The Iraqi air force has accepted back into service the first upgraded Mi-17 helicopters after the completed an upgrade program to modernize the missile warning and internal communications subsystems.
The Mi-17s currently are the backbone of the Iraqi air force’s rotorcraft force.
One of the problems with the old internal communications system has been that it could not handle multiple voices, so coordinating among crew members during critical phases of operations, including landing, was effectively not possible. The enhancement aims to cure that shortfall.
The 'first cut' ceremony for the new boat was held this morning at DCNS's Cherbourg shipyard.
The cutting of the first plate for Barracuda n°2 in Cherbourg this morning marks the first milestone of the boat's production cycle.
The ceremony was attended by principal weapons engineer (IGA) François Pintart, head of the DGA's Naval Management Unit, Jacques Chenais, head of the French Atomic Energy Commission's Nuclear Propulsion department and Pierre Quinchon, SVP of DCNS's Warships Division.
Yesterday in the conference room of Logistic Command North in Padua, Italy, has been held the meeting dubbed "The logistics of Medium Surface Air Missiles (M-SAM), learned lessons and future tendencies", in which the future "Retirement" of the HAWK (Homing All the Way Killer) anti-aircraft missile system, in use for 50 years, that will be replaced with the modern SAMP/T.
The summit was held on the occasion of NHMO's (NATO HAWK Management Office) 50th anniversary.
The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK is a medium-range missile with semi-active radar homing. Powered a solid propellant rocket it has an official range of 25 km.
Russia's Air Force has resumed Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft flights after a 10-day suspension following two crashes in mid-June, a Defense Ministry official said on Monday.
The Su-24 is a two-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber similar to NATO's Tornado and Mirage 2000 planes.
"The Air Force commander issued an order on Monday to resume Su-24 flights, which had been halted after two consecutive crashes of these aircraft," the official said.
Partners in a consortium to build Britain's biggest-ever warships on Monday played down reports that cost overruns could threaten the project.
The BBC reported the cost of building the two new aircraft carriers is now expected to rise to about 5 billion pounds ($8 billion) from 3.9 billion and hundreds of jobs could be lost in a bid to keep costs down, citing an internal Ministry of Defence memo.
BAE Systems, VT Group, Babcock International and Thales are in the consortium involved in the project, which has been delayed by up to two years to counter rising equipment bills.
The littoral combat ship Independence postponed starting its builder’s trials by 24 hours Monday after engineers noticed “an anomaly” with the ship’s propulsion plant, and decided to tie back up out of “an abundance of caution,” a spokesman said.
The shipyard crew aboard the Independence noticed an unusual noise in one of the ship’s two main diesel engines just after the ship had pushed off from its dock in Mobile, Ala., said Jim DeMartini, a spokesman for shipbuilder General Dynamics, so it decided to keep the Independence in port another day to investigate. Technicians are confident the ship can get underway Tuesday morning, he said.
“Looks like we’re going to go bright and early tomorrow morning, as far as I know,” DeMartini said.
South Korea announced Tuesday it will deploy a 4,500-tonne destroyer to Somali waters in mid-July to replace one that has operated there under a U.S.-led multinational anti-piracy campaign since April, Yonhap news agency said.
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft).
The Dae Jo Yeong will depart on July 16 and is expected to join the Combined Task Force on Aug 22, South Korea's Yonhap quoted the Ministry of National Defense, as saying in a report to the National Assembly.
The Air Force successfully launched an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile Monday from the California coast to an area in the Pacific Ocean some 4,200 miles away.
The ICBM was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Santa Barbara at 3:01 a.m. and carried three unarmed re-entry vehicles to their targets near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, said Lt. Raymond Geoffroy.
The missile, configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration Test Assembly, was launched under the direction of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, whose members installed tracking and command destruct systems on it to collect data and meet safety requirements.
Egypt has requested the US to supply it 24 new Lockheed Martin F16 Block 52 fighter aircraft to upgrade its existing fleet.
