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2016-10-14 Next week is the opening of Euronaval 2016.
Euronaval is a 5 day event being held from 17th October to the 21st October 2016 at the Paris Le Bourget in Paris, France.
Euronaval is jointly managed by the French Ministry of Defence and Secretariat of State for the Sea. It is one of the most important naval exhibitions in Europe and a very useful showcase for naval forces as well as industry.
Euronaval 2016.
Our partner, OPERATIONNELS SOUTIEN LOGISTIQUE DEENSE SECURITE, has produced a special issue of their magazine to be distributed at the Euronaval show.
The week of October 10, 2016 some 12 A-10s from the 104th Fighter Squadron (FS) with supporting personnel and equipment deployed.
The 104th Fighter Squadron (FS) is a Maryland Air National Guard (MDANG) squadron of the 175th Wing (WG) based at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River, MD.
Second Line of Defense had the opportunity to visit the 175th WG and 104th FS just prior to deployment on Sept. 28, 2016.
Crew Chief SSgt. B. Sedlak provided insight into his role with the squadron:
“I consider A-10C #693 of the 104th FS “my own.”
“I am responsible to ensure it is in 100% flying condition, all systems checked and up, fully mission capable.
“When the pilot climbs aboard, he will have no question about safety, the aircraft or systems performance.
“He will drop in and be focused on piloting and the mission, knowing his aircraft is sound, safe and fully capable.”
Sedlak is focused, taking personal accountability for the aircraft to ensure it can complete an assigned mission.
His work is supported by a full complement of specialists; avionics, power plant, weapons, and more. Each specialist performs the required work that goes beyond Sedlak’s scope, however it is his job to review and ensure all technical orders have been followed, and the work executed correctly.
A-10 #693 first flew in 1978, and has experienced almost 40 years of punishing flight, low level, high G, all combined with the structure rattling GAU-8 Avenger 30mm cannon fire.
The “Hawg” and its cannon are infamous, and the mere sound of the aircrafts cannon fire “BRRTTTT” have created a rightful cult like following.
The A-10 is slated to be retired in coming years – but that date keeps slipping.
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The aircraft was designed for a time in the cold war when the US and NATO needed an aircraft that could attack and shred columns of battle tanks and armor attacking Europe from the East. The awe-inspiring cannon has proven itself to be very effective in that role.
Given movement of adversaries to Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) systems comprised of sophisticated and integrated air defenses, close air support will rely on precision guided weapons launched from a distance.
Once retired, there will likely never be anything quite like the A-10 again.
However, right now in the insurgency-like environment of the Middle East, the A-10 remains extraordinarily potent and effective.
The unique howling of its engines is enough to send adversaries scrambling for cover.
Given its age, the aircraft takes careful assessment.
Sedlak has learned its quirks. Once each specialist has done their work and the weapons/sensors/jammers/fuel are loaded as required on the 11 hardpoints, he makes final checks; panels closed, weapons pins placed as required, no leaking fluid, no covers requiring removal, all control surfaces functioning as designed.
It is a moment of personal pride and satisfaction as the aircraft leaves the ramp, headed to the end of runway (EOR) for removal of weapons pins and final checks prior to take-off.
Sedlak is a full-time ANG service member.
He was motivated by his two brothers in the services (US Navy & USAF).
He wanted that same meaningful career and organizational pride he saw them experiencing. Sedlak notes that “the ANG is for those who want to serve, who want to make themselves better. For those that identify with the core values of the Air Force; Integrity First, Service before Self, Excellence in all we do.”
The ramp at Warfield ANG base was busy as personnel from all specialties were inspecting aircraft proactively prior to deployment.
The squadron planned to deploy 12 A-10s and with 3-4 spares available for any last moment aborts. Some deployments allow units to arrive on location with support equipment in place (following the departure of a previous unit).
The 104th would realize no such benefit in this deployment, they would be required to take all their support equipment. It was expected they would require multiple numbers of the largest transport in the Air Force inventory, the C-5 Galaxy to carry all the required support personnel and equipment overseas.
Sedlak does not find pre-deployment activity more intense than usual, simply focused.
However, the personal preparation for the six-month deployment was an additional exercise. Most members leave behind families and properties, and it is critical to have trusted people and systems in place to manage finances, and to be available for maintenance and any personal family crisis that may take place.
Not concerned with the potential danger of deploying to a volatile part of the world (in effect a war zone), Sedlak says everybody just keeps a steady calm and focuses on getting their jobs done.
Once there, he imagines that thoughts and emotions may change.
Even then – everyone will remain focused on the mission.
Mission comes first.
Besides, he notes that there is such a tight connection among personnel in the unit that it is like deploying with family. The teamwork and camaraderie is evident as a group offloads unexpended ammunition from the A-10s 30 mm cannon, and others move 4000 lbs of MK-84 (2 x 2000 lbs) practice bombs into storage.
Sedlak acknowledges that we live in a diverse society, and many may question why we are in the Middle East, or military engagements in general.
But he’s doing his job proudly knowing that it gives our society the freedom to express opinions – even dissenting ones.
There is one critically unique aspect of the National Guard not to be overlooked.
The “Guard” is made up primarily of civilians living within our own communities serving one weekend a month.
They may be lifted and placed into a war zone at a moment’s notice.
They may be deployed locally to help with natural disasters and crisis like the riots experienced in Baltimore last year.
When they assist locally, they are not outsiders, they serve the very same communities where they live.
Seeing is believing: it is integrity, it is service, it is excellence.
2016-10-25 Recently, the Australian KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker fleet has now been flown more than 20,000 flying hours.
The milestone was reached on a mission from Yokota Air Base in Japan to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on October 19, 2016.
