India's navy has operational requirements for additional unmanned air
vehicles made by Israel Aerospace Industries, sources say, with these to
potentially include improved Heron or Heron-TP systems carrying
maritime sensor payloads. Evaluations using some systems have already
been carried out, they add.
The Indian navy in January stood up its second UAV squadron, with its
current IAI-produced Heron and Searcher II systems facing increased
operational demand. This has led to indications within recent weeks that
additional contracts could be placed with IAI, the sources say.
Pakistan is beefing up its arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles by
embracing China as its new strategic arms partner and backing away from
the U.S., analysts have told Fox News.
Pakistan earlier this month test-fired a nuclear-capable missile from an
undisclosed location – the second in a month of try-outs for its
short-range surface-to-surface Hataf 2 class rocket, co-developed with
the Chinese. It was the latest in a series of arms collaborations
between the two nations, which view their strategic partnership as a
counterweight to a boldly confident India, which has American support.
Until the mid-1960s, the United States was the principal supplier of
weapons to Pakistan, the world’s eighth most-powerful nuclear nation.
But the U.S. began to back away from the relationship after years of
difficult and sometimes unpredictable relations following the 9/11
attacks. The U.S. no longer fully supports the military ambitions of a
Pakistan that is being destabilized by an insurgency it cannot control,
rising radicalism and anti-Westernism, and a government considered by
some too weak and corrupt.
Pakistan would become fourth largest nuclear state at the end of this decade, A US website, The Huffington Post reported.
The website claimed that the world's five original nuclear weapons
countries have all suspended production of fissile materials for new
weapons and are negotiating cuts in their nuclear arsenals. But Pakistan
is steadily building more nuclear weapons, adding production capacity
to produce plutonium and enrich uranium, and building new missiles to
deliver nuclear warheads.
It further claimed that the nuclear risks in Pakistan are three-fold:
its non-proliferation record is poor, there are concerns about the
security of sensitive nuclear materials, and there is no sign of a
slowdown in its nuclear weapons drive. A global response needs to be
calibrated to address all three of these potential threats.
Former UN weapons inspector David Albright, reported that Pakistan
appears to be building a fourth plutonium reactor at the Khushab
complex, and is expanding plutonium separation capabilities at another
site.
Another report, from a US think tank, says Pakistan now has 70 to 90
nuclear warheads, more than its rival India. This puts Pakistan on track
to command the world's fourth-largest nuclear weapons arsenal by the
end of the decade.
Chinese military said it is working to advance its ties with
the defence forces of India, even as it intends to strengthen its
already "multi-dimensional" relationship with the Pakistani military.In a
41-page "white paper" outlining the policies and perceptions of world's
largest standing military of 2.3 million personnel, the People's
Liberation Army (PLA) said it intends to work at building trust with its
neighbouring countries."China has strengthened military relations with
its neighbouring countries," said the PLA policy paper."It conducts
friendly exchanges with the DPRK (North Korea) and the ROK (South Korea)
militaries, attaches importance to Sino-Japanese defence exchanges,
strengthens multi-dimensional Sino-Pakistani military exchanges and
cooperation, works to advance the Sino-Indian military relationship,"
the paper released to the media by its top military brass said.While PLA
shares very close strategic links with its all-weather ally Pakistan,
it has also in the recent past tried to enhance ties with the Indian
military as part of wider attempts to improve overall relations between
the two countries.The process suffered a reverse last year after India,
in response to the denial of visa by China to its top General B S Jaswal
on the ground that he headed troops in Jammu and Kashmir, which it
regards as disputed territory.
Some days ago India conducted a successful ballistic missile defence test which was
capable enough to intercept and kill the incoming missile. This shows
that Indian ballistic missile defence program comprising of long range
tracking radar, command and control system and the interceptor, is
maturing at a faster pace. As a result, the South Asian strategic
stability would be challenged as there are diversification of threats
and limited response options, BMD adds value to the complexity of the
region.
