Sunday, August 18, 2013
US Navy Moves Ahead To Develop Unmanned Carrier Aircraft
One of the Navy's two X-47B concept demonstrator aircraft makes a landing aboard the aircraft carrier George H W Bush on July 10. The X-47Bs proved engineering concepts for designing unmanned carrier-based jet aircraft, the objective of the new UCLASS program. (Christopher P. Cavas / Staff)
WASHINGTON — As expected, the US Navy has awarded four development contracts to develop designs to compete for the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) Air Vehicle.
The contracts — each for $15 million — went to the Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo.; General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., Poway, Calif.; Lockheed Martin Corp., Palmdale, Calif.; and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., El Segundo, Calif.
According to the contract announcements, the preliminary design review assessment is to support UCLASS, a system “to enhance aircraft carrier/air wing operations by providing a responsive, world-wide presence via an organic, sea-based unmanned aerial system, with persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting, and strike capabilities.”
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Mumbai Submarine Explosion Clouds India’s Naval Progress
The cause of the explosions is still being determined and sabotage has not yet been ruled out. "A board of inquiry will cover the entire spectrum of the incident, we cannot rule out sabotage at this stage but all the indicators at this point do not support that theory," Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi said.
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Boeing near decision on future of C-17 cargo plane
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Tech.
Sgt. Andrew Gravett walks along the top of a C-17 Globemaster III while
wearing a safety harness as he does a routine maintenance check of the
aircraft June 4, 2013, at Joint Base Charleston, S.C.
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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Production of Boeing Co.’s C-17 military cargo plane has been winding down for years. Now the company could know by the end of the year if it’s winding down for good.
Boeing’s chief financial officer said Wednesday that the planemaker is nearing a choice on whether to slow, or even stop, manufacturing on the mammoth four-engine jet, which employs hundreds of people in St. Louis.
“We’ll have to make a decision sometime later this year,” Boeing CFO Greg Smith said at an investors conference in New York, according to a Bloomberg transcript of the event.
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The U.S. sends Egypt far more military aid than it needs
The United States gives Egypt about $1.3 billion in military aid each year.
And, so far this year, the Obama administration has been unwilling to
cut off those funds — even in the midst of a violent military crackdown
that has left more than 525 dead.
So here’s one question worth exploring: Just how important is all that aid to Egypt, anyway? NPR’s Julia Simon recently did some reporting on that exact question. It seems that in many cases, Egypt receives far more weaponry than it could possibly use:
The U.S. started sending M1A1 Abrams tanks to Egypt in the late ’80s. In all, the U.S. sent more than 1,000 tanks to Egypt since then — valued at some $3.9 billion — which Egypt maintains along with several thousand Soviet-era tanks.
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Egyptian Army soldiers in Cairo. (Hassan Ammar/AP)
The U.S. started sending M1A1 Abrams tanks to Egypt in the late ’80s. In all, the U.S. sent more than 1,000 tanks to Egypt since then — valued at some $3.9 billion — which Egypt maintains along with several thousand Soviet-era tanks.
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Uncle Sam's Yard Sale: Gov't looks to unload Afghanistan war hardware
It could be Uncle Sam’s biggest yard sale.
After 12 years of war in Afghanistan, officials are now pondering what to do with $50 billion in equipment half a world away — including combat vehicles, dining rooms, gyms, clothing and more.
“A lot of this stuff, you're not really concerned about bringing it back,” said Jim Hasik, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “I mean if a Coke machine falls into the hands of the Taliban, this is just not a big disaster.”
But eventually, much of the gear will trickle down to the public. With the click of a mouse the spoils of war can be yours on govliquidation.com
.
Each day, new items appear on the site – as bases around the country
release unneeded items – from rafts and trucks, to fire engines and
pretzel stands.
After 12 years of war in Afghanistan, officials are now pondering what to do with $50 billion in equipment half a world away — including combat vehicles, dining rooms, gyms, clothing and more.
“A lot of this stuff, you're not really concerned about bringing it back,” said Jim Hasik, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “I mean if a Coke machine falls into the hands of the Taliban, this is just not a big disaster.”
But eventually, much of the gear will trickle down to the public. With the click of a mouse the spoils of war can be yours on govliquidation.com
.
Each day, new items appear on the site – as bases around the country
release unneeded items – from rafts and trucks, to fire engines and
pretzel stands.Sunday, June 30, 2013
US Marines Put On Alert To Move Into Egypt Amid Violent Protests
Amid anti-government demonstrations planned for this weekend, roughly
200 combat-capable U.S. Marines in southern Europe have been put on an
alert status should they need to protect the U.S. Embassy or American
citizens in Egypt, CNN is reporting.
The Marines were told to be ready to deploy within an
hour, and would be flown in via MV-22 Osprey, the Marine Corps’ rapid
deployment aircraft.
A state department spokesman told CNN that the move
is precautionary, and that the U.S. fully expects the Egyptian security
forces to be able to protect the American diplomatic facilities.
