Haha forgot we have an actual service member (and Navy submariner, to boot) personnel here.

Thanks for your service, buddy. Keep on rockin'!

Malaysia open PRC consulate (cough!spy station!cough!) in Kota Kinabalu. Part of the deal?

Usually consulates/embassies are located in the state/country capital. Inside consulate got more legal cover. I'm sure some of those 'security attache' people are intelligence agency types.

In the same issue, I'm also certain the US embassy in KL is crawling with CIA spooks.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Apr 29 2015, 01:22 PM

Aiya, Malaysia-level country no need that hassle for CIA. From inside embassy can do a lot of intel-gathering already. This isn't Moscow or Beijing.

Well, Kub missile is the precursor of Buk missile (Buk missile mostly developed from Kub M3 variant), so family resemblance is there.
Later versions of Kub missile can even use Buk radar and launch systems.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Apr 30 2015, 07:34 AM

Russia to restart production of Tu-160 'Blackjack' strategic bomber



Russia will renew the production of its Tu-160 (Blackjack) supersonic strategic bomber and missile carrier, Russian Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.

"Today it is already necessary to solve the task of not only maintaining and modernizing long-range aviation, we must also produce the Tu-160 missile carrier," Shoigu said during a visit at the Kazan Aviation Plant.

Shoigu said that the Tu-160 is "a unique machine, ahead of its time for many years and even until now has not been exploited to its full potential."

Soviet and Russian pilots in the past nicknamed the aircraft the White Swan.

According to the manufacturer of the Tu-160, Tupolev JSC, the aircraft is the world's largest supersonic bomber jet, as well as the heaviest combat aircraft in the world. About 35 Tu-160 aircraft have been built. The Russian defense ministry hopes to have a projected initial run of 15 airframes in the first batch of production.

In 2013, the Russian Defense Ministry signed a contract with the Tupolev design bureau and Kazan Aircraft Plant worth 3.4 billion rubles (some $66 million at the current exchange rate) to upgrade three Tu-160 bombers.

Ya, for sure. Anti-flash paintjob is so 1950s.

Rumors say Russia has modernized its 'Perimeter' retaliatory strike protocol



According to unnamed sources close to the Russian defense structure, in light of the renewed hostilities between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis, Russia has upgraded and modernized the 'Perimeter' retaliatory strike protocol, known in the west as the 'Dead Hand'.

The 'Dead Hand' system was created in the 1980s by the Soviet Union in the fear of that a NATO nuclear first strike could possibly take out the defense structure of the Soviet Union and severely cripple the capability of the Soviets to launch a retaliatory strike. The dead-hand describes today takes this defensive trend to its logical, if chilling, conclusion. The automated system in theory would allow Moscow to respond to a Western attack even if top military commanders had been killed and the capital incinerated.

The heart of the system is said to lie in deep underground bunkers south of Moscow and at backup locations. In a crisis, military officials would send a coded message to the bunkers, switching on the system. If nearby ground-level sensors detected a nuclear attack on Moscow via air pressure, seismic and radioactivity sensors, and if a break was detected in communications links with top military commanders, the system would assume that there is no one longer in charge and will begin to send low-frequency signals over underground antennas to special broadcast rockets. These rockets would then be launched automatically by the Dead Hand system itself to follow pre-set trajectories over major military districts.

Flying high over missile fields and other military sites, these rockets in turn would broadcast attack orders to missiles, bombers and, via radio relays, submarines at sea and to start launching their weapons towards pre-selected targets in the west. Contrary to some Western beliefs, many of Russia's nuclear-armed missiles in underground silos and on mobile launchers can be fired automatically.

By most accounts, the system is normally switched off and is supposed to be activated only during dangerous crises; however, it is said to remain fully functional and able to serve its purpose whenever needed. It is rumored that the Russians have modernized and upgraded the older system with state-of-the -art computers and more accurate environmental sensors.

So probably safe to say Russia has all but abandoned Soviet-era armored vehicle designs like T-series MBTs and BMP-series IFV?

All these new ones look significantly western-looking. Any idea if they also abandoned old Soviet doctrines?

