COMMUNICATIONS CENTRE GOES WEST AUSTRALIA

The future of the Communication Information Systems category for submariners is looking forward to a more productive future following a retention initiative to move their operations to Fleet Base West.

To address the retention initiative, approval was given by Chief of Navy for the relocation of the primary submarine communications capability from Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) to HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.

Lieutenant Colin Coke and Warrant Officer Communication and Information Systems Andrew Bertoncin, Officer In Charge DEFCOMMSTA Perth, at the official opening of the Submarine Communications Centre-West (SUBCOMMCEN-W) in the Defence Communications Station Perth (DEFCOMMSTA) at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.

The development of this capability at Defence Communications Station Perth (DCS-PER) will establish the primary messaging support to submarines, with the new facility to be named Submarine Communications Centre - West (SUBCOMMCEN-W) with the old facility ASNCOMMCEN SUBOPAUTH to be named Submarine Communications Centre - Bungendore.

This initiative is a result of the Submarine Workforce Sustainability Review, commissioned in mid-2008 and conducted by RADM Rowan Moffitt.

Chief of Navy responded to evidence that a range of factors were placing pressure on Navy people in the submarine workforce, and impacting Navy’s ability to generate the required level of capability from the Submarine Force.

As a result of the review, RADM Moffitt made a number of proposals and adopted a comprehensive approach; identifying a broad range of organisational and cultural challenges within the Submarine Force.

RADM Moffitt proposed a range of practical and executable solutions in the form of 29 recommendations.

One result of the Moffitt Review for Submarine Sustainability stated that the Communications Information Systems Submariner (CISSM) category was assessed as being perilous.

The Defence Information and Communications Technology Committee (DICTC) addressed retention initiatives highlighted in the review and advised that a significant retention initiative would occur if the current Submarine Communications facility, Australian Naval Communications Centre Submarine Operations Authority (ASNCOMMCEN SUBOPAUTH) at HQJOC, Bungendore, was relocated to Fleet Base West, HMAS Stirling.

The SUBCOMMCEN-W will be a component embedded within Defence Communications Station Perth.

The majority of the ASNCOMMCEN SUBOPAUTH workforce will be integrated with billeted personnel from the Chief Information Officer Group within DCS-PER. Eleven Navy billets (1 x POCISSM, 4 x LSCISSM and 6 x ABCISSM) from ASNCOMMCEN SUBOPAUTH will be relocated to DCS-PER to support submarine communications.

The integration of personnel from ASNCOMMCEN SUBOPAUTH within DCS-PER provides an opportunity for personnel, regardless of primary skill set, to further broaden their CIS knowledge. It allows sailors to remain within their submarine posting localities and maintains their family and friends support.

The silent nature of submarines relies on the guaranteed delivery system that is provided through the Submarine Fleet Broadcasts via SUBCOMMCEN-W.

In addition to this role, SUBCOMMCEN-W will provide additional CIS support to the surface fleet.

By sustainment and retention of Navy’s skilled CISSM workforce, the future sailors of SUBCOMMCEN-W will be able to guarantee this delivery in a more contented workplace, with greater support; both technically and personally than previous SUBCOMMCENs have had the ability to provide.

This relocation provides a range of interesting and exciting challenges. With retention at the heart of this initiative, Defence will be able to provide greater support and maintain a well balanced, supportive and productive workforce for Navy’s future and current CISSM sailors.

India seeks Indian Ocean supremacy with warship research

India launched a new naval research centre for warships on Tuesday, part of efforts by the South Asian giant to build its sea defences and counter the perceived threat of China in the Indian Ocean.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony laid the foundation stone for the National Institute for Research and Development in Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) in the southern state of Kerala, which will be built at a cost of six billion rupees (133 million dollars).

The facility, which will be up and running in two years, will help develop technology for "drawing board to delivery" of warships for India, a naval official said.

The Kerala unit will work independently of the national Defence Research and Development Organisation, with the aim of reducing India's dependence on military imports, which mostly come from Russia.

The 136-vessel navy said in a statement that NIRDESH would ensure India's maritime security.

"This would empower Indian navy, coastguard and other maritime security agencies in a manner befitting the country's stature and influence in the region," it said.

The facility would "ensure that the country would be self-reliant in this crucial area of defence technology," Antony added.

New Delhi is wary of growing Chinese influence around the Indian Ocean, where Beijing has funded or plans to invest in major infrastructure projects, including ports in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and military-ruled Myanmar.

In August, two Chinese warships raised eyebrows in Delhi when they sailed to adjoining Myanmar for a rare visit to promote ties between the two allied countries.

Retired admiral Arun Prakash, a former Indian naval chief, recently warned that the Chinese navy will have more warships than the United States within a decade and urged India to speed up naval procurement.

Analysts say India falls behind China in naval firepower, but the country should strive for supremacy in the strategic Indian Ocean, a vital shipping lane connecting Asia to Europe and the Middle East.

"Just because we cannot compete with China does not mean we do not defend our interests in the Indian Ocean where we want naval supremacy," retired Indian navy rear admiral Raja Menon told AFP.

