- aircraft (C-130 )
- naval helicopter (Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk)
- submarine support vessel (MV Swift Rescue)
- frigate (Formidable class)
- missile corvette (Victory class)
The Vietnamese, using a Soviet AN-26 (produced in the USSR in 1969–1985), were first to spot the oil slick and then two broken objects in the sea off Tho Chu island which could be part of an aircraft disintegrated at mid air. Which revives the age old debate of whether the man or the machine is the deciding factor in determining results.
Ng Eng Hen's show-and-tell list of what the Singapore Armed Forces has to date includes the advanced (and expensive) G550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft which is also convertible into a luxurious corporate jet. There're also the Heron-1 and Hermes-450 UAV which are probably not too useful in the air and sea search for the missing MAS Boeing 777-200ER. Maybe they should deploy the Archer-class submarines to do some useful work. Toys are pretty pointless when they are put up for show only.
We have seen how the "cat-claw" security barriers failed miserably at the Woodlands Checkpoint when the cops manning them were a tad too slow to activate it - maybe they were busy tucking in their shirts and checking out their uniforms in the mirror before making an appearance for the inevitable Youtube 5 minutes of fame. The police said the barriers "did not operate optimally" - typical euphemism in the similar fashion of SMRT and Singtel "technical glitches". As usual the blame is on the equipment, not the men, if you listen to Teo Chee Hean: "the alarm and barrier systems at the checkpoints are inadequate, and they need to be improved and strengthened considerably." At additional cost to the taxpayers, of course.
Ng may be eyeing the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and Littoral mission vessel, but do we really need them? The 6 long range A330 MRTTs are meant to replace the 4 KC-135s, which couldn't have seen much service when our island is only 42 km in length and 23 km in breadth. The littoral combat ship (LCS) is a class of relatively small surface vessels intended for operations in the littoral zone (close to shore), but we hope the minister does not plan on sending them all the way to Somalia for anti-piracy duties. If you saw Tom Hanks in the "Captain Phillips" movie, you'll appreciate real men are needed to handle the wily pirates. Leave the wayang in parliament where they excel in it.
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The enemies are already in and within Sinkapore. Vote out the expensive whites so that they cannot wayang in parliament.
ReplyDeleteAs subjects of Sinland, ONE HAS ONLY ONE OPTION WHENCE THE RULERS OFFER THEIR EXPLANATION AND EXCUSE FOR ANYTHING GONE AWRY WITH THEIR POLICY AND THEIR PERFORMANCE.
ReplyDeleteAND
THAT IS; WHATEVER THEY OFFERED MUST BE ACCEPTED AS REASONABLE AND VALID.
patriot
We got to convene a COI to find out why the equipment did not do the job they were supposed to do. Luckily not custom officers were hurt operating the barrier.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a minister was involved in selecting the non functioning equipment? Just like how the electorate selected the non functioning cabinet (not my responsibility nor my fault)?
a "good buy"...lah...
ReplyDelete"the alarm and barrier systems at the checkpoints are inadequate, and they need to be improved and strengthened considerably." At additional cost to the taxpayers, of course.
ReplyDeleteLala land motto: "Bad news is good news". Any breakdowns, cockups, riots, strikes, haze, ponding, bodies found in reservoirs, anything bad under the sky, are good reasons to spend moar taxpayers' money to boost GDP. Which boost their GDP bonuses of course. See how perverted incentive system works for them and against you?
Don't they conduct regular drills at the border? Were they waiting for actual incidents to validate their procedure and equipments? How could the Merc ramp through the barrier if it had been functionally tested?
DeleteNow it makes you wonder how the expensive military toys will perform in a real battle.
GDP bonus is only given out if GDP grows at 5%. The current economic plans for 4% which i feel is to deter anyone of accusing the economic plan of aiming to give out GDP bonus
DeleteI am still non the wiser why this old man in merc see the 'need' to ramp through the barrier and run for his life as if he's afraid of getting 'caught'. Yet he got away and caught only 5 hours later. By then, he probably would have successfully dump off any drugs or goods. So right now, I am told he is charged for vandalism? Why? Is this another mentally retarded PR in our midst? what exactly was his motivation?
ReplyDeleteWhere was our AWACs plane...Thought we have one in the sky 24 hours a day....
ReplyDeleteDid they saw something, and did not report..
AWAC can only detect planes in the air. Not submarine planes. No technology can make the ocean transparent.
DeleteThey did not see anything, maybe they were kooning in front of the radar screen like Kee Chiu and Grace Fu in Parliament.
DeleteRight, but they (AWACS) are monitoring the airspace, for 24 hours a day, and that is why the SAF bought a few of them.....
DeleteSo where are the AWACs plane...grounded..
The rustic Vietnamese defeated the Americans in the Vietnam war. Need we say more? By the way, did you notice that the Ghurka Contingent has to be sent to accompany our men in blue whenever there is real trouble? In Little India; to Pulau Tekong to apprehend two robbers who escaped from Malaysia when the police, bolstered by a few hundred national servicemen who could not find the fugitives for a couple of days. The Ghurkas found and apprehended them after only a few hours of being dispatched to the island.No wonder the great leader only has Ghurka guards to protect himself.Makes you worry when these young guns annoy our neighbours.
ReplyDeleteRupert murdoch tweeted, like an insider, that jihadist has taken attacks to China, thus call for US to ally them soon.
ReplyDelete"777crash confirms jihadists turning to make trouble for China. Chance for US to make common cause, befriend China while Russia bullies."
He must have his good men in the field feeding him intell that we common folks don't know about. Maybe that explains why those leaders who gave Press Conference behave so flippantly and casually..afterall only 64% of the dead passengers are Chinese Nationals.
We cannot afford this expensive PAP government anymore.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the money going to come from?
$1 billion for Gardens By The Bay
$2,200 for every Brompton bicycle purchased
$400 million for the Youth Olympics
... How much a year in PAP Ministers' salaries ??
For those people dealing with weapons purchases, the more expensive the better. In fact the Taiwanese politicians has revealed that commissions are automatically given to those with the power to award contracts without anyone even have to ask for them. You can bet nobody will be raising any awkward questions because everything will be well covered by our Official Secrets Act.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is even willing to risk jail time for stealing pineapple tarts, what about warfare weapons ?
That will probably explain why in many countries many politicians are even willing to kill just for the sake of warfare money.
If we can't even stop a 64 year old man, why do we need to waste so much money on all these expensive toys ? We might as well outsource for some nuclear weapons to some rogue country to serve as a deterrent to any invasive country ?
if its taiwan you are talking about then its how taiwan do things, not the rest of the world
DeleteBasically AWACS are used to detect low flying objects that fly under the radar horizon (besides air control). Old Fart is probably scared that someone will send a cruise missile to Oxley Road :)
ReplyDeleteKenneth Jeya had written an interesting article for TOC about farming out external defence. There are 25 states with no armed forces and some of them contract out external defence. Good read.
if it yours you have to defend it. you shouldn't pay someone else to do it.
DeleteThe submarine is deployed to search for the plane.
ReplyDeleteOnly a defence analyst can debate on whether we need certain military equipment. I cant imagine anyone else working as a programmer or sales person to know whether we need a certain military equipment.
"Captain Phillips" movie is real life is the total opposite of the movie. Hollywood make him a hero in the movie but in real life its the Captain Phillips plot a course for the ship to save money even though he has been warned by authority that if he continue on course he will run into pirates.