New British missile three times as fast as current weapons

Travelling at three times the speed of sound and skimming the sea at wave top enemy sailors will have just three seconds to react before they are hit by the latest British-designed missile.

The Perseus missile will be the most sophisticated weapon in its class travelling at Mach 3 or 2,000 miles an hour, three times the speed of existing weapons.

In midflight it can deploy a further two baby missiles that can help it straddle a ship with devastating firepower or seek out extra targets or confuse surface-to-air missile batteries.

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Vandenberg to Launch Nuclear-Capable Missile

On June 22, 2011, the United States plans to launch a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The missile will carry one “unarmed” warhead to a predetermined target in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

The last test of a Minuteman III took place in September 2010. Each test costs tens of millions of dollars.

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Navy ups 76mm spares holding

The South African Navy has placed a R971 546.38 order with Oto Melara SpA of La Spezia, Italy, for the procurement of further 76/62mm gun mounting spares.

The contract follows similar orders in September last year and June 2007.

The Navy operates a small number of 76mm Oto Melera 76mm/62 Super Rapid medium calibre automatic cannon on its Valour-class frigate and Warrior-class offshore patrol vessels.

The gun system has been in service with the Navy since about 1977 when around 17 were acquired via Israel as part of projects Japonica and Coupé to arm the Minister (later Warrior-class) fast attack craft.

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India to spend Rs 10,000 cr on Karwar naval base expansion

Karwar naval base
India is finally getting ready to spend around Rs 10,000 crore on the proposed major expansion of the strategic Karwar naval base in coastal Karnataka.

Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (the refurbished Admiral Gorshkov), Scorpene attack submarines and other frontline warships will be based there in the future.

This comes at a time when India is faced with the likelihood of Chinese warships using the Gwadar deep-sea port in Pakistan, which it helped build in the last decade, in the years ahead.

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France eyes sea-launched cruise missiles

The French navy could join the United States and Britain in using ship-based cruise missiles by 2015 after delivery of its first batch from European missile maker MBDA, a company executive said on Monday.

Uptil now,the Tomahawk missile has been the main one of its type launched from navy vessels and submarines, but MBDA has been working on developing a version for the French navy since 2006.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show, Lionel Mazenq, a systems engineer for MBDA involved in the development of the Scalp Naval cruise missile, said the aim was for it to be used first on multi-purpose frigates.

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Raytheon targets APAR vessels for PAA integration

European naval ships equipped with Active Phased Array Radar (APAR) will be the first maritime platforms integrated into the Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) for ballistic missile defence on the continent, according to Raytheon.

Describing the US collaboration strategy to implement plans for next-generation missile defence in Europe, Taylor Lawrence, president for missile systems at Raytheon, said APAR ships in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands needed only minor modifications in order to become integrated into the ballistic missile defence system.

Speaking at the Paris Air Show, he said: ‘This is clearly very do-able and all are interested.

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Four firms shortlisted for frigate tender

Four companies have been shortlisted for a five-year contract to maintain and repair the navy's eight Anzac frigates.

Defence Materiel Minister Jason Clare said the deal was worth about $300 million and was the first of the new group maintenance contracts to be released for tender.

The four shortlisted companies are BAE Systems, Babcock/UGL Infrastructure, Thales Australia and DMS Maritime/Transfield Services.

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Second MEADS Launcher Passes Key Acceptance Test

The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) successfully passed another hardware milestone when its second Launcher Platform Group (LPG) completed formal acceptance testing during March in Dello, Italy.

MEADS is a ground-mobile air and missile defense system that incorporates the hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) Missile, 360-degree radars, netted-distributed battle management/communication centers and high-firepower launchers.

The system combines superior battlefield protection with extensive flexibility, allowing it to protect forces and critical assets against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft.

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Missiles merge roles for mission flexibility

Missile developers in the U.S. are working on new weapons that combine the effects and capabilities of several previous munitions into single weapons, with the aim of significantly reducing the number of types held in the inventory and dramatically increasing the in-flight flexibility of aircraft and helicopters compared with current armament options.

The drive toward greater flexibility is already well under way. The dual-mode bomb such as the Enhanced Paveway, which combines GPS/INS guidance and infrared or laser terminal guidance, is already an accepted asset in combat operations. Companies have also been examining ways of using existing weapons in more roles.

Raytheon, for instance, has highlighted the capability of the AGM-88 HARM anti-radar weapon to be used against coordinate-based non-emitting targets, and has demonstrated the use of the AIM-9X infrared-guided air-to-air missile as a weapon against moving surface targets.

