United Arab Emirates

[jonas]

A bit of a coup for Finmeccanica :-

http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotor ... s-options/

[ArmChairCivvy]

A tad short of the 12 bn Saab/ Bombardier deal
- just that the parsing engines seem to miss the decimal points when they pick up news headlines, and when I read the news elsewhere,it was 1.2 bn (only), following on from two turboprops already in operation with the same sensors

[arfah]

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[arfah]

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[xav]

United Arab Emirates has ordered Finnish-made Patria AMV 8x8 armoured vehicles

The General Headquarters of the United Arab Emirates’ Armed Forces has ordered Patria AMV 8x8 armoured wheeled vehicles. All details of the contract are classified. The Patria AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle) is an 8x8 multi-role military vehicle designed and manufactured by the Finnish defence industry company Patria.

http://www.armyrecognition.com/january_ ... 01161.html

[ArmChairCivvy]

xav,

They already have boats with NEMO turrets on them, Having a faster (=wheeled) force with similar weaponry will greatly assist in anti-invasion planning (obviously the expectation for that to be coming from the sea, if not flanking and landing onto somebody else's beach first).

[~UNiOnJaCk~]

Houthi Militia claim they have sunk the UAE vessel "Swift" - formerly the United States HSV-2 - off the coast of Yemen, 1st October 2016: https://www.rt.com/news/361339-uae-wars ... ack-yemen/

(Sorry for the RT link, seems major Western outlets are slow with this one. I'll go wash myself now as i feel dirty...)

[ArmChairCivvy]

Sorry for the RT link

Before I start on the actual topic, I was just checking something on an RT site (World Affairs seem to take the reader a bit too often?) and noticed that they offer you to quote with a "short URL" rather than a normal one. Google created a tracking mechanism for those so whoever creates it (that could be RT even when you press the button) can then check all subsequent readers out.
- I avoid clicking on them...

Anayway, Chuck has written a nice piece on UAE light craft:
https://chuckhillscgblog.net/2015/03/04 ... a-program/
- troop transport, supply, patrol and missile boats, all on the same hull

Took my mind to another use: how best to intercept/ deter SF infiltration craft (doing a good 100km/h on water)?
- dont take as small a craft as Chuck had included for showing NEMO uses (Watercat 12)
- take Watercat 18 (currently in use as a command boat in some forces):
> NEMO to the front of "bridge" with laser-guided precision rounds
> use the open back for what UAE has done with their patrol version: take the German insanely fast-firing aircraft gun (90 rounds in 3 seconds, and already adapted for maritime use, as a self-defence weapon on the German "stabilisation frigates")

> thus you can cover distances from close up to 10 km; all angles and multiple targets... add a Camcopter or similar "el Cheapo" operated from somewhere else for surveillance
>> sneaking in becomes a few grades more difficult, and back out nigh impossible

Did not find a clip for Watercat M18 alone, so apologies for the other, smaller craft also appearing here:

[Frenchie]

Upgrade of Leclerc tanks sold to the United Arab Emirates ?

https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/land ... e-leclerc/

[ArmChairCivvy]

Thanks, interesting . Three times the number of MBTs the British Army is planning on...

This is in the past tense
"the UAE Leclerc was one of the first MBT fleets to integrate the 'Finders' BMS developed by Nexter, which has only been fitted to around 100 French Army examples."
but presumably all of them (the French ones) will get it through SCORPION?

[Frenchie]

Yes, the Scorpion Combat Information System will thus integrate the combined arms components in a global and digitized set: Félin infantry, Caesar gun, Leclerc tank, Tigre helicopters, VBCI, Griffon, Jaguar, drones ... All will see the same things at the same time.

[Defiance]

Russia plans on developing a light 5th gen aircraft with the UAE based on the MiG-29

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/rus ... r-with-uae

Not a contract signing, it's a unilateral release from Russia, but it's an interesting turn of events nonetheless

[ArmChairCivvy]

Just look at the quantum leap F-16 took, with the same chq book opened.

Let us be careful here with the versions deriving from the Mig-29
- K funded by India, to get them something better than Harrier/ Tejas to fly off their carriers
- M the budget version building up on that one, without any Israeli avionics etc
- Mig-35: still the same plane, but now with a fully Russian, more advanced avionics package... and (nobody has paid for it yet; just like with Typhoon)... vectored thrust.

[Frenchie]

This is not the right topic but I add it anyway if it interest ACC,

For be more precise, in fact, the Leclerc renovation contract will be conducted around three main objectives: to integrate Leclerc into the "Scorpion bubble", to enable it to better operate in an urban environment, and to improve its capacity for aggression. The first two prototypes will be delivered by 2018 and will be followed immediately by the notification of the production units.

Intended to evolve in a joint battle group "Scorpion", the Leclerc will receive for this purpose a new open vetronic architecture, the radio CONTACT currently developed by Thales and the future information and communication system Scorpion (SICS).

Designed during the Cold War for the great plains of eastern Europe, the protection of the Leclerc will evolve to respond to the new theory of urban combat. New shielding kits can be installed based on threats. One of its kits will improve the protection against improvised explosive devices with, to increase its individual protection is also equipped with a laser alert detector, a missile start detector, a firing start detector , a radio jammer BARAGE, and an infrared jammer. A second kit will provide increased shielding against rocket launchers, especially around the engine block.

If Nexter does not intend to touch the 120 mm gun, it will have a new programmable ammunition called "120 mm HE M3M", this new shell can adopt different modes depending on the tactical situation, such as the air burst mode Munition, particularly effective for urban or counter-insurgency operations. These attack capabilities will be increased by the addition of a 7.62 mm remotely operated turret identical to that of the Jaguar. The weapon system will undergo a complete overhaul, including the updating of the main system computers, the addition of inertial navigation and GPS, and new man-machine interfaces similar to the Jaguar for the chief and shooter.

