious ships.
French Caïman Marine ASW helicopter reach IOC Victor M.S. Barreira
The French Navy’s Caïman Marine helicopter onboard FREMM multi-mission frigate Normandie
(Marine Nationale)
Sea

French shipbuilder DCNS
will deliver the FREMM
(Frégate Européenne Multi-
Missions) multi-mission frigate
FS Normandie (D651) to the
Egyptian Navy by mid-2015 rather
than the European procurement
organisation OCCAR (Organisation
Conjointe de Coopération en
matière d’Armement) on behalf
of French armament procurement
organisation DGA (Direction
Générale de l´Armement) as
originally planned.
The ship was due for delivery
in late 2014 for the French Navy.
The ship will now be delivered to
Egypt according to a military deal
worth EUR5.2 billion ($5.7 billion)
signed by France and Egypt on
February 16 in Cairo. The deal
also included 24 Rafale omnirole
fighters (16 single-seat and 8 twin-
seat aircraft) depicted of ASMPA
(Air-Sol Moyenne Portée Améliorée)
airborne launched nuclear missile
capability, but armed with MBDA
MICA (Missile d’Interception, de
Combat et d’Autodéfense) air-
to-air missiles and Sagem AASM
(Armement Air-Sol Modulaire)
guidance kits for general-purpose
bombs.
The ship will provide Egypt
with a formidable naval combat
capability. The package also
includes training and logistics
and support services. Before the
transfer, DCNS will carry out some
fitting work and man-machine
interfaces will be translated from
French to Arabic. The ship will
be transferred to Egypt complete
with its two SYLVER A70 (SYstème
de Lancement VERtical) vertical
launchers that fires MdCN (Missile
de Croisière Naval) long-range land
attack naval cruise missile.
The frigate was part of a batch
of 8 units of Aquitaine-Class anti-
submarine warfare (ASW) ships
purchased by OCCAR to DCNS in
2005 (a further 3 ships were ordered
in 2009 comprising one ASW and
two anti-air warfare ships). The
first-of-class FS Aquitaine (D650)
was received in November 2012.
Egypt is the second North
African nation to receive a FREMM
frigate after Morocco received
Mohammed VI (701) in January
2014.
It is understood the ship will
retain other original fittings
including DCNS SETIS (Ship
Enhanced Tactical Information
System) combat management
system Herakles multi-function
radar; Thales’ UMS 4110 and
CAPTAS-4 sonar systems; Thales
ARTEMIS (Advanced Reliable
Third generation Electro-optical
Multiplexing Infrared Search
and track) passive panoramic
surveillance system; Thales
Altesse-X communication
electronic support measures
system; Sagem Najir MM fire
director; SYLVER vertical launchers
for MBDA Aster 15 surface-to-air
missiles; two quad launchers for
MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-
ship missiles; EuroTorp MU 90
lightweight torpedoes launchers;
two NARWHAL 20B (Naval
Remote Weapon, Highly Accurate,
Lightweight) remote weapon
stations armed with 20mm cannon;
OTO Melara 76/62 Super Rapid
main gun; two Sagem NGDS (New
Generation Dagaie System) decoys
launchers; two DCNS Contralto-V
anti-torpedo system launchers;
quick pointing devices; small
caliber mounts; navigation radars;
and eventually SATCOM antennas,
radar jammers and other electronic
warfare equipment.
This first sale could lead to the
acquisition of additional FREMM
frigates by Egypt. In addition to the
frigate, DCNS will also deliver four
Gowind 2500 multirole corvettes
according to a contract of 2014.
Egypt set to receive French FREMM frigate Victor M.S. Barreira
French combat frigate FS “Normandie” will be transferred to the Egyptian Navy
(Victor M.S. Barreira)
FREMM is
part of a $5.7
billion deal that
includes 24
Rafale fighters
Sea

Cyber
The Chinese People’s
Liberation Army (PLA) has for
the first time publically admitted
to having developed multiple cyber
units capable of both offensive and
defensive capabilities.
The acknowledgment, which
contradicts prior claims that China
does not have a cyber command
and does not support any hacking
activity, was made in the most
recent version of the The Science of
Military Strategy, a document put
together by the top PLA research
institute. The report refers to cyber
teams existing on both the military
and civilian-government sides.
While this fact will not come as
a surprise to other governments,
the fact that China has admitted
to the capability, intentionally or
mistakenly, will resonate in the
diplomatic community.
Following the revelation, the US
Federal Bureau of Investigation has
been investigating possible Chinese
military involvement in online
data breaches. However, China has
responded by calling the allegations
“groundless”.
