SHAH ALAM: The 15th edition of Defence Services Asia – DSA 2016 – starts on Monday at its traditional venue – PWTC in Kuala Lumpur. And as like previous year’s shows, DSA 2016 is expected to be opened by the prime minister.
According to the organiser, DSA Exhibition and Conference Sdn Bhd, some 1,200 companies from 60 countries are taking part in the four-day trade show. Among them are BAE Systems, Thales, Nexter Systems, Sagem and MBDA. And from Malaysia, the big ones are Boustead, Sapura Technologies, SMEO Sdn Bhd, Destini Bhd and Deftech. There are many others of course, however, if you want to get the full list, go here.
I made some interesting observations during my short visit to the PWTC on Thursday. Among them is the debut of the Nexter Caesar truck mounted SPH; digital camoed Scorpion and Condor and the debut of the ATGW and command variants of the Gempita. Perhaps there are other interesting things as well but I did not see them during the short visit. As I intend to do a full report on the items I mentioned above and others, do visit the website for the daily reports starting on Sunday.
As in previous year’s, the Army will be conducting a hostage rescue demonstration once a day just outside the exhibition halls during the four days of DSA 2016. As most of the VVIPs are scheduled to be at the show after lunch, the daily live demonstration is expected to start after 2pm.
So what about contract signings then? Well, according to the official programme the contracts and MOU signing is scheduled on Wednesday, the third day of the show. (A check several hours after this entry was posted showed that the contract signing ceremony has been taken off the official programme. ED). It is likely now that the signing ceremony will be held on Thursday though. I am not expecting fireworks though.
Like LIMA 15, most of the contracts will be for support, maintenance, spare parts and of course the upgrade programmes. There is also the likelihood that contracts that had not been signed in public like the Starstreak missiles and the MD-5030G light armed attack helicopter could make it to podium as well.
As it is I am guessing that the contracts signed at the show may well be around RM2.5 billion to RM3.5 billion. As my past estimates have been a little on the high side, take that amount with a grain of salt It could go as high as RM10 billion if you count the MOUs but since most of them normally do not take off, I will not be counting them.
Lets hope the confusion which happened at LIMA 2015 contract signing ceremony will not happened this time around. In that case, the final cost of the contracts did not tally with what was announced by the emcee. And it was left to the media (mainly Malaysian Defence) to sort it out long after the ceremony ended.
If you are planning to be at DSA 2016, do drop me a line. Maybe we could have a chat.
– Malaysian Defence
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I prolly be there. hoping for the navy to open their lips regarding RMN new ASW helo and perhaps the MPSS
I’ll be there.. Just find a man with AVSEC uniform.
From janes:
Singapore has announced a 2016 defence budget of SGD13.97 billion (USD10.2 billion): an increase of 6.4% over 2015. The rate of growth is the fastest seen in the country since 2011 with increases having averaged around 3.5% annually over the past five years.
The 2016 budget will also see defence expenditure increase as a proportion of GDP for the second consecutive year, rising to 3.4%. Defence spending had been in gradual decline as a percentage of GDP since 2009 until the approval of the 2015 budget.
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This posting has nothing to do with DSA. There has been another kidnapping by the terrorist of philippines. This time an Indonesian sailor has been shot n 4 crews taken hostage again. Three kidnappings in 3 months. Time to act. The answer to this problem is not more patrolling.
The answer is found by using the convoy method. Gather all boats sailing for the philippines n send them out in a convoy protected by armed boats. These convoys can be started by our country to protect our ships first. If other countries like indonesia n brunei wished to join, joint escorts can be arranged. The boats protecting these convoys need not be sophisticated boats like patrol crafts.
Surplus or boats not gainfully employed in the petroleum n gas secyors can either be bought or leased n armed with .50 calibres or up to 20mm cannons can be used to protect the convoys. Each convoy can be escorted by just one fast craft to chase away any pirates wanting to prey on the convoy.
Convoy method is the best dolution at the moment
Reply
Great idea, Lee. Unfortunately most of the boats plying this area are involved in the barter trade. Not really a big incentive to provide escort unlike oil tankers like those near Aden
The fact remains that a lot also depends on economic stability in the Sulu archipelago and southern Mindanao – which is dependent on the Philippines government; not us. Better economic conditions will in the long run lead to individuals having less reasons to go across. Until one has actually been to the Sulu archipelago and seen the actual conditions thee; its hard to really understand what drives individuals/groups to go across.
A version of the ”Eyes in the Sky” initiative for the Sulu Sea sounds great on paper but the reality is that the Philippines really doesn’t have the assets it can commit on a regular basis – the PAF is more underfunded and overstretched than the MAF. For a few years, on Jolo [the kidnap capital] the PN only had a single 35 odd foot patrol boat to patrol waters – I know because I’ve seen it.
Kumpits have been moving back and forth for ages; even at the height of the Confrontation [when Malaysia and Indonesia were at war] the cross border trade from Nanukan and other parts of Indonesia; into Sabah, continued. Convoys won’t work for the simple reason that we’re not talking about trawlers, freighters, tankers or bulk carriers here but privately owned, uninsured and unregulated kumpits powered by outboard motors. Another factor is that police, customs and military officials in the Sulu archipelago and on the Indonesian side also have an unofficial taxation/duties system in place.
Interesting. Those kidnapped are not sailors or traders in kumpits but tugs n barges
Lee,
”Interesting”’ indeed that the bulk of seaborne traffic in the area consists of kumpits rather than ”tugs n barges” ……………..