04 Maret 2014
Airbus Military C295 (photo : Pablo Blanco Sanchez)
MANILA, Philippines—An Italian company has complained that the bids and awards committee of the Department of National Defense (DND) awarded a P5.3-billion contract for the procurement of military aircraft to a Spanish firm despite questions on the bidding process.
In a letter to the DND, Italian firm Alenia Aermacchi said the Spanish company Airbus Military should have been disqualified from the bidding for the procurement of three medium-lift fixed-wing aircraft because it failed to disclose its business relationship with PT Dirgantara, an Indonesian company that also joined the bidding.
Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo on Friday said a notice of award had already been issued to Airbus Military and the contract for the procurement of the military planes would soon follow.
Conflict of interest
But Alenia said the DND should have nullified the Spanish firm’s bid for violating the prohibition in the government procurement law regarding conflict of interest among prospective bidders in government projects.
“A simple perusal of the company websites of both PT Dirgantara Indonesia and Airbus Military shows that the two bidders … are strategic partners in the production of the (military planes) CN 235 and CN 295,” Alenia said in a Jan. 16 letter signed by Roberto Pierdominici, the firm’s regional sales director.
Under Republic Act No. 9184, also known as the Government Procurement Reform Act, a conflict of interest among bidders exists if a prospective supplier “has a relationship, directly or through third parties, that puts them in a position to have access to information about or influence on the bid of another bidder or influence the decisions of the procuring entity.”
The Inquirer tried to get a comment from DND spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez on the issue, but he did not answer calls to his mobile phone.
In an earlier interview with reporters, Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said the DND would only award the contract to Airbus Military after all the issues raised against the Spanish firm had been settled.
A representative of Alenia, who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak with the media, said the defense department had yet to answer its questions regarding Airbus Military’s bid.
‘Strategic partnership’
Citing a press statement, the Italian firm said Airbus Military itself admitted that the development of the CN 295 was a product of its “strategic partnership” with the Indonesian firm.
In a press release on its website dated May 21, 2013, Airbus Military stated that it was putting up a “delivery center and a final assembly line” for CN 295 planes in Bandung, Indonesia, “as a direct result of (PT Dirgantara) and Airbus Military’s strategic partnership signed in 2011.”
“(T)here is thus no doubt that the relationship of the two bidders … is a conflict of interest … Clearly, the bidders have a direct relationship that puts them in a position to have access to information about or influence on the bid of another bidder or influence the decisions of the procuring entity regarding this bidding process,” Alenia said in the letter, a copy of which was sent to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.
“Worse, both bidders denied the existence of the relationship upon express request of clarification by the bids and awards committee during the opening and evaluation of the bids,” it added.
Failure of bidding
The Italian firm said PT Dirgantara and Airbus Military should be disqualified from participating in the procurement at hand, “without prejudice to the imposition of appropriate (suspension/blacklisting) and civil (restitution for damage and forfeiture in favor of the government) sanctions.”
Alenia had initially participated in the bidding for the military planes held on Nov. 11, 2013, but the DND declared a failure of bidding after admitting that it failed to publish the supplemental bid bulletin a week prior to the opening of bids.
(Inquirer)
04 Maret 2014
Rudal permukaan ke permukaan C-705 (photo : tznsw)
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Juru bicara Komite Kebijakan Industri Pertahanan (KKIP) RI, Silmy Karim menampik pemberitaan yang diluncurkan media Taiwan, Senin (3/3) kemarin.
Di situ disebutkan, Pemerintah Cina menuntut uang tambahan dari Indonesia atas rencana ekspor rudal antikapal C705 produksi sendiri ke pasar luar negeri. Prototipe rudal C705 sejatinya adalah buatan Cina.
“Belum ada pembicaraan soal itu (rencana penjualan rudal C705 produksi sendiri ke luar negeri). Yang ada baru pembahasan tentang produksi misil untuk memenuhi kebutuhan kita (Indonesia) saja,” kata Silmy saat dikonfirmasi ROL, Selasa (4/4).
