Page 38 - Australian Defence Magazine July 2019

LAND
ISR 16RARA
“Australia is thought to be the first country to implement a Mode 5 upgrade on a Giraffe.”
transport the equipment securely and we’ve got enough radios to support networks. You have to take the launcher out of the vehicle but that makes sense anyway from a surviv- ability perspective.”
Land 19 Phase 7B
The announcement on 25 March this year that Australia will proceed with the $2.5 billion acquisition of NASAMS presages an extraordinary leap in capability and complexity for 16 Regiment as the system’s future operator.
“NASAMS will be part of an integrated air defence system; it’s not a one-for-one equipment swap, it will be a transformation both in capability and in training,” LTCOL Mankowski said to ADM.
The Australian ‘enhanced’ version of NASAMS utilises a CEATAC active elec- tronically scanned array (AESA) tactical air defence radar developed by Canberra com- pany CEA Technologies. CEATAC will likely be deployed from a housing on the modified tray of a Thales Australia Hawkei two-door protected mobility vehicle or on a towed trailer, and comprises four fixed faces, each of which includes multifunction capabilities including medium-range sur- veillance IFF and fire control.
Techs conducts pre firing checks at the RBS70 shelter during a range shoot at Woomera.
CEA’s larger Operational Sensor System (CEAOPS) will act as a longer-range cuing radar and features a large single-faced rotat- ing AESA radar and four smaller fixed-face arrays, fitted in a self-contained, standard 20ft ISO container footprint mounted on an army Rheinmetall HX77 8x8 truck.
The main array face provides long-range surveillance and all-mode IFF functional- ity and can rotate to 30 rpm for 360-degree coverage. It can also be slewed to stare-in sectors. The four smaller faces provide con- stant 360-degree medium-range coverage, including while the vehicle is underway.
Also selected for the Australian configu- ration is Raytheon’s AN/AAS-52 Multi- spectral Targeting System (MTS-A), an electro-optical/infrared sensor suite with an integrated laser range finder and real-time
tracking capability that will likely be de- ployed on a Hawkei within a standard Tricon container footprint, and will be mounted on a 5m telescopic mast to increase its coverage.
The MTS-A is already in service on the RAN’s MH-60R combat helicopters, and will enable NASAMS to engage targets with- out radiating as well as providing visual raid and kill assessments for operators.
NASAMS configuration
Other elements of the enhanced Australian configuration will likely include Raytheon’s High Mobil- ity Launcher (HML) for four or six AMRAAM or AIM-9X Block 2 missiles mounted on a rotating base on a Hawkei, and the latest six- missile Kongsberg Mk 2 canister launcher, configured for radar-guid-
ed AMRAAMs but upgradable with a soft- ware modification for the optically-guided AIM-9X Block 2.
Australia will initially acquire two NA- SAMS batteries, each made up of three fire units or troops , each of which in turn will comprise a Fire Distribution Centre in a truck-mounted shelter, a CEATAC radar, a MTS-A EO/IR sensor, and a number of canister and/or High Mobility Launchers with AMRAAM missiles.
The cueing for each of the troops is the CEATAC radar with the CEAOPS radar acting as the cuing radar for the battery, meaning CEATAC does not have to radi- ate until absolutely necessary.
Delivery of the first NASAMS battery is an- ticipated in 2022 and Initial Operational Ca- pability (IOC) is expected in Financial Year
2022/2023. Following delivery of the second battery, Full Operational Capability (FOC) is scheduled for Financial Year 2025/2026.
Training for NASAMS
Personnel from 16 Regiment have already had access to the air defence consoles that are the command and control heart of NA- SAMS, and gunners will begin training later this year to develop doctrine and stan- dard operating procedures.
For LTCOL Mankowski, a priority is to pre-select personnel for the new capability and give them the skills and experience re- quired to make the transformational change.
As one example, with the RBS-70 a Gunner engages the target and fires the missile with a Bombardier supervising to make sure the right type of target is or is not being engaged, and ensuring site defence and other issues.
“In the future it’s our Sergeants who will be managing multiple systems, data links and communications, while effectively lin- ing up the engagement and it will be our lieu- tenants who actually make the engagement decision,” LTCOL Mankowski explained.
“The Gunners and Bombardiers will be manning the high-mobility launchers and the radars, but they won’t need the in-depth air defence knowledge at the start of their careers. They will develop their technical and tactical acumen in preparation for their employment as a Sergeant in front of the air defence console.
“So I’ve got to find the right people and invest in them now so that when the equip- ment arrives those Bombardiers are promot- ed to the rank of Sergeant and they’re ready to fight the equipment as it arrives”.
38 | July 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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