The DRDO has rescheduled the test-firing of submarine launched ballistic
missile ( SLBM) K-15 to January 31. It was supposed to be test-fired
from an underwater platform off the Vishakhapatnam coast on January 20.
"The test was first scheduled on January 16, but was postponed to
January 20. Now it has again been rescheduled to January 31 due to delay
in arrangements. It is a coordinated exercise of both land and Navy
personnel," a source said.
"India can join the league of five nations, Russia, US, France, Britain
and China, with the successful launch of the K-15 missile. These
countries already possess advanced missiles that can be launched from a
submarine," sources said. The indigenously developed K-15 or the B-05 missile are 10 metres in
length, one metre in diameter and weighs ten tonnes with a strike range
of around 700 km.
Indian Air Force will formally induct its first C-130 J Hercules Transport aircraft on February 5.
The aircraft is likely to arrive in the country by the end of
this month and would be formally inducted into the IAF at a ceremony at
its home base Hindan air base near here on February 5, IAF officials said
here.
The first of the six aircraft procured by India under USD 970 million deal was handed over to IAF in mid-December.
The aircraft is expected to enhance IAF''s special missions capability along with transporting men and material.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman has appreciated
the role of police in war against terror, Geo News reported on Thursday.
Talking to media after a ceremony in police lines Islamabad, Air
Chief said that 45 F-16 fighter gets are being upgraded in Turkey. He
added that new squadrons of F-16 and JF-17 thunder planes would be
constituted in March.He informed that PAF have 21 JF-17 thunder jets in final stage while nine are being manufactured.
Earlier, addressing the passing out ceremony as chief guest, Air Chief
Marshal stated that sacrifices of police for the country would not go
waste, adding that police and armed forces are fighting against the war
on terror hand-to-hand.
The European Eurofighter Typhoon consortium is offering its almost
science fiction-evoking helmet to the Indian Air Force (IAF) as part of
its bid to win the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender,
according to company sources. The helmet can enable a pilot to lock-on
target and shoot by voice command, merely after looking at the target.
Company sources confirmed to StratPost that the Eurofighter Typhoon
Helmet Mounted Symbology System, developed by BAE Systems and released
last July, was part of its offering to the IAF. BAE Systems had issued a
press release on the helmet earlier this month, calling it something
out of Star Wars, in a reference to its seemingly filmy capabilities,
where it said the helmet ‘lets the pilot see through the body of the
aircraft’.
“Using the new helmet system, the pilot can now look at multiple
targets, lock-on to them, and then, by voice-command, prioritize them.
It’s a lightning-fast system to let the pilot look, lock-on, and fire,”
said BAE Systems of the system, which also brings to mind the
thought-controlled weapons system onboard the fictional MiG-31 in the
Clint Eastwood-starring Firefox.
A tactical confrontation drill with real combat backdrop held in
Guangzhou Military Area, Surprise drill comes in a time when PLAAF trying
to replace J-7 jets, In 2011 there will be major replacement regarding
old J-7 jets.
India has no plans as of now to either join the US-led joint strike
fighter (JSF) programme or buy the F-35 `Lightning-II' fifth-generation
fighter aircraft (FGFA) when it finally becomes operational.
"We cannot have two types of FGFA. We have already launched preliminary
work for our FGFA after inking the $295 million preliminary design
contract (PDC) with Russia last month,'' said a top defence ministry
official on Friday.
This comes in the wake of comments made by a top Pentagon official,
undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics
Ashton Carter, in Washington that the US was open to Indian
participation in its JSF project.
HQ-9 is a modern mobile strategic SAM system roughly analogous to the
Russian-made S-300PMU (SA-10B GRUMBLE). The HQ-9 has a range of 100
kilometers, an increase over the S-300PMU's 90 kilometer maximum range
but less than that of the S-300PMU-1's 150 kilometers.
The containerized missiles are carried in groups of four on the back of
wheeled TELs very similar in design to that of the S-300P's 5P85. Target
prosecution is handled by the HT-233 phased-array radar system, mounted
on a wheeled chassis in a configuration very similar to that employed
by the S-300PMU, which mounts the 30N6 (FLAP LID) engagement radar on a
MAZ-7910 chassis. The HT-233 radar is likely capable of engaging
multiple targets thanks to its phased-array construction.