Egypt's hosting of President Barack Obama's "mutual respect" speech to the Muslim world came at the same time the Obama administration quietly was agreeing to Egypt's longstanding request to purchase some 24 F-16 fighters, according to a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
According to informed sources, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates relayed the commitment in his May 5 meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
In a radical revamp of its surface fleet modernization program, the Israel Navy has shelved long-held plans to purchase Lockheed Martin-produced Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), as well as a fallback option involving corvetees built by Northrop Grumman.
Instead, sources say, the Navy is pushing to establish a combat shipbuilding industry through customized, locally built versions of a German corvette design.
Now in an exploration phase, the concept calls for a stretched, approximately 2,200-ton version of the Meko A-100 built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), the Hamburg-based consortium building two Dolphin-class submarines for the Israel Navy.
Gordon Brown is considering ditching the new Trident nuclear deterrent to save money.
As ministers search for cuts in public services to plug soaring debts, the £20billion replacement for the current nuclear arsenal could be scaled back, or the existing warheads made to last much longer.
The plans, which are being discussed by Cabinet ministers, emerged as the Chancellor was accused of a cynical manoeuvre to hoodwink the public about how much money Labour will have to slash from frontline services.
The world’s biggest ever built submarines – Typhoon-class – will be put into service again in Russia’s Northern fleet.
Three of the originally built six Typhoon-class submarines are scrapped. The decommissioning work on the last of these was completed in the beginning of June as BarentsObserver.com reported.
Today, only one submarine in the Typhoon-class remains operational.
Pakistan Navy is seeking to buy three Type 42 Batch 3 destroyers from the Royal Navy (RN), FFG 7 frigates from the United States and Type 214 submarines from Germany.
Pakistan also has 4 F-22P frigates on order from China. The Pakistan Navy is slated for a major revamp in the AFFDP-2019, the blue print for modernization of Pakistani armed forces, learned sources suggest.
The PN is currently the weakest arm in the Pakistan armed forces and except for the French submarines, are largely outdated.
North Korea threatened on Sunday to bolster its nuclear deterrence against the United States as the leaders of key US allies South Korea and Japan were set for a summit meeting.
Pyongyang's ruling communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said the North's nuclear drive could be justified by the 'US introduction of nuclear weapons into South Korea'.
'We will strengthen our nuclear deterrence further for our self-defence to cope with outright US nuclear threats and nuclear war attempts,' Rodong said.
The Navy plans to acquire 40 new surface-to-air missiles for its Aegis destroyer by the end of 2010 at the earliest, the Defense Ministry said yesterday.
The missiles-SM-2s-are to be loaded onto the 7,600-ton Kim Sejong the Great, which is South Korea's first Navy destroyer equipped with the Aegis combat technology.
Officials denied earlier reports saying the missiles would be acquired by the end of this month.
The sight of a helicopter flying off the deck of a Navy ship usually doesn’t rate a second glance — except when it is flying without a pilot, or a cockpit.
That was the case when the frigate McInerney in late April hosted the MQ-8B, an unmanned helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems and better known as Fire Scout, for the drone’s second series of test flights aboard a Navy ship.
Testers are evaluating the program through August aboard the ship, a final step before the program can become operational. Fire Scout is slated to deploy aboard McInerney for the ship’s next counternarcotics mission later this year, according to Northrop Grumman.
The United Arab Emirates has achieved an inordinate amount in a very short time. From desert sands a modern metropolis is emerging that will rank among the leading financial, cultural, medical and business centres in the world.
It is natural to want to protect such gains to ensure they can be enjoyed by generations to come.
But if history has anything to teach us, it is that the future is always unpredictable. While we have enjoyed an extended period of peace and prosperity, the region in which we live remains fragile: Iraq is rebuilding after years of devastation, Iran, with its nuclear ambitions, is in domestic turmoil following controversial elections, Israel and its relations with the Palestinian people remain an open sore and a power-greedy world observes our oil and gas reserves with a jealous eye.
The Senate Armed Services Committee approved funding Thursday for an additional nine F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets from Boeing Co.
