USNI Combat Fleets, May to November 2005

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USNI Combat Fleets, May to November 2005
Tweet Topic Started: Dec 8 2005, 11:51 PM (514 Views)
israeli	Dec 8 2005, 11:51 PM Post #1
Posts: 3,069 Group: Elite Member #22 Joined: July 13, 2004	COMBAT FLEETS, MAY TO NOVEMBER 2005 Eric Wertheim, Editor, Combat Fleets of the World US Naval Institute May http://www.usni.org/proceedings/Articles05/Pro05cfleets.htm * Chile's two new Scorpène-class attack submarines, O'Higgins, shown here on sea trials in September 2004, and sister Carrera, will be the first foreign warships to be armed with the new Black Shark dual-purpose wire-guided heavy torpedo. Torpedo trials on the O'Higgins were conducted in November 2004. Chile's Scorpène-class can be armed with up to 18 of the Black Sharks, which are upgraded versions of the Italian A-184 torpedo. The torpedo is produced by Italy's Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacqui (WASS) and will also arm Scorpène-class boats purchased by the Royal Malaysian Navy. Additional Black Shark sales are likely in the near future. Improvements over older torpedoes include a new multibeam acoustic seeker, an acoustic wake-homing system, silver-zinc batteries, fiber-optic guidance link, brushless motor, and quieter propellers. Maximum speed of the weapon is reportedly 50 knots and its range is said to be 50 kilometers. * The long expected phase-out of Dutch P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft has come to fruition. Earlier this year, the German Navy purchased eight of the aircraft, which are expected to begin operating from Nordholz Air Base in 2006. The price of the deal is considered low by some expectations, and has reportedly cost Germany less than 300 million Euros for the eight aircraft, including training and spare parts. The German P-3Cs are expected to replace Atlantic Mk 1 maritime patrol aircraft that have served admirably for nearly 40 years. Three Atlantic Mk 1s that have been specially modified for intelligence collection will apparently remain in service, working alongside the Orions. The German purchase of the Dutch P-3Cs occurs in lieu of a new construction maritime patrol aircraft that had been under consideration. In addition to the eight P-3Cs going to Germany, up to five Dutch Orions are to be purchased by Portugal for delivery next year. * Romania recently received its second retired Type 22, Batch 2-class frigate from the United Kingdom. Rigina Maria (ex-HMS London) is shown departing Portsmouth for sea trials in March. She joins sister Rigele Ferdinand (ex-HMS Coventry) already in Romanian service. Several upgrades are planned for the two ships, if funding permits. The Bulgarian Navy has also begun expansion with the planned acquisition of the ex-Belgian Wielingen-class frigate Wandlaar, which will be renamed Drusky. The retired frigate, along with her three sisters, served Belgium's Navy since 1978 as that nation's principal surface combatants. The frigates were frequent contributors to NATO operations and exercises. Bulgaria is also reportedly negotiating for the possible purchase of the Belgian Tripartite-class mine hunter Myosotis along with up to two more of the class. There are also indications that one of the recently decommissioned Danish Kobben-class submarines may be purchased by the rapidly modernizing Bulgarian fleet. June http://www.usni.org/proceedings/Articles05/Pro06cfleets.htm * Australia recently announced that the HMAS Canberra, the second of six Adelaide (Oliver Hazard Perry)-class guided missile frigates in Australian service, will be decommissioned in November 2005. The decision to decommission the frigate, which entered service in March 1981, comes as her four newer sister ships are being modernized. The original plan to update this entire class was scaled back due to cost constraints. Upgrades to sisters Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne and Newcastle include the addition of an 8-cell Mk 41 vertical missile launch group (32 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles in quad packs) which is being fitted forward of the Mk 13 missile launcher. The Mk 92 Fire Control System is being upgraded, enabling the warships to better engage very small sea-skimming targets in high clutter environments. The air search radar and hull mounted sonar systems are to undergo modernization along with a host of other improvements. Upgrades to the remaining three will be completed by 2007. * The Kuwaiti FPB 57-class guided missile patrol craft Istiqlal has recently undergone modernization in Germany. The 398-ton (full load) vessel, which had been laid up in reserve for a number of years, was brought to Lürssen shipyard, Bremen-Vegesack, Germany in February 2003 to begin the refit. Istiqlal's upgrades reportedly include new MTU diesel engines and other improvements. Sister ship Sabhan was captured by Iraqi forces in 1990 and later sunk by United Nations Coalition forces during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Another of Kuwait's Lürssen-built vessels, the guided missile patrol craft Al