Navy’s squadron of subs starts to sink in numbers

A new guide to the Royal Navy shows it is down to just 11 submarines, including the new HMS Astute which is on its sea trials.

Steve Bush, editor of the 20011 edition of British Warships and Auxiliaries produced by Maritime Books, says the Royal Navy is in a “dire state” and fears that even more cuts could be made in the future.

The guide lists all the fighting ships and auxiliary supply ships in the Navy.

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Lockheed Martin Completes Next-Generation Long-Range Surveillance Radar Demonstrations

Lockheed Martin has successfully completed a capability demonstration in the latest phase of the U.S. Air Force's development of the next-generation mobile, long-range surveillance and ballistic missile defense radar.

The Dec. 16-17 demonstration for the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) was the second and final required under a $25 million, 20-month technology development contract awarded in May 2009.

Lockheed Martin completed an initial demonstration of critical technology elements in March 2010 and an initial preliminary design review in October 2010.

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DRDO to shoot down missile at 150 km altitude

Defence scientists in the country are set to raise the bar for excellence by trying to shoot down a missile at an altitude of 150 kilometres later this year.

Defence scientists have been able to intercept a missile at an altitude of 80 km and are now planning to aim higher.

"The trials are expected later this year," VK Saraswat, Director General, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) told reporters on the sidelines of the 98th Indian Science Congress in Chennai.

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Kollmorgen gets another contract to provide sensor masts for U.S. Navy submarines

Kollmorgen Electro-Optical in Northampton, Mass., will provide the U.S. Navy with five Universal Modular Mast (UMM) systems for submarines under terms of a $14.7 million contract modification announced Monday by U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington.

It is the second multimillion-dollar Navy order to Kollmorgen for submarine sensor masts within a week's time.

The UMM, built by Kollmorgen Electro-Optical and Kollmorgen's Italian subsidiary Calzoni SrL in Bologna, Italy, is a non-hull penetrating mast for Navy Virginia-class fast-attack submarines and Ohio-class guided missile submarines.

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A submarine to combat piracy

The Zeeleeuw was the first submarine used by NATO to fight piracy under Operation Ocean Shield. A powerful tool which proved its worth at sea last November.

Korean military vows to beef up combat readiness

Amid heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula, the country’s armed forces have announced a set of measures to bolster their combat capabilities against any possible provocation by North Korea in their New Year messages.

Army chief of staff Gen. Kim Sang-ki said in a speech Monday that he would root out bureaucracy and unnecessary administrative procedures this year to get troops to focus better on military training, and boosting their combat readiness.

“I declare that the year 2011 will mark an epoch for the rebirth of combat-oriented field operations units,” Gen. Kim said.

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Lockheed Martin’s JAGM Successfully Completes Flying Qualities Tests On Navy’s Super Hornet

Lockheed Martin has successfully completed a comprehensive series of tests to demonstrate the flight characteristics of the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F while carrying the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM). The flying qualities test series consisted of six flights from Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD, between October 5 and November 2 with a total flying time of 11.2 hours.

The aircraft flew at altitudes ranging from 5,000 feet to 35,000 feet and at speeds approaching Mach 1.0. During each flight, the Super Hornet was refueled in the air by a support tanker to enable the aircraft to reach all the required speeds and altitudes at which JAGM had to be tested.

The JAGM test articles were six instrumented measurement vehicles (IMVs) equivalent in weight, size and dimensions to tactical JAGM rounds and outfitted with resistive temperature devices, acoustic sensors and accelerometers to measure the flight environments experienced by the launchers and the missiles.

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Trojan horse for Russian defense industry

Russia has finally decided to purchase two Mistral helicopter carriers from France in the total amount of 1.37 billion euros.

It is not the first time when Russia concludes defense deals with France. However, the Mistral deal is the largest one in Russia's recent history when Russia purchased military hardware from a foreign state.

Mistral is quite a large vessel. Its tonnage measures 21,000 tons, its length makes up 210 meters.

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Agni-V to be test fired in September 2011

India will acquire an inter-continental strike capability as it intends to test-fire the indigenous inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) Agni-V with a range of 6,000 km in September.

The first nuclear-tipped inter-continental missile would add muscle to India's "dissuasive deterrence" posture against China as it would be able to strike even northernmost China if the need arises.

