Indonesia to deploy Skyshield air defence system in South China Sea

Ridzwan Rahmat, Singapore - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
05 April 2016


The TNI-AU Oerlikon Skyshield air defence system on display in a parade at Surabaya in 2014. Source: IHS/Ridzwan Rahmat

Key Points

• Indonesia aims to deploy its latest air defence system on an island in the South China Sea
• The plan represents yet another militarisation effort in the tense maritime region

The Indonesian Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Udara, or TNI-AU) is preparing to deploy four units of a special forces ground corps known as the Korps Pasukan Khas (PASKHAS) on Pulau Natuna Besar, the largest of the Natuna Islands cluster in the South China Sea.

The units are equipped with the Rheinmetall-made Oerlikon Skyshield air defence system and will be stationed in the north of Pulau Natuna Besar and along the eastern coast of the TNI-AU's Ranai airbase.

The planned deployment was revealed in a transcript provided to IHS Jane's on 5 April of a meeting on TNI-AU funding requests between Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) commander General Gatot Nurmantyo and the Indonesian House of Representatives commission on defence, intelligence, and foreign affairs (Komisi I).

Skyshield is modular air defence system including a 35 mm automatic multirole cannon that can fire up to 1,000 rds/min at hostile aircraft and precision-guided munitions. The system is currently in use at the TNI-AU's Supadio, Halim Perdanakusuma, and Hasanuddin air bases.

Also presented during the meeting was a request to fund the acquisition of more medium-range air defence systems for Pulau Natuna Besar, facilities to accommodate up to eight fighter aircraft on Ranai air base that may include the Su-27, Su-30 or F-16, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron facility that will be stationed on the east of Runway 36 of Ranai airbase.

The aircraft and UAV facilities are expected to cost some USD91 million and the TNI has said it aims to complete these by 2019, if the request for funding is approved.

As the TNI is still evaluating its options for acquiring medium-range air defence systems no requested sum was revealed for these systems.

A British Aerospace U-125 of the Japan Air Self-Defence Force is reported missing over the Kagoshima prefecture, Japan with 6 persons on board.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the aircraft disappeared from radar at Kitayaku 10 kilometers of Japanese Self-Defense Force Kanoya base.

The aircraft operated on a navaid calibration flight out of Kanoya Air Base.

Search and Rescue are being progress.

According to Xinhua, China’s transport ministry held a completion ceremony Tuesday marking the start of operations of the 55-meter high lighthouse on Subi Reef, one of seven features in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea which China has controversially converted into man-made islands

Subi Reef is also the feature where the U.S. guided missile destroyer the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of late October, drawing fierce protests from Beijing but also leading to weeks of uncertainty about exactly what Washington had sought to do. Since Subi is an artificial island previously submerged at high tide, it is not entitled to 12-nautical mile territorial sea under a reasonable reading of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The lighthouse in Subi is the third to be put into operation. In line with previous Chinese rhetoric about such structures, Xinhua said that the lighthouse, which emits white light at night with a light range of 22 nautical miles and a glowing cycle of five seconds, and is equipped with an automatic identification system and very high frequency stations inside the lighthouse would be useful for navigation

yeaps... very much agreed, body armor (inclusive of helmet) is a must in all situations... even training
then that's a design flaw or they are just not used to moving with armor... SF operates differently, so SF is not a good example
lol... pinoys get scrap better than ntg... heavier but it still protects them

only time without helmet is probably during MOOTW operations or in a civi sentry position

This is the incredible moment British soldiers lit up the night sky with a stunning display of flares while doing training exercises in Jordan.

There are currently around 1,600 members of the armed forces out in the Middle-East taking part in the biggest exercise in a decade.

Troops from the Royal Logistics Corps demonstrated the awesome ability of the flares, known as shamoolies, which are used to illuminate the enemy in combat.

A number of flares were left off in unison sending blinding streaks of white light criss-crossing the desert sky.

