Pentagon F-35 program chief lashes Lockheed, Pratt

The Pentagon program chief for the F-35 warplane slammed the main contractors on the program, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney, on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to "squeeze every nickel" out of the U.S. government and failing to see the long-term benefits of the project.

U.S. Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan made the comments during a visit to Australia, where he has sought to convince lawmakers and generals to stick to a plan to buy 100 of the jets, an exercise complicated by the second grounding of the plane this year and looming U.S. defense cuts.

Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp , is sole supplier of engines to the $396 billion F-35, or Joint Strike Fighter. Lockheed Martin provides the body of the radar-evading jet, the most expensive combat aircraft in history.

Read more

ThalesRaytheonSystems to supply Ground Master 400 radar base

Mont Verdun Air Base
The French defense procurement agency (DGA) has selected ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) to supply the French Air Force with a third Ground Master 406 radar for the Lyon Mont-Verdun airbase.

The order follows an earlier award announced on September 7, 2012 to provide an identical radar for the Nice Mont-Agel base.

The additional order, awarded on February 5, 2013, includes the supply and installation of a tower-mounted Ground Master 406 radar, associated civil engineering, through-life support for three years with guaranteed operational availability of 98%, and information system security for the radar base.

Read more

Boeing touts fighter jet to rival F-35 — at half the price

In a dogfight of defence contractors, the hunter can quickly become the hunted. It's happening now to the F-35.

The world's largest defence contractor, Lockheed Martin, is trying to convince wavering U.S. allies — including Canada — to stick with its high-tech, high-priced and unproven F-35 stealth fighter. But the F-35 is way behind schedule, way over budget and, now, it's grounded by a mysterious crack in a turbine fan.

After years of technical problems, it's a tempting target for Lockheed Martin's rivals.

Read more

Is Russia's S-300 better than USA's Patriot?

I was once asked in a television interview: "Which anti-aircraft missile system is better: Russia's S-300 or the U.S. Patriot?" A concise answer was needed, and I said that the S-300 was better. Was I right?

If you look at the performance characteristics of the systems, then the answer was correct. In conflicts such as Iran - Iraq, India - Pakistan, where forces were relevantly equal, the answer was correct as well.

However, when it comes to a possible attack of the U.S. or Israel against the "third world" countries, such as Iran, Syria and others, Russia's S-300 will certainly fail. Why?

Read more

A330 MRTT enters RAAF operational service

Australia's Airbus Military A330 multirole tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft have achieved initial operational capability (IOC), with the type demonstrating an air-to-air refuelling mission on the sidelines of the Avalon show.

The aircraft, designated the KC-30A in Royal Australian Air Force service, refuelled a pair of Boeing F/A-18A Hornets from its wing-mounted hose and drogue refuelling pods.

The event was witnessed by journalists travelling in the tanker's cabin.

Read more

Saab receives order for upgrade of mission system Erieye for Brazil

Defence and security company Saab has received order from Brazilian Embraer Defense and Security on upgrade of the Erieye AEW&C Mission System. The total order amounts to 380 MSEK.

The contract is for the delivery of an upgrade of the existing Erieye AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) systems, as part of the modernization programme for the Embraer 145 AEW&C, named E-99 in the Brazilian Air Force.

The E-99 is important within the Brazilian Air Force in the control of airspace and border surveillance and the upgrade will bring a substantial increased operational capability.

Read more

China gets maritime recon boost with MA60 MPA production

The X'ian Aircraft Corporation MA60 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) is now in production, an official from the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Co (CATIC) told IHS Jane's at the recent IDEX exhibition in Abu Dhabi: a development that raises the prospect of China being able to further increase its aerial military-diplomatic pressure on Japan over disputed territories in the East China Sea.

CATIC officials said that the MA60 MPA is scheduled for Chinese coastguard organisations such as the China Maritime Surveillance (CMS) agency, which has been at the forefront of Beijing's response to perceived infringements on its territorial sovereignty.

A twin-turboprop powered X'ian Y-12 belonging to the CMS flew over the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in December 2012, one of a number of incidents that led to fighter aircraft from both countries being scrambled to the area.