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she lobbied for the restoration of nine F/A-18 aircraft that had been cut from the budget by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, increasing the authorization for F/A-18 purchases from 31 to 40.
The committee also included language highlighting the need for the Defense Department to enter into a multiyear procurement deal on the F/A-18 fighter jet.
The government claims she is part of the fleet, ready to be called upon to defend the country if needed.
But today The News can reveal the truth about how HMS Invincible – supposedly in a state of 'extended readiness' – is in fact a warship far from ready for action.
The Ministry of Defence claims she is available for action until September 2010, when she will leave the fleet.
Russia will deliver three stealth frigates worth USD 1.6 billion to the Indian Navy in line with the "contract deadline" of 2012, an official has said.
"The contract's deadline is 2012. We are not expecting any delays at this point," General Director of the Kaliningrad based 'Yantar' shipyard, Igor Orlov said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 4th International Maritime Defence Show in St. Petersburg Orlov underscored, "Russia will fulfil its obligations on schedule to supply three Project 11356 frigates to India by 2012.
Russia will participate in an expected tender to supply diesel-electric submarines to the Indian navy, the Russian state arms exporter said on Friday.
"We will offer India an export version of the Lada class diesel submarine - the Amur class vessel. We will take part in the Indian tender when it is announced with these submarines or vessels of another class," said Oleg Azizov, head of Rosoboronexport's delegation at the International Maritime Defense Show 2009 in St. Petersburg.
"We have a bilateral cooperation agreement [in the military-technical sphere] until 2020, which includes the possibility of supplying submarines to this country," Azizov added.
Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Air Force unveiled the next-generation of high-flying unmanned aircraft - the RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk - in a ceremony today at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, Calif., manufacturing facility.
"This unveiling of the first of 15 Block 40 aircraft is a significant step to fielding Global Hawk to Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, in 2010 and reaffirms our excellent track record of delivering Global Hawks since low rate production began," said Duke Dufresne, sector vice president for Northrop Grumman Aerospace System's Strike and Surveillance Systems Division.
"Carrying an advanced, all-weather multi-platform radar technology insertion program (MP-RTIP) sensor, the Block 40 aircraft will provide game-changing situational awareness for our warfighters with its unprecedented capability to detect, track and identify stationary and moving targets."
The Israeli Air Force is carrying on a series of exercises to develop its capability to shoot down unmanned air vehicles (UAV) that might be launched in the Jewish country's airspace by guerrilla organizations, such as Hamas or Hezbollah, or by hostile nations, such as Iran.
The pilots of a Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft practised their skills with the 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon to shoot down a target UAV during a training mission recently completed.
This kind of threat is among those causing the biggest concern to Tel Aviv's defence in this moment. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole fighter developed by General Dynamics (today Lockheed Martin) in the late 70s.
When the “Yellow Jackets” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 138 were commissioned 33 years ago, the EA-6B Prowler had already been in service for eight years.
Now the squadron is preparing to say goodbye to an old friend as they begin the transition to the new E/A-18G Growler, an electronic warfare variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet.
From Vietnam to Iraq, the EA-6B Prowler’s mission has been to protect fleet surface units and aircraft by jamming hostile radar and communications, and destroying surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites.
An ignition in some rubber covering the front part of the submarine Orenburg caused a fire that lasted for nearby two hours Thursday morning at the Zvezdochtka yard in Severodvinsk.
The fire started during work on cutting the hull of the submarine. There were no casualties and no damage to the shipyard itself, Zvezdochka reports at their website.
The submarine Orenburg is in its last stage of dismantlement and the yard says there is no danger of chemical or radiation pollution from the rest of the submarines’ hull.
Russia's Pacific Fleet will send a new task force led by a missile destroyer with two helicopters to the Gulf of Aden on June 29, a fleet spokesman said on Friday.
"A task force, comprising the Admiral Tributs destroyer, the Boris Butoma tanker and the MB-99 salvage tug, will head to the Gulf of Aden next Monday," the official said, adding that a naval infantry unit would also be dispatched to the region.
