Japan, Malaysia agree to beef up defense cooperation

by Masaaki Kameda
Staff Writer
May 26, 2015
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, have pledged to advance defense and maritime cooperation.

Speaking after a 50-minute summit Monday with Najib in Tokyo, Abe said they agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to a “strategic partnership” to boost cooperation on a wide range of regional and international issues.

“As a concrete effort, we agreed to cooperate in the field of defense equipment,” Abe said. “(Tokyo) will provide cooperation in maritime safety by offering reinforced assistance to (Malaysia’s) coast guard agency.”

Abe and Najib “decided to initiate negotiations on (a) framework of cooperation on the transfer of defense equipment and technology,” according to a joint statement issued after the summit.

It is the first time Japan has initiated talks with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on a transfer of defense equipment and technology, according to a senior government official, who added the focus is on disaster relief and maritime safety.

Turning to the South China Sea, both leaders “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation” in and flights over the area, the joint statement said in apparent reference to China’s aggressive land reclamation work there.

“We reaffirmed our commitment to work as partners, not only in the context of bilateral ties, but also to ensure ASEAN as a region truly becomes a region of peace and prosperity and beyond that to make it a dynamic and vibrant region,” Najib said.

I'm referring to the extremely narrow beam and draft of the hull in front of the bridge area, not any type of armor protection.

Germany looks towards Leopard 2 replacement

Sebastian Schulte, Bonn - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
28 May 2015


Germany is looking towards the eventual successor to the Leopard 2 MBT. It remains unclear whether the successor will be an entirely new design, or an innovative update to the Leopard 2. Rheinmetall MBT Revolution Leopard 2 upgrade concept pictured. Source: Rheinmetall

The German Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to initiate concept studies for a successor to the Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) before the end of the year.

The news was announced by German Defence State Secretary Markus Grübel to Parliament, with Grübel adding that the MoD plans to conduct joint capability studies with France for the project. This bilateral element is hoped to provide some tailwind to the proposed merger between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter to form a new European land-systems powerhouse, prospectively known as KANT [Krauss-Maffei Wegmann And Nexter Together].

The capabilities studies are set to run between 2015 and 2018, with Germany and France reviewing technologies and concepts for the future MBT. Speaking to IHS Jane's , a source stated that the Leopard 2 successor will include technology from Germany's Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). According to the MoD, the in-service time of the Leopard 2 ends around 2030.

At this time it remains unclear whether the new tank will be an entirely new design or an innovative update of the current Leopard design. That said, the fact that the German MoD refers in-house to the project as "Leopard 2Ax" is a fairly strong indicator of the lie-of-the-land at the moment.

German lawmakers asked the MoD back in October 2014 to review and re-evaluate the country's MBT requirements and to plan for an eventual Leopard 2 successor.

Although western European MBT fleets have declined massively since the end of the Cold War, their value has recently been demonstrated by the Ukraine crisis. Indeed, as a consequence of the Ukraine crisis, the German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen decided in April to increase the number of active German MBTs from 225 to 328. Comparatively, West Germany used to operate 2,300 Leopard 2s.

Airbus admits 'serious quality control issues' with A400M final assembly

Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
28 May 2015


A senior Airbus official has disclosed that the company is experiencing 'a serious quality control problem' with the final assembly of the A400M transport aircraft. Source: Airbus

Airbus has 'a serious quality control problem' in the final assembly of the A400M Atlas transport aircraft, a senior company executive admitted on 28 May.

Speaking to the German publication Handelsblatt , the chief strategy and marketing officer of Airbus Group, Marwan Lahoud, said that the initial findings of the investigation into the crash of aircraft MSN023 have shown serious quality control issues in final assembly.

"The [recovered] black boxes attest to [there being no design problems with the A400M]," he reportedly said, adding, "There are no structural defects, but we have a serious quality problem in the final assembly."

With the investigation into the 9 May crash that killed four of the six crew and seriously injured the other two ongoing, Airbus has declined to comment officially on possible causes.

