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The 2017 US Marine Corps Marathon is over and is now another chapter in the history of a great event.
The Second Line of Defense team would like to congratulate the Marine Corps and all the runners who participated in the 2017 Marine Corps Marathon.
It is a joyous event with an historic course which is run throughout the Nation’s Capital.
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To say that it is a fun run is not to minimize what a significant accomplishment is being made by a runner in the event to forge a life time of memories.
Each year every runner has a great story.
This year, we were struck by a uniformed police contingent walking fast together holding special flags for “Project Remember.”
It was a warm Sunday day in October.
But there were a number of dedicated uniformed Police walking in unity to remember their fallen brethren.
They were joined by many service members and their families, who also ran to honor the sacrifices made by a few for the safety of us all against enemies both foreign and domestic.
It was that kind of event and that kind of a day-OORAH Marines!
2017-10-23 According to a story published by the Australian Department of Defence on October 12, 2017, the ScanEagle has completed its operational evaluation during an Australian deployment to the Middle East.
HMAS Newcastle has conducted the RAN’s first simultaneous operations of manned and unmanned aircraft during its current deployment to the Middle East on Operation Manitou.
In September, Newcastle’s MH-60R helicopter and ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) were employed on concurrent surface search sorties in the Gulf of Oman in support of Task Force 50, US Navy 5th Fleet.
Commanding Officer, HMAS Newcastle, Commander Mark Sirois said the integration of manned and unmanned aerial operations offered significant flexibility to Commanders at sea.
“The cooperative employment of both aviation platforms allows Newcastle to effectively conduct wide-area search and persistent surveillance by employing the appropriate asset,” he said.
“The advent of unmanned aerial systems within the RAN, specifically in Newcastle for OP Manitou, has provided an excellent asset for both the CMF mission and for future use within the RAN.”
Newcastle has four ScanEagle air vehicles embarked as part of an Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL) to support the introduction of Maritime Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems and their teamed employment with manned aircraft, under Project SEA 129.
HMAS Newcastle’s Flight Commander, Lieutenant Commander Ian Holmes said the deployment of manned and unmanned systems had seen Newcastle operate at flying stations for extended periods, which was based on comprehensive planning and coordination.
“The successful, concurrent MH-60R – ScanEagle mission was a result of detailed planning and preparation to ensure that the conduct of the flying operations could be supported effectively by Newcastle,” Lieutenant Commander Holmes said.
“This required a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities of both aviation platforms.”
During the manned-unmanned teaming sortie, ScanEagle was equipped with a ‘Video Detection and Ranging’ (ViDAR) camera that automatically detects surface contacts, increasing operator situational awareness and search capacity.
Due to the longer endurance of ScanEagle, and a need to ensure safe recovery of the manned aircraft to the single flight deck, the MH-60R was operated after ScanEagle launch and prior to its recovery.
Prior to the simultaneous manned-unmanned operation, the ScanEagle had been used as a platform to conduct surface search and persistent, covert surveillance in support of CTF 150 Maritime Security Operations, including chokepoint transits in the Bab al Mandeb.
As of late September, ScanEagle had flown 140 hours over 29 OPEVAL sorties.
The UAS is fully integrated into Newcastle’s combat system, enabling live streaming of ScanEagle imagery to the operations room for analysis and exploitation.
As the NATO allies focus on new threats and those posed by historic competitors, the need to reinforce North Atlantic defense is coming back into focus. As the former head of NORAD, Admiral Gortney, put it in an interview shortly before his departure:
Put in simple terms, we need to shape a more integrated air and maritime force that can operate to defend the maritime and air approaches to North America as well as North America itself.
We can look at the evolving threat as a ten o’clock and a two o’clock fight, because they originate from the ten and two.
And the ten o’clock fight is primarily right now an aviation fight.
They’re moving capability there, but it’s nothing like what they have at the two o’clock fight.
The two o’clock fight is more of a maritime fight.
And he underscored the importance of Canada in shaping capabilities to work the challenges.
For 58 years, we have had a bi-national command, NORAD. The current government faces a set of tough problems, not the least of which due to past governments not addressing re-capitalization.
This is a notional rendering of the 10 and 2 O’Clock challenge. It is credited to Second Line of Defense and not in any way an official rendering by any agency of the US government. It is meant for illustration purposes only. Credit: Second Line of Defense
Clearly, what they need to do is to recapitalize their air and maritime force, and preferably one that can work together from the ground up as an integrated force.
I think NORAD needs to become a multi-domain command, and their forces could flow into that command and out of that command as a key enabler.
The current chief of staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Lt. General Hood, provided his perspective on the Canadian contribution to the challenges posed by Admiral Gortney, Lt. General Hood highlighted in a recent interview that a key element of how Canada was shaping its approach to working the challenges and working with allies was the modernization of their P-3, namely the Aurora CP-140.
While the UK, Norway, and the US Navy were adding new platforms, namely, the P-8 and in the case of the US Navy the Triton, the Canadian Air Force was focused on the modernization of the brain of the P-3, and shaping a new workflow within the aircraft as the 21st century maritime domain awareness and strike enterprise evolves in the North Atlantic.
“Out of all the NATO ASW platforms in there,” says LGen Hood, “the most effective one has been our CP-140. I am exceptionally proud of our ASW capability, and when I couple it with the new advanced capability on our upgraded frigates, I see us a backbone of NATO’s ASW capability.”
RCAF Commander LGen Michael Hood (Photo: Sgt Paz Quillé, RCAF PA Imagery)
Over the decade ahead, as the maritime domain awareness and strike enterprise is reworked with the coming of the P-8 and the Triton (among other assets) Canada will add an unmanned capability, continue upgrading the CP-140, and work closely with allies in reshaping the maritime domain awareness and strike networks. New satellite sensor and communications systems will also be added.
According to LGen Hood, this will allow the RCAF to leverage developments in the next decade to determine what needs to be put on their replacement manned air platform and to determine which air platform that would be. “The government’s new defence policy lays out a 20-year funding line that recapitalizes our air force.”
He acknowledges that the eventual replacement of the CP-140 is funded in that policy but explains that this is not a near term need. “We have better capability from an ASW perspective in the CP-140 than comes off the line presently in the P-8. We have just gone through a Block III upgrade that has completely modernized the ASW capability as well as adding an overland ISR piece. We have replaced the wings on many major empennage [tail assembly] points and the goal is to get our CP-140 out to about 2032 when we’re going to replace it with another platform.”
He notes that next year, the CP-140s will receive a Block IV upgrade which will include new infrared counter measures, a tactical data link 16 to complement link 11 and full motion video, imagery, email, chat, and VOIP.
Recently, we had a chance to visit 14 Wing at Greenwood, located in Nova Scotia.
