22 Februari 2014
Beberapa personel Korps Pasukan Khas TNI AU mendarat di Pangkalan Udara TNI AU Sulaeman, Jawa Barat. Mereka baru menguji parasut tempur baru. (photo : Antara)
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Parasut yang handal menjadi tuntutan pasti bagi Korps Pasukan Khas TNI AU dalam melaksanakan tugasnya. Sejak beberapa hari lalu, mereka menguji dinamik parasut baru, dari Mach III tipe Military Specification buatan Amerika Serikat, di udara Pangkalan Udara TNI AU Sulaeman, Kabupaten Bandung, Jawa Barat.
Kepala Penerangan Korps Pasukan Khas TNI AU, Mayor Khusus Rifaid OB, di Jakarta, Jumat, menyatakan, "Sebanyak 38 penerjun tempur kami dikerahkan untuk menguji performansi calon payung baru ini. Prosedurnya, mulai dari terbang, exit dan langsung cabut, hingga ada masa pelayangan, cabut, dan mendarat sempurna."
Yang dia maksud, sortie-sortie awal pengujian dilakukan di ketinggian 7.000 kaki di atas permukaan tanah dan penerjun demi penerjun langsung membuka payung begitu keluar dari pintu pesawat terbang pengangkut.
"Lama-lama ketinggian pembukaan payung terjun itu dikurangi, tinggal 3.000 kaki saja karena ketinggian serendah itu juga menjadi tuntutan kami," katanya. Ke-38 penerjun tempur Korps Pasukan Khas TNI AU itu pemegang brevet terjun tempur dengan kualifikasi minimal jump master. "Ada juga yang berkualifikasi rigger dan supervisor penerjunan," kata Rifaid.
Tim ini adalah tim pertama yang diterjunkan di satu pangkalan udara yang akan direbut dan menjadi penjuru operasionalisasi misi matra udara selanjutnya, misalnya menginformasikan kondisi meteorologi dan sandi-sandi yang digunakan serta posisi-posisi target berikut yang dituju pasukan atau sortie penerbangan militer berikut.
Tidak banyak angkatan udara negara-negara di dunia yang memiliki pasukan tempur matra udara seperti Korps Pasukan Khas TNI AU yang dulu bernama Pasukan Gerak Tjepat Angkatan Oedara RI ini. Amerika Serikat memiliki pasukan serupa, di antaranya Resimen Para Angkatan Darat Inggris.
Di antara ke-38 penerjun tempur itu, terdapat enam penerjun senior Korps Pasukan Khas TNI AU dengan jumlah penerjunan di atas 6.000 kali. Mereka adalah Pembantu Letnan Dua Rusli, Pembantu Letnan Dua Dwijo Iriantono, Serdan Dua Petrus, Sersan Kepala Almustofa, Sersan Kepala Widiasih, dan Sersan Kepala Khuldori.
"Salah satu keistimewaan calon payung kami ini adalah kemampuannya dibuka pada ketinggian sangat tinggi, antara 20.000 dan 25.000 kaki di atas permukaan tanah. Cukup jarang payung terjun yang bisa dibuka dan langsung mengembang sempurna pada ketinggian itu atau pada ketinggian ekstrim rendah," kata Petrus.
Untuk menghindari misi terbongkar, sering kali penyusupan ke garis belakang pertahanan musuh dilakukan melalui penerjunan di ketinggian ekstrim tinggi dan payung terjun baru dibuka pada ketinggian rendah (HALO - high altitude low opening) atau sebaliknya, dibuka pada ketinggian tinggi (HAHO - high altitude high opening).
(Antara)
22 Februari 2014
The first two of the 12 F/A-50 aircraft will be delivered to the Philippines 18 months after the contract is signed (photo : egloos)
MANILA, Philippines—The Department of National Defense on Friday completed negotiations with a Korean aerospace company for a squadron of FA-50 lead-in fighter trainer jets, bringing the Philippine military a step closer to returning to the supersonic age after nearly a decade of relying on helicopters and fixed-wing, propeller-type aircraft.
“I will say that, yes, we can now boast a little about our capability. I will not be ashamed to accept… that we are back to the supersonic age,” Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, a retired Philippine Air Force (PAF) general, told reporters after the negotiations.
Manalo said the FA-50s were “not ordinary lead-in fighter jets because it can deliver short-range missiles.”
“There is a potential for these to be classified as beyond the short-range fighter aircraft,” Manalo said.
He said the defense department and the state-owned Korea Aerospace Industries Inc. (KAI) would sign the $415.7-million contract later this month or early March.
The first two of the 12 aircraft will be delivered to the Philippines 18 months after the contract is signed, Manalo said. The next two will be delivered 12 months after the initial delivery.
