Page 20 - Australian Defence Magazine Nov 2018

DEFENCE BUSINESS
FRANCE
class AAW variants will replace the navy’s Cassard class and join two Horizon-class AAW frigates that will remain in service.
By this time, planning should also be well advanced on a replacement for the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, the four Triom- phant class SSBNs - and their ballistic mis- sile payload - and the three Mistral-class am- phibious assault ships, General Sellier said.
The first FTI, scheduled for delivery in 2023, is positioned between the 6,000 Aquitaine-class and Naval Group’s export- oriented 2,500-tonne Gowind corvette, now sold to Malaysia and Egypt with fur- ther orders anticipated.
Developed to provide front-line ASuW, ASW and AAW capabilities, the digital connectivity of the 4,250-tonne, 122m FTI will enable the platform to be upgraded as required with the latest technologies, ac- cording to a Naval Group briefing at the company’s sprawling Brest facility.
Featuring an inverted bow for improved seakeeping and stability in heavy seas, the FTI has a range of 5,000 nautical miles at cruising speeds, a maximum speed of 27 knots from its Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) propulsion system, and features a stern hanger able to accommodate one NH90 helicopter and one unmanned rotary wing vehicle of up to 700kg. The 120-strong crew will include 15 air wing personnel.
In French service the frigate will be fitted with Thales’ SeaFire multi-function active phased array radar based on gallium nitride technology, and up to four eight-cell verti- cal launch systems for MBDA’s Aster 15/30 surface-to-air missiles.
Two quad canisters for Exocet Block 3 an- ti-ship missiles will be located midships, and the type will also carry a Thales CAPTAS-4 variable depth sonar, two hull-mounted so- nars, a 76 mm main gun, two remotely-op- erated 20mm guns, and two twin launchers for MU90 lightweight torpedoes.
Weapons
Specialists at Thales’ electronics development and test site at Limours in northern France were aware of Canberra company CEA’s suc- cess with its active phased array radar linked to the Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM) but stated that the SeaFire-Aster 15/30 com- bination, the Aster 30 with a current range of 130km, was set to be “the best in the world”.
For export customers, the FTI’s digital-in- tensive design will facilitate fitting any alter- native systems specified by potential custom- ers for what Naval Group describes as the heavily-armed 4,000 tonne frigate segment.
The Lorient yard also sees the Gowind corvettes built for export.
20 | November 2018 | www.australiandefence.com.au
The active component of a new combined active/passive sonobuoy revealed by Thales Underwater Systems in Brest involves four compact high-power transducers that are based on hardware sourced from Thales Aus- tralia’s underwater facility in Rydalmere.
The new sonobuoy, dubbed SONO- FLASH, is intended to reduce the French Navy’s dependence on US sonobuoy pro- duction and can function as either a trans- mitter or receiver in a multi-static field, po- tentially allowing a single ASW helicopter to monitor an area that would previous have required two aircraft.
The buoy can be commanded via a UHF command radio link to change its setting regarding depth or waveform over a battery life of eight hours. Testing of initial produc- tion buoys by the French Navy is anticipat- ed in 2020.
Development of a next-generation maritime mine countermeasures system (MMCM) to replace 11 mine hunters and three towed sonar vessels is midway through a joint program with the UK Royal Navy.
This is a capability taken extremely serious- ly by the French navy, which deploys teams of 25-30 clearance divers on 24-hour duty at its Brest and Toulon bases and the towed sonar vessels at Brest to ensure the security of its SSBNs and the Charles de Gaulle.
Other obligations are to protect French ports, to support the deployment of a task group, and to support evacuation and crisis prevention operations.
As described in a DGA/Thales briefing, the air-transportable MMCM architecture being developed by a Thales/BAE Systems team incorporates an ASC-Thales Hal- cyon Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) equipped with an autonomous navigation system, an obstacle detection/avoidance so- nar, and a towed Thales SAMDIS high res- olution synthetic aperture sonar for mine detection, classification and location.
The architecture includes an ECA Robot-
ics A-27M long endurance Autonomous Un- dersea Vehicle (AUV) also equipped with a SAMDIS sonar and an associated launch and recovery system for mine detection and identi- fication; and a Saab remotely-operated Multi- shot Mine Neutralisation System (MuMNS), for mine identification and neutralisation.
Integration of system assets, including a portable operations centre equipped with a BAE Systems’ mission management system evolved from the NAUTIS system equipping the RAN’s Huon-class minehunters, should be completed in 2019 with the delivery of iden- tical prototype systems to each navy. Initial en- try to service is anticipated around 2022.
Helicopters
Under the Hil (Helicoptere Interarmees Leger) program, from 2024 Airbus will replace six types of light helicopter in ser- vice with the three French services with between 160 and 190 of its new-generation H160 medium utility platform.
Selected in 2017, the all-composite H160 will provide a common airframe for all three services although the naval variant will have a folding tail and folding blades.
Airbus has also embarked on self-funded design studies to create a maritime patrol air- craft – the A30M3A – based on its reliable and cost-effective A320 Neo civil airliner.
Airbus executive Fernando Ciria said the platform would be designed for maritime anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare together with Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) tasking. Al- though it would be equipped with the Air- bus FITS fully integrated tactical mission system, the proposed platform would be sensor agnostic.
The wide lower deck would accommodate extra fuel and weapons, the long airframe would accommodate a comprehensive sur- veillance payload, and the large and roomy cabin would facilitate long endurance mis- sions, Ciria said.
DCNS