Bell Helicopter and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero) sign an Industrial and Commercial Agreement to Expand Indonesian Business

02/29/2016

Louisville, Kentucky (February 29, 2016) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today an expanded Industrial and Commercial Agreement with PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero) (PTDI) that will enable the two companies to expand their support and services in Indonesia to Bell Helicopter operators.

Both companies signed the agreement at Bell Helicopter headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, USA on November 30, 2015:


From Left to Right: Front Row: Mr. Budi Santoso, president and CEO of PT Dirgantara Indonesia and Bell Helicopter’s president and CEO Mitch Snyder; Back Row: Executive Vice President of Integrated Operations, Gunnar Kleveland; Mr. Irzal Zailani, vice president of Business Development, PTDI; Mr. Sutjipto, president and CEO, Kalimasada Pusaka, Bell-authorized independent representative and customer service facility; Bell Helicopter’s Executive Vice President of Commercial Business Matt Hasik; Executive Vice President of Customer Support and Services Glenn Isbell and Commercial Program Director Chad Sparks.

Bell Helicopter and PTDI had an agreement in place from 2012 and this extension further solidifies PTDI’s customization and delivery work for Bell 412 platforms and allows PTDI to enhance its relationship with other Bell Helicopter customers and for additional Bell commercial aircraft models. Indonesia’s armed forces have long been served through the Bell Helicopter and PTDI relationship and this agreement will allow Bell Helicopter and PTDI to continue to meet the defense and parapublic needs of the nation and its citizens.

“We are very pleased to continue this agreement with PTDI and expand our operational capabilities in Indonesia,” said Bell Helicopter’s President and CEO Mitch Snyder. “The region represents a significant growth opportunity for sales and operations, and we are pleased to continue our investment in the Asia Pacific market.”

“PTDI and Bell Helicopter have been maintaining its cooperation for a longtime; nowadays both companies see growth with the Bell 412 market in Indonesia, so this cooperation is mutually beneficial to both companies,” said Mr. Budi Santoso, president director PTDI.

Bell Helicopter has had a presence in Indonesia for more than 50 years and currently fields over a hundred aircraft which are supported by a Bell-authorized customer service facility and two dedicated full-time customer service engineers located in Jakarta, as well as through our Singapore service facility that supports regional customers.

PTDI is one of the indigenous aerospace companies in Asia with core competencies in aircraft design and development, aircraft structure manufacturing, aircraft assembly and aircraft services for both civilian and military aircraft. Since 1976, in addition to producing PTDI’s owned products (for example CN235 series, NC212 series), PTDI has established cooperation with several leading aircraft companies, including Bell Helicopter. By having an Industrial and Commercial Agreement, the two companies have agreed to extend the cooperation for the next 5 years that allows PTDI to conduct joint sales and marketing, customization, aircraft delivery, aircraft component manufacturing and aircraft maintenance.

Selamat Jalan Fulcrum, Part II

Marhalim Abas February 29, 2016 Malaysia - RMAF

SHAH ALAM: IN my previous posting – Selamat Jalan, Fulcrum A Photo Tribute – I stated that the future of RMAF Fulcrums remained uncertain as there was no official word on its future. Recently, the decision to award the squadron colours to the sole Fulcrum unit – No 17 Skuadron – however do indicate a lifeline.

Unfortunately, even as the colours presentation ceremony was postponed indefinitely – RMAF Colonel in Chief the Sultan of Pahang was unwell – the fate of the Fulcrums is now somewhat more clearer. According to RMAF chief Jen Roslan Saad, the Fulcrums was under a draw-down.

He declined to be more specific as in previous occasions but it is likely that Fulcrums will not see past its 21st year in service with RMAF. RMAF reluctance to state the exact date of the retirement has been covered here.

Asked why the squadron was awarded the colours even though the aircraft was to be retired in the near future, Roslan said “The squadron deserve the colours, they had done their duties.

Roslan was met after a Press conference at the Subang airbase where the colours ceremony was to be held. Apart from the No 17, three other flight squadrons, No 16, No 18 and No 20 together with the RMAF Regiment (Paskau) were supposed to be awarded their colours at the ceremony today.

No 16 Sqdn flies the Beechcraft B200T MPA, the 18th the Hornets and the 20th, the Hercules.

Meawnhile, Roslan told the press conference that the FDR and CVR of the CN235-220M MM44-07 which ditched near Kuala Selangor on Friday, have been recovered. Both devices – better known as black boxes although they are usually finished in bright orange – are in a good condition and the RMAF expected to get a valuable insight into what led into the mishap.

Roslan said the black boxes will be sent to the Indonesian Aerospace later today for further inspection and recovery of the data. The inquiry into the mishap had already started with interviews with some of the eight crew members . The aircraft was part of the fly-past rehearsal for the Colours ceremony.

