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.

This post has been edited by cunnilinguist: Mar 3 2016, 12:09 AM

Meanwhile Russia is pulling out of Syria

Guess the money dries up. It shows that no countries on earth can maintain sustained war effort (even a limited warfare such as in Syria) outside their own soil other than US.

M109A6 is already a capable platform. The main reason why US army went to the A7 variant is because of chassis commonality with Bradley. If anything, I'd rather if we get more 155mm towed howitzer and replace Oto melaras with new 105mm howitzer.

South Korean KH-179 155mm howitzer seems to be a great option. It's a lot cheaper M777(less than 1 million USD compared to M777's >6 million USD) and unlike M777, it even has 52 caliber variant

This post has been edited by cunnilinguist: Mar 15 2016, 03:22 AM

No they are not. At least not how you're thinking. When Rheinmetall introduced the L55, the focus is on penetration power, with range increase being an added bonus (because increased gun length=longer range)

You can only get significant increase in gun range by employing gun-launched ATGM

The US has SM-3 and THAAD as part of their multi-layered air defence. In fact, NORAD (which covers USA and Canada) is the most extensive air defence system in the world. Besides, the US doesn't have any immediate air threat from neighboring countries, unlike Russia or China

On tactical/operational level (foreign bases installations, in the front line, etc) other than Patriots and Stingers, they also have Avengers, land-based Phalanx(or C-RAM) and Surface-Launched AMRAAM





They were called rape protection glasses for a reason.

Now that SPH issues have been resolved, I hope the army can concentrate on getting medium-range SAM, as well as finding new replacement for Jernas

New sniper rifle system from Ukraine

SECURITY BOOST FOR SABAH


23rd March, 2016
KUALA LUMPUR: Marine police will set up a forward operating base (FOB) at Mabul Island in Sabah this year to ensure security of the state’s waters.

Bukit Aman marine police commander SAC Abdul Rahim Abdullah said the facility would act as a tactical base. “FOB will be managed by marine police and buttressed by Very Able Troopers-69 (VAT 69), the General Operations Force and Special Actions Unit.

“Once it is completed we will assign 10 boats there to patrol and scan the area including the waters off Si Amil Island and Sipadan Island and the Indonesian border,” he told Bernama.

He said the FOB was a strategy mooted by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) and marine police. Abdul Rahim said the establishment of the base would also provide an assurance of security and peace of mind for tourists to the resort islands.

“The FOB on Mabul Island is a pilot project and if effective, we will build more on the islands in Sabah and other states,” he said.

He revealed that the facility would be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment such as infrared or thermal imaging cameras and radar surveillance.

According to him, the government had allocated RM25 million for the FOB but the greenlight must come from ESSCOM.

“We already have the funds…it’s only a matter of launching and building it. “This FOB project is part of the government’s efforts and commitment to enhance the police force in its service to the people,” he said.

In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah’s Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said this was a step in the right direction not only to boost security but also to negate the perception created by the travel advisory issued by certain countries.

“It is hoped that the establishment of this forward base would send a strong message to perpetrators our seriousness in dealing with crime and lawlessness, especially in areas with large foreign population,” he stressed. Meanwhile on the present security of Sabah’s waters, Abdul Rahim said it was under control.

“On our part, we conduct 24-hour patrols and surveillance together with other security agencies in averting potential threats,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said agencies entrusted to safeguard the country’s waters need to reinforce their respective elements of intelligence.

“It is crucial for all security agencies to strengthen their respective capability and work in an integrated manner such as sharing of intelligence information for a more effective maritime operation.

“Hopefully local residents particularly fishermen would act as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the authorities and report any suspicious activities in their area,” he said. – Bernama/New Sabah Times


http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/4805

There are better alternative



But thing is for philippines army, even some of their regular troops still didn't have helmets, which is why Duterte argues that there's no point in buying expensive military assets (he was referring about F/A-50 missile acquisition afaik) if the soldiers on the frontline are still issued with third-hand, vietnam-era M1 helmet they've got from the US via EDA

In a sense, we are lucky to have several local companies that produced military helmets, body armor, webbings and whatnot. Afaik malaysian-made body armor are used by Australian army, so we should be proud of it.