According to the Australian Ministry of Defence:
Wing Commander Rob Williams, the Commanding Officer of No. 33 Squadron, said this was a memorable achievement for the Royal Australian Air Force.
“Each person involved with the KC-30A, from the transition into service to our achievement of 20,000 flying hours, should be proud of being a part of the KC-30A story,” Wing Commander Williams said.
“The milestone was reached on an international flight supporting two completely different missions, which further demonstrates the value of the aircraft.
“The KC-30A has transformed and enhanced the global reach of the ADF and will continue to mature in its role and application in the years to come.”
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The press release from the Australian Ministry of Defence went on to provide an overview on the KC-30A within the Australian Defence Force.
The Air Force has five KC-30A aircraft in service operated by No. 33 Squadron from RAAF Amberley in South East Queensland. The aircraft was first flown by Air Force in September 2011.
KC-30A aircraft continue a high tempo of operations participating most recently in Exercise PITCH BLACK where it performed as a force multiplier conducting air-to-air refuelling for numerous fighter aircraft.
Throughout its 20,000 flying hours, the KC-30A fleet has achieved a number of firsts including a record for the number of passengers carried on an Air Force aircraft; 220 cadets from the Australian Defence Force Academy in March 2012.
The KC-30A’s most well known deployment is Operation OKRA in the Middle East Region.
The aircraft has provided over 36 million litres of fuel to Australian and coalition aircraft.
The KC-30A is fitted with two forms of air-to-air refuelling systems — an Advanced Refuelling Boom System mounted on the tail of the aircraft and a pair of refuelling pods underneath each wing. These systems are controlled by an Air Refuelling Operator in the cockpit, who can view refuelling on 2D and 3D screens.
KC-30A MRTT and E-7A Wedgetail conduct Air to Air refuelling testing in the airspace near RAAF Williamtown. Credit: Australian Ministry of Defense
Having a fuel capacity of more than 100 tonnes, a KC-30A can remain fly 1800km from its home base with 50 tonnes of fuel available to offload. In its transport role, the KC-30A is capable of carrying as many as 270 passengers and comes with under-floor cargo compartments which can accommodate 34 tonnes of cargo.
Advanced mission systems are also fitted to the aircraft. They include the Link 16 real-time data-link, military communications and navigation suites, and an electronic warfare self-protection system for protection against surface-to-air missiles.
During our interview with Wing Commander Williams during a visit to Williamtown in August 2016, he underscored how the reach and range of the dyad of C-17 and KC-30A had transformed the ADF.
“The idea a decade ago that we could effectively lodge a force anywhere in Europe and operate at short notice was unimaginable.
“For example, in our response to the downing of Malaysian airlines Flight 17, the KC-30 and C-17 force, in terms of seat miles and ton miles, did more lifting in 15 days than Australia did in the Berlin Airlift and we were in the Berlin Airlift for a significant period of time.”
And in an interview with No. 33 Squadron at Amberly Airbase in August, the leadership of the squadron highlighted the significant progress, which the tanker has made in enabling the ADF.
Question: How has the plane and crews performed to date in operations in the Middle East?
Answer: “In the Middle East, we’re seeing reliability, or mission dispatch rates, up near 96%.
“Some months it’s 100%. From a maintenance perspective, we’re probably looking at a serviceability rate of about 97%-98% for our MER ops.”
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Question: In your view, why has the plane performed as well as it has?
Answer: “I haven’t really considered that before but it is an aircraft built on a proven and mature platform, an A330-200.
“It’s been around for many years. It retains much of its green aircraft architecture.
“That’s why we see those dispatch rates.
“It largely provides almost airline-like dispatch rates.”
During my last visit to Australia, I met with the 86th Wing Commander, who is in charged of the Royal Australian Air Force’s C-17 and KC-30A fleet.
We discussed the evolution of the dyad in support of the operations of the Australian Defence Force, and the evolution of the two aircraft working together in supporting the joint force.
He made a key point about what force integration meant with regard to the acquisition and modernization of core platforms: “No one wants to buy a platform; they want to shape and deploy a capability.”
Put in other terms, when looking at air systems, the ability to evolve the platform within the overall context of the evolution of an integrated force is a key measure of the value of a combat platform.
A case in point is the evolution of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The aircraft’s origin was in the Cold War and the defense requirements within a Europe shaped by a NATO-WARSAW Pact confrontation.
Its role was largely defined by its air defense capabilities confronting Warsaw Pact aircraft with the need for weapons mass to strike multiple aircraft.
But with the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, the plane entered a kind of political limbo in which the demand side for fighters was in doubt, and the reset of its role put in motion.
It first entered operational service in 2003, in a period where the evolution of combat aircraft was in play.
Put in other terms, an aircraft initially designed to defend European airspace against the Warsaw Pact was being launched in a time when there was political ambiguity about the role of fighters in the defense of Europe.
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According to Eurofighter, the history of the development and then operation of the aircraft is as follows:
Eurofighter Typhoon is Europe’s largest military programme, with the four founding nations – Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and Italy – all using the aircraft in their own air forces. Upgradeability and flexibility was at the core of the specification to ensure that the platform could be used highly effectively by all air forces providing unrivalled global partnership.
The construction of the first Eurofighter Typhoon prototypes began in 1989 and it was agreed that each of the four parent nations would host the production line and final assembly for the components of the aircraft it was responsible for: Warton for BAE Systems, Manching for EADS Germany, Turin for Leonardo – Aircraft Division and Getafe for EADS CASA.
In 1994, the Chiefs of Air Staff of Germany, Spain, UK and Italy all agreed on their advanced aircraft requirements, with DA1 and DA2 Eurofighter Typhoons making their first test flights that same year.
By 1996, the nations had agreed on the workshare production, and a year later the 500th test flight took place in Manching, Germany.
