Tanahair Defence

  tanahairdefence.blogspot.com  In an interesting development, Japan will approve the law for arms exports to 12 countries that has official defence pacts with Japan. This will take into effect starting on march 2023. With this law, Japan is allowed to export lethal weapons such as missiles, firearms, fighter jets, etc. This is a major shift in Japanese law which previously only allow non-lethal equipments such as patrol vessels, surveillance equipment (radar), rescue, transport trucks etc. to be exported. Mitsubishi F-2 Fighter with ASM-3A Supersonic Anti-Ship Missile Malaysia and Japan signed the Japan-Malaysia Defence Pact in September 2018. Since then Japan has offered to sell or transfer to Malaysia the J/FPS-3 air-defence radar and P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Non-lethal equipment that has been passed to Malaysia includes two used Offshore Patrol Vessel to MMEA, a training ship to MMEA and speed boats to Marine Police. With the inclusion of Malaysia in this new...

   tanahairdefence.blogspot.com  Some very interesting news has came out on the TUDM LCA/FLIT tender, now that the tender is officially closed. This is my second update on this  tender, the first one can be read in this link  here .  Originally the closing date for the tender is supposed to be 22nd September 2021. For unknown reasons, the closing date of the tender was extended to 6th October 2021. It is expected that the winner for this tender will be announced in around March or April 2022. In my previous article, I have said that t he front runners for the LCA/FLIT requirements for TUDM would be in my opinion the Tejas, FA/TA-50 and the JF-17. The biggest news is that the JF-17 team did not submit any bid for the LCA/FLIT tender! For the tender, a total of nine (9) companies bought the tender documents. But when the tender was closed on  6th October 2021, only six (6) bids was submitted. The companies and aircraft types that has submitted the LCA/FL...

tanahairdefence.blogspot.com  To plan for the TUDM CAP55 Phase 2 2031-2045, the plan should be a fluid one, that can be further tweaked when we approach and arrive at the phase. As of the date this is written, CAP55 Phase 2 will be 10-25 years in the future, of which a lot can happen between now and then. One thing that should be done before we arrive at CAP55 Phase 2 is to have all the basic minimum capability of the air force be the foundation for further capability improvements. Before we arrive at CAP55 Phase 2, all the plans that is laid out in my writing about CAP55 Phase 1 must have been executed. While CAP55 Phase 1 mostly involves getting all the basic tasks like having adequate fighters to undertake QRA, having robust MPA availability and getting radar coverage up to notch, CAP55 Phase 2 will mainly about the air force getting a new MRCA capability while embracing new technologies in UCAV and FVL aircrafts. The plan should also be adapted to the current security and regi...

  tanahairdefence.blogspot.com  UAC Checkmate. Picture :Rostec During the recent  International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS 2021, the United Aircraft Corporation of Russia, through its Sukhoi division unveiled a new 5th generation fighter, the so called Checkmate LTS. This will be a fighter that is designed as a mainly for export, affordable and an option for countries that cannot get the F-35 in the future. Since the unveiling, there is quite a few information that we have learned about the Checkmate LTS. Lets start with the preliminary specifications of this aircraft and the official English video of the unveiling. General characteristics Crew: 1 (later versions for 2 or unmanned) Length: 18m Wingspan: 12m Height: Empty weight: 8.000 - 9.500kg Maximum takeoff weight: 18.000kg Payload: 7.400kg Engine: initially Al-41F1, later Izd. 30 with 3D TVC Performance Max. speed: Mach 1.8 - 2 Supercruise: Mach 1.5 - 1.6 (targeted) Range: 2800 - 3000km Service ceiling: 1...

  tanahairdefence.blogspot.com  There is a flurry of recent news on the global tender for Light Combat Aircraft / Fighter Lead-In Trainer (LCA/FLIT) for Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM). The global tender which was released in June, is expected to be closed on 22 September 2021.  ROKAF FA-50 with USMC F/A-18C. Picture: USMC In April 2021, a news release from South Korea ( here , the original was taken down) mentions that the JF-17 Thunder is the front running variant, followed by the FA-50. The article mentioned that the JF-17 is the front runner due to " a better mid-range weapons capacity which is a requirement of the Malaysian Air Force". In my opinion, weapons capability is just one of many requirements of the LCA/FLIT, among others such as the need to be a capable Lead-In Fighter Trainer for example. JF-17 Block III prototype. Picture: chinese internet Recently there are plenty of news of the HAL Tejas will be offered for the LCA/FLIT global tender ( here , he...

tanahairdefence.blogspot.com  During the recent 63rd anniversary of TUDM, the RMAF chief Gen Ackbal Samad in his speech explained that the TUDM CAP55 plan is divided into 3 Phases. Phase 1 is to be from 2021-2030, Phase 2 2030-2045 and lastly Phase 3 2046-2055. The 3 phases is to be planned separately from each other. Below are the excerpts  of the interview for the 63rd anniversary of TUDM published in Kosmo! and Utusan Malaysia newspapers. As stated in TUDM CAP55, basic planning (asas perancangan) needs to consider: 1. Kemampuan (affordability) 2. Tepat pada masa (timeliness) 3. Efektif (effective) 4. Realistik (realistic)   I have created a very basic plan (it is just something I created on my own in my free time basically) for TUDM CAP55 Phase 1 2021-2030 that takes into consideration of all the 4 points above. The most important thing in my opinion is for the plan to have a clear focus of the operational outcome. The operational outcome for TUDM CAP55 P...