Thales showcased its new TRINITY Integrated Littoral Defence Solution at LIMA 2013

At the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition 2013, Thales showcased its new TRINITY system.

Thales TRINITY is a complete and integrated solution for situational awarness, command and control and fire control, adapted and optimised for any mission in the littoral environment. These include:

• Riverine & Inland Waterway Patrol
• Land Forces Support
• Customs Operations Support
• Special Operations Support
• Visit Board Search and Seize (VBSS) Actions
• Coastal and In-shore Patrol and Interdiction
• Choke Point Control & Defence
• Picket Boat and Harbour Defence Duties
• Fishery Protection

Read more

Russia to Deliver First Kilo Class Sub to Vietnam in 2013

The first of six Varshavyanka class (Project 636M) diesel-electric submarines will be delivered to Vietnam in 2013 as scheduled, the submarine designer said on Friday.

The Varshavyanka class is an improved version of the Kilo class submarines, featuring advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.

“The first vessel is undergoing sea trials. It will be delivered to Vietnam this year,” Rubin design bureau general director Igor Vilnit told reporters at the LIMA-2013 arms show in Malaysia.

Read more

HII Awarded RCOH Contract for Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)

Huntington Ingalls Industries was awarded a $2.6 billion cost-plus-incentive-fee contract today for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

The work will be performed at the company's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division.

The ship arrived at NNS Thursday using planning contract funding.

Read more

Russian Navy Develops New Mini Submarines

Russian shipbuilders are working on developing new “super mini” submarines, the United Shipbuilding Corporation state holding company said on Friday.

USC vice president Igor Zakharov said work on the sea craft is in progress at the St. Petersburg-based Malakhit naval machine manufacturing bureau and that Navy command has been showing interest in the project.

Alexander Terenov, an advisor to Malakhit’s general director, said the Project 865 Piranha submersible (NATO reporting name Losos) could go beyond just “hit and run” operations.

Read more

Last Type 42 warship HMS Edinburgh decommissioned

A tearful farewell has been said to HMS Edinburgh after the crew of what is the last of the Royal Navy’s Type 42 destroyers returned to Portsmouth from its final deployment.

HMS Edinburgh has spent the last six months patrolling the Atlantic and will be decommissioned in June – having clocked up 793,345 miles. It is the last of the Type 42 class to go on active operations before they are replaced by new generation Type 45 destroyers.

And the sale of the “Fortress of the Sea” breaks a piece of Edinburgh’s maritime tradition, as there has been a naval vessel carrying the Capital’s name since the 1700s, while its crew have regularly visited the region for parades and other events over the years.

Read more

F-35B successfully completes AIM-120 separation

On March 26, the F-35B Lightning II became the first F-35 variant to complete airborne weapons separations on three different munitions, the most of any model.

Navy test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Michael Burks released an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile from BF-3 over water in the Atlantic Test Ranges.

The F-35B is the variant of the Lightning II designed for use by the U.S. Marine Corps, as well as F-35 international partners in the United Kingdom and Italy.

Read more

Running the JSF fighter jet currently 'too expensive' says minister

The cost of using the JSF fighter jet in the long term is a ‘major concern’ and will be ‘unaffordable’ for the US military, defence minister Jeanine Hennis quotes a US audit office and Pentagon report as saying.

‘The current figures show the annual cost of running the JSF will be 60% higher than current US fighter jets,’ Hennis said in a briefing to parliament.

The Netherlands has committed to buying two test planes and Hennis will take a final decision on replacing the Dutch armed forces' F-16s with the JSF at the end of this year.

Read more

Sukhoi, Malaysia Sign $100 Mln Deal on Fighters' Maintenance

Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi and the Malaysian Defense Ministry have signed a $100-million contract for the technical maintenance of Malaysia’s fleet of Su-30MKM fighters, said a spokesman for the organizing committee of the LIMA-2013 aerospace exhibition.

The contract covers technical maintenance as well as supplies of spare parts for 18 Russian Su-30MKM fighters that were delivered to Malaysia between 2007 and 2009 under a $900-million contract signed in 2003.

In addition to its 18 Su-30MKM Flanker fighters, Malaysia also has 16 MiG-29N Fulcrum fighters in its combat aircraft fleet.

Read more

China Once Again Tries To Get Its Boomer On

Once more China appears to have eliminated many, if not all, the flaws in its latest SSBN (ballistic missile carrying nuclear powered boat, also called "boomers") design.