Over the late 1990s and early 2000s the aircraft undertook extensive environmental, weapon firing, in-flight fueling and supersonic speed tests.
Between 2003 and 2005 the Eurofighter Typhoon was introduced into service across the 4 core nation’s Air Forces. During this period aircraft received the defensive aids sub system (DASS), the multinfunctional information and distribution system (MIDS), initial direct voice input (DVI) and sensor fusion systems.
In 2005, the UK signed an understanding with Saudi Arabia that Eurofighter Typhoon would replace the Saudi Tornados. In 2006 the aircraft was operational and patrolling the skies of Italy during the Winter Olympics. The Austrian Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte) received its first Eurofighter Typhoon in 2007, with Saudi Arabia receiving its first aircraft in 2008.
A year later, the 4 core nations of the founding consortium received the second tranche of aircraft, which undertook a unique advanced medium range Air-to-Air missile (AMRAAM) firing trial.
The objective was to fire a missile while the radar was in passive mode, demonstrating a key stealth capability.
Also in that year, it was established that the aircraft would receive upgrades every two years and major hardware upgrades every four years. By 2010, the aircraft featured an advanced helmet-mounted symbology system (HMSS).
The Eurofighter Typhoon began combat missions in Libya on 21 March 2011 as part of the United Nations’ Odyssey Dawn operation. On deployment RAF Typhoons carried Enhanced Paveway II bombs and totalled 3,000 flying hours and over 600 sorties during a six month period on Operation Ellamy.
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Put in other terms, the airplane was birthed in the 1990s a period in which the function and requirements for fighter aircraft was in play.
A difficult time to launch a new fighter program, but as the strategic environment changed and operational demands changed, the program adjusted the focus on what the aircraft would provide in terms of combat capabilities.
But to do so meant changes in software, hardware, cockpit redesign, and enhancing the role of the pilot to handle information in the battlespace.
It also required marrying those changes with different weapons load outs, or put in other terms, the aircraft and its redesign was symmetrical with the redesign of weapons which would be carried by the aircraft.
No less than a evolution for a classic air superiority fighter to a multi-role fighter was undertaken and with it a significant shift in the weapons to be carried by the fighter.
In other words, new capabilities were being shaped for the aircraft-weapons combat system, which Typhoon is and is evolving to.
From discussions with Typhoon pilots, what has been emphasized is that the evolution of the technology in the cockpit, including the C2 and radar systems has led to a significant enhanced capability to deliver support to the combat force throughout the battlespace.
According to one Typhoon pilot
“When we flew the Typhoon in Libya, we did our first real ground attack role, but we added the Paveway in a very austere fashion.
It performed pretty well in 2011; but it was challenging to operate.”
When Tranche 2 entered the force, there is a solid foundation laid for shaping the way ahead for the evolution to the ground attack capabilities of the aircraft.
“The real upgrade to Tranche 2 was the Phase 1 enhancement.
It integrated Paveway IV into the aircraft; the integration provided a focused capability for the ground strike role.
The software completely changed with an enhanced capability to perform the ground attack role.
We now could direct the weapon to a variety of targets with the onboard control systems and software.
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In the early Tranche 2 experience, the weapon was not really integrated with the aircraft; with the evolution of Tranche 2,
Paveway IV is completely integrated into the aircraft’s combat system.”
He described Tranche I as a difficult platform to target a ground attack weapon for the targeting pod could find a target, but the pilot would have to handle the weapons use manually.
The pilot was the sensor.
Now with Tranche 2, the pilot could type in the targeting information and the plane will then provide the data to execute the strike mission.
“This capability has been demonstrated in Operation Shader.
And the targeting capability was so effective that JTACS actually were calling for the Typhoon/Paveway IV capability on a regular basis.
We had combat mass and significant strike capability which could be delivered rapidly and coalition partners quickly began to pick up on this capability.”
As he described the change in performance and its impact: “We could operate a four ship formation and strike 16 targets in one pass.
We never could do that with Tranche 1.
And we provided close air support to our ground forces, and provide information to the ground forces to support their operations, with targeting information provided from the ground maneuver forces, or from our onboard sensors.”
The way ahead in his view is the integration of new weapons, such as the evolving Brimstone series, to expand the capabilities, which the Typhoon can deliver in the battlespace.
He argued that if the weapons envelope was expanded then the speed of the Typhoon could be leveraged to expand the attack profile of the aircraft.
For this Typhoon pilot, the recent Operation Shader experience highlights the new capabilities of Typhoon, and shapes in his mind a key way ahead.
Rather than being limited to a classically defined air superiority fighter, the Typhoon is evolving into a multi-mission aircraft.
The Tranche 3 package will deliver the next phase of combat capability with regard to the air system, and includes a integrated mix of systems which will deliver enhanced combat capability.
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Editor’s Note: The four slideshows highlight Typhoons.
The first shows RAF Typhoons conducting an air intercept of Russian aircraft and ensuring that they do not enter British or NATO airspace.
The second shows Spanish Typhoons involved in intercepting Russian aircraft during their time conducting the NATO Baltic Air Patrol in 2015.
Four Eurofighter Typhoons and 114 personnel from the Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force)supported the NATO Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission during the first six months of 2015.
The third shows Typhoons at RAF Lossiemouth.
The fourth shows RAF Typhoons at the Trilateral Exercise held at Langley AFB, December 205.
The photos are credited to the RAF and to the Spanish Air Force.
And the video below shows the Eurofighter from inside the cockpit during flight.
According to BAE Systems: This year, “a UK Eurofighter Typhoon, featuring the latest weapons fit, performed a spectacular display for crowds at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and Farnborough International Air Show, with BAE Systems’ Typhoon Test Pilot Nat Makepeace at the controls.
