In 2017, the Ukrainian army lost 200 soldiers. This is reported by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army. The list includes the missing soldiers. Recall that between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian militants are fighting despite the ceasefire.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
North Korea says new missile can re-enter atmosphere
Media captionMembers of the public watched on as the launch was announced in Pyongyang.
North Korea has said the missile it tested overnight held a warhead capable of re-entering the earth's atmosphere.
The claim was not proven and experts have cast doubt on the country's ability to master such technology.
Kim Jong-un called the launch "impeccable" and a "breakthrough". It was the first test from Pyongyang in more than two months, after a flurry earlier this year.
It has been condemned by the international community.
US President Donald Trump spoke to China's President Xi Jinping by telephone, the White House said, urging him to "use all available levers to convince North Korea to end its provocations and return to the path of denuclearisation".
Just spoke to President XI JINPING of China concerning the provocative actions of North Korea. Additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. This situation will be handled!
Mr Xi responded by telling Mr Trump it was Beijing's "unswerving goal to maintain peace and stability in north-east Asia and denuclearise the Korean peninsula," Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
China is North Korea's biggest ally and most important trading partner, and the two share a land border.
Experts say the height reached by the inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) indicates Washington could be within range, although North Korea is yet to prove it has reached its aim of miniaturising a nuclear warhead.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the US would put more sanctions on North Korea "very shortly".
What happened?
The Hwasong-15 missile, described as North Korea's "most powerful", was launched in darkness early on Wednesday.
It landed in Japanese waters but flew higher than any other missile the North had previously tested.
The test, which defied international sanctions imposed over the North's weapons programme, drew swift international condemnation.
South Korea responded by launching one of its own ballistic missiles in a live-fire drill.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionSouth Korea launched a Hyunmoo-2 missile in response on Wednesday
Where did the missile go?
Pyongyang says the missile reached an altitude of 4,475km (2,780 miles) and flew 950km in 53 minutes. That huge altitude, sending it far outside Earth's atmosphere, is close to independent estimates made by South Korea's military.
I've received a bunch of emails this morning telling me I must have made a mistake: The Earth's atmosphere starts 53 miles up, North Korea couldn't possibly have shot a missile 2,800 miles high? Yes, folks, they did. https://t.co/G0SXrYlrxO
The projectile, fired at a steep incline, did not fly over Japan as some have done in the past, and landed about 250km short of its northern coast, according to Japanese officials.
What do we know about the new missile?
North Korea has previously said that its projectiles can hit the US but this marks the first time it says it can do it with this new type of missile, which appears to be an upgraded version of previous models.
But it seems likely, the analysis adds, that the missile had a very light mock warhead, meaning it might lack the power to carry a nuclear payload, which is much heavier, over that distance.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
The US ordered 6 units of the A-29 Super Tucano for the Air Force of Afghanistan
Super Tucano - light turboprop attack aircraft, produced by the Brazilian company Embraer.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Saudi Arabia is negotiating the purchase of a training aircraft Textron AirLand Scorpion
As Antony Angrand writes in the article "L'Arabie Saoudite pourrait acheter du Scorpion", published by Air & Cosmos magazine, Saudi Arabia is at the initial stage of negotiations with the American company Textron AirLand (a joint venture of Textron Corporation and AirLand Enterprises) regarding the possible purchase of reactive training -Box Scorpion aircraft.
Friday, July 21, 2017
Russia and Angola are negotiating the delivery of six Su-30K fighters
As Aleksandra Djordjevic and Ivan Safronov write in the article "Better Longer, Yes More" published by Kommersant, Russia and Angola negotiate the purchase of six additional Su-30K fighters. If successful, Luanda will be able to increase its fleet, and Moscow - to get rid of aircraft built in fulfillment of the Indian contract in 1996-1998. There are also complications: back in 2013 Luanda contracted a squadron of such fighters, but still has not received a single one. Russian officials nevertheless insist that the contract is executed in accordance with the agreements.
The fact that Russian and Byelorussian specialists are searching for buyers for six Su-30K fighters stored in Belarus, a source in the aviation industry, told Kommersant. This was confirmed by the director of the 558th aircraft repair plant (ARZ) Pavel Pinigin, who arrived at the MAKS-2017 airshow (Zhukovsky). According to him, the search for a buyer is "just a matter of time" and "no significant problems arise": "Do not rush, and everything will be all right." In turn, sources of Kommersant in the field of military-technical cooperation (MTC) clarified that negotiations for the supply of six fighters are being conducted with Angola. Representatives of Rosoboronexport and the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation refused to comment on Kommersant yesterday.
The history of these Su-30Ks began in 1996-1998. Then the Irkut corporation signed a contract for the delivery of the Su-30MKI fighter aircraft to India, but because of the need to prepare the capacity for the deployment of serial production of new aircraft, the customer was provided with simplified versions of the fighters with the obligation to replace them in the future. These obligations were fulfilled: simplified fighters were replaced with Su-30MKI, and in 2011 18 Indian-returned Su-30K were driven to 558th ARZ in Baranovichi, after which Rosoboronexport began searching for potential buyers for them.
