Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog China's "Global Hawk" in Taxi Tests Posted by Graham Warwick at 10/16/2008 11:47 AM CDT This video is doing the rounds on the internet. It appears to show taxi tests of China's Chengdu Aircraft (CAC) Xianglong (Soar Dragon) high-altitude. long-endurance UAV, a model of which was displayed at the Zuhai show in 2006. Video: YouTube link The UAV clearly resembles the Global Hawk in configuration, but the relatively small size of the engine (here seen without its full nacelle) has caused some comment. Data displayed at Zuhai showed the Xianglong to be 14.3m long, with a 25m span, a takeoff weight of 7,500kg with a payload of 650…

My abbreviated version ... 330x PAC-3 missiles, 4x MPQ-65 radars, etc 30x AH-64D Apache Longbow helos, 17 APG-78 Longbow radars, 173x Stinger Block I air to air missiles, 1,000x AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles 32x UGM-84L Sub Harpoon missiles Spares for F-5E/F, C-130H, F-16A/B, and Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) Retrofit of four E-2T Hawkeye AEW&C aircraft to the Hawkeye 2000 standard *** From Defense Aerospace Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States – PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 Guided Missiles (Source: U.S Defence Security Cooperation Agency; issued October 3, 2008) WASHINGTON --- Today the Defense Secu…

From Flight International DATE: 06/10/08 SOURCE: Flight International Eurofighter gets serious about Japan's F-X contest By Siva Govindasamy The Eurofighter Typhoon is becoming a serious contender in Japan's forthcoming F-X fighter competition, with industry sources saying that Tokyo is taking the European fighter more seriously in the much-anticipated tender. "If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said that the Typhoon did not have a chance due to the close US-Japan ties. I am no longer sure of that," says a Tokyo-based industry source close to the Japanese defence ministry. "Washington's continued refusal to release information on the [Lockheed …

From Flight International DATE: 03/10/08 SOURCE: Flight International China embarks on naval fighter training programme By Siva Govindasamy China is gearing up to form its first naval fighter fleet, with local newspapers reporting that around 50 cadet pilots have started training with a naval academy. "The first pilot programme of recruiting pilot cadets is an important decision of the PLA [People's Liberation Army] navy to realise a strategic transformation," says the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military. "The first batch of pilot cadets will receive a four-year education in the shipborne aircraft flight field of study. They wil…

From Defense Aerospace India Likely to Buy More Carrier Borne Mig-29K Fighters (Source: ddi Indian government news; issued Sept. 25, 2008) India is to buy 30 more carrier borne Mig-29K (Fulcrum-D) fighters for the Indian navy and an agreement to this effect would be firmed up during the upcoming visit of Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov's to India next week. Serdyukov's tour here at the head of a high level officials and industry delegation is also likely to pave the way for signing of the new contract for acquisition and delivery of the carrier Admiral Gorshkov, according to top officials in Moscow. Russians have demanded a price escalation of …

From Flight International DATE: 23/09/08 SOURCE: Flight International Wrangling over Raptor By Siva Govindasamy Would it surprise anyone if the favourite song right now in Japan's Ministry of Defence is The Rolling Stones' You can't always get what you want? For the last two years, Japan's politicians and civil servants have been intensely lobbying their counterparts in the USA to secure information on the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor for their country's upcoming F-X competition. Their efforts have only led them to a brick wall. Being one of Washington's closest allies in East Asia is not enough to get access to data on the highly coveted fifth-genera…

From Defense Aerospace More Reason to Release the Air Combat Capability Review (Source: Australian Liberal Party (Opposition); issued Sept. 12, 2008) Lockheed’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has flown into a storm of controversy in Australia and the Netherlands, amid reports it was comprehensively defeated by Sukhoi Su-35s in a wargame. The dangers of having an indecisive Defence Minister became more apparent last night when Mr Fitzgibbon validated the flimsiest of rumours about the Joint Strike Fighter. Instead of jumping at shadows, Mr Fitzgibbon should immediately release the Air Combat Capability Review so we can see what Australia’s defence experts reall…

Janes 04/08/2008 A new armed naval variant of China's Z-9 helicopter has been rolled out, fitted with a new anti-ship missile. Developed from Harbin's Z-9C shipboard helicopter, already in service with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, the latest aircraft is designated Z-9D. An image taken recently at the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group facility in the northeastern city of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, shows what appears to be the prototype Z-9D armed with a Hongdu radar-guided TL-10B (KJ-10B) missile. This is the first time that an anti-ship missile has been seen on a Chinese naval helicopter. The image also confirms that the air-launched TL-10 pro…

