Korea to commission new submarine to beef up naval defense

The Navy said Monday it will commission its latest submarine this week to reinforce its defense capabilities in the seas, according to Yonhap News.

The An Jung Geun, capable of tracking 300 underwater targets simultaneously, will be commissioned Tuesday in the southeastern port city of Busan, the Navy said in a statement.

The 1,800-ton submarine is capable of traveling at 37 kilometers an hour, and is named after a Korean national hero who assassinated Japanese diplomat Ito Hirobumi in the early 20th century when the peninsula was colonized by Japan, the Navy said.

Read more

Indonesian Navy Receives New $30m Warship

The Indonesian Navy took command of a new vessel, the KRI Banjarmasin-592 warship manufactured by PT PAL, on Saturday.

State-owned shipbuilder PT PAL symbolically handed over the ship to the Defense Ministry, which it in turn later passed it on to the Indonesian Navy at a military ceremony in Surabaya, East Java.

The KRI Banjarmasin, a Landing Platform Dock (LPD) type vessel used to transport and land troops, is the first of two 125-meter LPD’s manufactured by PT PAL.

Read more

China's Subs Getting Quieter

The Chinese Navy appears to be stressing quality over quantity as it modernizes its submarine force, according to a U.S. Navy intelligence report. But China still has a way to go on quality. Some of its newest submarines are as noisy as subs built decades ago.

Nuclear-powered Jin-class ballistic missile submarines are designed to give China's naval force, known as the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), "a credible second-strike capability," the U.S. Navy said in an August intelligence report that surfaced briefly on the Office of Naval Intelligence Web site, then vanished. The report was captured and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

The Jins - there are two in service - are more advanced than China's first-generation Xia ballistic missile submarines, but they're not exactly stealth machines.

Read more

Female cadets raring to serve on submarines

In her freshman year of high school, Maria Abreu asked if women were allowed to serve on submarines.

"Sorry, kid, no," was the response from the Navy chief who was visiting her Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps unit at New London High School.

"My heart just, like, sunk," Abreu, 17, said.

Now a junior, Abreu was ecstatic to learn that military leaders are working on a plan to allow women to serve in the Submarine Force. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has said the change could happen in two to three years, which means that Abreu and other teenagers who are NJROTC cadets now may be among the first women to serve on submarines.

Read more

China, Japan to enhance defense exchanges

Visiting Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie has met with his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa in Tokyo. The two sides have agreed to enhance defense exchanges as part of efforts to further boost ties and mutual trust.

The Chinese defense minister attended a military ceremony at the Japanese Ministry of Defense on Friday. The Japanese side welcomed him with a guard of honor.

Read more

US weapons causing birth defects

This episode of “The Alyona Show” features a look at the use of depleted uranium by the U.S. military. The number of Iraqi children and U.S. soldiers experiencing side effects is growing. Then, PETA tries to make a prison in Illinois an “all living beings empathy center,” but are they hypocrites? Many states in the U.S. take away voting rights from convicted felons, but how much of the population is not being represented because of these laws?

Source

Navantia Delivers Frigate F-313 Helge Ingstad to Royal Norwegian Navy

Norway has received the fourth frigate in a series of five ordered from Navantia in 2000.

Navantia handed the frigate F-313 Helge Ingstad over to the Royal Norwegian Navy on 29 September in a ceremony at the Fene-Ferrol shipyard, attended by the Chief of Norwegian Navy, Admiral Haakon Bruun Hansen, and the president of Navantia, Aurelio Martínez Estévez.

After the signature of the delivery protocol and the change of flags, the Chief of Navy inspected the crew before it marched on board. The guests were invited to board the Helge Ingstad afterwards.

Read more

Lockheed may soon agree to share risks of increased costs, analysts say

Analysts say they expect Lockheed Martin and the Defense Department to work out a plan soon to continue development and flight testing for the F-35 joint strike fighter that will probably include some provision for Lockheed to share in the risk of further cost increases.