Friday, June 28, 2013
US Ospreys and Air Tankers Put Iran in Israel's Reach
A KC-130J load master watches a refueling of an MV-22B Osprey during a training mission in 2012. (Cpl. Michael Petersheim/US Marine Corps)
The United States plans to give Israel weapons that would enable it to send ground forces against Iranian nuclear facilities that it can’t penetrate from the air.
The deal includes air-refueling aircraft, advanced radars for F-15 fighter jets, and up to eight V-22 Ospreys, an aircraft that can land like a helicopter and carry two dozen special operations forces with their gear over long distances at aircraft speeds.
The Osprey “is the ideal platform for sending Israeli special forces into Iran,” says Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA analyst now at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy.
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Russia to Build 100 New Military Bases and Airfields
General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces
MOSCOW, June 27 (RIA Novosti) – About 100 new defense infrastructure facilities, including airfields and Army and Navy maintenance and supply bases, will be built in Russia to accommodate new weapon systems, a top military official said Thursday.
By 2016, 316 garrison towns are to be built, their number due to increase to 495 by 2020, said General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, adding that more than 3,000 facilities, including barracks, parking lots, cafeterias, etc., would be built in those locations.
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Navy Tests LCS Mine-Hunting System
The U.S. Navy has improved the reliability of its remote mine-hunting system for the Littoral Combat Ship through a series of tests off the coast of Palm Beach, Fla., service officials said.
The so-called Remote Minehunting System, or RMS, consists of a semi-submersible with the AN/AQS-20A variable depth sonar and is designed to locate mines in shallow and deep water, officials said.
Read more: http://defensetech.org/2013/06/26/navy-tests-lcs-mine-hunting-system/#ixzz2XZ4UoniD
Defense.org
Pentagon spending $572 million for Russian military helicopters Afghans can't fly, report says
The
Pentagon is moving ahead with a plan to purchase Russian military
helicopters, despite protests from a bipartisan group of lawmakers that
includes Montgomery Republican Martha Roby. (Contributed photo/USAF) Reuters is reporting the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction is calling on the Pentagon to suspend the $572 million purchase of 30 Mi-17 helicopters made by the Russian company Rosoboronexport. The helicopters are for the Afghan National Security Forces Special Mission Wing for use in counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics and special operations missions.
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
A Buyers Market For Anti-Ship Missiles
June 26, 2013: There was recently a SINKEX (sinking exercise) in which Norway fired one of their locally made Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) at a decommissioned 2,100 ton Oslo class frigate. The NSM, fired from a smaller missile boat, hit the frigate, did a lot of damage, but did not sink it. If the frigate had been loaded with fuel and ammo the NSM would have started fires and probably put the ship out of service and possibly caused it to go down.
Despite the many lightweight (under a ton) anti-ship missiles on the market, NSM still gets sales because it is effective, reliable, and affordable. It is also offered for use on ships, aircraft, and on trucks (as part of a mobile coastal defense system). The 409 kg (900 pound) NSM anti-ship missile has a 125 kg (275 pound) warhead and a range of 185 kilometers. NSM uses GPS and inertial guidance systems, as well as a heat imaging system (and a database of likely targets) for picking out and hitting the intended ship. Norwegian manufacturer Kongsberg allows buyers to easily install their own radar and control systems.
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Report: US prepares to arm Syrian rebels within a month
The US Central Intelligence Agency has started a weapons transfer to
Jordan, from a range of classified warehouses, to prepare for arming
select groups of Syrian rebels within a month, The Wall Street Journal cited US officials as acknowledging on Wednesday.
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Chinese Air Force Gets More H-6K Strategic Bombers
H6K In flight. Internet photo
Variants
of the CJ-10 anti-ship/land attack cruise missile can be launched from
different platforms. Six are carried by Xian H-6K strategic bomber, The
missile is also carried on board the Type 095 and 052D destroyers and on
land-based mobile launchers.
The H-6K, an updated version of the H-6 bomber (originally, a locally built version of the 1960s vintage Russian Tupolev Tu-16 bomber), is a medium-sized craft designed for long-range attacks, stand-off attacks and large-area air patrol. Unlike its predecessor, the H-6K can carry cruise missiles under its wings. The H6-K also
maneuvers more deftly than the H-6 and requires a smaller crew to operate. H-6K reportedly has a combat radius of 3,500 km. It can carry weapons in the internal weapon bay and on four underwing pylons. The nuclear-capable Changjian-10 (long sword) CJ-10A cruise missiles it carries have a range of 1,500-2,000 km, effectively extending the bomber’s combat range to 4,000-5,000 km – long enough to reach Okinawa, Guam and even Hawaii from China’s mainland.
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US leads in arming world; but China, Russia defense business rising
TOM REYNOLDS / Lockheed Martin via EPA file
An undated Lockheed Martin Aeronautics image showing F-35 AF-1 and AF-2
planes over Edwards Air Force Base, California.Lockheed is one of the
companies that has given the United States dominance in the global
defense business
The United States remains by far the largest arms and military equipment provider in the world, but that dominance is expected to wane over the next eight years, with China and Russia boosting their defense industries, an analysis said on Wednesday.
