Germany approves tank sale to Indonesia

Reuters
Friday, May 03, 2013

BERLIN - The German government has approved the sale to Indonesia of about 100 used Leopard 2 tanks and 50 armoured personnel carriers but has put off a decision on a tank sale to Saudi Arabia, a defence source said on Friday.

Germany's national security council, which includes Chancellor Angela Merkel and some cabinet ministers, must approve large arms sales and the government never comments on its decisions.

Indonesia, southeast Asia's largest economy, had previously indicated it would buy 130 Leopard tanks from Germany's Rheinmetall AG as part of a US$15 billion (S$18.5b) five-year campaign to modernise its military.

The German source did not say how much the deal was worth but Indonesia said last year the value of the initial agreement to buy 130 tanks was US$280 million.

Indonesia, which has economic growth of above 6 per cent, is wary of being left behind as China, Vietnam, Thailand and other Asian nations ramp up defence spending. This year it announced plans to buy more than a dozen Russian Sukhoi fighter jets as well as domestically made, missile-equipped patrol ships.

The industry source said Berlin would delay a decision on whether to sell tanks to Saudi Arabia until after the federal election in September. It is a sensitive issue in Germany where the opposition criticises sales to some Middle Eastern countries because of their human rights record.

Ministry virtually rejects consideration for SM-3

Published : 2013-05-06 20:18
Updated : 2013-05-06 20:18

The Defense Ministry has virtually rejected the Navy’s request to consider introducing the Standard Missile-3 mid-course interceptors, multiple sources privy to the issue told The Korea Herald on Monday.

The Navy unofficially requested recently that the ministry weigh the option of purchasing the missiles to enhance the strategic value of its Aegis-equipped destroyers and better handle North Korea’s escalating missile threats.

The ministry has made no response in an apparent rejection of the request, sources said.

The Navy currently runs three Aegis destroyers but with no missile interceptors. Critics have deridingly likened the top-of-the-line vessel to a gun with no bullets. The per-unit price of the vessel is around 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion).

For the Seoul government, introducing such a high-profile interception system is a sensitive issue as it could be seen as joining the U.S.-led ballistic missile defense program that could target China and Russia.

Seoul has made it clear that it is seeking to develop a “low-tier” missile shield system specifically designed for Korean terrain features and security conditions, which is different from the U.S. global multi-layered defense program.

As the backbone of the U.S. naval interception program, the SM-3 is designed to defend against missile attacks at altitudes of around 150 km in the “mid-course” phase. If the SM-3 interception fails, the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 of the U.S. military is activated to intercept incoming missiles at altitudes of around15 km in the “terminal” phase.

Critics said the SM-3 missile system, which costs around 15 billion won apiece, was not suited to defend against short-range North Korean missiles as it is for intercepting mid-range ballistic missiles.

But proponents said the SM-3 could enhance the country’s overall deterrence capabilities as the North could fire mid-range missiles as well to attack South Korea by adjusting the amount of fuel and direction.

“Seoul has been focusing on bolstering the low-tier missile defense, believing the North would fire only short-range missiles on the South. In that case, the North could fire longer-range missiles and adjust them for South Korean targets during wartime,” said a security expert, declining to be named.

“With the SM-3, the South can limit the North’s strategic missile options that could damage South Korean territory.”

As Pyongyang has recently ratcheted up missile and nuclear threats, Seoul has been striving to bolster its missile defense efforts.

For low-tier missile defense, the South Korean military currently has 48 PAC-2 missiles, which it has deployed since 2009. It is now seeking to introduce the more advanced PAC-3 system.

The PAC-2 missiles with fragmentation-type warheads are less lethal than the PAC-3 with warheads employing “hit-to-kill” technology.

Seoul has also sought to accelerate the development of the “Kill Chain,” a preemptive strike system, and deploying strategic ballistic missiles, which can cover the whole of the communist state.

Despite such efforts, skeptics said Seoul’s missile defense strategy faced many operational challenges including the North’s operation of mobile launchers that would make it difficult to track the origin of missile attacks.

The North reportedly has up to 40 mobile launchers that can carry Scud missiles with ranges of between 300 and 1,000 km, up to 40 launchers for Rodong missiles with a range of 1,300 km, and 14 launchers for Musudan missiles with ranges of between 3,000 km and 4,000 km.

By Song Sang-ho

08.05.2013

Report: Germany clears tank sales to Indonesia

The news magazine Spiegel reports that the German government has approved the sale of 164 tanks to Indonesia. The country joins Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on a contentious new export list.

Spiegel reported on its online portal on Wednesday that the German military manufacturer Rheinmetall had received government approval to sell 164 tanks to Indonesia. The deal comprises 104 Leopard 2 tanks, 50 of the older Marder 1A2 infantry fighting vehicles, four tanks specialized for mountain terrain, three mobile bridge-layers and three armored earth-movers, called "pioneer tanks" in Germany. The price is not known.

Indonesia had officially requested the deal during Angela Merkel's visit in the summer of 2012, with Reuters previously reporting that it was likely to be approved.

German military exports must be cleared by a special security council made up of Merkel and most top government ministers, including the defense, foreign, finance and development ministers.

Indonesia had also sought to procure Leopard tanks, considered among the most modern on the market, from the Netherlands, but the deal was stopped in the country's parliament. Indonesia's questionable human rights record helped explain the Dutch decision.

The opposition Green and Left parties had voiced concerns that the weapons might be used against ethnic minorities in the country. Spiegel obtained its information from a Green party parliamentarian, Katja Keul, who had requested the information from Merkel's cabinet.