This is the Type 94 class sub and one was seen recently undergoing what appears to be sea trials.

China is eager to actually send one of its SSBNs out on a combat patrol.

Read more

India to reject global arms trade treaty

New Delhi is set to reject a global arms trade treaty (ATT) since the agreement is heavily loaded against weapons-importing countries like India, and let exporting nations like the US and China call the shots.

The treaty, meant to regulate all transfers of conventional arms around the world, is likely to be passed by the UN General Assembly next week.

India's inability to establish an indigenous defence production industry may now become a strategic vulnerability.

Read more

Lockheed Martin celebrates new contract with Aegis

Even with North Korea threatening nuclear war, the mood was jubilant - even cocky - at Moorestown's Lockheed Martin Corp. plant Thursday as employees and public officials celebrated a new $100 million contract for its Aegis antimissile defense system.

The Navy recently announced that Lockheed Martin was the victor in a fierce competition to design and build its next generation of Aegis: a computer-guided radar system that can detect incoming missile threats and guides the surface-to-air missiles that would shoot them down.

"In these uncertain times, Aegis has never been more relevant," company vice president Carl Bannar told a standing-room crowd of about 400 employees and dignitaries, including Gov. Christie, two congressmen, and a dozen other elected officials.

Read more

U.S. To Supply 500 Javelin Guided Missiles For Qatar

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress March 26 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Qatar for 500 Javelin Guided Missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $122 million.



The Government of Qatar has requested a possible sale of 500 Javelin Guided Missiles, 50 Command Launch Units (CLU), Battery Coolant Units, Enhanced Performance Basic Skills Trainer (EPBST), Missile Simulation Rounds (MSR), tripods, Javelin Weapon Effects Simulator (JAVWES), spare and repair parts, rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries, battery chargers and dischargers, support equipment, publications and technical data, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor representative engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related logistics support.

The estimated cost is $122 million.

Read more

N Korea readies missiles after US stealth bombers fly over South

North Korea has put its missile units on standby to attack US military bases in South Korea and the Pacific.

This, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a midnight meeting on Friday of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists in view of the prevailing situation", the official KCNA news agency said.

Read more

Turkey to replace F-16s with local jets

Turkey eyes replacing F-16s with locally produced fighter jets by 2023, Turkey’s defense undersecretary said yesterday.

“We’re working on the conceptual design of a new fighter jet that will replace our F-16 fighters,” Defense Industry Undersecretary Murad Bayar said yesterday on the sidelines of the two-day International Air&Space Power (ICAP) Conference being held in Istanbul.

Recently, Turkish arms manufacturer TAI has signed a technical assistance deal with Swedish Saab on technical assistance to build a fighter jet, as Daily News reported.

Read more

Russia stages massive surprise war games on Black Sea

The Russian Navy in the Black Sea was ordered to conduct unscheduled drills early this morning. The naval training put in motion dozens of warships, military aircraft and armored vehicles, and thousands of marines.

The drills started early in the morning, when President Vladimir Putin, who was returning from Durban, South Africa, to Sochi aboard Air Force One, ordered Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to alert the Black Sea fleet, as well as the regional Air Force and troops.

Shoigu opened an envelope delivered to him at 4:00am Moscow time, and only then learned of the planned war games.

Read more

Upgraded E-2K aircraft have better search capability

The completion of a project to upgrade Taiwan's E-2K early warning aircraft fleet means that the country's Air Force now has enhanced search and surveillance capability, Air Force Commanding General Yen Ming said Thursday.

Under the "Hawkeye No. 3" upgrade project, most of the changes were made to the planes' radar and engines to improve their search and surveillance capability, Yen said in a press statement.

The upgrade will also reduce maintenance costs and the number of working hours needed to repair the aircraft, he added.

Read more

India’s Bharat wins more work on Boeing Super Hornet

Boeing has signed a contract with India's Bharat Electronics (BEL) for additional work on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter programme.

The deal expands on a previous award placed in 2011, says Boeing.

Under the contract, the Indian company will produce the Super Hornet's ground power panel, helmet vehicle interface stowage, as well as switch assembly and cockpit console panels.

Read more

Two MCDVs And RCAF CP-140 Take Part In Operation Caribbe Deployment

Operation Caribbe has finished up, according to the Canadian Forces.