EDIT: although I do keen on the SAKTI initiative

This post has been edited by cunnilinguist: Apr 5 2016, 01:04 PM

I meant indonesian SAKTI (acronym for Sistem Angkut Kelengkapan Tempur Individu). I think they give more thought on the load-bearing aspect of body armor rather than just copying IBA pattern (like ours). I feel like we're mixing and matching equipment as it's not uncommon to see soldier with body armor with belt rigs instead of utilizing the attachment grid on the body armor itself

This post has been edited by cunnilinguist: Apr 16 2016, 12:09 AM

Right now there's the ongoing battle between ASG and philippines military so our job is to not let any of ASG members to retreat to Malaysia.



http://www.theborneopost.com/2016/04/14/bo...s-battle-rages/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_camouflage

Malaysia, unlike the philippines or indonesia, are composed of 2 large body of lands, so there is no need to build an airstrip.

Conversely, that also means we have little use for small transport aircraft like Aviocar, Twin Otter or Nomad. CN-235 or C-295 is good enough (any smaller and might as well using Nuri).

Boustead do have the licensing right of Meko 100 ( which they got from PSC-ND before they comnit Sudoku), and Boustead, as a contractor,did a decent job, so I tend to think that they could pull it through.

Also, if government is too cheap on MMEA, just use gagah samudera design and let a more competent company handle it. I actually hope the gagah samudera design would be selected for 2nd batch NGPV.

This post has been edited by cunnilinguist: Apr 23 2016, 07:19 PM

I think the LMS would serve as replacement for Laksamana-class corvettes and FACs which is currently in RMN service. Afaik they are going to lose their effectiveness since the missiles (both Otomat and MM38) are already past its shelf life and RMN isn't looking for missile upgrade (MM38 can be upgraded to MM40 block II iirc).

Currently there are 3 choices that RMN has; BNS with its modified Meko100 vessels, Ukranian Ukroboronprom as well as Korean DSME missile corvette. I personally would go for enlarged DSME missile corvette because they can complete a decent-sized warship in record time.

I never said otherwise. In fact the Gagah Samudera-class training vessel (another DSME vessels that is being assembled by local shipbuilders) is finished in less than 2 months. It's only that legal/corporate shenanigans that prevent the ship from being handed to RMN.

With all the shenanigans they are causing (which is also conflicted with Malaysia's interest), there is no way we are getting Chinese-made weapon, especially the ones with such strategic importance and the amount of logistic footprint like MBT

You can't jam SACLOS missiles

It is also prohibited under international law to use them

https://www.icrc.org/ihl/INTRO/130?OpenDocument

We got like what? 6? FN-6 missiles. It's hardly relevent especially when we have close to 300 Anza and Igla (and the upcoming Starstreak Manpads).

MBT, however, would require the army to invest billions of dollars to train new tankers, provide more facilities, associated support vehicles and logistical issues (spares,munitions, maintenance,etc) and all that would go to oblivion the moment China poses arms sanction towards Malaysia.

The more we buy from China, the more dependent we are to them, and this would risk jeoparding our strategic assets in case shit goes south and we cannot torelate their whim any longer. The top brass knew this, even Najib's administration knew about it. That's why we are reluctant to buy anything significant from them.

I'd sooner see we buy Russian tanks than China. Hell maybe we would even gonna do joint development with South Africa, since they are also looking to replace their Olifant tank (somewhere in 2018).

Right now that will have to wait because the army pretty much got what they wanted (AV-8,AV-4, SPH, upgrade of existing armored vehicles, starstreak and additional helos for PUTD). The focus now is shifted to the air force and its ongoing MMRCA programme