ASIAN DEFENCE

Indian Air Force (IAF) has finalised the long awaited deal of 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) with Dassault, a leading aviation industry of France. Dassault will deliver 126 Rafale MMRCA to India in the next decade. The first batch of 18 aircrafts will be delivered from France. The remaining aircraft will be built in India. The $11bn (£7bn) contract is the biggest ever procurement made by the IAF. The Rafale Multirole fighter/bomber aircraft can participate in air, ground and sea operations in both short and medium ranges. In an additional multi-billion weapons package for these 126 aircraft, India will buy air-to-air and air-to-ground Precision Guided Munitions (PGM) and Joint Stand Off Weapons (JSOW). With a top speed of Mach 1.8, service ceiling of 50,000 feet and a range of 3,700km, it is no doubt a potent weapon for IAF and a threat to both China and Pakistan. India took around five years to decide the best bidder as a mainstay aircraft for its air ...

Goojje Chinese search engine Say hello to Goojje, a Chinese search engine that looks remarkably like one we’ve seen before. It launched on January 14, and yes, it’s filtered for less flavour. The way the name works is this: Jie Jie (Goojje) is mandarin for sister, while “ge ge” (Google) means big brother (er, shouldn’t that be the other way round?) The Web Monster (ie, the real one) is being exhorted to stay by its sino-doppelganger, with a message on Goojje that reads, “Sister was very happy when brother gave up the thought of leaving and stayed for sister.”

  Israeli submarine Dolphin One of the world’s most advanced German manufactured submarines is slated to be sent to Israel this year. German media reported last week that the 68-meter Dolphin submarine, the largest post-World War II submarine to be built in the Federal Republic, was openly placed in the harbor of the northern city of Kiel. The Dolphin submarines are mainly constructed in Kiel, located in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein on the border of Denmark. According to the daily Kieler Nachrichten, the submarine can now be viewed on the harbor compound operated by Howaldtswerke- Deutsche Werft.  The highly sophisticated submarine, which is believed to contain secondstrike nuclear weapons capability, is the first of three advanced “Super Dolphin” vessels to be delivered to Israel’s navy. ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the giant German engineering firm, owns the ship manufacturer subsidiary in Kiel. The Kieler Nachrichten reported that a ...

The hackers behind the attacks on Google Inc and dozens of other companies operating in China stole valuable computer source code by breaking into the personal computers of employees with privileged access, a security firm said on Wednesday. The hackers targeted a small number of employees who controlled source code management systems, which handle the myriad changes that developers make as they write software, said George Kurtz, chief technology officer at anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc. The details from McAfee show how the breach of just a single PC at a large corporation can have widespread repercussions across the broader business. Google said in January that it had detected a cyber attack originating from China on its corporate infrastructure that resulted in the theft of its intellectual property.

JF-17 The Chengdu works of Avic’s combat aircraft subsidiary is developing a two-seat version of the JF-17 Thunder fighter in cooperation with the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, say Chinese industry executives. The two-seater will be adaptable for conversion training and combat roles, they say, though as a fighter it will not perform as well as the single-seat version. The JF-17 is being built in a joint program with Pakistan for the Pakistan Air Force. The program, which began, unusually, without a conversion trainer, will deliver about 100 JF-17s to Pakistan, the executives say. Development of the two-seater has not advanced to a point at which Avic International, the export division of Avic, could sign a contract for delivery, the executives say, adding that they were unsure when the aircraft would be available. The single-seat version was designed with development of a two-seater in mind, they say.

 Courtesy----- www.grandestrategy.com In late 2011 an internet rumor spread about Pakistan's development of nuclear submarines and in early 2012, we have heard major news networks in Pakistan announce the development of Pakistan's nuclear submarines "in 5-8 years". The earliest news of Pakistan's nuclear submarine project was in 2006 when General Musharraf announced that Pakistan now has the technology to build nuclear submarines.  The first point to ponder is that Pakistan, unlike certain other countries, prefers to develop weapon systems quietly. If this kind of announcements are coming out, it all probability Pakistan already has a nuclear submarine, or at minimum critical components, well underway. The most critical component is the nuclear power plant, and the news thus points to the development of a miniature power plant.  RUMINT suggests that Pakistan's nuclear submarine is likely to be based on the Q...

