12 FEBRUARY 2014 volsi • issuez

IHS Jane’s
Defence Weekly
ihs.com/janes

Back in the
fight
Taranis trials return UK to the
forefront of aerospace innovation
GIGAT"
 content
IHS™Jane’s » On the cover
On 5 February BAE Systems 0
:
is available online at

Defence Weekly 5 revealed further details of its Taranis

UCAV technology demonstrator
trials, which took place in Australia
ihs.com/janes prior
to publication of the
VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO 7 • 12 February 2014 18 from 10 August 2013, {See page 4} hardcopy magazine

contents » On the web

ihs.com/janes
Middle East/Africa
17 Oman’s defence budget rises again
New Iranian sub seen for the first time
18 Previously hijacked vessel implicated in new
hijacking
19 New Bahrain facility for UK maritime
component in Gulf

Business The French Army has received its first three

upgraded M270 LRU Multiple Launch Rocket
20 French defence exports in 2013 hit Systems, which should enter operational
Headlines EUR6.3 billion service later this year.

Spain sees Indra as part of a larger

4 UK loosens lid on Taranis programme conglomerate • GMLRS Alternative Warhead Program
21 Turkey to auction bankrupted military advances through testing
Defexpo 2014 vehicle firm BMC • Palestinians propose NATO border force
Pilatus to set up subsidiary, plant in India • USN christens second Mobile Landing
5 Nexter unveils Indian version of CAESAR 22 IWI to begin assault rifle production in Platform
mounted gun Vietnam • Venezuela takes delivery of more air
Indian artillery programmes progress with defence assets
conclusion of trials Analysis • Spain continues with shipborne UAV
6 Tata unveils Kestrel 8x8, LAMV 4x4 trials despite challenges in Skeldar tests
8 Rafale deal sinks further into the mire 23 Anglo-French defence co-operation steps up • Jordan’s Nash-Shab rocket launcher
attracts export interest
The Americas Briefing • ‘Dambusters’ bow out as UK rotates
Afghan Tornado deployment
9 USN probes cheating claims at nuclear 24 Taliban sitrep: While attempts to negotiate
power school a peace deal between Afghan officials and
10 USAF looks to move F-16 upgrade funds Taliban leaders continued throughout 2013, » Subscribe today
to SLEP rising civilian casualties, ongoing internal
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29 Turning tide: While a return to growth in
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Defence Weekly
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Asia-Pacific Editor: James Hardy
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Middle East/Africa Editor: Jeremy Binnie
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Jane’s Land Desk Editor: Nick Brown
Jane’s Land Consultant: Christopher F Foss
Jane’s Naval Consultant: Richard Scott
Jane’s Defence Industry Analyst: Charles Forrester
Jane’s Senior Principal Analyst: Guy Anderson
Jane’s Asia-Pacific Industry Reporter: Jon Grevatt
Washington, DC, Bureau:
Americas Editor: Daniel Wasserbly
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Jane’s Naval Reporter: Grace Jean
Jane’s Senior Americas Aviation Reporter: Caitlin Lee
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UK loosens lid on
Taranis programme
HltW WILLIAMS Jane’s Unmanned Systems Editor
LONDON
The UK’s Taranis unmanned combat aeri­
al vehicle (UCAV) technology demonstra­
tion programme successfully completed
its 2013 testing schedule, according to
BAE Systems representatives and UK
government officials.
Speaking at a 5 February briefing, Nigel
Whitehead, BAE Systems’ group manag­
ing director, said that a number of trials
had taken place following on from Taranis’s
maiden flight on 10 August 2013.
Although he was unable to outline the
nature of the trials - save to explain that they
had expanded the aircraft’s flight profile and
included a sortie that lasted for one hour
- Whitehead said that they had achieved
everything the company wished to examine.
He referenced an earlier briefing when he out­
lined the desire to undertake representative
ISTAR flight profiles as part of the schedule.
Whitehead declined disclose the location of
the test sight, citing security reasons, despite -
as IHS Jane’s
reported in October ^
2 013 - the Woomera
Testing Range in Southern Australia being
widely understood to be the base for the Taranis
trials programme.
The technological focus of the programme,
Whitehead said, is on a next-generation system
that incorporates low observable characteris­
tics that would enable the aircraft to operate in
contested airspace. Whitehead was not willing
to comment on how Taranis compared to the
pan-European Neuron effort and similar pro­
grammes underway in the United States.
Speaking at the briefing, Air Vice-Marshal
Sue Gray, director of combat air for the
Defence Equipment & Support organisation,
said that, while Taranis is not yet a military
capability, it does represent a milestone in
the UK’s roadmap for future air power, noting
that the programme has proved successful
so far in what it has set out to achieve: test­
ing the UK’s sovereign ability to develop
advanced technology in the form of a world
• The BAE Systems Taranis UCAV undertook a
number of flights to successfully conclude
its 2013 test schedule
• A decision on further funding and
additional test phases is expected in the
coming weeks
class, next-generation system; and examining
concepts of operation for this type of aircraft.
Speaking to IHS Jane’s, Chris Boardman,
managing director of BAE Systems’ military air
and information business unit, said that Taranis
is a gated process and that a second - and likely
a third - phase will take place. Boardman said
that discussions regarding the funding and
scope of these phases is underway and a deci­
sion is expected “in the coming weeks”.
The BAE Systems-led programme includes
250 different companies, Whitehead said,
noting that Taranis represents the most tech­
nologically advanced platform developed in
the UK. He added that the programme was as
significant for the development of UCAVs as
the Experimental Aircraft Program (EAP) had
-*■*
Taranis first flew on 10 August 2013. bae systems: U80784
been for the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Expenditure on the Taranis programme
stands at GBP185 million (USD300 mil­
lion) at present (up from an original figure of
GBP 140 million) with funding coming from
industry and the government. The reasons
behind the increased spending were not
made clear, but AVM Gray said that Taranis
is “at the edge of the technological boundary
and comes with risk and [the potential for]
increased costs”.
The Taranis announcement comes on the
back of an Anglo-French deal signed on 31
January to invest GBP 120 million jointly,
plus separate national funds of GBP40 mil­
lion each, into a two-year long effort that
will examine an unmanned future combat air
system. This funding, however, will not affect
the Taranis programme. ■
ihs.com/janes
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
Nexter unveils Indian version
of CAESAR mounted gun
GUILLAUME BELAN JDW Correspondent &
JAMES HMtDYJDW Asia-Pacific Editor______________
NEW DELHI & LONDON
Nexter Systems unveiled a new version
of its CAESAR 155 mm mounted gun
system at the Defexpo 2014 exhibition in
New Delhi.
The French company has teamed up with
Indian companies Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and
Ashok Leyland Defence to offer the Indian
Army a CAESAR system fitted to Ashok Ley-
land’s 6x6 Super Stallion chassis.
Larsen & Toubro, which signed a partnership
deal with Nexter in March 2012, is leading the
team and as prime contractor will absorb the
transfer of technology from its French partner.
CAESAR is in service with French forces
and has been sold to Saudi Arabia, Indonesia,
and Thailand. Discussions are also under way
with Denmark.
Nexter officials said the Super Stallion
chassis has a higher payload than the original
Renault Trucks Defence platform, improving
the modularity of the gun to fulfil specific
requirements of the Indian Army, while the
road and off-road capabilities remain the same.
Officials claim the Indian CAESAR has a
maximum speed in excess of 80 km/h (30
km/h off-road) and a cruising range of more
Indian artillery programmes
progress with conclusion of trials
The Indian Army’s long-postponed
artillery procurement programme has in­
crementally moved ahead, with two 155
mm/52-calibre howitzer system types
having recently completed field trials.
Two rival towed gun systems (TGSs) and
the same number of tracked self-propelled
howitzers (SPHs) now await Maintainability
Acceptance Trials and Directorate General of
Quality Assurance clearance.
Thereafter, the Artillery Directorate is
expected to shortlist two of the four con­
tenders and open negotiations to acquire
the weapons.
France’s Nexter, with a modified Trajan
155 mm/5 2-calibre TGS, and Israeli rival
ihs.com/janes
Nexter unveiled its Indian CAESAR at Defexpo 2014
in New Delhi.
than 600 km. The 155 mm 52-calibre gun
can fire NATO-standard (39- or 52-calibre)
155 mm and extended-range full-bore as
well as smart ammunition. The rate of fire is
6 rounds per minute, with automatic laying
and relaying between each round. Range is
between 4.5 km and 42 km with conven­
tional ammunition and more than 55 km
with rocket-assisted ammunition.
The Indian Army has a long-pending
requirement for 814 mounted gun systems
as part of its Field Artillery Rationalisation
Plan (FARP), which was announced in 1999
and envisaged the USD5 billion-USD7 billion
procurement of 3,000-3,200 assorted calibre
howitzers by the end of the army’s 14th Five-
Year Finance Plan in 2027. ■
Elbit, with its ATHOS 2052 system, con­
cluded winter trials on 21 January in north­
eastern Sikkim state in the Himalayas, having
previously undertaken summer trials in the
western Rajasthan desert in August 2013.
Meanwhile, two competing 155 mm/52-
calibre SPHs, of which the Indian Army plans
to acquire 100, also completed field trials
in Rajasthan late last year. In the fray were
South Korean Samsung-Techwin’s K9 Thun­
der and an upgraded version of the Russian
152 mm/39-calibre MSTA-S gun modified to
155 mm/52-calibre standard and mounted
on a T-7 2 MBT chassis.
Rahul Bedi
JDW Correspondent, New Dellhi
DEFEXPO 2014 «
Indian Army poised
to conduct assault
rifle trials
The Indian Army is expected to begin long-
delayed trials involving four competing multi­
calibre 5.56 x 45 mm assault rifles in May in
support of its requirement for 66,000 rifles,
estimated to cost about USD300 million.
The competing rifles - fielded by the Czech Repub­
lic’s Czeca (CZ 807A Bren model), Italy’s Beretta
(ARX-160), Israel’s IWI (ACE 1), and US firm Colt (Colt
Combat Rifle or Advanced Colt) - will over several
months conduct firing-trials at several locations in
diverse climatic conditions. These include the western
Rajasthan desert, high-altitude locations in the
Himalayas, and high humidity areas: ail places where
the assault rifles are likely to be employed, Beretta's
general manager, Carlo Ferlito, told IHS Janes at the
Defexpo 2014 exhibition in New Delhi. Each rifle has
already completed its technical evaluation.
The selected rifle will replace the Indian Army’s
locally developed Indian Small Arms System (INSAS)
5.56 x 45 mm assault rifles. After more than a dec­
ade of protestations, the Indian Army finally rejected
the INSAS weapons in 2010-11 for being “inefficient
and operationally troublesome”.
The tender for the assault rifles, originally issued
in November 2011, requires them to readily convert
from 5.56 x 45 mm to 7.62 x 39 mm by switch­
ing the barrel and magazine to facilitate a diverse
number of operational roles. Weighing no more
than 3.6 kg and fitted with detachable under-barrel
grenade launchers, the rifles will be required to
fire 600 rounds per minute to a minimum 200 m
effective range.
They will also be equipped with Picatinny rail-
mounted reflex and passive night-sights, visible and
invisible laser-spot designators and multipurpose
detachable bayonets.
The tender mandates a transfer of technology
to the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (0FB)
to manufacture the selected weapon, for which the
eventual requirement is estimated at over two million
units. These will not only be for the Indian Army,
which currently faces a shortfall of around 218,320
assault rifles, but also for paramilitary units and
large state police forces.
Acquiring a modular, multi-calibre suite of small
arms through imports and local licensed manu­
facture is part of the army's long-delayed Future -
Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS) programme
for its 359 infantry battalions and more than 100
counter-insurgency and special forces units,
Rahul Bedi JDW Correspondent, New Delhi
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 5
» DEFEXPO 2014
Tata unveils Kestrel 8x8, LAMV 4x4
GUILLAUME BELAN JDW Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Tata Motors, a leading sup­
plier of vehicles to the Indian
armed forces, unveiled two
new combat vehicles at Def­
expo 2014.
The first is the Kestrel: an 8x8
wheeled armoured amphibious
vehicle designed and developed
indigenously by Tata and the
Indian Defence Research and
Development Organisation
(DRDO) procurement agency.
According to Tata, the Kestrel
can support a range of arma­
ments and was shown at Defexpo
2014 with a 30 mm cannon
installed on a Kongsberg Protec­
tor MCT-30R turret. The Kestrel
is understood to be aimed at
India’s Futuristic Infantry Com­
bat Vehicle (FICV) programme,
which is designed to replace
India’s ageing BMP-1 and BMP-2
Javelin eyes entry into _ MBDA offers its MMP
ATGW contest as ...
India’s Ministry of Defence
(MoD) is in advanced negotia­
tions with the US government
to allow the Raytheon/Lock­
heed Martin-designed Jav­
elin anti-tank guided missile
(ATGM) system to compete
for an urgent Indian Army
requirement.
A senior Pentagon team met
with MoD officials in New Delhi
on 7 February in an attempt
to overcome political and legal
obstacles that had earlier pre­
cluded the United States from
transferring technology to India
to locally build Javelins.
“We are looking to address
all past questions on the Javelin
Joint Venture (JJV) and to move
forward positively,” William
6 | Jane’s Defence Weekly 12 February 2014
• Tata Motors’ Kestrel
8x8 wheeled armoured
amphibious vehicle made its
debut at Defexpo 2014
• Tata also revealed its Light
Armoured Multipurpose
Vehicle
vehicles with around 2,000 new
vehicles.
Weighing 22.5 to 26 tonnes
(depending on the armour
configuration), the Kestrel has
a maximum road speed of 100
km/h and a 10 km/h amphibious
speed, according to Tata. The Kes­
trel is offered in a basic configura­
tion with NATO STANAG 4569
Level 1 protection, with addi­
tional modular armour packages
offering improved protection. It
is designed to carry 12 soldiers,
Blair, Raytheon’s head of the
Asia-Pacific region, told IHS Jane’s
at the Defexpo exhibition.
He said the JJV, being negoti­
ated via the US Foreign Military
Sales route, is ready to meet
the Indian Army’s immediate
ATGM requirements, co-produce
the Javelin in India and jointly
develop its advanced version.
India initially requires 1,914
ATGM launchers, 37,860 mis­
siles including training rounds
and 107 simulators, through
direct import and local manufac­
ture under a transfer of technol­
ogy, to equip the army’s 359
infantry battalions.
Rahul Bedi
JDW Correspondent,
New Delhi
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
Tata Motors' Kestrel 8x8 armoured amphibious vehicle at Defexpo 2014.
including a crew of two.
Additionally, Tata unveiled its
Light Armoured Multipurpose
Vehicle (LAMV), also developed
indigenously, with technical
input from Supacat.
The LAMV is a 4x4 light patrol
vehicle in the 8-tonne class. It
combines an integrated blast
MBDA has entered discussions
with the Indian Army to offer
its Missile Moyenne Portee
(MMP) anti-tank guided weapon
(ATGW), a company representa­
tive told IHS Jane’s at Defexpo
on 7 February.
In 2010 India launched a major
programme for what could ultimately
be up to 8,000 light anti-tank mis­
siles to replace the MBDA MILAN 2T
missiles in service with (and still in
production for) the Indian Army.
At the launch of the Indian require­
ment, MBDA did not have any suitable
‘fire-and-forget’ missiles within its
products and so did not enter the
competition. However, the company
has since developed the MMP missile
to meet French Army requirements,
receiving a contract for 2,850 missiles
OTORS
and ballistic protection system,
including a protected all-com-
posite detachable crew pod and
V-shaped hull for protection up
to STANAG 4569 Level 2.
Carrying six personnel (includ­
ing two crew members), it
features a high level of all-terrain
mobility. ■
in December 2013. Having developed
the MMP, which MBDA feels is a good
match for the Indian requirement, the
company is now offering the system
to India.
The Indian Army has currently only
conducted trials with the Israeli Rafael
Spike ATGW, while US companies
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are
looking to enter their jointly produced
Javelin system into the contest.
To bid the MMP, MBDA is teaming
up with Bharat Dynamics Limited
(BDL), which is already the company’s
local partner for Indian production of
the MILAN missile. The MMP being
offered would be built in India to
exactly the same configuration as the
French Army's MMPs.
Guillaume Belan
JDW Correspondent, New Delhi
ihs.com/janes
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» DEFEXPO 2014 For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes

Rafale deal sinks further into the mire

RAHUL BEDI JDW Correspondent possible only in the next financial and unresolved issues over the of these items by the MMRCA
NEW DELHI year, the minister added. licensed production of 108 of Contract Negotiation Committee
Hence, the contract for 126 126 fighters by state-owned is believed to have added signifi­
Indian Defence Minister A K Rafales to meet the Indian Air Hindustan Aeronautics Limited cantly to the overall project cost,
Antony on 6 February ruled Force’s (IAF’s) Medium Multi- (HAL) have also delayed the with each fighter now report­
out all chances of inking the Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal. They said the Rafale acqui­ edly priced at USD 110 million
deal for 126 Dassault Rafale requirement - earlier anticipated sition cost had almost tripled -USD 120 million - up from
fighters before national elec­ by Dassault and the IAF to have from INR420 billion (USD6.73 around USD65 million-70 mil­
tions - expected by May - due been signed by March - will not billion) originally earmarked by lion per aircraft previously.
to budgetary constraints. proceed until after the election. the defence ministry in 2007, Meanwhile, HAL is believed
“Because of shortage of Polls indicate that Antony’s ruling when the global MMRCA tender to be demanding a greater
money, don’t expect any final Congress Party-led federal coali­ was issued, to a current cost of proportion of the workshare to
decision or agreement [on the tion is unlikely to be re-elected. USD20 billion. licence-produce the aircraft - but
Rafales] this [financial] year,” However, the paucity of funds This massive hike is due to without possessing the requisite
Antony declared at a press is not the only hurdle the IAF rising inflation, a more than 20% technological capability to do so.
conference after inaugurating faces in acquiring the Rafales, fall in the value of the Indian HAL also wants Dassault
Defexpo 2014 in New Delhi. for which price negotiations rupee against the US dollar over to assume responsibility for
Since almost 92% of the annual have been ongoing for more the past year and about 40-50 overseeing and certifying the
military capital or procurement than two years. Government ‘unpriced items’ reportedly subsystems and supplementary
budget for fiscal year 2013/14, and defence industry sources listed in Dassault’s original bid as components for the aircraft that
ending in March, has been spent, have told IHS Jane’s that an ‘miscellaneous’. Military sources it plans to source locally, which
major procurements are now exponential contract price rise have said the subsequent pricing Dassault has rejected. ■