Last year, the US Justice
Department indicted five
members of the Chinese military
in absentia for cyber espionage,
while Huawei, the world’s largest
telecommunications company,
has been banned from selling
equipment to various governments
for critical infrastructure –
including the US, India and
Australia – over suspicions of
embedding espionage technology
within systems to feed to Beijing
intelligence services.
Meanwhile, South Korea has
blamed North Korea for December’s
cyber attacks on the country’s
nuclear reactor operator, Korea
Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd,
following a forensic investigation.
Pyongyang has denied any
involvement. The attacks were
made by sending 5,986 phishing
emails containing malicious
codes to 3,571 reactor employees,
resulting in sensitive blueprint and
test data being made public.
China acknowledges cyber army Oliver Austin
The activities of cyber units are becoming increasingly visible as digital techniques continue to prove
effective and difficult to counter.

Cyber defence was one of
the few growth areas identified
in the UK’s Strategic Defence and
Security Review of 2010. Cyber
threats were elevated to “tier one”
status, considered as among the
most pressing threats to Britain’s
security. This level of prioritisation
is unlikely to alter when the next
SDSR is published later this year;
but what may be changing is an
emphasis on policy rather than
platforms or software products
as a means of optimising cyber
resilience.
The attack last year on Sony
Pictures, the US-based film
distributor and producer, offers
one illustration of how, perhaps,
the greatest challenges facing
cyber-defence practitioners are
around the processes that are
in place, not the technologies
that are being deployed. Sony is
a private company - indeed, its
corporate parent is Japanese - yet
the response to the attack came
from the US government, which
instituted sanctions against
individuals in North Korea it
believes were responsible for
elements of the attack.
“When [prime minister] David
Cameron had big industry chiefs
to No. 10 Downing Street on
Valentine’s Day in 2010, most of
them were not British and not CEOs
of British companies: rather, they
were in charge of multinationals,”
retired Major General Jonathan
Shaw points out. Shaw, currently
chairman of the counter-IED
specialists, Optima Group, ended
his career in the British Army
heading up the Ministry of
Defence’s cyber-defence work.
“We still think in terms of
nations, but our world is organised
internationally,” Shaw continues.
“Surely Sony is Japanese, not
American? Equally, for the UK, to
whom does the responsibility fall
for securing French companies
that deliver services to the British
population? As ever, the really
big questions are triggered by
cyber, but are not actually cyber
questions.”
In an article published early last
year in Strategic Studies Quarterly,
Colonel Eric F Mejia, Staff Judge
Advocate for the 96th Test Wing of
the US Air Force at Eglin Air Force
Base, proposed a framework to help
decision-makers assess and plan
responses to cyber incidents. Mejia
was writing in a personal capacity
and his proposal has not been
officially adopted, but his system -
which groups cyber incidents into
one of four quadrants based on
differing levels of certainty over
attribution and the attacks’ real-
world impacts - seems to have
predicted the US response to the
Sony hack. In an interview with
Defence Industry Bulletin, Mejia
characterised that response as
“an extension of well-established
precedent.”
“Cyber-attacks are simply a new
method of engaging in traditional
hostility,” he says. “If North Korean
agents had travelled to the US and
physically attacked Sony, we would
intuitively expect a response from
the US, not Sony. Here, we have the
same thing accomplished remotely
by cyber-attack. This is a good
illustration of the need for greater
sharing of information between
government and the private sector
when it comes to cyber attacks. The
government is expected to respond,
but in order to do so effectively
there must be information-sharing
- and that appears to have occurred
in this case.”
State sponsored hacking highlights public-private security gap
Angus Batey
State-led or sponsored cyber attacks on foreign enterprises have pushed the private sector further towards
involvement in national security.
Cyber

Open Architecture
To the cynical outsider,
the broadening adoption of
interoperable open architectures
(OA) by defence-industry
contractors will appear surprising.
In the eyes of opponents of
the arms trade, industry’s sole
motivation appears to be profit
- and adoption of open systems
architectures looks certain to limit
companies’ ability to sell big-
ticket items. Even those outside
observers who may not oppose
defence spending but consider
military procurement programmes
to inevitably produce long delays
and budget overruns will consider
open architectures to go against the
grain.
Yet the concept has caught on
for several very sound reasons. The
ability to deliver battle-winning
- and life-saving - technologies
to the front line more rapidly
has always been a priority for
equipment suppliers; and across
the industry there is a deep and
thorough understanding that
the current (and likely future)
economic environment will not
sustain companies configured only
to deliver bespoke and expensive
standalone systems.
