Su-35S overtakes F-22 in terms of ‘intellect’

The advanced front line aviation complex PAK FA (the T-50) is completing its compulsory test phases successfully. The production fifth generation fighter is expected to enter service with the military from 2017. Meanwhile however front line units are already being equipped with an almost exact counterpart to this aircraft - the Su-35S multi-role fighter.

The point is that along with creating the virtual fifth generation fighter concept - from the very beginning it has been designed solely in digital form - the ready-made components of the future fighter were implemented and developed on the Su-35S platform. As a result the 4++ generation Su-35Swas practically on a par with a fifth generation fighter across all its characteristics except the so-called stealth technology, right up to the moment it entered series production.

The Su-35S is capable of reaching speeds of up 2,400 km per hour and has a range of up to 3,600 km. It is equally confident as a fighter, a long-range interceptor and a missile-carrying bomber.

Moreover in terms of certain characteristics the Su-35S has already overtaken the only fifth generation fighter to enter service to date the American F-22 Raptor.  Thus, the ‘Irbis’ radar control system fitted to the Su-35S is able to detect an airborne target at a record distance of up to 400 km and of tracking up to 30 targets and engaging 8 simultaneously. The radar system on the F-22 is weaker: the maximum detection range is only 300 km. Apart from that the ‘Irbis’ provides the potential to actively detect and track up to four ground targets simultaneously. In addition the Su-35S is fitted with a navigation system capable of pinpointing the aircraft’s location and its movement parameters autonomously without resorting to satellite navigation or communication with ground stations. That is to say if the GPS or GLONASS were switched off the aircraft would not be ‘blinded’.

Why Australia should scratch the F-35 and fly Sukhois

The Russian Air Force is due to receive 48 Su-35S aircraft before the end of 2015. In practical terms that’s 50 fifth generation aircraft in as much as the Su35S is almost identical to the PAK FA in terms of the on board electronics suite, control systems and armament. Therefore it will not prove difficult for pilots to convert to the classic fifth generation fighter with its obligatory stealth technology: any pilot who has assimilated the Su-35S can easily convert to the T-50. This means that the conversion to fifth generation fighters does not start in 2017 - it is already happening now in the Russian Air Force.

The ideology of the aircraft that will dominate the skies in the second half of the 21st Century is being determined today. Whether these will be flying robots or classic manned fighters with even more up to date electronics and new armament is not really important. The main point is that the Russian aircraft industry has a head start in developing a sixth generation fighter. The quicker the Su-35S enters service with front line units and the greater their numbers, the more successful work to create a new generation of fighter aircraft will be.

Sumber: R&I

Indonesia eyes more jet fighters

Indonesia is aiming to create eight new squadrons of fighter aircraft by 2024 as part of military upgrade programs, the head of the air force said.

The Indonesian Defense Force also is set to train more pilots to cope with what could be more than 100 new jet fighters if each squadron has around 16 aircraft, the Jakarta Globe newspaper reported.

"We hope that by 2024 we will have eight squadrons of fighter aircraft," Air Chief Marshal Ida Bagus Putu Dunia said.

He was speaking during a ceremony at the Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force Base in Makassar on Sulawesi Island in which the air force officially received six Russian-made Sukhoi SU-30MK2 fighter aircraft -- the last of a contract for 16 Sukhoi aircraft signed in 2007.

The Jakarta Globe report said each squadron is expected to consist of 16 Sukhoi jets, although the newspaper didn't quote Dunia specifying what the aircraft might be.

Ida said the Sukhoi jets were sophisticated fighter aircraft that offer a high deterrence and will strengthen the Indonesian air force.

The deal on the Sukhois that includes pilot training is for the air force's Squadron 11 at Hasanuddin Air Base in Makassar.

"[We] have a sufficient number of pilots to operate them, but we also are preparing pilots for new fighter aircraft," he said.

In early September the Jakarta Post newspaper reported that the last two Sukhoi fighters had arrived from Russia at the Hasanuddin base in an Antanov An-124 transport aircraft.The Sukhoi aircraft were in completely knocked-down condition. 

