Some news for the Ground Force. A cheap solution for enhancing the long range engagement of our Armored Corps.
I will add for those that don't know, that the pictures show a laser rangefinder in a PT-76 light tank.
But I can tell you one thing, Vietnam have the agreements with Japan and India for intelligence sharing program.
And I would not be surprise at all if in a case of conflict, Vietnam gets real time GPS targeting data from USA.
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Talking about ISR, this is what a chinese newspaper has to say about Japan's cooperation with VN for military purposes (bad translation):
Japan makes satellites with long range strike capability for Vietnam
Japan-made satellites will significantly enhance the long-range strike capability of Vietnam
Collusion of Japan and Vietnam against China
newspaper Zhuangao Guang-Wen Chen
According to “Le Monde” (microblogging) it has been reported that according to “Japan Commercial Daily“ recently reported that the Japanese government plans to launch in 2017 two Earth observation satellites for Vietnam, after consideration, the Vietnamese government has decided to award the contract for the satellite project to Japanese companies. To this end, the Japanese government decided to provide to the project the amount of about 500 billion yen (about 4.2 billion yuan) of ODA (official development assistance) loans. After Vietnam received this two satellites, it will have timely reconnaissance capabilities of its neighboring countries, especially sensitive areas of the South China Sea.
Cutting-edge satellites of “extraordinary capability”
We learned that the Japanese government in late October reached a consensus with the Vietnamese Government, to build and launch for Vietnam two advanced observation of the Earth satellites. Prior to this, Congress will be reluctant to give assistance for fear of being diverted for military purposes, so Japan has never provided satellite to other countries under the field of ODA assistance. ODA is mainly used to solve the problem of poverty in developing countries, it is rare for space development projects.
Japan, although having great economic development, but resource-poor, it attaches great importance to the development and application of satellite resources. Meanwhile, Japan’s international competitive bidding in the satellite behind the U.S. and Europe, which hopes to sell the satellite to Vietnam the opportunity to catch up, but also intends to strengthen relations with Vietnam. Based on the data, Japan has successively developed and launched a more advanced ocean observing satellites, such as containing the synthetic aperture radar, “the Japanese Earth Resources Satellite,” Advanced Earth Observing Satellite and other uses of satellites and from the mid-1990s started to develop a new Earth Resources Satellite – “Advanced Land Observing Satellite”, presumably, for Vietnam, Japan is about to sell, is a simplified version of the satellite.
“Advanced Land Observing Satellite” is a new generation of Japanese land observation technology satellite, weighing 4 tons,
is the world’s largest class of Earth observation satellites. The satellite design has a life of at least five years, cost about $ 50 million. This satellite has three-axis attitude control, by the star sensor attitude determination and inertial reference unit, the use of dual-frequency GPS receiver carrier-measuring position, attitude orbit control system can not only complete high-precision satellite positioning and attitude adjustment, but also provide positioning and to determine the attitude information to meet the draw and update a map to get geographic information needs.
This satellite also features today’s most advanced data compression technology and multi-processing technology, you can always put the data obtained by the compression and multi- processing and then sent to ground stations. The satellite carries three high-performance remote sensors, remote sensors including full-color three-dimensional mapping can be three-dimensional observation, photography, access to high-precision surface information, on the surface at resolutions up to 2.5 meters for digital elevation mapping, can be about topography, geology and plant analysis and other information in real time and accurate observations of terrestrial and coastal areas; the most critical phased array L-band synthetic aperture radar weather, when the day-to-ground observation, effectively resource exploration and disaster observation.
In order to take full advantage of its sensors and the data obtained, the satellite also has a large number of data processing capabilities, and a high-precision position and attitude determination subsystem. They can complete the mapping, regional observation, disaster monitoring and resource surveying and many other earth work, can provide high resolution images and three-dimensional surface mapping, and its detection capability integrated with the world advanced level. Because of the dual-use and the nature of the Earth observation satellite, the above functions are for the military,
You can get high-precision images of the desired area and of the distribution of personnel and equipment to mobilize information, which the Vietnamese military can use for control of the South China Sea providing a comprehensive and effective means of information to deal with China.
Vietnam started very early on to develop their own satellite program, but due to the weak economic strength and technological reasons, can only invest in the development plan abroad, and in the beginning started with communications satellites. Since 1995, with the final approval of the project for the satellite launch, the Vietnamese government after a 13 years long preparation. At 5:16 on April 19, 2008, Vietnam’s first satellite VINASAT-1 was launched by the European Ariane rocket from Kourou, French Guiana Space Launch Center. Fengyun communications satellite was successfully launched, so Vietnam achieved “air sovereignty.”
Once active in the development of communications satellites, the Vietnamese did not forget to develop their own military reconnaissance satellites, which have to rely on foreign technical support at first. Vietnam decided to obtain foreign technology to launch earth observation satellites with the express intention to support its policies in the South China Sea in addition to its own needs for civilian earth observation.
Eventually, the Japanese got their wish to obtain the project. Under the contract, Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. is responsible for Vietnam to build its first reconnaissance satellite that will be launched in 2017 in Kagoshima Prefecture at Tanegashima Space Center launch.
Since then, the company will be responsible for monitoring the production of the second satellite, and the plans to launch it in 2020. In the civil context, the two satellites will have all-weather ability for surveying the forest and agricultural crops; in military terms, they will provide for the Vietnamese armed forces real-time weather reconnaissance capabilities, specifically, is that we can detect the Chinese navy in the South China Sea, deployment of troops and naval vessels and the numbers and specific models. Vietnamese government hopes to achieve this capability through this satellite system and observed at least once a day, the area of the South China Sea, especially around military installations, including the Chinese navy with timely detection of data.