Philippine Navy to induct new Insitu ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicles provided by US

 
The Philippine Navy (PN) is scheduled to induct a batch of brand new Insitu ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) provided by the United States government. The induction is expected to happen in a matter of days after this blog is posted.

These new UAVs were part of the US government's Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative Strategy (then called Southeast Asia Maritime Security Initiative), which was started by the Obama administration in 2016, and continued by the Trump administration.

These new ScanEagle UAVs will become the Philippine Navy's first fixed-wing drones that are actually inducted into service, rather than just tested and evaluated. 

One of the ScanEagle 2 UAVs handed-over to the PAF last March 2018. Credits to original source of photo.

US Grants to Philippines and Other Countries:

In 2017, the US government confirmed that another batch of ScanEagle UAVs will be granted to the Philippines, and will be a follow-on after the first batch that were also ordered in 2017 and handed over to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in March 2018.

ScanEagle 2 UAVs of the Philippine Air Force. Credits to original source of photo.

It was first thought that the second batch will still be for the PAF, but checking with sources within the Armed Forces of the Philippines, MaxDefense Philippines was told that it would be for the Philippine Navy (PN) as a similar request was also made that would be used primarily for maritime surveillance.

The Philippines will not be the only country to receive ScanEagle UAVs from the US. Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are also earmarked to receive the same UAVs to assist them in improving their maritime surveillance capabilities. The orders for all 4 countries were only processed in 2019.

Malaysia was given priority, and received 6 units early this year. The Philippines is believed to be the second to receive ScanEagles this year, with an expected 8 units based on the reports made in 2019. It remains to be seen if the PN will indeed receive 8 units, since it is possible for the quantity to increase or decrease.

ScanEagle 3?

While the PAF received the ScanEagle 2 UAV in 2018, it remains to be seen if the PN will be receiving the same ScanEagle 2, or the newer ScanEagle 3 variant, which was launched only in 2018 after the PAF received their drones.

So far, there is no confirmation found if the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) received the ScanEagle 2 or ScanEagle 3, as it could be the best basis of what the Philippine Navy could be receiving.

The ScanEagle 3 is the latest variant of the ScanEagle family of small UAVs, with improvements made on payload carrying capacity, said to be almost double compared to earlier models, while retaining its freedom from International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) control.

A CGI of the new ScanEagle 3, which features twin tails siliar to the concept of the PAF's OV-10 Bronco attack aircraft. Credits to original source of photo.

This allows for additional or larger sensors to be carried that previous ScanEagle models are not capable of doing. It also allows for multiple sensors to be carried, improving its surveillance capabilities than ever before.

It also has improved endurance over previous models, using a new purpose-built propulsion system that allows more payload without compromising endurance. The new design allows for the wings to be adjusted and moved to alter the drone's center of gravity for rapid payload integration in the field. 

It has a length of 2.5 meters, a wingspan of 4 meters, and a gross takeoff weight of 36.3 kilograms. It now can carry 9.1 kilograms of payload which may include C2 datalinks, video datalins, Electro-optical turret, dual imager, and Mircowave Radiometer (MWR) that can detect radio or microwave energy emitted by targets.

An actual ScanEagle 3 during its unveiling in 2018. Photo credits to Shephard Media.

71 Maritime Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance Squadron:

As reported several weeks ago by MaxDefense Philippines and our extension Philippine Defense Resource, the Philippine Navy's Naval Air Wing (NAW) has created a new squadron that will handle the operation of these new ScanEagle UAVs, which is the 71 Maritime Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance Squadron.

The 71 Maritime Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance Squadron's logo, which actually incorporates a ScanEagle UAV, albeit the older ScanEagle 1 variant showing the older nose design. As feared by MaxDefense Philippines, this could be a sign that many in the PN do not really know the difference between older and newer variants of the ScanEagle. Photo taken from the PN's publication.

