Asian Defence News1

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Australian Ships Join US-Led Exercise

HMAS Canberra, front, conducts manoeuvres with USS New Orleans, left, JS Makinami and USS America during the Large Scale Global Exercise in the Western Pacific (photo : Aus DoD)

HMA Ships Canberra and Ballarat have arrived in the Western Pacific Ocean for the opening phase of the US-led Large Scale Global Exercise 21. Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said Australia’s participation in the first phase of the activity followed the success of Exercises Talisman Sabre and Pacific Vanguard.

“We have just completed some extraordinary training in and around Australia and now we have this exciting new opportunity to consolidate those gains,” Lieutenant General Bilton said. “We’ve got amphibious forces, including United States marines, embarked in Canberra, and a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft involved at various stages as well.

“Activities like this build strong operational relationships, which are the foundation for responding to shared security challenges.” Commanding Officer Canberra Captain Jace Hutchison said the exercise would prove invaluable for the crews of Canberra and Ballarat.

“Any opportunity for us to test our skills and processes with partner nations enhances our readiness and ability to respond as required,” Captain Hutchison said. All activities will be conducted in a contactless environment, with strict COVID-19 safety measures in place to ensure the safety of all participants.

Israeli Drone Guard Sold to ‘South Asian Nation'

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has sold its ELI-4030 Drone Guard counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) to an undisclosed south Asian nation.

The manufacturer announced the sale on 2 July, noting that the deal is worth “tens of millions of dollars”. No further information relating to delivery timelines was disclosed.

First revealed to Janes at ELTA's Ashdod facility in southern Israel in late 2015, the Drone Guard is available for the short-, medium-, and longer-range detection and flight disruption of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It can be used against single threats or against multiple threats coming from different directions.

The system uses one of these three radar systems: the ELTA ELM-2180M man-portable radar to detect targets with a very low radar cross-section (RCS) out to a range of 3 km; the ELM-2026B radar for the detection of similar-sized objects out to about 4.5 km; or the ELM-2026 to do the same out to 6 km. For countering small UAVs, each of the radar systems is upgraded with special detection and tracking algorithms, as well as being adapted with an electro-optic (EO) sensor for visual identification.

All three solutions utilise 3D (azimuth, elevation, and range) X-band radars (for ground-clutter removal and separation between ground and air targets) to detect low-flying and low-speed airborne targets with a small RCS. When an unauthorised UAV is detected and tracked, the ELTA system then sets about jamming it to cause the aircraft to either return to its point-of-origin (the ‘Go Home' function) or to shut down and land.