Read more

Navy approves $40m for shipyard to prep the Lincoln

The Navy freed up $40 million to allow shipyard workers to continue to prepare the Abraham Lincoln, while the aircraft carrier sits in Norfolk awaiting its midlife refueling and overhaul.

The flat top was supposed to steam into Newport News Shipbuilding for the major tune-up on Valentine's Day, kicking off a multi-billion-dollar, four-year project. But the Navy postponed signing a contract for the work because of budgetary uncertainty.

However on Wednesday afternoon, the Naval Sea Systems Command extended an advanced planning contract for the prep work on the Lincoln, adding the $40 million while noting that the "work will take place at Naval Station Norfolk because of a delay in awarding the (refueling and complex overhaul) due to the continuing resolution."

Read more

MoD wastes £6.6bn on kit and supplies it does not need as it tries to save money by cutting troops

The Ministry of Defence is squandering billions of pounds on kit and supplies it does not need while trying to save money by getting rid of troops.

Military chiefs are wasting ‘unacceptable’ sums of taxpayers’ cash by buying and hoarding excess equipment, according to a scathing report today.

MPs on the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee found at least £6.6billion of stock was either unused or over-ordered.

Read more

New torpedoes will fail great expectations

A troubled defence project to acquire new torpedoes appears to be back on track but will never deliver the full capability originally sought, the national auditor says.

Three years ago, the $639 million project was experiencing major technical problems and running years late.

"When examining the project across its life and comparing it to the original plans, it is clear that it will not deliver the full capability originally expected," the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) said in a report released on Thursday.

Read more

Embraer in US military aircraft contract win

Embraer and a US partner have won a politically sensitive military tender to provide the US Air Force with 20 attack aircraft, ending a bidding process that had sparked tensions between Brasília and Washington.

The US Air Force said on Wednesday that it would award a contract valued at an initial $427.5m to Sierra Nevada Corporation and the Brazilian aerospace company.

The contract is Embraer’s first big deal of its type with the US Air Force and will serve as a vote of confidence in its burgeoning defence division.

Read more

Bangladesh navy to get 2 submarines

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government had moved to purchase two submarines and a coast guard cutter for Bangladesh Navy to modernise and strengthen the force.

“Activities are going on to purchase two submarines from a friendly country,” she told parliament while replying to a lawmaker's scripted query on her government's efforts to modernise the navy, army and air force.

Hasina, however, did not mention the name of the country friendly to Bangladesh and the timeframe for completing the purchase.

Read more

Indian Army orders Cheetal helicopters from HAL

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been awarded a contract by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) for delivery of new Cheetal helicopters to the country's army.

The Rs4.18bn ($77.2m) contract covers production and supply of 20 helicopters, as well as associated equipment to the army.

Under the contract, which represents the first Cheetal helicopter delivery order for the service, HAL will also deliver training to pilots and technical crew.

Read more

Where DARPA Is Going, They Don’t Need Passwords

In the world of network cyber security, the weak link is often not the hardware or the software, but the user.

Passwords are often easily guessed or possibly written down, leaving entire networks vulnerable to attack. Mobile devices containing sensitive information are often lost or stolen, leaving a password as the single layer of defense.

DARPA’s Active Authentication program is addressing this problem by adding additional ways to validate a user’s identity beyond the password based on user behavior.

Read more

Honeywell to test some F-35 parts after smoke incident

The Pentagon said on Monday an F-35 test plane was involved in an incident on Feb. 14 that caused smoke in the cockpit, and it was sending the affected parts back to their manufacturer, Honeywell International Inc , for a detailed inspection.

Kyra Hawn, spokeswoman for the $396 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, said an initial assessment of the incident at a Maryland air base showed it was isolated, software-related, and posed minimal risk.

The Pentagon has made temporary changes to prevent another smoke incident, she said.

Read more

Boeing Phantom Eye Completes 2nd Flight

Boeing's liquid hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system completed its second flight Feb. 25, demonstrating capabilities that will allow it to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions for up to four days without refueling.

During the flight, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Phantom Eye climbed above an altitude of 8,000 feet and remained aloft for 66 minutes at a cruising speed of 62 knots before landing.

