A Very Capable Multi-Mission Support Ship in the MSC Fleet: Demand Drives Operational Diversity for the T-AKE Ship

Posted on | by Robbin Laird
01/19/2016

2016-01-19 By Robbin Laird, Ed Timperlake, and Murielle Delaporte

We have visited the T-AKE ship before, and have been impressed with the ship, particularly what it can deliver for around $400 million.

The final two ships were funded at $825 million which would make the per ship cost around 412 million.

As a point of comparison in the most recent Congressional Research Report (December 15, 2015) the LCS price is $479 Million.

The ship has been designed to provide flexible, blue water support in any Ocean of the world to the fleet with significant cargo space, including ammunition support, elevators to enable the crew to move cargo to the delivery to the point of support, and with the use of modern logistical IT methods can find the cargo in its location aboard a ship with significant cargo space.

The MSC T-AKE ship fleet consists of 14 ships, and the master of the dry cargo & ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) is Capt. James White.

Given the shortage of ships for the USCG and the US Navy, the ship has been tasked to do a diversity of missions far beyond simple fleet replenishment.

  • Given the high demand on the tanker fleet, T-AKE ships can play a tanking role.
  • The Marines have used it as mini-amphibious support ship in the Pacific.
  • And with its helo deck has landed Ospreys and there is under consideration the possibility of modifying the two-hanger arrangement for helos to be modified for the Osprey itself. For the distributed operational fleet, it makes sense to rely on the Osprey as a significant operational connector.
  • It can support either military helicopters for fleet replenishment at sea or commercial helicopters for other mission sets.

Recently, we visited the USNS William McLean (T-AKE12) in Norfolk, Va. during our visit to Military Sealift Command.

USNS William McLean is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship of the United States Navy, named in honor of William McLean, a United States Navy physicist, who conceived and developed the heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.

The contract to build William McLean was awarded to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company on December 12, 2008.

The USNS William McLean was launched on April 16, 2011, sponsored by Dr. McLean’s niece, Margaret Taylor. The ship was delivered to MSC on September 28, 2011.

We toured the ship and discussed its recent operations with the ship’s skipper.

During the tour we discussed two events, which highlighted the engagement of the ship.

First, we passed a photo of the ship providing replenishment at sea to one of the amphibious ships involved in the rescue of Captain Phillips from the pirates that attacked his ship the Maersk Alabama.

The William McLean’s contribution to keeping Navy ships on station, roughly 7,000 miles from Norfolk, Va. during the Captain Phillips rescue operation, can be seen in the lifeboat on the deck of the USS Boxer.

FD8A0106

The second event highlighted the role of the captain and crew in exercising their at-sea duties.

Here a sinking sailboat operating in open waters.

Not only did the ship save the sailboat and its crew, but facilitated its repair at sea and then ability to return to shore.

FD8A0105

The tour highlighted the flexibility of the ship in terms of its substantial reconfigurable cargo bays, which are designed as well to hold ammunition for resupply to deployed forces.

The total displacement of the ship is 41,000 tons; the dry cargo capacity is 6,675t; there are two cargo potable water tanks with a capacity of 200t or 52,800gals. 

The ship can also provide fuel and is used regularly to do so as a complement to the MSC tanker fleet.

Whereas the single hull tankers can hold 180,000 barrels of oil, the T-AKE ship has a more modest capability, of 3,242t of fuel.

Question: How many mariners are there onboard your ship? 

How many military?

Captain: We have 121 civil service mariners and have military onboard only for a security detail when needed.

Question: What has been your most recent engagement?

Captain: Our most recent trip was in support of Joint Warrior 15-2 and At Sea Demonstration 15.

We went across the Atlantic with a Canadian task group under the command of a Canadian admiral plus the USS The Sullivans.

Our major task was providing fuel during the transit as the Canadian navy has no current tanking support.

None of their oilers are working right now.

They have two oilers that are decommissioned basically.

The Canadians were operating two frigates and a destroyer, namely the Halifax, Montreal and the Athabaska.

Question: We assume that the Canadians visited your ship. 

What was their reaction?

Captain: They did and had a very positive reaction to the ship.

During lunch, we discussed earlier operations and it turns out I had refueled the Admiral’s ship earlier when he was the captain of the Winnipeg off of Somalia and when I was the captain of USNS Lewis and Clark.

I have a collection of Canadian navy caps over by my desk and have worked with 8 of the 12 Halifax frigates. I am working to get caps for all 12!

We were the only oiler in support of Joint Warrior.

Another oiler wasn’t able to come for some reason.

So we did 45 UNREPs in 52 days. So we’re very busy. We pumped a lot of fuel.

Question: Could you speak about the level of sea states in which you can operate to perform your mission?

Captain: We can UNREP safely up to 10 to 12 foot seas.

With 14 to 18 foot seas we are not going to be UNREPing under those conditions.

Question: When working with allied ships, how does the signaling and coordination work?

Captain: All of the UNREP signaling and the equipment is mostly standardized now.

And we will send a battery-operated walkie-talkie to the ships we are working with, and English is the common language.

Although we have crew members who speak Spanish and can do so with relevant allied crews, such as the Spanish Navy.

And during the recent exercise, we did an UNREP with a Polish Navy ship, and we certainly do not speak Polish!

USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) skipper Capt. James White.
USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) skipper Capt. James White.

Question: You do emergency breakaways as well when conditions worsen, we would assume?

Captain: We do, and did so on the recent exercise with a French ship.

We were operating in 12-14 foot seas, and a wave broke up on the deck of the French ship knocking some French sailors about.

The French captain decided to terminate the refueling effort and we broke off from the French ship.

Question: How were you operating at the time?

Captain: We were operating in a 12-foot sea about 160 feet from the French ship and going about 13 knots.

Question: How do you refuel for your at sea fueling mission? 

Captain: We either go to port to receive fuel or receive fuel from an oil tanker. We have two fuel receivers, which we use to receive fuel.

On the recent exercise, we refueled three times at the Loch Striven NATO fuel depot. And we took a load of fuel from the RFA Wave Knight.

Question: In the refueling role, you extend the range of the tanker fleet, and presumably can go into some areas more difficult for a larger oil tanker to operate as well?

Captain: We can and do.

We can take fuel from a tanker then go someplace else to support other ships.

And then the tanker can go do something else. So we multiply the effect from the tanker fleet.

Question: On the exercise, which NATO navies did you support beyond the US, the Canadians, the French and the Polish? 

Captain: The Portuguese Navy, the Dutch Navy, the German Navy and the Royal Navy.

Question: What is the overall reaction to you as an asset for the US and allied navies? 

Captain: We are very flexible and capable support ship.

The ship is very capable.

It is ­ it is extremely capable of moving dry cargo at sea.

It a couple of orders of magnitude better than what we’ve replaced. With the fuel capability, we have a million gallons so we’re not an oiler.

An oiler carries about 7 million.

But we have functioned frequently as an oiler.

I frequently hear: “Oh, I wish you guys had more fuel. I wish you carried more cargo fuel.”

But the, the ship was not built as an oiler. It’s built as a dry cargo ship. The ship does carry several times more fuel than the older ships we’ve replaced.

Editor’s Note: The versatility of the T-AKE ship is highlighted in the following story published on November 4, 2015:

By Grady T. Fontana, Military Sealift Command Far East

LUGANVILLE, Republic of Vanuatu (NNS) — The U.S. Ambassador to Vanuatu Walter E. North attended Exercise KOA MOANA 15-3 Vanuatu opening ceremony at the Vanuatu Police Force here, Nov. 4.

“The waters of the South Pacific are home to some of the riches areas of marine biodiversity and fishery resources, but their vast expanse makes them difficult to patrol and police,” said Ambassador North, who is also U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. “Protecting these waterways for sustainable use and legal use by all parties is not only in the interest of Vanuatu, it’s in the interest of the United States.”

Military Sealift Command’s dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1) anchored off the coast of Vanuatu and offloaded Marines and equipment yesterday as part of her continuing support of the exercise.

In Vanuatu, the Marines will continue with their military-to-law enforcement engagements, while members of the Navy and Coast Guard will concurrently participate in Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) operations, just as they did in Fiji and Kiribati, along with their host nation partners.

“As a signal of our enduring commitment to the Pacific, this exercise, with about 120 U.S. Marines, joining their colleagues from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, and in partnership with the Vanuatu authorities, will conduct operation to help combat transnational crime within Vanuatu’s exclusive economic zone,” said the ambassador. “The combined teams will look for potential violations and board vessels for further inspection.”

The first portion of the exercise was in the Tahiti in September, followed by legs in Fiji and Kiribati in October where Marines conducted theater security cooperation (TSC) activities with those host nation partners.

