Page 22 - Australian Defence Magazine May 2022

22 NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE
MAY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
The AH-6i will replace the Royal Thai Army’s seven Bell AH-1F HueyCobra helicopter gunships.
REGIONAL OUTLOOK
MIKE YEO I MELBOURNE
SINGAPORE BUYS ORBITER 4 UAS, TO UPGRADE FRIGATES
Singapore has acquired an unspecified number of the Israeli Aeronautics Orbiter 4 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), its Defence Minister has revealed during a budget debate in Parliament.
Neg Eng Hen also said that it will be putting its Formidable-class frigates through a mid-life upgrade that will see its combat management and weapons sys- tems improved, although he did not pro- vide further details.
Singapore’s defence ministry said in a later news release that the Orbiter 4 will be operated by the Republic of Singapore Air Force and will complement the ser- vice’s existing fleet of UAS.
It added that the system, which was in the competition for the Australian Army’s Project Land 129 Phase 3 Tactical UAS replacement (see page 18), will provide the Singaporean military with “improved ground situational awareness ...providing both a bird's eye view of the battlefield from a higher altitude and conducting in-
depth surveillance of specific areas from a lower altitude.”
It is not clear what kinds of upgrades the six Formidable-class frigates will get to their weapons systems, although a prime candidate is the RGM-84 Har- poon anti-ship missile. Singapore has de- veloped the Blue Spear anti-ship missile which has already been selected by Esto- nia, and the system will almost certainly be in the running for the frigate upgrade.
The budget announcement also saw Singapore release its planned 2040 order of battle, which also showed it planned to have a new maritime patrol aircraft in place by that time to replace its five Fok- ker 50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Again, no further details were released.
BOEING AWARDED THAI LITTLE BIRD CONTRACT
Boeing has been awarded a contract for AH-6 light attack helicopters to Thailand by the US Department of Defense. It was announced on its contract page on Febru- ary 18th that the contract modification worth US$140 million for Thai AH-6 air- craft with an estimated completion date of 30 May, 2025.
The State Department had approved a request from Thailand to buy eight AH-6i Little Bird helicopters in September 2019, with the sale estimated to be worth no more than US$400 million.
However, the Thai government later clarified that it had approved 4.2 billion
baht or US$175.34 million (in today’s dol- lars) for the acquisition.
The AH-6i has been earmarked to re- place the Royal Thai Army’s fleet of seven Bell AH-1F HueyCobra helicopter gun- ships, with the proposed package also including AGM-114R Hellfire guided mis- siles, Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System laser-guided 2.75-inch rockets, Hydra unguided rockets, miniguns, and machine guns.
MALAYSIA RECEIVES MD530GS
Meanwhile, six MD Helicopters MD530G light attack/scout helicopters ordered by Malaysia in 2016 have arrived at their destination.
Photos posted online show the six he- licopters, still carrying US civilian regis- trations, at the hangar of Malaysian com- pany Sapura Aero at Subang Airport, near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
The helicopters will undergo flight tests before going to their assignment at Malay- sia’s eastern state of Sabah and will operate under Malaysia’s Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM). The MD530Gs can carry gun pods and unguided rockets, and will be used for security operations in a region that has seen issues with piracy and transnational crimes, usually linked to the ongoing insurgencies across the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines.
Sapura Aero is the authorised sales agent for MD Helicopters in the southeast Asian region. ■
BOEING