Getting around the area of operations – either above the land – or on/under the waves is a current focus for regional SOF operators.
Following the withdrawal of the United States and its NATO partners from Afghanistan in 2021, the Indo-Pacific has quickly become a critical focus area for state actors around the globe seeking to counter peer adversaries including China, North Korea and Russia.
Given their ability to operate at the tactical edge, special operations forces (SOF) from across the region are building capabilities as they consider how best to counter potential adversaries.
SOF-specific areas of interest include providing small unit teams with the ability to conduct special reconnaissance, military assistance and in extreme cases, direct action missions on land, from the air and at sea – key requirements for small unit teams operating in a region dominated by water.
Japan
After decades of pacifist attitudes towards defence, Japan is now significantly ramping up its special operations capabilities, both in terms of materiel but also capabilities through multi-lateral training opportunities with partners across the region.
One of the most recent training opportunities saw the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force’s maritime special operations organisation- the Special Boarding Unit (SBU)- taking part in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in Hawaii, United States over the course of June and July this year.
RIMPAC provided the SBU the opportunity to train alongside strategic SOF partners in the Indo-Pacific including India, Indonesia, South Korea and the United States as the countries consider how to operate in a rapidly evolving, congested and contested operating environment.
One defence source associated with the exercise explained to Asian Military Review how the exercise not only enabled Indo-Pacific SOF units to learn and improve tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) but also share and consider new and emerging technologies which could be used to support the full spectrum of special operations in the region.
Training serials focused on helicopter and fast rope insertion; close quarter battle in urban and rural environments; ‘ship-in-a-box’ tactics used to successfully board and clear surface vessels; small boat and submarine operations; military freefall; and combat diving.
Specific technology areas of interest for Japanese SOF, which also includes the Japan Ground Self Defence Force’s Special Operations Group (SOG), are focused on the maritime environment and in particularly sub-surface insertion.
According to then outgoing commander of Australia’s Special Operations Command (SOCOMD), Major General Paul Kenny, Japanese cooperation with Australian SOF has increased substantially in recent years, due to the emerging security situation in the Indo-Pacific.
Speaking at the SOF Week event in Tampa in May, Kenny explained how Australian-Japanese SOF collaboration had now grown from a focus on parachute insertion and counter-terrorism to “more complex” capabilities although the would not be drawn on specifics.
“Our initial focus was sharing our experiences in counter-terrorism which includes how you might respond to a domestic terrorist attack. And Australia, amongst other nations, shared their experiences with our Japanese counterparts in the run up to the Tokyo Olympics.
“But in the last couple of years … we have collectively shifted our approach as our nation’s governments have realised the instability that is occurring in our region due to maligned behaviour by the PRC in particular, but also the ongoing disruptions by behaviours from the DPRK.
“Both the Japanese and the Australian governments are strongly aligned. And in fact, I think your Prime Minister made the point that Australia is a ‘quasi-ally. So while we don’t have a formal alliance, we are very, very closely aligned,” Kenny explained before highlighting multi-lateral cooperation at so-called ‘Quad’ exercises with SOF partners from Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
Also speaking at SOF Week, a former SOG commander also called for Japanese SOF to be suitably equipped to “deliver a message to opponents directly or indirectly”.
As a result, Japan’s Ministry of Defence (J-MoD) is understood to be considering a variety of next-generation capabilities to support the SOG and SBU moving forward. Options include swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV) technologies which could be used to forward-deploy combat divers underwater in a clandestine manner to avoid detect by an adversary.
Unusually for a SOF unit, neither the SOG nor SBU has traditionally been equipped with any kind of underwater insertion capability, mainly because of Japan’s pacifist attitude to security in the region.
But defence sources confirmed to AMR that the J-MoD is preparing to publish a requirement for some kind of SDV or even tactical delivery vehicle (TDV)- the latter of which comprises a platform capable of both carrying combat divers across the surface or under it.
Possible candidates include solutions from Vogo, DSI, Ortega, Stidd, SubSea Craft as well as JFD, the latter of which is expected to propose its Shadow Seal TDV.
The Shadow Seal has been designed for clandestine deployment from conventional and non-conventional surface vessels. With a 12-hour mission profile, it is designed to carry a crew of four SOF operators 18 nautical miles at 4.5 knots on the surface, before transitioning to a “semi-submerged” and low observable operation for a final bound of 4nm at 4kts.
South Korea
Also considering obtaining underwater SOF capabilities is the Republic of Korea Navy’s Special Warfare Flotilla (SWF) which is studying the potential of a Special Assault Boat (SAB) requirement to support special operations in the maritime environment.
According to defence sources, the SAB concept would see SDV/TDVs deployed from some kind of surface mothership although progress to date remains at an investigative stage, it was confirmed.
Sources suggested the RoK SWF is considering the acquisition of five motherships, each of which could be capable of rapidly deploying and recovering four SDV/TDVs each. Options for the SWF include similar SDV/TDVs available to Japan, sources confirmed.
RoK SOF are also set to benefit from a new rotary wing asset as the RoK’s Ministry of Defence considers the future of its Special Operations Heavy Helicopter (SOHH) programme.
The programme aims to replace a variety of rotary wing assets used by RoK Army and Navy SOF components, used to support a variety of special operations and training. Legacy platforms include UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-47D Chinooks.