Operation Caribbe is part of the government’s continued commitment to combat illicit trafficking in the Caribbean Basin and Eastern Pacific, the news release from the military states.

As part of this commitment, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Kingston and Summerside conducted a 36-day deployment while a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft flew patrols from January 7th to 19th to help suppress trafficking in international waters, the CF added.

Read more

After delay, Lincoln arrives for midlife refuel

After a six-week delay, the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is moving forward with its midlife refueling.

The carrier moved from Norfolk, Va., to the dry dock at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division Thursday, prepping it for a 3 1/2-year refueling and overhaul.

The transit had been set for mid-February but was delayed by budget cuts; funds provided in the continuing resolution signed by President Obama earlier this week put the work back on track.

Read more

U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship USS Freedom Pulls Into Guam's Port

A brand new class of ship the USS Freedom is one of just two littoral class combat ships of the U.S. Navy and it pulled into Guam's waters this morning to dock at the Apra harbor.

Commander Timothy Wilke says it's deployment has nothing to do with recent threats from North Korea, however it is on it's way to Southeast Asia where it will conduct training with some nations there.

With a state of the art littoral class combat ship pulling into Guam's port this morning the question on everyone's mind was did it's deployment have anything to do with recent threats out of North Korea?

Read more

Navy to brief industry on ASW and anti-ship acoustic and image signal processing research

U.S. Navy researches are kicking off a long-term program to develop advanced acoustic and image signal processing for detecting, tracking, and attacking enemy ships and submarines with advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-ship warfare technologies.

The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington has issued a presolicitation (N0002413IWS5A01) for the Research Interests In Advanced Undersea Technologies In The Areas Of Submarine And Surface Ship Acoustic, Imaging, And Combat System Signal Processing program.

Researchers will brief industry on details of the program on 16 April 2013 in Manassas, Va. Briefings will be classified secret. The first phase of the program asks companies to submit white paper proposals no later than 21 March 2014.

Read more

For Once, Good News on Defense Spending

Massive programs like the F-35 fighter plane drive the vast majority of Pentagon spending, while procurement spending across the rest of the Defense Department decreased from last year, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

GAO yearly review of weapons programs found that 10 large programs accounted for 65 percent of DOD’s $1.6 trillion in acquisition spending last year.

In addition to the F-35, these programs include the F-22 fighter, the Navy’s Destroyer warship, the nuclear powered Virginia-class submarines, and the Trident II missile.

Read more

USS Guardian set to be lifted from Tubbataha reef

The final sections of a US Navy ship that has been stuck on a UN World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines for more than 10 weeks are set to be removed within days, an official said Thursday.

The USS Guardian's bow was cut and lifted onto a salvage vessel this week, and good weather should lead to the removal of the rest of the ship by Monday, Tubbataha Reef marine park superintendent Angelique Songco said.

"They continue to work, hopefully all done by April 1," Songco told AFP by text message.

Read more

France says Malaysia can build jets if it buys Rafale

France dangled Tuesday the possibility of manufacturing its Rafale fighter plane in Malaysia if the nation selected the aircraft as its new combat jet.

"We are considering an assembly line in Malaysia," said Eric Trappier, chief executive of the Rafale's builder Dassault Aviation, in a telephone interview from the Langkawi air show in northern Malaysia.

Malaysia is looking to buy 18 combat fighters to replace its ageing Russian Mig-29s, with the Eurofighter, Boeing's F-18 and Saab's Gripen also in the running.

Read more

Bangladesh Plans to Buy 24 Russian Jet Trainers

Bangladesh is planning to buy 24 Yak-130 Mitten jet trainers on $1 billion credit from Russia, Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday.

“Bangladesh has a whole list of arms it wants, but so far that is a state secret. I will reveal one little secret: The purchase of Yak-130 warplanes is a very significant subject of negotiations between Russia and Bangladesh,” Rosoboronexport Deputy Chief Viktor Komardin said at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition (LIMA-2013) that opened in Malaysia on Tuesday.

He added that negotiations on Yak-130s are due to begin later this spring.

Read more

Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR Radar System Demonstrates Ballistic Missile Defense Capability

Northrop Grumman Corporation's AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) successfully detected multiple rocket launches during company-funded testing.

Currently under development for the U.S. Marine Corps, G/ATOR is the first ground-based, multirole radar to be developed for the U.S. Department of Defense.

