UAV Heron dan Wulung Siap Amankan Perbatasan

19 Juli 2013

Heron UAV, mempunyai maximal take-off weight 1.150 kg (photo : dlr)

Pesawat Tanpa Awak Siap Amankan Perbatasan

[SUNGAI RAYA] Komandan Lanud Supadio, Pontianak, Kolonel Penerbang Ir. Novyan Samyoga mengatakan, dalam waktu dekat, sebanyak 12 unit pesawat tanpa awak akan dioperasikan untuk melakukan pengawasan di wilayah perbatasan Kalimantan Barat.

"Dalam melakukan pengawasan di wilayah perbatasan udara Indonesia-Malaysia, Pangkalan Udara Supadio Pontianak akan mengoperasikan pesawat tanpa awak. Pesawat tanpa awak itu nantinya akan mengawasi seluruh wilayah perbatasan," kata Novyan di Sungai Raya, Jumat (19/7).

Dia mengatakan, rencananya pesawat tanpa awak tersebut akan awal tahun depan. Menurutnya jika menggunakan tenaga manusia untuk mengawasi perbatasan dibutuhkan ribuan orang, bahkan jika menggunakan pesawat biasa memiliki keterbatasan dari sisi bahan bakar, sehingga pengawasan di wilayah perbatasan tidak dapat maksimal.

"Jika menggunakan pesawat tanpa awak bisa mutar-mutar, ambil foto dan video, baru pesawat kembali ke Lanud Supadio," tuturnya.

 UAV Wulung mempunyai maximal take-off weight 120 kg (photo : Kompas)

Novyan menjelaskan, Lanud Supadio dilengkapi pesawat tanpa awak lantaran Kalbar berada di wilayah perbatasan. Pesawat tanpa awak yang digunakan ada dua jenis yaitu, jenis Wulung buatan lokal dan Heron buatan luar negeri.

"Sengaja kami gabung karena pesawat tanpa awak buatan Indonesia baru di buat, sedangkan yang luar negeri sudah maju. Dengan digabungnya, nanti produksinya bisa meniru luar negeri sehingga ke depan pesawat lokal kita makin bagus," katanya.

Dia menuturkan pesawat tanpa awak jenis Wulung sebanyak nantinya akan ada sebanyak delapan unit sedangkan jenis Heron yang buatan luar negeri sebanyak empat unit. 

Nantinya pesawat berangkat dari Lanud Supadio dan setelah mengambil gambar ke setiap kawasan perbatasan maka pesawat akan kembali ke Lanud Supadio Lagi.

"Semua pesawat itu kumpul di Lanud Supadio Pontianak dan dikontrol dari Lanud Supadio oleh pilot handal TNI AU. Pesawat setelah mengawasi akan kembali lagi ke Lanud Supadio Pontianak," kata Novyan.

(Antara)

DND to Acquire P20M Rescue Boats

20 Juli 2013

DND to acquire two rescue boat (photo : PhilStar)

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Defense (DND) is currently in the market for two 40-foot rescue boat to boost maritime operations, a release said Friday.

The agency set aside P20 million from its Quick Response Fund of P232 million for the new acquisition.

Winning bidders should deliver the boats within 180 calendar days upon opening of the letter of credit, DND said.

The purchase of rescue boats is among the department's recent investments including eight attack helicopters for P3.4 billion and 12 fighter jets for the Philippine Air Force.

DND also opened the bidding for two Strategic Sealift Vessels last June.

(PhilStar)

Indonesia Beli 5 Unit Hercules dari Australia dengan Harga Murah

19 Juli 2013

C-130H Angkatan Udara Australia (photo : Bisnis Jabar)

RI Beli 5 Unit Hercules dari Australia

JAKARTA — Pemerintah RI melalui Kementerian Pertahanan akan membeli lima unit Pesawat Hercules dari Australia untuk memperkuat sistem pertahanan udara.

Menteri Pertahanan Purnomo Yusgiantoro menuturkan pemerintah akan membeli lima unit Hercules dengan harga murah. Hanya saja, Purnomo tidak menyebutkan harga yang disepakati oleh kedua pihak.

Selain membeli lima unit pesawat, Pemerintah RI juga akan mendapatkan empat unit pesawat Hercules berupa hibah dari negara pimpinan Perdana Menteri Kevin Rudd itu.

“Besok kami akan bertemu dengan Qantas Defence service untuk membicarakan 4 pesawat yang hibah. Selain itu, kami juga beli 5 pesawat. Harga 5 pesawar itu murah sekali,” ujar Purnomo usai menghadiri acara Buka Bersama antara Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dengan Keluarga Besar Polri di Mabes Polri, Jakarta, Kamis (18/7/2013).

Purnomo optimistis dengan kerjasama ini. Dia menyebutkan kualitas pesawat Hercules tersebut cukup baik. Di sisi lain, ujarnya, Indonesia memiliki banyak suku cadang untuk jenis pesawat Hercules.

