Separately, Warzone had pointed at Singapore on an unique more powerful special F35 variant:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43671...the-stealth-jet

Actually, Saf had shared definitive deadlines for some e.g. MRCV - first ship in 2025 or OPVs/light frigates - first ship in 2026. Not harm and you won't be far wrong from estimating the rest. Some like midlife update to the F15Sgs is a given ( no one expects them to replace the F15Sgs so soon).

Not so on Indo.

They have a unique (to put it mildly) system of letting the whole world know their intents or perhaps interest.

The follow-up is left wanting due to conflicting plans, insufficient funds, infighting amongst govt branches, etc.

The last time I brought this up, some folks find it a little hard to believe - many of Indos cited procurement are dead in the water - need resuscitation or in trouble. I'll name some - Arrowhead, F15ID, fixes for Korean submarine, fixes for PT PAL unstable ships (design issues), the Korean stealth fighter, etc.

Many of these programs will fade into nothing. Occasionally, you will hear some news about them on the latter being ongoing but never finished.

The heart of collective SEA defence to me is FPDA - linked as it is to mutual defence treaties or arrangements to greater powers tying them to SEA defence e.g. Anzac treaty with the US or Sg's Strategic Cooperation Agreement with the US.

Build upon that. Forget about pre biases as the old guard is almost gone. It is a new world.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Feb 26 2023, 12:15 PM

I am a realist who likes connecting dots. Fun! You think the defence establishments tasked to do this in the countries concerned arent doing the same.

When was there a ban for Sinkie into semenanjung? You mean OZ aircraft can simply fly into Msian airspace? IADS Butterworth had relied on RSAF when there arent enough air frames available to intercept intruders into Msian airspace. OZ cannot afford to station her combat jets in meaningful numbers anywhere without sacrificing the defence of the Australian mainland.

ASEAN cannot be together one...too many in ASEAN are China's surrogates. If Msia doesnt keep Sg and OZ + UK and NZ in her orbit on defence, ASEAN will be worse off.

Some of SAF timelines:



https://www.mindef.gov.sg/web/portal/pionee...019-Q2/apr19_cs



https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/n...illa-rsn-432976

Not exactly privileged information.

Taking pot shots again. That is why your views are often twisted.

And... bringing up an old issue I see..

You like to take pot shots when it suits you often with zero context. How one country manages its serial numbers may not be the same as how another does it. Minimally, I put related sources for reference for you to make up your own minds.

Ive said it before. Your emotions are getting the better of you. So grow up!

Oh really! This was done and over it. And here you are resuscitating it again. You! And what is this? Threats? Grow up!

No one is asking you to pour your emotions all over the forum if you choose to disagree. It is your business to disagree or not. Or anyone for that matter. But if you choose to whine about it and take pot shots out of now where then get shit on your face - as Ive said it before.

Ive been very polite with you but I do not take back stabs too kindly. What detente? Grow up!

Snarky!

Something wrong with your eyes as always. Youre the rabble rouser.

Nothing much! Just telling the forum to give you a digital bloody nose if you start making threats online again.

Thank you. Yes. Snarky! Thats what I want to reinforce.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Feb 26 2023, 03:04 PM

Hunter AFV variant with new side skirt armour was shown at IDEX 2023 - Looks sleek + Terrex 3

Yet another UGV from ST Engineering:



And a new Vanguard 130 frigate variant + new USV + Endurance 170 LHD + hospital ship at Navdex 2023:





Source: ST Eng facebook

Note: ST's nomenclature for ships i.e. Endurance 140 - refers to a baseline ship design of between 140m to 149/150m in length. RSN's Endurance 140 class LPDs is about 142m. A Vanguard 130 would refer to a ship of between 130m to 139/140m in length.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Feb 26 2023, 08:03 PM

Yet another Vanguard 130 variant in pdf:

https://www.stengg.com/media/i3phxvvt/vangu...atasheet_r2.pdf

Will this turn out to be a basis for the MRCV? I am inclined not to agree.