Media di Taiwan, Want China Times, sebelumnya menyebutkan Indonesia membeli 40 rudal antikapal C705 dari Cina. Hal ini diungkapkan dalam pertemuan antara para pejabat tinggi militer Cina dan Indonesia yang dipimpin oleh Kepala Staf Umum Tentara Rakyat Cina Jenderal Fang Fenghui dan Panglima TNI Jenderal Moeldoko, di Beijing, akhir bulan lalu.
Want China Times menuliskan, pembelian misil tersebut awalnya direncanakan untuk melengkapi sejumlah kapal cepat rudal (KCR-40) milik TNI Angkatan Laut RI.
Rudal C705 sendiri dirancang dan diproduksi oleh perusahaan industri pertahanan yang berbasis di Beijing, Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.
Akan tetapi, tulis laman Taiwan itu lagi, Cina ternyata menolak menyerahkan teknologi (ToT) C705 sepenuhnya ke Indonesia. Ini dikarenakan masih banyaknya negara lain yang mencari atau membeli senjata canggih tersebut dari negeri tirai bambu.
Beijing malah meminta biaya tambahan dari RI untuk mengamankan hak memproduksi rudal C705 sendiri. Namun, hal ini juga dibantah Silmy. Menurut dia, Cina menyerahkan sepenuhnya teknologi C705 kepada Indonesia.
“Jadi, tidak ada masalah sebenarnya. Saya malah jadi bertanya, media itu mengambil perkataan saya dari mana? Saya sendiri tidak ikut ke Beijing (menemani Panglima TNI Moeldoko),” jelas Silmy.
04 Maret 2014
HMAS Canberra Landing Helicopter Dock (photo : BAE Systems)
Williamstown, Australia: NUSHIP CANBERRA, one of two Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships being built for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), left BAE Systems Williamstown this morning bound for Sydney on the first period of sea trials.
Director of BAE Systems Maritime, Bill Saltzer said sea trials were the final stage of the project for BAE Systems before acceptance by the ADF later this year. He said the journey to Sydney would take approximately 12 days.
“The ship will undergo a series of tests before we hand it over to the ADF which includes both platform tests as well as testing the ship’s combat and communication systems,” he said.
“We will undertake approximately 240 hours over 16 days of testing on the ship and to ensure all systems perform to their capability.
“Some of the trials will run concurrently and cover everything from basic systems operations such as alarms, to the ships manoeuvrability while at sea.
“Trials will be conducted under a number of scenarios. Some trials need the ship in certain conditions and or water depths while other trials require systems in specific configurations.
“We will be testing things like how fast the ship can go and how long it takes to stop. We will also be looking at how much fuel the ship will use at different speeds and what its manoeuvrability will be in terms of speed during different swell and sea conditions.”
NUSHIP Canberra sails from Williamstown to commence her first set of sea trials. (photo : Aus DoD)
Mr Saltzer said first sea trial will cover the journey to Sydney and back to Williamstown. He said that while in Sydney the ship would be dry docked at Garden Island to have the hull cleaned prior to a final paint application and the deck painted prior to returning to Williamstown.
“Once back in Williamstown we will commence the final trials which will cover communication and combat systems,” he said.
The second LHD, NUSHIP ADELAIDE arrived in Williamstown on 12 February and preparation works for the consolidation of the superstructure are well underway.
“We are currently preparing for the heavy lift of the superstructure blocks which we expect to have in place by the end of March,” he said.
Mr Saltzer said the total mass of the crane and the counterweight was in excess of 800 tonnes. He said the combined mass of the crane, support steelwork and the load during the first lift of the LHD blocks would be in excess of 1500 tonnes. The first section of superstructure to be lifted weighed approximately 300 tonnes and would be lifted to a height of approximately 25 meters. It then needed to be placed in exactly the right position for it to be joined to the deck of the LHD.