During our visit on September 19, 2017 we spent a full day on the base flying on the Aurora, being briefed on the evolving approaches to training for ASW and other operations, and discussing the way ahead with Lt. Col. Bruno Baker, Deputy Commander of the Wing.
Lt. Col. Baker recently was the commanding officer of the training squadron as well which provided him with a unique knowledge set about the modernization and operational approach of the Aurora and working with allies. He has been a P-3 operator during his entire service in the Air Force
Question: Why is it the CP-140 and not the P-3?
Lt. Col. Baker: “Canada purchased empty P-3 Orion airframes and added to it the best anti-subwarine warfare suite of the day which was found in the S-3 Viking and have modernized from that hybrid forward.
“We were one of the leading nations in ASW, unquestionably, in the 1980s because we had the best equipment with the best airframe, put together.
“The plane has undergone a life extension program.
“The plane was stripped down to become a virtual tube and the new wings and tails were installed which overall gives us 15 more years of operational life in the airframe.
“Throughout the Alliance, there was not much appetite to invest in ASW once the cold war was over.
“We tended to run in place.
“To move forward, we have focused on the Aurora Incremental Modernization Program or AIMP.
“Block One is considered the original airplane.
“In Block 2 we focused on a cockpit-centric modernization. We added flight management systems, gps and much more to facilitate modernization in terms of operating the aircraft.
“But it didn’t change anything in our operational capabilities.
“In other words, Block 2 were front end upgrades.
“We did add a new capability in the course of modernization not tied to any particular block, namely the MX-20 EO IR camera that was a significant upgrade to enhance our capabilities for persistent surveillance.
“The addition of this capability caused a shift in our mission sets to add providing support to overland operations.
We are the main ISR operating asset for the RCAF and as such have operated for some time in this role in the Middle East.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Bruno Baker, Acting Commanding Officer 14 Wing Greenwood in the Throney Island Simulation Centre at 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada making a point during the meeting with Laird and Delaporte.Photo: MCpl Rory Wilson, 14 Wing Imaging
Question: What changes did Block 3 bring?
Lt. Col. Baker: “This was the game changer for the Aurora operationally.
Block Three brought basically all new capabilities in the tactical side of the airplane for ASW, communications, and just a new way to look at things.
“The capability enhancements were such that we gave a new designator to the airplane.
“Block Three modified airplanes are referred to as the CP-140M.
“Improvements were made in all areas, but the biggest change was in the acoustic sensing area.
“We added new computer and sensing capabilities.
“The technology onboard –notably the display screens and the interchangeability of data displayed on those screens including in the cockpit — now allowed for a different workflow as the cockpit crew could now see the information being generated in the back end so that enhancing SA to all stations, including in the cockpit, provided a greater synergy and potential for new workflows throughout the airplane.
“Block Three has also brought us an increased level of automation in the aircraft.
“So the sensors, as opposed to just spinning raw data that the operator needs to look at and analyze and make a decision what he’s looking at, there is a level of interpretation that is done by the systems that is actually tailorable by the operators: how much they want, how much they want to look at, what do they want, what type of information.
“A lot of it’s much more visually intuitive, as well, as opposed to just looking at a gram dropping in front of you or lines on a gram and having to do the entire interpretation.
“There’s some visual representation of the information that the sensors are getting.
“For the younger generation of operators this really appeals to them. And they can process the information so much faster than the older generation. This is a shift in generations and approaches which will inform our way ahead as well.”
Question: Somewhat similar or perhaps anticipating what is happening in the P-8?
Lt. Col. Baker: Somewhat similar and allows us to share these workflow experiences and new approaches to SA with our allies as well.
Question: MPAs are very flexible assets, and have been used widely in land operations, but this takes away from the ASW focus and skill sets. How has this challenge affected you?
Lt. Col. Baker: We have been deployed in the Middle East since October of 2014.
“We’re it for ISR platform in Canada. We’re not an ideal platform, but we can do it.
“What I tell people is, it’s a little bit like taking a Ferrari to go grocery shopping. Sure you can do it. It’s not really what it’s designed for.
“And there is the challenge of keeping the ASW skill sets fresh as well.
“The skill sets are different. With regard to the ISR overland role, we are providing information for someone else to make the targeting decision.
“With regard to ASW, you are multi-mission and putting yourself in the position to either make the targeting decision or executing it.
“Clearly, the first is different from the second and the second more demanding.
Question: In your ISR role, you are operating somewhat like a manned drone; but with ASW you are a C2, ISR, strike platform.
These are very different skill sets.
This must pose a challenge for training as well?
Lt. Col. Baker: “It does and we are facing manpower shortages as well in our area of competence.
“We need to wring out the capabilities we already have in Block 3.
“We haven’t been able to develop the best way to tactically employ those new toys we got in ASW in part because of the focus on overland ISR.
“The Block Three airplane is still being operated as a Block Two because we haven’t had a chance to really develop the new tactics, which would allow us to exploit it to its full potential.”
A CP140 taxis to a halt 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada. Photo: MCpl Rory Wilson, 14 Wing Imaging
Question: When you deploy an Aurora, how many people are involved in supporting the deployment?
Lt. Col. Baker: “If we deploy two crews, two airplanes that is roughly eighty people. That’s once you add the maintenance and the staff to run what we call a detachment.”
Question: There is a new framework underway, which the US Navy calls the kill web, in which the ability to reachback to various assets in the coalition allows one to enhance the reach in terms of the effect of one’s platform. It is also about the evolving sensor-shooter relationship in the distributed environment. What is your sense of this change and how it affects the RCAF?
Lt. Col. Baker: “We will always operate in a coalition or allied environment where you need to have those efficiencies by being able to integrate fully with each other.
“And we seek to maximize synergy.
“The older ASW approach was to operate alone and unafraid. The anti-submarine warfare platform was a fire-and-forget platform. You were given a mission, you took off, comms silent, did your job, and come back after eight hours.
“That is not the emerging approach.
“We have reachback, and we have command and control that is much more involved in operational and tactical operations.
“We need to reassess the ASW approach going forward and to shape an approach that is more capable of leveraging reachback but ensuring the proper C2 to get the job done where the impact of our systems can be greatest in terms of impact on a threat.
“And the introduction of new UAVs, like the Triton, could become a game changer as well.
“Is the next approach to park UAVs to monitor a wide, wide area and your manned platform becomes a sonobuoy carrier where it goes and lays barriers and then it leaves?
“Does the manned platform become the shooter in a broad UAV enabled sensor grid?
“The position that Canada is in might be an interesting one where for the next few decades, technology will develop, processes will develop, and platforms will evolve.
“Because our commitment to a new platform is a decade away, we might be able to position ourselves with the best solution that is emerging for us.”