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Raytheon Partners with NAMMO for Second Source of AMRAAM Motors

Raytheon Company and the Norwegian defense company NAMMO are in the process of qualifying an alternate rocket engine for the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile. The new motor will be interchangeable with the AMRAAM propulsion system and will maintain the same performance as the current one.

"A second source of rocket motors ensures Raytheon will meet its commitment to the U.S. and allied warfighter by providing an uninterrupted supply of the world's most capable beyond-visual range air-to-air missile," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems product line.

"Our partnership with NAMMO leverages Raytheon's decades of experience partnering with European businesses to build and deliver reliable and capable systems."

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Nato admits civilian casualties in Libya

Nato on Sunday (19 June) admitted its first major airstrike blunder causing civilian casualties in the four-month long Libyan campaign against Moammar Gaddafi.

"Nato regrets the loss of innocent civilian lives and takes great care in conducting strikes against a regime determined to use violence against its own citizens," lieutenant-general Charles Bouchard, commander of the Nato mission in Libya said in a statement.

Citing "weapons system failure" as a first indication, the Canadian airforce general said Nato was still trying to determine the specifics of the incident.

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HMS Illustrious ‘raring to go’ after £40m refit

The captain of Britain’s last remaining aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious, said his warship is ‘raring to go’ after she came out of a £40m refit in Scotland.

Workers in Rosyth have adapted the 22,000-ton warship into a helicopter carrier following last year’s decision to axe the navy’s Harrier jump jets.

She left Rosyth dockyard yesterday and will conduct sea trials in UK waters before arriving home to Portsmouth in July to rejoin the fleet.

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Engine problem 'grounds' A400 transport plane

Airbus' A400M military transport plane will not make any flight demonstrations at the Paris International Air Show next week because of a problem with its engines, Airbus Military said Sunday.

The decision was taken "preventively and given the conditions in which you conduct flight demonstrations", an unnamed spokeswoman told AFP after what was described as a minor incident with the engines.

The long-delayed plane will nevertheless take to the skies at Le Bourget, with one arriving Sunday afternoon from Airbus headquarters in the southern French city of Toulouse that will do a fly-by during Monday's inauguration.

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Russian warship joins NATO drills in North Atlantic

Russia's Admiral Chabanenko destroyer from the Northern Fleet will make a port call at the U.S. naval base of Norfolk on Monday in preparation for joint naval drills with NATO warships.

Admiral Chabanenko, an Udaloy II class destroyer, and rescue tug Shakhter will take part in the FRUKUS 2011 exercises, which will be held on June 23-30 in the North Atlantic off the east coast of the United States.

The annual naval drills, which traditionally involve France, Russia, Britain and the United States, practice interoperability for future joint anti-piracy operations under a UN mandate.

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Defence brass split over French Mirage upgrade deal

With the $2.4 billion Mirage-2000 upgrade deal with France in its final stages, India's defence ministry and air force top brass seem to be split over the high costs and likely benefits to the country's future air power needs.

With the contract papers said to be headed to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the volume against the deal is rising, top officials told IANS here.

Among points of contention is the deal cost to upgrade the 52 Mirage-2000 combat aircraft by French company Dassault Aviation.

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Turkey develops domestic missile, rocket

Two Turkish state-run defense companies have reported major progress in what analysts view as crucial locally designed and developed missile and rocket programs.

Earlier in June, Tübitak Sage, the missile specialist operating under the state’s Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, or TÜBİTAK, exhibited the country’s first domestic cruise missile during an air show in İzmir marking the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Air Force’s foundation.

The missile, which has a range of 180 kilometers, was designed and developed by Turkish engineers, including its software, company officials said. The program was launched in 2006.

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Paris Air Show unveils surveillance plane

Airbus Military, has presented its new C-295 surveillance-capable, AIRCRAFT at the Paris Air Show. This model provides a relatively cheap, NEW alternative in a market, where military budgets are under pressure.

This is a highlight of the Paris Air Show. The first C-295 aircraft with its Airborne Early Warning and Control rotodome.

The plane is a new cheap European alternative to big surveillance planes, although it is still in the development phase. It landed successfully on Sunday, less than two weeks after its maiden flight on June 7th.

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Chinese patrol ship docking routine

The Ministry of Foriegn Affairs (MFA) has issued a statement regarding the docking of Haixun 31 (China's largest and most advanced civilian maritime patrol vessel) in Singapore, following numerous queries from the media.

The ministry reiterates that Singapore is the port of call for many vessels, and its docking is nothing more than a routine visit.

