Australian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

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FORBIN

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How Australia’s Maritime Strategy and Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific Upset China

Introduction

On 4 September 2017, an Australian naval task group departed from Sydney and embarked on a unique deployment called Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017 to participate in a series of key naval exercises with a variety of partners in the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and the Pacific – i.e. the Indo-Pacific. Its commander, Jonathan Earley, oversaw six ships and over 1300 personnel, making it the largest coordinated task group from Australia to deploy to the region since the early 1980s.
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Feb 28, 2017
Feb 11, 2017

and (dated 28 Feb 2017) Growlers roar into Avalon for debut
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now Growlers to deploy overseas for international exercise

22 January 2018
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Four EA-18G Growler aircraft and crews from Number 6 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley are preparing to deploy on their first international exercise.

Around 340 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel will deploy to Nevada to train in the world’s most complex air combat environment during Exercise Red Flag 18-1 from 29 January - 16 February.

The RAAF personnel will support and participate in missions during the premier air combat exercise alongside counterparts from the US and the UK, reconstructing a modern and complex battlespace.

Deputy Exercise Director and RAAF Task Group Headquarters Commander, Group Captain Tim Alsop, said Red Flag is the pinnacle of advanced air warfare training.

"Every year the RAAF is invited to participate in Red Flag, we gain so much as an organisation in terms of how we train and also how we operate as a deployed force in a multi-national environment," GPCAPT Alsop said.

"The Growlers’ overseas deployment of to a multi-national exercise of this scale, a mere year after having been transferred to No. 6 Squadron, is an important milestone for both Air Combat Group and RAAF."

An AP-3C Orion and an E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft will also participate in Red Flag, along with a Control and Reporting Centre from 41 Wing to support airborne personnel and aircraft.

"During the exercise, participants will practice planning and executing day- and night-time missions, using large numbers of aircraft and ground systems, co-ordinated to overcome a considerable simulated adversary," said GPCAPT Alsop.

"This includes a range of air power roles for RAAF personnel, from air superiority and strike; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to electronic warfare. It provides a comprehensive training environment for aircrew, maintenance and support personnel alike."

Established in 1980 by the US Air Force, Exercise Red Flag provides personnel with an opportunity to experience a complex, modern and dynamic combat landscape.

"This exercise is about understanding our international partners, how we train and communicate together and further strengthening our interoperability and preparedness for real-time operations," GPCAPT Alsop said.
 
Apr 18, 2017
now I read Components selection ramps up in massive French-Australian submarine deal
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interestingly "An industry executive said some €20 billion was the core amount, with 75 percent for DCNS and 25 percent for Lockheed."
and now Lockheed gets AU$700m for Australian future submarine combat system work
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The Australian defense ministry has awarded Lockheed Martin a AU$700 million contract to design, build and integrate a combat system for the Royal Australian Navy’s future submarines.

Announcing the contract on January 25, Australian defense industry minister Christopher Pyne said the contract with Lockheed Martin Australia would create 200 new jobs, majority of which will be based in South Australia.

“This contract will cover work to 2022, including the design of the combat system and procurement activities to select subsystem and component suppliers,” Pyne said. “The future submarine program remains on time and on budget, further demonstrated by this milestone event.”

Lockheed Martin Australia was selected as the future submarine combat system integrator in September 2016.

A total of 12 Shortfin Barracuda submarines will be built for Australia by French shipbuilder Naval Group at a cost of AUD 50 billion.

Construction is expected to start in 2022–23 once 85 per cent of the design work is completed.
 

Lethe

Captain
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The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has unveiled
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setting out the policy and strategy to make Australia one of the world’s top 10 weapons exporters within the next decade.

Hailing it a job-creating plan for local manufacturers, the
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says Australia only sells about $1.5bn to $2.5bn in “defence exports” a year and it wants the value of those exports to increase significantly.

It will set up a new Defence Export Office to work hand in hand with Austrade and the Centre for Defence Industry Capability to coordinate the commonwealth’s whole-of-government export efforts and provide a focal point for more arms exports.