Question: Does Block IV enable some of the changes we have been discussing?
Lt. Col. Baker: “It does.
“Block IV is focused on hardware changes, which allow for continuous software upgrades and software changes which allow for software upgradeability.
“And will include some changes to communication systems as well which allow for changes in how the plane can work with others in the battlespace.
“In fact, with Block IV, the CP-140 will become its own Local Area Network which brings an interesting question from a maintenance perspective.
“Who maintains our software?
“We can’t just think of aircraft technicians as being propeller specialists, or engine specialists or airframe specialists.
“We now also need to have IT specialists to fix our airplanes.
“The question then becomes: do we train IT technicians to become aviation technicians or do we take airworthiness indoctrinated technicians to become IT specialists?
“Canada opted to go with the latter.
“The first Block IV configured Aurora will come to Greenwood next year. It will come to the 415 Squadron here, which is our force development squadron.
“Clearly, the days of the CP-140 are counted. But the technology development is still going on, because the lessons learned from the new technology development will be applied to the next platform.
“The government is not going to invest a whole lot of money in the platform anymore, but they will keep investing in the technology, in the war-fighting capability of the CP-140.”
Question: In your training capacity, how do you see the changes for the younger generation coming into the service?
Lt. Col. Baker: “Many of the new personnel coming in off the street are being trained over a period of only a couple of years and then being put directly into operational experiences. When I became an Aurora pilot, I was one of the younger (in service) pilots because I had served for five years. The norm in those days was more around 7 years of service. That meant that pilots had had 5-7 years to be molded in the military norms.
“This is changing now as new entrants gain operational experience much faster. And we are working to change our training methods as well from being based on printed manuals to more intuitive computer based learning.
“We have very high capability simulation on the operational side that has been used to great effect to prepare our crews to deploy. That’s the only reason we can graduate them and send them in theater immediately, is because of the quality of the simulation we have.
“By involving the younger generation early in operations, we are highlighting their intuitive learning skills as well. With the shortages of human resources that we have now, it means that for many of them, they graduate from the OTU, they’re full crew members, and go to their operational squadron, and the first thing they do is get ready to deploy and deploy immediately after. And they are performing brilliantly well.
“For example, I have the case of a pilot, where I signed his logbook as graduating being an Aurora co-pilot in my role as the training squadron commander, and my congratulations, left a little note in his log book.
“Then I deployed to Operation IMPACT where I saw him a couple weeks later. He’s deploying, and the first flight he does is with me in theater. There’s a guy that I just graduated a few weeks before, now he’s flying with me in a no-duff theater of war. That’s pretty special.”
Editor’s Note: The Royal Canadian Air Force describes 14th Wing as follows:
Nestled in the heart of Nova Scotia’s beautiful Annapolis Valley rests 14 Wing Greenwood, the largest air base on the East Coast. Aurora crews conduct sovereignty and surveillance missions over the Atlantic Ocean routinely, while search and rescue capabilities are maintained 365 days of the year.
In 1942, CFB Greenwood was established as Royal Air Force Station as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). The BCATP was a plan to expand all Commonwealth air forces. In keeping with this objective, Greenwood was used as a training base during WWII, and before the end of the war, produced operational forces.
Today, 14 Wing is home to three operational Squadrons. CP-140 Aurora Long Range patrol Aircraft are flown by 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron. 404 Long Range Patrol & Training Squadron, which operates both the Aurora flight deck and tactical simulators, also uses the long range patrol Aurora for operational and training purposes. 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron is responsible for search and rescue throughout Atlantic Canada and eastern parts of Quebec.
The Squadron members carry out their missions with both CC-130 Hercules Aircraft and CH-149 Cormorant Helicopters. In addition to its diversified operations, 14 Wing Greenwood is home to 14 Air Maintenance Squadron, responsible to maintain the entire CP-140 Aurora fleet operated here in Greenwood. The Wing has a large recreational facility (including a pool and an arena) and is home to hundreds of Air cadets every summer.
14 Wing is located at Canadian Forces Base Greenwood.
Editor’s Note: A recent experience of Lt. Col. Baker was highlighted in this story by Ashley Thompson and published April 10, 2017 in the King’s County Register:
GREENWOOD – It’ll be hard for Lt. Col. Bruno Baker to ever top his latest homecoming adventure.
Based at 14 Wing Greenwood, the military pilot recently flew a CP-140 Aurora over his hometown near Vimy-Ridge, Que. April 9 as part of a commemorative fly-by for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
“(I felt) a great amount of pride to be able to go to my hometown area that I grew up in and help them commemorate this, and show them what the Royal Canadian Air Force has, and what we do for Canada,” said Baker, recalling the events of the previous day in an interview with Kings County News April 10.
Baker worked as a reporter in the area from 1984 to 1990, and noted that some of the journalists he used to encounter on assignments were watching the fly-by.
“There were a few relatives, many friends and my father was also the master of ceremonies of that day.”
Baker’s crew made three passes over the ceremony at varying speeds. Flying at an altitude of about 500 feet, he could tell there were about 200 people watching from the ceremony below.
“We could see the people very well on the ground waving at us as we were going by,” he recalled.
He knew there’d be familiar faces on the ground and an added bonus – his father’s voice in his ear.
“To be able to talk to my father as we were coordinating this fly past is something I would have never thought I would do in my dreams, so that made it extra special,” said Baker, commanding officer of 404 Long Range Patrol and Training Squadron.
The deadly Battle of Vimy Ridge occurred during the First World War, and began on April 9, 1917.
”The Battle of Vimy Ridge proved to be a great success, but it only came at a heavy cost. The some 100,000 Canadians who served there suffered more than 10,600 casualties, nearly 3,600 of which were fatal,” states a post on Veterans Affairs Canada’s website titled “The Battle of Vimy Ridge.”
Baker was honoured to play a role in the fly-by paying tribute to the brave Canadians who travelled to France to fight in the crucial battle 100 years ago.
“Everything is exciting about flying but this is special because that’s where you get the feedback of how truly the population appreciates what you’re doing and how important it is,” said Baker, reflecting on the Vimy Ridge fly-by.
“It sort of re-emphasizes that what you do is right, and it’s something to be proud of.”
Editor’s Note: Two tours of the Aurora are highlighted in the following videos, the first by a Canadian TV station and the second by an independent photo journalist.
When the UK cancelled the Nimrod MRA4 program, the RAF faced a significant challenge: how to keep UK ASW and MPA skill sets alive?
The UK established the seedcorn program to provide a bridge to what would become an acquisition of the P-8 by the RAF several years later, namely in 2016.
This meant that there has been a several year gap whereby the UK needed to keep its skill sets alive.
