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Navy patrol South China Sea islands

27/1/2014

The picture shows that a helicopter of the open-sea training formation is conducting air patrol on January 25, 2014. Recently, an open-sea training formation of the South China Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLAN) finished a three-day-long patrol of the Nansha Islands and the surrounding waters, and then continued to patrol southward. (Xinhua/Gao Yi)

By:dongzhaohui ( China Military Online )

The navy has been patrolling the Xisha and Nansha islands in the South China Sea on an ongoing training mission over the last week. Warships and helicopters of the People's Liberation Army navy patrolled reefs off the Nansha Islands, which are comprised of more than 500 islets, shoals and reefs, and surrounding waters, from Thursday to Saturday.

Chinese ships patrol area contested by Malaysia

27/1/2014

The picture shows that a warship of the formation is conducting sea patrol on January 25, 2014. Recently, an open-sea training formation of the South China Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLAN) finished a three-day-long patrol of the Nansha Islands and the surrounding waters, and then continued to patrol southward. (Xinhua/Gao Yi)

By: Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Ron Popeski (http://news.yahoo.com)

BEIJING (Reuters) - Three Chinese ships on Sunday patrolled the James Shoal, an area also claimed by Malaysia, and soldiers and officers on board swore to safeguard its sovereignty, in the latest sign of Beijing's territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea.

The group was made up of an amphibious landing craft, the Changbaishan, and two destroyers, state news agency Xinhua said.

Lessons from the Battle of the Paracel Islands

26/1/2014

By: Ngo Minh Tri and Koh Swee Lean Collin (thediplomat.com)

On January 16, 1974, the Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVN) discovered the presence of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Crescent Group in the western Paracel Islands, which was held by South Vietnam. This was an unexpected development, because notwithstanding the reduced U.S. military assistance to Saigon after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973, and subsequent reduction of South Vietnamese garrisons on the islands, the Chinese had not taken unilateral actions to subvert the status quo – by which the Amphitrite Group in the eastern Paracels and the Crescent Group were respectively under Chinese and South Vietnamese control.

Over the next two days, the opposing naval forces jostled with one another in close-proximity maneuvers off the islands, before a firefight erupted as the South Vietnamese troops attempted to recapture Duncan Island. The skirmish subsequently escalated with overwhelming Chinese reinforcements deployed to the clash zone, including close air support staged from nearby Hainan Island and missile-armed Hainan-class patrol vessels. Shorn of American naval support, given that the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet was then scaling down its presence in the South China Sea following the peace accords of 1973, the RVN was utterly defeated. Beijing swiftly exploited the naval victory with an amphibious landing in force to complete its control of all the Paracel Islands.

Indonesian firm wins PAF aircraft supply deal

26/1/2014

A pair of C-212 -400 Aviocar operated by Venezuelan Air Force. (Photo: Malaysian Flying Herald)

By: Alexis Romero (www.philstar.com)

The Air Force is acquiring two new light lift aircraft from Indonesia to boost the delivery of supplies and personnel to remote areas. Indonesian firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia has won the bidding for the light lift fixed-wing aircraft acquisition project, worth P814 million.

Singapore Selects Airbus A330 MRTT

26/1/2014

RAF Airbus A330 MRTT (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

By: Par Guillaume Steuer (www.air-cosmos.com)

According to government and industry sources, Singapore has signed in 2013, a contract for the purchase of six A330 MRTT tanker. The aircraft supplied by Airbus Defence & Space, was preferred by the island state to its American and Israeli competitors. If confirmed, this good news will mark another commercial success for Airbus which to date has already delivered MRTTs to four countries.

TNI AL PESAN 3 KAPAL SELAM DAN 5 FRIGAT

26/1/2014

Kapal korvet kelas Nakhoda Ragam yang dilaporkan dibeli oleh kerajaan Indonesia pada satu perlima daripada harga sebenar. (Gambar: Wikimedia Commons)

Oleh: Dispenal Mabesal (www.tnial.mil.id)

TNI Angkatan Laut telah memesan kapal perang yang saat ini tengah dibangun, diantaranya adalah tiga buah kapal selam, di mana dua kapal selam sedang dibangun di Korea Selatan dan satu kapal dibangun di PT PAL Surabaya. Selain itu dua kapal Perusak Kawal Rudal jenis Frigat 105 meter, serta tiga kapal fregat jenis Multi Roll Light Frigate (MRLF) dari Inggris.

