Current Events in Asia-Pacific

Link to download page for ASPI's RAAF capability review 2010 (PDF)

From Defense Aerospace Details of New Japanese 'Helicopter Destroyer' (Source: Forecast International; issued June 17, 2010) TOKYO --- Rumors that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's third "aircraft carrying destroyer" would mark a major improvement in size and capability over the Hyuga class ships now entering service have been confirmed. The new 22DDH will be 248 meters long and 39 meters in beam, and displace more than 24,000 tons. This makes her almost 50 percent larger than the Hyuga class and places an unbearable semantic strain on the use of the term "destroyer" to describe these ships. To put the size of the ship into context, she is comparable wi…

From Aviation Week Indian Navy Pursues Fixed-Wing Carrier AEW Jun 16, 2010 By Asia-Pacific Staff New Delhi The Indian navy is trying to move ahead with an effort to buy four carrier-based fixed airborne early warning and control aircraft, and a request for information is now on the streets. The request for information (RFI) calls for aircraft capable of providing “airborne surveillance, detection and tracking of airborne and surface contacts and control.” The navy presently operates a fleet of nine Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters. The comparatively limited range and time-on-station of an AEW helicopter, however, continues to drive t…

From DefenseNews Chinese Delegates At Shangri-La Express Frustration With N. Korea By WENDELL MINNICK Published: 6 Jun 2010 15:45 SINGAPORE - Members of a Chinese delegation attending the 9th Asia Security Summit earlier this month indicated Beijing officials are flustered by North Korean hijinks. Also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue the summit, held annually in Singapore, is run by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). North Korean issues shared the spotlight at Shangri-La with difficulties over China's refusal to continue military exchanges with the U.S. A Chinese government official at Shangri-La said he "was puzz…

Breaking news, folks, doesn't look good ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8589507.stm http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/26/south...h-korea/?hpt=T2 http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2...000100315F.HTML

From DefenseNews S. Korea Fires Warning Shots at N. Korean Ships AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 16 May 2010 15:16 SEOUL, - South Korea's navy fired warning shots to drive away North Korean patrol boats from the disputed inter-Korean sea border, amid tension over the sinking of a Seoul warship, officials said May 16. The warning shots were fired late May 15 when two North Korean patrol boats violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL) border and strayed into South Korean waters, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff office said. A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP the North's patrol boats retreated without responding to the fire. No casualties occu…

From Jane's Chinese naval J-11s spotted in the open By Ted Parsons 10 May 2010 In early May Chinese military websites featured images outside the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation factory indicating that new single- and twin-seat J-11 fighters are probably being produced for the People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF). The images showed J-11s in a very light grey livery consistent with the PLANAF's Sukhoi Su-30MKK2 fighters, 24 (one regiment) of which were delivered in 2004. The single-seat fighters reportedly have the designation J-11BH, a new variant of the J-11B, which in turn is Shenyang's significantly modified version of Sukhoi's Su-27SK that Shen…

Researching data for Harpoon, I've finded Vikrant preserved as museum in Mumbai, in this interesting site, Warbirdsofindia.com : http://www.warbirdsofindia.com/maharashtra/ins-vikrant.html But not without problems of continuity, I see ... http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mu...how/5798936.cms

From Defense Aerospace Problems with Malaysian Scorpene (Source: Forecast International; issued February 15, 2010) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia --- The Malaysian Navy reports that Malaysia's first Scorpene class submarine, delivered in September 2009, has developed problems that have left it unable to submerge. "The submarine can still dive but when we detected the defects, we were advised that it should not dive," Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said. "The defects are still covered by warranty, so the supplier and contractor are repairing them," he added. This is the third fault found with the Scorpenes built for Malaysia. Malaysian Navy commander…

CV32: Or, is it that Okinawa is needed to defend Taiwan? From DefenseNews U.S. Says Okinawa Base Needed To Defend Japan By SHAUN TANDON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 17 Mar 2010 21:37 WASHINGTON - The United States said March 17 that it needs to maintain a base on the Japanese island of Okinawa to defend the region, as the new government in Tokyo considers scrapping a previous plan. Senior U.S. officials told Congress that while they respected the decisions of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's six-month-old government, they hoped to go ahead with a plan to move the Futenma air base within Okinawa. Michael Schiffer, a senior Pentagon official, told a…

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…