The LHDs are the largest ship ever to be built for the ADF and operated by the RAN. BAE Systems is the Prime to deliver the project with subcontractors Navantia, which constructed the hulls in Spain, and SAAB and L3 which supplied the combat and communications systems respectively.
(BAE Systems)
03 Maret 2014
AU-1, the first F-35 Lightning II for RAAF (photo : Lockheed Martin)
The names of the first two Australian pilots selected to undergo training in the United States on the F-35A Lightning II, commonly known as the Joint Strike Fighter, were today announced by the Deputy Chief of Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Gavin Davies.
AVM Davies said the training represented an important milestone towards introducing the F-35A into RAAF service.
“It is fitting to announce the future of this capability here at Point Cook, where military aviation in Australia was born,” he said.
“Our history is important, and our first two pilots will make history as they become our first pilots to fly this fifth generation aircraft.
“Not only do they represent the future of RAAF, they will have an important leadership and training role as future instructors for the F-35A,” AVM Davies said.
Squadron Leaders Andrew Jackson and David Bell, currently based at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW, were selected for their operational flying skills, extensive experience and leadership. They are among the very best in their field. They will soon travel to the United States to commence their training.
“The F-35A will be Australia’s firstfifth generation aircraft and will provide us with an incredible air combat capability. I’m excited to be given the opportunity to take a leading role in its introduction” Squadron Leader Jackson, a qualified Fighter Combat Instructor, said.
Squadron Leader Bell, a qualified Test Pilot, was equally impressed by the opportunity.
“This aircraft gives fighter pilots a level of situational awareness that far exceeds legacy platforms. It will be an honour to work alongside the US Air Force and to be at the leading edge of delivering the F-35A to Australia,” he said.
The RAAF’s first two F-35A aircraft are scheduled to complete production in mid-2014 .
(Aus DoD)
03 Maret 2014
Assault Capability: A model of ST Engineering Marine's Endurance-160 multirole support ship reconfigured to accommodate F-35B joint strike fighters. (photo : DefenseNews)
TAIPEI — For years, Singapore’s ST Engineering Marine has been parading a ship model of a landing helicopter dock (LHD) vessel that could handle the jump-jet variant of the F-35 joint strike fighter.
The model was most recently on display at last month’s Singapore Airshow. And while Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) won’t confirm that it has plans to build such a vessel, it’s also not denying it.
The model shows a variant of the Endurance-160 multirole support ship configured as an LHD.
MINDEF confirmed that Singapore has expressed an interest in the F-35B, as illustrated by the recent inspection of the aircraft by Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen during his visit to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in December.
In an interview transcript released by the Defense Writers Group, conducted in late July, US Air Force Gen. Herbert Carlisle disclosed that Lt. Gen. Ng Chee Meng, Singapore Defence Force chief, had told him that Singapore would procure the F-35B.
“I know that’s a decision that’s been made and that’s why they’re part of the program, but I don’t know where they’re at in putting that in the budget,” said Carlisle, commander of Pacific Air Forces.
Four 14,000-ton Endurance multirole support ships already serve in the Singapore Navy as landing ship tank (LST) vessels, and ST Marine delivered its first export order for the vessel to Thailand in 2012.
Though significantly smaller than the 40,000-ton US Wasp-class LHD amphibious assault ships, outfitting a 14,000-ton vessel such as the Endurance with F-35Bs is not a new idea. South Korea’s LPH-6111 Dokdo-class and Japan’s Hyuga-class “helicopter destroyer,” each 14,000 tons, reportedly have had their flight decks covered with urethane to make them resistant to jet engines.
Factors driving Singapore’s need to build light aircraft carriers include maintaining the sea lines of communication in the Malacca Strait, consolidation plans that reduce air bases from three to one, lack of strategic depth, and unresolved histories that include animosity and violence with Indonesia and Malaysia.
