US Senate rejects resolution to block F-35 sale to UAE

In November 2020,  draft resolutions were submitted to the US Senate to block the Trump administration’s proposal for the F-35 fighter jet and MQ-9B Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to the UAE. According to the latest information, the drafts were declined by the US Senate.

On December 9, 2020, the Senate voted to reject a motion to discharge from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a joint resolution (S.J.Res. 77) prohibiting certain proposed exports of defense articles, services, and related information to the UAE. The proposed exports include Weapons-Ready MQ–9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft, certain precision-guided munitions, and Anti-Submarine Warfare mission kits and sensors. H.J.Res 101 was the House companion bill. The same day, the Senate voted to reject a similar motion (S.J.Res. 78) prohibiting the proposed export of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and related services and information to the UAE. .J.Res 100 was the House companion bill.

According to the DSCA (1 and 2) official documents of 10 november:

The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the United Arab Emirates of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.97 billion, and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $10.4 billion. 

A-135 Moscow anti-ballistic missile system

The A-135 (NATO: ABM-4 Gorgon) is a Russian anti-ballistic missile system deployed around Moscow to intercept incoming warheads targeting the city or its surrounding areas. The system was designed in the Soviet Union and entered service in 1995. It is a successor to the previous A-35, and complies with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

The system is operated by the 9th Division of Anti-Missile Defence, part of the Air Defence and Missile Defence Command of the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces.

Loading the 53T6M missile transport and launch container on the 77Yu6.2 Transporter-erector machine with KamAZ Semi-trailer truck

Transportation of the 53T6M missile on the 77Yu6.2 Transporter-erector machine with KamAZ Semi-trailer truck

Loading the 53T6M missile in silo

Structure

A-135 consists of the Don-2N battle management radar and two types of ABM missiles. It gets its data from the wider Russian early-warning radar network, that are sent to the command centre which then forwards tracking data to the Don-2N radar. The Don-2N radar is a large battle-management phased array radar with 360° coverage. Tests were undertaken at the prototype Don-2NP in Sary Shagan in 2007 to upgrade its software.

Russian early-warning radar network consists of:

• Daryal bistatic active phased array early-warning radars

• Dnepr/Dnestr space surveillance early-warning radars

• Voronezh phased array early-warning radars

• US-KMO, US-K and EKS early-warning satellites

• Command, control, communications and intelligence services.

Don-2N radar

Command, control and communications center

Photo credit Евгений Кель

Final trial of Arjun Mark 1-A held in Pokhran

By Times Of India

The final phase of trials of the battle tank Arjun Mark 1 ALFA, the advanced version of the tank, was held on Monday at Pokhran field firing range in Jaisalmer district. The tank will boost army’s fire power.

It has been manufactured indigenously by DRDO and combined vehicles research and development establishment, Chennai. In this new advanced version, the firing system has been upgraded with automatic fire control system guided missiles. It also has many other features which will strengthen the firing capacity of the army.

Indian army deputy chief staff Lt Gen SS Hasabnis and director general armed Lt Gen MJS Kahlo and other senior officers were present during the trial. It is to be mentioned that PM Narendra Modi’s riding the Arjun tank at Longewala border has increased the possibility of inducting this tank in the army.

According to the information from army official sources, two units of Arjun tank are present in the army, but as per the requirements of the Indian army, DRDO has upgraded 14 features in it. Induction trial has been done and soon it will be inducted in the army. It is planned to induct two more regiments with Mark 2 version which will have the feature of firing anti-tank missiles.

A source said, “The Mark 1-A includes an improved gunner’s main sight, integrated with automatic target tracking. 

T-80U tankers of Cyprus NG training to defend shores

T-80U tanks of Cyprus National Guard shooting the Guided Missiles to the sea targets at the Zygi training area.

Ukraine offered to modernize the Brazilian tanks M60A3

Ukraine invited Brazil to modernize the Brazilian army Tanks M60. Specialists of the Kharkiv Malyshev Plant came up with a corresponding proposal.

Representatives of "ZiM" held a presentation for the Brazilians, during which they presented their own concept of modernizing the M60 tanks.

As explained, even before 2014, the specialists of the Kharkov Machine-Building Design Bureau worked on the modernization of the American M60 tank. Why this work was carried out is not reported, most likely it was a kind of "reserve for the future" associated with the planned entry into the market of modernization services.

The version of the modernization of the M60 developed in Kharkov provides for the replacement of the "native" turret of the tank with a turret from the T-84-120 Yatagan tank with a 120 mm cannon, replacement of the engine with a more modern Ukrainian two-stroke 6TD6 boxer diesel engine with a capacity of 2 l / s reverse transmission, as well as the establishment of dynamic protection, active protection complex "Zaslon" and the system of optical-electronic suppression "Varta".

Kiev noted that the technical condition of the M60A3 tanks purchased by Brazil in the United States does not meet modern requirements, and the modernization according to the option proposed by Ukraine would allow a significant part of them to be returned to service with new combat capabilities.

Workers on assembly line of Su-57 use augmented reality

 

Very interesting video from Su-57 fighter jet assembly line, how we can see, workers use (or will use) augmented reality for assembly the russian 5th generation fighter jet.

2nd Squadron 2nd Cavalry Regiment of US Army became the first unit which receive Mark 3-10 programmable air burst munitions

BEMOWO PISKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland - U.S. Soldiers, assigned to the Eagle Troop and Fox Troop, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, became the first U.S. unit to fire the coveted Mark 310 programmable air burst munitions at the Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, Nov. 12, 2020 in support of NATO's enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group-Poland. The troops were selected due to their up-gunned Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle - Dragoons, which are the only vehicles in the U.S. Army equipped with the quick-firing cannon weapon platform that allows for the use of these extremely precise and deadly 30mm rounds.

Jack Cooper, lethality consultant, on behalf of Program Manager-Maneuver Ammunition Systems Col. Paul Alessio and PM-MAS Medium Caliber Lt. Col. Andre Johnson, and a support team from General Dynamics Land System flew in from Fort Benning, Georgia to lend their expertise.

“What is special about these munitions is that they have a three-mode function," said Cooper. "They can be shot and point detonated, where they explode when they hit the target; shot with a deadly delay, where they explode after they hit the target; or, they can be shot in air-burst mode, where we have the ability to set time, distance, width and depth.”

Cooper explained that the onboard computer sets a box around the target, and the operator fills the box with a certain pattern to get the effectiveness and conditions desired. Once the Soldier pulls the trigger, the user-friendly computer system does the work with deadly accuracy.

“So far, the system is performing very well,” said Cooper. “It's a game changer.”

The squadron's master gunner Staff Sgt. Bryan Miller, who is responsible for fielding the equipment, agreed and said the new rounds will give 2nd Cavalry the upper hand against any potential aggressor in the region.

“This is it," said Miller. "We have this round in our go-to-war stock here right now. If the enemy horde was to come over that hill, we could get that ammunition up and running and ready to go. And now, our soldiers have the confidence in actually shooting, not a training round, but the full service ammo.”

Miller elaborated.

“This is the first time in my career that I have seen them actually using service ammunition, so to be able to fire this is awesome,” said Miller. “This is a first ever.”

Via DVIDS