The similarities between the S-300PMU components and the HQ-9 components
may be the result of a limited reverse-engineering effort. China had no
prior experience in developing a modern, high-performance strategic SAM
system, and it is likely that the S-300P was examined as either a
possible starting point or at the very least a general roadmap for
component design.
Interrogations with the arrested Indian spy have shed some light on
covert Indian spy networks inside Pakistan. New information includes
leads on Indian intelligence priorities in the region, which are focused
on putting pressure on Pakistan and ISI through fake terror acts that
could also destroy peace talks between India and Pakistan.
akistani security officials have foiled an attempt
by the Indian intelligence to enact a fake terror act on the ceasefire
line in Kashmir to implicate Pakistan in terrorism.
The plan was unearthed when a suspect working for the Indian intelligence was apprehended in Sialkot border area while attempting to cross over to India through the border security fence; an impregnable barbed wire obstacle whose entrance points are locked and controlled by the Indian Border Security Force. The
suspect has confessed to working as an Indian spy who was tasked to
recruit agents from Pakistan to work for Indian intelligence.More evidence of how India is deeply involved in staging fake terror incidents to implicate Pakistan. A probe into recent bombings in India has proven it. In this case, an Indian spy tried to cross into the Indian side.
Britain
is on a collision course with the European Union over the sale of arms
to China. Since the Beijing government crackdown on protestors in
Tiananmen Square in 1989, EU member states have been banned from selling
goods that could be used by the Chinese military.
China’s new J-20 stealth fighter roars along the runway and takes to the
skies, the maiden test-flight of a plane designed to rival the United
States’ radar-eluding aircraft.
Images of the flight, leaked on the Internet and subsequently confirmed
as genuine by the Beijing government, have focused attention on China’s
military modernization.
The European Union banned the sale of military technology to China
following the crackdown on dissidents in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in
1989.
A former B-2 stealth bomber engineer convicted of selling military
secrets to China is due to be sentenced in federal court on Monday.
Noshir Gowadia, 66, faces up to life in prison for his conviction on 14
counts, including conspiracy, communicating national defence information
to aid a foreign nation, and violating the arms export control act.
Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway is due to issue her sentence
after listening to arguments from the prosecution and defence. Gowadia,
who has been in custody without bail since his 2005 arrest, is also
expected to have an opportunity to make a statement.
A federal jury in August found Gowadia guilty after deliberating for six
days. They had heard 39 days of evidence over nearly four months. The
jury acquitted him on three counts.
Prosecutors said Gowadia helped China design a stealth cruise missile to
get money to pay the $15,000-a-month mortgage on his multimillion
dollar home overlooking the ocean in Haiku on Maui. They said he
pocketed at least $110,000 from the sale of military secrets.
A Chinese stealth fighter jet that could pose a significant threat to
American air superiority may borrow from US technology, it has been
claimed.
Balkan military officials and other experts said China may have gleaned
knowledge from a US F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down over Serbia in
1999.
"At the time, our intelligence reports told of Chinese agents
crisscrossing the region where the F-117 disintegrated, buying up parts
of the plane from local farmers," said Admiral Davor Domazet-Loso,
Croatia's military chief of staff during the Kosovo war. "We believe the
Chinese used those materials to gain an insight into secret stealth
technologies ... and to reverse-engineer them."
The Nighthawk was downed by a Serbian anti-aircraft missile during a
bombing raid on 27 March 1999. It was the first time one of the fighters
had been hit, and the Pentagon blamed clever tactics and sheer luck.
The pilot ejected and was rescued.
Bolivia, Wednesday, January 19, 2011: Bolivia is set to receive 6
Chinese-made combat aircraft to be used to fight drug trafficking, the
head of the Bolivian Air Force said on Tuesday.
General Tito Gandarilla, the Air Force commander, told local journalists that the K-8 Karakorum jets are scheduled to be delivered in April, at a cost of US $ 58 million (S $ 74.5 million).
