Saudi Tornado shot down over Yemen

A Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) combat aircraft was lost during operations over Yemen on 14 February.

The twin-seat Panavia Tornado IDS strike aircraft came down at 23.45 local time while conducting a close air support mission in support of Yemeni National Army operations in the Al Jouf governate of Yemen, the spokespersons for the Saudi-led coalition reported.

Unverified infrared footage of the incident released by Houthi forces shows the aircraft being hit by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). The footage appeared to show the pilot and weapon systems operator ejecting, and images purported to show one of the two crewmembers, on the ground and alive but seriously injured, have been posted on social media.
https://www.janes.com/article/94346/saudi-t...down-over-yemen

BAE Systems flies PHASA-35 solar-powered HALE UAV

BAE Systems has flown the PHASA-35 solar-powered high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can remain aloft for up to a year, the company announced on 17 February.

The company said that the successful flight trials took place at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Woomera Test Range in South Australia, although it did not note the duration of this milestone.

The achievement came about 20 months after BAE Systems revealed the Persistent High-Altitude Solar Aircraft (PHASA) concept it was developing in partnership with UK company, Prismatic, which it later acquired. As well as the PHASA-35, Prismatic has also been involved in the development of the Airbus Zephyr HALE UAV.

Boeing Defence Australia to overhaul Malaysian Hornets

https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/b...laysian-hornets

JF 17 block c

RPG already bought from Paki instead of Ruskie....
this is existing, not new supply line

owai

Bila ATM nak kena mobilize ni?

Member2 polis kata dah ready tunggu order standby 1 je. Keluar order je diorg  terus naik lori.

Diorg ramai kata last time kena order standby 1 masa Bersih mula2 dulu tu. Memang kena prepare untuk any eventuality, dorg kata semua anggota armed pastu 1 in 10 men akan equip dgn MP5.

One of the U.S. Navy’s latest fast attack submarines, the USS Colorado, recently returned from its maiden deployment. Homecoming photos show that large sections of the stealth coating have come off.

This issue is not new. Last September a whistleblower accused a U.S. shipbuilder of falsifying quality tests on the stealth coating. Whether or not quality control is an issue, the coatings are evidently still falling off.

USS Colorado (SSN 788) is the 15th Virginia Class submarine, and the fifth of the enhanced Block-III model. She was launched on March 17, 2018, so she is still considered new. And this was her first deployment. Significantly, she was built at a different shipyard than the one in the whistleblower case. This shows that problems with the coating are wider than that one complaint.

A certain amount of understanding is needed on this topic. The stealth coatings, known as anechoic coatings or as Special Hull Treatment in the U.S. Navy, are an engineering challenge. They work by absorbing sound waves from sonar, which is one way submarines are detected and tracked. But the coatings need to stay attached in some of the most challenging environments on earth. The hull of the submarine, despite being made of super-strong steel, flexes as the submarine goes deep. And the coating is exposed to temperature changes.

The U.S. Navy sends its submarines on longer patrols and in harsher conditions than most navies so the problem is exacerbated. According to an official press release, the Colorado steamed approximately 39,000 nautical miles during the deployment. That is roughly equal to sailing twice around the world.

We know that she has been in harsh northern waters. Although her exact route and activities are classified, it was reported that she crossed into the Arctic Circle. And she conducted port visits to Haakonsvern in Norway and Faslane in Scotland.

Based on open sources I have seen, when she pulled in to Faslane on January 10, most of the visible holes in the coating were already there. But at least one small section has come off since leaving Scotland.

The U.S. Navy is not alone in having challenges with its stealth coatings. The Royal Navy, which deploys in similar patterns, often has parts of the coating come off. And the Russian Navy, which operates in the harsh Arctic, faces similar problems. Their challenges are further exacerbated by the titanium hulls of some of its submarines, which appears to be even harder to stick the coating to.

So next time you see a submarine with visible scars where the coating has come off, realize that it is a common problem which reflects the hard operating conditions. A fix may be in the works.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/...s/#4003a852454a

Same2 je bah....

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh to Muslim
& Good day to the rest

APC vs Heavy tank
at Syria

Malaysian army can learn something
from here.

dun bodo send tank without either infantry or aerial support

Perhap,
how to move the APC
without getting shot directly
by heavy tank?

In war,
you need to be creative.

Thank you
for the good explanation.

NO MORE MAT SABU AS MENHAN !!!