With its ability to intelligently and adaptively allocate its myriad sensor capabilities, G/ATOR is able to detect and track a wide variety of threats, including manned aircraft, cruise missiles and unmanned autonomous systems, as well as mortar, rocket and artillery rounds.

Read more

Ships Costing U.S. $37 Billion Lack Firepower, Navy Told

The U.S. Navy’s troubled Littoral Combat Ship, a vessel intended to be small and speedy for use in shallow waters close to shore, lacks the firepower it needs, a top U.S. navy commander said in a classified memo.

Vice Admiral Tom Copeman, the commander of naval surface forces, called on the Navy to consider a ship with more offensive capability after the first 24 vessels are built, according to a Navy official who asked not to be identified discussing the confidential document.

Copeman’s memo, prepared late last year at the request of Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, indicates the Navy may be starting to re-examine the $37 billion program.

Read more

North Korea’s latest military video fails Propaganda Filmmaking 101 on just about every count

North Korea’s latest propaganda film, A Short, Three-Day War, is a scatter-shot attempt at narrative persuasion that may well say as much about the sad state of that country’s filmmaking industry (if there is one) as it does about its military preparedness.

The four-minute fantasy presents a sequence of images (many of them close-ups of cannons firing) held together by an off-screen narrator who spins a yarn of an upcoming “surprise” attack that will result in the northern peninsula state dominating its southern neighbor.

Some 250,000 ballistic missiles will be launched along with 1,000 surface-to-surface rockets “like a shower from the heavens.”

Read more

Pictures of Chinese air-to-air missile equipped fighter emerge online

After several photos of a Chinese J-20 stealth fighter carrying a new type of air-to-air missiles leaked online, analysts speculated they were PL-10 or PL-13 model rockets, comparable to the US' latest AIM-9X.

The first photos and videos showing China's J-20 stealth fighter equipped with an air-to-air missile (AAM) appeared on the Internet Tuesday.

The unique side-weapon bay design fully demonstrates Chinese engineers' creativity, experts say.

Read more

Canadian fighter jets guarding Iceland’s skies as part of unusual agreement

Did you know that we stand on guard for Iceland?

It's true. A contingent of RCAF CF-18 Hornet fighters has been operating out of Keflavik Air Bace, outside the capital Reykjavik, since mid-March and will stay there until the end of April, according to a National Defence news release.

As a leading member of NATO and a close partner with Iceland, Canada is committed to doing its part to help protect the integrity of NATO’s airspace, said Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

Read more

Former USN chief suggests DOD should cancel F-35A in favour of C-model

Former US Navy chief of naval operations Adm Gary Roughead says the US Department of Defense (DoD) should consider eliminating the F-35A version of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in favour of the carrier-based F-35C.

In recent weeks, the idea has gathered momentum with current and former defence officials saying the Pentagon's office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) is studying the idea even though the DoD officially denies those claims.

Roughead says the question must be asked as to whether it is better to reduce the number of F-35 variants to a short take-off and vertical landing variant and one version that can take-off and land conventionally. "My simple logic says it probably is, but there are a lot of factors that go into it," he says.

Read more

China Ramping Up Armed, Unarmed Drone Development

China has deployed unarmed reconnaissance and ocean surveillance drones in Northeast Asia near Japan, the Senkaku islands and along China’s southern coast, the Washington Times reports.

Citing U.S. intelligence officials, Bill Gertz writes China could also send drones to the South China Sea.

One drone, the China’s CH-4 drone, appears to be a copy of the General Atomics-made Predator and is armed with missiles similar to the Hellfires launched from the Predator, according to Gertz.

Read more

Carrier Lincoln headed to Newport News for overhaul

After a delay forced by budget cuts, the Abraham Lincoln will be moving to Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding to begin the final stages of an overhaul.

The ship has been homeported at Norfolk Naval Station since August.

It was scheduled to head to Newport News last month, but the Navy postponed the overhaul because of a lack of funding.

Read more

HMS Edinburgh to return to Portsmouth from final deployment

The last of the Royal Navy's Type 42 destroyers will return to Portsmouth from its final deployment later.

HMS Edinburgh has spent the last six months patrolling the Atlantic and will be decommissioned in June - having clocked up 793,345 miles.

It is the last of the Type 42 class to go on active operations before they are replaced by new generation Type 45 destroyers.

Read more

Chinese task force sails into Grand Harbour

A red paper dragon was among the colourful paraphernalia carried by a welcoming party at Pinto Wharf yesterday as a Chinese naval task force sailed into the Grand Harbour for the first time.

