Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Now we're living in a very changing and multipolar world, indeed (something similar to pre-WWI ?). In short, a Chinese/Brazilian accord to train chinese naval pilots in the Brazilian CV Sao Paulo, previously to the delivery to the chinese navy of the CV ex-Varyag. In correspondence, Brazil obtains (at least) the Chinese support to obtain a permanent membership in the UN Security Council: http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=112412

Here is interesting fodder for scenario designers. I do not believe that it has been posted previously. A Question of Balance Pete

Watching this images, I was thinking if Ady Gil/Earthrace is a trimaran, and LCS-2 is a trimaran, is the bigger pretended weapon of LCS-2 the ram ? (if not, why is the anchor in LCS-2 placed in front of the bow ?) http://www.ussindependenceship.org/overview_ship.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthrace (incidentally, Sagunto is very near my home town). At least, I hope LCS-2 must be stronger than Ady Gil ...

Japan has ordened two big CVH, in his previous line of building aircraft carrier ships. Named 22DDH, they're 248 meters long and 30.000-40.000 tons displacement (I suppose capables for 20-30 aircraft, including F-35B). The infophotos in the article send a good perception of proportion between the old and new classes (in French): http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=112007

I noticed this in 'The Australian' newspaper (november 24th). The link to the www article is: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/natio...f-1225802738569 The summary: OFF-the-shelf military purchases offer big savings and reduced risk for taxpayers compared with do-it-yourself, but come with a major trade-off -- a potential sacrifice of the nation's defence self-sufficiency, a federal government-backed security think tank warned yesterday. The article mentions some of our recent less than ideal R&D and design/ building efforts and compares them to some recent success with straight purchases such as USA battle tanks. Considering we don't even make our own washing …

Reading the recent news report about the finding of the japanese submarines I-201 (advanced faster than Type XXI) and the seaplane-carrying I-14 (both and others sunked by the USN after the war in 1946, near Hawaii): http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/...rai+subs++found http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/science/13wreck.html?_r=2 Some basic facts in the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-201_class_submarine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_submarine_I-14 I've find in the Wikipedia references about this strange and intriguing film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_and_High_Water_(film) May be somebody can imagine a scenario based in the film

From Aviation Week China Close To Testing Next-Gen Fighter Nov 16, 2009 Bradley Perrett/Beijing A Chinese fighter of nominally the same technology generation as the Lockheed Martin F-22 will soon enter flight testing, while a jet airlifter larger than the Airbus A400M should be unveiled by year-end. Beijing’s fighter announcement suggests a serious failing in U.S. intelligence assessments, mocking a July 16 statement of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates that China would have no fifth-generation fighters by 2020. Industrial competition looks more remote than strategic competition, however, since China will want to fill domestic requirements before offering …

From Aviation Week Race is on for India MMRCA Sep 21, 2009 By Neelam Mathews Flight trials for India’s biggest defense procurement program, the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), are underway. India will acquire 126 aircraft—86 single-seat and 40 twin-seat configurations. The air force requirement for the MMRCA is based on a maximum all-up weight of 14,000-30,000 kg. (31,000-66,000 lb.). India plans to procure 18 aircraft in flyaway condition and produce 106 locally under license through technology transfer. Delivery starts within 36 months of contract signing and will be completed 48 months later. The contenders are the Boeing F/A-18, Lockheed M…

From BBC News Page last updated at 09:54 GMT, Wednesday, 8 July 2009 10:54 UK Kim Jong-il appears at memorial North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has made a rare public appearance for commemorations of the 15th anniversary of his father's death. Observers said he looked gaunt and limped slightly while entering the crammed auditorium where the ceremony was held in the capital Pyongyang. It was the second major state event the 67-year-old has attended since suffering a suspected stroke in August. His poor health has led to concerns of a power struggle if he dies suddenly. Wednesday's memorial came after Pyongyang carried out UN-banned ballistic missile …

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 DefenseNews Saab: Gripen Still in Race for Indian Contract By GERARD O'DWYER Published: 8 Jul 2009 18:21 HELSINKI - Saab has rejected a July 5 report by the Jerusalem Post that the Sweden-based company has been eliminated from India's multibillion-dollar combat jet competition. The newspaper reported that the United States refused to allow Israel to supply an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for Saab's Gripen fighter jet, prompting the elimination. "Our AESA focus is on our partnership with Selex Galileo, which we reached in March," a Saab spokesman said. "Together, we will jointly develop a new radar based on Selex's AESA Vixen and …