According to Flight International in an article written by Craig Hoyle and published in 2012:
Efforts by the Royal Air Force to retain core skills in maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) operations will include 33 personnel and a total investment of £3.2 million ($5.1 million) for the current financial year, the UK government has revealed.
Dubbed Project “Seedcorn”, the measure is intended to allow RAF crew to fly with allied air forces to maintain experience in MPA operations following the cancellation of the UK’s BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 programme. This covers anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare duties, plus intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance tasks.
The agreements now in place have enabled the RAF to allocate personnel to support operations involving MPA assets flown by Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA, including during last year’s NATO-led operation to protect Libyan civilians.
In our visit to 14th Wing at Greenwood, we had a chance to discuss as well with Lt. Col. Bruno Baker, the current Deputy Wing Commander, the Canadian role in project Seedcorn.
He recently left his position as the Commanding Officer of 404 Long Range Patrol and Training Squadron.
RAF officers have been regular contributors to the Greenwood mission during the seed-corn program, and indeed some of these participants have even become residents of Canada.
“The systems onboard the Aurora and our modernization approach fitted quite well with the new workflow process which is on the P-8.
“We have already built into our Block 3 upgrades a new workflow process and increased the data available to the cockpit, which is reshaping our workflow possibly similar to the P-8.
Earlier last year we had a chance to discuss the seedcorn program with RAF officers at RAF Lossiemouth, the base chosen to operate the new P-8s.
In a piece published on November 17, 2016, we provided a look at the UK perspective.
2016-11-17 By Robbin Laird
On a recent visit to Norway, the UK Minister of Defence signed a new agreement with Norway to shape enhanced cooperation on maritime patrol operations. This was done in part due to the coming of the P-8 to the United Kingdom.
In the story on the UK MoD website it was noted:
Work on the UK’s MPA programme is progressing well, including the investment on infrastructure in Lossiemouth in Scotland, where the planes will be based.
Former armed forces personnel who previously served on UK Nimrod are also re-joining the RAF to help operate the future P-8s.
12 have recently re-joined and more will re-join in the future
(L-R) Lieutenant Commander (USN) Hankins, Captain Jennings, Major Jacob, Corporal Walsh and Sergeant (RAF) Murphy take part in a training exercise in September 2013.Photo Credit: MP&EU Graphic Arts.
The UK MoD retired the Nimrod in 2011; recently, the UK government announced that the P-8 was coming into the force in 2019.
The Nimrod MK2 MPA was taken out of service in 2010 with the UK accepting the capability gap until the MRA4 came into service.
How do you maintain the skills necessary to stay in the maritime domain awareness game when your aircraft goes away?
According to the MoD, a “seed-corn” program was put in place to provide for a transition.
With the first aircraft due to arrive in the UK in 2019/2020, the RAF has been committed to maintaining the skills needed to operate these MPAs through the ‘seed-corn’ programme, which has embedded former RAF MPA operators within the MPA squadrons of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.
Air Vice-Marshal Gerry Mayhew, who is responsible for the RAF’s fast jets and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance assets, said:
The seed-corn initiative has been vital in ensuring that our future MPA aircrew are prepared to regenerate the UK’s MPA capability. By retaining those essential skills, our aircrew are already on the front foot when it comes to operating these new aircraft.
But doing so is not easy, and notably because the P-8 is not really a Nimrod replacement.
As Wing Commander Paul Froome put it during my April visit to RAF Lossiemouth:
“The P-8 is clearly not Nimrod.
“If we think that we’re going to take an old-fashioned air electronics operator, and use him in the same way on the P8, we’re missing a trick.
“We need to be developing the crews now to be maritime warfare operators, not electronic operators, and radar, and wet and dry, we need to be thinking bigger than that.
“The training that was already in place for the MRA4 saw more use of Link 11 and 16 and ensuring that the information flow between assets was as slick as possible. The Nimrod was used as more than an MPA spending more time supporting overland operations in the Middle East than over the sea.
“If we don’t, then you end up making problems for your F-35, your Typhoon, your P8, your Reaper, your Son of Reaper.”
During a June visit to RAF Lossiemouth, there was an opportunity to meet with a former Nimrod commander who is part of the seed corn effort, and it was clear that getting the P-8 into the force was an important step to allow the challenge of skill transition to be met successfully.
The discussion with this RAF officer from No. 602 Squadron, which is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron, highlighted the transition effort.
“We are predominantly former Nimrod personnel and I spent 32 years flying in the MPA role.”
He highlighted how important NATO exercises have been to shape a transition.
Joint Warrior which this year brought various NATO aircraft to RAF Lossiemouth, including the P-8, has provided a crucial opportunity for former Nimrod operators to go onboard US and allied Maritime Patrol Aircraft to keep skill sets current.
Lossiemouth is a fast jet base; it is not yet fully set up to support larger MPA aircraft. There is a clear challenge with the decision to standup the P-8s at RAF Lossiemouth. One should note that the Nimrod base, which was located close to Lossie, was closed down and is now an Army base.
Currently, Lossie supports two large Joint Warrior exercises a year, which includes MPA aircraft at Lossie as well. The location of Lossie is important in terms of the area of interests for the UK and its allies as well.
The base is manned 24/7 for the Quick Reaction Alert capability. This provides a foundation for thinking forward towards the future MPA as well. The personnel is used to expeditionary operations as well.
The decision-making facility for MPA and the Royal Navy, more generally, is located at Northwood; and with the deployment of P-8s at Lossie will shape a new decision-making dynamic between the two centers as well.
The MPA community is very international in character; with the Joint Warrior exercises, the RAF has had an opportunity to keep skill sets current; but is not the same as flying your own aircraft.
But what this means as the P-8 comes into the RAF inventory, the broader multinational orientation built into the exercises, and the Nimrod/P-3 working relationships can be carried forward.
“We have continuously sent officers to work with our allies abroad to keep their skills current as well.
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“We are well placed to deal with the new challenges.
“The training we have given our ex-MPA guys in flying and operations with our allies is crucial.
“This will allow us to slot in people very quickly as the P-8 becomes operational.”
“But it is a clear challenge.
As the USN’s 6th Fleet Commander put it recently, we are seeing the fourth Battle of the Atlantic take shape as the Russians take to sea once again.
For the British, making a key contribution to this effort is crucial and will be provided a new aircraft is married to the transitional “seed corn” approach.
With the Nordic states facing significant strategic change in their region, and a Nordic Security Zone from the Arctic to the Baltics requiring enhanced cooperation to deal with the changes, how might the Nordics best shape a way ahead?
During my latest trip to Denmark, I had a chance to discuss this key question with an American researcher who has lived in the region since 2011 and has a cats bird seat to observe the trends and understand the regional dynamics.
Dr. Gary Schaub Jr. is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Military Studies at the University of Copenhagen, which conducts research-based consultancy work for the Danish Ministry of Defence. He previously served on the faculty of the US Air War College and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.
