June 5, 2024 | International, Aerospace
October 15, 2020 | International, Naval
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Navy is racing to plug operational and technological gaps as part of an unprecedented modernization effort, according to the outgoing naval chief, but analysts are divided on whether the move will deter adversaries.
Adm. Zafar Mahmood Abbasi was speaking during the an Oct. 6 change-of-command ceremony when he detailed measures he enacted, prioritizing “combat readiness and offensive capability” for the historically undersized force amid tension with India.
In addition to reorganizing the Navy's force structure, he outlined acquisition and development programs, some of which were mentioned for the first time or had new details confirmed. These included:
The Navy would not provide more details when asked, though the gunboats were previously confirmed as undergoing design.
Rivals
However, analysts are divided on whether these programs will prove a sufficient deterrent against Pakistan's archrival India.
Author, analyst and former Australian defense attache to Islamabad, Brian Cloughley, claimed it is “quite impossible for Pakistan to achieve a naval structure that even approaches that of the Indian Navy.”
“It cannot afford it. At best, its deterrence value would be entirely local," he said.
Though he described India's aircraft carriers as “decidedly inferior in effectiveness in international terms, and present no threat to China,” they are a “major threat” to Pakistan's Navy when they are out of range of shore-based air power.
In the event of a conflict involving India's Navy, Pakistan “would deploy all its assets to destroy it, and although the [Indian Navy] would suffer major losses, the attrition factor would be the decider,” he added.
In contrast, expansion of the Pakistan Navy would “effectively neutralize India's growing naval capability,” according to Mansoor Ahmed, a senior research fellow at the Center for International Strategic Studies in Islamabad. He noted that India has “long enjoyed the most decisive numerical advantage; that is potentially destabilizing, as it could encourage belligerency and aggression, and fuel crisis instability.”
However, Pakistan's modernization efforts would “help keep the nuclear threshold high,” “enhance Pakistan's second-strike capability by increasing survivability of its surface and submarine fleet,” and provide considerably increased capacity for attrition, Ahmed added.
Similarly, Tom Waldwyn, a naval expert at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said there is merit in the expansion program.
“Certainly the ship- and submarine-building plans, once realized, will be a significant boost to Pakistan's conventional maritime capability. By the end of this decade, the frigate fleet will grow by half and the submarine fleet will probably double in size. The planned gunboats could free up the new frigates to perform tasks the Pakistan Navy is currently not able to do as often,” he said.
The Hangor program is probably the most noteworthy because of China's involvement, Waldwyn added. “Although local build of Hangor submarines is planned to be complete before the end of the decade, regenerating that industrial capability will be a big effort, and I expect that Chinese assistance in doing so will be crucial.”
But one factor depends on whether Germany provides export clearance of diesel engines for the submarine. Pakistan's Ministry of Defence Production, the Navy's public relations department, the German embassy in Islamabad, and Germany's Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control all declined to respond to Defense News' inquiries about the engines.
It is unknown whether the program is now proceeding with Chinese substitutes.
Weapons and platforms
Announcement of a contract for unmanned combat aerial vehicles, however, appears to be official confirmation the Chinese Wing Loong II deal first reported in October 2018. Though photographed undergoing testing in Pakistan, there was never official confirmation of a contract.
Air power expert at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, Justin Bronk, said it “is probably one of the most effective options for armed UAV acquisition available to Pakistan.”
“It has proven fairly satisfactory in service with the [United Arab Emirates] and others, and can carry a wide variety of cheap and effective Chinese munitions. Its sensor capabilities are not up to U.S. standards, especially in terms of stabilization. But given that sales of MQ-9 and other comparable U.S. systems are restricted, and Israeli UAVs are seldom exported with acknowledged weapons capabilities, Wing Loong II is probably the best option available,” Bronk explained.
In regard to what aircraft Pakistan will choose to replace its P-3C Orion fleet, Defense News asked the Navy and the Ministry of Defence Production, but neither provided details by press time.
A small number of business or regional jets from Brazil, Russia or Ukraine with non-Western systems (to avoid sanctions) could readily be converted to suit Pakistan's requirements. However, there is no official, publicly available notice or hint of sale to Pakistan from these countries' manufacturers, and there was no response to related queries.
Such a conversion could be locally done, as wider naval modernization is underpinned by Pakistan's in-house research and development program. Still, the IISS analyst added, it's not essential the work be performed domestically.
On the modernization effort as a whole, Waldwyn noted that “developing the local capability to design and build this equipment is not a prerequisite to providing conventional deterrence in the short term, and importing equipment from abroad can sometimes be less expensive.”
“However, there is value to developing the defense industrial base and sovereign technological capabilities, as it can protect you against geopolitical changes going forward,” the IISS analyst added.
