ASIAN DEFENCE: September 2010

Sep 30, 2010

China’s Naval Build-up

China scholar stated flatly that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) halted development of its submarine fleet after taking delivery of the last of its Russian-built Kilo-class diesel attack boats in 2006. From such leading indicators he concluded that Beijing can do little more than issue ‘hollow threats’ against US naval operations in Asia. And it’s ‘hyperbole’ to think the Chinese military can contest US Navy access to regional waters.

This autumn, in a similar vein, some maritime specialists in places like Washington and Newport have taken to pointing out that the PLAN has built no new destroyers for its surface fleet for five years. Such reports imply, without quite coming out and saying it, that Beijing's naval project has stalled or been deliberately terminated. If so, other seafaring nations like the United States and Japan can relax their guard, sparing taxpayers the expense and hazards of competing with China on the high seas.
We beg to differ.

The Pakistani Defense Ministry is to make a decision by the end of the month on the purchase of Russian Mi-17 transport helicopters. Pakistan also has plans to get Chinese J-10 fighters with Russian engines. Pakistan is ready to renew direct military technical cooperation with Russia, to which India is opposed.

The purchasing department of the Pakistani Defense Ministry will announce the results of a tender for the delivery of ten Mi-17 transport helicopters this month. The ministry wants only that model of helicopter, and insists that the provider have certification an original producer. Only OAO OPK Oboronprom in Ulan-Ude fits that bill. That company provided Pakistan with three of the same helicopters last year. A Pakistani delegation will visit that enterprise in the coming weeks, and see the Kazan Helicopter Plant and the Klimov Plant in St. Petersburg.

Pakistan's interior minister said Wednesday his country may use military force to stop violations of its territory.

“We will not allow anyone in any case to interfere in Pakistan's territory and if this continues, we will adopt all the set measures including military action,” Rehman Malik told reporters. “I assure you we are quite capable of defending our homeland.”

BEML Offers 155mm, Artillery Gun To Army

BEML has reportedly offered a 155mm, 52-caliber state-of-the-art artillery gun.

The Bangalore-based defence public sector undertaking is ready with the wheeled gun and field trials have already started at its testing tracks in the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Karnataka.

This development comes in the backdrop of the fact that the artillery has not purchased a long-range gun in about 20 years following the Bofors gun controversy. The Government recently gave the nod to inviting global tenders for the 155mm guns and the proposed contract for over 1000 guns, besides other range of artillery guns including Howitzers, worth over Rs. 20,000 crore.

As India's biggest defence contract of $ 10 billion to acquire 126 (MMRCA) nears final stages, the lone Swedish contender is optimistic of making it to the downlist.

Expressing optimism, SAAB executives said that their India campaign was enthusing them to enter the lucrative fighter market in the Asian region where many other nations are planning major acquisitions.

The Swedish company executives are hopeful that the Indian Government would shortlist the competitors by December to bring the number of contenders from six to two or three.

The Gripen is in contention with American F-16 and F-18/A Super Hornets, French Rafale, Russian MiG 35 and Eurofighter Typhoon.

The company executives claimed that the Gripen had come through well in Indian flight trials held at Leh and Jaisalmer.

"The trials were a complete success. We are very happy with the trials that went off early 2010. We are looking forward to the next steps and we are hopeful," Eddy de la Motte, Director, Gripen for India, told PTI on the sidelines of the Africa Aerospace and Defence expo 2010.

Gripen, like other five contenders, had undergone trials at Bangalore, Leh and Jaisalmer for performance assessment trials over varying terrain and weather conditions over six months that ended in March-April this year.

The US Senate has approved the transfer of two Osprey-class minehunter coastal ships to India.

The two minehunter ships are Kingfisher (MHC-56) and Cormorant (MHC-57). Both were decommissioned in 2007 and now awaiting it’s to India.

Osprey-class coastal minehunters are designed to find, classify, and destroy moored and bottom naval mines from vital waterways. They use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control.