The aircraft, bought through a loan from China, will be the first of
their kind for Bolivia, which currently has only training and freight
aircraft.
Gen Gandarilla explained that the jets 'have a lifespan of 15 to 20
years' and have the ability to intercept illegal crafts that 'in
Bolivian airspace without authorisation'. The aircraft will be used
mainly around Cochabamba in central Bolivia, where there is heavy
production of coca plants used to make cocaine.
The Bolivian government also plans to buy 10 Russian-built cargo helicopters for use by the police.
Even as India has announced its intent to have new generation
diesel-electric submarines, Pakistan has gone ahead and signed a deal
with long-standing ally China to produce submarines with the same
technology that India wants. The Pakistan Navy and China’s Ship Building Corporation signed a deal
that got the seal of finality during the visit of Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao to Pakistan last December. Indian security agencies in know
of the matter have cautioned the government that this could tilt the
balance in favour of the Pakistan Navy in the Arabian Sea.
India is looking to spend Rs 50,000 crore to acquire six new
diesel-electric submarines that will be equipped with air-independent
propulsion (AIP) technology to boost operational capabilities.
Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to surface every couple of
days for oxygen to recharge their batteries. A submarine using AIP
technology can stay submerged for 12-15 days at a stretch, thus
increasing its capacity to hunt down enemy warships without being
detected. Nuclear powered submarines can stay underwater for even longer
periods.
Brazil sold arms to Pakistan overlooking Indian concerns? A section of
Brazilian media has carried reports about a Pakistan Air Force transport
aircraft being loaded with missiles and bombs last month at Sao Jose
dos Campos airport near Sao Paulo.
If these reports are true, the move will be received by surprise as just
last year, Brazil had cancelled a contract to sell anti-radiation
missiles - meant to destroy radars - to Pakistan. It was widely believed
that the deal was cancelled keeping in mind the Indian concerns.
There is no official confirmation so far on the nature of cargo loaded
on the C-130 transport aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force. One report
claimed that it was short range air to air missile 1-A Piranha, whose
improved version MAA-1B is still under development. Other claim has been
that the cargo was unguided bombs based on the US MK Series.
The reports also claimed that the sale was kept a secret due to a confidentially clause in the contract.
The
image above, captured in 2010, depicts an F-117A mockup. Normally, a
mockup of the F-117A wouldn't be a very big deal, but this one is in the
middle of Luoyang, China.
It is a full-scale mockup, with the wingspan matching the "real" F-117A at roughly 43 feet.
Why is there an F-117A mockup sitting inside of
Luoyang? There could be a completely benign purpose, such as use in some
sort of media. However, Luoyang is home to the Luoyang Electro-Optical
Technology Development Center, who is responsible for developing the
current air-to-air missiles fielded by the Chinese military.
A facility such as this would certainly be able to
make use of an accurate model of a VLO aircraft for missile seeker
evaluation, particularly in the case of seekers for active radar homing
weapons like the current PL-12.
This may be a prototype of JH-8, a VTOL capable F-117A derivative using captured technology.
Turkey is seriously reconsidering the myriad agreements it has signed
with the US, as well as its participation in an international consortium
for the procurement of new generation fighter jets, due to rising costs
and persisting problems originating from the American side.
Turkey is now seeking new ways to sidestep difficulties in the
procurement of F-16 fighter planes, which it has been jointly producing
with the US since 1987, due to the delayed delivery by the US
authorities of some of the plane’s parts and accessories. There have
been serious doubts as to whether Turkey’s plan to purchase 100 F-35
fighter planes would ever materialize, as the country is thinking about
withdrawing from the consortium following the hike in costs that
resulted from other countries leaving from the consortium.
With 240 F-16s, Turkey has the third largest fleet of these fighter jets
after the US and Israel. Turkey chose the F-16 to use in its air force
in the early 1980s, and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAİ) was
established soon after the decision. Between 1987 and 1995, TAİ
assembled 152 planes in the first phase of the F-16 project. The second
phase took place between 1995 and 1999, and 80 planes were assembled.
