Defense of the Republic of the Philippines

The US Navy wants to find ships to kill using aerial drones launched from submarines

WASHINGTON – The name of the game in the Pacific is stand-off range. But with longer range torpedoes and anti-ship missiles in the arsenal, submariners are looking to a new domain to help them extend their deadly reach: The air.

In an October request for information, Naval Sea Systems Command’s Submarine Combat and Weapons Control Program Office asked industry for input into a “Submarine-Launched Unmanned Aerial System,” or SLUAS, currently in development.

The Navy has been interested in sub-launched drones for some time and has been testing prototypes, but the RFI shows the service is getting serious about the idea as it adds longer-range torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles to the arsenal of its attack submarines.

The idea for the SLUAS is an ambitious one.

The drone would launch from a submerged submarine out of a 3-inch ejector tube used for sonobuoys, flares and countermeasures among other things. The battery-operated UAS would then deploy its wings and operate for an hour, well beyond the range visible from just the low-in-the-water periscope.

Additionally, the UAS should have an “electro-optic capability with reliable target solution analysis,” the RFI said, adding that it should be able to “operate at ranges out to the line-of-sight radio horizon, and use a variable bandwidth encrypted datalink with at least 256-bit encryption strength.

The Sa’ar 6-class of corvettes includes a series of four new warships being built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for the Israeli Navy.

Based on the German MEKO 100 patrol corvette, the Saar-6-class is designed to offer enhanced attack capabilities compared to its predecessor Sa’ar 5 class.

The warships will be used to conduct patrol duties in Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to protect the country’s gas reserves, shipping lanes and other strategic assets in the Mediterranean.

Sa’ar 6-class development

The Israeli Ministry of Defence placed an order with TKMS for four new patrol vessels in January 2015 and the order was finalised in May 2015.

The cost of construction is estimated at $480m, of which two-thirds will be paid by Israel and the German Government will subsidise the remaining amount with the Dolphin-class submarines.

The steel-cutting ceremony of the first ship was held in February 2018. The hull and superstructures of the ships will be built at TKMS’ shipbuilding facility in Kiel, Germany, while the outfitting of combat systems, sensors and other subsystems will be performed in Israel.

The four corvettes were christened INS Magen, INS Oz, INS Independence and INS Victory in April 2018.

The initial sea trials of INS Magen began in March 2020. The vessels are expected to be commissioned by the Israeli Navy between 2020 and 2022. In November 2019, Israel Shipyards received a contract from Israel’s Ministry of Defence and Navy for a floating dock with a ten years’ service agreement for maintenance and repair of Sa’ar 6-class corvettes and submarines.

infographics on the Saar 6. Image taken from navyrecognition.com

US donates P1.38-B worth of defense gear to Philippines to secure borders
Published December 8, 2020 6:54pm

The United States defense department has donated P1.39 billion or $29 million worth of defense gear to the Philippine government to boost its efforts in securing borders, its Philippine counterpart said.

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Miller also informed Lorenzana that one C130 military transport aircraft will be delivered to the Armed Forces of the Philippines on December 17.

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The US defense department has also earlier transferred defense equipment to several special mission units of the AFP.

The DND said the new equipment will strengthen the AFP’s joint precision strike, sniper, riverine and counter-improvised explosive device capabilities.

US Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett also earlier handed over to the Philippine Navy a ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System, while US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien donated P868 million ($18 million) in supplementary military equipment and training to the AFP. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BM, GMA News

NDRRMC recommends declaration of state of calamity in entire Luzon
INQUIRER.net / 03:21 PM November 16, 2020

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ top disaster agency has recommended the declaration of state of calamity in entire Luzon after three consecutive typhoons wreaked havoc in the country.

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Local government units will also have easier access to funds for relief and rehabilitation efforts with this declaration.

Several provinces in Luzon have been placed under a state of calamity due to the extent of devastation caused by the three successive storms in recent weeks. Dozens have died and thousands have been displaced after the typhoons slammed the Philippines.

Philippine Army band shows talent during Army anniversary
Mar 23, 2015
Thirdy Santos
The Philippine Army band performs at the 118th founding anniversary celebration of the Philippine Army in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on March 23, 2015.

Philippine Military Band at JSDF Marching Festival 2014
Nov 21, 2014
AMANO Jun-ichi

To gain an edge on hypersonic weapons, the Pentagon wants more help from universities

WASHINGTON — As the Pentagon races to develop hypersonic weapons, it is turning to universities for help on speeding up the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the field.

The Defense Department on Oct. 26 tapped Texas A&M University to create and manage a University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics. Over a five-year period, the department will pay out $20 million per year to the university’s Engineering Experiment Station, it said in a statement.

Greater interplay among government, academia and industry is needed to better integrate the various state-of-the art technologies necessary to create hypersonic weapons, which require novel propulsion systems and advanced materials that can withstand the extreme conditions intrinsic to flying five times the speed of sound, said Gillian Bussey, director of the Pentagon’s Joint Hypersonics Transition Office.

BAE Systems to continue development of shipboard power for Navy's electromagnetic railgun

WASHINGTON, 9 Jan. 2017. Shipboard power experts at BAE Systems are continuing their work to develop a containerized pulse power unit for the U.S. Navy's future electromagnetic railgun -- a long-range shipboard weapon that fires projectiles using electricity instead of chemical propellants.

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This future shipboard weapon will use magnetic fields created by high electrical currents accelerate a sliding metal conductor between two rails to launch projectiles at 4,500 miles per hour -- or nearly six times the speed of sound.

27 October 2020
US approves potential FMS to Taiwan of Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems and missiles

On the same day that China announced sanctions against several US companies selling weapons to Taiwan, the US State Department approved another potential multibillion-dollar Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the island aimed at improving its capabilities to “counter or deter maritime aggressions, coastal blockades, and amphibious assaults”.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 26 October the approval of a USD2.37 billion sale to Taiwan of up to 100 Boeing Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems (HCDSs) and up to 400 RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II medium-range, surface-launched, anti-ship missiles along with related equipment and support.