Countering Piracy on the High Seas.

Piracy is a growing problem. According to the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau, reported attacks in 2000 were 57 per cent more frequent than in 1999, for a total of 469 either at sea, at anchor, or in port. They were nearly four and a half times those reported in 1991; and many attacks are probably not reported. Moreover, some of the 2000 reports have not yet been made.

Major naval auxiliaries, such as cargo ships, are clearly as much at risk as are unarmed merchant ships. The rise in piracy probably helps account for a rise in the number of coast guard forces, distinct from the associated navies, to act as maritime police. The main areas involved are Indonesia (with 119 incidents, in which 86 ships were boarded and two were hijacked; attempts were made on another 31 ships), the Malacca Straits (75 incidents, up from 2 in 1999), Bangladesh (55 attacks, up from 25 in 1999), India (35 incidents, up from 14 in 1999), Ecuador (13 incidents, up from 2 in 1999) and the southern part of the Red Sea (13 attempted boardings, compared to none in 1999). Note that some notorious areas, such as the seas off and around the Philippines and the Nigerian coast, were not even included, which suggests that many attacks there are not reported at all.

Any solution to the piracy problem is likely to involve both more coast guard craft and extemporised weapons for larger at-risk ships. From a coast guard point of view, piracy, smuggling and poaching all involve much the same sort of craft and require similar countermeasures. The coast guard craft must be able to detect the vessel, determine that it is a target (which entails some sort of visual examination) and must have enough effective firepower to stop the craft or, if necessary, to sink it. Stopping a craft involves shots across its bow, and thus a gun rather than a missile (which might be preferable in dealing with, say, terrorist threats). Destroying or neutralising the craft requires an ability to hit a small target from a moving platform, and that entails both stabilisation and some form of fire control.

Radar is unlikely to be the best sensor for this purpose, as it is relatively ineffective in detecting and tracking such small craft. Pirates, like smugglers, are likely to have radar detectors (which are widely available commercially as counters to police radar). Anyone attempting to counter (or to detect) pirates needs some means of differentiating their aggressive boat from the numerous craft that ply crowded waters: some form of imaging is essential, and it must offer better resolution than Isar radar. Thus, coast guards increasingly rely on infrared search and track devices, which are also likely to be valued on board larger ships, as a way of detecting potential threats.

Small Calibre Required

Because pirate craft are small and relatively flimsy, the appropriate weapons to counter them are the small machine guns or machine cannon which, in the past, were often used for anti-aircraft fire. Appropriate calibres probably run from 30 mm down; the largest coast guard craft are armed with 40 mm guns. Stabilisation is important for coast guards because their small craft are likely to be quite lively in any sort of seaway, and because the targets are so small. For example, the Australians expect to arm the replacements for their current Fremantle class patrol vessels (effectively coast guards) with a remote controlled 30 mm gun. Because guns are permanently mounted onboard such craft, it may also be appropriate to employ remotely-controlled weapons linked to surveillance devices, such as flirs. This combination of requirements indicates a new generation of compact stabilised remote controlled power mounts. On the other hand, for a large ship the ability to improvise its armament is probably more important, and that might preclude any power supply to the mounting. Moreover, the gun itself would have to be portable, since it would often not be mounted. These requirements preclude stabilisation, but that prerequisite is much less important for a large ship.

It should be noted that many navies, including the US Navy, consider such weapons valuable for ship security when in port (notwithstanding the misfortune of USS Cole, which had such weapons in place when attacked). For US combatants the standard weapon is the 25 mm Bushmaster on an unstabilised manual mount, often protected by sandbags, supplemented by 0.50 calibre machine guns on pedestal mounts. Sailors may also be armed with smaller weapons, such as grenade launchers. The great difference between port security and anti-piracy measures is in the impact of rules of engagement. Generally the rule is that the ship cannot fire unless there is a clear intent to attack. In a crowded port, a small boat approaching cannot be ruled hostile, because if every such boat is fired upon warships will instantly be ejected from the port. On the other hand, it will probably be quite apparent that a small boat filled with armed men approaching at sea is hostile.

Flir, not Radar

Much will then depend on just how clearly the boat's character can be ascertained, and that in turn demands something optical rather than just radar. Hence the significance of night-vision devices, such as flirs, for self-defense against pirates.