After Vanuatu, Lewis and Clark, which is also part of Maritime Prepositioning Ships Squadron TWO (MPSRON-2), will carry her personnel and cargo to Timor Leste for more TSC events, then return to her home port in Diego Garcia early December.

“The KOA MOANA exercise is looking at security force relations to expose our Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard elements, in this very interesting environment, to see how we might improve our capacity to work together [with host nations] in natural disasters, to combat transnational crime and other illegal activities like unregulated and unreported fishing by bolstering law enforcement programs through on-shore training and potential boarding of commercial vessels nearby, said North.”

During the OMSI operations in Kiribati, the combined Tarawa Maritime Police unit and U.S. Coast Guard enforcement officers boarded nine fishing vessels. Of those nine, the Tarawa Maritime Police unit identified five boats with violations.

Those violations ranged from boats not having proper documentation or licenses to fish in the Kiribati exclusive economic zone, to vessels not having seabird or turtle mitigation measures on board.

OMSI is a secretary of defense program aimed to diminish transnational illegal activity on the high seas and enhance regional security and interoperability with partner nations.

Exercise KM 15-3 is a four-month international exercise with participants from the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and host nation participants from various countries in the Pacific Island Nations of Oceania.

COMPSRON 2, currently embarked in USNS Lewis and Clark and operating in the Southern Eastern Pacific, maintains tactical control of the 10 ships that are forward deployed to Diego Garcia and carrying afloat prepositioned U.S. military cargo for the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Air Force. The squadron’s mission is to enable the force from the sea by providing swift and effective transportation of vital equipment and supplies for designated operations.

MSC operates approximately 115 non-combatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.  

According to Naval-Technology.com, the T-AKE ship has the following capacities:

The dry cargo capacity is 6,675t. There are two cargo potable water tanks with a capacity of 200t or 52,800gal. The five cargo fuel tanks can carry 3,242t of fuel. 

The ship is constructed with two multipurpose cargo holds for dry stores and ammunition, three specialty cargo and spares holds, and specialty cargo spaces on level 01. 

A lightweight portable cargo dunnage system is used in the holds to protect the cargo from mechanical and water damage. There is a dedicated cargo hold for frozen, chilled or dry stores. The cargo holds are air conditioned. 

There are also extensive cargo pre-staging areas on the main deck, four cranes each rated at 5t for loading and offloading pierside or at anchorage, and eight cargo elevators for transferring the cargo between the main deck and the allocated stowage locations. 

Each Lewis and Clark ship is capable of simultaneous operation of five connected replenishment (CONREP) stations and vertical replenishment (VERTREP) operation by aircraft, using the flight deck situated on the main deck. There is a total of three dry-cargo and one liquid-cargo connected replenishment stations on each side of the ship.

Additional information with regard to the role of the USNS William McLean in the at-sea rescue of a sailboat is provided by the following story published on May 15, 2015:

Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS William McLean and crews from the United States Coast Guard’s Fifth District rescued two people on a distressed sailboat, the Solarus, in open waters 50 miles southeast of Ocean City, Maryland on Thursday. 

The McLean received a distress call from the Solarus around 6:10 a.m. Thursday morning. The McLean immediately sailed towards the small craft to render assistance.

It was at that time that the McLean also established communications with the Coast Guard’s 5th District Command Center, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Military Sealift Command Atlantic and apprised them of the situation. 

Solarus reported that they were taking on water through a two-foot-long crack in the hull and that their bilge pump could not keep up with the inflow of water. McLean launched one of her fast rescue boats with a P100 dewatering pump. 

USNS William McLean stopped about 100 yards from Solarus and the decision was made to bring Solarus alongside McLean to shelter the sailboat from the choppy seas and to facilitate the dewatering and repair of the sailboat. 

The crew of the sailboat consisted of two adult males who were taking the Solarus from Charleston, SC to Newport, RI. They were in good physical condition, did not require any medical care, but, according to Captain White, were obviously concerned to be that far off the coast in a sail boat that was taking on water and were relieved to be assisted by USNS William McLean. 

The fast rescue boat crew was able to dewater Solarus using the P100 pump, with approximately 400 gallons of water pumped off. 

According to Captain White, this revealed the source of the flooding, which was a two foot long crack in the starboard bow of the sailboat. 

After assessing the damage to the sailboat, a list of materials was passed up to the ship. The deck department quickly assembled the damage control items needed to affect a temporary repair to the sailboat’s hull and lowered them down to the boat and repairs were made to control the flooding. 

McLean also refueled Solarus and supplied a hot breakfast to the Solarus’ crew.

At this point, an H-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, NJ arrived on the scene with a portable dewatering pump. McLean then set flight quarters and the helicopter landed onboard and the dewatering pump was passed to Solarus. 

McLean also refueled the helicopter, which then left the scene and returned to Atlantic City. 

Once the crack in the sailboat’s hull was repaired, McLean recovered her fast rescue boat and got back underway, proceeding to rendezvous with a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Ocean City, Md. Solarus maintained station about 100 feet off of McLean’s port side, so that the sailboat was sheltered from the four to six foot seas and 25 knot northerly winds. McLean and Solarus proceeded in this fashion for about two hours until they rendezvoused with the Coast Guard motor lifeboat crew. 

Two Coast Guard motor lifeboat crewmembers boarded Solarus and then escorted Solarus towards Ocean City, MD. McLean facilitated this personnel transfer and remained in company with Solarus and the Coast Guard until the motor lifeboat crew regained radio communications with Coast Guard Station Ocean City. At this point, USNS William McLean was thanked for her assistance and was released from the scene to proceed on duties assigned. 

McLean is one of 15 Navy Combat Logistic Force (CLF) ships that provide fuel, food, ordnance, spare parts, mail and other critical supplies enabling the fleet to remain at sea, on station and combat ready for extended periods of time. 

All CLF ships are government-owned and crewed primarily by civil service mariners. 

http://wtkr.com/2015/05/15/navy-ship-coast-guard-crews-rescue-sailboat-off-ocean-city/

The photos in the first slideshow were shot during the visit and are credited to Second Line of Defense.

The second slideshow shows the USNS William McClean in operations.

The first photo shows the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12), center, conducts an underway replenishment with the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), left, and the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) in the Atlantic Ocean Sept. 20, 2012. Wasp is currently conducting at sea operations.

The second photo shows U.S. sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) heave lines while the ship receives ammunition from the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) Jan. 15, 2013, in the Atlantic Ocean. The George H.W. Bush was conducting training and carrier qualifications.

The third photo shows the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) steams through the Atlantic Ocean July 16, 2014. The William McLean was underway conducting an ammunition transfer with the aircraft carriers USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), not pictured.

The fourth photo shows the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12), left, and the aircraft carriers USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), center, and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) steam through the Atlantic Ocean July 16, 2014. The ships were underway conducting an ammunition transfer.

The final photo Ensign Susannah Johnson looks through a laser range finder to measure the distance of the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) from the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) during a replenishment-at-sea approach exercise. The Sullivans is transiting the Atlantic to participate in Joint Warrior, a United Kingdom-led, multinational cooperative training exercise designed to prepare NATO and allied forces for global operations on September 28, 2015.

Photos credited to the US Navy.

The photos from the third slideshow on the sailboat rescue were taken from the story and are credited to WTKR.

This article is the first of three interviews conducted during our visit to the Military Sealift Command in Norfolk, VA. on December 14, 2015.

Italy and the European Air Transport Command

Posted on | by Robbin Laird

2016-01-19  It is has been difficult to shape a more integrated European force.

But the European Air Transport Command is a clear success in that effort.

According to a story on the Italian Ministry of Defense website publish on January 12, 2016, the earlier steps taken by Italy to work within the command have led to their integration within the command.

Transfer of most of the Italian Air Force air transport, air-to-air refueling and aeromedical evacuation assets under the operational leadership of the European Air Transport Command (EATC) has been formally implemented today.

Inaugurated in 2010, EATC is the multinational command tasked with managing and engaging assets assigned by Participating Nations to this European initiative.

Italy has officially joined the EATC on 4 December 2014, when the Air Chief of Staff, during a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti, signed Italy’s adhesion to the Agreement to which France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Spain were parties.

The “Transfer of Authority” will be implemented for 31 assets, including C-27J, C-130J, and KC-767 aircraft.

The Italian Air Force can regain control of the aircraft based on national requirements thanks to the envisaged Revoke Transfer of Authority mechanism.

 The European Air Transport Command, located at Eindhoven (NL), implements the Pooling and Sharing concept in the sector of military air transport, in line with the Common Security and Defense Policy.