A $3.8bn Defence Export Facility, to be administered by the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, will provide the finance local companies need to help them sell their defence equipment overseas.

“It is an ambitious, positive plan to boost Australian industry, increase investment, and create more jobs for Australian businesses,” Turnbull said.

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, the shadow minister for infrastructure, said it was unclear why the government was happy to back advanced manufacturing in defence when it had withdrawn support for the car industry, and it was not a big supporter of renewable energy technology.

Setting the politics of this aside -- otherwise a highly fertile field for discussion -- it seems to me that there is a major problem with this plan: we don't make anything.

Ok, that's an exaggeration, but not much of one. When you look at major arms exporting nations, all of them are the production of multi-generational investment in service of a long-term strategic visions with supportive policies and practices across the whole field of government.

You can't just sell generic 'defence stuff', rather you have to have specific products that nations want to buy, and those products are almost always produced under specific, government-directed programs. So what specific programs, platforms, and systems is the government funding that it expects to have export potential?

When you look at recent and known future major acquisition projects, most of it is unsuitable for export as the IP doesn't belong to us in the first place. The only significant exceptions I am aware of are Austal with its trimaran designs (including the tainted LCS) and the CEAFAR radar currently fitted to Australia's ANZAC frigates and being further developed for the future frigate program.

It is well and good that the government is investigating avenues to increase the sustainability of domestic defence industry, but we should be realistic about the prospects for this. Talk of becoming a major exporter of defence products akin to the major European nations is just that -- talk.
 
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noticed Australian air warfare destroyers removed from “Projects of Concern” list
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The Australian government on Thursday announced that the Air Warfare Destroyer project was removed from the Projects of Concern list due to continuing improvements in shipbuilding performance.

Following an independent review by Professor Don Winter and Dr John White and a review by the Australian National Audit Office, the project was placed on the Projects of Concern list in June 2014 due to increasing commercial, schedule and cost risks.

The subsequent reform program resulted in Navantia being contracted in December 2015 to provide shipbuilding management services to the project.

Australian defense minister, Senator Marise Payne said the recent commissioning of HMAS Hobart demonstrates the program’s maturity.

“HMAS Hobart has been commissioned into service, marking a step change in Navy’s ability to fight and win at sea,” said Minister Payne.

“The two destroyers, Brisbane and Sydney, are both on track to be delivered against the reformed schedule and set to add to Navy’s capabilities.”

The Air Warfare Destroyer project joins the Collins-class submarine project in coming off the Projects of Concern list in the past six months.
 
in case you didn't know Trump to nominate Adm. Harry Harris for Australian ambassadorship
President Donald Trump intends to nominate Pacific Command leader Adm. Harry Harris to be the next U.S. ambassador to Australia, the White House announced Friday.

A press release lauded Harris as “a highly decorated, combat proven Naval officer with extensive knowledge, leadership and geo-political expertise in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Harris is expected to retire from the Navy this year.

In addition to leading PACOM, Harris has helmed Pacific Fleet and 6th Fleet during his 39-year career.

Leaders of commands like PACOM generally spend three years in the position, a mark Harris will hit in May. His successor has not yet been announced.

Harris has in recent years pushed a hard line regarding Chinese island building in the South China Sea, a strategy he warned was “militarizing” those waters.

He called out China for creating this “great wall of sand” during a conference in
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, a move he cautioned was seeding chaos in the region.

