China Navalized DH-10 Land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM)

 Naval DH-10  Cruise Missiles

Images have surfaced of a naval variant of the DH-10 LACM on a China Navy test vessel. The missile canisters spotted appear to be virtually identical to the land-based variant. This sort of arrangement is reminiscent to the deployment of the BGM-109 Tomahawk on United States Navy surface combatants by way of the MK-143 Armored Box Launcher. The MK-143 enabled vessels such as the Iowa Class Battleships and Spruance Class Destroyers to launch the BGM-109. 

The images suggest that the DH-10 would be installed in the same way as the YJ-62 or YJ-83 anti-ship missiles. This is advantageous for the current generation of China Navy surface combatants, giving designs such as the 052C land attack capability with minimal structural modification. However, the downside is that the arrangement would sacrifice anti-ship capabilities by substituting the YJ-62 or YJ-83 systems with DH-10 launchers. It also means that only a maximum of eight missiles can be carried and that is assuming the launch canisters can be stacked on top of one another.

In spite of its disadvantages and simplicity compared to the deployment of vertically launched LACMs by other navies, the adoption of a naval variant of the DH-10 is a considerable capability leap for Beijing. This development would enable China to complete its “cruise missile triad”, complementing the already in-service land-based system and the air-launched variant, the CJ-10. Missiles launched from land-based platforms are restricted to striking targets around China’s periphery, not so dissimilar to the range limitations faced by the Second Artillery Force’s inventory of conventional ballistic missiles. 

China Develops Z-10 Attack Helicopter Denies Piracy Allegations

China's Z-10 Attack Helicopter

China on Thursday confirmed it had developed its first modern military attack helicopter, but denied reports that the chopper was a replica of stolen US Black Hawk technology.

A Chinese defence ministry spokesperson claimed that the attack helicopter Z-10 was manufactured on indigenous know-how, including its engines.

The website sought to refute allegations that Beijing had used stolen US technology to develop the attack helicopter which may have advanced stealth features.

China's Z-19C Attack Helicopter

The Chinese announcement comes weeks after a major US defence contractor, United Technologies, told a US court that it may have violated an embargo on export of controlled technology to China. The company agreed to the pay a $75 million fine in connection with the export violation.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun, in response to allegations made by US prosecutors, said the helicopter's manufacturer had used independent intellectual property rights.

"China's attack helicopters and their engines are all self-developed, and have proprietary intellectual property rights," said Yang, adding that the so-called piracy "is far from truth."

The Future OF Chinese Aviation

Chinese Aviation

Chinese Aviation

PLAN's New Type 052C Class Destroyer---Zhengzhou

PLAN's New Type 052C Class Destroyer

PLAN's New Type 052C Class Destroyer

China's F-60 Wrapped In Camouflage

China's F-60 Wrapped In Camouflage

China's F-60 Wrapped In Camouflage

China Shows OFF 2nd New Stealth Fighter

F-60 Stealth Fighter

American intelligence agencies recently obtained new information on China’s second new stealth fighter-bomber revealed on the Internet in the past two years, according to U.S. officials. The new jet, dubbed the F-60, is a fifth-generation warplane; a prototype was disclosed in photographs posted on two Chinese military affairs websites beginning June 21. Officials familiar with intelligence reports said the shape and design of the F-60 appears similar to the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor, the U.S. military’s most advanced stealth fighter, although it is smaller in size.


 The similarities are raising concerns in counterintelligence circles that China obtained design details for its new jet from the F-22 through espionage or cyber-spying, as occurred with the Chinese compromise of F-35 data by suspected intelligence hackers several years ago.

F-60 Stealth Fighter

 A Defense Intelligence Agency spokeswoman declined to comment on the new Chinese stealth jet. According to the U.S. officials, intelligence analysts recently conducted detailed analyses of photos that show the first prototype of the new jet being transported on the back of a flatbed truck along the Beijing-Shenyang highway under escort by vehicles and officials of the Ministry of State Security, China’s political police and intelligence service.


The new jet was shown at a rest stop during its transport during what Chinese websites said was transfer to a stress testing facility. The twin-engine jet was shown without its tail stabilizers or cockpit canopy, leading some analysts to conclude it was an L-15 trainer aircraft. However, analysis of the photos revealed that the new jet is larger in size and has different wing shapes and engine intakes than the trainer, and therefore is likely the new F-60.


