Hellenic Navy Moves Ahead With Upgrades to Combat Fleet

By ANTONY PRESTON

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

With Turkey's economy under major strain, its Aegean rival, Greece, appears to be exploiting the situation to enhance the Hellenic Navy. A contract worth the equivalent of more than $400 million has been signed for a corvette (with an option for a second) with Elefsis Shipyards in Greece.

Vosper Thornycroft (VT) Shipbuilding, which beat bids from Blohm+Voss and Gibbs & Cox, will build the new corvettes, which will displace 2,500 tons, have a maximum speed of 30 knots and a range of 3,500 miles at 16 knots, and will be capable of operating a helicopter (probably the NH-90).

Another two corvettes may be built later; ultimately, the Hellenic Navy would also like to order a fifth MEKO 200HN Hydra-class frigate. The Navy would like to end its dependency upon secondhand ships but it is content for the moment to plan major upgrades for its existing surface fleet.

BAE Systems C4ISR has been awarded a contract, in partnership with AEI, to supply Link 11 data-link sub-systems for integration with the STN Atlas ISUS 90 Combat Management System selected for the Katsonis-class Type 214 submarines being built by HDW and Hellenic Shipyards for the Hellenic Navy. The Link 11 system is a NATO STANAG-compliant multilink workstation that can work in both "transmit-and-receive" and "receive-only" modes. By taking off-the-shelf components and integrating them with proven software packages, the company provides rugged, lightweight solutions with reduced equipment volumes, customized to specific users' requirements in either stand-alone, overlay, or integrated configurations.

With priority given to the Katsonis submarines, the Hellenic Navy has been short of funds to replace its eight Netherlands-built Kortenaer-class frigates (including the new-build Elli-class and the last of class, ex-Jan van Brakel). With the modern Hydra-class, these ships are the backbone of the surface fleet and are to be supplemented by three more former Royal Netherlands Navy ships by 2004, beginning with the commissioning of HS Kanaris (formerly Jan van Brakel) in November 2003 and the replenishment ship Prometheus, built to the Italian Etna design by Elefsis. However, the Greek government now has agreed to a mid-life upgrade for these vessels, especially the two oldest ships--the Elli and the Limnos--with the emphasis upon improved command and control capabilities rather than weapon systems.

Under a contract worth $381 million, the work will be conducted by Hellenic Shipyards--with Thales Nederland as main sub-contractor--to extend the frigates' service lives by 20 years. The Thales LW 08 2-D air search and WM25 STIR weapon control radars are to be modernized but the ZW 06 surface search radar will be replaced and a Mirador electro-optical sensor will be added. The SEWACO command and control system will be replaced by a Tacticos system, while the Elettronica Sphinx and former MEL Scimitar electronic surveillance measures (ESM) systems will also be replaced by the Thales-built DR 3000 SLC6 ESM and Salamandre electronic countermeasures systems (ECM) systems.

Communications and ship systems also will be improved and modernized. The NATO SeaSparrow surface-to-air missile system is to be replaced by the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM). A contract for the first ships is anticipated shortly and the program is anticipated to cost the equivalent of $382 million by 2005.

In a separate program, the Navy has acquired five Phalanx IA close-in weapon systems for the four new Kortenaers recently obtained from the Netherlands and for the new oiler Prometheus. Another program worth $190 million is planned to upgrade nine Laskos-class fast attack craft (FACs): four Combattante-type FACs armed with Exocet surface-to-surface missiles and five armed with the Kongsberg-built Penguin missile. The ships are already receiving Thales DR 3000 ESM and Salamandre ECM systems and under the new program they will also receive a Link 11 data-link, the Tacticos and Mirador systems, and Thales' Scout surface search and Litton Marine's Bridgemaster-E navigation radars to replace Decca 1226. This will bring them into line with the new SuperVita 62-meter Roussen-class FACs. The Thales-built Triton C surface search radar on four ships of the Laskos-class will be replaced by the Thales Variant and the Thales Vega fire-control system apparently will be augmented with the Thales Lirod Mark 2 electro-optical fire control system (the other ships have Kongsberg PFCS-2 radar/electro-optical systems). In a separate program, Hephaestus Shipyards has received a contract worth the equivalent of $4.4 million to refurbish and overhaul two former German Navy Type 148 FACs.

The first of the Roussen-class FACs--launched in November 2003--will be armed with Exocet MM 40 Block 2 antiship missiles, RAM (Rolling Airframe) surface-to-air missiles Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid guns, and two single 30mm guns. The FACs also will carry man-portable surface-to-air missiles. Two torpedo tubes designed to fire STN Atlas SST-4 torpedoes against surface ships will be installed later.

EADS Campaigns for European Procurement/Research Agencies

"We need a European defense procurement agency and a European defense research and development agency," said Jean-Louis Gergorin, executive vice president of Strategic Coordination at the European Aeronautic, Defense, and Space Company (EADS). Gergorin is a key architect of the EADS conglomerate formed in 2000 in a merger of Germany's DASA, France's Aérospatiale, and Spain's CASA.

"The issue is defense," he explains, and, there have been "major difficulties" with transnational projects. The United Kingdom had withdrawn from the "Horizon" AAW frigate project and from a military communications project involving France and Germany, while the Germans procrastinated over the Meteor missile and the A400M military transport aircraft.

Gergorin--a former senior vice president for Corporate Strategy at Matra and subsequently Aérospatiale Matra's Group managing director of strategic coordination--said he does not believe that the new agencies should be formal bodies of the European Union. Rather, they should be the result of what is known in Brussels jargon as Coopération Renforcée (Strengthened Cooperation), meaning that "the only participants will be those who wish to participate, and they will do so according to certain criteria," said Gergorin, adding that the latter would include a minimum level of spending on defense projects.