India's emphasis on undersea warfare is growing, but too slowly for many experts. Today, the Indian navy's submarine fleet - India's "silent service" - is beset with numerous problems and delays.

In China, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) shows no sign of backing off its plans to gradually increase its presence in the Indian Ocean. This influx of Chinese naval vessels does not pose an immediate threat to India's national security, but the situation could change.

Russia, however, may wield considerable influence over the flow of events. While Russia continues to serve as a vital cog in the vastmachinery that is driving the PLAN's construction and development of a modern submarine fleet, American submarine historian and expert Norman Polmar sees ample evidence that Russia is selling India better undersea than those it is selling China.

"China, unlike India, is a natural enemy of Russia, and despite China's distrust of Russia, the Chinese deal with the Russians because the Russians possess submarine and antisubmarine technologies that the Chinese want," said Polmar. "This is solely an economic relationship involving China as a customer whereas the Russian's longstanding military assistance relationship with India is based on a need to sustain both its economic and geopolitical bonds that Russia deems very important to its overall security."

The Pentagon on Wednesday awarded Boeing a 12 billion dollar contract Sept. 29 to help modernize B-52 weapons systems over eight years.

"The contract provides for the acquisition and sustainment activities needed to support B-52 weapon system modernization," the Department of Defense said in a statement.

India is expanding its defense ties with Japan, a newfound strategic partner in the region, said a senior Defence Ministry official here.

The chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal P.V. Naik, left Sept. 28 for Japan to participate in the first military-to-military talks between the two countries. Naik's visit to Tokyo comes three months ahead of a visit to Japan by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Sept. 28 said recent cross-border strikes by NATO helicopters in Pakistan were marked by "communication breakdowns," as allied officers were not able to contact their Pakistani counterparts about the operation until afterward.

Pakistan on Sept. 27 denounced last week's helicopter air strikes as flouting the country's sovereignty, but the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in neighboring Afghanistan has insisted its troops had the right to defend themselves.

"I don't know that I'd call it a disagreement but there are certainly discussions under way between our forces and the Pakistanis about this particular incident," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan told reporters.

The talks were focused on "what were the communication breakdowns, what happened, what was supposed to happen," Lapan said.

Iran says US Stuxnet Worm Is The begining of Electronic And IT War Againist Iran

Sep 26, 2010

Iran nuclear plant staff computers targeted by Stuxnet worm

A complex computer worm has infected the personal computers of staff at Iran's first nuclear power station, the official IRNA news agency reported.

However, the operating system at the Bushehr plant - due to go online in a few weeks - has not been harmed, project manager Mahmoud Jafari said.

The Stuxnet worm is capable of seizing control of industrial plants.

Some Western experts say its complexity suggests it could only have been created by a "nation state".

"An electronic war has been launched against Iran”

It is the first sign that Stuxnet, which targets systems made by the German company Siemens, has reached equipment linked to Iran's nuclear programme.

MBDA Settles FREMM Frigate Missile Specifications

French industry has locked down the missile specifications of an air defense model of the FREMM multimission frigate in talks with Greece and is embarking on negotiations on industrial cooperation, industry executives said.

Despite the budgetary crisis assailing Athens, industry executives hope the Greek Navy will sign for the FREMM warship in 2012. Talks have centered on an order for four ships and options for two more.

Missile maker MBDA would supply a total 56 surface to air missiles on the air defense frigate proposed to the Greek authorities.

Russia does not need Israeli assistance to make progress in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), including military drones, the head of a Russian UAV production company said on Thursday.

A senior Israeli defense source quoted in Flight International said earlier that Israel may tear up much of the unprecedented military cooperation deal it signed with Russia at the start of this month due to anger over Moscow's decision to supply Yakhont naval missiles to Syria.

"In the next two or three years, there will be a breakthrough in the Russian UAV market regardless of the Israeli position on this issue," Vladimir Verba, the director general of the Vega company.

Verba said his company had developed a comprehensive UAV development program until 2025, which had been approved by the majority of its customers, including the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Interior Ministry.

