27 Juli 2020
Hanwha Red Back tracked armored vehicle (all photos : Yonhap)
CHANGWON, South Korea, (Yonhap) -- Hanwha Defense Co., a South Korean defense manufacturer, said Sunday it will deliver the prototypes of its newly developed armored vehicle to Australia as part of its bid for Canberra's US$4.6 billion project to buy new infantry fighting vehicles.
Three trial products of the new model, dubbed "Redback," will be sent, with two of them set to depart from the port of Pyeongtaek on the west coast Tuesday and to arrive in Melbourne in late August, according to the company.
The remaining unit will be sent later this year, the company said.
Redback is one of the two candidates on the shortlist for Australia's Land 400 Phase 3 project to introduce some 400 new tracked armored vehicles. Hanwha signed a $50 million risk mitigation activity (RMA) contract with Australia in October to provide three prototype vehicles for tests and evaluations.
The other contender is Germany's Rheinmetall Defence Electronics.
Australia will review the new vehicles for 10 months starting November and select the successful bidder by the end of 2022 following additional negotiations and consultations, Hanwha said.
The 40-ton Redback is capable of carrying 11 people -- three crew and eight foot soldiers -- with a maximum speed of 65 kilometers per hour.
The company said it has reduced the overall weight of the vehicle compared to other armored cars and focused on belly protection against landmines and bomb attacks.
"The weight of an armored vehicle usually increases when the defense capabilities are enhanced, but we have applied cutting-edge technologies to improve the protection capabilities without increasing the weight as much," An Byung-chul, the company's vice president in charge of business development in Europe and Australia, told reporters at one of its factories in Changwon, 400 km south of Seoul.
"We will make best efforts to become the final bidder by demonstrating the superiority of our land systems capability and development experience," Hanwha Defense CEO Lee Sung-soo said.
(Yonhap)
26 Juli 2020
KRI Teluk Jakarta 541 LST (photo : BertuahPos)
A shocking news for the military, when the Indonesian Navy revealed details of the recent lander sinking and they also statistics that in the past 8 years, the Navy has lost at least 7 warships.
KRI Teluk Berau 534 LST (photo : Ivan Meshkov)
Recently, the Indonesian Navy has revealed some details about the sinking of the amphibious ship, "KRI Teluk Jakarta 541", with the serial number 541 of the Indonesian Navy on July 14.
On July 12, ship 541 left Surabaya port to deliver supplies to a naval base in eastern Indonesia; By July 14, when the ship approached the northeastern part of the Kangean Islands, it had unfavorable weather conditions (wave height from 2.5 to 4 m) which caused water to flood the ship, but the crew could not overcome.
KRI Teluk Peleng 535 LST (photo : Medcom)
Soon, the engine room was flooded and the speed decreased, eventually unable to withstand, the 541 ship sank to the bottom of the 90 m deep at 9 pm that day.
All 55 sailors aboard the lander 541 were rescued, 54 of them were rescued by the container ship "Tanto Sejahtera", the other one was rescued by the civil transport ship "Dobonsolo"; 55 sailors were later transferred to the frigate "KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata 332" that the Indonesian Navy sent to rescue.
KRI Sibarau 847 Patrol Ship (photo : Beritatrans)
The landing ship 541 was built by the VEB Peenewerft shipyard Wolgast, of the Democratic Republic of Germany in 1979 and is one of the 12 amphibious ships of Project 108 (NATO code name "Frosch I"). After the unification of Germany in 1993, these 12 ships and 2 other supply ships were acquired by Indonesia.
In November 2013, a ship of the same type as ship 541 had sunk, "KRI Teluk Peleng 535" crashed into a concrete pier; In addition, another ship of the same class, "KRI Teluk Berau-534", has been out of service since 2012, and later became the target of anti-ship missiles in a live-fire and sunk exercise.
KRI Rencong 622 FAC-M (photo : Antara)
In recent years, the Indonesian naval accident rate has remained high, on September 11, 2018, the "KRI Rencong 622" fast attack missile ship, caught fire and sank to the sea floor near Sorong, West Papua province.
The KRI Rencong-622 is a Mandau-class fast-attack missile ship, built in South Korea in 1979. Indonesia has four of these, numbered from 621 to 624 and equipped by the Indonesian Navy with Chinese-built C705 missile on this class.
KRI Pati Unus 384 ASW corvette (photo : Indian Navy)
On May 30, 2016, the corvette "KRI Pati Unus 384" collided with a shipwreck, resulting in partial damage to the hull and floodwater; KRI Pati Unus eventually sank half and considered this ship was also disinherited due to irreparable.
In December 2017, an Indonesian naval patrol boat KRI Sibarau 847 sank in a storm due to engine failure in the Malacca Strait. All the defenders on board were rescued.
