Libyan Air Force military aircraft crashes in Libya's Tarhouna





[sos]

leo2 vs cv90 drag race

http://www.rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rhei...cht_1_11904.php

Caesar 155mm SPHs of the Indonesian Army 12th Field Artillery Battalion.

fuuuu... full length sph with mrap escort... be very afraid of indon now... no joke

Aussie govt in a bind over training site for SAF troops



Australia's plans to develop a large site in northern Queensland as a training area for Singapore troops has run into trouble after farmers, who would be forced to sell their land, opposed the move.

The farmers say they do not oppose the training deal with Singapore but feel the land sale was unfair, and came as a "complete surprise".

They have called for the government to look at other locations, saying the properties have been held by their families for generations, and include fertile grazing land.

The proposal would involve about 23 farmers selling 200,000ha of farmland - nearly three times the size of Singapore.

The site near Townsville forms part of an A$2.25 billion (S$2.4 billion) deal signed by Singapore and Australia during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit in October.

Under the deal, Singaporean troops would increase their presence in Australia from next year, and train at Townsville and another site farther south in Shoalwater Bay.

By 2021, up to 14,000 troops will train for 18 weeks a year, compared with about 6,600 troops who currently train for six weeks.

Australian troops would also use the training area.



The deal has been welcomed by the local community and will give a much-needed boost to the economy, which has suffered from the end of the mining boom.

After a series of meetings in recent weeks between farmers, MPs and defence officials, the federal government last week agreed to review its plans for the site and has ordered an independent review into the impact on the local community.

The government also said it will consider two alternative sites nearby, even though the Defence Department previously said these alternatives were "unsuitable".

Resources and Northern Australia Minister Matthew Canavan said the Singapore deal would provide a significant boost to the region but the government also wanted to maximise opportunities to develop agriculture and water infrastructure.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mr Canavan said: "The Singapore defence deal and the investment that will flow from it represent a great opportunity for central and northern Queensland.

"In recent weeks, the Department of Defence has been consulting widely with local landholders and community members.



"A socio-economic impact assessment will be conducted by KPMG as well as a broader masterplanning process in 2017." KPMG is an auditing and advisory firm.

It is believed the original site near Townsville was chosen because it features a variety of terrain types that will allow troops to train in different battlefield conditions.

The dispute has attracted growing media attention and is becoming a headache for the ruling coalition, which fears the issue could cost it public support in the state.

A lawyer representing several landholders, Mr Ian Conrad, said the farmers supported the Singapore deal but believed the proposed training site was unfair because it covered fertile land that was close to an abattoir and port.



Mr Conrad added that the farmers did not learn of the proposed forced sale until late last month and the move came as a "complete surprise".

He said: "Most of the farmers have been on the land a long time, and always planned to pass it on to their children and grandchildren. Their whole life is attached to the land."

Several prominent Queensland-based politicians have backed the farmers, including far-right MP and One Nation party leader Pauline Hanson, and long-serving popular independent MP Bob Katter.

This has worried the conservative coalition, which has been trying to stem a loss of support in Queensland to One Nation and Mr Katter's party.

Ms Hanson and Mr Katter have both visited the region and addressed local farmers.



During a visit to the area on Dec 16, Ms Hanson said she welcomed the Singapore deal and its potential boost to the region but insisted that it should not hurt local agriculture.

She said: "I can understand it will bring a lot of money to the area and benefits to Queensland but not to the detriment of farmers. We need this (land) because if we lost it, we will never get it back."

Defence Minister Marise Payne, speaking to The Courier Mail last week, said the government will now consider two alternative locations near the town of Pentland, to the west of the original site, and Greenvale, which lies a little farther north.

Singaporean troops will also train at an expanded site in Shoalwater Bay, where they have been training for more than 20 years.

For now, the federal government is wedged between its immediate political needs, the concerns of the farmers and securing the best interests of Australian and Singaporean troops.

Russian military plane crashes en route to Syria with 92 on board





[sos]

Tupolev...

Rip red army choir

The Turkish Leopard 2A4 losses is surprising, SG and Indo here should take note.

ISIS has released drone footage of knocked-out Turkish Leopard 2A4 tanks, M60T Sabra, Cobra armored vehicle, and ACV-15 IFV.
The equipment were damage near Syria’s northern town of Al-Bab.

http://defense-watch.com/2016/12/24/photos...-syrias-al-bab/

inadequate tactics and morale so poor and most cases it was disabled by vbied and atgm and becomes useless
unlike the us/brits in afghan and iraq them turks main weakness is they have a very limited cas cover inside syrian territory

after that the isis uses classic human wave tactics to repel the turks and in haste they abandon their tanks..

