South East Asia Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

FORBIN

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Indonesia approves acquisition of five Airbus A400Ms for USD2 billion

Indonesia has approved a sum of USD2 billion for the acquisition of five Airbus A400M Atlas multirole aircraft to boost the country's military airlift capabilities, multiple sources from within Indonesia's government and defence industry confirmed to IHS Jane's on 18 January.

The airframes will be acquired in the transport and utility configuration, and will be operated across the Indonesian Air Force's (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Udara: TNI-AU's) Aviation Squadrons 31 and 32.

The acquisition, which received an official greenlight from the Indonesian House of Representatives' commission on defence, intelligence, and foreign affairs (Komisi I) in mid-January 2017, was approved with the condition that the final three airframes undergo final fit-out at state-owned PT Dirgantara's facilities in Bandung.

IHS Jane's also understands that provisions will be made in the contract to allow Indonesian engineers to study and observe the assembly of various major aircraft components, including wings and fuselage shells, for the first two airframes in Seville, Spain.

Indonesian defence minister Ryamizard Ryacudu first indicated in mid-2016 that the government is considering the acquisition of A400M aircraft to bolster the TNI-AU's military airlift and transport capabilities, although no details on numbers were given then.

According to specifications provided by Airbus, the A400M can carry a maximum payload of 37 tonnes with a volume of 340 m3 in the logistics configuration. The aircraft can also accommodate up to 116 fully equipped soldiers or paratroopers, seated in four longitudinal rows, in the military transport configuration.

At its maximum payload, the A400M has an operating range of 1,780 n miles (3,300 km), while with a payload of up to 25 tonnes, the aircraft can take off and land on austere airstrips as short as 750 m.

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FORBIN

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Vietnam receives sixth and final submarine from Russia

Vietnam’s sixth and final Kilo-class submarine arrived at the port of Cam Ranh, Vietnam on January 20.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau (HQ-187), as the submarine is named, is joining the other five submarines built in Russia under a $2 billion contract signed in 2009.

The diesel-electric submarine was transported to Vietnam on the Dutch-registered vessel Rolldock Storm.

Vietnam received its first Kilo-class submarine Hanoi (HQ 182) in January 2014 while the fifth submarine, Da Nang (HQ 186), arrived in Vietnam in February 2016.

The submarines are built by the St. Petersburg-based Admiralty Shipyard and are often nicknamed “black holes” for their stealth qualities.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau (HQ-187) was launched in September 2015 and started its voyage to Vietnam in November 2016.

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FORBIN

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The 2 replace 2 Knox one yet retired in 2015
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DSME launches first Royal Thai Navy frigate

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) launched a 3,650-ton multi-mission frigate destined for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) on Monday, 23 January 2017.

The launch ceremony was held at DSME’s shipyard on Geoje Island in South Korea and was attended by Thai and South Korean officials including, among others, RTN Commander-in-Chief Admiral Na Arreenich, Thailand’s ambassador to South Korea Sarun Charoensuwan, and the CEO of DSME Jung Sung Leep.

Thailand ordered the frigate in August 2013 in a USD $396-410 million contract. With a displacement of 3,650 tons, the frigate has a length of 122.5 metres, beam of 14.4 metres, and a crew of 136 personnel.
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note that the RTN frigate is derived from the Republic of Korea Navy’s (ROKN) KDX-1 destroyer.

The frigate will go through sea trials in South Korea and is expected to be delivered to the RTN in 2018.

Notes & Comments:

The RTN frigate is a variant of DSME’s DW3000 platform. It is expected to be
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with a 76 mm main gun, Phalanx close-in-weapon-system (CIWS), Harpoon anti-ship missiles (AShM), Saab Sea Giraffe radar, and Atlas Electronic towed array sonar. In the lead-up to the order, the RTN was thought to have been seeking two or three new frigates as part of its fleet modernization program.

Besides new surface combatants, the RTN is also seeking new submarines, for which the Chinese S26T (a variant of the Type 041 Yuan) is
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as the leading candidate. However, DSME also has diesel-electric submarines (SSK) on offer, such as the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Type 209/1400-derived DSME 1400 SSK which it is supplying to the Indonesian Navy.

