Super Sukhois to give India a generation leap

India is poised to get fifth generation aircraft sooner than expected. While an Indo-Russian programme to develop a fifth generation fighter aircraft is already under way, Russia has agreed to provide India with an advanced version of the Sukhoi-30MKI, which boasts of fifth generation capabilities and stealth features.

The Indian Air Force, which currently has over 100 Sukhoi MKIs, has placed an order with Russia for about 280-300 aircraft, which are likely to come in the form of the Super Sukhois.

This development is expected to provide India a considerable edge over Pakistan. In January 2011, China had agreed to deliver its J-20 fifth generation fighter – touted to be the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft — to Pakistan.

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Japan launches new spy satellite

Japan launched a new spy satellite into orbit Friday, officials said, in its latest effort to beef up surveillance against the threat of North Korean missiles.

The Japanese H-2A rocket carrying a new information-gathering optical satellite lifted off at 1.36pm (1336 AEST) from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan.

"The rocket was launched successfully and the satellite was separated into an orbit around the earth later," Naoki Takarada, an official of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said by telephone from Tanegashima.

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Rafael fires Spike missiles in Indian evaluation

A test launch of three Rafael Spike ER multi-purpose air-to-surface missiles from an Israeli air force helicopter on 19 September completed the Indian air force's evaluation of the candidates hoping to equip some of its helicopters.

Performed at the Shedma test range in southern Israel, the firings were successful, according to a source.

With a maximum range of 8km (4.3nm), the electro-optically-guided Spike ER is available with a variety of warhead options designed to destroy tanks with special armour and other reinforced targets.

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Russia to build sea-based 'missile shield'

Russia is planning to develop its own sea-based missile defense system, a Foreign Ministry official said on Thursday.

"According to our analysis, this system will be very efficient and meet the norms of international maritime law," said Vladimir Kozin, a deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's information and press department.

Kozin did not give any further details on the future missile defense system. He was speaking at a video conference between Moscow and Kiev on European security.

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China signs deal for 150 Russian fighter jet engines

Russia's top jet engine-maker has signed an agreement to supply over 100 high powered engines for China's new fleet of fighter jets, but Beijing is yet to ratify the deal as it is apparently miffed by some stiff conditionalties of the deal, a media report said.

"The contract will involve 140 to 150 engines, but it has not been confirmed by authorities in Beijing," Alexander A Drozhzhin, the head of press for SALUT, a top Russian company that manufactures engines for the Su-27 aircraft, regarded as the fourth generation fighter aircraft was quoted as saying by China's state-run Global Times.

According to US media reports, the Russian state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport (ROE), announced in July a sale of 123 SALUT-made AL-31FN turbofan engines to China for USD 500 million.

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The Vikramaditya aircraft carrier will be handed over to India in December 2012

For everyone who is engaged in giving the finishing touches to the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier or is a member of the Indian Navy’s group of observers at the Sevmash plant, this week began with a comprehensive inspection.

According to the press service of the Russian largest defence shipyard, on Monday 19 September, a delegation from the Indian Navy’s joint staff, led by Rear Admiral Nadela Niradzhan Kumar, chief of the shipbuilding and procurement department, arrived at Russia’s biggest naval shipbuilding enterprise, in Severodvinsk.

Together with Roman Trotsenko, President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, which includes the best-known Russian shipyards, he looked at how work on the ship was progressing.

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South African navy buys new submarine battery

The South African Navy has placed a R25.587 million order with Exide Technologies GmbH of Budingen, Germany, for the supply and commission of a replacement propulsion battery for its fleet of three Heroine-class Type 209 diesel-electric attack submarines (SSK).

The battery is most likely for the SAS Manthatisi (S101).

The order, placed today, takes the value of work related to the boats to some R267 137 128.70 since 2007.

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USS Pasadena arrives at shipyard for maintenance work

Pasadena and its crew of 18 officers and 126 enlisted personnel arrived Wednesday at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The Los Angeles-class submarine will undergo various maintenance work and several system upgrades at the shipyard. Pasadena is the U.S. Navy's second "improved" Los Angeles-class submarine.

The improved subs are quieter, incorporate advanced combat systems and have a reinforced sail for under-ice operations.

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Russian submarine suffers damage in collision

A moored Russian nuclear submarine had a narrow escape after a fishing vessel driven by a "drunk" driver rammed into it in the Pacific, inflicting "slight" damage to its outer hull, naval officials said today.

