4 More Frigates Needed to Secure PH Seas: Navy Chief

26 Februari 2018

Philippines needs four more modern frigates until 2028 (photo : Damen)

MANILA -- To fully protect the country's vast maritime domains and resources, the Philippines needs four more modern frigates aside from the two contracted with South Korean shipbuilder, Hyudai Heavy Industries (HHI).

This was the remark of Philippine Navy (PN) flag-officer-in-command Rear Admiral Robert Empedrad when asked how many more modern warships the Navy needs to fully secure the country’s maritime domains.

Empedrad issued this statement during the Frigate Acquisition Project hearing at the Senate last Feb. 19 where issues concerning the brand of combat management system (CMS) to be installed were discussed.

"Based on our Modernization Program, we will require six of the frigates until 2028 – that is our Third Horizon. Apat pa after we get these two ships," he said.

The frigates, presently being built by HHI, will be armed with weapons capable of neutralizing surface, sub-surface and air threats aside from its electronic warfare ability.

These ships have a contract of PHP18 billion, including their weapons systems and munitions.

In the same hearing, the Navy chief said there are also plans to install a CMS and upgrade the weapon systems of the three Hamilton-class cutters acquired from the US Coast Guard.

(PNA)

Konstruksi KCR#4 Hampir Selesai

26 Februari 2018

KCR-60 pesanan Kemhan untuk TNI AL dengan nomor lambung 627 (photos : defence.pk)

Kapal pesanan Kemhan untuk TNI AL jenis KCR-60 telah nampak hampir selesai konstruksinya yang dikerjakan di galangan kapal PT PAL Surabaya dan siap untuk diluncurkan. Kapal ini diberikan nomor lambung 627, belum jelas apa nama yang akan diberikan nantinya.

Saat ini ada tiga kapal jenis KCR-60 yang telah berdinas di TNI AL sejak 2014 yang diberi nama jenis-jenis senjata tradisional di Indonesia yaitu KRI Sampari-628, KRI Tombak-629, dan KRI Halasan-630.

PT PAL menerima pesanan pembuatan KCR ke-4 dari Kemhan untuk 1 KCR 60m pada Januari 2017 dan seremoni first steel cutting dilakukan pada 2 Februari 2017. Sesuai dengan kontrak maka kapal mesti diserahkan pada bulan Juli 2018, setelah menjalani sea trial.

TNI AL membuat dua platform untuk armada Kapal Cepat baru yang dimilikinya, masing-masing KCR-60 yang mempunyai panjang 60m dan KCR-40 yang mempunyai panjang 44m. Varian Kapal Cepat Rudal dari kedua tipe kapal cepat ini akan menggunakan tipe rudal yang sama yaitu C-705 buatan China. Khusus untuk Kapal Cepat Torpedo kemungkinan hanya memakai platform KCR-60 saja sebagaimana pendahulunya yaitu FPB-57 yang berukuran panjang hampir sama. 

(Defense Studies)

Eksesais Perang Borneo Capai Matlamat

25 Februari 2018

Eksesais Borneo yang diadakan di perairan laut Sulu (photo : Metro)

Sandakan: Eksesais Perang Borneo di perairan Laut Sulu di sini, semalam, mencapai matlamat bagi menguji kemampuan dan kesiapsiagaan armada Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) dalam menghadapi peperangan tidak terjangka khasnya di Zon Selamat Timur Sabah (ESSZONE).

Latihan itu adalah yang pertama tahun ini dan kali kedua dikoordinasikan Markas Wilayah Laut 2 (MAWILLA 2).

Panglima MAWILLA 2 TLDM, Laksamana Muda Datuk Abdul Rahman Ayob berkata, latihan itu membabitkan lima kapal TLDM iaitu Kapal Auksiliari (KA) Tun Azizan, Kapal Diraja (KD) Todak, KD Baung, KD Sri Johor dan KD Sri Perlis, selain bot tempur CB 90 dan bot pemintas Silverbreeze.

Beliau yang turut mengikuti pelayaran berpuas hati dengan tahap kesiapsiagaan kapal TLDM dan kecekapan kru dalam menghadapi pelbagai senario peperangan terutama ancaman di permukaan air.