The display demonstrated the Eurofighter Typhoon carrying four Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air to Air missiles, two ASRAAM infra-red missiles, six Brimstone 2 low collateral, precision strike missiles, and two Paveway IV GPS/laser guided bombs.
And this video, shot from a camera mounted in the cockpit as Nat performed his display at Farnborough, provides a unique perspective on a stunning performance.”
And the following graphic produced by BAE Systems provides an overview on the evolution of Typhoon capabilities:
The US Navy has clearly articulated a way ahead for US and allied forces, namely to shape integrated capabilities for the distribute force able to deliver effects throughout a kill web.
The CNO has shaped a concept of the kill webs to describe the approach towards shaping a distributed joint and coalition force, which can deliver effects throughout the extended battlespace.
One of the key aspects of changes involves weapons in the kill web.
Target identification and weapons delivery will not be necessarily located on the same platform; indeed, the ability to deliver lethal effect in the electro-magnetic battlespace will be distributed throughout the kill web.
Weapons are distributed throughout the kill web and can be fired by platforms also operating throughout the kill web capable of firing weapons not carried by that platform.
Distributed strike will become increasingly significant as well as weapons modernization accelerates and the problem of providing new capabilities to the force, a force that is distributed in operations.
What might be called fifth generation weapons can be identified as their ability to be networked and provide selectable, proportionate effects ideally at extended ranges.
On the networking aspect, it is their capability to interact with the launch platform or with the controller in the battlespace, which can be another platform in the battlespace.
It is interactivity with the strike command elements deployed in the battlespace and an ability to operate with strike agility, which characterizes the fifth generation platform.
The challenge is integrate weapons within the kill web, to ensure that weapons are not simply fired from a close proximity source but can be used by the decision authority most capable of identifying and killing a threat.
“C2 is ubiquitous across the kill web. Where is information being processed?
Where is knowledge being gained?
Where is the human in the loop?
Where can core C2 decisions best be made and what will they look like in the fluid battlespace?
The key task is to create decision superiority.
But what is the best way to achieve that in the fluid battlespace we will continue to operate in? What equipment and what systems allow me to ensure decision superiority?”
With regard to weapons, this means ensuring that the weapons capability is in keeping with the evolution of the sensors and command elements in the kill web.
MBDA is currently making significant progress with two such weapons, the Meteor air-to-air weapon and the SPEAR 3 air-to-ground weapon. Both of these weapons have interactive data links and the capability to shift from a particular weapons platform, which launched it to another platform able to direct the target path.
Another core characteristic of what can be considered fifth generation weapons is that they are software upgradeable weapons, which are redesigned as both technology and combat performance evolve.
SPEAR 3 and Meteor are software driven, each can be enhanced further as lessons are learned or the threat evolves alongside their host platforms
These weapons can be carried by fifth generation aircraft which solves a problem identified by former Chief Air Force Scientist Mark Lewis: “Why are we putting 3rd and 4th generation weapons on 5th generation aircraft?”
Indeed, at the recent AFA annual conference, the ACC Commander, Hawk Carlisle, was asked that question and underscored that indeed this was a significant problem and one on which the USAF is working on.
MBDA’s approach has been to build its latest weapons to be useable by a variety of air platforms, including fifth generation ones, so that the flexibility of the kill web being shaped can be enhanced.
With regard to SPEAR this means that it can be carried by an F-35 which allows it to engage significantly more targets than if it used a legacy glide weapon or that Typhoon which will also most likely carry SPEAR 3 can contribute significant load out capability of this weapon for the platforms operating in the extended battlespace.
It is about what the weapon can do as an interactive data linked strike asset ON a platform; and yet be able to operate by OTHER platforms identified by the C2 authority to take over those strike assets and direct them to their final product.
This is about interactive capabilities; and a new approach to weaponization, which will transform how US or allied forces operate in the extended battlespace.
Spear 3 is a key example of how the UK is focusing upon the enhanced capabilities of the F-35 and Typhoon as strike platforms, but also shaping a way ahead for the kill web approach to weaponization.
Shaping a new weapons revolution where weapons are enabled throughout the attack and defense enterprise and not simply resident for organic platform operations is a key element of the way ahead. For example, the new software enabled Meteor missile can be fired by one aircraft and delivered to target by that aircraft or the inflight data link can be used via another asset – air or ground based – to guide it to target. METEOR firing from Gripen. Credit: SAAB
And the Meteor air superiority missile operating off of the Typhoon, or Rafale l or Gripen can contribute not only to its own defense but through the kill web enabled strike complex contribute to the coalition force as well in terms of providing support functions. It is about re-framing what being a wing man is really all about in a fifth generation context
As then ACC Commander General Mike Hostage put the approach: “The 5th Generation aircraft will enable the air combat cloud and allow me to use my legacy assets differently. Many of my 4th Gen fighters can be used to extend the network of linked systems providing reinforcing fires, and I can focus on the 5th Gen assets as the core nodes shaping distributed joint capabilities.”
At the heart of interactive change as well is the evolution of the platforms carrying the new weapons as the new weapons themselves become integrated into the platform.
For example, the Swedish Air Force’s Gripen has integrated the Meteor onboard the aircraft which the Swedish Air Force believes substantially increases the lethality and survivability of the Gripen. According to a press release from SAAB dated July 11, 2016, this synergy was highlighted between weapon and platform.
Speaking today at a the Farnborough International Airshow, at a ceremony to mark the Meteor’s entry into service, Major General mats Helgesson, Chief-of-Staff of the Swedish Air Force said, “After extensive testing by FMV and the Gripen Operational Test and Evaluation unit, all of the new MS20 functions including the Meteor missile are now fully integrated with Gripen.
The Swedish Air Force is now in its Initial Operational Capability phase with the Meteor.