This post has been edited by DDG_Ross: Dec 26 2016, 08:59 AM

The Turkish Leopard 2A4 are the first generation Leopard 2A4 with outdated armor. The Indonesian 42 Leopard 2A4 are ex-Swiss Pz87 made in the late 80s and early 90s. Another 61 units are upgraded to the Leopard 2RI with AMAP Composite Armor same as the Singapore Leopard 2SG.

An excerpts from Below The Turret Ring:

ok, will let general know

Indonesian police kill 2 militants after raid on house in Java



Indonesian police killed two suspected Islamist militants on Sunday (Dec 25) in a gunfight during a raid on a house in West Java, a police spokesman said.

Two men had been arrested in Cibinong and led police to a house at the Jatiluhur dam, national police spokesman Awi Setiyono said.

The pair were fatally shot at a house in Purwakarta 100km east of Jakarta after allegedly resisting arrest.

"We ordered them to surrender and even fired warning shots, but they resisted and started to attack our officers with machetes, so we had to take them down," Setiyono told AFP.

Police seized some weapons and a letter which said the group had planned to launch an attack at an undisclosed location on new year’s eve, West Java police spokesman Yusri Yunus told Metro TV.

A police bomb squad was still scanning the area for any explosives, Yunus added.



Police said the suspects and the dead men were members of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah group, a local militant outfit which supports the Islamic State group (ISIS) and was responsible for a November attack on a church which killed a toddler on Borneo island.

"Their target is to attack police officers, in police posts or even at home. They wanted to attack with sharp weapons such as knives and machetes," Setiyono said.

Earlier this week, Indonesian anti-terrorism police killed three suspects in a gunbattle on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, and said they had foiled a suicide bombing planned for the end of the year.

Police have arrested dozens of suspected militants in recent months, including a cell on Batam island that planned a rocket attack on neighbouring Singapore.

Indonesia has foiled at least 14 attacks this year alone and made more than 150 arrests.



A gun and bomb assault in the heart of Jakarta in January 2016 killed four people and was the first attack in Southeast Asia claimed by Islamic State extremists.

Indonesia will to deploy 85,000 police and 15,000 military personel for the Christmas and New Year period, police said.

The South-east Asian nation suffered a string of deadly homegrown attacks during the 2000s, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed over 200 people.

A sustained crackdown has weakened many of the most dangerous extremist networks but there have been fears of a resurgence in militancy.

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/i...?xtor=EREC-16-1[ST_Newsletter_AM]-20161226-[Indonesian+police+kill+2+militants+after+raid+on+house+in+Java]&xts=538291

This post has been edited by Fat & Fluffy: Dec 26 2016, 10:57 AM

More rugged combat boots for SAF soldiers



Soldiers of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will soon be equipped with new boots that are more rugged, while preserving its users' comfort and agility.

They will progressively replace the Frontier model boots, which, while lauded for being lightweight and fast-drying, had a major flaw - their soles came apart after being placed in prolonged storage.

The Frontier boots have been in use for the past four years.

The new boots come in two variations - the Army Combat Boot (ACB), which will be constructed with directly moulded soles, increasing their durability; and the Enhanced Combat Boot (ECB), which will have a cupsole that is fully stitched.

These will combat the durability issues faced by the Frontier, which had three elements - a leather upper, a polyurethane midsole, and a rubber sole.

While this kept the boots light, the polyurethane material tended to degrade, especially when placed in long storage. Because of hydrolysis, which is a chemical breakdown due to reaction with water, the sole separated from the shoe.

The Frontier has a lifespan of two years, whether it is used actively or kept in storage.

In comparison, the new ACB and ECB will stand up to two years of active use, and four years in storage.



Lieutenant-Colonel Elizabeth Soh, head of the System Development Branch, HQ Supply, said: "The boots are differentiated to match the force types and mission tasks. The ACB is for the mainstream army and operationally ready national servicemen; the key outcome is durability.

"The ECB is about performance... and (supplied) to selected active manoeuvre units - infantry, commandos, guards and armoured infantry."

The ACB itself will come in two models - Wellco Peruana, a Peruvian brand, and Altama, a United States brand. Both weigh about 900g for a US size 9, and have synthetic breathable material that allows quick drying, with a sole suitable for jungle use.

Lt-Col Soh said the models are similar but the SAF chose two manufacturers for supply resilience.

In comparison, the ECB, which is made by US brand Magnum, is just 700g, and has an outsole that can be used in both jungle and urban terrains.

The new boots will be available from Friday at selected SAF eMart outlets, including at Safra Mount Faber, The Chevrons club in Jurong, Gombak Camp and Pasir Laba Camp. From January, the SAF will provide the ECB to selected active manoeuvre units. And starting from May, recruits will be equipped with two pairs of the new boots - the Wellco Peruana and Altama.

