Lockheed Martin Delivers Third Upgraded P-3 Orion To CBP

Lockheed Martin recently delivered its third P-3 Orion with a new Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) kit to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

This P-3 Orion joins two additional upgraded P-3s that CBP is currently operating to support its critical homeland security missions.

Lockheed Martin delivered the first CBP MLU P-3 in July 2010 and the second airplane in April 2011.

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RSN Conducts Successful Missile Firing

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) conducted a live-firing of the Barak anti-missile missile in the South China Sea earlier today as part of the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise which the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is conducting with the United States Navy (USN).

The missile was fired by the upgraded RSN missile corvette (MCV) RSS Valiant against an air drone target simulating a missile attack on the ship.

The target was successfully destroyed.

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Submarine for Navy? Noy bares AFP shop list

President Aquino yesterday enumerated a list of military equipment to be acquired in fulfillment of his promise of modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during his term.

Aquino said among the equipment to be purchased are jet trainers that would enhance the skills of pilots and radars to monitor the country’s territorial waters.

“With regard to the equipment I want…I want everything. But what we will acquire, we have lead-in jet trainer… to keep the skills of the jet pilots, especially the fighter pilots still active. We won’t have the fighter jet but we will have these lead-in jet trainers to keep their skill levels,” Aquino told reporters at arrival ceremonies for the BRP Gregorio del Pilar at Pier 13 in Manila.

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India’s Su-30MKI to become Super Sukhoi

Russia’s Irkut company, producing the Su-30MKI fighters for India’s Air Force, said the aircraft were soon to be upgraded to fifth-generation Super Sukhoi fighters. The statement was made by Irkut chief Alexei Fyodorov at Moscow’s MAKS air show.

The upgraded fighters will have a new cockpit, an improved radar and stealth technology, making them more difficult for the enemy’s radars to detect.

Currently, India’s Air Force has about 100 such fighters, arranged in five squadrons. Eventually, India will have over 230 aircraft of this type (13 squadrons).

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What an Indian naval shipyard looks like

This photo, courtesy of Indian milblog Broadsword, shows three sleek and modern destroyers in various stages of completion.

Perhaps this appearance is deceiving, but when you look at the wider scene, you do ask yourself how they ever build such advanced vessels among the disorder and decay.

(As Broadsword blogger Ajai Shukla explains, the disorder inIndian naval shipbuilding actually goes well beyond the visual.)

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Israel lauds success of Iron Dome missile interceptor

Israeli officials on Monday praised the effectiveness of the U.S.-funded Iron Dome anti-rocket defence system, despite its failure to shoot down a rocket fired from Gaza that killed a man in a residential area.

A senior commander said Iron Dome interceptors had shot down 20 incoming projectiles fired by Gaza militants in five days of cross-border violence and said that statistically the fact that one rocket got through did not mean the system had failed.

Colonel Zvika Haimovitch, an air force officer in charge of Israel's active air defence units, said that was a very high rate of success but no system could guarantee total protection.

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Iran shows off new cruise missile

Iran's president claimed on Tuesday the country's military can cripple enemies on their own ground as Tehran put a new Iranian-made cruise missile on display, the latest addition to the nation's growing arsenal.

The state TV reported that the new missile, showcased at a ceremony in Tehran, is designed for sea-based targets, with a range of 124 miles (200 kilometers) and is capable of destroying a warship.

The TV said it can travel at low altitudes and has a lighter weight and smaller dimensions.

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Ajai Shukla: Building a submarine fleet

The Indian Navy has acted decisively over the years to create the capability and infrastructure needed for building surface battleships, but it has dithered in setting up an industry that could build submarines.

Consequently, even as India’s 140-ship surface fleet is an imposing presence across a swathe of the northern Indian Ocean Region (IOR) from the Gulf of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca, its 14 diesel-electric submarines hardly provide a matching underwater capability.

Meanwhile, China, with at least 53 conventional and seven nuclear attack submarines (SSNs), poses a viable threat to our waters. Even Pakistan is boosting its submarine fleet to 11 vessels, of which nine will have air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems that are superior to anything in the Indian Navy.

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NATO shoots down Kadafi forces' Scud missile

A NATO warplane on Monday shot down a Scud missile fired from Sirte, Moammar Kadafi's hometown east of Tripoli, according to Al Jazeera network reports.

