Even if no military aid is guaranteed under FPDA, on the diplomatic side I think having one of the 'big 5' member of the UN security council (UK) on your side is still a good thing to have if someone messes with you.


This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Mar 6 2019, 03:50 PM

Indeed, but depending on the situation it may not be politically sound for the other members to just stand back and do nothing. The relationship and standing between the members will be heavily affected.

Latest satellite photos show alleged terrorist camp bombed by India is still standing, no bomb damage visible



NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - High-resolution satellite images reviewed by Reuters show that a religious school run by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in northeastern Pakistan appears to be still standing days after India claimed its warplanes had hit the Islamist group’s training camp on the site and killed a large number of militants.

The images produced by Planet Labs Inc, a San Francisco-based private satellite operator, show at least six buildings on the madrasa site on March 4, six days after the airstrike.

Until now, no high-resolution satellite images were publicly available. But the images from Planet Labs, which show details as small as 72 cm (28 inches), offer a clearer look at the structures the Indian government said it attacked.

The image is virtually unchanged from an April 2018 satellite photo of the facility. There are no discernible holes in the roofs of buildings, no signs of scorching, blown-out walls, displaced trees around the madrasa or other signs of an aerial attack.

The images cast further doubt on statements made over the last eight days by the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the raids, early on Feb. 26, had hit all the intended targets at the madrasa site near Jaba village and the town of Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

India’s foreign and defense ministries did not reply to emailed questions sent in the past few days seeking comment on what is shown in the satellite images and whether they undermine its official statements on the airstrikes.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who has 15 years’ experience in analyzing satellite images of weapons sites and systems, confirmed that the high-resolution satellite picture showed the structures in question.

“The high-resolution images don’t show any evidence of bomb damage,” he said. Lewis viewed three other high-resolution Planet Labs pictures of the site taken within hours of the image provided to Reuters.

“If the strike had been successful, given the information we have about what kind of munitions were used, I would expect to see signs that the buildings had been damaged,” Lewis added. “I just don’t see that here.”

sos

Home Ministry proposes increase in allowance for RELA members



PUTRAJAYA, Feb 19 — The Home Ministry has proposed that the allowance of People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) officers and members be raised by RM2 an hour, said its minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said that would see Rela officers’ allowance increase from RM7.80 an hour to RM9.80 an hour, while that for the members would be raised from RM6 an hour to RM8 an hour.

“The ministry will try to get the raise implemented this year. Nevertheless, it will depend on the Finance Ministry’s approval because it will involve an additional allocation of RM10 million per year compared to the existing annual grant of RM40 million,” he told reporters after attending Rela’s 47th anniversary celebration at the ministry here today.

Muhyiddin, who felt that the additional allocation was not excessive, said he would write a supporting letter to the Finance Ministry to get the proposal implemented.

Earlier, in his speech, he said the proposal to raise the allowance had taken into account the cost of living and welfare of all 3.1 million Rela members and their families, adding that Rela’s allowance was last reviewed seven years ago, in 2012.

Muhyiddin said Rela’s scope and jurisdiction also needed to be reviewed so that the department’s role could be improved, and expressed his personal appreciation and thanks to the Rela team.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Mar 7 2019, 03:03 PM

Terrorism fear rise as Northern Irish police discover six mortar tubes in County Amargh, Northern Ireland



Northern Ireland police uncovered a “significant” terrorist weapons hide containing mortar parts near Forkhill, close to the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, police said in a Thursday release.

“Police have uncovered a significant terrorist hide containing component parts for mortars including six mortar tubes in a forested area at the Carewamean Road area of Forkhill following a search on Wednesday, 6 March,” the release said.

Police were made aware of suspicious items and “discovered the items buried in the ground in a wooded area in a constructed hide,” Detective Inspector Graham Orr from the Police Service of Northern Ireland Terrorist Investigation Unit said, adding that due to its location, vehicles or machinery may have been used to transport the materiel to the site.

Orr said the investigation is in its early stages and “a detailed forensic examination of all these items will take some time.”

The find comes after searches conducted by Gardai (Irish police) in February near Omeath, around 10 km (6 miles) from the UK-Irish border, first uncovered a mortar tube and a “substantial” quantity of ammunition, and later explosives, firearms and a “sizeable” quantity of ammunition.

Those searches were conducted as part of ongoing investigations targeting the activities of dissident Irish Republican groups.

The operations on both sides of the border come after a car bomb exploded outside a courthouse in the the city of Derry in the northwest of Northern Ireland in January. Dissident Irish republican group the New IRA was blamed for the attack.

The discovery follows a series of bomb scares across the United Kingdom this week.

Parts of Waterloo station and Heathrow and London City airports had to be sealed off on Tuesday after suspicious packages were delivered to the transport hubs, with one grey postal bag catching fire.

