India bids for building frigates for Manila

Even as India is now all set to export its first warship to Mauritius, it is also bidding for an Rs 2,000 crore project to build two frigates for Philippines amid stiff competition from European and South Korean shipyards.

Kolkata-based defence shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) is also gearing up to build four offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for Vietnam under the $100 million credit line extended to it.

India is helping Vietnam with submarine and fighter training as well as military equipment, with both being wary of an assertive China in the Asia Pacific region, as reported earlier by TOI.

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Railguns: The Next Big Pentagon Boondoggle?

For years now, Navy officials have been boosting a new technology, the railgun, as an ideal next-generation piece of artillery for America’s ships.

But there’s good reason to believe it won’t live up to the hype — and that it may be the U.S. military’s next billion-dollar blunder that never pans out.

Conventional guns, like those fitted on Navy ships today, use explosive propellants such as gunpowder to fire projectiles.

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Putin Row Leaves France Holding Two Carriers It Doesn’t Need

Two cranes loom over France’s Atlantic port of Saint-Nazaire as workers build the “Sevastopol,” the second of two helicopter carriers destined for Russia, unperturbed by the diplomatic row that’s blocked their delivery.

Nearby, the first ship, the “Vladivostok” remains moored, way past its October delivery date after President Vladimir Putin’s incursions in Ukraine led to the contract’s suspension in line with U.S. and European Union sanctions against Russia.

“A cease-fire won’t be enough, a more sustainable and solid solution will be needed,” said Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, in an interview. “We’ll end up with two boats on our hands if the contract is canceled. That will have a cost, even if it’s hard to measure.”

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Russia and US Fight For Underwater Drone Supremacy; Moscow Builds More Warplanes Than US

Russia's constant military expansion has led it to surpass the United States in terms of manufacturining new war planes. News of Russia's increased military activity to protect its interests has added to the tension in Europe on top of the sanctions imposed by the West over its meddling in Ukraine.

According to the Russian United Aircraft Corporation, Russia has built more combat aircraft than the U.S. in 2014. Vladislav Goncharenko, deputy head of the military aviation programme department of UAC, said in an interview with radio station Ekho Moskvy, confirmed the information.

He said UAC delivered 68 planes and 100 others including 95 attack planes for the use of the Russian Air Force in 2014.

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UK female soldiers: Hurdles remain for combat action

Women have already broken down barriers in the British armed forces.

They're currently flying combat missions over Iraq with the RAF. Last year the Royal Navy lifted its ban on women in submarines.

In Afghanistan they've already served on the front line too, albeit in support roles as medics, bomb disposal experts and intelligence officers.

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Defence secretary: Now is not the time to get rid of Trident

The defence secretary said "now is not the time to start rethinking" the UK's nuclear deterrent, on his first visit to the Clyde naval base where it is stationed.

The Trident system was a key issue in the Scottish referendum debate and looks set to play a part in next year's general election.

The deterrent is up for renewal in 2016 and the SNP, which polls suggest could win a majority of Scottish seats, has said it will not lend its support to any party that favours renewal if there is a hung parliament.

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FMS of MK 41 Vertical Launch Systems May Indicate Purchase of LCS or DDG by Saudi Arabia

The recent (and very low profile) announcement by the U.S. Department of Defense of a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MK 41 Vertical Launching Systems (VLS) to Saudi Arabia could possibly be an indication of the procurement of Littoral Combat Ships or DDG-51 type (Burke class) Destroyers by the Royal Saudi Navy.

Here is Navy Recognition's take on it.

On December 12, 2014, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the following contract award:
Lockheed Martin Corp., Mission Systems and Training, Baltimore, Maryland, is being awarded a $235,329,189 firm-fixed-price contract for MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) electronic and mechanical modules and related equipment.

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Royal Netherlands Navy purchases Thales’s new NS100 surveillance radar for Rotterdam class LPD

The Netherlands Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and Thales have signed a contract for the delivery of a NS100 dual-axis multi-beam surveillance radar.

The system will be installed on HNLMS Rotterdam, to replace its 30-year old DA08 radar system.

The NS100 will be installed in the second semester of 2017, in line with the ship’s maintenance schedule.

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NASA launches study for Skunk Works SR-72 concept

NASA has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to study the feasibility of building a hypersonic propulsion system for a concept intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft dubbed the SR-72 using existing turbine engine technologies.

The $892,292 contract “provides for a parametric design study to establish the viability of a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system consisting of integrating several combinations of near-term turbine engine solutions and a very low Mach ignition Dual Mode RamJet (DMRJ) in the SR-72 vehicle concept,” the award document says.