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For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
USN probes cheating claims
at nuclear power school
GRACE JEAN Jane's Naval Reporter
WASHINGTON, DC
The US Navy’s (USN’s) top
officer announced on 4 Febru­
ary that the navy has begun
an investigation into allega­
tions of cheating on exams
used to qualify senior enlisted
instructors to operate nuclear
reactors at the navy’s nuclear
power school.
In a briefing at the Pentagon,
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO)
Admiral Jonathan Greenert
said the allegations came to his
attention on the evening of 3
February after a sailor told the
Naval Nuclear Power Training
Command in Charleston, South
Carolina, that tests at the school
had been compromised.
“The propulsion exam was
allegedly shared amongst some
senior enlisted operators,” said
Adm Greenert.
The nuclear power school
DoD selects study sites for possible GMD expansion
Work has begun for studying
potential sites to host another
US missile defence facility: an
effort mandated by Congress
but of relatively little interest
to Pentagon officials.
“The Missile Defense Agency
[MDA] has completed an exten­
sive evaluation of sites” for its
study and has selected Camp
Ravenna in Ohio, Fort Custer
in Michigan, Fort Drum in New
York, and Portsmouth SERE
Training Area in Maine, according
to a 31 January Department of
Defense (DoD) statement.
Those potential sites are
each over the next two years
to undergo an Environmental
ihs.com/ianes
• The USN is investigating
alleged exam cheating at its
Naval Nuclear Power Training
Command
• The alleged cheating involved
an exam to qualify the USN’s
nuclear power school staff to
operate reactors for training
teaches sailors how to operate
the nuclear reactors that provide
propulsion for the USN’s fleet
of 10 commissioned aircraft
carriers and 7 3 nuclear-powered
submarines. It offers a one-year
training programme, with six
months of classroom instruc­
tion and six months of hands-on
training on two converted sub­
marines that are used as training
reactors to certify operators who
later report to the fleet for duty.
Admiral John Richardson,
the director of the USN’s Naval
Propulsion Reactor Program,
told reporters at the briefing that
Impact Statement (EIS). How­
ever, “the department has made
no decision to proceed with
construction of a new missile
defence site,” the Pentagon’s
announcement added.
The missile defence facility
EISs are mandated by Congress,
where some lawmakers are inter­
ested in expanding the Ground-
based Midcourse Defense (GMD)
system with an East Coast site,
despite the weapon’s troubled
test record.
Currently the United States
bases GMD interceptors at Fort
Greely in Alaska and Vandenberg
Air Force Base in California.
Officials at MDA and US Strategic
THE AMERICAS «
the cheating allegations involve
members of the school staff who
must qualify to operate the train­
ing reactor to instruct students.
That qualification requires
the sailors to pass three exams: a
written exam, an oral academic
exam by a three-person panel, and
a practical exam. Qualified opera­
tors join an 11 -person watch team
that operates the training reactor.
Five teams stand watch in shifts
over a 24-hour period.
The cheating incident allegedly
occurred on the written exam
to qualify sailors for one of the
11 watch stations on the reactor
team. Officials confirmed that
the answers were being passed
from staff members to other staff
who were taking the test.
While the staff members who
allegedly passed on the answers
were also training students, Adm
Richardson said there was no
evidence of cheating involving
students at the school.
Command (STRATCOM) have
said those sites are capable of
defending the entire United
States against limited threats
that could eventually emerge
from North Korea and Iran.
The Pentagon’s Office of the
Director for Operational Test &
Evaluation (DOT&E) said in its
most recent report that the GMD
system “has demonstrated a par­
tial capability to defend the US
homeland from small numbers of
simple intermediate or intercon­
tinental ballistic missile threats
launched from North Korea or
Iran”.
Daniel Wasserbly JDW
Americas Editor, Washington, DC
12 February 2014 Jane's Defence Weekly I 9
“This is a serious incident,”
said Adm Richardson, whose
programme oversees about
16,000 nuclear-trained officers
and enlisted sailors. “Integrity is
the foundation of our business.
The training command and NCIS
[Naval Criminal Investigative Ser­
vice] have begun a full investiga­
tion that will be led by a nuclear-
qualified submarine admiral.”
Adm Richardson, who took full
responsibility for the incident,
added that the training reactors
at the school were shut down for
routine maintenance after the
allegations were made.
“I will not reauthorise
operation of the reactors until
I am personally satisfied that
appropriate corrective actions
have been taken and additional
conservative measures have been
implemented,” he said.
A navy official told IHS Jane’s
that 30 engineering watch super­
visors have had their access to the
USN’s nuclear propulsion training
site revoked. About 150 qualified
engineering watch supervisors are
based at the school. ■
mf Go to ihs.com/ianes
for more of this story
Boeing: 0566453
A GMD Ground-Based Interceptor
being lowered into a silo at
Fort Greely, Alaska. Some US
Congressmen are pushing for GMD
expansion.
» THE AMERICAS
USAF looks to move F-16
Mexico takes
six'Texaniis upgrade funds to SLEP
The Mexican Air Force (FAM)
received six new Beechcraft
T-6C+ Texan II tactical trainers
in late January and was slated
to officially present them during
the FAM’s 99th anniversary
ceremony on 10 February.
The new Texan lls follow a first
batch of six delivered in 2012 and
operated by the Air Force Tacti­
cal Applications Military School
(EMAATFA) at the BAM-11 Santa Ger-
trudis Air Force Base in Chihuahua.
Four Texan lls from the second
batch will go to EMAATFA to make up
its required total of 10. The remaining
two will begin replacing Pilatus PC-7s
at the Advanced Training Squadron/Air
College at BAM-5 Zapopan airbase.
Although no further orders have
been announced, IHS Jane's under­
stands that the FAM plans to replace
its fleet of 60 PC-7 turboprop aircraft
and would like to have 30 of the new
aircraft in service by February 2015.
The Texan lls are to be used for
advanced and tactical training by three
units and interdiction and surveillance
operations by four squadrons.
Inigo Guevara
JDW Correspondent, Mexico City
US Navy’s LHA 6 completes acceptance trials
The lead vessel of the US
Navy’s (USN’s) new aviation-
focused amphibious assault
ship class has completed ac­
ceptance sea trials, Naval Sea
Systems Command (NAVSEA)
officials said on 4 February.
America (LHA 6) conducted
three days of trials in the Gulf of
Mexico off the coast of Pasca­
goula, Mississippi, where the
257.3 m-long ship was con­
structed by Ingalls Shipbuilding:
a division of Huntington Ingalls
Industries.
10 | Jane’s Defence Weekly 12 February 2014
MARINA MALENIC Jane's Industry Reporter
WASHINGTON, DC
The US Air Force (USAF) plans
to defund a major avionics
upgrade for the Lockheed
Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon,
according to USAF and other
government officials with
knowledge of the Pentagon’s
fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015)
funding request.
Money planned for develop­
ment of the Combat Avionics
Programmed Extension Suite
(CAPES) is expected to be moved
to the F-16 Service-Life Exten-
During the sea trials, which
were evaluated by the USN’s
Board of Inspection and Survey,
America performed more than
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
• The USAF is planning to
sacrifice funding for the
CAPES upgrade for its F-16s to
fund the aircraft’s Service-Life
Extension Programme
• The request will go to Congress
with the Pentagon’s FY 2015
budget proposal on 4 March
sion Programme (SLEP) instead,
the sources said.
“The [USAF’s] budget includes
some very tough choices,” said
| between the F-16 CAPES and
« SLEP, one official said, the air force
upgrade of 300 aircraft.
1 has “more need for the SLEP”. ■
220 tests of its major ship
systems. The vessel returned to
Ingalls on 31 January.
Featuring a flight deck, hangar
The US Navy’s
amphibious assault
ship America (LHA
6) has completed
acceptance trials
and is expected to
be ready for hand­
over in the second
quarter of 2014.
Huntington Ingalls Industries: 1478642
one service official who declined
to speak on the record. “CAPES
was one of the casualties of the
negotiations.”
CAPES, which features the
Northrop Grumman Scalable
Agile Beam Radar, was aimed at
upgrading the avionics of 300 US
and 146 Taiwanese F-16s, and
potentially part of Singapore’s
F-16 fleet.
Recently, Secretary of the Air
Force Deborah Lee James alluded
to the “tough choices” being
made in the service’s FY 2015
budget request, due on Capitol
Hill in early March.
James said on 29 January that
the FY 2015 request involved
“a lot of difficult decisions” and
noted that “everything was on
the table”.
USAF officials, meanwhile, say
they are disappointed that bud­
get pressure is dictating a poten­
tial scaling back of their legacy
combat aircraft capabilities.
However, given a choice
space, and aviation maintenance
facilities optimised for the US
Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning
II short take-off/vertical landing
(STOVL) variant of the Joint
Strike Fighter and the MV-22
Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, America
is expected to be ready for
handover in the second quarter
of 2014.
After commissioning, the ship
will be homeported in San Diego,
California.
Grace Jean Jane’s Naval
Reporter, Washington, DC
ihs.com/janes
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
Saab confirms
twin-seat Gripen F
development for Brazil
JAHET TAPPIW COEI.HO JDW Correspondent________________________________
RIO DE JANEIRO
Saab has confirmed to IHS
Jane’s that Brazil’s aerospace
industry will be given the op­
portunity to develop a two-
seater version of the Gripen
NG as part of the USD4.5 bil­
lion consignment of 36 fighter
aircraft ordered by the country.
At a meeting on 30 January
with Brazilian aerospace industry
experts and representatives from
Sao Bernardo do Campo in Sao
Paulo, the vice-president of Saab,
Dan Jangblad, discussed Brazil’s
participation in the production of
the two-seater Gripen F model.
Out of the 3 6 fighter jets
under Brazil’s F-X2 programme,
eight of the aircraft will be twin-
seat Gripen Fs and the rest will
be the single-seat Gripen Es. A
Testers pleased with
M-ATV’s underbody kit
Enhanced underbody pro­
tection on the US military’s
MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles
(M-ATVs) has won praise from
Pentagon testers, although
the armoured truck’s special
operations variant was criti­
cised for limiting “situational
awareness”.
The M-ATV’s underbody
improvement kit (UIK), which
underwent classified testing last
year, was found to provide “pro­
tection beyond its required level”.
The revamped truck was judged “a
significant improvement over the
baseline M-ATV” by the fiscal year
2013 (FY 2013) report from the
ihs.com/janes
Saab spokesperson, however,
declined to elaborate further on
the proposal saying: “It is too
early to go into the specifics of
the decision and more informa­
tion will emerge as the negotia­
tions between the two countries
proceed.”
At the late January meeting
Jangblad also announced that Saab
will initially invest BRL363 mil­
lion (USD149.3 million) in new
production plants in Sao Bernardo
do Campo. The factory will be
responsible for the production of
structural parts of the new Brazil­
ian fighter and create an esti­
mated 1,000 jobs. Around 80% of
the structure of the Gripen will be
produced in Brazil.
The initial investment will be
Office of the Director for Opera­
tional Test & Evaluation (DOT&E).
M-ATVs, built by Oshkosh
Defense, were fielded in earnest
in 2009 as a more mobile
off-road MRAP designed for
Afghanistan’s difficult landscape,
but officials soon ordered greater
protection against roadside
bombs, manifested in the UIK.
Military services are now,
however, working to shift towards
lighter vehicles and to offload
their MRAP fleets, retaining only
12,092 trucks from a total of
about 27,700.
While testers praised the
UIK, the DOT&E’s report,
THE AMERICAS «
for the physical facilities of the
plant and the transfer of equip­
ment and machinery.
“We are extremely proud to
give the production of the fight­
ers to the Brazilian Air Force. We
plan to have a long-term facility
in Sao Bernardo,” said Jangblad.
He added that this will be the
first ‘aero level one’ factory in
Latin America. The Brazilian
aerospace industry currently
only provides level two and three
components.
According to Jairo Candido,
President of Inbra Group, a part­
ner of Saab in Brazil, the manufac­
turing plant will become part of a
defence hub that will be built in
the city over the next few years.
“We are looking forward to
learning from the Swedes on how
to make parts of an airplane at a
higher level,” Candido said.
Jangblad explained that choos­
ing Sao Bernardo do Campo to
host the new industry was due to
a number of factors. “We already
have several Swedish companies
established in the region and we
have a trusted partnership with
the city,” he said. ■
published on 29 January, noted
unresolved deficiencies in the
M-ATV’s Special Operations
Forces (SOF) variant. SOF M-ATV
crews “continued to possess
poor situational awareness due
to the small rear windows and
the limited field-of-view of the
Common Remotely Operated
Weapon Station II (CROWS II)”,
the report said.
12 February 2014 Jane's Defence Weekly | 11
G/ATOR gets
production
approval
The US Marine Corps’ Ground/
Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR)
was approved for low-rate initial
production (LRIP) in January,
allowing the service to buy the
first four operational systems.
The LRIP systems are part of G/
ATOR Block I, which is focused on air
defence and surveillance. The systems
are due to achieve ‘initial operational
capability’ in late fiscal year 2016 (FY
2016) or early FY 2017.
Full-rate production of 17 Block I
systems is scheduled for the third
quarter of FY 2018, said the corps.
LRIP approval came shortly after
publication of the Pentagon’s Director
of Operational Test & Evaluation
(DOT&E) annual report: the DOT&E’s
first review of G/ATOR, which cited
reliability issues during the 2013 Field
Users Evaluation at Marine Corps Air
Station Yuma, Arizona.
Geoff Fein Jane’s C4ISR Senior
Reporter, Washington, DC
The first
Oshkosh
Defense
M-ATV
arrived in
Afghanistan
on 1 October
2009.
I
i
8
In addition, the report said
crews operating CROWS “experi­
ence the same weapon-firing and
ammunition-jamming failures”
that the SOF M-ATV’s initial
operational test and evaluation
identified and found to degrade
the platform’s reliability.
Daniel Wasserbly
JDW Americas Editor,
Washington, DC
» EUROPE
»In brief
US to send more M113s to Greece
The United States has approved
the transfer to Greece of 250-300
M113A3 armoured personnel carriers
(APCs). The deal now simply needs
acceptance by Greece and the
approval of funds to transport them
in order to progress. Although a clear
time frame is not available for the
transfer process, the Greek Army is
understood to want the process final­
ised as soon as possible. It intends to
use the M113A3s to replace a similar
number of its older M113A1 APCs
within seven mechanised infantry
battalions. Some of the M113A1s
are then planned to be transferred
to armoured and artillery units and
converted to command post and
fire control variants, with worn out
vehicles withdrawn from service
altogether.
Poland seeks recovery vehicles
Poland’s land forces are planning
to buy 27 wheeled heavy recovery
vehicles (KWZTs) and have opened
a tender to purchase seven wheeled
bridging vehicles. The KWZTs form
part of a Polish Army requirement
for about 40 vehicles and would be
delivered up to 2018. The purchase
of new vehicles has been planned
since 2007, but has suffered
rescheduling, and would introduce
a new class of vehicles to the Polish
Army inventory.
USN BMD assets head to Spain
The first of four US Navy (USN)
destroyers assigned to support
NATO's missile defence architecture
in Europe has departed for a new
home port in Rota, Spain. Arleigh
Burke-class guided missile destroyer
USS Donald Coo/c (DDG 75) left
Norfolk, Virginia, on 31 January and
is expected to arrive at the Spanish
naval base on the Gulf of Cadiz on 11
February. Sister ship USS Ross (DDG
71) is due to arrive later in 2014, to
be followed by USS Porter (DDG 78)
and USS Camey (DDG 64) in fiscal
year 2015.
12 | Jane's Defence Weekly 12 February 2014
UK accelerates Crowsnest
to plug surveillance gap
RICHARD SCOTT Jane's Naval Consultant
LONDON
The UK Ministry of Defence
(MoD) has confirmed plans
to accelerate the Crowsnest
carrier-based airborne surveil­
lance and control (ASaC)
programme by 18 months.
The move means that the
rotary-wing force protection
capability to be provided by
Crowsnest will be operational by
the time the Royal Navy’s (RN’s)
first Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC)
aircraft carrier achieves an initial
operating capability (IOC) in the
carrier strike role in 2020.
Intended to replace the
RN’s current Sea King ASaC.7
(SKASaC), which retires from
service in 2016, the Crowsnest
programme is based on the
provision of a roll-on/roll-off
ASaC mission fit for RN Merlin
Czech, Slovak firms team up for radars
Several Czech and Slovak
companies have finalised the
creation of an industrial con­
sortium for the development
and manufacture of a new mo­
bile air defence radar (MADR)
for each nation’s armed forces.
The Army of the Czech Repub­
lic (ACR) have been looking for
several years for a new air defence
radar, to augment a pair of fixed
air defence radars (FADRs) and
replace its obsolete Soviet-vintage
P-37 and P-19 radars.
With the country targeting
around 10 MADRs, the project is
one of the ACR’s most important
current acquisition programmes,
and valued at around CZK3.5
billion (USD171 million).
Slovakia is in the same position
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
• The UK has brought forward
Its £500 million Crowsnest
programme by 18 months
• The system will provide
airborne surveillance to the
UK’s new aircraft carriers
from 2019
HM.2 helicopters currently
being delivered under the
Merlin Capability Sustainment
Programme (MCSP).
Confirming the accelerated
schedule on 3 February, the
MoD said that savings achieved
in the renegotiation of the QEC
contract, concluded late last year,
meant the Crowsnest programme
could now be brought forward
to ensure IOC in 2 019. It added
that the decision to accelerate
as the Czech Republic, albeit
its final requirement will likely
include fewer MADRs due to its
smaller territory.
The Slovak
Armed Forces in
particular have
shown the most
interest in a joint
project, with
IHS Jane's
understand-
Visualisation of the new joint Czech/
Slovakian Mobile Air Defence Radar
(MADR) on an 8x8 vehicle, known so
far under the company designation
ReUNION. RETIA: 1525867
Crowsnest had been made as
part of the annual review of the
MoD’s 10-Year Equipment Plan,
re-allocating funding from later
years to 2015 -16 and bringing
forward the Main Gate invest­
ment decision to 2016.
As well as delivering the
capability 18 months earlier
than planned, the re-profiling of
funding will save GBP22 million
(USD35.8 million) over the period
2013-24, according to the MoD.
Defence Secretary Philip
Hammond said the introduction
of Crowsnest 18 months earlier
than previously planned “will
ensure HMS Queen Elizabeth
has the full range of capabilities
when it enters service”.
The Crowsnest programme is
valued at up to GBP500 million.
Current planning assumptions
call for the acquisition of 10 roll­
on/roll-off ASaC kits. ■
ing that Slovakia is ready to sign a
strategic agreement to this effect.
The countries would be able
to bring this project to fruition
in accordance with EU law as
a joint strategic acquisition,
meaning it is exempt from the
EU defence procurement direc­
tive (2009/81/EC) of 2011. It
will also be the most important
element of Czecho-Slovak
defence collaboration since the
dissolution of Czechoslovakia
in 1993.
A tender may be launched this
year, with first deliveries in 2016.
Michal Zdobinsky
JDW Correspondent, Prague
Off Go to ihs.com/ianes
for more
ihs.com/janes
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
Turkey to receive Peace Eagle
NICHOLAS DE LARRINAGA JDW Europe Editor &
LALE SARIIBRAHIMOGLU JDW Correspondent
LONDON & ANKARA
Turkey’s first Boeing 737
Peace Eagle airborne early
warning and control (AEW&C)
aircraft will formally enter
service following a ceremony
to be held on 21 February, the
Turkish Air Force announced
on 31 January.
The country made the decision
to purchase four 737-700-based
AEW&C aircraft as far back as
2000, but the USD 1.5 billion
programme is now lagging
behind its original 2007 delivery
date by about seven years.
Boeing is the prime contractor
for the programme, with local
Germany to train with A-4 Skyhawks
Discovery Air Defence Ser­
vices has won a five-year
contract to provide Douglas
A-4 Skyhawk-based training
to Germany, the subsidiary of
Canadian specialist aviation
company Discovery Air an­
nounced on 30 January.
Under the contract seven A-4
aircraft will be used to give the
German armed forces about
1,200 hours of fast jet airborne
training services per year from
January 2015. The contract value
has not been disclosed.
Discovery Air did not respond
to an IHS Jane’s request for further
ihs.com/janes
work under a USD500 million
offset package being conducted
by Turkish Aerospace Indus­
tries (TAI), Aselsan, Haselsan,
and Mikes. A second aircraft is
scheduled to be delivered to the
air force mid-year once its test
flights are completed.
A range of problems have
struck the Peace Eagle pro­
gramme, including issues
with the integration of radars
and other military electronic
systems. It is understood that
Boeing will pay Turkey about
USD600 million as compensa­
tion for the delays.
The Turkish Air
Force will formally
receive its first
Boeing 737 Peace
Eagle AEW&C
aircraft on 21
February.
information, but a company
statement said that it attributes
“strategic” importance to this
contract, saying “it establishes
Defence Services in Europe and
provides a solid foundation for
future expansion in that market”.
The A-4 Skyhawk is not listed
in the inventories of either
Discovery Air Defence Services
or Discovery Air. While IHS Jane’s
got no response to questions on
the origins of these aircraft, a
separate release on the Discovery
Air Defence Services website
reveals the firm acquired 10
A-4s through the takeover of
It is unclear, however, to what
extent Boeing is responsible for
the schedule slippage. Similar
delays hit Australia’s 737-700
Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, but
not South Korea’s 737-700
Peace Eye AEW&C aircraft.
TAI’s first aircraft was delivered
by Boeing in March 2006 and
made its first flight in July 2008.
Turkey’s order for the aircraft
was held up by a corruption
investigation after an initial
downselect of the 737 in 2000
and subsequent tender signing.
The Turkish parliament’s Corrup­
tion Investigation Committee
examined claims the state had
lost USD 180 million in the pro­
curement of AEW&C systems.
However, the investigation was
abandoned and the government
approved the purchase of four
AEW&C aircraft in 2003.
Meanwhile, the Mavi Marmara
incident in 2010 aggravated the
programme’s delays by making
Turkey reluctant to use Israeli-
made electronics such as Elta’s
electronic support measures
(ESM). These were eventually
delivered, but relations between
the two countries remain frosty. ■
Advanced Training Systems
International in December 2013.
An image on the website shows
these Skyhawks with the same
infrared-suppressing tailpipe
extensions fitted to former Israeli
Air Force aircraft.
As well as the A-4 Skyhawks,
Discovery Air Defence Services
operates a fleet of 16 modified
Alpha Jets in airborne training
services.
Gareth Jennings Jane’s
Aviation Desk Editor, London
@ Go to ihs.com/ianes
for more
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 13
EUROPE «
Nexter wraps
French EBG Val
upgrades
Nexter has completed the
upgrade programme for the
French Army’s Engin Blinde
du Genie Valorise (EBG Val)
engineering vehicles, with final
deliveries on 5 February.
The programme covered the
upgrade of 54 vehicles: 42 of
the EBG F1 (initial version) and
12 of the Systeme de Deminage
Pyrotechnique pour Mines Antichars
(SDPMAC) mine-clearing variant.
The programme both upgraded
the capabilities of the vehicles, and
extended their service life through
2020 to 2025.
As part of the upgrade the vehicles
have been fitted with a new day-night
infrared camera, laser rangefinder,
and improved operational situational
awareness through the installation of
the Systeme d’information reglemen-
taire (SIR), allowing digital data trans­
fer via a Thales PR4G tactical radio,
The vehicles have also been fitted
with a new saw, doubling its working
range and including a diamond-
coated cutting disc to enable it to cut
through steel and concrete.
The EBG Val’s armament has
also been improved with 7.62 mm
machine guns, while protection has
been upgraded with improved armour
and additional modular armour pack­
ages. Additionally the vehicles have
been fitted with a new electromag­
netic decoy system and GALIX decoy
launchers.
The upgrade has also improved
the internal ergonomics of the vehi­
cles and limited the crew to two (chief
and driver), with the gunner position
being removed.
Based on the AMX-30B2 chassis,
the 45-tonne EBG Val is intended to
support French forces and combat
vehicles through mine-clearing, min­
ing, front-line engineering construc­
tion, and the destruction of obstacles.
Guillaume Belan
JDW Correspondent, Paris
» ASIA PACIFIC
Analysts: China
losing influence
over North Korea’
REUBEN F JOHNSON JDW Correspondent
BEIJING
China’s influence over its North
Korean client state is at an all-
time low, according to sources
in Beijing, who say it has few
- if any - levers left to control
Pyongyang’s behaviour.
The US special envoy for North
Korea, Glyn Davies, recently
visited Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo
to drum up support for restarting
the six-party talks with North
Korea, which broke off in 2009.
Washington’s goal is to see
North Korea close down its
nuclear weapons programme
in exchange for expanded food
and energy aid. Beijing’s ties to
Pyongyang are key to this effort,
but sources in the Chinese capital
said it has minimal influence on
North Korea’s behaviour.
In previous decades one of the
chief channels of communica­
tion between the two states was
based on ties between the two
Johnson confirms White Paper plans
Australian Defence Minister
David Johnston has con­
firmed his government's
intention to publish a new
defence White Paper by early
2015, commenting that the
administration inherited “a
complete mess” from the La­
bor government it succeeded
in September 2013.
Speaking in Adelaide on 3
February at the keel-laying
ceremony for the second of three
air warfare destroyers (AWDs)
destined for the Royal Australian
14 | Jane’s Defence Weekly 12 February 2014
• The execution of Chang
Song-thaek and the loss of
ties between the PLA and KPA
mean Beijing’s influence over
Pyongyang is now minimal
• Some analysts believe this
is precisely the situation
Pyongyang is seeking to exploit
countries’ military establish­
ments: a relationship that dated
back to the Korean War when the
Korean People’s Army (KPA) and
People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
fought side by side.
The ties between the two
armed forces were fairly active
for many years, but “almost all
of those people on both sides
have died off or are retired”,
said a long-time North Korea
analyst based in Beijing. “The
current leaderships in the KPA
and PLA have no set of shared
Navy (RAN), Johnston said the
Liberal-National Party coalition
had promised a White Paper
within 18 months of winning
the election “and I see no reason
to change that tune”.
“Keep in mind there are
substantial issues for us: we have
been left a complete mess,” he
said. “But we’re cobbling together
as best we can a way forward
over the long term to refinance
defence and to catch up on the
AUD16 billion (USD 13.3 billion)
that has been taken out of the
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
The execution of Chang Song-thaek in December has curtailed Chinese
influence with Pyongyang, analysts in Beijing have claimed.
camaraderie on the battlefield to
bring them into contact with one
another. Also, by and large the
senior officers in the two forces
do not trust each another.”
The other major link between
the two states was Chang Song-
thaek: the uncle of Kim Jong-
un. Chang had long-standing
ties to the Chinese leadership,
witnessed by the fact that he
was accorded almost all of the
trappings of an allied head of
state on his recent official visits
to Beijing. He was also, by all
accounts, heavily involved in the
various business interests that
have grown rapidly across the
border between China and North
Korea’s Hamgyong province.
Kim executed Chang in
December 2013, with some ana­
lysts saying that his advocacy of
portfolio over the last four years.”
Johnston said he would make
an announcement soon on an
independent review into the
AUD8 billion AWD programme.
He foreshadowed this review in
December after an Australian
National Audit Office report dis­
closed that 2012-13 expenditure
on the programme exceeded the
year’s budget of AUD618 million
by AUD 106 million, or about
17%. However, he said he would
not support derogatory media
reports about the programme,
Chinese-style economic reforms
had been viewed with suspicion.
Whatever the reasons, his death
has left Beijing with “very little
insight into the North Korean
leadership now”, said the ana­
lyst. “For all practical purposes
they have almost no idea as to
what is going on.”
Other North Korea specialists
in Beijing suggest it is in Pyong­
yang’s interest to maintain this
state of affairs. “The uncertainty
ups the stakes in any possible
resumption of the six-party talks
and increases the amount of
possible aid and concessions that
Kim can extort from the other
nations involved: the US, South
Korea, Japan, China, and Russia,”
said one Chinese analyst. “So this
‘fear of the unknown’ ultimately
works in North Korea’s favour.” ■
that final costs would not be
known until the last ship was in
the water, and that “there is a lot
of contingency”.
The first of the three 6,350-
tonne Hobart-class AWDs being
built by the AWD Alliance
grouping of government-owned
ASC, Raytheon, and the Defence
Material Organisation will be
delivered to the RAN in March
2016, the second in September
2017, and the third in March
2019. Johnston indicated the
option of a fourth AWD would be
addressed in the White Paper.
Julian Kerr
JDW Correspondent, Adelaide
ihs.com/Janes
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
China, Pakistan set for submarine
deal by end of year, say officials
FARHAN BOKHARI JDW Correspondent
ISLAMABAD
Pakistan could sign a deal to
buy up to six submarines from
China before the end of 2014,
senior Pakistani government
officials have told IHS Jane’s.
A Pakistani government minis­
ter revealed in March 2011 that
China had offered to sell up to six
submarines to Pakistan although
he did not specify details of the
boats on offer. Western officials
Indian Navy suffers seventh mishap in two months
The Indian Navy (IN) continues
to be beset by accidents invol­
ving its frontline warships.
In the service’s seventh acci­
dent since the start of Decem­
ber, INS Airavat, its newest
6000-tonne landing ship tank
(LST), ran aground and severely
damaged its propellers on 30
January while returning home to
Visakhapatnam harbour.
IN officials told IHS Jane’s on 3
February that a board of inquiry
is being instituted to determine
whether the incident was due to
human error or problems posed
ihs.com/janes
in Islamabad suggest that China’s
subsequent international market­
ing of the ‘S20’ or Yuan-class
diesel-electric submarine (SSK)
suggests it could be a potential
option for Pakistan.
A senior Pakistani government
official told IHS Jane’s that “the
technical details are almost done.
The present discussions are mainly
about the financing details”. A
by the dredging of the harbour.
Built by Garden Reach Ship­
builders & Engineers in Kolkata
and commissioned in May 2009,
the 125 m-long Airavat is the
IN’s third Shardul-class LST.
The accident follows others
involving three guided-missile
frigates, a minesweeper, a
corvette, and a ‘Kilo’-class
diesel-electric submarine. Official
inquiries have been ordered into
all these mishaps, which the IN
has described as “minor” although
it has relieved the captains of two
of the frigates of their commands.
ASIA PACIFIC «
second Pakistani government offi­
cial confirmed that “the contract is
in an advanced stage and discus­
sions will not linger on for too
long. Realistically, we should have
a deal by the end of 2 014”.
The submarine contract would
further cement China’s rapidly
growing role as the main sup­
plier of military hardware to
Pakistan’s armed forces and fill
an important gap in Pakistan
Navy (PN) capabilities. The PN
is known to operate five French
submarines: three Agosta 9 OB
(Khalid-class) submarines pur­
chased in the 1990s and two age­
ing Agosta 70 (Hashmat-class)
COMMENT
A Sino-Pakistani submarine
contract will be closely watched
by Western officials for any signs
that may suggest progression
towards nuclear-powered boats.
Pakistan's defence planners
consider the absence of such
a platform - which they would
Meanwhile, the IN’s cur­
rent difficulties were further
aggravated in late January after
the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
ordered an inquiry into an alleged
leak of sensitive documents by a
senior officer from the Director­
ate of Naval Operations.
Captain Manoj Rawat, who
faces dismissal for his involve­
ment in an extra-marital affair, is
alleged to have passed on secret
documents to his now ex-lover.
In a complaint to IN headquarters
at his refusal to marry her, the
woman reportedly included copies
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 15
boats dating from the late 19 70s.
In 2009 the PN sought to pur­
chase three German-built Type
214 submarines, but the plan
was put on hold due to costs that
at the time were reported to be in
excess ofUSD2 billion.
Recent Sino-Pakistani con­
tracts tied to Islamabad’s strategic
interests include China’s agree­
ment to provide two large civil
nuclear reactors to be based close
to Karachi. According to Pakistani
officials China’s Eximbank agreed
to extend a USD6.5 billion loan for
the two reactors.
Additionally, the Sino-Paki-
stani-built JF-17 Thunder fighter
aircraft is reportedly the subject
of talks between Pakistan and
Saudi Arabia: a potential deal that
Western officials said would not
be discussed without Beijing’s
explicit consent. ■
eventually want to see armed
with submarine-launched nuclear
ballistic missiles - as any major
disadvantage in potential conflict
with India.
However, Western officials believe
China will hesitate to extend such
advanced technology to Pakistan given
the potential for a harsh reaction from
the United States and its allies.
of several official documents that
she claimed to have received from
Capt Rawat during their affair.
Senior IN officials, however,
believe these documents are
research papers collated from
open sources.
The MoD is concerned over
the matter following a 2006
security breach in the Director­
ate of Naval Operations, in which
sensitive documents relating to
equipment purchases were alleg­
edly passed on to arms dealers.
Rahul Bedi
JDW Correspondent, New Delhi
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4321_0114A>
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
»In brief
Egypt could exercise sub option
Egypt should soon exercise an option
for two additional Type 209 diesel-
electric submarines, the French
newspaper La Tribune reported on 2
February without revealing its source.
The commander of the Egyptian Navy
confirmed in August 2012 that Egypt
was in the process of procuring two
Type 209 boats, but the order has
never been acknowledged by either
the German government or manufac­
turer ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems
(TKMS). La Tribune said the EUR920
million contract for the first two
submarines was signed in mid-2011
and the first boat, armed with Boeing
UGM-84 Harpoon Block II missiles, is
scheduled to be delivered in 2016.
Liberia to replace commander
A Liberian officer is set to assume
command of the West African
country’s military for the first time
since the end of the civil war in
2003, reflecting steady progress in
rebuilding Liberia's military over the
last decade. President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf announced on 4 February
that Colonel Daniel Dee Ziankhan
had been appointed chief of staff of
the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) to
replace Nigeria's Major General Suraj
Alao Abdurrahman, while Colonel
Eric Dennis will serve as his deputy.
The appointments are expected to
be approved by the Senate before
Armed Forces Day on 11 February.
UAE launches final Baynunah
The sixth and final Baynunah-class
corvette ordered by the United Arab
Emirates Naval Force (UAENF) was
launched in a ceremony held on 6
February, the Emirates news agency
WAM has reported. This follows the
commissioning of the third Baynunah,
AI-Dhafra(P 173), in December. The
first of the class was built at the CMN
yard in Cherbourg, France, but the
other five were constructed by Abu
Dhabi Shipbuilding (ADSB). Work
on the sixth vessel, AI-Hili(P 176),
began in September 2009.
ihs.com/janes
Oman’s defence
budget rises again
CRAIG CAFFREY Jane's Senior Budget Analyst
LONDON
Oman’s budget proposal for
2014 raises defence spend­
ing by 4.1% to OMR3.7 billion
(USD9.6 billion), according to
a report released by the Bank
of Muscat.
As a share of GDP, however,
the rise will see the defence and
Oman’s defence budget
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
■■■1 Defence budget (nominal)
Defence budget (real)
Defence as % of GDP
New Iranian sub seen for the first time
Iran’s new Fateh-class subma­
rine was seen briefly in an Ira­
nian television montage about
the Islamic Republic’s military
achievements, even though
the boat’s launch has not been
officially announced as yet.
IHS Jane’s revealed that
the first Fateh class had been
launched in November by pub­
lishing satellite imagery showing
one in the water at the Bostanu
shipyard. A second was under
construction at Bandar Anzali on
the Caspian Sea.
The one at Bostanu measured
40 m at the waterline, while the
MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA «
security budget nudge down from
11.1% in 2013 to 10.8% in 2014.
The increase comes after a
37.5% nominal expansion in
the defence budget in 2013,
following 57.6% growth in 2012.
Related expenditure has now
surged by 124% in nominal terms
5 2013 IHS 1518666
one out of the water at Bandar
Anzali was approximately 48
m in length, making the Fateh
significantly larger than the
29 m Ghadir class that Iran has
been building for several years.
The television footage,
TV,
a its launch, suggesting it is either a
: new system or the Iranians want
Iran’s Fateh-class submarine in the
water at Bostanu.
12 February 2014 Jane's Defence Weekly | 17
since 2011, up from USD4.3 bil­
lion to USD9.2 billion.
As a proportion of the govern­
ment budget, the defence alloca­
tion peaked in 2005 at about
44%. By 2010 the figure had
slipped to 36%. Under the coun­
try’s eighth Five-Year Plan (2011-
15), this proportion was set to
remain fairly consistent, although
the proposed 2014 budget would
see it slide to about 27.4%.
Most extra funding appears
to be allocated to facilitate
major arms deals, including
the acquisition of Eurofighter
Typhoon combat aircraft, Airbus
C295M transport aircraft, and
BAE Systems Hawk advanced
jet trainers, contracts for which
were concluded in 2012.
Raytheon confirmed on 23 Jan­
uary that Oman had awarded it a
direct commercial contract worth
USD 1.28 billion for the delivery of
its National Advanced Surface-to-
Air Missile System (NASAMS).
Oman has been a key driver
in the acceleration of defence
expenditure in the Middle East
and North Africa over the past
three years. Military spending
in the region climbed by 11.4%
in real terms in 2012 and a
further 12.1% in 2013 to hit
USD120.7 billion. ■
shown on 3 February, shows the
submarine being constructed
inside a shed and then launched
at Bostanu. With foreplanes
mounted on a distinctive hull
casing, the Fateh is less obviously
influenced by North Korean sub­
marines than the Ghadir.
While photographs showing
the Ghadir’s exposed propeller
have been released in the past, the
Fateh’s propulsion was covered for
observers to think it is new.
Jeremy Binnie JDW Middle
East/Africa Editor, London
 » MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA ihs.com/janes