Whilst ST will build the MRCVs similar to the LMVs and Formidable classes, both latter ships had external design components - DCNS in the case of the Formidable (for stealth knowledge then) and SAAB (for composite materials then) in the case of the LMV - I suppose with some tech transfer so that ST enhanced its own knowledge base. Furthermore, I remember reading that Singapore stretched the original length of the Formidable design by some 4+ metres.

But this baseline design is indicative of ST's preparedness to commence building on the MRCV on its own. And the final design, when revealed soon, I reckon, will be a hybrid of ST + some foreign manufacturer design. Akan datang at around 2025 so construction has to start soon.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Feb 26 2023, 06:25 PM

Lol.. why UAVs/UASs are better used for communications, intelligence gathering and surveillance from on high.


Against a higher tech opponent with good electronic warfare, anti-air capabilities and simply dominating air force, UCAVS are not useful. This also explains why stand-off single use kamikaze UAVs are proliferating and UAS are getting smaller to evade detection.

-----------------------------------

What is an average lifespan of a military drone in Ukraine?

Military drones are substantially different from their civilian counterparts in one key aspect: they are designed to be expendable. But for how long do they serve until they are destroyed?

Of course, not all unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are identical. For example, more complex reconnaissance-oriented autonomous flyers are intended to have a much longer service life, while the simplest models – so-called loitering munitions – rarely live beyond their first mission.

Here we do not mention highly-advanced armed military drones which cost millions – they are a separate category, as their price basically matches the cost of a jet fighter.

In any case, armed forces need large numbers of drones in their service, and even the most expensive models enter the “zone of risk” as soon as they start performing their flights on a battlefield.

Lessons from the war in Ukraine

This year – since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine – clearly demonstrated the rapidly changing landscape of military operations, mainly impacted by the wide-scale use of unmanned systems. If we take into account the fact that all military UAVs are destined to be destroyed sooner or later, how many of them are required to ensure the optimal performance of the armed forces?

The number of UAVs required by the Ukrainian military to ensure the effective defense of the country’s territory was recently estimated by the London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Their report was published after the first five months of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“The main lesson of Ukraine is that armies need more drones than they think,” the authors of the study concluded.

Lifespan of military drones
What does this mean from a practical perspective? For how long do drones last until they are destroyed?

Analysts provided some specific data, which is also very interesting and useful. For example, the lifespan of a UAV unit strongly depends on its type:

A fixed-wing military drone lasts on the battlefield for about six flights.

A typical quadcopter lasts only for three flights.

This does not seem like much. But nonetheless, drones play a critically important role – which is even more vital in reconnaissance missions, not in direct-strike operations. The study determined that:

Aerial intelligence-gathering missions using a specialized UAV need just 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, without drones, soldiers need at least 30 minutes or even more to get the same data – which, of course, quickly loses its value over time.

According to the current statistics provided by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as of December 1, the invading Russian forces lost 1,562 operational-tactical military drones to Ukrainian air defenses.

https://www.technology.org/2022/12/01/what-...one-in-ukraine/

This post has been edited by Mai189: Feb 26 2023, 08:49 PM

Jane's projections in USD dollars.

Singapore boosts 2023 defence budget by nearly 6%
by Jon Grevatt & Andrew MacDonald Feb 27, 2023, 08:50 AM

Janes Defence Budgets forecasts that Singapore's defence budget will continue its upward trend between 2023 and the end of the decade. (Janes Defence Budgets)

Singapore has announced a 2023 defence budget of SGD17.98 billion (USD13.4 billion). The figure is a 10% increase over the original budget for 2022 and a 5.6% increase over the revised allocation of SGD17.02 billion.

The defence expenditure for 2023 includes SGD17.11 billion for operations, a 4.2% increase. Most of this – or SGD17.04 billion – is directed towards the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

The Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said the SAF allocation will pay for the purchase of military equipment, maintenance of equipment and camps, and allowances and salaries. It said the SAF allocation increases by nearly SGD694 million compared with the revised expenditure in 2022.