“Serinya [seri pesawat yang hhibah maupun yang dibeli] H. Kalau di-upgrade bisa buat 15 tahun,” katanya. 

(Bisnis Jabar)

Gripen Fighter Weapon School could be Located in Thailand

19 Juli 2013

JAS-39 Gripen of RTAF (photo : Militaryphotos)

Gripen fighter school in SA a missed opportunity

The fact that Saab’s Gripen Fighter Weapon School will most likely be located in a foreign country is a missed opportunity for South Africa, according to Saab.

Magnus Lewis-Olsson, President of Saab South Africa, told defenceWeb at the Land Forces Africa conference Pretoria yesterday the School was planned to be housed at Air Force Base Overberg in the Western Cape. However, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has not supported this initiative.

Lewis-Olsson did not comment on why the SANDF has not agreed to host the School, and said Saab is looking elsewhere in the world. He said Saab had completed its syllabus and was ready to begin construction of the School and start training. “Other countries are interested in the School,” he said, with countries like Thailand being good potential hosts.

South Africa is a great location and it would have been a win-win situation to have the School in the Western Cape, as South African pilots would have benefitted, the Saab South Africa President said, adding that if the academy had gone ahead, it would have been a great opportunity to showcase South Africa’s capabilities. 

“We are not going to kick up a fuss about this,” Lewis-Olsson said referring to SANDF reluctance to partner with Saab on the academy. “It is a missed opportunity for Saab and South Africa.”

In July last year Saab announced at the Farnborough Air Show that it would establish the School in South Africa, but shortly afterwards the SANDF denied the whole affair.

Saab had planned to run the first course with at least six students in late 2013 using between four and six South African Air Force (SAAF) Gripen C/D fighters.

A 1 000 square metres building at AFB Overberg would have been dedicated to the school and would have included briefing and debriefing rooms, a lecture hall, lunchroom, locker rooms, a gym and sauna, offices and IT infrastructure. South African and Swedish Air Force instructors would have conducted the course, Saab said.

(Defenceweb)

Collins Subs Outstanding Problems Fixed

18 Juli 2013

Collins class submarines (photo : Aus DoD)

After more than a decade of controversy, shipbuilder ASC says it has finally solved outstanding problems with the navy's six Collins submarines.

Steve Ludlam, managing director of ASC, formerly the Australian Submarine Corporation, said he believed Collins' much publicised problems were now behind them.

"We are getting a much higher level of availability. We are getting good reliability at sea," he told AAP.

"They are very complex machines and we can't guarantee that everything will run perfectly all the time, but the principal areas of concern have now been solved."

Collins submarines had a range of problems from the outset, including excessive noise and an unreliable computerised combat system, prompting an extended and costly remediation program.

But reliability problems persisted with Collins' diesel-electric propulsion system. Each boat has three large diesel engines, three generators and an electric motors. Each has had problems.

Mr Ludlam said they had been able to work out how to reduce diesel engine vibration and a reliable engine-start system.

"Our engineer team here at ASC, who are some of the world's best, have been able to figure that through," he said.

"We worked with an international diesel specialist company to make sure we were getting the right answers."

Neither were generators problem-free.

"We found a method of rewinding those generators. They are much more reliable now. Progressively we are replacing generators on the submarines," he said.

Similarly, the large electric motor experienced a particular issue where the windings had relaxed.

"Working with the DSTO (Defence Science and Technology Organisation) and DMO (Defence Materiel Organisation) we have figured out to fix that and progressively we are fitting that fix to each of the submarines as they come in for various levels of maintenance," he said.

ASC is now working on two of the Collins subs.

HMAS Collins, the first of the Collins boats has been undergoing full cycle docking, a regular and comprehensive refurbishment, since last August. That should run for two years.

HMAS Rankin, the youngest of the Collins boats, has been out of the water for six years and mothballed for much of that time. Its full cycle docking started in 2011 and it should be back in the water next year.

(Sidney Morning Herald)

Vietnam will Purchase Vostok-E Radar

17 Juli 2013

 “Vostok-E” Mobile Solid-State 2D Digital VHF Radar from Belarus (all photos : KBRadar)

Vietnam prepares countermeasures against China's stealth fighters

Before the J-20, China's first stealth fighter, enters service with the PLA Air Force, Vietnam will purchase the Vostok-E 2-Dimensional Metric Band Surveillance Radar from Belarus with the ability to detect and attack stealth aircraft, reports the Military Analysis based in Moscow.

Developed by KB Radar based in Belarus, the Vostok E VHF band radar is a replacement to the P-18 radar system during the Soviet era.

KB Radar claims the Vostok E radar is able to detect stealth fighters such as the US F-117A Nighthawk from 74 kilometers nautical miles away in a jammed environment. In an unjammed environment, the distance can be increased to 350 kilometers.