Previously hijacked
vessel implicated in
new hijacking
JEREMY BINN1E JDW Middle East/Africa Editor
LONDON
Alleged Kerala hijacking timeline

The Nigerian Navy (NN) has identified one

of the vessels that was involved in the
alleged hijacking of a tanker off Angola
as a ship that was itself the victim of a
hijacking a year earlier.
In a statement released on 31 January, the
NN said it was informed by the International
Maritime Bureau (IMB) on 25 January that the
tanker Kerala, which disappeared from Luanda
anchorage on 18 January, had been located
about 50 n miles southwest of Nigeria’s Pen­
nington Oil Terminal. "Two other vessels, MT Gulf of
Guinea
Itri and a tug boat Gare, were reportedly in the
vicinity of MT Kerala conducting ship-to-ship
transfer of products,” it said.
Itri was hijacked as it was delivering jet
fuel to Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire on 16 Janu­
360 km
ary 2013, according to the vessel’s Nigerian
operator, Brila Energy. It turned up off the 0 Kerala disappears from Luanda anchorage on 18 Jan

coast of Lagos six days later without its cargo.
The NN statement said it detained Itri in
the Lagos area and then used its “remote sur­
veillance system” to locate Kerala off the port
of Tema in Ghana on 28 January: two days
after the tanker’s operator, Dynacom Tankers
Management, had reported that it had been
released by its hijackers. The NN informed
the Ghana Navy, which took the tanker into
custody pending an investigation by Interpol.
The Angolan Navy had already disputed
Dynacom’s claim that the ship had been
hijacked. “It was all faked; there have been no
acts of piracy in Angolan waters,” spokesman
Captain Augusto Alfredo told Reuters on 26
January. “What happened on 18 January, when
we lost contact with the ship, was that the crew
disabled the communications on purpose.”
He added that the tug Gare had contacted
Kerala in Angolan waters and then led it to
Nigeria. The Angola News Agency cited him
as saying that Gare was “a replica of another
[tug] with the same name that participated in
actions of piracy in Gabon last year”.
The NN noted that Dynacom had initially
been co-operative, informing it that Kerala’s
© Some of the tanker's cargo is tranferred to another
ship off the Congolese coast
Q More of the cargo is unloaded in two more
ship-to-ship transfers
0 The Nigerian Navy detains tanker Itri off Lagos on
suspicion of involvement in the cargo transfers
0 Dynacom announces on 26 Jan that the ship has
been released by the hijackers
© Nigerian Navy locates Kerala in the vicinity of Tema,
Ghana, on 28 Jan; the tanker is taken into custody
by the Ghana Navy © 2014 IHS: 1518667
cargo had been offloaded in three ship-to-ship
operations that took place off the Congo­
lese coast (it did not state whether this was
Congo-Brazzaville or Congo-Kinshasa) and
around 90 n miles south-south-west of Lagos.
However, it then refused to help the NN
locate the ship. “The unco-operative attitude
of the ship’s crew and owners after the
pirates released the ship, as claimed, leaves
much to be desired,” the statement said
before calling on the crew to “provide useful
information on possible collaborators in the
purported hijack”.
Brila Energy did not respond to a request to
comment on Itri’s alleged involvement in the
latest incident. ■

