M60T and Otokar Cobra under attack in Syria

Islamic State has published a video with another attack to a Turkish tank. As in previous occasions, it took place in the al-Bab area. The images show the launching of a 9K111 Fagot AT missile and how it hits the front armour of a M60T tank. The Lepard 2 next to it reverses and takes cover behind the turn.

Then an Otokar Cobra vehicle is sent. It is also hit by an AT missile. According to the information available, the M60T crew did not suffer injuries. Two passengers in the Cobra were injured. In this link the video can be seen.

References:

- http://www.tank-net.com/forums/
- https://twitter.com/QalaatAlMudiq

Russia has offered second-hand MiG-29s to Serbia

16-12-2016

The primer minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has declared that the Fulcrums could arrive in March 2017. They will have 2 years of service left before an overhaul is needed. Then the entire fleet (6 ex-Russians + current 4) will be repaired and kept in service for another 14 years. The government is also looking at acquiring another 13 Airbus helicopters (1).

21-11-2016

The Russian government has offered Serbia second hand 6 MiG-29s free of charge. Serbia would have to pay for the upgrade/modernization, which is about 50 million $. If the deal goes through it would be an important acquisition for the Serbian Armed Forces, as only 3 MiG-29s and 1 MiG-21bis are comabt ready

This type of scheme has been followed by some countries after the Cold War. The client gets excess material free of charge but has to pay for refurbishment/modernization and spares. Russia should have a number of MiG-29 9.12/9.13 available, as many have been replaced by advanced derivates of Flanker.

MiG-29s and other fighters stored at Kubinka (fotografersha.livejournal.com)

The Russian government has also offered Buk SAM systems, but Serbia has rejected them as it cannot afford them (60 million $).

Back in 2013 the Russianmedia reported a contract for 6 MiG-35, but it was never fulfilled as IMF put pressure on the Serbian government to cancel the deal.

References:

- http://www.opex360.com/2016/11/19/la-russie-va-livrer-6-avions-mig-29-la-serbie/
- http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2265939.html
- https://ria.ru/defense_safety/20161215/1483717706.html (1)

First photos of Russian Aerospace Forces MiG-35

These are the first photos of the newly built MiG-35 acquired by the Russian Aerospace Force. According to Russian sources the first flight took place on the 20th November. In theory 37 should be acquired, followed by another batch.

The development of this variant has been critisised because of the delays. At some point it was supposed to have an AESA radar, but it is still using a mechanical Zuk. In any case, it has won a large contract with Egypt (46 aircraft) and is relatively cheap. It also provides RSK MiG with work. At the end of the day, it will pla a secondary role, behind PAK FA and Flanker variants.

Fuentes y enlaces de interés:

- www.russianplanes.net

- MiG-29SMT and MiG-35 in the Russian Aerospace Forces

Two Leopard 2 tanks attacked by AT missiles in Syria

ISIS has published another attack on Turkish Leopard 2 tanks. Both vehicles are in a position when hit by AT missiles. The sequence is shown below. The second vehicle comes worst as the ammunition explodes and causes a fire.

 

Leopard 2s have not been operating for long, but 3 have already hit by missiles. It is almost as if they were expected and ambushes were prepared.

References:

- http://andrei-bt.livejournal.com/456092.html
- http://www.tank-net.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=34025&page=144
- First Leopard 2 under attack in Syria

ISIS was booty in Palmyra

Yesterday ISIS managed to regain control of the historical city of Palmyra, which had been in their hands from May 2015 to March 2016.  The occupation horrified the Internonal Community because of the crimes commited against civilian population and the looting/destruction of historical artifacts. In the propaganda videos it is possible to see captured SAA vehicles.

T-72.

T-55.

 BPM-97 'Vystrel'.

Ural-4320. 

It remains to be seen if ISIS can keep the city under its control. The Russian Aerospace Force (VKS) has increased the number of sorties, up to 64, and the Syrian Army will try to regain the city.

Referenes:

- Photos via twitter.

- http://charly015.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/la-cosa-se-desmadra-en-palmira
- https://www.theguardian.com

MiG-29KR with R-77 missiles

These screen grabs are really interesting because they show a MiG-29KR on Kuznetsov carrier equipped with R-77 air to air missiles. It is the first time this missile is seen in an operational Russian Navy aircraft. Also mounted is a KAB-500Kr bomb.

Sensor de guiado.

The MiG-29KR deployed on the carrier are more modern than the Su-33s. Deliveries took place very recently, in 2013-15.

Fuentes y enlaces de interés:

- https://vk.com/milinfolive

Su-33 accident in Syria (3-12-2016)

8-12-2016

Data on the Su-33 accidente have been published. The aircraft was Red 67, and had been modernised in 2012-2013. The weather conditions that day were good, 12 kms visibility and less than 12 knots wind speed. The possibility of excessive speed during landing has been discarded.

The investigation found that the Flanker deviated on one of the landing axis by more than 0.5 meters (4.7 when the maximum is 4.2). After 50 meters the arresting cable snapped (1). 

3-12-2016

Yesterday a Su-33 naval fighter crashed while performing a landing on the Kuznetsov carrier. The Su-33 did land but the arresting wire snapped and failed to stop the aircraft, which fell of the deck. The pilot managed to bail out. This is the second accident of the naval fighters deployed in the Russian carrier. Both losses were caused by problems with the arresting wires.

Su-33 landing on the Kuznetsov (http://su-27flanker.com/).

A comission is being organised to investigate the cause of the accident. It could be due to a faulty wire or a landing at inadequate conditions (speed/angle). It seems that aircraft operations have been suspended because Israeli naval authorities were informed that the exclusion zone in the area of operation from 7:00AM to 7:00PM has been suspended.

