UK Defence Journal

Author: George Allison

  • Irish Prime Minister warns British flights could be banned from Irish airspace, despite the RAF policing Irish air space

    Irish Prime Minister warns British flights could be banned from Irish airspace, despite the RAF policing Irish air space

    Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has warned that British flights could be banned from Irish airspace with a hard border as a result of Brexit, despite Ireland relying on the Royal Air Force for high-end air policing.

    We understand that a hard Brexit deal would see the re-establishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic and drastically alter movement, travel and business between the two.

    According to local media in Ireland, after the British parliament narrowly passed an amendment to the customs bill that would make it illegal to create any kind of border in the Irish Sea that would leave Northern Ireland as part of a separate territory to the EU, the Irish government is reportedly putting together a plan for a no-deal Brexit, ‘suggesting that the Irish Sea may not be the only point at which the UK may be forced to rethink their future relationship with Ireland’ say Irish Central here.

    This comes despite an agreement we reported on last year in which British combat aircraft will ‘shoot down aircraft over Ireland if they are hijacked by terrorists’, according to local media.

    According to the Irish Examiner, “five well-placed sources in Ireland and one in Britain have pointed to the agreement being in place, with a number saying the Defence Forces was not involved in negotiating it, despite the RAF asking for its inclusion.”

    Ireland lacks aircraft that can climb high enough or go fast enough to intercept Russian aircraft which came close to Irish airspace on a couple of occasions in 2015, being driven away by British jets.

    It is understood that Civil servants from the Irish Department of Defence and Department of Foreign Affairs with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) entered into a bilateral agreement with British counterparts: the RAF, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Ministry of Defence, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

    The agreement reportedly permits the British military to conduct armed operations over Ireland in the event of a terrorist-attack, real or suspected.

    Ireland operates ‘The Air Corps’ who fly a fleet of fixed and rotary wing aircraft (but no jet aircraft), it provides military support to the Irish Army and Naval Service. Their only combat capable aircraft is the Pilatus PC-9M which can be armed with a heavy machine gun or rocket pods. Their primary airbase is Casement Aerodrome located at Baldonnel, County Dublin.

  • New Aircraft Carrier Prince of Wales takes on fuel for first time

    New Aircraft Carrier Prince of Wales takes on fuel for first time

    Aircraft Carrier Prince of Wales has taken a major step forward following the delivery of fuel.

    DE&S was responsible for providing fuel for trials. Jason Marshall, Head of the Marine Systems Group said:

    “This was a complex evolution to deliver 18 road tanker loads of fuel to the ship across a number of days. Working closely with our industry colleagues in the Aircraft Carrier Alliance and our fuel suppliers we have been able to complete the activity on time to support commissioning of the fuel system.”

    According to a Royal Navy release:

    “POs Martin Hill and Handyside influenced the scheduling of commissioning the ship’s equipment, which will allow the ship’s company to maintain and monitor fuel from the word go.

    The first batch of fuel passed the RN’s vigorous testing routine; a sample was shown to the services engineer officer Lt Stuart Geary who uttered the words all tankies want to hear: “Clear and Bright” – that’s a verbal ‘thumbs up’ that the fuel is good to use in the ship’s engines.

    The other main test conducted is a filtration test where fuel is timed as it passes through a filter; the faster it passes through, the cleaner it is.

    PO Handyside confirmed that the fuel passed this test as well.  As a belt-and-braces approach a sample is also sent away for final analysis by a laboratory, whose experts advise the RN on the chemical make-up of the fuel.”

  • UK to build tails for Predator-B-Series aircraft

    UK to build tails for Predator-B-Series aircraft

    General Atomics and GKN Aerospace have declared their intent to collaborate on composite tails for the Predator B Remotely Piloted Aircraft.

    The Predator B line currently includes MQ-9A, Guardian, MQ-9A Extended Range, MQ-9A Big Wing, MQ-9B SkyGuardian, and MQ-9B Sea Guardian.

    According to a press release issued at the Farborough airshow, GA-ASI has been partnered with GKN Aerospace’s Fokker business unit in the Netherlands since 2016 for production and sustainment of Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper landing gear subsystems. In April of this year, GKN Aerospace Deutschland and GA-ASI entered into a Technical Assistance Agreement to expand GA-ASI’s carbon-composite manufacturing capabilities significantly by manufacturing major aerostructures for MQ-9B SkyGuardian, the latest evolution of the multi-mission Predator B, in Germany.

