Current Events in Asia-Pacific

DefenseNews RIA Novosti

From Jane's [excerpt]

Is China Buying Russia's Su-35 Fighter? (DefenseNews)

PM Says Bangladesh To Buy 1st Submarines (DefenseNews)

Refitted Aircraft Carrier Sails Out From Russia to India (RIA Novosti)

China's Most Important South China Sea Military Base (The Diplomat) With imagery.

North Korea has Begun Dismantlement of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site (38 North)

Reuters.com February 27, 2006 US, Japan To Help Malaysia Boost Strait Security KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The United States is ready to help Malaysia boost security in the vital Malacca Strait once it concludes a pact on joint air patrols with other littoral states, a U.S. defense commander said on Monday. Separately, Malaysia's defense chief said Japan, a major user of the busy sea lane, would provide a ship next month to Malaysia's coast guard to help patrol the strait, which carries roughly a quarter of global trade. Admiral William Fallon, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States was also looking to provide defense equi…

Long march ahead for Chinese naval airpower (Flight Global)

https://theaviationist.com/2017/09/01/upcoming-sky-hunter-movie-featuring-plaaf-combat-aircraft-exposes-chinese-version-of-the-star-wars-canyon/

China Tests New Electronic Battlefield System By WENDELL MINNICK, TAIPEI DefenseNews China revealed its version of the “digital soldier” concept at its annual North Sword 0709 live-fire exercise, begun Sept. 18 at the Zhurihe training base in northern Inner Mongolia. According to a Xinhua press report, the exercise involved 2,000 soldiers, tanks and other vehicles equipped with electronic devices that instantly relayed data about battlefield conditions back to the command center. The system collected data on causalties, food, ammunition and supplies. “The system could let us know the exact conditions our troops are in under combat; how much ammunition, water and…

From Defense Aerospace Russia Likely to Lease 'Shchuka-B' Class Nuke Subs to India (Source: ddi Indian Government news; issued Dec. 15, 2008) Russia could lease 'several' 'Shchuka-B' class nuclear attack submarines to India in coming years though the delivery of the first of the two nuke subs reportedly contracted by India is far behind schedule. The Russian offer comes as Indian Navy has formulated a 20 year plan to produce indigenously 24 conventional submarines. At the same time, the official had ruled out any plans by Moscow to strike similar deals with China. "Yes, there is a real possibility of leasing for ten years several of our nuclear powered mu…

Last week, Harriers and the HMS Ark Royal. This week, the F-111 ... Australia's F-111 retirement to close chapter of aviation history

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

Did China Test its Carrier-Killer? (The Diplomat)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-06/adf-helicopter-evasive-action-chinese-military/106426388?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

Bomb By Bomb, Japan Sheds Military Restraints By Norimitsu Onishi ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — To take part in its annual exercises with the United States Air Force here last month, Japan practiced dropping 500-pound live bombs on Farallon de Medinilla, a tiny island in the western Pacific’s turquoise waters more than 150 miles north of here. The pilots described dropping a live bomb for the first time — shouting “shack!” to signal a direct hit — and seeing the fireball from aloft. “The level of tension was just different,” said Capt. Tetsuya Nagata, 35, stepping down from his cockpit onto the sunbaked tarmac. The exercise would have been unremarkab…

From Naval Open Source Intelligence Blog (http://nosint.blogspot.com/2012/06/vietnam-to-buy-amur-diesel-submarines.html) Russia began to Vietnam to offer an upgraded version of the Kilo class submarines - Amur, this submarine is well suited for patrolling and fighting in the East Vietnam Sea. According to analysts, if Vietnam could buy a fleet of Amur submarines, submarine forces of Vietnam will truly become a powerful force in the region. Amur class submarines can also be equipped with missiles launched from submarines to attack ground targets, so it can fully protect all targets on the coast and the islands of the East Vietnam Sea South. Vietnam Navy can be a p…

From eDefense JASSMs to Fly on Australian F/A-18s Source: Australian Department of Defense Feb. 28, 2006 Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) has been selected as the new long-range air-to-surface missile to equip the Australian Defense Force's F/A-18 Hornet fleet. The acquisition of long-range missiles does not represent a change in Australia's defense posture and capability planning. Acquiring a long-range air-to-surface missile has been publicly listed in Defense Capability Plan since 2001 and specific details were announced in August 2004. The missile is planned to be operational on the aircraft by December 2009. The intro…

From Defense Aerospace Korea to Buy 20 Foreign Fighter Jets Next Year (Source: Korea Overseas Information Service; dated Jan. 18, web-posted Jan. 17, 2007) Korea has decided to choose a foreign contractor through open bidding to supply 20 "next-generation" fighter jets in the coming years, a project to cost around 2.3 trillion won ($2.4 billion), defense officials said Wednesday (Jan. 17). The project follows Seoul's contract with the U.S. company Boeing Co. in 2002 to buy 40 F-15K jets for $4.6 billion. Eighteen jets have been delivered so far, with the remainder to be introduced by next year. "We plan to draw up a detailed plan for the procurement p…