In 2023, the RoK’s Defense Project Promotion Committee approved the purchase of 18 Special Operations Heavy Helicopters (SOHH) variants for a total of $2.9bn with the competition expected to feature Lockheed Martin’s CH-53K against Boeing’s CH-47F. Once an aircraft has been selected, deliveries are expected to run through to 2031.
The SOHH requirement falls under a wider effort by the RoK’s defence ministry referred to as the Large Transport Aircraft II programme. This is also considering the purchase of three fixed wing, tactical transport aircraft although details regarding this programme remain undisclosed as AMR went to press.
Australia
Similar moves to upgrade its fleet of special operations helicopters is the Australian SOCOMD which remains in the process of receiving UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from Sikorsky.
Helicopters are already in service with the SOCOMD’s 1st and 2nd Commando Regiment, based at Holsworthy Barracks in New South Wales where they support domestic counter-terrorism operations.
Speaking to AMR, Lockheed Martin Australia’s Rodahn Gibbon, programme manager for the UH-60M, confirmed eight helicopters had already been supplied to the SOCOMD, operated by the 6th Aviation Regiment. A further four helicopters are scheduled to be delivered to the same unit by the end of the year, he confirmed.
UH-60Ms replace a total of 47 Airbus MRH-90 Taipans which have been taken out of service with the SOCOMD due to a variety of reasons, defence sources confirmed to AMR. Taipans were grounded in 2021 after beginning service with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in 2004.
UH-60Ms are also set to benefit from a retrofit upgrade at a later date with ADF officials understood to be working with partners in the U.S. Army regarding potential SOF-specific additions. Options include the integration of a door gun in addition to fast rope insertion extraction equipment (FRIES) and winch.
The entry into service of the UH-60M with the SOCOMD followed a $1.8bn (AUD2.79bn) contract awarded to Lockheed Martin Australia in 2023 for a total of 40 UH-60M helicopters – half of which will end up in service with the Australian Army.
The decision to purchase the UH-60M follows the cancellation of the Land 2097 Phase 4 “SOF Rotary Wing Platform” requirement for the SOCOMD which dates back to 2016 when Australian SOF demanded a helicopter capable of being carried in the back of the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III aircraft and suited to supporting special operations in dense urban environments.
Initial options for the SOCOMD had included Bell’s 429; Airbus’s H145M; Leonardo’s AW109; and Boeing’s AH-6i. However, the programme was officially cancelled in 2021 after the ADF announced it would be purchasing the UH-60M.
The Land 2097 Phase 4 requirement will now be fulfilled by UH-60Ms as well as the ADF’s inventory of CH-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopters as well as the army’s AH-64E Apache which is set for delivery in 2025.
India
In India, SOF continue to grow in terms of capability, particularly following the formation of the Armed Forces Special Operations Division following a decision in 2019. It brings together the Indian Army’s (IA) Para-Special Forces regiments; Indian Navy’s (IN) Marine Commandos; and Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Garud Commandos under a single command structure.
At the Land Forces exhibition in Melbourne, Australia, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) promoted its latest combat freefall (CFF) parachute ensemble which, according to officials, recently began to enter service with the IAF’s Garud Commando Force.
Displayed on a mannequin at the event, the CFF system was certified for service with Indian SOF earlier in the year with initial units with the Garud Commando Force currently in process of receiving the new parachute system as AMR went to press.
According to the DRDO, the CFF system “provides a total solution to paratroopers jumping from as high as 30,000ft and gliding 30km to land at a desired target”.
“The system consists of a 9-cell Ram Air parachute; state of the art oxygen system, safety devices, jumpsuits, helmet-mounted hands-free communication system, navigation aids, gloves, shoes. The system can be used in High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) and High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) modes,” it was added.
The parachute itself measures 8.84m in length, with total area of 34.28 sqm, providing SOF operators with a lift/drag ratio of 3.3:1 and forward speed of 21kts.
The parachute has an assembly weight of 48 pounds (22 kilograms) and payload capacity of 330lb (150kg). Typically, operators will descend 1,000ft (304m) every two minutes in a controlled descent.
India SOF operators will also be able to conduct low altitude parachute insertion at altitudes as low as 2,00ft (610m) above ground level, DRDO officials added.
Indian SOF will be able to insert using the parachutes from a variety of fixed and rotary wing assets including the Indian Army Aviation Corps’ Special Operations Squadron’s Light Utility Helicopter (LUH); CH-47F(I) Chinook; and C-130J Hercules.
Finally, Indian SOF are also on the lookout for a subsurface insertion capability with IN Marine Commandos or MARCOS) seeking a SDV/TDV similar to requirements elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific in the Republic of Korea and Japan.
In 2019, the Indian MoD is understood to have chosen an TDV by Vogo although no craft had yet been delivered to the customer.
Industry sources suggested the contract would not be cancelled but instead considered the Indian MoD could reinvigorate the requirement with an additional programme of record for a new platform.
Sources suggested a second competition could be initiated by 2025. The MoD was unable to comment on any decision.
Conclusion
This new ‘arms race’ in the Indo-Pacific shows no signs of abating as China in particular, continues to ramp up conventional and non-conventional capabilities across the region.
SOF from across the region must be prepared to launch special operations at any time and anywhere, most likely in a multi-lateral environment against highly capable and well equipped adversaries.
by Andrew White
