History and military technology: January 2017

Tuesday 31 January 2017

Photos of the National Military Museum at Cairo, artillery and tanks

These photos were taken the Military Museum at Cairo. The tank collection is remarkable because almost every tank involved in the Middle East Wars in shown.

180 mm S-23 Soviet gun.

SM-4-1 coastal gun.

Tank collection.

M48 and M60 Patton, probably captured in the wars against Israel.

PT-76.

T-34-85.

IS-3.

IS-3, rear view.

Centurion with 105 mm gun, probably captured to Israel.

Sherman with AMX-13 tower. At the back there is a Sherman.

Specialised vehicles.

Monday 30 January 2017

Yemn rebels launch attack on ship from Saudi Arabia

Yemen Houthi rebels have attacked a ship from Saudi Arabia, probaly a Al Madinah frigate. According to the latest information the attack was carried out by 3 suicide boat and 2 members of the crew have died.

Sunday 29 January 2017

Belarus will donate 6 MiG-29 and 12 Buk to Serbia

These news were rather unexpected. Serbia is going to receive 6 MiG-29 and 12 Buk (2 divisions) for free, and will only have to pay for the modernization. The scheme is similar to that reached with Russia.

MiG-29BM from Belarus (airliners.net).

Belarus offers a Fulcrum modernisation, MiG-29BM. It is not as thorough as the ones offered by RSK MiG, but does provide significant improvements (R-77 capability). According to analist Svetozar Jokanovic, all the aircraft will be modernised in Serbia with the help of Russian technicians. Ideally all the Fulcrum should correspond to a unique variant to simplify maintenance.

References:

- http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2401422.html

- http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/mig29bm.html

Friday 27 January 2017

UAC presents the fighter MiG-35

United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has presented the latest version of the Fulcrum, the MiG-35. The event took place at Lukhovitsy, where the fighter is currently manufactured. So far there are no details on the equipment, but it is assumed that it won't have an AESA radar yet, and will be installed after first series.

A first contract for 30 aircraft will be signed by the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS). Deliveries should start in 2019. According to VKS commander, Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev, up to 170 could be acquired.

Configuration of fuel tanks.

Multimode radar "Zhuk".

New domestic helmet mounted sight.

References:

- https://ria.ru/arms/20170127/1486619497.html
- http://www.uacrussia.ru/

Monday 23 January 2017

Knocked out T-90 in Khanazer, Syria

24-1-2017

A version on the T-90 loss was provided at @SyrianMilitary, who quotes a Republican Guard captain. The T-90 was being operated the Al Fatemeyoon shia militia. The vehicle was far inside enemy territory -controlled by ISIS-, but the Shtora was not on. The most dangerous threat was supposed to be 23 mm guns.

The crew was surprised bu an AT missile that hit the upper part of the turret, knocking out sights and the MG. Another AT missile hit the side, injuring the driver. Gunner and commander abandoned vehicle. The driver was rescued 1 hour later. After a few hours the fire reached the ammunition because the hatches were left opened.

23-1-2017

These photos have just been published in twitter, and show a T-90 knocked out T-90 in Khanazer, Syria. The most likely cause was an AT missile. Note the turret in the "6 position". The yellow flag probably belongs to Hezbollah. The fire is only visible in one of the hatches, and could be caused by the 12.7 mm ammunition (see video)

References:

- https://twitter.com/bjoernstritzel

Sunday 22 January 2017

Tanks and BMPs delivered to Syria

22-1-2017

More photos have surfaced. The tanks are definitely T-62Ms. So far they are being used to secure T-4 airbase.

16-1-2017

The blog diana-mihailova has published these photos. Supposedly they were taken at Tartus, a naval base used by the Russian Navy. The tanks seem to be T-55 or T-62 and they have been recently refurbished because there are no traces of damage or even dirt. These vehicles would be for the Syrian Army. Russia retired the T-55 and T-62 back in 2011.

References:

- http://diana-mihailova.livejournal.com
- Blog article: T-55/62 retirement in Russia (2011)

Sunday 15 January 2017

Boomerang launching a Kornet AT missile

The manufacturer of the Russian vehicle Boomerang hus published a video showing one of these vehicles launching a Kornet AT missile (2:12).

References:

- http://vestnik-rm.ru/news-4-18634.htm

Saturday 14 January 2017

“Coraza Avanzada” maneouvers in Spain

A few weeks ago the Spanish Army and Navy carried out the exercise Coraza Avanzada” (Advanced Armour). It took place in Rota and the brigade Guadarrama XII practised embarking and disembarking from the ship L-61 “Juan Carlos I”. 16 vehicles from the brigade participated as part of a tactical subunit. The disembarking from LCM-1E ships was also practised.

References:

- http://www.ejercito.mde.es/

Friday 13 January 2017

Admiral Kuznetsov and its Task Force to head home

13-1-2017

According to Fox News the number of sorties carried out from the ship was 154 in 2 months, a much lower figure than that provided by the media (420). The operability of Admiral Kuznetsov has been questioned since she left Russia.

6-1-2017

The Russian government is scaling down its presence in Syria, and the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier will be heading back to their base in Northern Russia. There hasn't been much information about the ship in recent weeks, especially the amount of sorties performed by the air wing.

The truth is that its presence was not really needed, as the Aerospace Forces (VKS) already have a base. The deployment was more for PR than practical purposes. It has not been exactly sucessful. The tempo of operations did not seem that high, and 2 fighters were lost, including an almost new MiG-29KR.

References:

- https://lenta.ru/news/2017/01/06/kuznetsov/

Wednesday 11 January 2017

Russian aircraft at Farnborough 1992

Farnborough 1992 went into history as the one with the highest number of Russian -and other CIS countries- aircraft. The USSR had just imploded and Russian companies were eager to sign agreements to make up for the lack of orders at home. Also, the relations between Russia and the West were at an all-time high. A selection of photographs is provided below.