Seen and heard at DSEi, London. (Shows & Exhibitions).

Relocated from Chertsey to the modern facilities offered by the Excel exhibition hall at Docklands, the 2001 edition of DSEi was able to develop to its full advantage. Strangely enough, only three ships exploited the opportunities given by the many available moorings.

Indeed, the move to Docklands was also motivated by the desire to give more emphasis to naval defence activities. The truth, however, is that land equipment once more took the lion's share of DSEi.

Without much doubt, the show was stolen by the two new 8 x 8 armoured fighting vehicles unveiled there by Mowag and Singapore Technologies Kinetics. The latter company further emphasised its presence by exhibiting a full-scale model of its Srams 120 mm mortar system currently being developed and tested for vehicle applications; the Singaporean stand was also graced by the presence of an ATTC, now known as the Bronco, as well as a Bionix and a new grenade launcher. So if Singapore Technologies Kinetics' intention was to be noticed, one can say that a bull's eye was the score in this respect. But back to the vehicles -- both prototypes with paint hardly dry and designated Piranha IV and Terrex respectively. The Swiss was unquestionably the most completed of the two, with a level of finish that would call for a semantic revision of the word "prototype". This being said, the presence of these vehicles at DSEi was far from innocent, as both are unashamedly trying to seduce the British Army, just in case the Mrav programme should foil. Many observers are increasingly pessimistic about this programme as, on one hand, few now hide the fact that the British Army would be happier with another vehicle, while on the other, partner country Germany is cash strapped and has not yet earmarked a single Pfennig for GTK production. The irony is that the only one in this category of new-generation of wheeled vehicle to have been ordered into production -- the French VBCI/VBI now being developed by Giat and Renault -- does not yet exist, even in prototype form. Both the Terrex and the Piranha IV are thoroughly described in Armada's Complete Guide to Armoured Fighting Vehicles, which is delivered with this issue.

As armed forces continue to concentrate their resources on warfare duties the need for equipment maintenance services increases. This situation is reflected by companies like Abro, which has gone into partnership with the British Army. Abro has set up a 2500 employee infrastructure that enables it to offer servicing and repair of anything between a tank and a rifle, this is to include all manner of vision systems (infrared, lasers low-light television etc,) telecommunications, computers -- even medical equipment. Another useful aspect of Abro is its consultancy service that can provide advice on legal issues regarding equipment commissioning. The company has already worked abroad, having provided services in Canada and Germany and is now looking at expanding its activities on foreign equipment. So undoubtedly there will be some jobs to be taken up here.

Naval Affairs

Raytheon gave a briefing on progress achieved with its Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) programme. In simple words, the CEC system breaks away from the age-old pattern that consisted, for a ship, to think alone about its own protection -- in modern jargon what is termed platform-centric protection whereby ships fight alone with necessarily limited scope and view.

What the CEC achieves in a remarkable ambitious manner is to collect alert data from other platforms (including aircraft), merge it with its own, process it and continuously send it out to other platforms which, incidentally have exactly the same system. Alert data is thus provided to all without one even knowing from where it originates. The advantages are immense and instantaneous and just one example will illustrate this: if a cruise missile is aimed at a ship A, the latter's radar will only pick a small signature because it is frontal; however, if a ship B, miles away on its flank, catches the same weapon on its radar, it will necessarily have a more accurate signature because it will paint it from the side (this true of other sensors, namely electro-optical -- so we are also talking of sensor fusion here) or from the top if it is an aircraft. We shall pass on the obvious benefits deriving from triangulation and identification accuracy when several radars paint the object(s) from different bearings, but in fine, all users are able to obtain a complete situational pattern since all the gaps (these can originate from jamming, or more simply from a geographical obstacles like an island) are continuously filled in by data originating from other sensors. Asked about protection against jamming, Raytheon said that transmit power is classified, but powerful enough to burn through to another platform.

At the time of DSEi, Raytheon had delivered six CEC systems under low initial rate production 1 and plans final delivery of low initial rate production 2 by August 2002; some 48 CECs will be in service on completion of 3 and 3A phases. One unit is now being prepared for testing in Britain, but Raytheon also sees sales potential in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, Australia, Spain, Italy and Norway.

The large and tall hall of the Excel centre had a catalytic effect on the exhibitors' efforts to the extent that some of the stands boasted a level of opulence hitherto unseen at this show. Singapore Technologies Kinetics is not exactly from the neighbourhood, yet that company made the effort to display no less than three large vehicles, amongst which the Bronco seen here. Unlike the Terrex, this vehicle is not new, contrary to its name, which better reflects its terrain agility than the earlier ATTC designation, which left one's imagination much to speculate on. (Armada/EHB?