Sanbouk, is said to have also undergone a recent refit. Kuwait's navy has expressed an interest in acquiring new corvettes, possibly from Lürssen, in the near future. * In June 2005, the German Navy will decommission its final Type 205 class submarine. Laid down in January 1966 at Howaldtswerke in Kiel, Germany, the submarine has remained in service since 1969. Though built with eight 533-mm bow-mounted torpedo tubes, the U 12 no longer carries armament and is not considered a combatant, having operated as an auxiliary trials submarine for over a decade. Most recently she assisted in the development of new technologies for the Type 212 submarine program. In March 2005, the U 12 traveled on her final foreign deployment, taking part in the German-Swedish "Northern Star" exercises in the Baltic Sea. July http://www.usni.org/proceedings/Articles05/Pro07cfleets.htm * This past May, U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts, Sue C. Payton, met with Singapore's Minister of Defense, Teo Chee Hean, to hand over a 7-meter Spartan Scout unmanned surface vessel (USV) for testing by Singapore. Spartan unmanned vessels are products of an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and developed through international cooperation between the United States, France, and Singapore. An earlier version of the system was successfully employed aboard the cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) during her 2003 deployment to the Persian Gulf. Spartan unmanned vessels are now being tested in 7 and 11-meter designs that have an endurance of 8 and 11 hours respectively, can carry 3,000 or 5,000 pound payloads and are capable of maximum speeds of over 32 knots for the smaller craft and 40+ knots for the 11-meter design. Currently, the French defense research agency, La Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (DGA), is testing an anti-submarine warfare variant equipped with the FLASH dipping sonar. The United States and Singapore are testing an ISR Force Protection variant armed with advanced sensors and a .50 caliber machine gun (right) while a mine warfare variant, fitted with the AQS-14/AQS-24 mine countermeasures sonar is also undergoing testing. Spartan and other USVs will likely become a common sight aboard future generations of naval craft, including the littoral combat ship. * In recent months, the internet has played host to dozens of low-resolution digital photographs depicting a new type of Chinese guided missile attack craft. Though details remain sketchy, it seems that the first of a new class of fast patrol craft, numbered 2208, was launched during April 2004 at Qiuxin Shipyard in Shanghai. Since 2004, at least three gray-hulled sister ships numbering 2209, 2210, and 2211 have also been sighted. It is clear that these new vessels are optimized for high speed and stealthy, short-range maritime operations. Sources indicate that up to thirty craft are now planned, with construction to take place at five different Chinese shipyards. The vessels are apparently fitted with at least one 30-mm gun and perhaps four anti-ship missiles. Though some reports indicate that the class carries a short-range surface-to-air missile system, none appears fitted in plain sight in any of the available photographs. With an estimated length of 50 meters and a top speed of 45 knots, the Chinese ships are half the size, though similar in appearance, to several Australian designed high-speed catamarans (such as the experimental Joint Venture) recently popularized by U.S. Navy transformation efforts. * During the first few months of 2005, the Turkish Navy celebrated the commissioning of two important warships. The fourth Kiliç-class guided missile patrol combatant, Tufan, illustrated here, entered Turkish service in May. Though initially delivered in 2003 by German shipbuilder Friedrich Lürssen Werft, Tufan underwent two years of sea trials and systems integration prior to her commissioning. She is the fourth of a ten-ship class to enter service. Meanwhile, Alanya, the first of the six-ship Alanya-class of coastal minehunters, was commissioned into Turkish service in February 2005. She took part in joint maritime operations throughout the springtime before sailing for Turkish waters in June. August http://www.usni.org/proceedings/Articles05/Pro08cfleets.htm * HMAS Armidale, the first of twelve Armidale-class patrol boats officially entered Royal Australian Navy service in June. The class, built by Austal Shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia, has been progressing rapidly since construction began. Armidale was named on 21 January 2005 and delivered in April. Following the successful completion of her yard and mission trial she was commissioned into service on 24 June. The 56-meter monohull craft will be based in Darwin while subsequent craft are expected to sail out of either Cairns or Darwin. According to the Royal Australian Navy, Armidale's missions will consist primarily of "surveillance, interception, investigation, apprehension, and the escort to port of vessels suspected of illegal fisheries, quarantine, customs, or immigration