Wednesday 30 June 2021

Did Russia Test Hypersonic Missile From Syria? Israel May Know

MilitaryPorn @reddit


Did Russia Test Hypersonic Missile From Syria? Israel May Know - Breaking Defense Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary

Some Israeli observers say the missile test is part of Moscow's effort to gain a very strong presence in the Mediterranean. For example, they say that in recent days the Russian Air Force and the Russian Navy performed a joint combat drill just 30 km from the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, is currently in the eastern Mediterranean near Cyprus.

By   ARIE EGOZI

on June 28, 2021 at 3:07 PM

A Russian MiG-31 with a Kinzahl hypersonic missile.

TEL AVIV: Israel appears to have monitored Russia’s air force testing a Kinzhal hypersonic missile over the Mediterranean last week.

Israeli sensors monitor the area constantly and data from them is being checked. The test was probably performed after a Russian aircraft took off from Khmeimim air base located southeast of Latakia, a city  in northwestern Syria, Israeli sources say.

The KH-47M2 Kinzhal is an air-launched Russian nuclear capable missile with a range of 2,000 km. It can reach a speed of Mach 10 and is capable of performing evasive maneuvers.

Russian media reported that the Kinzhal missile was fired from a MiG-31K aircraft at a virtual target in the Mediterranean. The planes took off from the Khmeimim air base in Syria.

“A pair of MiG-31K aircraft with the ability to use the latest hypersonic missiles from the Kinzhal complex flew from Russian airfields to the Russian airbase Khmeimim in Syria for exercises,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said. According to the Moscow Times , the MiG-31Ks joined other Russian warplanes and submarines in the eastern Mediterranean. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian exercises included an Il-38 and Tu-142MK anti-submarine aircraft, as well as Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers.

One of Israel’s main flight control centers is located on Mount Miron in northern Israel. It is operated by the Israeli air force and monitors large parts of air space including the Mediterranean.

Israel has more sensors monitoring the surrounding counties. No Israeli official was willing to comment on the test.

Some Israeli observers say the missile test is part of Moscow’s effort to gain a very strong presence in the Mediterranean. For example, they say that in recent days the Russian Air Force and the Russian Navy performed a joint combat drill just 30 km from the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, is currently in the eastern Mediterranean. within a closed area south of Cyprus.

The Russian air and naval exercises are taking place in the context of troubled relations between Moscow and London following Russia’s forces firing warning shots and dropping bombs during exercises when a British Royal Navy destroyer was nearby. Russia wrongly claimed the ship entered its waters in the Black Sea last Wednesday. Russia illegally invaded and occupied Crimea, a part of Ukraine. Now Russia tries to impose its sovereignty on the area by claiming the territorial waters around Crimea.

The Russian defense ministry issued a statement claiming that HMS Defender “was given a preliminary warning that weapons would be used if the state borders of the Russian Federation were violated. It did not react to the warning.” The British Defense Ministry statement said simply that no shots were fired at HMS Defender: “The Royal Navy ship is conducting innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law.”

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Vadim


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First ABMS Buy: KC-46 Pods To Link F-22, F-35

US Air Force / Staff Sgt. Don Hudson


First ABMS Buy: KC-46 Pods To Link F-22, F-35 - Breaking Defense Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary

Decision-making software tools and IT infrastructure are next on the agenda for ABMS investment, say senior Air Force officials.

By   THERESA HITCHENS

on June 25, 2021 at 10:53 AM



The Air Force plans to use the KC-46 not just as a tanker, but as a communications node.

WASHINGTON: As the first tangible result of the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), the Air Force intends to field between at least four new comms pods for the KC-46 by 2023 so the tanker can serve as a kind of flying cell tower between the incompatible radio systems of the F-22 and F-35 fighters.

The end goal isn’t just ‘translation’ software for the fifth-generation fighters, but to continue building out the capabilities the Air Force needs to manage future All Domain Operations — from connectivity to machine-speed decision-making to real-time data sharing among commanders in far flung HQs. To that end, the service’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) — which is now in charge of ABMS acquisition — already is working to define what follow-on capabilities should be next pushed out to Combatant Commanders, according to senior Air Force officials.