Turkey received its first overseas order for F-16 planes in 1993 from
the Egyptian air force and assembled 46 planes for them.
Recently TAI upgraded the first of 17 planes for Jordan’s air force
within the context of a modernization program. Several Turkey-made
planes have also been dispatched to Pakistan.
In total TAİ has assembled 278 F-16s since it first began operations in
1987. During production, 29 planes were produced with no mistakes and
three of them were considered “perfect.” Considering that only nine F-16
planes are produced as perfect out of 4,000 fighter jets in the world,
Turkey’s success is conspicuous.
Turkey suspended production of the F-16 in 2000, but these fighter jets still remain the backbone of the Turkish armed forces.
Strained ties delayed delivery of plane accessories
As the agreement between the US and Turkey expired in 2000, Turkey has
continued to work with Israel in modernizing the F-16s. Turkey has
attempted to compensate for several mistakes that occurred while working
with the US through several deals with Israel. The fundamental problem
was that the US did not hand the F-16s directly to the Turkish Air
Forces and it required TAİ-made planes be tested in the US before the
eventual delivery to the Turkish Air Forces.
MBDA is bringing in missile power at the Aero India 2011. Proposed in
the frame of Mirage 2000 upgrade program, MICA air-to-air missile will
also be displayed on MBDA stall. MICA is the only missile in the world
featuring two interoperable seekers (active radar and imaging infrared)
to cover the spectrum from close- in dogfight to long beyond visual
range. It is sometimes referred to as the silent interceptor as it is
extremely hard to defend against. For the Indian Air Force MMRCA missile
solutions, MBDA is displaying Meteor, Dual Mode Brimstone, Taurus KEPD
350 and SCALP/Storm Shadow. MBDA is offering them for the three European
aircraft options lined up for the IAF ’s MMRCA competition, Rafale,
Eurofighter Typhoon and Gripen.
MBDA says that Meteor, if procured, the
IAF will benefit from a performance that will ensure launch aircraft
survivability while minimising missile usage and, therefore, whole life
cost. The Dual Mode Brimstone is MBDA ’s most recent developments and a
key UK RAF weapon currently being deployed operationally in theatre in
conditions not dissimilar to those that the IAF would most likely have
to operate in. DMB is the only weapon currently available that can
engage fast moving land and sea targets with high precision. Capable of
engaging a wide variety of target types and operating safely and
effectively in the complex littoral area, DMB offers a major operational
advantage in being able to deal with the swarming FIAC (Fast Inshore
Attack Craft) threats. The Eurofighter Typhoon equipped with DMB has a
distinct advantage over helicopters as it can rapidly confront a threat
which could be engaged asymmetrically optimising the effectiveness.
Significantly, DMB has been used with the Litening pod designator which
is already in service with the IAF. As for Deep Strike operations, MBDA
has two cruise missiles to offer for the MMRCA programme. Taurus KEPD
350 for the Eurofighter Typhoon and Gripen and SCALP/Storm Shadow for
the Rafale. Both weapon systems are in service and have proven their
unerring and unmatched ability to fulfil and indeed exceed the
requirements stipulated by the IAF in terms of range, target effect and
CEP (Circular Error Probable). For ALH DHRUV and LCH helicopters, MBDA
is offering PARS 3. This fire and forget system developed for Germany ’s
Tiger helicopter is capable of targeting and defeating a wide range of
mobile and stationary ground targets from latest generation
armour-protected vehicles to bunkers with pinpoint accuracy.
Within a year of the government approving a project for an upgraded
indigenous main battle tank (MBT), India's defence research agency has
readied a Mark II version that will undergo summer and winter trials
this year.
The defence ministry had last May given its nod to the Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop the Arjun MkII MBT which
would have enhanced features over the first lot of 124 tanks that have
been delivered to the army over the last two years.
'The Arjun MkII tanks will go for summer trials this year and later for
winter trials at the end of 2011,' a defence ministry official said here
Monday.
According to the Russian "Airport" website reported January 12,
China’s fifth generation fighter J-20 which completed successfully test
flight is expected to become a powerful competitor of the U.S. F-22 and
Russian T-50 . Some analysts believe that the smooth progress of this
test show that China’s military aviation industry has made great
breakthroughs in recent years, the U.S. air superiority in the region
will be seriously challenged.
