Haha where got....heavy mortars max range only around 7-8 km yo. The mortar bombs themelves are already pretty heavy. Even small pack 105mm howitzer usual range is around 10-15km already.

Unlike normal arty rounds where the propellant charge is pretty large, mortar rounds don't have that kind of provision. You can add only so much propelling charge 'donuts' onto a mortar bomb. Each 'donut' on average gives a 1km boost in addition to the main propellant inside the bomb itself, depending on elevation. At most you can add 5-6 'donuts' to a mortar round.



Also, pls don't think mortars are 1:1 replacement with artillery. Their roles are very different. Mortars are infantry support weapons used in tactical situations. Artillery is a more strategic weapon where you want some shit in a particular grid box destroyed.

EXCLUSIVE – Royal Thai Army buys AW149 and six AW139s

9 Dec, 16,



HeliHub.com can exclusively announce that Leonardo appear to have made their first AW149 sale, with an aircraft for the Royal Thai Army now being test flown.  Seen in Marco Bianchi’s photo here, which he has given us permission to use, the Thai military flash is seen on the tail of this otherwise anonymous aircraft.  A large square sticker has been placed over the national roundel of Thailand.  There is no information currently available on how many have been ordered.

In recent weeks, the Royal Thai Army has also taken delivery of six AW139s, with serial numbers 41520 through 41525 from the US AW139 production line.  The first three of these were delivered in September, with the second batch of three following in October

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com

Australia, France sign submarine deal

Australia and France have inked an agreement for a French defense contractor to build 12 cutting-edge submarines. The submarines are part of Australia's new defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.



Australia and France on Tuesday signed the final agreement for French naval contractor DCNS to build 12 submarines in what Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called a "critically important step in the development of our security."

The 34.9 billion euro ($36.3 billion) deal, including separate agreements with US and Australian contractors, is one of the world's largest defense contracts.

Turnbull described the deal as the "last foundation stone needed to ensure Australia is able to develop a cutting-edge sovereign submarine capability."

Australia's new fleet of submarines is at the center of the country's defense strategy released in February, which allots an extra 20 billion euros over the next decade to secure strategic and trade interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

'Critically important'

"This is a critically important step in the development of our security, in the assurance of our government in delivering Australians the security and prosperity that they need," Turnbull said.

The submarines will be a conventionally-powered version of France's 4,700-tonne nuclear-fuelled Barracuda complete with stealth technology. France and Australia agreed in April to the deal, for which Germany and Japan were also contending.

Most of the submarine production will be in the southern city of Adelaide and create 2,800 high-skilled jobs, Turnbull said.

US defense giant Lockheed Martin will produce the combat systems for the Barracudas.

Kareem said that the fighters were preparing to leave Aleppo, following the evacuation already of about 25,000 people from the formerly rebel-held east of Syria’s largest city.

“This is an explosive belt. This is what a lot of the fighters are wearing because they don’t feel that they can trust the regime to keep its word that they will have safe passage to leave,” said Kareem.

“If they are stopped they are prepared for a fight.”

Middle East Eye contributor Zouhir al-Shimale, who was evacuated on Monday, said that the bus on which he was travelling passed through checkpoints controlled by Russian and Iranian forces and by the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

He said Russian soldiers climbed onboard buses to inspect whether evacuees had weapons with them.

“They were saying you can go back to the regime side and no one will harass you or arrest you but no one listened to them. People were just silent and we moved to the western countryside and no one got hurt or arrested."

One very lucky crew member took a serious tumble as a EA-6B Prowler took off from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. The dude gets up again pretty quickly and seems to be basically unharmed after this terrifying accident.

WASHINGTON, DC — The mysterious hexagonal facilities the Chinese began installing on man-made islands in the South China Sea appear to be anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a unit of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

In August, AMTI published satellite imagery of several unidentified hexagonal structures on Fiery Cross, Subi, and Mischief reefs.

The formations are always oriented toward the sea and started to appear in May, according to experts at AMTI.

“More recent satellite imagery suggests that these hexagonal structures are point defense systems that are designed to defend the land features and the assets on them from an attack,” Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at CSIS, told Business Insider.

What’s more, Glaser notes that China is building these structures on all seven of the islets and reefs it occupies in the Spratly Islands.

“This is the first time that we’re confident in saying they are anti-aircraft and CIWS (close-in weapons systems) emplacements. We did not know that they had systems this big and this advanced there,” Poling told Reuters.

“This is militarization. The Chinese can argue that it’s only for defensive purposes, but if you are building giant anti-aircraft gun and CIWS emplacements, it means that you are prepping for a future conflict.”

Glaser echoed Poling, telling Business Insider, “although these systems are intended for self-defense, it is hard to argue that they are consistent with Xi Jinping’s pledge to not militarize the islands.”

GEORGE TOWN: A Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) pilot was killed while three officers were injured when the Beechcraft aircraft they were in crashed while attempting to land at the Butterworth Air Force base this evening.

Sources told the New Straits Times that the aircraft, originating from Subang, was on a training mission when the accident occurred at 5.20pm.

The victims are believed to have been sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for treatment.

Sources indicate that the death toll could be more. Pictures have emerged on what is believed to be the scene of the accident.

Several images show the wreckage of an aircraft along the tarmac, as well as one of a column of smoke emanating from a wreck. RMAF is expected to issue an official statement on the incident soon.

C/SIGN: SINTAR 02
ACFT: BE20
MODE3:0347
ROUTE: WMSA-WMKB-WMSA
ACFT CRASHED AT TERMINAL PELURU 2  @ 1718H..
RCVD FROM : LU ZAKARIA (BCCC PU BWTH)
[12/21, 7:01 PM] : [21/12, 18:08] Mej Amir Potu: Info terkini
2 selamat
1 rentung
1 tersepit
[21/12, 18:08] Mej Amir Potu: Kayamboo still in cockpit not survived, 3 were out. From Duty Commander

RIP.
At current rate I think RMAF will surpass TNI AU in total operational C-130 and variants (without buying a new one).