offences." The patrol craft will likely play an important role in homeland and port security, not to mention local anti-terrorism operations. The Armidale-class will patrol relatively close to shore, likely operating for roughly three weeks at a time within Australian maritime jurisdictional zones. She is armed with a 25-mm Bushmaster cannon and carries a rigid inflatable boat at her stern. * On 27 June, the Swedish air independent propulsion (AIP) submarine Gotland, and her crew, arrived in San Diego via a transport ship from Sweden. Under a bilateral agreement between Sweden and the United States, Gotland will be home-ported in San Diego for one year, during which time she will assist with various training opportunities and serve as the opposing force-OPFOR-during at-sea antisubmarine warfare exercises for U.S. aircraft carrier and expeditionary strike groups. Two sister submarines, Halland and Uppland, were not covered under the agreement and will remain in Sweden. * As a part of the 200th anniversary celebrations commemorating the British victory at Trafalgar, 167 warships from 35 nations gathered in and around Portsmouth Naval Base during June and July for what the London Daily Telegraph dubbed the, "biggest international display of sea power in British waters since the Normandy invasion." Interestingly, the largest vessel on display at the event was the 262-meter, 40,000-ton French nuclear powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The Royal Navy aircraft carriers HMS Invincible and Illustrious (right) also took part in the festivities, as did ships from six continents and from as far away as Japan, Indonesia, Uruguay, and South Africa. Additional festivities are planned throughout the year in honor of Lord Nelson's 21 October 1805 victory off Cape Trafalgar. September http://www.usni.org/proceedings/Articles05/Pro09cfleets.htm * In early May, the fourth KDX-II-class destroyer, Wang Geon, was launched at Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea. The warship is the fourth of a six-ship class. The first of the class, Choong Moo Gong Lee Soon Shin (pictured here) entered service in 2003. The last of the class is scheduled to enter service by 2008. In addition to the 5,000-ton (full load) KDX-II-class of warships, the South Korean Navy also operates three KDX-I-class destroyers, which entered service between 1998 and 2000. The newest and most capable KDX warships will be the three KDX-III guided missile destroyers, due to enter service between 2008 and 2012. These warships will have a full load displacement of roughly 7,000 tons (twice that of the KDX-I-class) and will be equipped with the Lockheed-Martin SPY-1 series Aegis combat system. * Tunisia recently acquired two aging, though still capable, Type 143-class guided missile patrol craft from Germany. The 36-knot, 400-ton (full load), Type 143s have served Germany well throughout nearly three decades. Four additional Type 143s are to be transferred to Tunisia by year's end. The ex-German Sperber, renamed Hamilcar, was transferred in July together with sister Greif, renamed Hannon. By the end of September, two additional German Type 143 craft, Geier and Seeadler, will have also been transferred to Tunisia and renamed Hamilcon and Hannibal respectively. Once those transfers are complete, sisters Habicht and Kormoran will be transferred by December and renamed Hasdrubal and Giscon. The four Type 143 guided missile craft remaining in German inventory are expected to retire in the near future. * French power projection capabilities will increase significantly over the next year as two new amphibious assault ships are introduced into service in the form of the Mistral-class helicopter carrying landing ships. The namesake of the class, Mistral, was built by DCN at Brest and launched on 6 October 2004. The second and final unit of the class, Tonnerre, is expected to enter service in 2006. These two amphibious ships will supplement the two 12,000-ton (full load) Foudre-class dock landing ships and replace the aging French amphibious ships Ouragan and Orage, which have served for nearly 40 years. Once fully operational, the Mistral-class, will displace 21,500 tons (full load) and carry a mix of French Army Cougar and Navy NH-90 helicopters along with up to 900 troops for short voyages, though 450 troops will be a more typical load. Crew size is relatively small, consisting of only 160 sailors and officers. October http://www.usni.org/proceedings/Articles05/Pro10cfleets.htm * The Royal Dutch Navy will continue thinning its ranks of excess warships in the next few years as a result of several major transfers. In July 2005, the Netherlands announced the sale to Belgium of the two 3,300-ton (full load) Karel Dorman-class frigates Van Amstel and Van Ness (pictured here in 2003). These warships are barely more than a decade old, having entered service in the 1990s. Armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles and vertically-launched NATO Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles, the frigates have at least a dozen years of service life remaining, and can be expected to