Proposals submitted by the South African Navy (SAN) for two major equipment programs (four patrol corvettes and three diesel-electric submarines) have been approved by the cabinet, but the SAN's proposed purchase of four helicopters has been deferred to keep within the government's cash limits. Final contract negotiations were completed last month, to take effect on 1 April next year.

The four patrol corvettes will cost South Africa just over $1.1 billion and the three submarines $853 million. The defense and national industrial commitments of the German Frigate Consortium and the German Submarine Consortium come to $3.7 billion and $3.2 billion respectively, of which defense industrial participation will account for about 50 percent of the total. The breakdown for the corvettes is $235 million in direct industrial participation, $242 million in indirect industrial participation, and $85 million in technology-transfer funds. The equivalent figures for the submarines are $44 million, $100 million, and $42 million.

The SAN's variant of the MEKO A200 design will be 121 meters long, have a 16.3-meter beam, and a full-load displacement of 3,590 tons. The frigates will be powered by a so-called CODAG-WARP installation, with MTU diesels driving controllable-pitch propellers on two outer shafts, and a gas turbine (probably the General Electric LM 2500) driving a Swedish KaMeWa waterjet on the center shaft. Twin rudders will be fitted.

The frigates' hulls will be optimized for the demanding conditions around South Africa's coasts, with a fully enclosed forecastle and fantail. Extensive use of bulwarks will help to reduce radar cross-section.

Accommodations are provided for a complement of 92 officers and enlisted men plus eight helicopter crewmen as well as 20 trainees. Stores are provided for 28 days. Speed will be 26 knots, and cruising range 7,000 miles.

Broad details of the armament and electronics are reported to be as follows:

• A single 76mm L/62 Compact dual-purpose gun mount;
• Two single 20mm guns for close-range action, possibly to be replaced by 35mm guns in the future;
• Eight MM-40 Exocet Block 2 anti-ship missiles;
• A 32-cell Kentron Umkhonto vertical-launch air-defense missile system;
• ASW torpedoes;
• A French three-dimensional radar;
• Locally manufactured radar trackers forward and aft;
• Signaal navigation and helicopter-control radars; and
• A Thomson-CSF Spherion hull-mounted sonar.

It is not yet clear if a South African combat management system will be fitted, as originally planned, or a Thomson-CSF system.

The hangar will be large enough to accommodate two Super Lynx helicopters or a single Oryx helicopter to permit maximum flexibility. The Super Lynx, when it is funded, is likely to be armed with lightweight torpedoes and the locally developed Mokopa 7.5-mile range air-to-surface missile.

The ships are to be delivered in South Africa from the end of 2002 to mid-2004. The combat system will then be installed and integrated locally; handover of the ships is scheduled for mid-2004 to mid-2005.

The submarine will be built to the IKL Type 209/1400 Mod design--which translates into a 62-meter hull, a beam of 7.6 meters, and a submerged displacement of 1,594 tons. The SSKs--which will have a surface speed of 10 knots (20 knots submerged)--will be capable of diving to depths in excess of 200 meters. Cruising range will be 10,000 miles, with a mission endurance of 45 days. Primary armament will be eight 21-inch tubes and 14 torpedoes.

A contractor support team will be established in South Africa to support the SAN and to ensure effective technology transfer. The team is likely to be based in Simonstown in mid-2003 and will remain there until mid-2008.

The current delivery schedule provides for the first boat to be delivered in mid-2005, the second in mid-2006, and the third in mid-2007. The bulk of the support equipment and simulators will be delivered by mid-2003, to be up and running when the first boat is delivered and starts her shakedown.

Vosper Thornycroft Wins Major Order for Greek FACs

Vosper Thornycroft (VT) has won a $320 million contract to supply three 62-meter fast attack craft (FACs) to the Hellenic Navy. Despite a whispering campaign suggesting that the VT prices were too high, the company won out over strong competition from France's CMN and Germany's Lürssenwerft to capture the contract, which has an option for at least another four vessels, according to VT.

The new FACs will be built in the shipyard of prime contractor Elefsis Shipbuilding and Industrial Enterprises SA. Design, construction support, and equipment will be provided by VT to Elefsis. The deal also includes the supply of two ex-U.K. Royal Navy (RN) Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) declared surplus to RN requirements under the July 1998 Strategic Defence Review.

VT told NAVINT that it is not yet clear whether the Hunts will be refitted in the United Kingdom or in Greece before the transfer. VT officials said the company has been selected as the preferred supplier for all of the vessels and is starting detailed contractual negotiations with Elefsis that should be completed by the end of this year.

U.K. Minister for Defence Procurement Baroness Symons congratulated VT on securing what she called "a share in work" to supply the Hellenic Navy with the FACs, which she said are needed to protect Greece's inshore waters. VT's bid includes funding for the supply of steel, as well as parts and the design, Symons said, putting a fraction more detail on the contract than VT's statement. VT also told NAVINT that it will be subcontracting to a number of other U.K. companies and will help to modernize the Elefsis Shipyard, giving full training to Elefsis personnel "to accompany machinery investment with a view to a long-term partnership beyond the construction of the fast attack craft." This is the largest purchase in recent years of U.K. defense equipment by Greece, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

The Super Vita design proposed for the Greek FACs is based on the design of the 56-meter Barzan-class FACs built for the Qatar Emiri Navy. The steel-hulled vessels' speed will be 35 knots; their weapons will include an Otobreda 76mm L/62 Super Rapid gun, twin 30mm guns, and both surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles. The Barzan-class FACs are armed with MM-40 Exocet Block 2 and Sadral missiles, but the sketch design published by VT shows the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) system aft.