References:

- http://kommersant.ru/doc/3162180
- http://portierramaryaire.com/foro/ (info by Shomer)
- http://kommersant.ru/doc/3164261 (1)

T-72B under attack in Syria

Syrian rebels have published these videos of a T-72B being hit by 2 TOW AT missiles. Both hit the front hull  but there isn't an obvious effect as in earlier T-72s.

Video 1

Video 2

References:

- http://www.tank-net.com

- T-72B obr 1989 in Syria (Spanish)

Su-27 incident at an Ukranian base

There are not many details about what happened, but this Su-27 almost caused a tragedy. At 0:49 it starts turning towards the parking area -note guy hitting the ground at 0:55-. Maybe the Flanker got too close to the other aircraft during the take-off, causing instability in the engines.

References:

- http://diana-mihailova.livejournal.com/110087.html

New data link for Su-35 and Su-27SM3

At the end of 2017 Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-27SM3 will receive a new data link known as Postscriptum. It will allow these 2 fighters to receive information from AWACS aircrafts and ground based/early warning radars. It also offers the possibility of landing without pilot input.

Also, the aircraft will supply the central command with fuel and weapons data, together with position. The aircraft will be able to fire missiles using the AWACS/radar data. 

S-108 data link (slaviza.ru)

It will be interesting to know more about the integration of this new data link. Su-35 has a S-107-1 link, which allow tactical data to be shared between different ground, sea and air platforms. China has acquired an export variant named S-108 with the Su-35.

Back in the 1980s the Soviet Union developed TKS-1 and TKS-2 data links. The latter allowed data to be shared by 16 aircraft, and was integrated in MiG-31s and Su-27s.

References:

- http://izvestia.ru/news/643567#ixzz4QBfiZKkO

- http://www.slaviza.ru/

Iraqi M1 Abrams under attack

On 12th November an Iraqi M1A1M Abrams was hit by an AT missile, probablt a Metis M. The attack took place near the village of Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul. As it is possible to see, the missile hits the front armour, and does not seem to cause much damage.

References:

- Video found in twitter.

Zhuhai 2016 air show

Zhuhai 2016 air show was held last week end. The first edition took place in 1996 and it has been growing importance since then. The 5th generation fighter J-20 got most of the attention, as it was being shown in public for the first time. I was surprised by the amount of UAV designs and the range of applications.

Chinese aircraft performance has always been a subject of debate. This year was no exception, especially because 24 Su-35 have been acquired from Russia. I think that currently the Chinese military aerospace industry is not at the same level, but it will be a world player on the medium term. The government has been investing huge amounts of money and there is plenty of political support. Something similar happens with the civilian sector, which can rely on the huge internal market.

J-20.

Z-10K.

Y-20.

Red Arrows.

 CH-5 UAV.

CH-500 UAV.

 CH-805 UAV.

KJ-200.

AG600 amphibious aircraft.

 JF-17.

 QY-1 UAV.

SW-6 UAV.

J-20 simulator (to be confirmed).

Airbus A350.

Project of wide body airliners, to be designed with UAC (Russia)

References:

- http://www.popsci.com/

India acquires 464 T-90 tanks

Livefist has informed that the Indian MoD's Defence Acquisition Council has approved the acquisition of 464 T-90 tanks. There had been rumours for a number of years but it is only now that a contract has been signed.

The variant to be acquired is probably T-90MS, the latest. The acquisition is due to delays in local production. India has a license to produce 1000 vehicles but production has not met the target.

 Indian T-90.

The T-90 has become one of the most successful tanks of its era, and more than 2000 have been sold. It probably won't be the last sale, as Iraq, Syria and Lybia -amongst other countries- are interested.

These are the current operators:

- Algeria: 305 T-90SA and a license for 200

- Azerbaijan: 94 T-90 (contract signed in 2013)

- Turkmenistan: 40 T-90SA

- India: Contracts for 310, 330, 347 and 464 in different conditions T-90. License for another 1000.

- Russia: ~500; 120 acquired in the 90s y 369 later on.

- Uganda: 44 (no proof)

Total: 2390+ 1200 in licenses.

References:

- https://twitter.com/livefist (contract confirmation)

- http://alejandro-8.blogspot.co.uk/posible-contrato-por-t-90-para-la-india 

Military parade in Turkmenistan to celebrate 25° aniversary of independence

Last 27th October Turkmenistan celebrated 25 years of independence. Maybe you find surprising that certain republics celebrate their day in August and others later on. This is explained by the August 1991 coup in Moscow. Some republics like Ukraine proclaimed independence soon after, others waited a few months. 

A parade celebrating the event was organised in Ashgabat, the capital. It was possible to see much of the equipment that the Armed Forces deploy. Nowadays an interesting combination of Western, Russian Ukrainian, Turkish and Chinese systems are used. Soldiers used Berettas ARX160, which do not match very well with the classic uniforms. A video of the ceremony can be found in youtube (link). 

Specially adapted Mercedes, similar to the Popemobile

Army members.

  

Air Force members.

 

Sailors.

  Ajban-440A.

PMV Survivor II 4x4. 

Israelí Combat Guard vehicle, it reminds me of a Batmobile

 T-72UMG. 

T-90SA.

BMP-1M, upgraded with Ukrainian module Shkval.

BTR-80A.

BTR-80M upgraded with Ukrainian module Grom.

SAM FM-90, originally based on Crotale.

 Kirpi vehicle.

BM-21A "Grad-1A".

RM-70 rocket launcher (Czech Republic).

Smerch rockets mounted on a Tata chassis.

Lavochkin La-17.

UAV Orbiter-2.

S-125-2M Pechora-2M. 

S-200 Vega.

WJ-600AD.

Mi-24P 

References:

- http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2214698.html
- http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2216047.html
- http://www.trucksplanet.com/catalog/model.php?id=362