Its objective is to improve and optimize the management of available resources, thanks to standardized procedures and the employment of a common fleet, larger than individual countries’ ones, with considerable cost savings.

 Italy’s adhesion to EATC is a tangible result that enhances national military air transport capabilities and, in particular, our sectors of excellence, such as a air-to-air refueling and medical airlift in high bio-containment conditions.  

http://www.difesa.it/EN/Primo_Piano/Pagine/EATC.aspx

In an interview with the Italian Air Force Chief of Staff, Lt. General Preziosa, the importance of the EATC effort was highlighted. 

Preziosa highlighted two other important sharing efforts in Europe, which are designed to enhance capability. “The point of sharing is not simply to share; it is to shape a greater capability to act and with greater and more effective means.”

The first is Italian participation in the European Air Group, located at High Wycombe in the United Kingdom.

Here Italian Air Force aircraft – such as the Tornados and Eurofighters – work to be more effectively integrate in coalition operations, as happened with the UK and Italy operating from an Italian base during operations during what the US called Odyssey Dawn.

The second is Italy entering into the European Air Transport Command (EATC) and committed to EPRC (European Personnel Recovery Centre).

“We are contributing our transport aircrafts and new tankers to the EATC”. Besides Italy is engaged with EAG nations to establish a Personnel Recovery (PR) Centre, based in Italy, in 2015. This centre is addressing a very important operational function (PR), in order to foster joint-combined interoperability through common approaches and common procedures, under a lead service approach. I believe those are simple and tangible examples of what is commonly known as pooling & sharing initiatives.”

https://sldinfo.com/airpower-italy-europe-and-the-way-ahead-lt-general-preziosa-looks-at-the-challenges/

And we wrote earlier about the role of the European Air Group in the process of establishing the command, and the EAG itself is an important asset in shaping more effective European defense cooperation and find ways for practical integration.

Question: What is the role of the European Air Group?

BG De Ponti: It is the only multinational entity entirely devoted to airpower issues. And it includes the Air Forces of Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

It is set up to be efficient. We have a small permanent staff, which is hosted by the Royal Air Force at High Wycombe. The staff works directly for the seven Air Chiefs and works directly as well with the staffs of those Air Forces.

The EAG is led by a steering group composed of the seven air chiefs; and the permanent staff is run by the Deputy Director and the Chief of Staff, who in this case are the two persons with whom you are discussing the EAG.

Each Air Force provides three staff members and then we have a small administrative support staff.

It is designed to small and agile yet plugged into the operations of the seven Air Forces.

The head of the EAG is a sitting Air Chief, in this case Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford from the RAF. The Director, the Deputy Director and the COS serve normally for two years, and the staff provided by the Air Forces normally serves for three years.

Question: What is the focus of attention of the EAG?

BG De Ponti: The EAG tackles airpower issues, which need solutions to enhance interoperability among the member nations.

This can lead to tactical or strategic solutions.

And we have had important achievements to date such as the European Air Transport Command (EATC).

And the recent creation of the European Personnel Recovery Centre is an important step forward which the staff started the process, and went to the Chiefs and they approved going ahead, and then we worked more on the way ahead, and now we will see the Centre set up in Italy later this year.

And this Centre will combine military and civilian expertise and can well become a center of excellence for personnel recovery tasks, both military and civilian. And we are transferring our expertise in training in these areas to the new Centre which illustrates the way we work – we are not adding tasks for us to do and growing staff – we actually are transferring tasks when appropriate to a better placed mechanism. 

https://sldinfo.com/the-european-air-group-and-shaping-a-21st-century-template-for-collaborative-air-operations/

See an earlier piece on Italy and the EATC:

https://sldinfo.com/another-step-forward-for-the-european-air-transport-command-italy-officially-joins-the-eatc/

 

 

 

Spain and Operation Sophia: Migrant Rescue at Sea

Posted on | by Robbin Laird

2016-01-19  Sophia Operation EUNAVFORMED

In a story published by the Spanish Ministry of Defense on January 16, 2016:

The Spanish Navy frigate ‘Canarias’ is deployed in the mission of the European Union, EUNAVFORMED Sophia, to combat illegal trafficking in the central Mediterranean, and recently has rescued 107 men, 10 women and two children trying reach Europe on board an inflatable boat of only 15 meters.

Early this morning the ‘Canaries’ received an emergency notice in which it warned of the presence of at sea migrants.

An hour later, the maritime patrol aircraft of the Air Force P-3 “Orion” flying over the area, spotted the two vessels.

In this situation, the commander of the operation ordered Sophia closer to the event, ‘Canarias’ and ‘Triglav’ ships, the Slovenian Navy ship also deployed in this operation, go to the scene of action to check the situation and prepare to help.

The Spanish ship approached at full speed to the area, and the 200 soldiers who make up the crew of the frigate were prepared to carry out a rescue that would involve three ships of three different nations. Later, he joined the rescue operations ‘Fiorillo’, of the Italian Coast Guard.

Upon arrival to the area, the frigate ‘Canarias’ assumed command of the action and with the ‘Triglav’ began the rescue, which were hampered by the storm surge and the prevailing winds in the area.

The ‘Canaria’ lowered its two inflatable boats, beginning the assistance to migrants onboard both boats. The first to be rescued were children and women. He then proceeded to rescue the remaining migrants.

The Spanish frigate ship they reached 130 people, 119 of the boat assigned to the Spanish boat and 11 of the second dinghy, of which the ‘Canaries’ took over until the arrival of Italian rescue ship.

Once they were all safely aboard migrants they were given blankets and dry clothes, food, water, and were provided medical assistance to those who needed it.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911

Then the migrants aboard the ‘Canarias’ and ‘Fiorillo’ were landed at the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Operation EUNAVFORMED- Sophia

The EUNAVFORMED – Operation Sophia “is a multinational mission led by the EU, as decided by the EU Council of May 18, 2015, which helps prevent the loss of lives in the Mediterranean.

The mission of the frigate ‘Canarias’ is to contribute to disrupting networks of illegal trafficking of persons operating in the central Mediterranean.

http://www.defensa.gob.es/gabinete/notasPrensa/2016/01/DGC-fragata-Canarias-rescate-119-personas.html

Translation by Second Line of Defense.

For an Italian perspective on the challenge of migration from sea, see the following:

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/operation-safe-seas-italian-efforts-to-deal-with-at-sea-migrants/

 

 

 

First Super Tucano’s Heading to Afghanistan: Can the US Strategy Leverage Them?

Posted on | by Robbin Laird
01/17/2016

2016-01-17 It took awhile but finally these planes are showing up.

If the Afghans as a nation are going to work together to shape a counter-insurgency and defense strategy, air power is a crucial lynchpin.

This is true for multiple reasons.

First, the geography of Afghanistan makes this an air-connected territory, not a road connected one.

Second, the conditions of operation are challenging and require robust and maintainable air systems to support Afghan forces.

Third, the US and NATO have demonstrated without a shadow of a doubt that airpower is a fundamental element of security and defense “ground” operations.

The demonstration effect is palpable in Afghanistan.

Leaving the Afghans with little or no operational air capability would be a statement of neglect by the exiting NATO forces.

Finally, the new aircraft are coming to Afghanistan.

Amazingly, the heated A-10 debate in the United States completely missed the coming of the Super Tucano and the perfect fit for the US and partners in shaping capabilities for the long war.

Rather than planning to show up with slow counter insurgency airplanes, which require a significant infrastructure to protect them, partnering with countries fighting the long war and helping them acquire the Super Tucano would make a great deal of sense and then to partner that capability with core US ISR, C2 and other power projection capabilities,

We wrote earlier about this potential in the real world example of the 11th Air Force working with the Dominican Republic. 

In the video below,  A-29s are seen coming in for a landing, taxiing, parking on apron.

The video includes an  interview with 81st FW Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Jeffrey Hogan while in route to Afghanistan as well.

First Super Tucano’s Heading to Afghanistan from SldInfo.com on Vimeo.

The A-29 Super Tucano is a ‘light air support’ aircraft capable of conducting close air support, aerial escort, armed overwatch and aerial interdiction.

Designed to operate in high temperature and in extremely rugged terrain, the A-29 Super Tucano is highly maneuverable 4th generation weapons system capable of delivering precision guided munitions.

It can fly at low speeds and low altitudes, is easy to fly, and provides exceptionally accurate weapons delivery.

It is currently in service with 10 different air forces around the world.

The role, which this type of aircraft can provide for Counter Insurgency Operations, was identified and discussed in our 2011 interview with Bill Buckey, former Deputy Commander of the NATO Airbase at Kandahar in 2009 and now vice-president for business development for Embraer North America.

