Engagement zone

Today the SAM mission rests with the Australian Army’s 16th Air Land Regiment operating the SAAB Bofors RBS-70 MANPAD (man-portable air defence) system.

The RBS-70 has been continually upgraded in service and remains a capable short-range system. But with the proliferation of long-range air, surface and sub-surface launched threats in the Indo-Pacific region, the ADF’s platforms, people and infrastructure requires much higher levels of protection.

That need is now being addressed, with the April 2017 government approval of the development of what it describes as a short-range ground-based air-defence (SRGBAD) system to improve protection for deployed personnel under Defence’s Project LAND 19 Phase 7B requirement.

A limited request for tender was released to Raytheon Australia as prime system integrator (PSI) for the Raytheon/Kongsberg National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS). Valued at up to $2 billion, the project will provide the innermost layer of an enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) capability, and will be operated by Army’s 16th Air Land Regiment.

“A modern and integrated ground-based air-defence system is needed to protect our deployed forces from increasingly sophisticated air threats, both globally and within our region,” then Minister for Defence Senator Marise Payne said in the announcing the program.

“Australia’s current short-range capability is 30 years old and due to be retired early next decade. The replacement system will provide improved protection for our deployed servicemen and women.”

NASAMS is a state-of-the-art integrated defence system that will maximise the ADF’s ability to quickly detect, engage, and destroy existing and evolving aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise missile threats. It has been integrated into the US’ National Capital Region’s air defence system since 2005, and is in service with seven nations, including Norway, Spain, Oman, Finland, and the Netherlands, and has been ordered by Lithuania and Indonesia. The capability is adaptable and can utilise different launchers, radar and other sensor technologies, and missile types.

“The Raytheon offering draws on a common launch rail that can make effective use of multiple weapons from existing ADF inventory,” Raytheon Australia managing director Michael Ward said at the time.

“As the prime systems integrator, our solution will provide short and medium-range defence capability using in-service multipurpose Raytheon AMRAAM missiles, and potentially AIM-9X missiles, providing a system to meet Army’s ground-based air and missile defence requirements.”

The AMRAAM’s range and the ability to intercept targets beyond visual range is a key driver towards having the LAND 19 Phase 7B solution fully integrated with emerging ADF Integrated Air and Missile Defence programs.

The air-launched version of the AIM-120C5/7 and later versions of AMRAAM reportedly have a range exceeding 100km. Even without the kinetic benefits of being launched from a fighter aircraft at altitude, the ground-launched AMRAAM will still be capable of intercepting BVR targets, putting its capabilities far beyond the RBS‑70.

“Whilst we’re talking about this being a ‘short-range’ system, the main effector for the capability will be AMRAAM,” Michael Ward told sister publication ADBR in a recent interview.

‘The groundlaunched AMRAAM will still be capable of intercepting BVR targets.’

“This a significant step forward for Army capability, even the surface-launched AMRAAM gives you some considerable range when compared to RBS-70.”

Risk mitigation

Raytheon Australia signed a $12.1m contract with the Commonwealth in October 2017 to conduct a comprehensive risk mitigation activity (RMA) for LAND 19 Phase 7B.

Risk mitigation work in conjunction with CEA Technologies and Thales Australia has included incorporating the system into the Australian environment, and the potential integration of a CEA phased array radar to the system. One of the key tasks assessed the feasibility of integrating the system aboard vehicles in-service with the Australian Army including the Thales-built Hawkei and Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, and the Army’s new family of medium and heavy trucks.

“Whilst the Australian NASAMS system will come with a Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (or C-RAM) Sense, Warn and Locate capability, we also did look at potential intercept solutions available through a C-RAM Effector study,” Ward said.

“Whilst this is not part of the core requirement, this looks at capability options that may be brought into the system at some point in the future.

“If you look at it, there are some significant changes being explored to Australianise the system,” he added.

“First off, it will potentially have a CEA radar. One of the key RMA activities contracted separately was for CEA to produce the prototype of their tactical radar to prove that it could be incorporated into the system.

“Secondly, the system will be integrated onto Australian vehicles, and third it will be integrated into the existing ADF command and control network.”

Risk mitigation work demonstrated the suitability of current Army communications and tactical data links, thus minimising the impact on Army’s current systems.

“The other thing that we did during this mitigation is conduct the first round of system familiarisation for Army. We’ve run two training courses now, and we’ve received feedback from those courses so that we can trial suggested improvements.

“Where we are at now, we’ve just completed the risk mitigation activity on the program and completed the initial round of engagement with Australian industry,” Ward said. “We’re just in the process now of working with the Commonwealth to finalise the solution options which they’ll then take to Gate 2 in early 2019.”

In parallel with the RMA, Raytheon Australia also engaged extensively with Australian industry, on the project, with the majority of the fire distribution centre and passive EO/IR sensor sub-system work to be done in Australia, with local assembly and integration of almost all sub-systems components. Many components would also be locally sourced.

Raytheon is also keen to point out that elements of the Australian NASAMS solution are likely to be of interest to other current and future operators of the system around the world, so the supply chain possibilities are truly global.

