November 2009 ~ ASIAN DEFENCE

Monday, November 23, 2009

First JF-17 Thunder fighter plane handed over to PAF by PAC

4:11 AM ASIAN DEFENCE 29 comments

Pakistan on Monday formally joined the international community of fighter aircraft manufacturers as JF 17 Thunder, the first ever multi role state of the art rolled out of Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra and was included to the fleet of Pakistan Air Force. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani was the chief guest at the ceremony that marked a milestone in the Sino Pak joint venture in air defence system. Senate Chairman Farooq H. Naik, Federal Minister for Information Qamar...

Night launch for N-capable Agni-II today

7:43 PM ASIAN DEFENCE 5 comments

Rajat Pandit India is all set to test its 2,000-km-plus Agni-II missile from the Wheeler Island off Orissa coast again on Monday. Significantly, the nuclear-capable missile will be launched for the first time during night in a major step towards making it fully operational in the Strategic Forces Command (SFC). Defence officials said Agni-II’s ‘user training trial’ was likely to be conducted around 8pm on Monday to give the necessary confidence to the armed forces that the two-stage, solid-fuelled...

China test-fired ICBM in October

7:35 PM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

Ajay Banerjee Adding a new dangerous dimension to its growing arsenal of weapons, China has tested a long-range nuclear missile which will have the mobility to be moved around and fired upon a specially designed truck. All this retaining the ability to fire at targets located across continents. In military parlance, it is known as a mobile inter-continental ballistic missile or a mobile-ICBM. It can fire at targets up to 11,000 km away, hence making large parts of north-western US and Canada within the Chinese missile reach. Also areas like...

Japan gearing up to acquire F-35 fighters instead of F-22s

7:20 PM ASIAN DEFENCE 3 comments

The Defense Ministry is making arrangements to select the F-35 as Japan’s next mainstay fighter jet, sources at the ministry and the Self-Defense Forces said Sunday. The ministry will embark on the full acquisition process in December and prepare to make budgetary requests for the stealth plane in the fiscal 2011 budget, the sources said. The ministry is looking to buy 40 of the next-generation jets, which can evade radar and are estimated to cost about 9 yen billion each. The move apparently means priority has been put on strengthening air-defense...

Lebanese forces fire at Israeli drone

7:13 PM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

Lebanese anti-aircraft guns opened fire on Saturday on an Israeli drone that entered Lebanese airspace in the south of the country, the military said in a statement."A surveillance drone of the Israeli enemy" overflew "the area of Bint Jbeil at medium altitude" in the morning, the statement said. "Army anti-aircraft batteries opened fire on the drone, forcing it to gain altitude before leaving Lebanese airspace."The country's military reports almost daily on airspace violations by Israeli aircraft, but does not normally open fire at them. The...

Turkey threatens to cancel Heron UAV deal

7:07 PM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

By YAAKOV KATZ In a sign of further tensions between Ankara and Jerusalem, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul issued an ultimatum on Saturday to Israeli industries, demanding they supply 10 long-awaited unmanned aerial vehicles to his country's military within 50 days. CNN Turk quoted Gonul as saying that he had sent a letter to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems to fulfill the $183 million deal - signed in 2005 - within 50 days. If the UAVs were not supplied, Gonul...

DSCA notified Congress of a possible FMS to Iraq of 15 helicopters

7:03 PM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of up to 15 AgustaWestland AW109 Light Utility Observation helicopters, or alternatively, 15 Bell Model 429 Medical Evacuation and Aerial Observation helicopters, or 15 EADS North America UH-72A Lakota Light Utility helicopters; and, up to 12 AgustaWestland AW139 Medium Utility helicopters, or alternatively, 12 Bell Model 412 Medium Utility helicopters, or 12 Sikorsky UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopters equipped with 24 T700-GE-701D engines. Also included: spare and repair parts, publications and...

PAF to get JF-17 Thunder today

6:58 PM ASIAN DEFENCE 1 comment

Tanvir Siddiqi Islamabad—The first state-of-the-art JF-17 Thunder lightweight multi-role combat aircraft indigenously built in Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra is being handed over to Pakistan Air force (PAF) today (Monday). A special ceremony in this regard will be held at PAC complex Kamra.Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani will be the chief guest at the rolling out of the bomber-cum-fighter plane. The Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said here on Sunday that the JF-17 Thunder a new generation, light-weight, all...

UAE hosts first mock dogfights for F-22, Typhoon, Rafale

8:37 AM ASIAN DEFENCE 3 comments

By Stephen Trimble The United Arab Emirates not only attracted the Lockheed Martin F-22 to the Dubai air show, but also staged perhaps the first mock dogfights between F-22s, Dassault Rafales and Eurofighter Typhoons. In parallel with the air show, the advanced tactical leadership course at Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi hosted a five-nation fighter exercise, says the UK Royal Air Force. France, the UK and the USA each sent six of their top-line fighters to the exercise, and those...

Ukraine to start modernization of Indian An-32 in December

2:38 AM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

Ukraine will start modernization of military cargo planes for the Indian Air Force in December, a Ukrainian defense sector source told Interfax. The first Indian Antonov An-32 will arrive in Kyiv in December for the pilot modernization project, he said. If India is satisfied with the modernization, the process will become extensive, at the 410th Kyiv Civil Aviation Plant.It is planned to increase the plane's service life to 40 years and the payload from 6.7 tonnes to 7.5 tonnes. Cockpit noise...

China to supply FC-1/JF-17 fighters to Azerbaijan

2:34 AM ASIAN DEFENCE 3 comments

China intends to supply FC-1 multipurpose fighters to Azerbaijan, Izvestia daily reads Nov.19 referring to the information that design was made with the assistance of Russian Aircraft Corporation “MiG”. According to the source, the contract for FC-1 production was signed by Rosoboronexport with the approval of Russian Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC). Zimbabwe is also among the potential buyers, whereas Beijing intends to launch a serial manufacturing of the fighters in...