The Admiral Tributs is an Udaloy class missile destroyer armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm guns, and two Ka-27 Helix helicopters designed for long-range reconnaissance and search missions.
Russia will start construction of a second Project 885 Yasen (Graney) class nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine in July, a shipbuilding industry official said on Thursday.
Project 855 Yasen (Graney) class nuclear submarines combine the ability to launch a variety of long-range cruise missiles (up to 3,100 miles) with nuclear warheads, and effectively engage hostile submarines and surface warships.
"A second Yasen class nuclear submarine will be laid down on July 24 at the Sevmash shipyard on the eve of Russian Navy Day," said Vladimir Pyalov, general director of the Malakhit design bureau.
Lockheed Martin installed the latest evolution of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System – which includes a new ballistic missile defense signal processor, Aegis BSP – on the cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70).
Over the next year, USS Lake Erie will complete a series of tests, leading up to full certification of the system upgrade by the U.S. Navy in early 2011.
The Aegis BMD 4.0.1 system represents the next incremental capability upgrade that has been the hallmark of Aegis and its “build a little, test a little, learn a lot” systems engineering philosophy.
The U.S. Navy awarded a $213.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee advance procurement contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation that will provide long lead materials for LPD 26, the tenth amphibious transport dock ship of the USS San Antonio (LPD 17) class.
The funds will be used to purchase long lead time materials and major equipment in support of the new ship, such as main engines and diesel generators.
The work will be performed at the company's Gulf Coast facilities. The award of a contract for the detail design and construction of LPD 26 is anticipated in mid-2010.
Russia could sell up to 40 fourth-generation diesel-electric submarines to foreign customers by 2015, state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday.
"Russia's export potential in this market sector is very high thanks to Project 636 and Amur-1650 class submarines equipped with the Club-S integrated missile systems," Rosoboronexport said in a press release.
The Project 636 Kilo-class submarine is thought to be one of the most silent submarine classes in the world. It has been specifically designed for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters.
Chinese President Hu Jintao elevated the concept of “harmonious ocean” (hexie haiyang) in an unprecedented maritime parade during the 60th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) at Qingdao on April 23.
In Hu’s speech, the Chinese leader proclaimed that “for now and in the future, China would 'never seek hegemony' (yongbu chengba), nor would it turn to military expansion or arms races with other nations” (Xinhua News Agency, April 23).
In spite of these assurances, the PLAN's growing activism on the high seas has grown notably more pronounced from the Arabian Sea to the South China Sea. Despite the absence of a credible military threat in an era of peaceful development, Beijing “began a major military build up”.
Telephonics Corp. has been contracted to deliver its search-and-rescue radar technologies for installation on Russian-built Mi-17 helicopters.
U.S. company Telephonics was awarded the radar contract from an disclosed Russian customer. Under the deal, Telephonics will deliver 93 of its RDR-1600 search-and-rescue and weather-avoidance radar systems for integration with Mi-17 helicopters being manufactured at the Kazan Helicopter Plant in Russia.
Telephonics, a Griffon Corp. subsidiary, says its RDR-1600 radar technology is designed to enable target detection and tracking in low visibility conditions and from long distances.
Bangladesh Navy yesterday said it is facing difficulties in safeguarding the country's economic interest and exercising maritime control within the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf due to lack of modern equipment, manpower and fund.
In a report, placed before the parliamentary standing committee on defence ministry, the navy also sought prudent directives of the parliamentary committee for overcoming their limitations so that the force is able to fulfil the nation's expectation, sources said.
"Bangladesh Navy today made a presentation before the committee highlighting their problems and possible solutions. The force is facing a dearth of equipment, modern ships and manpower in discharging its duties," M Idris Ali told reporters after the meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
Northrop Grumman Corporation has delivered the first of two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) demonstration satellites to the U.S. Air Force's Cape Canaveral Air Station for launch preparation.