18 j Jane’s Defence Weekly 12 February 2014 ihs.com/janes

ihs.com/janes MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA «
New Bahrain facility for UK
maritime component in Gulf
RICHARD SCOTT Jane’s Naval Consultant___________
LONDON
The UK Royal Navy (RN) is to establish
a more permanent headquarters (HQ)
and forward-support footprint within the
US Navy’s Naval Support Activity (NSA)
based in Bahrain.
Work to build a new UK Maritime Compo­
nent Commander (UK MCC) HQ and water­
front support facility on the NSA II estate in
Mina Salman port will start later this year fol­
lowing a USD9.79 million contract awarded
to a US civil engineering company on 21
January. It is anticipated that both buildings
will be finished early in 2015.
The UK MCC was originally established in
2001 to provide a UK maritime HQ in the Gulf
alongside the US Fifth Fleet and the US Naval
Central Command HQ. The UK staff, originally
numbering just eight, has been housed in an
existing building on site for the last 13 years.
A forward support unit (FSU) and a forward
logistics site (FLS) were subsequently estab­
lished using a rented warehouse and jetty
estate in the naval dockyard. The FSU and the
Egyptian intel says Igla used to
down military helicopter
A Russian 9K38 Igla (SA-18 ‘Grouse’)
man-portable air defence system (MAN-
PADS) was used to shoot down a military
helicopter in the north of the Sinai Penin­
sula on 25 January, Egyptian intelligence
officials told the Palestinian news agency
Ma’an on 1 February.
The radical Sunni group Jamaat Ansar Bayt
al-Maqdis claimed responsibility and released
a video showing the attack, but digitally
blurred the weapon to make it difficult to
identify. Nevertheless, on 29 January IHS
Jane’s identified it as an Igla-series system or a
Chinese QW-2, rather than a member of the
more widely proliferated Strela series.
The Egyptian officials added that four
Palestinians and two Egyptians carried
out the attack, which killed five soldiers.
A spokesman for the Palestinian militant
ihs.com/janes
FLS provide engineering support for the four PROTECTS YOUR MISSION
RN mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs)
forward-deployed to Bahrain as part of Opera­
tion ‘Kipion’.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence
(MoD), the significantly expanded UK pres­
ence in Bahrain means the UK MCC has
now outgrown the current building. “With
a command spanning an area of operations
across the entire Middle East, command of 14
ships and aviation assets, a significantly larger
and increasingly multinational and coalition
mission, and 41 people in the UK headquar­ ..
fea-.'—
ters, the original building is no longer fit for
purpose,” IHS Jane’s was told.
Plans to build a new HQfacility appropriate
to the expanded UK staff were established in
2011. The following year development of the
HQwas combined with a separate plan to find
a more permanent facility for the FSU/FLU.
Tenders were sought by the US Army
Corps of Engineers, Middle East District, in
May 2013, with the scope of work requiring
the build of a 1,100 m2 two-storey HQfacil­
ity and a two-storey 1,690 m2 MCMV FSU/
FLS facility. ■
group Hamas denied any Palestinians were
involved, saying that it would have been
impossible for witnesses to establish the The predator
perpetrators’ nationalities.
among all MBTs
The origin of the Igla used in the attack
remains unclear. Although large numbers of ■ superior firepower
MANPADS proliferated during the 2011 con ■ unique mobility
flict in Libya, the man-portable versions of the
■ excellent protection
Igla family have not been seen in that country.
In September 2011 the Egyptian press pub­
■ optimal command
lished photographs of less-sophisticated Igla-1 and control
(SA-16 ‘Gimlet’) missiles that had been recov­ ■ unmatched reliability
ered by security forces in Sinai. The reports
said the weapons had come from Libya, but
| www.kmweg.com |
also erroneously identified them as US-made.
The gripstocks needed to launch the missiles
were not seen in the photographs.
Jeremy Binnie
JDW Middle East/Africa Editor, London
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 19
» BUSINESS
Greece’s ELVO
goes into
receivership
Greek state-owned armoured
vehicle maker Hellenic Vehicles
Industry S.A. (ELVO) has gone
into receivership, after years of
losses, following a ruling by the
Thessaloniki Court of Appeals on
30 January.
The decision follows a petition by
the Greek state to apply article 14A
of Law 3249/2005 and place the
company in special receivership.
ELVO recorded aggregate losses
of EUR100 million (USD135.5 million)
in 2006-13 and owes EUR48 million
to suppliers and banks. Although
the company is state owned, a cash
injection by the Greek state is not
seen as feasible, given EU laws on
state aid and subsidies.
Ernst & Young are to be appointed
as receivers. Options under consid­
eration are dissolving the company
or splitting it in two to retain one
part as a “bad” company with debts
and obligations and create a “good”
company with activities deemed
profitable and therefore attractive to
an external partner.
Theodore L Valmas
JDW Correspondent, Athens, &
Matthew Smith
Jane's Industry Analyst, London
Spain sees Indra as part of a larger conglomerate
The Spanish government,
which recently returned as
the biggest shareholder
in IT and defence systems
group Indra, is not aiming to
maintain that role in the long
term but does want to see the
company become a key part
of a larger defence conglom­
erate, said Defence Minister
Pedro Morenes.
Through state-holding com­
pany Sociedad Estatal de
Participaciones Industrials
20 | Jane's Defence Weekly 12 February 2014
French defence
exports in 2013
hit EUR6.3 billion
GUILLAUME BELAN JDW Correspondent ________________________________
PARIS
French defence exports
reached EUR6.3 billion (USD8.5
billion) in 2013, according to
figures released by the Ministry
of Defence (MoD).
Consolidated data for the year
will be calculated in coming
weeks, said Minister of Defence
Jean-Yves Le Drian, but initial
results show a 31% increase
over 2012, when orders totalled
EUR4.8 billion.
Eight major contracts - those
worth more than EUR200 mil­
lion - were signed in FY2013: up
on three in FY2012.
The leading regional destina­
tion for France’s defence exports
was the Middle East, with 40%
of the value of registered orders.
French defence exports (orders USD billions)
2010 2011
4.5 6.5
Source: IHS Jane's World Defence Industry/French government
(SEPI), the government in August
2013 took a 20% stake in Indra,
which had been fully privatised
in 1999.
Allies and rivals such as France,
Italy, and the UK had “years ago
consolidated their defence capac­
ities into integrated industrial
units”, Morenes told a foreign
press briefing in Madrid.
However, despite Spain’s major
investment in new military
equipment, totalling EUR30 bil­
lion (USD40 billion) since 1996,
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
• French defence exports are
expected to have increased
31% over 2012
• Eight major contracts worth
more than EUR200 million
were signed in FY2013
However, France also boosted
exports to the Asia Pacific, which
provided 16% of the total, and
Latin America, which made up 9%.
Saudi Arabia led among cus­
tomer countries, accounting for
EUR 1.8 billion, or 28%, of the
order intake. Major contracts
included the LEX (Life Exten­
sion) for the Royal Saudi Navy,
covering four DCNS A1 Riyadh
F3000S frigates, as well as
2012 2013
4.8 6.3
“we have not been able to create
a union” among suppliers, said
Morenes.
A more concentrated base
would make the sector “stronger
and more efficient” and the coun­
try’s major groups - Indra and
state-owned shipbuilder Navan-
tia - are individually “very small”
compared with their rivals, said
Morenes.
In opening up defence con­
tracts to foreign bidders, “every­
body speaks of there being a free
COMMENT
France is the world’s fourth
largest arms exporter: a position
bolstered by strong governmen­
tal support for overseas sales.
In 2013 a Ministerial Commit­
tee on Defence Exports (COMED)
was installed under the authority of
the Minister of Defence. Le Drian
has also been active in developing
relationships with decision-makers
in the countries targeted for sales,
travelling nearly 108,000 km to sup­
port French export industries.
surveillance satellites and Thales
air defence radars. Singapore and
Morocco were other top export
destinations, said the MoD.
France saw its greatest success
with missiles and space systems.
MBDA exported its VL Mica and
Mistral missiles to Saudi Arabia
and its Aster 30 missile to Singa­
pore. Airbus Space Systems and
Thales Alenia Space sold space
and satellite systems to Brazil,
Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Le Drian has forecast even
better figures for 2014, with
the MoD expecting India to
finally commit about USD2 bil­
lion for initial deliveries of the
Dassault Rafale, selected in 2012
for the 126-aircraft MMRCA
programme. ■
market... but not in their own
house”, he added, pointing in
particular to the case of France.
Morenes said the govern­
ment’s return to take a 20%
share in Indra was “not for the
long term”. However, he said he
would continue “pushing” for
the country’s defence companies
to get together and the “two of
the right dimension” to lead the
way were Indra and Navantia.
David Ing
JDW Correspondent, Madrid
ihs.com/janes
For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
Turkey to auction
bankrupted military
vehicle firm BMC
LALE SARIIBRAHIMOGLU JDW Correspondent______________________
ANKARA
Turkey will open a tender on
10 April for the sale of com­
mercial and military vehicle
manufacturer BMC, which
was declared bankrupt in
2013, for around TRY985 mil­
lion (USD440 million).
Chinese firm Jianghuai Auto­
mobile Co (JAC) and Italy’s Iveco
are reported to be among the
companies interested in buying
BMC: a part of Cukurova Holding.
Turkey’s Savings Deposit
Insurance Fund (TMSF), which
confiscated BMC’s assets on
17 May 2013, will conduct
the auction, according to an
Pilatus to set
up subsidiary,
plant in India
Swiss company Pilatus Aircraft
is planning to establish a local
subsidiary and manufacturing
plant in India to support its supply
of single-engine turboprop aircraft
to the Indian and export markets.
Jim Roche, deputy chief execu­
tive of Pilatus, was quoted by India's
Financial Express newspaper on 6
February as saying that the company
planned to open a local project office
and a production plant that will initially
manufacture airframes for its PC-12
utility aircraft. These are used by both
militaries and commercial operators.
He indicated that the plant could
expand significantly in future years as
the company responds to local and
regional requirements for a range of
military and paramilitary aircraft.
ihs.com/janes
• MRAP manufacturer BMC is
to be auctioned following its
bankruptcy in 2013
• Iveco and Chinese firm JAC
are reported to be interested
in acquiring the firm, with
production possibly restarting
this year
announcement in an official state
gazette on 4 February.
The Turkish Undersecretariat
for Defence Industries (SSM) ter­
minated its contract with BMC in
late May for Kirpi mine-resistant
ambush-protected (MRAP)
In comments published by the
newspaper, Roche said: “Our long­
term goal is to be capable to design,
develop, and manufacture the com­
plete range of our aircraft products in
India, for the Indian market primarily,
but with a view to expansion within the
region.”
Speaking to IHS Jane’s, a company
spokesman confirmed Roche’s com­
ments but declined to elaborate.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) ordered
75 Pilatus PC-7 Mk II turbo-trainers in
2012, with deliveries scheduled to be
complete by 2015. The purchase order
could eventually rise to 181 units in line
with a long-standing IAF requirement.
The IAF has proposed to licence-build
the additional 106 aircraft at its Base
Repair Depot in Sulur, southern India,
although a decision on whether to
procure these aircraft is likely to be
delayed until after the country’s May
2014 general election.
Jon Grevatt Jane's Asia-Pacific
Industry Analyst, Bangkok
vehicles following the expropria­
tion of its assets by TMSF.
Before it went bankrupt, BMC
had delivered only 278 MRAPs
to the army out of468 vehicles
ordered in a contract signed
in 2009, citing an inability to
finance further production.
Cukurova Holding’s assets,
including BMC, are being audited
by TMSF to collect USD455.3
million that the holding company
owes the fund, TMSF stated in
May 2013. BMC alone owes about
Sevmash shipyard work
set to increase in 2014
In a statement released on 30
January Mikhail Budnichenko,
general director of Russian
shipbuilder Sevmash, said
that the company’s defence
orders for 2014 will be double
that of 2013.
Some increased funding for
Sevmash in 2014 is likely to be
directed at the refit and moderni­
sation of the Kirov-class nuclear-
powered missile cruiser Admiral
Nakhimov. Work began recently
on the vessel, which has been laid
up at Severodvinsk since 1999.
Speaking to representatives
of the shipyard’s trade union,
Budnichenko also said new ship
construction will require up to
8,500 additional workers. Accord­
ing to state news agency ITAR-
TASS, Sevmash currently employs
more than 26,000 workers.
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 21
BUSINESS «
TRY400 million to the SSM and
various subcontractors through
its failure to complete its military
and civilian vehicle orders.
Parties looking to participate
in the BMC auction are required
to pay a deposit ofTRY98.5
million, with the winner gain­
ing ownership of the company,
including its real estate and
patent rights. TMSF hopes that
after the sale BMC will restart
production of Kirpis for the army
in mid-September. ■
The shipyard’s principal effort
remains production of Project
995/995A Borey-class nuclear-
powered ballistic missile sub­
marines and Project 885/885M
Severodvinsk (Yasen)-class attack
submarines. The fourth Borey-
class vessel (Knyaz Vladimir) is in
build at Sevmash and keel layings
for the fifth and sixth vessels
CAlexander Suvorov and Mikhail
Kutuzov) are expected in 2014.
The shipyard is also building the
second and third Yasen-class boats
(Kazan and Novosibirsk) and will
reportedly lay down the fourth
(Ufa) this year.
According to its press service,
Sevmash plans to construct addi­
tional drydocks at Severodvinsk
by 2020.
Karl Soper JDW
Correspondent, Washington, DC
» BUSINESS For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes

IWI to begin assault rifle ANALYSIS

production in Vietnam
JON GREVATT Jane’s Asia-Pacific Industry Analyst
BANGKOK
Israel Weapon Industries (IWI)
has established a production
facility in Vietnam to support
its supply of Galil 31/32 ACE
assault rifles to the Vietnam
People’s Army (VPA), state-run
news agencies in Hanoi have
reported.
The production unit will sup­
ply an unspecified number of the
ACE assault rifles to “gradually
replace” the AK-47s currently
used by the VPA, said reports
published last month.
The rifles are being manufac­
tured at Factory Z111, which
• Israel Weapon Industries
has set up a production unit
in Vietnam to supply Galil
31/32 ACE assault rifles to the
Vietnam People’s Army
• The ACE rifles will gradually
replace the army’s AK-47s
is based in the northern Thanh
Hoa province and owned by the
Ministry of Defence, suggesting
the production of the rifles is a
collaboration between IWI and
the VPA.
The contract to set up the pro­
duction unit and to build and sup­
ply the rifles is reportedly worth
about USD 100 million and was
secured by IWI following a com­
petitive tender process in which
Chinese and Russian companies
also participated, said reports.
Vietnam becomes the second
known export customer of the
ACE assault rifle. In 2010 the
Colombian armed forces ordered
19,000 units, with the rifles
being manufactured at the state-
run Industria Militar.
IWI had not responded to IHS
Jane’s questions at the time of
writing and a spokesman at the
Israeli Embassy in Hanoi could
not be contacted. ■
The programme to build the
Israeli rifles in Vietnam follows
intensifying efforts by the two
countries in recent years to
expand military and related
industrial ties.
In September 2011, for instance,
Vietnam’s deputy defence minister,
Lieutenant General Truong Quang
Khanh, led a delegation to Israel to
visit defence companies and discuss
potential partnership programmes.
The programme also reflects the
rising emphasis Vietnam is placing
on offset-like strategies in defence
procurement.
Collaborative programmes under
way in Vietnam feature Russian Kh-35
Uran anti-ship missiles, Russia’s Ikrut-
200 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV),
and Swedish company Unmanned
Systems Group’s Magic Eye 1 UAV.

The NATO International Staff (HQ Brussels) is looking

for an (m/f) EC warns of defence
OFFICER, AIRSPACE
INTEGRATION AND corruption risks
AIRWORTHINESS
NATO The Defence Investment Division (Dl) is responsible for
The European Commission tinued success, further efforts
-------- 1------- the development of investments in assets and capabilities has identified the defence are necessary to address risks
aimed at enhancing the Alliance’s defence capacity, sector as one of the five areas of foreign bribery in vulnerable
OTAN including armaments planning, air defence and Command
most open to corruption in industries such as defence. In
& Control.
government procurement. this report, the European Com­
Within the Airspace Management Section of the Defence Investment Division,
the Officer will be the focal point for the coordination of Unmanned Aircraft The Commission’s 2014 EU mission suggests that the UK
capabilities and support the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)/Remotely Anti-Corruption Report, released should ensure transparency in
Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) standardisation process, while also assisting
the management in fulfilling implementation of the NATO Airworthiness Policy. on 3 February, states that the out-of-court settlements in cor­
Under the supervision of the Head of Section, the Officer will support relevant “construction, energy, transport, ruption cases.”
NATO Committees and Groups providing expert advice, developing relevant
policy papers and serving as chairman or secretary as needed. He/she will defence, and healthcare sectors Among the problems identi­
also participate in meetings of other International Organisations as required. appear to be most vulnerable to fied by the report were a lack of
Candidates must be able to demonstrate the following: • be a graduate of corruption in public procurement”. oversight and accountability for
a university, college, institute or military academy of recognised standing,
Despite a strong record of large contracts handled by small
preferably an engineer in aviation, Air Traffic Management (ATM) and airworthiness
related techniques or a pilot; • have at least 5 years’ of relevant professional transparency the UK’s defence groups of brokers, dealers, and
experience; • have at least 3 years’ experience in operational and engineering industry was cited by the Com­ officials due to national security
aspects of the UAS, especially with regard to their insertion into relevant
airspace structures; • have experience in all components of airworthiness; mission’s report as particularly considerations.
• have experience in the planning and execution of military air operations, susceptible to foreign bribery - a In order to address this the
airspace management and civil-military ATM coordination; • have experience
and a demonstrated ability to work in an international environment and
legacy of the UK Serious Fraud UK should consider imposing
prepare and present briefings to military and civilian audiences at all levels; Office (SFO) decision in 2006 to stricter limits on the transfer of
• possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/
drop an investigation into defence senior personnel between the
French): V (“Advanced”) in one; II (“Elementary”) in the other.
contracts with Saudi Arabia. public and private sectors, the
Selection of candidates for NATO posts is based upon the merit principle.
Further information concerning the position and details of how to apply can be “Traditionally, the UK pro­ report suggests.
found on www.nato.int/recruitment. Shortlisted candidates will be called for motes high ethical standards Matthew Smith
tests and interview at NATO Headquarters.
of public service,” the report Jane’s Defence Industry
Reference: 140020 - Closing date for applications: 3 March 2014.
said. “However, to ensure con­ Analyst, London

22 j Jane’s Defence Weekly 12 February 2014 ihs.com/janes

For further insight and analysis go to ihs.com/janes
Anglo-French defence
co-operation steps up
France and the UK signed a new defence industry accord on
31 January. Nicholas de Larrinaga assesses how the
agreement will boost the countries’ respective strategic interests
n 31 January France
O and the United Kingdom
signed a wide-ranging
accord at Royal Air Force (RAF)
Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire,
southern England. Although
the Anglo-French agreement
failed to include any firm
contracts or orders, which will
follow later, it was nevertheless
a significant step in joint UK-
French defence efforts.
Following the arrival of French
President Francois Hollande in
the Elysee in 2012, a view had
emerged that the drive towards
closer Anglo-French defence
co-operation, which led to the
Lancaster House agreement of
2010, had withered with the end
of the close relationship between
Hollande’s predecessor, Nicolas
Sarkozy, and UK Prime Minister
David Cameron.
The accord goes some way to
ending such a perception, with
the document representing
a clear statement of intent to
advance Anglo-French co-opera-
tion across the full spectrum of
defence capabilities.
Several commitments were
made by both parties to further
joint co-operation, including
accelerated inter-service co­
operation and declarations of
intent to sign a series of joint
defence contracts and studies
in the future. Even if the
contracts themselves were not
signed on 31 January, the plans
are still of significance.
Of particular importance is
the GBP200 million (USD326
million) in funding for the Future
ihs.oom/janes
Combat Air System (FCAS) joint
feasibility study, expected to be
finalised in a further agreement
at the Farnborough Airshow in
July. Europe has lagged behind the
United States on unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) technology, with
the new commitment of funding
a welcome move to redress that
balance. That said, European
efforts to build a medium-altitude
long-endurance (MALE) UAV
appear to have been completely
killed off by its lack of address in
either the Lancaster House, or
more recent, accords. In its place
the UK and France are consider­
ing the joint operation of their
respective MQ-9 Reaper MALE
UAV fleets.
Combined programmes
Running over two years, the FCAS
project will include conceptual
design studies and engineering
analysis, leading to the outlin­
ing of initial requirements and
subsystem architectures for
the unmanned aircraft concept.
Significantly, despite France look­
ing to move away from bilateral
Anglo-French unmanned combat
air vehicle (UCAV) work to
include other European partners,
the feasibility study remains a
bilateral programme at this stage,
although French sources maintain
that broadening the programme is
still a possibility. The FCAS award
could see a joint demonstration
phase to design and build a pro­
totype FCAS (seen as the future
successor to the Eurofighter and
Rafale fighters) launched as early
as 2016.
The two countries also agreed
to accelerate their efforts to con­
solidate missile design and pro­
duction through the ‘One Com­
plex Weapons’ project. The move
is an important one for Europe’s
defence industry - and for missile-
maker MBDA in particular - in its
attempts to eliminate industrial
overlap and thus create efficien­
cies, as well as to jointly procure
future complex weapons - the
commitment to jointly buy the
MBDA FASGW(H)/ANL helicop­
ter-launched anti-ship missile
being a case in point.
Ultimately, both parties hope to
boost their own defence indus­
tries through their joint procure­
ment efforts. With the FASGW
being a more pressing need for the
UK Royal Navy, IHS Jane’s under­
stands that one of the reasons
behind the French commitment is
a hope that it will prompt the UK
to look more favourably upon pur­
chasing French equipment - and
the VBCI 8x8 infantry fighting
vehicle (IFV) in particular.
For its part, France offered
to loan around 20 VBCIs to
the British Army at the accord
ceremony for testing and evalua­
tion: a move the UK is currently
considering. Although a UK order
for an 8x8 IFV appears at least
five years away, if it happens at
all, UK Chief of Staff General
Sir Peter Wall reportedly voiced
unprompted praise for the VBCI
while on a visit to Mali in January.
The UK, meanwhile, is also
keen to push its defence products
to France, most notably the Thales
UK Watchkeeper tactical UAV.
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 23
ANALYSIS «
The merits of Watchkeeper and
the VBCI were specifically noted
in the accord, with both countries
recognising the other’s products
as “promising candidates” for
their own requirements.
From an operational point
of view, both countries agreed
to significantly advance joint
co-operation and accelerate their
Joint Combined Expeditionary
Force, carrier co-operation, and
co-ordinated maritime patrols.
Even with the perceived cool­
ing in the drive towards joint
Anglo-French defence procure­
ment, this element of bilateral
collaboration ramped up heavily
following the 2010 Lancaster
House accords, with the two
countries hosting several major
joint exercises, not to mention
jointly leading the intervention
in Libya in 2011 or significant
UK C4ISR and transport assis­
tance to French operations in
Mali in 2013.
The note towards carrier co­
operation is interesting, being
heavily mentioned in the earlier
Lancaster House agreements.
Indeed, one of the arguments
towards Anglo-French defence
co-operation being on the decline
was based around the UK’s deci­
sion to abandon the short-lived
catapult-assisted take-off but
arrested delivery (CATOBAR)
configuration for its new Queen
Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers -
even though the UK had already
abandoned efforts to cross-deck
the Rafale and the F-3SC on the
Queen Elizabeth class, due to
technical issues, before that deci­
sion was made.
Given, then, the robustness of
the new Anglo-French defence
accords, it would appear that -
irrespective of the personalities
in No 10 and the Elysee - France
and the UK’s closely aligned stra­
tegic interests will continue to
drive closer defence co-operation
between the two countries.
Nicholas de Larrinaga is the
JDW Europe Editor,
based in London
» BRIEFING
Afghan security situation

Taliban sitrep
While attempts to negotiate a peace deal between Afghan officials and Taliban leaders
continued throughout 2013, rising civilian casualties, ongoing internal power struggles
and fractured lines of control on the ground call into question how much any peace
talks can deliver. Joanna Wright reports

rom the opening in June of a Taliban anti-government elements are increasing, and control some of the activities carried out

F office in Qatar to a meeting between

Afghan officials and former Taliban
second-in-command Mullah Baradar in
interviews with the Taliban indicate power
struggles and fractured lines of control.
Together, these may limit how much any
by anti-government networks operating in
Afghanistan.

Pakistan in November, 2013 was dotted with
attempts to initiate peace talks between the
two sides fighting to control Afghanistan.
The situation on the ground, however, does
not suggest an insurgency moving towards
reconciliation. In the southern provinces -
the traditional Taliban heartland - residents
remain fearful, civilian casualties caused by
peace talks can deliver. A November 2013
report on the Taliban and other associated
individuals by the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) Analytical Support and
Sanctions Monitoring Team indicated that
independent fronts are emerging and that
the Taliban leadership may be unable to
Structure and strategy
“Questions remain about how much direct
control the Taliban leadership can exercise,”
the UNSC report said. “The Taliban combine
centralised authority with significant scope

Afghan policemen inspect a house near the

site of an attack by Taliban militants on a
construction company in Herat province,
Afghanistan, on 17 August 2013. PA:1525856