India believes in nuclear dominance in the region and aspires to have
extended self defence. It aims to become a global power. The
technological edge that it is struggling to acquire over Pakistan and
China has been to some extent proven by the successful ballistic missile
defence test it conducted on 6th March 2011. Till now India has
conducted six tests out of which four were successful and two failed due
to technological reasons. But now India would proudly be a part of the
elite club of the ‘BMD haves’ which includes United States, Russia and
Israel.
India acquired the system with the technological assistance of United
States and Israel. Indian BMD program has a two-tiered system namely
Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) for high altitude interception and Advanced
Air Defence (AAD) for lower altitude interception. The PAD missiles are
for intercepting ballistic missiles at altitudes between 50-80 km and
the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile is for destroying them at heights
ranging 15-30 km.
Chinese military has conducted a drill to test its integrated air
defence capability under the scenario of a massive air strike.
The tests which were held last week were aimed at bringing compatibility
among various kinds of missile systems built by China, official media
reports here said. The tests included surface-to-air missiles, also
known as SAM.
Over the years China has built an intact missile defence network consisting of various kinds of missile systems.
New missile systems delivered to the regiment in recent years were not
compatible with older models, commander of the missile regiment Wan
Dexin said without disclosing the location.
"They have different ports, formats and protocols," Wan said.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will not accept any last-minute offers from
contenders for the multibillion-dollar deal for purchase of 126
medium-multirole combat aircraft (M-MRCA).
"No offers for upgrades or changes in the original bid submitted by the
six aircraft companies would be allowed as their aircraft have been
judged on the basis of capabilities offered in the original bid and
their performance in the field trials," IAF sources added.
IAF has even rejected a bidder's proposal to equip its warplanes with a more powerful jet engine.
Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI, Ankara, Turkey), a major
international F-35 Lightning II supplier to Northrop Grumman Corp. (El
Segundo, Calif., USA), reported on March 22 that it has delivered its
first composite production air inlet duct for the jet.
The delivery of the all-composite duct, a major structural element of
the F-35′s center fuselage, will support Northrop Grumman’s production
of F-35 center fuselages for conventional takeoff and landing variants
of the fighter jet at Northrop Grumman’s aerospace production facility
in Palmdale, Calif.
“This delivery reflects the growing maturity of TAI’s composite
fiber-placed manufacturing processes, and the steady evolution of its
role as a second source supplier of center fuselages for the F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter (JSF) program,” said Mark Tucker, vice president and F-35
program manager for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector.
TAI produced the air inlet duct at its composites manufacturing facility
in Ankara, Turkey, as part of a five-year, $28.4 million contract
awarded to the company in September 2009 by Northrop Grumman.
Turkey’s intelligence operations and increasing cooperation between the
country’s military and civilian intelligence gatherers is under way but
will take as long as two years to complete, according to a senior
security official.
A senior security official said over the weekend that the General Staff
had agreed to a proposal from the civilian government to transfer the
administration of the division to the National Intelligence
Organization, or MİT.
“A protocol between the military top command and MİT was signed
recently,” the official said. “The protocol orders that the military
will completely abandon the [surveillance] garrison and the intelligence
agency will take over.”
In a landmark move on March 8, Turkish authorities announced they were
bringing the military’s electronic surveillance under the management and
operational control of MİT, which effectively means a civilian control
over such capabilities.
The official added that it could take up to two years before the
takeover is complete. “MİT’s surveillance unit is a huge department, and
it will take several months before these assets can be appropriately
moved to the Bayrak garrison,” he said. “The entire technical
infrastructure will be moved, the military and intelligence personnel
will be oriented for work under the same roof, and all that means a
couple of years before everything runs perfectly.”
During the Cold War, the Bayrak garrison in Gölbaşı, near Ankara, was
established as the military’s top electronic surveillance and
intelligence asset. Known as the military’s “ear,” the garrison operated
under the command of the Turkish General Staff.
