Tuesday, 9 November 2021

China delivers largest, most advanced warship to Pakistan

Image via wb-利刃斩海飞剪艏


China delivers largest, most advanced warship to Pakistan - Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun

Published: Nov 08, 2021 10:22 PM
   
China launches first Type 054A/P frigate for Pakistan in Shanghai in August 2020. File photo: Courtesy of the Pakistan Navy


China on Monday delivered to Pakistan the largest and most advanced warship China has ever exported, in a move that highlights the friendship between the two countries and will contribute to the two countries' all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

Designed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), the frigate was delivered to the Pakistan Navy in a commissioning ceremony in Shanghai, CSSC announced in a statement on Monday.

The Type 054A/P frigate was named the PNS Tughril, according to a statement the Pakistan Navy sent to the Global Times on Monday.

The PNS Tughril is the first hull of four Type 054 frigates being constructed for the Pakistan Navy, the Pakistan Navy said, noting that the ship is a technologically advanced and highly capable platform with enormous surface-to-surface, surface-to-air and underwater firepower, besides extensive surveillance potentials.

Being equipped with state-of-the-art combat management and an electronic warfare system along with modern self-defense capabilities, the Type 054A/P frigate can simultaneously execute a number of naval warfare missions in a highly intense multi-threat environment, the Pakistani statement said.

The frigate is the largest and most advanced warship China has ever exported, CSSC said.

The completion and the delivery of the vessel is another major achievement of China-Pakistan friendship, and will further enhance the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, the Chinese shipbuilding company said in the statement.

Pakistani Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque said that the commissioning of the PNS Tughril ushers in a new chapter in Pakistan-China friendship that has matured through the test of time and remained steadfast in all domains, according to the statement from the Pakistan Navy.

In the context of the overall security paradigm of the region, Tughril-class frigates will strengthen Pakistan Navy's capabilities to respond to maritime challenges to ensure seaward defense, maintain peace, stability and balance of power in the Indian Ocean region, the ambassador said, who also praised the concerted efforts made by China for the landmark achievement by the timely delivery of the well-equipped and potent frigate despite the global pandemic.

The Vice Party Secretary and Director of the Board at CSSC Du Gang also applauded the timely construction of PNS Tughril while emphasizing that the commissioning of the ship is a major milestone and a testimony of the China-Pakistan long-lived friendship, as both countries are bound by the affinity of trust, compassion and commonality.

The head of the Pakistan Navy Mission overseeing construction of the 054A/P frigate, Commodore Rashid Mehmood Sheikh, said that the PNS Tughril, being a multi-mission capable frigate, will form the mainstay of the Pakistan Navy fleet while bolstering the Pakistan Navy's maritime defense capabilities, according to the Pakistani statement.

The delivery of the frigate also serves as a milestone in expanding the influence of Chinese vessels as products and boosting their competitiveness in the international market, CSSC said.

Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Research Academy, told the Global Times in a previous interview that the Type 054A, on which the Type 054A/P is based, is China's most advanced frigate.

Compared to previous Chinese frigates, the new ship has better air defense capability, as it is equipped with an improved radar system and a larger amount of missiles with a longer range, Zhang said, noting that the Type 054A frigate also has world-class stealth capability.

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Will Greece acquire 30 retiring RAF Eurofighter Typhoons?

Martyn William's Aircraft


Will Greece acquire 30 retiring RAF Eurofighter Typhoons?

on 29th October 2021

Clement Charpentreau


Image : Luc Willems


The Hellenic Air Force is reportedly considering the acquisition of the 30 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets of the Royal Air Force, due to be retired by 2025, according to Nikos Panagiotopoulos, the Greek Minister of Defense.

“All possible options are being considered to find the most suitable solution, in order to further upgrade the operational capabilities of the Air Force,” Panagiotopoulos said when questioned about the prospect by Kyriakos Velopoulos, president of the conservative party Ellinikí Lýsi.

Those 30 aircraft would come as a great opportunity for the Hellenic Air Force to retire the 18 antiqued McDonnell-Douglas F-4E Phantom II jets it is currently operating.

Faced with heightened territorial tensions with Turkey, Greece has been modernizing its fighter fleet. In mid-September, the Greek government confirmed that an order for six Dassault Rafale fighter jets would be placed, in addition to 18 French-made fighter jets already ordered for the Hellenic Air Force in January 2021.

The 2025 retirement of the 30 Typhoon Tranche 1 fighter jets in the sustainment fleet of the Royal Air Force was announced in early September 2021. It raised controversy as the fighter jets would be retired at just 42% of their useful life (2544.8 flying hours).