He also said Vega had been developing strike and reconnaissance drones for the Russian military in cooperation with Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).

The Russian military stressed the need to provide the Armed Forces with advanced reconnaissance systems in the wake of a brief military conflict with Georgia in August 2008, when the effectiveness of Russian military operations was severely hampered by the lack of reliable intelligence.

There is no proof that Iran is working toward the creation of nuclear weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

However in order for UN sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic to be lifted, Iran must prove its nuclear program has a 100% peaceful character, Lavrov told the U.S. PBS TV channel.

Any attack on Iran would have “negative” consequences for the region, he warned.

Russia had voted in favor of the UN sanctions against Iran in order to demonstrate that it would not stand for any violation of the nonproliferation regime, he went on.

Lavrov also urged Iran to comply fully with the demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Israel may tear up much of the unprecedented military cooperation deal it signed with Moscow at the start of this month due to anger over Moscow's rigid stance on supplying naval missiles to Israel's enemy Syria.

"We will have to reconsider all proposed deals with Russia. Moscow did not show the necessary understanding of our requests," a senior Israeli defense source quoted on aviation business magazine Flight International's website said on Thursday.

Russia has delivered three Mi-35M Hind assault helicopters to Indonesia, a military source said on Thursday.

Russia signed an agreement with Indonesia in September 2007 to provide a $1 billion credit line to the Southeast Asian country for Russian weapons purchases. Indonesia planned to buy ten Mi-17 transport helicopters, five Mi-35Ms, six Sukhoi fighters and two Kilo-class submarines financed by the credit.

Jakarta became one of Russia's major arms customers in 1999 when the United States tightened an embargo on arms sales to the country over alleged human rights violations.

Washington has since lifted the ban, but Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country, continues to turn to Russia for its military hardware imports.

Moscow has already delivered three Su-27SKM fighters to Indonesia as the final part of an August 2007 $300 million deal for six of the Sukhoi fighters.

The agreement followed a 2003 deal on the purchase of four fighter jets by Indonesia from Russia.

The planes will take part in a military parade dedicated to Indonesian Armed Forces Day on October 5.

The Mi-35M is an export version of the Mi-24 Hind that was used extensively in Afghanistan. The Mi-24/35 can be used for transportation, assault and medical evacuation tasks.

Russia To Create DARPA Like Agency For Innovative Weapons Development

Russia plans to create an agency for developing innovative military technology similar to the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a Russian business daily Vedemosti said.

The project is part of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's drive to diversify the Russia economy by reducing its dependence on oil and gas exports.

The president's modernization committee met on Wednesday at an aviation equipment factory near Moscow to discuss innovation in the military sector.

Currently, increased military spending is only going into upgrading old systems, developed in the Soviet era, Medvedev said. Russia needs to start producing its own hi-tech systems, he added.

Russian President has signed a decree banning the delivery of S-300 air defense systems and a host of other major arms to Iran, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

The ban, which includes battle tanks, armored vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, warplanes, military helicopters, ships and missiles, is part of measures Russia is taking to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1929 of June 9, 2010.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chief of the Russian General Staff Army Gen. Nikolai Makarov said Russia would not deliver S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran as planned because such transfers are prohibited under UN sanctions.

Medvedev also banned entry to and transit via Russia for a number of Iranian nationals connected with the country's nuclear program, and banned Russian individuals and legal entities from rendering financial services if the services relate to Iran's nuclear activity.

Russia signed an $800 million contract on delivery to Iran of S-300 systems to equip at least five battalions in late 2007. The contract's implementation had so far been delayed. Experts are considering whether the missiles fall under the sanctions imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in June.

All three Su-27SKM fighters delivered to Indonesia by Russia earlier this month have successfully passed flight tests at an airbase in the South Sulawesi province, a source at the base said on Wednesday.

The planes were delivered to Indonesia as the final part of an August 2007 $300 million deal for six of the Sukhoi fighters. That agreement followed on from the 2003 purchase by Indonesia of four fighter jets from Russia.