Germany's HDW to Merge With Sweden's Kockums

In a major move towards the consolidation of the European naval shipbuilding industry, Sweden's Kockums and Germany's Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) have announced their plans to merge. Kockums' owners, the Celsius Group, and HDW's owners, Babcock Borsig and Preussag, signed a contract for the formation of a European shipbuilding company by merging HDW and Kockums Naval Systems.

Under the agreement, Preussag sells 25 percent plus one of its HDW shares to Celsius, and HDW will at the same time acquire all shares in Kockums Naval Systems from Celsius. HDW's new ownership structure will then consist of Babcock Borsig (50 percent plus one share), Celsius (25 percent plus one share), and Preussag (25 percent minus two shares). After an integration phase running to the end of next year, the companies will discuss the shareholding structure.

A separate agreement has been reached between Celsius and HDW settling the acquisition of Celsius' 49 percent stake in an Australian submarine builder--Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC). The agreements are subject to approval by the appropriate regulatory authorities.

The newly merged "HDW Group" will have annual sales of around $1.1 billion (and a backlog of orders exceeding $3.8 billion) and 4,300 employees. Operations will be located in Kiel in Germany, Malmö and Karls-krona in Sweden, and Adelaide in Australia; the Group's headquarters will be in Kiel. Celsius will play an active role in HDW Group's executive management and on its board of directors. The merger of the two companies creates a strong submarine builder controlling 80 percent of the non-nuclear submarine market worldwide. The company also will be a strong player in the naval surface vessel sector. Both companies have developed advanced systems and products in their respective business sectors, and the merger is expected to lead to strengthened research and development resources.

The merger agreement includes an option for Celsius to increase its holding; the Swedish partner also retains an option to sell its stake in the company, at some future date, for a pre-determined amount. The net result is that Celsius values its holding in the new shipbuilding group at no less than approximately $189 million. "Synergies" worth $12­18 million per year are expected within two to three years (but Kockums and HDW both say they have no plans for job cuts). Kockums' turnover in February this year was $257 million. Until the HDW merger, Kockums Naval Systems was one of eight defense business units within the Celsius Group. It now comprises only one naval shipyard, the Karlskronavarvet yard in Karlskrona, which builds surface ships and submarines; some submarine design work is still done at Malmö.

Hong Kong Marine PoliceOrder New Surveillance System

Pilkington Optronics of Glasgow, U.K., has won a contract to supply its Cyclops maritime surveillance systems to the Hong Kong Marine Police. The contract was won against fierce competition and at the end of an extensive period of trials and evaluations. Cyclops is a newly developed system considered suitable for shipborne and coastal surveillance.

Cyclops is part of a family of electro-optical surveillance systems providing a passive surveillance capability for vessels involved in drug interdiction, the prevention of illegal immigration, antiterrorism missions, the protection of exclusive economic zones, and general coast guard duties. The modular system is capable of incorporating a range of the latest thermal imaging, image intensification, and visual camera technology for use on board a wide range of commercial and paramilitary vessels, and for static coastal installations. Housed in a compact, streamlined package, Cyclops provides high accuracy, stabilized passive detection and identification of targets in a wide range of weather and light conditions. Because of its modular design the system also can be fitted with a laser rangefinder and configured for controlling the fire control of small-caliber gun systems.

The development of Cyclops started at the end of last year under a company-financed program. The resulting cost-effective flexible system is extolled by company spokesmen as proof of Pilkington's ability to design, develop, and produce--in a short span of time--systems that match customer requirements exactly. Requirements for a low initial purchase cost and low through-life cost were major factors in the development of Cyclops.

New Naval SpearFor SAN Corvettes

Since the late 1980s South Africa has been working on enhancements to the performance of its land-based Cactus short-range air-defense missile system, itself a variant of Thomson-CSF's Crotale. Local manufacturer Kentron developed the SAHV-3 missile, which has been tentatively identified by Jane's Naval Weapon Systems as "South African High Velocity Mach 3," and also upgraded the Cactus Analysis Management and Systems (AMS) and developed a new computer. Flight-testing took place in 1991­1993.

Kentron won a contract in early 1997 to develop a "navalized" system for the South African Navy (SAN), intended for the SAN's projected new corvettes. This version includes a two-color infrared (IR) seeker developed for the Darter air-to-air missile; the designation SAHV-IR has since been changed to Umkhonto ("Spear"). Target-acquisition capabilities for the new corvettes will be provided by the Thomson-CSF MRR lightweight three-dimensional radar, backed up by Reutech's RTS-6400 X-band tracker.

The Umkhonto resembles the rounds fired by Thomson-CSF's Crotale NG, but is larger and is fitted with a 23kg fragmentation warhead. It operates on the lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) principle and also features mid-course guidance, receiving target-vector updates through an uplink from the ship's fire-control system. The missile itself has a low-smoke composite propellant grain in a composite casing. The cylindrical vertical-launch canisters weigh up to 165kg; exhaust gases vent vertically alongside the missile.

The fully operational system will have to be ready by the time the first corvette is handed over to the SAN in 2004. It is too early to talk of export potential, program officials say, but Umkhonto strengthens South Africa's reputation as the only African country demonstrably capable of designing and manufacturing guided weapons.  

China's Navy Today: Storms Clouds on the Horizon...or Paper Tiger?