The Frontier's predecessor, the Gore-Tex, had been in service for a decade, but the Frontier is being replaced just after four years, after feedback from soldiers.

Said Lt-Col Soh: "We are constantly reviewing the personal equipment of soldiers to better meet operational requirements and also to enhance combat effectiveness."

Lieutenant Shahran Thanvagel, 20, who tested the new boots for two months, said each model has its merits.



"The Altama suits the jungle terrain a lot better. It is durable and water drains out very quickly," said the Officer Cadet School (OCS) instructor. "The Magnum is suited for urban operations, because it is lightweight and the soles have markings which enable a quick change of direction, such as spinning on the spot. But the thick sole makes it hard to dry out."

Second-Lieutenant Tan Hean Shuen, also an OCS instructor, felt that compared with the Frontier and Magnum boots, the Altama and Wellco Peruana boots have better cushioning in the lower shin area.

"It helps for long distance (walking) comfort," he added.

 ST_20161227_ALBOOT27N_2832560.pdf ( 1.35mb ) Number of downloads: 13

How the SAF's combat boots have evolved over the decades



SINGAPORE - The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will be introducing new combat boots that address a major flaw in the current model.

The Frontier boots, which have been in use for the past four years, had soles that came apart after being placed in prolonged storage.

Here's a look at how army boots have changed over the past couple of decades.

LEATHER BOOTS WITH TOE-CAPS (BEFORE 1993)

Weight: 950g

Soldiers often maintained two pairs, one for daily use and the other for parade or ceremonial use. For the latter, they would often spend many hours polishing their boots in a bid to make them shiny. Besides dripping wax, the norm was to use a heated teaspoon to smoothen the boots' toe-caps, before buffing and polishing the surface for a gleaming mirror-like quality.

PEBBLE-GRAINED AND SMOOTH LEATHER BOOTS (1993-2002)

Weight: 760-780g

The toe-caps were removed, making the boots significantly lighter. This also meant they transmitted 30 per cent less shock to the foot, providing more protection against ankle and other injuries.

The boots also contained an anti-microbial Polyurethane insole with built-in arch support and help counter, which helped prevent ankle twisting and offered better hygiene.

GORE-TEX BOOTS (2002-2012)

Weight: 730g

The waterproof Gore-Tex material kept muddy water from entering the boots, a common complaint among soldiers out in the field as water got trapped inside while crossing river obstacles or staying in the rain for a prolonged periods.

The outsole was also suitable for jungle operations.

FRONTIER NYLON-FABRIC BOOTS (2012-2016)

Weight: 705g

The SAF-customised Frontier boots were hailed as being lighter, safer and more comfortable for soldiers when they were introduced in 2012, with the SAF studying more than 20 models over three years.

They consisted of a leather upper, a polyurethane midsole, and a rubber sole.

Among the improvements: two perforated holes on the inner side of each boot to drain out water, a new outsole design for better agility to move in the confined spaces of urbanised areas and nylon material that dries up within an hour when wet.

The boots were also said to transmit up to 20 per cent less shock to the feet.

ARMY COMBAT BOOT (ACB) AND ENHANCED COMBAT BOOT (ECB)

Weight: 900g (ACB) or 700g (ECB)

The ACB, which is designed for durability, will be constructed with directly moulded soles, while the ECB - for active manoeuvre units like infantry, commandos and guards - will have a fully stitched cupsole.

The ACB comes in two models - Peruvian brand Wellco Peruana and US brand Altama - and they have synthetic breathable material that allows quick drying, as well as a sole suitable for jungle use.

The ECB, made by US brand Magnum, has an outsole that can be used in both jungle and urban terrains.

This post has been edited by Fat & Fluffy: Dec 27 2016, 08:14 PM

http://www.janes.com/article/66543/indones...tems-from-china

For me, the best boots I used for rough use here is the canvas top vietnam war-type jungle boots. They're relatively tough, light, the canvas top dries out quickly and let your skin breathe, the deep panama sole grabs onto mud and slippery surfaces solidly and they drain water pretty good. The good ones will also have a steel plate inside the sole, in case you step onto a spiked punji trap (you never know.... )



Don't buy into the overpriced 'boots made of space-age waterproof material' bullshit. When you're in this part of the world water will get into your boots (unless you want your operations to be held on roads specifically). Better have a way to drain them out rather than trying to prevent water coming in, which is pretty much impossible. Until then you'd get water sloshing inside your boots until you have a chance to take them off, which would probably mean after 6 more hours of marching in waterlogged boots.