^

Has Indonesia paid the arrears/monies owed to the program? And has Indonesia actually placed this program as an item to be approved by the Ministry of Finance for foreign loans 2 be obtained (let alone getting the loans in the first place).

This post has been edited by Mai189: Sep 29 2022, 06:16 PM

No one has any imperialistic designs on Malaysia per se except maybe the islands in the South China Sea.

Visit to MSRF (Sentinel class featured and Maritime Security USV (now armed))

Maritime Security Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) Specifications (variant/s of this USV (optionally armed with anti ship missiles) will be carried by RSNs incoming MRCV heavy frigate/destroyer class).

Length
16.9 metres
Beam
5.2 metres
Displacement
30 tonnes
Speed
In excess of 25 knots
Endurance
In excess of 36 hours
Operators (when operating remotely)
2

Equipment
Strobe Light & Siren
Search Light
Long Range Acoustics Device (LRAD)
12.7mm Stabilised Weapon System with Laser Dazzler
Navigation Radar
Global Positioning System

This post has been edited by Mai189: Sep 29 2022, 07:24 PM

Singapore deployed one of its QRA squadrons yesterday.

Singapore Airlines passenger arrested after allegedly making bomb threat; fighter jets scrambled

The bomb threat was subsequently verified to be false, MINDEF said.

SINGAPORE: Police arrested a 37-year-old man on a Singapore Airlines flight after he allegedly assaulted cabin crew and claimed he had a bomb in his carry-on bag, the police said on Wednesday (Sep 28).

In response to queries from CNA, police said it was alerted at 2.40am to an alleged bomb threat on board flight SQ33 from San Francisco to Singapore.

The man was restrained by the crew, and police subsequently arrested him for making false threats of terrorist acts and for suspected consumption of controlled drugs.

Singapore Airlines said the "unruly" passenger allegedly hit a cabin crew member.

The plane landed safely at Changi Airport at about 5.50am, under the escort of Republic of Singapore Air Force F-16C/D fighter jets, police said.

The aircraft was then taxied to a remote bay for security checks and the passenger was handed over to airport police, Singapore Airlines said. After the security checks were completed, the aircraft was towed to Terminal 3.

Data from air traffic tracking website Flightradar24 shows the plane circling before its descent towards Singapore. No delay in arrival was indicated, with a flight time of 16 hours and 25 minutes recorded.

Personnel from the Airport Police Division and the army’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group were on site to investigate the passenger's claims, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The bomb threat was subsequently verified to be false, MINDEF said.

All passengers and crew disembarked normally at 9.20am, the airline said.

"Singapore Airlines apologises to all affected customers for the inconvenience caused by this incident. We are assisting our customers with the rebooking for any onward connections that they may have missed," the airline said.

"We are assisting the authorities with their investigations and regret that we are unable to provide further details." - CNA

RSAF has repeatedly trained for such scenarios.


This post has been edited by Mai189: Sep 29 2022, 07:58 PM

Singapore's F35 integration plans quickens - building F16V and F35 simulators at CONUS (Continental USA) Ebbing Air National Guard Base





SOS:
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/se...-environmental/

Mai's note: This makes sense as RSAF's F16Vs will not be retired over night but in stages from 2030 onwards as more and more RSAF F35s As/Bs become operational. So eventually, the airbase will house 36 RSAF f35s (the 12 F16V slots will convert to F35 slots). If SG has as many as 36 F35s in CONUS there will typically be about 72-80 F35s in SG itself. Of course, the overseas F35s can be recalled in times of heightened threat.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Oct 1 2022, 06:55 PM

Singapore and Australia concludes Exercise Singaroo 2022 (side-note thousands of SAF troops are in Australia right now for several unilateral/bilateral exercises and reaffirm the defence partnership between the 2 nations (backbone of South East Asia stability as status quo powers.)

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) participated in the bilateral maritime exercise, Exercise Singaroo, from 26 to 29 September 2022 in the Northern Australia Exercise Area off Darwin. The RSN deployed a Formidable-class frigate RSS Steadfast with an embarked Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk naval helicopter and a Victory-class missile corvette RSS Valour, while the RAN participated with a Hobart-class destroyer HMAS Hobart embarked with a MH-60R helicopter. Personnel and assets from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)'s Darwin Detachment 2022 also participated in the exercise with F-15SG and F-16D+ fighter aircraft, a Gulfstream G550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft and an A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport.

During the exercise, the RSN and RAN conducted a series of naval warfare trainings, including air defence exercises, manoeuvring drills and communication drills. This year's exercise also provided significant opportunities for integrated sea-air training which strengthened the interoperability between the RSN and RSAF.

Highlighting the importance of Exercise Singaroo in enhancing cooperation between both navies, Commander 8th Flotilla Colonel Ng Yen Meng said, "Exercise Singaroo is the mainstay exercise for the RSN and RAN. The exercise provides both navies with the opportunity to deepen professional sharing, learn from one another and strengthen our friendships."

