Asian Defence News1

French Air Force and Navy Rafales getting Scorpion HMS

BAE - helmet-mounted display

Thales has been awarded the contract to supply Scorpion® helmet-mounted sight and display systems and digital multi-function displays for all the Dassault Aviation Rafale aircraft in service with the French Air and Space Force and the French Navy.

From reconnaissance to air defence and precision strike missions, the Rafale has helped ensure the success of countless military operations. But future aircrews will have to analyse more data in less time on combat missions carried out in increasingly complex environments. Coupled with the aircraft's weapon systems, the Scorpion® helmet-mounted sight and display enhances tactical situational awareness and enables crews to respond more quickly and with greater agility to a whole range of threats. Its progressive rollout on the Rafale F4 standard will be a decisive advantage in ensuring the success of airborne missions and protecting populations.

The helmet-mounted display symbology brings together information from the aircraft’s onboard sensors to help pilots perform their missions even in the most challenging situations. It creates a continuum between the cockpit and the outside world to radically improve awareness of the tactical situation. Coupled with the weapon system, the display can be used to designate and track targets anywhere in the crew's field of view in daylight and at night.

Scorpion® delivers all of these capability enhancements in addition to the protection and survivability functions of a conventional flight helmet. It is optimised for weight and balance to maximise pilot comfort and mission effectiveness.

The 400 digital multi-function displays on order will replace the lateral displays on France's in-service Rafale aircraft, which are primarily used to inform the pilot about the status of the aircraft's systems and provide imagery from its onboard sensors. The new equipment offers a larger display area, an improved touchscreen interface and greater processing power.

Vietnamese Frigates during the Military Parade in Vladivostok, Russia

Two Gepard 3.9 frigates of the Vietnamese Navy were lavishly decorated to participate in the naval parade in Vladivostok, Russia.

Two frigates, Quang Trung 016 and Tran Hung Dao of the Vietnam People's Navy, were lavishly decorated when participating in the naval parade held in the Far East, Russia.The naval parade is held annually by Russia, to celebrate the birth of the country's navy, and also an opportunity to show off its military might in the Pacific region.

This parade is often held with the participation of many foreign guests, including Vietnam. This is not the first time that Vietnamese frigates appear in this parade.During the official ceremony yesterday, July 25 local time, Russian President Putin stated that Russia has the ability to launch destructive attacks, with any which opponent.

Putin stressed that the Russian military has enough strength to deal with threats in the air, on the water, under the water or on land, and will not tolerate any target.Previously, two ships Quang Trung and Tran Hung Dao of the Vietnam People's Navy were present in Vladivostok on July 22, ready to participate in the parade.Due to the complicated situation of the COVID-19 epidemic around the world, the number of warships participating in the naval parade in Russia this year was not as rich as in previous years.

Two Vietnamese frigates will also participate in the Army Games 2021 tournament in the Sea Cup category. This will also be the first time, we participate in a competition at sea.Two frigates Tran Hung Dao and Quang Trung, we ordered from Russia in the second phase, after owning two ships Dinh Tien Hoang 011 and Ly Thai To 012 in the service.

The ship Tran Hung Dao 016 was launched from April 2016, and officially joined the force of Region 4 of Vietnam Navy in February 2018.Meanwhile, the Quang Trung 016 ship, although launched a month later than the Tran Hung Dao ship, was also commissioned at the same time as the 015.Compared with the original design of these two corvettes, the Vietnamese navy has creatively designed an additional aircraft compartment on the rear deck, in order to facilitate good preservation of weapons and vehicles.

Russia's Gepard 3.9 frigates are specially designed, with a hull structure that allows to minimize radar emissions, the ship has 10 completely separate watertight compartments with dual rudders, for high stability when traveling work.In addition to Vietnam, currently the Russian Navy is also using two frigates of this type in the fleet of the Caspian Sea.