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Chief of Army of the Malaysian Armed Forces Makes Introductory Visit to Singapore
22 October 2013 Tuesday | 1630 hours
GEN Raja Affandi driving a Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle during his visit to Headquarters 3rd Singapore Division this morning.
The Chief of Army of the Malaysian Armed Forces, General (GEN) Datuk Raja Mohamed Affandi bin Raja Mohamed Noor, called on Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Ministry of Defence this afternoon.
As part of his introductory visit to Singapore from 21 to 22 October 2013, GEN Raja Affandi also called on Chief of Army Major-General Ravinder Singh after inspecting a Guard of Honour. Both sides reaffirmed the warm and professional cooperation between the two armies. Earlier today, GEN Raja Affandi also visited Headquarters 3rd Singapore Division where he drove a Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle.
GEN Raja Affandi's visit underscores the warm and long-standing defence relationship between Singapore and Malaysia. The armies of both countries interact regularly in a range of activities, including professional exchanges, the annual bilateral Exercise Semangat Bersatu, and multilateral activities under the ambit of the Five Power Defence Arrangements and ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus framework. These interactions have enhanced mutual understanding and friendship between the two armies.
Sources : http://www.mindef.gov.sg/
Last edited by HangPC2 on 3-11-2013 06:33 PM
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Singapore orders 2 Type 218SG submarines
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Defence is acquiring two new Type 218SG submarines from Thyssenkrupp Marine System GmBH.
In a statement on Monday, the ministry said the two submarines are scheduled for delivery from 2020.
The ministry said it signed a contract with the German manufacturer on November 29, 2013 for the acquisition, which also covers a logistics package and a crew training arrangement in Germany.
The two new submarines, together with the Archer-class submarines, will replace the aging Challenger-class submarines that Singapore has.
The replacement submarines will have significantly improved capabilities and will be equipped with Air Independent Propulsion systems, said the statement.
The Challenger-class submarines were built in the 1960s and are progressively being retired from service.
- CNA/fa
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singap...new/906814.html |
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From grunt
[QUOTE=ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems]2 Dec 2013 -- ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems receives major submarine order from Singapore
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, a company of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions, has signed a contract for the delivery of two submarines of HDW Class 218SG to Singapore.
HDW Class 218SG is a customised design from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The submarines, which will be fitted out with an air independent propulsion system, are going to be built at the Kiel premises of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.
Compared to the present ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems submarines, the new design has been customised to house additional equipment for present and future operational requirements. Special attention has also been paid to the ultra-modern layout of the tailor-made Combat System of these submarines. ST Electronics, being part of the ST Engineering group, will co-develop such Combat System with Atlas Elektronik GmbH.
Dr. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, Chairman of the Management Board of Business Area Industrial Solutions of ThyssenKrupp AG, underlines the importance of the order: “We very much look forward to continue the co-operation with the Republic of Singapore Navy which has already been a customer of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The new order is an affirmation of our high-end products and services and will further strengthen our position as a world market leader in the sector of non-nuclear submarines. The contract does not only safeguard jobs at ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, but also several hundred jobs at subcontractors.”[/QUOTE]
ThyssenKrupp also said Singapore Technologies Electronics, a unit of defence conglomerate Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd , would co-develop the submarines' tailor-made combat system with Atlas Elektronik GmbH, a joint venture of ThyssenKrupp and European aerospace group EADS.
Atlas' ISUS 90 submarine combat system is an advanced and sea-proven, fully integrated sensor, command and control, and weapon engagement system. It integrates the acoustical sensors with optical and electronic sensors to allow for a comprehensive command and control in the submarine system, as well as control of long range, wire guided torpedoes and missiles.
All submarines are power hungry, have weight and volume limitations. Once a submarine's design parameters are fixed, these three factors cannot be easily changed, without cutting the hull. Therefore, in large part, the three factors of power (i.e. hotel load), weight and volume are relatively stable, regardless of attempts to upgrade them through a submarine's operational life-span of 20 to 25 years. While advances in battery and other power storage devices can improve, it is really hard to get at the battery compartments to swamp them out with new power storage technology (i.e. major upgrade work). The space allocated for batteries is also fixed, at design.
Specifications drive design and it is quite clear that the Type 218SG is a customised design. Once the design is 'fixed' for manufacturing to start, the three limitations mentioned above would be present from a long, long, long time.
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U218SG ini desain type kapal selam yang baru sama sekali .. atau sekedar modifikasi dari type yang sudah ada yaitu U209, U212 dan U214?
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Reports that Singapore buys 50 Merkava Mk.4.
Singapore buys tanks Merkava Mk 4[/SIZE]
July 4th, 4:36
Resource IntelligenceOnline.com reports that Singapore will be the first foreign buyer of major Israeli tanks series Merkava. According to these reports, Singapore signed a contract for the purchase of 50 tanks Merkava Mk 4 new construction. According to the resource, the transaction amount reaches $ 500 million
Earlier, at the beginning of June 2014, the Israeli newspaper "Yediot Ahronot", citing a source in the Israeli Defense Ministry announced the signing of export agency of the Ministry of Defence Shibata first export contract for the Merkava Mk 4 tanks, without naming the customer and saying only that it is a country, "related long-term relationships with Israel in the field of security. "Also does not provide any details, except that the amount of the contract is "several hundred million dollars."