Made up of two frigates and a replenishment ship, the task force spent the past four months in the Gulf of Aden on an independent anti-piracy mission.

This involved providing civilian and commercial vessels with security escorts upon request, the Chinese Ambassador to Malta, Cai Jinbiao, said.

Read more

Lockheed’s Troubled F-35 Unscathed in Pentagon’s Budget

The Pentagon wants to spend about $8.4 billion in the next fiscal year to continue developing and purchasing Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35, the fighter that is seven years behind schedule and 70 percent over initial cost estimates.

The funding includes $6.36 billion to build all 29 of the F-35s previously planned for 2014, including 19 of the version designed for the Air Force, six for the Marine Corps and four for the Navy, according to a budget document obtained today by Bloomberg News.

The remaining funds would be for continued development and spare parts.

Read more

HMS Richmond test-fires Seawolf missile system

Royal Navy warship HMS Richmond has decisively flexed her warfighting muscle with the successful firing of two Sea Wolf surface-to-air missiles during a training exercise. Immensely powerful and capable, the firings prove the Portsmouth-based frigate’s ability to track and destroy a sea-skimming target the size of a cricket ball travelling at supersonic speeds.

As part of the trial off the South West coast’s exercise areas, the ship fired a ‘telemetry’ missile loaded with recording sensors to allow indepth analysis of the missile’s performance by the RN’s trials authority - Maritime Commissioning Trials and Assessments (MCTA).

This was then followed up with a conventional ‘warshot’ missile, with both weapons destroying their target with ease.

Read more

AgustaWestland AW189 Helicopter selected for UK Search and Rescue

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that its AW189 Search & Rescue (SAR) helicopter will play a pivotal role in the provision of SAR services in the UK.

Bristow Helicopters Ltd., which has been awarded the contract by the UK Department for Transport to provide SAR services to the UK for 10 years, has selected the AW189 SAR variant as one of the central platforms for its SAR programme.

In addition to the aircraft, AgustaWestland will provide related training, maintenance and support services. A total of 11 AW189s will be operated by Bristow in the UK, with a phased-in starting period between 2015 and 2017. The programme for AgustaWestland is valued at over 275 million euro.

Read more

Indian Navy's third Anti Submarine warfare corvette

The third Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette for the Indian Navy (IN) designed under Project-28 (P-28) by the Navy's Directorate of Naval Design, being built by one of India's leading shipbuilders, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), was launched on Tuesday.

Named after an island - Kiltan - in the Lakshwadeep archipelago of India, the ASW Corvette was launched by Chitra Joshi from GRSE mainyard in the presence of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral DK Joshi, Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE, Rear Admiral (Retd) A K Verma and other officials from the Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces and West Bengal administration.

With nearly 90 per cent indigenisation content aimed to be achieved in the manufacturing of the ship, the efforts made by Indian Navy and Defence Shipyards towards the national goal of indigenisation and self-reliance got a major impetus with this latest ASW Corvette launch.

Read more

Saab and DRB-HICOM Signs MoU

Defence and security company Saab has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysian company DRB-HICOM. The purpose is to broaden and deepen the relationship between the companies which began in 2011.

The agreement between Saab and DRB-HICOM outlines industrial cooperation which will look into areas of technology transfer and bringing expertise to Malaysia among others.

“For Saab, the agreement with DRB-HICOM is an important step in order to do further business in Malaysia and surrounding countries”, says Dan-Åke Enstedt, President and CEO of Saab Asia Pacific.

Read more

Malaysia not getting Gripen jets on lease

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has rubbished a report that Malaysia plans to boost air power by getting Gripen fighter jets on lease.

"I want to emphasise that the report is not true as Malaysia is only interested in buying defence assets," he told a press conference at Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition here today.

An international defence magazine published in March reported that Malaysia will get 24 to 32 Swedish-made Gripen aircraft on lease.

Read more

Northrop Grumman Highlights E-2D Advanced Hawkeye at LIMA 2013, Malaysia

Northrop Grumman Corporation will highlight its industry-leading global capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), by introducing the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to the Malaysian market at the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition.

LIMA 2013 will be held at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre, Langkawi Island, Malaysia, March 26-30. The Northrop Grumman exhibit is at stand number A158 in exhibition hall A.