The new squadron is expected to be the first UAV squadron of the PN NAW, as MaxDefense Philippines was told that the PN is interested in acquiring larger maritime surveillance UAVs in the future.
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Similar to how the PAF deployed their ScanEagle 2 UAVs, it is expected that the PN would also deploy their ScanEagle UAVs in various locations, most notably facing the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the tri-border with Malaysia and Indonesia.

But we are actually hoping for the Philippine Navy to consider deploying these ScanEagle UAVs on ships, and act as eyes and ears for the surface warfare ships on top of their existing radar and EO/IR systems.

Examples where the ScanEagle UAV can be deployed are the Jose Rizal-class frigates and the Del Pilar-class offshore patrol vessels, both of which have a helicopter landing decks. Even smaller ships like the Jacinto-class are capable of operating ScanEagles, as already demonstrated by other navies.

Singapore's Victory-class corvettes, which are almost the same size as the Jacinto-class OPV, are equipped with launcher and recovery systems for the ScanEagle UAV. Photo taken from RSN.

In any way, the addition of these ScanEagle UAVs to the Philippine Navy are very much appreciated to allow the force's continuous improvement, thanks again to the assistance of our ally.

It remains to be seen if the PN will receive another batch of ScanEagles, as the US government appears to have prepared for the allocation lof a 3rd batch of ScanEagle UAVs to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Since the Philippine Army is standardizing with Israeli-made UAVs which it bought on its own, additional ScanEagles could either be for the PAF or PN.

This would be dependent on the policies on upcoming US President Joe Biden, who is believed to be on its way to half US military assistance to the Philippines due to Philippine Pres. Rodrigo Duterte's poor human rights records.

Several weeks ago, our extension Philippine Defense Resource TV posted a video on the creation of a new unit to receive the new ScanEagle UAVs from the US. This was already a sign of things to come considering the deliveries have already started for the entire order made for the 4 selected Southeast Asian countries.

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Project Summary:

ScanEagle UAV Acquisition Project of the Philippine Navy:

Note: Edited as of 22 November 2020.

* End User: Philippine Navy (Naval Air Wing)

* Quantity: between 6 to 8 units

* Modernization Phase: Special Projects of the AFP

* Project ABC: Not applicable

* Acquisition Mode: US Military Assistance Grant

* Source of Funding: Funded by US government

* SARO Release: N/A

* Winning Proponent: Insitu Pacific Corp.

* Product for Delivery: 
    - 6 to 8 ScanEagle UAVs, still to be determined if ScanEagle 2 or 3 variant, including launching and recovery, and support equipment

* Contract Price: Not applicable

* Residual Price: Not applicable

* First post by MaxDefense: 11 December 2017

* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PNScanEagleUAVAcquisition

* Status: US government announced grant of surveillance equipment to select Asia-Pacific countries in 2017. Contract awarded by US government to Insitu Pacific in 2019, for delivery by late November 2020.

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First edit and release: 22 November 2020
Copyright MaxDefense Philippines

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The Philippine Air Force finally got a Proper Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Finally, after a lot of delays and roadblocks along the way, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) can now really say that it got itself a proper Maritime Patrol Aircraft. This is after decades of not having one in its inventory.

A photo from Philippine Plane Spotters Group (PPSG) revealed the modifications made on one of the PAF's Lockheed C-130T Hercules heavy tactical transport aircraft, which was seen with a protrusion near the rear paratroop door, and an oversized door glass in it.

The PAF's C-130T with tail number 5040 was seen in Mactan-Cebu International Airport with what appears to be a SABIR system and a sensor pod on the starboard side.
Cropped from original photo by Darvs Bautista, posted at Philippine Plane Spotters Group (PPSG) Facebook page.

In its Facebook community page, MaxDefense made an initial assessment that the photo is an evidence of the delivery and installation of the Airdyne Aerospace Special Airborne Mission Installation and Response (SABIR) system, with possibly an Electro-Optical Infra-Red (EO/IR) module in it. It appears that we are partially righr in this.

