South East Asia Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Second sea trials for BRP Antonio Luna missile frigate of Philippine Navy​

According to a statement published by the Philippine government on December 7, 2020, the Philippine Navy missile frigate, BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), will undergo a test of its communications system as part of its second sea acceptance trials this week.

BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) missile frigate of Philippine Navy. (Picture source philippinedefenseupdates)

The BRP Antonio Luna missile frigate test would be conducted off the waters of Ulsan, South Korea, PN public affairs office chief Lt. Commander Maria Christina Roxas said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Monday, December 7, 2020.

The BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) is the second ship of the Jose Rizal-class frigate ordered by the Philippines to South Korea. The ship was designed and built by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). BRP Antonio Luna was launched on Nov. 8, 2019 at the Ulsan facility of South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries. Its keel-laying on May 23, 2019, coincided with the launch of BRP Jose Rizal.

The Jose Rizal-class is multi-role guided missile frigates manufactured for the Philippine Navy. On 24 October 2016, the contract to supply two brand new general purpose stealth frigates was signed between the Department of National Defense, represented by Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana, and Hyundai Heavy Industries, represented by its Senior Vice President Mr. Ki Sun Chung, under the presence of officials from the DND, AFP, PN, HHI, and the South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines.

The Jose Rizal-class frigate is built based on the Incheon/FFX-I/HDF-3000-type multi-purpose frigate of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), which offers increased operational performance and enhanced survivability.

The armament of the BRP Antonio Luna includes one Oto Melara 76 mm Super Rapid Gun, one ASELSAN SMASH 30mm Secondary Gun, 4 S&T Motiv 12.7mm K6 Heavy Machine Guns and 1 Close-in weapon system (FFBNW). The frigate is also armed with two Twin MBDA Simbad RC with Mistral missiles, one single 8-cell Vertical Launching System (FFBNW) and two Twin LIGNex1 SSM-700K C-Star Anti Ship Missile. It also has two SEA Triple Trainable Torpedo Launchers.

The BRP Antonio Luna frigate has a standard displacement of about 2,600 tons and a length of 107 meters. The diesel main power plant under the CODAD scheme should provide full speed of 25 knots, a cruising range of 4500 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots.

Ten Myanmar policemen killed in attack by ethnic armies opposed to junta-report​

By Reuters Staff
2 MIN READ

(Reuters) - An alliance of ethnic armies in Myanmar that has opposed the junta’s crackdown on anti-coup protests attacked a police station in the east on Saturday and at least 10 policemen were killed, domestic media said.
The police station at Naungmon in Shan state was attacked early in the morning by fighters from an alliance that includes the Arakan Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, media reported.

Shan News said at least 10 policemen were killed, while the Shwe Phee Myay news outlet put the death toll at 14.
A spokesman for the junta did not return calls asking for comment.

More than 600 people have been killed by the military in the crackdown on protests against the Feb. 1 coup, according to a monitoring group. As violence has escalated, about a dozen armed groups have condemned the junta as illegitimate and vowed to stand with the protesters.
Civilian lawmakers, most of whom are in hiding after their ouster, have announced plans to form a “national unity government” - with key roles for ethnic leaders - and are holding online talks about joint resistance to the military junta.
Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger

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Interesting, given that the MNDAA is an ethnic Chinese outfit with historic (and probably current) support from Beijing.

Indonesia's navy is searching for a submarine that went missing north of the resort island of Bali with 53 people on board, the military said Wednesday.

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The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the submarine lost contact after being granted clearance to dive. It said a helicopter later spotted an oil spill near the dive's starting position.

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Seems like something bad happened. Hopefully it is just a communication issue, but the signs are not looking good

Myanmar copter was downed by MANPAD used by Kachin Independence Army (rebels)
May 3, 2021
Mi-35?

Vietnamese special forces soldiers prepping for newly added shooting event in Army Games 2021.

Skywatcher said:

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Interesting, given that the MNDAA is an ethnic Chinese outfit with historic (and probably current) support from Beijing.

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China's "relationship" with MNDAA, if you could describe it as a relationship, was only due to their Han-Chinese ethnicity. Ideologically and geopolitically MNDAA did not provide any additional benefits for Beijing. (Beijing strongly dislike and distrust MNDAA for its dominant role in the drug trafficking business) UWSA, on the other hand, has a more "cooperative" connection with Yunnan Province than MNDAA. (UWSA also has a more stable and workable government administration, which is something China desperately needs to keep its borders secure)