The Srams Joins the Small League

Overall, through its Terrex, Bronco and even the 40 mm grenade launcher, Singapore Technologies Kinetics is concentrating on addressing the worldwide need for rapid deployment capability -- and the vehicle-mounted Srams mortar is part of this effort. The actual prototypes were undergoing tests during the exhibition, hence the unit on display being a mock-up. It is a rather extraordinary design if one considers the semi-automatic autoloader-equipped weapon's rate of fire: 18 rounds per minute thanks to a patented system that sucks out the trapped air as the round descends the barrel and another that sprays the "breech with water mist" (sic) to cool it down. Singapore Technologies said that 50 rounds had been fired at a range of nine kilometres at full charge to date and that a cargo round was being qualified.

The next step is to mount the Srams on the Bronco. It incorporates a laser inertial system and a fire control system, but electrics and hydraulics for the actuators have to be supplied by the carrier vehicle. The Srams should be ready for production in 2002 (Armada/EHB).

Duro: After Italy and America

... Great Britain. The Swiss running gear of the Bucher-Guyer Duro military troop transport has seduced yet another company, Ricardo (the first variation of the Duro on the Hummer-type theme had been composed by Aris in Italy and GM Defense). Known as the RDV, for Rapid Deployment Vehicle, this new prototype made its debut at DSEi and was developed as a private venture by Ricardo. Aimed at the export market, it is powered by a Cummins 185 hp six-cylinder Diesel which affords it a top road speed of 110 km/h. It has a maximum weight of 5.5 tonnes. According to the deal struck with Bucher-Guyer, Ricardo (a West Sussex-based automotive engineering company) will be supplied with complete chassis and running gear from Switzerland should the vehicle attract orders.

The Duro transport itself is, in the meantime, enjoying a successful commercial life, with some 3500 units delivered to date to the Swiss Army, Venezuela and Britain (as part of the Cormoran programme) while prospects appear to be quite good in Malaysia. (Ricardo)

Qwip

Exemplifying today's ever increasing requirements for high performance observation systems, Saab and Flir Systems have developed what is termed a third-generation thermal imager designated Lirc. A live camera panning the exhibition hall linked to a large display left no doubt as to the performance achieved, particularly as regards definition and lack of flickering -- the latter being far from a luxury if one considers the amount of observation time current conflicts involve. Based on the Qwip technology (see full technical description in Armada 5/2001, page 36) applied to the latest night-sight developed for the Bill anti-armour weapon, this compact camera is being considered for equipping Swedish Army CV90 vehicles destined to take part in international operations. Negotiations were still underway with the Swiss Ministry of Defence at the time of DSEi, but the Army's wish is to see first units installed by early 2002. Currently the Lirc uses a 320 x 240-element focal plane array, but work on a 640 x 480 elements sensor is underway.

A third application of Qwip technology is a joint Swedish-Norwegian tripod-mounted observation system that incorporates a Simrad LP-10 target locator and a Leica light goniometer, and for which an evaluation is underway (a Diehl M11-7 goniometer is also being considered).

Last but not least, the Qwip camera may well soon be used to upgrade the RBS 70 air-defence missile launcher. (Flir Systems)

Unnamed Merc

Still rolling about without a formal designation, the new MercedesBenz Future Support Vehicle Concept featured in Armada 4/2000 (then provisionally named the S2000) has recently been subjected to a bonnet lift-up, but has otherwise remained unchanged.

Based on three-pointed star commercial mechanicals (to benefit from approximately 5000 servicing points around the world), the vehicle's cabin can be armoured a la carte for, as an example, peacekeeping operations -- a design which could include floor protection against mines. The most recent news is that Mercedes-Benz has decided to forge ahead in its efforts to fully develop this C-130 transportable vehicle, which is soon to be available in five to ten-tonne guises, the latter type is slated to appear in a 6 x 6 layout. (Armada/EHB)

Super lightweight AGL 

Singapore Technologies Kinetics also presented the new 40 mm SLWAGL which, tipping the scales at fourteen kilograms, results from a severe weight watchers' programme. Where grenade launchers typically weigh up to 33 kg, the SLWAGL claims to be the lightest in the world. Not only does it make extensive use of light alloys (including titanium) it also has a low peak recoil impulse thanks to a patented recoil mitigation system that cuts forces by 50 per cent, which in actual fact enabled the manufacturer to use the lightweight alloys. It is also compact and offers a minimum rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute with an effective range of 1500 metres.

The SLWAGL can use the fire control unit seen here installed on another weapon (to the right) to fire ABMS air-bursting munition rounds. This consists of an ammunition programmer, laser rangefinder, an optical module, a ballistic computer and a nozzle add-on which programs the fuze as the round exits the muzzle. According to Singapore Technologies, the system can be used to upgrade other grenade launchers. (Armada/EHB)