The Meteor missile is currently the most lethal radar-guided missile in operational service, and the Swedish Air Force is the only operational user so far. I am very proud and satisfied to have the Meteor in the inventory of my air force.”
The complete MS20 upgrade is now flying with Swedish Air Force Gripens and MS20 enhancements will soon be implemented in the Gripens of the Czech Air Force. The upgrade delivers a host of new capability options for air-to-air, air-to-surface and ISTAR missions plus many improved mission systems and other changes. As ever with Gripen, operators are free to choose how, when and to what extent they implement the new capabilities that the upgrade enables.
A key element of Gripen’s MS20 capability expansion is full integration of the MBDA Meteor BVRAAM (Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile). Swedish Air Force Gripens are thus the world’s first and only fighters to be operational with this revolutionary European weapon system.
The ramjet-powered Meteor, developed by MBDA with Saab as a key partner, is an advanced, long-range and agile air-to-air weapon that is uniquely designed to counter the most sophisticated airborne threats of the 21st century.
Meteor is a tactical missile with strategic effect. Its extremely long range (beyond 100 km) and unrivalled no escape zone (three times greater than any current BVR missile) will dominate the future air-to-air battlespace, giving a decisive capability to Gripen and its pilots.
The Swedish Air Force Chief, Maj. Gen Mats Helgesson underscored that “From our perspective, (the Meteor) is a game changer. This is something we have invested lots of money in and makes the C/D a really potent air defender again….We are not completely ready with all the tactics, but it is fielded.”
The Typhoon is a more complex case as the multi-nation aircraft is being comprehensively transformed through changes in the cockpit, radar, helmet and targeting systems to handle a complex weapons load out.
The Typhoon will provide significant weapons mass for the new weapons being built by MBDA as well as some core legacy ones as well.
The Typhoon carrying a SPEAR 3 Missile. CreditL Eurofighter
And this year, Typhoon has been progressing with its transition to a core air-to-ground role and as it does so integrating the key weapons which perform the strike element within that mission, Brimstone, Storm Shadow and the new SPEAR 3 missile.
For example, Eurofighter in a news story published on July 12, 2016, announced that the Typhoon successful fired a SPEAR weapon for the first time.
The SPEAR missile is being developed to meet the UK’s Selective Precision Effects At
Range Capability 3 (SPEAR Cap 3) requirement for the UK’s F-35 Lightning II aircraft, with the potential to equip Typhoon. SPEAR will precisely engage long range, mobile, fleeting and re-locatable targets in all weathers, day or night, in the presence of countermeasures, obscurants and camouflage, whilst ensuring a safe stand-off range between the aircrew and threat air defences.
But it is the interactive modernization of the Typhoon with innovations in the weapons enterprise, which shape a new capability, one which is integratable into a kill web.
The interactive innovations in Typhoon were highlighted at a UK Eurofighter Typhoon display at the Royal International Air Tattoo earlier this summer.
According to a press release from Eurofighter dated August 10, 2016:
“A UK Eurofighter Typhoon, featuring the latest weapons fit, performed a spectacular display for crowds at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and Farnborough
International Air Show, with BAE Systems’ Typhoon Test Pilot Nat Makepeace at the controls.
The display demonstrated the Eurofighter Typhoon carrying four Meteor Beyond
Visual Range Air to Air missiles, two ASRAAM infra-red missiles, six Brimstone 2 low collateral, precision strike missiles, and two Paveway IV GPS/laser guided bombs.”
The point here is the significant load out on the jet which can be used by itself, by its traditional wingman or to operate as a wingman in a kill web, which means by assets not operating within the fighter formation itself.
The UK MoD has focused as well on ensuring that its own fifth generation aircraft has advanced air-to-air missiles for its own defense,.
The aircraft are different and will operate differently as well in terms of effect, but by having a missile that can operate cross platform in 21st century combat environments, weapons innovation is not narrowly scoped to a platform or single platform dependent.
This is why the MoD signed a major contract this Summer with MBDA for its advanced air-to-air missile, ASRAAM. In discussions with Australian pilots who fly aircraft with ASRAAMs on board they particularly like the capability to fire the weapon and have it destroy targets behind it, which is clearly anticipating the data link enabled weapons world.
Artist Rendition of F-35 Firing Spear 3 Missile. CreditL MBDA
According to an article published on the UK MoD website on August 16, 2016:
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded a contract worth around £184 million to ensure the UK’s new supersonic stealth combat aircraft will continue to be equipped with the latest air-to-air missile. Designed and manufactured in the UK,
ASRAAM is an advanced heatseeking weapon which will give Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy F- 35B Lightning II pilots, operating from land and the UK’s two new aircraft carriers, the ability to defeat current and future air adversaries….. ASRAAM, which uses a sophisticated infra-red seeker, is designed to enable UK pilots to engage and defend themselves against other aircraft.
It is capable of engaging hostile air targets ranging in size from large multi-engined aircraft to small drones…..
ASRAAM is currently in service with RAF Typhoon and Tornado aircraft and is being carried daily on missions over Iraq and Syria as part of the coalition fight against Daesh.
The updated missile variant being secured under this new contract is expected to enter service on RAF Typhoon aircraft from 2018 and on RAF and Royal Navy F-35 aircraft from 2022, when the current variant will be taken out of service.
The entire kill web approach affects the modernization and acquisition of platforms and weapons as well as the high-end training necessary to shape an integrated force.
According to Rear Admiral Manazir: “The key is continually evolving combinations of capabilities that enhance the defensive and offensive power of the platforms that you put into the kill web.
We are very focused on the evolving man-machine relationship, and the ability of manned and unmanned systems, as well as kinetic and non-kinetic systems, to deliver a broader spectrum of capability to the force.
