1.
German Navy
–
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and part of the unified Bundeswehr, the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the Bundesmarine from 1956 until 1995 when Deutsche Marine became the name with respect to the 1990 incorporation of the East German Volksmarine. It is deeply integrated into the NATO alliance and its primary mission is protection of Germanys territorial waters and maritime infrastructure as well as sea lines of communication. Apart from this, the German Navy participates in peacekeeping operations and they also participate in Anti-Piracy operations. The German Navy traces its roots back to the Reichsflotte of the era of 1848–52. The Reichsflotte was the first German navy to sail under the black-red-gold flag, in 1956, with West Germanys accession to NATO, the Bundesmarine, as the navy was known colloquially, was formally established. In the same year the East German Volkspolizei See became the Volksmarine, during the Cold war the all of the German Navys combat vessels were assigned to NATOs Allied Forces Baltic Approachess naval command NAVBALTAP. With the accession of East Germany to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990 the Volksmarine along with the whole National Peoples Army became part of the Bundeswehr. Since 1995 the name German Navy is used in international context, as of 16 December 2016, the strength of the navy is 16,137 men and women. A number of forces have operated in different periods. The German Navy is also engaged in operations against international terrorism such as Operation Enduring Freedom, presently the largest operation the German Navy is participating in is UNIFIL off the coast of Lebanon. The German contribution to this operation is two frigates, four fast attack craft, and two auxiliary vessels, the naval component of UNIFIL has been under German command. The navy is operating a number of development and testing installations as part of an inter-service, among these is the Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters, an affiliated centre of Allied Command Transformation. The COE CSW was established in April 2007 and officially accredited by NATO on 26 May 2009 and it is co-located with the staff of the German Flotilla 1 in Kiel whose Commander is double-hatted as Director, COE CSW. The displacement of the navy is 220,000 tonnes, in addition, the German Navy and the Royal Danish Navy are in cooperation in the Ark Project. This agreement made the Ark Project responsible for the strategic sealift of German armed forces where the charter of three roll-on-roll-off cargo and troop ships are ready for deployments. In addition, these ships are kept available for the use of the other European NATO countries. The three vessels have a displacement of 60,000 tonnes
2.
French Navy
–
The French Navy, informally La Royale, is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces. As of June 2014, the French Navy employed a total of 36,776 personnel, the reserve element of the French Navy consisted of 4,827 personnel of the Operational Reserve. The French naval fleet includes more than a hundred vessels and nuclear type submarines, the history of the French Navy dates back to the History of the French Navy of Antiquity to the Renaissance, part of the History of the French Navy. The French Royal Navy was quasi inexistent prior 1624, the Ordre de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem, which was both a religious and military order, had its own respective international war fleet which assured the policing of the seas in the Mediterranean. The members which had satisfied obligations for periods in service at sea fulfilling their service, were granted the rank of Knights Hospitaller, however, many considered the naval service formation to integrate later, while being well formed, their respective navy. The Ordre de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem was one of the ancestors of the French naval schools and in principal, the Order accordingly formed most of the ships Captains, Officers of the French Royal Navy and Admirals of the Marine française de guerre de la Méditerranée. During the Revolution, the French Navy succeeded to the French Royal Navy, under the First French Empire and the Second French Empire, the navy was designated as the Imperial French Navy. The French Navy is still designated today familiarly as La Royale and this expression was used by commercial sailors due to their military service at the corps of the navy by the institution of maritime inscription. The implementation then of the Ministère de la Marine later the de la Marine de guerre française at rue Royale. The symbol of the French Navy, which was since origin a golden anchor » and this symbol featured on all naval vessels, the arms, uniforms, the couriers, equipment, and general arms of the navy. This symbol was replaced in 1990 by a logo featuring a bow section of a warship with two ascending red and blue spray foams, and the inscription Marine nationale. The Chief of Staff of the French Navy was Admiral Bernard Louzeau, the navy became a consistent instrument of national power around the seventeenth century with Richelieus efforts under Louis XIII, and Colberts under Louis XIV. Under the tutelage of the Sun King, the French Navy was well-financed and -equipped, managing to score several victories in the Nine Years War against the Royal Navy. Financial troubles, however, forced the navy back to port and allowed the English, before the Nine Years War, in the Franco-Dutch War, it managed to score a decisive victory over a combined Spanish-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Palermo. The French Navy scored various successes, as in the campaigns led in the Atlantic by Picquet de la Motte, in 1766, Bougainville led the first French circumnavigation. During the American Revolutionary War the French Navy played a role in supporting the Americans. French warships participated in the battle by bombarding British ground forces, in India, Suffren waged campaigns against the British, successfully contending for supremacy against Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes. In the Mediterranean, the French Navy waged a campaign during a 1798 French invasion of Egypt
3.
Marina Militare
–
The Italian Navy is the maritime defence force of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the Regia Marina after World War II. As of August 2014, the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active personnel with approximately 184 vessels in service, the Regia Marina was formed on March 17,1861, after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. The Italian Navy assumed its present name after the Italian monarchy was abolished following a referendum held on June 2,1946. At the end of its five years involvement in World War II, however, a large number of its naval units had survived the war, albeit in a low efficiency state, which was due to the conflict and the age of many vessels. A ban on owning Battleships, Aircraft carriers, Submarines and Amphibious Assault units, a ban on operating military installations on the islands of Pantelleria, Pianosa and on the archipelago of Pelagie Islands. The total displacement, battleships excluded, of the navy was not allowed to be greater than 67,500 tons. Some had already been dismantled in La Spezia between 1948 and 1955, including the aircraft carrier Aquila. However, the Soviet Union demanded the surrender of the battleship Giulio Cesare, the cruisers Attilio Regolo and Scipione Africano became the French Chateaurenault and Guichen, while Eugenio di Savoia became the Greek Helli. After break up and/or transfers, only a part of the fleet remained to be recommissioned into the Marina. With the new elections in 1946, the Kingdom of Italy became a Republic, the US government in Washington wished to keep its own installations on the Italian Peninsula and relaxed the Treaty restrictions by including Italy in the Mutual Defense Assistance Programme. Within NATO, the Marina Militare was assigned control of the Adriatic Sea and Strait of Otranto. This solution required a great effort to rebuild and transform the fleet. Progress was slow due to pressures on Italy and due to opposition from other European governments. These nations were concerned at seeing an Italian Navy capable of rivaling the Western naval forces, the ensign of the Italian Navy is the Italian tricolour defaced with the coat of arms of the Marina Militare. A further difference is that St, in 2012 the Navy began a restructuring process that will see a 21% decrease in personnel by 2025. A new structure was implemented in January 2014, the command structure is depicted below, Reporting to the Logistics Command is Maritime Command – divided into four areas who provide logistic support for their areas. The Corps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard is the coast guard of Italy and is part of the Italian Navy under the control of the Ministry of Infrastructures, in Italy, it is commonly known as simply the Guardia costiera
4.
Indian Navy
–
The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India serves as Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy, the Chief of Naval Staff, usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the navy. The Indian Navy is the fifth largest in the world and it played an important role in Indias victory in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. The Indian Navy can trace its lineage back to the East India Companys Marine which was founded in 1612 to protect British merchant shipping in the region. In 1793 the East India Company established its rule over eastern part of the Indian subcontinent i. e. Bengal, in 1858, East India Company rule gave way to the British Raj which lasted until India became independent in 1947. When India became a republic in 1950, the Royal Indian Navy as it had been named since 1934 was renamed to Indian Navy, the 17th-century Maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is considered as the Father of the Indian Navy. India has a history dating back 5,600 years. The first tidal dock is estimated to have built at Lothal around 2300 BC during the Indus Valley Civilisation. The Rig Veda written around 1500 BC, credits Varuna with knowledge of the routes and describes naval expeditions. There is reference to the wings of a vessel called Plava. A compass, the Matsya Yantra, was used for navigation in the fourth and fifth century AD, the earliest known reference to an organisation devoted to ships in ancient India is to the Mauryan Empire from the fourth century BCE. Emperor Chandragupta Mauryas Prime Minister Kautilyas Arthashastra devotes a chapter on the state department of waterways under navadhyaksha. The term, nava dvipantaragamanam appears in book in addition to appearing in the Sanskrit text, Baudhayana Dharmasastra as the interpretation of the term. Sea lanes between India and neighbouring lands were the form of trade for many centuries, and are responsible for the widespread influence of Indian Culture on other societies. Powerful navies included those of the Chola dynasty, Maurya Empire, Satavahana, Gupta Empire, Pala, Pandya, Vijayanagara Empire, Kalinga, Mughal, the Palas and the Chola]s excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. The Maratha naval power dominated the scene in India for three centuries. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Maratha and Kerala fleets were expanded, the Pal was a three masted fighter with guns peeping on the broadsides. Kanhoji Angre and Kunjali Marakkar, the Naval chief of Saamoothiri, were two notable naval chiefs of the period
5.
Royal Danish Navy
–
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic. Other tasks include surveillance, search and rescue, icebreaking, oil recovery and prevention as well as contributions to international tasks. During the period 1509–1814, when Denmark was in a union with Norway, despite this, the navy is now equipped with a number of large state-of-the-art vessels commissioned since the end of the Cold War. This can be explained by its location as the NATO member controlling access to the Baltic. Danish Navy ships carry the prefix KDM in Danish, but this is translated to HDMS in English, Denmark is one of several NATO member states whose navies do not deploy submarines. The geographic layout of Denmark has a coastline to land area ratio of 1,5.9, by comparison, the figure for the Netherlands is 1,92.1 and for the United States,1,493.2. Denmark therefore naturally has long-standing maritime traditions, dating back to the 9th century when the Vikings had small, with time, the defence pacts gave rise to larger, more offensive fleets which the Vikings used for plundering coastal areas. In the period after the Vikings, and up to the 15th century, indeed, it is said that king Valdemar Sejr had more than 1,000 ships during the conquest of Estonia in 1219. Together they carried more than 30,000 soldiers with horses and supplies, records exist of a unified Danish navy from the late 14th century. Queen Margaret I, who had just founded the Kalmar Union ordered the building of a navy — mainly to defend the union against the Hanseatic League. Earlier the national fleet had consisted of vessels owned and operated by the nobility, the earlier monarchs therefore had to rely on conscription from the nobility, which was not always easy as the monarchy itself often had enemies within the nobility. Queen Margaret I gave instructions for a navy to be constituted and maintained under the control of the monarchy, the nobility still had to provide crews for these ships, though the core crew-members could be employed by the monarch. There were also education officers, mainly levied from the nobility, in the 15th century, especially during the reign of King Hans, Danish trade expanded appreciably, increasing the need for the delivery of merchandise. As shipping was the means of transport at the time. King Hans is credited with establishing a joint Dano-Norwegian fleet in 1509 and they were mainly petty criminals, who had to choose between working in the king’s navy or imprisonment. They received basic training in seamanship and carpentry, enabling them to sail the ships, responsibility for weaponry and combat was still in the hands of conscripted farmers. For these, the country was divided into a number of counties — known in Danish as skipæn and it was also during this period that dedicated naval bases and shipyards were founded
6.