 No mention was made of the F-60 in recent unclassified Pentagon annual reports to Congress on China’s military. The 2011 report stated that development of the J-20 stealth jet and long-range conventional missiles “could improve the PLA’s ability to strike regional air bases, logistical facilities, and other ground-based infrastructure.” The F-60 jet is under development by the Shenyang Aircraft Corp., which analysts say lost out several years ago to the manufacturer of China’s first stealth fighter, the J-20, which is being built by the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute.

Taiwan Signs F-16 A/B's Upgrade Deal

Taiwan F-16 A/B's

Taiwan signed an the agreement with the U.S. government for a $3.7 billion upgrade to its existing 146 F-16A/B Block 20 fighter aircraft.

The letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) was signed on July 13 during a meeting in Taichung, said a defense industry source in Taipei. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency under the Foreign Military Sales program will administer the competition for the upgrade program.

The most heated competition will be between Northrop Grumman and Raytheon over who will win the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar contract. Northrop is offering the Scalable Agile Beam Radar against the Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar. Both radars will also compete in South Korea’s upgrade for 135 KF-16C/D Block 52 fighters, and a possible AESA competition later for Singapore’s F-16s.

Over the past year, BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin have battled over the contract to upgrade the F-16s, but BAE’s efforts appear all for naught. Local defense industry sources say Lockheed has locked-down the deal for offset agreements for the upgrade with Taiwan’s state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC). AIDC and Lockheed signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on July 11 to form a strategic partnership to facilitate the F-16 upgrade program. Butch Hsu, AIDC president, and Ana Wugofski, Lockheed’s vice president of international business development, signed the MoU at the Farnborough International Airshow.

China's J-21 Wrapped In Camouflage

China's J-21 Wrapped In Camouflage

India Starts Work On 2nd Indigenous Aircraft Carrier

Indigenous Aircraft Carrier

India has started working on its second indigenous aircraft carrier even as the construction of the first one has been marred by delay of over two years. The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)-II would be the largest ship in terms of the weight and size to have ever been built by the Navy, Navy sources said here.


 On the delays in the IAC-I, they said against the December 2010 timeline, the Navy was now planning to launch it by the end of this year or early next year. Sources said delays in the warship project were caused mainly due to problems in its gearbox, they said. The 40,000 tonne IAC-I is being constructed by the Kochin Shipyard in Kerala and is so far the biggest warship project undertaken in the country. At its now expected induction timeline of 2017, it would be the second largest warship after the Russian-origin Admiral Gorshkov, which is set to arrive in India by March next year.

U.S Navy Has Great Difficulty Tracking Iranian Mini Submarines

 Iranian Mini Submarines

U.S. Navy Commander Christopher Harmer as saying that the United States has great difficulty tracking Iranian mini-submarines. Iranian mini-submarines are “a huge problem for us,” said Harmer, who served as the director of Future Operations for the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet in Bahrain from 2008 to 2009.


 Any submarine weighing less than 500 tons is generally regarded as a mini-submarine. “They are a threat to us because they can disperse them throughout the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, and it’s extremely difficult for us to track them,” he stated, adding that as a result, they can lay “in wait to execute an ambush.”


 The U.S. Navy is more accustomed to tracking large, Soviet-era nuclear-class submarines, something Iran knows well, Harmer added. He stated, “Looking for small subs in shallow water is much more difficult, because the acoustics are so much more difficult -- smaller makes less noise.” As a result, he added, the Iranian military “has prioritized these mini-subs and (has) gone into overdrive building them.” 

US-Russia Joint Missile Defence Is Only Way Forward: Putin

 Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Moscow’s strong opposition to the US missile defence system on Tuesday, saying that President Barack Obama’s re-election would not end the dispute and insisting on joint development of the shield.

“I think that the missile defence issue will not be solved regardless of whether Obama is elected or not,” he told reporters at the end of Group of 20 summit in Mexico.

“I think that something can radically change only in the case if the US agrees with our proposal which says that Russia, Europe and US were equal participants of this process,” said Putin.

Moscow says the interceptors that the United States and Nato are deploying as part of the system will be able to destroy Russian warheads in flight by about 2018, upsetting the post-Cold War balance of power.

Washington maintains that the missile defence system, which is to be deployed in four phases by about 2020, is intended to counter a potential threat from Iran and poses no risk to Russia.

India Tests Fired N-Capable Agni-I Missile

Indian Agni-I ballistic missile

India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile, with a strike range of 700 km, as part of the army's user trial from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. The surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid propellants, was test-fired from a mobile launcher at about 1010 hrs from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from here. 


