Malaysian Army had accepted the offer of 24 units M109 A5/A6 SPH from the United States under the Excess Defence Articles (EDA) programme.


Read more: http://www.malaysiandefence.com/army-83rd-birthday/

Tanks, Choppers Discussed During Thai Def Min's Moscow Visit

Source : Our Bureau ~ Dated : Monday, February 29, 2016 @ 08:57 AM

Thailand is expected to procure more armaments from Russia majorly tanks and Mi-17 Choppers.

Thailand also wants to buy more Mi-17 helicopters in addition to the existing four aircraft bought previously to replace UH-1H helicopters, Bangkokpost news daily reported Monday.

Thailand is expected to hold talks regarding the purchase following Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon’s scheduled visit to Moscow, the news daily quoted an unnamed army source as saying.

"Although Gen Prawit did not make any deal on military armaments during his visit, the two counties have reached an agreement on military technical and technological cooperation which could lead to Thailand buying more weapons from Russia, particularly tanks," the source said.

The Royal Thai Army has set up a committee to consider buying tanks from Russia, China and Ukraine, the source said.

On Russia's proposal to set up an arms production plant in Thailand, Gen Prawit said the issue needs further discussion and he believes Thailand would benefit in terms of military technology from the proposal.

Gen Prawit said no talks were directly held about buying armaments from Russia.

At least five people – including a captain in the Jordanian army – were killed in the fighting in Irbid, some 15 kilometres from the Syrian border and 80 kilometres north of the Jordanian capital Amman.

Unnamed military sources also told the Jordan Times “that anti-terror personnel carried out the operation to arrest a number of hard-line takfiris” a term for a Sunni Muslim who accuses others of being unbelievers. 

A close look at Ahrar al-Sham, the so-called moderate Salafist militia, backed by U.S. allies, that’s actually allied with al Qaeda

At midnight on Feb. 27, after months of negotiations and meetings in Geneva, New York, Moscow, Riyadh, and elsewhere, and after an intense day of Russian airstrikes, a partial ceasefire came into effect in Syria

While many are quick to point out Russian and regime aggression is a threat to the truce (and rightly so), less attention is given to concerns about the opposition

One rebel group in particular, Ahrar al-Sham, has made the situation extremely complicated and is an enormous threat to the ceasefire’s success

On the one hand, the group has made real efforts to present itself as moderate and distinct from Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, which is excluded from the current ceasefire

On the other hand, Ahrar al-Sham has worked closely with Nusra since the war began and has been in a formal alliance with it since early 2015

Ahrar al-Sham may appear to be a group divided—teetering between moderation and extremism, between democracy and Salafism—but this is likely a charade

Under its original leadership, Ahrar al-Sham was already clearly a radical Salafist militia. Though the group’s founder, Hassan Aboud, refused to pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda and claimed to have ideological disagreements with Nusra

To Ahrar al-Sham’s credit, its forte was guerilla-style fighting and it steered away from the Nusra-style suicide bombings, but it committed its own war crimes against Syria’s civilians

After a September 2014 explosion killed Hassan Aboud along with many of Ahrar al-Sham’s senior leadership, Hashem al-Sheikh (also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Jaber) took control of the group

Off the op-ed pages and on the ground, the reality was entirely different. Over the course of 2015, Ahrar al-Sham’s new, “more moderate” leadership had dramatically expanded its cooperation with Nusra

Ahrar al Sham’s actions contradicted its rhetoric, yet that was no accident. The group played both angles—boasting democratic values and fighting for Salafism—and it benefited from each

Nusra could hardly afford to squabble with Ahrar al-Sham when the two groups were busy fighting an Assad reinforced by increased involvement from Iran and Russia

In September, Hashem al-Sheikh stepped down as emir, making way for Abu Yahia al-Hamawi, who continued to push the notion that Ahrar al-Sham was mainstream and aligned with Western interests

Al-Hamawi reportedly claimed that Nusra had withdrawn from the Army of Conquest—a rumor that would have been convenient for the umbrella group’s foreign backers, but nonetheless proved false

In late February, Ahrar al-Sham entered into a new coalition with a handful of Islamist and FSA militias under the leadership of its former emir, Hashem al-Sheikh. The new umbrella group is called “Jaish al-Halab,”

Why then form this confederation? Jaish al-Halab is a means by which Ahrar al-Sham can play both sides of the newly implemented ceasefire. If hostilities resume (beyond the small scale violations seen already), Ahrar al-Sham can of course continue its close cooperation with Nusra

But if the ceasefire holds, Ahrar al-Sham can separate from Nusra; go dormant in the fight against the regime; stockpile weapons from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey; and exert significant control in northwest Syria—all legitimized by the international process

The same P-3 that NOAA's using for hurricane science has been a dedicated submarine-hunter for the U.S. Navy. For this job, the Orion carried a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD), which is basically a giant metal detector for finding subs. The P-3's replacement, the P-8 Poseidon, does not have a MAD. This is something of a relief for the crew, as the MAD required them to fly uncomfortably at low altitudes. Instead, the P-8 will launch drones carrying MAD to dip down and scour the seas below.

