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13 Jul 18. Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. announced that the ongoing negotiations between Pakistan Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) and Turkish Aerospace has successfully been finalized and signed the contract for the procurement of 30 units T129 ATAK Helicopters within a comprehensive package including logistics, ammunition, spares, ground support equipment and training. The “T129 ATAK” Multirole Combat Helicopter, which sets new standards in the global market, optimized for the specific harsh geographical conditions, is a new generation, tandem seat, twin engine helicopter, specifically designed for attack and reconnaissance purposes with the best “performance and maneuver capability” in its class. T129 ATAK, has unique survivability features, new generation engine, state of art avionics and asymmetric weapon delivery capability, which provides highly mobile and lethal attack capability against personnel, ground and air targets. T129 ATAK Helicopter has been tested by Pakistan Army in Turkey and Pakistan environmental and geographical conditions. Thanks to its outstanding features and mission capabilities, T129 ATAK has successfully passed all required tests in order to meet of the Pakistan Army needs.
13 Jul 18. Taiwan Approves $990m to Buy M-1A2 Abrams Tanks. Taiwan’s defense ministry has obtained approval to buy 108 M-1A2 Abrams main battle tanks from the United States at a cost of NT$30bn (US$990m) to replace its aging M60A3 and CM-11 tanks. Taiwan media reported earlier this week that the funds will be allocated in next year’s budget, and an official request for the sale will be made to the United States. The request will also include training, five years’ worth of spare parts as well as an undisclosed quantity of advanced 120mm ammunition, but it is uncertain whether the US government will approve the sale. In addition to the new tanks, the Taiwanese army is also circulating a wish list of equipment it requires, and which includes anti-tank guided missiles, self-propelled artillery (120mm mortars and 155mm gun/howitzers) and air-defense systems, infantry fighting vehicles, armored recovery vehicles, and ancillary equipment. If the sale is approved, the Taiwanese Army plans to assign the new M-1A2 tanks to two battalions of the Sixth Army Corps, which is deployed in Northern Taiwan to protect the central government and subordinate agencies. (Source: defense-aerospace.com)
12 Jul 18. PLA Daily: Russia Changes Geopolitical Situation Via S-400 Sale. Indian media reported the postponement of the “2+2” US-Indian dialogue of defense and foreign ministers scheduled in Washington on July 6, citing “unavoidable reasons” on the American side. The dialogue had been postponed once before because the then US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired by Trump. The second postponement came at a point when the US and India are in the midst of widening divergences, one of which is India’s plan to buy the S-400 air defense missile system from Russia. The Russia-made S-400 is one of the most advanced air defense system. It can simultaneously engage up to 36 targets with up to 72 missiles at ranges of up to 400km. Such exceptional performance has captured the immediate attention of many international buyers. Meanwhile, Russia has been actively promoting the S-400 system, not only receiving several large orders, but also skillfully using its sale as an important tool to game with the US and change the geopolitical situation. In South Asia, both India and Pakistan expressed the intention to buy the S-400 air defense missile system from Russia. In 2016, Indian Prime Minister Modi reached a commercial contract agreement with Russian President Putin to purchase the S-400 worth over $6bn. But now, this huge deal contradicts with America’s sanction against Russia, so the US plans to exercise its “long-arm jurisdiction” and demands India to stop the purchase. As a matter of fact, Russia, as the largest weapon and equipment supplier for the Indian military, has been engaged in a lasting game with the United States. Pakistan, India’s arch-rival neighbor, also expressed the intention to buy the S-400 from Russia, indicating Russia’s important position in South Asia. Russia also used the sale of the S-400 air defense missile system to expand its influence and seek its own interests in the Middle East. The bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar hasn’t been improved since they cut their diplomatic ties in June last year, and both countries hope to leverage the support from Russia, a country outside of the region, to check the hostile forces in the region. The recent news about Qatar in talks to buy Russia S-400 system has made Saudi Arabia very uneasy, which has threatened to launch military attacks against Qatar. The arms trade has evolved into a diplomatic incident and may even trigger regional conflict. Turkey is worth even more attention. As NATO’s only member state in the Middle East, Turkey, however, has escalating conflicts with the US and other western countries regarding Turkey’s constitutional amendment and election, the Syrian refugees and other issues. As conflicts between Turkey and western countries continue, Russia saw the opportunity to improve its relations with Turkey. It tried to avoid any tension between the two countries and reached an agreement with Turkey last year to sell the S-400. Through this deal, Russia successfully drove a “wedge” among NATO allies and caused the US concern and dissatisfaction. It also gave Russia a vantage point in the geopolitical restructuring in the Middle East and enabled it to have a finger in the pie. In summary, with the S-400 sale, Russia has definitely made a breakthrough in changing its regional strategic situation. The sales have not only provided Russia a huge financial gain, but also played an important role in helping Russia to improve the diplomatic situation and expand its strategic space after the Ukraine crisis. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/China Military Online)
12 Jul 18. Indonesia enacts law to boost collaboration with South Korea. Indonesia has passed a law supporting its defence industrial engagement with South Korea. Indonesia’s House of Representatives approved the act on defence co-operation between Indonesia and the Republic of Korea on 10 July. The House of Representatives said the legislation would provide a legal footing for industrial and technical collaboration between the two countries as well as support military-to-military ties. It added that the act will also facilitate the establishment of a joint committee that would provide greater oversight and support for collaborative industrial programmes. Citing Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, the Ministry of Defence in Jakarta said the act would strengthen bilateral co-operation.