"The trial of the sophisticated missile with a strike range of 700 km was successful," the Indian media quoting a defence scientist reported. Describing the launch as a routine user’s trial by the strategic force command of the Indian army, he said the main objective was to train the user team to launch the missile. "It was a practice-drill. The user-team picked a missile at random from the production lot and fired it with logistic support provided by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at ITR," he said.

Norinco's Arrow Missile Ready For Export Market

                                    Norinco's Arrow Missile

Indian Navy Raises Army For Cyber Front

With the rise in cyber terrorism in india, the Indian Navy will soon induct an exclusive cyber cell to counter terror attacks on cyber space and to protect its computer-enabled communication networks from notorious hackers.

The Navy force recently has instituted an anti-hacking wing to guard its valuable information. The departments belonging to the Indian Defence have constantly faced several challenges while tackling cyber terror, while fire-walling its communication networks from espionage, mainly from China and Pakistan. Noting the requirement for experts in information technology, Indian Navy is raising a new crop of cyber warriors against hostile Chinese hackers and others as well. 

Reports suggest that the recruiting process is already underway, and that he officials are considering men with information technology and engineering educational background for short-service commissioned officers in its cyber cadre. Women who are interested to be part of this special cyber security wing will have to wait as these positions are currently admissible to men.

: 
The recruited cadets will be undergoing training at Naval Academy Ezhimala (NAVAC), which is located in the Kannur (Cannanore) district of Kerala, before they get posted on board warships and other establishments. They will be trained in maintaining the security of communication networks, which are used to send and receive sensitive information related to national security.

NAVAC is the premier training establishment of the Indian Navy, which conducts the basic training for all officers being commissioned into the Indian Navy under various schemes.

China's New Type 054A Frigates

China's New Type 054A Frigates

China's New Type 054A Frigates

J-15 Jets On Deck As Carrier Sets Off On Sea Trials

China's J-15 Deck Fighter Jet

China's aircraft carrier has set out from Dalian in the northeastern province of Liaoning on sea trials that will last 25 days, the longest yet, and experts say domestic J-15 fighters may be involved in landing and takeoff exercises.

An area on the north Bohai Sea region is out of bounds to civilian boats until the end of the month.

"The longest sea trials indicate the aircraft carrier has finished the first step of tests on the ship itself and is beginning tests of aircraft landing and takeoff," military analyst Yin Zhuo, a retired major general, said yesterday.
The nation's first carrier, refitted from former Ukraine vessel Varyag, left port on August 10 last year for its first sea trials and returned four days later for further refurbishment.

The vessel's longest sea trials to date have lasted 16 days.
Military experts believe the carrier will be commissioned next month on China's Army Day, August 1, but say there still seems much to be done.
It will take a long time for Chinese fighter pilots to train to land on the aircraft carrier, which is the most difficult step during training, said Hu Siyuan, a professor with the National Defense University PLA China.
"The pilots have to use the best direction, height and speed to land on the 60-meter-wide aircraft carrier and also need to prepare to abort the landing and ascend again for any emergency, which are great challenges mentally and physically," Hu said.

Fixed-wing aircraft on the carrier will use a ski-jump to take off while three lines of cables will help to slow down aircraft when they land.
Landing training has to be done while the carrier is at sea and the lengthy sea trials this time might provide the first training opportunity for fighter pilots, according to Hu.

The carrier is capable of carrying around 30 fixed wing fighters and helicopters and a crew of around 2,000.
Hu said that China's J-15 fighters would probably be the major aircraft used on the carrier.

China And India Unite On Energy

India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) and the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU is intended to strengthen existing exploration and production (E&P) operations in Burma, Sudan, and Syria, and look ahead to making joint bids on foreign oil and gas fields for E&P in the future. This is the most recent development in a trend of cooperation between India and China that has slowly emerged over the past few years. In 2006, the two companies signed an initial pact for bilateral oil cooperation and possible joint crude purchases, which has enabled the ongoing joint E&P development in Burma, Syria, and Sudan. 

Yet, these agreements have not resulted in joint bidding or policy cooperation. The recent MoU will enable ONGC and CNCP to expand cooperation to jointly bidding on fields and jointly investing in infrastructure development. The pipeline across Burma from the Bay of Bengal to Southwest China is the first of such downstream projects and may demonstrate the maturation of Sino-Indian energy relations.

 

The reality of growing economic interdependence is contrary to the protectionist impulse that runs strong in both countries. Both nations strive to be energy independent, but in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, neither India nor China has the financial or political capital to unilaterally and effectively develop energy resources across all energy markets. As one ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) managing director D.K. Saraff said referring to the recent MoU, “we should collaborate and bid together; there is no point in raising prices.” Saraff was undoubtedly referencing the above market prices at which Chinese energy companies have secured rights to developing oil fields in the past. With the signing of the MoU, more safeguards will be adopted to ensure that bidding will not get out of hand, and prices will stay reasonable.