Royal Australian Navy
–
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the colonial navies were integrated into a national force. Originally intended for defence, the navy was granted the title of Royal Australian Navy in 1911. Britains Royal Navy continued to support the RAN and provided additional blue-water defence capability in the Pacific up to the years of World War II. Then, rapid expansion saw the acquisition of large surface vessels. In the decade following the war, the RAN acquired a number of aircraft carriers. Today, the RAN consists of 47 commissioned vessels,3 non-commissioned vessels, the current Chief of Navy is Vice Admiral Tim Barrett. The Commonwealth Naval Forces were established on 1 March 1901, two months after the federation of Australia, when the forces of the separate Australian colonies were amalgamated. As a result, the force structure was set at one battlecruiser. On 10 July 1911, King George V granted the service the title of Royal Australian Navy. The first of the RANs new vessels, the destroyer Yarra, was completed in September 1910, in this time the focus of Australias naval policy shifted from defence against invasion to trade protection, and several fleet units were sunk as targets or scrapped. By 1923, the size of the navy had fallen to eight vessels, following the outbreak of the Pacific War and the virtual destruction of British naval forces in south-east Asia, the RAN operated more independently, or as part of United States Navy formations. As the navy took on a greater role, it was expanded significantly and at its height the RAN was the fourth-largest navy in the world. A total of 34 vessels were lost during the war, including three cruisers and four destroyers, after the Second World War, the size of the RAN was again reduced, but it gained new capabilities with the acquisition of two aircraft carriers, Sydney and Melbourne. The RAN saw action in many Cold War–era conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region and operated alongside the Royal Navy and United States Navy off Korea, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Since the end of the Cold War, the RAN has been part of Coalition forces in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, operating in support of Operation Slipper and it was also deployed in support of Australian peacekeeping operations in East Timor and the Solomon Islands. The strategic command structure of the RAN was overhauled during the New Generation Navy changes, the RAN is commanded through Naval Headquarters in Canberra. The professional head is the Chief of Navy, who holds the rank of Vice Admiral, NHQ is responsible for implementing policy decisions handed down from the Department of Defence and for overseeing tactical and operational issues that are the purview of the subordinate commands
7.
Polish Navy
–
The Polish Navy is the military branch of the Polish Armed Forces responsible for naval operations. The current navy consists of 113 ships and about 18,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel, the traditional ship prefix in the Polish Navy is ORP. The Polish Navy is one of the largest navies on the Baltic Sea and it is mostly responsible for Baltic Sea operations. Other duties include search and rescue operations covering parts of the Baltic, as well as hydrographic measurements, the Polish Navy has its roots in naval vessels that were largely used on Polands main rivers in defense of trade and commerce. During the Thirteen Years War, this force of inland ships for the first time saw real open sea combat. At the battle of Vistula Lagoon, a Polish privateer fleet defeated the Teutonic Knights Navy, the Second Peace of Thorn acquired for Poland the strategic naval city of Danzig, and with it the means of maintaining a large fleet on the Baltic. In 1561, following a victory over Russian Naval forces in the Baltic and this led to the development of a privateer port in Puck. Around the start of the 17th century, Poland became ruled by the House of Vasa, Vasa kings attempted to create a proper fleet, but their attempts met with repeated failures, due to lack of funds in the royal treasury. During the reign of Sigismund III of Poland, the most celebrated victory of the Commonwealth Navy took place at the Battle of Oliwa in 1627 against Sweden, the victory over Sweden secured for Poland permanent access to the Atlantic, and laid the foundations for expeditions beyond Europe. The plans for the independent fleet fell through shortly afterwards due to a badly executed alliance with the Habsburgs who in 1629 took over the fleet, the Commission of Royal Ships was created in 1625. This commission, along with the allocation of funds by the Sejm in 1637. Władysław IV Vasa, Sigismunds son and successor who took the throne in 1632, purchased 12 ships, the Fleet, however, was entirely destroyed in 1637 by Denmark, without declaration of war. Support for this navy was weak and it largely withered away by the 1640s, the ships were sold in the years 1641-1643. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, although the dominant force in Central and Eastern Europe during the 16th-18th centuries, the proportionally small Polish coastline and the limited access to the Atlantic never allowed for a massive buildup of naval forces to the level of colonial powers such as England and France. The Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century brought an end to the independent Polish Navy. Following World War I, the Second Polish Republic on 28 November 1918, by the order of Józef Piłsudski, commander of the Armed Forces of Poland, the token naval force was placed under the command of Captain Bogumił Nowotny as its first chief. The first ships were acquired from a division of the Imperial German Navy, in the 1920s and 1930s the Polish Navy underwent a modernisation program under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Jerzy Świrski and Rear-Admiral Józef Unrug. A number of ships were built in France, the Netherlands
8.
Shaped charge
–
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosives energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, initiate nuclear weapons, penetrate armor, the Munroe or Neumann effect is the focusing of blast energy by a hollow or void cut on a surface of an explosive. The earliest mention of hollow charges occurred in 1792, the first true hollow charge effect was achieved in 1883, by Max von Foerster, chief of the nitrocellulose factory of Wolff & Co. in Walsrode, Germany. By 1886, Gustav Bloem of Düsseldorf, Germany had obtained U. S, patent 342,423 for hemispherical cavity metal detonators to concentrate the effect of the explosion in an axial direction. The Munroe effect is named after Charles E. Munroe, who discovered it in 1888. As a civilian chemist working at the U. S. Conversely, if letters were raised in relief above the surface of the explosive, in 1894, Munroe constructed the first crude shaped charge, Among the experiments made. Was one upon a safe twenty-nine inches cube, with four inches. Hen a hollow charge of nine pounds and a half in weight and untamped was detonated on it. The hollow cartridge was made by tying the sticks of dynamite around a tin can, part of that 1900 article was reprinted in the February 1945 issue of Popular Science, describing how shaped-charge warheads worked. It was this article that at last revealed to the public how the fabled Bazooka actually worked against armored vehicles during WWII. In 1910, Egon Neumann of Germany discovered that a block of TNT, the military usefulness of Munroes and Neumanns work was unappreciated for a long time. Between the world wars, academics in several countries – Myron Yakovlevich Sukharevskii in the Soviet Union, payment and Donald Whitley Woodhead in Britain, and Robert Williams Wood in the U. S. – recognized that projectiles could form during explosions. However, it was not until 1932 that Franz Rudolf Thomanek, when the Austrian government showed no interest in pursuing the idea, Thomanek moved to Berlins Technische Hochschule, where he continued his studies under the ballistics expert Carl Julius Cranz. There in 1935, he and Hellmuth von Huttern developed a prototype anti-tank round, although the weapons performance proved disappointing, Thomanek continued his developmental work, collaborating with Hubert Schardin at the Waffeninstitut der Luftwaffe in Braunschweig. By 1937, Shardin believed that hollow-charge effects were due to the interactions of shock waves and it was during the testing of this idea that, on February 4,1938, Thomanek conceived the shaped-charge explosive. During World War II, shaped-charge munitions were developed by Germany, Britain, the Soviet Union, the development of shaped charges revolutionized anti-tank warfare. Tanks faced a serious vulnerability from a weapon that could be carried by an infantryman or aircraft, one of the earliest uses of shaped charges was by German glider-borne troops against the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael. These demolition charges – developed by Dr. Wuelfken of the German Ordnance Office – were unlined explosive charges and didnt produce a metal jet like the modern HEAT warheads
9.
Pump-jet
–
A pump-jet, hydrojet, or water jet is a marine system that creates a jet of water for propulsion. The mechanical arrangement may be a ducted propeller, a centrifugal pump, the design also incorporates an intake to provide water to the pump and a nozzle to direct the flow of water out of the pump. A pump-jet works by having an intake that allows water to pass underneath the vessel into the engines, Water enters the pump through this inlet. The pump can be of a design for high speeds. The water pressure inside the inlet is increased by the pump, with the use of a reversing bucket, reverse thrust can also be achieved for faring backwards, quickly and without the need to change gear or adjust engine thrust. The reversing bucket can also be used to slow the ship down when braking. This feature is the main reason pump jets are so maneuverable, the nozzle also provides the steering of the pump-jets. Plates, similar to rudders, can be attached to the nozzle in order to redirect the water flow port and starboard. In a way, this is similar to the principles of air thrust vectoring and this provides pumpjet-powered ships with superior agility at sea. Another advantage is that when faring backwards by using the bucket, steering is not inverted. An axial-flow waterjets pressure is increased by diffusing the flow as it is passes through the impeller blades, the pump nozzle then converts this pressure energy into velocity, thus producing thrust. But these craft also have high power-to-weight ratios compared to most marine craft, axial-flow waterjets are by far the most common type of pump. Mixed-flow waterjet designs incorporate aspects of both Axial flow and Centrifugal flow concepts, pressure is developed by both diffusion and radial outflow. Mixed flow designs produce lower volumes of water at high velocity making them suited for small to moderate craft sizes, common uses include high speed pleasure craft, and waterjets for shallow water river racing. Centrifugal-flow waterjet designs make use of flow to create water pressure. Centrifugal designs are not commonly used anymore except on outboard sterndrives, pump jets have some advantages over bare propellers for certain applications, usually related to requirements for high-speed or shallow-draft operations. Modern torpedoes, such as the Spearfish, the Mk 48, disadvantages of pump-jets include, Can be less efficient than a propeller at low speed More expensive The intake grill can become clogged with debris, e. g. seaweed. The effects of this can be mitigated by having a reversing gearbox between the engine and the water jet, the Italian inventor Secondo Campini showed the first functioning man-made pump-jet engine in Venice in 1931
10.