Indonesia's PT PAL looks to foreign partner for submarine repair

26/1/2014

Republic of Korea Chang Bogo Type 209/1200 submarine surfacing during RIMPAC 2002. Indonesia was reported to have awarded DSME a contract for three 1,400 ton Chang Bogo class submarines in December 2011. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

By: Jon Grevatt (www.janes.com)

State-run naval shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia is planning to collaborate with a foreign counterpart to carry out the repair and overhaul of one of Indonesia's two ageing Cakra Type 209/1300 attack submarines, it has been announced.

Thailand to launch lead-in fighter programme after new government forms

26/1/2014

KAI T-50 Golden Eagle

By: Jon Grevatt (www.janes.com)

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) expects to launch a USD400 million programme to acquire lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) aircraft following the formation of a new Thai government, RTAF spokesman Group Captain Prapas Sonjaidee told IHS Jane's on 22 January 2014.

Turkey Likely To OK Indigenous Fighter Program

25/1/2014

Turkish TFX National Combat Aircraft conceptual Design being displayed at the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF).
(Picture: globalmilitaryreview )

By BURAK EGE BEKDIL (http://www.defensenews.com)

ANKARA — Turkey’s government, procurement and industry officials widely expect Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to approve an ambitious program to build the country’s first indigenous fighter aircraft, amid doubts that Ankara could afford to buy it alongside theF-35 joint strike fighter.

A senior procurement official said the three draft models, one of which would become the first Turkish indigenous fighter jet, have been finalized.

“If and how we proceed from now on will be discussed and decided at the next committee meeting,” the procurement official said Jan. 20. “We expect the prime minister to rule in favor of going ahead to the development phase.”

Experts Wary Over News Of China's 2nd Carrier

25/1/2014

China's first aircraft carrier, a former Soviet carrier called the Varyag, is docked Sept. 24, 2012, after its handover to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning province. (Getty Images)

By WENDELL MINNICK (http://www.defensenews.com)

TAIPEI — Experts on China’s Navy are sounding cautionary tones after news surfaced last week that China is reportedly constructing a second aircraft carrier.

The Chinese-language report from Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao, known as a veteran pro-Beijing newspaper, stated that Wang Min, a Communist Party secretary of China’s northeastern province of Liaoning, has confirmed the construction of the ship, which unlike its first carrier, is homegrown.

China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, began life as the unfinished Ukrainian ship Varyag and was abandoned after the Soviet Union collapsed. Varyag was sold in 1998 for $20 million to a Hong Kong developer, ostensibly for refurbishment as a casino in Macao.

China officially unveils first early warning squadron

24/1/2014

With the establishment of the East China Sea air defense identification zone, China has officially acknowledge the existence of an early warning aircraft squadron in the Guangzhou military region. (Photo: www.81.cn)

Boeing Surveillance Plane Not Yet Effective, U.S. Tester Finds

24/1/2014

P-8A Poseidon dropping a torpedo. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

By: Tony Capaccio (www.businessweek.com)
A new Boeing Co. surveillance aircraft deployed to Japan last month isn’t yet effective at hunting submarines or performing reconnaissance over large areas -- two of its main missions, the Pentagon’s weapons tester found.

China conducts long-range nuclear missile drill: military

23/1/2014

By Agence France-Presse (http://www.defencetalk.com)

China’s military has released images of an intercontinental ballistic missile with enough range to reach the United States, as Beijing is involved in a series of rows threatening to embroil Washington.

The pictures of Chinese soldiers test-firing a Dongfeng-31 missile, which is said by experts to be able to carry nuclear warheads 8,000 kilometres (4,960 miles), appeared in the People’s Liberation Army Daily newspaper on Tuesday.

tldm kekal cemerlang

22/1/2014

KD Pahang semasa pameran maritim IMDEX 2007. Kapal peronda modular ini adalah merupakan salah sebuah kapal terbaru TLDM. (Foto: Wikimedia Commons)

Oleh: Sofian Baharom (www.utusa.n.com.my)
TAHUN 2013 menyaksikan Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) berjaya mengekalkan tahap pengoperasian aset yang tinggi dan telah melaksanakan semua misi yang diamanahkan.

Berikutan kenaikan peruntukan untuk Program Pertahanan Maritim sebanyak 4.83 peratus pada tahun itu, TLDM telah berjaya melaksanakan aktiviti-aktiviti penambahbaikan yang melibatkan pemodenan peralatan dan menaikkan taraf hidup warganya.

DND bidding for upgrade of Navy patrol ship fails

22/1/2014

BRP Artemio Ricarte (ex- HMS Starling) was transferred to the Philippines Navy in 1997. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

By: Alexis Romero (www.philstar.com

The bidding for the upgrade of the Navy’s patrol ship BRP Artemio Ricarte failed as the lone bidder for the project failed to meet some documentary requirements.