SEA POWER INTERNATIONAL
French Government Signs Off On Thales-DCN Joint
Venture
By ANTONY PRESTON
Antony Preston, a London-based naval analyst and broadcaster, is
co-founder of the international newsletter NAVINT.
The French Government and Thales (formerly Thomson-CSF) have signed a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) under which Thales will work with
France's official design bureau, Directions des Constructions Navales (DCN),
on a number of future shipbuilding projects. The signing was the latest
move in a series of initiatives that are leading to a major restructuring
of the European naval shipbuilding industries.
The new joint company will combine the prime contracting activities of
Thales and DCN and the commercial activities of Thales Naval France and
DCN International in naval shipbuilding and combat systems.
Under the joint-venture plan, which was first announced in February 2000,
the new company will sell in international markets and participate in a
number of multinational cooperative programs. It also will assume
responsibility for France's industrial contribution to the Franco-Italian
Horizon frigate program, on which DCN and Thales teams are already working
together.
French officials said that the new company is expected to generate
revenues of one billion euros or more within four to five years. DCN and
Thales will retain their own industrial capabilities under the MOU, while
working as subcontractors to the new company on programs under its
responsibility.
"Equipment [radars, sonars, communications, systems, etc.] is not
affected by this agreement," a Thales spokesman said, and "will
continue to be developed and marketed by Thales and its subsidiaries. ...
[The com-pany's] naval subsidiaries outside France will continue to
conduct their own commercial and industrial activities with their
customers and with naval shipbuilders in other countries."
The joint enterprise will be a public limited company (Sociètè Anonyme)
managed by a supervisory board and an executive board with equal
representation by the two partners. The chairman of the supervisory board
will be nominated by DCN and appointed by the French government; the chief
executive officer (CEO) and the chairman of the executive board will be
nominated by Thales. Other key managerial and executive positions will be
shared equally between Thales and DCN/DCN International.
The signing of the MOU was described as "an important step toward
setting up the company," which is expected to come into being in the
third quarter of this year.
Saudi Frigate Program
Maintains a Steady Course
The Sawari II project to build three 4,600-ton air-defense frigates for
the armed forces of Saudi Arabia is well advanced at the Lorient shipyard
of France's Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN). The first frigate,
Riyadh, is already fitting out and is scheduled to be commissioned in July
2002.
The F3000S design specified for the frigates is a follow-on to the La
Fayette design developed by DCN for ships built for the French and the
Republic of China navies, slightly lengthened to accommodate air-defense
radars and a vertical launch system (VLS). The Saudi requirement was for
multipurpose ships combining powerful anti-air warfare (AAW) and
antisurface warfare (ASUW) weaponry, as well as an antisubmarine warfare (ASW)
capability.
Included in the AAW armament are the Aster-15 missile (which is launched
from a Sylver VLS), the Arabel 3-D multifunction radar, and the Jupiter
V26D long-range surveillance radar. Provision is made for upgrading the
system by adding two more eight-cell Sylver modules, doubling the number
of rounds.
The combat-management system is the most recent version of the Thales
Tavitac-NG (SENIT 7), with some additional elements of the SENIT 8
designed for the CVN Charles de Gaulle.
The ASUW armament includes a GIAT 100mm/55 caliber Compact gun mounting
forward, two 20mm guns for use against soft targets, and an ITL 70
launcher holding eight MM-40 Exocet antiship missiles. The ASW equipment
includes a low-frequency (LF) active towed sonar, and aft-facing launchers
for F17 wire-guided heavyweight torpedoes for a harpoon launching system.
The ship is fitted with the Cougar helicopter, which plays a vital role in
both ASW and ASUW operations
The Riyadh class benefits from the stealth features of the La Fayette
design, with reduced radar cross section and reduced heat and noise
signatures through careful attention to the design of hull and
superstructure. Construction of the hull follows the pattern established
for the original La Fayette design: 10 hull modules and three
superstructure modules. Assembly of the Riyadh's hull took 10 weeks, a
timescale matched for the Makkah.
A provisional order was placed with DCN in June 1989, a contract for two
ships was signed in November 1994, and another contract was signed in May
1997 for a third frigate; the first steel was cut in January 1998.
The Riyadh is scheduled to be commissioned in July 2002. Her sister ship,
Makkah, will be commissioned in April 2003; the third frigate, Dammal,
will follow in January 2004.
Ark Royal Completes Overhaul;
Sea Trials Will Start in July
The U.K. Royal Navy's aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal has completed her
$165 million overhaul. More than 200 members of the ship's company
rejoined in April, and her new commanding officer is scheduled to report
this month. As an economy measure Ark Royal was not fitted with the 30mm
Goalkeeper close-in weapon system (CIWS) to replace her existing 20mm Mk
15 Phalanx CIWS, but numerous other systems and sensors have been
upgraded.
Sea trials are scheduled to start in July, and a rededication ceremony is
planned to be held in Portsmouth in November. The Ark Royal's sister ship,
HMS Invincible, enters a period of reduced readiness this month before
starting her overhaul sometime toward the end of the year; she is
scheduled to return to service in 2003; the RN's third carrier, HMS
Illustrious, is scheduled to start a 23-month overhaul in the third
quarter of next year.
Construction Starts at HDW
On Submarines for Greek Navy
By pushing a button, Greece's Minister of Defense, Apostolos-Athanasios
Tsochatzopoulos, started the welding--at the HDW (Howaldtswerke-Deutsche
Werft) yard in Kiel, Germany--of the first frames that will be used in the
construction, for the Greek Navy, of the first of its new Type 214
submarines.