Indonesia's Air Force chief of staff Marshal Imam Sufaat said on Friday his country planned to buy six more Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia, the Jakarta Post reported.

"The existing squadron of 10 Sukhois is insufficient for our vast air space," Imam told the Antara news agency.

The first batch of modified short-range missiles have entered service in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the defense minister said on Tuesday.

The Guard has received a modified version of the surface-to-surface Fateh-110 missiles, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said, according to Irna news agency.

Iran said last month it had successfully test-fired the third generation of Fateh-110 missiles.

Russia is working on a military laser system, the chief of Russia's Armed Forces General Staff said on Wednesday.

"Work on laser weapons is underway across the world, and that includes us," Gen. Nikolai Makarov said.

It is "too soon yet" to speak about the specifications of the Russian laser system, he added.

According to some media reports, Russia has been developing an airborne laser - the so-called flying laser - to disable enemy reconnaissance and data processing systems, as well as shoot down missiles in flight.

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Flying Coffine MIG-27 Of IAF Crashes In West Bengal

A MiG-27 Flogger ground attack aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has crashed in the country's east, the third crash of a plane of this type in India this year, a spokesman for the Indian Army Eastern Command said.

The crash took place at 08:25 am local time (02:25 GMT) some 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the Kalaikunda air base in West Bengal state.

"The pilot managed to eject and is unharmed. The crash did not cause casualties or destruction on the ground," Mahesh Upasani said, adding that investigation into the crash was under way.

An MiG-27 aircraft crashed in West Bengal in February near the Hashimara military base, killing the pilot and causing all MiG-27 flights to be suspended for a short period of time.

An eight-year-old Kashmiri went out to play. He came back home dead

On 2 August Fayaz Rah, a 39-year-old fruit vendor from Batamaloo, had lunch with his wife and three children. Outside, Indian troops enforced the curfew. Yet the children would find a clearing or a courtyard to play cricket or imitate the adults and raise a slogan for Kashmir's independence from India. His youngest son, eight-year-old Sameer, took two rupees for pocket money from his father and stepped out to join his friends near his uncle's house.

Young Sameer walked into a lane and impulsively shouted a few slogans for Kashmir's independence. He didn't realise a group of Indian paramilitaries was around. They caught the eight-year-old and beat him with bamboo sticks, some blows striking his head. They then threw the boy into a clump of poison ivy bushes, but a crowd gathered. The paramilitaries called a police truck, which drove Sameer to the nearby hospital. Meanwhile, police and paramilitaries teargassed the crowd.

New Chinese SSK Fuels Asia's Submarine Race

The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation has launched an unidentified new-type conventional submarine (SSK) at its Wuhan shipyard, according to Chinese reports.

It is the third new SSK design revealed by China since 1994 and is likely to exacerbate regional anxieties that are propelling many Asian states to increase or establish submarine fleets.

Vague or altered internet images of this new SSK, which first appeared on the popular Chinese CALF web page on 10 September, led observers to think that it may be yet another Chinese internet hoax, but the submarine's existence was confirmed by much clearer images on 13 September.

Denel's Mechem division has developed a new air-transportable variant of the Casspir mine-protected armoured personnel carrier (APC) to complement the Mk II variants, which were re-launched in May 2010.

The new vehicle, known as the Casspir Mk IV, is wider than the original vehicle, but at 2.73 m tall, it is slightly lower overall, enabling it to fit through the entrance to a C-130 Hercules transport. The vehicle's 40 cm ride-height remains the same to help manage blast, but the roof has been dropped by 20 cm.

A fresh RFI (Request for Information) for the Indian army’s 155 mm/52 caliber towed artillery guns was issued two months back for a record fourth time after the current ongoing process was scrapped, signaling yet again the process going back into the never ending loop of proposals, trails, accusations and cancellations.

