November 19, 2018

Australia buying Armed Reapers

To show the US is not the only Reaper owner, here is the front of a Reaper owned by Britain's Royal Air Force. (Photo courtesy UK Defence Journal.)
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In a Joint Media Release of November 16, 2018, Australia’s Minister for Defence, Christopher Pyne and Minister for Defence Industry, Steven Ciobo:

“...announced the selection of the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper variant as the system which best meets the capability requirements for Australia’s first armed remotely piloted aircraft system.

Minister Pyne said the medium altitude long endurance aircraft can be integrated within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and would be fully interoperable with our allies...”
“...“The aircraft will be operated under the same laws of armed conflict, international human rights law and rules of engagement as manned aircraft”, Minister Pyne said.
“...The [Australian] Government will now request pricing and availability data from the United States on Reaper variants to support future decision-making on the acquisition.
Pete Comment
Australians have been remote piloting Reapers since 2015.
Reaper using allies, of course, include the US.  Here are 9 other users to interoperate with.
Pete

6 comments:

GhalibKabir said...

btw, the India-US unarmed Guardian deal has been upgraded to the armed version for 22 drones post the 2+2 meeting in September and also as the COMCASA went into effect.

India will also buy the NASAMS II missile system and 24 MH-60R helicopters as a 'quid pro quo' for the CAATSA waiver trump will likely grudgingly sign for the S-400 deal India has with Russia.

I hope India does not end up extending the quid pro quo choosing the 57 F-18 or F-35 for the carrier aircraft RFP. I would rather go for the naval version of the Rafale and more MiG-29K for better commonality and easier MRO. the US remains a very whimsical and unreliable supplier...

Pete said...

Thanks GhalibKabir

In line with what you argue I agree that India should follow its non-aligned posture in buying weapon systems from several suppliers.

This increases India's purchasing power. Buying from the US is so often as US congressional whim - only increased by Trumps egocentric unpredictability.

Regards

Pete

Anonymous said...

India has also been eying the Predator C (Avenger) UAV:

"While initially India’s requirement was for approximately 100 Avengers, the official
said this could go up to 250 if the Indian Navy decides to change the design of the
catapult launch system on its second indigenous aircraft carrier, making Avengers the
natural choice."

See:

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-06-14/india-eyes-jet-powered-predator

Pete said...

Thanks Anonymous

Further details of India's interest is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_Avenger#Export

"On 22 September 2015, the U.S. stated they backed India's membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime, which would enable them to buy armed drones. Two days later, the Indian Air Force sent a letter to General Atomics saying it wanted to purchase the Avenger.[23]

As of 17 August 2017, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is in the early stages of negotiating the potential sale of as many as 90 Predator C Avenger remotely piloted aircraft to an unidentified international customer.

The renewed international interest is believed to be led by India, which has requested access to the capability as a potential follow-on to the planned acquisition of as many as 22 GA-ASI MQ-9B Sea Guardian UAVs[24] and which wanted to acquire 100 Avengers for its air force.[25] "

Regards

Pete

Anonymous said...

Chinese subs may be more silent than thought.

http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005345322

KQN

Pete said...

Hi KQN

Thanks for the article http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005345322 of November 15, 2018.

It's unusually detailed and therefore interesting.

For readers the main section on Chinese submarine activity is:

"Follow that submarine

At night, the game of tag between the MSDF and the Chinese Navy took on a new dimension.

“Screech, screech.”

Sometime after 2 a.m. on Oct 26, a sound reminiscent of a whale’s song rang out repeatedly through the darkened halls of the ship, waking me. It was the sound of the Kaga’s sonar as it searches for submarines.

About 10 days prior, on the way back from the Indian Ocean, something happened that surprised the crew of the Kaga. At the entrance to the Strait of Malacca, the Japanese vessel encountered one of the Chinese Navy’s submarines, which was cruising at the surface. It is rare to encounter another country’s submarine carrying out covert actions. A Chinese submarine is an especially rare sight.

The submarine passed through the Strait of Malacca ahead of the Kaga and disappeared into the South China Sea. The MSDF is believed to have conducted a search for the submarine while heading north through the South China Sea on Oct. 26, in an effort to spot it a second time.

It is believed that in addition to the Kaga’s on-board sonar, a sonar device called a sonobuoy was dropped from an SH-60K patrol helicopter, and the search was carried out in cooperation with the Inazuma.

In the early morning on Oct. 26, back on the surface, a smaller Jiangkai II-class frigate vessel began tailing the Kaga in place of the Lanzhou.

Ultimately, the search for the Chinese submarine on Oct. 26 likely had to be stopped, as the MSDF ships were forced to increase their speed in order to get through the South China Sea quickly to avoid a direct hit from Typhoon No. 26, approaching from the east."

COMMENT

It sounds like the Chinese submarine was moving too quickly and indeed too quietly for the Japanese naval vessels and helicopter to keep tabs on it.

Regards

Pete