SHAH ALAM: Keris Strike 2017. A reader recently asked why were Blackhawk helicopters in Kluang, Johor. Did we buy the Blackhawks after all? My answer was no, we did not and those helos he saw were probably US Army Blackhawk helicopters arriving/practising in the lead-up for Keris Strike 2017.
From the post below, I have to say that indeed my guess was proven correct. As you might recall Keris Strike is the annual exercise between the army and the US Army Pacific Command.
As usual our services are reticent when it comes to joint-exercises – not just the US – so there is no official announcement on such matters. Usually the public will only be informed of such exercises after false stories became viral in the social media.
This time around, the Army’s online news portal, BTDM Online has published details of exercise currently taking place at Kluang.
JOHOR: Tentera Darat Malaysia (TDM) mempamerkan mutu kecekapan yang cemerlang dalam Medical First Responder (MFR) iaitu salah satu latihan dalam Eks KERIS STRIKE Siri 21/17 yang merupakan latihan gabungan melibatkan TDM dan United State Army Pacific Command (USARPAC) di bawah program Bilateral Training and Consultative Grup (BITACG) melibatkan 67 pegawai dan 144 anggota Lain-Lain Pangkat (LLP) di sekitar Kluang pada 27 Jul 2017.
Latihan MFR bertujuan memberi pendedahan tentang langkah-langkah yang perlu diambil bagi mengeluarkan anggota yang tercedera di kawasan pertempuran untuk dibawa ke hospital yang mana senario yang dijalankan adalah satu pesawat Augusta A109 dari Pasukan Udara Tentera Darat (PUTD) berperanan sebagai pesawat tempur untuk melindungi dua buah HH6D Blackhawk Air Ambulance, USARPAC bagi membawa keluar seorang anggota 11 RGK yang tercedera akibat terkena serangan daripada pihak musuh ketika membuat penyusupan di kawasan operasi.
Dalam latihan tersebut, turut dipersembahkan Latihan Forward Army And Refueling Point oleh USARPAC iaitu prosedur pengisian minyak pada pesawat ketika peperangan agar dapat diaturgerak dalam masa yang singkat kepada warga TDM.
Apart from the Air Wing, a company from the 10th Para Brigade is also taking part in the exercise.
Latihan Persiapan Kompeni PAC bagi Ex Heliborne.
MELAKA: Kompeni Pasukan Aturgerak Cepat (PAC) dari 10 Bgd (Para) sedang melaksanakan latihan persiapan bagi Ex Heliborne pada 27 Julai 2017. Latihan yang dijalankan ini merangkumi pelbagai latihan ketenteraan bagi memastikan anggota dalam keadaan bersedia untuk menghadapi Ex Heliborne yang mana sebahagian dari Ex KERIS STRIKE bersama dengan United States Army Pacific Command (USARPAC) yang sedang berlangsung.
Ex Heliborne ini akan berlangsung pada 31 Jul sehingga 4 Ogos 2017 akan melibatkan pasukan dari Rejimen 881 Pasukan Udara Tentera Darat (881 PUTD), Gerup Gerakhas (GGK) dan 25th Combined Aviation Brigade (CAB) dari USARPAC.
Dikesempatan ini, Panglima 10 Bgd (Para), Brig Jen Dato’ Tengku Muhammad Fauzi bin Tengku Ibrahim telah melawat anggota yang sedang berlatih dan memberi kata-kata semangat dan nasihat kepada trup sebelum bergerak ke kawasan latihan. Beliau mengingatkan agar kepercayaan yang diberi hendaklah digalas dgn penuh integriti dan sentiasa menonjolkan tahap profesionalisma yang tinggi pada sebilang masa. Beliau turut menyeru supaya profil dan standard 10 Briged (Para) terus diperkasakan dalam setiap aspek.
– Markas 10 Briged (Para)
If I got more information on Keris Strike I will definitely post it here. The pictures posted here were all sourced from BTDM Online.
— Malaysian Defence
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There is always something new being showcased at each year’s keris strike exercises.
On the medevac, the A109 is actually a very popular helicopter used for medivac purposes in the west. Medevac quick change kits for A109 are available off the shelf. Probably an equipment the army could purchase in the future? It would be good if the army could have its own proper medevac helicopter capability.
As for the ex heliborne, seems that the nuri’s of 882 PUTD is not included in the exercise. Probably because 882 is still not fully operational (target is 2018 if not mistaken). Even if the helicopters are not joining, hopefully the soldiers of 882 could observe and learn from the us army airborne operations.
Off topic.
Any latest status of the M109 SPH acquisition ? Is it still on? What about the plan for the armoured brigade? Is it still to be the 1st Brigade based in negeri sembilan?
Btw indonesian army has started to receive their 20 M109A4BE SPH bought from belgium.
http://pussenarmed.net/images/stories/img_20170727_092732%20copy.jpg
Reply
Nothing new on SPH purchase, could still be delayed further until after the elections
Last week during a trip I was reading a Filipino paper and there was news about a wounded army Lt. who testified in Congress about his experiences fighting the Maute group in Marawi City. He told of how well armed the opposition was [compared to the MNLF [hom he previously fought] and how his unit had to resort to RCLs and explosives to gain access into houses/buildings. In short, Filipino army units were unprepared for their first protracted engagement in an urban environment; just like many others before including the Russians in Chechnya [despite their WW2 urban experiences], the Israelis in Beirut and the Jordanians in Amman [against Fatah in 1971]. They also lacked stuff that is not in the TOE of most infantry units but which are essential for urban work such as ladders, ropes, jackhammers, etc.
I’m not suggesting we’ll face a similar situation in which a non state group takes over a town or city but we should be paying closer attention to our ability to conduct ops in an urban environment [what the Brits use to call FIBUA and what the Americans – who love acronyms – call MOUT]; which to some extent we are doing : Eks Stallion 2013 [which Marhalim covered] was in an urban setting [PT-91s participated], as was several bilateral exercises with the Sings. The fact remains that if we’re ever faced with a state on state conflict; due to the rapid urbanisation taking place and the need for an aggressor to control comms and transport hubs; the fighting will take place in an urban or semi urban environment or even in secondary jungle or in estates [like Ops Daulat] rather than in a pure jungle environment in which some are still focused on.
… – ” the A109 is actually a very popular helicopter used for medivac purposes in the west.”
That may be so but in army or military service, like the SADF we’ve found that unlike the Alo 3s the A-109s are very fragile creatures. For one the landing gear is prone to damage in certain conditions and weight is an issue given that it’s a ”light” helicopter. The good news is that once the Nuris enter service the A109s can do what they’re good at, namely recce/observation, light transport, etc, leaving the rest to the Nuris.
“As usual our services are reticent when it comes to joint-exercises – not just the US – so there is no official announcement on such matters. Usually the public will only be informed of such exercises after false stories became viral in the social media.”
Most of the times, Kementah will just keep quiet to protect foreign troops on Malaysia’s soil from AQ or IS attacks in case they are being targeted.
In the past until the US total withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq , I usually saw (more than 1) C-17 flying on top of me from an airport of a neighbouring country daily .
Nowadays not even one in a week .
“Usually the public will only be informed of such exercises after false stories became viral in the social media.”—–Now we can spin stories like many others——-LOL!!!!!!!
To be fair at times it is the foreign guest that requests some precautions be taken with regards to media coverage and the proximity of civilians.