Menurutnya, eksesais itu sangat berkesan sebagai persediaan menghadapi situasi perang sebenar seiring keperluan semasa.

“Selain itu, ia selaras keperluan operasi iaitu penumpuan tinggi terhadap latihan operasi yang berterusan bagi mencapai hasrat melahirkan warga ‘Navy People’ bertaraf dunia.

“Ia juga mempamerkan komitmen TLDM memastikan keselamatan ESSZONE berada pada tahap tertinggi, selari matlamat perpindahan MAWILLA 2 
ke Sandakan yang membolehkan sebarang tindakan keselamatan sama ada bersifat cegah rintang atau tindakan susulan dapat diambil secara lebih berkesan,” katanya dalam kenyataan, semalam.

Abdul Rahman berkata, MAWILLA 2 menerusi koordinasi pasukan Peperangan Markas Pemerintahan Armada Timur (MPA Timur) di Kota Kinabalu turut merancang mengadakan beberapa lagi siri eksesais Perang Borneo tahun ini.

Eksesais bermula jam 7 pagi kelmarin dengan Latihan Pertahanan Pangkalan di Pangkalan TLDM Sandakan membabitkan simulasi serangan musuh terhadap kawasan strategik di daratan, disusuli kapal TLDM diarahkan ke laut bagi menghadapi ancaman pertempuran di perairan.

(MyMetro)

Japan May Buy up to 40 Vertical Takeoff F-35B Fighters which Operated from Izumo Class Ship

24 Februari 2018

F-35B VTOL fighter aircraft (image : MilitaryLeak)

Japan may buy up to 40 vertical takeoff F-35B fighters

Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported in a scoop last week that the government may buy up to 40 F-35B vertical takeoff stealth fighters from the US that could operate from helicopter carriers, island bases and commercial airports.

“The government is considering operating F-35B fighter jets from about fiscal 2026, in an effort to utilize airports on remote islands and thereby improve the nation’s capability to defend the isles,” the newspaper said in a February 12 story.

The F-35B is the maritime version of the advanced US warplane that can perform vertical take-off and landings (VTOL) from the decks of warships.

The Yomiuri quoted government sources as saying that Tokyo is also weighing whether to deploy the F-35Bs aboard Izumo-class Maritime Self-Defense Force’s “destroyers” which carry helicopters and are built as de facto aircraft carriers.

The US military already operates F-35B squadrons in Japan. And the Japanese government is already buying 42 F-35A standard takeoff fighter jets to replace older-generation US fighters like the F-15 and F-4 Phantom.

“As for the F-35B, the government is planning to indicate the number of aircraft to be procured in the next Medium Term Defense Program, which is to be compiled at the end of this year. It is also mulling including related expenses in the fiscal 2019 budget plan, with a view to starting the delivery of F-35Bs from around fiscal 2024,” the Yomiuri cited its sources as saying. (ATimes)

Izumo class ship (photo : Japan MoD)

MSDF helicopter flattop Izumo designed as aircraft carrier

Despite the Defense Ministry's denial that the helicopter carrier Izumo, launched in 2015, was planned to be refitted into an aircraft carrier, former Maritime Self-Defense Force executives confirmed that that is how the blueprints were drawn up.

“It is only reasonable to design (the Izumo) with the prospect of possible changes of the circumstances in the decades ahead,” a then MSDF executive told The Asahi Shimbun. “We viewed that whether the Izumo should be actually refitted could be decided by the government.”

The former executive said a consensus was reached privately among the MSDF that the Izumo should be considered for conversion into an aircraft carrier. But the MSDF couldn't explain the need publicly due to the government's view that aircraft carriers capable of launching large-scale attacks are equivalent to the military capability prohibited by the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.

Ever since the Izumo's construction, experts both in and outside Japan have pointed out the possibility of turning it into a full-fledged aircraft carrier.

However, the Defense Ministry publicly denied any plan to deploy fighter jets with strike capabilities on the Izumo and contended that it was not an aircraft carrier.

The ministry has since done an abrupt about-face and now is mulling the possibility of refitting the vessel into an aircraft carrier.

Such a reversal has inevitably raised suspicions that the ministry had this plan in mind from the beginning.