According to Buckey:

SLD: How does a turbo-prop compare to unmanned aircraft in providing such a savings or performing such a role? 

Buckey: One of the things that the special operations forces, who started the idea of the whole Imminent Fury piece, wanted was the ability to have a partner in that light attack platform; a TAC-A or supporting arms coordinator that would be above them in the air and who, if things got ugly, could then marshal in other aircraft.  The guys sitting at Creech can’t do that. 

The individual in the backseat of the aircraft is the one that’s going to be communicating to these jets who are still 30 minutes away – 15 minutes away, an hour away – and giving them the target brief and the whole situational awareness piece of what’s going on while they ingress; which is something that your guy at Creech is not going to be able to do. 

But now that’s the tactical piece.  The operational piece is back to the whole COIN environment.  Again, if what you’re trying to do in a COIN environment is drive your cost of doing business down as close as you can to the level of the other guy; right now, UAVs ain’t cheap. 

You’ve got a tremendous logistics piece; you’ve got the sophisticated communications infrastructure required to fly them.  You’ve got the whole piece back in CONUS in order to operate them.  Your cost of doing business is huge and you also have reliability issues. The accident rates are not great with UAVs right now. 

The Minister of Defense for Afghanistan, Mohammad Massom, addresses members of the Afghan air force and Afghan national media after the delivery of four A-29 Super Tucanos to the Afghan air force at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2016. The A-29 Super Tucano is a 'light air support' aircraft capable of conducting close air support, aerial escort, armed overwatch and aerial interdiction. Designed to operate in high temperature and in extremely rugged terrain, the A-29 Super Tucano is highly maneuverable 4th generation weapons system capable of delivering precision guided munitions. It can fly at low speeds and low altitudes, is easy to fly, and provides exceptionally accurate weapons delivery. It is currently in service with 10 different air forces around the world. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nathan Lipscomb)
The Minister of Defense for Afghanistan, Mohammad Massom, addresses members of the Afghan air force and Afghan national media after the delivery of four A-29 Super Tucanos to the Afghan air force at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2016.  (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nathan Lipscomb)

And in terms of that ability to act as FAC-A, that’s something that you just can’t get with a UAV.

SLD: And presumably, your ground and air team are forcing the insurgents to do something vis-à-vis your ground element.  This is what was often not recognized is people are not placidly waiting around. So essentially your ground element is affecting their behavior.  So you want your air tool to be part of a quick response to the behavior they are creating on the insurgent’s part. 

Buckey:  And it may be a four to six-hour operation because if it doesn’t necessarily happen when you want it.  The other guy gets a vote when he wants to move.  And the problem with cycling in fast movers is if I am a JTAC on the ground, or let’s say I’m a FAC-A, is how many times am I giving target briefs to a new crew?  Every thirty to forty minutes I’ve got a new callsign checking-in; maybe even less than that depending on whose available, time/distance, tankers, etc. 

But I’m spending a lot of my time briefing new crews; whereas if I’m working with a platform with greater persistence, not only am I giving fewer target briefs, he’s constantly building Situational Awareness over a greater period.  I have more time to focus on the target while he’s building up more and more SA. 

From the aircrew perspective, if I’m checking-in in a fast-mover, I may have 30 or so minutes on station.  I’ll get a good target brief and I’ll be able to build a certain level of SA.  But am I able to absorb as much as someone who is on-station for hours?  No.

SLD:  So to summarize your thinking about a COIN aircraft, you want to drive down the cost of providing close air support to the guys on the ground.   You want manned air for the roles that you have described – to be involved with the ground commander, the ability to loiter, the engagement, the systems to provide the “find/fix” piece and the persistence to be there for the “finish.”  You want sufficiently lethal manned airborne presence but at lower cost than a fast jet. 

Buckey: We have the systems and the weapons to pair up with a turboprop aircraft that has the persistence to get us through the entire “find/fix/finish” process at a substantially reduced cost that is more appropriate for air operations in a COIN environment.

https://sldinfo.com/re-visiting-the-concept-of-a-counter-insurgency-aircraft/

We had a chance to continue our discussion with Buckey in late March 2013 about the coming of the Super Tucano to Afghanistan and the planning approach for its inclusion in the Afghan Air Force.

SLD: The Super Tucano will enter into a certain period of history where there is significant training experience of a positive sort and not so positive of a set of experience with maintainability experienced by the C-27J experiment.  What is your thinking about the challenge of aircraft robustness and maintenance and the approach to working with the whole training regime going forward?

Four A-29 Super Tucanos arrive at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2016. The aircraft will be added to the Afghans' inventory in the spring of 2016. The A-29 Super Tucano is a 'light air support' aircraft capable of conducting close air support, aerial escort, armed overwatch and aerial interdiction. Designed to operate in high temperature and in extremely rugged terrain, the A-29 Super Tucano is highly maneuverable 4th generation weapons system capable of delivering precision guided munitions. It can fly at low speeds and low altitudes, is easy to fly, and provides exceptionally accurate weapons delivery. It is currently in service with 10 different air forces around the world. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nathan Lipscomb)
Four A-29 Super Tucanos arrive at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2016. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nathan Lipscomb)

Buckey: The good news is that the Super Tucano was made to be low maintenance.  It was designed to operate in very remote areas of the Amazon Basin and the frontier areas, if you will, of Brazil. In that sense, it is well suited to the challenges that the Afghan Air Force will be facing, for training the fledgling Afghan Air Force.

SLD: And how will the training for the aircraft be approached?

Buckey: Initially the training of the trainers will occur in the continental United States.  They will be trained at a facility in New Mexico.  Air Force personnel and contractors will be trained in conditions similar to Afghanistan.  And then the effort will move to Afghanistan for training at two separate sites. The most likely Afghan candidates for training will come from those already with rotary and some fixed wing experience.

SLD: How will the Afghans be trained to maintain the aircraft?

Buckey: Initially, the US Air Force and contractors will be trained in these skills and then those skills transferred to the Afghans in Afghanistan.  The aircraft was designed from the outset to require a very small number of maintainers to be able to work on it. A lot of the components are built in the United States and are extremely reliable.

The aircraft was also built to be maintenance friendly, if you will. You open up the panels, there’s plenty of room to work. Ease of excess to the avionics and the engine compartment are much more maintenance-friendly.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Jeffrey Lederhouse, 81st Fighter Squadron A-29 Super Tucano pilot, taxis an A-29 on the flightline Feb. 23, 2015, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Lederhouse flew with Brig. Gen. Michael Rothstein, Train, Advise, Assist Command Air (TAAC-AIR)commanding general, to demonstrate Moody’s Afghan air force training mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dillian Bamman/Released)
U.S. Air Force Maj. Jeffrey Lederhouse, 81st Fighter Squadron A-29 Super Tucano pilot, taxis an A-29 on the flightline Feb. 23, 2015, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Lederhouse flew with Brig. Gen. Michael Rothstein, Train, Advise, Assist Command Air (TAAC-AIR)commanding general, to demonstrate Moody’s Afghan air force training mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dillian Bamman/Released)

Of all the airplanes that you could possibly want to put in this kind of environment, both in terms of the operating environment but also the new build out of an air force, this is an ideal one.

And you can see just by virtue of the fact that this airplane is now on three continents, four if you now include the United States Air Force in North America, but it’s in Central and South American air forces, it’s moving now to three different air forces in Africa, and they’re all accessing this airplane because of its capabilities but also because it’s very, very simple to maintain.

SLD: There is also a significant advantage which accrues to the Afghan Air Force as it uses the airplane to work with other Air Forces worldwide with Super Tucano experience.

Buckey: I believe so. In terms of the counterinsurgency record that the aircraft has established in Columbia, the border security counterdrug record that it’s established in Brazil, and the counterdrug record that the Dominican Republic has shaped in concert with the U.S. Twelfth Air Force, there are multiple lessons learned across a wide range of operational environments that countries will be able to access and employ, utilize, learn from with the experiences of Air Forces with A-29.  There is a global learning group if you will.

https://sldinfo.com/an-unheralded-victory/

We published a report in 2013 on the Afghan airpower transition.

Credit for the Video: 386th Air Expeditionary Wing

1/15/16

Japan and the UK: Enhancing Their Defense Cooperation

Posted on | by Robbin Laird

2016-01-17 When Norway brought its Aegis system into the Pacific and the UK announced in 2013 that they were going to enhance their defense cooperation with Japan, it should have been clear that Northern Europe/UK and Japan were opening a new page.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-signs-groundbreaking-defence-and-security-agreements-with-japan

And the as the Northern sea route opens this foundation could expand in terms of practical joint capabilities as well to move from region to region.