The service may field as many as 10 pods. The first four KC-46 pods represent a “minimum viable product” for what the service calls “ABMS Capability Release No. 1,” explained Brig. Gen. Jeffery Valenzia, who heads the service’s new ABMS Cross Functional Team. “However, we also have an objective that we want to get to as many as 10 pods.”

Further, he told reporters at a briefing yesterday, “it’s important to recognize that the development of the pods are focused on this ability to connect the tactical edge, to plug it into the broader command control capability.” The ultimate aim is connectivity writ large, he stressed, not just the development of a series of pods and ‘gateways’ that allow specific machine-to-machine links.

Indeed, Valenzia explained, while 50 percent of the 2021 ABMS investment budget of some $200 million is going into Capability Release 1 (CR-1), the service is already working on defining CR-2.

“At the same time we are also starting to make investments into looking into what we are probably going to focus [on for] Capability Release 2” — which will involve figuring out how to speed command and control decision-making at Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to improve homeland defense.

As I’ve reported, NORTHCOM has been testing artificial intelligence tools to support implementation of ABMS and Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). NORTHCOM head Gen. Glen VanHerck has been a vocal supporter of JADC2, pushing to get his hands on new capabilities as fast as possible to help shore up defenses against what he sees as a growing threat to the homeland from Russia and China.

“The Combatant Commands are still challenged with potential threats over the horizon that they need to characterize and make better decisions on more rapidly,” Gen. David Allvin, Air Force vice chief of staff said. “So, while we work on connectivity through Capability Release Number One, there’s that element of enhanced and accelerated decision-making that we’re really diving deeply into in Capability Release Number Two.”

Indeed, Allvin noted, the Air Force is “feeding in” some ABMS funds to NORTHCOM’s next iteration of its Global Information Dominance Exercise (GIDE) that will be held “in a couple of week” as part of that work.

In addition, Valenzia said, the ABMS program is “making some baseline investments in data management — and, so, the idea of building out a ‘data fabric’.” How can we construct the management of data so that data arrives in the right place, at the right time, in the right format?”

Looking forward to Capability Release 3, a key investment will need to be in in the IT infrastructure to support actually being able to store, process and move the vast amounts of data that will be involved, the officials said.

“We’re looking at how do we solve the Combatant Commanders’ problem of accelerating the kill chain —  getting from flying to the target to prosecuting the target as fast as possible. Well, it should be no surprise that in order to move the data faster, you need bigger pipes, you need more bandwidth,” Allvin said.

In answer to a question about overarching ABMS costs, Allvin said that because of the way the program is structured — based on spiral development and a field-test-refine, and field-test-refine again model — “it will be very difficult” to ever come up with a “single cost estimate.”

“The reason why the answer is often unsatisfying as to the cost is because it is a progressive development, in that the more we learn, the more that affects what we’re going to procure in the future,” he elaborated. “So we’re starting with, really, the capabilities-based approach of what ABMS is designed to deliver. And from that, we are developing pieces of the system. And the more we develop the pieces of the system — which one can look at it through the lens of ‘minimum viable products’ that do parts of the entire work of the system — once we’ve learned how to integrate them, and how to scale them, we’ll get a better idea of the cost.”

For this reason, he said, the Air Force is working closely to provide Congress with “transparency” into the processes being used by the RCO, and by Chief Architect Preston Dunlap’s office in developing and experimenting with ABMS-related tech.

Congress has been deeply skeptical of ABMS, chopping the service’s budget request nearly in half in the 2021 defense appropriation.

Allvin said that the Air Force has made a “commitment” to Congress that, “as we learn; as we understand the pieces — the six capability sets that we need to build out the system — as we understand the scope, the scale, and how we anticipate the price being of each of those” … “everything we know, all others will know.”

Those six capabilities sets, as Breaking D readers know, are: Secure Processing; Connectivity; Data Management; Applications; Sensor Integration; and, Effects Integration.

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BAE Systems Ramps F-35 Electronic Warfare System Production

US Air Force / April McDonald



June 28, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

BAE Systems is providing additional EW systems, retrofit kits, and spares for the F-35 – delivering critical situational awareness and survivability capabilities. (Photo: BAE Systems)


NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BAE Systems, Inc. is providing Lockheed Martin with additional electronic warfare (EW) systems, retrofit kits, and spares for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. The contract builds on BAE Systems’ on-time delivery of more than 800 state-of-the-art AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare/countermeasure systems to date, providing F-35 jets with critical situational awareness and survivability capabilities.