Merkava tanks series produced in the Israeli public a tank factory in Tel Hashomer in 1979, however, despite the considerable interest shown in him at different times by different potential foreign customers, never exported. This let low rates of production of tanks Merkava, their high cost, as well as export restrictions by both the U.S. (acting supplier significant portion of the tank units and systems and provide partial funding for the program of the issue), and most of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Now, for reasons mainly economic plan, Israel's Defense Ministry has issued export permits Merkava Mk 4.
Singapore since 2007 acquired are considered 182 Leopard 2A4 tanks from the German Bundeswehr presence (part of them for use on parts and conversion into special machines), and is currently carrying out a program of modernization.
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/ |
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Large 2,000lb JDAM order by RSAF for $63m
http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/singa...ition-jdam-kits
913 x GBU-31 bomb kits with 100 kaman fuzes and 300 DSU laser sensors (to convert to LJDAM). To be used for F-15 training as well. Brings PGM number to more decent level. This is the largest bomb order to date. In 2009, DSCA announced 670 x 500lb GBU-54 LJDAM for $40m. Bombs generally have 10-20 year shelf life.
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http://coffeenbullets.wordpress. ... veils-200-squadron/
RSAF Finally Unveils 200 Squadron
5 hours ago
A silent aegis for over 30 years, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) finally unveils 200 Squadron. Set up in the 1980s, 200 SQN is a dedicated Command Control (C2) unit of the RSAF solely for the air defence of the Lion City. The announcement yesterday also publicised the establishment of 202 Squadron.
200 SQN sits in the Air Surveillance and Control Group (ASCG) with sister units, 202 Squadron and 203 Squadron. ASCG is one of the three branches of the Air Defence and Operations Command (ADOC). You may wonder where is the missing 201 SQN,which is in fact is part of Participation Command as they support Army / Navy operations under the Tactical Air Support Group.
She is the core of RSAF’s air defence operations. 200 Squadron’s Air Operation & System Experts (AOSX) and Air Warfare Officers (AWO) are responsible of maintaining a 24/7 watch on the multitude of radar systems, (eg FPS 117, Giraffe AMB) and together with the 111 SQN G550 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft, creating a recognised air picture stretching as far as 250 nautical miles to assist in RSAF’s commanders tactical decision making.
200 SQN’s AWO provides Ground Control Intercept (GCI) services to RSAF Fighter Group’s aircrafts. GCIs allows the pilots to have greater situational awareness of the battle and positive control from ground commanders. There are also Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) Controllers giving firing orders to Air Defence Group (ADG) firing units.
With aerial threats and air combat becoming more complex, the establishment of the new 202 SQN will offload 200 SQN of some air defence duties.
200 SQN works closely with 203 SQN, RSAF’s C2 air traffic squadron to ensure the safety of RSAF flying missions and integrity of the airspace. Their ties started as soon at 200 SQN was established, with 203 SQN stood up as early as 1971. 203 SQN, who won the Best Control Squadron for FY 13/14, has close ties with Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and is responsible for the safe launch and recovery of RSAF assets from their bases and de confliction with civilian traffic. To put it simply, AWOs from 200 SQN bring fighters as close as possible while the 203 counterparts do the direct opposite.
200 SQN was put into action a number of times, most notably in 2008 where they detected, tracked and intercepted an unidentified Cessna Caravan flying from Koh Samui to Singapore. 203 SQN secured the airspace from CAAS before F-16D+s, under the control of 200 SQN intercepted the aircraft and forcing it to land in Changi International Airport. 200 and 203 Squadron duo was also involved in the 2003 fighter scramble, where a Beechcraft 33 lost contact with civilian air traffic and while heading to Singapore. It was later found out that the aircraft was unreachable due to an on board electrical failure.
While Chief of Air Force, who was Commander ADOC, continues to call for “forging of tribes” amongst the RSAF units, the unveiling of 200 SQN not only create a real identity of 200 SQN’s personnel to the public, but also further commitment and meaning to their once secret service. It has also lifts certain pressure off them. An unnamed 200 SQN personnel mentioned to local press that, “ I do not have to avoid questions from family and friends on where I work. I can now proudly say I am from 200 SQN.”
The future trio of 200, 202 and 203 Squadron will enable RSAF to effectively and safely employ her ground based air defence, and aircrafts to counter a spectrum of air defence scenarios, both conventional and non conventional. And it is a reminder that there are still people out their in the silent service working tirelessly in their 24/7 mission, all in the higher purpose of a safe skies.
Vigilant and Ready
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RSS Intrepid Conducts Successful Missile Firing at RIMPAC
The Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) Formidable-class frigate RSS Intrepid, conducted a successful live-firing of an Aster Surface-to-Air Missile on 12 July (Singapore time), as part of the multilateral Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise. Hosted by the United States Navy and held from 26 June to 1 August, Exercise RIMPAC 2014 comprises a shore planning phase and a 22-day sea phase conducted off the coast of Hawaii. RSS Intrepid, with an embarked S-70B Seahawk naval helicopter, is participating in this year's exercise alongside assets from 21 other countries, including 49 ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25 000 personnel.
