Monday, August 31, 2020
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Grave of Chinese soldier killed by Indian Army emerges
The photograph of a 19-year-old Chinese soldier’s gravestone, circulating on the China’s social media site Weibo, could be evidence of Chinese casualties in the Galwan Valley clash with India on the intervening night of June 14 and 15.
Indian Army already had claimed that there had been losses on the Chinese side as well in the Galwan clash. It is likely that such leaks are because of discontent within PLA
The inscription on the gravestone, in Mandarin, says, “Tomb of martyr Chen Xiangrong, soldier of the Unit 69316 of the Southern Xinjiang Military District of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army 13th Regiment. Born in December 2001, from Pingnan county, Fujian province China. Sacrificed in the fight against India’s border defence in June 2020.”
PHL Signs Contract with Japan for 4 Air Surveillance Radars
Philippine Air Force to get air surveillance system boost, as Secretary Lorenzana signs contract with Japan
Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana has signed the Contract Agreement and Notice to Proceed for the Horizon 2 Air Surveillance Radar System (ASRS) Acquisition Project of the Philippine Air Force, under a negotiated government-to-government procurement with Japan.
The project, which has an Approved Budget for Contract of PHP 5,500,000,000.00, was awarded to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) with a total contract price of $103,500,000.00.
This cooperation signifies Japan’s first time to export Japanese-made defense equipment under a restructured government policy, permitting sales of defense equipment, as long as it is deemed for the promotion of international peace.This is also the first defense equipment and technology cooperation project between the two countries in realization of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Japan concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology signed in 2016.
The recommended ASRS sites will cover large areas of the Philippine Rise, Southern Areas of the country, and the Southern portion of the West Philippine Sea. Operations from these strategically vital locations will enable the Philippine Air Force to provide optimal airspace monitoring, aircraft control, perform its Air Defense mission and enhance the security in Areas of Interest identified by the DND. Specifically, the ASRS will help to detect, identify, and correlate any threats and intrusions within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and deliver radar images to decision-makers and relevant operating units.
The ASRS package includes three (3) fixed long-range Air Surveillance Radars, each with building facilities and one (1) mobile Air Surveillance Radar, and are expected to be delivered to the Philippines starting 2022.
Malaysia Issues MPA and UAV Tenders
The much anticipated tenders for the supply of two Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and three Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MALE UAV) have been issued to international bidders on August 25.
Apparently, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is looking for up to 4 new MPA to replace the 3 remaining Beechcraft B200TMP Super King Air currently soldering on with No 16 ‘Sintar’ Skn.
The recent tender is actually Phase 1 of the whole MPA program.According to a statement by Senior Minister of Defence, the Beechcraft is expected to be withdrawn from service by 2024, exactly 30 years since it was inducted into the RMAF in 1994.
The B200TMP lacks sufficient range and endurance. The small cabin space means that it is not able to carry much sensors for surveillance.Having said that, the Beechcraft has provided excellent service with sterling safety record of 22 years until a training hazard accident occurred on December 21, 2016 killing the pilot and instructor Mej (posthumously promoted to Lt Kol) Kayamboo Chellam TUDM.
In all, the RMAF operates two Beechcraft B350i King Air for Multi Engine and Crew Training (MECT) at Tactical Flight Training Centre – Transport (Pusat Latihan Terbang Taktikal – Angkut or PLTT-Angkut) and four B200TMP with No 16 Skn. The two units currently based at Subang AFB although the B350i has been pulled out of service after the leasing contract has lapsed.A tender has been issued for replacement of the B350i albeit in much smaller size. Two IAe CN235-220M tactical transport aircraft operated by No 1 Skn will be converted into MPA by the Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) at its Bandung facility under US funded Maritime Security Initiative (MSI).
The CN-235 and its larger development, the Airbus C-295 were considered as leading contenders as they share logistic commonality with the existing fleet including 4 Airbus A-400M Atlas strategic transport aircraft operated by No 22 Skn also at Subang AFB.
The fact that the CN-235 is built in Indonesia means that the procurement cost is much lower than any other contenders. No 1 Skn (previously No 21 Skn) has been operating the CN-235s for more than 20 years with commendable safety record. One CN-235-100 VIP transport aircraft was lost in an accident but the incident never tarnished the overall good record the fleet has.
As ad hoc MPA, the CN-235 was deployed to conduct maritime surveillance during the search of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in 2014 and Covid-19 border patrol as part of Ops Benteng.
In terms of provision of training, the existing flight simulator facility at Kuching AFB could be well used to train future MPA pilots. Even the CN-235 offers seamless maintenance support both in country and abroad.
As for the MALE UAV, preparation has been well on the way since the first time the RMAF mooted the idea for MPA configured MALE UAV REQUIREMENT during the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace (LIMA) 2017 airshow. By the time the 2019 edition of LIMA opened up its curtain, international Request for Information (RFI) has been issued to potential bidders.
