Sunday, 29 July 2018

Royal Navy’s Jones on Road to HMS Queen Elizabeth-Led Carrier Strike Group, Future Maritime Combat

Royal Navy 


BY JENNIFER-LEIGH OPRIHORY FIA 2018, VIDEOS

Adm. Sir Philip Jones, RN, First Sea Lord and chief of naval staff of the Royal Navy, says the service is planning “a full carrier-strike operational work-up in UK waters in 2020” that will include “a full air wing” in preparation for its deployment of an HMS Queen Elizabeth-led carrier strike group in 2021, and discusses the future of maritime combat, US-UK naval collaboration, the Elizabeth’s upcoming US deployment and much more in a wide-ranging, July 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow outside London. Our coverage was sponsored by Farnborough International and Leonardo DRS.

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Turkey, Ukraine advance An-188 co-production talks

The An-188 aircraft is produced by Antonov, which is part of the Ukrainian aerospace holding group Ukroboronprom. (Courtesy of Antonov)
By: Burak Ege Bekdil

 ANKARA — Turkish and Ukrainian aerospace and procurement officials made “notable progress” in negotiations for the co-production of the Antonov An-188 military cargo aircraft, an advanced version of Ukraine’s An-178, Turkish officials said.

 “This is a complex program for which both sides are keen,” said one Turkish aerospace official. “We are positively discussing several aspects of an optimal modality for co-production.”

 Parties involved in negotiations include Turkey’s defense procurement office, SSB in its new acronym, Tusas Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Antonov and Ukraine’s umbrella defense entity Ukroboronprom.

 Turkish and Ukrainian officials have agreed that the next step of the talks will involve a visit by Turkish delegation to Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, to inspect the Antonov production line.

 Antonov, maker of the An-188 and part of Ukroboronprom, showcased the short take-off and landing aircraft for the first time at the EurAsia Show 2018 aerospace exhibition in Antalya, Turkey, Apr. 25-28.

 For any co-production deal to go ahead the aircraft must be brought to full compliance with NATO standards, Turkish officials said.

 A TAI official said that discussions focused on what each country’s industries would take up, work share, technology transfer and know-how, licensing and exports to third countries.

 The An-188-100 will be equipped with four D-436-148FM three-shaft high by-pass turbofan engines developed by the Ukrainian company Ivchenko-Progress. The variant with four AI-28 new-generation engines also developed by the Ivchenko-Progress will be called the An-188-110. An-188-120 will be equipped with four LEAP high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines made by CFM International (CFMI).

 All new aircraft of the An-188 family would be capable of basing on different airfields, including air strips, and landing on short runways of only 600-800 m in length.

 The aircraft will have an advanced glass cockpit with the newest flight navigation and communication equipment. The An-188 features a flight distance of up to 7,700 km, a cruising altitude of up to 12,100 m, and a speed of up to 800 km/h depending on aircraft and engine type and variant.

Source: defensenews.com

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Flying Laboratories IL-76 ll for flight tests of prospective engines-DD-14 (for Airliners MC-21) and TV 7-117 (for IL-114-300 and IL-112 B)

United Aircraft Corp
Flying Laboratories IL-76 ll for the implementation of flight tests of prospective engines-DD-14 (for Airliners MC-21) and TV 7-117 St with Screw ab-112 (for IL-114-300 and IL-112 B) on the territory of Leah. M.M. Gromov (Zhukovsky). Source: United Aircraft Corp

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Saturday, 28 July 2018

Italian Army has signed a €159 million contract for 10 Centauro II wheeled tanks

RID Rivista Italiana Difesa YouTube
Italy buys new tank — and it’s got much more going for it than its predecessor
By: Tom Kington  

 ROME — The Italian Army has signed a €159 million (U.S. $186 million) contract to acquire 10 Centauro II wheeled tanks, the first tranche of a planned 136-vehicle order.

 Manufactured by a consortium grouping Italian firms Leonardo and Iveco, the Centauro II is faster, more powerful and better protected than the Centauro tank already in service with the Italian Army, which it will replace.

 The new 30-ton Centauro features a 120mm cannon, digital communications and a 720-horsepower engine, and is seen by planners as a lightweight tank able to complement the Freccia armored troop carrier on which the Army is basing its new medium brigades.

 The new tank’s enhanced digitalization means it will work better with the digital capabilities of the Freccia, and it provides 24 horsepower per ton compared to 19 for the old Centauro.

 Generals see the new Centauro as lighter and more flexible than a traditional tank, but with the same destructive power.

 The eight wheels of the new Centauro, which make it better suited for peacekeeping operations than a tracked vehicle, extend farther out from the hull of the vehicle than its predecessor to give it greater stability. The new design also means that any mines triggered by the pressure of the tire will detonate further from the hull.

 The Iveco-Oto Melara Consortium, or CIO, was established in 1985 on a 50-50 basis between Iveco and Oto Melara, which is now part of Leonardo.

 Leonardo said it was responsible for the vehicles’ turret, including observation, targeting and communications systems, and was responsible for a €92 million share of the €159 million contract.

 Source: defensenews.com

 Centauro II Wheeled Armoured Vehicle: Details
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China receives first batch of Russian S-400 missile systems



China receives first batch of Russian S-400 missile systems — source
Russia’s S-400 Triumf is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles, and surface targets

 MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. China has received the first batch of Russian-made S-400 Triumf missile systems, a military diplomatic source told TASS on Thursday.

 "Last week, an acceptance certificate was signed for the first batch of S-400 systems that was delivered from Russia by sea in May 2018. The systems passed over to China’s ownership once the documents was signed," the source said.

 Russia’s Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation refrained from comment on this information.