India performed a test of the interceptor missile portion of its
ballistic missile defense system on March 6, 2011. The test, the sixth
of the series, was reportedly a success and a validation of the
technology to be integrated into India’s defense system.
The target missile, a modified Prithvi, was launched at 9:32 a.m. from
Launch Complex III of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Orissa.
The modified Prithvi mimicked the trajectory of a ballistic missile with
a 600-kilometer (324-nautical-mile) range. Radars at different
locations tracked the modified Prithvi, determined its trajectory, and
passed the information in real time to Mission Control Centre (MCC) to
launch the interceptor. The interceptor used a directional warhead to
maneuver the interceptor to the modified Prithvi before exploding. As
part the announcement, V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence
Minister and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
Director-General, stated this latest success demonstrated India’s
capability to effectively neutralize satellites belonging to an
adversary.2
While not the primary purpose of the test of India’s ABM program,
Sarawat’s statement reflects India’s interest in anti-satellite (ASAT)
technology, and it has reportedly put together the necessary components
to acquire such a capacity . The question remains that, even
with the necessary technology to acquire an ASAT capacity, does India
now have a proven capability?
ABMs and ASATs:
The history of India’s quest for an ASAT capability dovetails with the
development of its ABM program. Unlike the ABM capability sought by
India, its endeavor towards an ASAT capability is fairly new. India’s
indigenously built ABM system has been in development for several
decades and only began to bear fruit in November 2006 when an intercept
was performed outside the atmosphere. India followed up this success
with others in an effort to deploy an operational ABM capability
sometime in 2012.
According to Sarawat, there are two phases in India’s ABM program. Phase
1, which the March 6, 2011 test was a part, will develop a capability
to intercept missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,080 nautical
miles) coming from an altitude of 150 kilometers (81 nautical miles).
The next test planned later this year is supposed to validate this
capability3. Phase 2 of the program is intended to develop a capability
to intercept missiles with a range up to 5,000 kilometers (2,700
nautical miles), which theoretically would give India the capability to
intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Russia's Army will start taking delivery of new Tornado-G
multiple rocket launching systems (MRLS), replacing the current Grad
systems, Army spokesman said on Monday.
This will further increase the Army's firepower and standoff capability for effective engagement.
Tornados are superior to Grads in their effectiveness, automated
control, aiming and satellite navigation systems, Vlasov said, without
disclosing any technical details.
The Grad truck-mounted system featuring 122-mm rockets with a range of
30-40 km was developed in 1962 and has been in service since 1964.
Indian Army is planning to equip its ground forces with thousands of
anti-tank missiles to be built in India. The Indian military considers
two options, both of them exclusive – the FGM-148 Javelin, proposed
under a Government-to-Government (G2G) program via U.S. Foreign Military
Sale (FMS), and the Spike MR, proposed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced
Defense Systems, being the only bidder in an international tender, which
specified characteristics and specifications only the Israeli company
could meet.
The Indian Army plans to install the missiles on infantry combat
vehicles currently carrying locally produced AT-5 or Milan missiles.
The Indian Ministry of Defense plans to order 321 launchers, and 8,356
missiles, plus 15 training simulators in a multi-phase arms package
worth over one billion US$. Two options are currently on the table – the
U.S. Javelin and the Israeli Spike MR.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez thrown more than 15 billion U.S.
dollars worth of arms procurement bill, which sparked concerns in Latin
America.
The article said that Venezuela's purchase of a large number of tanks,
helicopters, armored vehicles, submarines and missile systems at an
unprecedented rate in history in Latin America to arm themselves.
"New Herald" (El Nuevo Herald), said experts consulted, Chavez spent
over 15 billion U.S. dollars worth to strengthen its military power for
military procurement, has produced unrest in the region. Analysts warned
that the arms purchase along with people doubt, there is no competitive
bidding and early course of the study, the way decisions are temporary.
It is learned that Chavez used the funds to purchase these new weapons
in the country one of the largest in history, and a large part from the
loan; for the military procurement funds may end up more than 15 billion
U.S. dollars.