MaxDefense was also able to obtain another photo of the same C-130T aircraft with the SABIR upgrade and a mission sensor pod attached to it.

The same C-130T with tail no. 5040 can be seen here again with the same SABIR upgrade and a sensor pod attached to the retractable arm near the paratroop door.
Photo provided by a MaxDefense contributor who wish to remain anonymous for PERSEC reasons.

The Source - US Maritime Security Initiative:

The delivery of these upgrades for the PAF's C-130 was born out of a commitment made by the former US Pres. Barrack Obama to the Philippines in 2015 as part of the US Maritime Security Initiative. Among the programs allocated for the Philippines was the delivery of a palletized Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) kit for use on then recently-acquired C-130T Hercules transport aircraft, under a package which was estimated to be worth US$8.7 million.

While other parts of its commitment were partially or fully completed, the ISR kit appears to be the last to be realized, with this specific kit seen on PAF C-130T Hercules with tail number 5040 said to have arrived in the Philippines for installation only several weeks ago.


The Airdyne Aerospace SABIR System:

The US military made use of the Canadian-built SABIR system, that allows the mounting of modular pods externally without the need for modifications on the airframe except for the rear paratrooper doors.

It involves the replacement of the standard rear paratroop door into a SABIR AS-6 door panel system with an oversized bubble window which allows a wider view of the outside by an observer. It was also designed for a seating observer which can swivel the seat between the door panel and the T-4 computer control workstation positioned nearby.

There is an option also from Airdyne to allow the dropping of sonobuoys for submarine detection although the PAF may not have included this in its system. But it can always be an option in the future.

Some of the mission pod options that can be used by the SABIR system.
Photo from Think Defence UK blog page.

The module also includes a retractable arm (AS-7) with a standard ejector rack ready to accept different kinds of modular pods including ISR equipment like EO/IR systems, radars, intelligence equipment (COMINT, SIGINT and ELINT), among others.

Mission pods can easily be installed or removed while the arm can be retracted to a minimized position during mission changes or when not needed for use once the aircraft is being used for usual transport duties. All this can be made within less than 2 hours as confirmed by a source with the PAF.

The typical components of the SABIR system which is the same as what the PAF uses.
Photo taken from Think Defence UK blog page.

The Philippines' C-130 ISR Modification:

In the case of the Philippine Air Force C-130T, several systems were installed to convert the aircraft into a dual use surveillance/maritime patrol - heavy tactical transport platform.

Both port and starboard side rear paratroop doors were replaced with the SABIR AS-6 door, including the installation of the SABIR AS-7 retractable arm.

Each arm carries an ISR equipment, one with an L3 Wescam MX-15HD EO/IR turret for day and night visual surveillance, detecting heat signatures, for target tracking, for video and photo recording, among other capabilities.

The PAF system uses am L3 Wescam MX-15HDi EO/IR system. Above photo shows a typical configuration of an MX-15 system which provides high definition day and night imaging
Credits to owner of the photo.

This configuration is similar to what the PAF uses for the EO/IR pod, except for the actual model of EO/IR which in the PAF's case is the smaller L3 Wescam MX-15HDi system.
Photo taken from Think Defence UK blog page.

The other arm carries a large circular pod with an Israeli-made Elta ELM-2022 synthetic aperture surveillance radar which allows the aircraft to detect surface or ground targets with a range of 200 nautical miles forl ships. This is the pod visible from the photo shared in PPSG's page.

The PAF uses the Elta ELM-2022A maritime surveillance radar for the SABIR-equipped C-130T. The panel antenna is small enough to fit in a encased dome pod as seen on the photo from PPSG.
Photo taken from Elta's website.

Both sensors are connected to modular control computer consoles operated by men of the 300th Air Intelligence and Security Wing, while the aircraft is flown by pilots from the 220th Airlift Wing.