"This delivery is a significant milestone in the development of our nation's ability to defend against an increasing ballistic missile threat," said Gabe Watson, vice president and STSS program manager for the company's Aerospace Systems sector.
"As the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's only space-based midcourse tracking system, STSS is a capability multiplier, improving the performance of the overall missile defense system."
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov has inspected the construction of the new multi-role nuclear powered “Graney” class submarine “Severodvinsk”.
The submarine is under construction at Sevmash shipyard in Severodvink, Arkhangelsk Oblast. Ivanov visited the shipyard together with Head of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Vystosky and Governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast Ilya Mikhalchuk, a press release from Sevmash reads.
“Severodvnisk” is the first submarine in the “Graney” class. Its Russian classification is 885 “Yasen”. Construction was started in 1993, and the submarine was slated for launch in 1998 but was delayed due to financial reasons, according to Wikipedia.
On June 19, the escort ship (frigate) Yaroslav Mudry, a long-awaited addition to the Russian Navy, began its maiden cruise on the Baltic Sea. Shortly it is to become an exhibit at the International Naval Show in St. Petersburg.
The Project 11540 ship was laid down in 1990, at the same time as the prototype ship of the series, the frigate Neustrashimy, known for its journey to the Gulf of Aden.
However, in 1994 work on the Yaroslav Mudry was halted, even though the ship was 75% complete. Construction was not resumed until 2002. In the process of outfitting, the ship had to be practically re-built to meet the latest technological advances.
A U.S. Navy destroyer is reportedly tailing a North Korean ship suspected of carrying illicit weapons toward Myanmar.
The South Korean news network YTN, citing an unidentified intelligence source, says the U.S. suspects the cargo ship Kang Nam is carrying missiles and related parts.
A senior U.S. military official tells The Associated Press that a Navy ship, the USS John S. McCain, is relatively close to the vessel but has no orders to intercept it.
In the search for spending cuts the Trident replacement is an attractive target. Politicians already dream of scrapping it and spending the greatly exaggerated “dividend”. Meanwhile, its benefits in terms of our security and position in the world are ignored as an economic inconvenience.
It is disappointing, but perhaps not surprising, that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office should let the Ministry of Defence do the heavy lifting in this debate: the MoD, after all, has the budget, the manpower and the operational expertise.
Yet it is the Foreign Office that reaps so many of the benefits (on Britain's behalf) and so has the most to gain from replacement. Trident and its successor are as much about national power and Britain's position in the world as about military effect.
Delays in the launch of a new fleet of Clyde-built destroyers could have "deeply worrying implications" for the UK's ability to defend itself, a powerful committee of MPs has warned.
HMS Daring, one of six new Royal Navy ships fitted out on the Clyde, will enter service two years late, £1.5bn over-budget, and without proper testing, the cross-party Commons Public Accounts Committee said.
Tory Edward Leigh, the committee's chairman, said it was "disgraceful" that the Type 45 destroyer's crucial anti-aircraft missile system had not been fully tested.
A senior Russian official said his government was leasing only one Akula class nuclear attack submarine to India.
"We will lease only one submarine. In my opinion, India needs the sub more for enhancing its prestige rather than for accomplishing specific goals," deputy head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
He denied a report by Interfax Military Newswire, which quoted defence officials as saying that the Indian Navy would get two submarines on lease.
The state-funded Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced Monday it has completed the development of a precision-guided light torpedo that can travel about 20 kilometers in the air before dropping into waters to track and destroy a target.
The Navy's KDX-II/III destroyers will be equipped with anti-submarine missile, or Hongsangeo (Red Shark) torpedo beginning next year as part of efforts to beef up the country's naval defense against North Korea, ADD officials said.
``The successful development of the Hongsangeo-guided missile system has laid the groundwork for developing the South Korean Navy's anti-submarine operational capability to a world-class level,'' Bae Yeon-sook, program manager of anti-submarine missile at ADD, told reporters.
