Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Jane's [excerpt]

There's been a massive earthquake off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami that's caused a lot of damage there; there's tsunami warnings out for most of the Pacific Rim. Stay safe, people.

From Ares [excerpt]

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

A new RAND report: Shaking the Heavens and Splitting the Earth: Chinese Air Force Employment Concepts in the 21st Century Download the PDF file here

Inter-Korean Talks Collapse After North's Walkout

DefenseNews RIA Novosti

German Freighter Nordlake sinks Indian Frigate Vindhyagiri source "Times of India" .....

A report on the Indian Air Force's MMRCA fighter competition from the Carnegie Endowment dogfight! (PDF format)

Wired.com report This one's getting some serious traction on the aviation forums and is even getting into the mainstream aviation press now.

From Jane's China discloses new SD-10 combat capabilities By Robert Hewson 01 December 2010 China's SD-10 beyond visual range air-to-air missile (AAM) may be a considerably more capable weapon than has hitherto been believed. Officials from the SD-10's manufacturer, the Luoyang Electro-Optical Technology Development Centre (LOEC), say the SD-10 was designed from the beginning to function with a dual-mode seeker operating in distinct active and passive radar homing modes. If so, the SD-10 (and current production SD-10A) are the first AAMs to enter service with this acknowledged capability. In lengthy discussions with LOEC at the Airshow China 2010 in Zhuhai b…

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

Good morning, Seems that one of the few surviving insects that didn't make it into the daily diet of the North Korean population found itself up someones A** this morning causing DPRK forces to shell ROK forces on Yeonpyeong Island at approximately 1430 local today. ROK forces conducted counter-battery operations and fighters were vectored into the area around the island. 2 ROK Marines were killed and 10 more personnel were wounded. There was the usual amount of damage caused by approximately 200 rounds of artillery. ROK artillery fired approximately 80 rounds into North Korea. The shelling happens during the annual Hoguk military exercise. There have been …

Reporting name "Musudan", looks like a SS-N-6 conversion.

Kopp and the gang continue to be unhappy about the impending demise of the RAAF F-111 force: F-111: Deadly strike fighter to be trashed

I am thinking that Avatar must have been filmed in Indonesia, because apparently the defense ministry there has struck upon a large deposit of unobtainium. Indonesia plans to buy 180 Flankers

From Defense Aerospace U.S., South Korea Plan Anti-submarine Exercise (Source: U.S Department of Defense; issued September 24, 2010) YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea --- South Korean and U.S. forces will conduct an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the waters west of the Korean peninsula Sept. 27 to Oct. 1. The exercise is part of a series of combined naval training events that are defensive in nature and enhance interoperability, officials said. The exercises also are designed to send a clear message of deterrence to North Korea, they added, while improving the overall anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the U.S.-South Korean alliance. Participating uni…

Ares story Seems to have been a navigational error; the pilot would have survived had he not hit a house on landing. Could have been a defection attempt; might not have been.

Apparently, the "Shipwreck" VLS cells are still there... I'm looking forward to this actually getting a new name; I don't like "ex-Varyag". [The title is a pun on "MGM Grand"; a reference to the 'casino' this was apparently being sold to become]

Moskva takes a shot line from the Petr Velikiy, somewhere in the Indian Ocean in May 2010.