With a unique wideband "Kharchenko" square ring element radiator arranged in a diamond lattice pattern, the Vostok E radar is designed to improve its frequency agility against earlier generation stealth fighters.

Even when facing more advanced stealth aircraft like the F-22, the Vostok E can detect targets from 57 kilometers away and shoot them down with the S-300 surface-to-air missile. It is a new design to challenge the aerial domination of American stealth aircraft.

However, Vietnam will probably become the first nation to use the radar system in an asymmetric warfare strategy against stealth fighters from China including the J-20 and J-31 over the disputed South China Sea.

Military Analysis said Belarus has agreed to sell about 20 Vostok E radar systems to Vietnam, as well as send advisers to train Vietnamese operators to use the hardware.

(WantChinaTimes)

Legislator Dukung PT DI Kembangkan Pesawat Versi Sipil dan Militer

Tiga teknisi PT Dirgantara Indonesia melakukan pekerjaan "final assy" pesawat CN 235, di hanggar PT Dirgantara Indonesia, di Bandung, Selasa (30/4). Pesawat ini merupakan salah satu dari tiga pesawat yang dipesan oleh Kementerian Pertahanan kepada PTDI. (Foto: ANTARA/Hermanus Prihatna/Koz/ama/13.

17 Juli 2013, Jakarta: Anggota Komisi I DPR RI dari Fraksi PPP Husnan Bey Fananie menyambut positif terhadap terus mengalirnya pesanan dan kontrak pembuatan pesawat sipil dan militer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI). Menurut dia, itu mencerminkan bahwa kualitas produksi pesawat Indonesia tidak kalah produksi negara -negara maju.

Jadi, kata Husnan, sudah semestinya ini membuat bangsa Indonesia makin percaya diri dan mendukung PT DI untuk terus mengembangkan kemampuan dalam memproduksi pesawat terbang, baik versi sipil dan militer.

"Saya kira, banyaknya minat dari negara-negara di kawasan Asean khususnya terhadap hasil produksi pesawat PT DI, mencerminkan pesawat produksi PT DI, khususnya versi militer terus mendapat perhatian luas dari negara lain. Sehingga saat ini PT DI sudah mulai merasakan hasilnya, dengan mulai banyaknya kontrak-kontrak yang telah disepakati dengan beberapa negara yang memesan pesawat, seperti seri 235 versi militer," ujar Husnan kepada JurnalParlemen, Rabu (17/7).

Husnan berharap, kehadiran UU Industri Pertahanan juga bisa menjadi arahan bagi upaya pengembangan industri pertahanan dalam negeri dalam memproduksi alutsista, baik untuk kepentingan pengembangan sistem pertahanan sendiri maupun untuk dipasarkan ke negara lain.

Kata Husnan, makin banyaknya negara lain yang tertarik dan terus melakukan upaya kerjasama dalam bidang kedirgantaraan dengan PT DI ini, semakin menunjukkan bahwa pesawat produksi PT DI tetap memiliki sekmen pasar sendiri, baik dari segi harga, kualitas dan teknologi, ditengah-tengah persaingan dengan pesawat-pesawat tempur canggih yang ditawarkan pihak AS, Rusia dan negara-negara Eropa.

"Kita harapkan, nantinya pasarnya bisa menembus kawasan lainnya seperti Eropa. Itu tidak mustahil, karena sebelumnya negara AS saja pernah memesan dan menggunakan pesawat PT DI untuk pesawat patroli di pantainya," katanya.

Sebelumnya diberitakan Direktur bidang Kualitas sekaligus Manager Komunikasi PT DI Sonny Saleh Ibrahim mengatakan, tahun ini pihaknya memproyeksikan tiga kontrak kerja yaitu jalinan kontrak dengan Filipina, Thailand, dan Malaysia.

Sonny menjelaskan, di antara ketiga proyeksi itu, kemungkinan besar, yang segera terealisasi yaitu dengan Filipina. Pasalnya masih dalam proses tender. "Proyeknya, pembuatan 2 unit CN 235 NPA, yang nilainya sekitar 31-33 juta Dollar Amerika Serikat (AS) per unit. Lalu, 2 unit CN 295, yang nilainya sekitar 36 juta Dollar AS per unit," kata Sonny Sabtu (13/7) lalu.

Sonny mengutarakan, Thailand melakukan pemesanan 2 CN 295 untuk Thailand Royal Police. Negara itu ingin memperkuat armada kepolisiannya.

Sementara negara ASEAN lainnya, yaitu Malaysia juga siap menjalin kerjasama dengan PT DI. Bentuknya yaitu modifikasi CN 235 sport menjadi CN 235 NPA. Nilai kontrak modifikasi itu sekitar 8-10 juta dolar AS per unit. Selain modifikasi, Malaysia pun siap memesan 3 unit CN 235 NPA.

Sumber: Jurnal Parlemen