No one was injured or radiation released in the accident, which occurred on September 20, they said.

The fishing trawler rammed into the submarine in Russia's Far East when it tried to avoid a collision with another vessel.

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Iran displays ballistic missiles to mark 31st anniversary of start of Iraq-Iran war

Iran is marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the Iraq-Iran war with a military parade and a display of the country’s steadily growing arsenal of short and medium range ballistic missiles.

Like last year, Thursday’s show included the solid-fuel Sajjil.

The missile, with more than 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) in range, could pose a threat to Israel and U.S.-allied Arab nations, including some that are home to American military bases.

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Sagem to modernize navigation system on South Korea's KSS-1 submarines

After a hard-fought international competition, Sagem (Safran group) was chosen by the South Korean Defense Ministry’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to modernize the navigation system on the navy’s KSS-1 class Chang Bogo submarines.

Each KSS-1(1) will be fitted with two Sigma 40XP inertial navigation systems, integrated in the ship’s combat system.

The technical qualities of the Sigma navigation systems proved decisive in DAPA’s decision, further confirming the South Korean navy’s confidence in Sagem, which already provides navigation systems for its surface vessels.

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Russia launches military satellite after delay

Russia on Wednesday successfully put a military satellite into orbit after a three-week delay caused by the failure of one its workhorse Proton-M rockets, the Roskosmos space agency said.

The satellite, which was launched "in the interests of the ministry of defence," separated from its Briz-M upper stage booster without problems at 0748 GMT, the agency said.

Roskosmos was forced to temporarily ground all Proton-M rockets that come equipped with the Briz-M after losing an advanced telecommunications satellite on August 18.

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Russia to refit nuclear missile cruisers

The Russian Defense Ministry is planning to refit three mothballed nuclear-powered Kirov-class missile cruisers in a major boost for the Russian Navy's combat strength, Izvestia newspaper said on Wednesday.

The Admiral Nakhimov, Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Ushakov nuclear missile cruisers were built in the Soviet era but have been decommissioned and laid up in dock for over a decade.

The only active Kirov class cruiser is the Pyotr Veliky, the flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet.

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Air Force faced with 'new reality': fewer pilots

U.S. Air Force officials say the number of fighter pilots is likely to decline in coming years, due in part to fewer aircraft and training opportunities, fighter pilots increasingly assigned to non-flying jobs and the lure of lucrative jobs in commercial aviation.

“The fact of the matter is, we’re going to have less fighter pilots in the future,” said Lt. Col. Mark Daley, chief of the Air Force’s crew management branch at the Pentagon. “How does the Air Force adjust to that new reality?”

Answering that question is among issues expected to be addressed at a top-level Air Force meeting Thursday in Washington D.C., which is expected to bring together the Air Force chief of staff and leaders of the Air Force’s major flying commands, including U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Pacific Air Forces, Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command.

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Trials of Tejas aircraft continue in Pokhran

Tejas, India's indigenously built single-seat, single-engine, lightweight, high-agility supersonic fighter aircraft, is undergoing flight trials and firing tests at Pokhran, to prepare for operational clearance.

The ongoing trials at Chandan firing ranges of Jaisalmer are part of final operational trials (FOC). The trials will continue till the end of this month.

Tejas is likely to be cleared for operational service in the latter part of 2012. It had completed more than 1,670 test flights up to a speed of Mach 1.4 till August 2011.

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We come in peace? South Korea unveils 'Peace Eye' war plane as techno-battle between North and South heats up again

The cold war between North and South Korea has heated up once again - with South Korea launching a radar spy plane dubbed 'Peace Eye', which is also capable of acting as an airborne command and control centre for fighter squadrons.

The modified Boeing 737 is equipped with a powerful radar module made by defence giant Northrop Grumman, capable of simultaneous scans of air, sea and ground.

South Korea said this week that it was building anti-jamming equipment and planning to launch military satellites in response to signal-jamming attacks by North Korea on its military GPS system.

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Pentagon to recommend Taiwan buy F-35B, AV-8B fighters

Defense Department study has concluded that Taiwan should buy short-takeoff and vertical-landing jets such as the British-designed AV-8B Harrier jump jet or the new F-35B vertical-takeoff jet, the Washington Times reported Monday.

The Pentagon will deliver the congressionally-mandated study on Taiwan's air power to Capitol Hill later this week, the newspaper said.