Some analysts said that the funds have been used for arms purchases
totaled about 300 billion U.S. dollars; and this figure is Chavez
himself expressed the hope that the modernization of the national armed
forces in the amount spent.
Closely track the event of a Venezuela and Africa-governmental
organization "National Security and Civil Defense Control Association,"
the report said, the country has received or will receive a large number
of mainly by Russia, China and Spain to provide the equipment and
military facilities. These weapons include: 92 medium-sized T-72B1V tanks, 240 infantry
fighting vehicles (BMP-3 and BTR-80), 9 submarines, nearly 50 various
types of ships, a dozen Su-30MK2 fighters, undetermined number of Chinese J -10 fighters, and nearly 100 Russian helicopter; most of these equipment will be used for combat operations.
The arms procurement bill also includes S-300 air defense missile
system, NATO called the SA-20; its ability to track, including cruise
missiles, including 100 targets, while 125 miles away from the shooting
down of one of the six goals.
Meanwhile, Venezuela is also committed to the establishment in the
territory of the military facility; includes a gunpowder factory, a
AK-103/AK-104 rifle factory, and 7.6 × 39mm ammunition plant.
In addition, Chavez has purchased 100,000 AK-103/AK-104 rifles, and
5,000 high-precision sniper rifle Dragon Ivanov; addition, there are
1,000 shoulder-fired anti-tank RPG-7V2 rocket launcher with 1000 Igla-S
((SA-24) portable air defense missiles, the latter with the U.S.
"Stinger" shoulder-fired missiles similar.
In recent years, Washington has been paying close attention to
Venezuela's arms purchases; the U.S. State Department officials have
already sold a large number of Russian weapons to South American
countries expressed their concern.
India to purchase C 17 Globemaster III heavy transport aircraft for the
Indian Air Force (IAF), the Indian Ministry of Defence has asked Washington to
come clean and disclose the comparative prices at which the aircraft
has been sold to other nations.
The last-minute incident has come after the ministry received several
representations contending that the price being quoted to India for 10
heavy lift aircraft was inordinately high.
While the contract is in the final stage — commercial negotiations with
manufacturer Boeing have been concluded —the ministry has sought a
clarification from the US on the price of the aircraft, which is being
purchased by the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route.
FMS is the US Department of Defense’s government-to-government method of selling US defence equipment, services and training.
“We have to ensure that we are getting the aircraft at the right price.
The ministry has written to the US government for the price at which the
aircraft has been sold to other countries. This has been done to get a
fair assessment of the deal and put all speculation at rest,” a Defence
Ministry official said.
India’s ministry of defense is seeking information from vendors across
the globe about the purchase of a new long-range missile
featuring a light warhead.
According to the ministry’s request for information (RFI), the missile system will be fired from Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters.
“After successful integration, series modification is to be carried
out,” the RFI says. “The missile should be light in weight, having a
long range with reattack capability.”
The ministry also wants the missile to have precision-strike capability
with low collateral damage. The RFI also asks vendors to clearly specify
the type of warhead to be used.
Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General, Tsai Der-sheng, announced
on 16 March that China has begun deploying a new pattern of ballistic
missiles against Taiwan.
The announcement came during a question-and-answer session following a
presentation on the country's intelligence affairs and his bureau's
operations before the Foreign and National Defense Committee of the
Legislative Yuan.
The Thai government has agreed to buy two second-hand Type 206A
diesel electric submarines from the German Navy.
Payment for the purchase - which is understood to be about USD220
million - has not yet been secured, although funds are expected to be
sourced from the defence budget for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12), which
commences in October.
The German Navy decommissioned four Type 206A submarines in mid-2010.
The boats are 35 years old and were originally due for decommissioning
between 2011 and 2015. As part of a defence review carried out by
Berlin, the German Navy brought the boats' retirement date forward to
save operational costs.
Iran is rapidly and significantly expanding capabilities to
accommodate larger missiles and satellite launch vehicles (SLVs),
including the Simorgh 3 SLV in construction at Semnan space centre,
according to Jane’s analysis of satellite imagery of the site.