'Exercise Shamal Storm', which is taking place in Jordan, has been planned to test whether the British Armed Forces could successfully mobilise in the event of a full-scale military operation.

Professor Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), said the countries in the area have failed to understand and respond to the nature of the threat. “The Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) cannot stand alone as the problem is (a) transboundary (one). It must be understood it is one component in a broad security zone,”

“The tri-border area between Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia is overrun with various criminal and terrorist elements,”

Prof Gunaratna said the three governments must develop a strategy to dominate, control and secure the Sulu Sea or face a destabilised border zone

Prof Gunaratna stressed the need for a military solution, as dealing with such threats was beyond the means of agencies such as the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and marine police under ESSCOM

“Attacks will become increasingly severe unless these groups are dismantled with military force, specifically the Malaysian Navy. There are no other options. Only a strong military response will stabilise the situation,”

Prof Gunaratna said several hundred fighters had been trained for such a purpose and some were known to have links to Islamic State

“The Malaysian government should lead the way in dismantling these groups as they have more leverage than the Filipino authorities,”

“For example, if one country’s navy or maritime enforcement is in hot pursuit of the pirates, they should be able to cross the sea boundary into another country, and the latter should also assiduously aid in the pursuit and capture,”

National Defence University of Malaysia Assoc Prof Aruna Gopinath said the proximity of several countries in the area made it difficult to carry out enforcement.

“We have no ‘hot-pursuit’ agreement and so militants or criminals are able to slip between jurisdictions because borders mean nothing to them,” she said, adding they were cunning and capable of adapting to threats.

As Syrian forces push their advantage against the Islamic State, it is increasingly clear that there are Russians on the ground with them

Russian contractors appear to be operating T-90 tanks in combat and similar heavy equipment, and were at the fore of the recent drive to take Palmyra

It is known as “Wagner,” after the call-sign of its commander, 46-year-old reserve Lt. Col. Dmitri Utkin. Until 2013 he was an officer in the 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade, based in Pskov, and on mustering out, joined the Moran Security Group, a registered private security company that specializes in maritime protection

This was technically a Hong Kong-based company, generally regarded as an offshoot of Moran, because whereas private security companies (PSCs) — providing armed security for premises, people, and transports — are allowed under Russian laws, private military companies (PMCs) — actually involving themselves in mercenary combat operations — are not

After a couple of inconclusive and mismanaged skirmishes against the Islamic State, they returned to Russia — where most were detained by Federal Security Service (FSB) officers for breaching Article 348 of the Russian Criminal Code, which bans mercenary service. This is despite the fact that Moran is run by FSB veterans, and FSB officers were involved in recruiting for the corps

A perhaps even more important problem with them is control. The mysterious (well, not that mysterious) recent assassination of several maverick commanders, such as Alexander Bednov (known as “Batman”) and Alexei Mozgovoy, probably reflect Moscow’s efforts to reassert a degree of authority over the military forces of the rebellious regions

Hence the “Wagner” group, which may comprise 400 effectives at present (from a reported peak of almost 900), is likely to be something of a testbed. It is not registered under Russian law, not least because PMCs are still not legal, and it has no official status

Now that the Syrian forces seem again better able to guard their own facilities, and the war has taken a more offensive turn, they are being used to stiffen and support Damascus’s forces. As a result they have also suffered “dozens” of combat losses according to Fontanka — compared with the mere seven official casualties Moscow has acknowledged from its own forces

This year is likely to see the passage of a law finally legalizing PMCs in Russia

indon goes full retard... lets see whether their retardness applies to PRC    or only countries deemed weaker to them..

Appeal to Jakarta not to blow up 10 Chinese fishing boats


Fishing boats from Malaysia being blown up off the coast of Kuala Langsa, Aceh, yesterday. Indonesia's Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister has been coming down hard on poachers since taking office in 2014, ordering as many as 174 foreign boats caught in its waters destroyed.

The owners of 10 fishing boats from China caught poaching in Indonesian waters are appealing to the authorities not to sink their vessels.