As part of this year's exercise, RSS Intrepid is commanding a task unit comprising four other warships from Chile, Norway and the United States. The ships conducted complex maritime exercise serials such as combined anti-submarine and air defence missions. Commenting on the RSN's participation in the exercise, Fleet Commander Rear-Admiral Timothy Lo said, "During Exercise RIMPAC, RSN successfully fired an Aster Surface-to-Air Missile and is also leading a task unit comprising of ships from the Chilean, Norwegian and United States navies. This exercise provides the RSN with a good opportunity to train with other established navies in complex maritime operations in a high intensity scenario."
This is the fourth time the RSN is participating in this exercise and the second time it is commanding a multinational task unit during the exercise. This year's Exercise RIMPAC also involves forces from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Republic of the Philippines, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States.
http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef ... r.html#.U8P14ycayK1 |
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Singapore Quietly Expanding Fighter ForceBy: Mike Yeo
Published: August 25, 2014 4:02 PM
Updated: August 25, 2014 4:02 PMhttp://news.usni.org/2014/08/25/singapore-quietly-expanding-fighter-force
Singapore appears to have more than its declared total of 24 Boeing F-15SG Eagle multirole fighters, with recent developments indicating that the small Asian city-state is already operating 32 aircraft, and looks set to bring that total up to 40. Located strategically at one end of the Straits of Malacca chokepoint where a quarter of the world’s annual maritime trade passes, Singapore plays a vital role in regional security and is a close security and defense partner with the United States In a notification to Congress by the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls indicate dated Nov. 26, 2012, it was revealed that Singapore had ordered eight more F-15SGs to add to the 24 already ordered in two separate batches of 12, in late 2005 and November 2007. These aircraft, ordered under Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) contracts with Boeing, were delivered by late 2011, with the 23rd aircraft from the second batch observed at the Singapore Airshow in February 2012. At the show, Roger Besancenez, then-vice president of Boeing’s F-15 program, revealed that F-15SG deliveries were to be completed by the 4th quarter of 2012, while Boeing itself announced that eight F-15s were delivered (to an unknown customer) that year. Singapore’s F-15SGs all carry USAF-style serials based on their Boeing construction numbers (starting from 05-0001 in running order) stencilled onto the port engine intake. The Republic of Singapore Air Force’s F-15SGs based in the United States with the 428th Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base, a joint USAF-RSAF pilot continuation training detachment training Singaporean pilots and Weapon Systems Officers under the Peace Carvin V program have this number repeated on their vertical tails, while USNI (Ed: i.e Me) has observed that F-15SGs based in Singapore with the RSAF’s 149 Squadron carry a 4-digit 83xx tail number which do not run in sequence. In October 2013, photos of aircraft carrying the serials 05-0025, 05-0029 and 05-0030 were published at an exercise at Idaho, while in December that year, F-15SGs 05-0028 and 05-0032 were photographed at Exercise Forging Saber, an integrated live-firing exercise conducted by the Singapore Army and the RSAF in Arizona. Meanwhile, at least two of Singapore-based aircraft, carrying the RSAF serials 8331 and 8332, have been observed with tape stuck on the intake stencils covering up the construction numbers. USNI News saw F-15SG 8331 at the recently concluded Exercise Pitch Black in Darwin, Australia and “26” as the last two digits due to the tape having been partially worn off. Together, these appear to confirm that Singapore already has at least 32 F-15SGs in its inventory In addition, on 5-6 August 2014, Boeing took out eight civil aircraft registrations with the Federal Aviation Administration for what it described as F-15SG aircraft. If these indeed represent an additional batch of F-15SGs acquired by Singapore, it would allow Singapore to form a second squadron of F-15SGs in Singapore, most likely to replace a handful of upgraded Northrop F-5S/T Tiger II interceptors which are due to be retired in the near future. Notoriously secretive with its military matters, Singapore has remained tight-lipped about the number of F-15s it actually has, other to say that it has sufficient numbers to meet its defense needs. Similarly, Boeing has been coy about discussing numbers regarding its F-15SG program. The most advanced version of the F-15 in service today (until Saudi Arabia’s F-15SAs are delivered), Singapore’s F-15SGs feature the Raytheon AN/APG-63(v)3 Active Electronically Scanned Radar and is equipped with the AIM-9X Sidewinder and AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile for air combat, along with GBU-10/12 Paveway II Laser Guided Bombs (LGBs) and GBU-31/38/54 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) in the air-to-ground role. It is also widely-believed Singapore has acquired the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon for its F-15SGs.