24 | June's Dgfence'Weekly---12 February 2014 V


for decentralised action.... Despite what
passes for a zonal command structure across
Afghanistan, the Taliban have shown them­
selves unwilling or unable to monopolise
anti-state violence.”
Citing examples of non-Taliban groups
operating in Afghanistan, such as Lashkar-
e-Tayyiba and the relative autonomy of the
Haqqani Network, the report also noted the
significance of personal relationships and
informal networks.
“The Taliban combine hierarchy and a
structured leadership with considerable
autonomy for individual commanders,” it
stated. “The senior leadership does not
necessarily enjoy absolute control over all
commanders in the field.”
Several named groups, such as the Tora
Bora Front, have regenerated, with incidents
increasing in their areas. The report stated:
“During its most recent visit to Afghanistan,
the Monitoring Team was briefed on the
emergence of other person-centric networks
or ‘fronts’ that act in a manner similar to the
Haqqani Network, autonomously from the
senior leadership, handling money and logis­
tics for their respective groups.”
In addition to the Tora Bora Front, the
report identified the Mawlawi Nazir Group
and the Fidayi Mahaz, which was previously
known as the Mullah Dadullah Front. ‘Fidayi’,
or ‘fedayeen’, translates as ‘sacrifice’ and is
taken by many Afghans to mean ‘suicide’.
These groups are nominally subordinate to
the Taliban leadership, but may not be under
their control. If some of the current com­
manders bypass traditional lines of control
then this will limit how much negotiators can
deliver, international observers with experi­
ence on the ground warned.
The observers told IHS Jane’s that the
attack on the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Jalalabad at the
end of May 2013 - described by the ICRC as
the first incident of this type in the country -
underlined a breakdown of Taliban leadership
control over the choice of targets. The ICRC
has historically been able to work across
Afghanistan, including accessing detainees at
the Detention Facility in Parwan, and there
has been a noticeable lack of complex attacks
against its offices, although ICRC members
have been killed or held in Afghanistan.
The Taliban issued a statement denying the
29 May attack, which had killed a guard and
injured others. Nevertheless, the UN Moni­
ihs.com/janes
toring Team reported in November: “Local
security officials and other Afghan interlocu­
tors identified a Taliban ‘front’ (the ‘Fidayi
Mahaz’) as the perpetrator of the attack.”
IHS Jane’s is aware of another account of
the attack that identifies the involvement
of a different group, while Taliban sources
have also stated that the attack was carried
out by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP),
which has a presence in Nangarhar and has
made prior agreements with the Taliban to
support operations. Dr Antonio Giustozzi,
who has written a number of books on the
war in Afghanistan, told IHS Jane’s that the
Taliban sources claimed the TTP carried out
the attack to try to discredit the Peshawar
Shura as it sent emissaries to the Qatar office
and manoeuvred to negotiate. Regardless
of which group was ultimately responsible,
however, the attack highlighted a limit of
influence exerted by the Taliban leadership.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of new
fronts (mahaz) have been created in southern
Afghanistan. Giustozzi told IHS Jane’s that
2013 saw the creation of the highest number
of new fronts, with eight identified as of the
end of October. Six are in the south, under
the Quetta Shura (two of these operate more
in Western Afghanistan and have a level of
co-operation with Iran), and two are in the
east, under the Peshawar Shura.
The creation of new fronts is “in part due
to the fact that there is no clear leadership
in the Taliban... there is no agreement of the
BRIEFING «
ANA commandos assigned to the 8th Special
Operations Kandak conduct a training exercise
in Logar province on 30 January. pa:waw?
political leadership among the Taliban now,”
said Giustozzi. Commanders seeking influ­
ence at the political level will try to increase
the number of fronts they control, as each
front is represented by a seat at the shura.
“It is a competition for influence among
different players which drives the recruit­
ment expansion,” Giustozzi explained. “If
you have money to spend, the best strategy
to maximise your influence is to have a lot
of aligned mahaz [fronts].” He added that
the commanders creating the fronts were
existing players but are establishing the new
structures to recruit more people.
Changes in funding lines for shuras have
also encouraged the proliferation of fronts.
The arrest of Taliban military commander
and Quetta Shura member Mullah Baradar
in Karachi in February 2010 led to conflict
between some of the shura leaders and their
Pakistani sponsors. Funding was re-directed
to Mullah Zakir, then head of the military
commission in Quetta and now the military
leader for all Taliban. The Peshawar Shura also
received some of the money previously chan­
nelled to Quetta, which has led to an increase
in the number of fronts in eastern Afghani­
stan, said Giustozzi.
The promotion of Mullah Zakir led to
further friction among Taliban command­
ers in southern Afghanistan. Some Taliban
describe him as unable to manage command­
ers sufficiently to keep them militarily sup­
plied and in the field to hold territory. There
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 25
» BRIEFING
is a considerable age difference between the
current Taliban commanders in southern
Afghanistan, with Zakir in his mid-thirties
and Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the former
deputy of Mullah Baradar who briefly took
over after Baradar’s arrest, nearly two decades
older and a mujahideen-era commander. Mul­
lah Baradar, meanwhile, is in his mid-forties.
Observers in Kandahar also highlight tribal
tension, with Baradar from the Popolzai tribe,
Zakir from the Alizai and Mansour from the
Ishaqzai tribe.
All three seek funding from opiates, with
production in Afghanistan reaching record
levels. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime
reported in November that cultivation had
risen from 154,000 hectares in 2012 to
209,000 hectares in 2013.
Giustozzi also claims there are outside
players seeking influence, with the Iranians
An ANA soldier fires a D-30 howitzer during a live fire exercise
and a number of Arab sympathisers send­
at Camp Eagle, Afghanistan, on 22 January. pk 152585s
ing money directly to some Taliban groups.
National Directorate of Security (NDS) and
central government officials in Kandahar more, giving more money, sending more killed in recent years, with officials in Hel-
have complained that the 'Iranians’ are [materiel] to the Taliban.” Taliban fighters mand saying 2011 was the deadliest year for
providing money, training and sophisticated involved in the September 2012 assault on Taliban field commanders.
weaponry to the Taliban, while Giustozzi has Camp Bastion received training in Iran for a Officials in Kandahar and Helmand also
noted increasing collaboration between the month and also in Waziristan, said Giustozzi. said that fewer established commanders were
Iranians and the Taliban since 2012. spending time on the battlefield, instead
“The Iranians are worried about Western Tactics and composition relying on younger commanders who lack
intervention in Syria, so they kind of retaliate Sources have reported that a considerable both military training and familiarity with
in Afghanistan,” he said. “They are training number ofTaliban commanders have been the area.

Asymetric tactics: improvised explosive devices

Civilian casualties increased by nearly a quarter
to 3,852 during the first half of 2013, with
improvised explosive devices (lEDs) the most
deadly factor. lEDs killed 443 civilians and
injured 917 (35% of all civilian casualties) dur­
ing the first six months of 2013: a rise of more
than a third compared with 2012, according to
the mid-year report on civilian casualties by
the United Nations Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Most Afghan National Security Forces
casualties were also caused by IEDs, the
US Department of Defense reported in its
November 2013 'Report on Progress Toward
Security and Stability in Afghanistan’. This
stated that there was a 79% increase in ANSF
casualties from the beginning of April to the
end of September compared with the same
period in 2012. In comparison, ISAF casual­
ties decreased by 59%.
The rise in casualties sustained by the
ANSF is explained by their increased size
and more extensive engagement in theatre.
According to the DoD report, their man­
power totalled 344,603 in August 2013
(98% of the ANSF’s authorised end strength
of 352,000 and nearly twice their size
in 2009). The number of ANSF is further
boosted by more than 24,000 Afghan Local
Police (ALP).
ISAF troops now total less than a fifth of
the declared ANSF number and numbers fell
from 86,888 at the beginning of April 2013
to 65,222 by the end of September. Further­
more, in August around two-thirds of secu­
rity incidents in Afghanistan involved ANSF
forces only, with just a quarter involving
ISAF troops. In comparison, a DoD graphic
shows that in August 2011 fewer than 10%
of incidents involved ANSF only, while nearly
90% involved ISAF.
The majority of IED strikes continue to
take place in the traditional Taliban regions
of Kandahar and Helmand, which have also
been a focus of ISAF and now ANSF opera­
tions. The insurgents have moved away from
victim-operated IEDs, such as pressure
plates, to radio-controlled IEDs (two-way
radios and phones have been used in Afghani­
stan), UNAMA has reported.
When ISAF had a heavy footprint in
theatre, making its troops the main target,
widespread use of electronic countermea­
sures (ECM) rendered RC-IEDs less effec­
tive. “The reduction in patrolling by ISAF
may have been viewed as an opportunity
by anti-government elements to increase
the use of RC-IEDs and reduce the use of
victim-operated devices.
The ANSF have been using electronic
countermeasures since June 2013,”
reported UNAMA, noting that Afghan per­
sonnel were also using bomb suits, robots

26 | Jane’s Defence Weekly 12 February 2014 ihs.com/janes


There is no accurate external assessment
of Taliban numbers, but many sources have
reported a major drive to expand the ranks,
with an associated need for more command­
ers to train the new recruits.
The increasing presence of younger lead­
ers has had two knock-on effects. One is
increased brutality in operations, something
that has concerned residents and some Tali­
ban. Another has been a change in tactics.
“In a sense, losing the old style command­
ers was beneficial to move forward with
innovation as there are [commanders]
now who are happy to use asymmetric
tactics,” Giustozzi said. “So you can see it
both ways - the skills and charisma [of old
commanders] is not so important when you
plant IEDs [improvised explosive devises]”.
A Taliban fighter from Kajaki told IHS Jane’s
that unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strikes
had killed numerous Taliban commanders
and that their young replacements were
“totally relying on IEDs”.
The Taliban fighter acknowledged civilian
casualties but did not take the stance typi­
cally seen in past interviews when Taliban
fighters have defended their use of IEDs.
Instead, he stated: “Nobody is paying atten­
tion to [these] casualties and they keep plant­
ing IEDs on civilian routes.”
Asymmetric tactics that threaten the popu­
lation will be harder for the Taliban to justify
for route clearance and radio frequency
jammers. ANSF protection through the use
of ECM will depend on how widely units
have been equipped with such equipment
and the extent to which it is used and main­
tained effectively.
RC-IEDs should theoretically enable
attackers to discriminate between targets
and so have the potential to reduce civil­
ian casualties. The figures in Afghanistan,
however, show that civilian casualties from
RC-IEDs have increased by 130%. UNAMA
recorded 160 RCIED attacks resulting in 136
civilian deaths and 426 injuries during the
first half of 2013.
One reason for this increase is the target­
ing of government officials operating in
urban areas, such as Afghan National Police
“performing civilian law enforcement
functions such as traffic policing”, UNAMA
reported, or “against ANP checkposts in areas
ihs.com/ianes
An ANA special forces soldier searches for
IEDs in Ab Band district, Ghazni province, on
14 December 2013.
with high concentrations of civilians”.
Extremely basic arming devices have been
built for some IED initiators in Afghanistan,
including the use of non-conductive
material such as plastic to block the initia­
tion circuit, which is then pulled out to arm
the device. This allows a bomb-setter to bury
a device in a road so that traffic can pass over
it, allowing the operator to arm it when a
target, such as a military convoy, approaches
and thus allowing the IED to function in a
manner similar to one activated by a
pressure plate.
Taliban use of actual pressure plates has
evolved from the use of crude devices with
a high metal content, which were thus
susceptible to discovery by ISAF and ANSF
metal detectors, to initiators designed with
minimal metal content. In 2010 IHS Jane’s
documented PMN-type anti-personnel
mines being smuggled in bulk across the
BRIEFING «
as foreign troops withdraw. They are also
likely to be less necessary as the overwhelm­
mssni ing firepower of Western forces becomes less
of a battlefield factor.
“The transition to more conventional
warfare is going to be problematic because
the new generation of [Taliban commanders]
has been essentially trained into this new
kind of war,” Giustozzi said. “They put a lot
of pressure on the commanders to shift to
asymmetric tactics; it took a couple of years,
then they succeeded. Now they have totally
acquired asymmetric tactics, and now is the
time to go back again. That will take time, in
part because these [commanders] got used
to fighting in a way that spares casualties,
but also because you require new skills and
these have to be learnt - either someone
trains them or they learn by doing, which
takes a while.”
Some of the old tactics used, including
larger groups of Taliban, were seen in 2013
during attempts to take over Sangin district
centre. Officials in Helmand noted
that the Afghan Local Police were
particularly vulnerable to the use of
IEDs combined with small arms
fire, as following an explosion
they would rush into the line of
fire as they sought help or attempted
to pursue the Taliban. Underlining the lack
of an overall shift in Taliban tactics - and a
Pakistani border to Kandahar.
These mines, which had moulded plastic
cases and lacked a safety arming mechanism
(meaning they were transported live),
contained around 0.5 kg of potassium
chlorate-based explosive. The pressure
required to activate these devices was only
around 1.8 kg, according to an ISAF weap­
ons safety officer, meaning they could be
easily triggered.
Home-made initiators that can be pro­
duced in Afghanistan also feature on the
battlefield. A device recovered by the ANA in
the summer of 2 012 used a wooden frame
containing carbon rods from a battery as the
contact points.
Kandahar residents interviewed by IHS
Jane’s in late 2013 claimed pressure plates
continued to be the main type of initiator
used, noting that the devices detonate as
vehicles pass over them.
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 27
» BRIEFING
An Afghan commando provides security during an
operation targeting Taliban militants in Ghorband
district, Parwan province, in early January. ' 1525860
lack of command and control - is an escala­
tion in civilian casualties from IEDs, even as
the footprint of the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) is reduced. Addition­
ally, the Taliban is increasingly using remote-
controlled IEDs (RCIEDs) that should enable
more discriminate targeting.
One would expect the importance of
civilian welfare to increase to an insurgency
ANA commandos secure the ridgeline
above the Zamtu Valley to provide security
while other team members clear the
surrounding area in the valley below on
13 November 2013. pa:
28 j Jane's Defence Weekly 12 February 2014
as international forces leave theatre, but
Giustozzi claims this is not happening.
“The leadership might issue orders, but the
[Taliban fighters] in the field don’t seem to be
very concerned at all,” he said.
Conclusion
Despite causing more civilian casualties, the
Taliban are also investing in more non-mili­
1525*
tary activities; they have expanded the Tali­
ban court system, opened more madrassahs,
and appointed civilian officers in districts.
A further major investment was made
outside Afghanistan with the establishment
of the Taliban office in Qatar in June 2013,
which, the UNSC’s November report noted,
“was meant to provide the Taliban with an
address for engaging with the High Peace
Council”. There was, however, controversy
when the office closed shortly after opening
and funding for the address and personnel
is not clear. Along with the evidence that
younger commanders were calling the shots
from the ground, the unclear status of the
Qatar office suggests a divided movement -
or at least one that is undergoing an internal
debate on the best way forward.
“Although the Qatar initiative appears
to have stalled, the potential for dialogue
persists,” the UNSC’s November 2013 report
noted. “The challenge lies within the Taliban
movement, as those interested in dialogue
still appear subordinate to those committed
to further fighting.” ■
Joanna Wright is a JDW Correspondent,
reporting from New York
ihs.com/janes