The Senate will vote to confirm Harris’ nomination.
source is DefenseNews
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Australian industry proves world beater, smashing $1BN milestone for superjet
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I guess one is supposed to say: "wow"
The Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, today announced that Australian industry has been collectively awarded over $1 billion in production for the F-35 program.
The strength of Australia’s defence industry has made it a significant and crucial contributor to the program which will support up to 5000 Australian jobs by 2023.
“More than 50 Australian companies directly shared in the production contracts to date, with many more indirectly benefiting through supply chain work,” Minister Pyne said.
“Australian industry continues to prove its global competitiveness by performing better than initial forecasts, with Australian industry involvement expected to exceed $2 billion by 2023.”
“The journey of Australian industry’s involvement in the global F-35 Program has been one of great success and long-term economic opportunity for Australia.
In 2016 the Joint Strike Fighter program supported more than 2400 jobs across Australia, which is set to grow to 5000 by 2023.
“Further opportunities are expected for Australian companies to increase production contract values over the next four years as F-35 production rates more than double.
“Australian industry is manufacturing parts that will be fitted to every F-35 aircraft in production across the globe.
“Australian success in the Joint Strike Fighter program isn’t limited to manufacturing parts. Australian industry has also been chosen as the maintenance hub for the engines, airframes and 64 of 65 components which have been assigned by the Joint Project Office.
“When I travel to the U.S. in April I will be arguing for more work for Australia, we have the capability and we deserve the work,” Minister Pyne said.
In a major milestone for the Australian F-35A Project, the first Australian-made Vertical Tail – produced by Victorian-based company Marand – was fitted to Australia’s third F-35A aircraft as it neared completion at Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, in August 2017.
The stealthy, advanced F-35A represents a significant change in capabilities and will give Australia an edge against the emergence regionally of advanced capabilities.
The first two Australian F-35A aircraft are scheduled to arrive for permanent basing at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, in December.
By the time of Final Operating Capability, expected in December 2023, Australia will have a training squadron and three operational squadrons comprising 72 aircraft.
 
so, Pump jet or propellor? What’s better for new sub?
February 16, 2018
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A couple of months ago Andrew Davies offered some comments (
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) on the pump-jet propulsion system that’s proposed as a key feature of the Shortfin Barracuda. As he observed, there seems a clear case for propellers being more efficient at low speeds—which is very important for conventional submarines. Comments from Naval Group’s director of the future submarine program seemingly confirmed this.

Andrew raised two important questions that might help resolve the apparent contradiction between Defence’s confidence in the pump-jet solution and seemingly credible evidence that its low-speed inefficiency makes a pump-jet an odd choice for a diesel-electric submarine.

The first was that the cross-over point—where a pump-jet becomes more efficient than a propeller—was unknown. If the pump-jet was actually more efficient at plausible higher transit speeds, on balance that may offer a benefit over the entire mission profile, even if the pump-jet is marginally worse at very low patrol speeds. The second was the effect of the ‘hotel load’. Since the square law for drag means that the energy required for propulsion becomes extremely small at very low speeds, underwater endurance might be more affected by the power required to keep the lights, sonars and air conditioning running than by the power necessary to move forward.

Both of these arguments really require some better understanding of the likely efficiency curves in order to be answered with any confidence, as Andrew notes. But it’s quite possible that sufficient evidence does lie in the public domain to rule some possibilities in or out.

The first question requires the establishment of a plausible cross-over point. Here, all available evidence points firmly against the idea that the cross-over could lie anywhere near the plausible transit speeds of submarines (around 10 knots). For surface vessels, open propellers are adopted essentially universally by all ships that work at speeds up to around 30 knots, including relatively fast ferries. Only extremely fast vessels (35 knots plus) tend to have waterjets. Australian companies specialising in such very-fast vessels have spent considerable effort investigating the prospect of using jets in the 20–30 knot range and discovered that the efficiency penalty of jets in this range is substantial, up to a factor of two.

And at low speeds the penalty can be very high indeed. Other research shows that the propulsive performance of waterjets falls off towards zero as craft velocity decreases. Marine enthusiasts may observe that ‘waterjets’, which eject water on or above the surface, are not quite the same as the completely submerged pump-jets often found on the aft end of submarines and torpedoes. But the more I dived into the literature on fully submerged pump-jets, the less advocacy I found for efficiency in any speed range. In fact, it seemed that pump-jet efficiency had to be traded-off to eliminate cavitation at higher speeds.