Last edited by spiderweb6969 on 2-9-2014 09:57 PM
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Singapore probably has up to 40 F-15SGsBy: GREG WALDRON
SINGAPORE
Source: Flightglobal.com
04:40 25 Aug 2014
http://www.flightglobal.com/news ... -40-f-15sgs-402971/
Evidence that Singapore has far more than the officially claimed 24 Boeing F-15SG fighter aircraft has emerged, although the precise number of airframes has yet to be ascertained. The FAA registry shows that eight Boeing F-15SG aircraft were registered to Boeing on 6 August 2014. The aircraft bear registrations N361SG, N363SG, N366SG, N368SG,N373SG, N376SG, N378SG, and N837SG. Over the years industry observers have come to share the belief that the true number of aircraft is probably 32 - not 24 - mainly owing to the range of registration numbers on Singapore air force registered F-15SGs. Moreover, on a tour of Korea Aerospace Industries’ (KAI) Sachon factory in 2011, Flightglobal observed the forward fuselage assembly of an F-15 labelled “SG28.” KAI is a key contractor in the F-15 programme. Combined with aircraft sightings in recent years, it is feasible that the eight F-15SGs registered on 6 August push the size of Singapore’s fleet of the type to 40 aircraft. Singapore and Boeing, for their part, have adamantly maintained that the official strength of Singapore’s F-15SG fleet is 24 aircraft. Nonetheless, it is impossible to escape the view that the true size of the fleet is greater. At the recent Pitch Black exercises in Australia, defence observers noted that some F-15SGs showed signs that registration numbers had been painted or taped over, possibly a tactic to obfuscate the true size of the fleet. Another element of evidence about additional F-15SGs is buried in the Federal Register from 17 April 2013, which indicates that Singapore may obtain additional examples through the direct commercial sale route. The registry entry pertained to the acquisition of additional Raytheon AIM-120C7 AMRAAM missiles, but referenced additional aircraft as well. “The Republic of Singapore requires these missiles to meet current and future threats of enemy aircraft,” says the entry. “Singapore is procuring, via Direct Commercial Sale, new F–15SG aircraft.” If Singapore has 40 F-15SGs, the country’s fighter fleet numbers about 126 aircraft. Flightglobal’s World Air Forces directory shows that Singapore also operates 60 Lockheed Martin F-16s and 26 Northrop F-5s. The country plans to upgrade the F-16 fleet, and replace the F-5s with the F-35 – the country has indicated a preference for the short take-off vertical landing F-35B variant. Singapore’s secrecy about its F-15SG fleet could stem from the fact that the type is, by a very large margin, the most effective combat aircraft in Southeast Asia – especially coupled with the high quality of Singapore pilots. Singapore’s F-15SGs are split between Singapore and the USAF’s Mountain Home base in Idaho, where a training detachment is stationed.
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Sea Platforms
ST Marine launches third Omani patrol vessel
Ridzwan Rahmat, Singapore - IHS Jane's Navy International
17 September 2014
http://www.janes.com/article/433 ... omani-patrol-vessel
Singapore Technologies (ST) Marine has launched the Royal Navy of Oman's (RNO's) third Al-Ofouq-class patrol ship, a company official confirmed to IHS Jane's .
Replacing the Dhofar class, the as yet unnamed 75 m vessel will be part of the RNO's effort to bolster Oman's offshore patrol capability.
The vessel is derived from ST Marine's proprietary Fearless-75 design and was launched at its facilities in Benoi, Singapore on 17 September.
In April 2012, ST Marine beat Dutch company Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding and India's Goa Shipyard to clinch the four-ship, SGD880 million (USD703 million) contract on offer by the Omani Ministry of Defence.
The Al-Ofouq class displaces approximately 1,100 tonnes and accommodates a crew of about 60. With a top speed of 27 kt, it can attain a standard range of 3,000 n miles at 16 kt. The vessels will likely be armed with the Oto Melara 76 mm Super Rapid system as a primary gun.
In July 2012, IHS Jane's reported that Thales Nederland was awarded a contract to equip the vessels with its TACTICOS combat management system, the Variant surveillance radar, the STIR 1.2 EO Mk 2 radar/electro-optical tracking system, and the Vigile electronic support measures.
ST Marine told IHS Jane's that the first vessel-in-class was launched on 29 January 2014 while the second vessel hit the water on 17 June the same year. The patrol ships are expected to be delivered from the second quarter of 2015, with the final vessel to be handed over in the third quarter of 2016.
The RSN currently operates a class of 11 of the original 55 m Fearless vessels.
Related articles: ST Marine lays keel for Singapore's first Littoral Mission Vessel
(281 words)
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Edited by HangPC2 at 9-10-2018 05:45 PM
Nanjing hosts PLA-SAF military exercise COOPERATION 2014
Exercise COOPERATION 2014 is the third bilateral training exercise between the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The first two exercises in the series - in 2009 and 2010 - focused on non-conventional counter-terrorism scenarios.
This year's exercise has conventional infantry scenarios. About 70 personnel each from the SAF and the PLA took part in the nine-day exercise, which started on Nov 1. It included professional seminars and a Company-level conventional infantry exercise featuring a live-firing demonstration.
Singapore's Ministry of Defence said the exercise provides a good platform for personnel of the two armed forces to interact, as well as better understand and cooperate with each other. It added that Exercise COOPERATION underscores the warm and growing defence relations between both armed forces, which also interact regularly through exchanges of visits, courses, exercises and port calls.