We are aiming to use the machine for the OO (Observe-Orient) part of the OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) Loop and optimize our human capabilities to do the DA (decide-act).
Fighter pilots have always been “thinking aviators” but we are adjusting what we expect from them as they become key nodes and crucial enablers in the kill web. Becoming a Top Gun pilot in this world will be quite different than in the legacy one.”
It is clear that MBDA is building weapons for this new age Top Gun pilot.
Emerging threats like ICBMs and strategic cruise missiles tipped with credible thermonuclear warheads will become major threats to Canada by the time Canadian Surface Combatants (CSCs) enter service. Canada will need ballistic and cruise missile defenses to deter states like North Korea. Shore based ABM systems will not be sufficient if the threat will evolve into submarine launched missiles.
Likewise, at the low end, anti-access and area denial threats that are cheap and proliferating raise questions as to the cost to defeat them. Low end threats require renewed attention to low cost, deep magazine counters like lasers that are presently being tested and will probably be required for the CSC fleet as it evolves with new technologies onboard the ships.
Will these ships be built in such a way that they can accommodate new, lower cost operational concepts which will evolve over the lifetime of the surface combatants?
On board the CSC, having the space and capability to fit radars optimized for air and missile defense like AN/SPY-6 tightly integrated with Aegis BMD Systems will be necessary. Similarly, adequate future electrical supply and storage for direct energy weapons and electronic or tron warfare will be a consideration.
Rogue states like North Korea will foreseeably develop the capability simultaneously to fire volleys of missiles, some with dummy warheads and penetration aids to increase the likelihood of their warheads reaching target. This places a premium on vessels with large Vertical Launch magazines that are compatible with expected upgrades in missiles.
Inventories of missiles are expensive to maintain in peacetime, and subject to wear and aging at sea leading to many vessels sailing with partially filled magazines. Moreover, inventories of missiles obsolete rapidly and require frequent updates as the threats are better understood. Hardware updates are difficult to do with deployed missiles.
A critical issue for the CSC candidates will be whether the platform ties Canada to a particular VLS missile supplier and the versatility of the VLS launchers. The capability of the supplier to supply missiles from inventory as needed, continuously update and upgrade them to deal with the latest threats are a concern. VLS missiles are typically too heavy to be air freighted and need to be transported by sea. This is a major consideration for wartime resupply.
With a new set of threats facing Canada, solutions to defense loom large. And any investments need to build toward enhanced capabilities; not just check a platform box for the defence force. Credit Image: Bigstock
Underway replenishment of VLS cells is probably not doable in the foreseeable future, but forward VLS reloading with a specialized vessel is practical with existing technologies. Teamed with the capability for at-sea hardware upgrades of missiles, it is a force multiplier for the CSC fleet.
Will at-sea VLS re-arming figure prominently in the requirements?
Given Canada’s vast territory with few major ports, and extremes of climate, this can potentially become a capability where Canada can excel in. Canada does not have a program for a specialized vessel with this capability. Such a vessel, if developed, will likely find a ready market abroad providing that the CSC VLS system is not a niche product.
Finally, there is the question of how Canada would field an anti-ballistic missile deterrent by 2020 and the time when the CSCs are scheduled to come into service. An interim capability may be required that cannot be met via upgrading the existing Canadian fleet.
Acquiring an interim capability that plug the gap and give more time for technologies to mature and craft a clean-sheet design based on 2018 requirements may be a lower lifecycle cost alternative to the modified “off-the-shelf” option.
That is no longer the case in the second nuclear age with many new and emerging nuclear weapons powers like North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, etc. that challenge the status quo.
Canadians have to do their part in anti-ballistic missile defense and deterrence and buying the right kind of surface ship can provide a foundation to do so.
That may not be possible in the penny-pinching style dating from the end of the cold war.
It is not about buying an “off-the shelf” ship; it is building a surface combatant that is upgradeable through out its life to contribute to deterrence and defense of Canada.
Danny Lam is an independent analyst based in Calgary.
The Department of Defense (DoD) is ambitiously building a Cyber Security force to fulfill its Cyber Strategy. It is a high priority given the network dependence of our defense and national infrastructure and the growth and severity of cyber attacks.
“Hunter,” an intelligence analyst with the Maryland Air National Guard (ANG) 275th Cyber Operations Squadron describes the challenge:
“The domains of Air, Sea & Land are finite, generally fully mapped and known. In the cyberspace domain, the internet is the terrain and it is arguably infinite, growing and morphing every day.”
Hunter describes the internet as the “Wild West” – an image of a time and place where anything goes, violence a way of life, “law and order” fleeting, commercial opportunities (mines, railroads) non-existent one day booming the next, the saloon the Facebook of the day, and change fast and furious.
We have become too familiar with the hazards of the internet, leaked emails, busted corporations, compromised databases, stolen identities – and so many more examples of the vulnerabilities of this new indispensable terrain.
While these risks are troubling for corporations and individuals, they are potentially devastating for our military forces.
Emerging warfare doctrine has been described by Richard S. Deakin in his book “Battlespace Technologies” (Artech House Publishers, 2010) as “Network-Enabled Information Dominance.” The warfighter and weapons platforms utilized today (F-22, F-35, AEGIS Cruisers, P-8, E-3G, Wedgetail, Triton/Global Hawk and more) generate an unprecedented amount of information are very effective in a network enabled environment.
The enabled platforms share information via the network and create a unified battlespace picture, where each individual platform has access to the others targeting data.
The result is what the Navy calls the “tactical cloud” or as others reference, the “Kill web.”
The information and network enabled systems provide the warfighter with unprecedented situational awareness and give strategic and tactical command a tremendous advantage in any conflict.
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Caption for Slide Gallery: The 275th Cyber Operations Squadrons Cyber Protection Team at work in the “Hunters Den.” A squadron of the 175th Wing Maryland Air National Guard.