"ISR capability is critical to maintaining national sovereignty," said Mary Petryszyn, vice president, international, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "Northrop Grumman's leadership in multiple-domain ISR strongly positions us to provide effective solutions for Malaysia's defence modernisation."

Read more

ThalesRaytheonSystems equips Estonia with Ground Master air defense radar

An official ceremony was held on March 26 on Muhu island in Estonia to mark the entry into service of the first Ground Master 400 (GM 400) long-range air defense radar system supplied by ThalesRaytheonSystems to the Estonian armed forces. The ceremony was presided by Estonia’s defense minister Urmas Reinsalu.

The system is the first of two radar systems ordered by the Estonian Air Force and is one of 14 radars of the same type ordered jointly by Finland and Estonia.

The GM 400 is designed for both fixed-site operation under a radome at the Muhu base and for rapid deployment in the field.

Read more

U.S. rules out deploying Patriot missiles in Syria

The U.S. government on Tuesday ruled out deploying Patriot missiles in Syria to protect the opposition there despite such request from Syria's resigned opposition head Moaz al-Khatib.

"Well, we are aware of the request and, at this time, NATO does not intend to intervene militarily in Syria," said White House spokesman Jay Carney at a briefing.

"I think that a Patriot missile battery would fall within the definition of military assistance," he told reporters, stressing that the Patriot missile batteries currently deployed in Turkey are only to defend "its territory and people."

Read more

KHI gives MSDF first P-1 antisub patrol aircraft

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. held a ceremony Tuesday in Gifu Prefecture to deliver the first two P-1 next-generation antisubmarine patrol aircraft to the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The two planes will be deployed to the MSDF Atsugi base in Kanagawa Prefecture and will undergo flight tests for two years before engaging in maritime patrol missions.

Kawasaki Heavy has cooperated with the Defense Ministry’s Technical Research & Development Institute in developing the P-1 turbofan jet to replace the P-3C turboprop aircraft that the firm produced under U.S. license. However, completion of the new plane was delayed for one year due to fuselage cracks.

Read more

US Navy to Review Four Designs for UCLASS; Plans Fielding Within 3-6 Years

The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) intends to issue four firm-fixed-price contracts for Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR) for the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) Air Vehicle.

The contracts are expected to be issued by the summer of 2013, supporting up to two years of work. This new unmanned combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UCAV) system will provide the US Navy persistent unmanned semi-autonomous, carrier-based, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting, and strike capability to support 24/7 carrier operational coverage.

The system to be reviews include three principal elements – the unmanned aerial vehicle (platform), datalink for communications and control and the carrier-based segment, including the handling and operation on-board the carrier, which will also provide the human interface of the entire system.

Read more

USS Nimitz to leave Friday on long deployment

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is scheduled to pull away from its pier at Naval Station Everett on Friday.

The ship's impending deployment, scheduled to last from six to 10 months, eventually will take the crew of the warship into the Persian Gulf.

With a crew of about 3,000 men and women, the Nimitz will be joined at sea by its air wing, adding about 2,000 personnel.

Read more

French defence cuts 'could harm British military partnership'

French government plans for severe defence cuts could jeopardise its military entente cordiale with Britain, “kill” its conventional army and render interventions such as that in Mali impossible, Gallic defence officials have warned.

Patricia Adam, the Socialist president of the National Assembly’s defence committee, warned that proposed cuts by the budget ministry would see France’s already historically low defence budget cut by a total of €30 billion (£25 billion) by 2020. She said those cuts could see its role in a crucial partnership with Britain fatally weakened.

“We are in constant discussions with the British about what we can share in defence terms, but you can only share what you have, not what you don’t have,” she said.

Read more

Budget cuts cancel deployments of more Navy ships

The number of Navy ships with April deployments that have either been canceled or cut short due to sequestration is now up to six.

The USS Kauffman, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate; the USNS Comfort, a Military Sealift Command hospital ship; the USNS Grasp, a Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship, and their support units will join the attack submarine USS Jefferson City and the guided missile frigates USS Rentz and USS Thach pier side come April.

The decision was made by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and relayed to the media through two separate announcements Friday by the U.S. Pacific Fleet and U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

Read more

Indian navy to get new anti-sub warship

The Navy’s offensive power against enemy submarines will get a boost with the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) on Tuesday launching work on the third Corvette with stealth features.

With nearly 90 per cent indigenous content, the third anti-submarine warfare (ASW) Corvette under the four-ship Project-28 will showcase India’s warship building capabilities with domestic resources.