Schaub played a key role in co-hosting an airpower symposium in 2015 held in Copenhagen with the Australian-based Williams Foundation.
Question: During your time in Denmark, what has been the biggest strategic shift affecting Nordic security?
Gary Schaub Jr.: Without doubt, the resurgence and revanchist behavior of Russia.
After the Cold War, the Nordics found themselves far from the front line of global conflict.
After Ukraine, they suddenly found themselves once again on the front lines. Conflict was in their region and security had to become a serious business again.
The first panel seen left to right at the Copenhagen Airpower Symposium: Dr. Gary Schaub, CMS, Dr. Peter Jackobsen, Royal Danish Defence College, and Col. Anders Rex, Royal Danish Air Force. Credit Photo: SLD
Question: We should be clear about the threat.
This is NOT the Soviet Union at the head of the Warsaw Pact; this is Russia shaping power to achieve what it believes are its strategic NATIONAL interests.
How do you see the Russian dynamic?
Gary Schaub Jr.: With the Soviets, there was a direct threat of territorial invasion; the new Russian threat is not about invasion, it is about intimidation to achieve their objectives in the region, notably with regard to the Baltic states and the Arctic.
The Russians have shaped a significant missile and air bubble over the region which includes surveillance, electronic warfare, and various other means to reach deep into the entire region.
The Russians are able to see fairly well with their own sensors what’s going on and can put Nordic air forces at significant risk in their operations, which also include frequent direct encounters in the region’s airspaces.
This is a new reality for a new generation of young Nordic leaders growing up in this decade.
One should also realize that the Russians are using exercises like ZAPAD 17 to influence Western behavior.
They are triggering Cold War reminisces for military and political purposes.
It is not about the primacy of the Army and the ground forces; it is about generating our own anti-access and area denial strategy to counter them from the Arctic to the Baltics.
We should be very wary of sinking money into ground forces, which are costly and not really directed at deflecting the real Russian strategy.
Question: How best to deter the Russians in the period ahead?
Gary Schaub Jr.: Part of the effort is to shape the region’s own counter anti-access and area denial strategy – pushing into the Russian zone covering the Baltic states and reaching out very deep into Nordic territory – but also working the political and information issues as well.
The Baltic states have rather large Russian populations and two of the three Baltic states have conceived of citizenship in terms of ethnicity and linguistics as opposed to where you were born.
This is a prescription for real opportunities for the Russians to meddle in the years ahead.
The Lithuanian solution of incorporating the Russians within their national identity should be considered long and hard.
Latvia and Estonia need to think about the ways in which the institutions of the state can better integrate Russians within their borders.
The information space is crucial as well.
The Russians are trying to work the media in the Nordic region but they simply are running dead center against the Scandinavian culture of shaping consensus.
Societal resilience in the Nordic states makes them a tough sell for outreaches like Sputnik and RT. Therefore, when the Russians attempt to influence the Danes through the media, they do it with the Russian ambassador threatening to nuke Denmark if they participate in NATO BMD.
It should be noted that the new ambassador, when he was posted earlier this year, rescinded the threat made by his predecessor because it clearly didn’t work.
IT infrastructure is a different challenge and clearly the Russians are putting pressure on such infrastructure in the region.
Question: How has Nordic cooperation progressed during your time in Denmark?
Gary Schaub Jr.: It has progressed significantly.
Initially, much of the cooperation was very political and often symbolic.
It has become less headline grabbing and more focused on the nuts and bolts of cooperation to shape real military capabilities as well as enhanced crisis management.
This is clearly a work in progress, but the change is significant.
NORDEFCO has been the organized effort to enhance cooperation among Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Finland, and Sweden.
NORDEFCO is now focused on ways to enhance operational military capabilities among the forces. For example, an agreement was reached last year on “Easy Access” among the air and naval forces of the member states.
The agreement allows relatively free flow of those forces across the territories of the member states as agreed upon.
Question: The Nordics have been involved as well in the land wars in the Middle East.
What impact has that had on working together?
Gary Schaub Jr.: Engagements have facilitated more ability to work inter-operably across the board as NATO standards have been established.
Also, key elements of force specialization have been shaped.
For example, the Danes have built a cell to work within a US or NATO CAOC to learn, empower, and work within a modern air battle management center.
The Air Expeditionary Squadron can take those skillsets back to working Nordic engagement as well, particularly given the importance of coordinating air and naval power in the region to shape new deterrent capabilities going forward.
The Nordics have leveraged these operations as well to shape a more common culture in terms of how to talk about the use of evolving military power in a joint and combined way.
And, more generally, there is growing European cooperation with regard to air operations.
For example, the Belgians and Dutch have agreed to share air patrols over their territory and to share the responsibility for protecting sovereignty in their airspace.
The Dutch are negotiating a similar agreement with the Germans; the Belgians are doing the same with the French.
In other words, a process of de-territorializing or multi-nationalizing defense of sovereign airspace is evolving in Europe.
The Nordic states can be seen as both stimulating and being part of this trend.
The Dutch, the Norwegians, and the Danes all have very small air forces and there has been some talk on how could they possibly share doing quick reaction alerts.
As all three will transition from flying F-16s to flying F-35s, this would seem to be a natural process of evolution, to shape a regional quick reaction alert capability.
But the important thing would not necessarily be the resources saved by sharing the responsibility, although that has been the context for most of the discussions.
Rather, the real significance would come from removing the bureaucratic and practical barriers that remain to hinder operational cooperation between these air forces.
Question: The Danes are an F-35 partner, and the new defense agreement clearly is leveraging the F-35 as a key regional tool and a trigger for creating capability for what we are discussing as a counter to the Russian A2/AD threat to the region.
How important is the F-35 to the Danes in shaping a regional approach?
Gary Schaub Jr.: The F-35 program as a global program is really the key point.
A common aircraft and common support structure are built into the program from the ground up. It is a central dimension of the program and provides as-yet unrealized opportunities for cooperation, integration, and force multiplying effects.
The key for the U.S. will be make sure that the technology inherent in the aircraft is shaped into an operational program that makes this promise a reality.
Building a community of practice organically that’s tied to the program will lead to, I think, greater operational cooperation.
There is an inherent opportunity not only to share logistics supply, but maintenance as well, which would generate greater collaborative capabilities and generate much higher use rates.
For example, if the maintenance crews of one country are able to work on the aircraft of another country through a common security clearance, this would obviously have a significant effect on the use of the F-35 fleets.
When I talk to allied air forces, it is clear that there are legal restrictions to doing that. But that is not a problem of the aircraft; rather it is how nations are organized to operate even the SAME aircraft.
