Daily Archives: March 12, 2013

Russian Navy to receive 24 submarines, 54 warships by 2020, defense minister says

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Russian-manufactured Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier

 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has announced that the Russian Navy will receive 24 submarines and 54 warships of various classes by the year 2020.

“As a result of the government rearmament program, the Navy will receive eight nuclear-powered strategic submarines, 16 multi-purpose submarines, and 54 surface ships of various classes by 2020,” the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Shoigu as saying on Monday. He stated that constant upgrading of the fleet was an important part of the Russian Navy’s overall development.

Russia plans to build eight Borei class submarines by 2020. The Borei class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine produced by Russia and operated by the Russian Navy. The class is intended to replace the Delta III, Delta IV, and Typhoon classes now in the Russian Navy service and form the core of its nuclear deterrence strategy.

The Russian manufactured Borei class submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky
The first Borei class submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, was put into active service in January.
A second one, the Alexander Nevsky, has been undergoing sea tests. The construction of a third one, the Alexander Suvorov, is to start in July.
The 16 multi-purpose submarines include Graney class nuclear-powered attack submarines and improved Kilo and Lada class diesel-electric subs.
The Russian Navy will also receive Admiral Gorshkov class frigates, Steregushchy class corvettes, Buyan class corvettes, and Ivan Gren Class landing ships.
Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the procurement of new warships and submarines for Russia’s Navy would be a priority over the next decade.
The Russian government has earmarked five trillion rubles ($166 billion) — a quarter of the entire armament procurement budget until 2020 — for this purpose.
Source – Press TV

Raytheon’s 5th generation hull mounted sonar to enable anti-submarine, undersea warfare

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Raytheon Company was awarded a sub-contract from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to deliver its first 5th generation medium frequency hull mounted sonar system as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program.

According to the U.S. Navy, 43 nations operate more than 600 submarines; the steady increase in undersea vessels makes tracking a challenge. Raytheon’s Modular Scalable Sonar System (MS(3)) will integrate into SAIC’s prototype trimaran vessel as the primary search and detection sonar. The system( )is designed to provide search, detection, passive-threat filtering, localization and tracking capabilities without requiring human operation.

MS(3 )enables anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and undersea warfare with capabilities such as active and passive search, torpedo detection and alertment, and small object avoidance. Data from multiple sonars may be fed to a central command and control node, providing a common operating picture as part of the ASW mission. By integrating a host of capabilities in a single sonar system, Raytheon delivers an affordable solution that addresses critical naval challenges.

“Historically, manned sonars were central to anti-submarine warfare missions. However, the growing number of submarines traversing the world’s oceans makes this model unsustainable,” said Joe Biondi, vice president of Advanced Technology for Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems business. “By leveraging Raytheon’s heritage in developing undersea sensors, MS(3 )can be configured to provide the capabilities required for ASW in an autonomous environment.”

About RaytheonRaytheon Company, with 2012 sales of $24 billion and 68,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 91 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com

Source – Providence Journal

Taiwan to study building own submarine fleet

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Osprey-class coastal minehunting ship

Taiwan Tuesday confirmed it plans to study  the feasibility of building a submarine fleet on its own in a move which  suggests it is running out of patience over a long-stalled US offer to supply  eight of the warships.

The navy hopes to come up with an in-depth report in four years on items  ranging from design and acquisition of equipment, to construction capabilities  and product tests and evaluation, according to a defence ministry statement.

The report will cost around Tw$140 million ($4.7 million) to be financed by  a defence ministry-controlled fund, it said.
“The move is a crucial sign showing that the navy has dropped the idea of  purchasing submarines from the United States and decided to build them at  home,” a naval source was quoted by the Liberty Times as saying.
The paper said an initial naval evaluation report indicated that the  island’s leading shipyard CSBC Corporation had acquired expertise to build the  sophisticated warships.
But Taiwan is still short of critical know-how on development of submarine  fighting systems, sonars and torpedo launch tubes, it said.
In April 2001, then US president George W. Bush approved the sale of eight  conventional submarines as part of Washington’s most comprehensive arms package  to the island since 1992.
Since then, however, there has been little progress as the United States  has not built conventional submarines for more than 40 years and Germany and  Spain have reportedly declined to offer their designs for fear of offending  China.
The Taiwanese navy currently operates a fleet of four submarines, but only  two of them, Dutch-built, could be deployed in the event of war. The other two  were built by the United States in the 1940s.
Tensions between Taiwan and China have eased markedly since President Ma  Ying-jeou came to power on a platform of beefing up trade links and allowing  more Chinese tourists to visit. Ma was re-elected in January 2012.
But Taiwan, which has governed itself since 1949, still sees a need to  modernise its armed forces because China regards the island as part of its  territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. — AFP

US Navy invests in submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missile guidance upgrades and test

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The U.S. Navy is investing more than a quarter-billion dollars to upgrade the missile guidance systems in the Trident II D5 submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missile.

The Navy Strategic Systems Programs Office in Washington last week awarded two Trident II upgrade contracts — one to Charles Stark Draper Laboratories Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., and the other to Aero Thermo Technology Inc. in Huntsville, Ala., for Trident II nuclear missile guidance upgrades.

The Trident II is the primary weapon aboard Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. The missile has a range of more than 7,000 miles and carries four independently targeted 475-kiloton nuclear warheads.

Draper Lab received a $257.8 million contract to provide MK6 MOD 1 guidance upgrades to the Trident II nuclear missile, including circuit card assembly materials with electronic components, as well as data package assemblies.