Dr Ng visited the exercise with Commander of Nanjing Military Region, General Cai Yingting. He witnessed the live-firing demonstration, interacted with the troops and attended the closing ceremony, which was officiated by the SAF's Chief of Staff - General Staff, Brigadier-General Lim Hock Yu, along with Deputy Commander of Nanjing Military Region, Lieutenant-General You Haitao.
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Singapura guna inovasi baharu pertahankan serangan musuh
Bot tentera tanpa pemandu ronda, musnahkan periuk api
SINGAPURA 3 Mac - Angkatan Tentera Singapura (SAF) memper-kenalkan inovasi baharu se-perti menara tinjau tanpa kawalan manusia, pangkalan udara pintar dan bot tanpa pemandu untuk melindungi keselamatan republik itu daripada ancaman musuh.
Menteri Pertahanan Singapura, Ng Eng Hen berkata, untuk pangkalan udara pintar, tentera udara akan menggunakan dron bagi mengakses landasan yang rosak selain analisis data untuk penyelenggaraan pesawat.
Katanya, tentera laut pula akan menggunakan bot tanpa pemandu bagi tujuan rondaan dan mengesan selain membersihkan periuk api bawah air.
“SAF menaik taraf peralatan sedia ada dengan seboleh mungkin untuk mengelak daripada melakukan pembelian baharu,” kata Ng Hen ucapan debat Jawatankuasa Perbekalan di Parlimen, semalam sebagaimana lapor Channel News Asia.
Ng Hen turut membangkitkan penambahbaikan yang dibuat terhadap perkakasan sedia ada se-perti kereta kebal Leopard dan helikopter Chinook.
Beliau menambah, tindakan SAF itu tidak menjejaskan keupayaan pertahanan negara ini tetapi sebaliknya menemui cara untuk mengoptimumkan sumber dan menggunakan sebaiknya setiap dolar duitnya,” tambahnya.
Ng Hen berkata, perbelanjaan pertahanan Singapura meningkat kurang daripada S$5 bilion (RM14.8 bilion) pada 1988 kepada kira-kira S$14 bilion (RM41.5 bi-lion) tahun lalu mewakili 19 peratus daripada perbelanjaan kerajaan.
Namun pemimpin itu me-negaskan, berlaku penurunan ke-tara bajet dalam pertahanan berbanding jumlah yang tinggi pada 2005 iaitu apabila ia mewaki-li satu pertiga daripada keseluruhan perbelanjaan kerajaan.
“Dengan SAF dimodenkan dan tumpuan diberikan kepada rakyat dan teknologi, perbelanjaan pertahanan menurun secara mendadak sejak sedekad lalu,” katanya.
Tambah beliau, untuk itu, SAF berjaya menjimatkan S$200 juta (RM592 juta) wang kerajaan menerusi inovasi dan proses kerja yang lebih baik.
Artikel Penuh: http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/ ... 20256#ixzz58pGubPmC
© Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd |
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F-35 : How the fifth-generation fighter jet might take RSAF to the next level
In the first of a three-part series on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, Channel NewsAsia’s Aqil Haziq Mahmud visited Lockheed Martin’s production facility for an in-depth look at the fighter jet and how it could be a battlefield game changer.
While Singapore's interest in the F-35 is well-documented, it is still evaluating various options to update its fighter capabilities. In June, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said a decision would be made in the coming months.
To find out why Singapore might be willing to spend more than S$160 million on each short take-off/vertical landing variant of the jet, Channel NewsAsia visited manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s sprawling facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
Along the 1.6km assembly line, in a cold and cavernous space, hundreds of workers cut, drill and screw on chunks of earthy green metal, ramping up production for programme partners and customers like Australia, Italy and South Korea.
It is only in the aviation paint shop that the benign green turns to menacing grey, with workers giving the jet a primer layer before robots spray on the top coat. Every seal and seam needs to be meticulously filled and taped so radars don't pick up on the bumps.
“It's a little bit like painting your house,” said Lockheed Martin's F-35 international business development director Steve Over, peering through a small window and into a vast hangar where the jets were getting some final touches.
“This is where these airplanes receive their stealth coating system.”
STEALTH
Clearly, the F-35’s builders went to great lengths to ensure the jet is close to invisible when in the air. Unlike the fourth-generation F-16, the F-35 conceals all its weapons and fuel tanks inside its sleek skin.
However, F-35s flying in missions that don't require a high level of stealth can still carry external fuel tanks and weapons for more range and firepower.
“The vast majority of radar return that I get from an airplane comes from all the things that are hanging on the outside,” Mr Over said.
The F-35’s antennas are also embedded in its wings, while its engine inlet duct is built like a snake so enemy radar beams have to bounce around multiple times before hitting the engine fan blades.
These multiple stealth features, Mr Over said, are part of what distinguishes fifth-generation fighters from their predecessors.
Back in a meeting room, Mr Over tried to illustrate just how much stealthier the F-35 is. He pulled up an animation showing the size of an enemy’s radar range relative to a jet’s observability.
Compared to the F-35, a fourth-generation fighter lugging around external weapons and fuel tanks has to contend with a radar range at least two times longer.
