Understanding Asia-Pacific Sea Power

Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) boasts the world's largest fleet. For example, in August, The Economist published a story titled ‘Naval Gazing’, noting that the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies said China now has more warships than the United States. And sure enough, accompanying the story was a graphic showing that the PLAN has. For example, he noted that the US Navy ‘operates 11 large carriers…In terms of size and striking power, no other country has even one comparable ship.’ It ‘has 57 nuclear-powered attack and cruise missile submarine—again, more than the rest of the world combined.’ And ‘the displacement of the US battle fleet—a proxy for overall fleet capabilities—exceeds, by one recent estimate, at least the next 13 navies combined.’PLAN boasts 1,045 vessels of all types—more than double the number available to the United States. According to the Naval Vessel Register, the US Navy is currently comprised of 287 ships, of which 257 are in full commission and ready for service. Add in the 163 civilian-crewed non-combatant vessels of the Military Sealift Command (51 of which are laid up in reduced operating status) and the grand total is 450 ships at US policymakers' disposal.

None of this is lost on Beijing. In fact, Chinese commanders count on employing packs of small, nimble, hard-hitting fast attack boats to contest an adversary's attempts to impose sea control along the mainland seaboard. Stealthy Type 022 Houbei catamarans displacing about 220 tons are designed specifically to use hit-and-run tactics against larger warships. Armed with long-range anti-ship cruise missiles, they punch well above their weight. As long as the PLAN contents itself with fighting within range of shore-based aircraft, small surface and subsurface combatants and antiship missiles, that weaponry must be factored into the fleet's overall strength.  Nor do all the aircraft carriers and missile-toting destroyers in the world mean much if the US Pacific Fleet dare not venture within range of Chinese anti-ship ballistic missilesand so can’t bring its offensive firepower to bear.

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Pakistan Navy to Get Four Chinese Missile Boat

Pakistan is going to enter the realm of ship-building as the country is likely to initiate the indigenous production of fast-moving platform for carrying missiles and heavy weaponry in collaboration with China, said Managing Director Karachi Shipyard Admiral Rao Iftikhar on Thursday.

Apprising the Special Committee of the Public Accounts Committee, he said the first fast attack craft was being constructed in China while another one would be built in Pakistan that would take two years. Rao Iftikhar said under the contract signed between the two countries, another two such craft would be constructed later.

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Indian Navy to Commission INS Cankaso and INS Kondul FACs This Month

To provide more teeth to its coastal security and surveillance capabilities, the Navy will induct two more water jet propelled Fast Attack Craft (FACs) in Visakhapatnam by this month-end.The two FACs, built by Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), will be based in the eastern coast to facilitate Navy to carry out patrols and intercept rogue ships, Navy officers said here today.

Named INS Cankaso and INS Kondul, two island territories of India, these would be the fifth and sixth FACs under the Car Nicobar class of craft that India began building in 2007.

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Swiftships Delivers First Iraqi Patrol Boat P-301 to United States Navy

Pictured from left to right (foreground): Mr. Jawaid Ahmad, LTCD Walla, Commander FahdilAbood, Mr. Haider Rizvi, Commander Thamer, Mr. Mohamed Kazilbash, Mr. Lutfi Hassan, Mr. Calvin Leleux, Commodore Munir Saddam, Commodore Abid Ali Abdulhussein, Mrs. Ina Jolicoeur, Captain Abdul Sattar, Captain Faraj, LTCDMaitham.

On May 15, 2010, after successfully completing acceptance trials, P-301, the first 35-meter patrol boat built for the Iraqi Navy was provisionally delivered to the U.S. Navy at Swiftships in Morgan City, La.

Swiftships’ Training Village adjacent to the shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana

Swiftships is under contract with the U.S. Navy build up to 15 35-meter patrol boats for the government of Iraq in an effort to reconstitute the country’s maritime security capability.The patrol boat will now be stationed at Swiftships’ Training Village, adjacent to the shipyard, where it will remain until the first group of Iraqi sailors completes training in July 2010. The patrol boat, along with the second boat, will then be shipped to Iraq.

