SGPV-LCS Will Be Larger Than Kedah Class

20 Oktober 2010

Second generation patrol vessels of Malaysia (photo : ASObserver)

Malaysia approaches Boustead for six new patrol

Boustead Naval Shipyard has received a letter of intent from Malaysia's Ministry of Defence to undertake the construction of six Second Generation Patrol Vessels (SGPV) with combatant capabilities.

The value and duration of the project are to be negotiated with the government, parent company Boustead Heavy Industries announced in a filing to the Malaysian Securities Exchange on 18 October.

The SGPV will be a larger and more heavily armed follow-on to the Kedah-class corvettes built for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) under the Next Generation Patrol Vessel programme, although the final design and equipment fit has yet to be finalised.

The SGPV specification calls for a length overall of 99.5 m and displacement of 2,200 tons (full load) in comparison with Kedah-class figures of 91.1 m and 1,650 tons.

Several foreign shipbuilders have submitted proposals based on existing designs that would be modified to fit the Malaysian requirement. BAE Systems is offering a larger version of its 90 m offshore patrol vessel (OPV), Damen Schelde has proposed its SIGMA design, DCNS its Gowind family, Navantia the Caribe-class OPV it is building for Venezuela and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems its K130 corvette.

Several United States-based companies, including Raytheon, are competing for the SGPV's combat and weapon system. The new ship will have anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare capabilities and Malaysia has indicated that the combat and weapon systems will be selected separately from the ship design.The government has also stated that all ships should be built by Boustead, although most of the companies that have submitted proposals have called for the first hull to be built in the home country followed by the remaining five in Malaysia. The matter is currently under review.

The SGPV programme is regarded as crucial by the RMN, particularly following the cancellation of a second batch of Lekiu-class frigates. This has led to concern within the RMN that it will lack combat-ship capability in any territorial dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

However, the commitment to the SGPV is likely to mean that the Malaysian requirement for a multi-purpose support ship is to be deferred for the time being. RMN sources have stated that funding will only be provided for one ship procurement programme, with the SGPV getting priority despite the RMN's loss of a significant portion of its amphibious and transport capability with the destruction of the landing ship KD Sri Inderapura by fire in October 2009.The SGPV has been given priority owing to the fact that Boustead Naval Shipyard will have no further major shipbuilding work when the final Kedah-class corvette is completed this year.

(Jane's)

Enhanced Tiger Lighting To Be Completed Soon

20 Oktober 2010

Australian Army's Tiger ARH (photo : GSL)

Eurocopter says delays in integrating new formation lighting on the Army’s fleet of ARH Tiger helicopters have been caused by the ADF wanting a type of lighting not specified in the original contract and not used by any other Tiger operator, but that the issue should be resolved by early 2011.

Following on from reports in Australian media earlier this month which quoted defence sources as saying the Tiger was not suitable for deployment to Afghanistan because it could not fly at night, Eurocopter’s head of government programs, Dominique Maudet, said the type of external lighting specified on the ARH machines at contract signature was the same as that used on French machines in Afghanistan, but that the Army has since upgraded its specification to include green ‘slime light’ strips for use in formation work at night with night vision goggles.

Maudet added that there appeared to be “very high sensitivity about this issue” within the ADF which has led “to very specific demands compared to the French,” perhaps in reference to the crash of two Black Hawks and the loss of 18 soldiers in a night time mid air accident near Townsville in 1996.

(Australian Aviation)

Russia Main Contender in Indonesia Submarine Bidding

19 Oktober 2010

Kilo class submarine (photo : Militaryphotos)

Russia will compete with South Korea in the second round of a tender for the supply of two submarines to Indonesia.

Indonesia’s naval forces have set the requirements for the technical characteristics of the acquired submarines and are busy elaborating the payment schedule.

Germany and France took part in the tender’s first round along with Russia and South Korea.

In 2014 Indonesia plans to start work on the first domestically produced submarine.

(Voice of Russia)

Boustead Gets Letter Of Intent To Build Six Patrol Vessels

19 Oktober 2010

One of design for second-generation patrol vessel (photo : military2u)

KUALA LUMPUR, (Bernama) -- Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd announced today that its subsidiary, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BN Shipyard), has received a letter of intent from the Defence Ministry to undertake the construction of six second-generation patrol vessels with combatant capabilities.

The value and duration of the project is to be negotiated with the government, the group said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

The contract for the Littoral Combatant Ship (LCS) will have no material effect on the group's earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2010, but would contribute positively to future earnings, it said.

"The new contract to build the LCS is a reflection of the government's confidence and trust in our ability to deliver on obligations.

"As we have been engaging the government on the technical and commercial packages of the project for some time, we are confident that the contract can be concluded early," said the managing director of BN Shipyard, Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor.

He also said the company had gained invaluable knowledge and experience from the First Patrol Vessel Contract, especially in areas of value adding and enhancement of local content.

Being full combatants, the design of the LCS will have many added capabilities and equipment systems.

"This will require additional technology investments, some of which we will acquire while others will be developed in partnership with defence industry players," Ahmad Ramli highlighted.

BN Shipyard has engaged more than 500 local vendors in the past two years.

In 2007, a Vendor Development Programme was established by the company to groom locals into capable entities.