"The Agni-V is test ready and would be tested in September this year. The test is one of the 10 missile tests scheduled this year," a senior official of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said, requesting anonymity.

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Antony to inaugurate warship design hub today

For years India’s warship building community has urged the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to create the infrastructure needed for making India a major global hub for building warships.

Tomorrow, as a first step towards this, Defence Minister A K Antony will lay the foundation stone of the National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) at Chaliyam, in Kozhikode district of Kerala.

With the Indian Navy expanding rapidly, the workload on the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) has overwhelmed its tiny establishment.

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Russia plans 50 space launches, 10 ICBM launches in 2011

Russia plans to conduct about 50 space launches from three launching pads and 10 combat training and test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2011, Voice of Russia reports.

The International Space Station program provides for ten launches, including four manned missions and six flights cargo ships from Baikonur, Voice of Russia reports.

In addition, Russia plans launches of Glonass-M satellites, a telecommunication satellite and a number of military satellites.

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Russian Air Force to receive Ka-52 helicopters

Russia's Defense Ministry plans to start procuring Ka-52 Alligator helicopters for the national Air Force in 2011, ministry's official spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said on Sunday.

The Ka-52 is a modification of the basic Ka-50 Hokum model, it is armed with 30-mm cannon, Vikhr (Whirlwind) laser guided missiles, rockets, including S-24s, as well as bombs.

The helicopter is also equipped with two radars, one for ground and one for aerial targets and a Samshite nighttime-daytime thermal sighting system.

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New missile systems join Iran Navy

The Iranian Defense Ministry has delivered new naval cruise missile systems to the Navy in yet another move to boost the nation's defense capability.


“The systems are capable of spotting and destroying different targets at sea,” said Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi at the delivery ceremony of the missile system on Monday.

General Vahidi pointed out that the systems include launch pads as well as spotting and missile guiding systems.

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Iran has shot down two spy planes

A senior Iranian commander says Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has so far shot down two Western spy planes in the Persian Gulf.

"Westerners have a series of capabilities from long ago which cannot be ignored… for example they have spy drones which can take pictures in some places," IRGC Air Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on Sunday.

"But they (Westerners) use these [drones] mostly in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan and they do not dare using these [planes] in our country," Fars News Agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying.

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DCNS begins construction of third FREMM frigate for French Navy

French ship builder DCNS has launched the construction of French Navy’s third FREMM frigate ‘Provence’.

The company cut the first metal for the multi-mission frigate at its Lorient facility on December 15, 2010 in the presence of French Navy Chief Admiral Pierre-Francois Forissier.

With this launch, the Lorient facility is now home to four such ships under construction there – FREMMs Normandy, Aquitaine and Provence for the French Navy and one FREMM for the Moroccan Navy.

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MoD confirm nuclear sub reactor being cut up at Devonport Dockyard

A second section of a nuclear submarine reactor is being cut up Plymouth, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Protests erupted two years ago when it emerged that a 28-ton irradiated reactor part from HMS Victorious was being sliced into smaller pieces at Devonport Dockyard.

Although nuclear regulators said the work posed no risk to the public or environment, and the Ministry of Defence stressed it was not part of a long-term project to dispose of decommissioned submarines, outraged campaigners accused the MoD of ignoring public opposition to any nuclear disposal work in the city.

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Iran Keen to Export Air-Defense Systems

A senior Iranian military commander on Sunday stressed Iran's capability to supply the country's air-defense needs, and voiced Tehran's preparedness to export home-made air-defense systems to foreign countries.

"We are supplying all of our needs in the field of air-defense domestically and inside the country," Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani told FNA.

He stressed that Tehran has the capability to export air-defense systems, and added, "When we start production of a weapon it means that we are mass-producing it and we can export our surplus products to the other countries if there is no problem."

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Russian Air Force to receive up to 100 Sukhoi fighter jets by 2015

The Russian Air Force will receive up to 100 Sukhoi fighter jets by 2015, the Defense Ministry spokesman said on Sunday.

Three state contracts with the Sukhoi design bureau on the supply of the jets have been already signed, Vladimir Drik said.

Fifty advanced Su-35 Flanker-E multirole fighters, billed as "4++ generation using fifth-generation technology," more than ten advanced Su-27SM Flanker multirole jets and five Su-30M2 Flanker-C multirole fighters are among the aircraft to be supplied.