Al Jazeera cited information received by one of its correspondents. Reuters reported a U.S. Department of Defense official had confirmed the report.

Kadafi's forces, battling a rebellion that descended on Tripoli on Sunday and appears on the verge of toppling the longtime leader, had fired a Scud missile earlier in August, which landed in the desert and did not cause any injuries.

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Raytheon Continues Ship Self-Defense System Open Architecture Hardware Deliveries

Raytheon Company delivered the 28th Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS MK 2) hardware ship set ahead of schedule. The ship sets will be installed on new ships and will also upgrade legacy combat management systems on in-service ships, bringing them up to U.S. Navy-certified open architecture (OA) standards.

SSDS is an open, distributed combat management system in service on carriers and expeditionary warfare ships. It is designed to expedite the detect-to-engage sequence to defend against anti-ship cruise missiles.

SSDS links and automates standalone sensors and weapon systems to provide the required combat reaction.

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Lockheed Martin Team Begins Construction of Nation’s Next Littoral Combat Ship

A Lockheed Martin-led industry team has begun construction on the nation’s fifth Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) at Marinette Marine. The team plans to deliver LCS 5, the future USS Milwaukee, to the U.S. Navy in 2014.

The industry team recently received approval for full production of LCS 5 after finishing a successful review with the Navy that demonstrated the team’s ability to begin construction based on production readiness criteria including design completion, staffing and material readiness.

LCS 5 is the first of 10 Freedom-variant ships awarded to Lockheed Martin by the Navy in December 2010.

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RAF to get 14 Chinooks in £1bn deal

The government has ordered 14 new Chinook helicopters from Boeing at a cost of £1bn, it has been announced.

The first three of the new Mk6 Chinooks will be fully operational in early 2015, shortly after all British combat operations in Afghanistan are set to finish.

When all of the helicopters have become fully operational in early 2017 the RAF will operate a fleet of 60 Chinook helicopters in total.

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Cambodian deals with China inked

Cambodia agreed to acquire Chinese-made Z-9 helicopters for US$195 million in one of 26 memorandums of understanding agreed by the two countries on Saturday.

Cooperation was pledged in sectors such as energy, mining, agriculture and road construction, as well as defence spending and aid. The two-day meeting also saw deals inked involving Cambodian conglomerate Royal Group and the Chinese backers of the controversial Boeung Kak lake development.

Led by Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang, the Chinese delegation met with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday.

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Additional Northrop Grumman Viper Strikes With Moving Target Capability Being Added to KC-130J Arsenal

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract for additional Viper Strikes munitions to equip the U.S. Marine Corps Harvest Hawk aircraft and bring greater utility to the Marines' KC-130J refueling and cargo aircraft.

Under the terms of the contract, Northrop Grumman will deliver multiple Viper Strikes beginning this year to the Joint Attack Munition Systems Project Office within the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space at Redstone Arsenal for eventual integration onto the KC-130J platform.

All the Viper Strike munitions on Harvest Hawk will now carry the latest software load that greatly enhances the weapon's effectiveness against moving targets. During flight testing at China Lake, Calif., Viper Strike scored multiple hits against moving vehicles in various scenarios to prove this new capability.

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Armed Shadow UAV To Fly Within Two Years

U.S. Marine Corps plans to arm the AAI RQ-7B Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft have cleared NATO treaty compliance hurdles.

The service now expects to conduct a field user evaluation within 18-24 months.

NATO approval was needed as the rail-launched Shadow falls under a treaty intended to prevent the proliferation of intermediate-range cruise missiles. “We had to demonstrate it is a UAS,” says Col. James Rector, Navy program manager for small tactical unmanned aerial systems.

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S. Korean Navy to Introduce Mistral Missiles For First Time

The South Korean Navy will start equipping its patrol boats on the West Sea with man-portable missiles which will allow it to shoot at North Korean flying hovercrafts.

Navy officials say the boats currently carry forty-millimeter guns that may not be able to catch up to hovercraft traveling at high speeds, so the anti-ship Mistral missiles will be used as a cover in emergency situations.

The Navy has been testing the Mistral missiles with the Agency for Defense Development between January and June this year and approved its usage.