Sachsen-class frigate
–
The F124 Sachsen class is Germanys latest class of highly advanced air-defense frigates. The design of the Sachsen-class frigate is based on that of the F123 Brandenburg class but with enhanced stealth features designed to deceive an opponents radar and acoustic sensors. The class incorporates an advanced multifunction radar APAR and a SMART-L long-range radar which is purported to be capable of detecting stealth aircraft, although designated as frigates, they are comparable to destroyers in capability and size and were intended to replace the Navys Lütjens class. The German government contracted for three ships in June 1996 with an option on a fourth that was provisionally to have been named Thüringen, at €2.1 billion for the three ships, the class was one of the most expensive ship building programs of the German Navy. The Sachsen class was the group of frigates to be built in the post-unification era. The three Sachsens were ordered to replace the old Lütjens-class destroyers that were then over thirty years old, the ships of the Sachsen class are 132.15 meters long at the waterline and 143 m long overall. They have a beam of 17.44 m and a draft of 5 m and they displace 5,690 long tons at full load. Steering is controlled by a single roll-stabilized rudder, the ships have a radius of 570 m. The frigates have a crew of 38 officers,64 petty officers and they have accommodations for an additional thirteen officers and sailors as part of a squadron commanders staff, and they have crew provisions for female sailors. The ships can remain at sea for 21 days at a time, the primary improvement over the earlier vessels is the significantly reduced radar signature. The ships were designed with a capacity for an extra 270 long tons of weight, to allow for additions of new weapons. The ships of the Sachsen class are equipped with a combined diesel, the two operating shafts work independently. The diesel engines are installed in a non-walkable sound-proof capsule, the shafts drive two five-bladed variable-pitch propellers. The General Electric LM2500 PF/MLG gas turbine is rated at 31,500 shaft horsepower and the MTU 20V1163 TB93 diesels provide a combined 20,100 brake horsepower. The total 51,600 hp propulsion system provides a top speed of 29 knots, while operating the diesels only, the ships are equipped with four 1,000 Kilowatt diesel generators that operate at 400 Volts and 115 V. These ships were optimized for the anti-air warfare role, the primary anti-air weapons are the 32-cell Mk 41 Mod 10 vertical launching system, equipped with twenty-four SM-2 Block IIIA missiles and thirty-two Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles. Point-defense against cruise missiles is provided by a pair of 21-round Rolling Airframe Missile launchers, the ships are also equipped with two four-cell RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers. For defense against submarines, the frigates carry two triple-launchers for the 324 mm MU90 Impact torpedoes, the ships also carry a variety of guns, including one dual-purpose 62-caliber 76-millimeter gun manufactured by OTO Melara
11.
Frigate
–
A frigate /ˈfrɪɡᵻt/ is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries. In the 17th century, this term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability and these could be warships carrying their principal batteries of carriage-mounted guns on a single deck or on two decks. The term was used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle. In the late 19th century, the frigate was a type of ironclad warship that for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat. The term frigate was used because such ships still mounted their principal armaments on a continuous upper deck. Ship classes dubbed frigates have more closely resembled corvettes, destroyers, cruisers. The rank frigate captain derives from the name of type of ship. The term frigate originated in the Mediterranean in the late 15th century, referring to a lighter galleass type ship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability. The etymology of the word is unknown, although it may have originated as a corruption of aphractus, aphractus was, in turn, derived from the Ancient Greek phrase ἄφρακτος ναῦς, or undefended ship. In 1583, during the Eighty Years War, Habsburg Spain recovered the Southern Netherlands from the rebellious Dutch and this soon led to the occupied ports being used as bases for privateers, the Dunkirkers, to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this they developed small, maneuverable, sailing vessels that came to be referred to as frigates, in French, the term frigate became a verb, meaning to build long and low, and an adjective, adding further confusion. Even the huge English Sovereign of the Seas could be described as a frigate by a contemporary after her upper decks were reduced in 1651. The navy of the Dutch Republic was the first navy to build the larger ocean-going frigates, the first two tasks required speed, shallowness of draft for the shallow waters around the Netherlands, and the ability to carry sufficient supplies to maintain a blockade. The third task required heavy armament, sufficient to fight against the Spanish fleet, the first of these larger battle-capable frigates were built around 1600 at Hoorn in Holland. The effectiveness of the Dutch frigates became most visible in the Battle of the Downs in 1639, encouraging most other navies, especially the English, to adopt similar designs. The fleets built by the Commonwealth of England in the 1650s generally consisted of ships described as frigates, the largest of which were two-decker great frigates of the third rate. Carrying 60 guns, these vessels were as big and capable as great ships of the time, however, most other frigates at the time were used as cruisers, independent fast ships. The term frigate implied a long hull design, which relates directly to speed and also, in turn, in Danish, the word fregat is often applied to warships carrying as few as 16 guns, such as HMS Falcon which the British classified as a sloop
12.
Anti-submarine
–
An anti-submarine weapon is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, a weapon is usually a projectile, missile or bomb that is optimized to destroy submarines. Prior to about 1890, naval weapons were used against surface shipping. With the rise of the submarine after this time, countermeasures were considered for use against them. The first submarine installation of tubes was in 1885 and the first ship was sunk by a submarine-launched torpedo in 1887. There were only two ways of countering the military initially, ramming them or sinking them with gunfire. However, once they were submerged, they were largely immune until they had to surface again, by the start of the First World War there were nearly 300 submarines in service with another 80 in production. World War I marked the first earnest conflict involving significant use of submarines, in particular, the United Kingdom was desperate to defeat the U-Boat threat against British merchant shipping. When the bombs that it employed were found to be ineffective it began equipping its destroyers with simple depth charges that could be dropped into the water around a suspected submarines location. During this period it was found that explosions of these charges were more efficient if the charges were set to explode below or above the submarine, however, many other techniques were used, including minefields, barrages and Q-ships and the use of cryptanalysis against intercepted radio messages. The airship was used to drop bombs but fixed-wing aircraft were used for reconnaissance. However, the most effective countermeasure was the convoy, in 1918 U-boat losses became unbearably high. Most of the losses were due to mines but two were torpedoed, french, Italian and Russian submarines were also destroyed. Before the war ended, the need for forward-throwing weapons had been recognized by the British, hydrophones had been developed and were becoming effective as detection and location devices. Also, aircraft and airships had flown with depth bombs, albeit small ones with poor explosives. In addition, the specialist hunter-killer submarine had appeared, HMS R-1, the main developments in this period were in detection, with both active sonar and radar becoming effective. The British integrated the sonar with fire control and weapons to form a system for warships. Germany was banned from having a fleet but began construction in secret during the 1930s
13.
Torpedo
–
Historically, it was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive or fish torpedo, colloquially called a fish. The term torpedo was originally employed for a variety of devices, from about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate an underwater self-propelled weapon. Todays torpedoes can be divided into lightweight and heavyweight classes, and into straight-running, autonomous homers and they can be launched from a variety of platforms. The word torpedo comes from the name of a genus of rays in the order Torpediniformes. In naval usage, the American Robert Fulton introduced the name to refer to a gunpowder charge used by his French submarine Nautilus to demonstrate that it could sink warships. The concept of a torpedo existed many centuries before it was successfully developed. In 1275, Hasan al-Rammah described. an egg which moves itself, in modern language, a torpedo is an underwater self-propelled explosive, —but historically, the term also applied to primitive naval mines. These were used on an ad hoc basis during the modern period up to the late 19th century. An early submarine, the Turtle, attempted to lay a bomb with a fuse on the hull of HMS Eagle during the American Revolutionary War. In the early 1800s, the American inventor Robert Fulton, while in France and he coined the term torpedo in reference to the explosive charges he outfitted his submarine Nautilus. However, both the French and the Dutch governments were uninterested in the submarine, Fulton then concentrated on developing the torpedo independent of a submarine deployment. However, the British government refused to purchase the invention, stating they did not wish to introduce into naval warfare a system that would give advantage to weaker maritime nations. Fulton carried out a demonstration for the US government on 20 July 1807. Further development languished as Fulton focused on his steam-boat matters, during the War of 1812, torpedoes were employed in attempts to destroy British vessels and protect American harbors. In fact a submarine deployed torpedo was used in an attempt to destroy HMS Ramillies while in New Londons harbor. Hardy to warn the Americans to cease efforts with the use of any boat in this cruel and unheard-of warfare. Torpedoes were used by the Russian Empire during the Crimean War in 1855 against British warships in the Gulf of Finland and they used an early form of chemical detonator. During the American Civil War, the torpedo was used for what is today called a contact mine
14.
Mark 54 MAKO Lightweight Torpedo
–
The Mark 54 Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo is a standard 12.75 inch anti-submarine warfare torpedo used by the United States Navy. The Mk 50, having developed to counter very high performance nuclear submarines such as the Soviet Alfa class, was seen as too expensive to use against relatively slow conventional submarines. The older Mk 46, designed for use, performed poorly in the littoral areas. It shares much of the software and computer hardware of the Mk 48 ADCAP heavy torpedo, developmental testing began in July 1999, and a successful critical design review was completed in November 1999. In April 2003, Raytheon was awarded a sole source contract for the production of the Mk 54, full rate production began in October 2004. In March 2010 the Fifth Fleet requested improvements in the Mk 54s performance against diesel-electric submarines via an Urgent Operational Need Statement. This led to a software Block Upgrade program which began testing in August 2011, the P-8 Poseidon uses the High-Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapons Capability GPS-guided parachute kit to drop torpedoes from high altitude. The FY14 DOT&E report assessed the Mk 54 torpedo as not operationally effective in its intended role, shortfalls were also identified with the employing platforms’ tactics and tactical documentation, and interoperability problems with some platform fire control systems. The Mark 54 is carried by the U. S. Navy, in October 2010, Australia ordered 200 more torpedoes. S. Governments Foreign Military Sales program for P-8I LRMP. com
15.