The drive toward open IT
architectures began in the land
domain, where initiatives like
the UK MoD’s GVA (generic
vehicle architecture) saw industry
collaborating with the military
on developing standardised
interfaces and digital backbones
for vehicles, so that sensors and
weapon systems could be quickly
switched in and out, much like USB
peripherals on a home computer.
This idea gave impetus to a wider
project, called LOSA (Land Open
Systems Architecture), which is
migrating the concept to soldier
systems and to configuration of
deployed bases.
Meanwhile, there is growing
evidence that the open systems
approach is having impact and
application in other domains. At
the Defence IQ Airborne ISR and
C2 Battle Management conference,
held in London in February, a
series of speakers touched on the
need for different intelligence
systems to be able to produce data
to a common standard, so that
information of such diverse natures
as video footage, infra-red imagery,
ground moving-target indicator
radar returns, and geolocated
information from electronic
counter-measures systems can be
combined and fused with open-
source data taken from press
reports or social-media feeds.
“It may have been the case that
Americans have had too much
money and can go it alone and
be proprietary - but those days
are gone,” Colonel Scott Owens
told the conference. Owens
works for the US Air Force Life
Cycle Management Center and
was briefing on current USAF
thinking on the recapitalisation
of the JSTARS programme. His
explanation of the views even
of the world’s biggest customer
for high-end military systems
was clear: open architectures
are no longer desirable, they are
essential elements of equipment
procurement plans.
“We do not want to replace,
or just lift, the mission systems
that are in the current platform
to a new platform,” he said.
“Technology has come a long
way, both with the sensor and
the back-end mission systems.
I want you to appreciate how
significant it is for ACC [Air Combat
Command] to actually back up
the fact and be willing to wait for
the maturation and development
of the open architecture. My
message to industry is that this is
a fundamental underpinning of
the system that has backing: this is
a good thing, and it hasn’t always
been the case.”
Open architecture programmes gaining steam Angus Batey
The demand for open architecture approaches from governments and end users
has increased in recent years

Introducing interoperability
and open architecture
represents a major culture
change and can be a strain on the
business relationship for many
organisations. If an organisation
has been entrenched in a sole-
source, closed system for years, the
transformation to an OA approach
can sometimes threaten both
industry and government roles
and responsibilities and revenue/
funding streams.
“Imagine if your organisation
was destined to lose a contract
because of a business model
change,” says Professor David
Miskimens, Project Management
and Mission Assistance at the
Defense Acquisition University, a
DoD training establishment tasked
with acquisition certification
and leadership training, and
mission assistance to acquisition
organisations. “Think of the
employee behavior and how their
world would be upset. Losing a job
because of a lack of competency
in a changing world, or simply
because the demand has changed,
goes against many of the values
illustrated in Maslow’s A Theory
of Human Motivation, which
described various human needs.”
Miskimens believes that
it ultimately does not matter
whether the change is driven
by affordability, completion or
technology – anxiety will rear its
head. However, there are some
approaches that can help soften
the blow of the change, or even be
viewed as an opportunity.
“Leadership openness with
business intent and transparency
can contribute greatly to mitigate
the stress generated by a large
scale and sweeping change to long
existing contracts, agreements,
and relationships,” Miskimens
continues. “Fairness and
opportunity to participate in the
new initiative arrangement can
help to reinvigoration interest from
industry to adapt to the change,
particularly if the government
leadership wants to include several
providers in a business enterprise
plan.”
The practical efforts being
rolled out by the US Office of the
Secretary of Defence includes
the release of the Better Buying
Power (BBP) implementation of
best practices – which includes
an increase in the use of open
architecture to support affordability
and can be considered a working
model in practice. Indeed, other
nations are increasingly looking
towards American lessons in order
to replicate OA applications that
already have years of experience
behind them. This includes the
Royal Navy’s nuclear deterrent
Astute programme (on which
the US is working hand-in-hand
with British counterparts on
modular designs) and the Royal
Australian Navy’s work to install
the ARCI sonar capability on their
submarines. Previous success
stories on the west side of the
Atlantic have seen the US Army
developing the Unmanned Ground
Vehicle Interoperability Profile
(IOP) – a collection of hardware and
software standards to define how
subsystems communicate with
one another – and the Air Force’s
U-2 spy plane model integrating
multiple Air Force Open Mission
Systems (OMS) payloads using
the Skunk Works Enterprise Open
Systems Architecture (E-OSA),
resulting in the ability to rapidly
modernise the architecture of the
aircraft’s mission systems.
