Source: Trishul Group

WASHINGTON — The latest armored vehicles aimed at shielding troops from roadside bombs are so maneuverable off roads that they give U.S. troops an offensive advantage as they prepare for major operations against insurgents this spring, a Marine general running the vehicle program says.The speed and maneuverability of the new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles transform it “from simply a means of transportation to an offensive capability,” Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan said.There are about 300 of the all-terrain MRAPs being used in combat, Brogan said. Military leaders seek 6,000 more of the vehicles to protect troops from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Last year, the number of IEDs planted by insurgents more than doubled to nearly 8,000.The ability to travel off-road is critical in Afghanistan. The country is about the size of Texas and has rugged terrain and few paved routes. Standard MRAP trucks, which have a high center of gravity and weigh more than 30,000 pounds, have been confined mostly to the roads that do exist.Lack of mobility makes MRAPs and other heavier vehicles easier to target for insurgents, Brogan says. Better mobility was a key requirement for the new truck.“This vehicle offers the ability that the baseline MRAPs didn’t, namely the ability to get off-road and maneuver,” Brogan said. “That makes the targeting exponentially more difficult for the bad guys.”The vehicle enables troops to stay unpredictable and confound insurgents, says Dakota Wood, a military analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.“As long as you have to travel on roads, you make yourself an easier target,” Wood said. “If you broaden your options on where you can go, that’s good for you.”MRAPs have proved far safer in bomb blasts in Afghanistan than any other vehicle. Troops are “tens of times” more likely to be wounded or killed in other vehicles in an IED attack, according to the Pentagon’s Joint IED Defeat Organization.Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate panel Tuesday that IEDs are “absolutely the worst killer and maimer of our troops.” He said MRAPs made “a huge difference” in limiting the carnage from IEDs.Starting this month, 500 to 1,000 new MRAPs will begin arriving per month in Afghanistan, Gates told senators.There are more than 70,000 U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan, and about 100,000 will be there later this year as part of the escalation ordered by President Obama. There may be the need for 4,000 more MRAPs, Brogan said. The final number will be determined by the Pentagon and combat commanders.It takes about 14 hours for Oshkosh Defense, the truck’s maker, to produce the vehicle on its assembly lines in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Brogan said. The company is about 300 trucks ahead of schedule, he said.It’s an expensive effort. The trucks cost about million apiece. Demand for them requires that each is flown in by cargo jet. It costs more than 0,000 to fly each one aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo jet or 0,000 aboard a commercial flight. By spring, the Pentagon hopes to have enough of the trucks in Afghanistan to begin sending them by ship, a slower but cheaper alternative to flying, Brogan said.
Source: Army Times

2011, Tiga Radar Terpasang di Selat Sunda

30 Januari 2010


Radar Isra : tahun 2011 akan dipasang di Selat Sunda sebanyak 3 unit (photo : Technology Indonesia)

BOGOR--MI: Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI) menargetkan pemasangan tiga radar pantai ISRA (Indonesian Sea Radar) di Selat Sunda pada 2011, yaitu dua di Banten dan satu di Lampung, untuk memantau lalu lintas kapal di Selat Sunda.

"Radar ini akan menjadi model bagi pembangunan sistem radar di Indonesia," kata Deputi Bidang Ilmu Pengetahuan Teknik LIPI Dr Ir Syahrul Aiman di sela-sela peluncuran Beyonic di Cibinong Science Center, Kabupaten Bogor, Sabtu (30/1).

Ketiga radar tersebut akan bekerja dalam satu sistem, dan saat ini sudah satu radar terpasang di Anyer, Banten. Radar pantai ini, lanjut dia, 100 persen dibuat dengan teknologi dalam negeri sehingga bisa leluasa diotak-atik ataupun diperbanyak untuk kepentingan nasional.

"Target kita sebenarnya adalah memiliki radar yang dibuat dengan teknologi dalam negeri sehingga pihak asing tidak bisa menghambat, di samping harganya juga bersaing," katanya.

Syahrul memperkirakan, dengan daya jangkau 100 kilometer, dibutuhkan setidaknya 800 radar untuk mengawasi pantai Indonesia yang panjangnya mencapai 80.000 kilometer.

Harga satu unit radar pantai ini di tingkat penelitian mencapai Rp2,5 miliar dan jika sudah di tingkat produksi harganya bisa lebih rendah. Daya jangkau radar mencapai 30 kilometer. Sementara harga radar pengawas pantai dengan teknologi impor (teknologi FM-CW) mencapai Rp8 miliar per unit.

Selat Sunda (image : GoogleMaps)

Proyek pembuatan radar ISRA dilakukan pada tahun 2006 hingga 2009. Ia mengatakan, pengembangan radar pengawas pantai ini diharapkan menjadi solusi bagi masalah penyelundupan, pencurian ikan dan pelanggaran wilayah yang dihadapi Indonesia.

"Indonesia membutuhkan peralatan, kapal maupun sumberdaya manusia yang sangat banyak untuk mengawasi seluruh wilayah pantainya yang luas. Radar merupakan solusi yang relatif murah dan strategis," katanya.

Ia menjelaskan, saat ini sudah dioperasikan beberapa radar namun belum terintegrasi sebagai sistem atau jaringan. Di samping itu, setiap produk impor dengan vendor yang berbeda memiliki sistem yang berbeda pula, katanya.

Rencana program radar LIPI adalah mengembangkan varian ISRA berupa radar pelabuhan untuk pengaturan lalu lintas laut dan radar pantai untuk pemantauan lalu lintas laut serta pengamanan garis pantai dan perbatasan, kata Syahrul.

Saat ini, LIPI telah menyelesaikan 50 persen pembuatan prototype II ISRA. (Ant/OL-04)

(Media Indonesia)

Source: Defense Studies

Yamal

BDK Yamal Project 775 Ropucha Large Landing Ship (Bol'shoy Desatnyy Korabl' - BDK) is a beachable, general-purpose LST-type design with bow and stern ramps for unloading vehicles. A slightly smaller successor to the Alligator class, they were all built in Poland three distinct production runs.














Source: Black Sea Fleet

Source: Gallery Kapal Perang

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark

Source: Australian DoD

Source: Gallery Pesawat Tempur

Israeli Tactical Video Link, Helmet Displays Improve Situational Awareness of U.S. Marines Gunships

U.S. Marine Corps AH-1W attack helicopters will significantly improve the situational awareness of gunship crews. Two systems being delivered by Elbit Systems of America provide these enhancements - the new Tactical Video Data-Links and Helmet Display & Tracker system (HDTS).

Source: Defence Update

U.S. Army Outlines Ground Combat Vehicles Priorities

General Peter W. Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army describes the new Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) "the most important combat development and acquisition decisions we will make over the next seven years". Indeed, the Army is taking this program seriously, and is doing its best to safely conduct it to successful completion. Top Army officials gathered in October and November 2009 have outlined the program to a group of experts from industry, research and development community to introduce the program set to dominate the market through this new decade.

Source: Defence Update

Source: Trishul Group