Thomson-CSF
–
Thomson-CSF was a major electronics and defence contractor. In December 2000 it was renamed Thales Group, in 1879 Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston formed the Thomson-Houston Electric Company in the United States. On 15 April 1892 Thomson-Houston and the Edison General Electric Company merged to form General Electric, also in 1892 the company formed a French subsidiary, Thomson Houston International. In 1893 Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston was set up as a partner to GE and it is from this company that the modern Thomson companies would evolve. In 1966 CFTH merged with Hotchkiss-Brandt to form Thomson-Houston-Hotchkiss-Brandt, in 1968 the electronics business of Thomson-Brandt merged with Compagnie Générale de Télégraphie Sans Fil to form Thomson-CSF. Thomson Brandt maintained a significant shareholding in this company, in 1982 both Thomson-Brandt and Thomson-CSF were nationalized by François Mitterrand. Thomson-Brandt was renamed Thomson SA and merged with Thomson-CSF, from 1983 to 1987 a major reorganisation of Thomson-CSF was undertaken, with divestitures to refocus the group on its core activities. Thomson-CSF Téléphone and the division were sold to Alcatel and GE respectively. The semiconductor businesses of Thomson CSF was merged with Finmeccanica, Thomson acquired General Electric’s RCA and GE consumer electronics business in 1987. In 1988 Thomson Consumer Electronics was formed, renamed Thomson Multimedia in 1995, the French government split the consumer electronics and defence businesses prior to privatisation in 1999, those companies being Thomson Multimedia and Thomson-CSF. In 2000 Thomson-CSF went through a series of transactions, including with Marconi plc, the major acquisition at this time was the £1.3 billion purchase of the British defence electronics firm, Racal. This made Thomson-CSF the second largest participant in the UK defence industry after BAE, Racal was renamed Thomson-CSF Racal plc. On 6 December 2000 the group was renamed Thales, taïwan Connection, Scandales et meurtres au cœur de la République. Une pratique différente des relations sociales, lexpérience Thomson-CSF, Robert Thomas, Paris, Maxima-Laurent du Mesnil Ed.1999
16.
A244-S
–
The A244-s is a lightweight, fire-and-forget torpedo employed for anti-submarine warfare. It can be launched from surface vessels or from aircraft, the homing head is capable of active, passive or mixed modes for closing onto its target. It can also discriminate between decoys and real targets in the presence of heavy reverberations by specially emitted pulses and signal processing, the latest version is the A244-S mod.3 torpedo. The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems, Janes Air-Launched Weapons, A. 244/S lightweight torpedo A244/S Mod. 3, Eurotorp A244 Datasheet Deagel. com, specifications History & specifications, at Janes website, retrieved 2009-03-08
17.
Atlantique 2
–
The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic is a long-range maritime patrol aircraft designed and manufactured by Breguet Aviation. Introduced to service in 1965, it has operated by several NATO countries, commonly performing maritime roles such as reconnaissance. The Atlantic is also capable of carrying air-to-ground munitions to perform ground-attack missions, an updated version, the Atlantique 2 or ATL2, was produced by Dassault Aviation for the French Navy in the 1980s. Other operators of the Atlantic have included the German Navy, the Italian Air Force, the Pakistan Navy, a multinational consortium, Société dÉtude et de Construction de Breguet Atlantic was set up to develop and build the Atlantic. An initial order for 60 Atlantics –40 for France and 20 for Germany – was placed in 1963, with starting in 1965. The production line had shut down by the time the Netherlands placed an order for nine Atlantics, aircraft from this second production batch were delivered from 1972 to 1974. In 1978, the French Government authorised development of a new, updated version of the Atlantic, the ability to carry Exocet missiles was also added. Two prototype Atlantique 2s were produced by converting existing Atlantics, the first of these made its flight on 8 May 1981. Production of the Atlantique 2 was authorised on 24 May 1984, deliveries started in 1989 with 28 eventually built, from an original requirement for 42. By 2012, the Atlantique 2 had been rebranded as the ATL2, in 2012,18 French Atlantiques were undergoing a series of upgrades to increase the types effectiveness in two stages, Phase I addressing obsolescence issues and Phase II adding new capabilities. Also in 2012, a project was conducted to integrate the MU90 Impact torpedo. Aircraft that received these upgrades shall have a service life as well. The Atlantique 3 would have featured various off-the-shelf avionics upgrades, including the adoption of a glass cockpit. The use of uprated Allison AE2100H turboprop engines to drive new Dowty-built six-bladed composite propellers reportedly would have increased power by nearly 10%, in late 1996, Dassault intended to offer the Atlantique 3 to Germany, Italy, and France. By 2005, Dassault had abandoned marketing efforts on the Atlantique 3, a radar scanner is housed in a retractable underfuselage radome, while a magnetic anomaly detector is housed in a tail boom. It is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprop engines, an all-aluminium structure is used throughout the Atlantics airframe, corrosion is alleged to be a considerable problem due to environmental factors imposed by the maritime environment. The Atlantic has been designed for its purpose, instead of refitting or modifying existing designs, though the primary mission of the Atlantic is anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, its secondary roles include search and rescue, mine laying and detection and long-range maritime surveillance. The Atlantic can carry either eight guided ASW torpedoes such as Mk 46 Torpedo, or 12 depth charges, German Atlantics usually carried Mk 46s only and flew unarmed during the last years of their service
18.
Westland Lynx
–
The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants, the Lynx has the distinction of being the worlds first fully aerobatic helicopter with the ability to perform loops and rolls. In 1986, a specially modified Lynx set the current Fédération Aéronautique Internationales official airspeed record for helicopters at 400.87 km/h, in addition to a wide number of land and naval variants of the Lynx, several major derivatives have been produced. The Westland 30 was produced as a utility helicopter, it did not become a commercial success. The Lynx remains in production by AgustaWestland, the successor to Westland Helicopters, the initial design was started in the mid-1960s as a replacement for the Westland Scout and Wasp, and a more advanced alternative to the UH-1 Iroquois. The design was to be powered by a pair of Bristol Siddeley BS.360 turboshaft engines, in October 1969, the French Army cancelled its requirement for the Lynx, thus development work of the dedicated armed attack variant was terminated early on. The first Lynx prototype took its flight on 21 March 1971. In 1972, a Lynx broke the speed record over 15 and 25 km by flying at 321.74 km/h. It also set a new 100 km closed circuit record shortly afterwards, in 1986, the former company demonstrator Lynx, registered G-LYNX, was specially modified with Gem 60 engines and British Experimental Rotor Programme rotor blades. At this speed, it had a ratio of 2. Deliveries of production began in 1977. An improved Lynx AH.1 with Gem 41-1 or Gem 42 engines, the AH.5 led to the Lynx AH.7, which added a new tail rotor derived from the Westland 30, a reinforced airframe, improved avionics and defensive aids. An improved Lynx for the Royal Navy, the Lynx HAS.3, had Gem 42-1 Mark 204 engines, a transmission, a new flotation system. The Lynx HAS.3 also received various updates in service. A similar upgrade to the French Lynx was known as the Lynx Mk.4, in September 1974, the British and Egyptian governments initiated talks to establish a new Egyptian helicopter manufacturer. A separate agreement was formalised with Rolls-Royce to license manufacture the Lynxs Gem engines at the Helwan facility, however, this plan was ultimately aborted due to a lack of funds that had resulted from the collapse of the Arab Organization for Industrialization. Both Army and Naval variants were proposed, however, the project was ended in 1987 due to insufficient orders being placed. Only one Army Lynx-3 prototype was built, a development of the Lynx AH.7 with the wheeled undercarriage of the Lynx-3 was marketed by Westland as the Battlefield Lynx in the late 1980s
19.
NHIndustries NH90
–
The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 was developed and is manufactured by NHIndustries, a collaborative company, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight in December 1995, the type first entered operational service in 2007. As of January 2017, the NH90 has logged 127,000 flight hours in the forces of thirteen nations. The NH90 has the distinction of being the first production helicopter to feature entirely fly by wire flight controls, in early service, the NH90 has suffered several teething issues, which has in turn delayed active deployment of the type by some operators. In 1985, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom left the team in 1987. On 1 September 1992, NH Industries signed an NH90 design-and-development contract with NAHEMA and this agency represented the four participating nations, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. Portugal later joined the agency in June 2001, design work on the helicopter started in 1993. The first prototype, PT1, made the types first flight on 18 December 1995, the second prototype, PT2, first flew on 19 March 1997 and the third prototype, PT3, on 27 November 1998. On 12 December 2002, PT3 became the first helicopter to fly exclusively with fly-by-wire controls following the removal of mechanical back-up controls, the NH90 was developed into two main variants, the Tactical Transport Helicopter and the NATO Frigate Helicopter. These two main variants share about 75% commonality with each other, furthermore, many of the operators have requested specific configurations to their own helicopter fleets, thus each nations NH90 is effectively customized to the end-users requirements. During the development phrase of the programme in the 1990s, both technical and funding problems were experienced, in June 2000, the partner nations placed a large production order, worth US$8.6 billion, for a total of 366 helicopters. Additional orders have since followed from customers in Europe, Asia, by April 2013, a total of 529 NH90s of all variants were on order by various customers. The Nordic and Australian contracts stipulated production locally, Spain has a final assembly line at Albacete. The Marignane assembly line can reportedly complete up to 22 NH90s per year, in late 2006, the German Army, the first customer to receive production aircraft, accepted delivery of its first NH90 TTH. In April 2010, the Royal Netherlands Navy was the first customer to receive the navalised NH90 NFH variant. In June 2014, the announced that they had completed delivery of the 200th NH90, at that point. Between 2004 and 2016, the lead times for the NH90 had reduced from 18 months to 7.5 months
20.