The construction begun in mid-2010 is aggressive even by Iranian
standards, with a number of very complex facilities nearing external
completion only months after they were started. The site is likely to
assume operational readiness by 2013, judging by the pace of
construction. Rapid construction – which prevents extended overhead
analysis – could underscore the secretive nature of the site, the
strategic importance of the facilities, and Iran’s inclinations towards
space readiness.
The first new project is at the launch/engine test facility, where a
launch pad or engine test stand is in the early stages of construction.
The flame trench that funnels rocket blast exhaust away from the tower
is roughly the same size and shape as one first identified by Jane’s in 2010, but is situated 73 m to the north.
Russia's new RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was
put on combat duty for the first time with the Teikovo missile regiment
in the Ivanovskaya Oblast in central Russia on 4 March.
The RS-24 is a modification of the RS-12M2 Topol-M (SS-27 'Stalin').
It is a mobile system that is capable of "penetrating highly protected
targets", as well as any current ballistic missile defence (BMD) system,
according to Youri Solomonov, head of the Moscow Institute for Thermal
Technology, the lead manufacturer of the missile.
Russia has claimed that it will inject USD100 billion into the
development of its defence industries during the next decade: a figure
that, if achieved, would point towards investment of about 0.5 per cent
of its Gross Domestic Product during the years to 2021.
The investment was announced by Russian Deputy Prime Minister (and former defence minister) Sergei Ivanov on 21 March.
In comments carried by Russian state information service RIA Novosti,
Ivanov said that the sum had been allocated under the state programme
for the modernisation of Russia's defence sector. The aim is to meet the
wider goal of the recapitalisation of the national military inventory
with high-technology systems by 2020.
Turkey has announced that it is putting the planned purchase of 100 F-35
fighter jets from the US on hold because the Pentagon refuses to share
the source code used in the software designed for the aircraft as well
as the codes that might be used externally to activate the planes.
Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said on Tuesday, following a meeting of the
Defense Industry Implementation Committee (SSIK), that the negotiations
over the F-35 procurement tender had not yielded “satisfactory
results.” He said, “We will evaluate the order in the next meeting, in
light of the progress made in the talks by then.” He said much ground
had been covered in the talks in terms of technology sharing, but this
was not enough for Turkey to accept the jets. He said the costs of the
project had also increased but that the Turkish side had failed to
secure the source code and the remote flight codes for the planes for
which it will be paying $16 billion. Without the source code, Turkish
engineers wouldn't be able to make any changes to the software that
operates the jets. The external flight codes are equally important, if
not more, as they can be used externally to navigate the jets.
Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner
and Minister Gonul attended Monday's SSİK meeting, which took place at
the Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) offices.
Moscow has been hoping that the earthquake and tsunami disaster that hit
Japan on March 11, may help overcome the acute crisis in its relations
with Tokyo over the South Kurile Islands. President Dmitry Medvedev
promptly telephoned Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to express his
condolences and offered support. Russian emergency workers were sent to
help earthquake survivors and to offer advice in dealing with the
Fukushima nuclear power reactor disaster. Moscow agreed to increase
shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas to help Japan overcome energy
shortages caused by nuclear power shutdowns. Russian diplomats
expressed hope that the outpouring of sympathy by the Russian public may
help improve relations and lessen tensions (Kommersant, March 14).
Moscow needs Japanese capital and technology to develop its Far East and
is keen to improve relations while sidelining the territorial dispute
over the Kuriles. Sources in the General Staff have been quoted as
saying that Russia plans to deploy its newest weapons to the Kuriles:
the S-400 anti-aircraft missiles, Bastion-P mobile coastal anti-ship
cruise missile systems, Tor-M2 short-range anti-aircraft missiles and
Mi-28N attack helicopters (Interfax, March 1). The report seems to be
largely exaggerated, since such a deployment does not make much
strategic sense and the Russian military does not physically have these
weapons for deployment in the Kuriles.
