Current Events in Asia-Pacific

http://alert5.com/2012/08/31/photo-first-shenyang-j-16-prototype/comment-page-1/#comment-267727 That looks like an Airfix model - that I've painted.

From Foreign Affairs Pyongbang! Washington’s Korea Conundrum Victor D. Cha April 7, 2009 Summary -- What North Korea hoped to gain from its failed missile launch -- and how Washington can avoid falling into its negotiating trap. VICTOR D. CHA is Associate Professor, Director of Asian Studies, and D. S. Song-Korea Foundation Chair in Asian Studies and Government at Georgetown University. From 2004 to 2007, he served as Director of Asian Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council and Deputy Head of the U.S. delegation to the six-party talks. On Sunday, North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that went farthe…

Quantum Communications and Chinese SSBN Strategy (The Diplomat)

From Flight International DATE:11/09/07 SOURCE:Flightglobal.com Australia's Boeing C-17 fleet passes operational milestone By Emma Kelly The Royal Australian Air Force is ready to put its first two Boeing C-17 strategic transports into operational service, after achieving initial operating capability with the type following eight months of intensive introduction to service activities. Australia received its first of four C-17s in December 2006, with its second having followed in May and the remainder to be delivered by mid-2008. The aircraft, which can carry a load almost four times that of the RAAF's current Lockheed Martin C-130s, will provide “a q…

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

Air force faces strike fighter gap (Sydney Morning Herald)

From Aviation Week Australian Air Force Campaigns For 100 F-35s Dec 3, 2008 By Bradley Perrett The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is stepping up its lobbying efforts for a full order of 100 F-35 Lightning IIs, a number that has been officially endorsed but could easily be trimmed in a defense white paper due next year. The chief of the air force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin, strongly defends the choice of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 as its next fighter, arguing that it will be part of an integrated airpower system and the country could not hope to find better. He also endorses the Boeing 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control Wedgetail and Airbus A330 tanke…

From ARES RAAF Goes for Growlers Posted by Robert Wall at 2/27/2009 1:32 AM CST The Royal Australian Air Force could be the first non-U.S. military service to operate EA-18 Growler electronic attack aircraft under a deal announced in Australia today. The deal is also noteworthy for the fact that it indicates the U.S. is willing to share some of its most advanced technology with close allies -- neither the EA-6B nor EF-111 jammers were exported. The EA-18G deal comes not long after the Pentagon agreed to let the U.K. buy RC-135 Rivet Joints, the highly sensitive signals intelligence system. Australia is not buying new Growlers; instead it would modify 12 o…

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 Aviation Week [excerpt] CV32: Anyone hold Dassault stock?

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…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/philippine-ship-chinese-vessel-collide-in-south-china-sea-beijing/ar-BB1ol1TV?ocid=U507DHP&pc=U507&cvid=2e2efada942749a6a6dea6be6d3c94f6&ei=63 I think we need 'Ram' as a HC weapon?

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 ...

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

From ABC news service https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-19/planned-upgrades-to-collins-class-submarines-scaled-back/106698460?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

From Defence Talk Evolved Design Unveiled for Australia's Next Generation Air Warfare Destroyer Gibbs & Cox Tue, 8 Aug 2006, 12:43 ADELAIDE, Australia: The first images of the Evolved Design for Australia's Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project were unveiled by the Minister of Defence Brendan Nelson in Adelaide at the opening of the new AWD Systems Centre. Three-dimensional animated vision has been released showing the advanced capabilities of the Evolved Design, with 360-degree protection for Australian troops against threats of air, underwater or missile attack. A series of detailed images of the Evolved Design from different angles has also been releas…

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…

This story is garnering wide attention among the defence news websites and blogs. http://38north.org/2013/11/lewis-schilling110513/ (38 North)

From CNN February 20th, 2009 Rebels jets attack Sri Lankan capital Posted: 02:10 PM ET COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) — Two Tamil rebel aircraft swooped into this capital city Friday, with one dropping a bomb that killed at least two people and wounded 47 just before it crashed, officials said. Officials said the casualties occurred in and around the head office building of the Department of Revenue. The wreckage of the plane was found on top of the building. It was not clear if the aircraft was shot down or if the pilot had intended a suicide attack. The building is two blocks away from the Air Force headquarters, which officials believe the attacker meant t…

Recent Changes in Kim Jong Un’s High Command (38 North) Great info here.