Non-Subscriber Extract
The SA Navy's New Submarine
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| 20 September 2000 |
The
second phase of the South African Navy's modernisation plans has become
concrete. The government gave formal authorisation to acquire three Class
209 Type 1400 MOD on 7 July, and the initial payment to the German Submarine
Consortium followed on 12 July. This follows the contract with the German
Frigate Consortium for four Meko A200 patrol corvettes. Both programmes
are part of the "strategic packages" announced at Dexsa in late 1998. The
first submarine is scheduled to be delivered in mid-2005, with the two others
following at one-year intervals. There is an option for a fourth boat, funding
permitting.The SAN had earlier considered the four ex-RN Upholders, but was not able to obtain political approval at the time. That followed after the defence review, completed in 1998, set out an approved force design that included four submarines. That enabled the SAN to formally begin its submarine replacement programme. One early decision was to select an "off the shelf" type, both to get it operational quickly and to avoid unnecessary "growth pains". The former aspect was particularly important because the SAN's three Daphne class submarines, delivered in 1970 and 1971, were fast approaching the end of their useful life. Another early decision was to ensure that "everything, but everything, goes through the main contractor", to avoid system integration problems and their accompanying disagreements and delays.
The evaluation process had meanwhile already begun, with the SAN studying five main contenders: The ex-RN Upholders, the French Scorpene (proposed by both France and Spain), the German Class 209 Type 1400 MOD, the Italian S-1600 (based on the Longobardo class), and a variant of the Swedish A-19 Gotland class. The French government also offered the alternative of two modernised Daphnes and one spares hulk as an interim solution, pending the availability of Scorpene. The evaluation process considered the naval-technical aspects of the submarines, including their long- term supportability in South Africa, their "through-life" cost, and the long-term economic value of the industrial participation (IP) "packages" that formed part of each bid.
The German Sumbarine Consortium was announced at Dexsa 98 as the preferred bidder, subject to the detailed contract negotiations. Those took rather longer than expected, with most of the delay caused by protracted negotiation around the IP proposal to build a stainless steel plant at the new Coega harbour complex in the Eastern Cape.
The primary role of the submarines in SA Navy service will be to prevent any disruption of South Africa's sea trade routes by any future enemy. Their secondary roles will include deterrence, the disruption of an enemy's sea traffic, anti-submarine warfare, and surveillance and reconnaissance. They will also play a part during operations short of war, and in the enforcement of state authority in time of peace, particularly in a surveillance role.
The SAN's Class 209
The
Class 209 Type 1400 MOD that will be built for the SAN has a displacement
of 1 594 tons, and will be 62 m long and 7.6 m in beam. It will have a diving
depth of better than 200 m, with a submerged speed better than 20 knots,
and a surfaced speed of 10 knots. Its cruising range will be better than
10 000 NM, with a 45 day endurance. It will have a complement of 30 officers
and ratings, compared to 51 in the Daphnes, which has been achieved by making
maximum use of automation - and which means the end of "hot bunking"!The Combat System
The combat system will be a variant of STN-Atlas' ISUS-90 system similar to that of the Israeli Dolphin class submarines. This is a modular system, which integrates the sensors (sonar, optronic, optical, radar, ESM and COMINT) with the navigation system and the weapon system. The integrated navigation system has tactical navigation support functions. The overall system has a datalink capability for simultaneous reception, filtering, reformatting and transmission on multiple datalink nets. It is optimised for attack with torpedos and missiles and the use of decoys, and can also control mine-laying operations.
The command and control element handles track management, signal analysis, classification, threat analysis, and target motion analysis. The weapon control element handles system and weapon status, attack planning, the weapon engagement plan, pre-setting and launch of weapons, and the control of wire-guided torpedos.
Fully integrated support functions include on-board simulation, data recording, built-in test functions, and the diagnostics for both hardware and software failures. Critical functions, such as target motion analysis and weapons signal processing, are fully supported by `hot-stand-by' computers, and there is multiple redundancy in the overall system.
The system uses common multi-function consoles with twin high- resolution flat-panel displays. Key MMI features include common terminology on all displays - including abbreviations - common handling of all message displays, and the use of identical data fields in the same display area and in the same sequence.
An ethernet dual bus system handles computer communications with a fibre-optic data transfer system for sonar stave data and beam data. Process computers are integrated in all subsystems as real time control processors. Standardised signal processing is used throughout the system, with a minimum of dissimilar assemblies. The software is written in ADA and C, with an eye to the ready accommodation to upgrades and changes to the system.
Much of the electronic hardware will be manufactured in South Africa and then integrated in Germany. Most of the hardware work will be handled by Tellumat, while CCII will develop the command and control software for the SA Navy.