The proposed ONGC and CNPC partnership will ease exploration and development costs by enabling both countries to jointly participate in developing new energy resources. As two of the biggest economies in Asia and largest energy importers, energy access and development are primary and mutual concerns for India and China.

Turkey To Sell T-129 Helicopters To Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s military asked Turkey to enter a tender to produce attack helicopters for the Saudi air force, Sabah newspaper reported. 

Turkish officials are in negotiations with Saudi counterparts regarding the Turkish-made Atak T-129 helicopters, which made their first test flights last month and are expected to go into mass production in the middle of next year, the Istanbul-based newspaper said. Sabah didn’t say how it got the information. 

The helicopters are produced with parts and input from Turkish companies including Aselsan Elektronik Sanayi & Ticaret AS and are generating interest from Malaysia, Jordan and Pakistan, Sabah said. 

India Finalizing Mega Stealth Frigates Project

Talwar-class stealth frigates

India's mammoth over Rs 50,000 crore plan to construct seven advanced stealth frigates, with all weapon and missile systems under the hull for a lower radar ``signature'', is finally gathering some momentum now in tune with the overall strategy to build a futuristic blue-water Navy indigenously.

This major plan, codenamed Project-17A'', will be a strong booster dose for defence shipyards since it will be shared between Mazagon Docks (MDL) at Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) at Kolkata.

The CNC (contract negotiation committee) is currently underway for P-17A, which has already been approved by the defence ministry. The contract will be awarded after the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security. While MDL will build four, GRSE will construct the other three,'' said a source.

This comes even as the third and the final stealth frigate INS Sahyadri built by MDL, under the long-delayed ``Project-17'' at a cost of Rs 8,101 crore, is now all set to be commissioned on July 21.

Defence minister A K Antony will be travelling to Mumbai to commission the frigate, commanded by Captain S Vatsayan, like he did for the first two INS Shivalik and INS Satpura in 2010 and 2011. The seven new frigates will be ``longer, broader, faster and stealthier'' than the three 6,100-tonne Shivalik-class frigates that have a range of 5,000 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 18 knots.

First Test OF Indian Nirbhay Cruise Missile

Indian Nirbhay Cruise Missile

In contrast to how India promoted its Agni-V ballistic missile, New Delhi is unlikely to draw a lot of international attention to upcoming testing of the Nirbhay cruise missile, even as it holds far more significance for the nation's weapons program than is widely appreciated.

In August, the country is scheduled to conduct the first test of its little known Nirbhay (“fearless”), a subsonic weapon with a maximum range of 1,000 km (620 mi.). Designated “secret,” the weapon's development has remained concealed since its existence was revealed in 2006.

Like the Agni-V, the Nirbhay will be tested from India's missile range over the Bay of Bengal. The missile has two stages, is understood to be powered by a Russian-built NPO Saturn engine, will cruise at Mach 0.7 and is being developed to demonstrate loitering capabilities. Sources at the Hyderabad-based Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), which built the missile prototype, say the weapon is ready for its first flight.

Russia Does It Again: Ten-fold Rise In Defence Equipment Prices

Su-30 Fighter Jet

Russia has increased the prices of the latest defence equipments, by ten times, to be procured by India. The Russian defence manufacturing companies have sent their bid- ten times the opening price of the tenders.

A leading newspaper daily, Sunday Guardian, carried a report which mentioned that Russian companies have increased the price of defence equipments like- rocket launchers, T-90 tanks, tanks ammunition to as high as ten-folds.

For the procurement of 10,000 rocket launchers ministry of defence has estimated an approximate price of rs 130 crores, Russia is asking rs 4,000 crores for the launchers.

Ammunition rounds of T-90 tanks, pegged at rs 980 crores, were offered at an opening price of rs 4,000 crores by Russia's Rosoboronexport.

In another example, workshop equipments were offered at an increased price of rs 1,800 crores against rs 250 crores anticipated by the ministry of defence.

The change in stance by the Russian companies is nothing new. Russia has a history of increasing the price of its defence equipments. The price of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov was repeatedly revised.

Japan, S.Korea To Sign First Military Pact

South Korea will soon sign a military agreement with Japan for the first time since Tokyo's brutal colonial rule ended in 1945, a report said Wednesday.