The Pentagon’s weapons acquisition czar, Defense Undersecretary Ashton Carter, said last week that he expects Lockheed to cover some of the anticipated cost increase.

Carter is considering ways to revise the F-35 development plan to compensate for delays in getting test aircraft built and into testing and to cover expected higher costs.

Read more

Last planes leave Maine air base set for closing

Brunswick Naval Air Station
The two last planes at Brunswick Naval Air Station lifted off Saturday afternoon in blustery winds, ending nearly 60 years of maritime patrol operations at New England’s last active-duty military air base.

The P-3 Orions of the VP-26 squadron lumbered down an 8,000-foot runway before heading off to a six-month deployment in Central America. After that, they fly to their new home at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida.

The planes took off without any speeches or fanfare about 50 minutes apart. A small group of visitors gathered at the base operations building to watch. The spectators included Albert Stehle of Bowdoinham, whose father, Leroy Stehle, commanded the VP-26 during the early 1970s.

Read more

Warship sails home from the Clyde

A second Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer has left the Clyde and is on its way to its home port of Portsmouth.

BAE Systems employees from the Clyde yards gathered in the early morning to wave Dauntless off.

She is expected to enter Porstmouth on Wednesday where she will be officially handed over to the Royal Navy.

Read more

Tests on air launch version of BrahMos to be over by 2012

Experiments on the air launch version of the supersonic BrahMos missile will be completed by 2012, a top Defence Research and Development Organisation official said here on Friday.

Preparations are also on to launch the missile from submarines, Dr Sivathanupillai, Chief Controller, R and D, DRDO and also CEO and MD, BrahMos Aerospace, told reporters.

The sea and land-based versions of the 290 km range BrahMos, which have been successfully launched, have since been inducted into the Navy and Army respectively.

Read more

Airbus expects first A400M flight in week of Dec 7

Airbus Military unveiled the timing of the first flight of its long-delayed A400M military airlifter on Friday a week after successfully running the transporter's four engines for the first time.

The aircraft is expected to take to the air in the week beginning Dec. 7, the head of the Airbus unit, Domingo Urena, said in a letter dated Friday emailed to Reuters.

"The ground tests of the first A400M are progressing satisfactorily at our facility. This allows us to anticipate a first flight in the week 50, weather permitting," Urena said.

Read more

The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy Lieutenant-General Robert Zyuyderviyk to visit Northern Fleet

In accordance with the plan of the Ministry of Defence of Russia to develop ties with the armies of foreign countries for the year 2009 the Netherlands Navy delegation headed by the Commander Lieutenant-General Robert Zyuyderviyk will visit the Northern Fleet on November 26.

During the visit, General Zyuyderviyk is set to meet Vice-Admiral Vladimir Korolev Chief of Staff the Northern Fleet. The delegation will also visit the heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Pyotr Veliky" and one of nuclear submarines. Netherlandish guests will also be welcomed at the Naval Museum of the Northern Fleet - submarine K-21 decorated with the Order of the Red Banner.

Source

Russia has assured Iran on missile delivery

Russia has assured Iran it will honour a deal to supply the Islamic Republic with advanced S-300 air-defence missiles, Tehran's ambassador to Moscow said Friday.

"We had heard reports that Russia would not deliver these systems to Iran, but we asked the Russian side and they denied it," Seyed Mahmoud Reza Sajadi told reporters in Moscow.

"The delivery deadline has already passed, but the Russian side has cited technical problems which it is working to fix," he added. "We feel that this question will be resolved in the space of one to two months."

Read more

Russian Navy could be in dire straits by 2015

The Russian Navy's combat capabilities could seriously decrease by 2015 due to a large-scale decommissioning of ocean-going warships, a former commander of the Northern Fleet has warned.