This comes after high courts in Ambon and Merauke cities ruled that the boats rounded up in December 2014 had fished without a permit in Indonesian waters, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti told a press conference yesterday.

"We hope that the Supreme Court will pass a verdict to have the boats confiscated as state property and have them destroyed as soon as possible," she said, after watching a live stream of 23 boats from Malaysia and Vietnam being sunk at seven different locations.

Ms Susi has been coming down hard on poachers since taking office in 2014, ordering as many as 174 foreign boats caught in Indonesian waters destroyed.

Apart from the 23 boats sunk yesterday, one Chinese boat is still being investigated for a similar offence, Mr Mas Achmad Santosa, who heads the ministry's illegal- fishing prevention task force, told The Straits Times.

He also said the authorities have identified 1,132 fishing vessels, including 374 from China, that are sailing in Indonesian waters under the flags of two states, one being Indonesia.

"That's double-flagging. Their status is stateless, and that's serious. It's against both national and international laws."

Mr Mas Achmad said Indonesia will prosecute these boat companies if they are found to have committed serious offences - such as evading taxes and operating without a licence - and assist those with minor offences to leave the country.

"No more foreign boats, no more foreign investors are allowed to catch fish in Indonesia," he said.

Indonesia and China were entangled in a maritime row last month after Indonesia accused a Chinese coast guard patrol boat of breaching its sovereign rights by forcibly preventing the local maritime authorities from seizing a Chinese fishing boat.

Ms Susi yesterday called on "big country, great nation" China to respect Indonesia's sovereignty.

"If there's illegal fishing carried out by an American boat, we will sink it too. It's the same," she said.

"I admire and I salute the law enforcement in China.

"I believe the Chinese government will strongly support the Indonesian government in law enforcement against illegal violations committed by Chinese boats. We are waiting for their answer," she said.

In a separate development, the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia has said that Chinese fishing boats did not enter Malaysian waters recently, adding that they were in fact "quite far away" from the Qiongtai Jiao, part of the Luconia Shoals in the South China Sea.

Last week, Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had called up the envoy, Dr Huang Huikang, for "clarification as well as to register Malaysia's concerns over the matter".

Dr Huang told the The Star daily yesterday that overlapping claims between China and Malaysia over certain islands and reefs in the South China Sea were a "historical issue", adding that he believed both countries could deal with the issue in "an amicable, peaceful and quiet way".

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/a...e-fishing-boats

TIRANA, Albania (AP) -- An army helicopter crashed Wednesday into a lake in northern Albania, killing two pilots and injuring the other crew member on board, officials said.

Local mayor Tonin Marinaj said the helicopter crashed into Shkodra Lake near the village of Grizhe some 108 kilometers (67 miles) north of the capital, Tirana.

Albania's defense ministry said the EC145 helicopter with three crew members on board was on a training mission. Health Minister Ilir Beqja said the surviving crew member was hospitalized with a broken arm.

An official in the Shkodra region, Paulin Radovani, said divers recovered the bodies of the two slain crew members from the wreckage.

Albanian media said residents reported hearing an explosion before the helicopter crashed into the water.

The army chief of staff, Major Gen. Jeronim Bazo, called for public patience as investigators collected evidence of what caused the crash. He said the helicopter entered service only in November and was deployed primarily for search-and-rescue missions. He said the two dead pilots had "reasonable experience and were trained domestically and abroad."

The above video of U.S. Marines practicing with hand grenades at Camp Pendleton is cool to watch, but it also offers some nice insights into how hand grenades work.

In the opening part of the clip, Marines are assembling M69 practice grenades. Grenades are too dangerous to be shipped complete and therefore require assembly before they're ready to blow things up. Putting them together is a simple procedure that involves screwing the fuse mechanism into the grenade body.