India has already begun strengthening its military presence in the Andaman archipelago, which lies south of Myanmar, as part of plans to protect its interests in the ocean.

Delhi, which wants to boost its 14-strong submarine fleet, launched its first nuclear-powered submarine in 2009 and has invested in its military shipyards to start building an aircraft carrier and stealth frigates.

It also plans to buy eight long-range maritime spy planes by 2015 besides six Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines for which orders were placed in 2006.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China's military spending was the second-largest in the world, after the United States, in 2009.

KPMG consultancy firm estimates India plans to spend 112 billion dollars on defence hardware between now and 2016.

India hiked its 2010-2011 military spending by four percent to 32 billion dollars but analysts like Menon warn that the navy's share of 16 percent of the defence allocation is insufficient for funding its expansion plans.

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and still have unresolved territorial disputes.

Indian, US Navy joint exercise off Andaman cost from today

NEW DELHI (PTI): Aiming to strengthen their capabilities in techniques associated with salvage and diving, navies of India and the US will hold a week-long joint exercise codenamed 'SALVEX' off the coast off Andaman and Nicobar Islands from today.

In the exercise, Indian Navy’s diving tender INS Nireekshak and USS Safeguard, a specialised Salvage ship are participating.

During the exercise, the Indian Navy will also gain experience of working on underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and side scan SONARs being launched from USS Safeguard, Navy officials said.

It will also witness the operation of Hot Tap Equipment which is used for removal of oil or fuel from tanks of sunken vessels.


In the exercise, the Indian Navy team comprises 17 Clearance Divers including two officers and the US Navy team comprises 15 divers including two officers.

During the exercise, divers of the two sides will also hone their salvage skills on 'Mud Monster' – a pontoon specially built and sunk to practice salvage and diving exercises.

India is one of the four countries in the world having the capability to dive up to the depths of 300 metres into the sea.

INS Nireekshak is Indian Navy’s specialist diving support ship with the capacity to support dives up to 300 metres deep.

USS Safeguard is a Safeguard class auxilliary rescue and salvage ship.

The maiden SALVEX was conducted in 2005 and the series of exercises have been conducted annually thereafter alternately in India and US Pacific locations.

Interestingly in the first SALVEX, a vintage Sea Hawk fighter aircraft was recovered from a depth of about 50 metres off Kochi.

India and the US Navy engage each other in the annual Malabar series of war games as well.

Related Photos

JAGM Completes Flying Qualities Tests on Navy’s F-18 Aircraft

Lockheed Martin has successfully completed a comprehensive series of tests to demonstrate the flight characteristics of the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F while carrying the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM). The flying qualities test series consisted of six flights from Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD, between October 5 and November 2 with a total flying time of 11.2 hours.

The aircraft flew at altitudes ranging from 5,000 feet to 35,000 feet and at speeds approaching Mach 1.0. During each flight, the Super Hornet was refueled in the air by a support tanker to enable the aircraft to reach all the required speeds and altitudes at which JAGM had to be tested.

The JAGM test articles were six instrumented measurement vehicles (IMVs) equivalent in weight, size and dimensions to tactical JAGM rounds and outfitted with resistive temperature devices, acoustic sensors and accelerometers to measure the flight environments experienced by the launchers and the missiles.

Three IMVs were loaded onto each of two new Navy fixed-wing triple-rail launchers designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Marvin Engineering to carry JAGM on the F/A-18E/F. Fully outfitted, the Super Hornet could be configured to carry 18 JAGMs, as opposed to just four of the Maverick air-to-ground missiles that JAGM will replace.

For the flight series, the two "three-packs" of JAGM IMVs were carried at the most challenging stations -- outboard and midboard -- in varying load-out combinations with other weapon systems including bombs, anti-radiation missiles and air-to-air missiles, as well as external fuel tanks.

"The F/A-18E/F presents some of the most challenging environments for JAGM," said Hady Mourad, JAGM program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Collecting vibration, acoustic and shock data in these environments for 11.2 hours of flight with no anomalies or problems represents a very successful beginning of flight test efforts that will continue into the EMD phase to integrate JAGM on the Super Hornet."

Lockheed Martin's Deputy Program Director Rick Packard, who is responsible for integrating JAGM with Navy platforms, said the company was very pleased with the results of the flying qualities tests. "When you couple the highly successful outcome of these flying quality tests with our previous hot and cold temperature missile motor tests, we remain confident in our ability to provide our customers with a single-missile-motor offering for JAGM, a critical capability voiced by all three Services since the inception of the joint program."

"One of the key tenets of the JAGM program is to replace three aging weapon systems and their associated parts, supply and logistics networks with one weapon to increase operational flexibility and reduce support costs," Packard said. "We remain steadfastly committed to meeting that requirement."

Threshold aviation platforms include the U.S. Army's AH-64D Apache attack helicopter, the Army's Extended Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) Sky Warrior unmanned aerial system, the U.S. Marine Corps' AH-1Z Super Cobra attack helicopter, the U.S. Navy's MH-60R Seahawk armed reconnaissance helicopter and the Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet jet  fighter. The tri-service Joint Strike Fighter also is under consideration as an objective platform.

