LCA Tejas from Indian Air Force’s 18 Squadron land at Dubai to take part in Dubai Air Show-2021

 

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi visited JS Izumo on Nov. 8 to monitor the progress of the ship’s conversion into an aircraft carrier

Kentucky ANG receives first 2 of 8 C-130Js

ROKN has a new animation showing its future aircraft carrier

Turkey successfully test-fires air defense missile Siper, rival to S-400

 

Turkey has successfully test-fired its high-altitude long-range air defense missile system, Siper, a top defense official said Saturday.

Different tests of the domestic air defense system, which is planned to enter the army's inventory in 2023, will continue, Ismail Demir, the head of Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), tweeted.

He said Turkey will continue to produce new weapons and will have up to six different air defense systems.

The Siper project is led by Turkey's defense giants Aselsan, Roketsan and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK)'s Defense Industries Research and Development Institute (SAGE).

Developed to protect strategic facilities against enemy attacks within the scope of regional air defense, Siper will allow air defense at long range and in the protection of distributed architecture.

Besides Siper, which is expected to rival Russia's S-400, the Korkut, Sungur and Hisar air defense systems are also in place, systems set to outline a layered air defense for the country, as mentioned several times by the officials.

In this context, the first delivery within the scope of serial production of Korkut systems was carried out in 2019, and the pedestal-mounted air defense system Sungur was also put into service.

Developed by Roketsan, Sungur will be integrated in land, air and sea platforms with its portable feature.

The air defense system has the capability of shooting while moving, along with effective target detection, diagnosis, identification, tracking and 360-degree shooting capability day and night.

Sungur is ahead of its class in terms of effectiveness, high maneuverability, high target-hit capacity and countermeasures. It is equipped with a titanium warhead and has sighting capabilities allowing the target to be viewed from a long range.

While the deliveries of the low altitude air defense missile system Hisar-A missiles have started, the mass production of the Hisar-O missiles have also begun. The interception range of the Hisar-A system is 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), while that of the Hisar-O system is 25 kilometers. Siper, on the other hand, is intended to be at a level that can compete with the S-400.

In March, the Hisar-O+ medium-range air defense system, the upgraded version of Hisar-O, successfully completed a test firing, which was the longest range and the highest altitude test conducted in the country to date. The air defense system is expected to destroy all kinds of air threats created by fixed and rotary winged aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and air-to-surface missiles in adverse weather conditions.

Eastern Ladakh - Indian Airborne troops with IAF AH-64E Apaches

 

More from airborne insertion exercise in Eastern Ladakh: Airborne troops with IAF AH-64E Apaches for “precision engagement and destruction of enemy forces” and “capture of designated objective”

 

 

Turkey begins constructing 4th warship for Pakistan’s navy

 

A keel-laying ceremony beginning the construction of a MILGEM (National Ship) Ada class corvette tailored for the Pakistan Navy was held in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi Friday.

The ceremony at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) – Pakistan Navy's specialized shipbuilding division – was attended by Naval Chief Adm. Amjad Khan Niazi, Pakistan Navy officers and representatives of Turkey's state-run defense firm ASFAT, said an official statement.

Addressing the ceremony, Niazi said the production of indigenous modern warships with the help of Turkey is a proud moment for Pakistan.

The joint venture, he said, will open new avenues of cooperation between Ankara and Islamabad in the field of defense production.

Induction of the MILGEM-class ships, the statement added, would significantly increase the operational capabilities of the Pakistan Navy.

The ships are being constructed according to modern naval ship class standards and will be equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, including surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, and anti-submarine weapons, the statement added.

In July 2018, the Pakistan Navy signed a contract with ASFAT for the acquisition of four MILGEM-class ships. According to the plan, two corvettes will be built in Turkey and the next two will be built in Pakistan, which also involves technology transfer.

MILGEM vessels are 99 meters (325 feet) long with a displacement capacity of 24,000 tons and can move at a speed of 29 nautical miles. The anti-submarine combat frigates can be hidden from radar.

In October 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, along with then-Chief of Pakistan Navy Adm. Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, had cut the metal plate of the first MILGEM Ada class corvette during a ceremony in Istanbul.

China delivers first Type 054 A/P frigate to Pakistan

 Pakistan signed an initial contract for the delivery two Type 054 A/P frigates in 2017. An additional contract for two more ships was announced in June 2018. The first-in-class frigate was launched in August 2020 and the second in January 2021. As for the third one, the keel laying took place on May 1st 2021. All four units are built in China and the first two are expected to be delivered to the customer by year end.

According to a Pakistan Navy press release, the Type-054 A/P ships are state of the art frigates equipped with modern surface, subsurface and anti air weapons and sensors. Once constructed, these ships will be the most technologically advanced platforms of Pakistan Navy which will strengthen its capability to meet future challenges and maintain peace, stability & power equilibrium in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Pakistan Navy is currently undertaking an important renewal of its fleet, with the procurement of several modern platforms: In addition to these frigates from China, Pakistan will also commission new corvettes from Turkey and OPV from the Netherlands. It is also modernizing its submarine force.The Type 054A is a multi-role frigate and is recognized as the backbone of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet of surface combatants with 30 vessels in commission. They have a length of 134 meters, a beam of 16 meters for a displacement of 4,000 tons. They have a crew complement of 165 sailors and are fitted with:

    a H/PJ-26 76mm main gun
    8 C803 anti-ship missiles
    32x VLS cells for HQ-16 surface to air missiles
    2x Type 730 30mm CIWS
    2x Triple Torpedo launchers

In PLAN service, those frigates feature a Type 382 radar which shares a close resemblance with the Russian MR-710 Fregat radar. Unlike the Pakistan Navy variant – whose first ship-in-class is fitted with a SR2410C radar – the Type 054A in Chinese Navy service do not feature a long range / metric wave radar.