By ANTONY PRESTON

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

The French electronics giant Thales (formerly Thomson-CSF) has recruited Devonport Royal Dockyard (DML) to its consortium bidding for the construction of the U.K. Royal Navy's future aircraft carriers (CVFs), joining Lockheed Martin, British Maritime Technology (BMT), Raytheon, Alsthom, and Qinetiq. DML, the privatized former Devonport navy yard, specializes in the overhaul of nuclear submarines and surface warships.

Although Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon previously insisted that a Thales victory in the battle against the BAE Systems consortium will never result in either of the two 50,000-ton CVFs being built in France, the new development underlines the continued Thales interest in that possibility. The U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) is about to start the second phase of the bidding process, but main gate approval is not due for another two years. The MOD wants to have CVF 01 in service by 2012, and her sister CVF 02 by 2015.

BAE Systems leads the other consortium--which includes Rolls-Royce, Vosper Thornycroft, Harland & Wolff, Alenia Marconi Systems, and Northrop Grumman--and hopes to build at least one CVF at its Barrow in Furness yard, the largest covered building berth in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Harland & Wolff is one of the few contenders with building berths long enough to build such a large ship. Both consortia are concerned at the enormous cost of preparing their bids, and want to see a resolution of the competition as early as possible.

Indian Navy's Plans Affected By Arms Deal Failure

The failure of India and Russia to conclude a $3 billion arms deal during the recent summit meeting in Moscow attended by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee marks a change in the hitherto warm relationship between India and Russia. The official arms export agency Rosboronexport notes that India is no longer regarded as an easy market.

The items on the Indian Navy's shopping list include completion of the plan to acquire the redundant Russian hybrid cruiser/STOVL carrier Admiral of the Soviet Fleet Sergei Gorshkov. Cancellation of the purchase would be a disaster for the Indian Navy's naval air arm. India's other major procurement items are antiship and air-defense missiles, but India has other sources it may call on. The Indian Navy's new anti-air warfare destroyers, Project 17 Talwar-class ships, are too advanced to be cancelled. The first three will be delivered during the next two years. The delivery of the Victor III type nuclear attack submarine has also escaped any embargo.

The United States is poised to fill the vacuum, and several signs suggest that India's nuclear capability is no longer a barrier to defense sales. On 28 November, Adm. Dennis C. Blair, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, met with senior Indian politicians and representatives of the indigenous defense industry in New Delhi. Blair's visit, according to a spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry, reflects the friendly atmosphere created in a Washington meeting between Prime Minister Vajpayee and senior officials of the Bush administration, and not only points the way to closer military-to-military ties, but also may serve as an insurance policy for the U.S.-led offensive against international terrorism.

New French Aster Missile Receives High Praise from DPA

The French-built Aster-15 intermediate-range anti-air warfare (AAW) missile has demonstrated what the U.K. Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) has described as a "phenomenal" performance. The missile was launched against a French C-22 subsonic target, presumably at the French Navy's Centre d'Essais de la Mediterranee off Toulon, in trials intended to demonstrate the Aster-15's ability to intercept a small target in a most demanding environment, at very short range, in a low-level engagement.

"It was a very difficult target, and the missile hit and destroyed it," said Capt. Matt Robb, RN, the DPA's assistant program director. "The trial was totally successful. The missile did not carry a warhead but it still destroyed [the target]. The scenario was for a very short-range engagement ... less than 3,250 yards. ... The Aster-15 had to launch vertically, pitch over, and come down on the target."

The Aster-15 and the longer-range Aster-30 are fitted with a unique pif-paf maneuvering system. A small mid-body motor takes the missile to lethal distance of the target during the last few milliseconds of flight.

The two missiles, which form the weapons element of the Principal AAW Missile System (PAAMS), are expected to arm the Royal Navy's Daring-class guided-missile destroyers and the Horizon guided-missile frigates of the French and Italian navies. The two missiles are designed to combat stealthy subsonic and supersonic missiles launched in salvos or streams from different directions, as well as seaskimmers and high-diving weapons.

Major MCM Exercise Sweeps Live Mines

Nine European navies have successfully completed the largest mine-countermeasures (MCM) exercise in European waters in 20 years. The purpose of the operation, which involved 24 ships and nearly 1,000 personnel, was to clear mines in Tallinn Bay in Estonia. The Tallinn mines were the legacy of German minelaying during World War II and the Soviet occupation; an estimated total of 85,000 to 100,000 mines of various types and vintages remained at the end of the Cold War.

The MCM craft of Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom participated in the exercise. The Royal Navy contingent included the Sandown-class minehunters HMS Bridport, HMS Pembroke, and HMS Penzance. The Royal Norwegian Navy contributed a diving unit, while the British supplied a mobile logistics and support unit. The two-week operation was considered a major success, but several interoperability and communications problems surfaced, and a number of equipment deficiencies also were reported.

Norway Takes Delivery of First Upgraded FACs

DCN International, Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, and Umoe Mandal have handed over three modernized Hauk-class fast attack craft (FAC) to the Royal Norwegian Navy. The vessels are the first of 14 of the class to be equipped with the SENIT 2000 combat management system (CMS), under a contract awarded in July 1997.

KNN Stegg, KNN Jo, and KNN Teist passed their harbor and sea acceptance trials before delivery, including live firings that demonstrated the reliability of the new combat and communication systems. The Umoe Mandal shipyard performed all of the upgrade work; DCN International shared responsibility with Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace for CMS design and integration. The French and Norwegian partners will deliver the 14th Hauk-class FAC by the end of next year; they also have the option to equip six new-generation Skjold-class FACs.

The lightweight SENIT 2000 CMS, developed jointly by DCN and Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, is a derivative of the SENIT 8 CMS designed for the French Navy's

nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Selected largely for its compactness, high level of integration, and advanced technologies, SENIT 2000 offers reduced manning and is designed to cope with dense threat environments. Its primary mission will be littoral warfare, with special emphasis on antisurface warfare (ASuW) weapons, passive detection, tactical data links, and fast response to "pop-up" missile threats.

Footnote: Umoe Mandal is negotiating with the Naval Materiel Command for the construction of another five Skjold-class surface-effect FACs. The $250 million order is expected to be placed "in the very near future," officials said. Delivery is planned for 2005.