Defense Update Bangladesh

Bangladesh Air Force chief flew fighter jets after assuming the office. Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Masihujjaman Serniabat has flown FT-7BG & F-7BGI fighter jets to assure the nation that our sky is safe! He recently been appointed as the CAS replaced Air Marshal Abu Esrar. He joined Bangladesh Air Force Academy on 16 March 1980 and graduated from BAF Academy in June 1982. He was commissioned in Bangladesh Air Force on 19 June 1982 in General Duties (Pilot) Branch.  The Air Officer is a qualified flying instructor and an accomplished Fighter Pilot and an active flyer. He flew various types of aircrafts. He had the unique opportunity of commanding three Fighter Squadrons of Bangladesh Air Force and he had been the pioneer Squadron Commander of the coveted Mig-29 Fighter Squadron.

Bangabandhu-2 satellite is now on the priority list of Bangladesh. French government wants to finance it under a G2G agreement. And, Thales Alenia Space Company expressed interest to build it. The first, Bangabandhu-1, satellite was built by the group.  Bangladesh needs 4/5 communication satellite to fill up the domestic necessity as the telecommunication sector expanding. Countries in the south Asian region getting more and more economic and financial activities. Needs for perfect and flawless communication is a must needed component for the international trade. Bangladesh has a large young population which can be funneled to production sectors.  Better communication brings faster business. These satellites can be used to provide maritime VSAT services to the merchant ships those are touching the ports of Bangladesh. And exceeded capabilities can be exported to the regional partners who yet don’t have any own satellite. Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and so many.  This is an

Bangladesh Air Force actively planning to implement Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in its southern parts, including Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). To ensure ultimate national security Bangladesh feeling the needs of such defensive measures.

Boeing-787-8 Dreamliner planes of Biman Bangladesh Airlines costs around $240 million each. This jet aircraft can carry total 271 passengers. Biman installed a seat plan of C24Y247. That’s mean there are 24 “Business Class” seats and 247 “Economy Class” seats.  Initial flights will cover the Kuala Lumpur 7 Singapore routes. In future it’ll maybe operate in the London-New York and Middle Eastern routes too.

Bangladesh Air Force going to install Selex RAT-31DL AESA radar in august. This long-range air search radar will be installed in the Barishal Air Base. Italian defense contractor Leonardo manufactured Selex RAT-31DL active electronically scanned array radar has an instrumented range of 500km and detection range of 470km. Due to this capabilities Bangladesh can detect any hostile aircrafts beyond its border. Hence Bangladesh Air Force will get more time to respond accordingly.  After installing this radar in Barishal base BD Air Force will establish Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). This ADIZ will be in the southern part of the country, which covers the main portion of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in the Bay of Bengal and southern districts of the Chittagong division. By this ADIZ Bangladesh sending a message to myanmar air force not to meddle with Dhaka. If they (burmese) violate Bangladesh’s airspace again they’ll be intercepted by and announced hostile as well. 

Biman Bangladesh Airlines bought four Boeing-787-8 Dreamliner passenger jet airplanes from Boeing Inc. Each Dreamliner can carry 271 passengers. Two of the four 787-8s will be added to the Biman’s fleet this year. One in August 20 and another in September. Rest 2 will come in November, 2019.  These aircrafts definitely will boost the capacity of Bangladesh’s national flag carrier Biman’s passenger flights. Biman Dreamliner plane costs roughly $240 million Each.

An extremest hindu leader of Vissho Hindu Parishad (VHP) invites indian army to invade Bangladesh. He suggests to capture Bangladeshi lands to resettle Assamese Muslims there. This extremest VHP leader was in Gowhati, capital cityy of Assam, last week. Although, Assamese police banned his public meeting for a two-onth timeline, the extremest hindu religous organization VHP arranged the meeting ignoring Indian state order.  Political observers seeing this as a ignition of another hindu-Muslim clash in the north-eastern indian satte Assam. Indian news outlet Hindustan Times reported the news. Central government of india must take measures to stop such terrorist minded hindu leaders from igniting any religous clash between hindu and Muslims, as it can seriously harm the stability of the region. But pathetically current modi government sponsoring these fanatics!

391 articulted bus going to be launched for the dhakaites. To solve the mass transport problems of the population of the Dhaka city there will be no other way but renovation of transport systems. Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) planned to launch large number of articulated buses.  Government wants finances from the Asian Development Bak, World Bank and the France Development Organizations for this project. DTCA already sent the proposal to the Planning Minsitry for approval. Hope this urgently needed development work will be done within 2020.

Pakistan producing 4th generation JF-17 Thunder fighter jets since 2009 at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). It was jointly develop with China for the Pakistan Air Force. Meanwhile india struggling with its indigenous HAL Tejas fighter jet, which is being for more than 30 years. In this capacity Islamabad much ahead of Delhi.

Bangladesh and India share a 4,156 km-long international border. A brief border war was held between Bangladesh's the then BDR and indian BSF in the Boraibari area of the Kurigram district in the north western Bangladesh. In that war indian aggressor force was badly defeated by 11-man team of the Bangladesh Rifles. The details of this incident are explained in the video.

Bangladesh Army bought 44 Main Battle Tank – 2000 or the MBT-2000 tanks from China in 2011. This battle tank was developed jointly by China & Pakistan Army. It is also known the “Al-Khalid Tank”, named after the 7th century Muslim general Khalid-Ibn al-Walid.  MBT-2000 has a great fire power in contrast with its reduced weight. It can be deployed for nigh fight as it is fitted with the thermal imaging systems. A 125mm smoothbore gun is the main armament of the tank, while a 12.7mm heavy machine gun & a 7.62mm remote operated machine gun are available.

Bangabandhu-1 satellite will bring many benefits to Bangladesh. It will save money and create more jobs in the communication sector of the country. But it needs a very skilled & expert team to manage the project for next 15 years. Here is my opinions are explained how the opportunity could be beneficial.

Why the K-8W jet trainer aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force was crashed? Was it a technical fault or bad weather skirmishes?! Still the answers are unknown, though the BAF investigation team trying to find out the reasons behind such an accident.  Bangladesh lost two skilled pilots and millions of dollars in form of the aircraft. Locals and official reports said there was a stormy & rainy weather when the K-8W Karakorum of BAF crashed. Technical fault of the jet can’t be ruled out so soon. But we must wait until the official statement comes out about the causes of the crash.