    Following the successful completion of the required technical and commercial evaluations and agreement, GA-ASI also intends to perform composite manufacturing for Predator B tail structures at GKN facilities in the UK.

    Linden Blue, CEO of GA-ASI said:

    “We are pleased to expand our relationship with GKN Aerospace as part of our growing industrial collaboration team in the UK. We have seen the results of GKN Aerospace’s extensive experience in advanced composite manufacturing first-hand and look forward to working with its team.”

    Michiel van der Maat, vice president business development defence, Aerostructures and Systems Europe and Asia of GKN Aerospace added in a release:

    “We are proud to have the opportunity to be involved in the manufacturing of a key component of the proven Predator B aircraft family. Our goal is to deliver structurally lightweight composite tails to GA-ASI that meet the highest certification standards while delivering best in class performance.”

  • Cobham supports F-35B aerial refuelling clearance for Voyager

    Cobham supports F-35B aerial refuelling clearance for Voyager

    Cobham’s Air-to-Air Refuelling systems and modelling expertise has been used by the MoD to help achieve F-35 receiver clearance for mid-air refuelling from Voyager.

    This is the first time that AAR modelling and simulation has been applied to the AAR Clearance process for a receiver aircraft and represents a significant step forward in this field.

    AAR-Sym.jpg
    Cobham supplied graphic.

    Henry Clarke, Cobham’s Simulation and Modelling Manager explains:

    “We use modelling to help our customers test the performance and boundaries of our AAR equipment in a highly accurate and realistic way.  Our aim is to provide them with enough substantiated evidence that they can minimize the number of flight trials needed to test the equipment thus saving a great deal of time and cost, as well as reducing pilot and aircraft risk.

    To support the MOD we validated our High fidelity AAR system model against existing flight test results and were then able to accurately reproduce the refuelling environment for the Voyager and F-35.  Within this simulated reality, we were able to thoroughly test the performance of the Aircraft AAR systems across the whole refuelling envelope.”

    Cobham provides the Wing Air Refuelling Pods and Centre-line Refuelling Systems on the RAF Voyager as well as the probe on the F35B (STOVL variant) and F-35C (carrier variant).

  • BAE to track and control space missions at Goonhilly

    BAE to track and control space missions at Goonhilly

    BAE Systems and Goonhilly Earth Station (GES) have entered into a partnership to commercialise deep space communications.

    BAE Systems has signed a memorandum of understanding to supply two Tracking, Telemetry and Command Processor (TTCP) systems to GES at Farnborough International Airshow.

    This technology, say BAE, will allow GES to track and communicate with a wide range of spacecraft including future manned and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. The partnership will involve close working on the current deep space programme with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the development of a global network in the next four years.

    The TTCP provides uplink and downlink services to support the spacecraft. The uplink transmits commands that control the spacecraft and the downlink receives data including critical spacecraft health information, images, video and other scientific and engineering information.

    Key features of the TTCP equipment include:

    • A fully digital and flexible Software Defined Radio (SDR) able to support data rates from 1 bit per second to 300 megabits per second from multiple spacecraft simultaneously, with 50 times the processing power of current technology.
    • Tracking functions able to determine the spacecraft distance to around 10 cm at ranges of billions of km.
    • Doppler measurement functions able to determine the spacecraft’s velocity away from or towards the ground station to an accuracy of around 0.01 mm/s for speed in excess of 50 km/s.
    • Flexible, high bandwidth digital receiver that enables networking with other ground stations to increase the performance of signal reception. The unprocessed received data can also be sent to other stations for further complex analysis.
    • Proven in service at ESA Deep Space Ground stations and currently used to support ESA missions such as Gaia, Lisa Pathfinder and Exomars, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) missions such as Dawn.

    Goonhilly is set to become the world’s first privately-owned member of the Deep Space Network under a new contract recently announced by ESA and Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (CIoSLEP). Under the contract, Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd will upgrade its largest antenna to meet the exacting requirements for deep space communications, making use of the TTCP technology to achieve these challenging objectives.