The aircraft exceeded what it achieved last year during its first flight when it flew at an altitude of 4,080 feet and remained aloft for 28 minutes.

Read more

India ready to induct BrahMos cruise missile into Air Force by 2014

India will be ready to induct BrahMos supersonic cruise missile into its Air Force by the end of next year, a top official has said.

"The program for induction of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with a speed of Mach 3 into the Indian Air Force will be ready by the end of 2014.

BrahMos will be upgraded to a hypersonic cruise missile with a speed of Mach 7 by 2017," Sivathanu Pillai, the chief executive of BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, was quoted by the local media as saying in the southern state of Tamil Nadu Monday.

Read more

F-35 already pushing the envelope: pilot

Lockheed Martin's chief F-35 Joint Strike Fighter chief test pilot Al Norman says the F-35 brings an unprecedented amount of survivability and lethal potential - and that's what air forces like the RAAF really need.

Based at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth factory in Texas, Alan Norman took over as joint strike fighter program chief test pilot two years ago and oversees pilots employed by the manufacturer of the fifth-generation multi-role fighters and by the US military.

He's spruiking F-35s at the Avalon Airshow, where aviation and defence companies show off their wares.

Read more

Iran's nuclear plan: Arak's air defences revealed

Satellite imagery shows that three surface-to-air missile sites and at least 50 batteries of anti-aircraft guns protect this research reactor and heavy water production plant. Only one missile battery guards the uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, by contrast.

Arak’s defences are carefully arrayed on the high ground surrounding the facility, with an outer ring of anti-aircraft guns deployed along possible attack routes and an inner circle placed around the installation’s perimeter.

The missile batteries are found on three sides of Arak, with one crowning the highest mountain above the facility.

Read more

New Report on Syrian Missiles Shows Extent of Death and Damage

The Syrian government fired at least four ballistic missiles last week that hit civilian neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, killing more than 141 people, including 71 children, according to a Human Rights Watch report released on Tuesday.

Syrian antigovernment activists had reported the missile strikes last week, corroborated by video of the aftermath posted on the Internet, but the Human Rights Watch report contained new details about the number of missile strikes and the scope of destruction, with a death toll that was far higher than previously thought.

Read more

Luxembourg takes over Op Atalanta airborne patrol duties

At the end of February the Luxembourg Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance (MPRA) detachment returns to the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta counter piracy mission.

The Benelux country takes over maritime patrol and reconnaissance duties from the Swedish Coast Guard MPRA unit operating from the Seychelles.

During previous deployments with EU NAVFOR, the two Luxembourg Merlin IIIC maritime patrol aircraft flew 775 missions, totalling 4,500 flying hours. These missions covered counter piracy sea searches, information gathering and vessel escorts.

Read more

Trident spending to account for one third of defence budget within a decade

The Royal United Services Institute forecast “submarine and deterrent spending” is set to account for around 35 per cent of the total core procurement budget by 2021/22.

In the paper, Mid-Term Blues? Defence and the 2013 Spending Review, Prof Malcolm Chalmers, RUSI’s research director, said there was “no prospect of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreeing before the next general election” on the successor to Trident which will need to be decommissioned in 2024.

He said that from 2016/17 onwards – when a final decision on Trident will be taken - spending on the successor to Trident will rise sharply.

Read more

U.K. May Alter Warship Timetable to Save Jobs at BAE Shipyards

BAE Systems Plc and the British government are in talks to adjust warship manufacturing to avoid disruptions from reducing levels of work, according to Bernard Gray, the U.K.’s chief of defense material.

The timing of the shipbuilding already included in the government’s equipment plan could be adjusted, Gray said yesterday at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.

“Our aim, of course, is not to form some gap where nothing happens but to have a successful transition,” he said.

Read more

China Carrier Permanent Base Is Qingdao

Qingdao
China's first aircraft carrier is headed for its permanent base in the northern port of Qingdao, where it will be responsible for operations in waters surrounding Japan and the Korean Peninsula, reports said Wednesday,

Speculation has swirled over where the ship, christened the Liaoning, would call home since it officially entered service on Sept. 25 amid a series of maritime disputes between China and its neighbors, particularly Japan, with which it is engaged in a tense standoff over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Qingdao is home to China's Northern Fleet, which is responsible for operations in the Yellow Sea, the Sea of Japan, and parts of the East China Sea, as well as the Bohai Gulf, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Beijing.