Both flirs and gun mounts are now easy to stabilise thanks to the advent of inexpensive laser (fibre-optic) gyroscopes, which can be mounted locally. In the past, stabilisation required a connection to a central gyro or stable element.

For the moment, virtually all coastal patrol craft are armed with unstabilised 20 or 40 mm guns. Probably the chief exceptions are Italian customs craft armed with 30 mm OTOBreda-Mauser guns in enclosed power mounts and some Israeli-built patrol boats (Dvofas) armed with Typhoon power mounts.

Thus far there have been no reports of arms for merchant ships, but that may be because such armament would change their insurance and legal status (quite plausible Gulf War reports of electronic countermeasures and decoys on board merchant ships were presumably denied for much the same reason). The US Navy apparently considers that armament of any sort compromises the civilian status of ships assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), but the British do not have a similar view with regard to their roughly analogous Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships (which are lightly armed).

Several surveillance flirs suitable for anti-piracy or law enforcement use are either in service or available. Both the US Navy and Coast Guard have bought the Flir Systems Sea Flir (originally MarFlir) as their standard thermal imaging system for MSC ships and for craft down to a 28 ft length. The initial contract for 61 systems was awarded in August 1999. The spherical two-axis stabilised Flir head can be mounted on a masthead or wheelhouse; it carries a third-generation InSb focal plane array (3- to 5-micron) detector and a 10x continuous zoom lens, as well as a laser rangefinder and an auto-tracker.

Israel, and probably customers for Dvora class patrol craft (such as Sri Lanka), uses El-Op's Multisensor Stabilized Integrated System (MSIS), employing a 60 kg, four-axis stabilised 550 mm spherical turret. It carries a flir, a television camera and a laser range finder, and inboard electronics includes an auto-tracker and provision for gun fire control. Currently, the MSIS is probably the most widely distributed small-craft flir. E1-Op claims that it can detect a missile boat head-on at 17 km and recognise it at 8.2 km. The Israeli Rafael company offers Toplite, another stabilised spherical turret, in this case carrying a third-generation 3- to 5- or 8 to 12-micron sensor, plus a low-light level television camera and an optional laser rangefinder coupled to an auto-tracker. The Toplite is the sensor element of a new Dafco electro-optical gun fire control system. It may have been installed on patrol boats specifically to control Typhoon gun mounts (set below). Announcing the Dafco in 2000, Rafael stated that the system had already been delivered the previous year.

The Italian customs service uses optronic directors which incorporate flirs, such as the Alenia Medusa Mk 3, to control 30 mm guns, but it is not clear to what extent these devices are used for surveillance (the boats have navigation radars and the directors are on the bridge rather than on a masthead, which would be better for surveillance).

The British Pilkington Hydra equips British customs boats as well as the US Cyclone class special forces boats. The two-axis stabilised head can be slewed continuously or can be slaved to a radar. It carries a Marconi 8- to 12-micron sensor (magnifications 2x and 5x) alongside a low-light level television camera. In 1999, Pilkington announced a new spherical-headed Cyclops surveillance system, carrying a 7.5- to 10.5-micron sensor and a low-light level television camera, plus an optional laser rangefinder. The flir and television camera feed an auto-tracker. Another British company, Radamec, has sold its Series 2000 stabilised electro-optical surveillance units for patrol boats. Series 2100 is a single-purpose surveillance unit; higher numbers indicate the addition of gun fire control functions. All of these units are pedestal-mounted, with a low-light level television camera alongside a flir and, in the fire control devices, a laser rangefinder is included. Patrol boat or coast guard users include Finland, Hong Kong, India, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

The French company Sat offers its coast guard-specific Vigy 10, a turret carrying both a flir and an image-intensified television camera side-by-side atop a pedestal. Apparently it has not yet attracted buyers, although French firms have been successful with larger-ship flir-based systems.