Refitting the Izumo, the Maritime Self-Defense Force's largest vessel, into an aircraft carrier had been considered since late 2000 to bolster the nation's defenses against China’s increasing maritime advances around Japan’s southwestern islands, according to the MSDF executives.

Equipped with a flat deck from bow to stern, helicopters can land on and take off off from the five spots of the flight deck at a time. The Izumo's basic design was formulated from 2006 through 2008.

F-35B VTOL fighter aircraft (photo : LM)

In 2008, Chinese naval vessels and other warships passing through the waters between the main Okinawa island and Miyakojima island, which lies to the southwest, were spotted for the first time. At that time Chinese government vessels intruding on Japan’s territorial waters became common.

According to MSDF executives at that time, the MSDF saw the need to secure Japan’s competitive edge in the airspace to counter possible China’s maritime expansion in the East China Sea.

However, the runway at the Air Self-Defense Force Naha Base is the only one that allows ASDF aircraft to take off and land in and around Okinawa.

Therefore “the plan to construct the Izumo was settled with its future conversion in mind to prepare for any possible contingency of the unavailability of the ASDF Naha Base,” according to one of the executives.

In those days, the U.S. F-35B stealth fighters, which could take off and land vertically, were in development, leading to a design conception of the Izumo on the premise that it could be converted to handle landings and takeoffs of the F-35B and other aircraft, such as the Osprey transport aircraft.

The approximately 250-meter long Izumo’s elevator connecting the deck with the hangar was designed to accommodate the F-35B fighter, which measures about 15 meters in length and about 11 meters in width.

Paint that can withstand the exhaust heat generated from F-35 fighter jets during landings and takeoffs was selected for the deck of the Izumo. It has also been expected to retrofit the Izumo with a sloping deck for takeoffs, the former MSDF executives said.

If the Izumo is converted to enable landings and takeoffs of the F-35B, the vessel can be utilized to refuel U.S. stealth fighter jets anywhere in the world at any time, including during military emergencies under the new national security legislation.

Even if it is designated a “defensive” aircraft carrier or with some other terminology, the refitted Izumo would be a vessel capable of attacking enemy targets. (AsahiShimbun)

TNI AU Siapkan Penerbang dan Teknisi untuk Awaki Su-35

24 Februari 2018

Pesawat tempur Sukhoi Su-35 (photo : Vitaly Kuzmin)

ANGKASAREVIEW.COM – Kontrak pengadaan 11 jet tempur Sukhoi Su-35 dari Rusia telah ditandatangani oleh Kementerian Pertahanan. TNI Angkatan Udara pun menyiapkan penerbang dan teknisi untuk mengawakinya.

Kepala Dinas Penerangan TNI AU (Kadispenau) Marsma TNI Jemi Trisonjaya, M.Tr (Han) menyatakan, TNI AU sudah menyiapkan penerbang dan teknisi yang akan mengawaki Su-35. TNI AU saat ini menunggu koordinasi lebih lanjut untuk pengiriman mereka ke Rusia.

“Penerbang dan teknisi tentunya sudah dipersiapkan oleh TNI AU. Kami menunggu koordinasi lebih lanjut dari pimpinan, misalnya untuk pengiriman mereka ke Rusia guna mengikuti pendidikan di sana. Saat ini belum ada pengiriman personel TNI AU terkait hal itu ke Rusia,” ujar Kadispenau saat dihubungi Angkasa Review, Kamis (22/2/2018).

Jemi menambahkan, perencanaan dan pembahasan untuk mengawaki pesawat pengganti F-5E/F Tiger II Skadron Udara 14 Lanud Iswahjudi, sudah dilakukan jauh-jauh hari sambil menunggu keputusan dari Kementerian Pertahanan perihal pesawat yang akan dibeli.

Berhubung dalam beberapa tahun belakangan ini Skadron Udara 14 sudah tidak memiliki pesawat lagi (F-5E/F sudah dipenisunkan), maka para penerbang dan teknisinya pun dititipkan sementara ke satuan-satuan operasional lainnya. Beberapa penerbang ditempatkan di Skadron Udara 11 Lanud Sultan Hasanuddin, Makassar dan Skadron Udara 15 Lanud Iswahjudi, Madiun.