     

ismail sabri yaakob as new menhan🤔🤔

Pentagon and Lockheed Martin in fight over F-35 FRACAS data, says former programme official

The Pentagon wants a specific set of data from Lockheed Martin if it is to consider entering a performance-based logistics (PBL) arrangement for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), according to a former programme official.

A failure reporting, analysis, and corrective action system (FRACAS) provides a process for reporting, classifying, and analysing failures, as well as planning corrective action in response to those failures. The former official told Jane's on 9 March that FRACAS data covers operational and maintenance (O&M) data, such as mean time between failure, not just at the aircraft level but two, three, and even four subsystems and tiers below.

For example, FRACAS data covers average time between failure data such as how specific systems and components perform on a day-to-day basis, how often a radar breaks, how often certain parts need to be repaired, and how often they are taken off the aircraft. This data could allow the Pentagon's Joint Program Office (JPO) to identify components that were supposed to have 10,000 hours of life but instead have only 5,000 hours of life, as well as parts that take much longer to repair compared with what standard repair manuals claim.

The problem, the former programme official said, is that Lockheed Martin claims that this data is their intellectual property (IP), and therefore owns the rights to it unless the Pentagon pays for it. The former official disagreed with this assessment, saying that IP is restricted to the design of the aircraft and its engineering, which the Pentagon can never own, and not FRACAS data.
https://www.janes.com/article/94828/pentago...gramme-official

Russia rebuts claims that Indonesia has dropped Su-35 fighter procurement plans

The Indonesian Air Force's (Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Udara: TNI-AU's) planned procurement of Sukhoi Su-35 'Flanker-E' multirole combat aircraft from Russia is still "active", Dmitry Shugayev, the director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS), said on 16 March, denying media reports that Jakarta, under US pressure, has dropped a deal to buy 11 of the Russian-made fighters.

"There is no official cancellation of the [Indonesian] order [for the Su-35s]," Shugayev told the Russia 24 news channel. "We haven't received any papers regarding the issue and haven't been told about it."

Shugayev said Indonesia is still interested in acquiring the Su-35s, adding, "We hope that the contract will be implemented." No further details were provided.

Bloomberg had quoted an unnamed official "familiar with the matter" on 12 March as saying that Jakarta had recently decided against moving ahead with the plan to procure the 11 fighter aircraft for about USD1.1 billion.

The official was also quoted as saying that, as recently as February, Washington had also pressured Indonesia into walking away from talks with China to procure several naval patrol vessels for about USD200 million, adding that the moves "illustrate how the US is having some success - at times by using financial and economic levers - in deterring countries from dealing with Russia and China, which the [Donald] Trump administration has identified as the biggest threats to US national security".

Jane's reported in November 2019 that Indonesia's procurement of the Su-35s had stalled due to several factors, including the Indonesian presidential election held in April of that year, funding and countertrade issues, and concerns in Jakarta about US legislation - notably the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) - under which Washington seeks to penalise defence customers of Russia
https://www.janes.com/article/94907/russia-...ocurement-plans

WASHINGTON — The German air force will reportedly buy up to 90 Eurofighters, 30 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and 15 EA-18G Growlers to replace the remainder of its Panavia Tornado fighter jet fleet, but the split procurement doesn’t offer an easy answer for Germany’s requirement to field a nuclear-capable jet, a U.K. defense think tank said.

Germany plans to use the Super Hornet, made by U.S. aerospace company Boeing, to fill a NATO requirement to field fighter aircraft capable of dropping the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, according to German business publication Handelsblatt, which first reported the split buy. It will also buy Growlers to replace the Tornados that carry out an electronic attack role.

However, only the legacy F/A-18 Hornet — not the Super Hornet — was ever certified to carry the B61, wrote Justin Bronk, a research fellow with the Royal United Services Institute, a U.K. based thinktank that covers defense issues. That means that the Super Hornet will have to go through the certification process, said Bronk, who called the split buy “the worst of all previously mooted outcomes.”

Boeing spokesman Justin Gibbons said that while the Super Hornet is not yet certified to carry the B61, the company has the U.S. government’s support for future integration.

“The F/A-18 Super Hornet is capable of being certified to meet B61 requirements for Germany under its timeline. Boeing has a proven track record of successfully integrating weapons systems that meet the needs of both U.S. and international customers,” he said. Gibbons declined to comment on the timing of Germany’s deadline for competitive reason
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2...e-tornado-jets/