UNITED STATES SHOWS INTEREST IN SWISS 35MM GUN MOUNT

By ANTONY PRESTON

Antony Preston, a London-based naval analyst and broadcaster, is cofounder of the international newsletter NAVINT.

Lockheed Martin and Swiss ordnance specialist Oerlikon-Contraves have signed a teaming agreement for the demonstration and sale of the Swiss company's remotely controlled 35mm Millennium GDM-008 gun to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and other potential customers. The initiative responds to a NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command) requirement that dates back to 1998.

The Millennium rotary "Gatling" type gun fires Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction (AHEAD) muzzle-fuzed ammunition at the rate of 1,000 rounds per minute at fast attack craft (FACs), shore targets in coastal and riverine waters, antiship missiles, and aircraft. Its inner-layer defense capability is claimed to extend ship protection to ranges greater than those available from any other close-in weapon system (CIWS). The Millennium mount also is claimed to be compatible, at reasonable cost, with all modern and legacy sensors and fire control systems. The weapon's lethal radius against aircraft and helicopters is said to be 35,000 yards, against cruise missiles 2,000 yards, and against sea-skimmers 1,500 yards.

The Millennium gun is being demonstrated during the U.S. Navy's Fleet Battle Experiment "Juliet," which began in May and will run through August. The 45-knot "Sea Slice" advanced-technology demonstrator has been armed with a Millennium mount on the bow for the exercise.

British SSBNs to Receive New Reactor Cores

Trials of the U.K. Royal Navy's new Core H long-life core for nuclear submarine reactors have begun at the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment at Dounreay in Scotland. The shore test facility comprises a PWR 2 pressurized water reactor and associated turbo-generators, mimicking the plant in the Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs).

The 13-year program began late last year, when Rolls-Royce Naval Marine was awarded a $500 million contract for the Vulcan Test Operation and Maintenance (VTOM) program. The PWR 2 reactor at Dounreay was prepared for Refueling, Updating, and Revalidation (RUR) under a separate $266 million contract, awarded in 1997.

The recipient of the first operational Core H, the nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) HMS Vanguard, has already been docked in the D154 complex at Devonport Naval Base. The new core will be retrofitted to the remaining three Vanguard-class SSBNs, and will be fitted in the new Astute-class during construction.

Dounreay originally was known as the Admiralty Reactor Test Establishment (ARTE); the Dounreay Submarine Prototype (DSMP 1) was as- sembled in the 1957-65 time frame. Core "A," which went critical in January 1965, was burned up by October 1967 and was followed by Cores "B" and "Z."

Core B achieved initial criticality in June 1968; it was installed in the Swiftsure-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) and was retrofitted to the Valiant-class SSNs and the Resolution-class SSBNs. Core Z, which started testing in 1974, was installed in the Trafalgar-class SSNs.

Sri Lankan Navy Intercepts Gunrunners

The Defense Ministry of Sri Lanka has announced that the Sri Lankan Navy had seized three Tamil Tiger (Sea Tiger) vessels transporting weapons to the northeastern part of the island. The Ministry confirmed that the incident has been reported to the Norwegian mission which has been monitoring the cease-fire in effect since 22 February.

Under the cease-fire, intended to end the 18-year civil war, the Sri Lankan government retains the right to patrol its territorial waters and to stop the illegal movement of arms. The Tamil Tiger prisoners captured in the incident have been released, but the vessels were impounded until monitors completed their investigation.

A Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed that the gunrunners were intercepted near Trincomalee, on the Island's East Coast, by what were described as fast attack craft. A full peace conference is planned between the rebel Liberation Tamil Tigers of Elam (LTTE)--who claim to represent the Tamil minority--and the Sinhalese majority-supported government.