"If the current situation [with shipbuilding] remains unchanged, we will face a grand-scale removal of ocean-going warships from service with the Russian Navy by 2015 and, as a result, a sharp decrease in its combat capabilities," Adm. Vyacheslav Popov said in the article "The Navy and Russia's national security" published in the "Russia's Security-2010" almanac on Thursday.

Popov, who is the chairman of the committee on national maritime policies in the upper house of parliament, said the main cause of the looming crisis was lack of financing allocated for construction of new ocean-faring ships.

Read more

France and the United States successfully demonstrate the interoperability of Thales's Mode 5 IFF

Thales’s IFF interrogator and transponder have successfully completed the Mode 5 comprehensive interoperability tests in the US Naval Air Systems Command (US NAVAIR) laboratories.

Under the first New Generation Mode S and Mode 5 IFF* contract awarded to Thales for the supply of more than 160 sets of IFF equipment, the French defence procurement Agency (DGA) and the United States Defence Department organised tests in the United States Navy command's laboratories - US NAVAIR - located at Patuxent River, Maryland.

The tests consisted in making the Thales Mode 5 IFF systems communicate with their American equivalents in order to validate the interoperability of the developments of this new NATO secure mode.

Read more

RMAF To Take Delivery Of Eight Aermacchi MB-339CM Fighter Trainers

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will take delivery of eight Aermacchi MB-339CM jet fighter trainers at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima) 2009 on Dec 2.

Costing 80 million Euro (RM408 million), the trainers were ordered by the RMAF from Alenia Aermacchi S.P.A, Italy in 2006, said RMAF chief Gen Datuk Seri Rodzali Daud.

The presentation ceremony will be witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Read more

Indonesian navy to order three CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft

Indonesia's navy plans to order three new maritime patrol aircraft next month, with the Indonesian Aerospace CN-235 twin turboprop understood to be the front-runner.

The country's navy and defence ministry are negotiating for three CN-235 MPAs, and plan to sign a deal in December, say well-placed sources.

One of the aircraft is expected to be stationed on western Indonesia's Sumatra island, and two in eastern Indonesia.

Read more

Arrival of French Ship Fuels Debate

Hundreds of St. Petersburg residents, many of them navy officers and shipbuilders, lined up in the fog on Wednesday to visit the French warship The Mistral, which arrived in the city on Monday and which the Russian military hopes to buy.

During a two-day visit by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to France that started on Thursday the two countries may finally agree the purchase of a French Mistral-class amphibious assault ship, RIA Novosti reported.

Yury Ushakov, a deputy head of the Russian government staff, said Putin’s visit agenda does not envision Mistral talks but said the issue “could be discussed.”

Read more

Tejas trainer jet makes smooth flight

The two-seater trainer version of the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas (PV-5) made its maiden, successful flight here on Thursday, adding a feather in the cap of India’s defence establishment.

The flight took off from HAL airport at 1 pm and touched an altitude of 9 km and speed of Mach number 0.85, meeting all its initial flight requirements, according to defence sources.

The prototype was flown by Group Captain Ritu Raj Tyagi. Air Commodore Rohit Varma, project director (flight test) flew in the rear cockpit.

Read more

France's only aircraft carrier back in action

France's aircraft carrier, the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle, is back in action after a difficult two-year refit, amid indications it could be called upon for Afghan duty.

The Charles de Gaulle was brought into the dockyard in mid-2007 for repairs which eventually had to be extended for six months because of problems with the propeller shafts, leaving the French fleet without carrier cover.

The bad luck continued even after the 40,000-tonne vessel was ship-shape.

Read more

Russian Admiral Igor Kasatonov participated in the laying of the keel of the Admiral Kasatonov frigate

Russian Admiral Igor Kasatonov on Thursday participated in the laying of the keel of a new-generation frigate named after his father Admiral Vladimir Kasatonov.

Admiral Kasatonov frigate of the 22350 project will be the second warship of the class to be built at the Northern Shipyards.