Last year the defense company BAE Systems scored a Navy contract to make a MAD small enough for an air-launched drone—the awkwardly named High Altitude ASW Unmanned Targeting Air System (HAASW UTAS). We don't know all the details yet, but the new detector may be more sensitive than previous versions, possibly based on an Atomic Vapour Magnetometer that the Navy has been developing.

A flock of drones scouring the seas with MAD could overcome one of the traditional problems with this technology: A single aircraft searching a single swath gives it relatively short range compared to sonar. MAD drones, though, could hunt far and wide.

What is DIRCM?

Northrop's DIRCM system consists of several parts -- all working together to detect and track incoming anti-aircraft missiles, then defeat the threat by jamming and confusing the missile's infrared tracker, causing it to go off course.
Northrop produces DIRCM in various formats:

LAIRCM "is required to defeat the latest and future advanced IR threats" to Large military Aircraft.

CIRCM  is a more affordable "Common" system "built on open architecture to work with existing hardware" to protect a wide array of helicopters and medium fixed wing aircraft.

Northrop also offers a "pod-based" DIRCM system, dubbed Guardian , which incorporates "a multiband laser pointer/ tracker and an ultraviolet missile warning sensor." This all gets stuffed into a single, canoe-sized unit that can be bolted onto existing aircraft such as commercial airliners.

Who wants missile protection?

Northrop Grumman has enjoyed some measure of success selling its DIRCM systems around the globe, including sales to the Canadian military and several other foreign governments in 2014, for example, and to the governments of Oman and Qatar the year before that. The U.S. military has also been investing billions of dollars in outfitting its aircraft with Northrop Grumman LAIRCM systems.

This month, Northrop landed a new client when, in a recent notification to Congress from the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the government of the United Arab Emirates expressed its interest in buying a set of eight "AN/AAQ-24 (V)N LAIRCM" missile defense systems from Northrop. UAE hopes to install the systems to protect its fleet of seven (current) and one (on order ) Boeing (NYSE:BA) C-17 military transport aircraft.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's Sukhoi aicraft manufacturer has begun the development of a sixth-generation jet fighter, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Wednesday.

"If we stop now, we will stop forever. Work is underway on a sixth and a seventh [generation]. I do not have the right to say much more," Bondarev said.

A RoCAF T-34 basic trainer involved in a runway excursion incident today. The T-34C trainer (No. 3433) plane was flown by a cadet performing a solo flight at 3:21pm today.

The plane veered off the end of the airstrip and come to a rest at about 152 meter from the runway. No major injury was reported.

Detailed cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Great to hear the news regarding the SPH. I hope they would upgrade them to A5+ variant (which is less likely since we got this via EDA and I highly suspect that any upgrade programme must be done by US companies)
I think it's high time for RMN personnel to be issued with working uniform.

The award of the unknown amount of munitions was given to the Ellwood National Forge and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, which both build BLU-109 "bunker buster" bombs. Their sale is the first to Turkey, and the contract will expire in 2020.

The Foreign Military Sales system was criticized Tuesday by a prominent Air Force general and last week by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who both said the slow process to buy weapons was pushing potential overseas customers to buy from Russia instead. Not only does that mean less revenue for U.S. defense companies, it can mean that U.S. forces have to work with their allies using different weapons and communications systems on the battlefield.

ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, opened the Seih Hafair Camp National Service School of the Presidential Guard on Wednesday.

The fully-equipped school is built specially for national service recruits.

“The UAE leadership’s keenness to modernise and upgrade capabilities of the armed forces is not limited to procurement of the latest equipment and arms technology, but also to preparing human resources that are capable of dealing with the different defence technologies,” the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince said.

Setting off from Kuwait en route to Bahrain, the U.S. sailors had never navigated across the Persian Gulf in small patrol boats, and they were unaccustomed to traveling such a long distance in vessels designed for shorter missions in coastal waters or rivers

Mechanical problems, communication breakdowns, and a lack of navigation training or preparation all played a role in the blunder, Foreign Policy has learned, based on interviews with officials and others familiar with the case

The sailors in Kuwait who were captured by the Iranians were trained to operate riverine command boats, or RCBs — small, speedy craft about 50 feet long that are used to transport special operations forces, patrol coastal waters, or escort larger ships. The sailors, under the command of 27-year-old Lt. David Nartker, were ordered to Bahrain to take part in an exercise and had less than 24 hours to prepare. Only one of three boats at their disposal was in working order. The crew members had to cannibalize one of the broken vessels to get an engine part so they could have a second boat to sail

The trip required the crews to travel about 240 nautical miles, more than twice the usual distance they were accustomed to

The U.S. sailors were using a GPS device to navigate, but Farsi Island is so small that it did not appear on their screen when it was zoomed out to a wider view. As they drifted within sight of land, the Americans did not even know that it was Farsi Island