"Two things are happening: budgets are shifting east, and global arms trade is [seeing] increasing competition," said Paul Burton, senior manager of IHS Jane's Defence, publisher of an authoritative weekly on defense issues.
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Report: Chinese military seeks downgrading of ’61 defense pact with N. Korea
SEOUL — Senior Chinese military officials have begun calling for the
downgrading of military ties with North Korea arguing that Pyongyang
should be seen more as a “burden” than an ally, officials here said.
According to South Korea’s leading newspaper Chosun Ilbo, some
Chinese military leaders have called for the revision of the 1961
military pact with North Korea to reflect a new Northeast Asia security
landscape.
The officers have suggested that Beijing distance itself from North Korea and seek closer military ties with South Korea so as to foster equidistance in the strategic triangle, Chosun said, citing an unidentified source in Seoul.
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China is said to have shifted priorities in some areas from North to South Korea over the past two decades. /Reuters
The officers have suggested that Beijing distance itself from North Korea and seek closer military ties with South Korea so as to foster equidistance in the strategic triangle, Chosun said, citing an unidentified source in Seoul.
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Israel ranks as the world's sixth largest arms exporter in 2012
Israel's weapons sales jumped 74% since 2008, largely thanks to deals with India, according to IHS Jane's; U.S. tops the defense intelligence company's list of arms exporters, with more than $28 billion in defense deals in 2012.
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Will Congress Let USAF Abandon the Global Hawk?
The Global Hawk has provided high-altitude, long-endurance ISR for the Air Force since the late 1990s, but the service says it no longer needs the unmanned aircraft. (Air Force)
June is the start of the rainy season in the South Pacific, six months of storms that come in fast and unpredictable. And when the wind starts blowing, that takes its toll on U.S. intelligence-gathering far off in North Korea.
A substantial amount of the intel on the Hermit Kingdom comes from the three massive Global Hawk unmanned surveillance planes based at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Because of special flight restrictions, the Global Hawks can’t fly over thunderstorms, nor, without a way to see the clouds ahead, can they go around them. So whenever a hint of bad weather arose on the route Global Hawk was assigned last year from Guam, the missions were canceled. Last year, the UAVs were grounded for an entire month, says a source with knowledge of the operation.
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Russia said to be violating 1987 missile accord
Russia is engaged in a major violation of the terms of the 1987
Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the United States by
building a new medium-range missile banned under the accord, according
to U.S. intelligence officials.
Disclosure of the treaty violation comes as President Barack Obama last week called for a new round of arms negotiations with Moscow aimed at cutting deployed nuclear warheads by one-third.
Intelligence officials said internal assessments identified Russia’s new Yars M missile that was tested earlier this month as an INF missile with a range of less than 5,500 kilometers.
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Disclosure of the treaty violation comes as President Barack Obama last week called for a new round of arms negotiations with Moscow aimed at cutting deployed nuclear warheads by one-third.
Intelligence officials said internal assessments identified Russia’s new Yars M missile that was tested earlier this month as an INF missile with a range of less than 5,500 kilometers.
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F-35 Still Faces ‘Considerable’ Risks: Auditors
The Defense Department’s F-35 fighter jet program has recently made progress on several fronts, but still faces “considerable” challenges and risks, according to a new analysis from government auditors.
The Joint Strike Fighter program in 2012 met most of its management objectives, according to recent testimony from Michael Sullivan, director of acquisition and sourcing management at the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
Read more: http://defensetech.org/2013/06/25/f-35-still-faces-considerable-risks-auditors/#ixzz2XKsPlPwn
Defense.org
Russia to Supply Arms to Kyrgyzstan in 2014
Russia to Supply Arms to Kyrgyzstan From 2014
BISHKEK, June 25 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow will begin supplying weapons and other military equipment to Kyrgyzstan next year as part of a bilateral armed forces assistance program, Russia’s defense minister said Tuesday.
In November, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper wrote that Moscow had pledged to provide $1.1 billion worth of military assistance to the Central Asian country. However, on Tuesday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu did disclose the cost of the program or the weapons that would be supplied.
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China's aggressive tactics turning off Asian neighbors
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Not long ago, China was the darling of its
less powerful Asian neighbors with its growing economic importance and a
policy of non-interference in external affairs that contrasted with
bellicose U.S. foreign policy after 9/11.
However, a series of clashes over territorial disputes and Beijing’s
tendency to economically punish those who get in its way have encouraged
many Asian nations to reassess their choices — an increasingly
aggressive Chinese dragon or a more distant and relatively benign
America.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Sukhoi Test Pilot Explains ‘Supermaneuverability’
The high agility demonstrated by the Sukhoi Su-35S fighter at the Paris air show is rooted in a Russian concept in which close-range, low-speed air combat remains important, according to Sukhoi chief test pilot Sergey Bogdan.