“We’ve delivered cutting-edge electronic warfare systems for every F-35 fighter,” said Deb Norton, vice president of F-35 Solutions at BAE Systems. “Our team is focused on manufacturing excellence and execution, providing agile, adaptable systems to outpace the current and future threat.”

This Lot 16 award comes as BAE Systems delivers Lot 14 systems and executes material orders for Lot 15. The company is currently producing 18 shipsets a month as it ramps production to more than 20 shipsets a month in 2022 to match F-35 aircraft Low Rate Initial Production.

The AN/ASQ-239 EW system provides advanced offensive and defensive capabilities that enable the F-35 to engage complex and highly capable threats. The innovative system is designed for performance, manufacturability, sustainability, and future upgradability.

BAE Systems is a leader in system affordability, having reduced the cost of the F-35 EW system by 77% since it was first produced and achieving all affordability targets since the inception of the program. The company is also among Lockheed Martin’s highest-rated suppliers for both quality and on-time delivery.

BAE Systems also is a leader in EW – designing, manufacturing, and sustaining some of the most advanced systems in the world. The company is focused on agile engineering, manufacturing, and sustainment solutions to accelerate the transition of laboratory innovations to the field. The company’s expertise in performance-based logistics has yielded a 60% improvement in F-35 EW system availability.

The AN/ASQ-239 system is manufactured at the BAE Systems state-of-the-art EW production facility in Nashua, N.H. For additional information on BAE Systems’ work on the F-35 program, visit www.baesystems.com/ew or www.baesystems.com/en-us/product/f-35.

@BAESystemsInc


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Tuesday 29 June 2021

Challenger 3 battle tank to be equipped with Trophy Active Protection System

RBSL


Challenger 3 battle tank to be equipped with Trophy Active Protection System - Military Embedded Systems

June 28, 2021

EMMA HELFRICH
Technology Editor

Rafael photo.

ISRAEL. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. announced that its Trophy Active Protection System (APS) for armored vehicles has been selected for the next phase of detailed assessment and integration by the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) for the Army’s Challenger 3 MBT.

According to the company, the selection is a result of a study conducted by the U.K. MoD as part of an upgrade program led by prime contractor Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL), which will entail detailed integration and system trials of this lighter Trophy variant (Trophy MV), to fit the particular requirements of this vehicle.

Trophy APS is designed to provide mature, combat-proven protection against rocket and missile threats while locating the origin of the hostile fire for immediate response. Trophy is a fully-integrated APS and has been installed on Israel Defense Forces’ Merkava tanks since 2010, and has also been installed on the Namer APCs. 

The company claims that Trophy has made numerous combat interceptions with no damage to platforms since its first operational interception in 2011. Trophy has accrued over 1,000,000 operating hours, including 5,400 field tests, and is now under contract for serial production of over 1,800 systems.

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Monday 28 June 2021

War… It’s Just a Shot Away as Brits Provoke Russia

Peshik Yuri



FINIAN CUNNINGHAM  

THURSDAY 24 JUN 21



It sounds almost incredible that a war situation was only a shot away in such a grim face-off between NATO member Britain and Russia.

Russian patrol vessels fired warning shots at an armed British warship after it breached Russian territorial waters this week. Then a SU-24 fighter jet dropped bombs in the path of the British destroyer apparently forcing it out of Russian waters.

It sounds almost incredible that a war situation was only a shot away in such a grim face-off between NATO member Britain and Russia.

But what’s also condemnable is that the incendiary incident was a deliberate provocation by Britain. Russia has warned Britain not to provoke it again in the Black Sea. And Moscow accused London of telling barefaced lies.

The British government and its Ministry of Defense were quick to play down the incident, claiming that there were no warning shots fired on the Royal Navy guided-missile destroyer. London accused Russia of “disinformation” and maintained that HMS Defender was engaged in “innocent passage” through international waters in the Black Sea.

However, the official British version is contradicted by a BBC correspondent who was on board HMS Defender.

Jonathan Beale reported: “I am on board the warship in the Black Sea.The crew were already at action stations as they approached the southern tip of Russian-occupied [sic] Crimea. Weapons systems on board the Royal Navy destroyer had already been loaded.