Anechoic tile
–
Anechoic tiles are rubber or synthetic polymer tiles containing thousands of tiny voids, applied to the outer hulls of military ships and submarines, as well as anechoic chambers. Their function is twofold, To absorb the waves of active sonar, reducing and distorting the return signal. To attenuate the sounds emitted from the vessel, typically its engines, the technology of anechoic tiles was developed by the Kriegsmarine in the Second World War, codenamed Alberich after the invisible dwarf from Germanic Mythology. The coating was made up of sheets approximately 1 m square and 4 mm thick and it was manufactured by IG Farben from a material known under its trade name of Oppanol. The material was not homogeneous but contained air cavities, it was these cavities that degraded the reflection of ASDIC, the coating reduced echoes by 15% in the 10 to 18 kHz range. This frequency range matched the range of the early ASDIC active sonar used by the Allies. The ASDIC types 123, 123A,144 and 145 all operated in the 14 to 22 kHz range, however, this degradation in echo reflection was not uniform at all diving depths due to the voids being compressed by the water pressure. An additional benefit of the coating was it acted as a sound dampener, the coating had its first sea trials in 1940, on U-11, a Type IIB. U-67, a Type IX, was the first operational U-boat with this coating, after its first war patrol, it put in at Wilhelmshaven probably sometime in April 1941 where it was given the coating. The coating covered the tower and sides of the U-boat. By 15 May 1941, U-67 was in Kiel performing tests in the Baltic Sea, during July, the coating was removed from all parts of the boat except the conning tower and bow. Further experiments and sound trials were made in the Little Belt but they proved unsatisfactory. Problems were encountered early-on, when it was found that the adhesive had insufficient strength to bond synthetic rubber with the pressure hull and this resulted in the sheets loosening and creating turbulence in the water, making it easier for the submarine to be detected. Furthermore, the coating was found to have decreased the speed of the boat. It was not until late 1944 that the problems with the adhesive were mostly resolved, the coating required a special adhesive and careful application, it took several thousand hours of glueing and riveting on the U-boat. The first U-boat to test the new adhesive was U-480 a Type VIIC, with good results with the new adhesive, the Oberkommando der Marine intended that it would be widely used on the new Type XXI and Type XXII U-boats. However, the war ended before it could be put into large scale use, ultimately only one operational Type XXIII, U-4709, was coated with the anechoic tiles. U-boats with the anechoic tiles coating include, U-11, U-480, U-485 U-486, U-1105, U-1106, U-1107, U-1304, U-1306, U-1308, U-4704, U-4708, the Japanese I-400 super-submarine also used anechoic tile technology supplied by Germany
21.
Maritime patrol aircraft
–
France, Italy and Austria-Hungary used large numbers of smaller patrol aircraft for the Mediterranean, Adriatic and other coastal areas while the Germans and British fought over the North Sea. A number of specialized patrol balloons were built, particularly by the British, the success of long range patrol aircraft led to the development of fighters specifically designed to intercept them, such as the Hansa-Brandenburg W.29. Blimps were widely used by the U. S. Navy, especially in the warmer and calmer latitudes of the Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and later the Azores. In the Pacific, the Catalina was gradually superseded by the longer-ranged Martin PBM Mariner flying boat, in the decades following World War II, the patrol duties were partially taken over by aircraft derived from civilian airliners. These had range and performance factors better than most of the wartime bombers, the latest jet-powered bombers of the 1950s did not have the endurance needed for long, overwater patrolling, and they did not have the low loitering speeds necessary for antisubmarine operations. The RAF also flew a derivative of the Avro Lancaster bomber – the Avro Shackleton –, and then replaced it with the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. The Canadian version is called the CP-140 Aurora, in addition to their ASW and SAR capabilities, most P-3Cs have been modified to carry Harpoon missiles and Maverick s for attacking surface ships if the need ever arose. American P-3s were formerly armed with the Lulu nuclear depth charge for ASW, the Soviet Union developed the Ilyushin Il-38 from a civilian airliner, and the Royal Canadian Air Force did likewise, deriving the Canadair CP-107 Argus from a British airliner. Then, as mentioned above, those were replaced by the CP-140 Aurora, the French Navy developed the Breguet Atlantic following a Request for Proposal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Some of these were produced for some other NATO members that were not flying the P-3 or the CP-140. Japan developed an aircraft as well, the Shin Meiwa PS-1 flying boat. The main threat to NATO maritime supremacy throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and these were countered by the NATO fleets, the NATO patrol planes mentioned above, and by sophisticated underwater listening systems. S. Navy and Canadian ones from Greenland, Iceland, and Newfoundland, British ones from Scotland and Northern Ireland, and Norwegian, Dutch, and German ones from their home countries. Since the end of the Cold War the threat of a submarine attack is a remote one. The earliest patrol aircraft carried bombs and machine guns, between the wars the British experimented with equipping their patrol aircraft with the COW37 mm gun. During World War II, depth charges that could be set to detonate at specific depths, equipping submarines with radar-warning devices and the snorkel made them harder to find. Then the small escort carriers of WW II became available to cover the oceans. Maritime patrol aircraft are fitted with a wide range of sensors
22.
Soviet Union
–
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
23.
Double hull
–
The space between the two hulls is sometimes used for storage of fuel or ballast water. Double hulls are a more extensive safety measure than double bottoms, in low-energy collisions, double hulls can prevent flooding beyond the penetrated compartment. In high-energy collisions, however, the distance to the hull is not sufficient. Double hulls or double bottoms have been required in all ships for decades as part of the Safety Of Life At Sea or SOLAS Convention. Coulombi Egg Tanker Naval architecture Bulkhead Submarine Multihull
24.
Anti-submarine missile
–
An anti-submarine missile is a standoff anti-submarine weapon. They include a missile or rocket designed to deliver an explosive warhead or homing torpedo. Depth charges were the earliest weapons designed for use by ships against submerged submarines and these explosives were initially dropped as the ship moved over the presumed location of a submarine. Before World War II, shipboard sonar was unable to contact with a submarine at close range. Various mortar-type projectors, including hedgehog and squid, were devised during World War II to allow a ship to maintain sonar contact while lobbing explosive charges toward the submarine, during the Cold War, missiles were developed to provide greater range with reduced recoil. Some missiles and rockets carry homing torpedoes to provide guidance for the warhead
25.
Otomat
–
The Otomat is an Italian-built, anti-ship and coastal attack missile first built by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first versions, from the name of the two builders and, for the versions, Teseo, from the Italian word for Theseus. The MILAS variant is an anti-submarine missile, roketsan, a Turkish missile manufacturer, signed an agreement in 2010 with MBDA to design, develop, and produce the new generation of rocket engines for the Otomat. The Otomat missile program started in 1967, the year in which the Israeli destroyer Eilat was sunk by three Soviet-made P-15 Termit anti-ship missiles. This event raised awareness about the effectiveness of weapons and prompted the development of similar systems in Western countries. However, it is whether the Otomat program started before or after the Eilat event. The Otomat program was undertaken by the Italian Oto Melara corporation in cooperation with the French Matra Corporation, trials started in 1971 and development of the Mk1 version of the Otomat officially ended in 1974. However, at time, the French Navy chose the wholly French Exocet over the Franco-Italian Otomat as its standard anti-ship missile. Thus, the Italian Navy remained as the launch customer for the missile, it entered service on January 1976, before the commissioning of the warship intended to carry it. These early Otomat missiles lacked a link for over-the-horizon targeting. To solve this problem, development of an Mk2 version started in May 1973, with a first test launch in January 1974, development completed in 1976, and the first over-the-horizon launch in 1978. By the end of 1976 OTO Melara had reported that 210 Otomats had been sold, Italy 48, Peru 40, Venezuela 12, also at this time there were negotiations under way for the sale of 296 more missiles to various nations. An Mk2 Block II version was introduced in the 1980s, it featured folding wings so that the missile could now fit in a smaller launch boxes and this reduction in size allowed a doubling in the number of missiles carried, usually from four to eight. Even so, Otomat Mk2 Block II remained bulkier than contemporary versions of Harpoon and Exocet missiles due to its greater diameter, the Otomat is a long-range anti-ship missile capable of reaching around 180 kilometres at an average speed of 1, 000–1,100 kilometres per hour. It is stored and launched in a box which weighs 1,610 kilograms fully loaded. This container has a shape to accommodate the fixed wings of the missile. At launch, the boosters propel the missile up to a height of 200 metres before the engine starts. Otomat Mk2 missiles have a data-link for mid-course updates and they are designed to strike their targets in a 180 m dive or in a sea-skimming mode at an altitude of 2 m with a 210 kg warhead capable piercing up to 80 millimetres of steel
26.
MILAS
–
The Otomat is an Italian-built, anti-ship and coastal attack missile first built by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first versions, from the name of the two builders and, for the versions, Teseo, from the Italian word for Theseus. The MILAS variant is an anti-submarine missile, roketsan, a Turkish missile manufacturer, signed an agreement in 2010 with MBDA to design, develop, and produce the new generation of rocket engines for the Otomat. The Otomat missile program started in 1967, the year in which the Israeli destroyer Eilat was sunk by three Soviet-made P-15 Termit anti-ship missiles. This event raised awareness about the effectiveness of weapons and prompted the development of similar systems in Western countries. However, it is whether the Otomat program started before or after the Eilat event. The Otomat program was undertaken by the Italian Oto Melara corporation in cooperation with the French Matra Corporation, trials started in 1971 and development of the Mk1 version of the Otomat officially ended in 1974. However, at time, the French Navy chose the wholly French Exocet over the Franco-Italian Otomat as its standard anti-ship missile. Thus, the Italian Navy remained as the launch customer for the missile, it entered service on January 1976, before the commissioning of the warship intended to carry it. These early Otomat missiles lacked a link for over-the-horizon targeting. To solve this problem, development of an Mk2 version started in May 1973, with a first test launch in January 1974, development completed in 1976, and the first over-the-horizon launch in 1978. By the end of 1976 OTO Melara had reported that 210 Otomats had been sold, Italy 48, Peru 40, Venezuela 12, also at this time there were negotiations under way for the sale of 296 more missiles to various nations. An Mk2 Block II version was introduced in the 1980s, it featured folding wings so that the missile could now fit in a smaller launch boxes and this reduction in size allowed a doubling in the number of missiles carried, usually from four to eight. Even so, Otomat Mk2 Block II remained bulkier than contemporary versions of Harpoon and Exocet missiles due to its greater diameter, the Otomat is a long-range anti-ship missile capable of reaching around 180 kilometres at an average speed of 1, 000–1,100 kilometres per hour. It is stored and launched in a box which weighs 1,610 kilograms fully loaded. This container has a shape to accommodate the fixed wings of the missile. At launch, the boosters propel the missile up to a height of 200 metres before the engine starts. Otomat Mk2 missiles have a data-link for mid-course updates and they are designed to strike their targets in a 180 m dive or in a sea-skimming mode at an altitude of 2 m with a 210 kg warhead capable piercing up to 80 millimetres of steel
27.