The boat is the first HDW submarine equipped with a fuel cell for air-
independent propulsion (AIP) for an export customer. HDW's executive vice
president Hannfried Haun said that about 500 HDW employees will be engaged
in the building of the submarines for five years. There also will be work
for nearly 2,000 employees in the components industry over the same
period, HDW officials said.
HDW, Ferrostaal, and Hellenic Shipyards signed a contract in February for
the construction of three submarines of the new class. The first of the
three submarines is being built in Kiel; the next two will be built by
Hellenic Shipyards at Skaramanga, near Athens. Thyssen Nordseewerke is a
major participant in the design and construction of the submarines.
The delivery of the first submarine is scheduled for 2005. The order also
includes an option for a fourth boat, which also would be built in Greece.
Ferrostaal and HDW would benefit from considerable offset business,
officials said. "So, among other things, Hellenic Shipyards will be
extended to become a submarine yard," HDW officials said.
The Type 214 was developed by HDW and combines the advantages of the
well-proven Type 209 series and the latest Type 212 building for the
German and Italian navies. The oceangoing Type 214 submarines, which
feature fuel-cell technology, will be 65 meters long, displace about 1,700
tons, and require a crew of about 35 officers and men. The boat's main
armament will be eight 21-inch torpedo tubes.
France Announces Plans
To Upgrade Exocet Missiles
The French Ministry of Defense has decided to upgrade its inventory of
Exocet antiship missiles. Although the missiles are more than 30 years
old, they are expected to continue to be France's main antiship weapon for
many years to come. A contract has been placed with Aérospatiale Matra
Missiles for the re-engining of approximately 50 of the MM-38 version of
the Exocet, the upgrading of which has been a high funding priority for
many years.
Other contracts will be let--starting in about two years, officials
said--for upgrade work on the other three versions of Exocet--the
submarine-launched SM-39, the air-launched AM-39 (the missile that
crippled the USS Stark and HMS Sheffield), and the over-the-horizon MM-40.
The French Navy said it expects to order some 30 MM-40 Exocets over the
next decade, and plans to put them through a number of regular upgrades.
Meanwhile, preliminary discussions are under way with Aérospatiale Matra
Missiles concerning upgrades to the missile's electronic system--that work
would be carried out during regularly scheduled maintenance periods on the
individual missiles. Upgrading the MM-38 Exocet SNP sustainer motor has
been a funding priority for more than a year.
New "Trident" Company Offers
Range of Anti-Piracy Services
Lloyd's List of London reports that a new company, Trident, has been
established that would provide a range of various "combat
search-and-rescue" services to companies (and perhaps governments) in
need of such services. Trident's activities will include routine marine
casualty work related to or caused by ship groundings, collisions, fires,
pollution, loss of cargoes, and the installation of voyage data recorders.
The company also reportedly will offer the installation and/or operation
of high-technology systems that would "render shipjacking almost
impossible."
The last "service" is particularly interesting. Although little
publicized, shipjacking has become a major menace to mercantile
ship-operators, particularly in the waters off Southeast Asia and areas of
the Northwest Pacific.
It should be emphasized that Trident's brochure disclaims any intention of
providing "military muscle," which is the prerogative of
government agencies. However, when a hijacked ship, cargo, or crew is
located, the company points out, highly trained teams skilled not only in
civilian but also in combat SAR (search-and-rescue) operations can be
deployed to "effect rapid response."
Trident is headed by a retired lieutenant colonel, Tim Spicer, who became
known through his company, Sandline International--which provided military
muscle in Sierra Leone and Papua New Guinea. Spicer left Sandline last
year to form a new company, Strategic Consulting International (SCI),
which has since joined forces with a U.S. company, Techno- Sciences
International (TSi) of Maryland, internationally known in the field of
satellite-based search-and-rescue operations.
A similar type of antipiracy business--set up (not by Sandline
International) during the 1980s "tanker war" between Iran and
Iraq--provided military-trained passage crews for oil tankers as well as
specialized cadres of personnel capable of fighting fires and explosions,
treating crew casualties, and bringing a ship safely back to port.
Royal Navy Moves Forward
On New SSN Propulsion Plant
Power Magnetics & Electronics Systems (PMES) Ltd. has been awarded a
contract by BAE Systems Marine Ltd. to supply the emergency propulsion
system (EPS) for the U.K. Royal Navy's new Astute-class of nuclear-powered
attack submarines (SSNs). The newly designed EPS, which will replace the
DC motor drive system installed in previous SSNs, incorporates an
innovative AC variable-speed induction motor drive using the latest
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) technology. The first system is
scheduled to be delivered in the last quarter of this year.
Rolls-Royce has delivered to BAE Systems Marine the largest single
component of the propulsion system intended for the Astute herself. The
reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for the PWR 2 pressurized-water reactor was
delivered a month ahead of the contract date, despite the stringent
quality and performance testing mandated by the prime contractor.
The RPV houses the reactor core, also made by Rolls-Royce (in Derby), and
is the heart of the nuclear steam-raising plant. Early delivery assists
the shipyard in the installation of pipework. In common with earlier
nuclear propulsion designs, the power plant of the Astute-class boats has
a design life of more than 25 years, but the new submarines' plants will
have new long-life cores that will outlast the operational lives of the
SSNs and eliminate the need for costly refueling. *
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