The Tranche 1 variant of the aircraft, the eldest of the four developed, is limited to the use of air-air missiles and has very limited air-ground capabilities without the use of an external pod.


Eurofighter Typhoon: Details
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Monday, 8 November 2021

Russian Navy may receive two nuclear submarines in 2022

photo Oleg Kuleshov



Photo: Oleg Kuleshov / RIA Novosti

Next year, Sevmash will transfer two nuclear submarines, a strategic one and a strike, to the Russian Naval Slot. Both will serve in the Pacific Fleet.

- Existing plans provide for the transfer to the Navy in 2022 of the strategic nuclear submarine Generalissimus Suvorov and the multipurpose attack nuclear submarine Krasnoyarsk of the Yasen-M project, - a source close to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation told TASS . The agency has no official confirmation of this information.

Earlier it was reported that by the end of this year "Sevmash" will transfer three nuclear-powered submarines to the military: the strategic "Prince Oleg" of the "Borey-M" project, the multipurpose strike "Novosibirsk" and the special-purpose nuclear submarine "Belgorod". The latter is expected to become the first carrier of Poseidon submarine drones in the fleet.


Yasen / Graney Class Submarine (Project 885/885M): Details
Borei-class nuclear sub (Project 955/955A/955B): Details
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Air defense of Crimea will strengthen the S-350 "Vityaz" complexes

Vitaly V. Kuzmin



11/08/2021,  09:16

Text:   Anton Valagin

Photo: Vitalykuzmin.net Photo: Vitalykuzmin.netPhoto: Vitalykuzmin.net

The air defense of Russia's southern borders - primarily the Crimean peninsula - will be strengthened by the new S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft systems.

- A fairly powerful air defense system has been deployed on the southern borders of the Russian Federation, including the Crimea. It is capable of repelling shocks from any direction in all ranges of heights and speeds. The air defense forces of our association are armed with modern S-400 Triumph missile systems and Pantsir missile and cannon systems. The crews of the newest S-350 Vityaz complexes are preparing to take up combat duty, - General of the Army Alexander Dvornikov, commander of the Southern Military District , told Krasnaya Zvezda .

The S-350 Vityaz is a new generation medium-range air defense system capable of intercepting both aerodynamic targets: aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic ones. The Vityaz's advantage is the ability to destroy threats at the maximum range (about 60 kilometers). Thus, despite the developer's declared ability to simultaneously fire on 16 targets, in fact there can be much more of them. Having neutralized the threats in the far zone, the S-350 has time for a new salvo, since the radar capabilities and ammunition allow it. One launcher of the complex carries 12 missiles.


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Belarus to receive second batch of Russian BTR-82A armored vehicles soon

vitalykuzmin.net


Belarus to receive second batch of Russian BTR-82A armored vehicles soon - Military & Defense - TASS

The country’s army will receive Russian-made multi-purpose combat helicopters by mid-2022

MINSK, November 7. /TASS/. Belarus’ armed forces will soon receive the second battalion set of BTR-82A armored personnel carriers from Russia, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces Igor Korol said on Sunday.

"We have received one battalion set of BTR-82A, which came in service in the 120th mechanized brigade. The second battalion set of these state-of-the-art vehicles will reach Belarus within a month. It will go to the 6th mechanized brigade," he said in an interview with the STV television channel.

According to Korol, the country’s army will receive Russian-made multi-purpose combat helicopters by mid-2022.

The first batch of Russian BTR-82A helicopters was delivered to Belarus in later September.

Such vehicles are used in the Azerbaijani and Kazakh armies.



BTR-82A APC: Details
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Saturday, 6 November 2021

F-35, Eurofighter Typhoon are ‘the two options’ to replace Spain’s aging Hornets

Ejército del Aire Ministerio de Defensa España / Sergio Ruiz



By Vivienne Machi

 Nov 4, 10:18 PM

A British Royal Air Force (RAF) Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II (R) and a Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft perform a fly-past during the Farnborough Airshow, south west of London, on July 17, 2018. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

MADRID — Spain has two aircraft in mind to replace over 70 EF-18A fighter jets, and while the program has yet to formally begin, the informal competition between the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Lockheed Martin F-35 is just getting hotter.

Madrid is running two separate efforts to replace its aging Hornets, with the first and more immediate effort involving its 20 oldest platforms, currently based in the Canary Islands.

