Publication: Sunday Times Issued: Date: 2005-06-04 Reporter: Helmoed-Romer Heitman Reporter:

Tie Up Corvette Deal as Soon as Possible

 

Publication 

Sunday Times

Date

2005-06-04

Reporter

Helmoed-Romer Heitman

Web Link

www.sundaytimes.co.za

 

The matter of the corvettes for the navy ("Navy corvettes sail into a cabinet storm" May 14), needs urgent attention.

While it would certainly be ideal to wait until a clear defence policy (and broader foreign policy) is in place before entering major equipment programmes, it will by then be too late for the navy. The ships need to be ordered now if they are to be in service in time to take over from the strike craft.

South Africa needs to go ahead with the corvette programme despite the fact that it is not rooted in a new defence policy.

There is a need for a ship with a relatively large hull for patrol and rescue operations along our long coastline.

The growing insecurity in the wider region - 26 civil wars or insurgencies in 50 countries on the continent - suggests that we will be drawn into regional security roles. These will demand a well armed ship. South Africa cannot afford to run two classes (both frigate and patrol boat) of similar ships. One will have to be equipped to do both jobs.

The patrol corvettes meet both requirements. Either of the two ships on the short list would be able to do the job.

The question now is to select one of them. As the offers stand Bazan would seem to be ahead: their ship is apparently closer to what the navy wants and is affordable *1. The Yarrow ship offers the real advantage of a slightly larger hull, but has not really impressed technically and is also considerably more expensive. The two counter-trade package are superficially similar and must be evaluated by all the ministries concerned.

Lastly, I would like to comment on the tender process, which you seem to suspect was ineptly handled. Discussions with people involved in four of the five offers suggests to me that the tender process was professionally handled *2. So does the result.

The Danish Thetis is a lovely ship but is hampered by its single propellor (sic) and would not be able to perform all the necessary roles.

The French Souveranite is a highly desirable state-of-the-art ship but is rather small and far too expensive.

The German Meko 100 is too small to be really effective in our waters and also too small to allow reedy upgrading during its life. It is also expensive.

That leaves the short list as it stands now. Armscor may indeed have been discourteous to the losing yards, but there would seem to be no reason to believe that it was technically inept.

Helmoed Romer Heitman, Cape Town

With acknowledgements to Helmoed-Romer Heitman and Sunday Times.


The cost of the corvettes cannot be justified. All that is required is a few aircraft which can quickly patrol the entire coastline *3. In addition, ships without aircover are extremely vulnerable, so aircraft will in any case be essential.

A R Amm, Wilderness


The Bazan 590B option was being offered for about R1,7 billion, including combat suite. This was considered "affordable". The prices of the other options were a bit higher and were considered too expensive.

The combat suite at this stage was a brand new design, except that it included the 76 mm medium gun uplifted from the strike craft (which is still the case with the Valour-class MEKO 200AS frigates), plus the old strike craft search radar (which has now been replaced with the Thomson-CSF MRR multi-role radar to give the frigates a 3-D air-defence capability. It was always intended to have the Kentron Umkhonto surface-to-air missile as the anti-air weapon, but this missile morphed from a tube launched version to a far more sophisticated, expensive and risky vertically-launched version between 1995 and 1999. All other equipment remained the same from the 1995 version of the frigate combat suite to the present version - except that due to cost savings, the quantities of almost all the equipment has been halved (half the SSMs, half the SAMs, half the radar trackers, half the decoy rocket launchers, no torpedoes, no ashore test system, etc, etc.).

But even if a brand new search radar was required and the SAMs had not been included in the R1,7 billion price, then the equivalent cost would have been in the R2,0 billion to R2,3 billion range.

This was just affordable.

Yet the government decided to go for the R6,873 billion German MEKO 200AS with its half combat suite and no maritime helicopter.

Splodging out a mere R130 million to get such a deal sounds for a supplier a deal made in piggy heaven.


*2      This completely contradicts what Thabo Mbeki says in his Fishers of Corrupt Men missive.

At the same time the then Deputy Minister of Defence Ronnie Kasrils said :
"the tender process had been above board and correct".

Just what does Thabo know that Red Ronnie and Helmoed did not know?

And if he knows something, just why is he not saying it.

If he not absolutely sure of his facts, he can always take a cue from Patricia and say it in Parliament where he has absolute privilege and is protected from actions for damages in case he defames any one.


*3      But what do you do when you catch a naughty patagonian toothfisher or contraband smuggler - blow them out of the water? Or call in a navy or coastguard ship?

It is a myth that a coast line can be protected or even properly patrolled by aircraft.

A sea line of trade or sea line of control certainly cannot be protected by aircraft. In the modern age these tasks can only be accomplished by a combination of maritime patrol aircraft, surface patrol vessels with organic maritime helicopters.