Inaugurated in 1995, this year marks the 21st edition of Exercise Singaroo. Exercise Singaroo is one of many bilateral military interactions between the Singapore Armed Forces and the Australian Defence Force. The exercise underscores the close and long-standing defence relations between Singapore and Australia. Both armed forces also interact frequently through multilateral exercises, high-level visits, regular dialogues, professional exchanges and the cross-attendance of courses.






Video of 2020 edition (not this year):

Msia will do well avoid this 4-4.5 gen jet (and avoid being a sucker) and save up for the F35 or later 5th gen jets (and buy it in 2030s)

The Koreas managed to get some inputs on rcs reduction for the air frame from the US which is not as good as the F35/22s and negated by external stores/weapon carriage. The avionics e.g radar (from israel) are inferior to current 4.5 gen jets like the Typhoons, Rafales, F15Sg/QA/EX/F16Vs, etc.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Internatio...own-fighter-jet

This post has been edited by Mai189: Oct 2 2022, 11:18 AM

Thats true. It may well require a generational change or many generations. Even so, Msia shld stick to tried and tested Western vendors with the institutional knowledge of building competent combat jets. And not national projects for which the patents are shared or belong to other countries and/or lack the transparency or moral capacity to acknowledge deficiencies.

Hehehe. Truth out. Go on admire it...

This post has been edited by Mai189: Oct 2 2022, 03:30 PM

Separately almost concurrently, RSN LPDs RSS Endurance and Persistence and RAN's HMAS Adelaide are involved in Exercise Trident 2022:





https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-det...xercise-trident

And separately and almost concurrently, SG conducts Exercise Wallaby 2022 with more than 4000 troops

https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/pho...laby-down-under





They may not be ready to showcase this yet:

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-det...lly-payload-pod

^
Heron 1 UAV carrying

SAR (synthetic aperture radar) / MTI (moving target indicator), EO (electro-optics) ^ -> for multiple tracking of targets over a large battlespace.

Yeah. The Cik SUs can be replaced with F35s as well. The incoming newer F35 engines gives up to 30% additional range, acceleration, thrust, etc. Not unless there is a significant boost to Msian defence budget, Msia should stick to F35s and a LIFT cum light fighter.

More importantly, Msia can have the interoperability she needs with more advanced military powers Australia, UK and Singapore in the FPDA.

Unfortunately, the Russian defence industry died with the sanctions .e.g. no critical chips etc.

And separately and almost concurrently, SG conducts an exercise with Malaysia:

Singapore and Malaysia Air Forces Conclude Bilateral Search and Rescue Exercise

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) successfully conducted the fourth edition of the annual bilateral Search-and-Rescue Exercise (SAREX) MALSING. Held from 28 September to 1 October at Kuantan Air Base (KAB), Malaysia, this year's edition saw the inaugural participation of the RSAF's H225M helicopter in an overseas exercise. This is also the first SAREX MALSING that both services' personnel could resume in-person interactions and exchanges since the onset of COVID-19.1

The four-day exercise involved Search-and-Rescue (SAR) aircrew, ground crew and medical teams from both the RSAF and RMAF. The exercise participants planned and executed joint SAR operations off the north-western coast of Tioman, based on a simulated aerial mishap scenario. SAR teams from both air forces conducted aerial searches for survivors, and evacuated simulated casualties for immediate medical care. In addition, the RSAF and RMAF personnel discussed procedures for joint SAR operations. These activities enhanced cooperation between both air forces in areas of mutual interest, and fostered professional interaction between their personnel.

Chief of Staff – Air Staff of the RSAF, Brigadier-General (BG) Lau Boon Ping and Deputy Chief of the RMAF, Lieutenant General (LG) Dato' Indera Hj Muhamad Norazlan bin Aris co-officiated the opening ceremony of SAREX MALSING on 28 September. Speaking at the ceremony, BG Lau said, "In Search-and-Rescue operations, mere seconds could be the difference between life and death. Given Singapore and Malaysia's geographical proximity, there are opportunities for both air forces to coordinate their efforts to enhance the overall effectiveness of Search-and-Rescue operations."

This bilateral exercise underscores the warm and long-standing defence relations between Singapore and Malaysia. In addition to SAREX MALSING, the RSAF and RMAF also interact regularly across a wide range of activities, including bilateral visits and professional exchanges, as well as multilateral activities under the ambit of the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

SOS: Sg Mindef



This post has been edited by Mai189: Oct 3 2022, 01:23 PM

Singapore and Brunei conclude six-day bilateral naval exercise


SINGAPORE, Oct 8 (The Straits Times/ANN): The Singapore and Brunei navies have concluded their flagship bilateral exercise, which involved the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) F-16 fighter jets for the first time.

Two of the F-16s took part in air defence drills as part of Exercise Pelican, which was held from Monday to Saturday.

This was the 40th time the exercise has been held since it began in 1979.

Exercise Pelican is an annual exercise that enhances mutual cooperation, understanding and interoperability between the navies of Singapore and Brunei, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday.

It underscores the close and long-standing defence ties between the countries, Mindef added.

During the exercise, the navies conducted a range of training activities from Thursday to Friday, including gunnery firing, air defence, manoeuvring and communication drills within international waters in the southern reaches of the South China Sea.