The F-35's stealthiness is especially useful against the newest air defence systems that can shoot deadly missiles as far as 400km, which Mr Over described as “probably the most serious threats to fighter airplanes”.
For the F-35, this wouldn't really be a problem, Mr Over said. Pilots can fly really close and destroy the threat without a single bleep on the enemy's radar, rendering them oblivious.
“Pilots that are flying the F-35 have the ability to go any place they want to in the battle space with impunity,” he added. “The first time an adversary knows you’re in his battle space is when something important to him is destroyed.”
SENSORS
On top of the stealth, the F-35 is jam packed with sensors that enable it to see and identify enemy planes from greater distances than fourth-generation fighters.
This includes the latest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, which sees farther and uses a receiver beam to passively search for enemies. This helps the jets stay aware yet stealthy.
Another advanced sensor is the Distributed Aperture System (DAS), comprising six cameras placed around the jet that project a 360-degree view on the inside of pilots’ helmet visors.
During air-to-air combat, pilots can turn their heads and see through the plane, avoiding a sneak attack from the rear. Target on the ground? Pilots only need to look down and engage.
But perhaps the main game changer is the F-35’s ability to combine information from each of its sensors and create a single picture of the battlefield, a challenging job that pilots used to have to do in their heads.
During a complex mission, contested by fleets of enemy planes and battalions of ground targets, pilots must compare information from individual sensors and verify if a target is really there, all while flying and fighting.
Pilots in the F-35 are not bogged down by this. In one glance, they can see which sensors are identifying the target and how confident the computer is in interpreting it as a friend or foe.
“It’s presenting a very logical, God’s eye perspective of the battle space to the pilot,” Mr Over said, suggesting an awareness that could extend hundreds of kilometres around the jet.
FIGHTING TOGETHER
That’s not all.
If an F-35 is geographically unable to get some information about a target, it can automatically “ask” another better positioned F-35 to do it. This data is fed back and shared across a network of F-35s, all without the pilot lifting a finger.
This information is also shared across a multi-function advanced datalink (MADL) that is more secure than the system on fourth-generation fighters. MADL can also transmit more information and is harder to jam.
According to Mr Over, it’s so secure that an older fighter flying close to three F-35s talking to each other will not be able to detect any transmitting signals, unless the jets are perfectly aligned.
F-35 : How the fifth-generation fighter jet might take RSAF to the next level
In the first of a three-part series on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, Channel NewsAsia’s Aqil Haziq Mahmud visited Lockheed Martin’s production facility for an in-depth look at the fighter jet and how it could be a battlefield game changer.
While Singapore's interest in the F-35 is well-documented, it is still evaluating various options to update its fighter capabilities. In June, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said a decision would be made in the coming months.
To find out why Singapore might be willing to spend more than S$160 million on each short take-off/vertical landing variant of the jet, Channel NewsAsia visited manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s sprawling facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
Along the 1.6km assembly line, in a cold and cavernous space, hundreds of workers cut, drill and screw on chunks of earthy green metal, ramping up production for programme partners and customers like Australia, Italy and South Korea.
It is only in the aviation paint shop that the benign green turns to menacing grey, with workers giving the jet a primer layer before robots spray on the top coat. Every seal and seam needs to be meticulously filled and taped so radars don't pick up on the bumps.
“It's a little bit like painting your house,” said Lockheed Martin's F-35 international business development director Steve Over, peering through a small window and into a vast hangar where the jets were getting some final touches.
“This is where these airplanes receive their stealth coating system.”
STEALTH
Clearly, the F-35’s builders went to great lengths to ensure the jet is close to invisible when in the air. Unlike the fourth-generation F-16, the F-35 conceals all its weapons and fuel tanks inside its sleek skin.
However, F-35s flying in missions that don't require a high level of stealth can still carry external fuel tanks and weapons for more range and firepower.
[img]
“The vast majority of radar return that I get from an airplane comes from all the things that are hanging on the outside,” Mr Over said.
The F-35’s antennas are also embedded in its wings, while its engine inlet duct is built like a snake so enemy radar beams have to bounce around multiple times before hitting the engine fan blades.
These multiple stealth features, Mr Over said, are part of what distinguishes fifth-generation fighters from their predecessors.
Back in a meeting room, Mr Over tried to illustrate just how much stealthier the F-35 is. He pulled up an animation showing the size of an enemy’s radar range relative to a jet’s observability.
Compared to the F-35, a fourth-generation fighter lugging around external weapons and fuel tanks has to contend with a radar range at least two times longer.
The F-35's stealthiness is especially useful against the newest air defence systems that can shoot deadly missiles as far as 400km, which Mr Over described as “probably the most serious threats to fighter airplanes”.
For the F-35, this wouldn't really be a problem, Mr Over said. Pilots can fly really close and destroy the threat without a single bleep on the enemy's radar, rendering them oblivious.
“Pilots that are flying the F-35 have the ability to go any place they want to in the battle space with impunity,” he added. “The first time an adversary knows you’re in his battle space is when something important to him is destroyed.”
