SEA POWER INTERNATIONAL

Kursk Salvage Work Starts; Lift Likely in Mid-September

By ANTONY PRESTON

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

Lloyds List of London has reported that the nuclear-powered Russian cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) was in a floating dock at Murmansk preparing to take part in operations to salvage the sunken submarine Kursk. Russian underwater specialists have been training for the mission on board the diving support vessel Mayo, based at Aberdeen in northeast Scotland.

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) will be lowered into the freezing waters to reconnoiter the scene for a mid-September lift. The Mayo is a high-technology diving support ship owned by DSND Subsea, an Anglo-Norwegian company based in Aberdeen. Two Dutch companies, salvage specialists Mammoet and marine services provider Smit International, are overseeing the salvage effort.

U.K. Orders First Six Daring-Class AAW DDGs

The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) has announced an order for the building of six Type 45 Daring-class anti-air warfare destroyers. Following recommendations from the Rand Corporation, a decision was made to add three more DDGs to the three approved in December last year, and to place the order with one group of shipyards.

Prime contractor BAE Systems will allocate the orders to its Clyde yard, BAE Systems Marine (YSL), and its large main yard at Barrow in Furness. The company's smaller Clydeside Govan yard and independent southern yard Vosper Thornycroft will receive subcontracts for structural work. The Vosper Thornycroft yard will build and outfit the forward sections of all six ships.

The first of class, HMS Daring, is planned to be operational in November 2007; the Dauntless and Diamond will follow in 2009, and the remaining three in 2010-11. Another six ships of the class are projected--bringing the total to 12--as replacements for the Royal Navy's aging Type 42 ships.

Footnote: Critics say that HMS Daring would be in service next year if the MOD had not been forced into a political "shotgun marriage" with France and Italy to build a multinational ship. The project turned out poorly, however, particularly for the Royal Navy. An insider told Sea Power that, "We learned a lot about how not to design a DDG." France and Italy decided, however, to proceed with their own smaller Horizon design, which reportedly will be in service sooner than the Type 45. Independent analysts question this claim, because both navies have the reputation of allowing long gaps between order dates and construction.

EADS Sees Broad Scope For New Naval Partnerships

The scope for further consolidation in Europe's naval electronics sector is so limited that the best option for the European Aerospace & Defense Systems (EADS) group is to seek partnerships--either with the two main European players, Thales (formerly Thomson-CSF) and BAE Systems, or with a U.S. company--says Dr. Stefan Zoller, head of the EADS Systems and Defense Electronics Unit.

Neither organic growth nor growth by acquisition is seen as a realistic option. "We have to partner with other players," Zoller said, specifically mentioning BAE Systems and Thales. He also addressed the option of linking with a U.S. company: "The Americans are keen to have a foothold in the European market," he noted. Zoller stressed that the recommendation that EADS become a junior partner with competitors would apply only to naval activities. "In all ... other areas I see [us] in a strong position," he said.

Generally, EADS sees further European consolidation and restructuring as the key to future growth and profitability in the electronics field, Zoller said in an interview at the Paris Air Show. "Our electronics capabilities are small compared with [the capabilities of] our peers and competitors--the Raytheons, the BAE Systems, the Lockheed Martins."

"In all ... other fields--aircraft, satellites--you see pan-European activities," he continued, "but nothing similar has arisen yet in defense electronics. We have to do something in that regard."

Another significant shortcoming, Zollers said, is EADS's limited market access in electronics. "We have to penetrate new markets," he commented, citing the U.K. and U.S. markets in particular.

EADS was created in mid-2000 but delayed the integration of its defense electronics activities pending the outcome of six months of studies on the best way to organize and develop this part of its business. The new integrated defense electronics sector, inaugurated on 1 June, consists of four distinct "pillars": airborne systems; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems; naval and ground systems; and command, control, communications, and information (C3I) systems.

The strategy in the field of airborne systems is relatively straightforward, Zoller said: "Further consolidation and greater access to markets."

For the other pillars, though, different approaches are needed. EADS's ISR capabilities are broad, especially in the area of unmanned aerial vehicles, where the company produces a wide range of both platforms and payloads. "This is a business that you can really grow organically," he said.

In the C3I sector, the company's key goal is to promote joint procurement by European governments as a means of securing the essential R&D funding for programs too large for the budgets of individual states. This implies an acute need for interoperability.

"The question for all the parties," said Zoller, "is whether it might not be sensible to opt for a consolidation ... [with] other European players. ... [Because there is] no joint procurement yet, many problems can be solved by industry. As industry consolidates, it will offer joint systems to all the parties, and we will automatically achieve interoperability in Europe."

Turning to wider issues, Zoller said that the lack of a state defense-exports organization puts the German sectors of the business at a disadvantage. Germany's strict arms-export controls present another difficulty.

Other sources have confirmed that the Polyphem missile exists as a project to be taken on by the European MBDA (Matra-BAE Dynamics-Alenia) missile house, which is now being formed to link EADS, the U.K.'s BAE Systems, and Italy's Alenia. The new company will be the result of a merger between the existing MBD (itself an EADS-BAE Systems joint venture) and Alenia's missile activities. The same sources say that it seems "highly likely" that Polyphem will be offered to the Royal Navy.

