ADEX 2015: Bell sees strong Asia-Pacific interest in H-1 and V-22 platforms

Gareth Jennings, Seoul - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
19 October 2015

 
Bell Helicopter is seeing strong regional interest in both its AH-1Z (foreground) and UH-1Y (background) helicopters, as well as in the V-22 Osprey. Source: Bell Helicopter

Bell Helicopter expects to secure its first export contracts for its series of H-1 utility and attack helicopters in the Asia-Pacific region in the next 12 or so months and further regional orders for the V-22 tiltrotor in about the same time frame, a company official told IHS Jane's on 20 October.

Speaking at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) taking place in South Korea, Richard Harris, Bell's director international military marketing development, said interest in the company's maritime-orientated H-1 and V-22 platforms is especially strong in the region and that it anticipates near-term sales for the UH-1Y Venom utility helicopter, the AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter, and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.

"In Asia there is strong interest in the H-1 from navies in particular, or from armies that have a naval component," he said. "We are highly engaged in Australia, and [regional] countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea all have requirements that could be satisfied by either the Viper, the Venom, or both. Some countries want a pure attack helicopter, in which case we would promote the [Viper], while others are replacing utility helicopters that perform an attack role also, which is suited to the [Venom]. I'd be hopeful of a Venom contract in 2016 and a Viper contract in 2017."

In Australia, Bell has been pushing its Viper as an alternative to the Airbus Helicopters Tiger helicopter for the Australian Defence Force's two landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships. "I think the Tiger is a great helicopter, but why field a platform that is designed to operate out of a hangar in Europe, with bolt-on anti-corrosion measures, when you can have one that was designed from the ground up to operate in the maritime domain?" Harris asked, adding, "I mean, you wouldn't take a VW Beetle to the Indy 500 and race it!" As Harris noted, the Australian government is due to release its defence white paper shortly, and this should define the country's path forward with its Tiger helicopters and indicate whether an alternative such as the Viper might be sought.

10/20/2015
By VMSB

The Russian arms trading agency Open Joint Stock Company Rosoboronexport, part of the Russian Technologies State Corporation (ROSTEC) has offered the Indonesian authorities to supply additional Kurganmashzavod JSC BMP-3F infantry fighting vehicles aimed for the country’s Marine Corps.

The agency also is proposing to deliver JSC Arzamas Engineering Plant BTR-80A 8×8 armoured personnel carriers, JSC “Research and production corporation UralVagonZavod PTS-4 tracked amphibious carriers and KBP Instrument Design Bureau Pantsyr-S1 mobile combined missile and gun air defence systems to Indonesia.

BMP-3F combat vehicle is equipped with a turret armed with 2A70 100 mm gun, 2A72 30-mm automatic cannon with double-belt feeding and PKTM 7.62-mm machine gun, mounted coaxially with the gun.

Other equipment includes fire control system featuring SOZH gunner’s sight, TKN-AI commander’s sight and a ballistic computer; elevation and traverse drives, situational awareness system, communications, 902V smoke grenade launching system, Shtora-1 active protection system or Arena-E defensive aids suite,

The BMP-3 turret can be equipped with Vesna-K thermal imaging sight and Eagle Eye commander’s panoramic thermal imaging sight at customer’s request.

But the F-16 still has a few years of production left — the current order backlog extends to late 2017. The order book will probably grow somewhat as the United Arab Emirates looks set to purchase 30 more advanced F-16E/F+ Block 61 jets. Other than the UAE, Lockheed still has a chance to sell the jet in several other markets.

The most immediate prospect is Indonesia — which already operates the older F-16A version of the jet.

However, the F-16 faces stiff competition in Indonesia — which needs to replace its geriatric Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II fighters. The Russians are offering the extremely capable Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E, which in many respects is a more capable aircraft. Other potential contenders include the Saab JAS-39 Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon and the French-made Dassault Rafale.

The Russians appear to have the inside track since Jakarta appears to have already selected the Su-35 — according to Indonesian media quoting that nation’s defense minister, Ryamizad Ryacudu. However, the Russians have not confirmed that a deal is imminent.

While the F-16V does not have all of the gold-plated bells and whistles found on the UAE’s fleet of Desert Falcons, the new Viper variant is a very potent aircraft.

At the heart of the new F-16V is the addition of an active electronically scanned array radar — the Northrop Grumman APG-83. Taiwanese jets are already being equipped with the APG-83 and the U.S. Air Force’s Air National Guard has specifically requested that radar for an urgent operational need. The APG-83 shares software and components with the F-22’s APG-77 and F-35’s APG-81 radars — which is a distinctive advantage for Northrop.

The V-model — which originally started off as Lockheed’s entry for the U.S. Air Force’s now defunct Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite F-16 upgrade program — also incorporates a host of other improvements. Those include modern commercial off-the-shelf based avionics, a large-format, high-resolution displays and a high-volume, high-speed data bus among other items.

The U.S. Air Force version also included a new upgraded electronic warfare suite, but it is unclear if foreign jets will be equipped with the same system.

But even if Indonesia does not buy the F-16V, the Viper will remain in service for decades to come. The U.S. Air Force will retain a substantial fleet of F-16s for years and those aircraft will need to be upgraded at some point. Moreover, not every nation that operates the F-16 will be able to afford the F-35 — or even be allowed to buy it.

MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Russia may supply to Egypt up to 80 Kamov Ka-52 Alligator [NATO reporting name: Hokum attack helicopters and Ka-52K Katran (navalized derivative of Ka-52) helicopters designed for Mistral helicopter carriers, a source in the system of Russia’s military technical cooperation with other countries told TASS Tuesday.

The source said that after a contract with France for Mistrals, Egypt is assessing the number of Russian helicopters that may be supplied for these vessels.

"In addition to 50 Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters, the contract for which has already been signed, the Egyptian side plans to acquire, in order to equip Mistrals, Ka-52K Katran naval helicopters and is now making up its mind about their number," the source said.

"It is not ruled out that the Egyptian side will decide to deploy 16 Ka-52K helicopters at each of its ships, then the volume of the planned order will grow to 32 items, and the overall amount of Ka-52 type helicopters for Egypt will reach 70-80 items," he said.

The source said the Russian-Egyptian contract for Ka-52K ship-based helicopters may be signed in the first quarter of 2016.

Lockheed's enhanced F-16V makes first flight

21 OCTOBER, 2015 BY: CRAIG HOYLE LONDON

The newest version of Lockheed Martin’s venerable F-16 has taken to the air for the first time, with a range of equipment enhancements including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

Flown from Lockheed’s Fort Worth production facility in Texas on 16 October, the F-16V is being aimed at potential export customers, including Indonesia. The company exhibited a cockpit demonstrator for the new variant in Jakarta earlier this month, having formally launched the product at the Singapore air show in 2012.

Lockheed describes the addition of Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar as delivering “a quantum leap in capability” for the F-16. Further enhancements incorporated for the F-16V include the addition of a centre pedestal display for the pilot, plus a modernised mission computer, other new avionics equipment and an updated electronic warfare system. Combined, these “add significant combat capabilities to address the dynamic threat environments emerging in the coming decades”, the company says.

Lockheed is offering to manufacture the V-model aircraft for new and repeat customers, or to provide elements of the update package – such as the AESA radar – during upgrades to in-service examples. Taiwan is the launch customer for such a modernisation programme, with 144 F-16A/Bs to be updated via a Lockheed-led activity.More than 4,550 F-16s have been delivered throughout the programme’s history. The design was first flown in 1974, and Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer database records the type’s current active global fleet as totalling 2,998 aircraft. Lockheed’s current sales backlog for the type includes fighters on order for Egypt and Iraq, while the United Arab Emirates also plans to increase the size of its current fleet of E/F-model examples.

A US Navy pilot has died in an F-18 jet crash in the Fens in Cambridgeshire, close to an RAF base.

The hornet crashed on farm land in Redmere, near Ely, close to the Suffolk border, with the alarm raised at 10:30 BST.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed the pilot, the only crew member, died.

The aircraft had taken off from RAF Lakenheath, but was not connected to the base.

It crashed four miles from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.

Amateur aviation enthusiast Roger Smith told BBC Radio Suffolk that the F-18 was one of a group of Hornet Marine Corps planes that were heading back to the US from the Middle East.

They arrived at Lakenheath over the weekend and four of them took off this morning.

Bila malaysia

Soldiers from the Singapore and Indonesian armies conducting a combined urban operations exercise as part of Exercise Safkar Indopura. (Photo: MINDEF)

Singapore, Indonesia armies conduct annual bilateral exercise.


http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/sing...ia/2207692.html

2 hari lagi ...

Biar betul abang

sumthing caught my attention

whats that on their SAR-21..??? it looks like sumkind of a pouch bag..whats the use of it..???

budget 2016, but dun get yer hopes up, more likely defence kena slash

sumthing caught my attention

whats that on their SAR-21..??? it looks like sumkind of a pouch bag..whats the use of it..???

It is a cartridge pouch to catch the expanded rounds.

which is why I asked

or maybe should invest in more water bomber instead

 

our bomba dropping awter on indon not FOC isn't it? when indon going to pay

"The planes of the Russian aviation group in the Syrian Arab Republic have carried out 46 sorties on 83 objects of infrastructure of the Islamic State terrorist group in the past 24 hours. Primarily the strikes were carried out in provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zur, Damascus and Hama," Konashenkov said.

The Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed a radio-controlled explosive device factory, as well as an explosives depot of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group in Syria, he went on to say.

"After carrying out a precision strike with guided aerial bombs and the subsequent detonation of explosives, the site and two nearby trucks, carrying tens of tons of explosives, were destroyed."

The Defense Ministry spokesman said militants were mining abandoned housing complexes and social infrastructure buildings with remote controlled explosive devices before deserting their positions.

Communications eavesdropping has intercepted information about the beginning of the talks between commanders of large battalions of Al-Nusra Front and warlords of Islamic State to form an allied force to counter offensive conducted by the Syrian government forces,” Konashenkov said

Al-Nusra Front and IS have been at loggerheads since February 2014, when the terrorist groups started infighting that resulted in bloody clashes.

Russian officials have denied reports that at least three of the country's servicemen were killed while fighting alongside Syrian government forces.

A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said “there have been no casualties among Russian military servicemen in Syria,” the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the Russian embassy in Damascus, Asiyat Turuchneva, denied casualty reports and said Russian forces were only conducting air strikes in Syria, without engaging in fighting on the ground, the Interfax news agency reported.

Three Russians fighting alongside Syrian government forces were killed and several more wounded when a shell hit their position in the coastal province of Latakia, said a senior pro-government military source, Reuters news agency reported earlier on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military intelligence issued a statement Tuesday claiming that more than two dozen Russian troops have been killed in Syria.