SHAH ALAM: One can huff and puff but the air force – with two Hawks and two Sukhois each – stole the show at the Army Firepower Demo held at Kem Sirajuddin, Gemas on Tuesday (July 9, 2013).
The air force contingent was supposed to be a bit player in the scheme of thing but the last minute cancellation of the “dynamic presentation” (live firings) from a variety of Army whoop ass team – PT91M Pendekar, Sibmas, Condor and other support weapons meant that the Sukhois and Hawks ruled the day.
The Army’s tube and rocket unit (81mm mortar, 105mm, 155mm and Astros MRLS) tried hard but as only their bomb bursts could be seen by the guests – headed by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Armed Forces Chief Tan Sri Zulkifli Mohd Zin and the Army top brass and other guests – it was the air force that stole the limelight even if their show was a brief one.
I am sure the Army boys who had trained hard for the occasion – since early last month as the demonstration was scheduled in late June but rescheduled due to the haze – was disappointed with the last minute cancellation.
Their segment was cancelled as Hishammuddin was running late with Kem Sirajuddin the third leg of his familirisation visit to the Army. He had earlier went to Kem Terendak in Malacca where he was presented with an honorary red beret courtesy of the 10 Para Brigade. From Terendak, he visited Kem Sungai Udang and the Special Forces Training Centre (PULPAK) though he did not get an honourary green beret this time around.
I was not purview for Hishamuddin delay (he was using the AW109LOH from Malacca, the weather was fine) but I guess since the Army top brass were not bothered with it, the boys and girls at Kem Sirajuddin will have to bear with it.
As part of his tour of Kem Sirajuddin, Hishammuddin drove a PT91M after a short instruction from Mej Zainuddin of the 11 Armor. Hishammuddin was also a given a brief tour of the prototype AV8 which was ferried to Gemas from Pekan for the visit. I have to report that no official update on the AV8 was given at the event.
— Malaysian Defence
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Azlan says:
July 10, 2013 at 1:55 pm
On a completely different matter, KD Kasturi has started trials [torp tubes have been fitted on the ‘B’ position] and KD Lekir has entered the dockyard and has been stripped. Problem is BNS doesn’t always deliver as promised and the RMN has to often get things done itself. The unsung heroes here are the tech crews from the ships, who are doing stuff that should be done by the higher paid BNS folks.
Marhalim,
Not too long ago, I asked if PASKAL really had G-36s. I recently a saw a pic of a G-36 being used by PASKAL during the 1st ‘Operation Fajar’ deployment. A few were bought, probably for evaluation. You heard about the 120mm mortars that STRIDE bought from Slovakia?
Reply
Paskal always get small batch of guns for trials and if the ammo is readily available they will keep unlike the..
No I have not heard about the Slovak mortars
nimitz says:
July 11, 2013 at 6:33 pm
A nice pic of Kawalan Suku. If the unit assigned was not RMR, do they have the same set of uniform worn by RMR?
shoemaker says:
July 12, 2013 at 8:36 am
I thought the trend is towards attaching nose mounted laser seekers and fins to those gravity bombs? It would be nice if those people at SMEO and STRIDE do something more creative.
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Its money. Iron bombs are cheap
nimitz says:
July 12, 2013 at 6:39 pm
Any update on the TLDM submarine rescue ship?
Reply
Nothing yet
AM says:
July 14, 2013 at 5:52 am
Those are Russian FAB bombs. They don’t work with our existing LGB kits.
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Only the Sukhois used the Russian bombs. The Hawks used Mk82 bombs without any guidance kit
nanonano says:
July 14, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Hope our long dry spell of military procurement wont be exhausted or delayed further by this matslow.
nimitz says:
July 14, 2013 at 3:18 pm
So TUDM have NATO and Soviet armaments. Mk82 can’t be attached to MKM.
“…KD Kasturi has started trials [torp tubes have been fitted on the ‘B’ position] and…” Kasturi’s ‘B’ position is a higher elevation from the main deck, are we gonna see the tubes high above the cupola of main gun?
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Of course they do. I believe they can do it but more work need to be done.
I believe it will be on the port and starboard side of the B position. As it will not be fired at a 90 degree angle ever, the cupola will not come into play
Azlan says:
July 14, 2013 at 5:54 pm
We bought practive bombs from Indonesia, to use with the MKMs. Much cheaper than using the real stuff.
shoemaker,
One thing being creative, another completely different thing having sufficient funds for R&D …. To start developing our equivalant of JDAM would take ten of millions [USD] and even then, we would still need a foreign technology provider.