This would be a deliberate move to make a point to Russia. HMS Defender was going to sail within the 12 mile (19km) limit of Crimea’s territorial waters. The captain insisted he was only seeking safe passage through an internationally recognized shipping lane.”

Thus, according to the BBC’s account, a fully armed and cocked warship deliberately entered territorial waters claimed by Russia (since Crimea joined the Russian Federation by a referendum in 2014). The crew were at action stations on their approach “to make a point to Russia”.

Such conduct by the British is nothing less than a wanton provocation to Russia. The BBC version concurs with Russia’s account of the circumstances, including the sound of warning shots.

One question is: why did the British government and MoD seek to immediately play down the incident, purporting to say that nothing had happened? London claimed that the warship was merely in the vicinity of Russian “gunnery exercises” as if it was all coincidence and that Moscow was engaging in disinformation about warding off the Royal Navy vessel.

Another question is: why was the BBC correspondent invited to take part in the Black Sea voyage of HMS Defender from the Ukrainian port of Odessa to Georgia skirting the Crimea Peninsula? It seems like the British may have been expecting their “point to Russia” would have been met with a passive response. And so the British would have been able to spin that their plucky navy was able to stick it to the Russians. Turns out though that the BBC man unhelpfully contradicted the military planners in London.

Britain was obliged to deny the military encounter because it knows full well that it was a provocative show of aggression by its warship. If the shots had escalated it could have been an act of war that Britain had instigated. Aggression is the supreme war crime as defined by the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders.

Russia has condemned the British action, saying HMS Defender should be renamed HMS Aggressor or HMS Provocateur.

It is also reported that on Tuesday, the day before the skirmish, Ukrainian military chiefs were hosted onboard HMS Destroyer while docked in Odessa where they signed new military contracts with the British on naval cooperation. That the Brits then sailed the next day straight into Russian waters suggests that the maneuver was a calculated show of naval power in support of Ukraine’s claims of “fighting against Russian aggression”.

As far back as April, the British had given notice that they were intending to dispatch warships to the Black Sea “in support of Ukraine”. Russia responded angrily and warned Britain and other NATO members to stay away from its territory. Russia subsequently has deployed larger military forces in its Black Sea territory, including around the Crimea Peninsula.

That the British went ahead with their plans to send warships into disputed waters is further sign that London was deliberately goading Moscow.

What the Brits were not expecting, it seems, was the way Russia rapidly deployed firepower this week to underscore its warnings to back off.

This is the context for why international “stability talks” between the United States and Russia are an urgent matter. It remains to be seen if the American Biden administration genuinely responds to Moscow’s appeals for earnest negotiations to stabilize relations. NATO so far seems to be indifferent to Russian proposals for cooperating on forming new security mechanisms in Europe.

The deterioration in relations between Russia and the United States and other NATO members has reached a dangerous flashpoint. The arming by the U.S. and NATO of the anti-Russia regime in Kiev is fueling the potential for all-out conflict between nuclear powers. Western indulgence of Kiev’s reckless claims of “Russian aggression” is further insanity.

And amid the treacherous conditions, the British send a guided-missile destroyer into Russian waters in defiance of reasonable warnings. That’s just a shot away from disaster.

Incredibly, this is all happening on the 80th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa when Nazi Germany launched its war against the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.

Source thealtworld.com

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Military Watch: Russian MiG-31K fighters sent to Syria with two important missions

Max C


Military Watch: Российские истребители МиГ-31К отправлены в Сирию с двумя важными задачами - discover24.ru

Date: June 27, 2021

AUTHOR Vadim Botnaryuk

The deployment of heavy MiG-31K fighters at the Russian Khmeimim airbase in Syria serves not only as a response to the deployment of a joint British and American carrier strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean, but also aims to familiarize the Syrians with the management of modern combat aircraft, which could ultimately be selected by the Syrian Air Force for replacing the aging MiG-25. This is reported by the American military edition Military Watch. We present the translation of this article.

After expanding the runways in 2020, the Russian Air Force deployed MiG-31K (Foxhound) heavy combat aircraft at Khmeimim airbase in Syria, its most active military facility outside the former USSR. This follows the first-ever deployment of Tu-22M supersonic bombers at the same facility in May, with longer runways being the key to deploying such aircraft.

