Empat Kapal Perang AS Siap Masuk Perairan Singapura

WASHINGTON-(IDB) :  Amerika Serikat (AS) telah mengumumkan akan mengerahkan empat kapal perang miliknya ke wilayah pesisir Singapura. Keempat kapal perang AS ini dikerahkan untuk mengikuti latihan militer dan tempur laut bersama militer Singapura.

Pengumuman ini dibuat oleh Menteri Pertahanan AS, Leon Panetta, Kamis (5/4) sehari setelah pertemuannya dengan Menteri Pertahanan Singapura, Ng Eng, di Pentagon. Langkah Departemen Pertahanan AS mengerahkan kapal tempur AS ke Singapura ini akan meningkatkan latihan tempur bersama.

"Pengerahan kapal tempur ini juga akan memperdalam hubungan militer bilateral AS-Singapura serta menyebarkan kepentingan AS untuk wilayah Asia-Pasifik," ungkap Panetta yang dirilis dari Presstv, Jumat (6/4).

AS, lanjut dia, berkeinginan meningkatkan kemampuan bersama untuk terlibat dengan mitra regionalnya. Pernyataan itu seolah-olah menekankan adanya kehadiran AS yang kuat di kawasan Asia Tenggara dan Pasifik dalam menjaga stabilitas dan keamanan regional.

Panetta juga mengatakan bahwa kapal-kapal tempur AS itu akan dikerahkan secara rotasi ke wilayah perairan Singapura. Juru bicara Pentagon, Komandan Leslie Hull-Ryde, menjelaskan rencana tersebut sebagai gerakan militer signifikan.

"Rincian spesifik terkait keterlibatan kedua negara belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya. Dan, saat ini masih dalam pembahasan," ungkap Leslie.

Sejak 1990, Singapura telah konsisten mendukung kehadiran AS yang kuat militer di kawasan Asia-Pasifik. Pada tahun 2005, kedua negara memperluas pertahanan dan kerjasama keamanan dengan menandatangani Persetujuan Kerangka Kerja Strategis.

Sumber : Republika

Kapal Perang Rusia Kembali Latihan di Perairan Suriah

MOSCOW-(IDB) : Satu kapal perusak berpeluru kendali milik Angkatan Laut Rusia, telah berangkat menuju perairan Laut Tengah menuju Suriah.

Kapal itu akan mengisi perbekalan di pangkalan Rusia di Pelabuhan Tartus, Suriah, sebelum menggelar latihan di lepas pantai negara yang sedang dilanda krisis berdarah tersebut.

Demikian diungkapkan seorang sumber di kalangan pejabat pemerintah Rusia, Kamis (5/4/2012), kepada kantor berita RIA Novosti. Kapal yang dimaksud adalah Smetlivy, jenis kapal perusak kelas Kashin, yang sudah dioperasikan AL Rusia sejak 1969.

Kapal tersebut dilaporkan telah meninggalkan pangkalannya di Sevastopol di Laut Hitam, 1 April lalu, dan akan langsung menuju Tartus untuk mengisi perbekalan. Selanjutnya, kapal itu akan berada di perairan sekitar Suriah sampai bulan Mei.

Tidak disebutkan misi khusus yang diemban kapal itu. Namun sumber yang dikutip RIA Novosti mengatakan, sejak konflik internal di Suriah pecah Maret tahun lalu, makin banyak kapal perang NATO berada di perairan di sekitar Suriah.

Smetlivy adalah kapal kelas Kashin terakhir yang masih dioperasikan AL Rusia. Kapal ini beroperasi kembali setelah menjalani reparasi pada tahun 2011. Kapal berukuran panjang 144 meter ini dilengkapi berbagai persenjataan, seperti dua meriam 76 mm AK-726 dan sistem rudal antikapal SS-N-25 Switchblade.

Akhir tahun lalu, konvoi sembilan kapal perang Rusia yang dipimpin kapal induk Admiral Kuznetsov juga menggelar latihan di Laut Tengah dan sempat mampir di Tartus. Suriah adalah sekutu lama Rusia sejak era Perang Dingin. 

Sumber : Kompas

PT. DI Bidik Pasar Afrika dan Amerika Selatan

CN-235 PT. DI untuk Senegal

JAKARTA-(IDB) : Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) yang bergerak dalam industri penerbangan, PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) mulai melebarkan sayap untuk memasarkan produksinya ke negara-negara Afrika dan Amerika Selatan.