Russia today has only four S-400 systems or “divisions,” each having
eight mobile launchers with four rocket tubes, radars and command
centers. The S-400 “division” is the smallest deployable tactical unit
of the antiaircraft system. Only two S-400 “divisions” are at present
operational, forming one anti-aircraft missile regiment. The second
two-divisional regiment is in the process of being formed. Both S-400
regiments will be deployed near Moscow. By 2020 Moscow hopes to have 28
S-400 regiments or 56 “divisions” (VPK, March 2).
An Iranian air force commander said Sunday that Iran has successfully
tested the prototype of its first domestically-built stealth fighter, the English-language satellite Press TV reported.
"The plane, due to its physical attributes and the material used in its body, cannot be detected by any rada r," Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, the force's coordination deputy, was quoted as saying.
Nasirzadeh said data from the test flight was favorable and the air force will move forward with its plans to produce the plane called Sofreh Mahi, which means Manta Ray, the report said.
However, he said that the production process will not be rushed as such
complex systems need thorough analysis and exhaustive testing.
Indian armed forces are going in for a huge induction of the indigenous
Akash surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems to counter the threat posed
by enemy fighters, drones and helicopters on both western and eastern
fronts as well as protect "vital areas and installations".
Developed by DRDO after 25 years of technical glitches, the 25-km range
Akash air defence weapon system finally seems to have found favour with
the armed forces, who are desperate to plug existing operational gaps in
air defence. The IAF had earlier ordered eight Akash squadrons — six of them will
be based in North East to counter China — for Rs 6,200 crore. Now,
the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday cleared two Akash
regiments, with six firing batteries and hundreds of missiles each, for
the Army. The total order for the Army stands at Rs 14,180 crore at
present. The low-reaction-time Akash is designed to neutralise multiple aerial
targets attacking from several directions simultaneously, with a
digitally-coded command guidance system, in all weather conditions. "The
fully-automated Akash has an 88% kill probability within a specified
kill zone... It has even intercepted a target with a 0.02 sq metre of
radar cross-section (a fighter has a 2 sqm RCS)," said an official.
A missile production plant in southern Siberia has produced enough
Bulava ballistic missiles to complete its tests and arm the first Borey
class strategic submarine, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on
Monday.
"A batch of missiles sufficient to finish the tests and equip one
submarine has been produced already. Larger production would cause the
missiles to stock up," Ivanov said after a meeting of defense industry
officials in the southern Siberian republic of Udmurtia.
The Bulava (SS-NX-30) submarine-launched ballistic missile carries up to
10 MIRV warheads and has a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000
miles).
Despite several previous failures, officially blamed on manufacturing
defaults, the Russian military has insisted that there is no alternative
to the Bulava and pledged to continue testing the missile until it is
ready for service with the Navy.
Russia is planning to conduct at least four Bulava test launches this
year and deploy it on the new Borey class strategic submarines.
The tests launches will most likely be conducted from the Yury Dolgoruky.
The first Oliver Hazard Perry (OHP) frigate set sail for Pakistan on Monday.
The frigate was acquired by Pakistan Navy from the United States. The
ship is formerly known as the USS McINERNEY (FFG-8) and was commissioned
in the Pakistan Navy as the PNS ALAMGIR (FFG-260) on August, 31, 2010
during a huge ceremony at the Mayport, Naval Station. The ceremony was
attended by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani.
After commissioning, the PNS ALAMGIR underwent modernization and
refurbishment and the BAE System Shipyard in Jacksonville Florida. 18
officers and 218 CPO/ Sailors underwent a series of training sessions to
be able to operate the ship.
The Ship Transfer and Assistance
Team (STAT) contributed greatly in the training. The Pakistan Crew’s
stay in the US, not only contributed to the better understanding on
issues of mutual concern, but also strengthened the relations between
the two nations. Captain Naveed Ashraf T.Bt TI(M) was announced as the
first Commanding Officer of the PNS ALAMGIR.