Recently, the UK government announced that their practical efforts to enhance defense cooperation would deepen.

During Michael Fallon’s first foreign visit of 2016, he said that he would like to further develop the UK’s defence cooperation with Japan and will pursue the possibility of a joint exercise involving RAF Typhoon aircraft visiting Japan in 2016 following their deployment on a Five Powers Defence Arrangement Exercise.

This follows a visit by an RAF A400M to Miho Airbase in Tottori Prefecture in October 2015.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond during the visit to Japan. Copyright British Embassy/Michael Feather.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond during the visit to Japan. Copyright British Embassy/Michael Feather.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

Japan is our closest security partner in Asia and I want to significantly deepen defence cooperation between our two nations.

We will do that through joint exercises, reciprocal access to our military bases, military personnel exchanges and cooperation on equipment, including a new air-to-air missile.

Further additional cooperation could include mine hunting in the Gulf; cooperating to improve amphibious capability; and improving counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) capability. The UK also welcomed increasing Japanese participation in NATO exchanges and joint exercises.

On the visit to Japan with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond the Ministers met with their counterparts Minister of Defence H.E. Mr. Gen Nakatani and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida. They welcomed progress in defence and security co-operation over the past year and reaffirmed the dynamic strategic partnership between Japan and the UK.

The Ministers confirmed that Japan and the UK would cooperate to tackle global security challenges, including through disaster relief and a greater role in UN peacekeeping. Recognising Japan as its closest security partner in Asia, the UK welcomed Japan’s recent Legislation for Peace and Security, and supported Japan playing a more proactive role in securing global peace, stability and prosperity through its policy of “Proactive Contribution to Peace” based on the principle of international cooperation.

Japanese Minister of Defence H.E. Mr. Gen Nakatani said:

I am happy to reunite with Ministers Hammond and Fallon in Tokyo after gathering one year ago for the previous 2+2.

Last year, the UK published the SDSR. In this, the UK reaffirmed its commitment to its presence as a global power. The SDSR highlighted Japan as the closest security partner in Asia, and I highly regard this statement. In the same year, we have reformed our legislation concerning peace and security. Through these processes, our two nations have confirmed the further commitment of the stability of the world.

Sailors line the deck of the helicopter destroyer Izumo as the flat-top departs the Japan United Marine shipyard in Yokohama on March 25. | REUTERS
Sailors line the deck of the helicopter destroyer Izumo as the flat-top departs the Japan United Marine shipyard in Yokohama on March 25. | REUTERS

We will continue our discussions at the Defence Ministerial Dialogue tomorrow. I personally look forward to further strengthening the bilateral partnership.

Recognising the shared challenge posed by malicious cyber activity, the Ministers also decided to strengthen information-sharing and cooperation in cyber security. It was also confirmed that the two nations intend to conduct a joint research project in 2016 with UK-US-Japan military cyber analysts and are aiming to conduct joint cyber exercises with Japan.

It was also agreed to deepen cooperation on defence equipment and technology. Following the success of the first round of talks on the Co-operative Research Project on the Feasibility of a Joint New Air-to-Air Missile (JNAAM), the Ministers confirmed discussions would move to the second stage.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-announces-closer-defence-ties-with-japan

It should also be noted that the UK and Japan are both F-35 partners which provides a practical bridge as well.

Japan has built the third final assembly facility for the F-35 and is clearly interested in F-35Bs as well.

If they go ahead an add F-35Bs to the Japanese forces, clearly the UK with its special domain knowledge of this aircraft would provide a significant partnership opportunity as well.

Japan and the United Kingdom are also focused on the prospect the development of a Joint New Air-to-Air Missile (JNAAM) to the next stage, according to the press release:

Following the success of the first round of talks on the Co-operative Research Project on the Feasibility of a Joint New Air-to-Air Missile (JNAAM), the Ministers confirmed discussions would move to the second stage. 

It is not difficult to envisage the foundation for such an effort, which is the Meteor missile system. nd this missile will be carried by an F-35 as well as by other aircraft such as the Typhoon and could be fitted onto Japan’s F-15s.

Editor’s Note: We wrote about the evolving Japanese strategy in our book on Pacific strategy published in late 2014.

A key part of the Japanese approach is shaping a proactive perimeter defense.  

Working with the allies will be a key part of shaping that approach, defense acquisition and training.

In an article published in the Japan Times on December 18,2015, the evolving Japanese approach was highlighted.

Lapan is fortifying its far-flung island chain in the East China Sea under an evolving strategy that aims to turn the tables on China’s navy and keep it from ever dominating the Western Pacific Ocean, Japanese military and government sources said…..

Interviews with a dozen military planners and government policymakers reveal that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s broader goal to beef up the military has evolved to include a strategy to dominate the sea and air surrounding the remote islands.

While the installations are not secret, it is the first time such officials have spelled out that the deployment will help keep China at bay in the Western Pacific and amounts to a Japanese version of the “anti-access, area denial” doctrine, known as A2/AD in military jargon, that China is using to try to push the United States and its allies out of the region…..

“Rather than A2/AD, we use the phrase ‘maritime supremacy and air superiority,’ ” said Yosuke Isozaki, Abe’s first security adviser until September and a key author of a national defense strategy published in 2013 that included this phrase for the first time.

“Our thinking was that we wanted to be able to ensure maritime supremacy and air superiority that fit with the U.S. military,” he added.

Toshi Yoshihara, a U.S. Naval War College professor, said Tokyo could play an important role in limiting China’s room for maneuver through the East China Sea to the Western Pacific, enhancing U.S. freedom of movement and buying time for the alliance to respond in the event of war with China.

“You could say Japan is turning the tables on China,” Yoshihara said…..

Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, cast Japan’s buildup in the East China Sea as complementary to a broader U.S. strategy.

“The U.S. planning process for any theater takes into consideration the capabilities and forces of friends and potential adversaries,” Aucoin told Reuters. “The U.S. plans with the ultimate objective of maintaining peace and stability not only for Japan, but also for the region.”

Over the next five years, Japan will increase its Self-Defense Forces on islands in the East China Sea by about a fifth to almost 10,000 personnel.

Those troops, manning missile batteries and radar stations, will be backed up by marine units on the mainland, stealthy submarines, F-35 warplanes, amphibious fighting vehicles, aircraft carriers as big as World War II flat-tops and ultimately the U.S. 7th Fleet headquartered at Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Already cooperating closely, the Japanese and U.S. navies will draw closer than ever after Abe’s new security legislation legitimized collective self-defense, allowing Japan to come to the aid of allies under attack.

One crucial change, said Maher: The U.S. and Japanese military can now plan and practice for war together and deliver a force multiplier…..

Japan’s military planners must also figure out how to transform an army used to sticking close to its bases into a more mobile, expeditionary force.

Decades of under-investment in logistics means Japan has too few naval transport ships and military aircraft to carry large numbers of troops and equipment.

A more delicate task for Japan’s government, however, may be persuading people living along the islands to accept a bigger military footprint. After decades hosting the biggest concentration of U.S. troops in Asia, people on Okinawa are voicing greater opposition to the bases.

For now, communities on the long chain of islands, home to 1.5 million people, that have been asked to host Japanese troops are happy to do so, said Ryota Takeda, a lawmaker who as vice defense minister until September 2014 traveled there frequently to win residents’ approval for new deployments.

“Unlike officials sitting in the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, they are more attuned to the threat they face every day.”

 

 

The Arctic Mission: Russia Builds Up, China Engages, and the U.S.?

Posted on | by Robbin Laird
01/16/2016

2016-01-16 By Scott Truver

It became commonplace during the Cold War for the President, confronted with a crisis somewhere in the world to ask, “Where are the aircraft carriers?”

Given climate change and other trends and dynamics, some future President, confronting a crisis in the Arctic or Antarctic, will almost certainly ask, “Where are the icebreakers?”

Unless we act soon, the response most assuredly will be, “What icebreakers?”

“We are clearly behind in the Arctic,” retired Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp told NBC News in a September 2015 interview.

Now serving as America’s Special Representative to the Arctic Council, he noted, “We don’t have enough ships in the Arctic….  We have only one heavy icebreaker that’s fully operational, the Polar Star [WAGB-10], which is approaching 40 years of age, old for any ship.”

To build a new-design heavy icebreaker would cost about a billion dollars, “but that’s because we haven’t built a heavy icebreaker in about four decades and it requires special skills,”

Papp acknowledged.  “The Finns tell me that they can build three icebreakers for a billion dollars, but they’ve been building icebreakers for many years.”

In an era of squeaky-tight fiscal resources, finding the money to build the next icebreaker will be difficult, to say the least.