Read more

Budget 2013: Priorities of the Indian armed forces

Finance Minister P Chidambaram will present the Union Budget on Thursday. Given the likelihood of no major increase in defence spending, here is a look at what the priorities of the armed forces are.

After the Rs 14,000 crore cut in defence spending in the last financial year, the buzz is that no major increase is likely in the defence budget for the coming year given that the armed forces have pruned their procurement lists focusing on priority equipment to be acquired.

Read more

Kuwait Naval Force selects Abu Dhabi Ship Building for future Landing Craft requirements

Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), the Arabian Gulf’s only specialized naval warship builder today announced the Kuwait Navy has selected the company for their future Landing Craft programs.

The announcement by ADSB, one of Mubadala’s defense-related companies, took place during the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) 2013 which takes place 17th - 21st February.

Ian Pike, Chief Executive Officer of ADSB, said, “Abu Dhabi Ship Building has been working hard on this program requirement for some time. We also thank the Kuwait Ministry of Defence and the Kuwait Naval Force for their kind cooperation and confidence in our work.”

Read more

China Launches Stealth Frigate Amid Ocean Tensions

China has launched the first ship in a new class of stealth missile frigates, state media reported Tuesday, amid ongoing tensions with neighboring countries over Beijing's maritime claims.

The People's Liberation Army Navy is building a total of 20 Type 056 Jiangdao class frigates to replace older models and bolster its ability to conduct patrols and escort ships and submarines in waters it claims in the South China and East China seas.

The first in the class, No. 582, was formally delivered to the navy on Monday in Shanghai, which is home to one of the country's largest complexes of naval shipyards, according to the official Xinhua News Agency and the navy's official website.

Read more

Iraqi Navy receives additional patrol boats from US

The Iraqi Navy has officially received the tenth and 11th 35m-long coastal patrol boats, PB-310 and PB-311, from the US Navy at Umm Qasr Naval Base south of Baghdad following successful completion of reactivation in Bahrain.

US Navy Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships' Support Ships, Boats and Craft programme manager Frank McCarthey said: "Together with the nine patrol boats previously delivered, these two new vessels are a significant step toward meeting Iraq's security requirements in the northern Arabian Gulf."

The navy is procuring the patrol boats from the US to boost its ability to enforce maritime sovereignty and security in the northern Arabian Gulf.

Read more

RSAF gets refueling jet

A new airborne refueling plane was inducted into the Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft fuel fleet at Riyadh Airbase yesterday.

The new plane, called a330mrtt will supply fuel to F15s, Tornadoes and Typhoons while flying, bringing to six the number of airbus-made a33mrtt air refueling planes.

The plane, which belongs to the TRA72-600 airbus generation, will also serve as passenger and light payload carrier, the SPA reported.

Read more

Tondar, Tosan missiles fired during IRGC war games

Domestically manufactured Tondar and Tosan missiles were successfully fired at mock enemy targets in the final stage of the Great Prophet 8 war games.

The three-day exercise of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces started on Saturday in the southeastern Iranian province of Kerman.

On Monday, T-72 battle tanks fired Tondar missiles and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles fired Tosan missiles at the designated targets.

Read more

LCS Ready for First Overseas Deployment

The Navy’s USS Freedom will set sail for Singapore on March 1, the inaugural overseas trip for the beleaguered Littoral Combat Ship program.

During its eight-month deployment, the Freedom will conduct maritime security operations as well as participate in international exhibitions and exercises, according to a Navy announcement last week.

“USS Freedom is ready for her deployment,” said Naval Surface Force spokesman Lt. Rick Chernitzer said in January.

Read more

NATO to test anti-submarine warfare underwater and surface vehicles

The NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) will test a wave-powered unmanned surface vehicle known as the Wave Gilder at its upcoming Proud Manta '13 exercise, which serves as a way to test new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) technologies, the organization said.