Lutfi Hassan, CEO of Swiftships, thanked the U.S. Navy and contractor team for the outstanding efforts that have led to this historic moment. Iraqi Commodores, Munir Saddamand Abid Ali Abdulhussein, witness the delivery of the first Iraqi Patrol Boat

Swiftships’ President, Calvin Leleux, and Chief Executive Officer, Lutfi Hassan, thanked the U.S. Navy and shipbuilder team for all of their efforts to make this historic program successful.“Swiftships is honored to have been selected to rebuild the Iraqi Navy,” said Leleux. “May the rest of the 15 Iraqi Patrol Boats be delivered as fast and may this be only the beginning of our long term relationship with Iraq.”

Calvin Leleux presents the first Iraqi Patrol Boat to the US Navy representative, Mrs. Ina Jolicoeur of the Supervisor of Shipbuilding (SUPSHIP) Gulf Coast office

Lutfi Hassan added that “Swiftships is proud that in a small way we are part of the effort that will allow U.S. naval forces to turn security over to the Iraqi Navy and to bring our troops home.”The construction program, managed by the Navy’s Program Executive Office,Ships (PEO Ships) represents a commitment for continued cooperation between the U.S. and Iraqi governments.

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Kazakhstan Navy looks to buy South Korean "Yoon Young-ha class" Missile Patrol Ship

By Kim Ji-hyun

The Kazakh Navy Capt. Zhanzakov Zhandarbek is expected to discuss possible plans for importing more patrol ships from South Korea during his visit here this week, according to military sources. Seoul has yet to describe the exact nature of the ships, as negotiations are ongoing, but officials close to the matter said they would be "high-speed" patrol ships similar to the new Yoon Young-ha class. The official agreement is likely to be signed when Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev visits Seoul in April.

This is not the first time that South Korea has exported ships to the Central Asian country. In March 2006, Seoul sold three retired patrol ships of the Chamsuri class to Kazakhstan. The ships were decommissioned in December 2004 after operating in South Korean waters for over two decades. This time, the Kazakh government is reportedly seeking to acquire the latest Yoon Young-ha class. The ships were commissioned in December as the Navy's first high-speed patrol vessel equipped with an integrated combat system.

The 440-ton Yoon Young-ha class, officially called the Guided-missile Patrol Boat Killer, is the first patrol ship of over 400 tons equipped with guided missiles. The ship's combat system is an indigenous one capable of simultaneously detecting up to 100 aerial and surface targets. It can also engage multiple targets simultaneously, according to the Agency for Defense Development, Yoon Young-ha's developer.

The latest patrol boats are to gradually replace the current Chamsuri ships. They were named after Lt. Commander Yoon Young-ha who was killed along with five others in a 2002 naval clash with North Korea in the West Sea. Zhandarbek, who is here for a five-day visit, will be meeting with his South Korean counterpart Adm. Chung Ok-keun and a number of other military officials.

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Indonesia intends to buy 96 additional patrol boats

 The Defence Minister of Indonesia, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, today confirmed that the Ministry is following the plan to increase the Navy’s (Indonesian: Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, TNI–AL) inventory of patrol vessels by the purchase of 96 additionally boats. The Navy needs these vessels to strengthen border security and to prevent illegal fishing and piracy in Indonesian waters, a Ministry spokesman confirmed.

According to the fleet expansion plans of 2005, the Indonesian Navy already introduces some 23 PC-40-type patrol craft built by Fasharkan Mentigi. The 40 meter vessel is armed with one 20mm cannon and two 12.7mm heavy machine guns. Achieving top speeds of 20 knots (37km/h) the craft is especially built for maritime security patrol duties such as anti-piracy, prevention of illegal fishing, and border protection operations.

However, the plan needs the support of the House of Representatives which have to approve the Rp 6 trillion ($634.8 million) proposed by the Ministry for the purchase the patrol vessels. "We need Rp 6 trillion to buy those patrol boats," Purnomo said during a hearing with members of House Commission I, which oversees defence, intelligence and foreign affairs.