    Nick James, BAE Systems lead engineer for the project, said:

    “BAE Systems has developed a highly precise space communications and tracking system designed to support spacecraft operating both near the Earth and in deep space. The technology receives and converts faint radio signals from spacecraft into data that mission controllers use to monitor and control the spacecraft.

    The highly flexible system is able to handle differing ESA and NASA requirements and protocols, which makes it an ideal choice to support Goonhilly in future space missions.”

    Ian Jones, Goonhilly CEO, said:

    “We have a great deal of interest in using Goonhilly’s upgraded antenna from our international customer base, including space agencies and some of the new private space exploration companies. This system will ensure that we can support missions for a number of space agencies.”

    This represents the first time TTCP has been purchased by a private company and is also now operational in the ESA Deep Space Network.

  • Planned force of nine P-8 Poseidon aircraft ‘insufficient to guarantee continuous cover’

    Planned force of nine P-8 Poseidon aircraft ‘insufficient to guarantee continuous cover’

    Evidence submitted to the Defence Select Committee argues that seven additional P-8 Poseidon aircraft should be acquired, bringing the total fleet to 16 aircraft.

    Written evidence submitted by Air Vice-Marshal Andrew L Roberts (Retd) states that:

    “SDSR 15 proposed that nine P-8 Poseidon MPA be acquired. At the time, the P-8 was the only MPA on the market capable of meeting the UK’s needs in a reasonable timescale.  Given the urgency of filling this acknowledged gap in the Defence Programme, the Government was undoubtedly justified in selecting that aircraft without going out to competition.

    However, capable though the P-8 may be, the number of aircraft planned is undoubtedly inadequate to fulfil even the highest priority tasks likely to be assigned to the force in tension and hostilities.”

    The ten primary tasks for which MPA are likely to be required in peacetime, tension and hostilities are, according to the submission:

      1. Protection of the UK’s national strategic deterrent.
      1. Protection of naval forces – in particular, the new aircraft carriers.
      1. Protection against threats to commercial and other shipping, including counter-piracy.
      1. Surveillance of, and action against, threats to trans-continental under-sea communications cables.
      1. Protection of the UK EEZ (including oil rigs and shore facilities) against potential threats, assistance in counter-terrorism operations and, possibly, fishery protection post BREXIT.
      1. Protection of overseas territories, including the Falklands.
      1. Operations in such areas as the Caribbean in support of counter drug-running operations.
      1. Support to Special Forces.
      1. Gathering electronic, acoustic and photographic intelligence.
      1. Fulfilling the UK’s international obligations for Search and Rescue in aid of shipping and aircraft in distress out to longitude 30 degrees west, in accordance with the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979.

    Table 1 below shows the operational coverage which was possible with the original Nimrod MR2 force of 21 aircraft and compares this with that possible with nine P-8 Poseidon MPA. The table also shows what established fleets of 12 or 15 P-8s could achieve.

      21 NimrodMR2

    No of sustained

    ASW patrols

    		 9 P-8

    No of sustained

    ASW patrols

    		 12 P-8

    No of sustained ASW patrols

    		 15 P-8

    No of sustained

    ASW patrols
    400 8 4 [2] 6 [3] 7 [4]
    600 7 4 [2] 5 [2] 6 [3]
    800 6 3 [1] 4 [2] 5 [3]
    900 5 3 [1] 4 [2] 5 [3]
    1,000 4 3 [1] 4 [2] 4 [2]
    1,100 4 2 [1] 3 [1] 4 [2]
    1,200 3* 2 [1] 3 [1] 4 [2]
    1,300 2* 2 [1] 3 [1] 3 [2]
    1,400 2* 1 [1] 2 [0] 3 [2]
    1,500 1* 1* 2*[0] 2*[1]
    1,600 0 1* 1*[0] 2*[1]
    1,800 0 1* 1*[0] 1*[0]
    2,000 0 0 0 0

     

    The submission also argues that in terms of sensors and weapons, the overall capability of the P-8, as an MPA, is not dissimilar to that of the Nimrod MRA4, both representing a very considerable increase in ASW capability over the Nimrod MR2.