Although air traffic over Afghanistan is rising, airspace surveillance is still inadequate. NATO is therefore deploying AWACS aircraft to increase air safety. The Federal Cabinet decided today on Germany's contribution. The Bundestag still has to give its approval.
Just a few days ago, NATO decided to deploy AWACS (airborne early warning and control system) aircraft in Afghanistan. This decision was made because air traffic is rising while, at the same time, airspace surveillance and coordination are still inadequate.
The task of the AWACS will, among other things, be to create air situation pictures for civilian and military airspace users, to coordinate all military air traffic over Afghanistan while taking into account civilian users, and to coordinate aerial refuelling.
India has cleared its largest ever indigenous defence contract worth Rs 45,000 crore to manufacture seven advanced stealth frigates for the Navy at shipyards in Kolkata and Mumbai.
The P17A warship project, which will be India’s most advanced and stealthy frigates, has been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Friday.
Sources said that brushing aside a request by the Navy that two of the indigenously designed frigates may be manufactured abroad, the DAC has decided that all seven warships will be manufactured in India by the Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai (MDL) and the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
Russia is ready to dramatically cut its nuclear stockpiles in a new arms pact with the United States if Washington meets Russia's concerns over missile defense, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday.
"We are ready to reduce by several times the number of nuclear delivery vehicles compared with the START-1 pact," he told a news conference in Amsterdam.
"As far as warheads are concerned, their numbers should be lower than envisaged by the Moscow 2002 pact," he added.
Konya Havaalanı The Turkish Foreign Ministry has confirmed that NATO's Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes will use an air base in the Central Anatolian province of Konya as part of NATO operations in Afghanistan.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Özügergin, in a statement released late Thursday, confirmed news reports by German newspapers Die Zeit and Handelsblatt as well as German television station n-TV and said that NATO had asked Turkey for the “temporary” use of Konya Air Base for its AWACS aircraft.
“We agree to the temporary use of Konya Air Base by AWACS planes both as part of the comprehensive contributions we have made to the ISAF [NATO-led International Security Assistance Force] operation and to assist with air traffic in Afghanistan,” Özügergin said.
Responding to reports that North Korea plans to test-fire ballistic missiles toward Hawaii, Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday said he has ordered the deployment of defense equipment to the area.
"We're obviously watching the situation in the North, with respect to missile launches, very closely. And we do have some concerns, if they were to launch a missile in the direction of Hawaii," Gates said at a Pentagon press conference.
"I've directed the deployment again of THAAD missiles to Hawaii. And the SBX Radar has deployed, away from Hawaii, to provide support... the ground-based interceptors are clearly in a position to take action.
Russia will carry out the next test of a Bulava sea-launched ballistic missile in late July, and will conduct a total of four or five launches this year, the Navy commander said on Friday.
"The next launch is planned for the second half of July, and a total of four or five launches are planned in 2009," Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said.
Despite five failures in 10 trials, the last unsuccessful trial being in December 2008, Russia's Defense Ministry is planning to complete Bulava tests and put the ICBM into service by the end of 2009.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean officiated at the launch ceremony of the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) first Archer-class submarine, RSS Archer, at the Kockums Shipyard in Karlskrona, Sweden, on June 16.
The submarine was launched by Mrs Teo Chee Hean.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Teo said the RSN's mission is to secure the seaward defence of Singapore and to protect Singapore's Sea Lines of Communication.
The Chief of the Air Staff told The Sunday Telegraph that rationalisation in the armed forces would lead to the RAF running all combat jet operations.
The move would effectively neuter the Royal Navy's maritime air force, the Fleet Air Arm, leaving the service with just a small complement of helicopters.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), a former Tornado pilot, accepted that the decision would be controversial but said that such consolidation of air power was "inevitable" and added: "We have got to kill some scared cows to make ourselves more efficient".
Daewoo International Corp., a major Korean trading company, said yesterday it was bidding to export two submarines to the Indonesian navy this year. The company is pushing to boost its arms sales.
If Daewoo succeeds in clinching the deal -- which could be valued at $1.2 billion -- it would be the first time that Korea will have sold submarines to a foreign country.