Other reports suggest that MBDA's program to upgrade the Exocet antiship missile is going well. MBDA has won two contracts in the last 18 months from France's military procurement agency, the DGA. The first contract covered the development of a new mission computer for the missile. The second is for the development of a new seeker and a new hybrid inertial navigation system/global positioning system, involving laser gyro technology, for land-attack missions.

Because the Exocet is a modular missile, it can be upgraded in stages. MBDA is now waiting for contracts for final improvements; the Exocet is expected to be completely upgraded by the end of next year.

The Exocet upgrade program followed the collapse of a French project to develop a supersonic Future Anti-Ship Missile (ANF). Aerospatiale Matra Missiles (later incorporated into MBDA) had signed the ANF contract, but it was cancelled at the last minute by the Naval Chief of Staff, Adm. Jean-Luc Delaunay, who opted instead to acquire new ships before buying their weapons systems and who had to free resources to pay for the naval version of the Rafale fighter-bomber.

Israeli Officials Confirm Tadiran Link for RGM-84

Israeli defense officials have announced that the RGM-84 Harpoon antiship missiles are fitted with a Tadiran data link, which normally talks to a helicopter. The link carries missile radar video back to the helicopter, which can designate a target for the missile.

The system is reminiscent of the Soviet practice in using the Shaddock and successor missiles. In both cases, the link is needed because the missile cannot by itself find the appropriate target in an array, or in a complex battlespace such as a harbor.

The Tadiran link probably has been in service for some years; its presence may explain the existence of helicopter pads on the larger Israeli Reshef-class missile-armed fast attack craft and the Eliat-class corvettes.

Successful Test-Firing of New Franco-Italian SAM

The French procurement agency Delegation Generale pour l'Armement (DGA) has carried out a test-firing of the Aster 30 surface-to-air missile (SAM) to validate its ability to operate in a hostile electronic warfare (EW) environment. The test, carried out at DGA's test center in southwest France, used two airborne targets, each of which was fitted with a jammer. The missile was fired when the targets were approximately 15,000 yards away and, despite heavy jamming, hit its selected target.

This was the fourth successful test in a series designed to confirm the Aster 30's ability to operate in a hostile environment. The system is now scheduled to begin a trials program in Italy, starting at the end of the year.

The Aster missile is being developed as part of a family of future surface-to-air (FFSA) systems, including one installed on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The FFSA program, a cooperative project between France and Italy, is managed by the European procurement agency OCCAR with the work carried out by EUROSAM (which involves Aerospatiale Matra Missiles, Alenia Marconi Systems, and Thales).

Aster will be the main armament of the Horizon-type anti-air warfare frigates being built for the French and Italian navies (each of which has ordered two frigates), and for the U.K. Royal Navy's Daring-class Type 45 destroyers (six ships approved out of a planned total of 12--see related item on page 35).

Germany to Establish New Maritime Command Center

The German government plans to establish a national command center to manage all maritime emergencies. Creation of the new center will supersede the existing arrangement of divided responsibility shared between the government and the coastal states.

The location and name of the center have yet to be decided. Among the immediate measures to be implemented, though, officials said, are the charter of a powerful salvage tug of 180 tons bollard pull for the North Sea station. The officials said a new multirole vessel will be ordered for the Baltic station, together with a chartered salvage tug of 80 tons bollard pull.

Provision also is to be made for a satellite-based ship identification system that would be capable of use along both German coasts.

Norway Approves Purchase of New Skjold-Class FACs

The Norwegian government has formally approved the procurement of five of the new Skjold-class surface- effect fast attack craft (FACs) to supplement the existing prototype. The action was taken as part of the government's response to the recent study Restructuring the Armed Forces from 2002 to 2005. The new vessels will enter service beginning in 2003.

Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, which already is involved in upgrading Hauk-class FACs in cooperation with France's DCN International (DCNI), will be a main beneficiary of the decision. The Kongsberg Group will almost certainly be given the main responsibility for developing the vessels' weapons delivery systems and command-and-control systems. The contract also covers the cost of new antiship missiles, which will be the main armament of the FACs.

New "Akula II" SSN Underway on Sea Trials

The defense analysts Stratfor have reported that the Russian Navy has started trials in the White Sea of a Project 971U Akula II-type nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), the Gepard, following completion of construction last year. The Russian Navy apparently has developed the technology needed to make future submarines quieter and harder to detect. It has been alleged, according to the Stratfor intelligence references, that some at least of the technological breakthroughs required came from the espionage conducted by former FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who recently agreed to a deal to avoid the death penalty by giving information to the FBI and promising not to give evidence in court that might publicly embarrass the agency.

The secret information, according to Stratfor, has led to some significant improvements in Russia's submarine designs. The U.S. Navy reportedly is investigating the extent to which its own submarine building program may have been penetrated. The Gepard is claimed to be superior in certain respects to the U.S. Navy's Los Angeles-class SSNs. Capable of moving as fast and as quietly, the Gepard is said to have more firepower and to dive deeper than the American SSNs.

On the other hand, only 40 to 60 percent of Russia's submarine personnel can fulfill their assignments, primarily because Russian ships are so old and lacking in maintenance, with key equipment often inoperable. Without a sustained rise in defense spending, the Russian Navy will "dwindle to fewer than 60 ships in a little more than a decade," according to the Stratfor report.