Hopefully over the next 10 years, as these countries receive all their aircraft and start using them in the field, they’ll work their way towards overcoming those barriers to cooperation and this is clearly something the Danish Air Force is very interested in seeing happen.
Question: As the Nordics enhance their practical cooperation and collaborate to deal with the Russian challenge, what is the US role?
Gary Schaub Jr.: As NORDEFCO was established, the Brits launched the Northern Group and the US launched EPINE or the “Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe.”
Both the Northern Group and EPINE play off of NORDEFCO and its meeting structure.
But as NORDEFCO has gone from more political and symbolic gestures to more effective real world collaboration, both the Northern Group (especially with Brexit on the way) and EPINE with the new Administration in power need to evolve.
The Nordics are looking for practical ways ahead on credible deterrence with regard to the Russians. That will be a test for both the Northern Group and EPINE.
In this collaborative environment between equal—but small—powers, the suggestions of a Britain or US could smooth over the small barriers that might keep these otherwise pragmatic nations from doing what is in their own, and their region’s, common interests.
There is a huge opportunity for the new Administration to shape a thoughtful proactive NORDIC agenda as the Nordics themselves seek a more regional approach. And as F-35s and P-8s come into the region, there is an opportunity to leverage common assets to shape a more proactive and common effort towards regional defense and security. The Administration should seize it.
Editor’s Note: With regard to NORDEFCO, please go to the following site:
At the Nordic Defence Ministers meeting in Copenhagen 9 November, the Nordic Ministers signed Memorandum of Understanding on Easy Access.
The meeting was held as the final meeting during the Danish chairmanship of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO). In addition, discussions were held in the Northern Group and NB8 format with the participation of Baltic Ministers and Germany the UK, Poland and the Netherlands.
At the meeting, the Nordic ministers signed a framework agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) to enable easier access to each other’s territories. The agreement covers Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland and will strengthen security in the Baltic region by making it easier to access each other’s air, sea and land territories with military capabilities. The agreement also makes it easier to carry out exercises and training in the Nordic region.
After the meeting the Nordic Defence Ministers published a joint statement stressing the importance of the signed agreement:
Today, we, the Nordic Ministers of Defence, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on enhanced and easier access to each other’s territories in peacetime.
In light of the worsened security situation in our region, increased cooperation within NORDEFCO has become even more important.
The Easy Access framework is driven by the ambition to ensure unprecedented access for the Nordic countries to each other’s territories in all domains, be it air, land or maritime.
The Easy Access Memorandum of Understanding will improve the operational effect and quality of air, land and maritime operations.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is a clear example of the value the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) brings to the Nordic countries in our joint effort to contribute to stability, peace and security in our neighborhood.
The framework agreement is inspired by the Danish-Swedish military framework agreement of 14 January 2016, which for instance allows for the Danish Quick reaction Force to cross Swedish territory to intercept foreign aircraft on its way to the Danish territory and thus shortens the response time.
During that visit I had a chance to talk with Keith Eikenes, Director, Department for Security Policy and Operations in the Ministry of Defence of Norway. We focused on the new security environment and the Norwegian way ahead in that interview.
Recently, I have a had an opportunity to follow up with Eikenes in a phone interview during my most recent trip to Scandinavia this Fall and to continue to discuss the evolving strategic environment and shaping a way ahead.
Since we last spoke significant political changes in NATO countries, and in Europe more generally, have occurred as well as continued Russian actions in the Middle East and I Europe, and most recently the conduct of its large ZAPAD 17 exercise with ZAPAD in Russian meaning Western.
And the Swedes have just concluded their largest military exercise in more than 20 years.
Question: What is your current focus of attention in light of the various European developments?
Keith Eikenes: One of the things that we’re looking at within the Nordic-Baltic format is how to strengthen our dialogue and share experiences and views on crisis management in a multilateral setting.
This is one of the focus areas of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation.
Norway will follow up on this further, when we have the chairmanship of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) group next year.
Question and Comment: We are not talking about the Soviet Union; we are focused on the Russians.
And what the current leader of Russia has demonstrated is his willingness to use military force as a political instrument in Europe and elsewhere. Your focus then on crisis management and shaping effective tools is really a key element of shaping a realistic way ahead.
And at the end of the day, if the Russians are focused on Arctic development, the only way this will happen because of the fragility of the region is by collaborative engagement.
Does it make sense then to think about crisis management and collaborative engagement at the same time?
Keith Eikenes: That is a good way to put it.
Engagement and deterrence go hand in hand in Norwegian policy.
We have always been able to have firmness and predictability at the same time as engagement and cooperation.
There’s a mutual interest in both in Norway and in Russia to maintain the Arctic as a stable region, and that’s something certainly that has been a Norwegian objective for most of the post-war era and continues to be so.
Question: A Danish colleague has focused recently in an interview on what he sees as the emergence of a Nordic Security Zone, which extends from the Arctic through to the Baltics.
In your view, how best to work with allies and partners to enhance effectiveness in the Nordic Security Zone?
Keith Eikenes: From the Norwegian point of view, NATO is the framework in which we address these security challenges in northern Europe.
But we are working hard with Sweden and Finland to expand our Nordic cooperation as well.
The Finns and Swedes are paying close attention to what’s going on now with regard to Russian behavior, the Baltic Sea in particular.
There’s an increasingly close dialogue among the Nordic countries now. Some of them are not NATO members obviously.
There is clearly renewed focus on Nordic-Baltic cooperation and working practical ways to enhance interoperability of our forces and as I mentioned earlier ways to shape more effective crisis management.
And we have seen as well an increased U.S. interest in an engagement in the Nordic cooperation and the Nordic-Baltic cooperation as well.
The U.S. plays a key role in the Nordic-Baltic setting.
And the UK has become an important player in the Nordic Security Zone as well.
The UK under then Defence Minister Liam Fox initiated the Northern Group Framework.
This Framework includes in the British perspective, Nordic countries, UK, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands in looking at security situation in Northern Europe.
I think there’s some real potential within that working framework as well to enhance defense and crisis management capabilities.
Question: There is considerable turbulence in Europe ranging from Brexit to the movement for Catalonian independence.
The importance of deterrence and crisis management as you are working it can be an important contribution as well to the next phase of European development.
In other words, even though this is about defense and security, the kind of collaborative interaction you are having with the UK, other Nordics, the Dutch, the Germans and the Balts can contribute as well to a broader European agenda.
How do you see that process?
Keith Eikenes: From a Norwegian perspective, a strong and stable Europe is crucial to our continued security and prosperity.
One of the things that we really need to try to avoid is supporting a narrative now of how Europe is sort of falling apart.
What we need to do is to shape a narrative and way ahead to pursue the next phase of European development within which defense and security are clearly important drivers as well.