Checks on two of the CN-235s from the 1st Squadron showed no anomaly which could explain the Friday’s mishap, according to Roslan. With the mishap, RMAF is left with 7 CN-235 in its book.

“It was discussed two weeks ago in Brussels,” Asseri said, clarifying that the discussions took place on the “political” level only without going into details of a potential “military mission.”

“Once this is organized, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that,” he said.

“But there’s a lot that needs to be discussed in terms of what they would do, what their makeup would be, how they would need to be supported by the coalition going forward. So there's a lot of homework that needs to be done,” Kirby said.

A pilot has died after a Su-25 aircraft crashed in Russia’s southern Stavropol Region, the Defense Ministry said.

“Today ... a Su-25 plane performing a training flight crashed nor far from the Budennovsk airfield in Stavropol Region,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The fight was carried out without ammunition. The plane crashed in an uninhabited area. There is no destruction on the ground. The pilot has died,” it added.

The jet went down at 7:23pm Moscow time (4:23pm GMT).

A special commission has been created within the Defense Ministry to investigate the incident.

Dean Cheng, a leading expert on the Chinese military, warned in a July 2014 report for The Heritage Foundation that the Chinese military was “comprehensively modernizing” forces, and incorporating A2/AD systems ranging from anti-ship missiles to political warfare methods, including legal, public opinion, and psychological warfare.

China has recently deployed jets, radar, and anti-air missiles on islands in the South China Sea. It may also be building a new helicopter base for anti-submarine warfare, along with refueling stops scattered through the region. Chinese defense analysts are now calling for Chinese ships to ram and fire warning shots at U.S. ships passing through the region. Others are calling for the CCP to deploy anti-ship missiles and other advanced weapons

And that third phase is likely what defense experts have been warning about for years: a phase where the CCP acts on its threats, and starts attacking foreign military ships and jets passing through the region

On Friday, February 26, just a day before the limited ceasefire in Syria was to take effect, the Atlantic Council, the preeminent NATO think tank, issued a report on the state of readiness of the NATO alliance to fight and win a war with Russia. The focus of the report is on the Baltic states

NATO is responsible for nothing in this report, except “protecting the peace.” Russia is the supreme aggressor state, intent on undermining the security of Europe, even intent on attacking Europe, an “existential threat” that NATO must prepare to repel

The Scowcroft Center is named after American Army general Brent Scowcroft, who, among other things, was national security advisor to Presidents Ford and Bush, lately advisor to President Obama and a long associate of Henry Kissinger. General Scowcroft is interesting for another reason for on September 11, 2001 Scowcroft was on board a US Air Force E-4B aircraft, known as the National Airborne Operations Command Center

The E-4B is a militarized version of a Boeing 747. Its purpose is to provide the American president, vice president, and Joint Chiefs of Staff with an airborne command center that could be used to execute war plans and coordinate government operations during a national emergency

Supposedly the E-4B was to take part in a previously scheduled military exercise called Global Guardian involving a mock nuclear war, but just a few minutes after take-off the Pentagon was hit by some type of airborne craft and the E-4B immediately withdrew from the purported scheduled exercise and became the actual American government command and control center.

It was Scowcroft who later advised against the USA attacking Iraq alone and who called for the building of a “coalition” to invade instead to give the US cover, which is what finally transpired. Neither his presence on board the E-4B that day nor why it was prepared to be put into action just prior to the attack on the World Trade Center for an alleged military exercise involving a possible nuclear war, has never been adequately explained.

NATO alliance will stage a series of actions in the Baltic states using hybrid warfare methods, or will simply manufacture images that will be used to create a new myth to justify war, the myth that Russia is trying to seize the Baltic region.

The report is designed essentially to provide the European governments concerned, that is, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Norway, with propaganda they can feed to the people through the media channels

The Russian invasion of Crimea, its support for separatists, and its invasion of eastern Ukraine have effectively ripped up the post-Cold War settlement of Europe. President Vladimir Putin has shattered any thoughts of a strategic partnership with NATO; instead, Russia is now a de facto strategic adversary. Even more dangerously, the threat is potentially existential, because Putin has constructed an international dynamic that could put Russia on a collision course with NATO. At the center of this collision would be the significant Russian-speaking populations in the Baltic states, whose interests are used by the Kremlin to justify Russia’s aggressive actions in the region. Under Article 5 of NATO’s Washington Treaty, any military move by Putin on the Baltic states would trigger war, potentially on a nuclear scale, because the Russians integrate nuclear weapons into every aspect of their military thinking.

I wrote in my last essay that the increased build-up of NATO forces, in eastern Europe especially, has some similarity to the Nazi build-up for the invasion of Russia in 1941 Operation Barbarossa, is in fact a Barbarossa 2.