Navy spokesman, Commodore Iskandar Sitompul, confirmed to a national newspaper that Indonesia already had the capability to manufacture the vessels at the Surabaya yards of the domestic ship-maker PT PAL Indonesia. He also confirmed that a minimum of 120 patrol vessel, each worth some Rp40 billion, were required to sufficiently strengthen border security. The spokesman’s assessment is in a line with the national director general for resource supervision and control at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, Aji Sularso, who last month confirmed that more such vessels are urgently required.

Illegal fishing is a major problem in Indonesia. According to experts, the Southeast Asian state loses at least 50 per cent of the total revenue through illegal fishing activities, reaching an annual value of up to $2 billion. Those activities are rampant in regions such as the eastern coast of North Sumatra and the waters of North Maluku and West Kalimantan.

A second key task will be to improve border security efforts. "We also need the vessels to strengthen our defense in border areas," General Djoko Santoso. Indonesian Military (TNI) commander explained. Therefore, the vessels would also be deployed along the Malacca Strait, which separates Indonesia and peninsular Malaysia, as well as in the Sulawesi Sea, which is the Indonesian/Philippine border. Particularly the Malacca Strait is renowned for being one of the world’s hot spots of piracy, particularly in the late 1990s and during the first years of the new century. A combined effort of the Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean navies, significantly increasing patrols since July 2004, considerably reduced the number of pirate attacks.

Djoko Santoso said one of the main border problems was the 15,235-square kilometers Ambalat block in the Makassar Strait near the land border between Sabah in Malaysia and East Kalimantan in Indonesia, where border disputes have been going on since 1969. "Malaysia often breaches into Indonesian territory because of Indonesia's weak primary weaponry system," Djoko Santoso said.

Besides the plan to purchase new patrol vessels, Purnomo also informed the Commission of his intention to raise the allowance for 400 soldiers deployed on twelve remote islands as well as for 9,000 soldiers stationed to guard the land border between Indonesia and East Timor, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. The Minister mentioned that allowances would amount from 50 to 100 percent of the basic salaries. "The increase has been approved by the Finance Minister and will begin starting January," he told the Commission.

Accordingly, the Indonesian defence budget will be increased from Rp 33.67 trillion ($3.56 billion) in 2009 to Rp 42.3 trillion ($4.47 billion) in 2010.

http://www.defpro.com/

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Iran army launches high-tech missile boat

Iran's Navy has started employing the most advanced home-made missile boat named Sina in a bid to bolster its defense naval capabilities. The Sina class warship officially set sail in the Caspian Sea in northern Iran in a ceremony attended by Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and commander of the Iranian navy Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari.The vessel has been designed and built by experts of Iran's Defense Ministry, in cooperation with Iran's army.It has more than a hundred radar, artillery, electronic and telecommunication systems and is also equipped with modern navigation systems.Access to this advanced scientific and research technology carries Iran's message of peace and friendship for regional countries.

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SKorea launches missile boats to guard NKorea border

South Korea Wednesday launched two new high-speed patrol boats armed with missiles to guard the border with North Korea, as the incoming defence minister warned of ongoing military tensions.

The defence ministry said the 400-ton boats -- the Han Sang Guk and the Jo Cheon Hyeong -- made their debut in the southern port city of Jinhae.

They were named after soldiers killed in a 2002 naval clash with North Korea and equipped with guided missiles with a range of up to 140 kilometres (84 miles).

The first boat of the new class was deployed in early June amid high tensions along the western sea border -- the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999 as well as in 2002.

In 2002 six South Korean soldiers died and 18 others were wounded while more than 30 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded.

North Korea refuses to recognise the current western sea border and wants it moved further to the south.

The latest boats, to be deployed in the Yellow Sea as early as September next year, have a maximum speed of 74 km per hour and can carry 40 crew.

After months of hostility including missile and nuclear tests, Pyongyang began making peace noises to Washington and Seoul in August.

South Korean officials have expressed scepticism about the overtures, saying the nuclear-armed state has not changed its fundamental attitude.

In his swearing-in speech Wednesday, new defence minister Kim Tae-Young vowed to maintain tight defence readiness, saying instability could arise at any time in the North.

"Military tension persists on the Korean peninsula while instability can arise at any time in North Korea," he said, calling for a "solid" alliance with the United States.

