Bilal Khan - Quwa

Indonesia to add Su-35 to its fleet

By Bilal Khan The Indonesian Ministry of Defence recently announced that the country would acquire “a squadron” of Sukhoi Su-35s from Russia to replace the Indonesian Air Force’s ageing Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs. The contract is reportedly valued at $1 billion U.S and…

Su-35 to Pakistan? Probably Not.

by Bilal Khan 1389Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan As with the Yak-130 story, there are reports floating around claiming that Pakistan may be interested in the Sukhoi Su-35, Russia’s current 4+/4.5 generation fighter. The short of my point is that it is very unlikely that Pakistan will pick…

The JF-17 IV: Tomorrow’s Weapon Systems

by Bilal Khan 1399Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan The previous part of Quwa’s JF-17 series outlined the major changes coming to the platform via the development of JF-17 Block-3. Whereas the JF-17 of today is a significant improvement for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in terms of being…

Saudi MH-60R Deal Now in Effect

by Bilal Khan 1367Views 0Likes

August 30 2015 In May 2015 Saudi Arabia requested a sale for 10 MH-60R ‘Multi-Mission Helicopters’ with spare-parts and logistical and maintenance support for $1.9bn U.S. On August 27 2015 the U.S Department of Defense awarded a $11.8mn contract to Science Applications International…

Pakistan and Yak-130? Not likely

by Bilal Khan 1385Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan There has been quite a bit of discussion on a recent news piece claiming that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is interested in the Yakovlev Yak-130 lead-in-fighter-trainer (LIFT) aircraft. It is no secret that LIFT aircraft such as the Yak-130,…

The JF-17 III: Major Changes Ahead on JF-17 Block-3

by Bilal Khan 1507Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan Previous articles on Quwa discussed why the JF-17 is a significant advancement for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Not only is the JF-17 an effective multi-role platform that is poised to form the backbone of the PAF fighter fleet, but…

Algeria receives first two Mi-26T2 Halo helicopters

by Bilal Khan 1375Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan August 28 2015 The Algerian Air Force recently received the first two of 14 Mi-26T2 Halo heavy-lift helicopters from Russia. The Mi-26T2 is the latest variant of the Soviet-era system (which first flew in 1977), and it is equipped with the…

DoD awards contract to Bell for Pakistani AH-1Z

by Bilal Khan 1403Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In April 2015 Pakistan submitted a request for the sale of 15 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters alongside 1,000 AGM-114R Hellfire-II multipurpose air-to-surface missiles for $952mn U.S. The U.S Department of Defense has just awarded Bell to build the first two…

Bangladesh orders 7 Mi-171 helicopters

by Bilal Khan 1381Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan Building upon its recent surge in commercial ties with Russia, Bangladesh just signed onto purchasing seven Mi-171 Hip helicopters from Moscow. The order is composed of six Mi-171Sh assault-transport helicopters and one Mi-171E transport helicopter. The Mi-171Sh is an assault variant…

First Hints of AESA Radar on JF-17 Block-III?

by Bilal Khan 1397Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan DefenseNews published an interesting article the other day about a Chinese firm, NAV Technology, putting out a marketing document showing a fighter radar that is identical to the Israeli Elta ELM-2052 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. I am not…