The large-scale exercise, which will be held from February 23 to March 6 off the coast of Sicily, is an opportunity for CMRE to test cutting-edge ASW systems in a realistic scenario and see how new technology advances can be applied to NATO missions in the future.

During the event, CRME scientists plan to test new autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) and associated software designed to detect and track submarines in the marine environment.

Read more

Ultra Electronics awarded Canadian sub contract

Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems Inc., Dartmouth NS, has been awarded a contract to provide services for the ongoing maintenance of the Royal Canadian Navy’s submarine towed array sonars, which serve as the principal long range underwater sensor for the submarines.

Under the contract, UEMS will be responsible for repairing and refurbishing the towed arrays, as well as updating obsolete components and technology. The contract has a total value of close to $7-million.

“We welcome this opportunity to continue our work for the Royal Canadian Navy and to contribute to the operational effectiveness of Canada’s submarines,” says Dan Simard, UEMS’s director business development.

Read more

Thales awarded sonar contracts for 6th and 7th Astute Class boats

Thales UK has been awarded contracts to supply the Sonar 2076 fully-integrated search and attack submarine sonar system for the UK Royal Navy’s sixth and seventh Astute Class submarines.

Thales will supply the sonar system to BAE Systems Maritime - Submarines, the prime contractor for the Astute Class build, to be fitted to the submarines at its shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness.

The complete sonar system supplied by Thales will comprise both inboard and outboard of the bow, fin, intercept and flank arrays, and the associated inboard processing.

Read more

UK Sends Nuclear Submarines To The Falklands, Claims Argentina

Falkland islands (Islas Malvinas)
Argentina has accused the UK of sending nuclear-armed submarines to the South Atlantic, after making an official complaint to the UN over the Falklands dispute.

The country’s representative at the UN conference on disarmament, Eduardo Zuain, said that by beefing up its naval presence around the disputed islands London was violating the provisions of a 1967 accord, banning nukes in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The conflict around the archipelago in the South Atlantic has been simmering since Britain regained control over the islands in a brief war with Argentina in 1982.

Source

Italy's Finmeccanica delays results over India probe

Italian defense group Finmeccanica has delayed publication of its 2012 results after a bribery probe connected with the sale of 12 helicopters to Indian authorities, it said on Thursday.

After a board meeting, Finmeccanica said it had postponed the approval of its full-year accounts from March 12 to a new meeting to be held no later than April 30, to "evaluate the impact of recent economic events on its balance sheet."

Finmeccanica is at the centre of an Italian probe alleging that it paid bribes to win the 560 million euro ($750 million) contract awarded in 2010 to its Anglo-Italian helicopter unit AgustaWestland.

Read more

Russian naval task force to be deployed in Mediterranean

A permanent task force of the Russian Navy will be deployed in the Mediterranean Sea in 2015, a military source told Interfax-AVN on Monday.

"The formation of a naval task force by 2015 is under consideration; ships of the Black Sea Fleet will be its backbone and the Soviet Navy Mediterranean squadron will be its prototype.

The force will accomplish scheduled and urgent missions on the Mediterranean theater of operations, including deterrence of threats to Russian national and military security coming from that sector," the source said.

Read more

Air Force to Stealth Fighter Pilots: Get Used to Coughing Fits

The Air Force has some bad news for the pilots of its F-22 Raptor stealth fighters: Your planes are going to make you feel crappy and there’s not much anyone can do about it.

And the message to the maintainers of the radar-evading jet is even more depressing.

Any illness they feel from working around the Raptor is apparently all in their heads, according to the Air Force.

Read more

Indonesian Air Force gets two Sukhoi jet fighters, waits for four more

Two out of the six Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 jet fighters ordered by the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) arrived at Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force Base in Makassar late on Friday evening.

A spokesman from the base, Maj. Muliadi, said on Saturday the two jet fighters were part of an order of six Su-30 MK2s arriving in batches.

“The remaining four jet fighters will arrive in June and July,” he said.

Read more

Arrow 3 Tested Successfully

The Ministry of Defense's Homa Administration successfully carried out a successful flight test Monday of the Arrow 3 (in Hebrew: Hetz 3) anti-missile missile, in conjunction with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

The Defense Ministry said that the test was intended to check the flight systems of the missile, which is meant to provide added high-altitude protection against missiles and to solidify the defensive array protecting Israel from the long range missile threat.