Yemeni officials say 20 Arab coalition SF troops land near Aden on 'Reconnaissance' mission, coalition officials issue denial


A Saudi soldier with binoculars watches over the Saudi-Yemen border

With helicopter gunships hovering overhead, at least 20 troops from a Saudi-led Arab coalition came ashore Sunday in the southern port city of Aden on what military officials called a "reconnaissance" mission, as fighting raged between Iranian-backed Shiite rebels and forces loyal to the nation's exiled president.

It was the first ground landing by coalition forces since the start of the Saudi-led air campaign against the rebels and their allies — forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh — who have captured most of northern Yemen and marched on southern provinces over the past year.

The objective of Sunday's landing was not immediately clear, but Yemeni military officials said the coalition troops would help train forces loyal to the country's internationally recognized leader, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who has been in exile since he fled Aden in March. They would also try to identify an area that could serve as a "green zone" from which Hadi and his government could operate when they return to Yemen.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia on Sunday denied media reports that coalition troops were landed near Aden to start a ground operation there.

"There are no foreign forces in Aden, but the coalition continues to help fight against the Houthi militia," spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition Ahmed al-Asiri said in a statement.

Lebanon receives armored vehicles including 15 GIAT Caesar 155mm self-propelled howitzers



The Lebanese armed forces have received up to 48 assorted armored vehicles, including 15 GIAT Caesar 155mm self-propelled howitzers from France in a recent handover ceremony in Beirut Airport.

Most of the new equipments recently received by Lebanon is funded mostly by Saudi Arabia in a $3 Billion USD military aid scheme. The Saudis seek to upgrade and empower the Lebanese Armed Forces as the sole armed forces in Lebanon and to undermine the powerful Hezbollah militant organization, which is mostly being bankrolled by its main regional rival, Iran. The current Lebanese armed forces is severely underequipped in contrast to the well-equipped militant group.

Besides various armored vehicles and infantry anti-tank missiles, the aid package, which is mostly sourced from France also will include future delivery of light combat helicopters and small naval vessels.

Lel, sure can, just get a sugar daddy country to sponsor military equipment purchase. Just give some of our sovereignty la in return, sure we can get the big guns.

Make no mistake, Saudis are not giving this military aid from the kindness of their hearts. They wanna increase their stake and try to get rid of Iranian influence on Lebanon by undermining Hezbollah.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: May 6 2015, 07:12 AM

Lel, just 10 missiles.

Maybe next time we just buy 100 7.62mm bullets.

Size difference between T-14 and T-90 MBTs



Comparing the sizes of T-14 (blue) and Leopard 2 (grey) MBTs

Still quite funny tho.

Hornet pilot: "Aik, weapons training pasang 1 missile je ke?"

Ground crew chief: "Agak2 la tuan, kita ada 20 je missile ni, nanti rosak pulak. Nanti klu perang betol2 baru kita pasang 2 ok?"

British Royal Navy only has ONE submarine operational at the moment



In a shocking turn of events, it is revealed by defense experts that the Royal Navy has only one vessel operational in the entire submarine fleet. Of the total 6 submarines available to the Royal Navy, four are in maintenance and one is under long-term repairs, leaving the HMS Astute the only remaining Royal Navy submarine currently in operation.

Don't need that badly, the ship itself is not a fully fledged warship, it's there as a mobile se base and this is virtually a naval counter-insurgency operation anyway, so no AShMs are expected to be operated by Pinoy guerrillas.

Small arms wielded by the crew and one or two FN MAGs here or there is enough for defensive purposes. The real strength of this ship is in the PASKAL commandos and the helicopters/fast boats carried onboard. Sorta like a pseudo-LPD.

Weird. This day and age still have C-130 in jungle camouflage colors. From Singapore some more.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: May 7 2015, 08:33 AM

Probably unsustainable for our economy. Not only is it very costly to operate the ship itself, add to the operational costs of the helicopters, their equipment/weapons, fuel and also flight & maintenance crew.

And I still haven't touched on the Marine infantry, their armored vehicles and their landing crafts.

Most probably will be a white elephant: very prestigious and awesome-looking, but an expensive bitch to maintain all the moving parts and very likely to cripple a country. Best example, the Thai "aircraft carrier" HTMS Chakri Naruebet. It spends most of its time at dock as a tourist attraction and taking Royal family cruise trips instead of on (costly) patrol missions. In fact it only leaves dock one day per month for 'training exercises' due to the high costs involved.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: May 7 2015, 12:25 PM