heh
takpe DSA nanti kita lepak, ko belanja minum hahahah

no problemo tu bro     

Southeast Asian States Deploy Conventional Submarines

By Carl Thayer
January 03, 2014

On December 31, Vietnamese media reported the delivery of the first Russian Project 636 Varshavyanka-class (enhanced Kilo) conventional submarine to Cam Ranh Bay. The sub was transported from the port of St. Petersburg on the heavy lift vessel Rolldock Sea.

The submarine was accompanied by experts from Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg who will undertake final work before the formal handover ceremonies. The submarine will be named HQ 182 Hanoi. The last of the remaining five Project 636 Varshavyanka-class submarines is expected to be delivered by 2016.

In late November, during the visit of Vietnam’s party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong to India, it was announced that India would provide training for up to 500 submarines as part of its defense cooperation program with Vietnam. Training will be conducted at the Indian Navy’s modern submarine training center INS Satavahana in Visakhapatnam. The Indian Navy has operated Russian Kilo-class submarines since the mid-1980s.

The arrival of HQ 182 Hanoi provides a timely reminder that regional navies are embarking on naval modernization programs that increasingly include the acquisition of conventional submarines.

As long ago as 1967 Indonesia became one of the first Southeast Asian countries to acquire an undersea capability when it took delivery of a batch of Soviet Whiskey-class submarines. These were later replaced in 1978 by two West German diesel submarines.

In 2012 Indonesia’s Defense Ministry announced it was planning to expand its submarine fleet to twelve by 2020. Twelve is the minimum number of submarines required to cover strategic choke points or maritime entry passages into the  archipelago.

At present Indonesia has an order for three U-209 submarines that are being built in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in cooperation with PT PAL Indonesia. The U-209s are expected to be delivered between 2015 and 2016.

In addition, Indonesia is mulling two options. The first option is to buy and modify used Russian Kilo-class submarines. An Indonesian technical team headed by Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Marsetio will visit Russia this month to inspect the submarines and associated weaponry. It will report on the cost and feasibility of this option.

Indonesian sources report that the Kilo-option is attractive because the submarine can be armed with either the supersonic Yakhont or Klub-S cruise missiles. The latter can be fired underwater and strike surface targets up to 400 kilometers away.

Indonesia’s second option is to purchase new submarines from South Korea. This option is attractive because the new submarines are compatible with existing port infrastructure.

Press reports indicate that Indonesia’s new submarines will be berthed at the recently built Palu Naval Base in Central Sulawesi. These submarines would be able to operate in the deep waters around Indonesia’s eastern islands.

In late November Singapore announced that it had signed a contract for the purchase of two new Type 218SG conventional submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Germany. The sales contract included provisions for servicing and crew training in Germany.

Singapore’s submarines will be outfitted with the Air Independent Propulsion system and are expected to be delivered by 2020. The new submarines will replace four older Challenger-class submarines and will join the two refurbished Archer-class (formerly Swedish Västergötland-class) submarines to form Singapore’s undersea fleet.

Malaysia acquired two two Scorpène-class submarines from France following a contract signed in 2002. The two boats, RMN Tunku Abdul Rahman and RMN Tun Abdul Razak  entered service in 2007 and 2009, respectively. They are based at Sepanggar, Sabah. In May 2012 Malaysia indicated that any further submarine acquisitions would depend on the availability of funding. That year Malaysia signed a contract for the purchase of a Submarine Escape and Rescue Service vessel to be built in Singapore.

US hands over second Apache batch to Taiwanese Army

By Editorial
12 hours ago

The Taiwanese Armed Forces have taken delivery of the second batch of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from the US.

The six Boeing-built helicopters arrived at a harbour in the southern city of Kaohsiung, and will subsequently be transferred to an army aviation special forces base in Tainan City for final assembly, Central News Agency reports.

Around 30 AH-64E Apache helicopters were ordered by the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defence (MND) under a NT$59.31bn ($2bn) deal from the US in 2008, to help supplement the national army's ageing AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter fleet.

The first batch comprising six AH-64E Apaches was delivered in November 2013, but the helicopters have been grounded since mid-December, following reports of a malfunction in a helicopter of the same type in service with the US Army.

An unnamed military source familiar with the matter, however, noted that no problems have been found in Taiwanese fleet, but the helicopters will remain grounded for safety checks.