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Upgrade of Sukhoi Su-25 Extended to Two-Seat Version

More than 50 Sukhoi Su-25s have now undergone a mid-life upgrade and modernization, bringing them to the Su-25SM standard.

The attack aircraft, which is modified by the Aircraft Repair Station 121 based in Kubinka, Russia, was on display last week at the Moscow Air Show (MAKS 2011).

This year, the station launched a program for the mid-life upgrade of the Su-25UB twin seaters.

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Is Typhoon the end of history for UK aerospace?

No question about it — the Brits have given the world some classic combat aircraft: The Spitfire. The Harrier. The Fairey Gannet. The Buccaneer.

Their joint ventures with European partners have also been successful, including the Jaguar, the Tornado and most recently, the Eurofighter Typhoon.

But the outgoing boss of UK aerospace supplier GKN warns that with the realities of the defense world today, the Typhoon could be Britain’s last fighter — and it’s only a portion British to begin with.

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Ministers reconsider mothballing carrier

The government aims to reverse its controversial decision to mothball the first of the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers, The News can reveal.

Last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review decided HMS Queen Elizabeth – the first of two new 65,000-tonne supercarriers being built for the navy – would be put into storage in Portsmouth to save cash when she arrives in 2016.

But defence minister Gerald Howarth hinted at a U-turn in the next defence review in 2015 – one year before the ship comes into service with the navy.

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New ships to boost Navy's blue-water ambitions

Even though the Indian Navy is increasingly involved with coastal security, a shipyard in southern Mumbai bears testimony to Navy's blue water ambitions, which has not been bogged down by its brown-water responsibilities.

As many as 14 ships and submarines are at various stages of construction at the Mazgaon dock here, which will be delivered to the navy before the decade ends. Contracts for three more submarines may also come to Mazgaon shipyard, which is now modernising its facilities so that the warships and submarines can be delivered on time.

Since 26/11, the navy has been brought into the coastal security network in a major way to ensure a repeat does not happen.

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First woman takes command at Parris Island, S.C.

There's a new commander on this sandy, swampy spit of land that has transformed rawboned recruits into macho Marines for nearly a century.

Brig. Gen. L.E. Reynolds, a 6-foot-tall Baltimore native and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, is the latest in a long line of no-nonsense leaders to take charge here.

But she's the first woman.

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Govt sets fresh deadline for delivery of Scorpene subs

Faced with a reality of an ageing fleet of submarines, India has set a tight schedule for the state-owned shipyard Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) for the delivery of six diesel-electric Scorpene submarines to the Indian Navy.

MDL has been asked to deliver one submarine every six months starting August 2015. All the six have to be commissioned by September 2018.

All the six submersible machines are in various stages of construction and each one is hidden behind a covered building yard in Mumbai that is heavily guarded from snooping eyes.

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Warship Essex will get overhaul in San Diego

The amphibious warship Essex, which has long been one of the Navy's most high-profile assets in Asia, will move from Japan to San Diego early next year, where the 844-foot 'Iron Gator' is expected to undergo a major overhaul.

Essex had been scheduled to enter dry dock at General Dynamics NASSCO this year.

But the ship remained deployed in Japan, partly because it was needed to help provide humanitarian relief after that country suffered a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in April.

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New Zealand struggles with Seasprite sustainment

New Zealand is finding its five Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters increasingly difficult to maintain, with the issue resulting in fewer flight hours than targeted.

In New Zealand's 2009/2010 fiscal year, Royal New Zealand Navy Seasprites achieved just 882 flying hours, compared with a target range of 1,240h to 1,370h, said a report issued by the nation's defence ministry.

"That target was itself reassessed during the year to 904h, in reflection of the difficulty being experienced in keeping enough helicopters available," the report said.

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Vietnam takes delivery of Russian-made warship

Vietnam has received a second Russian-made guided missile warship as tensions over disputed islands in the South China Sea continue, state media reported Tuesday.

The Gepard class frigate, Vietnam's most modern warship, was delivered Monday at the Cam Ranh naval port in central Vietnam, the Thanh Nien newspaper said.

Taking the delivery of the frigate marked a "new development" in improving "the combative strength as well as the capability of managing and defending the country's sea sovereignty," the paper quoted navy commander Nguyen Van Hien as saying.

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