A second engagement occurred when Navy vessels spotted two LTTE craft near Vakarai in the Batticaloa District and fired on them. According to the original Defense Ministry announcement, one LTTE boat exploded in a huge ball of fire and the other headed for shore. It was later claimed, though, that a second craft had also been sunk. The accepted version is that a flotilla of Sea Tigers was ambushed; some were carrying weapons and others were serving as escorts. After the two sinkings the rest of the Sea Tigers fled.

BAE Systems Gears Up For Strong Carrier Bid

In a belated move to emphasize its stake in the competition to build the U.K. Royal Navy's future aircraft carriers (CVFs), BAE Systems Marine has announced the signing of a lease on the 27-acre Inchgreen dry dock facility in Greenock. The long-term agreement, approved by Clydeport, gives the company full use of the 300-yard dry dock and the other berthing facilities needed to support assembly of the hulls.

BAE Systems Marine heads a group that includes its Govan and Scotstoun yards on the Clyde, Babcock Rosyth, and Fergusons of Port Glasgow. Vosper Thornycroft's new Portsmouth yard would bid for work, just as it will bid for structural work if the Thales Naval Systems bid succeeds. The Inchgreen facilities, added to the capabilities of the other BAE Systems Marine yards and facilities, would give the parent group a strong position in the competition. Even in the event Thales wins the CVF competition, BAE Systems Marine would still be well placed to win significant work packages.

The company has proposed that it be given overall responsibility for coordinating the production engineering, manufacture, and construction of the two CVF hulls, including final assembly at Inchgreen. No final decision has been made on the build strategy, and it is generally assumed that much will depend on the final design taken forward. The two would-be prime contractors are scheduled to submit their proposals to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) later this year.

The Inchgreen lease has aroused high expectations in Scotland, where the media claim that the deal heralds the return of "boom days" back to the Clyde. A trade union spokesman asserted that Scotland deserves the lion's share of the work because the Clydeside yards have both shipbuilding experience and proven expertise. The Clyde is, in fact, he continued, "set to become the premier shipbuilding center of excellence in Europe."

Five years ago Clydeside's yards subsisted on repair and maintenance contracts, but support from the Scottish Executive, the Clyde Shipyards Task Force, and the trade unions has restored the yards' credibility as builders.

Six-Ship Buy Expected In Chilean Frigate Program

Local sources report that the Chilean Defense Ministry has authorized the Armada de Chile to build four new frigates and to buy two secondhand frigates. The new acquisition program, Proyecto Fregata, replaces the earlier Proyecto Tridente, which allocated funding over 20 years for four MEKO A200 large corvettes. One was to be built by the German Frigate Consortium (GFC) at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg; the other three were to be built by ASMAR at Talcahuano. Industry officials claimed that the requirement to build in Chile would increase the cost of the program from $950 million to $1.25 billion.

The GFC, leading Blohm+Voss, has offered to reduce its price, on condition that all four ships are built in Germany. The AFCON consortium, led by IZAR, Lockheed Martin, and GD Bath Iron Works, is offering its F-85 Aegis frigate at 20-25 percent less than the GFC offer. The Netherlands is offering either the last two of the Kortenaer-class frigates (Philips van Almond and Bloys van Treslong) or their air-defense variants (Jacob van Heemskerck and Witte de With). The United Kingdom is offering all four Cornwall-class frigates; Italy is offering all four Lupo-class frigates.

The F-85 Aegis frigate which builds on the consortium's experience with two current Aegis-equipped frigate designs, seems to offer the most advanced anti-air warfare (AAW) capability. Italy's Lupo offer may be the least likely to succeed, because the ships are not only obsolescent in design, but also cramped, and would merely put the Armada de Chile on the same footing as its Peruvian rival, which already has four Lupo-type frigates in service. The Chilean government wants to make Chile less dependent on foreign suppliers, though, so supports the effort by the privatized naval dockyard ASMAR to upgrade its ability to build modern warships.