Durand de la Penne-class destroyer
–
The Durand de la Penne class are two guided missile destroyers operated by the Marina Militare, the Italian navy. The design is a version of the Audace class, updated with CODOG machinery. Four ships were planned but the pair were cancelled when Italy joined the Horizon project. This class is named after a famous naval diver who served in the Regia Marina during World War II, Luigi Durand de la Penne. He, together with members of X MAS made the most successful human torpedo mission, damaging the British battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant in Alexandria, December 1941. These new ships were meant as very advanced destroyers, with an improvement over the types in almost every aspect of design. Because the ships in Marina Militare Italiana are seldom built from scratch, it is considering the evolution of this project. With progressive calls for better performances, this evolved into the final design for the Durand de la Penne class destroyer. The first step of this growth was the Impavido class, the firsts guided missile destroyers of the Marina Militare. The Impavido class ships were commissioned in the early 1960s and were equal to the US Navy Charles F. Both shared the Tartar missile system, with a Mk 13 launcher, around 40 missiles, one difference was the secondary weaponry. While both had lightweight torpedo launchers, the rest was different, the Charles F. Adams class had an ASROC launcher, dedicated to ASW tasks, to help counter the growing number of Soviet submarines. The Impavidos did not have such systems, but instead had four model MM76 mm guns and this is not true for oceanic ships, less endangered by aircraft and more by submarines. In service the MM guns were not considered satisfactory, despite having decisive improvements over the older American 76 mm guns, reliability left a lot to be desired, while the lack of a totally automatic mode of fire proved a disadvantage. Not coincidentally, no first generation 76 mm Italian guns had any export success, in the early years of the 1970s, a new pair of destroyers was commissioned, the Audace class. They were built bigger, to accommodate the solution to one of the most serious weakness of the previous Impavido class. Agusta had navalised the Bell 212 helicopter and two of these were accommodated in a hangar, practically framed with the Tartar launcher, in the relatively small superstructure. The guns remained in the location, number, and calibre, but they were totally new models, developed in those years
28.
FREMM
–
The FREMM is a class of multi-purpose frigates designed by DCNS/Armaris and Fincantieri for the navies of France and Italy. The lead ship of the class, Aquitaine, was commissioned in November 2012 by the French Navy, in France the class is known as the Aquitaine class, while in Italy they are known as the Bergamini class. France has ordered six anti-submarine variants, and two air-defence variants, the land-attack variant was subsequently cancelled. A third anti-air warfare variant of FREMM was proposed by DCNS in repose to French requirements for a new air-defence frigate, the SYLVER A50 would allow it to fire the 120 kilometres -range Aster 30 missile, the towed array sonar would not be fitted. At Euronaval 2012 DCNS showed a new concept called FREMM-ER for the FREDA requirement, again based on the FREMM, FREMM-ER has a modified superstructure replacing Héraklès with the new Thales Sea Fire 500 radar, whose four fixed plates resemble those of the US Navys AN/SPY-1. However unlike the Héraklès and the SPY-1, the Sea Fire 500 has active electronically scanned array antennas, original plans were for 17 FREMM to replace the nine DEstienne dOrves-class avisos and nine anti-submarine frigates of the Tourville and Georges Leygues classes. In November 2005 France announced a contract of €3.5 billion for development and the first eight hulls, with options for nine more costing €2.95 billion split over two tranches. Expectations were that the last two ships of the 17 FREMM planned would be built to FREDA specifications, however, by 2008 the plan was revised down to just 11 FREMM at a cost of €8.75 billion. The 11 ships would cost €670 million each in FY2014, or €860m including development costs, the FTI will replace the La Fayette-class class, which will be fitted with a sonar as an interim measure. Planning assumptions for the Italian Navy are 10 FREMM-IT at a cost of €5.8 billion, FREMM-IT will replace the Maestrale and Lupo-class frigates in service with the Italian Navy. As of 16 April 2015, the Italian government has approved funding for all ten FREMM-IT to be delivered to the Italian Navy, in the 2013 Italian budget, the Italian government laid-out the necessary financing for two more GP variants and the contract was awarded in September 2013. On 15 April 2015, Italian Parliamentary confirmed the deal between OCCAR and Orizzonte Sistemi Navali Spa to beginning built units 9 and 10, for Euro 764 millions. FREMM-IT9 &10 would will have AAW & ATBM capabilities and will have A70 VLS for cruise & Aster Block 2 missiles, with new Leonardo Kronos Quad, C band, AESA, 3D radar. The Leonardo Kronos Quad will have four flat radar sensors, with three times the range and full ATBM capabilities. All 10 Italian FREMM-ITs have extended AAW capabilities, with SAAM-ESD CMS, SAAM-ESD CMS use Leonardo MFRA, a 3D active radar, an evolved version of the Leonardo EMPAR PESA radar. Since the 7th FREMM-IT, there will be updates, such as new conformal IFF antenna, the Moroccan ship is similar to the French anti-submarine version, without SYLVER A70 tubes for SCALP Naval, and cost €470m. On 22 January 2009 the Hellenic Navy announced an order for six FREMM to replace a number of Elli-class frigates. Germany objected to this deal in October 2011 and no deal has been signed, in April 2013, the French government showcased the FREMM class in Halifax with the hope of selling to the Royal Canadian Navy for the Single Class Surface Combatant Project
29.
Adelaide-class frigate
–
The Adelaide class is a ship class of six guided missile frigates constructed in Australia and the United States of America for service in the Royal Australian Navy. The class is based on the United States Navys Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, the first four vessels were built in the United States, while the other two were constructed in Australia. The first ship entered service in November 1980, and three of the six ships are active as of 2015, Sydney was decommissioned in late 2015, after spending most of the year as a moored training ship. The Hobart-class air-warfare destroyers will replace the remaining frigates from 2016 onwards, following the cancellation of the Australian light destroyer project in 1973, the British Type 42 destroyer and the American Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate were identified as alternatives. Although the Type 42 met the RANs requirements as a replacement for the cancelled light destroyers, despite this, the Australian government approved the purchase of two US-built Perry-class ships in 1974. The risk of acquiring an unproven design was seen as acceptable because of the success of the USNs Charles F, adams-class destroyer, when compared to the equivalent British ships the RAN would have purchased. Final government approval to order two ships was granted in 1976, with a ship ordered in 1977. The order was expanded in April 1980 with the order of a fourth unit, the first, HMAS Adelaide was built to the Flight I design, while Canberra and Sydney were the first and last ships of the Flight II design, respectively. The final American-built ship was Darwin, constructed to the Flight III design, in 1980, two more ships were ordered, but were built in Australia by AMECON of Williamstown, Victoria, and did not receive USN numbers. Since the withdrawal of the Perth-class destroyers, these ships are the RANs primary air defence vessels and they also have significant anti-surface capability, being armed with a 76-millimetre Mk 75 gun and the Harpoon ASM, and a pair of triple torpedo tubes for ASW. In addition, two S-70B Seahawk helicopters are carried, from 2005 onwards, all RAN frigates deploying to the Persian Gulf are fitted with two M2HB.50 calibre machine guns in Mini Typhoon mounts, installed on the aft corners of the hangar roof. Two TopLite EO directors are used with the guns, there have been two major upgrades distinguishing the Adelaide class from the American Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates. The first three ships were constructed to the Perry class short hull design, with a length for both the main deck and the keel. Ships from FFG-36 onwards were built with an increase in overall length—achieved by angling the transom to increase the area of the flight deck and allow the operation of Seahawk helicopters. Adelaide, Canberra, and Sydney were later upgraded to match the larger ships. In the mid-1990s, the Australian government commenced SEA1390, also known as the FFG Upgrade Project. Originally costing A$1 billion, which has expanded to A$1.46 billion, the project includes improvements to the combat and fire system, the sonar suite. The upgrade was for four ships and intended to expand their service life to approximately 2020, the project cost was partly offset by the decommissioning of the two oldest units, Canberra paying off in 2005 and Adelaide in 2008
30.
Anzac-class frigate
–
The Anzac class is a ship class of ten frigates, eight operated by the Royal Australian Navy and two operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy. Around the same time, the RNZN was seeking to replace their Leander-class frigates while maintaining blue-water capabilities, as both nations were seeking warships of similar capabilities, the decision was made in 1987 to collaborate on their acquisition. The project name is taken from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps of the First World War, twelve ship designs were tendered in 1986. By 1989, the project had selected a proposal by Germanys Blohm + Voss, based on their MEKO200 design, to be built in Australia by AMECON at Williamstown, Victoria. The modular design of the frigates allowed sections to be constructed at Whangarei, New Zealand and Newcastle, the RAN ordered eight ships, while the RNZN ordered two and had the option to add two more. The frigate acquisition was controversial and widely opposed in New Zealand, and as a result, in 1992, work started on the frigates,3, 600-tonne ships capable of a 27-knot top speed, and a range of 6,000 nautical miles at 18 knots. The armament initially consisted of a single 5-inch gun and a missile system. In addition, the ships were fitted for but not with a system, anti-ship missiles. As of 2014, all ten ships are in service, the RAN intends to start replacing theirs in 2024, while the RNZN ships will remain active until around 2030. The Anzac class originated from the RANs New Surface Combatant project, eventually, the project settled on a ship of approximately 3,600 tonnes displacement. Around the same time, the need to replace the RNZNs Leander-class frigate force with new warships was under consideration, the government saw maintaining a blue-water capable force built around three or four frigates as important, but the cost of acquiring and maintaining such a force was prohibitive. On 6 March 1987, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the two nations and RNZN representatives were invited to collaborate on the project. To recognise their involvement, the project was renamed the Anzac Ship Project, taking the name from the Australian, by August 1987, a cost ceiling of A$3. On 14 August 1989, the Australian government announced that AMECON had been awarded the tender for construction of the Anzac class based on Blohm + Voss modified MEKO200 design. Although both the MEKO200 and M-class designs met the requirements, the MEKO design was selected as more ships could be purchased for the budget cost. The A$5 billion contract was, at the time, the largest defence contract awarded in Australia, the decision was made despite ongoing debate in New Zealand over the project. New Zealand committed in principle to the purchase of two plus the option for two more on 7 September, and the contract for the first two ships was signed on 10 November. The governments official stance was dedication to maintaining a navy, primarily in order to defend the nation
31.