It is believed the 'unsophisticated' bombs were meant to 'alarm' rather than hurt anyone. All the packages were A4-sized white postal bags containing yellow Jiffy bags (padded envelopes) and appeared capable of igniting a small fire when opened, police said.

Another package, delivered to the University of Glasgow yesterday, appears to be linked to the London bombs, with another parcel at Essex University being investigated.

Now that it's proven that the Palakot bombings did not hit their targets, Indian posters are now claiming the strikes were 'just a warning' instead.

New IRA reportedly have recruited up to 200 active members as anger over Brexit continue in Northern Ireland



Hundreds of dissidents are feared to have signed up to a new Republican terror group amid mounting anger over Brexit .

One source told the Mirror that groups including the New IRA have up to 200 active members, including some veteran paramilitaries with years of experience during the Troubles.

Concerns over a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, plus broader concerns over our split from the EU, are feared to have radicalised younger Republicans.

And a source said the New IRA has dozens of new members who have taken the “oath” – based on the text laid out in the old Provisional IRA green book.

The New IRA, blamed for a car bomb in Derry last month, has been handed locations of old IRA arms dumps never disclosed during the decommissioning process after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has called for back-up in the event of a hard border. It is reported 1,000 officers from Scotland and England are being trained for deployment along the border in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

One former Republican commander said: “Dissidents north and south are united in a way not seen before.

"There are around 200 active dissidents with experience and 100 or so auxiliaries.

“There are 500 sworn members. The support network seems solid and rising.

The source said the dissidents are well equipped and have taken steps against infiltration.

They said of the weaponry: ”It’s good quality and there’s plenty of it. They have more gear than people.

"They also have access to large quantities of cash for planning and counter-intelligence. The money comes from smuggling.

“All the signs and rumours are that the News will go for broke in the hours and days after Brexit.”

New IRA agents retrieving firearms, explosives caches from old IRA weapons dumps in anticipation of Brexit




Terrorists calling themselves the new IRA have been seeking out old arms stashes on the Irish border in search of Semtex and machine guns, it has emerged. Sites linked to the Provisional IRA containing arms let over from the Troubles in the 1970s and 80s are being raided bythe new group, The Daily Mirror reports.

One former Republican commander warned that violence will increase if the pro-Irish Nationalist community feel betrayed by a hard Brexit.

A Irish police source told the paper: “For years these people have been essentially a minor threat – dangerous but out of touch with the world and their community.

“We’ve been watching them, so has MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Their organisation is riddled with intelligence officers but it doesn’t stop them.

“They have some people with some expertise and other people who never shed blood in the Troubles but have been essentially radicalised by Brexit.

“Most dangerously they are going out to hunt the old dissident weapons dumps, here in Ireland and in the UK.

“There are around a dozen dumps around and along the border.

“They are in a mixed state, some are totally empty now, others we left undisturbed and monitor remotely.

“The type of arsenal they are looking for are the vaults of Semtex, other explosives and light machine guns which were left behind.

The weapons dumps being sought out by the New IRA are believed to house weapons from the Soviet Union and North Korea bought during the 1980s. The IRA claims it has been totally disarmed based on the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreements, but authorities suspect there are a number of secret weapons caches that were kept hidden from the disarmament inspectors.

This is the usual practice. First make the soldier's gear smaller and lighter, later tell the soldier to carry more.

Studies show modern US soldiers carry more weight than US soldiers during WW2 despite lighter weapons & equipment along with advances in logistics and transport between the two eras.

Malaysian Sikh servicemen come together to celebrate 86th anniversary of the Armed Forces


Sikh officers serving meals to visitors during the event

KUALA LUMPUR: Every year, the army’s Sikh officers and men seek divine blessings in conjunction with Army Day.

They seek blessings not just for themselves, but for all, diligently offering thanksgiving prayers for all races and creed without fail.

This year was no different as they prayed at the Pulapol Gurdawara at the Police Training Centre in Jalan Semarak, held in conjunction with the 86th Army Day.

Present were not only Army personnel, their wives and family members but also those from the police, the Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force and Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veterans Association (MAFSVA).

he most senior serving officer present was the Army Academy’s Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) College director in Port Dickson, Colonel Inderjit Singh, who is also the Army Sikh Officers Association president.

MAFSVA president Baldev Singh said the occasion was an important affair in the army’s calendar of events.

“The Lord’s blessings are always sought to keep our spirits up in defending our motherland, safeguarding its sovereignty and maintaining peace and harmony among the diversified races and religions.

“We are always thankful for the blessings from the Almighty for all He has done for us,” said Baldev.

He added that apart from the physical and mental wellness, the spiritual well-being of soldiers and their kin were pertinent in boosting morale and efficiency.

Despite their dwindling numbers, Baldev said the Sikh community was ever ready to have their youths serve in the army, which was regarded as the bedrock of the nation.