Direktur Aerostruktur PTDI, Andi Alisjahbana, menyatakan upaya itu tak terlepas dari kemampuan yang dimiliki PTDI dalam memelihara pesawat jenis CASA. "Kami sudah mulai misalkan ke Afrika sudah ada pembeli dari Senegal dan Burkina Faso. Termasuk di Amerika Selatan yaitu Suriname sudah ada yang minat. Karena di wilayah itu juga banyak pesawat CASA yang berasal dari Spanyol dan kami sanggup memeliharanya," ujar Andi di Kantor Kementerian Luar Negeri, Jakarta, Kamis (5/4).

Selama ini, produk pesawat yang dihasilkan perusahaan yang dulunya bernama PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nasional (IPTN) ini banyak diminati konsumen di tiga negara di Asia. "Banyak pembeli itu dari Malaysia, Thailand dan Korea Selatan," katanya.

Andi mengakui, pasar terbesar PTDI tetap berasal dari pemerintah seperti Kementerian Pertahanan dan Polri. Namun Andi meyakini, penjualan produk PTDI akan terus meningkat.

Untuk tiga tahun ke depan saja ungkap dia, PTDI telah membukukan pesanan (order book) sebesar US$1 miliar. "Order book sudah mencapai US$1 miliar untuk periode 2012-2014 dan terdiri dari berbagai macam pesanan," katanya.

Sumber : Jurnas

Su-35 Fighters Made 500 Test Flights

MOSCOW-(IDB) : The 500th test flight was made on the Su-35 flight tests program. The aircraft was piloted by the Hero of Russia Colonel Sergei Bogdan, the distinguished test pilot. In February 2008 it was him who took off for the first time in that modern super-maneuverable multi-functional fighter.

At present, the Joint State Tests (JST) of the airplane are going on. In March this year the fourth production Su-35S was delivered to the JST. The Su-35-1 and 2 carried out preliminary flight tests, during which the main established flight and technical characteristics of the on-board equipment and super maneuverability features were fully confirmed, stability and controllability characteristics, the characteristics of the power plant and the work of the navigation system were tested.

The plane reached the maximum ground-level speed of 1,400 km/h, speed at altitude — 2400 km/h, the ceiling — 18 thousand meters. The detection range of targets in the “air-to-air” mode is over 400 km. This is significantly higher than that of the combat aircraft currently in service. The onboard OLS (optical locator station) can detect and track multiple targets at ranges exceeding 80 km. The aircraft complex is ready to undergo tests for combat use.

The analysis of the amount of work already done allows a conclusion that Su-35/Su-35S has a much better flight characteristics compared to analogue aircraft in service. The airborne equipment of the plane allows solving a wider range of tasks set by tactical and technical requirements.

The potential characteristics incorporated in the aircraft will allow it to exceed all tactical fighters of the 4th and 4 + generations, such as “Rafale” and EF 2000, modernized fighters like the F-15, F-16, F-18, F-35 and to counter the F-22A fighter.

The serial production of the Su-35S is going on at the Sukhoi’s Y.A. Gagarin Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KNAAPO) in accordance with the state contract signed in 2009 to deliver 48 aircraft to the Russian Ministry of Defence by the year 2015. 

Source : Defencetalk

Ekspor Persenjataan Indonesia Terhambat Regulasi

BANDUNG-(IDB) : Produk persenjataan militer yang dihasilkan Indonesia kian diminati pasar luar negeri. Namun sayangnya ekspor produk persenjataan Indonesia yang dihasilkan oleh PT.Pindad ke sejumlah negara kerap menemui hambatan dari sisi aturan hubungan antarnegara.

”Kerja sama sudah semakin luas tapi yang namanya ekspor produk persenjataan itu tidak mudah. Karena harus melalui proses government to government (G to G) apakah itu terkait interkoneksi atau pengaturan budgeting,” ujar Kepala Divisi Persenjataan PT Pindad, Ade Bagja usai pertemuan dengan sejumlah perwakilan negara sahabat di Kantor Kementerian Luar Negeri, Jakarta, Kamis (5/4).

Sejumlah kendala itu menyebabkan proses ekspor memakan waktu hitungan bulan atau tahun. Padahal jelas Ade, kemitraan yang dijalin PT. Pindad saat ini telah mencapai level negara Asia, Amerika hingga Eropa.