SENSORS
On top of the stealth, the F-35 is jam packed with sensors that enable it to see and identify enemy planes from greater distances than fourth-generation fighters.
This includes the latest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, which sees farther and uses a receiver beam to passively search for enemies. This helps the jets stay aware yet stealthy.
Another advanced sensor is the Distributed Aperture System (DAS), comprising six cameras placed around the jet that project a 360-degree view on the inside of pilots’ helmet visors.
During air-to-air combat, pilots can turn their heads and see through the plane, avoiding a sneak attack from the rear. Target on the ground? Pilots only need to look down and engage.
But perhaps the main game changer is the F-35’s ability to combine information from each of its sensors and create a single picture of the battlefield, a challenging job that pilots used to have to do in their heads.
During a complex mission, contested by fleets of enemy planes and battalions of ground targets, pilots must compare information from individual sensors and verify if a target is really there, all while flying and fighting.
Pilots in the F-35 are not bogged down by this. In one glance, they can see which sensors are identifying the target and how confident the computer is in interpreting it as a friend or foe.
“It’s presenting a very logical, God’s eye perspective of the battle space to the pilot,” Mr Over said, suggesting an awareness that could extend hundreds of kilometres around the jet.
FIGHTING TOGETHER
That’s not all.
If an F-35 is geographically unable to get some information about a target, it can automatically “ask” another better positioned F-35 to do it. This data is fed back and shared across a network of F-35s, all without the pilot lifting a finger.
This information is also shared across a multi-function advanced datalink (MADL) that is more secure than the system on fourth-generation fighters. MADL can also transmit more information and is harder to jam.
According to Mr Over, it’s so secure that an older fighter flying close to three F-35s talking to each other will not be able to detect any transmitting signals, unless the jets are perfectly aligned.
F-35 : How the fifth-generation fighter jet might take RSAF to the next level
In the first of a three-part series on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, Channel NewsAsia’s Aqil Haziq Mahmud visited Lockheed Martin’s production facility for an in-depth look at the fighter jet and how it could be a battlefield game changer.
While Singapore's interest in the F-35 is well-documented, it is still evaluating various options to update its fighter capabilities. In June, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said a decision would be made in the coming months.
To find out why Singapore might be willing to spend more than S$160 million on each short take-off/vertical landing variant of the jet, Channel NewsAsia visited manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s sprawling facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
Along the 1.6km assembly line, in a cold and cavernous space, hundreds of workers cut, drill and screw on chunks of earthy green metal, ramping up production for programme partners and customers like Australia, Italy and South Korea.
It is only in the aviation paint shop that the benign green turns to menacing grey, with workers giving the jet a primer layer before robots spray on the top coat. Every seal and seam needs to be meticulously filled and taped so radars don't pick up on the bumps.
“It's a little bit like painting your house,” said Lockheed Martin's F-35 international business development director Steve Over, peering through a small window and into a vast hangar where the jets were getting some final touches.
“This is where these airplanes receive their stealth coating system.”
STEALTH
Clearly, the F-35’s builders went to great lengths to ensure the jet is close to invisible when in the air. Unlike the fourth-generation F-16, the F-35 conceals all its weapons and fuel tanks inside its sleek skin.
However, F-35s flying in missions that don't require a high level of stealth can still carry external fuel tanks and weapons for more range and firepower.
[img]
“The vast majority of radar return that I get from an airplane comes from all the things that are hanging on the outside,” Mr Over said.
The F-35’s antennas are also embedded in its wings, while its engine inlet duct is built like a snake so enemy radar beams have to bounce around multiple times before hitting the engine fan blades.
These multiple stealth features, Mr Over said, are part of what distinguishes fifth-generation fighters from their predecessors.
Back in a meeting room, Mr Over tried to illustrate just how much stealthier the F-35 is. He pulled up an animation showing the size of an enemy’s radar range relative to a jet’s observability.
Compared to the F-35, a fourth-generation fighter lugging around external weapons and fuel tanks has to contend with a radar range at least two times longer.
The F-35's stealthiness is especially useful against the newest air defence systems that can shoot deadly missiles as far as 400km, which Mr Over described as “probably the most serious threats to fighter airplanes”.
For the F-35, this wouldn't really be a problem, Mr Over said. Pilots can fly really close and destroy the threat without a single bleep on the enemy's radar, rendering them oblivious.
“Pilots that are flying the F-35 have the ability to go any place they want to in the battle space with impunity,” he added. “The first time an adversary knows you’re in his battle space is when something important to him is destroyed.”
SENSORS
On top of the stealth, the F-35 is jam packed with sensors that enable it to see and identify enemy planes from greater distances than fourth-generation fighters.
This includes the latest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, which sees farther and uses a receiver beam to passively search for enemies. This helps the jets stay aware yet stealthy.
Another advanced sensor is the Distributed Aperture System (DAS), comprising six cameras placed around the jet that project a 360-degree view on the inside of pilots’ helmet visors.
During air-to-air combat, pilots can turn their heads and see through the plane, avoiding a sneak attack from the rear. Target on the ground? Pilots only need to look down and engage.