The lead frigate of the class is Admiral Gorshkov, which is being built at the same shipyards and is to join the Russian navy in 2011. Admiral Kasatonov is to follow in 2012.

Read more

With Iran and its allies in mind, Israel builds up air, sea arsenals

With new anti-missile systems and submarines that can carry nuclear weapons, Israel is readying a new generation of armaments designed to defend itself against distant Iran as well as Iranian-backed militias on its borders.

Having failed to crush Hamas' firepower in its Gaza offensive last winter, or Hezbollah's in its 2006 war in Lebanon, Israel is turning to an increasingly sophisticated mix of defensive technology.

A system called Iron Dome that can unleash a metallic cloud to bring down incoming rockets in the skies over Gaza or Lebanon has been successfully tested, according to its maker, and is expected to be deployed next year.

Read more

Italian minehunters to be upgraded with Thales 2093 sonar

Thales has signed a significant contract with Intermarine to supply its highly successful Sonar 2093 system to the Italian Navy’s (Marina Militare Italiana) Gaeta-class minehunting fleet.

The contract, signed on 18 November, follows on from a main contract agreed in August this year between Intermarine and the Italian Navy to refit eight Gaeta-class minehunters as part of a major mid-life technology upgrade.

Under the terms of the latest contract, Thales UK will supply eight Sonar 2093 systems. The majority of the manufacturing work will be undertaken at Thales UK’s site in Templecombe, Somerset.

Read more

Mexico - Commemoration of Navy Day and Launching of Ocean Patrol Boat Arm Revolución (PO-164)

Earlier today, as part of his working tour of the state of Tamaulipas, President Calderón led the festivities to commemorate Mexican Navy Day.

The event was part of the festivities on Mexican Navy Day to recall the heroic events of November 23 1825, when naval personnel consolidated Mexico's independence by eliminating the last Spanish bastion located in the fort of San Juan de Ulua in the port of Veracruz, Veracruz.

The commemorative festivities for Navy Day will be held in the Port of Tampico, Tamaulipas, in the installations of the Number One Marine Dockyard.

Read more

UCAS-D Flight Slips, Sea Trials On Track

First flight of the U.S. Navy's Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator has slipped into the first quarter of 2010 after propulsion acoustic and engine-start sequencing issues uncovered during ground checkout at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., forced adjustment and additional testing.

Low-speed taxi tests are now expected to begin no later than December, a Navy statement announced this afternoon, adding that sea trials of the carrier-capable UCAS-D remain on schedule for 2012.

More information could not be immediately obtained from the Navy.

Read more

Thales Deutschland to equip all German Navy supply ships

The German Navy trusts Thales’s expertise and technology when it comes to developing and outfitting its largest ships.

Thales has been selected to be the main contractor on the project that will see the "Berlin" and "Frankfurt am Main" supply ships (EGVs) equipped with a new radar system for air surveillance and helicopter guidance.

Thales was also chosen to install the same radar technology and additionally will provide the command and control system and the internal communication system on the "Bonn", a third EGV scheduled for launch in 2012.

Read more

Indian president’s flight on Su-30MKI shows trust in Russian hardware

Indian President Pratibha Patil’s flight on board the Su-30MKI fighter jet of Russian manufacture is “a worthy ending of the India Year in Russia and evidence of the Indian side’ s great confidence in Russian military hardware,” the general director of Russia’s arms exporting agency Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaikin, said on Wednesday about the unprecedented air trip the Indian head of state made on board a Russia-made supersonic jet.

“Our planes of the Su and MiG families are well-known to the military pilots of that country. Today’s event is yet another evidence of the steady onward progress in mutually beneficial military and technological cooperation between such strategic partners as India and Russia.

India has invariably been our strategic partner. I am certain that in the near future this cooperation will grow stronger and gain greater momentum,” Isaikin said.