There seems no end in sight to the Indian army’s artillery modernization. The ghost of Bofor’s and corruption continue to haunt the force and the result: the army has not inducted any new piece of artillery in the last two decades since the infamous bofor’s scandal. The 400 Bofor’s guns bought in the 80’s are the latest in the inventory and some of them have been cannibalized for spares to maintain the others. We just don’t seem to get over the ghost of Bofor’s and the lackluster attitude of the government in general and the defense ministry in particular is further pushing back things when we urgently need to augment the most potent force multiplier and area dominating arm of the land forces.

The government is in the process of rising to new mountain divisions to be deployed in the northeast border but the question is – where are the guns to equip them? In the event of a conflict in the north east or in Kashmir, armored divisions will be greatly limited due to the mountainous terrain and it’s the artillery that will play a crucial role in enabling the forward thrust by the infantry which we have seen happen during the Kargil conflict. And with future conflicts being short and swift this assumes even greater importance.

US-INDIA $3.5 billion defence deal

The largest-ever defence deal between India and the US — acquisition of 10 C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft by the Indian Air Force for $3.5 billion, nearly Rs 16,100 crore at current exchange rates, — is likely to be inked during US President Barack Obama’s planned visit to India this November.

Negotiations have reached the final stage and each of the giant transport aircraft, which can carry helicopters too, would be priced at around $300 million. After spares and maintenance are included, the final deal size would be around $3.5 billion, making it the biggest defence deal between the two countries.

The C-17, also known as Hercules C-17, was deployed by the US in Iraq as well as Afghanistan. It is utilised for air dropping paratroopers and supplies, emergency evacuation and carrying heavy equipment like tanks.

Interestingly, a C-17 accompanies the US President when he flies on the Air Force One, carrying the Presidential limousine and security apparatus. The C-17 is manufactured by Boeing and the IAF deal is being concluded through government-to-government negotiations under the US’ Foreign Military Sales programme. The IAF wants the C-17 to replace its Russian Ilyushin IL-76 fleet that now acts as its primary transport aircraft. The IL-76 fleet is ageing and the C-17 is likely to provide IAF with much stronger transport capabilities.

NEW DELHI: IAF now plans to upgrade its Nyoma advanced landing ground (ALG) in Eastern Ladakh, which was re-activated when an AN-32 transport landed there in September 2009, into an operational airbase.

Defence ministry sources on Monday said IAF has submitted a proposal to develop Nyoma into ''a full-fledged airfield, capable of handling all kinds of aircraft, including fighters'', as well as civilian flights. Incidentally, defence minister A K Antony himself had visited Nyoma in June this year.

The reactivation of Nyoma, located just 23 km from the Line of Actual Control with China at an altitude of 13,300 feet, as well as other ALGs like Daulat Beg Oldi and Fukche over the last couple of years has been done with the stated objective of connecting remote regions of Ladakh with the mainland to promote tourism and other economic activity.

The indigenously built vessel, Kalpeni, scheduled to be commissioned next month, arrived at the Headquarters of the Southern Naval Command in Kochi on Monday.

The vessel was given a ceremonial welcome at the Command HQ. Commodore Ajay Saxena, Chief Staff Officer (Operations) was present on the occasion.

The new vessel can be used mainly for search and rescue operations. The ship can also be used for naval patrol duties, detection and destruction of small and fast-moving craft and other targets, policing in the coastal region, along with anti-smuggling and fisheries protection. Captained by Lt Commander Sudhal Nathan, the ship has four officers and 38 sailors.

The FAC was built at the Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. The vessel makes use of water jet propulsion technology and can achieve speed in excess of 35 knots. Water jet technology has rapidly gained acceptance as the leading means of propulsion for all types of high-speed marine craft, including ferries, work boats, patrol craft and pleasure boats.

Preparation is underway for conduct of Test of surface to surface Prithvi II missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea on September 24 next.

The nine-mt-long and one mt in width missile could carry conventional as well as nuclear warheads and has a range of 350 kms.

It was one of five missiles being developed under Integrated Missile Development Programme.

ITR sources said the missile would be tested for 320 km range.