Part of that pessimism results from bureaucratic myopia and inertia.

An Aging “Fleet”

Today, the Coast Guard has only two icebreakers.

There is the heavy icebreaker the Polar Star earmarked for Operation Deep Freeze Antarctic breakout, scientific research and resupply operations.

And there is the medium icebreaker Healy (WAGB-20), for the National Science Foundation’s Arctic scientific research––available for intermittent presence year-round in the high latitudes.

Another heavy icebreaker, the Polar Sea (WAGB-11), remains in caretaker status, with the Coast Guard occasionally considering how much it would cost and how much service-life it would provide if the resources could be found to bring her back to operating status.

The answers usually have been, “too much and not enough.”

The Polar Star was commissioned in January 1976; the Polar Sea, in February 1978 (and still laid up); and the Healy, in August 2000. Certified as a “medium” icebreaker, Healy can conduct continuous passage in ice up to three feet thick, and backing and ramming in ice up to seven feet thick.

A “heavy” icebreaker, Polar Star can conduct continuous passage in ice up to six feet thick, and backing and ramming in ice up to 21 feet thick.

These three ships pale in comparison with Russia’s 40 icebreakers in 2015––several of which are nuclear powered––and Moscow already has the world’s most powerful icebreakers and is building more.

In addition to the Polar Star and Healy, the Coast Guard operates the Great Lakes icebreaker, Mackinaw (WLBB-30), and a handful of ice-strengthened buoy tenders and tugs.

Requirements Go Begging

In September 2011, the Coast Guard submitted its High Latitude Region Mission Analysis Report to Congress.

The report cited a significant polar icebreaking capability gap that will continue to prevent the Coast Guard from conducting its critical missions in the Polar regions. The report concluded (emphasis in the original):

The Coast Guard requires three heavy and three medium icebreakers to fulfill its statutory missions.

These icebreakers are necessary to (1) satisfy Arctic winter and transition season demands, and (2) provide sufficient capacity to also execute summer missions. Single-crewed icebreakers have sufficient capacity for all current and expected statutory missions.

Multiple crewing provides no advantage because the number of icebreakers required is driven by winter and shoulder season requirements.

Future use of multiple or augmented crews could provide additional capacity needed to absorb mission growth….  Consistent with current practice, these icebreakers are single-crewed and homeported in Seattle, Washington.

Two years later, the Department of Homeland Security approved a mission need statement for the polar icebreaker recapitalization project for a fleet of up to three heavy and three medium ships to meet mission demands in the high latitudes.

On 20 June 2014, the Coast Guard announced:

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Polar Icebreaker acquisition project achieved the next acquisition milestone on June 13, 2014, with approval to enter the Analyze/ Select phase of the Department of Homeland Security acquisition lifecycle.

This action validates the need for continued icebreaker capabilities and allows the project to move forward to the next acquisition phase.

During the Analyze/Select Phase, the Coast Guard will develop operational requirements for a future polar icebreaker, identify resources required to maintain the asset through its lifecycle and assess potential alternatives capable of meeting polar icebreaking mission requirements.

The capabilities needed to address polar requirements do not come cheap, with the lead heavy icebreaker coming in at least $1 billion. Given the myriad challenges to deliver first-of-class ships on time and budget, that figure might well prove optimistic.

Nevertheless, if the lead and five follow-on heavy and medium icebreakers were put under contract at a single yard, there could well be economic efficiencies to be wrung out of the designs and production.

National Assets

There have been proposals for the Navy or the National Science Foundation to help pay for the icebreakers.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has been the Congress’ champion for a modern icebreaking fleet, wants a Navy and Coast Guard partnership to fund the vessels. “Do you know how many naval ships we are building? A lot,” she told Politico. “Do you know how many icebreakers we are building? None.”

In May 2015, Murkowski and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) introduced the Icebreaker Recapitalization Act, which would authorize the U.S. Navy to construct up to six heavy icebreakers that would be designed and operated by the Coast Guard (emphasis in the original):

Today we take a strong, bipartisan step towards investing in the Coast Guard Arctic infrastructure and operations—by calling for serious investments in our polar icebreaking fleet.” Cantwell said.

“Our legislation makes sure that the United States is able to protect our interests in the Arctic, and it gives the men and women in the Coast Guard and Navy the tools they need to do their jobs. Icebreakers protect America’s Arctic interests and support Washington state shipbuilding jobs.

As an Arctic nation, America must be a global leader towards an Arctic future as this dynamic region opens up to new opportunities; by contrast, countries from Russia to Canada to China to even India see the worth and importance in investing in icebreakers,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, Chair of the U.S. Senate Arctic Caucus. 

“From a military perspective, this is an imperative; from an economic development viewpoint, it is a down payment on an Arctic future, and as a scientific research opportunity, it opens up a new world of knowledge.

Good words, to be sure, but the bill died quietly after being referred to the Armed Services Committee.

Assuming a decision were made to start the design and construction of the first of the six icebreakers outlined in Coast Guard plans in fiscal year 2020, it will be 10 years — if not longer — before the first ship sails. U.S. law requires Coast Guard vessels to be constructed in U.S. shipyards.

The last U.S. yard to construct an icebreaker –– the Healy –– was Avondale Industries (New Orleans, Louisiana).

That was closed by parent company Huntington Ingalls Industries.

That said, Ingalls Shipbuilding (Pascagoula, Mississippi) retains unique engineering and production capabilities to build icebreakers.

The yard that built the Polar Star and Polar Sea, Lockheed Shipbuilding (Seattle, Washington), closed in 1988.

Semper Hopeful

The Obama Administration in September 2015 proposed accelerating the “…acquisition of a replacement heavy icebreaker to 2020 from 2022, begin planning for construction of additional icebreakers, and call on Congress to work with the Administration to provide sufficient resources to fund these critical investments.”

“These heavy icebreakers will ensure that the United States can meet our national interests, protect and manage our natural resources, and strengthen our international, state, local, and tribal relationships.”

It will be interesting to see if the White House will enthusiastically support this much-needed and long-overdue national asset, or “kick the can” to the next administration.

So, “Where are the icebreakers?” a future President will ask.

We need to get our acts together, soon, so a future Commandant’s response can be, “Where they’re needed.”

Scott Truver has supported the Coast Guard since 1979 in a broad spectrum of strategy, policy, requirements, programs, and operations projects. He is director, TeamBlue National Security Programs, Gryphon Technologies LC.

This piece first appeared on Breaking Defense.

Editor’s Note: It is not just the icebreakers. The serious shortfall in building the new National Security Cutters is crucial as well. Ice-hardened cutters have been envisaged as well for the fleet to work along side the icebreakers.

Arctic operations require not only special equipment, but special skill sets as well.

We have interviewed both Danish and US mariners with significant Arctic experience, and their views can be seen here:

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/the-arctic-challenge-from-a-danish-perspective-a-discussion-with-read-admiral-retired-henrik-kudsk/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/ending-reluctance/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/operating-in-the-arctic-resourcing-for-the-21st-century/

We have provided assessments of the evolving role of the Arctic in the new Pacific situation as well as in Russian and Nordic calculus’s as well.

We have provided analyses as well at how best to prepare for the emerging situation.

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/preparing-for-an-arctic-future-general-jacoby-looks-at-the-challenges/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/shaping-arctic-defense-leveraging-the-grid/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/china-coming-into-the-arctic-shaping-a-flanking-strategy/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/a-danish-perspective-on-the-challenge-of-arctic-security/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/alaska-the-arctic-and-crafting-strategic-depth/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/admiral-wang-on-baltic-and-arctic-defense-a-danish-perspective/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/greenland-and-the-arctic-the-emergence-of-a-new-sovereign-state/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/outgoing-uscg-commandant-reviews-the-challenges-facing-the-uscg/

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/the-bering-strait-choke-point-of-the-future/

The slideshow above shows Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star transits through the water accomplishing the Coast Guard missions in the summer of 2013.

The Polar Star is one of the largest ships within the Coast Guard measuring at 399 feet long.

Polar Star is specifically designed for open-water icebreaking with reinforced hull and a round hull to ride up on the ice.

The third photo shows the ship operating in Antarctica.

3/26/14

Credit: USCG

According to a story in The Seattle Times published on 1/14/14:

She’s not the biggest ship around, but she’s the baddest of her kind, and now the Seattle-based Polar Star, the Coast Guard’s only active heavy-duty polar icebreaker, is heading to Antarctica to rescue two other icebreakers stuck in pack ice.

The Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, which helped evacuate 52 passengers from the trapped Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy last week, is now feared to be blocked by ice, as well.