They said Daewoo is competing with three countries -- Russia, Germany and France -- for the tender, whose official bidding date has been set for June 17.
Iran has begun production of its domestically-made ground-to-air Shahin mid- range missile, state television IRINN reported on Saturday.
IRINN broadcast pictures of what it reported to be the test-firing of the Shahin missile, which hit a small target aircraft in the sky; the two exploding on impact.
Iranian Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was seen inaugurating the domestic production line of the Shahin missile system on Saturday, before being shown around the factory where they will be built, according to the television report.
Seeing a C-130 Spectre gunship rolling down the strip is a common occurrence here.
So common, in fact, that often the sight of the aircraft taking off does not draw the attention of most personnel on base. To many, it is just another routine training exercise in progress for one of the busiest squadrons in the Air Force.
True to form, on Tuesday, May 19, a pair of Spectre gunships took off in what may have appeared to be yet another normal training flight.
A Boeing P-8A Poseidon test aircraft (T2) took off from Renton Field, Friday, to begin its first flight. T2 took off at 10:32 a.m. Pacific time and landed two hours and 56 minutes later at Boeing Field in Seattle at 1:28 p.m.
The flight plan for T2, painted in its new U.S. Navy livery, included a flyby of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., to give Navy personnel a close-up look at the Poseidon. The Navy is purchasing 117 P-8As to replace its fleet of P-3Cs.
The anti-submarine warfare aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet as pilots performed airborne systems checks such as engine accelerations and decelerations, autopilot flight modes and auxiliary power unit shutdowns and starts.
India and Russia could reach a final agreement by the end of July on the cost of overhauling the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to be delivered to the Indian navy, the Hindu newspaper said on Friday.
The original $1.5 billion 2004 contract between Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Navy, which includes the delivery of MiG-29K Fulcrum carrier-based fighters, envisioned that work on the aircraft carrier would be completed in 2008.
However, Russia later claimed it had underestimated the scale and the cost of the modernization, and demanded an additional $1.4 billion, which New Delhi said was "exorbitant."
The USS Greeneville, the fast-attack nuclear submarine named for this city, left Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine on Thursday, after more than a year of refueling and upgrades.
It is heading back to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the sub's homeport.
The refueling and upgrade process began soon after the submarine arrived at the Navy's oldest shipyard in December 2007. The shipyard is located on the Maine side of Portsmouth Harbor, between Kittery, Maine, and Portsmouth, N.H.
New research into high-power microwaves could make them a crucial tool of electronic warfare.
The U.S. Air Force's newest directed-energy weapon program, the Counter-Electronics High-Powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP), would create a weapon that fires powerful bursts of high-power microwaves (HPM), frying the electronics of multiple targets without harming people or other infrastructure.
CHAMP's microwaves could be delivered from pods on airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles or even retrievable cruise missiles programmed to safely land near their points of origin, says Doug Beason, a member of the Air Force's Science Advisory Board who has worked on directed-energy.
Russia has agreed to provide India kits for 50 T-90 Main Battle Tanks under a transfer of technology agreement for indigenous production, which will enable the army to raise an armoured regiment by the year-end.
"The 50 T-90 tanks would roll out soon this year, as part of the Transfer of Technology agreement," a top Defence Ministry official said here on Friday.
"The indigenous production under technology transfer was part of the discussion that an Indian team led by Defence Secretary Vijay Singh had in Moscow this week," he said.
Last week the Zvezdochka shipyard in Arkhangelsk Oblast put one nuclear powered submarine on the water after reparations and finished scrapping another one.
The 154 meter long Oscar-II class submarine “Voronezh” was put on the water having been in dock at Zvezdochka for the last two months, web site Severnyflot.ru reports.
The Northern Fleet has four Oscar-II submarines in service.
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The Iraqi air force has accepted back into service the first upgraded Mi-17 helicopters after the completed an upgrade program to modernize the missile warning and internal communications subsystems.
Due to other commitments and a short summer-break the next update will be on Monday June the 22nd