Read more

A330 tanker refuels two aircraft for the first time

Airbus Military's A330-based multi-role tanker/transport (MRTT) has for the first time conducted the simultaneous in-flight refuelling of two aircraft, by hooking up with a pair of Spanish air force Boeing EF-18A fighters.

Conducted using the first of five tankers on order for the Royal Australian Air Force, the milestone follows other recent firsts with "wet" and night-time contacts involving the type.

The modified airliner is equipped with a tail refuelling boom and two Cobham 905E under-wing hose-and-drogue pods.

Read more

Defence takes delviery of first two troubled Wedgetail jets

Defence has taken delivery of two Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft, four years behind schedule for the $4 billion project.

Listed in the black book of Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, as a “project of concern” the aircraft's developmental MESA radar is not delivering its much hyped specifications.

Today, defence admitted technical bugs still needed to be fixed.

Read more

Nigerian Air Force plans first-ever air show

For the first time ever, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will hold an air show next April to showcase its refurbished and newly-acquired aircraft.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, said here that during the show, which will also involve static exhibition by NAF suppliers and vendors, Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua would commission the new platforms procured by the NAF.

Some of the aircraft expected to be commissioned by President Yar'Adua are the F-7NI and FT-7NI Chinese multi-role combat and trainer aircraft, the new August helicopters and the Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

Read more

Obama Breaks A Promise to Britain

Perhaps there's more to this than meets the eye, but on the face of it the Obama administration has not only broken a promise made to Britain but reneged upon a vital agreement that would have given the UK full "operational sovereignty" over the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters we're supposed to be buying for our new aircraft carriers.

Back in December 2006 Lord Drayson, minister for Defence Procurement, travelled to Washington for urgent talks to save Britain's participation in the programme.

Crucial to this was the signing of a memorandum of Understanding that would give Britain, the only "Tier 1" partner, full access to software codes that would allow UK personnel to upgrade the JSF as and when needed.

Without this "technology transfer" the UK would be dependent upon the US for maintaining the aircraft and, consequently, would not actually have "operational sovereignty" despite committing billions to the development of the plane.

Read more

Israel seeks discount on two German warships

Israel plans to buy two warships from Germany rather than rival U.S.-made vessels and is negotiating with Berlin in the hope of clinching a discounted deal by year's end, Israeli officials said on Wednesday.

They said the Meko corvettes' purchase would be pursued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak when they visit the German capital on Nov. 30.

Built at ThyssenKrupp's Blohm+Voss shipyards in Hamburg, the Meko costs around $300 million but Israel wants the German government to underwrite the sale.

Read more

DCNS awarded contracts worth €1bn to maintain French Navy’s SSNs and SSBNs

The French Navy has formally awarded DCNS two major contracts for through-life support services for its nuclear-powered submarine fleets.

The first is for TLS for six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) for five years; the second for TLS for nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs) for five-and-a-half years.

“The signing of these TLS contracts for the French Navy’s submarines once again highlights our prime customer’s confidence in DCNS services,” says DCNS Chairman & CEO Patrick Boissier.

Read more

Kevin Rudd signs off on purchase of 14 F-35 joint strike fighters

The Rudd government has given the green light to Australia's largest ever defence purchase, approving a buy of 14 F-35 joint strike fighters at a cost of $3.2 billion.

Cabinet's national security committee has backed the RAAF's plan to buy at least 72 of the fifth generation fighters at a projected cost of at least $12bn but Australia's F-35's will be bought in batches with the first aircraft expected to be delivered in 2014.

Defence minister, John Faulkner, announced yesterday government approval for the the first batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft as foreshadowed in the 2009 Defence White Paper with approval for further acquisitions to be considered in 2012.

Read more

New spy plane lands at Beale

The 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base got a new toy of sorts Tuesday — one that basically delivered itself.

Just before 1 p.m., the RQ-4 "B" class Global Hawk landed at the base's airstrip, the first step toward training "pilots" for the aircraft who will control its flight and reconnaissance activities entirely from the ground.

