Posted on 04/14/2013 10:59:22 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
LAAD Defence and Security 2013: US mulls P-3 MPA sale to Vietnam
By Gareth Jennings
4/12/2013
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is expected to request from the US government the sale of Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), a senior company official told IHS Jane's on 10 April.
Speaking at the LAAD Defence and Security 2013 exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Clay Fearnow, director maritime patrol programmes, said the Vietnamese Navy was keen to buy up to six surplus P-3s to help patrol the country's nearly 3,500 km coastline and 1,396,299 km2 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
"The Vietnamese Navy has expressed a lot of interest [in the P-3], and there is [US government] support to move forward," said Fearnow.
According to Fearnow, any P-3s sold to Vietnam by the US would in the first instance be non-weaponised, being fitted exclusively with an MPA mission kit such as forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensors and other systems. However, he noted that as relations between the two countries continue to improve there could be scope for weapon systems to be provided at a later date.
Fearnow said Lockheed Martin would recommend they opt for the latter P-3C aircraft, as they are the most advanced and have the
(Excerpt) Read more at janes.com ...
The Chi-Coms will love this!
Why? Vietnam is an enemy they have a territorial dispute with, and have clashed with militarily.
It’s because the people who protested the war in Viet Nam and called our soldiers baby killers now run this country.
Why, exactly?
What could they possibly have there that they want to protect?
Their rice paddies?
A straw purchase for the ChiComs. Maybe we need P-3 control and a 30 day waiting period...
Vietnam is part of the group disputing the spratley islands on top of the Phillipines, China, I think Japan, and maybe one or two others. It would give them the ability to patrol the ocean region they claim - a capability they don’t currently have.
What's left of their offshore islands and oil and gas resources that the Chinese haven't taken yet?
Reagan was selling arms to China (the same people that tortured and brainwashed our Korean War prisoners) in the 1980s on the "enemy of my enemy" principle.
Forgot the sarc tag!
The Chinese will love that! /s
Fixed it.
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