Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Jane's India pays extra $102m for carrier conversion By Rahul Bedi 10 June 2009 India has paid Russia an additional USD102 million to refurbish the Kiev-class aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (ex- Admiral Gorshkov ), ahead of a deal to conclude the final cost of the ship's troubled refit. The latest instalment brings the cost of the work at the Sevmashpredpriyatiye shipyard to USD602 million so far, a spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) told Jane's . Another MoD official said: " Gorshkov is by far the most problematic of the deals with Russia. But by 15 July we will work out the scope of the carrier's trial and its final cost after which…

From Aviation Week 24 F-22s Deployed To Guam and Okinawa Jan 26, 2009 By David A. Fulghum In the fourth and largest F-22 deployment so far, a squadron of the U.S. stealth fighters has shifted from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, to Andersen AFB, Guam. Another 12 fighters from Langley AFB, Va., flew to Kadena AFB in Okinawa, Japan, earlier this month. The first F-22 deployment was from Langley to Elmendorf, the second was from Langley to Okinawa and the third was from Elmendorf to Guam. All were temporary single squadron moves to test the new aircraft’s logistics and reliability and — in the last two moves — to participate in the rotation of units to th…

The Drudge Report REPORT: CHINA, RUSSIA TO 'REHEARSE INVASION OF TAIWAN' Thu Mar 17 2005 11:02:09 ET MOSCOW, March 17. (RIA Novosti)-Yesterday, Chief of the Russian General Staff Yury Baluyevsky left for China to settle a scandal over the first Russian-Chinese military exercise, Commonwealth-2005, which is due to be held this fall off the Yellow Sea coast, writes Kommersant. The initial plans were to practice operational teamwork in combating terrorism during the exercise. However, Beijing, skillfully changing the format of the exercise, has tried to re-orient the two countries' armies to practicing an invasion of Taiwan. The choice of where the exerci…

Russia, Indonesia Set $1 Billion Arms Deal Moscow Seen Trying to Boost Clout in Asia By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service MOSCOW, Sept. 6 -- During a one-day visit to Indonesia on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin witnessed the signing of a $1 billion arms deal that many analysts here see as part of a broader Russian effort to restore diplomatic and military clout in the Asia-Pacific region and make some money, as well. Indonesia, which until 2005 was under a U.S. arms embargo because of human rights abuses, will purchase Russian tanks, military helicopters and submarines. Last month, Russia said it would sell six fighter jets to Indonesia, the …

Anyone with this edition or access to the USNI website, a vey interesting article can be found pp 38-42 discussing current Indian naval strategies/concerns. It can provide outstanding scenario fodder. I believe that you need "access", but here is the link anyway. Find article here - hopefully. I could always post a copy if it is believed to be "ok"

PORT BLAIR, Andaman Islands --- India has just concluded its most ambitious naval exercise. Called Exercise Malabar 2007, it included the participation of military vessels and aircraft from the United States, Japan, Australia and Singapore. India's navy is positioning itself to dominate its strategic waters while not trying to make waves with China, its biggest potential blue-water rival in Asia. For modern navies, there is no ship more enviable than the aircraft carrier. It can launch squadrons of attack and support planes into the skies within minutes. Among those watching American fighter jets catapulted above the Bay of Bengal from the USS Kitty Hawk was I…

From Defense Aerospace INS Beas Joins the Indian Navy (Source: Indian Press Information Bureau; issued July 11, 2005) INS Beas, the latest Guided Missile Frigate built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata is being commissioned into the Indian Navy on 11 Jul 05 at Kolkata by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash. BEAS, a 3600 tonne warship, is 125 metres in length and a draught of 4.5 metres. The platform is densely packed with state-of-the-art weapons like Barak Anti Missile Defence system, four quad-packs of the URAN Surface-to-Surface missiles, one medium range 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount, four Close range 30mm AK 630 Guns, two…

From Air Force Magazine August 2007, Vol. 90, No. 8 It’s time to stop wondering if China is a military danger. Its buildup answers that question for anyone who had an honest doubt. China Stands Up By Richard Halloran Sun Tzu would be pleased. Some 2,500 years ago, the great Chinese strategist wrote: “The art of war is of vital importance to the state.” Today, communist China, with a rapidly if unevenly expanding economy, has turned to building a world-class military force and mastering the art of modern war, all part of its quest to become the predominant power in Asia. The country’s very name—“Chung Kuo”—means the “Middle Kingdom,” a concept holding th…