Major Rob Gudikunst, who has piloted several of the "A" class Global Hawks, said this version has the ability to not only take pictures, but listen in on electronic communications of all kinds.

Read more

Northrop Grumman Completes First Production Deliveries of the MQ-8B Fire Scout to the U.S. Navy

Northrop Grumman Corporation completed the first three MQ-8B Fire Scout production deliveries to the U.S. Navy, which completes the first year of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) for the Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle (VTUAV) program.

Two of the three Fire Scouts were deployed aboard the USS McInerney for use on a scheduled operational deployment to complete a Fire Scout Military Utility Assessment (MUA).

Prior to the current deployment, Fire Scouts have been aboard the USS McInerney four times since December 2008, completing 110 ship takeoffs and landings and 45 landings with the harpoon grid, accumulating over 47 hours of flight time.

Read more

Barnstaple firm wins contract for Royal Netherlands Navy

Barnstaple-based J+S Ltd has been awarded a £1m contract for the sonar upgrade of ships operated by the Dutch and Belgian navies.

The company will design and supply four ship sets of sonar transducers for the Defence Materiel Organisation of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The transducers will be installed on the M-Class frigates operated by the Dutch and Belgian navies.

It is hoped that options for further ship sets for the M-class frigates operated by the Chilean and Portuguese navies will be taken up next year.

Read more

Q+A-Russia delays test of troubled Bulava missile

Russia on Tuesday delayed the latest test launch of its troubled new submarine-launched Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, the state RIA news agency reported.

RIA said the launch -- which was first scheduled for late October -- should have taken place on Tuesday but had been delayed again.

"In connection with the need to agree a host of questions, including technical ones... the latest launch of the Bulava should take place before the end of the year," RIA quoted an unidentified source in the Russian defence sector as saying.

Read more

Raytheon's Rolling Airframe Missile Completes Key Flight Tests

Raytheon Company's Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2 successfully completed three instrumented test vehicle flights between April and October designed to demonstrate the system's upgraded kinematic capabilities.

The tests focused on RAM's rocket motor, airframe, control section and autopilot software. Raytheon will build 35 Block p missiles during the design and development test period and expects a low rate initial production contract will follow.

The RAM Block 2 upgrade includes a four-axis independent control actuator system and an improved rocket motor with a 30 percent increase in propellant.

Read more

India's test-fire of medium-range missile fails

India's first nighttime test of a medium-range missile was a failure, missing its target, a defense ministry official said Tuesday.

India test fired the surface-to-surface 'Agni-II' (Fire) missile from Wheelers Island in the eastern state of Orissa on Monday.

'It couldn't hit the target,' the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with ministry rules.

Read more

Submarine accident reflects crisis in navy

On the night of November 20, something unusual happened on board the Alrosa, a B-871 submarine that served in Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

According to the available information, the submarine's propulsion system malfunctioned during a training exercise, causing it to break down.

The exact circumstances of the breakdown and its consequences are still unknown; however, the incident with the B-871 submarine once again draws attention to the critical situation developing in the modernisation of the Russian navy's Black Sea Fleet, in particular regarding its submarine forces.

Read more

'Secret U.S.-Japanese Nuclear Pact' Revealed

Japan and the U.S. signed a secret nuclear pact when they revised their security treaty in 1960, a Japanese Foreign Ministry probe has revealed according to the Asahi Shimbun last Saturday.

The existence of such a pact had been the subject of conjecture for some time, and as the new ruling Democratic Party continues to dig into past dealings between the U.S. and Japan, this could pose new threats to the already tense relationship between Washington and Tokyo.

The relationship was barely patched up following conflicts involving the relocation of the Futenma U.S. Marine Base in Okinawa and Japan's refusal to continue its mission on the Indian Ocean to refuel multinational ships involved in operations in Afghanistan.