The initial operational capability of JAGM on the AH-64D, AH-1Z and F/A-18E/F is scheduled for 2016, and the IOC for the MH-60R and ERMP is 2017.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 133,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's 2009 sales from continuing operations were $44.0 billion.

U.S. Navy to probe controversial carrier videos

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy will investigate "inappropriate" videos produced on the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, which among other scenes show simulated masturbation and women showering together.

A report on the videos came over the weekend in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, which serves Norfolk where the carrier is based. The newspaper also made video excerpts available on its website (http://pilotonline.com/).

The excerpts show female sailors pretending to wash one another in a shower on the carrier and in other scenes "sailors parade in drag, use anti-gay slurs, and simulate masturbation and a rectal exam," the newspaper said on its site.

Shown in a number of the excerpts is Owen Honors, then the executive officer on the Enterprise and now a Navy captain and its commander, the Virginian-Pilot said.

Honors "masterminded" the 2006-2007 production of the videos, which were shown aboard the ship, the newspaper said.

The videos "are clearly inappropriate," Navy Commander Chris Sims of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command said in a statement responding to the report.

Production of such videos was not acceptable when they were made and is "not acceptable in today's Navy. The Navy does not endorse or condone these kinds of actions," Sims said.

"U.S. Fleet Forces Command has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the production of these videos," the statement said.

A Navy spokesman declined to speculate on Sunday as to the possible outcome and effects of the investigation.

(Reporting by Jerry Norton; Editing by Peter Bohan and Eric Walsh)

Iran deploys new naval missile systems

TEHRAN (BNS): The Iranian Navy has received new naval cruise missile systems from its Defence Ministry on Monday.

“The systems are capable of spotting and destroying different targets at sea,” state-run Press TV quoted Iranian Defence Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi as saying.

"The systems are capable of spotting and destroying different targets at sea," said Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi at the delivery ceremony of the missile system on Monday



Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi


General Vahidi pointed out that the systems include launch pads as well as spotting and missile guiding systems.

All the systems have been fully designed and produced by local experts, the defense chief further explained.



According to General Vahidi, the deployment of the missile systems along the country's coastline will not only boost national defense capability, but play a key role in maintaining regional security and stability as well.

Iran has achieved numerous breakthroughs in the defense sector and reached self-sufficiency in producing various types of military equipment and systems.

Iranian Navy Commander


Iran announced recently that it is mass producing, and ready to export air defense systems.

"We can meet all our needs in the air defense sector by relying on domestic resources," said a top Iranian commander.

"When we [design and] develop weapons, they will be mass produced, and we can export the surplus to other countries if deemed appropriate," the commander added. 


In the meantime, Iran has announced time and again that its military might poses no threat, whatsoever, to other countries as Tehran's defense doctrine is based on deterrence only.

France's decision to sell two warships to Russia has sparked controversy

France's decision to sell two warships to Russia has sparked controversy, with Russia's neighbors, mainly, suggesting that Paris may have forged the way for other Western countries to deal with the Kremlin in trade ranging from high-tech military equipment to oil rights.
The deal, negotiated for months, marks the first major defense sale between a NATO member state and Russia.

"I think this is a mistake," Lithuanian Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene told reporters as the Paris government trumpeted its success, writing "France wins" on the presidential palace Web site.
"This is a precedent, when a NATO and EU member sells offensive weaponry to a country whose democracy is not at a level that would make us feel calm."
Lithuania and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia -- which were ruled by Moscow until 1991 -- have been the most vocal critics of the deal since talks began between France and Russia in 2009. Washington, at the time, also expressed reservations about the sale.

Designed to attack the shore from the sea, the French Mistral class is viewed as an ideal weapon for Russia against possible uprising by nearby countries.
The price tag for each vessel is estimated at around $380 million and the building venture will be a 50-50 project.
The boxy Mistral amphibious assault ship can carry 16 heavy or 35 light helicopters, dozens of tanks, 450 personnel and up to 70 armored vehicles, including 13 battle tanks.
Military experts have been less apprehensive about the deal.
Paris defense expert Pierre Conesa told Voice of America that the Baltic states should potentially readdress their relations with Russia.
"Their past and ours are quite different. They have been occupied by the Soviet Union, or in the case of Georgia, in conflicts with Russia. But the best way to stabilize and establish peaceful relations with Russia is probably to treat Moscow as a partner," Conesa said.
He said the context of the sale was important and indicative of NATO's improved relations with Russia. So much, in fact, that during the alliance's summit in Lisbon in November, NATO invited Russia to collaborate on a missile defense shield.
"You must pay attention to the fact that on an anti-missile defense system, the cooperation will be deeper and probably more sensitive technologically than on a Mistral system," he said.
Details of their deployment have yet to be divulged by Russian military officials but it has been publicly suggested that use of the Mistral ships will be made in the Northern and Pacific fleets.
The first Mistral-class ship is to be completed within 36 months once Russia makes an advance payment scheduled for January.