A Satellite Communication (SATCOM) / Line of Sight system, as well as military radio communication systems are also installed on the aircraft to allow the crew to communicate with other ground, naval or air units or stations.

Two T-4 workstations are available for the operation of the surveillance radar and EO/IR system.

A typical layout of the SABIR system. The one used on the PAF's C-130T is essentially the same except for the sensor pods used.
Photo taken from Think Defence UK blog page.

Other Details:

So far, sources confirmed that there is only one of the PAF's C-130 that has this upgrade, although we believe another set could be provided by the US to be installed with the other C-130T of the PAF. This upgrade is said to be the easiest, least costly alternative in the market at the moment, and the US might even be willing to provide more sets for the PAF in the future, this despite the PAF acquiring real Maritime Patrol Aircraft under its stalled Long Range Patrol Aircraft (LRPA) acquisition program.

Apparently it took several weeks for the upgrade works to be made, including maintenance works done of the C-130T. To cover its absence, the PAF's C-295 fleet was put to good use in providing logistics support to the AFP. All works were only done locally at Benito Ebuen Air Base in Mactan, with minimal foreign assistance.

Training of operators and maintenance crews are said to be ongoing, although the PAF has an experience advantage with the L3 Wescam MX-15D EO/IR system due to it being used in their Cessna 208 Grand Caravan ISR aircraft also provided by the US government through military assistance program.

The PAF is also said to be interested in making use of the platform for Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) and Signal Intelligence (SIGINT), as well as Communication Intelligence (COMINT) missions by using specific mission sensors that can be acquired by the PAF in a latter time. This is actually related to the overall C4ISTAR build up of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, considering SIGINT and ELINT capabilities are being sought after as well by the Philippine Navy and its Naval Air Group, which wanted to utilize its existing fleet of Beechcraft C-90 King Air for such missions.

MaxDefense believes that the PAF should have considered using the larger MX-20 EO/IR system which was designed for larger aircraft like the C-130. The MX-15, in MaxDefense's opinion, is small and is better equipped on smaller aircraft like the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan or the upcoming OV-10G+ Combat Dragon II Broncos.


With the modifications expected to be visible always, MaxDefense expects more photos of the aircraft to be posted online as taken by various amateur and professional photographers or plane spotters. Expect MaxDefense to also make more updates on this project, or if there will be any follow-on deliveries or related news on this.


Summary:

1. Upgrade of PAF C-130T Hercules to ISR Platform

End User: Philippine Air Force (220th Airlift Wing and 300th Air Intelligence & Security Wing)
Modernization Phase: US Military Assistance (not under any Horizon phase)
ABC: unknown
SARO Release: N/A
Proponent: US Government, most probably through HISS Canada and Airdyne Aerospace Canada
Bid Price: N/A
First post by MaxDefense:
Concept: 18 April 2016
Delivery: 26 July 2018

U P D A T E S:

11 August 2018:

MaxDefense received confirmation that the Philippine Air Force will be formally accepting the SABIR system installed on one of the PAF's C-130T Hercules this 14 August 2018. No exact time has been provided yet although the event will be held at the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing's hangar @ VIllamor Air Base in Pasay City.

The guest of honor is Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana. As expected, Pres. Duterte won't be there to grace the event as the SABIR system came from US Military Assistance. It is well known that Pres. Duterte has hatred of the Americans and attending here would be against his policies.

Also, it was revealed to MaxDefense that the C-130T ISR would indeed be used as Maritime Domain Awareness platform, with focus on patrolling the West Philippine Sea, Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal area, Batanes and the borders with Taiwan, and the Philippine Rise. 

Meanwhile, the PAF is using the smaller Cesna 208 Grand Caravan ISR aircraft in the southern corridors of the Philippines, near the borders with Malaysia and Indonesia.