Read more

Navy Eyes 2010 Deployment For Growler

The U.S. Navy’s EA-18G Growler is now operational, marking a new era in the Pentagon’s ability to conduct electronic attack missions more effectively around the globe.

The fast-moving aircraft’s introduction will bring much-needed relief to a heavily overtasked and aging EA-6B fleet, which has single-handedly been conducting the Pentagon’s escort jamming mission since the U.S. Air Force’s decision to retire the EF-111 fleet prematurely in 1998.

The Navy declared initial operational capability for the Growler in September, indicating that one squadron has fully transitioned from the legacy EA-6B Prowler.

Read more

BAE Wins contract to Progress Next Generation Warships for Royal Navy

A new generation of Royal Navy ships, designed to meet the UK’s future defence, security and peacekeeping needs, is the focus of a £3.4 million contract awarded to BAE Systems by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Representing a step change for the UK maritime industry, the contract significantly reduces risk in the Future Surface Combatant (FSC) programme by enabling the joint project team to develop a better view of costs, schedules and design at an earlier stage than has been possible with any previous programme.

Designed from the outset with potential export sales in mind, the new vessels will replace existing Type 22 and Type 23 class frigates when they reach the end of their service lives.

Read more

France shows off cutting-edge navy ship in Russia

A cutting-edge French warship sailed into St. Petersburg Monday to show off its capabilities to potential buyers in the Russian navy, whose pursuit of an amphibious assault capacity is frightening some neighboring countries.

Russia's once-mighty navy was severely degraded after the fall of the Soviet Union and it currently has no big ship with the power to anchor in coastal waters and deploy troops onto land.

Russian officials announced this year that they were planning to make their first arms deal with a NATO country by buying a French vessel like the Mistral, a 23,700-ton (21,500-metric ton), 980-foot (299-meter) vessel able carry more than a dozen helicopters able to haul hundreds of troops directly onto enemy territory.

Read more

Iran's Navy to Launch 2 Light-Weight Submarines

The Iranian Navy is scheduled to launch 2 light-weight submarines this weekend, a senior Iranian Navy commander announced on Monday.

"Two light submarines of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Navy will be operationalized on November 28, i.e. the Navy Day," Commander of the Iranian Army's Navy Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told reporters here in Tehran today.

Iran has been pushing an arms development program in recent years in a bid to reach self-sufficiency.

Read more

Raytheon Awarded $241 Million for Zumwalt Software Development

Raytheon Company received a $241.3 million U.S. Navy contract to deliver additional open architecture software capability for the Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG 1000).

Under the contract, software development will support the integration of human-computer- interface components for the ship's engineering machinery controls and damage control systems.

Specifically, Raytheon will deliver computer-graphical user interfaces and a technical data- manager capability to control Zumwalt's ship propulsion, integrated power, auxiliary and damage control systems.

Read more

Dutch, Chinese navies meet at sea

This weekend, a rare meeting occurred at sea, as a high-ranking officer of the Chinese Navy met with his counterpart from The Netherlands on board the Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen in the Gulf of Aden. Both navies are involved in the fight against piracy in the waters around Somalia.

Rear-Admiral Wang Zhiguo flew by helicopter from his own flagship, the frigate Zhoushan, to the Evertsen, the flagship of the EU flotilla in the seas around Somalia. China currently has two frigates and a supply ship in the area.

Their main task is to protect Chinese merchant ships, foreign ships with Chinese cargo or, for instance, ships with a Chinese crew sailing under a foreign flag.

Read more

First indigenously manufactured JF 17 Thunder handed over to PAF

Pakistan on Monday formally joined the international community of fighter aircraft manufacturers as JF 17 Thunder, the first ever multi role state of the art rolled out of Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra and was included to the fleet of Pakistan Air Force.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani was the chief guest at the ceremony that marked a milestone in the Sino Pak joint venture in air defence system.

