A much larger joint exercise involving TNI-AD, TNI-AU and TNI-AL "Latihan Pasukan Pemukul Reaksi Cepat (PPRC)" is scheduled also in Natuna on November 19th.

US Government Approves $21.1Bln Sale to Qatar of F-15 Fighter Jet Package



WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US government approved the sale of an F-15 fighter jet package that will include 72 aircraft, support and training worth an estimated $21.1 billion to Qatar, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a press release.

“The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Qatar for F-15QA aircraft with weapons and related support, equipment, and training. The estimated cost is $21.1 billion,” the release stated on Thursday.

The release added that the proposed sale enhances the national security of the United State by helping to improve the security of a friendly country.

Qatar, a wealthy Persian Gulf nation, is part of the Saudi Arabian-led coalition that is engaged in an air war against Shia Houthi rebels in the neighbouring country of Yemen.

The approval of Qatar’s latest weapons request follows US sales of $33 billion in military hardware to Persian Gulf nations since May 2015, according to the State Department.

Sputniknews

7 out of 18 major blocks have been assembled
7 daripada 18 blok @RMN_LCS pertama telah siap dibina & disambung di atas keel line.
https://twitter.com/RMN_LCS

MalDef

SHAH ALAM: RMAF has qualified American made Paveway series laser guided bombs on its Sukhoi Su-30MKM multi-role combat aircraft. The LGBs qualified were the Paveway II GBU-16/B and GBU-12/B. The GBU-16s carries 1000lb class warhead while GBU-12Bs are those with warheads in the 500 lb class

 

if not wrong Typhoon use LITENING pod，new one LITENING pod have 640x480 resolution. but it make by Rafael Corporation/Northrop Grumman (We can use on F18?)

President Duterte said on Wednesday he told his Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts that their forces can bomb fleeing Filipino militants and their kidnap victims at sea because the hostages “are not supposed to be there.”

Mr. Duterte said in a speech that he told Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo that their forces could enter Philippine waters while pursuing Muslim militants who are fleeing with hostages.

Mr. Duterte said he told the leaders that if the militants were about to escape, “bomb them. If they cannot be captured, you bomb them. How about the hostages? Eh, bomb them also. They’re not supposed to be there, there is a warning.”

The brash-talking Mr. Duterte cited a US travel advisory warning Americans not to travel in the treacherous waters bordering the three countries.

The Abu Sayyaf militant group is holding more than a dozen mostly foreign hostages in their jungle lairs in Jolo.

Despite discussions among the three leaders on ways to strengthen security along their sea borders, Abu Sayyaf militants and allied gunmen from Jolo and nearby islands have continued to target and kidnap crewmen of slow-moving tugboats as well as fishing boats.

The ransom-seeking militants, who are notorious for beheadings, have also attacked cargo ships and separately snatched a South Korean skipper and Vietnamese crewmen in southern Philippines. The United States and the Philippines consider the Abu Sayyaf a terrorist organization.

KOTA KINABALU: Security forces are bracing for revenge attacks following the killing of three cross border kidnappers and the capture of two others in Sabah.

Responding to claims in the Philippines that the Abu Sayyaf group was planning a revenge attack, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun (pic) said they had yet to identify the three dead men.

“We are still interrogating the two kidnappers in our custody.

“As for now, the search is still on for two more suspected kidnappers and a missing hostage,” he said, adding that all three were last spotted on a boat during Thursday’s shootout in waters off Pulau Gaya, Semporna.

The brazen kidnapping and robbing spree by seven Filipino gunmen ended with them facing off with the police elite Tiger Platoon.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun.

Abdul Rashid said the gunmen were believed to have entered Sabah via international waters. He said the security forces were working closely with their Philippine counterparts.

The latest was the ninth such incident in waters off Sabah’s east coast this year.

The Straits Times, citing Philippine officials, reported that Malaysia’s security forces have dealt a serious blow to the Abu Sayyaf group by killing the leader of a squad that has been snatching tourists, fishermen and sailors in waters off Sabah and the Philippines’ Sulu archipelago.

Abraham Hamid, the alleged kingpin, was among the three men killed during the gunfight.

“His death is a big blow to the Abu Sayyaf as it neutralised one of the notorious bandits’ leader and will degrade their capabilities in the future,” Major Filemon Tan, spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, said in the report.

The other two slain were Hamid’s men. Hamid-led bandits have snatched two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipina from a high-end resort in Samal island, Davao province in September last year.

The Canadians – Robert Hall, 50, and John Ridsdel, 68, – were beheaded in April and June this year.

Filipina Maritess Flor, 40, was released in June while Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad was freed in September after a ransom was paid.

Major Tan tagged Hamid as a “spotter” who commanded a unit that prowled the porous borders separating Sabah and Sulu, looking for victims whom they would then hand over to bigger groups in the Abu Sayyaf’s jungle strongholds in Sulu and Basilan islands.

He also confirmed reports that two others – Samsung Aljan and Awal Hajal – had been arrested.

Meanwhile, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed credited strong police intelligence and close cooperation with neighbouring countries have led to the foiling of the latest kidnap-for-ransom attempt by a group of Filipino gunmen.

well now they know how expensive it is to t-o-t and transfer local manufacturing like our av8 

Honestly we should have gone for c130j
A400m too problematic.

Royal Thai Navy new DSME DW3000 Frigate. Credit to original uploader.



http://thaidefense-news.blogspot.co.id/2017/01/daegu.html

why you all missed prolly the most important point in the saudi news? 

T2 EF is available as well.
I dun mind we get those c/d.
Cik su and cik eagle is a very scary combo.

Saudi might give the entire t2 fleet.

does't know these hightech birds need so extensive care
really no others better suitable jet for our weather ?