An unsettling reminder occurred during the Singapore Airshow in mid-February, when Indonesia named a Navy corvette “the KRI Usman Harun” in honor of the two marines who planted a bomb in a Singapore bank building in 1965 as part of then-President Sukarno’s “confrontation” policy. More than 30 bombs were set off in Singapore during the crisis. In 1968, Singapore hanged both men. Singapore has protested the naming and barred the Nakhoda Ragam-class vessel from entering Singapore.
A short-takeoff, vertical-landing (STOVL) jet is well suited for Singapore’s congested land mass, said Carl Thayer, professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
“Singapore is in the process of consolidating its three military airfields. The reduction in runways is compensated for by the F-35s ability to take off in a short space. A fully loaded F-35B needs only 168 meters of runway,” he said. “In addition, the F-35B has demonstrated that it can land and take off easily from ships at sea.”
In August, the F-35B performed its first night vertical landing aboard WASP. This type of capability would “suit Singapore future procurement plans,” Thayer said.
But not everyone is sold on the idea.
“I’m sure it has its appeal, not just from a power-projection and anti-piracy perspective but also from a force survivability standpoint,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president for analysis at the Teal Group, Fairfax, Va. “But it would add considerably to Singapore’s F-35 acquisition bill.”
Costs could increase as much as 25 percent to buy and operate the F-35B relative to the standard takeoff version. This would mean fewer planes, Aboulafia said.
“Singapore, as an island nation, realizes their combat aircraft runways would be vulnerable and likely targets,” said Guy Stitt, founder and president of AMl International, a Bremerton, Wash., naval analysis firm. “A STOVL capability gives them the ability to ensure combat air capabilities could be maintained without runways, although vertical take-off does eat a lot of fuel.”
The Endurance LHD design would require considerable enlargement and revamping to operate and store fixed-wing aircraft, said AMI’s chief analytical officer, Patrick Bright. The vessel would require a ski ramp and a larger elevator to handle the F-35B.
Singapore appears to be eager to procure either the F-35B or a light aircraft carrier. With the procurement of submarines and the littoral mission vessel, “I imagine the new multirole vessel design would follow them starting in 2021,” Stitt said.
The time frame would fit with plans to upgrade the country’s F-16 fleet and allow for others to iron out bugs in the F-35B program, Thayer said.
MINDEF officials said Singapore is in “no hurry” to buy the F-35.
(DefenseNews)
01 Maret 2014
Fregat Sigma 9814 Angkatan Laut Vietnam (all photos : Kienthuc, DatViet)
Berkenaan dengan berlangsungnya pameran maritim internasional Vietship 2014 yang diselenggaran di Hanoi-Vietnam, galangan kapal Belanda DSNS (Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding) turut memamerkan model kapal fregat Sigma 9814 pesanan Angkatan Laut Vietnam.
Damen membawa 2 model kapal Sigma 9814, keduanya mirip, yang membedakannya hanyalah bagian buritan kapal, tipe pertama menggunakan hanggar helikopter, sedangkan tipe kedua tidak menggunakan hanggar helikopter.
Kapal Sigma 9814 Angkatan Laut Vietnam ini mempunyai ukuran panjang 99,91 m, lebar 14,02 m, draft 3,75 m, bobot penuh 2.150 ton, dan jumlah awak 103 orang.
Persenjataan utama Sigma 9814 terdiri dari kanon utama Oto Melara 76mm tipe stealth cupola. Kanon supercepat ini mampu memuntahkan peluru 120 rounds/menit dan mampu menghajar sasaran hingga jarak 16 km.
Persis di belakang kanon utama berjajar 12 tabung peluncur rudal permukaan ke udara tipe vertical launch system. Jenis rudal yang dipakai adalah VL MICA, rudal berkecepatan hingga 3.0 mach ini berjarak jangkau efektif 10 km. Rudal ini dapat menerima data target dari beberapa sistem sensor, VL MICA dapat dioperasikan secara independen atau terintegrasi dengan jaringan pertahanan udara yang lebih luas.