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Aero Thermo, meanwhile, received a $6.8 million contract to provide guidance systems, technical, analytical and program services to support the TRIDENT II missile. The contracts are part of the Navy’s Strategic Program Alteration (SPALT) for the Trident II D5 missile.

Aero Thermal engineers will support key guidance system technology development and coordination between the Navy and U.S. Air Force for current and next-generation strategic systems. The Navy and Air Force are working together on strategic ballistic missile technology development. Both services invest in research to ensure unique and critical design and development skills for strategic weapons.

Draper Lab will do its work in Pittsfield, Mass.; Cambridge, Mass; Clearwater, Fla.; Terrytown, N.Y.; and El Segundo, Calif., and should be finished by the end of 2016. Aero Thermal will do its work in Huntsville, Ala., and should be finished by the end of this year.

Aero Thermal’s contract has options that would increase the contract’s value to $20.7 million and extend work through the end of 2015.

These contracts are part of a Navy effort begun in 2002 to extend the life of the D5 missiles to the year 2040 by replacing obsolete components with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. Upgrades involved the missile reentry systems and guidance systems.

The first flight test of a D5 extended-life subsystem, the MK 6 Mod 1 guidance system, was in early 2012 aboard the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee (SSBN 734).

The missile has a range longer than 7,000 miles; has a maximum speed of 13,000 miles per hour, and has precision guidance from inertial sensors with star sighting. No GPS-guided Trident D5 missiles have been deployed.

The Trident II missile carries as many as four independently targeted W88 475-kiloton nuclear warheads. That warhead discharges the energy of 475,000 tons of TNT, and is roughly 30 times the size of the U.S. nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.

Source – Military & Aerospace

Australian Navy considers Japan technology to repair submarine fleet – Radio Clip

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Click on picture to hear the radio broadcast interview.

The Australian Navy says it hopes to secure a deal that would allow it to rebuild its troubled Collins-class fleet with Japanese submarine technology.
Aust Navy considers Japan technology to repair submarine fleet (Credit:  ABC)

The deal could postpone the spending of an estimated $40 billion to build 12 new submarines proposed by the Australian Government.

Australia’s Future Submarine project was discussed during the Australia-Japan Conference in Tokyo this month.

Presenter: Joanna McCarthy

Speaker: Alan Dupont, security specialist, University of NSW

DUPONT: Well it’s not a question of whether Australia wants it, Australia is looking to replace an existing fleet of Collins-class submarines and Japan is one of the options. And it could be an off-the-shelf Japanese design which is a Soryu class submarine, this is an advanced conventional submarine which the Japanese have only actually added to their fleet in the last three or four years, or it could be just some components of the system the Japanese use which might be compatible with our own requirements. So there are two options there and the Japanese Soryu class submarine of course would be considered along with other potential candidates, such as a German submarine which is comparable with lesser range, or in building the Collins-class follow-on submarines within Australia indigenously. So they’re the kind of options on the table for the government.

MCCARTHY: So the deal is far from done although it does have some high profile advocates in Tokyo. How likely do you think that it will go ahead?

DUPONT: Look I’d have to say at the moment it’s probably no better than a one in three chance of going ahead for two reasons; one is because it’s not clear yet what kind of submarine Australia’s going to end up with, and I suspect that will be dependent on the next government, which is as you are well aware there’s an election in six months. The other problem with the Japanese option is the constraints on the export of defence technology by the Japanese government. So this has prevented them from exporting submarines in the past and essentially all defence related technology they produce. However these constraints are actually being loosened and it appears the door is now open for potential cooperation with Australia on a range of defence technologies, including the submarine. But at the moment it’s still a little unclear as to where this is going to take us.

MCCARTHY: And assuming Japan does ease this ban that it’s had on defence technology, what’s in it for them?

DUPONT: Well there’s a lot in it for Japan. First of all they need to be world’s best practice in their defence sector too, and they can’t do it just confining themselves to their own capabilities, so cooperation with other partners with leading edge defence technologies is essential for the development for Japan’s own defence industry. Second, this has become much more important for Japan now as geo-political tensions are ratcheting up in north-east Asia, and particularly with China. So the Japanese are very concerned now about making sure that they can have the best technology possible for the development of their own defence force. So that means that they’re going to have to cooperate with friends and allies. Now previously Japan has had a pretty close relationship with the United States and has been able to export some of its own technology to the United States and receive some in return. But I think Japan is looking for other partners that it can do with and this is where Australia comes into the picture, because we are a leading edge country in many of these sectors as well, and there would be some benefits for Japan in building cooperation with Australia through the defence sector.

MCCARTHY: So it’s fair to say then that Japan sees strategic value in this kind of relationship with Australia, rather than it simply Australia being the only country lining up and asking to buy these subs?

DUPONT: Absolutely, you have to see it in the context of a broader more ambitious relationship between Japan and Australia which transcends the old trade relationship.

MCCARTHY: And if Japan’s motive here is about building strategic alliances to try and counter the growing might of China, what’s that going to mean for Australia’s relationship with China, how will they view these closer military ties between Canberra and Tokyo?

DUPONT: Yes well look there are some obvious sensitivities around all this, so even if it was technically feasible and politically feasible for Australia and Japan to do this in terms of their own domestic audiences, obviously both countries have to give consideration to the likely regional response, particularly that of China. But not only China, because other countries too might be a bit nervous about the implications. So I think all of this is doable and manageable, but there would have to be a considered political strategy, a narrative around this which would basically reduce and lessen any potential tensions with other countries, especially China.

Source – Radio Australia