“Costs are not always a
brick wall,” Miskimens asserts,
“as our own submarine model
demonstrated. Back in the 90s,
the R&D budget was going down
at the same time as the acoustic
superiority of our submarines
was narrowing when compared
to those of our adversaries.
The community came together
and worked out a way to gain
that ground back in spite of the
monetary shortfall through the
implementation of OA. In those
early days, we effectively got
private industry and government in
the labs together, and we then had
a series of conferences, we closed
the doors, we took our badges off,
and we all tried to figure out how
to accomplish our goal – whether
we were contractor, lab, military
or civilian. That took leadership.
From that basis, Admirals and CEOs
understood how to support their
people and build on the common
focus.”
Are organisations too afraid to change to the OA model? Richard de Silva
The use of open architecture on the Virginia-class
submarine programme helped the US Navy close
a capability gap in spite of fiscal restraints.
“Costs are not
always a brick
wall, as our
own submarine
model
demonstrated”
Open Architecture

DIB: A few weeks after the October
27th contract was signed with Saab
over the final decision for the FX-2
programme to be filled by 36 Gripen
E/F fighters, you disclosed that this
number was not ‘final’ and will
potentially rise to 108! This was
quite a surprise for the fast jet-
community…
CREPALDI: [smiling] Yes, it obviously
was! But it wasn’t sensational.
The final allocation is of course
not yet financially covered, but we
had our feasibility study regarding
the numbers of our new fighter-
type back in 2007. Why 108? The
idea behind this figure is to have
standard, single-type fleets within
our forces, which includes fighters.
They’ll be introduced to the FAB in
three batches.
DIB: But consisting of single- and
two-seater versions in all of these
batches, right?
CREPALDI: That’s right. But it has
not yet been decided how many
additional twin-seat aircraft will be
included in the future two batches.
The twin-seater can do much more
than conversion or training. We’ve
been talking a lot with the South
African Air Force, because they also
operate the two-seater Gripen and
they use it in a C2 role. That’s our
plan too. We’ve therefore pushed
for a ‘customized’ two-seater
perhaps in contrast to Sweden.
DIB: As you referred to that study –
I understand it was quite a lengthy
process. Can you recall the major
benchmarks during these past
seven years?
CREPALDI: Oh yes, it was a long
journey but that’s not too surprising
given the scale and volume of the
undertaking. We had to select a
multirole fighter aircraft to replace
the Mirage 2000Cs and ,in the long-
term, the F-5Ms and A-1Ms [AMX],
aiming at modernisation and
standardization of the FAB fighter
fleet. Here, the number of 108 you
have questioned is embedded in
our operational needs. For sure
this number can change – we don’t
know what the future holds or the
budget realities we’ll face. We can
plan, but, like everybody, we have to
stick to whatever the funds dictate.
On the other hand, we also had
to increase the capabilities of the
national aerospace industry when
it comes to the development of new
technologies. So the RFP went out
to the manufacturers in October
2008 –and after the offer-analyses,
meetings, evaluations, revised
offers and best-and-final analysis
in 2009 – the final report was
issued to the defence ministry in
early 2010. We then has a political
pause until December 2013 when
the President’s decision to proceed
was given. Of course by then it
was necessary to undertake a
requirements update which lasted
about ten months and produced
another 45 volumes and 15.000
man/hours, assessing six areas of
different risks, and so on.
DIB: Some months after this main
contract was signed with Saab,
there was another agreement inked
concerning Brazil’s Gripen. What
was that about?
CREPALDI: That contract was
between and COMAER [Air Force
Aeronautics Command] and
was supplementary to the main
contract in that it provided CLS
[contractor logistics support] for the
future Gripens. It covers continuous
maintenance and support services
for the Gripen NG aircraft and
associated equipment, but will only
become effective once the delivery
has been fulfilled [between 2021
and 2026].
“The idea is to have
single-type fleets...”
With a combined inventory of 700 fixed-wing and rotary-aircraft, the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira
- FAB) and Naval Aviation (Aviação Naval Brasileira - AvN) flies the largest air-arm in the Southern & Latin-
American hemisphere and is only second in the Americas after the USAF. As part of its current ‘National
Defence Strategy’, a main objective is to support “National Independence through a superior autonomous
technological capability and the strengthening of the industrial defence base”. The route to achieving this
lies in encouraging and welcoming partnerships with foreign companies and countries. During the last
International Fighter conference (London, November), GEORG MADER discussed key programmes for the FAB
with Brigadier Jose Crepaldi, Head of the Brazilian Air Force’s Programmes Office…
Artist’s impression of the forthcoming Brazilian Gripen.