Kanon sekunder Sigma 9814 menggunakan 2 naval cannon jenis Oto Melara Marlin WS kaliber 35mm/30mm. Kanon ini mampu memuntahkan peluru hingga 220 rounds/menit untuk tipe 25mm atau 160 rounds/menit untuk tipe 30mm. Kanon pertama dipasang di bagian depan, tepatnya di bawah bridge, sedangkan kanon kedua diletakkan tepat di atas hanggar helikopter. Belum jelas apakah Vietnam akan memilih tipe 25mm ataukah 30mm.
Untuk rudal permukaan ke permukaan dipilih rudal Exocet MM40 Block III dengan tipe peluncur 2x4 tabung. Rudal dengan hulu ledak 155 kg ini sanggup melesat hingga Mach 0.9 dan mampu menghancurkan sasaran pada jarak 180 km.
Agak mengherankan bahwa tidak ditemukan peluncur torpedo pada kapal Sigma 9814 ini, meskipun demikian diperkirakan kapal ini tetap memiliki 2 peluncur torpedo anti kapal selam berukuran 324 mm. Peluncur torpedo ini kemungkinan tidak diletakkan di geladak atas namun di badan samping kapal dan dilengkapi pintu penutup.
Untuk heli kapal selam Vietnam masih mempercayakannya kepada heli Kamov Ka-28 buatan Rusia. Heli ini mempunyai bobot 11 ton, namun demikian hanggar yang disediakannya tidaklah mencukupi, patut diduga bahwa hanggar tersebut akan digunakan sebagai hanggar UAV. Tipe yang digunakan kemungkinan adalah rotor UAV jenis S-100 Camcopter buatan Schibel.
Kapal ini juga dilengkapi 2 speedboat karet jenis RHIB yang diletakkan di bagian belakang persis di samping hanggar, untuk jenis yang tanpa hanggar kedua perahu karet ini disimpan dalam posisi tertutup.
Sama seperti tipe kapal Sigma lainnya buatan DSNS, kapal ini akan menggunakan sistem manajemen pertempuran TACTICOS buatan Thales. Thales juga memasok Radar SMART-S Mk 2 yang terpasang di ujung tiang utama kapal dalam keadaan berputar mampu mendeteksi sasaran hingga jarak 250 km. dan mampu melacak 500 sasaran secara simultan tidak terkecuali pesawat terbng, helikopter, rudal dan UAV. Untuk sistem kontrol tembakan, fregat ini menggunakan electro-optical fire control system pasokan Thales jenis STING EO Mk 2.
Modernisasi Angkatan Bersenjata Vietnam terus saja berlanjut, fregat buatan Belanda ini kelak akan berpasangan dengan fregat kelas Gepard 3.9 yang telah lebih dulu bertugas menjaga perairan Vietnam.
(Defense Studies)
01 Maret 2014
Panser Tarantula TNI AD (photo : jaka92)
TNI Angkatan Darat mengoperasikan 28 panser kanon Tarantula buatan Korea Selatan dengan kanon Cockerill Mk III ukuran 90 milimeter. Kepala Staf TNI AD Jenderal (TNI) Budiman, yang ditemui di Jakarta, Kamis (27/2), mengatakan, untuk pertama kalinya TNI AD menggunakan panser buatan Korsel dengan penggerak enam roda tersebut ditempatkan di Jakarta dan Jawa Timur.
“Ada 20 unit ditempatkan di Jakarta dan delapan unit di Jawa Timur di sebuah batalyon kavaleri di Pasuruan,” kata Budiman. Panser tersebut dibuat atas kerja sama pabrikan Korsel dengan PT Pindad di Bandung, Jawa Barat. Uji tembak sudah dilakukan dengan beragam munisi 90 milimeter pada Oktober 2013 di Cipatat, Jawa Barat. Panser kanon tersebut memiliki keunggulan, antara lain, tolak balik (recoil atau entakan) saat menembakkan meriam tidak terasa. KSAD mengatakan akan melakukan transfer teknologi semaksimal mungkin dalam proyek Tarantula.
(TNI AD)
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