ASIAN DEFENCE

Russian air forces took delivery of the third upgraded A-50U AWACS aircraft . "A-50U aircraft was handed over to the Russian Air Force at the airfield of Beriev Aircraft Company (Taganrog). Beriev Aircraft Company is the part of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). The aircraft has been inspected by the crew and it will perform ferry flight from Taganrog to its home base soon", - he said. Representative of the air forces also noted that besides a tail number this vehicle also got its own name – “Sergey Atayants” (the aircraft was named after the aircraft designer, who led the development of A-50). Russian Air Force A-50U AWACS Aircraft A-50U is intended for detection of air and surface targets, transmission of targeting data to fighters, transmission of radar signals (detection of air targets, including helicopters, cruising missiles, supersonic aircraft) to ground control stations. The most important component of A-50U is advanced and powerful radar system. A-50 ...

Russia plans to offer Brazil joint development of the fifth-generation combat aircraft, the Sukhoi T-50, according to Alexander Fomin, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation. The proposal is reportedly in support of an unsolicited offer by Sukhoi whose Su-35 fighter was taken off Brazil’s shortlist for its F-X2 tender for the purchase of 36 fighter jets worth $4 billion.  PAK-FA Stealth Fighter  Russia is still hoping to sell the Su-35s or similar aircraft to Brazil outside the framework of that tender, sweetening the deal with the new proposal, according to Ria Novosti. New Delhi and Moscow are currently already developing a derivative of the T-50 for the Indian Air Force. According to executives from India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the two sides completed the preliminary design of the aircraft, tentatively dubbed FGFA, earlier this year and are now negotiating a detailed design contract.

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to the sale of anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 to China, the newspaper "Kommersant", citing a source close to the Kremlin. At the same time director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Alexander Fomin confirmed that negotiations for the supply complexes China are ongoing. The decision to sell the complexes was made in early 2014.  S-400 Triumf SAM System  Ongoing negotiations with China related to the number of complexes and their cost. However, even if a firm contract will be signed in the near future, get new S-400 Beijing could not before 2016. Earlier delivery of arms to China is impossible because first to be held most of the delivery of S-400, ordered by the Ministry of Defense of Russia under the current state armaments program. 

Defense and technology firms in Israel have recently requested that the government ease restrictions on exports of military equipment to China. A source from the Israeli defense industry  says that weapon manufacturers in Israel had already gained support from the prime minister’s office as well as the economic and foreign ministries since it is the policy of the nation to expand its economic and political ties with China. For this reason, various government officials within Israel have welcomed the discussion regarding the change of the regulations. Export to China of certain dual-use technologies that can be used by both civilians and the military are being discussed, as well as the latest generation of unmanned aerial vehicles. Another source from the defense industry said that the increasing difficulty in selling weapons to Israel’s defense ministry is eroding the profitability of the industry, which makes China crucial to the nation’s economy.  Israel had earned ...

Russia is developing a new advanced  Kalina submarine class and may sell them to China, according to reports in Russia’s media. Last week, the head of Russia’s Navy, Adm. Viktor Chirkov, announced that Russia would build new fifth-generation submarines dubbed the  Kalina -class. “Russia is currently designing a fifth-generation conventional submarine, dubbed Project Kalina, which will be fitted with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system,” Adm. Viktor Chirkov said, according toRussian media outlets. “Our industry promises to develop this AIP system by 2017 and build the first boat fitted with such a system by 2018,” he added. The report did not specify what type of AIP technology would be used. Kalina Class Submarine Submarines equipped with AIP technologies offer significant advantages over conventional diesel-electric engines and even nuclear submarines. AIP systems allow submarines to stay submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, wh...

China for the first time will likely have subs equipped with long-range nuclear missiles later this year, part of an increasingly potent submarine fleet, a top US officer said Tuesday, The head of US Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, said the latest class of Chinese subs would be armed with a new ballistic missile with an estimated range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,500 kilometers). "This will give China its first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent, probably before the end of 2014," Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Locklear was referring to the production of China's JIN-class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine and the new JL-2 missile on board the vessel. "China's advance in submarine capabilities is significant. They possess a large and increasingly capable submarine force," the admiral said. In October, Chinese state media for the first time showed images of the country's nuclear-powered submarines...