(Saab)
The Briefing Room

DIB: A question I have to ask.
Brazil really is a huge country –its
dimensions are the equivalent to
the whole of Europe or most of
the US Isn’t the Gripen the option
with the shortest ‘legs’, compared
to other contenders like the Super
Hornet or Rafále?
CREPALDI: No, no, this is a
misguided viewpoint. During our
evaluation of the three contenders,
all of them were able to fulfil
our requirements. We had two
configurations taking off from a FAB
base to fulfil a specific mission and
return. All of them achieved this, on
their own, with no tanker support.
So it’s incorrect to assert that
Gripen has less reach. It’s a totally
new aircraft with a new engine and
it also does not burn fuel at the rate
a twin-engine design does.
DIB: I visited the Swedish Air Force
Gripen training establishment at
Såtenas in August. The Flygchef
said he expects the first Brazilian
pilots to arrive soon after the
contract had been signed. Should
we assume some of them are now
already in Sweden?
CREPALDI: Yes, I think it was just
a few days after the contract
announcement that the first two
future FAB instructors arrived
at Såtenas. They had their first
training sortie on a Gripen D by
mid-November and they will stay
there for six months.
DIB: You will soon also introduce
the EMBRAER KC-390 tanker/
transport jet, recently rolled out at
Gavião Peixoto. How many of these
will there be? They’re intended,
as I understand, to multiply or
‘round-up’ the Gripen’s mission
capabilities, right?
CREPALDI: 28 of them will be
acquired for the FAB and there are
export orders as well. Of course
they will enhance the mission
envelope of the Gripen, but that
would have been the case with
the other contenders as well.
We just need a tanker full-stop,
independent from the fighter-type
chosen. The KC-390 will be great
– it’s exactly what we need. It is
carefully specified to serve our
nation, in total alignment with the
guidelines of the National Defence
Strategy and representing a great
leap in the operating capacity of air
transport and force multiplication.
It is the largest aircraft ever
developed and manufactured
in Brazil, the result of an initial
agreement signed in 2009 and the
series production and delivery
contract of mid-2014. It will fly for
the first time soon and we expect
the first delivery to the FAB in the
second half of 2016.
DIB: We already learned that
the Brazilian Gripen will carry
indigenous weapons like the
MAR-1 anti-radiation missile by
Odebrecht D&T and the South
African ARMSCOR ‘A-Darter’ IR/
WVR-missile. But what about the
BVR weapon?
CREPALDI: We’re undecided…
for the moment. We’re actually
trying to set up negotiations with
the South African government
to jointly develop a new BVR
missile, regardless of the existing
‘R-Darter’. We are both non-aligned
‘neighbors’ in the Southern Atlantic
hemisphere and have had good
relations over a long period of
time. South Africa is a very similar
country, both socially and in terms
of its budget reality, so logically,
that cooperation can benefit both of
our national defence interests.
DIB: General, thanks – and all the
best in welcoming ‘wings that
protect the country’.
CREPALDI: [smiling] Our motto!
Thanks for your interest!
Georg Mader speaking with Brig. Crepaldi at the annual International Fighter conference in London
The Briefing Room

Brazilian personnel have claimed
that – thanks to the use of thrust-
vectoring, rather than relying
on small forward control-vanes
– A-Darter will be 10 times more
manoeuvrable than a fighter jet,
with the ability to perform turns
up to 100G. At IDEX 2015 in Abu
Dhabi, we were informed by Denel
Dynamics on details of the latest
series of inflight trials, held at the
South African Overberg test range
and observed by the FAB. According
to staff at Denel, “these trials
involved high-G and lock-on-after
launch tests in which the missile
exceeded expectations and design
parameters.” A-Darter was relying
on advanced digital-processing
and memory-tracking capabilities
to reacquire the target towards the
rear of the aircraft, thus confirming
its ‘over-the-shoulder’ firing
ability. The tests also confirmed
an “exceptional performance in
terms of detection, false target
discrimination, ECM and guidance
and control.”
Having reached a critical design-
review phase, final qualification
was said to be set down for
November, while local production
in South Africa is likely to start
soon after. One of the group’s
chief executives expects A-Darter
to become a global ‘seller’ when
it enters service within the next
18 months. At IDEX it was also
announced that the so-called
MPACT pure air-compression
technology by Marotta Controls of
Montville NJ was selected for the
infrared seeker on A-Dater. 1,500 of
these units have been delivered to
the USN and are flown on the F/A-
18F’s AIM-9X.