Then there are the new-generation small-ship stabilised power gun mounts. According to its manufacturer, Rafael, 50 Israeli-made Typhoon stabilised remote-controlled mounts had been sold as of the second half of 2000, many of them to export customers. Presumably it is mounted mainly onboard Dvora class patrol boats, probably including export craft for Sri Lanka. There is reportedly current interest in combining the gun with the US Javelin anti-tank missile. Rafael offers the mount in four versions:Typhoon GS, carrying only a gun; Typhoon GS, with anti-surface missiles alongside the gun; Typhoon GSA, with short-range air defence missiles alongside the gun; and DSA, carrying decoys and anti-aircraft missiles. Guns tested in the Typhoon mounting are the 0.50 calibre Gatling and 20 mm, 23 mm, and 25 mm automatic cannon. The version currently in service mounts a 25 mm chain gun (Bushmaster). The Typhoon evolved from an overhead weapon system (OWS-25) designed for vehicles, for which remote control was attractive because it allowed operation from inside a protected vehicle rather than from the vulnerable outside position. Given a powered remotely-controlled mounting, it was relatively easy to add stabilisation. Note that other companies have recently developed roughly similar vehicle mounts, which in turn may form the basis for stabilised naval weapons. Carrying a 25 mm Bushmaster and 200 rounds, the Typhoon weighs 830 kg.

A French company, Naval Guard of La Seyne sur Mer, makes another remote-controlled mount, the Coulverine, which has been sold to the Dutch Navy and to the UAE Coast Guard for 33 metre "protector" boats, armed with 20 mm Mauser Rh 202 machine cannon. As of late 2000, the Kuwaiti Navy was showing interest. The Coulverine is based on helicopter turret technology. There is no deck penetration. The basic Naval Guard mount carries a gun and its ammunition. It is two-axis stabilised and uses an electro-hydraulic drive. The mount and ammunition together weigh about 700 kg, depending on the weapon. Normally the mount is remotely controlled using a separate optronic director. However, for ships without these optronics, the necessary sensors can be mounted with the gun. Options include the Giat 20 mm M621 and M693 guns, the 25 mm M811, and the 30 mm M781 and M791, as well as the Mauser 20 mm Rh202.

Mauser, a company of the Rheinmetall Group, is currently offering the MLG 27, which is its BK 27 aircraft revolver cannon (already widely used on board Tornado bombers) in a Naval Guard mounting. The mount is two-axis line-of-sight-stabilised using brushless servo-motors, in place of the usual electro-hydraulics. Mauser points out that the revolver mechanism offers a much higher rate of fire than the reciprocating mechanisms used by competing weapons in this class, yet more accurate than a Gatling, whose bullets feel both a sideways force (from the revolving barrels) and the usual thrust down the barrel. This gun can fire both existing rounds and a new FAPDS (Frangible Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot) round offering reduced time of flight and increased effective range (out to 4000 metres). Existing rounds include HE, AP, APHE, and Saphe. The mounting carries both the gun and its sensors (flir, television and laser rangefinder). They and the associated below-decks fire control system were developed by STN Atlas.

This weapon is slated to replace all 20mm and 40mm guns in German naval service, both as primary armament for small ships and as secondary armament for larger ones. The MLG 27 was demonstrated successfully in December 2000 at a German naval test range (WTD 71), and is to be displayed publicly for the first time at the Idex 2001 show in Abu Dhabi in March 2001. The gun should be able to engage helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and surface targets at ranges up to 2500 metres. It should be able to engage fixed coastal targets and large ships at up to 4000 m range. The MLG 27 can either stand alone (controlled from below decks) or be integrated with a ship's combat direction system. Total weight is 850 kg, including 90 rounds (135 optional).

Giat displayed its RWS 20 and RWS 30 remotely-controlled mounts at the Euronaval 2000 show, in competition with Naval Guard. Both are based on helicopter turret technology (as in the case of Naval Guard) and on the firm's experience in developing ultra-light 20 mm mounts for small craft. The RWS 20A carries a 20 mm M621 gun, the RWS 20B a 20 mm M693, and the RWS 30 boasts a 30 mm M781 gun. Stabilisation on the mount is optional, but presumably a stabilised sight will in effect steady the weapon. With ammunition (200 rnds) the RWS 20A weighs less than 350 kg; the RWS 20B (200 rnds) less than 400 kg; and the RWS 30 (150 rnds) under 500 kg. All weights are considerably lower than those offered by Naval Guard or Mauser.