However, following the crash the company issued a notice to A400M operators (currently, France, Turkey, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom) to perform specific checks on the aircraft's EuroProp International TP400-D6 engines "to avoid potential risks in any future flights". These checks relate to the electronic control units (ECUs) on each of the aircraft's engines, which appeared from Airbus' own analysis into the loss of MSN023 to have had flaws in the software.

The A400M final assembly line is located at San Pablo Airport near Seville, and it was nearby that MSN023 crashed on its maiden flight ahead of its planned delivery to Turkey.

Prior to the accident the programme was already struggling with delivery delays that were the result of incomplete sub-assemblies arriving at the plant. Airbus has now said these sub-assembly problems were rectified some weeks ago.

Brazil 20 Astros II
Iraq 66 Astros II (also built under licence as the Sajil-60)
Malaysia 36 Astros II
Saudi Arabia 76 Astros II

http://tanknutdave.com/the-brazilian-astros-ii-mlrs/

from what i see, they dont pay the hosting.. thats why suspended

Waiting for RMK11

Marhalim Abas
June 1, 2015

Kuantan: It appears that even the Armed Forces are also in the dark on RMK11.

This was apparent during the Press conference of RMAF chief Jen Datuk Seri Roslan Saad following the service’s 57th anniversary parade today

And because of this RMAF  plans remained on hold pending the financial allocation for the five year development

Anyhow it appears that RMAF is preparing to go for an alternative plan if it’s priority projects are not funded  notably the MRCA, AEW and MPA.

Among others it  may see the Fulcrums continuing its service well beyond its supposed retirement date  by year end.

Asked about this, Roslan declined to comment on anything specific apart from saying that year end retirement date had been stated  previously.

With no confirmed allocation it was difficult for Roslan to commit anything on record at the moment.

I guess we have to wait a little longer then.

1st pic is training tank?

Look so special

RMAF to retain MiG-29N fighter aircraft

BY T.N.ALAGESH - 1 JUNE 2015 @ 2:44 PM

KUANTAN: The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) fleet of MiG-29N fighter aircraft will remain an important asset to the country's air defence.

RMAF chief General Datuk Seri Roslan Saad said there has been no decision to replace the MIG-29N which had been in service since 1990 and the aircraft will still remain in service.

He said RMAF will scrutinise the capabilities of the existing MIG-29N fleet to ensure it remains competitive and relevant in safeguarding the country's air space.

"Initially, there were plans to phase out the aircraft and replace them with another multi-role combat aircraft. "However, we have decided to upgrade the aircraft to ensure it has similar capabilities with fighter jets owned by other countries," he told reporters after opening RMAF's 57th anniversary here today.

New Defence Minister?

Marhalim Abas
June 2, 2015

SHAH ALAM: EVEN as we contemplate the allocation for the security (defence and national security) sector for RMK11, word is out that we might just get a new Defence Minister first.

When and whom is beyond me at the moment – it could just be another rumour. My sources however insisted that Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is currently at odds with the Prime Minister. And so are the two other UMNO VPs.

And as Datuk Seri Najib Razak had apparently told his Cabinet that those who disagreed with him to resign, some are expected to do just that. Though not in his face of course.

So will this affect the RMK11 allocation? Unlikely, unless Najib decided to dissolve parliament and call for a snap general elections.

Whoever takes over Jalan Padang Tembak from the current holder (if and when he resigns) is not expected to make big changes.

He will still be bound to what had been decided by the PM and the Finance Minister. And some say….

The decision is a bit of a disappointment for aircraft manufacturers like SAAB (Gripen), Lockheed Martin (F-16), Dassault (Rafale), Sukhoi (Su-30/Su-35) and Russian Aircraft Corporation (MiG-35) which were hoping to sell new jets. For now RAC might have the best cards, if the RMAF possibly decides to upgrade its 10 MiG-29N single-seat and two MiG-29NUB two-seat jets to the MiG-29SMT standard.