Today, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh are key Asia-Pacific markets for Chinese and South Korean naval vendors. Both suppliers benefit from domestic scale and demand, enabling them to offer frequently iterated solutions and competitive prices.

Thailand is among several countries with experience operating Chinese and Western (largely American) naval solutions. Interestingly, the RTN’s Type 025T frigates, which are variants of the Chinese Type 053 (co-designed with the RTN), are configured with a diverse array of subsystems. For example, it uses the Saab Sea Giraffe AMB 3D and Thales LW08 radars in conjunction with the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow (ESSM), which itself is deployed using the Mk.41 vertical launch system (VLS).
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Thail DW3000H.jpg Thail DW3000H - 2.jpg
 
Sep 14, 2016
...
First SIGMA 10514 PKR frigate for Indonesian Navy completes sea trials
source:
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in the accompanying video
the most interesting fragment for me :) begins with:
JIYQG.jpg
and now
Indonesia takes delivery of first SIGMA 10514 frigate
The Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut: TNI-AL) has taken delivery of its first SIGMA 10514 Perusak Kawal Rudal (PKR) guided-missile frigate.

The vessel, which will be the future KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata with pennant number 331, was handed over by state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL on 23 January at the company's premises in Surabaya.

The 105 m frigate, which is the first of two ships jointly constructed by Damen and PT PAL, completed its sea trials in September 2016.

The frigate features a standard displacement of approximately 2,400 tonnes and can accommodate a crew of 120. It can attain a top speed of 28 kt, a maximum range of 5,000 n miles at 14 kt, and a standard range of 4,000 n miles at 18 kt.

The platform has been equipped with core mission systems supplied by Thales Nederland, including the TACTICOS combat management system, SMART-S Mk 2 surveillance radar, and STIR 1.2 EO Mk 2 radar/electro-optical tracking system.

Raden Eddy Martadinata is expected to join the TNI-AL's Eastern Fleet once it is inducted into service.
... the rest of the article is behind paywall at Jane's
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Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
Thai junta gives go-ahead to buy Chinese submarine and tanks
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BANGKOK – Thailand’s military government has approved 13.5 billion baht ($380 million) to buy a submarine from China after putting the purchase on hold last year, Thai officials said on Wednesday.

Relations have been strengthening between China and America’s oldest ally in Southeast Asia, particularly since ties with the United States cooled after a 2014 coup.

The purchase of the submarine was put on hold last year in the face of public criticism and questions as to whether Thailand really needed a submarine.

Thai Navy officials said negotiations with the Chinese government were nearly finalized and the budget had been earmarked to pay for the submarine over six years.

“We are in the process of negotiating but this year there will definitely be a signing agreement as we have the budget,” said Adm. Jumpol Loompikanon, a spokesman for the navy.

Jumpol said the submarine would allow the navy to study tactics and how submarine warfare may be used against Thailand.

Maritime security is a hot issue in Southeast Asia given competing claims over the South China Sea, but Thailand is not involved in that dispute.

The Thai Army has also set aside 2 billion baht over three years to buy 10 tanks and auxiliary vehicles from China, according to Gen. Chatudom Thittasiri, the deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defense.

The purchase is in addition to 28 main battle tanks ordered from China last year.

China was the first major power to acknowledge Thailand’s ruling junta following a 2014 coup. The United States responded to the coup by freezing $4.7 million of security-related aid and cancelling some security agreements.
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
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Defense Spending in the South China Sea from some years big increase but remains for much enough low budget coz they started from very low only exception Singapore but very small country
Defense Spending in the South China Sea.jpg
 
Defense Spending in the South China Sea from some years big increase but remains for much enough low budget coz they started from very low only exception Singapore but very small country
View attachment 35982

That is a politically biased assumption that defense spending was driven by fear of China. All these countries' militaries have technologically atrophied for many years before and are all overdue for upgrades, some of them have only been in a good economic position to make these upgrades in recent years.
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
That is a politically biased assumption that defense spending was driven by fear of China. All these countries' militaries have technologically atrophied for many years before and are all overdue for upgrades, some of them have only been in a good economic position to make these upgrades in recent years.
I have posted only for budget but reasons saying 50 % for it and same for SCS quite sure, i read and aware.
 
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