The deliveries of third, fourth and fifth batches of Apache helicopters are scheduled for March, May and July 2014, respectively, according to the news agency.

Nicknamed 'Guardian,' the AH-64E is a heavily-armed helicopter featuring powerful, fuel-efficient T700-GE-701D engines, enhanced rotor blade technology and electronics, as well as improved aircraft handling, performance and agility at higher altitudes.

Designed to replace the existing AH-64D Longbow helicopters, the helicopter also features a joint tactical radio system, electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensors to improve pilots' situational awareness and an oversea capacity, enabling potential strikes on smaller ships.

Apart from Taiwan, the helicopters have also been ordered by the Indonesian and South Korean armies.

I guess we will look forward to RMK11 big ticket candidates..

MRCA, AEW for air force
Attack heli, marine corps for army
MRSS, NGPV upgrade for navy

I'm afraid there aren't much either.
as the sgpv and av8 funding stretched all the way torward rmk11 and rmk12.
Unless the government increase the budget significantly else sekadar wet dreams.
also not to forget asw heli, utility heli and mpa on the list.

as for mmrca I dun mind government delay at all.
Even we order now most of those advance varaint will only be available by 2018.
even better if we have pakfa available for our consideration.

can pakfa pawned f-22 or f-35? isnt it less stealthy than both them?

p/s newbie here.

Welcome to /k/ military zone.

hard to say as for now pakfa still under development how well it fare in real world is relative unknown.
But in my opinion pakfa should be more superior compare to f35.

the rcs size for pakfa is unknown yet.
I believe it can be much smaller to f35.

I'm afraid there aren't much either.
as the sgpv and av8 funding stretched all the way torward rmk11 and rmk12.
Unless the government increase the budget significantly else sekadar wet dreams.
also not to forget asw heli, utility heli and mpa on the list.

as for mmrca I dun mind government delay at all.
Even we order now most of those advance varaint will only be available by 2018.
even better if we have pakfa available for our consideration.

thanks. lurk here in military zone as silent reader for few years.  dont have enough military knowledge to participate in debate. 

i think the most important thing to consider now is the heavy upgrade to our army and navy.. in the case of Sabah invasion last time, we SERIOUSLY need to consider on the establishment of Marine Special Force like British Royal Marines consist of both army and navy with best asset like amphibious ship which can carry thousands of army inside for better transportation, carry heavy equipment like Main Battle Tanks, fast boat and definitely attack helicopter.. why must use airforce to do carpet bombing just to counter ground terrorist, better use attack helicopter, more cost efficient, and also time saving and more accurate.. in DSA 2014, Kementerian Pertahanan Malaysia need to invite the British Royal Marines to share the their intelligence with us.. 

Is the RMAF museum at sg besi still operational? I wondered if they renovated or upgrade the facilities or is it just the plan old building as before?

Trouble for the Twin-Engine Giants?

Jan. 4, 2014 - 10:45AM  | 
By ANDREW CHUTER, AARON MEHTA and PIERRE TRAN 

LONDON, WASHINGTON AND PARIS — When Brazil selected Saab’s Gripen fighter last month for the F-X2, it underscored just how little remaining market space remains for the highly capable, but highly priced, dual-engine fighters from Boeing, Eurofighter and Dassault.

For countries looking to upgrade their fighter capabilities, there are seven major competitors from the Western market — the Saab Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, Boeing’s F-15 Strike Eagle and F/A-18 Super Hornet, and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Falcon and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The F-15 and F-16 both have long-term customer bases around the globe, some of whom are starting to look at a next-generation replacement. The Gripen, a single-engine platform, is lighter and more affordable than the competition. The single-engine F-35 is highly advanced but expensive and, for some potential customers, not yet an option from the US government.

That leaves the trio of Typhoon, Rafale and Super Hornet, all modern dual-engine, highly capable fighters, to battle over a limited market. Brazil’s late-December selection of the Gripen as its fighter replacement was just the latest blow to those competitors.

“With defense budgets tightening, Brazil’s selection of Gripen has re-emphasized there are very few nations out there who really need large, expensive, two-engine jets to meet their requirements,” said Keith Hayward, the head of research at Britain’s Royal Aeronautical Society.

“They’re head to head, they’re in the same size class,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis with the Virginia-based Teal Group. “Twin-engine heavyweights are rare. Market customers are rare. There just aren’t that many of them.

