Israeli Navy To Buy New Fast Patrol Craft*

TEL AVIV — The Israeli Navy plans to buy new Super Dvora Mk-III fast patrol craft for counter-terror and interdiction missions in coastal waters along its northern border with Lebanon.

Built by the Ramta division of state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI), the Mk-III craft will join at least six Mk-III boats purchased in late 2004 and deployed primarily in Israel’s southern Mediterranean waters near the Gaza Strip. Once inducted into the Israeli Navy inventory, the newer-model patrol craft will replace or supplement Mk-I and Mk-II patrol craft now deployed in Israel’s northern theater.

An item posted Aug. 21 on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) website noted that the pending procurement is one of the efficiency measures undertaken by the Israeli Navy through retirement of older Sa’ar 4 warships in exchange for smaller and more operationally cost-effective patrol craft.

A commander identified only by his rank — lieutenant colonel — and first initial was quoted by the IDF website as saying Super Dvora operators are charged with patrolling coastal waters, identifying all irregular events and arriving at suspected sites “within mere minutes.” He described the new patrol craft planned for deployment along the Israel-Lebanon sea border as “a force multiplier.”

According to IAI, the Super Dvora Mk-III measures 27.4 meters long, some 5.74 meters across with displacements ranging from 58 to 72 tons. Powered by two US-built diesel engines, the patrol craft are designed to operate in very shallow waters for breaching operations by naval commandos, to offload medical or humanitarian supplies and to evacuate injured persons.

* Notícia publicada a Defence News. Com sempre, Israel s'ha sabut adaptar a entorns de conflicte canviants. Les patrulleres Dvora III són una bona resposta.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130822/DEFREG04/308220012/Israeli-Navy-Buy-New-Fast-Patrol-Craft

Guardia Civil incursion near concrete blocks*

Author: GBC
Date: 23 August 2013 at 08:50

There’s been an incursion by Guardia Civil divers this afternoon, who have measured the concrete blocks sunk by the runway. The incident has been reported to London and Madrid for consideration of the appropriate follow-up action.

Video evidence of the incident has been posted on the Europa Press website with experts confirming that the blocks do appear to be those in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

The Royal Gibraltar Police, which later on this afternoon sent its own divers down to investigate, says the Guardia Civil launches left when asked to do so. The Gibraltar Squadron was also in the area with officers seemingly

The Convent has pointed out the reef, which it calls the North/West Artificial Reef System, was created by the Gibraltar Government in compliance with EU Legislation and International Conventions.

The Governor says the act of diving itself constitutes a serious violation of British Sovereignty but that the apparent interference with the Reef is a new and worrying aspect. Sir Adrian Johns says this is a blatant attempt to exercise jurisdiction inside British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and, in the light of the conciliatory position taken by the Gibraltar Government, a particularly unhelpful development at a time when all parties should be seeking to ease the current tensions.

The Convent says the incident was reported immediately to London and Madrid.

* Notícia publicada a GBC. Lluny d'aturar-se, continuen les provocacions contra Gibraltar.

http://www.gbc.gi/news/2294/guardia-civil-incursion-near-concrete-blocks

Protector Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), Israel*

The Protector USV is an unmanned integrated naval combat system developed and produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is a highly independent remotely controlled vehicle. The USV is capable of performing several mission critical operations without revealing its identity to hostile source.

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) acquired several Protector USVs from Rafael in 2004. The USV is also in service with the Israeli navy and several other navies across the world.

Rafael demonstrated the Protector USV to the US Navy in 2006 in association with its American marketing collaborators, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems.

The Protector USV plays a prominent role in minimising safety risk to the sailors and armed forces by avoiding them to be directly in contract with the potentially mission critical operations.

Rafael launched the fifth generation 11m Protector USV variant in October 2012 during the Euronaval exhibition in Paris.
Protector USV 11m variant details

The newly developed 11m version of the Protector USV is installed with an enhanced remotely controlled water canon system for non-lethal and fire fighting capabilities. The water canon installed onboard can fire 4,000l of water per minute.