serve Belgium well into the future. Although no official transfer dates have been announced, these capable warships are expected to replace Belgium's two remaining Wielingen-class frigates, Wielingen and Westdiep, which are now nearly thirty years old. * Capitalizing on the downsizing of the Dutch fleet, Latvia has agreed to purchase five recently decommissioned Alkmaar-class mine countermeasure ships from the Netherlands. In a deal costing 57 million Euros, the mine hunters Alkmaar, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Harlingen, and Scheveningen are to be overhauled and transferred to Latvia between 2006 and 2008. It is expected that they will replace several aging mine countermeasures craft now in Latvian service, including the ex-German type 331B mine hunter Nemjes (shown here) and ex-German Kondor II-class minesweepers Viesturs and Imanta. Ten of the Alkmaar-class are expected to undergo modernization and will likely remain in Dutch service for at least another decade. * In July 2005, the Indian Navy welcomed INS Beas, its third improved Godavari-class (Project 16A) frigate into service. Beas joins sisters Bramaputra (F31 pictured here while taking part in exercises with the U.S. Navy) and Betwa, both in operational service. Built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Calcutta, India, the 4,500 ton (full load) frigates carry 16 Kh-35 Uran surface-to-surface missiles. Surface-to-air missile armament consists of the Barak vertical-launch point-defense missile system. The class also has provisions for the Trishul surface-to-air missile system. A single Sea King anti-submarine or Cheetak helicopter can often be seen aboard. In addition to the Project 16A class, India has several other advanced frigate programs underway; these include the Talwar-class under construction in Saint Petersburg, Russia and the Shivalik-class (Project 17) being built at Mazagon Dockyard in Mumbai. November http://www.usni.org/proceedings/Articles05/Pro11cfleets.htm * Warships, sailors, and Marines from the Netherlands, Mexico, and Canada were among those foreign navies playing an early and important role during multinational Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts in September. The Dutch Karel Doorman-class frigate Van Amstel, shown here anchored near the Mississippi coast, diverted from counter-drug operations off Aruba while the Mexican tank landing ship Papaloapan, along with Canadian warships Athabaskan, Toronto, Ville De Quebec, and Canadian Coast Guard craft Sir William Alexander moved quickly into position to aid those hardest hit by the hurricane. Medical personnel from the Van Amstel were dispatched to the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) and shuttled ashore to tend to those injured during the storm. Dutch, Mexican, and Canadian naval forces also assisted with the distribution of food, water, and supplies throughout the initial stages of the hurricane relief efforts. * Chile's navy, long seeking to improve its capabilities, has inked a deal with the United Kingdom to purchase three Type 23 multipurpose frigates. The frigates, whose withdrawal from Royal Navy service was announced as a result of naval cutbacks in 2004, are the HMS Norfolk, HMS Marlborough, and HMS Grafton (shown here). The ships are expected to replace the former British County-class destroyers and other aging warships in Chilean service. HMS Norfolk is expected to transfer during 2006, Marlborough in 2007, and Grafton by 2008. The trio will join four retired Dutch frigates that will enter service during the same time period. Chile's naval buildup also includes submarines. The two new Scorpene-class boats, O'Higgins and Carrera, are nearly ready for service. O'Higgins, the first of the class, was delivered on 8 September 2005 and is expected to enter service later this year. Carrera should begin sea trials in the near future. * During August 2005, 35 ships from 15 nations took part in the PANAMAX 2005 multinational training exercise aimed at protecting approaches to the Panama Canal in the event of a Panamanian government request for military assistance. This is the third year of the exercise and each year the number of active navies and warships continues to increase as does the number of personnel taking part, growing from 700 in 2003 to 4,000 this year. Participant nations included Panama, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, and the United States. Additionally, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Mexico, and Uruguay sent observers to monitor the exercises. The Chilean frigate Almirante Williams is shown here leading a formation off the coast of Panama during the exercise.
	"To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz


el_commandante	Dec 9 2005, 09:43 AM Post #2
Member Posts: 471 Group: Regulars Member #278 Joined: January 4, 2005	It seems everybody is buying second hand ships and aircraft, even germany! and the Philippines what are we buying for our navy? nothing! the last time we bought a ship that was in 1997 after HK was return to china.



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