The pact  named the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA)  calls for the two countries to exchange intelligence about North Korea and its nuclear and missile programmes, Yonhap news agency said.

It cited a government source for its information. A foreign ministry spokesman declined to comment.

Citing lingering anti-Japan hostility, South Korea last month suspended the signing of the agreement and of another military accord on sharing logistics excluding weapons and cooperating in peacekeeping operations abroad.

Seoul has decided to go ahead with the intelligence agreement while shelving the more sensitive logistics accord, which could allow Japan's troops to enter the South's territory in times of crisis, the report said.

"The two governments will officially sign the deal as early as this week, or sometime next week at the latest," the source told Yonhap, adding that Seoul's cabinet approved the move Tuesday.

Typhoon, Rafale No Match for China’s MMRCA

China's  J-20 Fighter

India will ink the world's single largest defence deal by closing the 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract in a couple of months. As these fourth generation fighter jets join the Indian Air Force fleet, China will prepare to launch its fifth generation stealth fighter Chengdu J-20. China is racing ahead towards the planned induction of its indigenous stealth fighter in 2017. The Chengdu J-20, which made its debut in January this year, has already flown two prototypes, within a span of four months. In India's case, however, the two shortlisted contenders — Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale, both only fourth generation — are still undergoing price negotiations. The commercial bids for the US $15 billion deal were opened on 4 November.

Eurofighter Typhoon from the European consortium EADS — comprising Italy, Germany, Spain and UK as partner nations — is a twin-engine, multi-role fighter. A question mark exists on its air-to-ground capability. The UK audit watchdog NAO has criticised the Typhoon for its problems with spares availability, flying hours, immature estimates in funding and inefficient collaborative decision making. It has said that the aircraft will not have full multi-role capability for some years.

To add to this, the Typhoon is still in the process of acquiring air-to-ground attack capability, which was tested unsuccessfully in Libya recently.

French Dassault Aviation's twin-engine Rafale fighter is operational only in the French Navy and Air Force, and recently lost out the US $10 billion deal it had hoped to sign with the United Arab Emirates.

Highly priced, approximately around $80 million a piece, neither Typhoon nor Rafale has a proven radar (the tender requirement is for an AESA [active electronically scanned array]). This came to light during laboratory trials. The manufacturers said that the radar would be integrated once the deal was finalised.

China Hackers Enter Indian Navy Computers

Hackers have broken into sensitive naval computer systems in and around Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command, and planted bugs that relayed confidential data to IP addresses in China. 

The Eastern Naval Command plans operations and deployments in the South China Sea — the theatre of recent muscle-flexing by Beijing — and beyond. India’s first nuclear missile submarine, INS Arihant, is currently undergoing trials at the Command. 

The extent of the loss is still being ascertained, and officials said it was “premature at this stage” to comment on the sensitivity of the compromised data. But the Navy has completed a Board of Inquiry (BoI) which is believed to have indicted at least six mid-level officers for procedural lapses that led to the security breach. 

The naval computers were found infected with a virus that secretly collected and transmitted confidential files and documents to Chinese IP addresses. Strict disciplinary action against the indicted officers is imminent.

Responding to a questionnaire sent by The Sunday Express on whether highly classified data had been sent to IP addresses in China due to the bug, the Navy said: “An inquiry has been convened and findings of the report are awaited. It needs to be mentioned that there is a constant threat in the cyber domain from inimical hackers worldwide.” 

India's Quest For A Stealth Fighter

J-20 Stealth Fighter

When China displayed the prototype of its first ever stealth aircraft , the J 20 in 2010 it sent alarm bells ringing not just in the US but more importantly in countries across East and South East Asia. China has now joined the foremost ranks of fighter-building nations, setting off a debate in the West and among China’s immediate neighbors over if and when the J-20 might begin entering service in great numbers and how that may shape the Asia Pacific balance of power. Suddenly countries ranging from Japan to South Korea to Indonesia decided to jump into the stealth bandwagon and co develop Low Observable fighters with foreign partners. Since the mid nineties backers of F 22 and F 35 fighters which rely on stealth have utilized simulators and conferences to uphold the idea that stealth will be an overpowering advantage in air combat.

 We can probably take a deep dive and understand stealth fighter programs of other Asian countries sometime in the future, however for the time being I will focus on something that is more close to our heart - When will India get it’s stealth fighter aircraft ? As we know, India has started work in right earnest with it’s “strategic partner” Russia to develop a Low Observable or stealth fighter aircraft. In this regard it’s worth asking an important question. Is it worth having a stealth aircraft ?