Offsetting Radar Range Deficiency in Air Combat

(Revised July 2, 2016. See bottom of the page for the complete revision history)

A MIG-21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. Photo courtesy of aztonyx thru Flickr

In my previous blog, "The FA-50 Golden Eagle versus the SU-30MKK/MK2 Flanker-G", I indicated how the FA-50 Golden Eagle (or Geagle) was vastly deficient in terms of air to air detection range when compared to China's top fighter aircraft, the SU-30MKK/MK2. The Geagle's EL/M-2032 radar is small, light and relatively cheap, it provides very high ground mapping capability and long range detection and tracking of ships,^[1] but it doesn't have a lot of range in terms of air to air detection range, at least compared to radars like the SU-30MKK's Zhuk-MSE.

But as I said then, there are ways to offset this disadvantage, and the blueprint in doing so lies in what the Indian Air Force's (IAF) has done with their MIG-21 Bison aircraft enabling it to be effective even against aircraft like the United States Air Force's (USAF) F-15C Eagle as proven in war exercises like the "Cope India" and "Red Flag" exercises. 

Kfir Block 60 for the Philippine Air Force?

Revised December 4, 2013. See bottom of the page for the complete revision history

**********

Colombian Air Force Kfir C12 in flight. Photo courtesy of the dreamlandresort.com website

The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been trying to sell their Kfirs to the Philippine Air Force since the 1990s, towards the end of President Cory Aquino's term and all throughout President Fidel Ramos' term when the Philippines bought a lot of military equipment, but to no avail. 

As of this writing, President Noynoy Aquino had indicated that the procurement for the Korean Aerospace Industries' (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle (or Geagle) are in its final stages,[1] hence the chances of the Kfir ending up in our inventory is now even more slim. Just out of curiousity, though, I decided to compare the Kfir to the Geagle, see how it fares on a one on one comparison.

AFP Arms and Equipment - Zamboanga Crisis, September 2013

The Zamboanga Crisis is over as per Malacanang, it was a trying 19-days for the city of Zamboanga which started September 9, 2013 and officially ended at September 28, 2013. Total tally in terms of lives and properties lost is staggering:[1]
- 166 Moron National Liberation Front (MNLF) faction scum dead, 271 arrested
- 23 heroes died, 18 from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and 5 from the Philippine National Police
- 10,000 houses burned or destroyed
- 12 civilians dead, 120,000 people or 10% of the population of Zamboanga were uprooted from their homes

Despite this, though, the "crisis" was a CLEAR VICTORY for the PNoy Administration both strategically and in terms of body count. Strategically, the MNLF faction sought to occupy Zamboanga, but were driven out and ending up either being killed or arrested. In terms of body count, for every soldier or policeman killed, over 7 MNLF faction thrash lost their lives. The victory did come at a high price as the MNLF manure took their frustration and desperation of their impending defeat on the civilian populace by burning down so many houses and thus displacing so many people.

I intend no disrespect towards the heroes and civilians that have died or suffered during the war, but the crisis did give us the opportunity to have a look at some of the equipment the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is using in actual combat. This is NOT intended to be a "comprehensive" coverage of all of the weapons used by our troops during the crisis, just some of it. The primary reason for featuring such equipment are the pictures, once I see a nice, interesting picture of a weapon or equipment in action, then I work backwards from there.

Philippine Navy Frigate Acquisition Project Technical Requirements

For the latest news about the new Frigate acquisition, refer to the "Philippine Navy New Frigate Acquisition Timeline".

***************
Revised March 18, 2014. See bottom of the page for the complete revision history
***************

The BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15). Photo courtesy of the Naval Open Source Intelligence website

A kind soul finally posted the technical specifications for the 2 new Frigate acquisitions by the Philippine Navy (PhN), showing pages 93 to 113 of the official documents ("Frigate Acquisition Project Technical Specifications"). 

This bidding is significant because it is the first BRAND NEW ship acquisition by the Philippine Navy of this level and sophistication. Once in service, these ships will be the MOST CAPABLE Ships in the entire history of the PhN, even going all the way back to the formation of the Philippine Republic after World War 2, so all the events we are seeing now related to its acquisition are historic events.

The technical requirements are quite comprehensive, the Navy really knew what they wanted, and tried to be as thorough as possible with it. Let me try to summarize the most important listed requirements as much as possible, presenting it in an easier to read way:

The FA-50 Golden Eagle versus the SU-30MKK/MK2 Flanker-G

Revised November 25, 2013. See bottom of the page for the complete revision history

**********

FA-50 in flight. Photo courtesy of the Malaysia Flying Herald website

It now looks like the Philippine Air Force's (PhAF) acquisition of the FA-50 Golden Eagle is a GO, and all that is missing now is the formal announcement, which is likely to be done during PNoy's State Visit to South Korea on Oct. 17-18, 2013.[1] A critical clue to this is thru the PhAF Air Defense Wing's Journal announcing that, "... the initial delivery of 2 new fighter aircraft in 2014 ...", and they then go on to show this training plan, citing the FA-50 SPECIFICALLY:[2]

Philippine Air Force 2013-2014 Training Schedule with FA-50

Of course a lot could still happen between now and the formal announcement, but as of now I think the FA-50 deal is 99% sure already barring any major catastrophe or event that will affect the announcement. Hence, let's take a close look at how the FA-50 compares with major threats it could be facing, like China's SU-30MKK/MK2 Flanker-G fighter aircraft, for example.