The Polar Star, a 399-foot powerhouse whose engines can deliver 75,000 horsepower, recently completed a $90 million, three-year overhaul, according to the Coast Guard. With its specially designed hull, it can continuously break 6 feet of ice while moving at three knots, and break through a two-story wall of ice by backing up and ramming.

The icebreaker left Sydney, Australia, Saturday morning Pacific Time and is expected to be at the scene of the icebound ships — about 1,500 miles south of Hobart, Tasmania — about Jan. 12, said Chief Warrant Officer Allyson Conroy, of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Polar Star, which finished its tests in Arctic ice in July, has been traveling toward Antarctica since early last month en route to its regular job — resupplying and refueling research stations there managed by the National Science Foundation.

On Friday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating rescue operations, asked the U.S. Coast Guard for assistance after the Xue Long got stuck; the Russian and Chinese governments have also requested U.S. assistance, Conroy said.

“Our highest priority is safety of life at sea, which is why we are assisting in breaking a navigational path for both of these vessels,” said Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander, in a statement. “We are always ready and duty bound to render assistance in one of the most remote and harsh environments on the face of the globe.”

Retired Coast Guard Rear Adm. Jeffrey Garrett, former commander of Polar Sea, Polar Star’s sister ship, and former district commander in Seattle, said the Polar Star is a much stronger icebreaker than either of the two stuck ships.

Its 75,000 horsepower far outguns the Russian ship, with about 3,000 horsepower, or the Chinese icebreaker, which, although larger, has less than 18,000 horsepower, he said.

Polar Star is also more maneuverable than the single-propeller Chinese ship, he said, with three shafts and three propellers, and with both diesel and “high-end, heavy-duty” gas turbine engines.

The ship’s hull is specially designed for icebreaking, both in terms of its shape, special steel cladding, and the ship’s frame underneath, Garrett said.

“More power, better maneuverability — the chances of the Star getting stuck are much smaller,” said Garrett, who most recently has served as an ice pilot on Antarctic cruises.

Senators from Washington and Alaska are seeking to construct as many as four new heavy-duty icebreakers, a project with a price tag of $850 million or more per vessel. Polar Star and Polar Sea were built in the 1970s by Lockheed Shipbuilding in Seattle.

 

 

Enhancing Their Arctic Capabilities: The Russians Add a Rotarywing Capability

Posted on | by Robbin Laird
01/12/2016

2016-01-12  The Russians are building an Arctic capable rotorcraft fleet for commercial and military purposes.

Late last year, the Russian Defense Ministry took delivery of its first Mi-8 ANTSh-V for Arctic missions.

This version of the Mi-8 was developed for operations below -40C.

“The wealth of expertise we built up in the course of the development, production and testing of the Mi-8AMTSh-VA in the Far North is also going to be incorporated into the commercial model of this Arctic helicopter,” Alexander Mikheev, chief executive of Russian Helicopters, says.

“This helicopter is crucial to the development of transport infrastructure in Russia’s northern regions, and also to companies in the oil and gas sector to support offshore work.”

Mi_8AMTSh_V.5457af4a6fdf5 2

The helicopter is equipped with a new Klimov VK-2500-03 engine and new digital avionics, which feature a new navigation system.

And the new engine also provides the Russians with freedom from reliance on foreign suppliers.

According to press release from Russian Helicopters on November 3, 2014:

Russian Helicopters (part of State Corporation Rostec) has completed modernisation work on Mi-8AMTSh-V helicopters, for delivery to the Russian Air Force under the State Defence Order, which are produced by Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant incorporating the focus on import substitution. The latest Mi-8AMTSh-V has been praised by military pilots of the Mi-8AMTSh (export name Mi-171Sh). 

“We understand the importance of being as independent as possible from foreign-made components and units in the machines we deliver under the State Defence Order, and are focusing on this area of activity,” said Russian Helicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev.

“Further, the results of this work on the Mi-8AMTSh-V testify to the fact that using Russian-made equipment allows us to significantly improve the helicopter’s flight capabilities.” 

In order to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, all Mi-8AMTSh-V helicopters are fitted with the latest Russian-made equipment.

The helicopter boasts more powerful VK-2500-03 engines produced by Klimov (part of United Engine Corporation).

The VK-2500-03 engines boast improved capacity, enabling them to noticeably improve reliability and safety during combat use, and improving their overall flight capabilities.

In addition, the Russian engines’ increased power positively impacts the helicopter’s operational costs. 

Another aspect of this modernisation work involves replacing the Ukrainian-made AI-9V auxiliary power units (APUs) with the Russian-made TA-14 produced at SPE Aerosila. The TA-14 boasts higher power, greater working time in generator-mode, and also better start and operation altitude indicators (6,000 m compared with 4,000 m for the AI-9V). The helicopter’s operational capabilities in mountainous terrain, from independent bases, are substantially improved. 

The helicopter is also fitted with a Russian-made on-board satellite navigation suite that is compatible with Russia’s GLONASS and GPS. The latest communications systems – also Russian-made – ensure the helicopter crew enjoy quality connections over a wide range of frequencies. 

For the crew’s in-flight comfort and safety, the helicopter boasts the latest Russian weather radar systems offering a 3D image of weather formations and objects. Information from the weather radar and navigation equipment is displayed on a large digital multifunction display, for improved flight safety and added convenience.

For improved combat resilience, the helicopter is equipped with the latest Russian-made ceramo-metallic armour, boasting greater resilience and weighing less than steel armour. 

The latest Russian-made navigation suites and radio communications systems, defence and weapons systems, and a wide range of additional equipment features ensure that the new Mi-8MTSh-V military transport helicopter meets all the necessary requirements. 

 

 

Airpower In Contested Air Space: Highlights from the Trilateral Combat Exercise

Posted on | by Robbin Laird
01/11/2016

2016-01-02 By Robbin Laird, Ed Timperlake and Murielle Delaporte

As former Chief of Staff of the USAF “Buzz” Mosley once stated about the USAF:

“There is not a place on the face of the earth that the USAF will not fight their way into.”

This core objective has been challenged by the combat learning, training and operations for nearly decade of combat with significant expenditures in counter-insurgency.

Skill sets for technology and training for U.S. Air and Naval forces for National Defense embracing offensive global power projection have atrophied. Land combat focused budgeting priorities have been prioritized for slow motion “human terrain mapping” Counter insurgency focused nation building operations.

There is an intellectual COIN cult, which has come to dominate the Department of Defense and allied Ministries of Defense based on the Iraq/Afghanistan military experience of the past decade of operations.

Publics used to hearing about large defense investments in the past decade can be excused for confusing defense expenditures for land operations with a shortfall in investments in Air/Sea power projection.

Things are changing dramatically with a resurgent Russia and an increasingly geo-politically aggressive China.

Fortunately the USAF, RAF and French Air Force have come together to develop jointly accepted air combat con-ops.

A combat exercise recently held at Langley Air Force Base with the high end air combat capabilities of the USAF, the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the French Air Force (FAF) was about recovering lost or diminishing skill sets, honing new ones, and shaping a template for the 21st century transformation of their respective nations air combat force.

The origins of the trilateral exercise came from agreements reached reached five years ago by the three nations and the three air forces.

The exercise at Langley was the flying confirmation of the bold commitment to reshape the capabilities of the three air forces in fighting high-end warfare.

From left, U.S. Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, French air force Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Gen. Antoine Creux, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, British Royal Air Force Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall Sir Andrew Pulford, and U.S. Air Force Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), answer questions during a press conference hosted during the Trilateral Exercise at Langley Air Force Base, Va., Dec. 15, 2015. As part of the exercise, Pulford, Welsh, Creux and Gorenc hosted a press conference to discuss the importance of working together as coalition forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Katie Gar Ward)
From left, U.S. Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, French air force Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Gen. Antoine Creux, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, British Royal Air Force Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall Sir Andrew Pulford, and U.S. Air Force Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), answer questions during a press conference hosted during the Trilateral Exercise at Langley Air Force Base, Va., Dec. 15, 2015. As part of the exercise, Pulford, Welsh, Creux and Gorenc hosted a press conference to discuss the importance of working together as coalition forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Katie Gar Ward)

And with the events unfolding in the Middle East, and with a peer competitor firmly entrenched at a new airbase in Syria, the challenge of contested airspace is not an abstraction, but a real world reality. And this was something which the Turkish-Russian exchange reinforced in the minds of pilots, and decision makers from the current conflict.

The close relationship to the real world and the exercise was highlighted in a remark made by Chief of Staff Mark Welsh at the Media Day held during on the exercise on December 15, 2015.