Christened after Kiltan, an island in the Lakshwadeep archipelago, the ASW Corvette was launched by Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi’s wife Chitra Joshi at the GRSE main yard in the presence of GRSE Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral (Retired) A K Verma.

Read more

Deal Or No Deal? Russia, China Disagree on Big Sale of Jets, Submarines

According to Chinese state media, Beijing has signed an agreement with Russia to purchase 24 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and four Lada-class submarines in what would be the nation’s biggest large-scale weapons purchase from Moscow in a decade.

Just ahead of new President Xi Jinping’s first official international visit to Moscow, the state-owned China Central Television said that the two nations had been working out the details of the deal, which had been months in the making, until finally signing the contract.

The deal is said to be the beginning of strengthening mutual cooperation between the two neighboring nations, bolstering Sino-Russian relations.

Read more

Shoigu Urges Pentagon to Revive Missile Defense Dialogue

Russia wants to resume regular consultations with the United States on a range of security issues, including missile defense, a top military official said Monday.

The talks could serve to bridge the yawning divisions between two nations on a series of defense matters - most notably Washington’s ongoing plans to install missile shields that Moscow says undermine its own military strategy.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Chuck Hagel on Monday that “no setbacks, and least of all chaos, should hamper dialogue between the military of the two great powers.”

Read more

India planning to tie up with Russia in naval ship-building field

India is planning to tie up with Russia for enhancing self reliance in capabilities for design and development of all types of warships, including submarines, for the Navy and the Coast Guard.

The Defence Ministry is planning to have a tie-up between the Kerala-based National Institute of Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) and Russian Krylov Institute for working in this direction, officials told PTI here.

The Russian institute, set up in 1890s, has been working in this field for a very long time and can help NIRDESH to augment its capabilities, they said.

Read more

N. Korea claims long-range missiles aimed at bases on U.S. mainland, Hawaii

North Korea's military warned Tuesday that its artillery and rocket forces are at their highest-level combat posture in the latest in a string of bellicose threats aimed at South Korea and the United States.

The announcement came as South Koreans marked the third anniversary of the sinking of a warship in which 46 South Korean sailors died. Seoul says the ship was hit by a North Korean torpedo, while the North denies involvement.

Seoul's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it hasn't seen any suspicious North Korean military activity and that officials are analyzing the North's warning.

Read more

Northrop Grumman Introduces Advanced High-Resolution Sensors for Hawk Air Defense System

Northrop Grumman Corporation has launched its Fourth Generation Tracking Adjunct Sensor (4G TAS), the latest upgrade to the company's range of high-resolution electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors for the Hawk air defense system.

Northrop Grumman's 4G TAS, the only approved EO/IR upgrade available to Hawk customers worldwide, detects and tracks low, fast targets both day and night and passes them to the Hawk's fire control radar.

"With the launch of 4G TAS, Northrop Grumman brings powerful and sustainable new capabilities to operators of the Hawk system," said Jim Mocarski, vice president of airborne tactical sensors at Northrop Grumman.

Read more

Lockheed Martin’s EAPS Completes Successful Miniature Hit-To-Kill Interceptor Flight Test

Lockheed Martin’s Extended Area Protection and Survivability (EAPS) program successfully conducted the first Guided Test Flight to characterize the seeker, guidance, navigation and control systems of its Miniature Hit-to-Kill (MHTK) interceptor.

The very small and agile interceptor is designed to defeat Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (RAM) targets at ranges greatly exceeding those of current systems.

The test was conducted on March 22 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in collaboration with the U.S. Army Research Development & Engineering Command/Aviation Missile Research Development & Engineering Center (RDECOM/AMRDEC).

Read more

South Korean Spy Steals Russian Missiles

The achievements of the Republic of Korea in the field of rockets and space are largely based on Russian technologies, including stolen ones.

This conclusion is evident from sensational confessions of a South Korean businessman to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

“On the instructions of the intelligence service, I managed to bring back from Russia several intercontinental ballistic rockets and five engines passing them off as scrap metal. I managed to take them to South Korea and send them to secret service officers. I was awarded, but soon the authorities of my country abandoned me. I don’t know what to do now. I am not allowed entry back into Russia where I had several companies,” these sensational confessions of a South Korean businessman, who used to work in the Russian Federation for a long time, were published in the open press.