“We’ve engaged with more than 200 suppliers across the country and are working through now whether we’re going to have additional competitions,” Ward said. “And obviously, that provides export opportunities.

“I think one of the main opportunities for export of the solution that we’re talking about for Australia, is some of the individual components,” he added.

“The EO/IR systems for example would be a good export prospect to other countries that already use NASAMS or countries that in the future want to acquire NASAMS, because that’ll give it a very capable sensor package.

“There are a couple of other things we are doing for Australia that other countries could look at, whether it be the CEA radar, or the high mobility launcher (HML) integrated on the Hawkei protected vehicle solution.”

An Australian NASAMS

Raytheon plans to put forward two NASAMS options to Defence for consideration, Ward said.

“One of those is a baseline NASAMS solution, the solution you would see if you went to a NASAMS user somewhere in the world. Fundamentally, that will be a battery operations centre, a fire distribution centre, a Sentinel radar, the canister launchers, and the AMRAAM as the effector. We could also incorporate the legacy Giraffe radars as a third-party sensor for RAM detection.”

The other option is an enhanced NASAMS solution which brings new technology and Australian content.

“That also comes with the battery operation centre and the fire distribution centre,” Ward added.

‘And obviously, that provides export opportunities.’

“But it adds a CEA tactical radar and, if successfully prototyped, a CEA operational radar which provides greater range, and an EO/IR sensor.”

This option also includes both the MkII canister launchers and high mobility launchers which are capable of launching AMRAAM and AIM-9X missiles. The Mk II canister launcher will also be able to launch the developmental AMRAAM-ER.

“What that means is it gives you much more flexibility,” Ward said.

“One example is to use different missiles for different missions. A move to AMRAAM-ER which is not part of this project, would allow you to extend the range of this into the medium-range requirement envelope. There would be no change to the system other than a change of effector.”

Those effectors are carried in a HML, a lightweight missile launch platform designed to carry four to six AMRAAMs mounted on a protected mobility vehicle like the Hawkei or the US HMMVV, or in a canister launcher carried by the Army’s new Rheinmetall MAN HX77 trucks. Army is considering both launcher options.

“The HML mounted on the back of a Hawkei vehicle would give Army greater mobility than they would get out of a canister launcher, but the canister also has a number of advantages. A mix of both is optimal,” Ward said.

The proposed enhanced NASAMS configuration’s primary sensor will be a CEA Technologies phased array radar.

“It sits on a Hawkei vehicle, so it’s much smaller than what you would have seen previously,” Ward said.

Canberra-based CEA Technologies unveiled its prototype land-based CEA Tactical Radar, or CEATAC, mounted on a Hawkei vehicle, at the recent Land Forces expo in Adelaide.

“From my perspective, this is just an excellent example of Australian industry contributing in a way we would envisage for a sovereign capability,” Merv Davis, CEO of CEA Technologies told ADBR at Land Forces.

“More broadly, it highlights CEA’s ability to take its architecture and repackage it very rapidly and very cost-effectively to deliver key capability.”

Another key element of the enhanced NASAMS configuration is the integration of a passive MTS-A electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) sensor with the system. “We’ve completed the design for the EO/IR sensor on the back of the Hawkei,” Ward said.

“The sensor will operate in a ground mode, so we’ll package it in a Tricon container and mount it on the back of the Hawkei.

“It’s integrated with the fire distribution centre, so fundamentally you drive up, you extend the mast and exercise your data link with the fire distribution centre, and you are operating and the package remotely hides. So, you are going to end up with a very good radar combination, a very good passive sensor, and of course the potential of two different types of effectors.”

The re-packaging and integration work for the MTS-A will be completed in Australia.

“We’re not creating a new sensor, but the application is unique to Australia,” said Ward.

To conduct this integration work as well as ongoing development work on this and other programs, Raytheon plans to establish an integration laboratory in Adelaide.

Wider opportunities

The selection of Raytheon Australia as prime system intergrator on the short-range ground-based air-defence program opens up possibilities for common elements from the company’s stable or those of its partners to be adapted to the other ADF programs.

“What we understand is, the inner tier is the short-range GBAD which is LAND 19, the middle tier is medium-range GBAD which is AIR 6500, and then the outer tier will fundamentally be provided by the Air Warfare Destroyers and possibly other things,” Ward said.

“While the LAND 19 solution is being delivered for Army, of course its command and control has to be integrated into the ADF’s wider IAMD environment,” he noted.

“As it stands at the moment, AIR 6500 Phase 2 will be a medium-range ground-based air and missile defence system which is currently planned for Air Force.”

Raytheon has several other products in its portfolio which would be considered for AIR 6500, including the previously-mentioned AMRAAM-ER which could be added to LAND 19 with the MkII cannister solution. It also has the combat-proven Patriot surface-to-air missile system which has a genuine anti-ballistic missile capability and has been integrated with numerous sensors including a new Raytheon-developed Gallium Nitride (GaN) AESA radar which could easily make way for a CEA system.

That would offer a capability a world away from the old Bloodhound.