The Sensors
The sonar
suite will be the CSU-90 system, with flank arrays, a passive bow sonar,
an intercept sonar, a passive ranging sonar an active sonar and an underwater
telephone. The boats will have own noise monitors integrated as part of
the sonar suite. They will also be fitted for a `clip-on' towed array sonar,
which can be fitted later when funding allows. The ranging sonar will have
a wider detection arc than that of the Daphne. The hydrophones and transducers
of the sonars will be supplied by Mattek, a unit of South Africa's Council
for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and will be installed and
integrated in Germany.The surface sensors will be carried on three masts:
* A Zeiss non-penetrating optronic mast, with an integrated ESM head. The optronic sensors will include a thermal imager and a television, both having video and "quick-look" capability.
* A Zeiss optical attack periscope with an optical range-finder and with a television and a low-light-level television, both having video and "quick-look" capability.
* A radar mast mounting a Thomson Scanter navigation radar.
Zeiss will transfer the necessary technology to Denel's Eloptro division to enable it to support the optronic and optical masts. Eloptro has previously handled the periscope upgrade for the SAN Daphnes, and has also upgraded periscopes for one other navy.
The EW suite will be provided by Grintek Avitronics, who are also providing the ESM and ECM suites for the patrol corvettes, and for the current upgrades of the Warrior class strike craft and the Daphne class submarines. The new EW suite for the Class 209s will comprise ESM, ELINT and RWR elements.
The Weapons
The SAN's Class 209s will have eight bow tubes, with a total of fourteen torpedos on board. They will be fitted for a submerged launch missile, but will not receive any at this stage. If the the SAN does decide to acquire such weapons, it may well select the Exocet SM039, given that the MM-40 will be in service with the patrol corvettes. The SAN is also looking at the possibility of fitting them for the Triton fibre-optic guided missile, which would arguably be more useful over the near to medium term. The boats will be able to lay mines using their torpedo tubes, and will be be able to launch and recover divers while submerged.
Communications
The communications sub-system will be the latest variant of the SEACOM communications suite developed by Grintek Comms, which is currently fitted to most SANships in its SEACOM 1 form. This is a modular, fully integrated communications system, that provides data communications and simultaneous operation of more than one radio channel in each of the HF, VHF, UHF and SATCOM bands. The new variant will also use the new data-link system developed for the SAN. Integrated with this suite will be a FOKON 32 internal communications suite, supplied by Signaal but manufactured in South Africa.
The Programme
The first members of the project team deployed to Germany in the course of July to set up a small project office there. They will be joined by some additional personnel to form a Navy acceptance team that will be responsible for contractual issues, and that will monitor the building of the submarines. The ships will be accepted in Germany, the logistic and training support elements in South Africa.
A programme to train the trainers will begin in mid-2004, after which they will train the first crew. All personnel selected for the new submarines will be qualified submariners who have served in the operational Daphnes, which should result in a relatively flat "training curve". The first and second Class 209 crews will be fully trained in Germany to operate the new submarines, and will sail them to South Africa as operational boats. The third crew will be trained entirely in South Africa.
The training programme will be phased to address first equipment training, and then system, pier and sea training. The latter may not be to a full "go to war" standard, but will enable the crews to sail the new ships home as operational ships, and go straight into full-scale combat training on arrival. The major training challenge is expected to lie in developing the systems knowledge of the crews. With that in mind, the command team and control room simulators, supplied by STN-Atlas, will be delivered in 2005, to ensure a smooth training flow from the arrival of the first new submarine.
The project team have also put considerable time into logistic integration, and to ensure that the full infrastructure is ready by 2005. To the extent that "the submarines themselves are among the last of the deliverables". The focus here has been to ensure the smoothest possible transition from the Daphnes to the Class 209s, with the least disruption of the operational submarine capability.
An in-country GSC support team of four engineers will be based in Simon's Town from two years before the first submarine is due for delivery, until the expiry of the warranty on the last boat to be delivered.
The Daphnes
Two of the SAN's Daphnes will be fitted with the full `Nickles' combat system developed by ADS. They will be kept operational to ensure a continuous submarine capability until the new boats are in service, and will be phased out as the Class 209s are phased in. The third Daphne will be used as a source of spares.
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| Wearing a German flag, a 209 Type 1400 believed to be heading for the Turkish navy (Source: HDW) |
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| The Brazilian submarine TUPI was built by HDW in Germany. Three more 209 Type 1400 were built in Rio de Janeiro (Source: van Ginderen/Jane's) |
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| Cutaway of the submarine proposed for the South African Navy (Source: German Submarine Consortium) |