We can expect them to do all they can to undermine it, engaging in a fight and talk strategy, keeping Russia occupied; in Syria, in constant tension in the Donbass, harassing their allies China and Iran, and now we can expect a new front to be opened in the Baltic states. What gambit NATO will use to create that front and a direct confrontation with Russia, who can say, but there will be one – the Baltic Gambit.

From the beginning of its military operation in Syria, Moscow has operated on the now indisputable proposition that the rampant unrest in the Middle East and the mounting challenges to the unity of the European Union are inextricably linked

Europe would eventually seize an offer of cooperation in Syria to constrict the migrant flow and contain the terrorist threat and that such cooperation would sap Europe’s aversion to Russian behavior in Ukraine, leading to a decision to ease sanctions, if not lift them entirely. Moscow remains convinced it made a good bet

In Syria, Russia has secured its military bases on the Mediterranean. Despite initial setbacks, it has rallied the beleaguered forces of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad. In recent weeks, they have consolidated their position in the west of the country, and with Russian air support and Iranian and Hezbollah troops, they are rapidly encircling US-backed anti-Assad rebels in Aleppo

No one doubts any longer that Putin has seized a seat at the table in any future geopolitical reckoning in the Middle East. Cooperation must be looming ahead.

In Ukraine, Moscow has launched a vigorous campaign to persuade the West that Kiev bears primary responsibility for the stalled implementation of the Minsk agreements on the resolution of the separatist conflict

Moreover, the Russians have largely succeeded in removing the annexation of Crimea as an urgent point of contention with the West; in most discussions, it’s little more than an afterthought. How far off can sanctions relief be?

These tactical successes do not yet spell strategic victory, however. Indeed, Putin has inserted Russia in a burgeoning maelstrom in the Middle East with no evident exit strategy, and relations with the West remain on the rocks, as the debate at the just concluded Munich Security Conference illustrated

For Moscow, the Middle East presents an alarming array of potential threats and strategic puzzles. Turkey, a NATO member, poses the most urgent challenge.

More worrisome, a Russo-Turkish conflict would inevitably engage in some way NATO, which has been gearing up for renewed conflict with Russia since the onset of the Ukraine crisis

Moscow’s and Tehran’s interests might align for the moment in support of Assad, but there is inherent tension between two energy-rich countries that will compete for the same European markets and between a regional power with hegemonic designs and an extra-regional power more interested in creating a durable equilibrium among the regional powers

Moreover, China is, not surprisingly, more interested in pressing its commercial interests than helping Russia at a time of need. That is a key reason Russia is seeking sanctions relief

MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. Egypt wants to create a joint project with Russia for the production of fifth-generation communication systems, a representative of Russia’s United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC, a subsidiary of Rostec State Corporation)

"The joint with Russia production of various military equipment, including the fifth-generation tactical radio communications systems, may be organized in Egypt. This topic was discussed at a meeting of the industrial group within the framework of the joint Russian-Egyptian Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation. In particular, the Egyptian side is interested in the possibility of joint production of modern radio stations of the R-168 family (Aqueduct), which have been developed and are manufactured by our Sozvezdie Concern,"

"They [the stations] ensure the simultaneous transmission of voice and other data, they can identify the position using navigation signals, have enhanced eavesdropping and interference protection,""They [the stations] ensure the simultaneous transmission of voice and other data, they can identify the position using navigation signals, have enhanced eavesdropping and interference protection,"

JSC Concern Sozvezdie (Russian for Constellation) is the leading Russian developer and manufacturer of electronic warfare, radio communications, electronic countermeasures systems and equipment

Indonesian parliament passes laws on defense cooperation with China, Germany

Tuesday, 01 March 2016 | 16:25 WIB

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) has given its approval to forge defense cooperation respectively with China and Germany.

"Can these two bills be passed into laws?" Deputy House Speaker Fadli Zon questioned during a plenary meeting of the parliament here on Tuesday.

The bills were passed into laws after all legislators attending the meeting voiced their consent to the establishment of the defense cooperation.

The new laws are respectively on Approval for Agreement between the Indonesian government and the People's Republic of China on Cooperation in Defense Activities and a memorandum of understanding between the defense ministries of Indonesia and Germany on defense cooperation.

Deputy Chairman of DPR's Commission I Asril Hamzah Tandjung emphasized the need for defense cooperation to protect the country's sovereignty, to develop the state, and to participate in the world order.

Defense Minister Ryamizad Ryacudu noted that the defense cooperation respectively with Germany and China have been established and strengthened on the basis of mutual benefits.

It is also based on the principles of equality and respect for the territorial borders of the respective countries in order to promote world peace.

The new laws are needed as a legal umbrella for establishing defense cooperation with Germany and China, according to Ryacudu.

lack of diversity