Lockheed AP-3C Orion
–
The 18 AP-3C Orions were upgraded from P-3Cs between 1997 and 2005, with the program taking three years longer than expected due to systems integration problems. All 18 AP-3C Orions are operated by No.92 Wing which is based at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia, Aircraft from the wing have seen service as part of Australian Defence Force operations in Australia, South East Asia and the Middle East. The AP-3C Orion project began in the early 1990s to upgrade the radar, L3 Communications completed the prototype AP-3C at its facility at Greenville, Texas. The other 17 aircraft were upgraded at Avalon Airport in Australia under a sub-contract to Australian companies, tenix Defence took over the project in mid-2003 and BAE Systems was involved with many of the aircrafts sub-systems and developing a simulation facility. The remaining 19th Orion was not included in the program. When the Australian Orion upgrade project was being developed in 1996 there was not an off the package of upgrades that met the requirements specified by the RAAF. As a result, it was decided to tailor the upgrade to Australian specifications, the systems integration task proved to be much more difficult than was expected, and L3 Communications and its suppliers were required to write over two million lines of software code. As a result of the integration problems delivery of upgraded Orions was delayed by three years. The first two aircraft were handed over to the RAAF in December 2001 and the final AP-3C was delivered in early 2005 and this delay caused a major reduction in the RAAFs maritime surveillance capability, and in February 2001 only nine of the RAAFs 17 Orions were operational. The AP-3C upgrade improved the Orions radar, intelligence-gathering and computing systems, the Orions weight was also reduced by more than 3,000 kilograms as part of the upgrade. The AP-3Cs new radar and electronic surveillance system greatly increased the capabilities of the RAAFs Orion fleet and these new systems allow the Orions to detect and identify more targets and at longer range. There has been speculation that one or more of the AP-3Cs was fitted with additional SIGINT/ELINT capabilities, janes World Air Forces states that the RAAFs 19th Orion was converted to an EP-3 signals reconnaissance aircraft in 1997, however, and was operational as late as 2009. The aircraft are equipped with AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Mark 46 or MU90 Impact torpedoes, mines, in addition to their traditional maritime surveillance role, AP-3Cs have been equipped for over-land surveillance roles. As of 2007, the RAAFs two-aircraft Orion detachment in the Middle East was spending 60 percent of its flying time conducting intelligence gathering, on 14 May 2007 BAE Systems Australia was awarded an $76.1 million contract to provide an upgraded electronic support measures system for the Orions. The contract involved replacing existing sub-systems and ground support systems from 2011, in 2008 the Australian Government awarded contracts for further enhancements to the AP-3C fleet. Under this project 18 Orions were to be equipped with new electro-optical/infrared sensors, tactical common datalinks, all AP-3Cs were assigned to No.92 Wing RAAF, which forms part of the air forces Surveillance and Response Group. Each of the 18 aircraft is permanently allocated to either No.10 Squadron or No.11 Squadron rather than being placed in a wing-owned pool, AP-3C aircraft are also used by the RAAFs Orion operational conversion unit, No.292 Squadron, for training flights. The AP-3Cs have seen operational service
32.
Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk
–
The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant airframe modification is a tail to reduce its footprint aboard ships. The U. S. Navy uses the H-60 airframe under the model designations SH-60B, SH-60F, HH-60H, MH-60R, all Navy H-60s carry a rescue hoist for SAR/CSAR missions. During the 1970s, the U. S. Navy began looking for a new helicopter to replace the Kaman SH-2 Seasprite. The SH-2 Seasprite was used by the Navy as its platform for the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System Mark I avionics suite for maritime warfare and a secondary search and rescue capability. Advances in sensor and avionic technology lead to the LAMPS Mk II suite, in the mid-1970s, the Army evaluated the Sikorsky YUH-60 and Boeing-Vertol YUH-61 for its Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System competition. The Navy based its requirements on the Armys UTTAS specification to decrease costs from commonality, Sikorsky and Boeing-Vertol submitted proposals for Navy versions of their Army UTTAS helicopters in April 1977 for review. The Navy also looked at helicopters being produced by Bell, Kaman, Westland and MBB, in early 1978 the Navy selected Sikorskys S-70B design, which was designated SH-60B Seahawk. The SH-60B maintained 83% commonality with the UH-60A, other changes included larger fuel cells, an electric blade folding system, folding horizontal stabilators for storage, and adding a 25-tube pneumatic sonobuoy launcher on left side. Five YSH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III prototypes were ordered, the first YSH-60B flight occurred on 12 December 1979. The first production SH-60B made its first flight on 11 February 1983, the SH-60B entered operational service in 1984 with first operational deployment in 1985. The SH-60B is deployed primarily aboard frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, the primary missions of the SH-60B are surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare. It carries a complex system of including a towed Magnetic Anomaly Detector. Other sensors include the APS-124 search radar, ALQ-142 ESM system, munitions carried include the Mk 46, Mk 50, or Mk 54 torpedo, AGM-114 Hellfire missile, and a single cabin-door-mounted M60D/M2407.62 mm machine gun or GAU-16.50 in machine gun. A standard crew for a SH-60B is one pilot, one ATO/Co-Pilot, operating squadrons are designated Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron, Light. The SH-60J is a version of the SH-60B for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the SH-60K is a modified version of the SH-60J. The SH-60J and SH-60K are built under license by Mitsubishi in Japan, after the SH-60B entered service, the Navy began development of the SH-60F to replace the SH-3 Sea King. Development of this variant began with the award of a contract to Sikorsky in March 1985, an early-model SH-60B was modified to serve as a SH-60F prototype
33.
Super Seasprite
–
The Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite is an American ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting. It was originally developed for the United States Navy in 1980s as a version of the older Kaman SH-2 Seasprite. The SH-2Gs primary missions include anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, anti-ship missile defense, in 1985, the SH-2G program was started. The prototype YSH-2G first flew on 2 April 1985, the prototype was a modified SH-2F fitted with two more powerful General Electric T700-GE-401/401C engines. The G-model has a reinforced upper fuselage to support the new, the SH-2G also has multifunctional displays and new avionic systems. The Navy began receiving Airborne Mine Counter Measures hardware with the Kaman Magic Lantern laser mine detection system in December 1996, the US Navys final production order of the SH-2F was in Fiscal Year 1986 with the last six orders switched to the SH-2G variant. In 1997, the Australian Government signed a A$667 million contract with Kaman to purchase 11 upgraded Super Seasprites, the helicopters were initially restricted to transport duties during good weather before being grounded in May 2006. By early 2007,10 Super Seasprites had been delivered to 805 Squadron, in February 2007, The Australian announced that the Seasprite project was almost certain to be scrapped. At this point, the project was six years over schedule and its cost had grown to A$1.1 billion, if approved the squadron still not reach operational status until 2010. The sale or scrapping of the fleet was under consideration, possible replacements included the NHIndustries NH90 or further orders of S-70 Seahawks. On 25 May 2007, The Age reported the government would continue to support the Seasprite, the same article also noted that Sikorsky had submitted an offer of several off the shelf helicopters to replace Australias SH-2Gs. On 5 March 2008, the project was canceled by the government, opposition parties also supported the decision to cancel. The remaining aircraft were returned to Kaman, following the cancellation of the Super Seasprite, S-70 Seahawks from 816 Squadron were assigned to the Anzac class frigates. In 1995, Egypt signed a contract for 10 SH-2Gs for use by the Egyptian Navy and they are often operated alongside Egypts fleet of Westland Sea Kings. The Royal New Zealand Navy replaced its Westland Wasps with two interim SH-2F Seasprites, to operate with ANZAC class frigates until the fleet of five new SH-2G Super Seasprites were delivered. The Navy air element was transferred to No.6 Squadron RNZAF at RNZAF Base Auckland in Whenuapai in October 2005, RNZN Seasprites have seen service in East Timor. New Zealand purchased five SH-2Gs at the time as Australia. However, New Zealand opted for new-build airframes that were outfitted with different avionics, the SH-2G purchase was completed at NZ$12 million under the $338 million budgeted
34.
P-8 Poseidon
–
The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is a military aircraft developed for the United States Navy. The aircraft has been developed by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, the P-8 conducts anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and shipping interdiction, along with an early warning self protection ability, otherwise known as electronic support measures. This involves carrying torpedoes, depth charges, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and it is able to drop and monitor sonobuoys. It is designed to operate in conjunction with the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton Broad Area Maritime Surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle, the P-8 is operated by the U. S. Navy. In the 1980s, the Navy began studies for a P-3 replacement, the specification required a new aircraft to have reduced operating and support costs. In 1989, the Navy awarded Lockheed a fixed-price contract to develop the P-7, a second competition for a replacement began in 2000. Lockheed Martin submitted the Orion 21, an updated version of the P-3. Boeings proposal was based on its 737-800 airliner, BAE Systems offered a new-build version of the Nimrod MRA4, a British jet-powered maritime patrol aircraft. BAE withdrew from the competition in October 2002, recognizing that without a partner based in the United States. On 14 May 2004, Boeing was selected as the winner, in June 2004, the U. S. Navy awarded a development contract to Boeing. The project was planned to be for at least 108 airframes for the Navy, more orders are possible from the other nations operating over 200 P-3s. Project value is expected to be worth at least $15 billion, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Spirit AeroSystems, GE Aviation Systems, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, CFMI, BAE Systems, and Marotta are major subcontractors. In July 2004, the Navy placed an order for five MMA aircraft, on 30 March 2005, the P-8A designation was assigned to the aircraft. The P-8 is to replace the P-3 Orion, at first, it will be equipped with legacy P-3 systems, but later upgrades will incorporate more advanced technology. The Government Accountability Office credited the incremental approach with keeping the project on schedule, a hydrocarbon sensor detects fuel vapors from diesel-powered submarines and ships. The P-8s first flight was on 25 April 2009, the second and third P-8s had flown and were in flight testing in early August 2010. On 11 August 2010, the US approved the P-8 for low-rate production, a P-8 released sonobuoys for the first time on 15 October 2010, dropping six sonobuoys in three separate low-altitude passes. The first production P-8A was handed over to the Navy on 4 March 2012 and it flew to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, for training with the Fleet Replacement Squadron, Patrol Squadron 30
35.