As we've seen the J-20 project proceed to the pre-production prototype stage, Project 310 (Shenyang AC's 5th gen design) is continuing its flight testing. Although, I and many other have called it J-31, it really hasn't become an official PLAAF project yet, so it has no J designation Many have called it the J-21 project, because they expect it to receive that designation once it becomes official. J-31/F-60 Stealth Fighter There have been a lot of discussions online about where this project is at and how is it funded, so I will give me take here. At this stage, project 310 only has one flying prototype in No. 31001. Some would compare it to No. 2001 of J-20 project, but I consider more as a proof of concept aircraft similar to X-35. For example, I think the pre-production prototypes should not longer see the gap between the engine nozzle and nacelle. From what I observed online, it seems to at least have received some funding from PLAAF to arrive at this stage, alth...

A cyber espionage operation by China seven years ago produced sensitive technology and aircraft secrets that were incorporated into the latest version of China’s new J-20 stealth fighter jet, according to U.S. officials and private defense analysts. The Chinese cyber spying against the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II took place in 2007 under what U.S. intelligence agencies codenamed Operation Byzantine Hades, a large-scale, multi-year cyber program that targeted governments and industry. Defense officials said the stolen data was obtained by a Chinese military unit called a Technical Reconnaissance Bureau in the Chengdu province. The data was then passed to the state-run Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC). An AVIC subsidiary, the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, used the stolen data in building the J-20, said defense and intelligence officials familiar with reports of the illicit tech transfer. Pentagon technology security officials in 2011 opposed a joint ven...

Images emerged on 20 February of a modified prototype Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) J-20 fifth-generation fighter undertaking high-speed taxi runs. These taxi runs are presumably prior to its maiden flight and suggest it may be a pre-production variant slated for formal testing by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Photographs of the prototype first appeared on Chinese military web sites in December 2013 and January, although some of these images appeared to have been digitally altered. The prototype carries the bort number '2011' and shows modifications intended to improve engine performance, combat capability and stealth. Improved J-20 (2011) Stealth Fighter Most noticeable are redesigned engine intakes featuring more of a sloped 'caret' design said to improve pressure distributions for the engine. The vertical stabilizers have been clipped in their outer aft corners and the main wheel doors and the internal weapons bay cover ...

The People's Liberation Army Navy's DF-21D anti-ship missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers and has the capability to sink a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The report released by the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore states that China's Beidou satellite navigation system will help increase the accuracy of the country's missiles greatly. The report, written by various experts in India, concluded that the existence of the DF-21D has shaken the traditional view of the US Navy's unassailable superiority in the Asia Pacific region. The anti-ship ballistic missile is likely to serve as a credible deterrent against American intervention in China's maritime disputes, of which it has several with its Asian neighbors, the report said. The DF-21D is designed based on itercontinental ballistic missiles and carries manoeuvrable warheads with conventional munitions which can target aircraft carriers at a distance of about 2,000 kilometers, accor...

Russia said it had successfully test-fired an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) on Tuesday, with tensions high over its seizure of control in the Crimea and its threat to send more forces to its neighbour Ukraine. The Strategic Rocket Forces launched an RS-12M Topol missile from the southerly Astrakhan region and the dummy warhead hit its target at a proving ground in Kazakhstan, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Yegorov told state-run news agency RIA. The launch site, Kapustin Yar, is near the Volga River about 450 km (280 miles) east of the Ukrainian border. Kazakhstan, a Russian ally in a post-Soviet security grouping, is further to the east. RS-12M Topol missile (ICBM) Russia and the United States signed the latest of a series of treaties restricting the numbers of ICBMs in 2010, but Moscow has indicated it will agree further cuts in the near future and is taking steps to upgrade its nuclear arsenal. President Vladimir Putin has emphasised that Russia must maint...

China plans to raise its defense budget by 12.2% to 808.2 billion yuan (US$132 billion) this year, according to a budget report to be reviewed by the national legislature on Wednesday. In 2013, the country spent 720.2 billion yuan (US$117.4 billion) on national defense, a 10.7% increase from the previous year. Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Geng Yansheng Double-digit growth in China's defense budget in recent years has caused some concerns from western countries. But experts said China's military expenditure is moderate and in line with the country's economic conditions. Yin Zhuo, director of the Expert Consultation Committee of the People's Liberation Army Navy, said the country's military spending is still far from the level it needs to be as it faces increasingly severe security challenges. Although the rise in the defense budget in the past three years has surpassed GDP growth, the spending's share in GDP, which came in at 1.4%, is sti...