Senate Chairman Farooq H. Naik, Federal Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira, Defence Minister Ch Ahmed Mukhtar, Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui, Pakistan’s ambassador to China Masood Khan and three services chiefs attended the ceremony.

Read more

Iran launches war games to protect nuclear sites

Iran's armed forces launched large-scale air defense war games on Sunday to show off the country's deterrence capabilities in the face of pressure from the West over its nuclear program.

The display of military muscle comes at a time of rising tension between Iran and six major powers, which fear Tehran's nuclear program is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Tehran denies this is the program's purpose.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and military forces jointly started five days of maneuvers in various parts of the Islamic state, Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani said, according to state television.

Read more

Turkey gives Israel new ‘deadline' for Herons delivery

Rejecting a news report suggesting that Turkey has cancelled a deal with Israel for purchasing unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, has announced that Turkey has given Israeli contractors 50 days to fulfill the long-delayed deal for the delivery of the Israeli-made surveillance drones, known as Herons.

The delays in the project, launched in 2005, have come against a backdrop of tensions between the two regional allies over Israel's devastating war on the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the year.

The two contractors -- Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems Ltd. -- have been sent a letter to fulfill the terms of the deal within 50 days, Gönül said on Saturday, while speaking to reporters at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the town of Kızılcahamam near Ankara.

Read more

Commander: Enemies' Targets in Persian Gulf within Navy's Gunshot

A Senior Iranian commander, First Captain Abdolhamid Kefayat told Fars News Agency on Iranian navy’s capabilities in the strategic Persian Gulf.

The Commander of the Kharamshahr marine base said enemy targets in the Persian Gulf lie within the Iranian Navy’s powerful firing range, which should give a decisive response to any aggression.

The Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces are at the highest level of preparedness.

Read more

Agni II missile to be flight-tested at night

For the first time ever, Agni-II will be put to test-flight at night tomorrow. With logistical support from DRDO scientists, the Army will conduct the much-awaited trial of 2,000-km plus range surface- to-surface Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile from the Wheelers Island off the Orissa coast after darkness descends.

Sources said the test will be conducted anytime between 8 pm and 9 pm. This test assumes significance in view of India’s strategy as for the first time since the inception of the DRDO’s missile development programme, a missile will go for user-trial during night.

The aim of the night trial is to provide on-field experience to the armed forces. Wars are not always fought during daytime.

Read more

Japan leans towards buying F-35 fighter jet

Japan's defense ministry is moving toward selecting Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 jet as the mainstay of its next-generation fighter force, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday, citing ministry sources.

The ministry, which is thinking of buying about 40 F-35s, plans to submit a request for their purchase in the fiscal 2011/12 budget, Kyodo said.

It added, however, that the ministry may postpone making the request for one year, due to a view in the government that the purchase should only be made when full details of the plane's capabilities are available.

Read more

Indian Navy keen to buy newer generation aircraft

The Indian Navy has floated a Request for Information (RFI) for a newer generation of aircraft which can operate from the two indigenous aircraft carriers it will commission over the next 10 years.

The Ministry of Defence and industry sources indicate that the RFI, issued recently, is of a “generic” nature, looking for newer platforms and airborne technologies and what is on offer from some of the well-known manufacturers.

The US Boeing and French Dassault have confirmed receipt of the RFI for their respective F18 Super Hornet and Rafale.

Read more

New helicopter destroyer to widen MSDF range

The Maritime Self-Defense Force plans to build a helicopter destroyer--the largest ship in the fleet--to counter China's naval buildup and improve responses for contingencies.

The planned helicopter destroyer will have a length of 248 meters, a displacement of 19,500 tons and a capability to transport up to 14 helicopters, 4,000 people and 50 trucks. It would also be able to refuel other ships.

To the untrained eye, the helicopter destroyer looks like an aircraft carrier, which has raised questions that it could violate Japan's pacifist Constitution.

Read more