And yet, given they rely on the internet these networks have the potential of being hacked, compromised, or degraded. There can be no higher imperative than to protect the networks that carry the information as well as the associated platforms.
Any compromise will have a serious impact on warfighting capability.
In the last few years the Government and DOD have mobilized to take this threat seriously with the launch of the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), a sub-unified command of the United States Strategic Command.
The recently activated 175th COG is unique: it is the first Air National Guard (ANG) Wing to have a group structure containing multiple cyber squadrons (3 Operational Squadrons, 1 Operational Support Squadron).
Second Line of Defense visited the 275th Cyber Operations Squadron on September 28, 2016 at the beginning of their first deployment.
Cyber Operations Squadrons (COS) utilize Cyber Protection Teams (CPT) as an operational team to fulfill objectives. While the structure is based on an Air Force model, it is still such a new endeavor that aspects are still evolving.
Many of the personnel involved today have retrained from other disciplines – everything from C-130 pilot to Tactical Aircraft Maintenance.
They now have the privilege of being on “the cutting edge,” performing ground breaking work, refining structures, and cyber tactics.
The ANG model brings additional value by the inclusion of the best cyber personnel available in the private industry. As Hunter explains, the synergy of sitting within a team of the smartest available private industry cyber specialists, while performing cutting edge service is extraordinarily satisfying. The 175th is uniquely situated in Maryland close to Fort Meade, an area with scores of exceptionally qualified cyber specialists.
While the typical ANG personnel serve “one weekend a month” deployment involves putting civilian life on hold and reporting full time. During deployment the squadron may continue to work out of their home base, or given their mobility may relocate equipment and personnel to support a designated network in another location.
While cyber groups within different services have defined roles, CPTs are aligned with; a National CPT against a known threat (Nation State); the Combatant Commander (COCOM) in a specific theater of operations such as Europe (USEUCOM), South Pacific (USPACOM) etc.); the Department of Defense (DOD) Networks; or Service aligned (Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines). The 275th is service aligned with the USAF (24th Air Force) to perform missions on Air Force spheres of influence.
Director of Operations Major C. Ferguson used the physical security apparatus of the base to describe the role of the CPT; the base has a gate, the network has entry points; base security examines credentials and vehicles upon base entry, the CPT views packets, digital signatures and credentials; the base has a fence; the network has a firewall; the base has scores of buildings with different levels of access, the network has areas of similar nature.
The CPT’s job is to survey the network for vulnerabilities, ensure it is secure, and actively protect it.
Hunter notes that the Internet is dramatically different than the domains of Air, Water, Land and Space in that one can be attacked, and not even know it. While probing in the physical domain may include activity close to an adversary’s borders – within the internet the “war” is constant, attacks are real and consequential.
The CPT efforts look for fingerprints that may indicate a previous infiltration or attempt. Like cyber detectives they will follow “the bread crumbs” – always mindful of the legal obligations and process to be maintained.
For example, a cyber analyst might pick a “box,” go look at it, analyze captured network traffic, look for statistical anomalies and subsequently be involved in active adversarial pursuit. Once a network is surveyed and secured the CPT trains the local cyber operator (LCO) to perform the ongoing protection.
In the squadrons ops room (the Hunters Den) the teams structure reveals an openness that supports collaboration.
CPT Mission Commander, Major D. Carpenter indicates that only about 15% of personnel’s time is actually spent on the computer. Most of the time is spent in communication, analysis and consulting with other team members (including intelligence specialists). While not specifically designated for offensive activity the team is “weaponized,” as Carpenter notes, “their weapons system oddly looks like a laptop.”
Potential impacts of cyber warfare bridge both the non-kinetic and kinetic realms. While non-kinetic effects such as data exploitation, data theft, and activity such as monitoring data feeds from a remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) could be considered a typical threat, the dangerous and very real field of Kinetic Cyber has emerged.
Examples of kinetic cyber include the release of the stuxnet virus and its crippling effects on Iran’s nuclear program, or the alteration of the speed of pumps on a pipeline that led to a catastrophic explosion.
Other kinetic cyber impacts could involve taking control of a specific platform, or be as simple as infiltrating a secure facility and turning off the air conditioning to the server room resulting in a shutdown of computer servers to a critical network.
One can appreciate the tremendous importance to secure military networks.
An effective cyber-attack would most certainly reduce warfighting capability and jeopardize the ability of the military to prevail in a conflict with minimal losses.
The threat is sobering, and it is encouraging to see the tremendous effort being expended by the Government and DoD to rapidly develop an effective Cyber Command structure and scores of CPT’s. Units like the 175th COG, and 275th COS demonstrate a new but critical capability for the “network enabled” battlespace.
Second Line of Defense expresses gratitude to Col. C. Kohler and SrA E. Saunders of the Maryland National Guard Public Affairs Office as well as Maj. D. Carpenter CPT Mission Commander, 275th Cyber Operations Squadro
2016-10-12 Currently,the Unmanned Warrior exercise is being hosted by the Royal Navy and conducted in Wales and Scotland with coalition partners.
The exercise is focused upon robotic vehicles and their potential contributions in the battlespace.
According to the Royal Navy, Unmanned Warrior is a multinational event involving 40 research and development companies as well as the US Navy and the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE). Part of the second stage of the Joint Warrior naval exercises, it includes Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV), and Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV).
Commander Peter Pipkin, Royal Navt,Fleet Robotics Officer. Credit: Royal Navy
These vehicles and their sensors and software will be subjected to a number of challenges based on themes from a 2015 workshop. These will consist of Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW); Information, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR); Command and Control; Hydrographic and Geointelligence; and Mine Countermeasures (MCM).