The ship set sail for
Pakistan on Monday, after the completion of the final trials and cre
workup. The ship is scheduled to stop at Bermuda (UK), Azores
(Portugal), Cadiz (Spain), Golcuk (Turkey), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and
Salalah (Oman) and would eventually reach Pakistan on 13 May 2011.
Indonesia Looking to buy an unspecified number of Alenia
Aeronautica C-27J Spartans to augment its fleet of military transport
aircraft.
It will assess the aircraft based on its "operation requirements,
technical specifications [and] logistics support", says air force chief
Air Chief Marshal Imam Sufaat.
Apart from the C-27Js, the service is also reportedly considering the
Airbus Military C-295 that is licence-produced in Bandung by state-owned
Indonesian Aerospace.
"We also need a middle transport fleet. This could be met with the
procurement of C-27J Spartans. A CN-235 has the capacity to transport
about three tonnes of load while a Spartan is able to carry a load of up
to 10 tonnes," the air force chief adds.
Pakistan has inducted its new Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 52+ fighters,
while its first two full-strength squadrons of Chengdu/Pakistan
Aeronautical Complex JF-17 Thunders are also on the verge of becoming
fully operational.
The Pakistan air force inducted 17 F-16 Block 52+ fighters into its 5
Sqn on 11 March, the service says. The final aircraft in the 18-unit
deal is still in the USA undergoing testing and will arrive in another
month.
Pakistan's new batch of aircraft comprises 12 single-seat C-model
versions and six two-seat F-16Ds. The air force says it is also in
negotiations with the USA for additional Block 52+ aircraft, with its
original deal having contained an option for another 18.
Pakistan's new F-16s are powered by Pratt & Whitney F100-229
engines, with other systems understood to include Northrop Grumman's
mechanically scanned APG-68(V)9 radar and ITT's ALQ-211(V)9 advanced
integrated defensive electronic warfare suite.
Russian Navy Staff Admiral
confirms that a K-152 Nerpa attack submarine will be leased to the
Indian Navy by October 2011. The quote was made with the condition of
anonymity.
Previous reports had indicated that the submarine was already delivered
to India. However now it appears that an Indian crew is undergoing
training on-board with Russian instructors.
A U.S. fighter jet crashed in Libya after an apparent equipment
malfunction but both crewmembers were able to eject and are back safely
in American hands, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
The plane crashed Monday at 2130 GMT (5:30 p.m. EDT), said Vince Crawley, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command.
A spokesman for the Libyan opposition, Mohammed Ali, said the U.S. plane
crashed about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of the eastern rebel
stronghold of Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city.
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) developed its Phalcon system for
Israeli defence forces and for export. Airborne Early Warning, Command
and Control (AEWC&C) systems play a major role on the modern
battlefield by providing real-time intelligence and command and control
needed to achieve and maintain air superiority over the combat area and
to enable surveillance of borders in peacetime. The world's most
advanced AEWC&C system, the PHALCON, was developed and produced by
ELTA using Active Phased Array Electronic Scanning Technology rather
than a mechanically rotating antenna (rotodome) used by current AWACS
systems, giving PHALCON greater operational flexibility and performance
by several orders of magnitude.
The Central Acquisition Radar (3D-CAR) is a 3D radar developed by DRDO
for use with Akash SAM. The 3D CAR was developed as part of a program
between DRDO and Poland's PIT to develop a family of mobile, S-Band 3D
radars.
The areas of cooperation were in developing the Planar Array and general
architecture. The Indian variant is the 3D CAR, a medium range
surveillance radar for Akash at Group level, intended to provide high
mobility and comprehensive high and low level coverage. The Polish
versions, are the TRS series of S Band mobile radars such as the TRS-17
and TRS-19. The original Indian (3D CAR) and Polish (TRS 17) radars
shared the basic architecture and antenna but differed in terms of
purpose designed transmitter/receivers, and signal processing equipment.