Menteri Pertahanan Ryamizard Ryacudu sebelumnya mengatakan, penandatanganan kontrak pengadaan Su-35 sudah selesai dilaksanakan.

“Sudah tanda tangan, selesai. Sebelas pesawat. Itu kan dibuat dulu. Bukan langsung-langsung. Dibuatnya satu tahun secara bertahap. Awal tahun depan sudah ada dua,” kata Menhan menjawab pertanyaan wartawan di Jakarta, Rabu (21/2/2018), sebagaimana ditayangkan oleh saluran CNNIndonesia tv.

Informasi penandatanganan kontrak pengadaan 11 pesawat Su-35 untuk TNI AU, awalnya disampaikan oleh Kepala Pusat Komunikasi Publik (Kapuskompublik) Kementerian Pertahanan Brgjen TNI Totok Sugiharto saat dikornfirmasi rilis.id. Totok mengatakan, penandatanganan kontrak pengadaan Su-35 telah dilaksanakan pada Rabu (14/2/2018).

(Angkasa Review)

Enam Pesawat Hawk dengan Rudal Maverick Latihan di Aceh

24 Februari 2018

Enam pesawat tiba di Lanud Iskandar Muda, Aceh (photo : Portal Komando)

Enam Pesawat Hawk Tiba Di Lanud Sultan Iskandar Muda

ACEH,.Sebanyak enam pesawat Hawk 100/200 Skadron Udara 12 Lanud Roesmin Nurjadin, Pekanbaru tiba di Lanud Sultan Iskandar Muda. Jumat (23/2). Kedatangan enam pesawat tempur TNI Angkatan Udara yang dipimpin Danskadud 12 Lanud Roesmin Letkol Pnb Adhi Safarul Akbar diterima langsung Danlanud Sultan Iskandar Muda Kolonel Nav Indrastanto Setiawan, S.Sos., beserta pejabat Lanud Sultan iskandar Muda.

Dijelaskan dalam rilis penerangan Lanud SIM, rencananya selama dua minggu, “Black Panther” sebutan Skadron Udara 12 Lanud Roesmin Nurjadin dengan pesawat Hawk 100/200 nya akan melaksanakan latihan tempur dengan menggunakan rudal Maverick dan dilanjutkan patroil pengamanan wilayah udara sekitaran provinsi Aceh.

Hawk 200 dengan rudal Maverick (photo : Dhimas Sanjaya)

 “Tentunya hal ini dilaksanakan sebagai tugas dan tanggung jawab TNI Angkatan Udara dan sarana meningkatkan kemampuan para penerbang TNI Angkatan Udara,” ujar Danlanud Sultan Iskandar Muda. Mengenai patrol udara, lanjutnya, pengamanan wilayah udara sangatlah penting bagi keutuhan NKRI dalam rangka menjaga dan mengamankan pulau terluar.

Selain itu, tambahnya, kegiatan latihan dan patrol pengamanan wilayah udara bukan hanya meningkatkan kemampuan serta profesionalisme Skadron Udara 12 Lanud Roesmin Nurjadin saja, melainkan juga Lanud Sultan Iskandar Muda dalam mendukung operasi penerbangan. “Mari kita berikan yang terbaik agar hasil yang dicapai maksimal,” tutupnya.

(Portal Komando)

IMI Systems will Upgrade the Royal Thai Army M-163 VADS

24 Februari 2018

M-163 Vulcan Air Defense System (VADS) of the Royal Thai Army after upgrade (all photos : Thai Military)

Ramat Hasharon, Israel – IMI Systems will upgrade the venerable M-163 Vulcan Air Defense System (VADS) of the Royal Thai Army.

According to the Thai Military and Asian Region magazine, the upgrade will consist of laser rangefinder to replace AN/VPS-2, video feed, thermal imaging sight (uncooled) and some new functions including remote-controlled operation, all-weather operation capabilities as well as automatic target tracking.

Using linkless feed system the, M168 20mm autocannon rotary gun can fires at 3,000 rounds per minute in short bursts of 10, 30, 60, or 100 rounds or in a continuous fire mode at a rate of 1,000 rounds per minute.

(IMI Systems)