ASIAN DEFENCE

China has announced the success of a missile interception test conducted from land. The test, conducted within its territory late on Wednesday, "achieved the preset goal", according to a statement posted on the website of the Ministry of National Defense. Military authorities provided no other information about the operation. China has already successfully completed two mid-course land-based missile interception tests, in 2010 and 2013, both of which "attained preset objectives." By developing the ability to intercept incoming warheads such as ballistic missiles , it is hoped that the tests can help strengthen China's air defense . It is reported that such interception technology requires sophistication in information processing, reconnaissance, early warning, transportation of weaponry, guidance and precision. Analysts say the strategic importance of mid-course land-based missile interception could be compared to that of atomic and hydroge...

Chief of Russian presidential staff Sergei Ivanov said it was possible that China would become the first foreign country to buy long- and medium-range anti-aircraft defense missile systems S-400 Triumf, but this may take several years. “Chances that China will be the first foreign purchaser are big,” Ivanov told reporters, recalling that Russian army had already received first air defense missile systems S-400. S-400 Anti Aircraft System As for military-technical co-operation between the two countries, Ivanov recalled effective and promising agreements that were concluded. “Promising contracts exist, for instance, for supplies of S-400 air defense missile systems. But their fulfillment will take several years to say the least, it is just impossible to produce this type of military hardware in six months,” the presidential staff chief added.

Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec, announces that Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant has delivered four Mi-171E transport helicopters to China’s Poly Technologies, the final consignment of a contract for 48 helicopters signed by Rosoboronexport in 2012. In total under the original contract and a follow-on agreement the Chinese company has received 52 helicopters. “The successful completion of this large contract to supply Mi-171E helicopters is another step towards strengthening successful cooperation between Russia and China,” said Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant Managing Director Leonid Belykh. “Our helicopters have demonstrated their unique capabilities in action in China, and are deservedly in high demand in this fast-growing and high-potential market.” The new helicopters are equipped to produce exceptional performance in mountainous terrain, including VK-2500 engines delivering increased power, a Safir auxiliary power plant and updated gearbox. A...

China has well and truly cemented its position in the 'star wars' era. Gordon Arthur explains why. Sometime in the next few months, India will conduct the first canister-based trial of its blue-ribbon intercontinental ballistic missile, the Agni-V, at Wheeler Island. Able to reach targets anywhere in China thanks to its 5,500 km range, this missile is hugely important to India's nuclear deterrence strategy. "Agni-V is in final induction configuration... The missile will be ready for induction in the armed forces over the next couple of years after three to four more successful test firings from canisters," declared Avinash Chander, chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation. Canister-launched missiles are preferable because their survivability against enemy attack increases; road-based launchers can quickly change location. Furthermore, the addition of canister-launch ability gives the Agni-V a true quick-reaction capacity. The Agni-V is...

Last Wednesday night, as he stood on a hilltop outside the Israeli town of Sderot and watched the bombardment of Gaza on the plain below, a Danish newspaper reporter snapped an iPhone photo of about a dozen locals who cheered on their military from plastic chairs while eating popcorn. Israelis Watch Bombs Drop on Gaza Allan Sørensen, a veteran Middle East correspondent for Denmark’s Kristeligt Dagblad, then uploaded the image to Twitter with a sardonic caption that described the macabre scene as “Sderot cinema.” The image of the Israeli spectators was taken after 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday night, the reporter said, which was about the same time that what was intended to be a “precision strike,” from Israel’s military killed at least eight of their Palestinian neighbors, seated in similar plastic chairs at a beachside cafe in Gaza, waiting to watch the World Cup semifinal between Argentina and the Netherlands. As his image reverberated around the social network, where it ...

Russia Declares 9/11 An Inside Job False Flag Attack.

 Three multi-role Su-30SM fighters performed ferry flight to their home base – Domna airfield located in Eastern Military District (Zabaykalsky Krai), press-service of Russian Ministry of Defense reports. Su-30SM Fighter Jets The jets were ferried from the plant of Irkut Corporation by the pilots of Russian air forces, who have already passed a retraining course. The first Su-30SM aircraft was delivered to Domna air base in November 2013. During the 2012-2014 period Russian air forces took delivery of 18 new Su-30SM jets. In 2014 more aircraft of the type will join the fleet of Russian air forces - the ministry of defense noted. The two-seat super-maneuverable Su-30SM fighter is fitted with radar with the phased antenna array, engines with a thrust-vectoring nozzle and canard surfaces. The jet is capable of using the advanced high-precision “air-to-air” and “air-to-surface” weapons.

China To Have 1,500 Fourth Generational Fighter Jets by 2020 estimates of China's future combat aircraft fleet size and composition that are larger - and more specific - than those offered in the annual China Military Power reports published by the US Department of Defense. The latest Pentagon report issued on 5 June 2014 sounded an alarm about China air combat forces, saying the People's Liberation Army Air Force "is pursuing modernization on a scale unprecedented in its history and is rapidly closing the gap with Western air forces across a broad spectrum of capabilities including aircraft, command and control, jammers, electronic warfare, and data-links".

Production of the first two of 50  JF-17's  Block 2  on order by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is now well under way at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra, with the first expected to fly by the end of the year. The Block 2 JF-17 has several capability increases over the Block 1s, but the main boost to the PAF as well as to export potential is the installation of an air-to-air refuelling system. One aircraft has been fitted with a refuelling probe, which protrudes from the right side of the fuselage just behind the cockpit, sitting forward of the pilot's position. It is being used for flight trials. JF-17 Block 2 However, this modification will not appear in Block 2 aircraft until midway through the production at the Aircraft Manufacturing Factory (AMF), probably in early 2016, PAF officials said. Coupled with software enhancements, other new features include an upgrade to the avionics system that works around China's Nanjing KLJ-7 radar. As a resu...

Russia and China are likely to sign a cooperation pact regarding ground operation stations for Russia's GLONASS satellite and China's Beidou satellite, citing Sergei Savelyev, deputy head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. Savelyev said that Russia expects an agreement with China, which will allow the countries to build three ground operational stations in each other's territory, with the number potentially increasing in the future. At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2014 held in late May, Savelyev also said that Russia is preparing to discuss construction of GLONASS ground operation stations with both China and India and expects to reach an agreement of equal number construction by the end of the year. The Moscow-based Voice of Russia reported that the number may be more than three, as China initially proposed setting up about a dozen Beidou stations in Russia from the Urals to the Far East, and to host a similar number of GLONASS stations. A R...