Gov’t-to-gov’t deal
The Philippines’ acquisition of the FA-50s was a highlight of the state visit of President Benigno Aquino III to South Korea last October.
Mr. Aquino said then that the procurement was to be a government-to-government agreement.
The acquisition of the FA-50s is one of the 24 projects under the P85-billion Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program aimed at giving the military a “minimum credible defense capability.”
The AFP was the first military in the region to attain the supersonic capability.
But that capability declined through the years, with the PAF returning to the subsonic age after it retired its Northrop F-5s in 2005.
When the Aquino administration took over in 2010, one of its key priority programs was to modernize the AFP amid China’s aggressively asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Limited capabilities
Col. Ernesto Miguel Okol, PAF spokesperson, told the Inquirer by phone that the FA-50s can “essentially perform limited fighter capabilities.”
“It has the qualities (of a fighter jet), has defense weapons. It’s (in the) supersonic regime. It can carry precision guided munitions and AIM-9 air-to-air missiles,” said Okol, an F-5 pilot.
The FA-50, Okol said, is a step lower than a multirole aircraft, which is designed as a fighter plane.
He said the FA-50 could “train us to get to that regime because its cockpit is already state of the art. It has a radar that can track other targets.”
Final meeting
Friday’s final meeting between the KAI officials and the defense and military officials ran for nearly three hours.
The talks centered on whether the Korean company should assume any amount in excess of the estimated $5.938 million buyer furnished equipment (BFE) and KAI’s proposal to reduce by $500,000 or P22 million the cost of spare parts.
The buyer furnished equipment are the components of the aircraft that the Philippine government would have to buy from the United States.
A weaker peso could raise the acquisition cost of the BFE, and ultimately affect the P18.976 billion earmarked for the project.
At the start, the KAI officials bucked the proposal, prompting the defense department’s special bids and awards committee headed by Manalo, the technical working group, and the observers to hold an executive session.
The Filipinos maintained their position, making the KAI officials hold an executive session of their own.
The Koreans later agreed to assume any amount in excess of the $5.938 million BEF. They also maintained the spare parts cost reduction.
The Filipinos held another executive session and emerged agreeing to KAI’s final offer, which signaled the end of the seven-month negotiation.
Applause erupted around the table, with both the Filipinos and the Koreans thanking each other.
A KAI official told the Filipino officials: “We promise you that we will implement the FA-50 program very successfully.”
(Inquirer)
21 Februari 2014
KFX C-103 twin engine (photo : kappa352)
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The Air Force has officially expressed its support for a twin-engine concept for the country's indigenous fighter jet development program, saying the design would allow for improved combat capabilities and long-term economic feasibility, officials said Friday.
The move comes amid disagreement over the engine choice for the long-delayed 20 trillion won (US$18.6 billion) project to develop and build some 120 units of F-16 class aircraft to replace the aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration is set to open the bidding process for the fighter project so-called KFX in April, with the goal of reaching an agreement with the preferred bidder by November.
While the specific concept and design have not been confirmed yet, pilots and the potential developer have revealed disagreements over the engine.
During the first meeting of the task force on Tuesday, the Air Force officials delivered an official position in support of a two-engine C-103 concept to improve the aircraft's combat capabilities and long-term economic feasibility, according to a senior Air Force official.
The Korea Aerospace Industries, South Korea's sole aircraft maker and a potential bidder in KFX, has been pushing for the C-501 design, borrowed from T-50 trainer jet that was jointly developed by U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
The defense ministry and procurement agency have also shown interest in the single-engine C-510 type to reduce risk of developing a clean sheet design and improve marketability overseas.
These new jets will have a similar level of maneuverability to the current fleet of planes but will be equipped with more advanced radars and other devices.
Based on the progress in aerospace, ground and naval equipment in the last decade, Seoul has sought to design its own fighter jets to help advance its aerospace industry and add indigenous weapons to Korean-designed aircraft.
However, some industry experts and economists questioned the feasibility of the massive project and potential for the future market for the fourth-generation fighters.
(Yonhap)
21 Februari 2014
Eurofighters Typhoon (photo : air-attack)
(Reuters) - BAE Systems expects to submit a leasing proposal for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet to Malaysia next month, as its cash-strapped government mulls over renting, rather than buying fighter aircraft.
"The Malaysian government is openly saying they have some issues on finance, and while they're ending subsidies and bringing in new value added tax, it's unlikely there's an appetite to buy Typhoon at this point," BAE's Group Business Development Director Alan Garwood told analysts on Thursday.
"What they have done is solicit leasing proposals from every major aerospace company. We will be submitting a leasing proposal next month for Typhoon together with a purchase option and expect to have further discussions later in the year or maybe even early next year around that," he said.