With details of the DPRK's missile launches over the weekend ... From Aviation Week Japan Considering THAAD Missile Defense Jul 6, 2009 By Bradley Perrett Beijing Japan is considering adding the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system as a third layer to its ballistic-missile defenses, according to an official leak evidently prompted by North Korea’s July 4 tests of R-17 and Rodong rockets. Three or four installations of the Lockheed Martin THAAD system could cover all of Japan, says the Mainichi newspaper in an unattributed report presumed to be based on government-leaked information. THAAD’s range is secret, but the Mainichi’s sour…

From Defense Aerospace Op-Ed: Japan & F-22: Why Not Reward a Reliable Ally? (Source: Lexington Institute; issued June 9, 2009) If there's one concept that the Obama Administration's national-security team really likes, it's partnering. Obama stressed global partnering when he was running for President, the security agenda posted on the White House web-site cites it as a key goal, and it is one of five "strategic principles" underpinning the quadrennial defense review. There's even a deputy secretary in the Pentagon's reorganized policy shop assigned to "partnership strategy." Of course, the Obama team didn't discover partnering. The Bush Administration's …

Gleaned from recce by Information Dissemination, here's a thoughtful article on Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) development, in its entirety: From Chinese ASBM Development: Knowns and Unknowns Chinese ASBM Development: Knowns and Unknowns Publication: China Brief Volume: 9 Issue: 13 June 24, 2009 By: Andrew S. Erickson China wants to achieve the ability, or at minimum the appearance of the ability, to prevent a U.S. carrier strike group (CSG) from intervening in the event of a future Taiwan Strait crisis. China may be closer than ever to achieving this capability with land-based anti-ship homing ballistic missiles. There have been many Western re…

From Defence Talk Russia to lease only one nuclear sub to India Navy News — By RIA Novosti on June 23, 2009 at 5:20 am MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian government official dismissed on Monday media rumors that Russia planned to lease several nuclear submarines to India, saying a contract envisioned only the transfer of the Nerpa vessel. "We will lease only one submarine. In my opinion, India needs the sub more for enhancing its prestige rather than for accomplishing specific goals," Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti. India reportedly paid $65…

From Navy Times Sources: Navy was tracking Chinese sub By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Posted : Friday Jun 19, 2009 12:10:00 EDT Two defense officials have confirmed that the crew aboard the destroyer John S. McCain was tracking the submarine that struck its towed sonar array June 10 in the South China Sea off the Philippines. The officials, who are familiar with the incident but were not authorized to speak on the subject, confirmed the array, which trailed up to a mile behind the ship, was hit by a Chinese navy submarine, although it was not sighted on the surface. Days after the incident, Chinese officials acknowledged that the submarine was theirs. T…

No need to link to a report on this- it's making many front pages. What were those short-range missiles they were testing?

From Flight Global DATE: 03/06/09 SOURCE: Flight International Malaysia to phase out troublesome MiG-29 fighters By Siva Govindasamy Malaysia has announced plans to phase out its RSK MiG-29N fighters over the next few years, with the fleet having been plagued by problems since it bought the type in the early 1990s. "I have decided that from next month, the aircraft will be phased out and we should find a way to sell them to certain companies or countries approved by the United Nations," Malaysia's new defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the official Bernama news agency. The minister did not say what would replace the MiG-29s, which are operated …

From DNA India French 'Rafale' aircraft out of India's MMRCA race PTI Thursday, April 16, 2009 19:14 IST New Delhi: French fighter aircraft 'Rafale' has been knocked out of India's biggest-ever military tender to purchase 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) estimated to be worth over 10 billion dollar. Defence Ministry sources said it rejected the 'Rafale' bid from the French manufacturer D'assault after careful and cumbersome technical evaluation process that began in May last and ended in February this year. With this, the race for the mother-of-all-deals, as the MMRCA tender is described here, was reduced to fi…

I found this very interesting link while cruising around ConSimWorld. It's an open source analysis of Taiwan's SAM Networks with plenty of maps and other images. I though it might find a home in HG/Weblinks/Sources, but was not able to post it there. Either way, some interesting information. Taiwanese SAM's