An important goal here will be to strengthen the European pillar of the transatlantic security framework, and ensuring a more equitable burden-sharing.
Editor’s Note: If one looks back at the actions of then Minister of Defence Liam Fox, and of the government of which he was part, key elements of what might emerge as Brexit defense policy were already being put in place.
If one reads the press release by MoD issues on November 10, 2010 referred to above with regard to the Northern Europe initiative, the way ahead in shaping a post-Brexit defense policy was already foreshadowed.
The first forum of its kind, consisting of the Nordic and Baltic States plus Germany and Poland, will enable the UK to engage with countries who are not members of both NATO and the EU.
Following last week’s French-Anglo treaty this is a continuation of the UK’s drive to deepen bilateral and multilateral relations with our European neighbours.
Speaking in Oslo, Dr Fox said:
We cannot forget that geographically the United Kingdom is a northern European country. Let me be clear, this is not about carving out spheres of influence; this is about working together on mutual interests. For too long Britain has looked in every direction except its own backyard.
The goal here is to deepen bilateral and multilateral relationships with key regional partners, recognising and respecting sovereignty, but also recognising that today’s world is one of necessary partnership not optional isolation.
In this multipolar world, we need more and different levers to act in the interests of our national and joint security. Therefore, we want to create a new and wider framework that makes it easier for both NATO and non-NATO members to have a closer relationship in the region.
Reflecting on the contributions to the campaign in Afghanistan that the nations in the new forum have made, Dr Fox said:
Collectively the 11 countries participating here today contribute around 19,000 troops to ISAF’s mission in Afghanistan and provide the lead in six Provincial Reconstruction Teams. We are very proud that in Helmand today British troops are serving alongside our Danish and Estonian partners.
Talking about aspects of mutual interest to the new grouping, Dr Fox raised the subject of cyber security:
The UK’s new Defence Cyber Operations Group will seek to form strong international alliances to increase our mutual resilience and joint operational capabilities,” he said.
The Nordic nations have an enduring history of national resilience, rooted in the holistic concept of Total Defence, from which we all can learn; but this concept, developed during the past 50 years, must be remodeled to meet new threats, and here collaboration will be valuable.
Focusing on energy security matters, Dr. Fox said:
Stable bilateral relations will be an insufficient safeguard of our mutual energy security without measures to preserve the physical integrity of supply routes and sources in Europe and beyond.
The scale and complexity of these networks will increasingly require our combined efforts to protect them. For the United Kingdom this isn’t about telling our friends what we will do for them, or what they can do for us. This forum is about seeing what more we can do together.
It’s near zero hundred and we fly in dark skies over western Missouri.
The anticipation amps up on FORCE 26, a 305th Air Mobility Wing (AMW) KC-10 from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ (JBMDL).
I hurriedly gather my camera equipment and follow the crew to the refueling station.
FORCE 26 skims the top of a storm front, slipping in and out of clouds. The KC-10 rattles, thumps and bounces in the bone jarring turbulence.
I struggle to get seated and configure my camera for a hopeful, if not mercilessly difficult shot.
I can see nothing but heavy grey clouds below and deep black skies behind.
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Unseen, three thirsty Spirits are surely closing quickly.
To my right the boom operator, Senior Master Sergeant Carl Wise buckles in. Wise has 10 years on the boom but an eighteen-month hiatus requires his requalification. Tonight, is his check ride.
To his right sits active instructor and assessor, Tech Sergeant Adam Sochia. Sochia watches closely as Wise moves through system checks. An audible alarm sounds and warning light flashes. Oh no, not possibly now…
No additional drama required, but tonight we have it in spades.
Outwardly Wise and Sochia appear calm, proficient and thorough, but the tension in their voices is palpable. Radios crackle between Wise and the flight crew in the KC-10 cockpit. They too have noted the alarm, and together discuss appropriate action.
Despite years of experience Wise is now tested by the system and the conditions. His decision making and skills evaluated during in-flight refueling with the USAF’s most prized asset – in turbulent air at visibility limits.
Wise extends the boom and verifies complete movement and control.
Check.
Proceed.
Eyes outward, I am only peripherally aware of their challenges.
I have my own.
I frantically move through camera settings – looking for something, anything that will work in darkness beyond what I had imagined. Autofocus is out of the question, ISO settings through the roof, lens wide open, shutter speeds impossibly low…. I am out of time.
BAT 71 draws near at constant speed, her strobes flashing and command module glowing.
Is she beast, or some machine from the future? Whatever the case, these are her skies and she rises through the fog like a wraith to take …. our fuel.
Before she can connect we slip into the clouds.
I discern her outline a mere 100 ft off the boom, some 150 ft away. Enshrouded in cloud she stops and holds position, as if to study her prey before moving in.
We cut in and out of cloud catching glimpses of her dark and mysterious form.
Wisps of cloud flash eerily over her wings like flowing grey hair. City lights reappear as the jagged robe of her trailing edge passes by. We bounce and rattle through the skies, while BAT 71 glides smoothly behind.
This unearthly Spirit is at home in the dark and turbulent skies.
Sights like this may be common for boom operators, but leave a stark imprint on my mind and experience.
Surreal, Supernatural, Magic – no word, no description is adequate.
Yet make no mistake, in another place and at another time encountering three wraiths can only mean one thing – the impending doom of someone or something.
The B-2 Spirit is both the ultimate global deterrent and Grim Reaper.
Radios crackle, “Kansas City Center, FORCE 26, request climb to clear weather.” “FORCE 26, Kansas City Center cleared to climb and work airspace block 23 – to 28,000 ft.” “Climbing to work airspace block 23 – 28,000 ft. FORCE 26”
The KC-10 starts upward and BAT 71 follows as if suspended just off boom.
Breaking free from the clouds we find smooth, clear air. Wise, now in control of the refueling operation clears BAT 71 to connect. The Spirit slides forward. Though close to her home at Whiteman AFB, MO the B-2 Spirit has been aloft for near four hours and requests thousands of pounds of fuel.
Small talk non-existent, gas and go with a B-2 is often done with no words exchanged. In the best conditions an air to air connect is no simple task.
It is a choreography of dance between aircraft of all types and sizes – the two platforms briefly becoming one. The team on both sides of this boom are seasoned professionals and make this connect look as easy as walking up and shaking hands.
BAT 71 is on the boom and I ponder her mystery.
Operated by the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB the B-2 is the premier platform of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Invisible by night, the stealthy B-2 bomber can penetrate heavily defended airspace and deliver a punishing knock-out blow.
Traveling around the globe from Whiteman AFB, the Spirit is well known to fly missions of over 24 hours.
Earlier this year the B-2 recorded a mission of over 30 hours requiring 15 aerial refuelings!
