Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Naval War College Review, Winter 2012 Beijing's "Starter Carrier" and Future Steps (PDF)

From Flight International DATE: 25/06/10 SOURCE: Flight International Boeing applies to export F-15SE to South Korea By Stephen Trimble Boeing has applied for an export licence to brief South Korea on sensitive details of a stealthier version of the F-15E that is within a few months of its first flight. The US government approved an export policy in the second quarter for the F-15SE Silent Eagle after Boeing submitted details of its radar cross-section about six months earlier, says Brad Jones, Boeing programme director for F-15 development programmes. The export policy allows Boeing to request an export licence for specific customers, with South Kor…

From Flight International DATE: 25/02/08 SOURCE: Flight International Boeing expects to seal Seoul deal for F-15Ks By Craig Hoyle South Korea should conclude a deal on a follow-on batch of 20 Boeing F-15K multirole fighters within the next month, says F-15 programme director Steve Winkler. The manufacturer also believes other potential fresh orders from existing Eagle users Japan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore could extend production of the type beyond 2012. Boeing has now delivered 32 F-15Ks from South Korea's 40-strong order worth $4.2 billion, with the rest to follow by late this year. Although Seoul held an original requirement for 120 F-X fighters, Win…

From Defence Aerospace Boeing Rolls Out First F-15K for Republic of Korea Air Force (Source: Boeing Co.; issued March 16, 2005) ST. LOUIS --- The Boeing Company revealed the first F-15K Strike Eagle fighter aircraft for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) today at the Boeing site in St. Louis, Mo. The aircraft unveiled at the event completed its first flight March 3 and is the first of 40 F-15Ks being built for the ROKAF. The ROKAF is investing $4.2 billion for the 40 F-15Ks and deliveries will begin this year and end in August 2008. “Boeing is thankful we can produce this world-class fighter for the Republic of Korea,” said Jim Albaugh, Boeing I…

From Defense Aerospace Boeing Rolls Out First F-15SG to Singapore (Source: Boeing; issued November 3, 2008) Boeing has rolled out the first of 24 F-15SG fighters ordered by Singapore. Deliveries are scheduled for mid-2009 to 2012. (Boeing Co. photo) ST. LOUIS --- The Boeing Company today rolled out the first F-15SG jet fighter to the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). The F-15SG is a variant of the highly capable, combat-proven F-15E. "The rollout of F-15SG1, on schedule, demonstrates that we're off to a great start as the RSAF builds to a procurement of 24 F-15SG aircraft," said Mark Bass, Boeing F-15 Program vice president. "The F-15SG has sig…

Boeing Undercuts Rivals In South Korea Fighter Contest: Sources (Aviation Week)

Bomb By Bomb, Japan Sheds Military Restraints By Norimitsu Onishi ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — To take part in its annual exercises with the United States Air Force here last month, Japan practiced dropping 500-pound live bombs on Farallon de Medinilla, a tiny island in the western Pacific’s turquoise waters more than 150 miles north of here. The pilots described dropping a live bomb for the first time — shouting “shack!” to signal a direct hit — and seeing the fireball from aloft. “The level of tension was just different,” said Capt. Tetsuya Nagata, 35, stepping down from his cockpit onto the sunbaked tarmac. The exercise would have been unremarkab…

From Air Force Magazine, December 2011 issue [excerpt]

From Defense Aerospace Brahmos Crosses Another Milestone, Vertically Ship-Launched (Source: Press Information Bureau India; issued December 18, 2008) The BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile was launched from a Naval Warship in the Bay of Bengal today. The DRDO said the launch from the mobile platform was successful and all mission objectives have been met. This is the first time the missile was launched from a universal vertical launcher fitted in a new ship. All earlier launches of BrahMos missile were carried out from inclined launchers. With this, the BrahMos missile development programme achieved a milestone as most present day warships are fitted with …

Bulldogs Away 2022 Fiction Essay Contest Winner (Proceedings, November 2022)

Source: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/natio...es/2438160.aspx Teaser: American nuclear submarines could call Australia home if a proposal by two of Australia's leading Defence experts is included in the 2014 Defence White Paper. This WP should be an interesting read. This could provide an interesting twist for A-P area scenario design.

From http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2012/09/camp-bastion-attack-shocks-isa.html [excerpt]

From Army Times March 09, 2005 Base in Korea closes Associated Press CAMP PAGE, South Korea — Thumping helicopters streamed out of the U.S. military base Camp Page Wednesday, as soldiers packed trucks with equipment to prepare for moving as part of Washington’s plan to reduce its forces in South Korea. The base is to be closed and turned over to South Korea by the end of March in line with U.S. plans to restructure its deployment of overseas forces in order to focus more on anti-terrorism operations. Some 12,500 troops will depart by 2008, leaving 24,500 soldiers in this country as part of the military presence that the United States has maintained here …

Airsea Battle VS Offshore Control: Can the US Blockade China? (The Diplomat)

From ARES Canadian Def. Minister Slams NATO Posted by Paul McLeary at 2/17/2009 10:54 AM CST It looks like the United States isn’t the only NATO member getting frustrated with the way its allies are conducting themselves in Afghanistan. Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay—whose troops are in the thick of the fight in Kandahar, having lost 108 troops in the war thus far—recently called out the rest of the alliance, giving voice to his frustrations in a speech in London: "Afghanistan tests the ability of the alliance to execute its most basic mission in the 21st century and in a global context…If NATO cannot deter or defeat the real physical threat facin…

From DefenseNews Slated U.S. Carrier Visit to Yellow Sea Irks China By WENDELL MINNICK Published: 13 Aug 2010 10:17 TAIPEI - Chinese government and state-run media outlets are angrily protesting the Pentagon's Aug. 5 announcement to send the aircraft carrier George Washington into the Yellow Sea (West Sea) in upcoming exercises with South Korea. The exact date the aircraft carrier would enter the Yellow Sea was not released. The George Washington did not enter the Yellow Sea during exercises last month, supposedly after Chinese objections, but plans to do so in upcoming exercises have once again enraged Beijing. China "won't stand for U.S. naval provocat…

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

From Aviation Week China adds precision strike to capabilities Apr 8, 2009 By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. China has been developing and purchasing weapons for precision-strike warfare. This is the hard edge of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) doctrinal drive toward using increasingly sophisticated information technologies such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) to improve the capabilities of weapon systems (DTI March, p. 39). The PLA’s near-term goals appear to be greater asymmetric capabilities to target U.S. naval assets in the western Pacific and in space as part of an anti-access strategy. Lon…

Hmm, does this mean a China vs India scenario is no longer "realistic" ? From DefenseNews China, India Sign Military Accord By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING China and India signed an agreement May 30 to expand defense ties, the Chinese foreign ministry said, in a deal that is expected to see the neighbors conduct more military training exercises. The memorandum of understanding was signed during a visit by Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters. ”Military exchanges will be an important part of bilateral ties,” Liu said. ”Reinforcement of mutual trust and exchanges will be beneficial for…