T-50 PAK-FA The Indo-Russian fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) is superior than the similar Chinese and American rival fighter jets which include the J 20 Black Eagle and the F-22 Raptor, a top Russian military commander has claimed. India and Russia are jointly developing the Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA FGFA for their respective air forces and have plans of producing over 400 of these highly-advanced fighter jets. Commander of the Russian Air Force Colonel General Alexander Zelin told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that his country's government has decided to give top priority to the development of the joint venture aircraft. "While comparing Russia's T-50 PAK FA with the US F-22 Raptor and China's Chengdu J-20 Black Eagle, one concludes that the T-50 is superior to its foreign analogues in terms of its maximum speed in afterburner and standard modes, maximum range and thrust-to-weight ratio," he said. The Russian Air Force Commander...

Chinese Z-10  And Z-19 Attack Helicopter Chinese Z-10  And Z-19 Attack Helicopter Chinese Z-10  And Z-19 Attack Helicopter

Su-35 Su-35  China hopes to acquire new Russian S-400 Triumph air defense system by 2015, but only the question of delivery of Su-35 fighters to this country is being discussed at the moment, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports. "The Chinese party has shown interest in acquisition of a number of Su-35 jets and submitted a proposal to us in 2011. At present this problem is being elaborated by the designated institution of Russia", - said the First Deputy Director General of Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation, Alexander Fomin. Speaking of prospects of air defense systems deliveries to China, Fomin has reminded that during a period from 1993 to 2010 a large number of Russian air defense missile systems, including S-300PMU2 “Favorit”, have been delivered to China. "As for further cooperation with China in the area of air defense, at present the Chinese partners are showing interest in acquisition of next-generation S-400 Triumph air d...

India plans to develop new-generation Electronic Warfare (EW) systems to be fitted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, aircraft and satellites that would help it see "deep inside enemy territories", a key defence research and development official said here on Tuesday. Chief Controller, Research and Development (Electronics and Computer Sciences), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), R Sreehari Rao, said the present EW system, especially ground-based ones fitted on Naval platforms have got "limited range" (10-20 km) and "can't intercept beyond the line of sight". He noted that EW systems (to be) fitted on higher platforms like UAVs, aircraft and satellites would give "very long range". The ones on UAVs and aircraft would give the country a 400-500 kms range capability and those on satellites "much longer range".

Derby Missile LCA Tejas Fighter India’s new Tejas fighter will be armed with Israel’s Derby missile, according to an Indian  website . The Derby is medium-range active-radar seeker air-to-air missile, that can hit targets at about 50 km. away. Missiles that can achieve this range are known by the acronym BVR - beyond visual range.   A contract for supplying the Derby will be signed by March with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Rafael will also fit the missiles on about 200 jets, according to P.S. Subramanya, director of India’s Aeronautical Development Agency, which is developing the light combat aircraft .   The Indian Air Force (known, like its Israeli counterpart, as the IAF) has ordered 40 Tejas fighters to be built. The Indian Air Force also wants 100 units of the Mk-II version of the fighter, and the navy wants 60 of the naval versions, Subramanya said.

Britain Wajid Shamsul Hassan Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hassan said that Pakistan would be left with no option but to support Iran if Israel attacks it. In an interview Hassan expressed his concerns over the United States’ “Drone Wars” that have taken the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians in Pakistan. “We know the damage — destroyed schools, communities, hospitals. They are civilians — children, women, families. Our losses are enormous,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “I think time is running out until the Pakistan government can take a stand. They will have to at some stage take punitive actions to stop them. They have got means to take such actions to defend their own frontier and territories,” Hasan further added.

IAF Mi-17-V5 India, formally inducted its latest Mi-17 V5 armed helicopters from Russia to enhance its operational capabilities including carrying troops and cargo to high altitude areas. Marking the commissioning of the choppers in the Indian Air Force (IAF), Defense Minister A.K Antony symbolically handed over its keys to the Commanding Officer of one of the units operating the machines. "The new Mi-17 helicopters will help in adding muscle to IAF's capabilities to carry out operations assigned to it", the Defense Minister said while addressing the gathering of Senior IAF officials. India has placed orders for 80 such choppers from Russia and the first batch arrived in the country in the last week of September last year. The first three units of the helicopters will be raised at Bhatinda (Punjab), Srinagar (J-K) and Bagdogra (West Bengal).