EADS is the biggest single result of European aerospace and defense industry restructuring. Efforts at further consolidation, including a recent project to bring Italy's Finmeccanica within EADS, have stalled. Despite this setback, Gergorin feels that that there is still scope for "niche-sector consolidation." Three market sectors are especially susceptible to consolidation: combat aircraft, space, and defense electronics.

More generally, Gergorin says that it is not certain that Europe will have room forever for three major prime contractors (EADS, BAE Systems, and Thales) and two medium ones (Finmeccanica and Dassault). Attaining a better balance between its commercial aircraft activities, heavily dominated by Airbus, and its defense and space activities has been a preoccupation at EADS.

Indian Navy Submariners Face Rescue Problems

According to a report in The Asian Age, the Indian Navy's submarine branch has not yet been able to buy Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicles (DSRVs) from the U.S. Navy (USN). The first approach to the USN was made in 1997 to participate in the Global Submarine Rescue Flyaway system and to acquire kits to allow indigenous manufacturers to assemble their own DSRVs. Unfortunately, the plan fell through when the U.S. government imposed an embargo on the supply of defense equipment after India began live nuclear testing.

India's Defense Minister says that the U.S. government has still not given approval to the plan, and the Indian Navy has therefore been forced to procure two DSRV kits. A number of firms have been approached, and the tradeoff of price vs. suitability is under examination. "Even though our bilateral military relationship [with the United States] has resumed, the United States has still not given the green signal to the 1997 tie-up."

Approval from the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security is being sought to procure two DSRVs, either as complete units or in kit form. Attempts will continue, however, to persuade the USN to implement the 1997 agreement.

The Indians claim that the U.S. Navy's DSRV is the best in the world, and can operate deeper than the British type. Indian submariners currently are able to escape from a depth of nearly 400 feet by using escape suits. With a fleet of 24 modern submarines planned, the matter of safe escape from greater depths will become more important to the Indian Navy. The knowledge that escape is possible, even in theory only, is an important factor in maintaining the morale of submariners.

Norwegian Minelayer Transferred to Latvia

At a ceremony in Riga, Latvia, on 27 January, the former Royal Norwegian Navy 1,500-ton minelayer Vale, commissioned in 1978, was handed over to the Latvian Navy. While the Vale was undergoing a refit late last year prior to the transfer, officers from the Latvian Navy joined the Vale's sister ship Vidar during her participation in Exercise Flotex to learn as much as possible about the operation of this class of ships. Prior to sailing from Norway, these officers were joined by additional Latvian key personnel, so during the passage to Riga only a Norwegian skeleton crew remained on board.

At the transfer ceremony the Vale was renamed Virsaitis. In the Latvian Navy the ex-minelayer will serve as a command and support vessel.

South African Corvettes Delayed by Cabling Defects

The South African Navy's new MEKO A200 SAN "corvette" (more correctly described as a frigate) Amatola--built by Blohm+Voss--began sea trials on 18 December 2002. The second 3,600-ton MEKO A200 ship was officially named Isandlwana at the Kiel yard of Howaldtswerft Deutsche Werke (HDW) on 5 December. The two yards are contracted to build A200 SAN Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

Unfortunately, the trials revealed defective cabling--supplied by Bartel Kabelwerke under license from Nexans and sub-contracted by Siemens AG--in the Amatola. The cabling was found to have defective insulation, allowing it to be contaminated by moisture. The SAN demanded total replacement of the cabling, not merely of defective sections, to avoid the risk of subsequent (expensive) problems. The Amatola suffered further damage when water from the exhaust-cooling system found its way into the main machinery. The joint SAN/Armscor team insists that the damaged engine must be replaced, whereas the builders would prefer to carry out a repair, accompanied by an extended warranty.

Trials of the Umkhonto vertically launched short-range air-defense missile system have been successfully completed, and trials of the ship's gun, a refurbished 76mm L/62 Compact removed from a decommissioned "Warrior" class FAC, revealed only minor problems.

Delivery of the Amatola is likely to be delayed by about nine months. The Isandlwana will be delayed by an estimated six months, and the last two ships by five months. All four were scheduled to be accepted by the SAN in 2005 following installation of their Thales combat systems at the Simonstown naval base.

Naval Building to Spearhead French Exports in 2003

French defense manufacturers anticipate that this year could see the naval industry rather than traditional aircraft or ground equipment suppliers leading export sales. Work is already underway on the first La Fayette-type frigate for Singapore while Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) and Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding will soon receive contracts for up to six corvettes under the United Arab Emirates' Project Baynunah program. CMN recently was awarded a four-year contract by the Kuwaiti government for engineering and repair support of the eight Um Almaradim-class fast attack craft (FACs) acquired since 1998.

However, the most recent order in the Persian Gulf region--worth $4.5 million--was placed with Austal Ships' subsidiary Image Marine. The Kuwaiti Coast Guard has ordered three 22-meter aluminum patrol boats powered by twin MAN 735 kW diesels. The vessels will normally embark a crew of three, although for short periods up to 40 can be embarked. The first patrol boat is scheduled for delivery in 2004. It is reported that Kuwait may also have a requirement for larger patrol boats but procurement is likely to be delayed until January or June 2004.

The Indian Ministry of Defense has finally approved a $2 billion agreement with DCN International and Thales for the construction of six Scorpène-type submarines at Mazagon Dock Ltd. (MDL) in Mumbai. The agreement, which awaits approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), is separate from a further $50 million contract to modernize MDL's facilities. It is hoped to deliver the submarines at yearly intervals beginning in 2010.

DCN International will also support construction at Kochi of the planned Air Defense Ship--the aircraft carrier (first of three) intended to be in service in 1997, in time for the 50th anniversary of India's independence, so the project is likely to keep the French companies occupied for a long time. *