Air Force says DRDO stalling Tejas fighter engine

India’s Tejas light fighter is failing to meet performance targets, largely because of an underpowered engine. And, the Indian Air Force (IAF) believes the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is actively stalling the process of choosing a new engine.

A furious IAF, which urgently needs the Tejas to replace its retiring MiG-21 squadrons, has complained in writing to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The IAF report says that even as the Aeronautical Development Agency, or ADA — which oversees the Tejas programme — is choosing between two powerful, modern engines from the global market, the DRDO has confused the issue by throwing up a third option.

An offer to resurrect its failed Kaveri engine programme, this time in partnership with French engine-maker, Snecma.

The IAF report, currently with the highest levels of the MoD, makes two points. First, since the DRDO has been unable, for over two decades, to deliver a Kaveri engine that can power the Tejas, the ongoing procurement — of either the General Electric (GE) F-414, or the Eurojet EJ200 engine — should go ahead.

The IAF’s second objection is even more damning for the DRDO: Snecma, the IAF charges, has already developed the heart of the engine it is offering, an uprated derivative of the M88-2 engine that powers the French Rafale fighter. The DRDO, therefore, will not co-develop the engine, but merely provide Snecma with an indigenous stamp. In reality, the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), the DRDO laboratory that has laboured for decades on the Kaveri, will hardly participate in any “joint development”.

Further, says a top IAF source, a Kaveri engine based on Snecma’s new core will leave the Tejas short of performance, providing barely 83-85 Kilonewtons (KN) of maximum thrust. In contrast, the GE and Eurojet engines already short-listed for selection provide 90-96 KN, a significant advantage. The source says sneaking in the underpowered Kaveri-Snecma engine through the GTRE back door will damage the LCA project.

For the IAF, the performance of the new engine is crucial. It has agreed to accept the Tejas into service as soon as the fighter obtains its Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) in December, even though the Tejas does not yet fly, climb, turn or accelerate fast enough. The IAF’s accommodation is based on a promise from the ADA that a new, more powerful engine will overcome all the Tejas’ current performance shortfalls.

Senior IAF officers explain that the DRDO needs the Tejas project to endorse the Kaveri-Snecma engine because Snecma insists on a minimum assured order of 300 engines as a precondition for partnering GTRE in “joint development”. Since India’s futuristic Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA) — the other potential user of a Kaveri-Snecma engine — has not yet been sanctioned, only the Tejas programme, with some 120-140 fighters planned, provides the numbers needed for satisfying Snecma.

The IAF will buy two squadrons (42 fighters) of Tejas Mark 1, which use older GE F-404 engines. In addition, five squadrons (110 fighters) of Tejas Mark 2 are planned, which will be powered by a new engine. Given that each Tejas could go through 2-3 engines during its lifetime, the LCA Mk 2 will actually need 200-300 of the new engines.

Contacted by Business Standard, the DRDO declined to comment on the subject.
Business Standard has already reported (December 12, 2009, “Kaveri engine comes alive; will power Indian fighters”) that the MoD is backing Kaveri-Snecma as a new engine for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). That report was corroborated on May 13 by Defence Minister A K Antony, who told Parliament that the Kaveri “requires to be optimised for lower weight and higher performance so that it can be used for the Tejas and possibly for Indian next generation combat Aircraft.”

But there are mixed signals from the establishment. In the same statement, Antony also talked about the possibility of engine import. And the ADA chief, P S Subramaniam, has told Business Standard: “There are many Tejas already flying that will soon need new engines and we will use the Kaveri-Snecma engines for those. The Tejas Mark 2 will be powered by either GE F-414 or the EJ200.”
According to ADA sources, both the GE and Eurojet engines have fully met the technical requirements for the Tejas Mk 2. The Eurojet EJ200 is the more modern, lighter, flexible engine and has impressed the IAF. The GE F-414 is significantly heavier, but provides more power. The Indian tender for 99 engines (plus options) demands that all engines after the first 10 be built in India.

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