The US has recently announced plans to export military equipment to the Asian country, a part of heavy investment since 2010 in modernizing its military.

Contentious customers

Indonesia is number 100 on Transparency International's corruption index and sits in 139th place on Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index. The country resumed capital punishment in March this year after four years without the death penalty.

Germany has approved a number of similar deals in recent months, with Spiegel consistently reporting on the issue. One December issue of the weekly magazine featured a doctored image of Merkel in a military uniform with the cover headline "German weapons for the world." Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the two most notable examples for armored vehicle exports in recent months, with the United Arab Emirates a comparatively recent trading partner for automatic weapons and ammunition.

This February, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that German arms exports just to the Gulf region more than doubled in 2012 compared to the previous year, rising from a total of 570 million euros ($746 million) to 1.42 billion euros.

Traditionally, Germany's weapons export policies have been comparatively cautious, especially for land-based equipment. Hans-Dieter Genscher, foreign minister for almost two decades, once famously said that "whatever floats is ok, whatever rolls is not," referring to the difficulty of using naval weaponry to suppress internal conflicts compared to tanks and other land-based military equipment.

msh/jm (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Turkish Tanks Head For Saudi Arabia
 
May 8, 2013: Saudi Arabia has agreed to buy some of the new Turkish Altay tanks. The exact number has not been revealed but the Saudis do have 320 elderly AMX-30 French tanks in urgent need of replacement. The Turkish Army is planning on buying a thousand of the new Altays for about $5.5 million each. These will be acquired four lots of 250 each and not all may be needed (depending on the regional military-political situation. The Turkish Army currently has 720 German Leopard 1 and 2 tanks, 930 American M-60s and 1,370 American M-48s Most (except for the Leopard 2s) are quite old and need replacing soon.  Turkey doesn’t really need 3,000 tanks when half the number of more modern ones would do. Altay is similar to the 338 Leopard 2s the Turks currently have. Most of the rest are Cold War era tanks and rapidly approaching retirement age.

Yet another reason for the Saudis to buy hundreds of Altays is to cement an unofficial alliance with Turkey against Iran and anyone else who might threaten Saudi Arabia and its immediate neighbors. Earlier France proposed replacing the French made AMX-30s with the AMX-56 Leclerc. The 65 ton Altay seems a better fit than the 55 ton Leclerc and Turkey is a lot closer than France.

Moreover the Altay is similar in many ways to the 400 M1 tanks the Saudis have (in service or on order). Both have a 120mm gun, composite armor and high-end electronics. The two tanks are so similar because two years ago Turkey paid South Korea $400 million for rights to much of the technology in the new 55 ton South Korean K2 tank. This vehicle was in turn based on the 1980s K1, which deliberately emulated the M1 design in many ways and did so with the cooperation of the United States. The K1 and K2 proved to be successful designs and the Turks already had decades of experience maintaining and upgrading American M-60 tanks (the predecessor of the M1). With the addition of the South Korean tech the Altay rapidly took shape.

The K2 has a number of new electronic defenses. These include a laser detector that will instantly tell the crew the direction the enemy laser beam is coming from. Most tanks use a laser range finder before it fires its main gun. The K2 fire control system also enables the main gun (120mm) to be used to hit low flying aircraft (helicopters, mostly). There are also numerous improvements to the K1 mechanical and electronic systems, as well as more armor (both composite and ERA). This will make the K2 easier to use and maintain. An autoloader reduces the crew to three men. The Altay is more heavily armored than the K2 and does not use the auto-loader.

Why the ATM doesn't choose it over the PT-91 does spark some curiosity... although I'd rather have someone in the know to explain, if the information is open for public knowledge.

The U.S. Army's New 84-Ton Tank Prototype Is Nearly IED-Proof
The new Ground Combat Vehicle weighs twice as much as the tank it's designed to replace,
and it's massive enough to survive a roadside bomb.


The Ground Combat Vehicle U.S. Army

viper without a doubt.
government would go for tiger though.

May 15, 2013 at 03:10

IMDEX 2013: World navies Gather in Singapore

Posted by admin

Changi Naval Base, Singapore: 15 warships from nine countries around the world, including the latest patrol vessels, frigates, corvettes and destroyers, sailed into Singapore for the Warships Display at IMDEX Asia 2013 this week. The US Navy’s first ever littoral combat ship, USS Freedom, in its maiden overseas deployment, was among the warships at Changi Naval Base.

The picture shows some of the visiting vessels cisiting IMDEX this year, including (in clockwise order): RSS Valiant (Victory Class corvette P91), RSS Bedok mine countermeasure boat (M105), RSS Formidable (F68) and RSS Tenacious (F71), both Formidable (La Fayette) Class frigates.

In the background, left is Ladroite, the French experimental OPV, with the Royal Thai Navy HTMS Rattanakosin (F441) to its right, the Shivalik class Frigate INS Satpura (F48) and Kora class Corvette (P62) INS Kirch, both from India. The Australian Armidale class Patrol Craft HMAS Bathurst is seen by the side of the USS Freedom, the first Littoral Combat Ship of the US Navy.

The Malaysian frigate KD Lekiu frigate (30), Indonesian KCR 40 class patrol craft KRI Kujang [642] and Diponegoro Class Corvette KRI Frans Kaisiepo [368] are closing this impressive line up at the Changi Naval Base in Singapore. Two vessels from Singapore are filling in for the two vessels that were scheduled to arrive from South Korea.