He recounted the services of prominent Sikh officers like Major-General (Rtd) Datuk Ranjit Singh Ramday, who had served as the commander of the army’s 1 Division commander in East Malaysia, and retired brigadier-generals Baljit Singh and Rajbans Singh.

Others present at the thanksgiving ceremony were lieutenant-colonels Jagjit Singh, who is the 7th Brigade’s chief of staff in Kluang, Johor; Army Provost Marshal Staff Officer I Gogisar Singh and his brother Royal Services Corps directorate Staff Officer 2 (doctrine) Gurmit Singh; and 74th battalion Royal Ordnance Corps Batu Cantonment depot, Kuala Lumpur commanding officer Amrit Singh.

TUDM's first female helicopter pilot looks back on a groundbreaking career in the RMAF


Lt Kolonel Horhana with an EC725 helicopter

Lt Kol Norhana Abd Manaf grew up around helicopters, so being the country’s first woman helicopter pilot is especially significant for her.

Near her family home in Hulu Langat, Selangor, was the Higher National Youth Skills Institute where she could see helicopter pilots undergoing their training. Lt Kol Norhana remembers vividly the sound of rotor blades roaring in the sky as the pilots took off and landed.

“My siblings and I would wave at the helicopter from afar. As the helicopter landed, we would run to the field to experience the powerful downwash (wind). I’ve always been in awe of helicopters, from when I was in kindergarten,” she says.

Lt Kol Norhana was the only one among her 15 siblings who joined the armed forces.

“Initially, my father (who worked with the British Army in Singapore) wasn’t too supportive of me joining the army. So I did my diploma in Secretarial Science from UiTM. But after that, Abah finally gave me his blessing and I applied to join the Air Force,”she says.

Lt Kol Norhana, 45, started her training at the Flying Training Centre One, RMAF College in Alor Setar, Kedah, in 1995. Besides flight training, she underwent basic military, parachute and survival training. She was offered a chance to become a jet fighter pilot but turned down the offer.

“I remember my father telling me not to fly too high or fast. So, I chose to fly the helicopter,” she says.

It didn’t take her long to realise that flying a helicopter was a totally new ball game. She learnt skills such as hovering a helicopter and making contingency plans, and memorised the many functions of flight controls.

Lt Kol Norhana earned her wings as a helicopter pilot in 1997. Today, our Air Force has 40 female pilots, including seven helicopter pilots. Many of these women are based at RMAF’s flight training college in Kepala Batas, Penang, and operational squadrons across Malaysia.

“Women are capable of protecting the nation, just like men. There is an increasing number of female military officers who are breaking the glass ceiling in their respective departments,” she says.

Lt Kol Norhana has 1,800 flying hours under her belt as a Nuri and Aerospatiale Alouette III chopper pilot, and has served as an air-force operational pilot/instructor for close to 25 years. Since 2012, she has been stationed at RMAF’s tactical, operations and strategic team at the Defence Ministry in Kuala Lumpur.

Lt Kol Norhana’s core job as a helicopter pilot includes SAR (search and rescue) operations, medical aid services and supporting sister services including Royal Malaysian Navy and army.

“I’ve had a fair share of hurdles. When I became a wing commander, some of my male colleagues wouldn’t listen to my instructions. During my briefing sessions, a number of them would ask difficult question and challenge my aviation knowledge. There were also negative comments when I was pregnant with my first child,” she says.

Instead of being disheartened, Lt Kol Norhana – the mother of four children, aged six to 19 – worked even harder to prove her mettle.

“To keep up to date, I continuously read aviation material and researched the Internet. Most of my male colleagues didn’t realise that by doubting my talents, they made me better in my job. In the long run, they had to work harder to pull up their socks,” she says.


Following in Lt Kolonel Norhana's footsteps, the TUDM now has more than 40 female pilots in service

In the course of her work, Lt Kol Norhana had had her share of hardships. She was once stranded in the jungles of Pahang after her helicopter experienced a technical glitch during a medical aid services mission. Lt Kol Norhana and her crew ended up living among the orang asli community for several days.

“It was an unforgettable experience having to sleep in a bamboo house on stilts and surviving with bare necessities. I also got to see how to live, such as how they enjoy eating boiled tapioca dipped in cough syrup,” she recalls.

Her saddest experience was participating in an SAR mission when her colleagues’ helicopter crashed in 2007. It was Lt Kol Norhana who had spotted the crashed copter’s tail boom amidst the thick jungles of Genting Sempah.

“When I saw the broken tail boom, I knew the possibility to locate any survivors were very slim. It felt painful having to ferry a close colleague’s body back to base,” she says.