The 305th AMW and their force of KC-10 tankers at JBMDL enable the Global Reach of the USAF. On this mission we fly with crew from the 32nd Air Refueling Squadron (ARS) with the clear and accurate motto “Linking the Continents.” It is a simple fact, without units like the 305th AMW the Global Reach of the USAF would be severely diminished.
The importance and value of the mission is not lost on boom operators like Wise, who comments “a boom operators job offers instant satisfaction.
Every time we refuel an aircraft we enable it to complete its mission, whether in training, combat, or humanitarian relief.”
This job satisfaction explains why I find myself with 3 very experienced boom operators. All three are Instructors, including Master Sergeant Jessica Stockwell with 11 years’ experience.
The three are passionate and have found tremendous rewards in service. Stockwell notes that it is an incredible team effort from the maintenance group to the entire crew on the aircraft.
As it relates specifically to her role as in-flight refueler she says, “during preparation and flight the 2 pilots and flight engineer are responsible for everything that happens in the cockpit, the in-flight refueler is responsible for everything that happens outside the cockpit, air to air refueling, cargo, people and more. It is very rewarding to have that mission responsibility.”
Buffeted by turbulence BAT 71 drops briefly off the boom. As the turbulence subsides she slides back making another connect look effortless. This Spirit is not leaving without getting all her intended fuel. The entire encounter speaks of planning, precision and the utmost professionalism.
Dropping off the boom a final time, BAT 71 disappears into the night.
Under duress, SMSgt Wise passes his review and moves forward toward instructor requalification.
Sochia and Stockwell fuel BAT 72 & BAT 73. Time passes too quickly. Their thirst satisfied the bombers disappear into the dark skies to destination(s) unknown.
This was a training mission.
In the same fashion, the Spirits loaded with deadly ordnance which bcould be destined to strike a target on the other side of the globe.
B-2 Spirits are each identified with a unique U.S. State, such as “The Spirit of Missouri.”
I always considered the name “Spirit” in such context.
Zero Hundred, October 3 has forever changed my perspective.
“Spirit” as perhaps was always intended, is; “one emerging from the clouds, lights glowing, hair flowing, mysterious, ghostly – and most certainly, deadly.”
The Second Line of Defense team expresses gratitude to the 305th AMW, the 32nd ARS, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs Team Shaun Eagan, SrA Lauren Russell, A1C Zachary Martyn, the exceptional team of in-flight refuelers and entire flight crew of FORCE 26! All professionals through and through in the finest sense.
The Denel Dynamics Marlin missile is at an advanced stage of development, with test flights of the 100 km range radar-guided weapon having already been carried out.
Marlin is a radar-guided beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile technology demonstrator and the intention is to also use Marlin technology in an all-weather surface-to-air version.
It is being developed by Denel Dynamics under an Armscor/Department of Defence technology demonstrator contract.
According to Ivan Gibbons, Chief systems engineer at Denel Dynamics, various tests have been carried out, such as rocket motor firings and firing of a largely complete missile from the Denel Overberg Test Range two years ago using a ground-mounted launcher to test the missile’s manoeuvrability and flight characteristics. The missile has also been fitted to a pod mounted on a South African Air Force (SAAF) Gripen fighter. Denel Dynamics is now heading towards a guided flight test that will use the radar seeker to shoot down a target drone.
Gibbons, speaking at a presentation organised by the Aeronautical Society of South Africa (AeSSA), explained that the Marlin uses a dual pulse rocket motor for extended range (two fuel chambers and one exhaust nozzle). For long range engagements the first pulse fires and the missile glides towards its target before the second pulse fires at a later point in time. For shorter engagements, both pulses can be fired almost simultaneously. Top speed could be around Mach 4. Flight control is by servo motor controlled fins.
Gibbons said there were many challenging issues to be dealt with when designing a missile like Marlin, such as high G loads (at least 30 Gs), vibration on the aircraft, electromagnetic interference, the effects of flying through rain, and thermal shock. As an example the missile has to operate in -50 degree Celsius temperatures while the leading edges of the missile can reach up to 900 degrees Celsius once launche
Denel Dynamics is working with Armscor on Marlin, as well as other entities like Saab – the latter is especially important since the Marlin is being fitted to the Gripen. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) did wind tunnel testing of the missile while the Test Flight and Development Centre (TFDC) and Denel Overberg Test Range have been used for test firings. Another important partner is Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM), which provided the rocket motor.
Although the Marlin is a technology demonstrator at the moment, it is likely that it will be used by the South African Air Force (SAAF), as the SAAF currently lacks a beyond visual range (BVR) missile and at present only has the interim infrared guided IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile (SRAAM) in service, although the Denel Dynamics A-Darter SRAAM is about to enter service – final acceptance of this will be completed before the end of the year.
Denel Dynamics also sees Marlin configured into an all-weather surface-to-air missile. Common subsystems will be used for the different variants of the weapon, with some components tailored specifically for the relevant application of the missile.
Although Marlin is fully funded by the Department of Defence via Armscor, Denel Dynamics is looking for an international partner to collaborate with during the future development programme.
Republished by permission of our partner, defenceWeb.
This is a notional rendering of the 10 and 2 O’Clock challenge. It is credited to Second Line of Defense and not in any way an official rendering by any agency of the US government. It is meant for illustration purposes only. Credit: Second Line of Defense
RCAF Commander LGen Michael Hood (Photo: Sgt Paz Quillé, RCAF PA Imagery)
Lieutenant-Colonel Bruno Baker, Acting Commanding Officer 14 Wing Greenwood in the Throney Island Simulation Centre at 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada making a point during the meeting with Laird and Delaporte.Photo: MCpl Rory Wilson, 14 Wing Imaging
A CP140 taxis to a halt 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada. Photo: MCpl Rory Wilson, 14 Wing Imaging
This crew from 14 Wing Greenwood recently flew a CP-140 Aurora to Vimy-Ridge, Que. for a fly-by honoring the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Pictured from left to right: Warrant Officer Ian Perreault, Lieutenant-Colonel Illo Neri, Major Yves Leblanc, Lieutenant-Colonel Bruno Baker, Master Warrant Officer David Pawulski, Master Corporal Jim Beaulieu, Corporal Geoffrey Franklin and Corporal Christopher Neufeld. ©2014 DND-MDN CANADA
(L-R) Lieutenant Commander (USN) Hankins, Captain Jennings, Major Jacob, Corporal Walsh and Sergeant (RAF) Murphy take part in a training exercise in September 2013.Photo Credit: MP&EU Graphic Arts.
The first panel seen left to right at the Copenhagen Airpower Symposium: Dr. Gary Schaub, CMS, Dr. Peter Jackobsen, Royal Danish Defence College, and Col. Anders Rex, Royal Danish Air Force. Credit Photo: SLD