Marhalim,
At Ex-Paradise 2012, Hawk 100s were seen with Paveways – lasing was done on the ground. Apart from the Mk82, they also have CRV-70s, CBU-90s and Aden gun pods and apparently Sidewinders [to date only dummy/traning Sidewinders have been seen on our Hawks].
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This was supposed to be an Army show so having the fly boys hitting the bulls eye would not be in the script. However as the dear cousin duly came late it was left to the flyboys to salvage the day even with the dumb bombs
AM says:
July 14, 2013 at 8:42 pm
Er, are we referring to the firepower demo or the action in LD?
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The demo. In LD, lgbs were used in the initial strike, Hornets and Hawks. Subsequently the Mk82s were used without the laser guidance kit
lee yoke meng says:
July 14, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Its not necessary to use guidance sets unless acute accuracy is required. Ordinarily modern jets has good trajectory n weapons guidance system that can give fairly good accuracy
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For training and SOPs it is also important to use all the assets in the inventory lest we may find ourselves short handed when the real thing happened. Such training is also essential to validate SOPs not only for flight crews but also the ground crews.
nimitz says:
July 15, 2013 at 2:50 pm
Marhalim, that means the space vacated by the ASW RL is empty. I believe the tubes will be sharing the same deck with the main gun as immediately behind the cupola, it sloped downwards.
SMEO have not branced out to produce Russian bombs eh?
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If there is enough demand SMEO will be involved, they make practice bombs and rockets mind you
Azlan says:
July 15, 2013 at 3:12 pm
In what instances will ‘acute’ accuracy be not required?
We will in all likelihood never be placed in a similar situation as we were during the 2nd Emergency when F-5s and Tebuans – using HE and napalm – were required to hit a spot in the jungle, as large as 2-3 football fields, and hope the CTs were still there. The reason that ‘acute’ accuracy was never needed in past conflicts was simply because there were no means to achieve ‘acute’ accuracy…
Even with stuff like JDAMs or Paveway, weather will play a part and
there will still be a need for FOs on the ground to avoid ”collateral damage”. Also, things get somewhat more complicated when the guys on the ground start shooting back …..
Azlan says:
July 15, 2013 at 3:19 pm
Nimitz, I was in close proximity to the Kasturi not too long ago. The ‘B’ position – where the Bofors 375mm launcher was – has been filled with a pair of triple torp tubes. There is no empty unused space.
FareedLHS says:
July 15, 2013 at 7:24 pm
US Navy 2014 ship inactivation plan (inc 7 OH Perry Class):
http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2013/NAV13175.txt
USS FORD (FFG 54) 31 Oct 2013
USS THACH (FFG 43) 15 Nov 2013
USS NICHOLAS (FFG 47) 17 Mar 2014
USS ROBERT G BRADLEY (FFG 49) 28 Mar 2014
USS DE WERT (FFG 45) 04 Apr 2014
USS RENTZ (FFG 46) 23 May 2014
USS HALYBURTON (FFG 40) 08 Sep 2014
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As I posted before I believe the navy has lost some of the earlier enthusiasm for the Perrys. So we will see what will happen in the next few months. I am not a betting man but I will say that we wont be buying any Perrys if the Navy has its say.
Michael says:
July 16, 2013 at 12:30 pm
off topic
just found in MINDEF etender..
Perolehan bagi Membekal dan Menghantar 18 Unit High Mobility Gun Tower for 105mm Gun / Howitzer untuk Tentera Darat
is it ARMY wan to get new 105mm gun??
PEROLEHAN SEKALIGUS MEMBEKAL, MENGHANTAR, MENGUJI DAN MENTAULIAH SATU UNIT BOT CB 90 UNTUK TENTERA LAUT DIRAJA MALAYSIA
is it navy plan to get an extra CB 90??
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The first one is to buy the truck or prime movers for the 105mm guns. Several years back they bought the Vamtacs to replace the Pinzgauers. Most probably another batch of Vamtacs to replace the Pinzgauers. Thats why they used the term High Mobility Gun Tower.
Yes the Navy indeed has a requirement for more CB90s. A tender for one means that money is very,very tight.
Zek MR says:
July 17, 2013 at 8:36 am
Salam
Marhalim,
IMO, the duration for armoured guys firing session in live firepower demo next year should be extended because of the cancellation this time arround. More ‘firing while moving’ for the PT91M Pendekar seems much justified for Pertunjukan Kuasa Tembakan 2014.