While the contract has yet to be signed, the service expects to substitute those aircraft on a 1-1 basis with Eurofighter Typhoon multirole jets, said Col. Jesus Ferrer, chief of coordination for fixed-wing systems for Spain’s military procurement office.

The second program aims to replace the wider F-18 fleet, operating out of the air force’s Zaragoza and Torrejón air bases. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 is being considered for this program along with more Eurofighters, Ferrer told Defense News Thursday on the sidelines of the biennial FEINDEF conference in Madrid.

“Those are the two options,” he asserted.

Reports have swirled in recent months surrounding Lockheed Martin’s European ambitions for the Joint Strike Fighter program. Eight countries on the continent are either committed to or already operating F-35s, with Switzerland becoming the latest prospective buyer in June. A highly anticipated fighter jet program in Finland and opportunities on the horizon for the Czech Republic and Greece, as well as Spain, are only stoking the flames more.

But it’s still early days for Madrid’s program. The air force submitted a report with their operational requirements for a new fighter jet this past summer, an official told Defense News on the conference floor. Now, the ministry of defense is weighing the requirements against the potential replacement aircraft.

The wider F-18 fleet is scheduled to remain in service until at least 2030, and Spain’s procurement office is just beginning the aircraft feasibility studies, Ferrer said.

It may come down to one major factor: Whether the Navy opts to buy about a dozen F-35B vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft. “If they get the F-35, one option for the Spanish air force will be to purchase the F-35, but we are weighing all the options,” Ferrer said.

 But the Typhoons also remain very much in play. “The Spanish air force is very linked to the Eurofighter world,” he noted.

A contract for the 20 Canary Islands-based aircraft may arrive by next year, pending government approval of funds, Ferrer said.

The air force needs to speed up the process of modernizing its fleets, the service chief of staff said in a Thursday panel at the FEINDEF conference.

The service has recently acquired aircraft that will last for decades to come, including the Airbus A400M military transport aircraft, NHIndustries NH90 helicopters, and Typhoon fighters, noted General Javier Salto Martínez-Avial. But other platforms, such as the F-5M trainer jets and the oldest F-18s, should have been renewed years ago, he added.

“To be able to make progress ... this needs to be done. We have to renew our material … to substitute what we have in the Canary Islands,” he said.

U.S. industry executives at the FEINDEF exhibition played down reports that Lockheed was involved in a veritable sales campaign, saying conversations were informal. Still, they said, for the Spanish navy to replace its Harriers the service would have to order the F-35B variant by 2024 in order for the planes to be ready in 2028, when the old jump jets are close to being phased out.

That is, if the Spanish navy opts to continue carrier-based, fixed-wing operations in the first place.

Lockheed, for its part, brought an F-35 cockpit simulator to the show here, inviting Spanish navy officials to take a gander.

Sebastian Sprenger contributed to this report.

Source defensenews.com



F-35 Lightning II: Details
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Lockheed wins $10.9B contract to modernize F-22

Harvey Brugger



By Stephen Losey

Nov 6, 05:13 AM

The Air Force has awarded a $10.9 billion contract to Lockheed Martin to modernize the F-22 Raptor. (Airman 1st Class Emily Smallwood/U.S. Air Force)

WASHINGTON — The Air Force on Friday awarded Lockheed Martin a $10.9 billion contract to modernize its F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

The massive indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity deal for the F-22 Program Office’s Advanced Raptor Enhancement and Sustainment, or ARES, program will cover up to a decade’s worth of sustainment and modernization of the fifth-generation fighter.

According to a Defense Department announcement, the contract will cover services including upgrades, enhancements and fixes to the Raptor. Lockheed will also provide logistics services and modernization hardware kit procurement.

If all contract options are exercised, the Pentagon expects the work to be finished by Oct. 31, 2031. Work on the contract will be carried out in Fort Worth, Texas.

The contract was a sole-source award to Lockheed Martin, which built the F-22.

However, by the time the F-22′s modernization under ARES is finished, the aircraft could be nearing the end of its life span.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown said in May the Air Force plans to eventually retire the F-22 as part of an effort to trim its fighter inventory.

Lt. Gen. Clinton Hinote, Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements, said in a May interview with Defense News the service is planning to use the Raptor as a “bridge” until the Next Generation Air Dominance program is up and running.

Hinote noted that by the 2030s, the Raptor would be four decades old, having first gone into development in 1991.

“It’s just not going to be the right tool for the job, especially when we’re talking about defending our friends like Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines against a Chinese threat that grows and grows,” Hinote said in May.

Source defensenews.com


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