The new variant is equipped with a spotlight-N multi-sensor electro-optical (EO) image system. Spike LR missiles are also installed on the weapon station of the USV.
Protector USV design and features

The Protector USV is based on rigid hull inflatable boat. The flexible design of the USV supports the installation of various plug-and-play equipments to perform a range of missions. The reconfigurable design allows the operator to integrate versatile mission modules to perform anti-terror/force protection (AT/FP), intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), naval warfare, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), mine countermeasures, electronic warfare (EW), and maritime as well as harbour security missions.
The base Protector USV variant has a length of 9.5m, width of 3.5m, and an overall height of 4.5m. The vehicle has a design displacement of 4t. It can cruise at speeds of more than 30kt.

Protector USV payloads

The Protector USV is equipped with several sub-systems including a radar, an electro-optical director (EOD), and a 360º panoramic camera. The EOD along with the search radar is used for effective detection, identification and targeting. The system enables precise observation and tracking of targets both manually and automatically during day and night.
The EOD integrates a third generation forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor, colour charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, an eye-safe laser range-finder (LRF), and an advanced correlation tracker for effectively gathering the targeted intelligence in asymmetric scenarios.

A range of equipment and systems are fitted on the Protector USV, such as comprehensive command and control system, non-line of sight (NLOS) communication, advanced stabilisation, public address (PA) system, and light projector.
Weapon systems aboard Protector USV

The Protector is equipped with a Mini-Typhoon remotely controlled integrated weapon station. The highly stabilised and accurate weapon station can be mounted with various small calibre guns. The high preciseness and fire control capabilities of Mini-Typhoon provide the operator with a high target hit and kill probability.
The weapon system is integrated with a Toplight electro-optic system to detect and target the threats.
The Mini-Typhoon aboard the Protector USV can be armed with a Browning .50 calibre machine gun, a 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun, a GAU-17 Gatling gun, and a 40mm grenade launcher.
Engine and performance of Protector USV

The 9m version of the Protector USV is equipped with a single diesel engine and water jet propulsion.
The new 11m variant of the USV is equipped with two Caterpillar C7 diesel engines, for greater endurance and superior speed. The twin-engines avoid failures in navigation and sailing functions.

* Article publicat a Naval Technology. Els sistemes no tripulats fa temps que són una realitat, no només en el camp aeri, sinó també en el Naval. Israel és un dels màxims referents, i un exemple de con un país petit pot fer-se un lloc al Món am sol•lucions imaginatives i adaptades als nous escenaris dw conflicte.

http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/protector-unmanned-surface-vehicle/

South Korea goes "all in" on submarines*

This week South Korea launched its fourth Type 214 submarine at a ceremony off the Coast of Geoje Island that was attended by President Park Geun-hye.

The ceremony, like the new submarine itself, was tinged with references to Imperial Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula, and Seoul’s emergence as a power that will never again be forced to submit to such humiliation.

For instance, the submarine has been named Kim Jwa-jin, after a famous Korean independence fighter. Notably, the last submarine South Korea launched, the Ahn Jung-geun, was also named after a famous independence fighter.

In speaking at the ceremony, President Park declared “The Kim Jwa-jin submarine will not only contribute greatly to safeguarding our maritime sovereignty, but also become a symbol to promote our country’s defense science and technology.”

“I will not tolerate any kind of attempts at damaging our national interests and maritime sovereignty,” the ROK president vowed.

Indeed, the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) already operates 12 submarines and Seoul has ambitious plans for its underwater future.

Nine of the ROKN’s current submarines are Chang Bogo class diesel-electric attack vessels that are the export versions of the German Type 209 class submarines. Seoul first ordered three of the Type 209 class submarines from the German company, Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), in 1987. They were launched between 1992 and 1993 and commissioned between 1993 and 1995. The first one was built in Germany while the other two were manufactured in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME). In 1989 and 1994 South Korea ordered a total of six more Type 209 submarines, all of which were built by Daewoo with HDW assistance.