Delays in Asia

Outside of the gulf region, Boeing, Dassault and Eurofighter are targeting Malaysia as the main prize in what is a rapidly shrinking list of priority markets. Saab is also competing in the market.

But the fighter program for the Southeast Asian nation is pretty much on ice for the next couple of years due mainly to economic and political factors.

National elections held in May returned Najib Razak as prime minister. What that means for French hopes to sell the Rafale to the Asian nation is unclear, as Najib was the defense minister who approved an order for four Franco-Spanish Scorpene attack submarines. That deal drew corruption allegations during the election campaign, so it remains to be seen if the Najib government will opt for the French fighter, the Paris-based specialist said.

The likely delay is giving the contenders breathing space to look at a range of purchasing options for the customer, including possibly leasing fighters.

Last year, Saab announced it had put forward leasing proposals with the Gripen, and Boeing has a 10-year deal on the table, according to industry sources who asked not to be named.

West of Malaysia lies Dassault’s major trump card. In early 2012, India selected the Rafale for its Medium, Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition, under which the growing South Asian power plans to purchase 126 fighters.

Dassault received preferred bidder status over Eurofighter on cost grounds. But despite the selection, the two sides have been trying to nail down an elusive final agreement for much of the past two years.

A revised Typhoon bid for New Delhi is waiting in the wings from the Airbus Defence and Space, BAE and Finmeccanica consortium in the hopes that Indian negotiations with the French fail.

Eurofighter officials said, though, that export opportunities exist for Typhoon outside the Middle East and Southeast Asia and point to Denmark, Canada, Poland, Bulgaria and even South Korea as potential customers.

The Koreans have recently selected the F-35 for their fighter requirement, but Eurofighter and Boeing, whose F-15K model the Korean Air Force already uses, continue to promote the idea of a mixed fleet of jets as the best solution for the South Korean military.

Saab Aims for Growth

While its twin-jet rivals scramble for orders, Saab’s fortunes have been transformed of late by selection of the Gripen E by Switzerland and most recently Brazil.

Both of those deals still need to signed and sealed, but they are underpinned by a recent Swedish government order to upgrade 60 Air Force C versions of the fighter to the latest standards. Saab has already secured work for its Gripen factories until 2026 on the Swedish upgrade.

The 36-aircraft deal sets Brazil up as “arguably Saab’s most important export customer,” Teal Group’s Aboulafia said.

“They came close to being an orphan aircraft, and instead they’ve had a series of planes that have expanded their export market presence,” he said. “They’re building something. They’re not going to be the next F-16, but they’ve been able to keep the line alive and reinvent the family — that’s a pretty good achievement, especially since we’re talking about Sweden here, which isn’t exactly a major military power.”

The 22 Gripens earmarked for the Swiss will take new build work out to 2022 and possibly further once Brazil and other potential customer orders are taken into account.

The initial Brazilian requirement is for 36 jets, but the expectation is that number could grow to around 100 or even more if a Sea Gripen version is developed to meet Brazilian Navy aircraft carrier ambitions.

Ulf Nilsson, head of the Gripen program at Saab, said a Sea Gripen has been mentioned but not in any great detail. As to the Brazilian Air Force purchase, Nilsson said the only number they have seen so far is for 36.

“I don’t have any figure for the total number and how they might want to continue, but obviously there are hopes for a second batch of Gripens,” he said.

Regardless of the final number for Brazil, Gripen’s selection would have knock-on effects in other markets, Nilsson said.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a game changer, but it is an important step for us, and it certainly gives Saab a better opportunity to look at the world market and the potential to grow strongly around our current customers. Brazil opens up the possibility to grow in South and Central America while Asia and Eastern Europe continue to be interesting regions for us,” he said.

The jet has already been sold or leased to Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, Thailand and the UK’s test pilot school.

Nilsson said Saab saw Malaysia and Indonesia as potential customers for the Gripen.

“Interest in Gripen has never been bigger. It’s been growing in the last year, and obviously the recent selection will help further for the future, particularly as we know other countries have been looking at which fighter Brazil opts for,” Nilsson said.

as for mmrca I dun mind government delay at all.
Even we order now most of those advance varaint will only be available by 2018.
even better if we have pakfa available for our consideration.

yup, if MMRCA program being delayed well into 2018, then maybe we should delay the program until Pak-Fa is available for operation. who knows, by then maybe we can have Pak-Fa-Rafale combo or even Pak-Fa-F35 combo