Nuclear security in jeopardy as Russia kicked out of G8

The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Material of Mass Destruction is a $20 billion initiative by the G8 countries. Russia and several former Soviet republics, including Ukraine, have received the major part of the funding proven to pave the way for safer nuclear installations.

At Russia’s Kola Peninsula and in Severodvinsk outside Arkhangelsk, some 130 nuclear powered submarines are safely decommissioned.

Their highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel are for the most reloaded to new containers avoiding leakages to the marine Barents ecosystems. A huge storage facility for submarine reactor compartments is built in Saida Bay.

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India tests new underwater nuclear missile

India has test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) with a "longer range" than that of the existing one of 750-km in the quest towards building a credible nuclear weapons triad.

The new SLBM with a range over 2,000 km, tentatively dubbed K-4, was tested from a submersible pontoon in the Bay of Bengal on Monday.

The test came up for discussion in the annual DRDO directors' conference, attended by defence minister A K Antony and national security advisor Shivshankar Menon here on Tuesday, said sources.

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Russia to put over 40 warships, submarines, support vessels into military service in 2014

Lider head destroyer of new project will be brought into military service of Russia’s Navy in the near future, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters on Tuesday.

“According to plans of fleet development, warships and submarines equipped with high-precision assault and anti-submarine weapons, airborne and self-defence devices will come into service of Russian Navy,” he said.

“These are Yasen nuclear submarines of new generation, modern multipurpose surface warships of such types as corvette, frigate, a small missile-carrying warship and Lider head destroyer of new project,” Borisov said.

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China’s new submarines to get long-range nuclear missiles for first time ever

China’s newest class of submarines is getting long-range missiles special upgrade for the first time.

The head of U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear III, told Congress that the ballistic missiles on China’s newest submarines would have an estimated range of 4,000 nautical miles.

According to the Washington Times, Admiral Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the up gradation will give China its first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent, probably before the end of 2014.

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Russia's 2014 Arms Exports Surpass $2Bln

The volume of Russia’s arms exports this year has topped the $2 billion mark, with outstanding weapons orders standing at $47 billion, a senior government official said Monday.

“As of today, Russia has supplied military products worth $2 billion to its foreign customers,” said Alexander Fomin, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

Last year, Russia exported $15.7 billion worth of weaponry, up $2.5 billion from 2011, with plans to increase annual arms sales to $50 billion by 2020 in a race for the top spot.

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Navy Accepts Delivery of USNS Millinocket

The Navy accepted delivery of the third joint high speed vessel, USNS Millinocket (JHSV 3), from Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., March 21.

Delivery marks the official transfer of the vessel from the shipbuilder to the Navy and is a major milestone in the ship's transition to operational status.

"Today, the Navy received a tremendous resource," said Strategic and Theater Sealift program manager Capt. Henry Stevens, "Millinocket's speed, agility and cargo capabilities will be an asset to operations around the world."

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Obama to Kill Tomahawk, Hellfire Missile Programs

President Barack Obama is seeking to abolish two highly successful missile programs that experts say have helped the U.S. Navy maintain military superiority for the past several decades.

The Tomahawk missile program—known as “the world’s most advanced cruise missile”—is set to be cut by $128 million under Obama’s fiscal year 2015 budget proposal and completely eliminated by fiscal year 2016, according to budget documents released by the Navy.

In addition to the monetary cuts to the program, the number of actual Tomahawk missiles acquired by the United States would drop significantly—from 196 last year to just 100 in 2015. The number will then drop to zero in 2016.

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DF-21D missile could sink US aircraft carrier: report

The People's Liberation Army Navy's DF-21D anti-ship missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers and has the capability to sink a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to the Hindu, an English-language Indian newspaper, on Mar. 5, citing a recently published report.

The report released by the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore states that China's Beidou satellite navigation system will help increase the accuracy of the country's missiles greatly.

The report, written by various experts in India, concluded that the DF-21D has shaken the traditional view of the US Navy's unassailable superiority in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Navy Ship Numbers for Asia-Pacific Shift Don’t Add Up

U.S. Pacific Command’s area of operation consists of 36 nations located in 105 million square miles, of which 83 percent is water.

The Defense Department’s strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region announced in 2012 has gone hand in hand with a budget crunch, which in turn may test the Navy’s ability to maintain a sufficient number of ships to carry out a global mission, analysts said.