Another SABIR system is also expect to be provided by the Americans that could be installed on the 2nd C-130T in the PAF's fleet. This would allow the PAF to conduct more ISR missions while still being available when needed as a transport asset. As explained before, the sensor pods and the control consoles can easily be removed by PAF technicians within 2 hours, while the the SABIR retractable external arm can remain while the C-130T is used as for cargo missions.

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Philippine Navy Receives First TCOM 28M Tethered Aerostat Radar System from US

After two years since it was allocated by the US government as a military air for the Philippines, it has finally arrived.

The Philippine Navy received its first Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS), which is among the military assistance promised by former Pres. Obama in 2015 under the US government's Southeast Asia Maritime Security Initiative.

The PN's first Tethered Aerostat Radar System. Due to obvious reasons, MaxDefense won't identify the location.
Photo exclusively shared to us by one of our MaxDefense Community member contributor who wish to remain anonymous.

The system uses the TCOM 28M Operational Class Aerostat System, which is a medium-sized aerostat made by American company TCOM L.P. which specializes in aerostat used for surveillance.

The system has a medium-range detection and monitoring capability that can detect maritime and air traffic operating below its domain. This is very much similar but a little simpler to the Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems used by the US Department of Homeland Security

An illustration on how surveillance aerostats work vis-a-vis an overall system. The surveillance aerostat provide information to the ground station, which can direct intercepting assets (air or sea) to the target.
Photo screen-grabbed from TCOM's Youtube video.

It is equipped with a downward looking radar that can detect sea surface, ground, amd low level aerial activities. Based on publicly available information, the aerostat's radar system can detect up to 90 miles at maximum operating height from its deployment area.

The TARS can be equipped with a variety of surveillance equipment including radar, EO/IR system, laser designator, and others.
Photo screen-grabbed from TCOM's Youtube video.

Problem with this is its dependent on weather to be deployed, as bad weather may affect its detection system, and may also damage or cut the tethering of the aerostat from the ground. But if this system works well, MaxDefense expects the PN to order more since one isn't enough considering the vast maritime donain of the country.

Thanks to one of our anonymous source for the photos.

MaxDefense discussed the Southeast Asia Maritime Security Initiative in its FB posts on April 2016. For more details you  may check this link:

"The Philippines at Forefront of New Pentagon Maritime Security Inititative"

In comparison, this is TARS of the US Homeland Security, mostly used for customs and border protection in the southern borders of the US mainland. They use the larger Lockheed Martin 420K Aerostat System, a different brand and model as those used by the Philippine Navy.
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons.

All future updates and additional discussions on the Philippine Navy's Tethered Aerostat Radar System will be discussed in this blog entry.

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Philippine Navy Expecting 4 New Mk. 38 Mod. 3 Gun Systems from 2 Contracts

Based on information made public by the US Department of Defense through its website as of September 29, 2016, the US Navy's Naval Surface Warfare Center awarded a US$25.4 million contract to BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP for the production of Mk. 38 Mod. 3 Machine Gun System (MGS), which will be installed on US Navy ships as well as Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to friendly countries.

Among those scheduled to receive from FMS is the Philippine Navy, whose share on the contract is around 8%, or roughly US$2.03 million.

This is in addition to an earlier contract, which the US Navy's Naval Surface Warfare Center also awarded to BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP in October 2015 for US$30.556 million, wherein the Philippine Navy shares around 6.24% of the contract amount.

The Mk. 38 Mod. 3 MGS with a 30mm ATK cannon. The Philippine Navy opted to use the 25mm M242 Bushmaster cannon instead, based on the DoD's information.
Photo taken from DefenseMediaNetwork.com.

Quantity:

Based on previous information gathered by MaxDefense Philippines using publicly available sources and confirmation from our sources, a Mk. 38 Mod. 3 system costs a little less than US$1 million as of mid 2016.

Thus it would be safe to assume that in each of the two contracts, the Philippine Navy stands to get two (2) brand new Mk. 38 Mod. 3 MGS, for a total of four (4) systems.