Latest A-Darter trials validate Brazil’s future GRIPEN armamentUpdate:
Saab has selected AEL Sistemas as
a new supplier for Brazil’s Gripen
NG. The local company will provide
the wide area display (WAD) and
the head-up display (HUD), which
will be integrated in the fighter
as part of the F-X2 contract.
Development of these programmes
commenced in January 2015,
with Saab and AEL also signing a
contract for technology transfer
to commence in the summer
at Saab’s base in Linköping,
Sweden. The later focuses on
furthering the development of
the human machine interface
(HMI) for advanced fighters, along
with workshops for avionics
maintenance.
The WAD for Brazil’s Gripen
NG aircraft is a single intelligent
and full-redundant multi-purpose
display system, full-colour,
large-screen (19 x 8 in) with
continuous image presentation
and the state-of-the-art touch-
screen controls capability. It is the
primary source of all flight and
mission information in the cockpit.
Meanwhile, the new HUD provides
essential flight and mission
information to the pilot when
looking in all directions out of the
cockpit.
The new avionics systems
programme will run over four
years and includes development,
integration and production work
to be performed in Porto Alegre.
System integration work will be
undertaken by Saab and Embraer.
An extensive flight test campaign
will then be conducted in close co-
operation with AEL at Linköping to
demonstrate and validate the new
equipment.
Currently the planned 60 or
70 Gripen-Es for the Swedish Air
Force are expected to come with
a three-display cockpit layout.
However, a Saab spokesperson
at IDEX told us that as work on
the (now much larger) Brazilian
programme has been establishing
“rather comfortable” schedules
compared to the requests of very
tight timeframes for Swiss forces
– the Flyvapnet may also end up
leaning towards the WAD.
AEL selected to provide Brazil’s Gripen NG fleet
The A-Darter, displayed at IDEX 2015. (Georg Mader)
The Briefing Room

Critical Infrastructure of the United Kingdom:
For Better or Worse... For Richer or Poorer?
Malcolm Warr
As might be expected there
is much talk about defence
in the run up to the UK’s General
Election in May. But there is no such
debate about the United Kingdom’s
defence and internal protection of
its infrastructure and assets.
Any complex and modern society
relies on reliable transport, utilities
and communications but all too
often this tier of our protection
capability plays second fiddle to
media appealing issues such as
counter -terrorism.
It is self evident that critical
infrastructure is the backbone of
any nation’s economy, security and
health. We know it as the power
we use in our homes, the water
we drink, the transportation that
moves us, and the communication
systems we rely on to stay in
touch with friends and family
and for business. It embraces Air
Traffic control through to weather
services and a lot of other things in
between.
Yet as far as I know, no audit of
UK’s Critical National Infrastructure
assets has ever been undertaken.
In this absence, I see CNI in
the American way, as the assets,
systems, and networks, whether
physical or virtual, so vital to
a Nation that their incapacity
or destruction would have a
debilitating effect on security,
national economic delivery,
national public health or safety, or
any combination thereof.
It is a big issue.
So is the UK critical national
infrastructure properly
protected?
I have some questions.
About 80 percent of UK critical
national infrastructure is owned
and run by the private sector, so
what is the UK Government doing
with its private sector partners to
ensure that we are all protected?
In the apparent absence of a full
inventory, or any central point of
control, or laws requiring operators
of CNI to conform to minimum
security standards across all
aspects of critical infrastructure,
can we be sure of adequate
protection?
How does Scotland ensure
effective protection of its critical
infrastructure, with the additional
challenges of protection of our
offshore energy sector and a need
to integrate with the rest of the
UK’s critical infrastructural effort?
The UK’s Centre for
the Protection of National
Infrastructure (CPNI) is charged
with acting as a focal point for
advice but has relatively limited
resources. Its current campaign
is to push for greater co-operation
between UK government and UK’s
Critical National Infrastructure
(CNI) operators with a clear focus
on Cyber issues. As a former
Cyber specialist, I understand the
importance of Cyber defence in
the round. But there are other
challenges in collective training and
physical protection which requires
equal, joined up attention.
So what are the challenges?
There are many challenges and
most are interconnected and carry
integrated risk. I have chosen to
focus on two and articulate them
within a Scottish context…
1. Awareness
In the way that it is defined at the
moment, many citizens perceive
that protection of our critical
infrastructure is a Government
function and a Government
responsibility. It can be seen by the
rest of us as a remote issue; away
from the interests of everyday
living.
