Defense of the Republic of the Philippines

NATO member the Czech Republic said on Tuesday, November 12 it would buy 12 helicopters from the United States in a bid to replace its aging Russian-made Mi-24 aircraft.

The deal between the Czech and U.S. governments worth 14.6 billion koruna ($630 million) will be formally signed this year, the defense ministry said in a statement.

“The army needs new helicopters. The sooner we get rid of our dependence on Russian technology, the better. That is why we want to sign the contract this year so that by 2023 the helicopters will equip the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic,” Defence Minister Lubomir Metnar said.
USMC UH-1Y Venom helicopter

The Czech armed forces will buy eight UH-1Y Venom multi-purpose helicopters and four AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, the ministry said, adding that other equipment, ammunition, a training simulator and initial conversion training for pilots and technical personnel is included.

In May, the U.S. State Department approved the sale to the Czech Republic of either 12 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters or four AH-1Zs plus UH-1Y utility helicopters. The number of UH-1Ys was not specified, but the sale of four AH-1Z helicopters along with 14 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, M197 20mm machine guns and other equipment, along with training, spares, and support was estimated at $205 million.

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Key Points

• The RTAF is looking to upgrade its Saab Gripens
• The plan, however, does not yet appear to be a fully funded programme

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is looking to upgrade its fleet of 11 Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D multirole combat aircraft to the MS20 configuration.

"We are planning to upgrade the Gripens to the MS20 standard. We have seen the capabilities of the current standard and it would do everything we need," Group Captain Prachya Tippayarat, deputy commander of the RTAF's Wing 7 at Surat Thani Air Base, told Jane's on 27 November. However, no details were provided as to when the upgrade would take place.

According to Saab, the move, which would involve hardware and software upgrades, is designed to enhance the Gripens' ability to engage ground targets by incorporating unguided and laser-guided bombs into the aircraft's payload inventory. The platform's air-to-air capability would also be enhanced by the introduction of new radar modes. The MS20 standard, which offers an optional ground collision avoidance system (GCAS), would additionally enable the aircraft to fire MBDA's Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM).

The RTAF officially stood up its Swedish-sourced integrated air defences in July 2011, a few months after receiving its first six Gripens at Surat Thani in southern Thailand. Two years later the service received its second and final batch of Gripen aircraft. In January 2017 one aircraft was lost in a crash, which the service is now seeking to replace. However, no timeline for this has been announced.

Thailand's air-defence system consists of the Gripen fighters, two Saab 340 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, and an associated ground-based command-and-control facility. Tactical datalinks connecting these assets with others in the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) were provided by local industry in collaboration with Saab in a bid to create a network-centric air force.

Quote from: adroth on October 25, 2018, 11:38:43 AM

holy s**t! just looked at the enlarged version of this pic (click the one on adroth's post). that nose wheel does not look good, if it is worn out, that aircraft should not be flying until it's replaced. risking a plane for the price of a nose wheel? got passed the daily, turnaround, preflight inspections?