On Monday, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Fleet Commander Rear-Admiral (RADM) Sean Wat and Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) Fleet Commander Captain Khairil Haji Abdul Rahman co-officiated the opening ceremony of Exercise Pelican at Changi Naval Base, where they jointly unveiled a commemorative logo for the exercise's 40th edition.

"Both navies have derived good value from Exercise Pelican, and the exercise has remained a cornerstone of our bilateral relations," he added.

Commenting on the significance of Exercise Pelican, Captain Khairil said: "Ex Pelican to me is a living proof of RBN and RSN's relationship and remarkable friendship.

"Exercise Pelican has evolved to a complex warfare serial, in which this year for the series of Exercise Pelican will include the participation of F-16 fighters from the Republic of Singapore Air Force."

This year's exercise also involved the RSAF's Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft, RSN's Formidable-class frigate RSS Formidable and Victory-class missile corvette RSS Vigilance, as well as Brunei's Darussalam-class patrol vessel KDB Darussalam and Ijtihad-class fast patrol boat KDB Syafaat.

The last edition of the exercise, held in July 2020, was conducted in the Philippines Sea with no physical interaction between sailors from both navies due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.defencetalk.com/south-korea-us-...rea-test-79477/



This post has been edited by Mai189: Oct 8 2022, 08:04 PM

Israel Successfully Tests Advanced Anti-ship Missile System
The 'Gabriel 5' missile system will 'help protect Israel's strategic assets,' the military said following the test conducted by the navy

Israel successfully tested a new ship-to-ship missile system called "Gabriel 5" which was fired from a Sa'ar 6-class corvette of the Israeli Navy, the INS Oz.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the test was conducted in order to "see how the ship can deal with different threats by using new and advanced weaponry."

The "Gabriel 5" is an advanced ship-to-ship missile system capable of reaching various targets hundreds of kilometers away. The military added that the system can "help protect Israel's strategic assets" – an apparent reference to the Karish natural gas field which has become a target of Hezbollah. The IDF added that the successful test of the system will pave the way towards installing it on all Sa'ar 6 ships for operational use.

Although Israel is optimistic it will reach a U.S.-brokered deal with Lebanon regarding the maritime dispute, the security establishment is concerned that Lebanon-based Hezbollah will attempt to target the Karish rig.

Israel has beefed up its forces around the Karish gas field over the summer, following the downing of four Hezbollah drones over the Mediterranean Sea.

One drone was shot down over Lebanon’s territorial waters in late June, and did not pose danger to Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. A few days later, on July 2, the IDF successfully intercepted three Hezbollah drones over the Mediterranean.

The three drones were shot down by fighter jets and the Israeli Navy's Barak interception system. The military believes that the drones were not armed, and did not pose a risk to the country or to the gas field.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-09...9b-5ffe66330000

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

Gabriel 5=Sea Serpent=Blue Spear





They are the same land attack cum anti-ship missile.





I have not seen a Western missile with such a long sea skimming range or low profile mode i.1. 290km (no booster): https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/dsei-2...i-ship-missile/

Interestingly, ST and IAI or Proteus has opted to use the max range of 290km (no booster) thereabout in its marketing materials - likely to keep to global Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) guidelines.

Or that as OEM missile manufacturers, they will only sell Gabriel 5/Blue Spear/Sea Serpent with a reduced range i.e. 290km (without booster) or max 300km limit (with booster (reduced fuel so that it does not breach the 300km ceiling)).

Read more on MTCR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_Techn..._Control_Regime

However, Singapore and Israel as OEM manufacturers can deploy the same missile with its max range of 400km i.e. mixed high-low profile.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Oct 9 2022, 01:46 PM

The Gabriel 5/Blue Spear/Sea Serpent missile defeated Kongsberg NSM, MBDA Exocet, Boeing Harpoon, Saab RBS15 Mk4 missiles in Finland navy's competition to replace its old RBS 15 missiles.



https://www.edrmagazine.eu/finnish-navy-unv...ti-ship-missile

Manufacturers and current users: Israel (manufacturer), Singapore (manufacturer), Finland and Estonia

Israel and Singapore likely turned down Ukraine's request to buy the Blue Spear recently as it can virtually destroy the Black Sea Fleet and inland critical infrastructure (like Tomahawk cruise missiles):

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/05/blue-sp...ive-to-ukraine/

This post has been edited by Mai189: Oct 9 2022, 02:16 PM

^
Reliable and affordable plane in use by the Turkish navy, Italian coast guard and Nigerian navy. I did not realise it is rather small. This is the non ASW version. There ought to be 2 to 4 usable hardpoints which can carry torps/missiles compared to 11 for the P8 Poseidon MPA.





Credit: Naval Recognition

But when it comes to MPAs, it is less the plane but more of the systems carried. Also, weapons need not be carried by the same platform but with other shooters - a direction Msia should head into. The pinoys are buying the same platform.

I suspect that Msia middle men sharks will eat into the systems to be carried and weigh down on the project and implementation even if it is only for 2 planes.

This post has been edited by Mai189: Oct 10 2022, 12:01 PM

The CN235 conversion was arranged and paid for by the US. Not exactly what Msia wants.