The aircraft, equipped with three-axis thrust-vectoring and fully integrated flight and propulsion control, performed maneuvers here which no other operational fighter can match. These include a controlled vertical, flat-attitude descent with the aircraft rotating, and a dynamic deceleration, or “cobra”, leading to a small-radius 180-deg. turn and course reversal. It demonstrated a dynamic deceleration followed by extremely slow flight at a near-90-deg. angle of attack.
“Most of the fighters we have available today with vectored thrust, the Su-30MKI and MKM, can perform these maneuvers,” Bogdan tells Aviation Week. “Where this aircraft is different is that it has more thrust, so when it performs the 'bell' maneuver, it can stand still, with afterburning on, and can sustain flight at 120-140 kph.”
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China Said to Have Made Call to Let Leaker Depart
BEIJING — The Chinese government made the final decision to allow Edward
J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, to leave
Hong Kong on Sunday, a move that Beijing believed resolved a tough
diplomatic problem even as it reaped a publicity windfall from Mr.
Snowden’s disclosures, according to people familiar with the situation.
Hong Kong authorities have insisted that their judicial process remained independent of China, but these observers — who like many in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about confidential discussions — said that matters of foreign policy are the domain of the Chinese government, and Beijing exercised that authority in allowing Mr. Snowden to go.
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Hong Kong authorities have insisted that their judicial process remained independent of China, but these observers — who like many in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about confidential discussions — said that matters of foreign policy are the domain of the Chinese government, and Beijing exercised that authority in allowing Mr. Snowden to go.
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Militants kill eight in Kashmir ahead of India PM visit
SRINAGAR, India — Heavily-armed militants killed eight soldiers in Indian Kashmir Monday in the deadliest such attack in five years, marring a landmark visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the embattled Himalayan territory.
The military convoy was ambushed on the outskirts of Srinagar, the main city of Indian-controlled Kashmir, as it headed towards a nearby base camp, officials said.
"Eight troopers died in the attack and 13 others have been wounded," a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The condition of one of the injured was critical, he said.
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Russian Defense Ministry Signs $23 Bln in Arms Deals
Russian Defense Ministry
MOSCOW, June 24 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Defense Ministry has signed 737 billion rubles (about $22.5 billion) worth of contracts as part of its arms procurement program for 2013, a senior ministry official said on Monday.
The signed deals account for 82.4 percent of this year’s arms procurement quota, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said.
The total defense spend this year exceeds 1 trillion rubles, up 40 percent on 2012, including credits and subsidies to defense firms, he said.
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Saturday, June 22, 2013
Taliban commanders questioning whether reclusive supreme leader is still truly in charge — or even alive
In early 2002, as local and American forces closed in on his southern
Afghanistan hideout, the Taliban’s supreme leader reportedly hopped
onto a motorcycle and buzzed away to safety.
Mullah Mohmmad Omar was always a reclusive figure, even during his brutal, iron-fisted rule over the country, but since his escape 11 years ago, he has all but vanished.
Now, as the Taliban launches an historic attempt to negotiate an end to the Afghan conflict, even some within the insurgency are questioning whether the one-eyed emir is still truly in charge — or even alive.
For the Taliban’s official organization, the intriguing question, “Where is Mullah Omar?”, is a non-issue.
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Mullah Mohmmad Omar was always a reclusive figure, even during his brutal, iron-fisted rule over the country, but since his escape 11 years ago, he has all but vanished.
Now, as the Taliban launches an historic attempt to negotiate an end to the Afghan conflict, even some within the insurgency are questioning whether the one-eyed emir is still truly in charge — or even alive.
For the Taliban’s official organization, the intriguing question, “Where is Mullah Omar?”, is a non-issue.
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Iran’s “Carrier Killer” Missile Improves Accuracy
As previously reported, the Khalij-e Fars is a solid-fuel ASBM with a range of 300 km when carrying a 650-kg payload. Iranian officials have depicted it as a way to deny extra-regional navies—read the U.S. Navy— the ability to operate close to Iranian shores, including in the Strait of Hormuz.
In remarks to Iranian media outlets, Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Aerospace Division, said that Iran’s “defense experts” had increased the precision of the Khalij-e Fars from 30 meters to 8.5 meters.
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DARPA developing digital airstrikes
Atrist's concept of a PCAS heads-up display
The popular image of modern warfare is the digital battlefield where cyber soldiers have Terminator-like video displays and can call in an airstrike with the shine of a laser beam. While information technologies are revolutionizing the military, when it comes to calling in Close Air Support (CAS), it’s still World War One – where a misread or misheard grid reference can end up with soldiers being hit by their own artillery. DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) program hopes to improve this.
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15 European Manufacturers To Bid In Polish Vessels Tenders
WARSAW — Fifteen defense manufacturers have applied
to participate in a technical dialogue with the Polish Ministry of
Defense on the planned procurement of three coastal defense vessels and
three patrol vessels with a mine-destroying capacity, the ministry said
in a statement.
