DEWC Services, part of the DEWC group of companies that also includes electronic warfare specialist DEWC Systems, has announced that they are inviting equipment and materiel providers to register their interest to replace Navy’s legacy Target Radar Augmented Projectile device.
According to DEWC, the RAN has previously used a 5-inch inert shell with a specialised nose-cone called “Target Radar Augmented Projectile” (TRAP) to conduct Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) training. The original manufacturer has now ceased production and RAN is seeking local or foreign companies to supply a replacement.
The announcement highlights the potential for the replacement device to be exported to allied nations operating 127mm medium calibre guns.
"The standard 5-inch round has a small Radar Cross Section (RCS) that is unrepresentative of contemporary Anti-Ship Missiles’ (ASM) typical RCS," DEWC says. "There is a requirement to augment the 5-inch round’s RCS to stimulate warships’ ASMD systems during training by emulating ASMs.
"The legacy TRAP device achieved this by fitting a nose cone to an inert ballistic projectile containing a Luneburg lens that sufficiently increased the 5-inch round’s RCS. The TRAP device was fitted exactly, and had the same dimensions, weight and weight distribution as the fuze nose-cone on a live 5-inch round so as not to affect the inert round’s ballistic performance.
"It is likely that any TRAP replacement solutions will require certification in this regard."
The replacement device must be 0.95kg, 15.13 cm long, with a thread size of 2.0-12UNS-2A and an intrusion depth of 5.61 cm. It also needs to generate a minimum RCS that is detectable by Australian warships’ S-Band (IEEE) ASMD systems, within 60 degrees forward of the shell trajectory path.
DEWC is coordinating the industry appraisal for Navy's requirement; 2000 devices with up to 200 annual replacements.
More information is available by contacting DEWC Services. The deadline for responses is 29 May: the questionnaire is available here.