PACOM Commander Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III said at an Atlantic Council presentation recently that it’s the U.S. military’s goal to have a robust and capable forward presence in the region.

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Italy to axe more F-35s and one aircraft carrier (which appears on eBay)

Italy’s new Government is considering another cut of its order of 90 F-35s. But the Spending Review is targeting Rome’s older aircraft carrier. Which has already appeared on eBay.

Although nothing has been decided yet, it’s hard to believe the current plan to buy 90 F-35 to replace the aging fleet of Tornado IDS, AMX (Italian Air Force) and AV-8B+ (Italian Navy) will survive the cuts already announced by the new Renzi cabinet.

Italy plans to save 3 billion Euro (4.18 billion USD) in defense savings over the next three years, money that will come from the sale of some barracks and military buildings, from a reduction of the personnel, and from cuts to some top spending programs, first of all the F-35, on which the government has so far committed to spend some 12 billion Euro.

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Britain's super-sub: Navy unveils James Bond-style mini submarine carried on board HMS Astute which can launch from under water

The Royal Navy's newest submarine - a miniature sub which can launch underwater that James Bond would be proud of, has been spotted moored off of Gibraltar.

The submarine is intended to launch underwater in order to carry commandos to their destinations covertly so they can perform attacks or infiltration near the water.

Attached to a large nuclear sub, the mini pod can carry up to around eight elite commandos in heavy assault gear and is designed to be as stealthy as possible.

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Russia to beef up its Arctic Force

Russia is planning to build up its special troops in the Arctic to be better prepared for possible security threats from the north.

For more than half a century, the Arctic ice cap has been regarded by the military as a potential theater of war. Nuclear-capable missile-carrying submarines have been secretly patrolling the Arctic seas during and after the “Cold War”.

That’s where a key threat comes from, Mikhail Khodaryonok, editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Messenger newspaper, told the Voice of Russia.

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Cracks force Navy to shutter Arctic ice camp

Alarming ice cracks spelled an early end to a Navy camp built on an Arctic ice floe north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the Navy said Monday.

The camp was being used by U.S., British and Canadian researchers to monitor two U.S. attack submarines transiting under the ice.

Vice Adm. Michael Connor, the head of Naval Submarine Forces, called off the remainder of Ice Exercise 2014 after the ice under the temporary Ice Camp Nautilus began to show signs of instability. The Navy blamed large shifts in wind direction for the the cracks in the ice floe.

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Russia to give China more advanced submarine technology

Instead of providing the older Lada-class submarines to the People's Liberation Army Navy as requested by Beijing, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, will likely authorize China to receive the more advanced Kalina-class submarine, reports the Voice of Russia, citing Vassily Kashin, a senior research fellow from the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.

Viktor Chirkov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, officially announced that the Kalina-class conventional submarine equipped with an advanced air-independent propulsion system will be developed and produced in the future on Mar. 20.

"Russia is currently designing a fifth-generation conventional submarine, dubbed Project Kalina, which will be fitted with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system," said Chirkov.

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MASS and NavGuard ship protection systems successful testing

The Bundeswehr, Rheinmetall and the Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) ELTA Group have successfully tested the MASS and NavGuard ship protection systems.

The trials took place under the aegis of the German Navy in Howachter Bay in the Baltic at the end of October 2013.

Also taking part in the trials was 2 Company, 92 Mechanized Infantry Battalion, a German Army unit based in Munster.

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Russia slams Germany for halting arms deal over Crimea

Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov on Sunday said Germany's decision to halt a major arms deal over Moscow's takeover of Crimea was "unconstructive" and taken under pressure from the United States.

Berlin on Wednesday blocked German defence group Rheinmetall from proceeding with a 100-million-euro ($140-million) contract to build a training camp for Russian forces, saying any military deals in the current context would be "indefensible".

"Refusing to have contacts and exchanges between delegates from military agencies is cancelling out the positive trends developed in recent years," Antonov said, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

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Military plane crashes in Ukraine's region, crew safely ejects

A Su-24M fighter belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force's 7th Tactical Brigade crashed while approaching to land during a planned flight in the area of the Starokostyantyniv airfield in the Khmelnytsky region at 17:15 p.m. on March 21, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported.

The crew consisting of the squadron commander and a navigator ejected safely.

"There are no casualties or destruction, and the plane's crew was not injured," it said.

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Czechs offer Gripens to protect airspace near Ukraine

The Czech Republic is prepared to provide its planes, including Gripen fighters, to protect the airspace of the countries bordering on or near Ukraine if it is asked for help, Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky (ANO) told public Czech Television (CT).