“Technical dialogs with particular companies will allow to collect information which will be useful for the process of preparing the vessel procurements,” the statement said.
Under the Armed Forces’ Technical Modernization Plan, the Polish Navy is to acquire three coastal defense vessels from 2014 to 2026 and three patrol vessels with a mine-destroying capacity from 2015 to 2026. The procurements will be part of Poland’s 10 billion zloty (US $3.1 billion) Navy modernization strategy.
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“Technical dialogs with particular companies will allow to collect information which will be useful for the process of preparing the vessel procurements,” the statement said.
Under the Armed Forces’ Technical Modernization Plan, the Polish Navy is to acquire three coastal defense vessels from 2014 to 2026 and three patrol vessels with a mine-destroying capacity from 2015 to 2026. The procurements will be part of Poland’s 10 billion zloty (US $3.1 billion) Navy modernization strategy.
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Iraq to Receive Russian Military Helicopters
On June 18, an Iraqi military source confirmed that the air force command will receive “Alligator” combat helicopters from Russia in the coming period.
Russia Speeds Up Anti-Missile Radar Deployment
June 22, 2013:
Russia has sped up deployments of its new Voronezh early-warning radar
and will now have seven of them operational by 2018. That’s a few years
ahead of schedule. These new radars will replace the Daryal radars and
the even older models that Daryal was replacing but are still in
service. The older early-warning radars were usually in areas that were
part of the Soviet Union but are not in present day Russia. Thus earlier
this year Russia decided to shut down its Daryal type long range
missile detection radar in Azerbaijan after the Azerbaijanis demanded
that a new lease increase annual rent from $7 million to $300 million.
Russia refused to pay and will shut down the Azerbaijan radar and
dismantle it. The ten year lease ended on December 24, 2012. This radar
went operational in 1983, and was supposed to be one of seven. But the
end of the Cold War halted that project and only one other Daryal radar
was built (on the north coast of Russia). That one detected missiles
coming in over the North Pole from North America. The radar in
Azerbaijan covered all of the Middle East and India. Its role will be
assumed by the more modern Voronezh radar design that recently went into
service on the Black Sea coast. Russia had offered to upgrade the
Azerbaijan radar and pay more rent but not $293 million more a year. In
addition, Russia has always paid Azerbaijan $5 million a year for
electricity and $10 million a year for other services. About 500
Azerbaijanis were employed at the radar station, in addition to 1,100
Russians.
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Russia could stand in way of Obama's nuke cuts
WASHINGTON -- By saying he intends to bargain with Russia over new reductions in nuclear weapons, rather than make cuts on his own, President Barack Obama is asking for cooperation from a former Cold War foe in no mood to agree.
Relations between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are tense, reflecting U.S. concerns about human rights abuses in Russia, the two leaders' disagreement over Syria's civil war and other points of contention.
That doesn't mean the U.S. won't eventually shrink its arsenal beyond what is required by an existing U.S.-Russia treaty that took effect just two years ago. It probably will. But it might not happen on Obama's watch.
Obama declared in Berlin on Wednesday that he wants to cut the number of U.S. nuclear arms by another one-third, which would shrink the total to between 1,000 and 1,100 weapons for bombers and land- and sea-based missiles. He did not explicitly rule out doing this unilaterally, but he said he intends to "seek negotiated cuts" with Russia - an approach some nuclear disarmament advocates said could lead to a dead end.
Bruce Blair, co-founder of Global Zero, an international group that advocates the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons, said negotiating a new treaty with Moscow would be "practically a death knell for arms control," in part because there is strong opposition in the Senate to making any further reductions in U.S. nuclear arms.
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Countdown to launch India's own GPS begins
Like the US' GPS (Global
Positioning System) that gives the exact location of moving aircraft,
ships, vehicles and even people carrying smart phones, India will soon
have its own satellite-based navigation system.India’s equivalent of the GPS will be called the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System or IRNSS, a cluster of seven satellites being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) – IRNSS-1A, IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1C, IRNSS-1D, IRNSS-1E, IRNSS-1F and IRNSS-1G.
The first satellite – IRNSS-1A which will weigh 1,425 kg – is expected to be launched on July 1, 2013. Launched from Sriharikota on PSLV-C22 rockets, all the seven satellites are expected to be in orbit by early 2015 and will operate in allweather conditions.
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Eurocopter Ponders X3 Helicopter’s Next Steps
June 17, 2013
Credit: Eurocopter
Tony Osborne London andGraham Warwick WashingtonCredit: Eurocopter
Eurocopter's X3 has claimed the unofficial helicopter speed record from Sikorsky's X2, achieving 255 kt. in level flight and 263 kt. in a dive, and raising the question of what comes next for the European manufacturer's high-speed rotorcraft concept.
In flights at the Istres test base near Marseille, France, in early June the X3 experimental compound helicopter beat its previous top speed of 232 kt. set in May 2011. The new round of high-speed trials follows a lay-up during which the aircraft's gearbox was tweaked to operate at the full power level provided by its two Turbomeca RTM322 turboshafts.