Electric Boat To Be Partner In Australian Submarine Agreement

Following the strategic alliance on submarine matters negotiated by the Australian and U.S. governments in September last year, the Australian government has told the state-owned Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) that the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics is to be its capability partner.

Following the alliance agreement, GD Electric Boat undertook a scoping study of ASC's capabilities, to assess where it might be able to add value. The completed study will be followed by further discussions between the two governments, as well as ASC and Electric Boat, with a view to developing the partnership. The Australian Defense Department already has given ASC the responsibility for maintenance and through-life support of the Royal Australian Navy's six Collins-class diesel-electric submarines (SSKs).

The rapid implementation of the strategic alliance lends support to the theory that its real value to the United States is in offering a back-door solution to the problem of meeting the Bush Administration's promise to supply SSKs to Taiwan's Republic of China Navy (ROCN). Unconfirmed rumors suggest that a variant of the Collins design would be the front-runner to meet the ROCN's needs, particularly if packaged as an American project.

North Korean Spy Ships Cause Continuing Problems for Japan

Japan's Coast Guard has increased its surveillance of North Korean vessels significantly since the end of last year when a suspected spy ship refused to stop and was sunk by a Coast Guard vessel. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is believed to use mercantile vessels for a variety of illegal missions, including espionage, drugrunning, and poaching.

A small amount of maritime trade continues between the two nations, despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations. The fear in Tokyo is that the famine and poverty in the hard-line Communist state is making the DPRK's rulers desperate for any source of revenue, legal or illegal. Although Pyongyang has stopped the provocative missile tests--which seriously strained relations with Japan, Taiwan, and the United States--it refuses to rein in its intelligence-gathering operations.

Japanese Coast Guard officials said the service checks all intercepted ships against lists of authorized vessels, and if the ships cannot account for their presence in Japan's exclusive economic zone they are assumed to be illegal. In the words of one senior official, "If we don't know the reason why they are here, we must consider them suspicious."

Rapid Progress Expected On French VL Missile System

The government-owned French ordnance factory DCN Ruelle is stepping up production of its Sylver vertical-launch system (VLS) to two eight-cell modules per month. That level of production is needed to meet the requirements for 16 PAAMS-armed frigates and destroyers. The PAAMS (Principal Anti-Air warfare Missile Systems) deliveries for the ships will start in 2004.

To date, the A43 Sylver is the first variant in service for ships armed with the Aster-15 missile. The module was tested in the French Navy's trials ship Ile d'Oleron and the Italian Navy's trials vessel Carabiniere, an aging frigate, and also has been fitted on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. A total of 21 live Aster-15 firings have been made from A43 modules. Included in the total were five "restrained" launches and 16 fly-outs--five of the latter from the same cell. Other ships intended to receive the A43 are the three Saudi Riyadh-class air-defense frigates and the new Italian carrier Andrea Doria. The Saudi frigates will be fitted with two eight-cell modules each.

The longer A50 Sylver module, which goes through three decks, is designed to accommodate the longer PAAMS round and the associated Aster-30 missile.

DCN Ruelle also is working on an A70 Sylver module, which is intended to be a versatile multiple missile-launcher. The weapons with which it is intended to be compatible include the ship-launched variant of MBDA's Scalp naval land-attack missile, the Aster Block 3 theater missile-defense system, Raytheon's Tactical Tomahawk, and/or a vertically launched anti-submarine missile round.

The A50 Sylver is competing with Lockheed Martin's Mk41 VLS. DCN claims that its system is 30-45 percent lighter when empty, thanks to the extensive use of composites in the building process, particularly in the gas-management duct. Another advantage claimed is 150 percent more width than the Mk41 cell, which allows the missile efflux to be exhausted at a lower pressure.

Pre-feasibility studies for the A70 variant are already in hand, and the expectation is that full-scale engineering and development can start by the beginning of 2004. First deliveries to a shipyard therefore would be possible by 2007, to be followed by the first firing of a Scalp naval missile in 2008. *