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Perhaps we could even get the Army to have another firepower demo this year as the rounds for the actual demo were not fired.
Azlan says:
July 17, 2013 at 2:23 pm
We’ve had over the years a few Model 56 prime movers – Land Rovers [several models], Volvos, Pingauers, VAMTACs, etc, – but the Model 56 is still in service :]. When driving over rough roads, a speed limit has to be adhered to or the undercarriages get damaged.
Aman Shah’s plans in 1997 to manufacture the Light Gun went ratshit and in recent times STRIDE has announced that it has ”developed” a lightweight 120mm mortar [it also bought a few mortars from Slovakia], so the questions arises: is the army looking at partly replacing its 105mms with a 120mm mortar or does it have a future requirement for a new 105mm?
shoemaker says:
July 17, 2013 at 4:35 pm
Does anyone know whats the budget for STRIDE ? Have they achieved anything of significance ? A few years back I remember seeing a picture of them loading a missile onto a truck, if my memory serves me right it was called Taming Sari. Is it in production ?
Is STRIDE also involved in the UAV project ?
nimitz says:
July 17, 2013 at 6:26 pm
Can’t wait to see photos of the “new” KD Kasturi. It will the 1st ship in TLDM that positioned torp tubes in front of the bridge (even Jebat class have their tubes amidship). Maybe the new VAMTAC and CB90 for ESSCOM.
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The CB90nis definitely for ESSCOM while the Vamtacs will be for regular artillery units
Azlan says:
July 18, 2013 at 2:04 am
There are very few ships in any navy which have torp tubes in the ‘B’ position, in fact I can’t think of any. There are, however, ships with sea skimmers in the ‘B’, e.g, the Duke and Kora class; and on the Duke class the torp tubes are not even fitted above deck. The real scandal or story is where the tops tubes on the Kasturi originally came from – I’ve leave that to you to figure out [Marhalim probably knows already], as they say, the ”devil is in the details”.
Azlan says:
July 18, 2013 at 3:15 am
We sent a CN-235 to participate in Pacific Air Rally
http://www.pacaf.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123350474
nimitz says:
July 18, 2013 at 7:37 pm
“The real scandal or story is where the tops tubes on the Kasturi originally came from – I’ve…” 2nd or 3rd-hand torp tubes eh. From ex-TLDM or Foreign warship, I dunno. Don’t tell me that BNS is charging GOM for a brand-new torp tubes…
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We wont know whether they are charging it as brand new (rahsia!) Unless of course the Auditor General come a calling. It was expected that they sourced 2nd-hand equipment for the SLEP, the first issue is cost and more importantly how much longer the ship will be in service. As the cost of the SLEP is around RM350 million for both ships one has to wonder about the breakdown of the cost. Dont tell me there is a technology transfer. One also wonder whether the SLEP project is also one of the reasons the LCS/SGPV is still in the drawing board.
Azlan says:
July 19, 2013 at 12:06 am
They are not charging anything at new prices for something that is used. Another ship – which is experiencing ”issues” – has entered drydock and will be there for at least 14 months. The question that arises is: if that particular ship had not entered drydock for a period of maintenance, would there have been funds for new triple torp tubes? There is absolutely no reason why the Kasturi class – after the SLEP – can’t be operated for at least another 15 years or so, given that spares are still being produced for the engine, gearbox, etc, and certain stuff that can’t be supported anymore [e.g. Rapids] has been replaced.
Azlan says:
July 19, 2013 at 3:21 am
Which shipyard is this? In 1997, Hong Leong Lurssen delivered a patrol boat to Cambodia.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/pm-seeks-loan-navy-repairs
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I believe its Hong Leong Lurssen
shoemaker says:
July 21, 2013 at 8:11 am
Azlan,
Looking at wastage “accepted” by GOM when it comes to defence, tens of millions or even a hundred million would not be something the GOM will blink at.
As for the technology partner, I would have thought that since SMEO is producing or at least capable of producing a workable guided missile, the Taming Sari, guidance kit for Mk82′s or the FAB bombs would be something achievable.
I just find it ironic that the AF felt the need to fly the most advanced jet in their inventory and the most expensive to operate by the hour and decided to do a practice run and drop dumb bombs, granted the MKM is supposed to carry and drop FAB bombs.
That’s like deciding to buy a Ferrari and then take it out for a spin in retreaded tyres, functional but maybe just a tad but foolish.
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Another Boustead is now involved with Stride to develop a new propellant. Whether this will lead to the development of locally made munitions is beyond me