”Pasar kami di luar negeri beberapa sudah berjalan baik seperti di kawasan Asia Tenggara, Australia dan Amerika,” katanya.

Produk persenjataan buatan Indonesia yang banyak diminati pasar asing itu antara lain untuk tipe Senapan Serbu (SS) II dan Panser Anoa 6 x 6.

Ade menambahkan, Pindad saat ini juga telah berhasil memproduksi tipe terbaru dari jenis senjata SS II tersebut. Perusahaan yang merupakan Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) itu juga tengah mengembangkan produksi kendaraan tempur dan taktis.

”Pengembangan kendaraan tempur sedang dilakukan. Untuk itu kami juga sudah mempunyai prototipe kendaraan taktis 4 x 4,” katanya.

Sumber : Jurnas

Apache Block III Helicopter Performs Well In Tests

WASHINGTON-(IDB) : The U.S. Army's AH-64 Apache Block III next-generation attack helicopter is finishing up its Initial Operational Test and Evaluation at Fort Irwin, Calif., and should be ready to deploy with Soldiers sometime next year, officials said April 2 at the Army Aviation Association of America's 2012 Professional Forum and Exposition.

The nitial Operational Test and Evaluation, known as IOT&E, is a series of combat-like assessments and evaluations placing the aircraft in operationally relevant scenarios as a way to prepare the platform for full-rate production, said Col. Shane Openshaw, project manager, Apache Attack Helicopters.

Although formal results of the Block III Apache's IOT&E are still in the process of being determined, preliminary observations and early indications suggest the high-tech aircraft is performing extremely well, Openshaw said. The force-on-force portion of the IOT&E has been completed and some live-fire exercises remain in coming days, he added.

So far, the Army has already taken delivery of 10 of the Boeing-built AH 64 Apache Block III aircraft, a helicopter engineered to bring the Apache fleet improved, next-generation range, performance, maneuverability and electronics. Total planned procurement for the Apache Block III is 690 aircraft.

The Block III Apache is being engineered such that an advanced, high-tech aircraft at the weight of the D model can have the power, performance and landing abilities of an original A model Apache. The current D-model Longbow Apache is heavier than the original A-model; the heavier Apache carries significantly improved targeting and sensing capabilities but lacks the transmission-to-power ratio and hard-landing ability of the initial A model.

"I had the opportunity to fly a Block III Apache a week ago and I will tell you the performance of the aircraft is tremendous," Openshaw said. "It's fast, strong and capable. We have also made improvements to the target acquisition platform. The backbone of the aircraft is an open-system architecture with improved mission command and interoperability."

Engineering the aircraft with an open-system architecture refers to efforts to design the electronics such that they have a "plug-and-play" capability and can easily integrate with current state-of-the-art and emerging next generation technologies, officials said.

 

The idea is to maximize interoperability by developing electronics and computing technologies according to a set of established technical standards through a "system-of-systems" type of approach so that new systems, sensors, applications, electronics, avionics and other technologies such as software-programmable radio can successfully inter-operate and work effectively with one another, they explained.

Built in this fashion, the Apache Block IIIs' avionics and mission equipment will be able to perform sophisticated "networking" and on-board computing functions and more easily accommodate valuable emerging capabilities, they said.

The Block III Apache is also engineered with what's called Level 4 Manned-Unmanned Teaming, or MUM capability, a technology wherein Apache pilots can not only view video feeds from nearby UAS systems scanning surrounding terrain, but can also control the UAS' sensor payload and flight path as well, Openshaw said.

In fact, the Gray Eagle UAS participated in the Manned Unmanned Teaming exercises during the Apache Block III IOT&E at Fort Irwin.

Called the UTA, or UAS Tactical Common Data Link Assembly, the new technology enhances pilots' ability to view and control nearby UAV assets with a mind to intelligence, targeting information and overall situational awareness. Army engineers have developed the software that equips the aircraft with this next-generation capability.

The advent of this technology is leading the Army to establish new tactics, techniques and procedures designed to maximize the value of the emerging technological capability, said Col. John Lynch, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command capability manager.

"For example, with the Block III Apache you might have a UAS that's overhead looking down into urban canyons; with Manned-Unmanned Teaming you have the ability to designate targets and you can see what is in the area where you are going to operate," Lynch said.