Shutterstock: 1518662
While a return to growth in military budgets in 2014 will offer some respite to defence
manufacturers following half a decade of decline, a sustained and robust recovery is still
some years off. The IHS Jane’s Defence Budgets team reports
ollowing five years of decline in military
F spending, 2014 is expected to see global
defence budgets increase for the first
time since 2009. Despite the expectation of
further cuts in the United States and Western
Europe, defence budget growth elsewhere in
the world - particularly in the Middle East and
Asia Pacific - is likely to offset this reduction
and see global expenditure increase by USD8.5
billion toUSDl.547 trillion.
While the increase is a positive sign for the
defence industry, growth will remain anaemic
at 0.6%, according to IHS Jane’s Defence
Budgets data. Furthermore, global expenditure
is currently projected to contract further in
2015 before returning to a sustained period of
growth for the remainder of the decade.
Since 2009 global defence expenditure has
been in a steady state of decline. The budgetary
challenges prompted by the global financial
crisis - particularly upon the governments of
Western Europe and the United States - have
seen military spending fall by 6.8% in real terms
ihs.com/ianes
Business
from its 2009 level of USD 1,651 billion. In
2013 IHS Jane’s Defence Budgets estimated
global defence expenditure to have stood at
USD 1,538 billion: a USD 112.2 billion reduc­
tion from the 2009 high in real terms. While
a return to growth will begin to reverse the
negative trend of the past five years, IHS Jane’s
currently projects that global defence spending
will not recover to previous levels until 2019.
Cuts implemented in the US Department
of Defense (DoD) budget continue to be
the single biggest factor affecting the global
defence spending environment. In the United
States the fiscal year 2013 (FY 2013) budget
stood at USD582.4 billion and incorporated
the USD37.2 billion sequester enacted in
March 2013. The low point for the Pentagon’s
budget is currently expected in FY 2 015, where
another large decrease in Overseas Contingency
Operations (OCO) funding will take place. Since
the FY 2014 DoD budget has now been signed
into public law as of 17 January, the US DoD
budget was allocated increases of USD22.4
BRIEFING «
Global defence budgets
billion and USD9.2 billion in FY 2014 and FY
2015 respectively, improving the defence
posture for those two years and increasing the
global defence expenditure in FY 2014.
The overall US defence budget is expected
to remain flat through to FY 2018 (except for
the dip in FY 2015) as the US military with­
draw from Afghanistan and faces continuing
pressure from Budget Control Act caps and
sequester reductions.
To the South, Latin American military
expenditure remains relatively limited at 4.2%
of the world’s defence budget. The region has
also seen budgets decline over the past five
years, with spending standing at USD64.5
billion in 2013 compared to the 2008 level of
USD79.3billion.
Within this grouping of states Brazil has
always possessed the largest defence budget,
standing at 46% of the regional total in 2013.
Brazil’s defence budget declined from 2007 to
2011, but started to increase in 2012, reaching
USD29.5 billion in 2013. While it remains to
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly i 29
» BRIEFING
Global defence expenditure by region
Q nominal terms since 2007 and will have tripled
to
D since that time by the end of the current spend­
Year
■ North America Asia-Pacific
■ MENA Latin America
Source: IHS Jane’s Defence Budgets
be seen whether defence spending will survive
challenges such as the need to pay for internal
security and infrastructure improvements in
advance of major sporting events like the 2014
FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games,
the Brazilian defence budget is currently pro­
jected to climb to USD32.3 billion by 2017.
Defence budgets in the five largest Western
European markets (the UK, France, Germany,
Italy, and Spain) decreased by 1.6% in 2013 and
are projected to contract a further 24% in 2014.
Regional spending totalled USD242.8 billion in
2013 and this is expected to decrease to a low of
USD234.6 billion by 2017 in real terms. Within
the region defence spending has shifted propor­
tionally from the UK, Italy, and Spain over the
last five years as cuts have been severe.
France has held spending steady in nominal
terms, which served to maintain a share of
total Western European spending at approxi­
mately 22%. Germany, where cuts have been
relatively modest, has seen its share of total
expenditure increase to 18%.
The French defence budget has followed a
gradually declining path from a high of USD 5 7
billion in 2009 following the fallout from
the global financial crisis, to just under 25%
of real GDP in 2011. This proportion is likely
to decrease further in the short term as GDP
growth recovers, even with military pensions
funding included. France’s six-year defence
funding programme, the Projet de Loi de Pro-
grammemation Militaire (LPM) 2014-2019,
released in August 2013, will see core defence
spending remain static in nominal terms from
2013-16 at EUR31.38 billion (USD43 billion)
a year, rising slightly to EUR 31.5 6 billion in
2017, EUR31.78 billion in 2018, and finally
30 | Jane’s Defence Weekly 12 February 2014
■ Western Europe Eastern Europe
■ Sub-Saharan Africa
©2014 IHS 1518658
EUR32.51 billion in2019.
In Spain, the budgetary climate has been
significantly worse with the announced core
defence budget for 2014 of EUR5.74 billion
representing a 3.2% decrease over 2013. The
2014 reduction marks Spain’s fifth consecu­
tive year of core defence budget cutbacks.
In the United Kingdom the Chancellor
released the Autumn Statement in December
2013 detailing additional cuts of 1.14% in the
UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) budget over the
next two years. The MoD has been promised
a real-term rise in its equipment budget from
2016-21 of 1%: about GBP3 billion (USD5 bil­
lion) in total. However, there is no such pledge
to increase the non-equipment part of the
defence budget. As a result IHS Jane’s Defence
Global defence expenditure - US versus Rest of World
1,200
1,000
»
? 800
0f\i
1 600
a 400
200
2009
US
Source: IHS Jane's Defence Budgets
■■■■■■■■■■
Budgets forecasts a reduction of 7.6% in the
UK defence budget between 2013 and 2016
beyond which point mild growth is forecast.
Against the backdrop of constrained resources
in the West the return to growth in 2014 is
expected to be driven by Russia, which plans to
increase spending by 13.5% in real terms from
USD68.9 billion to USD78.2 billion. The Rus­
sian defence budget has more than doubled in
ing plan in 2016, when military expenditure is
expected to reach USD9 8.4 billion in real terms.
These increases have seen Moscow overtake
the UK and Japan to become the third-largest
spender on defence in global terms.
The fastest-growing region over the past
two years in proportional terms has been
the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),
which is projected to achieve a further 3.5%
growth in real terms in 2014 to reach a total
of USD 124.9 billion. This rate of expansion
is a significant slowdown from 2013, which
saw defence budgets in the region expand by
12.1%, vastly outpacing growth elsewhere.
Of the world’s 10 fastest-growing defence
budgets in 2013, six were located in the
MENA region, causing total regional defence
expenditure to rise to USD 120.6 billion
from USD107.6 billion in 2012. MENA now
accounts for 7.8% of worldwide defence
expenditure, up from 5.2% in 2008.
Growth in the defence budgets of the Gulf
states, led by Saudi Arabia and Oman, has been
particularly high over recent years and now
accounts for around 83% of all spending in
the Middle East. The combined Saudi defence
I
2014 2020
Year
Rest of World
5 2014 IHS 1518659
ihs.com/janes

Global defence expenditure - regional growth rates
-15% -10% -5%
■ MENA
■ Latin America
Source: IHS Jane's Defence Budgets
and security budget reached USD67 billion
in 2013 and has grown by an average of 6.5%
a year in real terms since 2007. The Omani
budget, meanwhile, has grown by close to 40%
in each of the last two years in order to finance
a number of major defence acquisition pro­
grammes, reaching USD9.2 billion in 2013.
Military spending has also increased
dramatically in Algeria over the past decade;
the North African state is estimated to have
had the highest military expenditure in
Africa in 2013, having overtaken Egypt
in 2009. Algeria’s draft budget for 2013
allocated DZD825.86 billion (USD 10.5
billion) for the MoD: a 14.21% nominal
increase on the previous year. This will
bring the defence budget to more than 5%
of projected GDP for 2013, making Algeria
one of the world’s heaviest spending states
by this measure.
Defence expenditure in the Asia-Pacific
region increased by 3.3% in real terms in
2013, reaching USD3 71.1 billion, with
China and India continuing to drive growth.
The region now accounts for 24.1% of
global spending on the sector compared
with 20% just five years ago. Based on IHS
Jane’s Defence Budgets projections, this
share will grow to 28.5% by the end of the
decade, reaching USD474.7 billion. While
a marginal slowdown is projected in 2014,
the Asia Pacific is expected to see relatively
stable real-term growth rates over the
remainder of the decade at between 3-4%.
While the Chinese government announced
a 10.7% increase in the defence budget to
CNY720.2 billion (USD 118 billion), the
ihs.com/janes
0% 5% 10%
Percentage growth (real terms)
Asia-Pacific ■ Eastern Europe
* Western Europe North America
©2014 IHS 1518660
increase was claimed against an apparently
revised 2012 budget, which was almost cer­
tainly prompted by growing economic concern
in China. According to previously announced
figures, the new budget essentially repre­
sents only a relatively limited 4.3% increase
in realterms over the previously announced
budget for 2012: significantly lower than the
average annual increase over the past 10 years
of 14.7%. As a result defence expenditure fell
from 1.31%to 1.28% of GDP.
In Japan, where previous governments
have sought to restrict defence spending,
the new Abe administration increased core
defence spending in 2013 (albeit by just 0.4%
in nominal terms), while the MoD’s FY 2014
budget request encompasses further growth
Global defence expenditure by region - 2013
■ North America Asia-Pacific
* MENA Latin America
Source: IHS Jane's Defence Budgets
BRIEFING «
of 1.4%. While the request is in keeping with
the government’s apparent eagerness to make
defence and security issues a priority and looks
likely to be granted, the curtailment of tsunami
reconstruction funding and lower pensions
obligations expected to reduce total spending
by 3.9% in real terms to USD54.6 billion.
With military budgets among many of
the major NATO nations due to continue to
contract over the next 12 months the shift in
the centre of gravity of defence expenditure is
expected to continue to shift south and east in
2014, following the trend of global economic
15% expansion. Asia, the Middle East, and Russia
will provide the impetus behind the stabalisa-
tion in global military spending expected this
year and will drive the recovery projected from
2016 onwards.
The marginal growth expected in global
spending in 2014 is more accurately repre­
sented as an end to a period of decline than the
beginning of a sustained and robust recovery,
yet the increase will offer some respite to
defence manufacturers, which have seen their
core market contract for half a decade. ■
Craig Caffrey is a Senior Budget
Analyst, based in London. Fenella
McGerty and Guy Eastman are Senior
Budget Analysts, based in Washington, DC.
Budget Report
This is an extract of the IHS Jane’s Defence
Budgets Annual Report, posted online 14 Janu­
ary and available to JDIM and JDB subscribers.
For more details, see www.ihs.com/jdb.
24%
■ Western Europe Eastern Europe
Sub-Saharan Africa
S 2014 IHS 1518661
12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly I 31
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ihs.com/janes 12 February 2014 Jane’s Defence Weekly | 33

»INTERVIEW____________________________
Lieutenant Brigadier Juniti Saito
BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE COMMANDER
razil’s decision to choose the Saab
B Gripen E (formerly Next Generation-
NG) multirole fighter for its 36 F-X2
combat aircraft programme was based on a
28,000-page document prepared by a "highly
competent team of technical experts”, Brazil­
ian Air Force (For^a Aerea Brasileira - FAB)
commander Lieutenant Brigadier Juniti Saito
told IHS Jane’s.
“The government decided to follow the
technical advice of the Brazilian Air Force. We
had a team of aviators, engineers, area main­
tenance personnel, and project management
specialists working on the project for years,”
Brig Saito said.
“They examined the three proposals on
offer from the French Dassault Rafale, the
American Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet,
and the Swedish Gripen, and came to the con­
clusion that the Gripen was the best technical
aircraft for the FAB.
“Saab also had the best price. The Gripen
is tremendous value for money and has low
maintenance and fuel costs. As managers of
public resources this was important but it
wasn’t the deciding factor,” he said.
In the document FAB experts estimated
that the price per flight hour for the Gripen
is in the region of USD4,000. The figure
for both the Boeing F/A-18E/F and Rafale
models is around USD14,000.
"I know the Gripen has been criticised
for being a single-engine aircraft, but to
be fair everyone says their plane is better,”
commented Brig Saito.
“The single-turbine Gripen is lighter, with
a capacity of up to 7 tonnes of fuel. The plane
has a 1,300 km [operational radius] and a
maximum range of4,000 km. Like other con­
tinental nations the defence of our airspace is
maintained from several bases spread across
our territory. Therefore the fighter’s prerequi­
site was not to cover the whole country but to
have the capacity to reach other bases, areas
on the coast or the Amazon quickly.”
Although the Gripen’s payload capacity is
less than that of its competitors, the aircraft
can take off with a maximum payload of 16.5
tonnes, including up to 7.2 tonnes of weapons.
“The fighter will be able to integrate arms
being developed by Brazilian companies,
including air-to-air and anti-ship missiles as
34 j Jane's Defence Weekly 12 February 2014
‘The advantage
is the Gripen is a
work in progress’
well as guided bombs, to attack targets on
land and at sea,” Brig Saito noted.
“We were also influenced by Saab’s will­
ingness to include us in the development
of the Gripen project. Overall we took into
account performance, effective transfer of
technology and cost; not just the acquisition
costs but maintenance costs as well.”
Back in 2011 Saab made the highly attrac­
tive offer of promising a near total transfer
of sensitive technology. Brig Saito said this
initial proposition remains “the basis of the
current discussions” and that the “intellec­
tual property to the aircraft is crucial and will
be integral to the negotiating process”.
The brigadier added: “We see this opportu­
nity as a means of empowering our domestic
industry and giving the FAB unprecedented
access and involvement, so that in years to
come we can develop fifth-generation fight­
ers ourselves.”
Both Dassault and Boeing offered the
transfer of sensitive technologies and other
advantages, such as supersonic wind-tunnels
and composite materials, but their aircraft are
already fully developed and their design fixed.
“The advantage is the Gripen is a work in
progress. The plan is that Brazil will develop
40% of the aircraft’s components. The FAB
will play a key role in co-ordinating the trans­
fer of essential skills between Saab and the
Brazilian companies that participate in the
project,” Brig Saito said.
“The contract, including details of domes­
tic industry involvement, will be negotiated
throughout the year and signing is likely to be
by the end of this year,” he added.
There are strong indications that Saab
intends to develop a partnership with the
aerospace conglomerate Embraer, along with
other key Brazilian companies. It already has
a four-year deal with Akaer, which designs
the central fuselage, back, and wings of the
Gripen E. In addition, all parts of the airframe
could be produced in a new factory that Saab
plans to build in Sao Bernardo do Campo in
Sao Paulo state.
With the deactivation of its Dassault
Mirage 2000s at the end of 2013, the FAB
will be using its Northrop F-5M fighters
until the arrival of the Gripen aircraft. As an
interim measure, Brazil is currently negotiat­
ing the loan of around a dozen earlier C/D
versions of the Gripen while it waits for the
first consignment of Gripen Es.
“We should be flying our first six fully com­
missioned [new] Gripens within 48 months
of signing the contract,” Brig Saito said.
“Thereafter we expect delivery to be
faster, with up to 12 aircraft per year.
Initially, the Gripen will complement the
F-5M and A-1M [Alenia-Embraer AMX] air­
craft and then it will begin to replace them
over the next decade.”
The brigadier stressed that there will be
a high level of interoperability between the
Gripen, F- 5M, A-1M, and Super Tucano.
The brigadier who, along with Minister
of Defence Celso Amorim, made the official
announcement to equip the FAB with the
Saab Gripen last December, revealed that he
never stopped believing the day would come.
“The FAB has waited nearly two decades
for this decision, so it wasn’t a surprise when
we were finally able to announce it. I knew
it would come one day - it was just a matter
of waiting for the government to say when,”
Brig Saito said.
Janet Tappin Coelho
JDW Correspondent, Rio de Janeiro
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INDO MARINE
2014
Defence Weekly
NAVAL
PERR]URIT MJUJMM C- A
OKuMPBPPPaBI
FORCES

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FORUM Organised by
The 3rd Indonesia's Maritime Security,
Marine Equipment, Shipbuilding,
Port Technology and Shipping Logistic event
PT. Napindo Media Ashatama
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Phone: 62-21 865 0962, 864 4756/85 | Fax. : 62-21 865 0963 | E-mail: info@indodefence.com
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