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Thursday, March 14, 2013
Time To Change America’s Atomic Arsenal
The new mission for U.S. nuclear weapons -- minimum
deterrence: The prevention of a major nuclear attack on America with a
small force -- perhaps as low as 300 strategic weapons.
Nuclear weapons in 2013 have been pushed yet again into the policy background as more pressing matters – the appalling collapse of the U.S. budget process among them – have absorbed all of Washington’s intellectual bandwidth. President Obama’s reelection means that the United States will remain publicly committed to nuclear reductions, but the studies that were supposed to detail those further reductions are now languishing in bureaucratic limbo and are unlikely to be a high priority. If nothing changes, the U.S. strategic deterrent will stay right where it has been since the early 1990s: merely a smaller version of the force we once arrayed against the Soviet Union.
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F-35 Production on Track, Program Chief Says
WASHINGTON, March 13, 2013 – The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program is a different program than it was four years ago, the F-35 program executive officer said here yesterday.
In a speech at the McAleese/Credit Suisse Defense Programs Conference at the Newseum, Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan told attendees that he and his predecessor, Navy Vice Adm. Dave Venlet, worked with Lockheed-Martin and Pratt & Whitney to reform the problem-plagued development program.
“Lockheed-Martin and Pratt & Whitney have been doing a pretty good job over the last few years of stepping up and making those kinds of changes that the government needs for this program to succeed,” the general said.
The aircraft’s development has been rocky, Bogdan acknowledged. A redesign of the short takeoff and vertical landing system in 2004 led to delays and added $6 billion to the cost of the development program, he said.
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A U.S. Naval Blockade of China?
There is a growing literature on the U.S. concept of Air-Sea Battle, including the question of whether its use of conventional strikes against targets on the Chinese mainland would lead to wider escalation. Presumably this has struck a chord in the Chinese security debate – raising questions about the efficacy of an anti-access strategy against U.S. maritime forces – and perhaps that was the point.
Now there's another emerging theme in American open-source speculation about how a U.S.-China conflict could unfold – a naval blockade.
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Report: Iran test-fires short-range missiles during military drill
TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian media say the
military has test-fired several short-range missiles, including the type
Palestinian militant Hamas group used to attack Tel Aviv last November.
Thursday's report by the semi-official Fars news agency says the missiles were tested during an army exercise in central Iran. It says the missiles fired were Nazeat-10 and Fajr-5.
During weeks of fighting in November, Gaza's Hamas rulers fired Iranian-made Fajr-5 rockets that came close to Israel's heartland, including the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for the first time.
Thursday's report by the semi-official Fars news agency says the missiles were tested during an army exercise in central Iran. It says the missiles fired were Nazeat-10 and Fajr-5.
During weeks of fighting in November, Gaza's Hamas rulers fired Iranian-made Fajr-5 rockets that came close to Israel's heartland, including the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for the first time.
India Court Bars Italian Envoy From Leaving Country in Marines Dispute
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's top court on Thursday temporarily barred
the Italian ambassador from leaving the country, the latest escalation
in a dispute over the killing of two Indian fishermen by Italian
marines.
¶
India had summoned the Italian ambassador this week to protest against
Rome's decision not to send two marines charged with killing the
fishermen while on anti-piracy duty back to India to face trial.
¶
Separately, an Indian politician who heads a regional party has filed a
petition in the Supreme Court against the Italian government over the
decision.
China's Drone Swarms Rise to Challenge US Power
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CREDIT: Project 2049 Institute |
China is building one of the world's largest drone fleets aimed at expanding its military reach in the Pacific and swarming U.S. Navy carriers in the unlikely event of a war, according to a new report.
The Chinese military — known as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) — envisions its drone swarms scouting out battlefields, guiding missile strikes and overwhelming opponents through sheer numbers. China's military-industrial complex has created a wide array of homegrown drones to accomplish those goals over the past decade, according to the report released by the Project 2049 Institute on March 11.
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Indefinite curfew in tense Kashmir Valley
An indefinite curfew was imposed in Srinagar and other major
towns of the Kashmir Valley Thursday following the killing of a
28-year-old youth in the city’s old quarters. Early in the morning,
thousands of police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers
moved into the capital and elsewhere to enforce the round-the-clock curfew.
Tension gripped the capital after Altaf Ahmad Wani succumbed to a bullet injury he sustained in the CRPF firing at Zonimar locality Wednesday, triggering protests. The locals alleged that Altaf was killed in unprovoked firing by CRPF. The CRPF said they opened fire after being subjected to heavy stoning by a mob.
The ruling National Conference called the killing of Altaf “a cold blooded murder”. The party said Altaf was an active worker of the party. Both factions of the separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference called for a shutdown Thursday to protest the killing.
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Tension gripped the capital after Altaf Ahmad Wani succumbed to a bullet injury he sustained in the CRPF firing at Zonimar locality Wednesday, triggering protests. The locals alleged that Altaf was killed in unprovoked firing by CRPF. The CRPF said they opened fire after being subjected to heavy stoning by a mob.