The Arrow 3 will be able to intercept ballistic missiles with longer ranges than the ones that Arrow 2 can bring down, and it will do so at higher altitudes.

Read more

BrahMos Aerospace to develop tech for hypersonic missiles

BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture, has initiated efforts to develop technology for hypersonic version of the BrahMos missile which can travel at five to seven times the speed of sound, a top company official has said.

"The company is roping in academics to develop the requisite technology before going in for designing and developing missiles which can travel at Mach 5 to 7 (five to seven times the speed of sound).

It will be BrahMos II version next to the present variants of Mach 2.8 to 3.5," A Sivathanu Pillai MD & CEO of the company told PTI.

Read more

Iran fleet makes maiden voyage through Malacca Strait

Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announces that the country’s 24th fleet has crossed the Strait of Malacca for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“For the first time since the Islamic Revolution the Naval Forces of the Islamic Republic have crossed the Strait of Malacca,” Sayyari said on Monday.

He added that the Navy’s 24th fleet of warships, comprising Sabalan destroyer and Kharg helicopter carrier, would enter the Pacific Ocean from the Strait of Malacca on Tuesday.

read more

Pakistan Navy backs joint efforts to combat piracy

Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) Jurrat and submarine Khalid have arrived at Port Sultan Qaboos as part of the efforts to further improve bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as between their naval forces.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Commodore Ahmed Saeed said that Pakistan Navy ship's visit to Oman aims at boosting cooperation and relations between the two countries and their navies.

"Pakistan and Oman have a long history of very good relations. Oman is our most friendly neighbour, and our partnership, particularly as far as naval exercises are concerned, has been going on for many years. Our ships have been coming to Oman, and their warships have been visiting our bases regularly," he said.

Read more

Afghanistan says U.S. special forces may be behind torture, murder

Wardak province
The Afghan government says armed individuals who may be U.S. special forces carried out acts of torture and murder, allegations that spurred it to demand that members of the elite American military units leave a key province west of Kabul.

The U.S. military says it is investigating.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force must stop all special force operations out of Wardak province, an area west of the Afghan capital where the alleged horrors took place, Afghanistan's National Security Council demanded. And all U.S. special forces must be gone from the province within two weeks.

Read more

Gillard green lights F-35 purchase

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has confirmed that Australia will go ahead with purchasing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from the US, despite the jets being grounded by the Pentagon due to a cracked engine blade.

The US military on Saturday suspended all flights operated by the fleet of 51 jets to investigate the turbine blade crack.

A statement issued by the Pentagon said that “it is too early to know the fleet-wide impact of the recent finding."

Read more

U.S. radar to counter North’s missiles

Tokyo and Washington are mulling the installation of an X-band radar system at an Air Self-Defense Force base in Kyoto Prefecture to build up Japan’s missile defense system and counter the North Korean ballistic missile threat, sources close to bilateral ties revealed Saturday.

The Kyogamisaki base in Kyotango, on the Sea of Japan coast, has been selected as the best site to deploy the radar unit because a North Korean missile targeting Guam or Hawaii, strategically key strongholds for the U.S. military, would likely pass over western or central Japan, the sources said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed during their summit meeting in Washington on Friday that they will work together on installing the large-scale American radar system at the Kyogamisaki facility.

Read more

Russia Plans Black Sea Fleet Rearmament

Russia has announced plans to rearm its Black Sea Fleet and has asked Ukraine to settle the issues regarding the planned deliveries of new weapons to the naval force, Ukraine’s defense minister said on Saturday.

"Russia's desire is understandable - technology is moving ahead, and the desire to rearm its fleet is fair.

That is why it is necessary to solve all the issues at the legislative level, taking the interests of Ukraine as a non-aligned country into account," Pavlo Lebedev was quoted by the ministry’s press service as saying.

Read more

Turkish, German and Dutch defense ministers visit Patriots deployed in Turkey

Turkish Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz along with his German and Dutch counterparts visited the Patriot missile systems deployed from both countries in Adana and Kahramanmaraş near the Turkish-Syrian border on Feb. 23.

