US, European Fighters in Mideast Share ISR Data Well

BEIRUT: With potential French Rafale jet sales to Egypt and the UAE in the works, one crucial issue arises, especially in the face of the Iranian threat: can they share data with the American fighters that pervade so much of the region.

Some experts think that data sharing is quite challenging while others don’t see eye to eye.

Bilal Saab, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and former Pentagon official in charge of Middle Eastern security cooperation, says that the more platforms you operate, the harder integration and interoperability becomes with American systems.

“You can’t have three different platforms within your air power and pretend you want to be interoperable with the United States,” he said, adding that the Qataris have been warned by the U.S that “the more they diversify, the less they will be able to integrate these platforms together.”

However, Egypt has been operating European and American platforms in a coordinated manner since 1980. One main reason, Mahmoud Gamal, Egyptian defense and geopolitics observer explained, is the ease of sharing data through the E-2C Hawkeye, an upgraded model of the American-made tactical airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C).

“The air force relies on its Rafale to link aircraft of different origins since it is equipped with Link-16 tactical data links or non-NATO solutions,” he said, in order “to operate with different platforms and assets.”

As for linking and integrating the whole air force fleet, including Russian aircraft, Egypt relies on its indigenous unified Radar Integration and Surveillance, C4I & C5I Command Control Network.

“The RISC is an integrated locally-made system that jointly undertakes the tasks of battle management, command and control of air defense and air force units as well as gathers, analyzes and shares data,” he explained.

The system, first showcased during Egypt’s International Defense Exhibition (EDEX 2018) in Cairo, includes command-and-control networks equipment including radars, monitoring sensors and flight scheduling tools.

Egypt is also improving its integrated ISR and communication means and launching satellites for military purposes. “Lately, we launched the Tiba-1 satellite serving both the military communications network and armed forces command and control network while facilitating the process of exchanging data for analysis,” Gamal explained.

For military expert and observer Waleed Sami, the concept of a joint and interoperable air force within Gulf states is a must, given the increased threats across the region.

“In the last few years, the UAE started focusing on equipping its F-16 fleet with interoperable systems like the MIDS-LVT/ LINK 16 terminals and associated equipment, helping the air force share information with other types of fighters within the fleet, allied fighters, and command centers,” he said.

“If the UAE gets hold of these jets, the American-European combo would be perfect for operation with their latest airborne early warning and control GlobalEye aircraft from Saab, which also uses the same communication standards,” he added.

This would also result in utilizing the same ammunitions and systems. “The UAE will then be able to use different types of American ammos including GBU-12 and GBU-24 as well as Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) systems on its Rafale fleet.”

For their part, the Saudis rely on their Typhoon and F-15 jets in operational scenarios. Using the same terminals, the Typhoon is fully compatible with existing western platforms in terms of comms and data exchange, an Italian Air Force (ITA) spokesman said. The Italians, of course, operate Typhoons in the Middle East.

“The platform is able to exchange data both with command and control centers/nodes and with other airborne platforms, thus enhancing aircrew situational awareness and increasing mission effectiveness,” the ITA source said.

This high level of integration achieved within the Typhoon Weapon System, they said, further boosts the valuable use of such system through a deep weapon system integration allowing task automation upon message reception, thus a reduced pilot workload and increased mission effectiveness.

To Boeing, customers of the F-15 and F/A-18 have options for encrypted communication link for data sharing and targeting with other aircraft and platforms from different origins.

“Through network-enabled data-fusion and its advanced capabilities, the Block III becomes the airborne leader to direct and coordinate the prosecution of air and surface targets providing complete interoperability with coalition forces,” Bernard Dunn, president Boeing Middle East, Turkey and Africa told me in an interview.

Potential Rafale Sales

With Egypt operating 24 Rafale jets, Gamal tells Breaking Defense that the country is looking at buying another 12 to 30 fighters.

“On one hand, Egypt is now upgrading its operational fleet to the F3-R standard and wants to double that number,” he said, adding that the deal “could see the light this year.”

The F3-R is an evolution of the Rafale F3 standard and enables both air force and navy aircraft to carry new weapons including MBDA’s Meteor long-range air-to-air missile, Thales’ Talios new-generation laser designator pod and the laser homing version of the Safran AASM air-to-ground modular weapon.

The UAE has yet to determine its replacement for its old Mirage 2000 fleet, while keeping a commitment to the European industry. Although it is still unclear whether the Gulf country is planning to upgrade its current Mirage fleet, sources tell Breaking D that negotiations on the Rafale deal re-surfaced again.

“The Emiratis were very close to sealing the deal years ago, but they turned it down because the price was too high,” said one military source who wished not to be named. “Today, they are potentially considering 36 to 60 units because the jet’s price became more competitive due to the spike of Rafale sales to the region and abroad.”

The UAE could be eying “the F4 version armed with SCALP and Meteor missiles,” he added, a standard that will notably improve the connectivity of the Rafale and its ability to operate as part of a any network.

Is U.S Losing Ground?

Not really, Zafer Alajmi, a retired Kuwaiti Air Force colonel told me.

“The demise of the Trump spring made the Gulf states realize that the new administration will act differently mainly due to the separate views that both administrations share of the balance in the Arab Gulf region,” he said, which in return “pushed the Gulf to look for a parallel market.”

According to him, this is mainly driven by the fact that Arab countries traditionally know their way around European markets: “The historical dimension plays its role here. We didn’t see them reach out to Russia nor China but instead to a market that they well know.”

Saab agrees. “They are so reliant on the U.S for technology — especially state-of-the-art platforms that require all sources of software and maintenance. They are tight to us to the hips,” he told me.

Yet, this is more political than anything else.

“It is as a message to the Americans that they could also purchase from the Europeans, Russians and Chinese if they were disappointed with anything they do politically,” Saab told me. “From a defense viewpoint however, it is more like shooting yourself in the foot. Diversifying makes sense only if there were serious tensions going on, but now that everything looks fine, having such a diverse portfolio remains absurd.”

For the industry, things look pretty fine.

Dunn told me that the Middle East has been and continues to be a very important market to Boeing, with a strong base of platforms and a growing services portfolio. “Boeing is working closely with Arab governments and defense forces to take a key role in enhancing safety and security in the region,” he told Breaking D.

Active competitions are ongoing in Canada, Finland, Switzerland and India for the F/A-18, “that may lead to an additional force of more than 400 Super Hornet Block III jets in operation in Europe and around the world,” Dunn told me.

Future plans for the F-15s call for as many as 144 aircraft, with deliveries to Qatar scheduled for 2022. The Gulf country and U.S government signed a letter of agreement to receive 36 Advanced F-15 Eagle attack aircraft and all their support elements.