“There is a long history of defence co-operation between Indonesia and South Korea,” he said. “[But] there is also a need for more concrete implementation [of projects]. This formal legal umbrella is required to ensure that future output and co-operation in defence is more effective and productive.”
Indonesia and South Korea are currently working on two major defence industrial programmes. These comprise the joint development of the Korean Fighter Xperiment/Indonesia Fighter Xperiment (KFX/IFX) aircraft and the programme to deliver three South Korean Type 209/1400-class diesel-electric submarines to the Indonesian Navy. The KFX/IFX programme involves collaboration between lead contractor Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Indonesian aerospace company PT Dirgantara, while the submarine procurement is led by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), which has delivered two submarines to Indonesia and is currently collaborating with Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL on the construction of the third. In addition, the two countries have collaborated – although on a more limited scale – on Indonesia’s acquisitions in recent years of KAI KT-1 Woong Bee trainer aircraft, 6×6 Black Fox armoured vehicles produced by Hanwha, and KAI T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer aircraft. South Korea also sees opportunities to export to Indonesia a range of artillery and gun systems, additional naval platforms, and the KAI Surion light utility helicopter. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
12 Jul 18. Russia admits defeat on its ‘stealth’ F-35 killer by canceling mass production of the Su-57 fighter jet.
- Russia announced earlier this month that the Su-57, its proposed entry into the world of fifth-generation stealth fighters, would not see mass production.
- The jet had some promising capabilities in combat, but design and production difficulties made it a challenging project with limited export potential.
- This move represents a failure of Russia to manage its huge defense budget and breadth of projects and to find buyers for its version of a jet meant to take on US stealth fighters.
Russia announced earlier this month that the Su-57, its proposed entry into the world of fifth-generation stealth-fighter aircraft, would not see mass production.
“The plane has proven to be very good, including in Syria, where it confirmed its performance and combat capabilities,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on Russian TV on July 2, as reported by The Diplomat.
But despite Russia’s nonstop praise for the plane and dubious claims about its abilities, Borisov said, per The Diplomat: “The Su-57 is considered to be one of the best aircrafts produced in the world. Consequently, it does not make sense to speed up work on mass-producing the fifth-generation aircraft.”
Justin Bronk, a combat-aviation expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider that Borisov’s comments “could be charitably described as an unreasonably optimistic reason why they stopped production.”
Basically, Borisov said the plane is so much better than everything out there that Russia doesn’t need to build it — a claim Bronk finds unlikely. Instead, Russia will stick to what it’s good at, with upgraded fourth-generation aircraft in service instead of the Su-57, which was originally meant to replace the older fighters. The Su-57, a plane designed to function as a killer of US F-35 and F-22 stealth jets with an innovative array of radars, saw a brief period of combat over Syria, but the deployment lasted only days and didn’t pit the jet against any threats befitting a world-class fighter. Initially proposed as a joint project with India, the Su-57 hit trouble when neither side could agree on how to split the production and technological development. After 11 years in the program, India withdrew, leaving Russia to go it alone with a weak economy. Now, India has been discussed as a potential buyer of the F-35 in another blow to Russia’s dream of developing its own fifth-gen fighter. A senior stealth scientist recently told Business Insider that though the jet claimed a stealthy profile, it had glaring and obvious flaws. A 2016 report from IHS Jane’s said the jet was fifth-generation “in name only.”
But the Su-57 carries a massive payload and was expected to one day carry nuclear weapons. Like the Su-35 before it, had super maneuverability beyond that of any US jet. By all means, the Su-57 appeared a next-level dogfighting jet capable of taking out the US’s best fighters in close combat, but its failure to integrate stealth made getting in close with an F-35 or F-22 an unlikely bet. Bronk said Russia must have looked at the program and realized that it didn’t have the potential — even with upgrades and maturation — to ever work out to be worth the price. At about $40m a unit, Russia’s Su-57 is less than half the price of an F-35, but considerably more expensive than its other jets.