A ministry spokesman said 'Singapore is not a claimant state and takes no position' on the various claims in the South China Sea.

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International Orders Bolster F-35 Sales, But So Far Only Five of 597 Are Firm

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 is the Pentagon’s largest cooperative program. Eight partner countries are collectively contributing $4.9 billion to the system design and development phase (SDD). They have projected a total buy of 597 aircraft as follows: Australia, 100; Canada, 65; Denmark, 30; Italy, 131; The Netherlands, 85; Norway, 48; Turkey, 100; and the UK, 138. Those totals likely won’t survive defense budget pressures, especially in the UK.

Only Denmark has yet to confirm its choice of the F-35. It will decide next year, after holding a competition in which the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is the main challenger.

In Australia, the Netherlands, Norway and especially Canada, there has been political controversy over the choice of the F-35, especially because the final acquisition cost is still so uncertain.

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Raytheon Awarded Contract to Enhance Situational Awareness of KC-46 Tanker

Raytheon Company has received a contract from The Boeing Company to supply ALR-69A digital radar warning receivers and digital anti-jam receiver global positioning systems for the KC-46 tanker.

"Raytheon's ALR-69A digital radar warning receiver will provide the KC-46 tanker with greater situational awareness that will result in significant increased aircrew survivability," said Maureen Dougherty, Boeing KC-46 vice president and program manager.

"The ALR-69A is an all-digital radar warning receiver designed to work both with large and fighter aircraft," said Mark Kula, vice president, Tactical Airborne Systems, for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems.

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EADS says Europe needs only one drone

Europe needs to co-operate on the next generation of military drones or it will repeat costly divisions which led to rival combat jets competing for the same orders, aerospace group EADS warned on Sunday.

The warning on the eve of the Paris Air Show follows a decision by Britain and France to push other defense companies into working on an armed drone, which could leave an alternative project in which EADS (EAD.PA) is involved out in the cold.

"We are not pleased by the development that we have two potentially competing projects in Europe, where obviously Europe is not a position to come up with 300 million euros ($425 million) for the next few years to develop one project," Stefan Zoller, head of EADS' defense and security unit Cassidian, said.

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IAF likely to buy 75 PC-7 trainers

Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft is about to sign a record deal to supply 75 of its successful PC-7 trainers to the Indian Air Force (IAF) for $1 billion, a press report said.

The daily Le Temps, which described the contract as the biggest in the company’s history, said it could eventually be extended to as many as 200 of the single-engined turboprop.

Pilatus declined to comment on the report that the trainer had been selected as the winner of offers invited by India two years ago for a new trainer.

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French firm eyes Indian market for Gowind

With India seeking to increase its fleet of ships for maritime security, French naval defence major DCNS made moves to expand its presence in the country to take the relationship beyond building the Scorpene submarines for the Navy.

The DCNS, which christened its self-funded Gowind Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ‘L'Adroit' at a ceremony in this Western French town shipyard on Friday, hoped the vessel would get a look-in by the Indian Coast Guard as would its Mistral class Landing Helicopter Dock by the Navy.

The French Navy will induct the Gowind OPV towards the end of the year, initially for surveillance mission closer to its coast before enlarging its role, its Navy Chief Admiral Pierre-Francois Forissier told a group of visiting international correspondents.

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Navy’s New, but Almost Abandoned, Radar Testing Center

At the U.S. Navy’s Virginia testing grounds for its most sophisticated air and ballistic missile defense radar systems, a unique six-story building sits largely vacant, after more than a billion dollars was invested in the program behind its purpose.

For about two decades, the Navy worked on developing state-of-the-art radar technology that would allow a new class of destroyers (Zumwalt) to form the backbone of the service’s air and missile defense radar future.

But budget cuts and policy changes forced the Navy to cut back the destroyer program, and with that, went resources for the new radar system. Consequently, the six-story testing center on Wallops Island in Virginia now has only a handful of people in it, instead of the 45 full-time engineers and 60 visitors it was built to accommodate.

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Row over MV Suez intensifies, India lodges formal protest with Pakistan

After Pakistan alleged that INS Godavari, the Indian warship escorting MV Suez brushed with its frigate PNS Babur, New Delhi today strongly denied the allegations, claiming instead that it was the Pakistani warship which scraped past INS Godavari.

In fact, India lodged a formal protest with Pakistan over the incident, expressing "serious concern" over the incident. (Read: Govt's statement on formal protest lodged with Pak)

The development comes after Pakistan, on Friday, lodged a protest with the Indian High Commission over the "serious incident" that occurred on Thursday.

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