The US Government has cleared Malaysia to purchase the General Atomic Sky Guardian MALE UAV, derived from the famous MQ-9 Reaper.Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) on the other hand has continously renewed its cooperation and relationships with Malaysia’s DEFTECH which also include local development of the former’s Anka MALE UAV.
In conjunction with RMAF anniversary on June 1, the Chief of the Air Force has announced that the squadron operating 18 KNAAPO-built Sukhoi Su-30MKM (NATO Reporting Name: Flanker) Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA), No 11 ‘Bisa’ Skn will be undergoing number plate change to reflect its new role and preservation of historical facts.
The Sukhoi had since being operated by No 12 ‘Jengking Merah’ Skn while No 11 Skn will be operating a mix of Tactical UAV (TUAV) and the MALE UAV. A tender has been issued for the supply of unspecified number of TUAS for No 11 Skn out of Melaka International Airport near Batu Berendam.The spirit of the tender is nevertheless to provide training and surveillance platform in anticipation of delivery of the much capable MALE UAV.
The RMAF will certainly following closely the training syllabus and operational doctrine of two Maritime agencies namely the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Aviation Branch (Cawangan Udara TLDM – CUT) with its US supplied Boeing/In-Situ ScanEagle Mk 2 operated by No 601 Skn and the Malaysian Coast Guard (officially known as the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency or MMEA) Thales Fulmar X TUAVs out of its Bagan Datuk class New Generation Patrol Craft (NGPV)
The MALE UAV tender is expected to be closed by November while the MPA tender is closed in early December 2020. This could mean that two winners might be selected in 2021, the first year of 12th Malaysia Plan.
T-6 Texan II Selected for Royal Thai Air Force
The T-6 Texan II becomes the new Air Force training aircraft. This includes a new type of attack aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force. This acquisition will replace the expiring PC-9M trainer aircrafta and will replace the L-39ZA/ART attack aircraft at the 411 squadron in Chiang Mai, which will replace at least 24 aircraft per squadron, which is considered to reduce the number of aircraft per squadron. But it comes with the opportunity of the Thai industrial sector to participate in the manufacture and improvement of aircraft like this. This is the first time that Thai people can participate in this much.
The T-6 Texan II defeats the KT-1 Wongbee and PC-21, although it did not exceed expectations. But it is considered quite surprising Let's get to know the T-6 Texan II a little more.
The T-6 Texan II is the purchase of a PC-9 trainer to be developed to compete in the United States Army's Joint Initial Training Aircraft Program. It was finally chosen as the standard training aircraft for all three US Army pilots. It first entered service about 20 years ago, it is also a standard training aircraft of the United States Air Force, Air Force of New Zealand, Morocco Air Force, Mexican Air Force and Navy, Israeli Air Force, Greece Air Force, Iraqi Air Force, Argentinian Air Force and Canadian Air Force. The Royal Thai Air Force will be the 11th national user of the T-6 Texan II with more than 850 aircraft produced.
The T-6TH, which is the Royal Thai Air Force code, will be based on the T-6C Texan II, as well as the A-6TH that will be the attack aircraft, it should also be based on the AT-6B Wolverine.
The Thai "TH" code represents a specific improvement of the Royal Thai Air Force. Because the Air Force specifies the need for the Air Force and Thai private companies to be able to improve the flight control software or Operation Flight Program of the machine, Textron Aviation, the manufacturer, agrees to all requirements. Manufacturers, Textron Aviation and Lockheed Martin, as well as CMC Electronics and Diehl will collaborate with Thailand's RV Connex and TAI in final refurbishment and assembly to deliver to the Air Force. This may include the production of some parts in Thailand.
As planned, the Air Force is expected to make significant improvements to the A-6TH, which will be equipped with the current Air Force standard IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile. This will be the first time that the T-6 Texan II will be able to install IRIS-T, which will be primarily operated by RV Connex, who previously joined the IRIS-T installation on the F-5TH. It uses the same mission system architecture that is installed on the A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft and uses an enhanced sensor suite from the MC-12W Liberty reconnaissance aircraft. The cockpit is expected to be co-designed by CMC Electronic, a partner with The Thai RV Connex in the Alphajet cockpit design has come before.
Weapons systems will be able to use a .50 inch or 20 mm gun equipped with a 500 pound laser guided bomb, and other types of bombs. And in the future will include the installation of the Link-TH Datalink system, which is the standard link of the Royal Thai Air Force. The final assembly will be carried out in Thailand. It is expected to be at TAI's factory and may include private Thai companies to manufacture some parts.
Buying Thai weapons or buy foreign weapons, but Thais get jobs, produce, get technology. There will be continued, if the Air Force is successful in implementing its White Paper policy for the next 20 years, a project like this would be a fine excuse to ask political support to generate industry and income for the country. And will help support the Thai economy reduce the loss of military budget going outside the country. And is a high utilization of the budget and many dimensions This should be an important example of the Thai military procurement and development.
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