“We have deliberately adopted a different approach to capability demonstration, in that the MOD is inviting participants to offer their thoughts on what future capability might look like and where technology can be exploited without any preconceptions,” says Fleet Robotics Officer Commander Pipkin.
The Royal Navy identifies the goal of the current exercise as follows: “to explore the feasibility of increasing the use of unmanned and autonomous systems in delivering maritime capability.”
Various systems are being tested and evaluated with regard to their potential contributions.
In part, the services are sorting out templates to provide to industry to help the UK and allied forces obtain equipment which can actually contribute to enhanced maritime security.
As Commander Peter Pipkin, Fleet Robotics Officer, put it: “What we are seeking to achieve is an event that re-shapes the market to provide new opportunities for everbody and capability transformation for the Navy.”
One news item focused on activity being conducted with regard to counter mine activity.
The Qinetiq base here is BUTEC, the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre, set in a more intimate corner of the Scottish seascape than the wide open vistas of Benbecula.
Here there is a small complex of jetties and adjacent boat sheds with a supporting operations room and administration hub for the almost continuous series of underwater trials conducted here on behalf of the MoD.
For Unmanned Warrior this is the locale for two, arguably three – if you include Command and Control, of the five themes of investigation that the teams are demonstrating: Mine Hunting and Hydrographic surveys.
A lot of this is due to the commonality of the systems used, such as the Remus 100 and Remus 600 which scour the sea bed with their refined sonar beams and reproduce what is down there.
If you are looking for mines then the mines will show up on the scan, if you are trying to draw a chart then the sonar will give you the outline of contours and underwater obstacles ready to be digitised for the navigator.
There was a flurry of activity on the dockside as the teams in bright red immersion suits and high visibility life-jackets fussed around their support craft and rigid inflatable boats, fetching and carrying long torpedo shaped objects from the preparation rooms down onto the pontoons to ready their underwater robots for action.
And a mixture of accents told of US and Canadian teams bringing their systems into play too.
The majority of these are truly autonomous in that they are pre-programmed with a subsurface mission, launched and then left to get on with it.
They will track up and down recording seabed features and return to the surface when finished, operating perhaps for up to 8 hours at a stretch if needed An additional layer of autonomy is added if the the pick up craft is also unmanned, as some of them are.
Buzzing overhead was the Blue Bear BLACKSTART fixed wing UAV acting as a communications link to mission control in the Command and Control cabin, the sea areas being inspected being some way away.
This was in one of the three MAPLE integration centres, actually an ISO container full of computers, screens and anxious people, where the robots are told what to do.
Later came a cheer. A record!
The BAe Systems and SeeByte mission commanders had brought nine autonomous systems on line, responding to each other, flying, swimming and diving together, but hard at different tasks, looking for different things.
A choreographed ballet under the baton of the maestro.
The US Navy’s Office Science and Technology is participating fully in the exercise.
According to ONR, new knowledge will be generated in five key mission areas:
One example of a vehicle being put through its paces is the Maritime Counter Measures C2 platform.
“The MCM C2 combines air, surface and sub-surface unmanned assets for the first time to speed the operational pace and reduce the detect-to-engage timeline in naval mine warfare. It also enables military personnel to operate further away from high risk areas.
The system comprises an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) deploying and operating a tethered rotary wing Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) that carries a radio and other sensors.
HOW IT WORKS:
The USV is deployed with the Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) from the Command Ship outside the mine threat area. When UUVs surface at intervals during the mission the UAV is able to communicate with the UUV to exchange data packets via the Radio link. These data packets are relayed back to the command ship to enable processing of the data before the UUV mission is complete.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT:
Current operations are restricted by the time taken to collect and then process data captured by the UUV. This delays follow-on missions to relocate and take action on any mine like contacts identified. Further, a manned vessel currently has to enter the threat area and remain in the vicinity to launch and recoverthe UUVs and communicate with them.”
Another system being tested is the Airborne Computer Vision or ACV computer onboard an RPA.
“The ACV computer provides autonomous, persistent, and rapid analysis of maritime and land-based imagery. ACV computers can be hosted as payloads on multiple manned and UxS platforms, and with multiple models and types of imaging cameras. An open-architecture framework allows for the rapid integration of new sensors to the ACV computer, which in turn disseminates the critical information to fleet commanders.
In addition to vessels, the ACV computer can detect, classify, identify, and geo-locate buildings, bridges, vehicles, and people. A fully digital process eliminates common human errors and provides opportunities for fleet commanders to increase the speed of warfare.
The ACV technologies are being tested to support multiple missions of interest to the United States. These missions span from Combat Support Agency maritime chart production to squad-level littoral Reconnaissance Surveillance Target Acquisition (RS TA) operations. Multiple US partners have funded the development of the ACV technologies which are managed under the Office of Naval Research.
The Airborne Computer Vision (ACV) computer can be hosted onboard multiple Unmanned Systems (UxSs). Credit: ONR
WHAT IT IS:
The Airborne Computer Vision (ACV) computer can be hosted onboard multiple Unmanned Systems (UxSs). The ACV computer is capable of “mimicking” aspects of human-level analysis of imagery collected by UxSs. The ACV computer will autonomously detect, classify, identify and geo- locate maritime vessels at sea and in port. The Fleet is notified of any vessels of interest.
HOW IT WORKS:
Hosted on UxSs, the ACV computer autonomously searches images for vessels and classifies them by their size, 3-D shape, and colors. Next, pattern matching is used to compare detected vessels against a library for positive identification. In parallel, measurements are collected to accurately determine the position of the vessel. If a vessel meets pre-defined criteria, the Fleet is provided with an alert.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT:
ACV provides commanders at sea a means to autonomously identify vessels of interest , improving their decision capability. The ACV computer reduces the time to process/act on critical information.”