"The manufacturer also sent 13 technicians to assemble the aircraft [and] perform a series of tests before handing them over to the government," Hasanuddin base spokesman Maj. Muliadi said at the time.

He said usually it would take a week for the technicians to assemble the aircraft and perform the tests.

Weapons for the aircraft are being procured under separate contracts, he said.

The air force also is looking to replace its old Northrop F-5 Tiger fighter aircraft, Ida said.

"We are looking at our options as it is important to find a more sophisticated replacement," he said.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro confirmed the government's plan to replace its F-5 Tigers, the Jakarta Globe reported.

Yusgiantoro said the military had received a squadron of 16 supersonic advanced trainer T-50 Golden Eagle T-50s -- so-called baby F-16s -- from South Korea at the Iswahyudi Military Air Base in Madiun, on Java Island.

The T-50, which also can be used as a light fighter, was developed by Korea Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin and is South Korea's first indigenous supersonic aircraft. Its maiden flight was in 2002 and it entered service with the Republic of Korea Air Force in 2005.

Sumber: SD

Rusia Diminta Tak Gegabah Jual Teknologi Militer ke China

VIVAnews - Dalam beberapa pekan terakhir, laporan media massa mengungkapkan bahwa China dan Rusia kembali mempererat bisnis jual-beli senjata. China pun baru-baru ini ingin segera membeli 24 unit pesawat tempur Su-35 buatan Rusia. 

Namun, kalangan pengamat di media massa Rusia memperingatkan pemerintah agar tidak gegabah langsung menjual begitu saja alat utama sistem persenjataan andalan mereka kepada China, negara yang kini tampil menjadi kekuatan ekonomi baru. Apalagi Su-35 termasuk jet tempur berteknologi paling mutakhir di dunia. 

Di permukaan, kesepakatan ini tampak saling menguntungkan. Rusia mendapat konsumen kelas kakap, sedangkan China mendapat akses ke salah satu teknologi pertahanan terbaik di dunia. Jual-beli ini juga tampaknya menjamin langgengnya kerjasama kedua negara untuk jangka panjang.  

Namun, kalangan pengamat mewanti-wanti Rusia untuk tidak mengulangi kesalahan di masa lampau. Pengamat China-Rusia, Harry Kazianis, menilai bahwa di masa lampau penjualan produk mutakhir Moskow ke Beijing bisa dipandang kesalahan yang konyol, seperti yang terjadi pada kontrak jual-beli pesawat Su-27 Flanker pada dekade 1990an. 

Dalam tulisannya di The Moscow Times, Kazianis menilai kesalahan itu berakhir kerugian bagi Rusia. Kontrak jet Su-27 putus di tengah jalan, namun China sudah terlanjur mendapatkan teknologi dan desain jet tempur itu, lalu mereka kembangkan sendiri menjadi produk baru. 

Ini bermula saat industri persenjataan Rusia menderita kesulitan keuangan setelah bubarnya Uni Soviet di awal dekade 1990an. Saat itu, Moskow mau saja menjual alutsistanya kepada China, yang saat itu mulai mengalami kebangkitan ekonomi dan memulai program modernisasi persenjataan. Hubungan dua negara tersebut ketika itu mulai membaik setelah sempat bersitegang selama bertahun-tahun, bahkan sempat bentrok di perbatasan pada 1969. 

Bagi China, mendapatkan teknologi alutsista mutakhir merupakan kebutuhan penting. Para ahli strategi di China saat itu terkesima akan pesatnya kemampuan AS dalam mengusir militer Irak dari Kuwait pada Perang Teluk 1990-1991. 

Beijing sadar bahwa persenjataannya mereka, walau berjumlah banyak, namun sudah dipandang kuno. Sebaliknya, AS sudah memiliki amunisi canggih, pesawat pengebom siluman, dan jet tempur yang mutakhir. Maka, teknologi Rusia dipandang cocok untuk mengimbangi kekuatan militer AS. Apalagi Moskow saat itu sedang butuh dana besar untuk membangun kembali perekonomiannya setelah Uni Soviet bubar.