Read more

Boeing Assessing Effect Of Advanced Sensor On P-8 Life

Boeing is to receive a U.S. Navy contract to conduct additional fatigue testing on the P-8A Poseidon to determine the effects on airframe life of carrying the Raytheon Advanced Aerial Sensor (AAS) long-range, high-resolution surveillance radar.

The AAS is a dual-sided, active, electronically scanned array radar with a 40-ft.-long antenna housed in a pod mounted on a trapeze under the forward fuselage.

The radar is designed to be carried on P-8As fitted with structural provisions for the pod.

Read more

Canada’s air force eyes drones for maritime and Arctic patrols

Canada’s air force remains committed to getting a squadron of drones to keep watch over vast tracts of the country’s coastlines and Arctic regions, be deployed on humanitarian missions, and even carry weapons in war zones, the head of the air force.

Lt.-Gen. Yvan Blondin says delays in purchasing unmanned aerial vehicles have had a silver lining as evolving technology has meant drones are becoming more capable.

“If you commit yourself too early with a very expensive program, there are new ones coming in that are not far behind that will give you different capabilities and could be much cheaper,” Blondin told the Star.

Read more

Singapore Poised To Announce Purchase Of 12 F-35Bs

Singapore is expected to announce sometime in the next 10 days that it plans to buy its first squadron --12 planes -- of some 75 of Lockheed Martin's F-35Bs, further bolstering what had been the flagging fortunes of the world's most expensive conventional weapon system.

The fact that American allies in the Pacific are the ones committing to the controversial and over-budget aircraft is telling.

If you want to understand the calculus driving these choices, first look at China, which to countries such as Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Australia is the primary long-term threat.

Read more

Why Russia needs a global naval presence

In recent weeks, the Russian authorities have made repeated statements about restoring the country's global naval presence, which was lost following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It was announced that a permanent task force fleet would be stationed in the Mediterranean, and Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov stated that similar formations could also appear in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Talks have been held with Vietnam on the use of the former Soviet navy logistics base at Kamran.

Read more

F-35 Parts From Rolls-Royce 160 Days Late, Pentagon Says

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc was an average of 160 days late last year in delivering equipment needed for the U.S. Marine Corps version of the F-35 fighter to hover and land like a helicopter, according to the Pentagon.

The delays for “lift fans” installed on the F-35B, the most complex model of the Joint Strike Fighter made by Lockheed Martin Corp. , stemmed from flaws in parts provided by subcontractors, the Defense Contract Management Agency said in an e-mailed statement.

“There have been issues such as corrosion on some of the gears and some undersized holes,” Jacqueline Noble, a spokeswoman for the defense agency, said in the statement. While London-based Rolls-Royce and its subcontractors have made progress, the need to fix fan parts that don’t meet specifications “is still a concern,” she said.

Read more

RAF Marham base for Joint Strike Fighter

RAF Marham
The RAF's newest stealth aircraft, the Joint Strike Fighter, will be based in Norfolk, the defence secretary has revealed.

Philip Hammond announced the decision that RAF Marham would home the aircraft on a visit to the base.

The facility, where Tornado aircraft are stationed, had been threatened with closure under the government's defence review but won a reprieve in July 2011.

Read more

Military experts interpret main warships of high-sea training taskforce

The debut of the 4 main warships, namely the "Jinggangshan" amphibious dock landing ship, the "Lanzhou" guided missile destroyer, and the "Yulin" and "Hengshui" guided missile frigates, making up the joint mobile taskforce carrying out combat readiness patrol and high-sea training organized by the South China Sea Fleet under the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), has recently caught wide attention.

Military experts Du Wenlong and Li Li made a detailed analysis of these four main warships.

The combat readiness patrol and high-sea training of the joint mobile taskforce organized by the South China Sea Fleet is a routine military training.

Read more

Antony feels ‘someone has taken money’ in copter deal

Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Monday said he thought “someone has taken money” in the controversial deal worth Rs. 3,546 crore for purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.

“[The] CBI is vigorously pursuing its investigation. My commitment to Parliament [in this regard] stands. I have a feeling that someone has taken money. The inquiry is at a crucial stage… We will not show mercy to anyone, however big and powerful, who has gone against the integrity pact,” he said in response to a query from The Hindu.

Mr. Antony was at the Southern Naval Command here to receive sail training ship INS Sudarshini on its return from a six-month voyage to the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries.

Read more