Each DPCF are expected to have two (2) Mk.38 guns, one each on its port and starboard sides in the midship. The photo above shows the Mk.38 Mod.2 of the BRP Ramon Alcaraz.
Photo taken from the former Timawa.net forum c/o geminirecon. 

Allocation:

MaxDefense sources previously confirmed that the machine gun systems covered by the 2015 contract was meant to be installed on the Del Pilar-class frigate (DPCF) BRP Gregorio del Pilar (FF-15), so it is highly possible that the MGS covered by the 2016 contract was meant for the only other DPCF left without an allocation, the BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17).

But MaxDefense would still put some caution on this information.

Currently, aside from the DPCFs, the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks are also in need for self-defense weapon systems to defend itself from fast moving surface threats and slow moving aircraft. Also, based on the acquisition plans of the Philippine Navy for the LPD's weapon systems, they are also recommending the acquisition of MGS systems like the Mk. 38 Mod. 3 for the class, at least two (2) units for each ship.

It now boils down to the latest threat assessments made by the Philippine Navy. Which ships are in need of these Mk. 38s first? While MaxDefense has no information yet on that, the possibility of the Philippine Navy making changes on the installation plans is present. So while we can assume that the four upcoming Mk. 38 Mod. 3 MGS are for the the FF-15 and FF-17, this is not yet 100% final.

Despite being in service and used in naval operations for several months now, the BRP Tarlac (LD-601) still do not have any of its planned weapon systems. The PN decided to go for a "Fitted For But Not With" (FFBNW) scheme with the Tarlac-class, so it is highly possible that the Mk.38 Mod.3 might find its way to the LPDs if the PN decides so.

Difference of Mk. 38 Mod. 2 and Mk. 38 Mod. 3

Currently the only ship in the Philippine Navy armed with the Mk. 38 Mod. 2 is the DPCF BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16), which received its MGS in late 2014. The Philippine Navy also has several Mk. 38 Mod. 1 units, which are not remote-operated systems.

The Mk. 38 Mod. 3 is a newer product, developed by Rafael Advance Defense Systems Ltd. of Israel, for BAE Systems.  Both the Mod. 2 and Mod. 3 variants are based on Rafael's Typhoon weapons station, and are capable of remote operation from inside the ship.

The Mk. 38 Mod. 3 is being introduced to the Philippine Navy at almost the same time as the US Navy, and has significant improvement over the older Mod. 2. The main difference is the Mod. 3 has the option to use a larger 30mm autocannon from ATK, compared to the Mod. 2 that uses the 25mm M242 Bushmaster cannon. The Mod. 3 still can use the 25mm M242 depending on customer choice, and based on the reports from the US Deparment of Defense, the Philippine Navy chose the 25mm option, possibly for compatibility with current calibres used by the service

The Mod. 3 variant also has a co-axial .50 caliber M2 heavy machine gun. It also holds 3 times more ammunition than the Mod. 2 (500+ vs 165 25mm ammo), has a stealth cupola that doubles as protection from weather, and also has improved accessibility to internal components for maintenance.

The Mod. 3 also allows for a greater range elevation than the Mod. 2 (-20 to +70 degrees vs -20 to +40 degrees), improving its capability to shoot slow moving aerial threats like helicopters and drones.

Port side of BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16) showing one of its Mk.38 Mod.2 MGS.
Photo taken by a MaxDefense community member who wished to remain anonymous.

Delivery:

The Mk. 38 Mod. 3 covered by the 2015 contract is expected to complete the delivery to all end users by April 2017, while those covered by the 2016 contract has a delivery completion deadline by May 2018. MaxDefense sources confirmed that the Philippine Navy will be getting theirs sometime near those dates, so MaxDefense is expecting 2 units delivered probably by this month or next month, as covered by the 2015 contract.




More information will be provided by MaxDefense as the project progresses.

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