In the United Kingdom, the CPNI
has correctly identified that the
biggest challenge at all levels in
improving protection of the UK’s
Critical National Infrastructure
is the security awareness of the
people who work in organisations
that support the UK CNI. That
means many of us. Do people
understand the knock on effect?
Sharing information about
threats and mitigation techniques
with UK CNI-supporting
organisations and other
governments should be a priority
for investment, but arguably
cultural issues, ethos and silo
thinking often prevents sharing
of information, especially risk
mitigation, common procedures
and lessons learned.
Does the UK need a CNI operations centre to improve national security?
The Briefing Room

Across the Atlantic, the USA
Government acknowledged in
the late 1990s, that many of the
nation’s critical infrastructures
had historically been physically
and logically separate systems that
had little interdependence. As a
result of advances in information
technology and the necessity of
improved efficiency, however,
these infrastructures had become
increasingly automated and
interlinked. And it acknowledged
that these same advances had
created new vulnerabilities from
equipment failure, human error,
weather and other natural causes,
and physical and cyber attacks.
The US Government advocated that
to address these vulnerabilities
would require flexible, evolutionary
approaches that spanned both
the public and private sectors,
and protected both domestic and
international security.
Do we perhaps need an
improved Centre for CNI Operations
in Britain? Do we need a
complementary centre in Scotland?
Perhaps leading on UK offshore CNI
issues? Do these centre(s) need to
be responsible for developing UK
CNI professional standards across
the piece?
And do we need to enhance the
UK CNI Public-Private Partnership
to reduce our vulnerability?
Since the targets of attacks on
our critical infrastructure would
likely include both facilities in
the economy and those in the
government, the diminution of our
potential vulnerability requires a
closely coordinated effort of both
the government and the private
sector. To succeed, this partnership
must be genuine, mutual and
cooperative. In seeking to meet
our UK national goal to eliminate
the vulnerabilities of our critical
infrastructure, I believe we should,
to the extent feasible, seek to
avoid outcomes that increase
government regulation. We need to
work together and train together.
We need to be practical.
2. Offshore Protection
Scotland has specific challenges
in terms of its critical offshore
infrastructure protection. It has a
disproportionately long coastline
and a large array of oil and gas
installations in its offshore waters
and latterly has had to add
protection of wind farms to its CNI
inventory.
In 2011, the Scottish Government
issued CNI guidance and
instruction which has become
known as the ‘Scotland CNI
Partnership Framework’.
This framework needs
development to embrace training
objectives, new operational practice
and new practical mechanisms
for working together. At present
at least 17 different organisations
ranging from the Royal Navy to the
Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA)
and Police Scotland have some
responsibilities in practice for the
critical infrastructure protection
of UK’s Scottish offshore tapestry.
There are simply too many entities,
with too much variance in working
practice and priorities to make such
arrangements efficient.
I chaired a conference on
offshore support vessels in
Aberdeen recently. Offshore
support vessels are required to
provide logistic facility along with
various other supporting activities.
The offshore support vessel fleet
includes Anchor Handling, Towing
and Supply Vessel (AHTS), Platform
Supply Vessel (PSV),), Crew vessels,
Standby and Rescue vessels, and
now increasingly Multi-Purpose
Service Vessel (MPSV).
Until 2014, the global offshore
support vessel market was
expected to grow, owing to the
need to satisfy rising marine
logistics demand. The lucrative
and high-investment areas of
offshore regions such as North
Sea, U.S Gulf of Mexico and new
discoveries in West Africa had also
driven a market for larger multi-
purpose support vessels to roam
internationally.
The Oil Industry in Scotland is
now in a down cycle.
It currently has a surplus vessel
capacity.
The Royal Navy, on the other
hand, has warship paucity. And it
has few vessels which can provide
a dedicated constabulary role
offshore.
Should the Oil and Gas Industry
and the military come together
for common good? Might offshore
CNI protection vessels be provided
by the offshore industry with
Royal Navy/Royal Marine/ Naval
parties onboard? Might Police
Scotland be involved? Might the
Maritime Coastguard Agencies
remit be enhanced so that the
MCA acts as the catalyst for
such partnering arrangements?
Might the Scottish Police Training
College at Tulliallan be used to
train this CNI force? Might a CNI
operations centre be established at
Prestwick airport which is owned
by the Scottish Government and
is badly underutilized? Do we
need nationwide live CNI exercises
involving key stakeholders?