The North has quit six-party nuclear disarmament talks and seeks direct negotiations with the United States. Washington says these are possible, but only in order to bring Pyongyang back to the six-nation negotiations.

The two Koreas have remained technically at war since their 1950-1953 conflict. About 655,000 South Korean soldiers, backed by 28,500 US troops, face a potential threat from the North's 1.2 million-strong military.

Meanwhile, a top Pyongyang defector has said that China must drop its support for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to pave the way for economic reforms there and eventual reunification with South Korea.

"It's necessary to call China to account for maintaining an alliance with Kim Jong-Il," Wednesday's Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted Hwang Jang-Yop as saying.

Hwang, former secretary of the North's ruling communist party and an ex-tutor of Kim, defected during a trip to Beijing in 1997 and now lives under police guard in the South.

"Reunification can be discussed in 15 to 20 years if North Korea opens its doors and carries out Chinese-style reforms, and if South Korean funds and engineers are allowed access there," the newspaper quoted him as saying at a gathering Tuesday.

Hwang said living standards in the impoverished North would improve dramatically within 15 years after a market-opening, but economic reforms were also tantamount to getting rid of absolute rule.

"It is China in the end that decides Kim Jong-Il's fate. South Korea must sign a free trade pact with China to draw China and North Korea apart," he was quoted as saying.

Hwang described Kim as a "national traitor" and added: "At the moment, no Chinese leaders think favourably of Kim Jong-Il."

He blamed the "sunshine" aid and engagement policy of previous liberal governments in Seoul for the slow pace of change in the North. The current conservative government has dropped the policy.

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IDEX 2009 : Mortars, guns and missiles to arm UAE patrol boats

The United Arab Emirates navy has released more details on the weapons fit of 24 fast patrol boats being supplied by Abu Dhabi Ship Building under a AED 935 million ($255million) ordered announced earlier this week Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding along with partner SwedeShip Marine are to build 12 new 26.5m fast patrol boats and upgrade 12 existing Ghannatha-class high-speed troop-carrying craft into the same configuration.

The 24 vessels will be produced in three weapon configurations officials revealed here today at the IDEX defense show. The main armament of half the 24 boats will be the MBDA-supplied Marte anti-ship missile. Four missiles will be carried in two launchers on the rear of the Ghannatha class vessels. The UAE is the first customer for the ship-launched version of what is normally a helicopter weapon.

Six of the boats are to be fitted with the Patria developed NEMO 120mm mortar system.
The remainder will be equipped as gunships equipped with a 27mm cannon supplied by Rheinmetall. The gunships will also retain a troop transport capability. Weapons integration is to be undertaken by Abu Dhabi Systems Integration the ADSB / Selex Sistemi Integrati joint venture.

Officials said the first boat would be ready within 18 months of contract award. In a separate move earlier this week ADSB secured a AED416 deal to build 34 high speed interceptor vessels for the UAE’s Critical National Infrastructure Authority. Capable of 50knots the MRTP16 design come’s from Turkish Shipbuilder Yonca Onuk. The first 12 of the lightly armed vessels will be built in the Turkish company’s yard in Istanbul.

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IDEX 2009 :More fast craft for UAE

Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has secured contracts worth more than AED930m (US$253m) to build further ‘Ghannatha’ class fast craft for the UAE Navy and upgrade its existing fleet.
A total of 12 new missile-armed fast combat vessels will be built to a modified ‘Ghannatha’ class design. ADSB will also lead the refit and upgrade of the 12 existing ‘Ghannatha’ fast troop carriers.

An AED771.1m (US$210m) contract for the 12 new vessels – an enlarged version of the original 25m ‘Ghannatha’ design incorporating a hull stretch and more powerful MTU engines – was announced at IDEX on 23 February. It is understood that each vessel will be fitted with surface-to-surface guided missiles.

ADSB is prime contractor for the programme. Swede Ship Marine, as its design partner and principal subcontractor, will take responsibility for the design modification package and also build the first three new vessels in Sweden. The nine follow-on craft will be constructed by ADSB at its shipyard in Abu Dhabi’s Mussafah industrial area. A second contract, worth AED164.3m (US$44.7m), covers the refit and upgrade of the UAE’s existing ‘Ghannatha’ boats. The IDEX Show Daily understands that six will be modified to receive a smoothbore mortar system amidships; the other six will receive additional gun armament.