DRDO NAG Missile  A war scenario in which miniaturised missiles equipped with Precision-Guided Munitions (PGMs) are unleashed from a mother missile to take out select enemy targets like an ammunition depot while avoiding collateral damage.  A mother missile acts as a “force multiplier” and to achieve the desired result, each miniaturised missile will have a seeker to ensure its independent motion, irrespective of the mother missile's motion. Seekers, which are of two types — radio-frequency and infra-red, enable a missile to acquire, track and home in on to the target. They are required for all tactical missiles (less than 300 km range).  Scientists at the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), a key laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) missile complex here, have embarked on developing such seekers to eventually equip mother missiles with smaller missiles packed with PGMs.  The mandate of the RCI is to de...

PAF Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman has said that the Pakistan Air Force can effectively counter India’s new war doctrine. Talking to the media here at the Shahbaz Air Base, the air chief said PAF has modified its plan within the existing infrastructure in view of the new war doctrine of India. The Indian Air Force, he said, has been given a very crucial and critical role in India’s ‘Cold Start’ doctrine. Suleman told the media that the Shahbaz Air Base was totally in the control of the Pakistan Air Force and existing hardware procured and being acquired by the PAF was sufficient to fulfill its requirements. “We are in the process of consolidating the hardware procured so far,” the air chief said.

M-346 The Israeli Ministry of Defense has decided to procure the Italian M-346 to replace the antiquated Skyhawk training aircraft. IAF pilots examined both aircrafts and submitted reports to indicate which plane met their demands. Earlier in the week, South Korean representatives complained about the lack of transparency on the deal. Before the decision was made, the Israeli Ministry of Defense responded by saying, “The Ministry is conducting contacts with the South Korean and Italian industries and governments, with full transparency and while providing both industries with an equal opportunity. Contacts were conducted in the recent months within the framework of the process, which allowed the industries to offer the best exchange deal to the defense establishment, as well as present the aircraft and its capabilities to the IAF in the most detailed manner.

Israeli Mossad’s deputy head Teseby Ashkolov was assassinated by an explosive device which blew up in his car in Spain, while another Israeli source reported that an assassination attempt aiming at Minister of Defence Ehud Barak was thwarted in Singapore. The news followed that of the bomb attack against the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, that of the explosive device defused in Tbilisi and of the blast near two Israeli buildings in Bangkok. Further details on the assassination attempt remain vague. Meanwhile, Israeli channel 2 reported Barak’s assassination attempt, whereas the radio station ‘Sound of Israel’ reported the Minister of Defence as saying that Iran exaggerated while expressing how advanced its nuclear programme is. Barak added that "such a declaration makes it imperative to intensify the international sanctions against Iran so as to paralyze its abilities”. Barak confirmed in a radio interview that the Iranian nuclear programme has not r...

Lockheed Martin unveiled a new version of the F-16 today at the Singapore Airshow. The F-16V will feature enhancements including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, an upgraded mission computer and architecture, and improvements to the cockpit – all capabilities identified by the U.S. Air Force and several international customers for future improvements. With nearly 4,500 F-16s delivered, this is a natural step in the evolution of the world’s most successful 4th generation fighter.  The Fighting Falcon program has continually evolved as it began with the F-16 A/B as the lightweight fighter then transitioned to F-16 C/D and Block 60 versions as customers’ requirements changed.  AESA radars offer significant operational capability improvements. Lockheed Martin has developed an innovative solution to affordably retrofit this key technology into existing F-16s.  The F-16V configuration is an option for new production jets an...