Russian state media dubbed the MiG-31K interceptors and showed footage of them flying unarmed with Kh-47M2 hypersonic ballistic missiles, indicating that they can use air-to-air missiles as well as long-range R-missiles. 37. The interceptor variants MiG-31, MiG-31BM and MiG-31BSM are considered the most capable aircraft of the country in terms of the ability to attack air targets deployed at the squadron level.

Earlier it was reported that Syria showed interest in acquiring these aircraft, which are valued for their unrivaled speed and range, as well as for the very high degree of situational awareness provided by their Zaslon-M radars.

The MiG-31K entered service in 2018 and, along with the Tu-22M, is one of two aircraft in the Russian Air Force capable of carrying the Kh-47M2 hypersonic missiles. This rocket model has no competitors outside of Russia, it is distinguished by very high accuracy, a speed of Mach 10 and a flight range of 2000 km. Missiles are prized for their ability to hit both warships and ground targets, as well as their ability to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. Their speed, combined with their high maneuverability, makes them virtually inaccessible to interception.

The Khmeimim airbase was established in August 2015, shortly before the Russian military intervention in Syria, and initially deployed aircraft needed to support Syrian counterinsurgency activities, such as Su-25 attack aircraft and Su-24 strike fighters. Since November 2015, they have been reinforced by air superiority fighters such as the Su-27SM3 and later the Su-35.

More recently, with the final decision on the outcome of the Syrian war, Russia has deployed longer-range weapons systems that enable it to strike targets across Europe from NATO's more vulnerable southern flank. The high endurance and very long range of the Tu-22M and MiG-31 - two of the heaviest combat aircraft ever used in Hemeimim - make them ideal for such missions.

The deployment of the MiG-31K follows the deployment of a joint British and American aircraft carrier strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Syria and comes amid a surge in tensions between Moscow and London. The official statement said that the Foxhounds "have begun to carry out tasks to develop the airspace of the region", which indicates their role not only in air strikes against ground targets.

The deployment of the MiG-31K can serve additional purposes: in particular, to familiarize the personnel of the airbase with combat aircraft of this type, in order to prepare the possibility of receiving and servicing a larger number of Foxhounds, and in the long term - potentially also to familiarize the Syrians with the management of modern combat aircraft, which may ultimately be chosen to replace the aging MiG-25 (Foxbat), currently the elite of the Syrian Air Force.

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Sunday 27 June 2021

New missile and artificial intelligence technologies will turn Tu-160 into a "doomsday weapon"

Ilya Boldyrev



Author Vadim Botnaryuk

June 24, 2021 05:33

The bomb compartment of the Tu-160 "White Swan" strategic missile carrier will receive the latest missile, which has no analogues today in any country in the world.

This rocket is being built in complete secrecy. The technologies for its development and production are not disclosed at the moment. However, experts believe that the basis for a new type of weapon will be Zircon hypersonic missiles capable of accelerating to Mach 9 or 11 thousand kilometers per hour.

In addition, the next modernization of the Tu-160 implies the installation of the latest electronics, controlled by artificial intelligence. The American media have already noted the efforts of the Russian designers and said that the upgrades of the bomber make it a "doomsday plane."

Recall that the day before the Russia-US summit in Geneva, publications appeared in the United States about the appearance of the Tu-160 near the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The US Air Force even sent its F-22 fighter to intercept, but the bomber managed to return to its place of permanent deployment even before its appearance.


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U.S. State Dept OKs possible sale of F-16s, missiles to Philippines

US Air Force / Staff Sgt. Trevor T. McBride



David Brunnstrom
Mike Stone

U.S. Army soldiers look at an F-16 fighter jet during an official ceremony to receive four such aircraft from the United States, at a military base in Balad, Iraq, July 20, 2015. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo


WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets, as well as Sidewinder and Harpoon missiles, to the Philippines in three separate deals with a combined value of more than $2.5 billion, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The Philippines is looking for a new multi-role fighter jet and is evaluating the F-16 and the SAAB Abs (SAABb.ST) Gripen.

The announcement comes as the United States seeks to renew an agreement with the Philippines governing the U.S. troop presence in the country, which is critical to Washington’s strategy to counter ever-expanding Chinese activity in Asia.

Last week, the Philippines again suspended for another six months a move to scrap the two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that had been due to expire in August. read more

The Pentagon said the Philippines requested to buy 10 F-16C Block 70/72 aircraft and two F-16D Block 70/72 aircraft made by Lockheed Martin Co (LMT.N). That package, which includes spares and training, is valued at up to $2.43 billion.