Before you use a grenade, first you want to have a really good idea where you want to throw it, because things are about to happen fast. Grasp the grenade tightly in your hand, with particular care to grip the lever hard against the body. Next, remove both the steel safety pin—attached to a pull ring—and safety clip. Removing the pin releases the spring-tensioned lever, and you will notice the grenade is noticeably harder to hold.

At this point the grenade is ready to be thrown. Once thrown, the spring will force the lever to pop off, initiating the fuze. The grenade's fuze will "cook" for four or five seconds, and then the grenade will go boom.

The title of this video—"This is how a grenade explosion looks in real life"—is somewhat misleading. These are M69 training grenades, painted blue to designate them as training devices. Although they make a loud noise and white smoke, training grenades are not nearly as powerful as the real M67 fragmentation grenade.

Each weekday, dozens of U.S. government aircraft take to the skies and slowly circle over American cities. Piloted by agents of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the planes are fitted with high-resolution video cameras,often working with “augmented reality” software that can superimpose onto the video images everything from street and business names to the owners of individual homes. At least a few planes have carried devices that can track the cell phones of people below. Most of the aircraft are small, flying a mile or so above ground, and many use exhaust mufflers to mute their engines — making them hard to detect by the people they’re spying on.

In the same breath, Najib administration could play the same card – Spratly Islands dispute – to justify new purchase of Russian Su-34 and Su-35 in order to keep up with the latest crisis. But does it make military sense to purchase Su-34 and Su-35 when RMAF already owned 18 pieces of Su-30MKM? Defence Minister Hishammuddin can always use Indonesia as an example.

Neighbour Indonesia has placed an order for 10 units of Su-35 even though the Indonesian Air Force flies Su-30, Su-27, MiG-21, BAE Hawk Mk 209 and F-16. So, it makes perfect sense for Malaysia to copy Indonesia by buying more Sukhoi fighters. After all, at US$65 million a piece, Su-35 is cheaper as compared to US$98 million to US$110 million price tag for U.S.-built F-35.

Russia raised eyebrows in February when it announced its intention to sell deadly Sukhoi Su-30 fighters and T-90 tanks to Iran

"The sale of Su-30 fighter aircraft is prohibited under UNSCR 2231 without the approval of the UN Security Council and we would block the approval of any sale of fighter aircraft under the restrictions,"

"all States may participate in and permit, provided that the Security Council decides in advance on a case-by-case basis to approve...the supply, sale or transfer" of "battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems."

Mikhail Oliyanov told Iran's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. "We are of the opinion that the possible sale of Sukhoi-30 fighter jets and T-90 tanks of Russia to Iran have not been prohibited in Resolution 2231 and this resolution has permitted Iran to purchase such military hardware."

The U.S. military is planning to expand the number of so-called “fire bases” in northern Iraq to prepare for an assault on Mosul, ISIS’s Iraqi capital

Troops at up to three temporary bases, on the north-south route from central Iraq to the northern city of Mosul, would advise Iraqi security forces, provide logistical support so Iraqi troops can move toward Mosul and even ground base support fire

“As Iraqi security forces progress toward isolating Mosul, there may be a situation in which there is another base,”

Currently, near Mosul, there is one such U.S. base near the Iraqi city of Makhmour, Iraq, where roughly 200 Marines currently serve and where one Marine, Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin, was killed in an ISIS rocket attack. The base sits 70 miles south of Mosul and currently serves as a staging area for the Iraqi forces. U.S. officials renamed the base Kara Soar Counter Fire Complex after Staff Sgt. Cardin’s death

In recent weeks in Syria, ISIS has lost several cities—some to Russian forces, some to Syrian government troops, and others to U.S.-backed coalition forces. The rapid succession of losses, coupled with an ISIS that eventually walked away from a fight in each city, has buoyed U.S. hopes of taking back Mosul, one of the two most important cities to ISIS’s caliphate, the other being the Syrian city of Raqqa.

The fall of Mosul “would mark the beginning of the end for ISIL,” Army Col Steven Warren, a coalition spokesman said on CNN Wednesday.