The 2023 budget also includes SGD871.3 million for development expenditure, an increase of 43%. MINDEF said the strong increase is partly due to the resumption of projects previously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

MINDEF added that the resumption of military activities previously stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic also prompted an increase in 2022's original defence budget. “Heightened inflationary pressures” in development projects, operations, and training also prompted the budgetary increase, it said.

No additional spending details were provided by MINDEF.

On 24 February, the Singapore government said it would exercise an option to acquire eight additional short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL)-capable Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter aircraft in addition to the initial four airframes of the type that it agreed to procure in 2019. The F-35Bs will replace the SAF's F-16s, which are expected to be retired from the mid-2030s.

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-det...get-by-nearly-6

Iron beam is a CRAM/CWIS that can function on its own and/or complements the Iron dome CRAM/Shorad system i.e. beneath Iron domes defensive layer. It was shown during the recent IDEX 2023 and in Singapore in 2022 if I'm not wrong




It can even target and destroy hypersonic missiles and may well be the best defence available against maneuvering hypersonic missiles if the latter leaks through other layers of air defence systems.

An US version has already been tested on ships.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Feb 28 2023, 07:16 PM

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto has expressed full support for military cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and respect for sovereignty.

Subianto conveyed his support while receiving a courtesy call from the chief of the Singaporean Defense Force, Lieutenant General Melvyn Ong, at the Ministry of Defense Building here on Monday.

During the meeting, the two discussed the military cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore that has been established in various fields and ways to strengthen it.

Subianto said he is optimistic that, after the implementation of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between Indonesia and Singapore, defense interaction and cooperation between the two countries will improve.

This would also lead to the improvement of the two countries' defense human resources.

Subianto emphasized that the Ministry of Defense is committed to improving the existing defense cooperation between the two countries to ensure peace in the region and in the world.

The bilateral defense cooperation is expected to grow further and become more mutually beneficial, thereby contributing to the region's stability, he remarked.

One of the priorities of Indonesia and Singapore's defense cooperation is education. The Ministry of Defense will develop more intensive cooperation in that field.

Meanwhile, an annual forum for Indonesia-Singapore defense cooperation will be formed soon and a military sub-committee will be a part of it.

The two countries' armed forces are expected to use the forum for further discussions on military cooperation in various fields and to forge new collaborations.

Subianto and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar inked a defense cooperation action plan between Indonesia and Turkiye in Bakanliklar, Ankara, on Friday.

https://en.antaranews.com/news/274017/fully...ration-subianto

Top left....

This post has been edited by Mai189: Mar 2 2023, 01:56 PM

You cant blame military readers can you when the payment is via loans which may or may not be obtainable (even after the incumbent Govt has decided on the payment type) + all the other "claimed" procurement which never really took place or suspended in the air.


Indonesia National Government Debt (owed by the Indonesian government specifically) reached $ 517.7 USD billion in Jan 2023. The data reached an all-time high of $ 517.7 USD bn in Jan 2023 and a record low of $ 157.0 USD bn in Jun 2009.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Mar 11 2023, 09:35 PM

Now why would they want 2 "relatively" new 500+ ton patrol vessels?

Indonesia and Singapore may want Brunei to pull its own weight in the seas around Natuna against you know who. There is some sort of joint coordination between Indonesia and Singapore there as Ive read.

These vessels have high levels of automation + they can be equipped with French Exocet Blk 1C or US Harpoon or Singapore's Blue Spear surface to surface missiles + point defence SAMs e.g. mistral 3 (7km+ range) or Barak 1 (>12km - Singapores outgoing Victory class corvettes are quipped with 16 Barak 1 vertically launched missiles. Barak 1 also has a limited local area defence capability against air and surface targets). Singapore can certainly make these upgrades for Brunei.

In future, Brunei (pursuant to the familiarity of using a Singaporean system) may opt for something larger like the Al-Ofouq class made by Singapore for Oman:

https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/2652293

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ofouq-class_patrol_vessel

This post has been edited by Mai189: Mar 11 2023, 08:03 PM