The participation of the Czech Republic in any massive NATO manoeuvres in reaction to Russian military activities in Ukraine is not being prepared, Stropnicky said in the Questions of Vaclav Moravec discussion on CT.

Stropnicky said the United States had already sent several additional F-16 fighters to a Polish air base on the basis of Warsaw´s request.

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Japan F-15 scrambled after China plane approaches disputed islets

Japan scrambled F-15 fighter aircraft after a Chinese Government plane was spotted on course for a group of disputed islets, officials said Monday.

A Y-12 turboprop from China headed south over the East China Sea early Sunday, prompting the Japanese aircraft to take off from Okinawa, the Defence Ministry said.

It turned back toward China 100 kilometres before entering Japanese airspace, the ministry said. An official declined to say how many Japanese jets were scrambled.

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Argentina buying 30-year-old Israeli fighter jets

A high-level Argentine military delegation visited Israel recently to finalize a purchase of Israeli fighter-jets.

The Kfir has not been in operational use by the Israel Air Force for nearly 20 years and will be upgraded by Israel Aircraft Industries if the contract is signed.

The deal is going ahead at a low point in Israeli-Argentine relations.

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Turkey Shoots Down Syrian Fighter-Bomber

Turkish air force jets intercepted and destroyed a Syrian fighter-bomber Sunday along the two nations’ shared border, leading the Syrian government to claim that the plane was in Syrian airspace and the incident was “unwarranted aggression.”

Turkish Prime Minister Tiyyap Erdogan, who faces increasing hostility from voters over a series of scandals and the unpopular decision last week to block the popular Twitter social media service, used the incident to rally supporters at a campaign stop.

“A Syrian plane violated our airspace. Our F-16s took off and hit this plane,” he told a cheering crowd in northwest Turkey. “Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard.”

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South Korea boosts air defenses with about $6.8 billion budget for F-35s

South Korea expects to pay around 7.34 trillion won ($6.79 billion) for 40 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, as Seoul boosts its air defenses amid simmering tensions in the region.

South Korea also confirmed plans to buy four Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned aircraft to monitor its prickly neighbor North Korea. The drones will cost about 880 billion won and will be delivered starting 2018, one of the sources said.

The defense deals also come as ties between Japan, China and South Korea have chilled over the past year, and the region's three powers look to beef up their defensive capabilities.

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Argentina to Host Russian Military Bases While America Sleeps

Argentina, South America’s second largest country, has agreed to host Russian military bases on the South American continent. Long a political ally of militant Islam, Argentina seeks to bring economic relief to the region.

Argentina, and its close ally, Venezuela, have long been on friendly terms with Iran and this latest move opens the door to another political foe of the United States. While the world — and the US — have been fixated on the events happening in Ukraine, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has been inking deals with leaders in Latin America.

First discussed by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in February, Putin intends to set up arm forces units and increase munitions sales in the Latin American realm.

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Dispute Threatens ThyssenKrupp's Submarine Business

A dispute between the Swedish armed forces and ThyssenKrupp AG threatens one of the German industrial giant's most-profitable operations and could shake up the growing global submarine business.

The row, which is partly over export possibilities, has prompted Sweden to yank contracts for the next generation of Swedish submarines from ThyssenKrupp, the world's largest exporter of nonnuclear submarines.

Sweden has signaled that it instead is considering giving the work to Swedish defense company Saab AB. Currently, Saab doesn't build manned submarines, but it acknowledges it is trying to poach engineers from ThyssenKrupp's submarine unit, which is based around a Swedish company that ThyssenKrupp acquired in 2005.

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Navy taps Exelis for 42 airborne electronic warfare systems to equip carrier-based jet fighter-bomber aircraft

Electronic warfare (EW) experts at the Exelis Electronic Systems segment in Clifton, N.J., will provide the U.S. Navy with 42 sophisticated EW systems designed to protect Navy combat aircraft from incoming radar-guided missiles.

Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced a $91.7 million contract award to Exelis to build 42 AN/ALQ-214(V)4 on-board jammer systems for the Navy's F/A-18C/D and F/A-18E/F Hornet and Super Hornet carrier-based strike fighters.

The AN/ALQ-214(V)4/5 is an electronic jammer component of the integrated defensive electronic counter measures system (IDECM), which comes to the Navy from a joint venture of Exelis and BAE Systems.

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