DEFENSE NEWS

04/02/2013

(Infodefensa.com) E. Saumeth, Cartagena de Indias – La Armada Colombiana alista los preparativos para el viaje de una comisión de oficiales de esta institución a la República de Corea del Sur. Entre otros objetivos, la comisión visitará y evaluará –técnicamente- el estado de la Corbeta  Gunsan PCC-757 (de la clase Pohang) y que le ha sido ofrecida en donación a Colombia por el país asiático.

La comisión estará encabeza por el señor capitán de Fragata Alfredo Ponce Iglesias, jefe del Departamento de Armas y Electrónica –DARET- de la ARC, quien junto a otros oficiales establecerá las condiciones técnicas y operativas de la embarcación.

La Corbeta ofrecida es una nave especializada en guerra anti superficie, contando para ello con un sistema de misiles anti buque Exocet MM-38 y disponiendo además de una pieza de 76 milímetros y de dos de 30 milímetros; cuenta con un desplazamiento de hasta 1.200 toneladas y con cerca de 27 años de servicio en la Armada Coreana. Por sus características, estas embarcaciones son denominadas Corbetas de Patrulla y Combate PCC.

The U.S. Navy has revised its overall fleet size requirement from 313 to 306 ships — a modest downscaling that reflects modified operational requirements and is not the result of the ongoing budget crisis.

One of the key changes is a reduction in the long-standing 55-ship littoral combat ship (LCS) requirement to 52 ships — a decrease, the Navy said, resulting from a lessening of the presence requirement to support U.S. Africa Command.

The changes are reflected in a congressionally mandated report sent Jan. 31 to key lawmakers.

The fleet reduction modifies the 313-ship number established in 2005. Navy leaders in recent years have called that figure “about 313 ships,” reflecting several assessments that moved the number up or down, but until now have not settled into a figure officials were willing to declare.

“A 306-ship force structure represents the minimum level of capability and capacity to meet projected threats and support the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance,” Navy spokeswoman Lt. Courtney Hillson said. “Our operational tempo over the past year reaffirms our need for a minimum of 306 ships. That said, we need to have the right mix of ships in terms of their capabilities that are ready to meet combatant commander demands.”

The new number is not intended as a hard figure the fleet will grow to and then maintain. Rather, it is an overall combat force structure requirement, around which actual numbers are expected to rise or fall.

The fleet has 288 ships, up from a low in May 2007 of 275 ships. The count fell below 300 in August 2003.

Other key changes in the requirements from 2010, when the Navy last spelled out its fleet, are:

• A reduction of large surface combatants — cruisers and destroyers — from 94 to 88 ships, directly related to plans to move four ballistic-missile defense destroyers from the U.S. East Coast to form a forward-deployed naval force based at Rota, Spain. The Navy previously noted 10 ships were needed to meet the rotational requirement in the Mediterranean region.

• Elimination of the four-ship guided-missile submarine requirement, known as SSGNs. The Navy said in its report that should the need continue, the ships could be replaced by Virginia-class submarines “with an enhanced strike capability.”

• Adding one T-AGOS surveillance ship “for sustained operations and crisis response in the Pacific.”

• Adding six ships for the two newly revamped maritime prepositioning squadrons, including two mobile landing platforms and two afloat forward staging base ships.

One Capitol Hill source observed that the new fleet requirement, seen in the context of the contentious budget environment, might be more problematic than possible.

“This comes at a time when we have to start asking whether any plan in the 300-plus range is going to be viable in the budget,” the source said.

“This could be the last gasp of the 300-something-ship plan, before the Navy, if it has to work under a lower top line, changes it to something clearly below 300.”

Indra has been awarded the contracts to equip three of the Indonesian Navy's Type 209 submarines with its radar signal detection system and a Low Probability of Intercept radar (LPI) system. The value of this project, awarded by the shipbuilder Daewoo, is in excess of €10M.

The electronic defence system will enable the submarines to detect and analyze any radar signals there might be in their surroundings and identify the type of vessel, submarine or aircraft they correspond to.

It is a RESM (Radar Electronic Support Measurement) system based on broadband digital reception technology. This type of processing guarantees high sensitivity for the system, even in a dense electromagnetic environment, and extremely quick analysis capabilities.

The submarines will accordingly have a considerable advantage in terms of threat identification. The Spanish Navy has chosen this same technology for its S-80 submarine, as have its German and Italian counterparts for their U212A submarines.

This solution will operate in conjunction with Indra's Aries-S Low Probability of Intercept radar (LPI). It is a high-resolution system capable of detecting small targets. The low-level signal this radar uses makes it practically undetectable, so that it can “see without being seen”.

With this project, Indra has managed to close a major deal to become a technological supplier for the Korean company Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), one of the world's largest shipbuilders. At the same time, it has strengthened its commercial position in Indonesia and in the Asia-Pacific region, where it has had a stable presence for more than 15 years, operating from offices in China, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia.

Indra
Indra is one of the leading multinationals in Consulting and Technology in Europe and Latin America. Innovation is the basis of Indra's business and sustainability, with €550 million invested in R&D&i in the last three years. This figure sets Indra among the top European companies in the sector by investment. Indra’s turnover is around €3,000 million, and 55% of its revenue comes from international markets. The company employs 42,000 professionals and has customers in 118 countries.

he United States government has unveiled a package of targetted assistance, including a P4 million grant for coral restoration research, for the Tubbataha Reef which has been damaged by a US Navy minesweeper that got grounded on the protected site on Jan. 17.

“In view of the damage caused by the USS Guardian accident at Tubbataha Reef, the United States has expressed its regrets and is prepared to provide appropriate compensation to the Republic of the Philippines.

In addition to compensation, the US government is planning a number of other activities which will underscore its commitment to Tubbataha’s recovery and the protection of the marine resources of the Philippines,” the US embassy said in a statement yesterday.

Meantime, one of the two crane ships contracted by the US Navy from a salvor company in Singapore arrived in Palawan Sunday morning. The crane ship was expected to sail to Tubbataha last night, while the dismantling of the USS Guardian may begin on Wednesday.

“But this is just the small one. We’re expecting the bigger one [soon],” the Philippine Coast Guard said.

The damaged corals at Tubbataha already spanned an area of over 4,000 square meters, worse than the initial estimate of 1,000 sqm., according to Tubbataha marine park manager Angelique Songco,

In the next two weeks, the US Embassy said it will organize a roundtable with local coral reef conservation experts to listen to concerns and discuss options for conservation and restoration of the Tubbataha Reef.

The discussion will include representatives from the US Agency for International Development, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, relevant Philippine government agencies, and the Tubbataha Management Office.

Through USAID’s Coral Triangle Support Partnership, P4.1 million will be granted to a Philippine university to support coral restoration research at Tubbataha Reef.

As soon as practicable, a US interdisciplinary scientific team will initiate discussions with the Philippine government to review coral reef rehabilitation options in Tubbataha, based on assessments by Philippine-based marine scientists.

The US government will also offer to fund a site survey for proposed improvements to the existing ranger station on Tubbataha Reef.

Proposals could include the installation of radar and communications equipment that can assist Park Rangers and Philippine Coast Guard in avoiding collisions and keeping tabs on marine poachers. With Florante Solmerin