“Russia is more or less admitting defeat in building a feasible fifth-generation fighter,” Bronk said.
For that price, according to Bronk, Russia can just put the fancy radars and missiles on its older planes in greater numbers, as the Su-57’s airframe was never really stealth in the first place. Russia is working on new tanks, submarines, and nuclear weapons, all of which tax its already large defense budget. With other projects going forward, it appears the Su-57 has become the first casualty of a budget crunch. As the US’s F-35 starts to come online in significant numbers and China’s J-20 stealth jet deploys in earnest, it looks as if Russia is getting left behind in the world of top-class militaries. (Source: News Now/http://uk.businessinsider.com)
11 Jul 18. Qatar to raise multi-billion dollar loan for Typhoon jets – sources. The government of Qatar is raising a multi-billion dollar loan for the purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets, two sources familiar with the deal said. The financing, which according to one of the sources is around $4bn, will be backed by export credit agencies. Qatar entered into a 5bn pound ($6.62bn) contract with British defence group BAE Systems (BAES.L) in December last year for the purchase of 24 Typhoon combat aircraft.
“The new Typhoons will advance Qatar’s strategic efforts towards stability. The method and mechanism of payment has not been decided yet,” a Qatari official told Reuters.
BAE, Europe’s biggest defence contractor, said in December that the contract was subject to “financing conditions and receipt by the company of first payment, which are expected to be fulfilled no later than mid-2018”. The Eurofighter Typhoon accounted for nearly a third of BAE Systems’ sales in 2016. It is a joint project between BAE, France’s Airbus (AIR.PA) and Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI), and supports an estimated 40,000 jobs in Britain. In March, BAE also agreed to finalise talks with Qatar’s rival Saudi Arabia on a multi-billion pound order for 48 Typhoon aircraft. (Source: News Now/Reuters)
11 Jul 18. Vietnam updates defence legislation. Vietnam has updated national defence legislation providing guidance for a range of related policies, regulations, and initiatives including efforts to modernise the country’s state-run defence industrial base. The Law on National Defence 2018 will be formally enacted on 1 January 2019 and replaces legislation introduced in 2005. This 2005 law underpinned Vietnam’s 2009 Defence White Paper (DWP 2009) and the 2018 amendment is similarly expected to be followed by a new Defence White Paper in the near future. Through comments provided by Lieutenant General Nguyen Duy Nguyen, head of the department of the civil self-defence and militia forces of the Vietnam People’s Army’s (VPA’s) general staff, the Vietnam Ministry of National Defence (MND) recently released some details about the new legislation. Citing comments by Lt Gen Nguyen, the MND said the 2018 defence law amalgamates a number of directives and regulations that were introduced after the 2005 legislation was enacted. The 2018 law also provides requirements for the VPA to respond to what Lt Gen Nguyen said were “new situations” including emerging non-conventional threats such as cyber and information warfare. He added that in light of these threats the defence law also includes updated policies on science and technology development and defence industrial modernisation. A related priority, said Lt Gen Nguyen, is to position Vietnam to develop Industry 4.0 capabilities – such as artificial intelligence and robotics – in the defence domain. Other new provisions, he said, outline the roles of the VPA and its associated navy and air force divisions, a plan to reduce the number of businesses owned and operated by the VPA, and the expected role of the VPA in contributing to national development. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
11 Jul 18. Australian Industry, Innovation and Science providing support for defence SMEs. As the government commits to $200bn over the decade and beyond to modernise the nation’s defence capability, Australia’s defence industry, ranging from small and medium suppliers to large, locally-based subsidiaries of multinational primes, will see the benefit. To support this, the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science are providing a range of assistance resources for Australian industry. The government’s Defence Industry Capability Plan sets out a comprehensive blueprint for developing Australia’s defence industry. With $200bn worth of investment in our capability over the next decade, the government acknowledges that as Australia builds its defence capability, the nation must also grow its defence industrial capability. The government identifies that Australia will require a larger, more capable and prepared Australian defence industry that has the requisite skills, expertise, technology, intellectual property and infrastructure to:
- Enable the conduct of ADF operations today;
- Support the acquisition, operation and sustainment of future defence capability; and
- Provide the national support base for Defence to meet current needs and to surge if Australia’s strategic circumstances require it.
To support the Defence Industry Capability Plan, the government, through the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science and the CDIC, provides a number of resources to help Australia’s defence industry develop, including:
- Business advice and facilitation – The CDIC can provide advice over the phone or on-site. Based on the capability of your business, this advice may include:
o Guidance on the defence market and working in the defence sector;
o Identifying supply chain opportunities and what it takes to win work;
o Potential opportunities for broader engagement with the defence sector;
o Exporting and international supply chain opportunities; and
o How the CDIC and other government agencies can assist your business.