KRI Klewang 625 FAC-M (photo : Antara)
On September 28, 2012, the stealthy destroyer "KRI Klewang 625" of the Indonesian Navy suddenly caught fire at Banyuwangi naval base in East Java. In addition, in recent years, some Indonesian navy ships have sunk due to the fire.
As a maritime country, Indonesia attaches great importance to developing its navy; However, with only 8 years, the navy lost at least 7 warships, greatly affecting its ambition to modernize its navy.
(KienThuc)
26 Juli 2020
The MSDM will not provide total protection, but it will raise the bar for air defenses and allow the U.S. Air Force to plan missions against targets which might otherwise be out of reach (images : AFRL)
Raytheon Wins $375M Contract For Miniature Self-Defense Missile For Jets
U.S. Air Force jets will defend themselves with a pint-sized new weapon designed to take out anti-aircraft missiles before they get too close. Raytheon has been awarded the contract with delivery of the first missile for flight testing due in 2023.
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s munitions directorate launched the Miniature Self-Defense Missile (MSDM) program in 2015. Boeing and Lockheed Martin submitted proposals at earlier stages of the project, but Raytheon, with a long history of missile development, won out.
Currently incoming missiles can be lured away from their target with flares, chaff, or infra-red lasers, but rather than decoying, the MSDM is designed to destroy. The radar guided MDSM is a kinetic weapon, homing in on an incoming missile and taking it out by direct impact rather than an explosive warhead. Lockheed had previously looked at using an active millimeter wave radar developed for the PAC-3 Patriot missile. Raytheon has not commented on its own design.
The advantage of a miniature missile is that large numbers can be carried; it will be intercepting missiles close to the launch aircraft so it does not require long range. The MSDM will be about a meter long, making it a fraction of the size of the Air Force’s smallest existing air-to-air missile, the three-meter AIM-9X Sidewinder, which also happens to be a Raytheon product. One proposal has three MSDM replacing a single AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile (yes, also Raytheon).
“The MSDM will support miniaturized weapon capabilities for air superiority by enabling close-in platform self-defense and penetration into contested A2/AD environment with little to no impact to payload capacity,” according to a DoD press release.
See full article Forbes
26 Juli 2020
Batch four of MPAC (photo : PNA)
MANILA –The Philippine Navy (PN) will integrate the Rafael Advanced Defense Ltd. Spike-ER (extended range) surface-to-surface missile system on three more multi-purpose attack craft (MPAC) by the first quarter of 2021.
"The Spike-ER (missile system) will be integrated by the first quarter of 2021," Navy public affairs office chief Lt. Commander Maria Christina Roxas said in a message to the Philippine News Agency Tuesday night when asked for updates on the modernization project.
Roxas also confirmed that the delivery of the weapon systems is scheduled for the last quarter of this year.
The three MPACs where the Spike-ER missile system will be fitted were activated on Sept. 23, 2019, bringing the number of these attack boats in PN service to 12.
At present, three of these MPACs are now armed with Spike-ER missiles.
The Spike-ER system, which arrived in the Philippines in April 2018, is the PN's first missile weapon capable of penetrating 1,000-mm (39 inches) of rolled homogeneous armor and has a range of eight kilometers.
These MPACs are capable of running at speeds of 30 to 45 knots.
(PNA)
26 Juli 2020
Kendaraan taktis Maung 4x4 (all photos : Kompas)
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Kendaraan taktis (Rantin) garapan PT Pindad (Persero) akan segera memasuki fase produksi untuk kebutuhan militer. Meski masih prototipe, namun dari segi desain dikabarkan tidak akan mengalami ubahan, begitu juga dari sisi performa.
Seperti diketahui, Pindad menggarap Maung dengan menginstal mesin berkubikasi 2.400 cc turbodiesel. Mesin yang belakangan diketahui milik Toyota Hilux tersebut, mampu memproduksi tenaga hingga 149 tk serta menghasilkan torsi sebesar 400 Nm yang disalurkan ke penggerak 4x4 melalui transmisi manual enam percepatan.
Lantas apakah nantinya Pindad akan menggandeng Toyota sebagai penyedia mesin badak untuk Maung?
Menjawab ini, Direktur Utama PT Pindad (Persero) Abraham Mose mengatakan, keputusan tersebut nanti tergantung dari kondisi ke depan.
"Jadi gini, untuk mesin pada prototipe Maung ini kita masih gunakan Hilux. Soal dengan Toyota bagaimana, kami ini sekarang sedang bikin kerja sama berupa long term agreement dengan mereka (Toyota)," ucap Abraham kepada Kompas.com, Kamis (23/7/2020).