For Ahmed, domestic work would demonstrate Pakistan “is determined to maintain the required level of modernization” — particularly with directed-energy weapons.
Meanwhile, he said he's uncertain what new purpose the P282 missile will serve. He is unconvinced the P282 is a hypersonic cruise missile intended to replace the current ship- and submarine-launched Harbah cruise missile. However, if the P282 is a ballistic missile as claimed, “it would make sense only if deployed on a submarine” where it could serve as part of Pakistan's nuclear deterrent.
Nevertheless, he added, the modernization program will still “greatly enhance the overall credibility of Pakistan's deterrent posture vis-a-vis India.”
June 5, 2024 | International, Aerospace
March 11, 2022 | International, Land
The DoD Small Business and Technology Partnerships Office announces the pre-release of the following DoD SBIR 22.4 Annual Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) topics: Department of the Army A224-004: Advanced Tire Technology for Manned and Unmanned Systems A224-005: M997A3 Chassis Suspension Improvements A224-006: Variable Speed Engine Cooling Fan for Acoustic Detection Management Full topic descriptions and instructions are available on DSIP at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login and at https://rt.cto.mil/rtl-small-business-resources/sbir-sttr/. IMPORTANT DATES: March 10, 2022: Topics pre-release March 24, 2022: Topics open, begin submitting proposals in DSIP April 12, 2022: Topic Q&A closes to new questions at 12:00 p.m. ET April 26, 2022: Topics close, full proposals must be submitted in DSIP no later than 12:00 p.m. ET Topic Q&A Topic Q&A is now available on the Topics and Topic Q&A page in DSIP. Proposers may submit technical questions through Topic Q&A page at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login. During pre-release, proposers can contact TPOCs directly or submit questions via Topic Q&A. Once DoD begins accepting proposals on March 24, 2022, no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed. All questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing. Topic Q&A will close to new questions on April 12, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. ET, but will remain active to view questions and answers related to the topics until the BAA close. Questions submitted through the Topic Q&A are limited to technical information related to improving the understanding of a topic's requirements. Any other questions, such as those asking for advice or guidance on solution approach, or administrative questions, such as SBIR or STTR program eligibility, technical proposal/cost proposal structure and page count, budget and duration limitations, or proposal due date WILL NOT receive a response. Refer to the Component-specific instructions given at the beginning of that Component's topics for help with an administrative question. Proposers are advised to monitor Topic Q&A during the BAA period for questions and answers and frequently monitor DSIP for updates and amendments to the topics.
July 24, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Le premier des Lockheed Martin C-130H de l'Armée de l'Air doté de la nouvelle avionique Collins Aerospace a débuté sa campagne d'essais en vol et de certification sur la base aérienne de Bordeaux-Mérignac. L'avion est équipé de la solution avionique Collins Aerospace Flight2™ et du double affichage tête haute (HUD), HGS-4500, avec système de vision améliorée multibande, EVS-300, pour améliorer la perception des pilotes de leur environnement. Une caméra infrarouge pour la détection d'objectifs a également été intégrée au HGS. Ensemble, ces solutions permettent d'améliorer les capacités opérationnelles des appareils pour répondre aux besoins spécifiques des missions. “Avec Flight2™, l'Armée de l'Air française dispose d'une avionique de dernière génération et d'une solution optimisée de support et de maintenance pour mener à bien ses missions exigeantes dans le monde entier,” a déclaré Olivier Pedron, directeur général, avionique de Collins Aerospace en France. Après le premier vol et la qualification par la direction générale de l'armement (DGA) des deux premiers appareils rénovés, Collins Aerospace et Sabena Technics fourniront des kits de modification au Service industriel de l'aéronautique (SIAé) pour l'installation en série sur les 12 C-130H restants de la flotte française. Le contrat de modernisation avait été attribué en septembre 2016, par la DGA, à Collins Aerospace pour la maîtrise d'ouvrage, conformément à sa certification FRA-21J, aux côtés de ses partenaires Lockheed Martin et Sabena Technics. Flight2™ permettra aux C-130H français un accès sans restriction à l'espace aérien mondial tel que défini par l'Organisation de l'Aviation Civile Internationale (OACI), leur procurant des capacités tactiques accrues tant sur les thé'tres d'opérations que dans l'espace aérien civil. De plus, il permet une communalité pour le support et la maintenance avec les autres plateformes de l'Armée de l'Air telles qu' E-3, AWACS, et KC-135 ainsi qu'une communalité avec les HUD du C-130J. https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/arme-de-lair-campagne-dessai-pour-les-c-130h-moderniss-par-collins-aerospace-21508