The TRS series for instance can track 120 targets, while the Indian
radar tracks 150.
Rajendra Radar:
The Rajendra Multi-Function Phased Array radar system, designed at the
Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), part of DRDO, is
currently in production at Bharat Electronics Limited. This is named
after India's First president Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
The LRDE is working on the Rajendra III radar for the Indian Army.[1]
Rajendra III is a slewable phased array radar based on the T-72 chassis.
As of 2007, the BLR-III vehicle on T-72 chasis was ready for a track
test. The Phased array antenna is fabricated at Bharat Electronics
Limited (BEL), Ghaziabad. Collimated beam pattern and s/s cure for all
16 spot frequencies has been taken.
Current orders for the Rajendra and its derivatives are at least 32
units, considering the order for 2 Squadrons of the Akash system by the
Indian Air force and the indent for 28 Weapon Locating Radars by the
Indian Army.
INDRA Radar:
The Indian Doppler Radar (INDRA) series of 2D radars were developed by
India's DRDO for the Army and Air Force. The INDRA-I is a is a mobile
surveillance radar for low level target detection while the INDRA-II is
for ground controlled interception of targets.
INDRA-I is a 2D mobile surveillance radar for low level target
detection. The radar is housed in two wheeled vehicles. Some of the main
features are automated Track While Scan (TWS), integrated IFF and high
scan rate for high speed target detection. The radar is produced by
Bharat Electronics Limited and inducted into service. The INDRA-I was a
landmark project for the DRDO, as it was the first large radar system
designed by the organization and produced in number for the defence
forces. The Indian Air Force operates thirty INDRA-I's whereas the
Indian Army also has several.
India has conducted low-altitude trials with its developmental Lakshya-2
target drone, with the aircraft performing high-g manoeuvres at
altitudes as low as 82ft (25m).
On a test conducted on 20 December 2010, the drone flew 5.4nm (10km) at
an altitude of 82ft, with an average altitude deviation of less than
3ft, says India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.
On 23 December it flew the system for 10.8nm at an altitude of 490ft towing a target that was flown at a height of 164ft.
The Tiruchi Ordnance Factory has Designed and Developed an indigenous assault rifle matching the specifications of the AK47.
"When put into use by our armed forces and other security agencies, the
rifle will be recognized as pride of India. It has been indigenously
developed and has all the features of AK-47,'' said A K Prabhakar,
general manager, in an interaction with reporters on the sidelines of
OFT Day celebrations. OFT, one among 41 such factories in the country,
was established 45 years ago on the outskirts of the city.
To
mark the contribution of the Tiruchi factory in developing the rifle,
officials have decided to christen it "Trichy Assault Rifle,'' Prabhakar
said. Field trials have been done for the 7.62mm caliber rifle with a
range of 400 metres. "The rifle has been successfully tried by the Indian Army,'' Prabhakar said. It features a foldable butt and boasts of night vision device besides telescopic day vision system.
Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Naval Force
Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said his forces are due to mass-produce and arm
home-made Bladerunner speedboats in the next Iranian year (starting on
March 21).
The vessel will be mass-produced in 1390 (March 2011-March 2012) based
on the specified timeline," Fadavi told FNA, and further voiced
satisfaction with the production trend.
The commander said Iran has already mounted different types of
weapons, including missile launchers, onto the country's speedboats, and
noted that the Bladerunners, too, would be equipped with different arms
due to their unique features.
The Bladerunner 51, weighing 16 tons and 15.5 meters (45 feet) long can reach a maximum speed of 65 knots
In February, Fadavi had said that the IRGC plans to boost the high
mobility of its vessels in the next few months, adding that IRGC experts
are working on projects to increase the speed of missile-launching and
fully armed vessels to 80-85 knots.
"Increasing the speed of the vessels which carry arms and equipment
to 80-85 knots sets the objective of the IRGC naval force for the next
Iranian year (starts on March 21)," Fadavi said at the time, and
stressed, "Limitations of high-speed vessels for carrying weapons should
be removed."