A spokeswoman for Lockheed’s Skunk Works development laboratory declined to comment on the contract award.

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South Korea balks as U.S. picks Japan, Australia to service F-35s in Asia

South Korea said on Thursday it will not send its F-35 fleet to Japan for heavy airframe maintenance, one of the two Asian hubs chosen by the United States to service the Lockheed Martin Corp stealth fighter.

Instead, it is likely to fly the jets to Australia for maintenance, about eight times further away than Japan and well beyond their operating range.

The three nations, all key U.S. allies, are the only countries in the region to have ordered the F-35s.

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Army's blimp-like airships get East Coast test

The Army showed off a blimp-like airship Wednesday that is designed to help the military detect and destroy cruise missiles speeding toward the nation's capital or other major East Coast cities.

The radar-toting vehicle will be launched next week as part of a three-year test of the system at Aberdeen Proving Ground, about 25 miles northeast of Baltimore.

When fully deployed next spring, the system will feature two, unmanned, helium-filled aerostats, tethered to concrete pads 4 miles apart. They'll float at an altitude of 10,000 feet, about one-third as high as a commercial airliner's cruising altitude.

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Isro's GSLV-Mark III Lifts Off With Unmanned Crew Module

India's heaviest test rocket with an experimental crew module blasted off from the spaceport in Sriharikota Thursday morning.

Precisely at 9.30am IST, the 630-tonne Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mark III) standing 43.43 metre tall freed itself from the second launch pad holds and with a reverberating deep throated roar, it rose into the sky.

With a thick orange flame at its tail, the expendable rocket ascended towards the heavens with one way ticket as its design life span is just around five minutes.

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Russia-NATO Tactical Warplanes In Rapid Stand-off; Putin Orders Snap Military Drills

Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or NATO are displaying rapid provocation aimed at each other, as Russian military officials accused NATO of heightened spy and tactical warplanes deployment over the Baltic border in 2014.

NATO doubled its reconnaissance flights over Baltic border in an alarming rate -- 3,000 in total -- according to head of the Russian Defence Ministry's joint military command centre General Mikhail Mizintsev alleged.

The alarming rate through which NATO is flying its warplanes is being conducted without two-way communication from concerned parties, Mizintsev said.

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South Korea picks Heron 1 for UAS requirement

South Korea is to purchase an undisclosed number of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron 1 unmanned air systems, following a decision taken by the nation's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

Confirming its selection to meet a corps-level UAV upgrade project requirement, IAI on 17 December distributed a DAPA quote as stating: “We comprehensively evaluated price, capability, operational suitability, terms and conditions, and selected the equipment that has a higher score.”

Seoul intends to employ its UAS as another means of maintaining surveillance of North Korea, with some of its air vehicles also to be capable of conducting maritime patrol tasks.

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Babcock to deliver further Phalanx systems

Babcock, in association with Raytheon, is to deliver four Phalanx 1B kits and convert four land Phalanx Weapons Systems to their original marinised configuration to provide naval Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) capability (the UK’s primary defence for ships against anti-ship missiles), under a contract awarded by the UK MoD.

Three of the four Phalanx kits will add to the defensive capability of the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, the MoD has said.

Babcock is the in-service support provider to the MoD for Phalanx systems under a long-term availability contract awarded in 2006, managing and executing all upkeep support activities, including a 24/7 helpdesk for the Royal Navy, as well as providing logistics support for spares and repairable units.

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Philippines to get frigates, gunboats, helicopters as tension simmers

The Philippines aims to buy two frigates, two helicopters and three gunboats for deployment in the South China Sea where a territorial dispute with China has lent urgency to the need to bolster forces, a Philippine navy officer said on Wednesday.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, rejecting claims to parts of it by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The confrontation between the Philippines and China has been particularly tense since June 2012 when China seized a rocky outcrop known as the Scarborough Shoal which is believed to be rich in oil and natural gas as well as fisheries resources.

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New destroyer heading to Mayport in 2016 could protect littoral combat ships in dangerous waters

The First Coast will be an unlikely beneficiary of rising tensions in the waters between China and Japan.

In a high-profile move to add more American Navy muscle to the Western Pacific, the Navy announced it is sending two more destroyers capable of defending against possible Chinese ballistic missile attacks to its 7th Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan.

In a multi-ship swap, the Aegis missile-equipped destroyer USS Lassen, with its crew of more than 300 sailors, will leave its forward-deployed base in Japan and keep the total number of Mayport destroyers at four.