Avic is willing to allow foreign production L-15 Falcon supersonic trainer

2:01 AM ASIAN DEFENCE 5 comments

Avic Defense, adopting an increasingly Western approach to military aircraft sales, says it is willing to allow foreign production of its latest export product, the L-15 Falcon supersonic trainer.The aircraft is likely to retain the key advantage of an aircraft from a developing country, however, since the manufacturer is also suggesting it will be cheaply priced. The L-15 is joining a crowded market as one of four trainers with the high flight performance needed for direct pilot transition...

Canadian Heron UAVs to remain unarmed

6:36 PM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

By David Pugliese , Ottawa Citizen The Canadian military has decided against putting missiles on the unmanned aerial vehicles it now operates in Afghanistan.Defence Minister Peter MacKay was briefed in March by air force officials on the various options for arming the drones, according to documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.Such aircraft, also known as UAVs, are used by various militaries in Afghanistan to conduct surveillance on insurgent activities. In addition, the U.S. uses armed UAVs to conduct attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan on...

Military Inspection Team to Visit Afghanistan: South Korea

7:46 AM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

By Jung Sung-ki The South Korean military will soon dispatch an on-site inspection team to Afghanistan to gauge the number of troops and the equipment required for the planned deployment there, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday. The team will visit the Parwan and Charikar provinces, and meet with local officials as well as officials from NATO's International Security Assistant Force (ISAF), he said. The government has made public plans to dispatch more civilian reconstruction workers accompanied by security forces...

Pentagon Reorganizing For A New War

7:10 AM ASIAN DEFENCE 1 comment

The Pentagon is trying hard to reorganize itself for the next several years of combat in Afghanistan, Iraq, Eastern Africa, the Indian Ocean and elsewhere. Military planners and politicians know that time, money, military manpower and civilian patience are running out. So the question becomes one of making the greatest impact with an alchemy of less funding, fewer personnel and the accelerating growth of advanced technology. The newest effort is the U.S. Navy decision to combine its N-2 (intelligence) and N-6 (command-and-control) functions...

SELEX Galileo to Supply Missile Seekers for A Middle East Customer

7:07 AM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

SELEX Galileo of Finmeccanica has been awarded a 26 million Euro contract for the supply of SM-1S radar seekers for a Middle East customer. The award comes as part of an MBDA contract for the provision of MARTE MK2/N anti ship missiles. The MARTE was developed as a helicopter launched missile and is currently part of the base-line weapons on AW101 and NH90 fleets. The missile has been adapted for installation on naval vessels and under this contract will be launched from fast patrol vessels...

Intelligence Ops Greatest Chinese Threat to U.S.

6:34 AM ASIAN DEFENCE 1 comment

By william matthews With new submarines, destroyers and mine warfare ships, China's Navy is clearly benefiting from modernization financed by the nation's rapidly growing economy, a new report tells U.S. lawmakers.But a more shadowy Chinese force probably poses a greater immediate threat to the United States - that is, China's secretive army of intelligence collectors and cyber warriors, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In its annual report to Congress on Nov. 19, the commission said that China has added 38...

Turkey to buy U-214 SSK at reduced price

6:29 AM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

Hürriyet Daily News, Turkey's Navy will buy six modern submarines to be built by Germany's HDW shipyards at a price nearly 20 percent lower than what the Germans had originally offered, procurement officials said. The Defense Industry Executive Committee, Turkey's top decision-making body on defense procurement, selected HDW over its French and Spanish rivals in the summer of 2008. At the time, the program's expected cost was announced to be nearly 2.5 billion euros. After yearlong price and...

Russia to float out first frigate for Indian Navy Nov. 27

6:28 AM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

A Russian shipyard will float out the first of three frigates for India's Navy November 27, a company spokesman said. The Yantar shipyard in Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad is building three Project 11356 modified Krivak III class (also known as Talwar class) guided missile frigates for the Indian Navy under a $1.6 billion contract signed in July, 2006. "The frigate is due to be floated out on November 27," Sergei Mikhailov said.He previously said sea trials would not start right away...

Israel, Germany to discuss missile ships

6:26 AM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

A German defense delegation will arrive in Israel next month for high-level talks to focus on an Israeli request to purchase two Meko-class missile ships. The delegation will be led by senior officials from the German Defense Ministry and the German Navy. Talks on the Israeli side will be led by Defense Ministry director-general Pinhas Buchris and Navy commander Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom. While the Navy has yet to finalize its order, it is working on a concept under which the 2,000-ton ship would be designed by the German company Blohm and...

India, Iran Weigh Troop Training, Sat Launch

8:39 PM ASIAN DEFENCE No comments

By vivek raghuvanshi NEW DELHI - Officials from Iran and India discussed cooperative training of troops and the possible Indian launch of an Iranian commercial satellite during Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's visit here Nov. 16-17, sources in the Iranian Embassy here said. Mottaki called on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna during his visit. Details of the Iranian satellite to be launched from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) vehicle...

USA delivers new Mi-17 helicopters to Afghanistan

8:34 PM ASIAN DEFENCE 1 comment

Photo 1: “One of four new Mi-17 helicopters delivered to the Afghan National Army Air Corps by NAVAIR’s Tactical Airlift, Adversary and Support Programs, PMA-207, in just 65 days from order to delivery. The Mi-17’s were delivered in white but have been repainted into the standard ANAAC camouflage colors.” Photo by Staff Sgt. Tom Dow, USAF. Photo 2: “Four new Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-17 helicopters on the ramp in Kabul, Afghanistan delivered by NAVAIR’s Tactical Airlift, Adversary and...