Summary
No one should pretend that we can
make UK’s critical infrastructure
watertight from threats.
But we need to reconsider
approaches that place over
reliance on process and regulation.
People and organisations learn
better together. People appreciate
learning from experience. They
like to practise. If we as a Nation
are to become richer rather than
poorer as a result of attacks on
our infrastructure, we need to get
practical and work together. It
requires new ways of CNI working.
Author
Malcolm Warr is chair of a
bespoke consultancy. Many of
its Associates are former senior
executives in the Offshore
Industry, other maritime,
aviation and security. He also
chairs an international specialist
information security company.
The Briefing Room

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Next Generation Shock Mitigation for High Speed Craft John Haynes
Amajor challenge for the
builders of next generation
military RHIBs and high speed
craft is delivering platforms that
balance high performance with
the physical demands on crew and
passengers. With the arrival of
‘unbreakable boats’ plus a surplus
of engine power ‘man’ is often
considered as the weakest link.
CAD software and digital modelling
are key components in the process
of designing high speed craft, but
feedback from the human body
(AKA pain!) is a crucial input that
designers and naval architects must
consider for the next generation of
fast boats.
High speed craft are selected to
perform a wide range of military
and professional operations. The
consistent objective is that crew
and embarked personnel arrive
safely at their destination ready
to perform a task or fit to fight. In
some maritime forces increasing
individual fitness and stamina is
seen as the solution. In other parts
of the world people are expendable
as there are others ready to take
their place, but that approach does
not help when a boat and crew
are underway with a mission to
complete.
Professional organisations
using RHIBs and fast boats
need to identify what level of
sea conditions are likely to be
encountered then ensure that the
type and size of craft are fit for
purpose. The definition of shock
mitigation is, ‘to make a violent
collision or impact less intense’.
A shock mitigation strategy is
essential for all craft that undertake
open sea transits or operate in
rough water. This includes rivers
and estuaries with wind against
tide conditions, even lakes can
produce significant wave heights
from wind blowing over a few miles
of open water.
With an effective shock
mitigation strategy the helmsman,
crew and passengers benefit from
increased comfort and reduced
injury. But shock mitigation is
not just about reducing injury.
An organisation can increase
sea time for assets, cover greater
distances at higher speeds, improve
crew performance and extend
operational effectiveness.
It is important to learn from
other sectors that have made
progress with shock mitigation, but
myths need to be dispelled. From
motion analysis metrics on land,
sea and air craft it is clear that
not all vehicle impacts are simply
lesser or greater G forces. A major
difference between land vehicles
and boats is the suspension system
managing vibration between road
wheels and the chassis. Tractor-
trailers and semi-trucks take this a
stage further and have suspended
cabs, therefore the seat is mainly
for comfort. An agricultural or
mining vehicle driving over rough
terrain experiences different
loads to a boat at planing speed
on rough water. In recent years
the development of MRAP (Mine
Resistant Ambush Protected)
military vehicles has accelerated
research into reducing the effects
of mine blast. However a vehicle
seat that mitigates the shock from
a mine blast is unlikely to mitigate
the repeated slamming effect from
high speed wave impacts.
Aviation has researched shock
mitigation and the effect of various
impacts. Helicopter seating is
designed to protect the crew from
hard landings and a crashworthy
seat is part of the overall crumple
zone. Ejector seats have saved the
lives of many pilots and navigators
as they exit from fixed wing
aircraft. However ejection is a single
event based on a consistent input
force, usually initiated by the seat
occupant, and compared to loss
of life some level of injury may be
acceptable. Large wave slams at sea
are not usually isolated events, they
can be of random magnitude and
from multiple directions. In rough
sea transits the boat suspension
seat has a fraction of a second to
return from a ‘hit’ to mitigate a
‘double hit’ or the next pattern of
multiple impacts.
A core component of fast boat
training should be specialist
knowledge to educate coxswains
and crews to understand the
forces that affect a planing craft,
particularly when operating in
waves. For planing craft there
are three conditions to consider
– displacement speed, getting on
or off plane, planing speed. When
loitering or at slow speed in waves
a craft follows the waters surface,
the human response is unlikely
to be injury but could be motion
sickness. An issue with operating at
‘hump-speed’ is that the helmsman
has poor visibility over the bow,
which can reduce awareness of sea
conditions.
Suspension seat positions from semi-standing to recumbent. (KPM Marine & Scot Seat)
The Briefing Room

Defence Industry Bulletin, April 2015 (Issue #5)

Defence Industry Bulletin, April 2015 (Issue #5)

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