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog Navy Reacts To Missile Threats Posted by Bill Sweetman at 8/14/2008 7:00 AM CDT Tests this summer of Raytheon Standard Missile 2 weapons from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie were intended to demonstrate technology for a quick-reaction defense against ballistic missiles in their terminal phase. In the dry terminology of missile defense, this may not sound critical, but it indicates that the Navy is very worried about a new threat: the anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). Indications are that China, in particular, is developing an ASBM - an intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a guided warhead. The weapon outranges any…

From Stratfor China, the Olympics and the Visa Mystery July 29, 2008 By Rodger Baker Something extraordinary is happening in China, and we are not talking about the Olympics. Rather, Chinese officials have been clamping down on visa applications and implementing bureaucratic impediments to new and renewed visa applications under the guise of pre-Olympic security. In some ways, Beijing’s plan for a safe and secure Olympics appears based on the premise that if no one shows up, there can be no trouble. But placing restrictions on the movement of managers and employees of foreign businesses operating in China, even if for a limited time as Chinese officials have…

Amazingly our Aussie sub didn't break down, sink or miss. Video Used a Mark 48 Mod 7 (CBASS) do we have these in Harpoon ?

A nice pic from the Pitch Black '08 exercise, a biennial exercise held in Australia that focuses on offensive counter air (OCA) and defensive counter air training. Participants included Australia, the U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, France, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and NATO. More here: http://www.defence.gov.au/pitchblack08/gal...0625b/index.htm

Nice set of photos ... From Aviation Week's ARES Blog Eurotorp's MU90 Finally Fired From Australian Warship Posted by Joris Janssen Lok at 6/23/2008 1:29 AM CDT Australia's Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) successfully test fired the new Franco-Italian Eurotorp MU90 lightweight anti-submarine warfare (ASW) torpedo late last week, the country's defense minister Joel Fitzgibbon says. “While the MU90 Lightweight Torpedo has been successfully tested in Europe, this Acceptance Test and Evaluation exercise represents the first time an MU90 Lightweight Torpedo has been fired from an Australian warship,” Fitzgibbon says. The test firing happened from the A…

From Flight International DATE: 10/06/08 SOURCE: Flight International BREAKING NEWS: Wedgetail 737 deliveries to Australia slip again By Andrew Doyle First deliveries of Boeing 737 airborne early warning and control system aircraft to launch customer Australia have been hit by a further four-month delay. The US manufacturer says the initial operational capability date for the first pair of aircraft under Australia's Wedgetail surveillance programme has slipped to July 2009, due to the need to "extend validation and flight test". The project - which had already been running around two years late - has also encountered delays in development of the airc…

From RIA Novosti Russian 'killer of aircraft carriers' starts drills in Pacific 15:45 | 26/ 05/ 2008 VLADIVOSTOK, May 26 (RIA Novosti) - The Varyag, a Russian Slava-class missile cruiser dubbed 'the killer of aircraft carriers,' has started a series of live-firing exercises in the Pacific for the first time since a recent overhaul, a fleet spokesman said Monday. Varyag, the flagship of the Russian Pacific Fleet, was commissioned in Russia's Pacific Fleet in 1989 and re-entered service in early 2008 following a major refit that lasted almost a year. "The Varyag's crew is scheduled to conduct a series of live firing drills against ground, surface, and air t…

My favorite CSG. From Navy Times Reagan, strike group preparing to deploy Posted : Tuesday May 13, 2008 8:22:45 EDT SAN DIEGO — More than 7,000 sailors will leave home next week when the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group deploys from San Diego for a scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf regions. The seven-ship naval force, led by Rear Adm. James Wisecup, commander of Carrier Strike Group 7 in San Diego, will leave next Monday, Navy officials announced. “This deployment reinforces the Navy’s Maritime Strategy of limiting regional conflict with forward-deployed, decisive maritime power and fostering cooperative relationships in…

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 Jane's Intelligence Digest China-US hotline could stay cool 01 May 2008 On 10 April, Chinese General Liang Guanglie and United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates conducted their first phone conversation using the new "hotline" linking the Chinese and US defence establishments. During the call, Liang berated Gates for selling arms to Taiwan and for maintaining ties with the Taiwanese defence community. Gates in turn warned Liang that Washington would resist attempts by either Beijing or Taipei to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. The exchange epitomises why the Sino-American military hotline is unlikely to overcome the misunderstandings, …

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…

From DefenseNews Russia Wants $1.2B Boost to Refit Carrier By vivek raghuvanshi Published: 30 Apr 11:37 EDT (07:37 GMT) NEW DELHI - Russia has asked India to increase the price of refitting the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov by as much as $1.2 billion above the contracted amount. Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony officially provided the escalated figure for the first time April 30 in replying to a question in Parliament. "The price escalation proposed by the Russian side is $1,202 million," Antony said. "The process of examination of the scope and necessity for additional work projected by the Russian side has been initiated." Under a contract worth…