Last year Malaysia, which had wanted to buy 18 combat aircraft by 2015, said it was choosing between Boeing's F/A-18, Dassault's Rafale, Saab's Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon which is built by BAE, Airbus and Italy's Finmeccanica.
Industry sources said in March that the purchase could run into billions of dollars. Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak told Reuters in October the purchase might be delayed.
(Reuters)
21 Februari 2014
P-8A Poseidon (photo : Naval Technology)
AUSTRALIA is to acquire eight new Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, able to watch over a vast area of ocean and if necessary attack enemy ships and submarines.
But Prime Minister Tony Abbott doubts they will have a role in stopping the flow of asylum seeker boats.
"We expect the first one to be in operational service by 2017 and I think the boats will be stopped by then," he told reporters in Canberra.
Under the $4 billion deal, the RAAF will replace its 19 elderly Lockheed AP-3C Orion aircraft with the Boeing P-8A Poseidon, a design based on the widely used Boeing 737-800 airliner. There's an option for four more.
Poseidons are now entering service with the US and Indian navies.
They can be equipped with Harpoon missiles to attack ships and torpedoes and depth charges to attack submarines. They can also conduct search and rescue missions. Onboard systems will give Poseidon a very advanced electronic surveillance and intelligence-gathering capability.
After inspecting a US Navy Poseidon at Canberra airport, Mr Abbott acknowledged these were a long time coming.
In 2007, the former coalition government gave initial approval to acquire Poseidon. Australia subsequently contributed $150 million to join the P-8A development program, later adding a further $100 million.
In Australian service, the new Poseidons will eventually operate in conjunction with proposed Triton unmanned surveillance aircraft in a $7 billion upgrade to maritime surveillance capabilities.
As a new aircraft, the Poseidon has experienced problems, with the Pentagon last month deeming US Navy Poseidons ineffective at their primary jobs of reconnaissance and submarine hunting because of problems with the radar and other systems.
However, Mr Abbott said he understood these difficulties had been resolved and the aircraft would be further upgraded.
He said these advanced aircraft were needed because Australia's economic zone comprised four per cent of the world's oceans and the search and rescue zone 11 per cent.
"It's an enormous part of the Earth that we are required to supervise and if necessary control and these aircraft are going to be a very important part of our capacity to do that in the decades to come," he said.
Defence Minister David Johnston said this was a cutting edge capability which would replace Orions which had been in RAAF service since the late 1960s.
"This a phenomenal strategic capability for Australia," he said.
RAAF chief Air Marshal Geoff Brown said this was the world's most advanced maritime surveillance aircraft and a worthy successor to the Orions.
"The P-8 gives us an unprecedented capability to find, fix and track both surface ships and submarines," he said.
(The Australian)
20 Februari 2014
MCMEX 2014 Mine Counter Measures and Diving Exercise 2014 (all photos : MCMEX2014)
Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman says the New Zealand Navy’s largest exercise in decades gets underway in Auckland today.
“With over 600 personnel from 14 nations and five military ships from New Zealand, Australia, and the Republic of Korea, this is a significant exercise for the New Zealand Navy,” says Dr Coleman.
“The Western Pacific Naval Symposium Mine Counter Measures and Diving Exercise is a good opportunity for New Zealand to work alongside our partners to test our readiness to respond to a natural disaster in the South Pacific.
“The exercise scenario involves a New Zealand led multinational taskforce assist with creating new shipping routes in undamaged coastal areas so humanitarian aid and disaster relief supplies can be delivered.
“The South Pacific region is susceptible to natural disasters. It is important New Zealand is prepared for a variety of contingencies, so we can play our part along with our partners to provide assistance when required.
“The Navy’s mine clearance and survey teams have considerable experience in this area, having provided assistance during the Christchurch Earthquakes and the Rena disaster. They also routinely work closely with our partners to remove WWII explosive remnants of war in the South Pacific.”
The Western Pacific Naval Symposium Mine Counter Measures and Diving Exercise takes place in the Auckland region from 17 February to 7 March 2014. The exercise includes personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.
(Beehive)
20 Februari 2014
Indian Hull Mounted Sonars for export (photo : Militaryphotos)
Exports of Sonars by DRDO
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been mandated towards research & development of various systems and technologies for the use of our Armed Forces and is not involved in their export.
However, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has signed a contract for the supply of three (03) numbers of Hull Mounted Sonars–Export (HMS-X) with the Government of Myanmar on the 16th January, 2013. The contract value of these three sonars is US$29.24 Million
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Mohd. Ali Khan and Shrimati T. Ratna Bai in Rajya Sabha today.
(Indian MoD)
