27-Aug-2008

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) revealed this week that it had been conducting a training exercise with its Thai counterparts aimed at enhancing regional cooperation in peacekeeping.

Exercise Pirap Jabiru, a desktop staff exercise in Bangkok, began on 21 August. The exercise was jointly developed by the ADF's Peacekeeping Centre and the Royal Thai Armed Forces Peace Operations Centre. The exercise included presentations from Thai, Australian and regional peacekeeping experts, non-government organisations and the United Nations, as well as the staff part of the exercise.

Australia and Thailand have participated in exercise Pirap Jabiru since 1998, and the exercise was expanded to include regional participants in 2006.However, there was a hiatus in relations after the military coup in Thailand. This year's exercise for the first time included regional police as well as military representatives.

According to Australia, the evolution of exercise Pirap Jabiru to focus on civil-military cooperation in peacekeeping operations is a significant step forward in regional peacekeeping cooperation and a positive development for regional security.

In all, the exercise included participants from 15 different countries and discussed a series of problems relating to UN peacekeeping activities. The discussions and presentations provided participants with a greater understanding of national planning processes and also provided an opportunity to develop shared approaches to address the complexities of peacekeeping operations.

Exercise Pirap Jabiru will be held in Bangkok from 21 to 29 August 2008.

27-Aug-2008

DCNS has announced the delivery of the sixth and final Formidable class frigate, RSS Supreme (73), to the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) for final trials and work-up. With the announcement DCNS and its local partner Singapore Technologies Marine said that they had completed the New Frigate Programme for RSN, which sees the services capabilities expanded by the new frigates based on the French La Fayette design.

This also marks the achievement of a comprehensive technology transfer to Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine) at the local shipyard providing turnkey shipbuilding.

French naval manufacturer, DCNS, was awarded a contract to build the six Formidable class frigates in 2000. One of the main considerations of Singapore's Defence and Science Technology Agency (DSTA) was DCNS agreement to transfer the technology to ST Marine, allowing Singapore to build up its own naval capabilities. The first frigate, RSS Formidable, was built at the DCNS shipyard in Lorient, France.

The five following frigates were built in Singapore by ST Marine under DCNS supervision. The French company commenced operations in Singapore in 2002 and today has a team of 40 staff based in Singapore, which will continue to provide service and support to the RSN here.

According to DCNS the delivery of RSS Supreme and the technology transfer to ST Marine underscores and cements the commitment of the company to enabling the RSN to become a world class defence force. ?ST Marine is very glad to have had DCNS as a partner in the last eight years to work on the RSN's New Frigate Programme to replace the Missile Gun Boats. This partnership has culminated in the delivery of a fleet of highly capable frigates to the RSN,' stated Chang Cheow Teck, President of ST Marine.

RSS Supreme and its sister ship RSS Stalwart (72) are expected to be commissioned in to RSN service in the first quarter of 2009. The first four Formidable class Frigates are already in operation and participating in advanced combat exercises with a number of Singapore's partners.

The Formidable class is a 3,200 -tonne, 114 -metre long, frigate that has greatly enhanced the RSN's combat potential. The multi-role vessels have anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The design of the class also has effective stealth characteristics, which reduce the visibility of the frigate on radar screens, enhancing its survivability during combat.

25-Aug-2008

Tnix Pty Limited, of Melbourne, Australia, has awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation's - Sperry Marine business unit to supply integrated navigation systems for two new large amphibious ships to be built for the Australian navy.

The contract, valued at $8.4 million (USD) calls for Sperry Marine to supply a state-of-the-art suite of navigation systems and sensors for the two new Canberra-class LHDs. The contract also includes engineering and technical support for configuration, installation, commissioning, a land-based test site and sea trials.

The navigation systems will include two Sperry Marine MK39 Mod 3A ring laser gyro navigator (RLGN) inertial navigation systems. The RLGN units will be integrated with the ship's radars, electronic charting system, autopilot, steering control, speed and depth sensors, GPS and DGPS positioning systems, automatic identification systems, voyage data recorder and other systems and sensors using Sperry Marine's NavDDS data distribution network.

'This important award solidifies Sperry Marine's position as a key supplier of advanced navigation technology for the Australian navy as well as other international navies and coast guard forces,' said J. Nolasco DaCunha, vice president of Sperry Marine, who noted that Sperry Marine was also recently selected to supply the Integrated Bridge System and integrated navigation system for the U.K. Royal Navy's next-generation aircraft carriers.

The two ships are being constructed for the Australian navy as a joint venture of Tenix and Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. The hulls will be built at Navantia's shipyard in Ferrol, Spain. They will be transported by heavy-lift ship to Tenix's Williamstown shipyard in Australia, where the superstructure will be added and the ship systems will be installed.

The new LHDs will provide a transformational capability for the Australian Defence Force, allowing it to conduct a wide range of operations, including high-end amphibious war fighting scenarios, projection of land forces and humanitarian relief. The 27,822-ton ships will have six helicopter landing spots and can also be used to launch fixed-wing unmanned aerial reconnaissance planes. They can transport up to 150 vehicles, including the new M1A1 Abrams tanks. Maximum troop capacity is more than 1,100 fully armed soldiers, and landing craft will operate from an inclined well deck. The ships' extensive medical facilities will include two operating theaters and a fully equipped hospital ward.