India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and prepared for its first aircraft carrier in recent weeks as it modernizes its military to match China's. India and China have had tensions since a 1962 border war, and New Delhi has watched with dismay in recent years as Beijing has increased its influence in the Indian Ocean. China has financed the development of ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and its recent effort to get access in the Seychelles prodded New Delhi to renew its own outreach to the Indian Ocean island state off western India. With its recent purchases, running into tens of billions of dollars, India is finally working to counter what it sees as aggressive incursions into a region India has long dominated.

New Delhi. Dassault Aviation has selected Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) as its private sector partner to manufacture the Rafale Combat jets in India. Details are not known but Dassault confirmed the agreement with the Mumbai-based Mukesh Ambani-led Indian conglomerate. It was signed a week or so after the Government announced the Rafale as the winner in the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) fray Jan 31. In a statement, the French company said: Dassault Aviation, a major player in the global aerospace industry has entered into an MoU with Reliance Industries Ltd., India’s largest private sector company, for pursuing in strategic opportunities of collaboration in the area of complex manufacturing and support in India. Dassault manufactures Rafale combat jets and Falcon business jets, and the proposed venture should foray into both these sectors. Company sources also pointed out that much of the tooling and weapons of IAF’s Mirage 2000, which are bei...

Pakistan has decided to build nuclear submarine for Pakistan Navy to better meet its defense requirements. The nuclear submarine would be build in the country. It would take anywhere from 5 to 8 years to build the nuclear submarine after which Pakistan would join the list of countries that has a nuclear submarine. Presently Pakistan has a fleet of five regular submarines.  

Irani Anti Ship Zafar Cruise Missile Irani Anti Ship Zafar Cruise Missile Irani Anti Ship Zafar Cruise Missile Irani Anti Ship Zafar Cruise Missile  Iran on Saturday inaugurated the production line of a newly unveiled naval cruise missile, called Zafar (Triumph). The production line was inaugurated by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi in a ceremony at the Defense Ministry' Aerospace Industries Organization on the occasion of the Ten-Day Dawn ceremonies, celebrating the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution back in 1979. The ceremony was also attended by Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Naval Force Brigadier General Ali Fadavi. During the ceremony, the first cargo of Zafar missiles was delivered to the IRGC. Speaking to reporters, Vahid said that "Zafar is a short-range, anti-ship, radar guided missile capable of hitting and destroying small and medium-sized targets with high precision...

Sino-Pakistan PAF ZDK-03 AWACS Karakoram Eagle Sino-Pakistan PAF ZDK-03 AWACS Karakoram Eagle Sino-Pakistan PAF ZDK-03 AWACS Karakoram Eagle      

France could seal a long-awaited deal for Dassault to sell at least 60 Rafale fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates by April, turning around what appeared to have been a lost cause, French newspaper La Tribune reporte. The French-built jet emerged on Tuesday as preferred bidder in a $15 billion contest to supply India with 126 warplanes, lifting hopes for a sale that would boost French national pride and restore the lustre of its aviation sector. Citing unidentified sources, the paper said on its website that President Nicolas Sarkozy would go to the UAE in March or early April when the contract is likely to be finalised. The deal, potentially worth $10 billion has been in the works since 2008, but was thrown into doubt in November when the world's fourth-largest oil exporter said the proposed terms were "uncompetitive and unworkable." It asked for details of a rival aircraft, the Typhoon built by the Eurofighter consortium.

Brahmos cruise missiles In an attempt to match China’s massive deployment of forces and other military assets from occupied Tibet, India has given the go-ahead for the deployment of the supersonic Brahmos cruise missiles in Arunachal Pradesh. This will be India’s first offensive tactical missile deployment against China, reported the Indian Express Oct 17.  The report said that with a range of 290 km, these cruise missiles were being deployed to improve India’s military reach into the Tibet Autonomous Region and counter China’s elaborate missile deployment along the India-Tibet border. The report cited sources as saying the decision was in keeping with India’s second border force expansion plan but was being fast-tracked because of urgency shown by the armed forces. The five-year expansion plan includes fresh accretion of 89,000 troops, with 400 officers, in one of India’s biggest one-time military expansion effort. The report said the Brahmos missile...