Throughout the cruise, the positions and direction of the two boats were automatically relayed to the operations center every 30 minutes via an electronic tracking device, the U.S. official said. But for reasons that remain unclear, commanding officers or others at the operations center did not inform the boat crews that they were headed in the wrong direction

As the Iranians encircled the boats, the U.S. sailors managed to repair the faulty engine. Now the Americans had a choice. With 50-caliber machine guns and GAU-19 miniguns on their boats, they outarmed the Iranians. And their RCBs were bigger than the Iranian patrol craft. But escaping would mean opening fire on the Iranian forces or ramming their vessels — actions that could lead to a wider conflagration

The case has raised a litany of unanswered questions for the military: Did the Navy properly maintain the riverine boats? Did commanding officers ensure the sailors were properly trained in advance? Did the boat crews receive a briefing on how to navigate the Persian Gulf? Who was watching out for the boats as they made their way from Kuwait and began to veer into Iranian waters?

I think it's high time for RMN personnel to be issued with working uniform.

What do we see on the video? We see a T-90 model 1992 with a cast turret. This much is obvious from the presence of Shtora and the shape of the gunner’s hatch. Model 2004 tanks have a welded turret with a higher level of protection.

The tank is protected by Kontakt-5 reactive armor, and its forward aspects are protected by layered armor. We can see that the missile hit the left front turret face, triggering Kontakt-5, but apparently failed to penetrate the main armor.

The tank’s crew neglected its battlefield duties: the hatches were open, Shtora was not switched on. It suggests the crew was not very well trained. We have information suggesting Syrian crews are not trained in Russia but on the spot. There are Russian tankers in Syria but they work as instructors at the Ithriyah base.

The explosion of a 6kg warhead naturally caused considerable blast over-presssure which penetrated into the open hatch, which prompted the stunned gunner to jump out of the tank. If the hatch were closed, he’d not have suffered from the over-pressure. The tank’s frontal protection is several times greater than side protection. Soviet and Russian tanks are designed to withstand hits by most munitions from the frontal aspect, in other words, within the forward 60 degree arc.

The tank’s crew was poorly trained, and the way the tank was being used leaves a lot to be desired. Tanks ought to be part of combined arms teams and operate with close infantry support. As one can see, the crew did not detect the missile’s launch. If at least three tanks, or a platoon, were operating together with mutually interlocking fields of vision and fire, and if infantry were scouting ahead of the tanks, the missile crew would have been destroyed immediately after launch. The tank also makes no attempt to maneuver, and a single, isolated tank that’s sitting still is an ideal target.

The video was filmed in Sheikh-Akil north-west of Aleppo where the Zaviya Mountain Falcons is operating as part of the Free Syrian Army 5th Corps. It was a reconnaissance in force by Khazara and Afghan Shia fighters. They tried to capture Sheikh-Akil but were repulsed. Later videos from the same town do not show a T-90 wreck, though there are videos showing the withdrawal of troops and equipment. It means that the tank either left the battlefield on its own or was evacuated.

Shtora-1 is standard equipment on a T-90. The two turret-mounted projectors emit modulated radiation in the optical and infra-red parts of the spectrum. The system suppresses optronic ATGM coordinators out to a distance of 2-2.5km. ATGM tracking systems receive false signals from the Shtora emitters so the missiles receive improper course corrections leading to them flying off to the side or crashing.

Shtora has a probability of success of about 80-90% against an ATGM. It is very effective against older Milan, HOT, TOW, Fagot, Konkurs, and others. But the TOW-2A has not only a xenon lamp but also an infra-red emitter which emits a coded signal, making the Shtora less effective against the missile. Which is why Shtora is not part of more recent Russian designs, for example the modernized T-90SM or the T-72B3.

Modern missile launch detection system which operate in the UV spectrum can be installed on UAVs and ground vehicles, but so far they are experimental. Such systems detect the rocket motor plume. They can issue launch warnings, allowing the crew to aim the tank’s weapons against the source of the launch and to eject an aerosol screen which conceals the tank from optical and IR detection systems.

While Syria fighting has seen model 1992 T-90s, there’s also the model 2004 T-90A. But T-72s are more vulnerable against ATGMs with tandem warheads.  They can be modernized using Uralvagon-developed applique kits which increases their survivability.

One should add that SAA tanks and other armored vehicles are sometimes equipped with “dazzlers”, or domestically developed systems with function in a way similar to the Shtora, except that they provide all-round field of protection. Since Syrians now have TOW-2A in their possession, they can develop jammers capable of operating against these missiles. As long as one knows the frequencies and spectrum ranges which the ATGM tracker senses.

Using T-90s or Su-35s will not bring about a breakthrough in the fighting, however, if tanks are used with skill, in close cooperation with other arms and in a concentrated, mass fashion, the effectiveness of their operations will increase.

nice

time to bring into paint shop and slap on new digi paint 

and Congrats on V20