Persian Gulf & Middle East Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
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The first Eurofighter Typhoon and Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft for the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) have been formally presented to the customer in a ceremony held at BAE Systems’ Military Air & Information business in the UK.
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FORBIN

Lieutenant General
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Heron UAVs replace Israel’s manned Sea Scan maritime patrol Aircraft

A maritime version of the Heron 1 (Shoval) unmanned air vehicle systems will be replacing the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) manned Sea Scan maritime patrol aircraft, Heron-manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries has announced.

According to the company, the IAF ordered additional Heron 1 UAV systems equipped with a maritime radar and electro-optical payload that will make them more suitable for their growing role in carrying out maritime patrol and intelligence gathering missions on everyday bases.

The maritime model of Heron 1 consists of an advanced electro-optical payload – the MOSP, made by the TAMAM division of IAI and the lightweight airborne maritime surveillance radar made by ELTA.

The Herons will provide protection of naval borders and strategic infrastructures to meet the operational needs.

Shaul Shahar, IAI EVP and general manager of the Military Aircraft Group, said: “The Heron 1 has proved its capability to perform long-range, long-endurance maritime patrol missions. Thanks to its unique features and upgraded payloads, the Heron 1 provides a better solution for the maritime patrol mission than currently exists at the IAF.”

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Brigadier
SAUDI ARABIA ESTABLISHES NEW STATE-OWNED DEFENCE COMPANY . . .

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) established a new state-owned defence company – Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) – in a bid to continue growing its nascent defence industry and diversify its oil-dependent economy.

SAMI is a wholly state-owned company aiming to be among the 25 largest defence vendors in the world.

Under its Vision 2030 plan, Riyadh is aiming to source 50% of its defence supplies domestically. By 2030, SAMI hopes to directly create more than 40,000 jobs as well as contribute $3.7 billion U.S. to Saudi Arabia’s GDP and provide $1.6 billion to research and development initiatives.

Riyadh hopes that SAMI will also spur the creation of hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses and 30,000 indirect job opportunities.

SAMI aims to manufacture defence systems and offer maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services.

To achieve these goals, SAMI will be organized into four divisions: Air Systems, which will manufacture drones and provide MRO services for fixed-wing aircraft. Land Systems, which will manufacture and repair vehicles. Weapons and Missiles, which will manufacture munitions. Finally, Defence Electronics, which will be responsible for radars, sensors, communications systems and electronic warfare systems.

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to build a domestic defence industry predate SAMI. It began with initiatives such as the Alsalam Aircraft Company, which was established in 1988 to provide MRO services for Saudi Arabia’s F-15s (it has grown to also support the Typhoon).

In recent years, Taqnia rose to partner with the likes of Antonov and Aselsan to collaborate and co-produce systems tailored for the Saudi military. The An-132D and SADEC are examples of this effort.

The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) signed a deal with China Aerospace Science Technology (CASC) to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). KACST recently unveiled the Saqr 1 armed UAV. Like Taqnia and KACST, SAMI will also initiative joint ventures with foreign defence vendors.

Notes & Comments:

As with Taqnia and KACST, foreign defence vendors have the opportunity to penetrate the Saudi market through offsets and partnerships. Today, American, British, Turkish, Chinese and Ukrainian companies have familiarity with this specific aspect of the Saudi defence market – they will aim to expand upon these efforts using Alsalam, Taqnia, KACST and SAMI. For example, in February 2016 Taqnia and Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky signed an agreement to explore helicopter production opportunities in Saudi Arabia.

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FORBIN

Lieutenant General
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A maritime version of the MALE Heron 1 drone replaces the Israeli patrol aircraft

For Israel, the economy of the sea is becoming increasingly important. The ports built in Ahsdod and Haifa thus facilitate trade with the European Union and the United States, while access to the Red Sea, thanks to Eilat, Asia by freeing itself from the Suez Canal.

But the discovery of immense natural gas deposits (Tamar and Leviathan) further increased the needs of the Israeli navy, especially since there are disputes over the boundaries of the State's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Hebrew. In addition, it is also a question of preventing any terrorist infiltration via the sea as well as trafficking.

To monitor its EEZ, Israel has 3 IAI-1124 Sea Scan "Shahaf" patrol aircraft, operated by the Israeli Air Force and Space Squadron (Heyl Ha'Avir) squadron 195. These aircraft, which were commissioned in 1977, should have been replaced in the 1990s. However, this project was canceled and was eventually modernized in 2001.

However, these three IAI-1124 Seascan can not be extended indefinitely and will be replaced not by "traditional" maritime patrol aircraft but by drones.

Indeed, last week, Israel Aerospace Industries announced that the naval version of the Heron 1 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) will take over the missions previously handled by IAI-1124 Seascan.
"Heron 1 has proven its ability to carry out long-term maritime patrol missions. Thanks to its unique features and improved payloads, Heron 1 provides a better solution for maritime patrol than is currently the case with the Israeli Air Force, "said Shaul Shahar, an IAI official.

This Heron 1 "maritime" carries an "advanced" electro-optic payload, namely the Multi-mission Optronic Stabilized Payload (MOSP), developed by the IAI Tamam Division and a light surveillance radar designed by ELTA.

"The Heron Maritime can simultaneously carry multiple loads and sensors, enabling it to provide a full range of capabilities for intelligence gathering, target detection and identification," said the Israeli industrialist. With an endurance of 20 hours, it is able to follow a hundred objectives to a distance of 322

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