    However, the maximum flight time of the P-8 is only about 10 hours, allowing it to remain on station for slightly less than five hours at 1,000 nm from base. Although the P-8 is fitted with an air-to-air refuelling system, this is incompatible with the probe-and-drogue system used in the UK’s A330 Voyager tankers.

    The conclusions made are;

    • The planned force of only nine P-8 Poseidon aircraft would be insufficient to guarantee concurrent continuous cover for both the UK deterrent and other vital tasks, including CVA protection, in tension and hostilities.
    • To remedy this situation, seven additional P-8s should be acquired, bringing the total fleet to 16 aircraft, noting that any additional aircraft would need to be ordered before Q2, 2019.
    • Flying booms should be fitted to the RAF’s A330 Voyager tankers.
    • Consideration should be given to establishing aircrew above the planned 2:1 crew-to-aircraft ratio, if necessary by making use of Reserve/Auxiliary aircrew.
    • Were the P-8 force’s responsibilities to be extended to include responsibility for overland surveillance, additional P-8s should be acquired as necessary.
  • Government reaffirms commitment to Typhoon as ‘technology driver for future programmes’

    Government reaffirms commitment to Typhoon as ‘technology driver for future programmes’

    The UK Government has restated its commitment to the future development of Typhoon following the unveiling of a national Combat Air Strategy.

    The strategy was revealed publicly at Farnborough International Airshow by the UK’s Secretary of State for Defence, Gavin Williamson MP. It describes how Eurofighter’s continued enhancement will act as a technology bridge to the development of a future combat aircraft programme and ensures Eurofighter will operate alongside future platforms in the decades to come.
    The Minister’s statement came as several emerging technologies were demonstrated as part of a future concept aircraft revealed at the air show.
    Industry leaders have previously described how Eurofighter will continue to operate as Europe’s “dominant fighter aircraft” and will develop and deploy the future technologies that will form a central pillar of a Future Combat Air System platform for Europe.
    Air Commodore Linc Taylor, Senior Responsible Owner for the Eurofighter programme within the UK Ministry of Defence, said:
    “Our ability to develop a next-generation combat air system must learn from, and spirally develop, the world-class systems that are already on Eurofighter Typhoon.
    The Project CENTURION upgrades, which will enter service by December 2018, will see Eurofighter become one of the world’s foremost multi-role fighters with the Storm Shadow, Brimstone and Meteor weapons entering Royal Air Force service. 
    We plan to continue to develop the aircraft in an ever-more agile and responsive fashion; drawing on advanced sensors, including an electronically-scanned radar and advanced reprogramming techniques.”
    Chris Boardman, Group Managing Director of BAE Systems Air, said:
    “For a number of years we have been working with our partners, developing future combat air system technologies as part of our ongoing commitment to the UK’s continuing role as a leading international partner in air defence.
    These technologies have been brought together today in a concept that considers our shared view on the future threat environment and likely international requirements. They will develop and deploy on Eurofighter before ultimately being incorporated onto a future combat air system. 
    This means that Eurofighter will remain at the forefront of technology. It also means that it will be the natural partner to work alongside a future fighter in the decades to follow its entry into service.”
  • Typhoon pilots land in Croatia for joint training

    Typhoon pilots land in Croatia for joint training

    RAF pilots landed in Croatia at the start of a joint training event.

    The MoD say that two RAF Typhoons landed at Zagreb within minutes of the world cup losing finalists’ plane touching down.

    After taxiing in they found the pilots from the Croatian Air Force that had escorted them into the country’s airspace wearing the distinctive red and white check football strip under their flying suits.

    “The joint training event involving crews from 1(F) Squadron Royal Air Force and the Croatian Air Force (CAF) Fighter Squadron is the first of its type involving the two countries. The aim is to build on increasing defence understanding between the two nations and exchange valuable experience between air and ground crews.

    At present the CAF flies MiG21 fighters and getting first hand knowledge of the Typhoon’s capabilities will enable future co-operation in the air and a better understanding of how each of the air-forces operates.”

    Squadron Leader Ellis Williams who is leading the RAF detachment said;

    “It is a great pleasure to be here to work with our Croatian counterparts”, said Sqn Ldr Williams,

    “And it is a real bonus to get here on the same day as their national team comes home just to catch how much it means to them.”