In the January 11 test flight carried out, J-20 for about 15 minutes of flight.
Western media have pointed out that recently appeared in Chinese media
reports on J-20 might have been the consent of the Chinese military
leadership.
Analysts believe that, J-20′s successful flight test showed that the
modernization of China in terms of weapons far beyond the achievements
of previous estimates of foreign military experts.
Russia and India should speed up work on their joint fifth-generation
fighter plane to meet the challenge from the Chinese rival unveiled
earlier this week, said a leading military expert.
“The Chinese prototype of a fifth-generation aircraft, J-20, appears to
be a long-range strike aircraft and as such it will pose a potential
threat to India,” said analyst Konstantin Makienko of the Moscow-based
Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST).
China's stealth fighter made its first 15-minute flight on Tuesday over
an airfield in the south-western city of Chengdu. Mr. Makienko called
the test flight an “unquestionable success” for the Chinese defence
industry.
“China has emerged as the third nation developing the fifth-generation
fighter plane after the U.S. and Russia,” he told The Hindu.
The Russian expert said India and Russia should intensify efforts to
build their advanced fighter plane if they are not to lose the race to
China.
“The J-20 fighter will be a direct rival of the Russian-Indian
fifth-generation aircraft. The Chinese plane will be ready by 2020, so
time will be a crucial factor.”
The Russian prototype, T-50, made its first flight a year ago. India
joined the project only last month when the two sides signed a contract
for the preliminary design of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft to
be called Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF).
China confirmed the first test flight of its highly
controversial stealth fighter, ending speculation that the secretive
aircraft had taken to the air.
Chinese President Hu Jintao told U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates
about the flight of the prototype J-20 shortly before Gates left Beijing
after a three-day visit to China intended to improve military
communications between the two countries.
Gates, who is also visiting Japan and South Korea while in the region,
said the discussion with Hu about the J-20 flight that took place this
week was short.
"I asked President Hu about it directly and he said that the test had
absolutely nothing to do with my visit and had been a pre-planned test.
And that's where we left it."
The 15-minute flight took place in Chengdu, in southwest China.
Hu, who is chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the flight
hadn't been timed to coincide with Gates's visit.
The 11-member commission issues directives to the army including senior
appointments, troop deployment and arms spending. The majority of
members are senior generals but several senior Communist party members
are on the commission, a move said to ensure that the military remains
loyal in its actions toward the government.
Defense and aviation analysts have been questioning images and video
clips of the stealth fighter seen on Chinese Web sites since last month,
showing what looks like a J-20 standing on a runway apron and then
taking off.
Many of the shots of the Chengdu J-20 appear taken by people standing a
long way from the runway, possibly outside the airport perimeter.
The aircraft was officially announced in late 2002 as being under
development through a joint design and development project by the
Chengdu Aircraft and Shenyang Aircraft companies.
But Chinese political leaders and aviation sector professionals have
been guarded about details, specifications and development progress of
the aircraft that is similar in concept to Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor
stealth fighter.
However, experts have gleaned much information over the years.
The latest shots show an elongated airframe with forward canards, a main
delta wing, outward canted fins, two small ventral fins, two under-wing
diverterless supersonic intakes and conventional jet nozzles.
It is believed to be larger than the F-22 -- the only truly stealth
plane operational -- or Russia's prototype stealth fighter, the Sukhoi
T-50, which had its first test flight in January 2010 and is expected in
service sometime after 2015.
It isn't clear what engine the J-20 is using. There was some speculation
that the Russians may have supplied the 32,000-pound thrust 117-S
engine because the Chinese-made WS-10A isn't ready.
The 117-S is an upgrade of the Saturn AL-31 turbofan engine developed by
Lyulka, now NPO Saturn, of Russia. It was originally made for the
Sukhoi Su-27 fighter.
It also remains open whether the plane uses plasma stealth technology
whereby it emits an ionized gas that surrounds the aircraft, making it
harder to detect by radar systems.