Ahmad Ramli said the LCS project is expected to see an increase in the participation and development of local vendors, in line with the 60 per cent local content targeted, for the project.


(Bernama)

Vietnam Offers Repair Services for Indian Warships

18 Oktober 2010

Hai Phong, Vietnam (image : GoogleMaps)

In a significant gesture, Vietnam has offered repair and maintenance facilities for Indian warships at its ports, taking bilateral military relations up several notches. After a meeting with Defence Minister A K Antony in Hanoi, his counterpart Gen Phung Quang Thanh welcomed more port calls by the Indian Navy and offered maintenance and repair facilities for warships at Vietnam ports.

This would extend a major advantage to the Indian Navy that has been scaling up operations in the region, specially in the South China Sea where several patrols have been carried out in the past few years. Vietnam is strategically located in the region and has several sea ports, including Hai Phong, located near China’s Hainan island, that could be of great interest to India.

Hai Phong is possibly the nearest port made available for the Indian Navy to the Hainan island where the biggest Chinese naval base in the region is located. China has constructed a major naval base that includes an underground facility that can hide the movement of submarines from spy satellites.

(Indian Express)

Thales Wins HMAS Newcastle Maintenance Contract

18 Oktober 2010

HMAS Nescastle (photo : Australian DoD)

The Defence Materiel Organisation announced it has signed a multi-million dollar contract with Thales Australia for the scheduled repair and maintenance of HMAS Newcastle.

The contract is worth approximately $8.7M and is anticipated to engage in the order of 100 Thales personnel with further support from subcontractors.

This is further evidence of Defence’s commitment to ensuring the on-going repair and maintenance of Navy ships occurs in Australia.

As previously stated, Defence has budgeted to spend approximately $79M on ship repair and maintenance in the Sydney region this year and $81M in 2011. This contract is part of that planned expenditure.

Last week the Defence Materiel Organisation also announced that $12 to $17 million worth of work would be undertaken in HMA Ships Kanimbla and Manoora in the Sydney region over the coming months.

(Australian DoD)

Malaysia Slashing Defense Budget for 2011

17 Oktober 2010

The Defence Ministry would not purchase new military equipment next year and would focus on enhancing the capability of its current assets (photo : standupper)

Kementerian Pertahanan Terima RM9b

KUALA LUMPUR - Kementerian Pertahanan menerima peruntukan berjumlah RM9 bilion bagi tujuan permodenan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) walaupun perkara itu tidak disentuh semasa pembentangan Bajet 2011 semalam.

Menterinya, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, meskipun jumlah tersebut lebih rendah berbanding peruntukan yang dimohon, ia tidak akan menjejaskan perancangan permodenan yang dibuat kerana setiap pembelian aset baru akan dilakukan secara berhemat.

"Kita mengadakan perundingan lebih awal dengan Kementerian Kewangan serta Unit Perancang Ekonomi (EPU) dan Kementerian Pertahanan bersedia dengan hakikat bahawa keutamaan harus diberikan kepada pembangunan sosioekonomi.
"Peruntukan untuk Kementerian Pertahanan tidak dimasukkan dalam ucapan Perdana Menteri (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) tetapi perbelanjaan tiap-tiap kementerian ada, kita terima sejumlah RM9 bilion," katanya pada sidang akhbar selepas mengadakan pertemuan dengan Kelab UMNO Luar Negara di sini hari ini.

Beliau ditanya mengenai peruntukan Kementerian Pertahanan yang tidak disentuh dalam Bajet 2011 dengan Perdana Menteri hanya mengumumkan RM4.4 bilion bagi pembangunan sektor keselamatan.

Menurut Ahmad Zahid, selaku bekas Setiausaha Politik kepada Menteri Pertahanan, beliau sangat memahami keterbatasan kerajaan dalam memberi peruntukan yang lebih besar kepada sektor pertahanan kerana situasi ekonomi sekarang tidak sesuai.

Walaupun mengakui keutamaan harus diberikan kepada pembangunan sosioekonomi, namun beliau menegaskan, Kementerian Pertahanan dan ATM tidak akan sekali-kali berkompromi dalam memperlengkap serta memoden aset pertahanan negara.

(Utusan)

See Also :

Malaysia Slashing Budget Allocation for Defense: Minister

14 Oktober 2010

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, October 14 (Xinhua) -- The Malaysian government is slashing its allocation for Defense Ministry in the soon-to-be announced Malaysian Budget 2011, the minister of defense said Thursday.

Malaysian Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters in the country's federal administration center here on Thursday that following the reduction in budget, the ministry would not purchase new military equipment next year.
Instead, the ministry would focus on enhancing the capability of its current assets, added Ahmad Zahid.

The ministry obtained an allocation of 9.1 billion ringgit (2. 93 billion U.S. dollars), a decrease of 1.5 billion ringgit (483. 87 million U.S. dollars) from 2009.

Ahmad Zahid once said that priority should be given to revitalize the country's economy, instead of spending huge amount of money on military assets.

He also denied that most of the countries in the region were increasing their defense expenditure, stressing that only one or two countries were doing so.

The minister said that Malaysians should understand the Malaysian government's effort to reinforce economic development.

(China Daily)