In addition to these major improvements, the general maintenance of the Leclerc will also be redesigned. A preventive maintenance tool will provide the crew with deadlines before the next revision. With the new header and shooter screens, they will require only software upgrades instead of system replacement in case of future additions of new features. The crew will also benefit from a new data record and embedded electronic documentation.

[ArmChairCivvy]

Thanks Frenchie,

Looks like "Finders" will be replaced even in those tanks (the newest 100) that got it;
- we here do self-flagallation (we even ceased to believe in that kind of thing half a millennium ago, but just to keep traditions alive) and keep repeating "the Challies do not even have a battle mgt system , whereas the Leclercs do)

Interesting about the ammo varieties; the US and Israel (in reversed order, if we think of timelines) seem to be headed for unitary ammo, just programmed immediately before firing... a typical newspaper headline (cannot programme a long penetrating rod into a round if it does not have it; but for other uses, that is the drift)

... right, back to somewhere where it says "tank" in the header

[ArmChairCivvy]

Now you can buy AMVs from the UAE, too, if you dont fancy Finland, Poland, RSA...Soon Oz, too? Only from Oz they would be British "to the bootstraps", namely BAE (the Lead there).

Entry n:o 4 here:
http://defence-blog.com/army/top-5-idex2017.html

Entry n:o 2 would point to the Ukrainian arms companies being more interested in exports than beefing up their own forces (?)

[xav]

Our coverage of NAVDEX, the naval part of the IDEX show...

In this video, coverage of:
0:41 UAE Navy vessels Al Hili Corvette and Arialah Patrol Vessel
2:32 Ferreti FSD195
5:06 MBDA Marte MK 2/N for UAE Navy
5:25 Leonardo, Siham Al Khaleej and MBDA SIHAM3 naval gun system
5:58 Zodiac Milpro and Al Fattan ECUME RHIB
6:17 DAMEN SIGMA 6110
7:06 Taiwan naval defence industry NCSIST
7:28 Tuo Chang class catamaran missile corvette
8:01 SeaOryx SAM
8:20 Hsiung Feng III and Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles
9:08 Thales CAPTAS-1 variable depth sonar for UAE Navy
9:30 Navantia new AVANTE 500 and AVANTE 2200
10:41 NAVDEX demonstration
11:07 Rheinmetall new SeaSnake 27 naval gun system
11:39 China's naval defence industry
11:54 CSSC new trimaran vessel
12:17 CSSC UUV
12:30 ALIT LY-80N VLS Systems
13:00 CSOC Stealth Missile Attack Craft
13:13 CSOC ET52C Lightweight Torpedo

[ArmChairCivvy]

11:07 Rheinmetall new SeaSnake 27 naval gun system

Whoahh!
- is it any different from the early installations on German frigates (and UAE patrol boats)?

And what happened to that "90m corvette" from BAES?

[ArmChairCivvy]

Anything more heard of this rumoured Mig-35 manufactiring (to be started) in the UAE?

[abc123]

Anything more heard of this rumoured Mig-35 manufactiring (to be started) in the UAE?

[ArmChairCivvy]

My close friend Sergei, of Rostec,
"According to Mr. Chemezov, work on the fifth generation joint light fighter is to start as early as 2018. The aircraft is expected to be a variation of the MiG-29 fighter jet. The future warplane proposed by Russia would be built in the UAE »full cycle» following completion of design work and the production of test aircraft."

That would seem to be a parallel line to the domestic effort:
https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news ... r-business

Jun 15, 2017 - MiG's biggest hope is to clinch a Russian air force order for approximately 40 MiG-35s as part of the State Armament Procurement Program 2025, which is being finalized. Another prospect stems from an agreement between Russia and the UAE that was signed at the IDEX'2017 show.

[ArmChairCivvy]

As UAE actually has troops on the ground, I place this piece about the "Stalingrad" in Arabia (Yemen) here:

"The offensive on Hudaydah, which is led by the United Arab Emirates, began in June.

Pro-government soldiers and militiamen made swift progress initially, capturing the city's southern suburbs and airport. But they did not push into the city centre, where rebel fighters set up sniper positions, dug trenches in streets, and laid landmines.

The escalation in fighting last week " ...can be explained by the ultimatum from so far supportive countries to get a cease fire by the ned of the month. The stalemate is country wide; not just (so far) in Hudaydah.

[SW1]

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... ey-458430/

Lars Tossman, Saab's head of radar solutions, says pilots from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have flown on board the aircraft, which will receive a supplemental type certificate from Sweden's military airworthiness authority. Certification flight testing is scheduled to be completed soon, he adds, with GlobalEye demonstrating "excellent system performance".

Meanwhile, the lead ground station element equipment for GlobalEye has already been delivered to the UAE, Tossman says.

Future customers for the GlobalEye or a dedicated maritime surveillance derivative of the platform would receive aircraft in Bombardier's Global 6500 standard, which features more powerful Rolls-Royce Pearl engines and some aerodynamic enhancements. Tossman says this will require some further flight testing to be performed, but that "for us it doesn't have a difference: it's the same certificate."

[SW1]

http://m.aviationweek.com/dubai-air-sho ... oes-public

Ordered 4 years ago, the first globaleye arrives at the Dubai air show in preparation for handover early next year

[SW1]

The State Department notified Congress Thursday that it backs the proposed sale of as many as 50 F-35A fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates for $10.4 billion, according to four people familiar with the matter.


https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/arti ... ssion=true