Monday, October 17, 2011
Sino-US Security Issues In Asia
As concept of security widened in post cold war politics in different dimensions, its essence of traditional view could not change even in 21st century. Every state of the world shapes conventional notion of security complying with its own regional environment and requirements. In Far East and South Asian regions, emergence of China has determined security issues. Every participant of the region re-securitizes its strategic policies by itself or by being ally of the USA. Sino-oriented securitization paradigm has become a pivotal part of international strategic studies because the USA perceives threats from it to its geopolitical and strategic interests in the region.
The geopolitical-cum-economic strategic significance of region is very momentous; as according to Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN about 3.1 billion people out of the world’s total 6.4 billion reside over here; presence of important international maritime transport route; nuclear proliferation in the form of de jure Indian, Pakistani, North Korean nuclear programs and having capacity to make nuclear devise within three to six months by Japan, emergence of marvelous economic integration in ASEAN under strong Sino-oriented order, existential presence of world’s 4 major economic hubs (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, and to some extent South Korea) in this area make it more important, hence the volatile security situations of the region.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Raytheon Excalibur Ia-2 Ready for Use in Afghanistan
Raytheon Company successfully fired nine rounds in U.S. Army lot acceptance tests, which means the Excalibur Ia-2 precision-guided projectile is ready for U.S. Army and Marine Corps use in Afghanistan.
Building on the proven technology of the Excalibur Ia-1, the Excalibur Ia-2 includes upgrades designed to meet the projected threat environment, while maintaining true precision and accuracy of better than a 6-meter circular error probable. Excalibur Ia-2 also extends the range of Excalibur Ia-1 from 24 to 37.5 kilometers, which is 50 percent farther than conventional artillery. Excalibur's first-round precision enables it to defeat fleeting and persistent targets.
"The precision Excalibur provides is essential to the missions our warfighters are conducting in urban and surrounding environments. It protects structures, the population and our warfighters," said Lt. Col. Mike Milner, U.S. Army Excalibur Product Manager. "The Excalibur Ia-2 rounds going into theater will give the warfighter the ability to accurately defeat targets before the target can run and hide."
The Excalibur precision-guided projectile is available regardless of time of day or environment, giving warfighters life-saving options. Excalibur complements air-delivered precision when close air support is unavailable or not the best option. With more than 500 rounds fired to date, Excalibur has made its mark on the battlefield.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
China relying less on Russia for weapons, energy: think tank
China's dependence on Russia for arms and energy imports has declined and Moscow's position when dealing with Beijing has weakened as a result, a Swedish think tank said.
"Decreasing dependence on Russian arms exports and a growing number of alternative energy suppliers mean that China has taken the upper hand in the relationship," the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report released Monday.
A key to the changing dynamic, the report said, is that China "is today mainly interested in acquiring technology to develop its own arms industry," and so its need for Russian-made weaponry has diminished.
Moscow has proved unwilling to sell its most sophisticated systems to Beijing, because it fears China will copy the technology and then export its own product.
"The nature of the arms transfer relationship will increasingly be characterized by competition rather than cooperation," said Paul Holtom, who heads SIPRI's arms transfer program.
China's position has been further strengthened because its need for Russian crude oil has declined over the past five years, according to SIPRI.
"China's largest oil supplier is Saudi Arabia, followed by Angola, Iran and Oman," SIPRI said.
"In the gas sector, Russia's negotiating position has been seriously weakened by China's success in finding other partners, especially in Central Asia."
US-should-tone-down-verbal-assaults-Pakistans-Zardari
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari called for "serious dialogue" with the United States on Sunday, amid a fierce dispute over US claims that his intelligence agency has links to Islamist militants.
"Democracy always favors dialogue over confrontation," Zardari wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece that decried the recent "verbal assaults" of some US officials against Pakistan.
"It is time for the rhetoric to cool and for serious dialogue between allies to resume."
Last week, the top US military officer Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen accused Pakistan of exporting violence to Afghanistan through proxies and charged that the Haqqani network, an Al-Qaeda-linked group, was a "veritable arm" of Pakistani intelligence.
Expressing regret over the growing tensions between the United States and Pakistan, which have struggled to overcome sharp differences to forge an alliance in the years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Zardari said it was the militants who had gained the most from the spat.
Iran equips marine forces with cruise missile
Iran has equipped its naval forces with a short range "cruise missile," able to hit targets in costal areas and warships within "200 kilometres (125 miles), the country's defence minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
"Today we are witnessing the equipping of the Guards navy and army navy with ample numbers of the Qader cruise missile," General Ahmad Vahidi said, quoted by his ministry's website referring to the elite Revolutionary Guards who are tasked with defending Iranian waters in the Gulf.
"It has 200 km range and has ability to be launched quickly against warships and costal targets. It flies in low altitude, has high destructive power, (and is) lightweight with high precision," he added.