But perhaps the main game changer is the F-35’s ability to combine information from each of its sensors and create a single picture of the battlefield, a challenging job that pilots used to have to do in their heads.
During a complex mission, contested by fleets of enemy planes and battalions of ground targets, pilots must compare information from individual sensors and verify if a target is really there, all while flying and fighting.
Pilots in the F-35 are not bogged down by this. In one glance, they can see which sensors are identifying the target and how confident the computer is in interpreting it as a friend or foe.
“It’s presenting a very logical, God’s eye perspective of the battle space to the pilot,” Mr Over said, suggesting an awareness that could extend hundreds of kilometres around the jet.
FIGHTING TOGETHER
That’s not all.
If an F-35 is geographically unable to get some information about a target, it can automatically “ask” another better positioned F-35 to do it. This data is fed back and shared across a network of F-35s, all without the pilot lifting a finger.
This information is also shared across a multi-function advanced datalink (MADL) that is more secure than the system on fourth-generation fighters. MADL can also transmit more information and is harder to jam.
According to Mr Over, it’s so secure that an older fighter flying close to three F-35s talking to each other will not be able to detect any transmitting signals, unless the jets are perfectly aligned.
Moreover, the F-35 can share this data with other air assets via the older datalink system, increasing the situational awareness of an entire force on the battlefront.
This means that a pack of F-35s can arrive unannounced in highly-contested territory and clear the way for other planes to finish the job. “I can see war fighters using the F-35 in ways that I can’t imagine,” Mr Over said.
DOGFIGHTS
As for the more traditional way of using fighter jets, namely to destroy other aircraft during close combat, the F-35 has come in for a fair bit of criticism.
In a 2015 report, a test pilot described how the F-35 had lost to F-16s and F-15s in dogfights, indicating that it was too slow on the turn. Critics of the F-35 programme jumped on it.
But two years later, the F-35 showed it can ace the competition, achieving impressive results at the US Air Force’s Exercise Red Flag. Held a few times every year, Red Flag is a realistic and challenging aerial combat training exercise involving multiple assets from different countries.
At the January 2017 edition, which included lethal heavyweights like the F-22, Eurofighter Typhoon and B-2 Stealth Bomber, the F-35 came away with a kill ratio of 20:1, which means that it killed 20 aggressors for each F-35 downed.
“Pilots will tell you the F-35s, in an air-to-air dogfight mode, fly differently than F-16s,” Mr Over said. “If you fly this airplane to its strengths, it will do very well in that close turning visual fight.”
Still, Mr Over pointed out that there is always a 50-50 chance of getting killed in a dogfight, regardless of the jet.
“So, it’s not because the airplane can’t fight at that range, it’s because it’s stupid to get embroiled in that within visual range fight,” he added.
Instead, the F-35 focuses on delivering beyond visual range weapons due to a lesser emphasis on manoeuvrability in air-to-air combat, Mr Over explained. This is because modern jets don’t need to point their noses at where they want to shoot at.
MAINTENANCE
After all the fighting is done and the F-35 lands with an empty weapons bay, Mr Larry Gatti rests easy.
This is because Lockheed Martin's F-35 sustainment campaigns lead, who has decades of experience maintaining jets like the F-15 and F-16, knows that cleaning the weapons bay will be an absolute breeze.
Unlike the fourth-generation fighters, which create a big mess by using explosive cartridges to release their external missiles, the F-35 only uses a small charge of compressed air to push missiles out of its body.
This is “one of Steve's other favourites”, Mr Gatti said with a laugh. “It's clean, reduces maintenance and actually more reliable too.”
Something else that makes the F-35 so easy to maintain is its ready access to routine maintenance panels. Technicians can reach more than three-quarters of these panels without destroying the top coat, a key stealth component of the jet.
On older stealth jets, technicians went through a complicated process that involved carving into the top coat, re-applying it and letting it cure.
This was also labour-intensive and time-consuming, Mr Gatti said, not such a good idea when you want your jets up and flying instead of sitting in a workshop. But on the F-35, everything could be done in fewer than a couple of hours, he added.
And at the heart of it all is the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), the F-35's maintenance software that tells technicians how each jet is configured, its flight telemetry and what exactly needs to be fixed.
It also shares repair and supplies data with F-35 users around the globe and basic engineering data with Lockheed Martin engineers in Fort Worth, allowing the latter to monitor flight performance trends and make global fleet improvements.
“The F-35 was designed from the ground up to be more maintainable,” Mr Gatti said. “One of the things that struck me with all my experience is that it was the easiest airplane I’ve ever taken care of.”
It is no wonder then that more than 10 countries have fully committed to getting a few pieces of these jets. Back at the production facility, digital flags of nations like Israel, Japan and the Netherlands embellish the assembly line.
Each partly or fully assembled F-35 is headlined by a standard display panel, showing the flag of the country that’s buying the jet, the location where it will be delivered and a number that says whether it’s the fifth or 500th F-35 ever built.
It is like a scene from a science fiction movie, when countries band together to create a powerful weapon against an alien enemy.
Just that there are no aliens in this world. Only a formidable weapon in the shape of the F-35.
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Post time 28-10-2013 02:08 PM