The OTOBreda Mauser 30 mm gun is used by the Italian customs service. The gyro-stabilised single mount is controlled remotely by an Alenia Elsag optronic director on the roof of the boat's pilothouse. This mounting predates the others in this survey, having been announced in 1984. Loaded weight is 1330 kg, including 160 rounds, well beyond that of other mounts thus far covered.

In Britain, MSI has been marketing a stabilised remote-controlled DS mount for some years, carrying a 30 mm gun and 160 rounds it weighs 1200 kg, slightly less than the OTOBreda mount. Although it can carry a variety of guns (and was tested by the US Navy with a 25 mm Bushmaster), it has been sold only with the 30 mm Oerlikon KCB cannon, as the DS 30B. Most versions in service are controlled from the mount, but in 1994 a remote-controlled version, the Remsig, was announced. It was bought by Malaysia for the new Lekiu class frigates. The manned version arms a variety of mine hunters, frigates and OPVs.

At present, the standard US lightweight naval gun is the 25 mm Bushmaster chain gun on an unstabilised pedestal mount (Mk 38 gun system, Mk 88 mounting). Although that is acceptable onboard a very large ship, it is unacceptably lively on a patrol boat. In April 1995, responding to Congressional direction, the US Naval Sea Systems Command sought an off-the-shelf non-developmental remotely-controlled stabilised minor-calibre gun mount that is optronically controlled and suitable for a 25 mm Bushmaster gun. It would arm small combatants, but it would also be usable onboard larger ships. Maximum weight, including 250 rounds, was set at 2404 kg, and there would be no deck penetration. As an interim step, the US Cyclone class patrol boats have been fitted with stabilised Mk96 mounts, which are now offered by United Defense, carrying a 25 mm gun, a Viper optronic sight and 40 mm grenade launchers. The Mk 96 is an upgraded version of a mount originally developed to carry a 40 mm gun; it seems too massive for further use. A Request for Proposals for a new gun mount was issued in the spring of 1996, the contestants being the Starc 25, the Valkyrie and the Typhoon. Of these, the Valkyrie was rejected and is no longer being marketed. Kollmorgen's Starc 25 was an adapted Bushmaster with a sensor unit fixed atop the gun.

By late 2000, the Starc 25 had been standardised as the Mk 98 gun mount, Mk 88 being the unstabilised hand-worked Bushmaster. Procurement through low-rate initial production (Lrip) was funded by the Special Operations Forces Command. As of early 2000, two mounts have been delivered for an export customer and one is being tested on board various US special forces craft. Currently, there is hope of adoption by the US Coast Guard for its patrol boats. The Mk 98 is a two-axis stabilised remote-controlled upgrade of the existing Mk 88. The weapon retains its manual controls as a backup. In contrast to the Starc 25, the Mk 98 uses external optronic sights (Mk 46 Mod 1 or Tiss) and it can be controlled by a surface-search radar. However, a sensor can be attached directly onto the mount, for use onboard a craft without the requisite optronic system. Stabilisation makes an enormous difference in kill probability. According to Kollmorgen, at 2400 metres the Mk 98 kill probability (presumably against a small target) is 60 per cent, compared to one percent for the Mk 88. At 3000 metres the gun can defeat a small target every 9.9 seconds (this figure combines rate of fire and single-shot kill probability). The mount carries 500 rounds in boxes on either side of the gun and can fit the existing Mk 88 deck mounting. Rounds should be effective not only against small boats but also armoured helicopters and close-support aircraft, assuming that the fire control system can track them. The mount with a 25 mm gun weighs 762 kg. The mount itself can accommodate either the 25 mm Bushmaster or the 30 mm Bushmaster II, or other weapons such as a 0.50 calibre Gatling or paired 0.50 calibre M2 machine guns.

In short

* "The number of piracy cases per annum is much higher than one may imagine: in Indonesia alone some 86 ships were boarded and two highjacked in 1999"

* "Numerous lightweight bolt-on self defence systems, automatic or not, are available but,"

* "A status problem arises when it comes to equipping merchant or humanitarian relief ships: are they still civilian or de facto turned military? A major insurance issue."