Bangladesh Air Force

[~Phoenix~]

But what is happening is the opposite. BAF is degrading itself gradually. Except appointing an ACM whereas this deserves a Gp Capt/Air Commodore to command.

Please spread your propaganda somewhere else.No one believes someone who thinks terrorism as "patriotic"

 

[mb444]

But what is happening is the opposite. BAF is degrading itself gradually. Except appointing an ACM whereas this deserves a Gp Capt/Air Commodore to command.

I agree in some regards with you. BAF has been materially neglected for many decades.

The yak purchase I have mixed feeling about.

Unfortunately for us the choices are very limited without even considering the monetary aspect.


Western birds comes with political, economic and strategic strings. Russian option comes with the danger of their alliance with India. This only leaves the Chinese option. China export offering is limited. What can we really buy from china as a front line fighter at this moment .... nothing. The reality is BD has to wait until china pipelines open up. In the mean time BD will most likely buy some more migs to keep the show on the road.

The future of BAF in the short term is not positive.

If it was up to me I would begin research and production of indeginious SAM systems to deny operational capacity to enemy fighters over our skies and beyond. I would open up a forth branch of the military dedicated for this purpose just like Iran. We can secure our airspace and beyond with effective missile systems cheaply and quickly. BAF lacks deterrence capacity at the moment, until assets acquisition is a possibility as a country we need to follow examples of other nations who faced similar issues and overcame the shortfalls innovatively.

 

[Bilal9]

I agree in some regards with you. BAF has been materially neglected for many decades.

The yak purchase I have mixed feeling about.

Unfortunately for us the choices are very limited without even considering the monetary aspect.


Western birds comes with political, economic and strategic strings. Russian option comes with the danger of their alliance with India. This only leaves the Chinese option. China export offering is limited. What can we really buy from china as a front line fighter at this moment .... nothing. The reality is BD has to wait until china pipelines open up. In the mean time BD will most likely buy some more migs to keep the show on the road.

The future of BAF in the short term is not positive.

If it was up to me I would begin research and production of indeginious SAM systems to deny operational capacity to enemy fighters over our skies and beyond. I would open up a forth branch of the military dedicated for this purpose just like Iran. We can secure our airspace and beyond with effective missile systems cheaply and quickly. BAF lacks deterrence capacity at the moment, until assets acquisition is a possibility as a country we need to follow examples of other nations who faced similar issues and overcame the shortfalls innovatively.

I won't be too much off the mark if I say the Chinese won't trust us with their best birds considering that we have an alliance of sorts with Indian Govt. Maybe JF-17 but certainly not the J-10 or variants.

 

[Avicenna]

Bangladesh should focus on her economy for the time being. On a political level Bangladesh should be more friendly with China and the US as well as Pakistan. Despite past history.

 

[mb444]

I won't be too much off the mark if I say the Chinese won't trust us with their best birds considering that we have an alliance of sorts with Indian Govt. Maybe JF-17 but certainly not the J-10 or variants.

BD has no alliance with India. BD is strategically china centric, their second biggest defence customer and I do not believe there would be any such issues. This is a point that hindutva trolls propagate to make themselves feel better.

JF-17 is still reliant on russian engines. and for whatever reasons has been rejected by BAF... until J10 goes into full production after meeting the still unresolved technical challenges I do not see any issues with the chinese selling them to us. But that is atleast a decade away.

our problem remains.... we can not buy any new front line jets that serves are security considerations fully at this point in time.

there are only three options..... wait for the chinese or join a consortium of countries seeking to produce fighter jets or get on board the only successful non western/non russian jet is active use...

First option is self explanatory and I believe is the option being exercised .

In respect of the second option there are only the Korean or the turkish option.... however not sure we have the funds or the political will for such a venture. Additionally both the ventures have stalled or are very slow moving given technical challenges and funding issues.

The last option consider JF17s , more recent blocks..... in the guise of a new name in the same mould as F7s bought from china. Realistically if BD wants to induct something within 5 years with possibly partial technology transfer then that is the way to go.

But given BAF acquisition and statement it is fairly clear whats going to happen..... max 2 squadrons of migs....my view they will probably buy no more than half a squadron and possibly 2 trainers and thats it for the next 5-10 years. They will induct more raders, helios etc. Anything else is pipe dream.