- Capability Improvement Grants – A Capability Improvement Grant of between $5,000 and $250,000 per SME will reimburse you for up to half the cost of engaging a consultant or expert to implement the eligible recommendations as part of an advisory or facilitation service. Eligible recommendations include:
o Business strategies, commercialisation and supply chain management;
o HR strategies, workforce planning and training;
o Quality assurance and risk management;
o Production and operational improvements;
o Marketing, branding and communication;
o Financial management systems; and
o Exploring new markets and market intelligence.
- Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Grants – The Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Grants aim to ensure Australian businesses have the capacity and resilience to support Defence’s most critical capabilities by providing grants ranging from $50,000 to $1m.
- Defence Global Competitiveness Grants – These grants will be available from the second half of 2018, the Defence Export Strategy included an additional $4.1m per annum from 2018-19 for grants to help build the capability of businesses to compete internationally.
Beyond the grants program, the CDIC and Department of Industry, Innovation and Science provide support through innovation support services, including the Next Generation Technologies Fund, Defence Innovation Hub and support for international exports:
- Next Generation Technologies Fund – The NGTF, managed by Defence Science and Technology Group, has an investment of $730m to 2026. The NGTF is a forward-looking program focusing on research in emerging and future technologies for the “future Defence Force after next”.
- Defence Innovation Hub – Will invest around $640m over the decade to 2025-26 in maturing and further developing technologies that have moved from the early science stages into the engineering and development stages of the innovation process. The Defence Innovation Hub seeks proposals aligned with the following six capability streams:
o Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, space and cyber;
o Key enablers;
o Land combat and amphibious warfare;
o Air and sea lift;
o Maritime and anti-submarine warfare; and
o Strike and air combat.
- International support and exports – The Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) works in partnership with the Australian Defence Export Office to assist defence businesses thinking about exporting, looking to expand their export markets or seeking access to global supply chains. The type of CDIC assistance will vary depending on individual business requirements, but may include:
o Export readiness assessments and supply chain improvement advice;
o Entry point to tradeshows and missions to key markets overseas with Team Defence Australia;
o Facilitated access to the defence multinational primes and Defence’s Global Supply Chain Program; and
o Market research and advice, and testing the market, before committing to export activities.
More information about the government’s Defence Industry Capability Plan, and the CDIC and Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’s support and grants program for domestic defence industry contributors, can be found here. (Source: Defence Connect)
11 Jul 18. Australian Defence Industry Minister heads to UK for Industry Dialogue. Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne will travel to the United Kingdom on 10 July to take part in the Defence Industry Dialogue with the UK.
The dialogue is an important platform to discuss deeper defence industry collaboration and ways in which Australia and the UK can collectively enhance defence capability.
As part of the dialogue, Minister Pyne will meet with UK’s Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson CBE and the UK Minister for Defence Procurement Guto Bebb.
“Australia’s relationship with the United Kingdom has always been one of our strongest. This relationship is grounded by substantial bilateral defence engagement and shared contribution to global security challenges,” Minister Pyne said. “The Australian defence industry agenda is a new and rapidly expanding dimension of our relationship with the United Kingdom, more so following the recent decision by the Turnbull government to select BAE Systems to design Australia’s nine Future Frigates to be built by ASC in South Australia.”
The decision for the SEA 5000 program provides increased avenues for strategic and industry co-operation and interoperability as both nations begin the procurement and construction phase of their Type 26 Frigate procurement. Additionally, as the UK Government’s long awaited decision on their E-3 Sentry AWACs replacement gets closer, with Boeing’s E-7A Wedgetail, designed by Boeing for the RAAF as the sole front runner, the timing of Minister Pyne’s visit in the lead up could present some added opportunities to plug Australia’s AEWC capability and open avenues for Australian industry expertise in training, maintenance and operation for the UK.
Minister Pyne said, “This decision represents a significant milestone in a new and rapidly expanding dimension of our relationship with the United Kingdom and I look forward to meeting with Secretary Williamson and Minister Bebb to discuss how we can work together to grow the industrial bases of our respective nations.”
As part of the visit, Minister Pyne will also meet with a range of industry and think tank leaders, and represent Australia at official RAF 100 commemoration events. The minister’s visit to the UK comes on the back of his recent trip to Israel as part of the Australia-Israel Defence Industry Cooperation Joint Working Group in Tel Aviv, which aimed to build closer, collaborative relationships between Australian and Israeli defence industry. (Source: Defence Connect)
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