Pada 1996, China dan Rusia mempererat kerjasama bisnis persenjataan. Beijing tidak hanya membeli jet Sukhoi, namun saat itu juga sepakat merogoh US$2,5 miliar untuk mendapat lisensi dari Moskow dalam membuat 200 unit tambahan Su-27 di pabrik mereka sendiri, yang dikelola perusahaan Shenyang Aircraft Co. 

Dengan membeli lisensi itu, China bisa merakit pesawat Su-27 dan hanya impor beberapa komponen tertentu dari Rusia, seperti sistem avionik, radar, dan mesin. China hanya diminta Rusia tidak boleh mengekspor jet-jet itu ke luar negeri selain untuk kepentingan sendiri.    

Namun, kerjasama itu memiliki celah yang akhirnya merugikan Rusia. Setelah merakit sekitar 100 unit jet Su-27, China pada 2004 membatalkan kontrak dengan Rusia. Alasannya, pesawat itu tidak memenuhi spesifikasi yang mereka harapkan. 

 

Tiga tahun kemudian, China berhasil membuat sendiri jet tempur baru, bernama J-11B. Pesawatnya hampir mirip dengan Su-27. China pun membantah tudingan bahwa mereka mencontek jet buatan Rusia dengan mengatakan bahwa 90 persen suku cadang mereka buat sendiri dan itu termasuk sistem avionik dan peralatan radar. 

Kini, Rusia dianggap berisiko mengulangi kesalahan itu dengan berencana menjual Su-5 kepada China. Jumlahnya sekitar 24 unit dengan harga transaksi antara US$1,5 miliar hingga US$2 miliar.   

 

Kerjasama inilah yang patut dicermati oleh Rusia. Kalangan pengamat seperti Kazianis mewanti-wanti kerugian seperti proyek Su-27 jangan terjadi lagi. Di samping faktor komersil, Rusia juga harus mempertimbangkan kepentingan strategisnya sendiri. 

"Rusia akan mendapat manfaat yang sangat sedikit dalam menjual teknologi pertahanan terbaiknya kepada China. Sudah ada hikmah yang bisa diambil dari masa lalu, jangan sampai lagi terulang kesalahan yang sama," tulis Kazianis. 

Sumber: Vivanews

Rusia Akan Kirim Kapal Perang ke Laut Tengah

MOSKWA, KOMPAS.com - Rusia dikabarkan berencana mengirim dua kapal perangnya ke Laut Tengah untuk memperkuat kehadiran militernya di kawasan tersebut karena "situasi yang sudah diketahui bersama". Demikian kantor berita Interfax mengabarkan, Kamis (29/8/2013).

Interfax mengutip pernyataan seorang sumber angkatan bersenjata yang mengatakan kapal perang anti-kapal selam dan kapal serbu itu akan tiba di Laut Tengah dalam beberapa hari ke depan.

Jika benar Rusia mengirim kan kapal perangnya ke Laut Tengah, maka kemungkinan besar mereka akan bertemu dengan kapal-kapal perang AS yang kini bersiaga di kawasan yang sama.

Setidaknya AS menyiagakan empat kapal perang di Laut Tengah untuk mengantisipasi rencana serangan militer ke Suriah.

Sepanjang konflik bersenjata Suriah yang sudah berlangsung lebih dari dua tahun ini, Rusia memang dikenal menjadi salah satu sekutu kuat rezim Bashar al-Assad selain China dan Iran.

Di tengah konflik yang semakin memanas, Rusia diketahui tetap memasok rudal-rudal anti-serangan udara S300 untuk militer Suriah, dengan dalih pengiriman itu merupakan bagian dari perjanjian yang sudah sejak lama diteken.

Dukungan Rusia kembali terlihat setelah insiden serangan senjata kimia di Ghouta dekat ibu kota Damaskus pekan lalu.

Di saat AS dan sekutunya serta negara-negara Timur Tengah menuding rezim Suriah berada di balik serangan brutal tersebut, lagi-lagi Rusia meyakini pelaku serangan senjata kimia bukanlah pemerintah Suriah.

Bahkan, saat wacana serangan militer ke Suriah semakin gencar, Rusia tetap bersikukuh membela Suriah dan memperingatkan dampak serangan militer terhadap stabilitas Timur Tengah pada umumnya.

Sumber: Kompas