“Interoperability among allies, and deconfliction in the operations of air forces in close proximity is crucial. We are using the same communications processes in the exercise that we are currently using in the Middle East to provide for interoperability and deconfliction.”

But while the real world was hovering over the event, what the three air forces were working on was shaping a template for 21st century operations within which fifth generation capabilities were being blended with the rest of the air combat force to create a more lethal, survivability and effective 21st century combat force.

This was a pull exercise in which a fifth generated enabled force was being shaped, in which the core capabilities of the Typhoon and Rafale were being leveraged to shape a more capable air combat force.

The F-22 was ending publically its period of looking like an orphan; and although the F-22 has flown with Typhoon in the past, this was the first time flying with the Rafale.

As Hawk Carlisle put it: “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts and we are working in this exercise in shaping a more effective force.”

The changing threat environment was highlighted by the senior Air Force officers present at the media day event. All of the speakers — USAF Chief Mark Welsh, ACC Commander Hawk Carlisle, USAFE Chief General Frank Gorenc, RAF Chief Sir Andrew Pulford, and General Antoine Crux, Inspector General of the French Armed Forces representing the Chief of Staff of the FrAF – commented on the evolving threat environment, which was perhaps the only topic on which all five provided comments.

The threat environment was largely discussed in terms of contested air space.

The environment is seen as one in which U.S. and allied forces would have an increasingly difficult time to operate to support broader military operations.

The threat was characterized variously as anti-access, area denial, or multi-spectrum threats, or simply adversaries enhancing their capabilities. General Hawk Carlisle put it in terms of a multi-spectrum environment shaping a new threat envelope.

“In this exercise in particular we are focused on enemy aircraft and their missiles, surface to air missiles, and electronic warfare as evolving adversarial threats.”

Carlisle then went on to note that during the exercise “we are focusing on link architecture and communications to pass information, the contributions the different avionics and sensor suites on the three aircraft can contribute to the fight, the ability to switch among missions, notably air-to-air and air-to-ground and how best to support the fight, for it is important to support the planes at the point of attack, not just show up.”

In other words, the dynamic change in how high end aircraft were working together was the crucial point of the exercise.

One key difference from the past is the role of the AWACs.

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If this exercise was held 12 years ago, not only would the planes have been different but so would the AWACS role. The AWACS would have worked with the fighters to sort out combat space and lanes of operation in a hub spoke manner.

With the F-22 and the coming F-35, horizontal communication among the air combat force is facilitated so that the planes at the point of attack can provide a much more dynamic targeting capability against the adversary with push back to AWACS as important as directed air operations from the AWACS.

As General Hawk Carlisle put it:

“The exercise was not about shaping a lowest common denominator coalition force but one able to fight more effectively at the higher end as a dominant air combat force.

The pilots learning to work together to execute evolving capabilities are crucial to mission success in contested air space.”

Modernization of assets, enhanced capabilities to work together and shaping innovative concepts of operations were seen as key tools for the U.S. and the allies to operate in the expanded battlespace in order to prevail.

It is an ongoing challenge, which required the air forces to shape relevant skill sets.

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The skill set theme was especially highlighted by the head of the RAF. Sir Andrew Pulford noted that as the RAF added two additional Typhoon squadrons and an additional F-35 squadron, he was concerned to shape the right skill sets going forward into a world in which a benign environment for air operations would not be the norm.

The Typhoon is a very lethal combat asset, which is leading the RAF attacks against ISIS in the Middle East with the Typhoon-Tornado tandem as a key part of the force package.

Typhoon modernization is adding to the lethality and survivability of Typhoon and will make it even a more valuable member of any air combat coalition.

According to Group Captain Paul Godfrey, the air boss of RAF Lossiemouth:

“The modernization of Typhoon is underway and we have seen real progress in terms of electronic warfare, sensors and integration, and improvements in the human machine interface which is going to make the cockpit more effective to operate the aircraft in the expanded battlespace with 5th gen assets.”

https://sldinfo.com/royal-air-force-operations-and-evolving-concepts-of-operations-shaping-a-triple-transition/

The Rafale is the oldest of the three fighters in the core air combat air force in the exercise.

The plane has seen significant combat experience in Africa and the Middle East and Afghanistan.

It is the key enabler of the French force approach to joint and expeditionary operations, and over time the combat systems on the aircraft have seen significant modernization.

Fifteen years have passed since the first Rafale entered in service in the French Navy.

“We started very small with a fleet of only ten aircraft up until 2004”, recalls Marie-Astrid Vernier,, who at the time of the June 2014 interview was head of military support at Dassault Aviation and who has worked on the Rafale since 1994.

The current French Rafale fleet has been built with the delivery of four different “tranches” of aircraft which have been upgraded over the years into various standards, the latest one being the Standard F3R to be delivered in 2018.

FD8A0548

Today’s Rafale F3 has little to do with the very first F1: “Retrofitting the very first planes from a F1 standard to a F3 standard takes far more time than upgrading later-built planes”, explains Capitaine de Vaisseau Sébastien Fabre, formerly in charge of the support of the Rafale fleet within the French MoD.

As the thousandth modification was achieved in 2014, the latter stressed in an interview that “60% of these changes relate to standard and technical tracking, while the rest has to do with improving equipment and support tools”.

Today’s 2015 Rafale is a rather different bird from the 2000’s Rafale, as new technologies allowed for new operational missions, which in turn drove new technical requirements.

The convergence of the RAF and the FAF onto Langley to work with the USAF bringing their top tip of the spear forces – Typhoons and Rafales – to fly with the F-22 was itself a work in progress on expeditionary airpower.

But the tip of the spear is only that without the expeditionary support provided by the entire combat force.

The mere ability to cross the Atlantic and train together is already an achievement on its own.

Preparing the support of such a large-scale exercise is also something both the RAF and the French Air Force are accustomed to thanks to exercises regularly hosted by the USAF, such as Red Flag.

What was different however was the way it was done in a joint manner between the two European Air Forces and was considered as such by many participants as an “expeditionary opportunity” on its own.

All French personnel (about 110) –- besides the fighters and KC-135s pilots –- were flown first from France to the UK with French transport means, but then were taken onboard British C17 and KC-30A Voyager (British A330 MRTT).

In short, the exercise is a beginning effort during which the air chiefs emphasized they would continue and perhaps accelerate the efforts in air force combat transition.

“Whoever can gather, process and exploit the most information in the quickest time will win the information war and ultimately the fight.

With fifth generation aircraft being able to instantly share data with their fourth generation cousins, the Typhoon can become and an even more effective and capable jet fighter.”

http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/trilateral-agreement-gets-airborne-17122015

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Perhaps the best capstone comment on the exercise was provided by the head of the RAF, Sir Andrew Pulford:

“The important thing is our three air forces can operate together as one.

The three air forces are demonstrating that we can and always have worked well together, that we still can and still do, and it doesn’t matter whether we are operating over Iraq or Syria, or exercising here on the east coast of the U.S., these are three air forces operating as one team and for the common good.”

Editor’s Note: A version of this article was first published on Breaking Defense.

It should be noted that the three air forces are the members of NATO which are nuclear powers.

And at least one of them explicitly discusses its nuclear role.

Early last year, President Hollande visited a key French Air Force base and discussed the importance of their role in nuclear deterrence.

And the current ACT Commander, General Mercier, when Commander of the French Air Force, highlighted that the C2 system and air force modernization was especially important given the role of the Air Force in nuclear deterrence.

For earlier pieces published on the Trialteral Exercise and related background pieces, see the following:

http://operationnels.com/2015/12/17/trilateral-exercise-2015-access-project-and-sustain-jointly/

https://sldinfo.com/the-trilateral-exercise-the-latest-product-of-the-2010-trilateral-agreement/

https://sldinfo.com/the-planes-in-the-trilateral-exercise/

https://sldinfo.com/the-royal-air-force-participates-in-the-trilateral-exercise/

https://sldinfo.com/raf-typhoons-in-the-trilateral-exercise/

https://sldinfo.com/xi-squadron-in-the-trilateral-exercise/

https://sldinfo.com/raf-pilot-discusses-the-trilateral-exercise/

https://sldinfo.com/update-on-trilateral-exercise-evolving-joint-tactics-for-the-f-22-the-tyhpoon-and-the-rafale/

https://sldinfo.com/royal-air-force-operations-and-evolving-concepts-of-operations-shaping-a-triple-transition/

https://sldinfo.com/general-hawk-carlisle-on-the-way-ahead-for-airpower/

https://sldinfo.com/the-re-norming-of-airpower-in-practice-an-f-22-enabled-air-combat-force/

https://sldinfo.com/the-renorming-of-airpower-in-practice-the-f-22-leads-the-way/