The Block III Apache will also bring improved endurance and payload capabilities to the attack helicopter platform; the Block III aircraft will be able to transport a larger amount of ammunition and fuel in what is described as "high-hot" conditions at altitudes of 6,000 feet and temperatures at or above 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

"With Block III you will be able to fly longer with more ammunition and a full tank of gas on missions because the aircraft has an improved drive train, composite rotor blades and increased performance capabilities," Lynch added.

Some of the Block III aircraft will be re-manufactured Block II D-model Apaches and, when full-rate production starts, some of the aircraft will be constructed with entirely new airframes, Openshaw explained.

Throughout its decades-long existence, the Apache platform has consistently upgraded and sustained its capability in order to incrementally incorporate new technologies as they emerge and bring the latest in capability to Soldiers. In fact, all but 51 of the 721 Apache aircraft in the Army inventory began as the initial or first variant, called A-model Apaches; many of these original aircraft were then subsequently remanufactured to become improved D-model Longbow Apaches engineered with Fire Control Radar and improved electronics.

Today, only eight A-model Apaches remain in the fleet, Openshaw said.

Also, Apache attack helicopters will soon be flying with a prototype enemy fire detection system called Ground Fire Acquisition System, or GFAS, a suite of sensors and cameras able to locate the source, location and distance of incoming hostile fire, Army officials said.

Prototypes of the GFAS systems, which will soon undergo a "user evaluation" in theater, are built on to Apache aircraft; they contain camera sensors on each wingtip engineered to detect the signature and muzzle flash of nearby enemy small arms fire. The system is engineered with the ability to distinguish small arms fire from larger guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

The cameras and infrared sensors on the aircraft detect the muzzle flash from ground fire and move the information through an Aircraft Gateway Processor into the cockpit so pilots will see an icon on their display screen; GFAS is integrated with Blue Force Tracking technology, digital map
display screens which show the locations of nearby forces and surrounding terrain.

Apache program officials praised the performance of the attack helicopter platform in theater, calling it the world's most lethal, capable attack helicopter.

"Most of the air assaults we conducted relied upon the Apache platform. Two things you can't talk about enough are the pilots that fly them and the guys inside the cockpit that get the mission done. They are dedicated to supporting the guys on the ground," said Lt. Col. Christopher Downey, Task Force Six Shooters, who spent time with Apache attack helicopter units assigned to RC East, Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008.

Source : Defencetalk

Korsel Buru 4 Kapal Selam Korut

SEOUL-(IDB) : Korea Selatan (Korsel) dikabarkan melakukan perburuan terhadap empat buah kapal selam milik Korea Utara (Korut). Sebelumnya kapal selam itu diktahui menghilang setelah meninggalkan pangkalannya.

Hingga saat ini, Korsel masih yakin, Korut-lah yang menenggelamkan kapal perang miliknya dua tahun yang lalu. Sementara itu, militer Korsel melaporkan empat kapal selam Korut bersembunyi di dasar laut guna menyelamatkan diri dari lacakan radar Korsel.

Selain itu, muncul pula laporan yang menyebutkan bahwa Korut mulai menggelar latihan perang terhadap armada kapal selamnya karena cuaca di Semenanjung Korea mulai menghangat. Korsel pun akhirnya mempersiapkan diri untuk mewaspadai serangan dari negara tetangganya. Demikian seperti diberitakan ABC, Kamis (5/4/2012).

Perseteruan Korsel dan Korut tampak makin memanas belakangan ini, ditambah lagi dengan rencana Korut yang hendak meluncurkan satelit pada April ini. Tak hanya Korsel yang khawatir akan peluncuran roket itu, negara-negara di kawasan Asia juga menanggapi peluncuran roket itu dengan keras.

Beberapa negara tampak mempersiapkan alutsistanya yang sanggup menghantam satelit negeri komunis tersebut.

Di tengah perselisihan itu, Rusia kembali mengingatkan negara-negara di dunia ini agar tidak menggunakan emosinya dalam menekan Korut. Negeri Beruang Merah itu juga khawatir akan peluncuran satelit Korut yang dinilai melanggar aturan Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa. Namun Rusia tidak pernah memberikan ancaman-ancaman terhadap Korut dengan menggunakan kekuatan militernya.

Sumber : Okezone