 

[Bilal9]

In respect of the second option there are only the Korean or the turkish option.... however not sure we have the funds or the political will for such a venture. Additionally both the ventures have stalled or are very slow moving given technical challenges and funding issues.

The Korean and Turkish fighter programs are both relatively new (compared to Chinese/Brazilian programs) and will face significant challenges technically as you said, especially Turkey. Korea made its first foreign aircraft sale just a few years ago to Indonesia (Woongbi prop trainer) and nothing since...and that too was an 'inspiration' (knockoff) of the Brazilian Super Tucano. The Turkish also have a similar bird (Hurkus) which can double as a COIN platform. Turkey, Brazil and Korea are both in that level of development where they build okay prop-trainers but sourcing fighter jet aircraft from them will be a questionable venture at this time.

Maybe we can start our aircraft program by way of a turboprop-trainer and doing a joint venture and ToT by one of these aircrafts from the countries below.

Korean KAI KT-1 Woongbi

Brazilian EMB-314 Super Tucano

Super Tucano is also used in Afghanistan by the US as ALX or A-29.

Turkish TAI Hurkus

We were supposed to get CJ-6 replacements from China in the form of the Hongdu/Yakovlev CJ-7 but I don't know what happened. Maybe still in trials and testing.

But given BAF acquisition and statement it is fairly clear whats going to happen..... max 2 squadrons of migs....my view they will probably buy no more than half a squadron and possibly 2 trainers and thats it for the next 5-10 years. They will induct more raders, helios etc. Anything else is pipe dream.

Agreed on all points...

 

[mb444]

I believe BAF has plans to develop/assemble basic trainer in the next few years. should not be a problem, kit planes are easy to buy, assemble a few, then begin modifying them and develop own bespoke model.

These cost nothing $30,000 upwards and take about 1500hrs to build.

http://www.kitplanes.com/issues/30_12/buyers_guide/2014_buyers_guide_20885-1.html

If there is a will an indigenously designed basic BAF trainer can be up and running in 1.5-2 years max. these will be the first trainers that potential pilots will fly to master basics of flying.

BD should begin with basic turbo prop trainers and move to basic turboprop small commercial aircraft to launch basic aviation industry. I am also for opening up these venturers to the private sectors rather than BAF trying to do it all on its own.

BD needs to build its own defence industry and it is time to lift the ban on public sector engaging in defence related manufacturing.

 

[Michael Corleone]

The big fat Ukrainian was in town once again!

Big fat Ukrainian eh!?

What happened to @Nilgiri he doesn't sound like himself anymore. Oh btw Hello guys. Good to be back.

 

[muhammadali233]

The C130B's are too old anyways. Airframe time between overhauls is too frequent. We should look for newer ones. A few C130H models won't break the Air Force's budget too much.

We can always get the Chinese equivalent - Shaanxi Yun-9 (Y-9). Pakistan Air Force has been using these. I don't know what their experience is with them. They seem well-proven and were derived from Soviet An-12 of the 1960's (newer props, nose and powerplants).

Only 4 modified Y-8 are in current service known here as ZDK-03 AEW&C,no Y-9 are in service.

Y-8 is comparable to C-130 in payload capacity whereas Y-9 is more comparable to C-130J.
The best western replacement for C-130 is C-130J or A-400M.
Chinese is Y-9 or Y-20,Russian IL-76.
Or you can always wait for the upcoming Indian transport aircraft.

 

[bluesky]

I won't be too much off the mark if I say the Chinese won't trust us with their best birds considering that we have an alliance of sorts with Indian Govt. Maybe JF-17 but certainly not the J-10 or variants.

Question is not Chinese goodwill and trust of BD. Question is if BAF has the need, willingness and the needed infrastructure to acquire big birds. China would not have sold any equipment to us if it had no trust.

 

[Michael Corleone]

Question is not Chinese goodwill and trust of BD. Question is if BAF has the need, willingness and the needed infrastructure to acquire big birds. China would not have sold any equipment to us if it had no trust.

Well spoken. Also to add to the point that the engines adopted for j-10 isn't doing too well! Both the Chinese variant and the other had multiple engine failure crashes. :/
But china is more willing to sell j-31 to foreign military... Pakistan has shown deep interest. If Bangladesh cash in along with Pakistan... the developmental cost that comes along can be shared and reduced... thanks to larger order.