Report: Chinese Develop Special "Kill Weapon" to Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers Advanced missile poses substantial new threat for U.S. Navy U. S. Naval Institute March 31, 2009 Find USNI article here. With tensions already rising due to the Chinese navy becoming more aggressive in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy seems to have yet another reason to be deeply concerned. After years of conjecture, details have begun to emerge of a "kill weapon" developed by the Chinese to target and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers. First posted on a Chinese blog viewed as credible by military analysts and then translated by th…

China imposes restrictions on airspace over Senkaku islands (The Diplomat, Pacific Realist) Fact Sheet: China's Air Defense -Zone (DefenseNews) Here's what the ADIZ looks like on a map, the blue line being the existing Japanese ADIZ limit:

From Aviation Week China Developing Scramjet Propulsion Sep 2, 2007 By Craig Covault China is starting to ramp up its scramjet propulsion work—an initiative that will benefit high-speed missile programs while also helping the country to develop advanced aerospace materials, greater computational capabilities and a cadre of young engineers who have matured as a result of cutting-edge engine and aerodynamic challenges. Building on its ramjet experience, China is embracing the much more difficult task of developing Mach 5 air vehicle concepts in which propulsion and aerodynamics are highly coupled. As part of this effort, an integrated scramjet model is abo…

From Flight International DATE: 21/03/08 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com Russia flies first production MiG-29 for Indian navy By Graham Warwick RSK MiG has flown the first production MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian navy. The two-seat MiG-29KUB flew on 18 March from the company's Lukhovitsky test centre near Moscow. MiG is producing 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four tandem-seat MiG-29KUBs under a contract signed in January 2004. The aircraft are to equip the former Soviet navy aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which is being refitted in Russia for delivery to the Indian navy as the INS Vikramaditya. The first of two pre-pr…

Stuff like this has gotta make you wonder if all the weapons performance in military simulations is truly accurate under combat conditions. Editorial from The China Post Armed forces botch attacks 2005/11/1 In another costly botch Taiwan's submarines fired four torpedoes in two many sea maneuvers last year. In the first mock war, two were launched to sink target ships, but neither scored a hit. President Chen Shui-bian, for whom the navy held that exercise, proffered comfort and asked for another torpedo attack. Two were fired, and one of them hit the bull's eye. One hit out of four launches certainly was a costly botch. Now it's the turn of the other two servic…

From Janes Defence Weekly Former DoD official pours cold water on Taiwan's submarine deal with US By Gavin Phipps 01 May 2008 Taiwan's long-delayed purchase of eight diesel-electric attack submarines from the United States is unlikely to go ahead, according to a former US Department of Defense official. The US-based source - an expert on Taiwanese affairs who asked to remain anonymous - told Jane's on 28 April that elements within the US Navy (USN) and Taiwan's own legislature were looking to forestall the USD11.7 billion deal indefinitely. This comes almost four months after Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence submitted a formal letter of request to t…

DefenseNews RIA Novosti

The U.S.-China Military Scorecard: Forces, Geography, and the Evolving Balance of Power, 1996–2017 (RAND, pdf)

From Aviation Week China Appears To Regret Asat Test May 12, 2008 By Frank Morring, Jr. and Amy Butler/Washington China's leaders miscalculated the international reaction to the country's antisatellite (Asat) weapon test last year, and likely regret that they let their research-and-development bureaucracy carry it out, says a top U.S. expert on the Chinese space program. "The Chinese took very careful aim and shot themselves in the foot with that test," says Joan Johnson-Freese, chairman of the National Security Decision-Making Dept. at the U.S. Naval War College. "I think they now are now recognizing that the international condemnation due them was actually…

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog There's Life In The Old Girl Yet Posted by Bill Sweetman at 3/23/2008 11:24 AM CDT Via the invaluable Secret Projects site comes a brochure on Lockheed Martin's F-16IN proposal to India. The options list is a mixture of features from the United Arab Emirates' F-16E/F and the Advanced Block 50 that is standard for other export customers. The active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar is the Northrop Grumman APG-80 from the F-16E/F; the company's newly announced Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) is optimized for retrofits, and unlike the APG-80 does not need added power and cooling. Also from the E/F are the big-screen gl…

From DefenseNews Japan’s Missile Defense System Far from Readiness By ISABEL REYNOLDS, REUTERS, TOKYO While the world keeps a wary eye on signs of a possible North Korean missile test, Japan, perhaps the most nervous of the communist state’s neighbors, remains years away from completing a planned missile defense system. Many experts have cast doubt on the effectiveness of such an interceptor system even when it is fully deployed. Unnerved by North Korea’s 1998 launch of a ballistic missile, part of which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean, Tokyo agreed to introduce elements of the U.S. missile defense system, but the installation process is far fro…