 Reports on Russia signing a contract for sales of S-400 systems to China came in November 2014. In November 2015, Russian president’s adviser on military technical cooperation Vladimir Kozhin confirmed these reports. China became the first foreign buyer of these systems and will receive two batches.

 Russia’s S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the latest long-range antiaircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles, and surface targets. The system can hit aerodynamic targets at a range of up to 400 kilometers (249 miles) and tactical ballistic targets flying at a speed of 4.8 km/s (3 mi/s) at a distance of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles). Such targets include cruise missiles, tactical and strategic aircraft and ballistic missile warheads.

 The system’s radars detect aerial targets at a distance of up to 600 kilometers (373 miles). The system’s 48N6E3 surface-to-air missiles can hit aerodynamic targets at altitudes of 10,000-27,000 meters and ballistic threats at altitudes of 2,000-25,000 meters.

Source: tass.com

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UK halted plans for procuring Type 31e general purpose frigate for the Royal Navy

BAE “Cutlass frigate”
UK halts plans for a budget frigate
By: Andrew Chuter  

 LONDON — The British Ministry of Defence confirmed Tuesday that it has halted plans for procuring its proposed low-cost Type 31e general purpose frigate for the Royal Navy on the grounds there were insufficient compliant bids.

 The MoD chose the day Parliament went into its summer recess to reveal that a competition to build five frigates at a price capped at a relatively low £1.25 billion (U.S. $1.65 billion) had been put on ice while the procurement process was rethought.

 A spokesman for the MoD said the current competition was being restarted due to insufficient compliant bids being lodged for an effective and robust competition but that the move does not change the timing or scope of the program.

 “There have been no changes in our plans to procure a first batch of five new Type 31e frigates to grow our Royal Navy,” the spokesman said. “We still want the first ship delivered by 2023 and are confident that industry will meet the challenge of providing them for the price tag we’ve set.”

 A new procurement plan is in the works, MoD officials said.

 Industry executives in Britain said the decision to delay the program, intended to replace the Type 23 fleet, means it is doubtful the Royal Navy will be able to meet what was an already a tight 2023 deadline.

 The MoD had committed to announcing the two winners of a competitive design phase no later than the end of June. A winning contractor was expected to be selected by the end of March 2019.

 “This is an early contract in a wider procurement process, and we will incorporate the lessons learned and begin again as soon as possible so the program can continue at pace,” the MoD spokesman said.

 The competitive design phase was to have been funded by the MoD — the first time the government would have committed any meaningful cash to the program.

 Procurement of the warships is at the heart of a new national shipbuilding strategy rolled out by the Conservative government in 2017.

 With BAE Systems set to build eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates for the Royal Navy, the government was looking for a general purpose warship capable of supporting naval shipbuilding capabilities elsewhere in the U.K.

 A Babcock-led team, which also included naval designers, sensor suppliers and other shipbuilders, was pitching against a Cammell Laird-led partnership with BAE.

 Babcock is offering the Arrowhead 140, a modified version of the Royal Danish Navy’s Iver Huitfeld-class warship designed by OMT, while the opposition is offering its Leander design.

 As recently as July 13, Babcock was notifying potential suppliers of an industry day briefing on their Type 31e bid. (The "e" in the title stands for export, as the British are hoping to pitch the design and cost to make it attractive to overseas customers.)

 The MoD had hoped for more international interest in the program, but industry executives in Britain said the requirement for so much of the work to be done in the U.K. had deterred companies that initially had shown interest.

 One of the other issues that had undermined foreign interest was the exceptional degree of risk the MoD wanted industry to take on the program, one executive said.

Source: defensenews.com

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Marsun launches five M21 boats for Royal Thai Navy

The launch ceremony of five M21-class patrol boats, 270-274, at Samutprakan, Thailand on 24 July 2018. (Marsun)
Ridzwan Rahmat, Singapore - Jane's Navy International

 27 July 2018
   
Key Points

  • Marsun has launched another five M21-class patrol boats for the Royal Thai Navy
  • The service is now anticipating delivery of 10 vessels in the class

The launch ceremony of five M21-class patrol boats, 270-274, at Samutprakan, Thailand on 24 July 2018. (Marsun)

 Thai shipbuilder Marsun Company Limited has launched another five M21-class patrol boats for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN).

 The vessels, which bear pennant numbers from 270 through to 274 respectively, were launched on 24 July at Marsun’s facilities in the country’s Samut Prakan province, said the RTN in an announcement the following day.

 The service is now anticipating the delivery of 10 M21 patrol vessels. An earlier batch of five boats in the class was launched by Marsun in February 2018.

 The M21 class has an overall length of 21.4 m, an overall beam of 5.56 m, and a hull draught of 1.05 m. It is powered by two MAN diesel engines driving two fixed pitch propellers, and can attain top speeds of more than 30 kt and a range of more than 350 n miles (648 km) at economical speed.

 The vessel has carrying capacity for up to 4,000 litres of fuel, 1,200 litres of water, and can accommodate a crew of nine. It can operate up to Sea State 2.

 Images of the launch ceremony released by the RTN confirm that each of the five vessels launched on 24 July have been equipped with a 20 mm cannon in the primary position. The class is also armed with one 12.7 mm machine gun with a co-axial 81 mm grenade launcher in the aft section.

 The M21 class has also been equipped with one crane-launched rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) at stern, and one inflatable life raft canister on the port side at aft.

 Once delivered, all five vessels are expected to be deployed with the RTN’s coastguard squadron and take on duties such as VIP escorts, fishery resources protection, and other maritime constabulary duties in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.

Source: janes.com

 Marsun Shipyard Thailand
Published on Jul 20, 2017
M21 Patrol Boat built by Marsun Shipyard Thailand


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