 

[Bilal9]

you can always wait for the upcoming Indian transport aircraft.

That project (if you are referring to the UAC Il-214 Multi-role Transport Aircraft aka MTA) has been 'frozen' by the Russians. Not happening.

Also - Bangladesh has never set a precedent to purchase Indian defense products and if they do so now - it'll be quite a surprise.

I think if one is looking for a non-Chinese option, then the Embraer KC-390 is a great option. The Brazilians wanted a C-130 replacement and it is their solution with two jet engines, having a payload of 23 tons. It is also cheaper than the C-130 at 50 Million per airplane. The C-130 costs 62 Million I believe.

Another much larger model is the Kawasaki C-2 at $100 Million plus with impressive specs, sized halfway between C-130 and C-17. Uses CF-6 engines used in the older 747's and DC-10's, but maybe this is way larger than Bangladesh' current logistics needs.

Capacity in tons (Blue) and cost in Million US$(Red) comparison

 

[Michael Corleone]

That project (if you are referring to the UAC Il-214 Multi-role Transport Aircraft aka MTA) has been 'frozen' by the Russians. Not happening.

Also - Bangladesh has never set a precedent to purchase Indian defense products and if they do so now - it'll be quite a surprise.

I think if one is looking for a non-Chinese option, then the Embraer KC-390 is a great option. The Brazilians wanted a C-130 replacement and it is their solution with two jet engines, having a payload of 23 tons. It is also cheaper than the C-130 at 50 Million per airplane. The C-130 costs 62 Million I believe.

Another much larger model is the Kawasaki C-2 at $100 Million plus with impressive specs, sized halfway between C-130 and C-17. Uses CF-6 engines used in the older 747's and DC-10's, but maybe this is way larger than Bangladesh' current logistics needs.

Capacity in tons (Blue) and cost in Million US$(Red) comparison

Personally wouldn't go with Kawasaki c-2 because I think it's overkill not good bang for the buck and the old 747 engines are inefficient gas guzzlers.
Kc-390 c130j30 a400m should be looked into. They're impressive for the money I think.

 

[bluesky]

We can always get the Chinese equivalent - Shaanxi Yun-9 (Y-9). Pakistan Air Force has been using these. I don't know what their experience is with them. They seem well-proven and were derived from Soviet An-12 of the 1960's (newer props, nose and powerplants).

Flight Specifications of the Chinese Shaangsi Yun-9 (Y-9) Transport Plane


1) Flight crew 4
2) Cargo cabin size (length/width/height) 16.2m/3.2m/2.35m
3) Empty weight 39,000kg
4) Overloading take-off weight 81,000kg
5) Maximum take-off weight 65,000 kg / 77,000kg
6) Maximum landing weight 77,000kg
7) Operational empty weight 39,000kg
8) Payload 20t or 106 paratroopers:
- Normal 25,000kg
- Maximum 30,000kg;
- 132 armed paratroopers or vehicles and weapons
9) Loading capacity: quick loading/unloading, can load nine international standard pallets of 108"×88" or eight 125"×96", low-altitude airdrop ability, airdrop weight of 20t once, max. single cargo weight (10t), airdrop of 132 parachutists at a time
10) Turboprop engines: large power, lightweight, low consumption, high reliability, easy maintenance
propellers made of advanced composite materials, high efficiency, low noise, light weight
11) max level speed 650km/h
Cruising speed 550km/h / 600~650km/h
Cruising altitude 8,000m- 9,000m
12) service ceiling height: 10,100m
13) -Range 2,200km 15t payload
-Range 5,000km max range
-Range 7,800km Ferry range
14) Flight endurance: 12 hours
15) Total body life 50000 flight hours / 20000 flight sortie/30 calendar years
16) Avionics: advanced communication system, navigation system, radar system, EFIS, integrated engine indication system, flight management system (FMS), autopilot (AP), GPS / inertial navigation equipment, electrical system, etc.

 

[Nilgiri]

Big fat Ukrainian eh!?

What happened to @Nilgiri he doesn't sound like himself anymore. Oh btw Hello guys. Good to be back.

The big fat ukrainian gals got to me