He added that it could be fired from the coast or from vessels of different classes, increasing considerable the operational ability of the forces.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
North Korea upgrades jamming devices:report
North Korea is upgrading jamming devices to disrupt South Korean military communications, Yonhap news agency said, citing a defence ministry report.
The communist state has some 20 types of jamming devices mostly imported from Russia and it has been developing a new device with a range of more than 100 kilometres (60 miles), the South Korean news agency said on Tuesday.
Yonhap cited a defence ministry report to the parliamentary defence committee. The ministry declined to comment, saying the report was confidential.
North Korea is known to have deployed jamming devices to the heavily-fortified border that are capable of disrupting Global Positioning System (GPS) signals within 50 to 100 kilometres, it said.
The North is thought to have been responsible for the intermittent failure of GPS receivers on naval and civilian craft along the west coast in August 2010.
South Korea's then-defence minister Kim Tae-Young said at the time that the devices could disrupt guided weapons and posed "a fresh security threat" to Seoul.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
South Korea Developing Anti-Ship Missiles:Report
The South Korean military is developing anti-ship cruise missiles, a news report said Wednesday, after sea trials of China's first aircraft carrier sparked regional security concerns.
Development of the supersonic missiles is expected to be complete in three or four years, Seoul's Chosun Ilbo daily said.
"Fully-fledged research on the development of supersonic anti-ship missiles has been underway at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for years," the newspaper quoted an unidentified South Korean government source as saying.
"The supersonic anti-ship cruise missile is aimed at defending the country against naval threats from other countries in the region rather than North Korea."
Both ADD and Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration declined to comment.
Army integrates technologies during NIE exercise
The Army is beginning to harness some initial lessons learned from its recent Network Integration Evaluation this past June/July at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
Scores of technologies were assessed at Network Integration Evaluation, or NIE, and integrated in realistic combat-like scenarios in order to evaluate their potential military utility as part of a battlefield communications network, service officials said.
Initial indications are that much was learned about the Army's ability to integrate a host of emerging technologies into a single coherent network architecture, said Col. John Wendel, deputy program executive officer, Network Integration.
"The integration is a tremendous accomplishment. There is a lot of value added by integrating 35 SUTs [Systems Under Test] and SUEs [Systems Under Evaluation] in a true systems of systems environment that spanned 285 by 50 kilometers and included rugged, strenuous terrain. When you bring everything together simultaneously, you end up with the best solution for the network and for the Soldier," Wendel said.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Navy Tests LCS Minesweeping System
The Navy announced the successful completion of shore-based and at-sea integrated system tests on the prototype Unmanned Influence Sweep System, July 20, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, in Panama City, Fla.
Designed for the LCS as part of the mine countermeasures mission package, the system provides unmanned mine sweeping capability that keeps warfighters out of the mine field. The system consists of an unmanned surface craft that carries and tows the minesweeping payload.
The test, known as Phase 1 Sweep Operational Checkout, consisted of confirming that the new sweep system can be deployed and retrieved from a surface craft and that it tows properly. The test was the first use of the prototype Sweep Power Subsystem which includes magnetic and acoustic sweep systems. The first phase of testing was completed on July 1. Phase II is currently ongoing.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
New Australian Naval Combat Helicopters
Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced that the Australian Government had approved the acquisition of 24 MH-60R Seahawk ‘Romeo’ naval combat helicopters at a cost of over $3 billion.
The 2009 Defence White Paper committed the Government to equipping naval warships with a new combat helicopter capable of conducting a range of maritime misions with advanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities and the ability to fire air-to-surface missiles.
This announcement delivers on that commitment.
The new helicopters will replace the Navy’s current combat helicopter capability provided by 16 Seahawk S-70B-2 helicopters and will also provide the air to surface strike capability which was to have been provided by the cancelled Seasprite program.
This decision follows a 15-month competitive acquisition process involving the Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin built MH-60R and the NATO Helicopter Industries NH90 NFH assembled by Australian Aerospace.
This competitive process has ensured value for money for the tax payer.
The Australian Government has chosen the ‘Romeo’ helicopter because it represents the best value for money for taxpayers and was the lowest risk option.
27 Russian defense companies to take part in Paris Air Show
A total of 59 Russian firms and agencies, including 27 defense companies, will take part in the upcoming international air show outside Paris, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said.
The 49th International Paris Air Show will be held at Le Bourget on June 20-26.
"Twenty-seven defense companies will exhibit military aircraft and related products," a FSMTC spokesman told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
According to the official, Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger jet and Be-200 amphibious plane will make demonstration flights at the biennial air show, which this year attracted over 2,000 exhibitors and 205 official delegations from 88 countries.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Boeing to build 10 C-17 airlifters for India
Boeing said Wednesday that India's defense ministry has signed an agreement with the US government to buy 10 Boeing C-17 transports, making India the plane's largest international customer.
Boeing said that under the deal, India will take delivery of its C-17 Globemaster III airlifters in 2013 and 2014.
The US aerospace giant's announcement followed unofficial news earlier this month that the big sale, approved by the US Congress in May 2010, was in the pipeline.
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