The ruling National Conference called the killing of Altaf “a cold blooded murder”. The party said Altaf was an active worker of the party. Both factions of the separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference called for a shutdown Thursday to protest the killing.
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NKorea threatens to 'wipe out' SKorean island
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at the long-range
artillery sub-unit of the Korean People's Army Unit 641, whose mission
is to strike Baengnyeong Island of South Korea. Photo: ReutersSEOUL: North Korea leader Kim Jong-un has threatened to "wipe out" a South Korean island as Pyongyang came under new economic and diplomatic fire from US sanctions and UN charges of gross rights abuses.
Military tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen to their highest level for years, with the communist state under the youthful Mr Kim threatening nuclear war in response to UN sanctions imposed after its third atomic test last month.
It has also announced its unilateral shredding of the 60-year-old Korean War armistice and non-aggression pacts with Seoul in protest at a joint South Korean-US military exercise that began on Monday.
Success of Chinese Missiles in Syria To Boost Image of Country’s Weapons, Paper Says
BEIJING — Chinese-made missiles have been used to shoot down two
Syrian army helicopters, state media reported Thursday, adding that
their performance could boost the international sales appeal of Chinese
weapons.
The Global Times, a tabloid with close links to the ruling Communist Party, said a pair of videos posted on the Internet by Free Syrian Army rebels showed two Mi-8/17 helicopters being shot down by Chinese shoulder-launched missiles. The paper said it was not known how the rebels, who have been fighting to topple the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad for the past two years, obtained the missiles.
But it said the success of the FN-6 weapons, which it said were developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, could lift the overall image of China’s defense products.
“In regards to export prospects, Chinese weapons need to engage in more conflicts to prove their value,” Daniel Tong, identified as the founder of the Chinese Military Aviation website, told the newspaper. “The kills are proof that the FN-6 is reliable and user-friendly, because rebel fighters are generally not well-trained in operating missile systems,” he added.
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The Global Times, a tabloid with close links to the ruling Communist Party, said a pair of videos posted on the Internet by Free Syrian Army rebels showed two Mi-8/17 helicopters being shot down by Chinese shoulder-launched missiles. The paper said it was not known how the rebels, who have been fighting to topple the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad for the past two years, obtained the missiles.
But it said the success of the FN-6 weapons, which it said were developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, could lift the overall image of China’s defense products.
“In regards to export prospects, Chinese weapons need to engage in more conflicts to prove their value,” Daniel Tong, identified as the founder of the Chinese Military Aviation website, told the newspaper. “The kills are proof that the FN-6 is reliable and user-friendly, because rebel fighters are generally not well-trained in operating missile systems,” he added.
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Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Intelligence chief offers dire warning on cyberattacks
Director of National Intelligence James
Clapper (left), and CIA Director John Brennan (right) testify during a
hearing before the Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee.
(Credit:
Getty Images)
In stark testimony delivered today to Congress, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper described a fast-eroding economic and national security landscape that's being rapidly penetrated by foreign agents infiltrating the nation's computer networks. This was the first time Clapper has included cyberattacks in his yearly congressional report on security threats facing the nation -- the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community (PDF) -- and they top the list.
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The Navy Is Working On A Drone Ship To Track Submarines
An artist rendering of the autonomous vessel.
The drone war taking place over the skies of Afghanistan,
carrying out remotely-piloted attacks on terrorist targets, will soon
take an unexpected turn — underwater.
The new 'drone ship' is called the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vehicle (ACTUV), and once completed, it will be a totally autonomous, submarine spying platform.
With 43 countries fielding submarines, it's getting
tougher for the Navy to track the estimated 600 of them. That may change
with the ACTUV program, led by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Raytheon Corp. working to develop it.
Syria Military Shows Strain in a War It Wasn’t Built to Fight
George Ourfalian/Reuters
Soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo last month. The war has forced the Syrian Army to alter its tactics.
By ANNE BARNARD
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian military’s ability to fight rebels and hold territory has steadily eroded, forcing it to cede the job of running many checkpoints to paramilitary groups, give up a provincial city last week without much of a fight and even enlist the top state-appointed Muslim cleric as a recruiter.
Though the government forces remain better armed and organized than the
rebels, two years of fighting have pushed the military to continue to
scale back its ambitions and rethink its tactics.
In recent days, the government has signaled a growing anxiety over its
ability to refresh the depleted and exhausted ranks of soldiers, and has
continued to consolidate its forces around the capital, Damascus.
China’s defense spending mystery
Editor’s note: Scott Harold is an associate political scientist for the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. The views expressed are his own.
China has once again announced a major expansion in its defense spending, leaving outside observers to again debate what this all could mean. Unfortunately, the planned 10.7 percent increase for 2013 posed more questions than it answered: Is it a sign of a more assertive China that wants to pursue regional dominance? Is it an indication of a country seeking to redress long-term weaknesses in its military? Or is it a sign of a domestic leadership that can’t say no to the military at a time of political transition?