The method by which this occurs is simple enough to warrant mentioning. The role of the duct in a pump-jet is to slow the water down before it reaches the spinning rotor that adds energy to the flow. This slowing of the water stream also increases its pressure, and the elevated pressure helps reduce cavitation. Problems arise when you try to slow down water that’s not going very fast in the first place, which is what happens at low speeds. The result is predictable: some of the water stops, or actually starts moving in the other direction, spinning around in eddies and vortices in a phenomenon called ‘flow separation’. The slower you go, the more that occurs, and the worse the efficiency becomes. The more the duct acts to raise the pressure to eliminate cavitation, the more slowing occurs, and so the sooner flow separation begins, further worsening efficiency.

Consequently, it seems unlikely in the extreme that the acoustic advantage offered by pump-jets at higher speed can be decoupled from an efficiency penalty at lower speeds. It also seems highly unlikely that pump-jets are more efficient than propellers at submarine transit speeds of around 10 knots.

The second question requires some quantitative assumptions about the curve and hotel load, as well as a more generalised model to be built out of the algebra described in Andrew’s ‘geeky annex’.

A good reference for plausible curves is a 2008 BMT and Rolls-Royce study of a pump-jet concept for a very quiet anti-submarine warfare surface ship. While the precise jet design may not be identical, this jet was at least fully submerged, unlike most surface ship jets. The study replicates the same efficiency curve one would expect from theory, with efficiency rising to its peak at around 30 knots, and declining towards zero at very low speeds.

With a hotel load of 100kW (consistent with Andrew’s assumption that it might equal propulsion power at patrol speeds), it appears that in general the impact of the low efficiency of a pump-jet will still be very significant in most of the important speed ranges for a submarine, particularly around 3–7 knots. Altering a range of assumptions doesn’t generally change that conclusion, as can be seen in the full discussion here. Switching back to a propeller could realistically result in improvements in dived range and endurance of 60% or more at these lower speeds. This could amount to a couple of days dived endurance, or hundreds of miles additional dived range, and credibly five or ten times that difference if air-independent propulsion was included in the submarine.

Unless the French have achieved a quantum leap in pump-jet technologies in the past few years and none of the previous physics or experimental results apply, it seems that the choice of a pump-jet is curious indeed. Exactly what kind of advantage would justify accepting such a penalty in terms of dived range, dived endurance, indiscretion ratio and overall range is quite hard to imagine when building a ‘regionally superior’ submarine. Defence has made crucial errors of judgement with grave long-term consequences in acquisition projects before. We would do well to make sure that the same doesn’t happen with the future submarine.
 
Apr 18, 2017
now I read Components selection ramps up in massive French-Australian submarine deal
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interestingly "An industry executive said some €20 billion was the core amount, with 75 percent for DCNS and 25 percent for Lockheed."
related:
Likely a surprise for bidders, Lockheed to award sonar contract this year
French electronics company Thales expects Lockheed Martin to pick a supplier of an
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early next year, while the U.S. firm has told Defense News the contract will be awarded this year.

“I expect a selection, a contract, by Lockheed Martin and validated by the Commonwealth (of Australia) probably not before the end of the year," Thales Chairman and CEO Patrice Caine said March 6 at a media conference on 2017 financial results. "We could say early in 2019."

Thales is “in discussion” with Lockheed, according to the executive.

Those talks are related to a competition held by Lockheed for
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. The Australian government selected the U.S. company as its combat system integrator for the AU$50 billion (U.S. $39 billion) program in which France’s Naval Group is designing, building and servicing 12 diesel-electric boats.

Thales hopes to win the sonar selection, which is expected to generate sales worth €1 billion (U.S. $1.2 billion) for its Australian subsidiary.

In following up on Caine’s estimate, Lockheed Martin Australia told Defense News a contract is expected later this year. The company noted that a selection of sonar arrays is on schedule and a request for quote was sent last week to industry.

The company declined to give a value on the contract, as the competitive process is still underway.

Australia and France are major markets for Thales as the two nations plan to boost their respective defense budgets for the coming years, signaling a return to “significant” increases in mature markets, Caine said.

That boost in spending reflects geopolitical tension and security threats. Australia plans to increase domestic defense spending and aims to be one of the top 10 arms exporters.

France seeks to boost capabilities in intelligence gathering, innovation and digital systems — key industrial areas for Thales, the executive noted.
source is DefenseNews
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