Despite the State Department approval, the notification does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded. Often during a competition, the department will approve exports before a winner is named.

Eric Sayers, a visiting fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said it appeared to be "a proactive effort by Washington to ensure the United States remains the security partner of choice for Manila."

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has frequently condemned U.S. foreign policy while exploring closer ties with China, told Washington last year he was canceling the VFA amid outrage over a senator and ally being denied a U.S. visa. But he has repeatedly suspended the expiration date.

Gregory Poling, maritime security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said one of Duterte’s complaints has been his perception that the United States does not provide high-quality equipment to the Philippines.

"I’d expect that the U.S. government will be looking for opportunities over the next six months to combat that perception," he said.

The Pentagon also notified Congress on Thursday of the possible sale of two missile packages to the Philippines.

One was for 12 Harpoon Air Launched Block II Missiles, two training missiles, spares and equipment made by Boeing (BA.N) and valued at up to $120 million.

Another was for 24 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical missiles, 24 training missiles and spare parts made by Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) and valued at up to $42.4 million.

The Philippines is a U.S. treaty ally and several military agreements are dependent on the VFA, which governs the rotation of thousands of U.S. troops in and out of the Philippines.

Having the ability to rotate in troops is important not only for the defense of the Philippines, but strategically for the United States when it comes to countering China's increasingly assertive behavior in the region.

"The package is a serious step that will certainly get Beijing's attention," said Sayers.

Lockheed Martin said the F-16 would play a significant role in strengthening Manila's strategic partnership with Washington and allies, while enabling the Philippines to join other Southeast Asian F-16 operators.

Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington


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Saturday 26 June 2021

Russia’s Defense Ministry to deliver four Su-57 fighters this year

Alexei



Thursday June 17, 2021 14:46 MSK

© Alexey Kondratov

Russia’s Defense Ministry will receive four Su-57 fifth-generation fighters this year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said during his visit to the Gagarin Aviation Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s Far East on Wednesday.

"This year, 15 combat planes are due to be delivered [by the Gagarin Aviation Plant] to the customer and under export contracts. As you know, the Defense Ministry has signed a large long-term contract on the Su-57, and this year four serial-produced planes will be delivered. The production of generation 4++ Su-35 planes continues," the vice-premier said.


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Friday 25 June 2021

Malaysia to buy new fighters in tense territorial situation

Gilles Denis



on 23rd June 2021

CLEMENT CHARPENTREAU

Image : hkhtt hj/Shutterstock

The Malaysian government issued an international tender on June 22, 2021, for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Light Combat Aircraft/Fighter Lead-In-Trainer (LCA/FLIT) program.

The Ministry of Defense intends to acquire 18 FLIT/LCA aircraft. The tender will close on September 22, 2021. The light fighters will replace several aging aircraft, such as the BAe Hawk Mk 108 and Mk 208, and support the Boeing F/A-18D Hornet and Sukhoi Su-30MKM in service with the RMAF. As for the trainers, they will replace the Aermacchi MB-339CM trainer jets that are currently grounded. The proportion would be 8 trainers for 10 light combat aircraft, according to an industry source quoted by Janes.

Malaysia recently retired the MiG-29 Fulcrum due to its inability to maintain them. Since then, the RMAF has in dire need of aircraft capable of carrying out an interception. A similar tender had already been issued in 2018. It received proposals from several international manufacturers, including the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50, India’s HAL Tejas, the Leonardo M-346, and the Boeing T-X, since renamed T-7 Red Hawk. Due to a lack of funding, the competition did not go forward.

However, the capability gap was most likely felt very recently by the Malaysian authorities. On May 31, 2021, RMAF Hawks from the Labuan Air Base intercepted a tactical formation of no less than 16 Chinese transport aircraft that came within 110 kilometers (60 nautical miles) from Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein issued a formal complaint to China, which minimized the incident, saying that the aircraft that were in training at the time “strictly abided by the relevant international law.”

Situated on the southwestern side of the tumultuous South China Sea, Malaysia has ongoing territorial disputes with its neighbors over the control of some of the Spratly Islands. The Swallow Reef, for example, that it controls since 1983 with a base of the Royal Malaysian Navy, is also claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, and China.


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