Mark 54 torpedo
–
The Mark 54 Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo is a standard 12.75 inch anti-submarine warfare torpedo used by the United States Navy. The Mk 50, having developed to counter very high performance nuclear submarines such as the Soviet Alfa class, was seen as too expensive to use against relatively slow conventional submarines. The older Mk 46, designed for use, performed poorly in the littoral areas. It shares much of the software and computer hardware of the Mk 48 ADCAP heavy torpedo, developmental testing began in July 1999, and a successful critical design review was completed in November 1999. In April 2003, Raytheon was awarded a sole source contract for the production of the Mk 54, full rate production began in October 2004. In March 2010 the Fifth Fleet requested improvements in the Mk 54s performance against diesel-electric submarines via an Urgent Operational Need Statement. This led to a software Block Upgrade program which began testing in August 2011, the P-8 Poseidon uses the High-Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapons Capability GPS-guided parachute kit to drop torpedoes from high altitude. The FY14 DOT&E report assessed the Mk 54 torpedo as not operationally effective in its intended role, shortfalls were also identified with the employing platforms’ tactics and tactical documentation, and interoperability problems with some platform fire control systems. The Mark 54 is carried by the U. S. Navy, in October 2010, Australia ordered 200 more torpedoes. S. Governments Foreign Military Sales program for P-8I LRMP. com
36.
Australian National Audit Office
–
The Australian National Audit Office is the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to the Australian Parliament via the Speaker of the House of Representatives, administratively, the ANAO is located in the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. The current Auditor-General of Australia is Grant Hehir, the Australian National Audit Office is a specialist public sector agency that supports the Auditor-General of Australia, who is an independent officer of the Parliament of Australia. The Auditor-General may report its findings directly to Parliament or to a Minister, the Auditor-General is appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister, for a term of ten years. The current Auditor-General is Grant Hehir, who was appointed on 11 June 2015, below is a full list of Commonwealth Auditors-General dating from 1902. The Audit Act 1901 was the piece of legislation passed by the Parliament. The first Auditor-General, John William Israel, began establishing the Federal Audit Office in 1902 in Melbourne, the office moved to Canberra in 1935, in line with Government policy at that time. The Audit Act 1901 was amended in 1979 to allow the Audit Office to undertake performance audits, efficiency reviews, or performance audit, concerns the efficiency and effectiveness of a particular government activity. The Audit Act 1901 was replaced with the Auditor-General Act 1997, in 1986 the ANAO hosted XII INCOSAI, the twelfth triennial convention of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. Australian National Audit Office Latest Publications
37.
Australia
–
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
38.
Denmark
–
Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Scandinavian country in Europe and a sovereign state. The southernmost and smallest of the Nordic countries, it is south-west of Sweden and south of Norway, Denmark also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark has an area of 42,924 square kilometres. The country consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, the islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. The unified kingdom of Denmark emerged in the 10th century as a proficient seafaring nation in the struggle for control of the Baltic Sea, Denmark, Sweden and Norway were ruled together under the Kalmar Union, established in 1397 and ending with Swedish secession in 1523. Denmark and Norway remained under the monarch until outside forces dissolved the union in 1814. The union with Norway made it possible for Denmark to inherit the Faroe Islands, Iceland, beginning in the 17th century, there were several cessions of territory to Sweden. In the 19th century there was a surge of nationalist movements, Denmark remained neutral during World War I. In April 1940, a German invasion saw brief military skirmishes while the Danish resistance movement was active from 1943 until the German surrender in May 1945, the Constitution of Denmark was signed on 5 June 1849, ending the absolute monarchy which had begun in 1660. It establishes a constitutional monarchy organised as a parliamentary democracy, the government and national parliament are seated in Copenhagen, the nations capital, largest city and main commercial centre. Denmark exercises hegemonic influence in the Danish Realm, devolving powers to handle internal affairs, Home rule was established in the Faroe Islands in 1948, in Greenland home rule was established in 1979 and further autonomy in 2009. Denmark became a member of the European Economic Community in 1973, maintaining certain opt-outs, it retains its own currency, the krone. It is among the members of NATO, the Nordic Council, the OECD, OSCE. The etymology of the word Denmark, and especially the relationship between Danes and Denmark and the unifying of Denmark as a kingdom, is a subject which attracts debate. This is centred primarily on the prefix Dan and whether it refers to the Dani or a historical person Dan and the exact meaning of the -mark ending. Most handbooks derive the first part of the word, and the name of the people, from a word meaning land, related to German Tenne threshing floor. The -mark is believed to mean woodland or borderland, with references to the border forests in south Schleswig. The first recorded use of the word Danmark within Denmark itself is found on the two Jelling stones, which are believed to have been erected by Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth
39.
Egypt
–
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
40.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
41.
Germany
–
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
42.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
43.
Morocco
–
Morocco, officially known as the Kingdom of Morocco, is a sovereign country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Geographically, Morocco is characterized by a mountainous interior, large tracts of desert. Morocco has a population of over 33.8 million and an area of 446,550 km2 and its capital is Rabat, and the largest city is Casablanca. Other major cities include Marrakesh, Tangier, Tetouan, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, a historically prominent regional power, Morocco has a history of independence not shared by its neighbours. Marinid and Saadi dynasties continued the struggle against foreign domination, the Alaouite dynasty, the current ruling dynasty, seized power in 1666. In 1912 Morocco was divided into French and Spanish protectorates, with a zone in Tangier. Moroccan culture is a blend of Arab, indigenous Berber, Sub-Saharan African, Morocco claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975, leading to a war with indigenous forces until a cease-fire in 1991. Peace processes have thus far failed to break the political deadlock, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the military, foreign policy, the king can issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. He can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the Prime Minister, Moroccos predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Tamazight. The Moroccan dialect, referred to as Darija, and French are also widely spoken, Morocco is a member of the Arab League, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the African Union. It has the fifth largest economy of Africa, the full Arabic name al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah translates to Kingdom of the West, although the West in Arabic is الغرب Al-Gharb. The basis of Moroccos English name is Marrakesh, its capital under the Almoravid dynasty, the origin of the name Marrakesh is disputed, but is most likely from the Berber words amur akush or Land of God. The modern Berber name for Marrakesh is Mṛṛakc, in Turkish, Morocco is known as Fas, a name derived from its ancient capital of Fes. The English name Morocco is an anglicisation of the Spanish Marruecos, the area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, sometime between 190,000 and 90,000 BC. During the Upper Paleolithic, the Maghreb was more fertile than it is today, twenty-two thousand years ago, the Aterian was succeeded by the Iberomaurusian culture, which shared similarities with Iberian cultures. Skeletal similarities have been suggested between the Iberomaurusian Mechta-Afalou burials and European Cro-Magnon remains, the Iberomaurusian was succeeded by the Beaker culture in Morocco
44.
Poland
–
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
45.
Sting Ray (torpedo)
–
The Sting Ray torpedo is a current British acoustic homing light-weight torpedo manufactured by GEC-Marconi, who were later bought out by BAE Systems. In the 1950s the Royal Navy was equipped with British designed and these were passive homing weapons which relied on detecting the noise from submarine targets. However, as noise levels decreased these weapons became ineffective. A design for a British Mk 31 torpedo which would have used active echo-location sonar failed to receive Government approval for production, US Mk 44 torpedoes were purchased for the Royal Navy in the 1960s to fill this role, and later replaced by US Mk 46 torpedoes. A desire to not be dependent on US torpedo purchases led to a research programme starting in 1964 to develop a British torpedo, initially designated Naval and Air Staff Requirement 7511, it was designated the Sting Ray torpedo. Design studies in the mid-1960s proposed that a tank of polyethylene oxide be carried behind the warhead and this polymer would be exuded at the nose to reduce the drag coefficient. Experiments using buoyancy-propelled torpedoes in 1969 had shown reductions in the drag coefficient up to 25%, however, by 1969 this scheme had been rejected in favour of carrying a larger battery. The original warhead concept was for a simple omnidirectional blast charge, however, studies in the 1970s showed that this would be inadequate against the large double-hulled submarines then entering service. A directed energy warhead was used in the production weapon, in 1976 the designs had to be completely revised. Swapping the project for buying a ready-made US torpedo was not considered because the torpedo was expected to be better, the project manager was Eric Risness CBE. The torpedo was built at the MSDS plants at Neston and MUSL in Farlington, guidance systems were made by Sperry Gyroscope Company. The original in-service version entered service in 1983 and it is propelled by a pump jet driven by an electric motor. Power is supplied by a sea water battery. The propulsion method combines high speed, deep diving, agility, the weapon is provided with target and environmental information by the launching platform. Once launched it operates autonomously, with tactical software searching for the target using active sonar, the software is designed to deal with the employment of countermeasures by the target. The weapon is designed to be launched from fixed wing or rotary winged aircraft, the development of the torpedo cost £920 million. The Mark 24 Tigerfish submarine-launched torpedo had also overshot its initial budget, united Kingdom Royal Navy Norway Royal Norwegian Navy Thailand Royal Thai Navy Romania Romanian Navy Length,2.6 metres. It has a weight of 267 kg, and carries a 45 kg Torpex warhead