  • British Army commits to supporting NATO assets in Germany

    British Army commits to supporting NATO assets in Germany

    The British Army is committed to supporting critical NATO assets in Germany, including a combined river crossing capability and facilities to allow for joint training.

    “There is a requirement to enhance support to NATO and to strengthen ties with our European allies. We are committing to a combined river crossing capability with the German Army (Bundeswehr), known as the M3 wide-wet gap crossing capability, and associated shared facilities in Minden.

    We will also use the Training Area at Sennelager and supporting infrastructure in Germany to enable live fire training by UK and NATO forces.”

    Recently, General Sir Nick Carter said that the threat from Russia meant that the Ministry of Defence is considering retaining bases in Germany that troops are set to withdraw from by 2020.

    He made the announcement in a speech delivered at the Royal United Services Institute:

    “Our ability to pre-empt or respond to threats will be eroded if we don’t keep up with our adversaries.

    The threats we face are not thousands of miles away but are now on Europe’s doorstep. We have seen how cyber-warfare can be both waged on the battlefield and used to disrupt normal people’s lives. We in the UK are not immune from that.

    We must take notice of what is going on around us or our ability to take action will be massively constrained. Speed of decision-making, speed of deployment and modern capability are essential if we wish to provide realistic deterrence.”

    General Carter said when it comes to threats, it is important to recognise that “readiness is about speed of recognition, speed of decision-making and speed of assembly.”

    He said the Army is testing the ability to deploy over land by using road and rail, but that it is “also important to stress the need for a forward mounting base.”

    “Therefore we are actively examining the retention of our infrastructure in Germany, where we store our vehicles in Ayrshire Barracks in Rheindahlen, and our training facilities in Sennelager, as well as our heavy equipment transporters that are based there, and our stockpiling and ammunition storage,” he revealed.

  • Lockheed Martin Wins $450m contract for Littoral Combat Ship variant for Saudi Arabia

    Lockheed Martin Wins $450m contract for Littoral Combat Ship variant for Saudi Arabia

    Lockheed Martin has won $450 million contract for long-lead-time material and detail design in support of the construction of four Multi Mission Surface Combatant ships.

    In 2012, Lockheed renamed the Surface Combat Ship (SCS) to match GD’s Multi-Mission Combatant term and revealed that the full capabilities, such as Aegis, would only be available on a stretched 3,500 ton hull. Lockheed Martin offered an Aegis Combat System-equipped variant for national missile defence radar picket use to a number of Persian Gulf states.

    The Surface Combat Ship was offered to Saudi Arabia as part of a 2011 arms deal. The total cost for the eight ships was reported to be as much as $5 billion. The Saudi Naval Expansion Program II calls for some $20 billion for new warships, which can include up to 12 Freedom-class ships; the Saudis have not looked to purchase Austal’s Independence-class ship.

    The Multi-Mission Surface Combatant variant does away with the LCS modular mission package ability and the forward two mission bays, but keeps the aft mission bay with a stern ramp.

    The requirement for an Aegis combat system was dropped for cost reasons and the ships will instead feature the TRS-4D AESA air search radar. Work is expected to be completed by October 2025.

    Here’s the contract notice:

    “Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $450,744,723 not-to-exceed undefinitized contract action modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-2301 for long-lead-time material and detail design in support of the construction of four Multi Mission Surface Combatant ships. 

    The Multi-Mission Surface Combatant is a lethal and highly maneuverable surface combatant capable of littoral and open ocean operation.

    This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  Work will be performed in Crozet, Virginia (17 percent); Iron Mountain, Michigan (15 percent) Milwaukee, Wisconsin (15 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (9 percent); Novi, Michigan (9 percent ); Sweden (8 percent); Marinette, Wisconsin (3 percent); Patuxent River, Maryland (2 percent); Stevensville, Maryland (2 percent); Carson, California (2 percent); Orlando, Florida (2 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (1 percent); Canada (1 percent); St. Charles, Missouri (1 percent); Burns Harbor, Indiana (1 percent); Louisville, Kentucky (1 percent); United Kingdom (1 percent); Kingsford, Michigan (1 percent); Fridley, Minnesota (1 percent); Grand Rapids, Michigan (1 percent); and other areas in the U.S. (8 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2025.

    Foreign military sales funding for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the amount of $225,372,361 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.”