Germany's defense minister Thomas de Maiziere said during the visit that they delivered a "clear warning" to Damascus that NATO would not tolerate missiles being fired into Turkey.

"Our presence here serves to make sure that Syria doesn't turn its capabilities into action," de Maiziere said, while also saying that the risk of attack was "minimal". "We can see from here that Syria is using rockets - often several times a day” he added.

Read more

Iran says it captured 'enemy drone'

Iran said Saturday that it downed and captured another "enemy drone," the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

The incident reportedly took place during Iranian military maneuvers in southern Iran.

"IRGC's electronic warfare systems detected electronic signals, which indicated that foreign drones intended to enter our country," said Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Lt. Gen. Hamid Sarkheili, Fars reported. "Our specialist forces then succeeded in bringing down the drone in the field of maneuvers."

Read more

UK defence cuts hit BAE profits

Profits at global defence giant BAE Systems were down last year as the company behind the Clyde naval shipbuilding operation warned deficit cutting measures in the UK and US were hurting its outlook.

The defence systems manufacturer, which employs a 3,000 strong staff at its two Clydeside yards, expects the UK defence budgets to remain flat as it announced underlying earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation at £1.9 billion, as against £2.02 billion in 2011.

However, BAE Systems' shares surged 4 per cent to 345.9p. Pre-tax profits was down to £1.4 billion from £1.5 billion and sales declined byh 7 per cent to £17.8 billion from £19.2 billion in a year that saw BAE fail to close a merger deal with European defence firm and Airbus owner EADS.

Read more

No middlemen or payoffs: AgustaWestland

AgustaWestland — the wholly-owned subsidiary of Italian defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanica which is at the centre of bribery charges in the Rs. 3,546-crore deal for the supply of 12 VVIP helicopters — has, in its reply to the Defence Ministry, denied allegations that it made payoffs to bag the deal from India in February 2010.

The firm on Friday sent its reply to the Ministry’s show cause asking it why the deal should not be cancelled as it allegedly violated the provision of the “integrity pact” that prohibits the use of influence or middlemen while negotiating and finalising the deal with India.

In the absence of authenticated documents from the Italian court, the Ministry is banking upon the reports of its joint secretary Arun Kumar Bal, who has returned from Italy, and the Central Bureau of Investigation team that had gone to Rome and Milan to gather evidence and understand the working of the judicial system in Italy.

Read more

American troops in Niger to set up drone base

President Barack Obama said Friday that about 100 American troops have been deployed to the African nation of Niger. Two U.S. defense officials said the troops would be setting up a base for unarmed drones to conduct surveillance.

Obama announced the deployment in a letter to Congress, saying that the forces "will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region."

The move marks a deepening of U.S. efforts to stem the spread of al-Qaida and its affiliates in the volatile region. It also underscores Obama's desire to fight extremism without involving large numbers of U.S. ground forces.

Read more

No more second frigates for PN - DND official

A ranking Department of National Defense (DND) official has said the option to acquire second-hand frigates to boost the numbers and capabilities of the Philippine Navy (PN) has been waived.

Fernando Manalo, DND undersecretary for finance, munitions,installation and materiel, said this because evaluation studies found out that acquiring these vessels will be more costly in the long run.

"The PN found out that it will be more expensive to maintain second hand vessel(s) than buying a new one," he added.

Read more

SecAF Donley Says KC-46 Tanker Contract At Risk; Hill Must OK $1B

The latest looming casualty to the congressional budget mess is Boeing's KC-46 tanker contract, which is in peril unless Congress approves roughly $1 billion in funding.

If you want some idea of just how much uncertainty and confusion sequestration and the Continuing Resolution are generating, this latest mess is a good example.

The Secretary of the Air Force cannot tell exactly how much money is needed or when because of the overlapping confusion caused by the CR and sequestration.

Read more

Turkish firm sells $196 mln worth of rockets to UAE

Turkish missile manufacturer Roketsan is to export its own laser-guided rocket system, known as the Cirit, to the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) army for a total $196.2 million, as Turkey seeks to boost its arms exports to Gulf countries.

