Asian Defence News

China’s FTC-2000G Bags First Export Contract to an Undisclosed Southeast Asian Country

China’s FTC-2000G multirole combat aircraft bags first export contract

With its first export contract for delivery of the FTC-2000G multirole combat aircraft to an undisclosed Southeast Asian country, Guizhou Aviation Industry Corp can expect a surge in interested customers, aviation experts predicted on Sunday.

Local media reports reposted Saturday to the WeChat account of the Guizhou Province-based developer affiliated to the state-owned Aviation Industry Corpof China (AVIC) said the deal was signed in late January, about 15 months after the domestically developed plane's first test flight.

The commercial process has been completed and the first batch will be delivered in early 2021, with full delivery expected to finish within two years, the reports said.

The reports did not reveal further key details about the deal, such as the cost or the number of aircraft.

"It took less than two years for the FTC-2000G from its test to signing its first export contract with a certain Southeast Asian country, which is an unprecedented speed in the history of AVIC's made-for-export warplane development," one report quoted Wang Wenfei, chairman of Guizhou Aviation Industry Corp, as saying.

The deal shows the Chinese aircraft convinced the client with its performances, versatility and cost efficiency compared with competitors like the South Korea's T-50, said a Chinese military expert who asked for anonymity on Sunday.

It is worth noting that COVID-19 did not hinder the deal, he told the Global Times.
Senior military officers from 16 Asian and African countries have visited the Guizhou company to evaluate the FTC-2000G since its maiden flight on September 28, 2018 and its public debut at Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on November 6, reports said.

If the first contract goes smoothly and satisfies the buyer, the product's reputation on the international market will be boosted and likely attract more business opportunities, the expert said.

As an independently developed multirole aircraft, the FTC-2000G can serve as an attack aircraft with a large combat radius, strong penetration capability and conduct air-to-ground combat missions like close-in support, air interdiction and in-depth strike.

When deployed as a fighter jet, the FTC-2000G has good mobility, situational awareness and high survivability in dogfights, aerial escort and patrol missions. The aircraft can also function as a transonic trainer with high safety and reliability and conduct medium- to advanced-levels of tactical combat training missions, the aircraft's chief designer Hu Jianxing said in the reports.

DoD to Contract Additional Triton UAVs for Australia

The US Department of Defense (DoD) is to issue Northrop Grumman with a sole-source contract to supply Australia with two more MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

A notification posted on the US government's beta.sam.gov website on 14 April noted that Australia is to add to the one Triton UAV for which a contract has already been placed by exercising its options for two more as part of a wider US Navy (USN) procurement plan. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) plans to field a total of six such vehicles.

"This contract modification establishes two unfunded option lines for five additional MQ-4C unmanned aircraft [three for the USN and two for the RAAF] and two additional main operating bases [one for the USN and one for the RAAF] and related production support, to include but not limited to: the procurement of long-lead material and associated effort; systems engineering; production management; integrated logistics support; and associated technical, administrative, and financial data," the notification stated.

Australia currently has the long-lead items for the one Triton under contract, to be built as part of the USN's wider fiscal year (FY) 2020 low-rate initial-production (LRIP) Lot 5 (which also includes one main operating base [MOB] and one forward operating base [FOB] for the country, as well as three Tritons, one MOB, and one FOB for the USN). In February the DoD said a second would be contracted shortly, which would account for one of the two options now to be exercised. According to the DoD notification, this second and a third Triton will be included in FY 2021 LRIP Lot 6 (along with one MOB and one FOB for Australia, and three Tritons, one MOB and one FOB for the USN). The notification did not say to which production lot the final three Tritons for Australia would be allotted, though it did note that "additional [UAVs] may be procured within LRIP Lot 5 and/or LRIP Lot 6".

Thai Navy Confirmed Slashes 33% of Budget, Two Subs on Hold

Second and third submarines deferred as funds diverted to virus fight

The Royal Thai Navy has cut its 2020 budget by 33%, or 4.1 billion baht, of its unspent total so the money can be used to fight the coronavirus outbreak and on rehabilitation.

The spending, which includes payments for the country's second and third submarines from China, will be deferred to fiscal 2021, naval deputy chief of staff Prachachart Sirisawat said on Saturday.

The government earlier asked state agencies to trim their 2020 budgets by at least 10% of their outstanding amounts as of March 31 so the savings could be added to the central or contingency fund used in fighting the Covid-19 situation and drought.

At the navy, a meeting chaired by chief of staff Adm Sittiporn Maskasem agreed to the 33% cut, more than what the government had asked for.

Other projects to be delayed are the construction of a submarine port and the maintenance project for the vessels; the anti-submarine warfare helicopter maintenance and upgrade project; the network-centric warfare system development project; the naval warfare training simulator (NWS) and the secondary weapon system, among others.

In terms of welfare, a project to build lodgings for 64 families will also be put on hold.

The first submarine is scheduled to reach Thailand in 2023.

According to the 2020 budget act, the navy is allocated 20.5 billion baht of the Defence Ministry’s 104.7-billion-baht budget for fiscal 2020 ending in September.

Of the 518.8-billion-baht central budget being used to fight Covid-19, only 96 billion baht is set for contingencies since 51% goes to pensions for all state officials.

South Korea will Support Local Firms to Develop Key Components for KF-X

S. Korea to extend support for developing homegrown parts for key weapons

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea will extend support for local defense firms to develop key components of major weapons with indigenous technologies to boost the defense industry and create more jobs, the arms procurement agency said Thursday.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) designated 11 ongoing military hardware development projects, and began receiving applications from local firms Thursday to replace their foreign-made parts with indigenous ones.

Those subject to the assistance program include the KF-X project that aims to develop a next-generation fighter jet, and the one to build a light armed helicopter (LAH).

Around 30 billion won (US$24.42 million) will be earmarked to support the chosen companies over the next five years, DAPA said, adding that the winners will be announced in June.

"South Korea enacted a law in February designed to nurture local arms industries. We will continue backing competitive local defense companies and to create more jobs," DAPA chief Wang Jeong-hong said.