Page 16 - Australian Defence Magazine March-April 2022

16 DEFENCE BUSINESS REGIONAL OUTLOOK
MARCH-APRIL 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
REGIONAL OUTLOOK
A round-up of events making news across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region this month.
MIKE YEO | MELBOURNE
JASDF F-15 LOSS
A Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Mitsubishi F-15DJ Eagle has crashed into the sea off western Japan soon after take-off with both crewmembers on board still missing.
The aircraft from the JASDF’s Tactical Training Group, which acts as an aggressor force during exercises, had just tak- en off from Komatsu airbase in western Ishikawa Prefecture on 31 January when it crashed about 5 kilometres offshore.
An intensive search operation that included Japan Mari- time Self-Defense Force ships has recovered bits of wreck- age, but both crew members remain unaccounted for.
JAPAN SCALES BACK F-15 UPGRADES
Meanwhile, Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) has announced detailed plans for the up- grade of 68 of the JASDF’s F-15J fleet to F-15JSI (Japanese Super Interceptor) standard.
The F-15JSI will see F-15Js that have previously been up- graded under the Multi-Stage Improvement Program to receive further upgrades in Electronic Warfare, increase in missile ca- pacity and integration with stand-off land attack missiles.
ATLA has estimated the total cost of the program to reach A$7.9 billion by 2035. Boeing has been awarded a A$666.2 million contract for the design and development of an integrated suite of aircraft systems to support modifica- tion of the aircraft and the development, test, and delivery of four Weapon System Trainers.
The upgrade for 68 appears to be a scale back of the program, which had received State Department approval for upgrades for up to 98 of the JASDF’s 201 F-15s in Oc- tober 2019. Japan has also dropped plans to acquire the Lockheed-Martin AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) from the upgrades, and will likely opt for an indigenous missile.
US NAVY TO SALVAGE CRASHED F-35C
The US Navy is preparing to conduct salvage operations to recover a Lockheed-Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter from the bottom of the northern South Chi- na Sea, with a maritime warning in place for a spot west of the Philippines.
The F-35C of Fighter-Attack Squadron 147 (VFA-147) had gone off the edge of the flight deck of the carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) while landing on board during flight operations on the 24 January.
The unnamed pilot successfully ejected from the air- craft, although they were among seven people injured in the accident.
Video leaked on social media, which the US Navy has ac- knowledged is genuine, showed the F-35C hitting the edge of the carrier’s flight deck and catching fire as its undercar- riage collapsed, subsequently sliding over the edge.
The Japan Coast Guard, which is the area coordinator of the incident location, said in response to enquiries that the water depth is 3,600 metres (11,800 feet). The loca- tion gazetted for the salvage operation is some 300 kilo- metres (185 miles) west of Vigan on the main Philippine island of Luzon.
SOUTH KOREA SECURES EGYPT K9 ORDER
The Hanwha K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer has se- cured another export order, with Egypt concluding a con- tract with the South Korean company worth A$2.4 billion.
Egypt will buy and locally produce about 200 K9 artillery systems along with an unknown number of support vehi- cles, including K10 ammunition resupply vehicles and K11 Fire Direction Control vehicles, under the deal.
The K11 is a new vehicle that will be developed for Egypt under the contract, which will also see most of the vehicles produced in Egypt at Factory 200, a state-run defence man- ufacturing facility just outside Cairo.
The deal marks the largest export order for the K9, which in addition to the South Korean army, is also in use or has been ordered by Australia, Turkey, Poland, India, Finland, Norway and Estonia.
South Korea also concluded a A$4.94 billion contract to sell its indigenous Cheongung II KM-SAM medium-range surface to air missile to the United Arab Emirates. ■
ABOVE: The JASDF Mitsubishi F-15DJ Eagle that crashed into the sea off western Japan
MIKE YEO