Issue 22: Project Winnin Proceeds Optimistically

The sinking of the Royal Navy’s HMS Sheffield during the Falkland Islands conflict in 1982 threw the spotlight on the vulnerability of ships to advanced guided missiles. Winnin is one of a range of projects developed by Australia’s Defence science laboratories.

Apart from Winnin and the over-the-horizon long-range radar, Jindalee, under development in Central Australia, other Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) research and development projects include Tacterm, a high-performance aerial target system, Illaroo (a second-generation tracking and guidance system for Ikara missiles), F-111 canopy crazing (which impairs pilot visibility), communications and oceanographic research, and earlier the Mulloka active anti-submarine sonar, and the Barra sonobuoy, a key air and naval submarine detection device.

AWA has been the prime contractor in the development of Barra which has been or will be fitted to RAAF Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and also will be capable of delivery from F-111s.

The Winnindecoycomprises a hovering rocket that carries an electronic payload. This concept was developed by the Weapons Systems Research Laboratory at Salisbury, South Australia and the Government Aircraft Factories, Melbourne. The concept of a decoy vehicle able to ‘seduce’ missiles away from their intended targets has been known overseas for some time. But tests have been disappointing. The use of a rocket appears to have provided the breakthrough.

Australian Defence scientists now believe the concept developed of a hovering rocket provides a system superior to those developed overseas as the hovering rocket realistically simulates the movement of a ship. Furtherdecoy technology work is underway. Several Australian missions have gone abroad and attracted considerable overseas interest. This accelerating foreign interest could see production of the ecosystem within three years rather than five years as earlier estimated. There is the distinct possibility of collaboration in its development and this will be further explored once Australian industry interest is fully known. Australian scientists want to undertake more experiments to better define exactly what should make up the system and what costs are likely to be. Until now their work has been in the concept development stage.

GAF is working on the decoy itself, while the Explosives Factory at Maribyrnong and the Ordnance Factory, at Maribyrnong, have been working on the design of the propulsion unit. Announcing the Australian Government’s wish for local industry to have early involvement in Winnin, Mr Scholes, and Mr Michael Duffy (then acting for the Minister for Defence Support, Mr Brian Howe), said: *The potential now exists for Australian industry to take part in this programme. Local companies are being invited to participate with the Government in engineering development.

‘There may be opportunities for those firms engaged in the early development to participate in the production, marketing and support of the Winnin system, both in Australia and to approved customers overseas. ” The Winnin concept is seen as adding to defence against anti-ship missiles generally. These include area defence missile systems, point defence gun and missile systems, aircraft, and also shipboard electronic countermeasures. Overall the combination would be used firstly to engage and destroy launch platforms or confuse their targeting pictures, and secondly to engage any incoming missiles that had been fired.

Jindalee maturing smoothly

A key factor in Australia’s air defence system for the remainder of this decade and into the next century almost certainly is Jindalee, the over-the-horizon radar which has been under experimental development in Central Australia since the mid-1970s. Designed by Australian scientists with the help of the US, it is expected to be approved in 1985 as an operational system run by the RAAF 10 to provide long-range detection of approaching aircraft and possibly ships. The first experimental stage (Stage A) was completed in December 1978 at a cost of $6 million. Stage B has involved the installation of a high-powered transmitter at Hart’s Range 160 km northeast of Alice Springs, and a new receiving antenna array 2. 8 km long at Bond Springs Station, Mt Everard, 26 km northwest of Alice Springs. So far the project has cost $37 million.

A current task is to collect a year’s statistics from the Stage B experimental system. Then it may follow that much of what already is in use will be converted to operational use. This may cost only another $30 million, a relatively low cost for such an acquisition. Jindalee is the responsibility of the Radar Division of the Electronics Research Laboratory at Salisbury, SA, and its development has involved Australian industry, notably AWA and Computer Sciences Australia, who are now contracted for further work. OTHR is the means of detecting targets well outside the range of conventional radars. In fact it is no secret that the system has proved capable of detecting aircraft and ships well away from the Australian coastline. As Defence Minister Scholes said earlier in the year: ‘Jindalee offers the prospect of becoming an important part of Australia’s national surveillance system working alongside other more conventional systems. ‘ Unlike normal radar, Jindalee uses the ionosphere to ‘bend’ radiowaves beyond the curvature of the earth. But measurement of height does not appear possible. While this may be seen as a disadvantage the long warning factor and therefore the extended reaction time overcomes this, particularly if the RAAF gets AEW aircraft.

Stage B of Jindalee has been using electronically scanned aerial beams to demonstrate a much-increased coverage, improved sensitivity and automatic detection and tracking. Defence scientists developed a very large aperture electronically steerable receiving antenna. The Stage B system swings the radar beams over a wider arc and uses more powerful computer systems that have gone to air progressively. No one doubts that Jindalee will become an operational success story for Australia’s defence scientists and local industry.

Defence scientists also have been involved in a number of other projects of importance to the Armed Services. Those with pertinence to aviation include Karinga and Winnin. Karinga is the project name for an Australian-designed cluster bomb to meet Air Staff requirements, but it appears doubtful if it will be put into a production run. This weapon, dropped from the air, contains a large number of explosive bomblets designed to scatter over a wide area and damage or destroy parked aircraft or lightly armoured targets. Tests have proved they can be dropped by RAAFF-111 and fighter aircraft at low levels at high speeds. Three defence laboratories, AEL, MRL and ARL, Hunting Engineering, Hawker de Havilland and Government factories have been involved in the project on which nearly $10 million has been spent.

Winning is an Australian-designed missile decoy system that has attracted considerable interest, particularly since last year’s Falklands conflict put the spotlight on the vulnerability of warships to advanced guided missiles. Winning falls into the category of shipboard electronic countermeasures and decoy systems to attract anti-ship missiles away from ships. Other anti-ship missile defences are mounted by area defence missile systems, point defence gun missile systems and fighter aircraft. Winnin represents a combination of measures firstly to engage and destroy the launch platform or confuse its targeting picture and secondly to engage ordinary incoming missiles that may have been fired. Overseas concepts have been disappointing because of the complexity of designing a suitable decoy vehicle. Winnin uses a rocket which has resulted in a breakthrough.

Several Australian missions have been overseas to discuss the qualities of the Australian-designed system and the possibilities for collaboration in its development. More development work by Australian scientists will follow. They wish to carry out more experiments to better define what should make up an operational system and the range of costs. The current phase is the concept development stage. The Government Aircraft Factories in Melbourne are working on the vehicle for the decoy, while the Explosives Factory at Maribyrnong and the Ordnance Factory. also at Maribyrnong, are involved in the design of the propulsion unit.

MAX HAWKINS, the Brisbane Telegraph’s Canberra representative, is Editor of the DEFENCE INDUSTRY Newsletter.