United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, according to reports.   The Washington Post first reported that Panetta was concerned about the increased likelihood Israel would launch an attack over the next few months. CNN said it confirmed the report, citing a senior Obama administration official, who declined to be identified.  "Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June - before Iran enters what Israelis described as a 'zone of immunity' to commence building a nuclear bomb," Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote. "Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon - and only the United States could then stop them militarily," Ignatius wrote. Ignatius did no...

China's Silicon Valley Zhongguancun may be hailed as China's most famous village by foreigners. Dubbed as "China's Silicon Valley", the country's biggest high-tech park in west Beijing is not only home to Chinese high-tech companies such as Lenovo, Baidu and Sohu.com, it is also the China headquarters of world-renowned technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Intel. As part of China's efforts to build an innovative economy, the State Council, China's Cabinet, recently approved a development plan called the Zhongguancun National Innovation Demonstration Zone (2011-2020) that allows companies in the area to try out new measures and pilot projects. The plan, which includes a drive to boost the total revenues of companies in Zhongguancun to 10 trillion yuan ($1.8 trillion) in 2020 from 1.55 trillion yuan last year, is designed to help the area become one of the world's most famous technology hubs. The predicted in...

 China plans to make Shanghai, the country's financial hub, a global center for innovation, transaction, pricing and clearing of RMB-denominated financial products by 2015, the country's top economic planner said Monday. The plan will be part of China's bid to build Shanghai into an international financial center by 2020 amid a shifting global financial landscape, with China's economic weight and its currency taking a more prominent position on the world stage. The 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) will be "a period of strategic opportunities" for the construction of the international financial center, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement. The government aims to increase the total transaction value of all financial markets in Shanghai, barring foreign exchange markets, to around 1 quadrillion yuan (158.5 trillion U.S. dollars) by 2015, the statement said, quoting an unnamed Shanghai ...

Italy has presented a proposal to Turkey in creating the country’s first fighter jet including technology transfer and establish local production, Italian Ambassador to Turkey Gianpaolo Scarente said. Italy has given a proposal to Turkey to build the first Turkish national fighter jet in the country, according to Italian Ambassador to Turkey Gianpaolo Scarante. “There is a proposal for a project. We would like to participate in a very important program to create a national fighter for Turkey. It is in the phase of evaluation of the studies right now, but we have the proposal,” Scarante told the Hürriyet Daily News in a recent interview at the Venice Palace in Istanbul. “The most important fighter in the world now is Eurofighter system. We would like to share with Turkey in order to cooperate to realize this important aim to have a national Turkish jet,” he said Scarante said since beginning cooperation with Turkey, Italy has decided to transfer technology to ...

The leading Israeli manufacturer of tankers, aircraft refuelers, fire fighting trucks, armored vehicles and special purpose trailers, Hatehof Ltd., reportedly provides Pakistan's Air Force with military equipment under a clandestine contract. Nearly a month ago, 11 aircraft refueling trucks departed Hatehof's plant in the Tzippori industrial zone in Galilee region, situated 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) northwest of Nazareth, for the Port of Ashdod, located about 40 kilometers (24 miles) south of Tel Aviv, in the dead of the night. The trucks were later boarded on a cargo ship in the Ashdod Port and dispatched to Turkey from where they were transported to Pakistan, according to a recent report aired on Israel's Channel 2 television network. The report comes as the Israeli firm has sent several convoys of aircraft refueling trucks to Pakistan in order to equip the Muslim states' Air Force.

  by Haroon [ANTIBODY] Jf-17 Block-2 Fighter Jet JF-17 is the only modern day lightweight fighter providing world class performance at low operating expenditures. This advanced fighter will be poised as a lower budget alternative for countries gearing up for the 21st century Net Centric Warfare Environment, especially for those who cannot afford the massive price tags of other similarly performing fighters. The fourth prototype saw major design upgrades, indicating that the capabilities required by the PAF for a baseline fighter had increased significantly. This prototype emerged as a potent BVR platform capable of undertaking precision strike, escort, interdiction, air patrol, reconnaissance and ant-ship roles. It can operate in dense, hostile electronic warfare environment thus ensuring the provision of deterrence against existing and future threats. The JF-17 evolved into a fighter with advanced aerodynamic features such as diverter-less supersonic inlets (DSI). DSI im...