The main role of the ‘Ghannatha’ class vessels is patrol, surveillance, interception and anti-surface warfare operations in the UAE’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.Abu Dhabi Systems Integration (ADSI) will undertake combat system engineering and integration activities for the programme. ADSI, a joint venture between ADSB and Selex Sistemi Integrati, will be responsible for overseeing combat system definition and design, production, support to installation, setting-to-work, integration, commissioning and acceptance.

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IDEX2009: ADSB builds for CNIA

Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has landed an AED460m contract to build a fleet of new fast interceptor vessels for the UAE’s Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA). The deal, signed yesterday at IDEX, will see ADSB work with Turkish shipbuilder Yonca Onuk to deliver a total of 34 16m vessels based on the latter’s MRTP16 design. UAE-based International Golden Group is also assisting in the project. The new interceptors will be used by CNIA to interdict potential threats in the UAE’s maritime zone. Powered by MTU diesel engines, they will be capable of speeds in excess of 50 knots.

Announcing the contract, CNIA’s director general, Staff Brigadier Engineer Muhair Ali Al Khateri, said: “Through this deal, CNIA aims to expand the capabilities of its fleet, which is tasked with protecting the country’s critical marine facilities. The contract provides high-quality boats, built using state-of-the-art multipurpose technologies and equipment.” Bill Salzer, CEO of ADSB, said: “We are delighted to have been selected to build this fleet for CNIA, which marks our first new-build order for the authority. We already provide maintenance and support to the CNIA’s existing fleet under rate running contracts.” ADSB is prime contractor for the contract, with Yonca Onuk operating as principal subcontractor and design partner.

Manufactured in composites, the first 12 of the armed interceptors will be built by Yonca Onuk at its shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul. Deliveries to CNIA are planned to commence within 12 months. Under a transfer of technology agreement, the remaining 22 craft will be built locally by ADSB. The first of these is expected to be delivered in about 14 months’ time.

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Pakistan Navy have purchased Chinese C602 long range anti-ship cruise missiles

Pakistan Navy have purchased 120 C-602 long range anti-ship cruise missiles from china to counter the threat posed to the surface fleet of Pakistan navy by the Proliferation of Russian supersonic AntiShip missiles P-800 Oniks / Yakhont / PJ-10 Brahmos (Indian assembled version of Yakhont). Long range of the C-602 AntiShip missile will make sure that Pakistan Navy have first shoot advantage in case of an encounter with the Indian ships equipped with Russian Yakhont AntiShip missiles.

The C-602 long-range subsonic anti-ship cruise missile is developed by the CASIC 3rd Academy. The C-602 outperforms most Western and Russian anti-ship missiles in terms of range and warhead mass. The YJ-62 was first offered for export by the China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CPMIEC) during the Defense Systems & Equipment International (DSEI) Land and Naval Systems Exhibition in September 2005. The missile is fitted with a strap-down inertial guidance coupled with GPS, and active radar for the terminal phase. CPMIEC claims that the C-602 is fitted with a frequency agile radar seeker which offers greater resistance to jamming from targeted ship. The active radar seeker has an acquisition range of up to 40km.

The C-602 is a conventional cruise missile design, with mid-body wings that deploy following launch. The fixed ventral air inlet is mounted slightly forward of the cruciform tail fins. The missile is 6.1 meters long (without the 0.9 meter-long launch booster), and weighs 1,140kg. The solid propellant booster weighs an additional 210kg. The C-602 has a cruise speed of Mach 0.6, carries a 300kg HE blast warhead, is powered by a small turbojet, and has a stated range of 280km, with the missile flying at an altitude of 30 meters during the cruise phase of an engagement. In the terminal phase, the missile descends to a height of seven meters, and it can be launched from truck-mounted launchers, from warships as well as from medium multi-role combat aircraft.C-602 anti-ship missile employs a cylinder-shape launcher.

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