The fact is that it’s a bit of all of these.
In absolute terms, the official Chinese defense budget is slated to rise from approximately $106.4 billion in 2012 to $119 billion this year. (The White House, meanwhile, proposed a $553 billion budget for the U.S. Defense department in fiscal 2012). This means that, after subtracting out expected inflationary costs, the People’s Liberation Army will have approximately $12 billion more in budget this year than last.
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China has once again announced a major expansion in its defense spending, leaving outside observers to again debate what this all could mean. Unfortunately, the planned 10.7 percent increase for 2013 posed more questions than it answered: Is it a sign of a more assertive China that wants to pursue regional dominance? Is it an indication of a country seeking to redress long-term weaknesses in its military? Or is it a sign of a domestic leadership that can’t say no to the military at a time of political transition?
The fact is that it’s a bit of all of these.
In absolute terms, the official Chinese defense budget is slated to rise from approximately $106.4 billion in 2012 to $119 billion this year. (The White House, meanwhile, proposed a $553 billion budget for the U.S. Defense department in fiscal 2012). This means that, after subtracting out expected inflationary costs, the People’s Liberation Army will have approximately $12 billion more in budget this year than last.
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DM Denies Allegations of Iron Dome's Low Success Rate
Defense Ministry on Wednesday denied allegations that the Iron Dome only had a 5% success rate in intercepting rockets launched towards Israel during Operation Pillar of Defense.
"This is a theory of intelligence and not of performance of the Iron Dome," said Defense Ministry spokesman. "The residents of southern Israel and Gush Dan experienced during Operation Pillar of Defense the proven capabilities of the Iron Dome, which presented a success rate of more than 80%."
"This is a theory of intelligence and not of performance of the Iron Dome," said Defense Ministry spokesman. "The residents of southern Israel and Gush Dan experienced during Operation Pillar of Defense the proven capabilities of the Iron Dome, which presented a success rate of more than 80%."
Sunday, March 10, 2013
U.S., China Take Part in Pakistan Naval Drills
ISLAMABAD — The United States and China began naval drills in the
Arabian Sea with Pakistan and other countries on Thursday, the Pakistani
navy said, in a show of strength against terrorism and piracy.
The AMAN-13 exercise involves ships from 13 countries and observers from 20 others and comes two weeks after China took control of a strategic Pakistani Arabian Sea port from Singapore’s PSA International. The five-day exercise, which began earlier this week with meetings and maneuvers in port, will end on Friday and is aimed at “information sharing, mutual understanding and identifying areas of common interest,” the navy said in a statement.
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The AMAN-13 exercise involves ships from 13 countries and observers from 20 others and comes two weeks after China took control of a strategic Pakistani Arabian Sea port from Singapore’s PSA International. The five-day exercise, which began earlier this week with meetings and maneuvers in port, will end on Friday and is aimed at “information sharing, mutual understanding and identifying areas of common interest,” the navy said in a statement.
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China's Cutting-Edge Attack Helicopter Is Actually A Russian Design
"Sergei Mikheyev, General Designer of the Kamov Design Bureau ... dropped the proverbial bombshell at Heli-Expo here in Las Vegas this afternoon," Norris writes, "Mikheyev told an astonished crowd that China’s Z-10/WZ-10 attack helicopter was actually designed in great secrecy under contract for China by Kamov."
18 Killed in Afghan Attacks During Hagel's Visit
ISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber riding a bicycle blew himself up outside the Afghan Defense Ministry Saturday while U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was in Kabul, but the Pentagon chief was nowhere near the scene. Another suicide bomber in the eastern city of Khost killed a policeman, children and other civilians. Together, the two incidents claimed 18 lives, and highlighted serious concerns about security in Afghanistan.
A spokesman for the international forces in Afghanistan, Charlie Stadtlander, said Hagel was not in the defense ministry at the time. He said there was no apparent connection between the bombing and the Pentagon chief's visit to the Afghan capital.
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Pentagon Report Warns Of F-35 Visibility Risks
That is just one of several issues identified by the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester in a February report, published online (PDF) today by the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight.
Other issues include flawed radar, ongoing challenges with the high-tech helmet required to fly the jet, and potential issues with the touch screen control interface.
The operational utility evaluation (OUE) itself was extremely scaled down from the type of testing that is normally done with such a program, to the point where the authors of the report conclude that “the results of the OUE should not be used to make decisions regarding the readiness of the JSF system to support training inexperienced pilots in an F-35A initial qualification course.”
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Narcissus from Caracas: Chávez Death Ends an Era in South America
REUTERS / Miraflores Palace
"I will remain as long as God and the people command me to," said Hugo Chávez in 2008. At the time, the Venezuelan president and left-wing nationalist was at the apex of his power. Fifty-four years old and in office for 10 years, he self-confidently and energetically planned for the next decade as Latin America's longest serving head of state.
ANZEIGE
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