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Next Generation U.K. Boomers Benefit from U.S. Relationship

When the inhabitants of Scotland voted three months ago to remain part of the United Kingdom, their decision preserved not only a 307-year-old union with England and Wales but also two sites of crucial strategic importance.

Nestled beneath heather-clad hills on the shores of adjacent sea lochs 25 miles northwest of Glasgow, the Royal Navy (RN) submarine base at Faslane and the nuclear weapons depot at Coulport were both earmarked for closure under the Scottish National Party’s plans for independence.

Had the avowedly anti-nuclear SNP triumphed in the 18 September referendum—a feat it very nearly pulled off—then the future of Britain’s Trident ballistic-missile force would have looked as bleak as those same hills under the gray skies of a northern winter.

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The giant tubes that launch missiles in strategic nuclear submarines

Impressive photo of the giant tubes that house four of the 24 Trident II D5 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) carried by Ohio-class nuclear submarines.

14 of these submarines travel for months underwater, carrying fifty percent of all the active thermonuclear warheads in the US arsenal.

The Ohio-class submarines will be replaced by a next-generation strategic nuclear submarine around 2031.

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Australia Mulls Japan Submarines Under China’s Cautious Gaze

Australia is considering buying top-secret technology from Japan to build a fleet of new generation submarines, a move that would risk reigniting diplomatic tensions with China only recently smoothed over.

China and Japan are competing to build their domestic arms industries, and for China the export of Japanese military technology is particularly sensitive given their wartime history and territorial disputes.

Choosing Japan to play a role in the multi-billion dollar submarine project could prompt a stern response from Australia’s biggest trading partner.

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HQ-184 Haiphong Submarine on the Way to Vietnam

Russian-made submarine Project 636.1 HQ-184 Haiphong for Vietnam has officially hit the road on Monday 11/12.

Interfax-AVN news agency said, third Kilo submarines HQ-184 Haiphong in Vietnam were taken on board the transport ROLLDOCK STAR of Dutch and begin the journey of Cam Ranh Bay from Monday 11/12.

HQ-184 submarine was taken in Hai Phong port Verfi Admiralty factory when the ship was about to be brought on board to transport ROLLDOCK STAR journey home.

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Russian Strategic Missile Forces plan 14 launches in 2015 — commander

Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) plan to carry out 14 launches next year, 9 of which will be test launches, RVSN Commander Colonel General Sergei Karakayev told reporters on Tuesday.

“A total of 14 launches are planned for 2015 - for the flight tests of advanced weapons samples and controlling technical readiness of missile systems adopted for service,” he said on the eve of the 55th anniversary of RVSN creation.

According to Karakayev, the number of test launches next year is to be increased to 9. Another 5 launches will pursue other goals - missile scrapping with simultaneous launch of a spacecraft, service life extension and checkout firing.

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China's L-15 Falcon makes Thailand procurement shortlist

China's Hongdu L-15 Falcon has made the shortlist of new advanced jet trainers and light attack aircraft to be acquired by the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), according to the London-based military news publication IHS Jane's.

The L-15 will be competing with America's Textron AirLand Scorpion, Russia's Yakovlev Yak-130, Italy's Alenia Aermacchi M-346 and Korea Aerospace Industries' TA-50 to become one of the four aircraft purchases approved by the Thai government to replace its ageing fleet of Aero L-39ZA Albatros aircraft.

RTAF chief Treetos Sonjaeng reportedly announced the 3.7 billion Thai baht (US$113 million) program on Dec. 13, adding that a decision on the procurement is expected next year.

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The A-10 jet carries out its first airstrikes against the Islamic State

The A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet has been carrying out airstrikes against the Islamic State since late November on a near-daily basis, a U.S. military official said Tuesday.

It marks the first time the use of the pugnacious plane against the militant group has been confirmed, although U.S. military officials disclosed last month that they had deployed the A-10 in support of the mission in Iraq and Syria.

The jet is beloved by U.S. ground troops for its ability to strikes enemy fighters from the air, but it remains in a fierce budget battle in Washington.

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S. Korea pushes to switch fighter jet contractor to Lockheed

South Korea began the official process Wednesday of changing the contractor for its project to upgrade the country's aging fleet of F-16 fighter jets amid controversy over the contractor's demands for a higher price, Seoul's arms procurement agency said.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it presented its plan to change the contractor from London-based BAE Systems to American defense firm Lockheed Martin at its monthly defense project committee meeting presided over by Defense Minister Han Min-koo.

Under the 1.75 trillion won (US$1.62 billion) contract, DAPA and the U.S. defense department agreed in July 2011 to have BAE Systems upgrade 134 KF-16 variants C and D Block 52 to improve their electronic warfare capabilities.

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