Thursday, August 27, 2020
Two Australian ADW Test Cooperative Engagement
Sailing in company to test combat system
Navy’s newest guided missile destroyer HMAS Sydney has sailed in company with sister ship HMAS Brisbane to conduct training and testing of the Aegis Combat System.Commanding Officer of Sydney Commander Edward Seymour said it was the first time the ship sailed in company with another guided missile destroyer and the first time joining another vessel at sea equipped with the cooperative engagement capability.
“This activity is a great opportunity to use some of the more complex systems that we have to provide crew training and preparedness,” Commander Seymour said. Sailing in company with Brisbane has also allowed the ship to exercise bridge and navigation teams, watchkeeping and communications.
Sydney has been progressing through the DDG Force Generation cycle, which includes conducting Aegis waterfront training with the support of a team of specialists from Lockheed Martin in the United States.“The waterfront training let’s us train ourselves to generate the ship’s combat systems training team and integrate this as part of the whole ship training regime,” Commander Seymour said. “We have achieved this with valuable assistance from the team from the United States who bring expertise and experience on the Aegis Combat system.”
Principal Warfare Officer in Sydney’s combat information centre Lieutenant Daniel James said the training contributed greatly to test and validate the system and train its maintainers and operators. “This is one of the few occasions that Australian ships have been able to employ this capability other than with US Navy platforms,” Lieutenant James said.Following the Aegis Waterfront Training, Sydney will begin unit ready work-ups in preparation for final live weapons and systems tests in the United States next year.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
BRP Antonio Luna Sea Trials Set Mid-September Phillipines Navy
Sea trials for the Philippine Navy (PN)'s second missile-frigate, BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), are tentatively scheduled by mid-September."The tentative schedule for (sea trials is on) mid-September. However, it is still not yet finalized," said Navy public affairs office chief, Lt. Commander Maria Christina Roxas, in a message to the Philippine News Agency on Monday.
Sea trials are the last phase of construction prior to the frigate’s delivery to the Philippines scheduled tentatively for January or February of 2021.BRP Antonio Luna is the sister-ship of BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), the PN's first missile-frigate, which is now participating in the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises off Hawaii.
Also, Roxas said BRP Antonio Luna has earlier conducted her builder's sea trials which are normally "conducted to do an initial test at sea and do minor adjustments".Earlier, the PN said the delivery for the country's second missile-frigate is projected for October 2020 but this was pushed back to early next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic."If not for this Covid-19 pandemic, the second frigate (FF-151) should have been delivered by October this year but because of this pandemic, it will be moved to the first quarter of Calendar Year 2021," PN chief Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo earlier said in an online forum.
BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) was launched on Nov. 8, 2019 at the Ulsan facility of South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries.Its keel-laying on May 23, 2019 coincided with the launch of BRP Jose Rizal. The contract for the BRP Jose Rizal and the BRP Antonio Luna was placed at PHP16 billion with another PHP2 billion for weapon systems and munitions.These ships are capable of conducting anti-air warfare (AAW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and electronic warfare (EW) operations.
Japan cleared to buy 32 AIM-120C-8 missiles
The U.S. government has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Japan of 32 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) with support for an estimated cost of $63 million.
Taiwan deploys Albatross UAVs to South China Sea
Taiwan has deployed a small number of its indigenous Albatross unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to Pratas and Taiping Islands in the South China Sea.
Chinese shipyard launches first Type 054 A/P frigate for Pakistan Navy
For the record, in 2018, the Pakistani Defense Ministry signed with the Chinese foreign trade association China Shipbuilding Trading Company Ltd. a contract for the construction of two more frigates of the Chinese project 054A for the Pakistani fleet. The cost of the contract was not disclosed. Thus, in total, the Pakistani Navy has ordered four frigates of the 054A project to date, which should be commissioned by the end of 2021.
About the Type 054A is a multi-role frigate:
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.
The Type 054A is armed with HQ-16 medium-range surface-air missiles fired from 32-cell Vertical Launch System (VLS) developed by Luoyang Electro-Optics Technology Development Centre (EOTDC). The HQ-16 missile can engage aerial targets from all angles up to a range of 50km. The VLS is also expected to launch an anti-submarine missile.
The primary Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) system of the Type 054A is the YJ-83 (C-803) sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missile. The missile is launched by two quadruple launchers mounted at the mid-ship position. The YJ-83 missile can carry a 165kg conventional warhead to an operational range of 250km.
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.
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