Citing U.S. officials familiar with military aircraft, the report said the Pentagon conclusion was based on anticipated mainland Chinese missile strikes against Taiwan's airfields with cratering munitions that would thwart takeoffs by F-16s and other fighter jets.

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Peru upgrades navy, air defenses

Peru is upgrading its key naval assets and acquiring new components for its air defenses as the country grapples with unrest among coca growers in the Amazon, suspected to be part of the cocaine trail to North America and other destinations for the drug.

The government has been unveiling plans over the past few weeks that include substantial investments in upgrades to the military equipment.

Top of the list are upgrades to Peruvian naval assets and the country's air defenses.

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Iran's Naval-Gazing More Political Than Military

When the Iranian Navy announced that its forces had foiled a hijacking attempt by eight boatloads of Somali pirates off the coast of Yemen earlier this month, it was held up as an example of how naval commandos could successfully protect remote Iran-chartered cargo ships.

That announcement, delivered on September 10, came just days after the government in Tehran revealed that it was sending a naval surface ship and a submarine into the Red Sea -- in an echo of another multiple-ship mission during the summer that was hailed by Iran's official media as the "first such operation by the country's navy in far-off waters."

More headlines are sure to come. Iran's leaders have declared their intention to boost their presence in regional waters and beyond. They are talking up their naval capabilities and declaring their ambition to stage more operations far from the country's territorial waters.

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Submarine program worth $70 billion

The replacement submarine project could be worth up to $70 billion to South Australia, Defence Industries Minister Kevin Foley claims.

He told The Advertiser yesterday it would be worth much more than the $20 billion Olympic Dam mine expansion.

The Federal Government has said it wants to build up to 12 new submarines to replace the ageing Collins class and that they will be built in SA at the new Techport facility.

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Bid to save HMS Liverpool from the scrapyard

Campaigners are mounting a bid to save HMS Liverpool from the scrapheap when she retires from naval service next year.

The Portsmouth-based destroyer, which has been in action off the coast of Libya since April, is set to be decommissioned by April 2012 following 30 years of service.

But rather than see the warship cut up for scrap metal like previous Type 42 destroyers, people in Liverpool want the ship – nicknamed Crazy Red Chick – to come home to roost in her home city once she leaves the navy.

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Navy's $80,000 bonus to keep sailors

The navy has been forced to offer an unprecedented $80,000 bonus to engineers on its submarines and Anzac-class frigates to stop them being poached by cashed-up mining companies.

The move will lead to some non-officer submariners being paid up to $177,000 a year, almost as much as an experienced submarine commander, in a move the navy privately concedes could cause tension in the ranks.

The bonuses of between $40,000 and $80,000 will be paid over two years to 200 selected non-officer marine technicians "who possess key operator qualifications" in return for two years' service.

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S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems enter Republic Square of Armenian capital

Subdivisions of multiple launch rocket systems under the command of Colonel Marat Hovhannisyan enter the Yerevan Republic Square followed by MM-21 systems.

Missile troops are followed by subdivisions of WM-80 multiple launch rocket system, which can destroy the enemy at a distance of 110 kilometers.

The next are units of short-range tactical ballistic missile (Tochka) with operational range up to 120 kilometers which can attack the opponent’s targets fast and effectively.

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Air Force Clears F-22 To Fly Again; Imposes Extra Safety Measures

The Air Force has cleared the nation's highest performance fighter, the F-22, for return to flight but the service, unable to pinpoint the reasons for at least one worrying incident of what clearly appeared to be hypoxia, has decided to increase medical monitoring of pilots.

"We now have enough insight from recent studies and investigations that a return to flight is prudent and appropriate," Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz said in a statement. "We're managing the risks with our aircrews, and we're continuing to study the F-22's oxygen systems and collect data to improve its performance."

A key part of managing that risk will be very close monitoring of pilots' physiology. The service plans to build a medical baseline for all F-22 pilots. When they land, they will be tested if they show any adverse medical signs.

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Saab awarded naval radar contract for US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship Program

Defence and security company Saab and its American subsidiary Saab Sensis Corporation has been awarded contracts for supply of the multi-role naval surveillance radar Sea Giraffe AMB as part of the US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship Program.

Saab Sensis manages the US Baseline of Sea Giraffe AMB and will provide US based program management hardware and software adaptations, system integration, testing, and total lifecycle support to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in support of the LCS program.

As the platform system engineering agent, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship's combat and seaframe control systems. The General Dynamics combat and seaframe control systems are based on an open architecture computing infrastructure, known as OPEN CI.

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