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PRC’s fifth-generation jet pictures cause stir in US

Signaling a greater-than-ever military threat to Taiwan, new information emerged this week showing that China might be much further ahead in its development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft than previously believed.

In what has caused a major stir within the Pentagon, Beijing Internet censors earlier this week allowed high-resolution photographs of the Chengdu Aircraft Corp stealth fighter to be published for the first time.

“For Taiwan, this means that even a sale of the latest versions of the Lockheed Martin F-16 will only provide a brief period of technical parity with the People’s Liberation Army,” Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in Washington, told the Taipei Times.

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Submarine to join Bangladesh Navy by 2019

Bangladesh is sandwiched between India and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal.

The Bangladesh Navy will have its first submarine by 2019, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, adding Dhaka wants to amicably resolve its maritime boundary issue with neighbours India and Myanmar as it does not want 'a war in the region'.

Hasina said the Bangladesh Navy will have its first submarine with base facility by 2019 and added that her government's plans were to build 'an effective deterrent force'.

She made the announcement while commissioning the navy's first hydrographic survey ship 'Anusandhan' at Isha Khan Naval Base.

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Defense giants compete in Turkish tender for long-range missiles

Behemoths of the defense industry, including Italian, Russian, French, Chinese, US and Israeli companies, are vying for the $4 billion dollar tender by which Turkey will acquire long-range missile defense systems; however, due to problems in bilateral relations, French and Israeli companies do not seem likely to win the contract.

Turkey is planning to purchase four long-range missile defense systems capable of destroying missile threats before entering Turkish airspace. As Russian and Chinese companies did not file a bid for the Turkish Long Range Air and Missile Defense System (T-LORAMIDS) tender, the dateline for bid submission was extended until Dec. 1, 2009. However, at the end of 2010, the tender has still not been completed and it will be held within the first three months of 2011.

Turkey decided to acquire long-range missile defense systems in 2008, but the project was postponed due to NATO’s missile defense system project.

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Secret IAF file found on roadside in New Delhi

A secret file related to over $11 billion deal for procuring 126 multirole combat aircraft went missing from the Defence Ministry and has been found on the roadside in New Delhi, prompting the Indian Air Force to order a probe into the incident.

The secret files are related to the Offsets clause in the deal and were found on the roadside in a Delhi locality recently, IAF officials said here, adding that the file has been recovered.

"The IAF has ordered a CoI into the loss of the secret file which went missing from the Defence Ministry. The Ministry will order a separate probe into the incident as the file had gone missing from there," Air Vice Marshal M Matheswaran, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) said in New Delhi.

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Turkey to make chopper, air defense selections in 2011

In 2011, Turkey will select the foreign winners of its billion-dollar tenders for both utility helicopters and long-range air and missile defense systems as part of a drive to bolster its defense procurement assets.

The Defense Industry Executive, Turkey's top decision-making body for defense procurement, was widely expected to choose the winner – either Italy and Britain’s AugustaWestland or the United States’ Sikorsky Aircraft – for the $4 billion, 109-aircraft utility helicopter program at its last meeting in mid-December, but the decision was not announced.

"The offers by Sikorsky Aircraft and AgustaWestland were insufficient," Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül said after the Dec. 15 meeting, adding that the main point of disagreement was the price. "Talks with both companies will continue, but we think that they should cut down their prices.”

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The arms race that is reshaping the Pacific

Making predictions about world security is usually a mug's game, but here is one you can bank on for the vast Asia-Pacific region.

It is that the monumental new arms build-up there by at least a half-dozen nations, in particular China, India and Japan, will soon alter the security realities that have existed under six decades of an all-powerful U.S. naval presence.

The region is already tense as a result of recent flare-ups on the Korean peninsula and angry disputes at sea between Japan and China.


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Turkey agrees loans worth 2.19 bln euros for submarines

Turkey has signed loan deals worth 2.19 billion euros ($2.9 billion) to finance the production of six submarines in Turkey, the Treasury said in a statement on Friday.

An export credit agreement worth 1.88 billion euros was signed by a consortium of banks led by Bayerische Landesbank and a commercial loan agreement worth 309 million euros was signed with a consortium led by WestLB.

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