"Kemarin kita sudah bicara dengan Auto2000 ya, namun paling tidak itu harus naik ke atasnya lagi, ke Astra-nya. Jadi kita lihat dulu seperti apa," kata Abraham.
Menurut Abraham, pada intinya Pindad sudah memulai pembicaraan dengan Toyota dan mengajukan proses kerja sama. Meski belum diketahui akan seperti apa nantinya, namun diharapkan ada kabar positif.
Seperti diketahui, Pindad membangun Maung dengan jantung pacu Toyota Hilux lengkap bersama sistem transmisi enam percepatan manual dan penggerak roda 4x4. Namun untuk urusan bodi, komponen lain, serta kaki-kaki, diklaim murni merupakan pengembangan Pindad.
Ketika menyinggun soal mesin Hilux yang digunakan Maung, sebelumnya Direktur Pemasaran PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) Anton Jimmi hanya mengatakan, Toyota siap mendukung bila ada permintaan dari pemerintah.
"Soal Pindad, intinya kalau ada permintaan dari pemerintah, pastinya TAM akan mempelajari bagaimana untuk bisa mendukung," ucap Anton kepada Kompas.com.
(Kompas)
25 Juli 2020
Uji petik latihan pangkalan menggunakan meriam anti serangan udara M1939 kaliber 37mm buatan Uni Sovyet (photo : Korps Marinir)
Belawan, PW: Guna menguji Profesionalisme prajurit Batalyon Marinir Pertahanan Pangkalan I (Yonmarhanlan I), Komandan Komando Latihan Koarmada I (Dankolat Koarmada I) yang diwakili oleh Danpuslat Duk Ops Kolat Armada I Letkol Laut (P) Ahmad Mahdi Loebis, S.T., beserta tim melaksanakan uji petik dan uji nilai latihan Pangkalan 1 (P1) dan Pangkalan 2 (P2) yang dilaksanakan mulai hari Kamis sampai dengan Jumat, 23 dan 24 Juli 2020 di Mako Lantamal I Jl. Serma Hanafiah No. 1 Belawan Sumatera Utara, Kamis (23/07/2020).
Sebelum kegiatan uji petik dilaksanakan, terlebih dahulu diawali dengan acara penyambutan dan dilanjutkan pembukaan oleh Danlantamal I Brigjen TNI ( Mar) I Made Wahyu Santoso di ruang rapat Gedung R. Muliadi Mako Lantamal I.
“Kegiatan tersebut merupakan program latihan yang bertujuan untuk menilai dan mengevaluasi serta meningkatkan ketajaman dan mengasah naluri tempur prajurit Yonmarhanlan I.” ujar Danyonmarhanlan I Mayor Marinir Farick M. Tr. Opsla.
1 Batalyon Pertahanan Pangkalan mengoperasikan 2 baterai artileri pertahanan udara, Korps Marinir banyak menggunakan meriam M1939 kaliber 37mm seperti yang dipakai juga oleh Yonmarhanlan IX Ambon (photo : Korps Marinir)
Pada kegiatan tersebut prajurit Yonmarhanlan I melaksanakan uji petik latihan tempur bahaya udara, dimana prajurit Yonmarhanlan I melaksanakan latihan menggunakan Meriam 37 mm untuk melumpuhkan serangan musuh dari udara.
Sebelum melaksanakan uji petik dan uji nilai, Danyonmarhanlan I menekankan agar seluruh prajurit Yonmarhanlan I melaksanakan latihan dengan semangat dan penuh rasa tanggung jawab, ikuti setiap tahapan latihan sesuai prosedur yang telah ditentukan sehingga semua bisa berjalan dengan lancar dan mendapat hasil terbaik.
Hadir dalam acara tersebut Wadan Lantamal I, Para Asisten, Para Kasatker/Kadis dan Danyonmarhanlan I.
(Korps Marinir)
25 Juli 2020
Gulfstream G500 aircraft (photo : Gulfstream)
The Royal Thai Army is planning to buy a $US42 Million ‘Gulfstream G500’ in the 2021 fiscal year, according to a source in the Army Transportation Department. The announcement was made after a document showing the army’s plan to procure a medium-sized aircraft circulated online.
The $US42 Million purchase of the Gulfstream G500 of the was initially part of the 2020 fiscal year budget. However it was postponed to 2021 over the coronavirus pandemic, the source told the Bangkok Post.
The new Gulfstream G500 , which is likely to be bought from Gulfstream Aerospace, will replace the current Beechcraft 1900yf. Which has been in use for more than 30 years, to transport the army and VIPs.
The manufacturer of the Beechcraft earlier informed the army that it had stopped making the plane.Now spare parts would no longer be available. This prompted the army to consider a replacement with the Gulfstream G500.
The source added that the purchase had also been approved by a screening committee.
See full article ChiangRaiTimes