The Emirati army is the first customer for the Cirit system following the signing of a contract between the two parties during the International Defense Exhibition & Conference in Abu Dhabi between Feb. 17 and 21.

“Arab countries in the region and their armed forces showed a substantial interest in Turkish companies and technologies during the fair,” Turkish Defence Industry Undersecretary Murad Bayar said, praising Turkish companies for exporting their own high technology products to other countries.

Read more

Russia to hand over INS Vikramaditya to India in November

Russia will hand over the much-delayed INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier to India in November, giving the country's navy a strategic advantage in the Indian Ocean region.

The Vikramaditya aircraft carrier is to be handed over to the Indian Navy in November, 2013, head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Alexander Fomin, said on Thursday.

"The ship is to be put in a dock in April, go on sea trials in June and July and be officially handed over some time in November," he was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Read more

With looming budget crunch, Mayport ship workers worried

The effects of possible budget cuts hanging over the Navy are beginning to be felt by the Jacksonville ship repair industry and “it is not a pretty picture,” according to an industry leader.

More than 300 civilian shipyard workers at Mayport Naval Station are being notified that their jobs may be in jeopardy because of the impending budget cuts.

BAE Systems Ship Repair mailed conditional WARN notices to employees’ home addresses Wednesday. The Department of Labor requires any company with 100 or more workers to issue the notices to employees 60 days prior to any mass layoffs or plant closings.

Read more

Surprise Check Reveals ‘Systemic Problems’ in Russian Military

A series of random checks in the Russian Armed Forces this week revealed a number of systemic shortcomings, General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov said on Friday.

Combat alert checks were carried out in the Central and South Military Districts, the Airborne Assault Forces (VDV) and military transport aviation units.

Alert duty officers in some military units demonstrated an insufficiently prompt and effective response in processing orders via automated combat command and control systems, especially in VDV troops and at the 201st Military Base in Tajikistan, Gerasimov said during a teleconference.

Read more

Pentagon suspends F-35 flights due to engine blade crack

The Pentagon on Friday suspended the flights of all 51 F-35 fighter planes after a routine inspection revealed a crack on a turbine blade in the jet engine of an F-35 test aircraft in California.

It was the second grounding of the warplane in two months and marked another setback for the $396 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the Pentagon's biggest weapons program.

The program has already been restructured three times in recent years and may face further cutbacks if Congress does not avert budget reductions due to take effect on March 1.

Read more

Russia, NATO to Hold Gulf of Aden Anti-Piracy Exercise

The Russian Navy’s Udaloy I class anti-submarine destroyer Severomorsk will take part in a NATO anti-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden, Navy spokesman Capt. First Rank Vadim Serga said on Thursday.

Russian and Italian naval teams will practice operations to recover pirate-held ships, he said, adding that the exercise will begin “within several days.”

In the most recent attack, Reuters reported pirates seized the ship Armadah Tuah off the Nigerian coast on Sunday, holding its crew to ransom. The Russian Foreign Ministry said there were three Ukrainians, two Indian nationals, one Indonesian and one Russian on board.

Read more

Air Force Chief Says 70% of ALL Combat Aircraft 'Non Combat Capable By July'

Imagine if someone told you 70 percent of all American combat aircraft would not be ready to fly in time of war by July.

That's just what Air Force Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told some 600 people attending the Air Force Associations's annual winter conference this morning will happen should the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration occur.

This means 70 percent of all fighters (and MAYBE Remotely Piloted Aircraft and bombers -- except those for nuclear missions and aircraft in ongoing operations --we're checking) will be unready to go to war.

Read more

Rolls-Royce delivers advanced new waterjets for the latest US Navy Littoral Combat Ship

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has delivered the new and advanced Axial Mk1 waterjet for the latest Freedom-variant of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class, currently under construction for the U.S. Navy.

Rolls-Royce Axial Mk1 waterjets are very power dense, delivering more cavitation-free performance for their size and power than any other waterjet.

At 22MW of power, a single waterjet of this scale can move almost half a million gallons of seawater per minute. Four of these waterjets will propel the LCS at speeds in excess of 40 knots.

Read more