The aircraft were offered to Byelorussia, Sudan, Vietnam (the factory was even visited by a military delegation from Hanoi), as well as Angola.
In October 2013, during the visit to Angola, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin signed a contract for the purchase of 12 Indian cars and related means of aviation defeat, which implied the issuance of a loan of $ 1 billion to the customer. According to Kommersant, VTB provided it. VTB told Kommersant that they were lending to the South African republic, but did not specify the purpose of issuing the funds: "VTB issued a loan of $ 1 billion to the Ministry of Finance of Angola. The financing was provided for general purposes."
It was assumed that Angola would receive the machines as soon as possible (they had to be repaired and upgraded to the Su-30KN level), but in 2015 the Air Force commander General Francisco Afonso specified that the fighters will be delivered by 2017. As of January 2017, no aircraft Angola has not received. At the same time, Dmitriy Shugaev, director of the FSMTC, commenting on the situation with the Su-30K, said: "The implementation of the contract for the supply of aircraft to Angola continues in accordance with the agreements signed by the parties."
Why Russian fighters in Baranavichy could be allowed to use spare parts
According to Andrey Frolov, editor-in-chief of the magazine Export of Arms, Andrei Suvorov, there are enough problems with the Su-30K: first of all, the technical issue is acute, because "the Angolans might have additional requirements": "To bring the used aircraft to the standard condition, Development work ". According to the interlocutor of Kommersant in the aviation industry, negotiations with Angola are at an early stage, and in addition to purchasing six more Su-30Ks of the Indian party, it will need to abandon a number of armaments for which they were given a loan. Deputy Director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Konstantin Makienko believes that it is still only Angola that can claim six more Su-30Ks, since no one else has such a modification in service.
Attempts by Russia to gain a foothold in the arms market of Angola have been undertaken repeatedly and linked directly to the defense budget of the country (in 2013 it amounted to a record $ 6.1 billion, becoming one of the largest in the whole of Africa). According to the national development plan of Angola for 2013-2017, the number of priorities in the field of defense and security is the creation of military-industrial capacities capable of meeting the basic needs of the armed forces of the country. These requirements are understandable, says a source in the military technical cooperation system, but it is extremely difficult to technically localize the production of complex weapons at the capacities of Angolan enterprises, which will take considerable time.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
The Czech Army received armored transporters of 120-mm mortars
Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic On July 17, 2017, Tatra Group 41 armored truck Tatra T-815 with a wheel formula 8x8, intended for transportation of 120 mm towed mortars vz, was received from the Troopanovo logistics center near Olomouc. 82. The mortar, ammunition and calculation are transported in the body of the machine, the launch and lifting of the mortar are carried out by a stern ramp with an electric drive. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic Martin Stropnitsky. The contract for the supply of 41 of this armored conveyor was concluded by the Czech Ministry of Defense with the Tatra Group in the fall of 2015. The machines should be supplied to the battalion of the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade and the 7th Mechanized Brigade of the Czech Army, replacing the 120 mm vz mortars used up to now. 82 old trucks Praga V3S (6x6).
At the ceremony, Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnitski said that in 2017 alone, the Czech army must receive 112 trucks of various types, and that these are the first deliveries of trucks of the Czech Army since 2008-2009, when 588 different Tatra cars were delivered. The number of cars delivered in 2017 includes 26 Tatra T-810 (6x6) trucks already delivered to the Czech Defense Ministry in January, as well as 40 Tatra T-815 (8x8) armored vehicles intended for the delivery of containers until the end of the year.
In total, the Czech Army has more than 3000 Tatra vehicles.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Saudi Arabia takes on 155-mm self-propelled howitzer M109A6
According to the magazine "Jane's Defence Weekly" article Jeremy Binnie "Saudis planning to buy M109A6 howitzers with new turrets", with reference to the information posted July 13, 2017 on the website of the US public procurement US Federal Business Opportunities (FBO), Saudi Arabia acquires unnamed number US 155-mm / 39 M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers.
The FBO website has posted a request for production and supply of the Anniston Army Depot (Alabama) towers for M109A6 self-propelled howitzers for the delivery of Saudi Arabia under the forthcoming contract for foreign government sales (FMS). The new production towers will have to be installed on the chassis of the M109A6 automatic control system, which are released when the US Army upgrades to the M109A7 PIP variant (in the process of upgrading the M109A6 to the M109A7, the M109A6 towers are rearranged to a new chassis manufactured by BAE Systems).
The contractor will have to install and integrate the towers on the chassis M109A6, with a bulkhead of the chassis itself and replacement of the necessary parts.
The request states that the US government intends to negotiate only with BAE Systems Land & Armaments as a possible supplier and contractor, but other companies can also submit their applications [this request is thus a mere formality and the purchase will be made from a "single supplier" In Russian terminology. - bmpd].
At present, the army of Saudi Arabia from self-propelled artillery of 155 mm caliber is believed to have 110 American self-propelled howitzer M109A2, 48 M109A5, 78 French 155 GCT (probably most of the latter is in storage) and 54 Chinese PLZ45. It is possible that the purchase of Saudi Arabia by SAU M109A6 is designed to replace 155 GCT howitzers acquired in the late 1970s.