Despite the challenges, Lt Kol Norhana is happy she pursued her ambition. “The best bit is being able to serve people from all walks of life, including royalty, natural disaster victims and rural communities. The most important part is returning safely with my crew after each mission. I love my job as it enables me to meet different people from all walks of life.”

Lt Kol Norhana encourages women to challenge themselves to greater heights. “I am living my dream of being a pilot. It’s really exhilarating being high up in the sky and soaking in the view from above. Live your dreams and always soar high to attain greater success,” she recalls.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Mar 13 2019, 11:18 AM

Draken International obtains 22 ex-Spanish Air Force Mirage F-1M fighter planes for aggressor duties



Draken International, the adversary support contractor with the world's largest private tactical jet air force, is working hard to bring their fleet of 22 ex-Spanish Air Force Mirage F-1M fighters to life. They will serve as the backbone of the firm's so called 'fourth generation' fighter threat emulation capability, with features that primarily include a capable air-to-air radar and supersonic performance. Draken aims for the planes to fulfill the ever expanding demand for advanced private adversary support, both at home in the U.S. and abroad.

The second-hand Mirages Draken bought aren't some antiquated slouch of a fighter aircraft. Spain continuously invested in their Mirage F-1M force over the years and they feature pretty much all one would need to step across the threshold into the emerging high-performance, radar-equipped adversary support marketplace. Draken describes the aircraft's current avionics fit as such:

The Spanish Air Force completed a modernization upgrade to the fleet in the late 1990s. The project included a revised cockpit with color LCDs and a Smart HUD from Sextant Avionique, a Sextant inertial navigation system with GPS interface; NATO-compatible Have Quick 2 secure communications; Mode 4 digital IFF; a defensive aids suite; and flight recorders. The radar was upgraded to Cyrano IVM standard, adding sea search and air to ground ranging modes.

The F-1s will join Draken's fleet of over 150 tactical jets, which include A-4 Skyhawks, Atlas Cheetahs, L159 Honey Badgers, L-39s, and MB339s. The company also owns dozens of MiG-21s, although they are not part of the Florida-based firm's regular operations.

The US has two of such companies in fact (Draken and another I forgot already). They only provide training though, to use in aggressor training.

But they do have more fighter jets than most 3rd world countries, it's true.

Just got it, the company is Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC).

They caused a bit of an uproar in the aviation world when bought the entire retired batch of 63 French Armee de l'Air Mirage F-1s back in 2017 when they were replaced with the Eurofighter typhoon.
sos

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Mar 18 2019, 02:58 PM

Dah pakai balaclava pun mata kena censored jugak ke

Russian Spetznaz testing out machine gun ammunition backpack, named SCORPION

A look back in history: Malaysia cancels Tornado jets order


sos

And as we know after this Malaysia puchased the BAe Hawk instead.

A look back in History: Malaysia close to seal A-4 Skyhawk deal



sos

Sekali pegawai-pegawai TUDM pegi boneyard kt US tu nak tengok keadaan Skyhawk tu semua sebelum pembeli tu ambil, bila diorang check dengan registry takde pulak rekod pembelian oleh Malaysia pada 35 kapal terbang Skyhawk tu. So deal tu off la, sebab kita tak boleh buktikan pemilikan 35 kapal terbang tu kepada pembeli.

Untuk context, masa kita beli 88 buah Skyhawk 2nd hand tu under program PERISTA, kita actually ambik 40 buah saja untuk service dengan TUDM. Selebihnya simpan di boneyard kt US untuk reserve & spare parts. Disebabkan rekod perkhidmatan yang buruk, kesemua 40 Skyhawk TUDM tu dihentikan service dalam masa tak sampai 10 tahun. Pastu bila kita nak jual baki Skyhawk yang tinggal kt boneyard tu, terjadi hal ni pulak....

Masalahnya duit masa awal2 beli semua 88 Skyhawk tu, bayar kat siapa? Alahai Malaysiaku

Ala you know I know you know la. Ada negara tu kan x bleh nak tgk malaysia nak maju sikit

Dengar2 dulu bila negara tu dengar malaysia announce nak tubuhkan 10 Briged Para, dia punya protes mcam nak terbalik dunia.


This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Mar 19 2019, 06:41 PM

From my readings, the PERISTA program should have given the MAF a significant boost in terms of equipment and assets, if done correctly. I'm still not sure if its failings were the result of our minister's incompetence, outside pressure trying to keep the MAF down or if the plan was even realistic in the first place.

Whatever it was, the effects of PERISTA purchases is still evident in the MAF today. The ATM's Condors, Sibmas & Scorpions currently serving were all acquired through the program and still going strong. The TUDM's Nuri Helicopters are still operational while the Alouettes, F-5E's and A-4 Skyhawks are all already gone. Meanwhile the TLDM also had the frigates KD Hang Tuah & KD Rahmat retired, with other various warships handed down to the APMM.