According to Naval Technology, the Chang Bogo class submarine displaces over 1,200 tons, has a single hull and “a length of 56 m, a beam of 6.2 m and a draft of 5.5 m.” In terms of weaponry, the Chang Bogo class vessel boasts eight 533 mm tubes and 14 Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) Mod 2 torpedoes, each of which has a range of 28 km. Some of them can also fire Harpoon cruise missiles and all can hold mines instead of torpedoes. Their diesel-electric propulsion system enables them to travel at a maximum speed of 22 knots when submerged, with a range of 595km.

The ROK Navy’s (ROKN) underwater capabilities strengthened significantly between 2007 and 2009, when it began commissioning the three initial Son Won-Il class Type 214 submarines it ordered from HDW in 2000.

The three 1,800 ton Won-il Class vessels, which were built by the South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries, have a number of advantages over the ROKN’s existing Type 209 submarines.

For one thing, the Type 214 submarines are equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP), which allows them to stay submerged for two weeks at a time. They also have a diving depth of 400 meters, although their underwater speed is reportedly only about 20 knots. Their ISUS 90 submarine combat systems allow the Type 214 vessels to engage 300 targets simultaneously.

The Kim Jwa-jin submarine launched earlier this week is the first of six Type 214 submarines the ROK ordered back in 2009. The second batch of Type 214 submarines are being built by Daewoo instead of Hyundai Heavy Industries. This batch will come with a number of improvements over the first batch, including a better AIP system.

According to Xinhua News, the second batch of Type 214 submarines “operate various missions such as anti-ship, anti-air and anti- submarine warfare as well as ship-to-land precision strikes with cruise missiles.” Xinhua also claims they can make a round-trip from South Korea to Hawaii without refueling.

The contracts for the Type 209 and Type 214 submarines included technology transfers from HDW. In many ways, these are simply the precursors to what will be the ROKN’s more formidable domestically developed underwater vessels.

Already Seoul has announced it will build three domestically-designed 3,000-ton submarines beginning in 2018. They will be diesel-powered and are rumored to include vertical launch missile capabilities, which will dramatically improve ROKN’s long-range, underwater precision strike capabilities.

A Yonhap report earlier this month quoted an unnamed military source as saying the ROKN expects to actually commission at least nine of these 3,000-ton submarines by 2030.

The same source told Yonhap, “The 1,800-ton submarines have an underwater time about 10 times longer than the 1,200-ton submarines,” referring to the Type 214 and Type 209 submarines respectively. The source added: “Compared to the 1,800-ton subs, the 3,000-ton subs probably won't have an underwater time that is 10 times longer, but it will still be much longer.”

As Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has noted, the details emerging about the 3,000-ton vessels suggest that they are being designed with China’s burgeoning Navy in mind. Notably, South Korea is also building a naval base on Jeju Island, which many believe is designed to better position the ROKN to counter China.

Previously, the ROK submarine fleet was interpreted as being directed primarily at North Korea, which has some 70 or 80 low quality submarines that have periodically posed challenges to South Korea’s Navy. Most recently, in March 2010 a torpedo from a North Korean submarine sank the ROKN corvette, Cheonan.

“As a result” of the Cheonan incident, NTI notes, “ROKN officials have recently placed greater emphasis on the significant role of submarines in sea denial to hostile forces and anti-submarine warfare, rather than the longer-term goal of a blue-water navy.”  

ROKN planners may also have Japan in mind in building up their underwater capabilities. Japan long operated eighteen submarines (including two trainers) but decided in 2010 to increase this figure to over twenty, according to the South Korean media. South Korea and Japan have a territorial dispute over the Liancourt Rocks (also called Dokdo by South Korea and Takeshima by Japan). 

* Notícia publicada a The Diplomat. L'ampliació i modernització de la Marina de la República de Corea, i especialment en la seva arma submarina, no s'ha de perdre de vista. Sense ser un estat amb ambicions expansionistes, tampoc pensa deixar-se esclafar. No és, de cap manera, un afer menor.