Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From DefenseNews China Builds First Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Base? By WENDELL MINNICK Published: 5 Aug 2010 07:49 TAIPEI - China's new anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) will be deployed at the Second Artillery Corps' new missile base in Guangdong Province in southeastern China, if a new report issued by Washington-based Project 2049 Institute is correct. <snip for copyright>

Navy launches show of force off Iran coast By Barbara Surk - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday May 23, 2007 9:12:42 EDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Navy staged its latest show of military force off the Iranian coast Wednesday, sending two aircraft carriers and landing ships packed with 17,000 Marines and sailors to carry out unannounced exercises in the Persian Gulf. The strike groups led by the carriers John C. Stennis and Nimitz were joined by the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard and its own strike group, which includes landing ships carrying members of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The Navy said nine U.S. warships passed throu…

First images, and a clear attempt of dissinformative information ... http://www.warisboring.com/2012/06/24/a-ne...tealth-fighter/

From ARES Blog On The Nose - Making Missiles go Faster Posted by Graham Warwick at 11/10/2008 9:38 AM CST Indian researchers say they have tested a novel and simple way to reduce the drag and increase the range of high-speed missiles. In hypersonic shock-tunnel tests reported in the journal Physics of Fluids, the technique resulted in a 47% reduction of drag on a blunt cone representing the nosecone of a missile or space vehicle. Blunt noses are used to reduce the aerothermal loads on missiles at high speed, but they increase wave drag. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore tested various ways of reducing drag, including mounting …

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 Reuters [excerpt]

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

From AFP More than 20 killed in Russian nuclear sub accident: spokesman 2 hours ago MOSCOW (AFP) — More than 20 people were killed and another 20 injured when a fire extinguishing system was inadvertently activated aboard a Russian nuclear submarine in the Pacific Ocean, the Russian navy said Sunday. "During sea trials of a nuclear-powered submarine of the Pacific Fleet the firefighting system went off unsanctioned, killing over 20 people, including servicemen and workers," said Captain Igor Dygalo, the navy's spokesman. The accident did not apparently affect the submarine's nuclear reactor. "The submarine is not damaged, its reactor works as normal, a…

China's Army Hacked Pentagon Network Deutsche Presse-Agentur | September 04, 2007 Military.com China's Army hacked into a computer network at the Pentagon in an attack that has US officials concerned about the growing regularity and sophistication of China's technological assaults, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. Computer specialists with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) penetrated an unclassified network used by policy aides to US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in June, resulting in a weeklong shutdown of the system, the newspaper said in a report that quoted unnamed US officials. The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disabl…

Los Angeles Times April 16, 2007 N. Korea Reminded To Fulfill Its Pledge U.S. is displeased by the failure to shut a nuclear reactor but says it will wait a few more days. By Associated Press SEOUL — The U.S. said Sunday that North Korea must act within days on a pledge to halt its nuclear weapons program, after the Pyongyang government failed to meet a Saturday deadline to shut down and seal a nuclear reactor. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Washington was prepared "to hold on for a few more days" after his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, asked the U.S. for patience. "We're not happy that the [North] essentially has missed…

Keating urges sharing maritime security info By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press Posted : Monday Apr 16, 2007 7:18:42 EDT KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The top U.S. commander in the Pacific on Monday said countries lining the Malacca Strait have vastly improved the security and safety of the important trade route in the last five years. Adm. Timothy Keating also said that sharing maritime security information among military officials, diplomats and commercial shipping operators was an integral part of U.S. goals to boost regional stability. “It’s of critical importance to us,” said Keating told a joint news conference with Gen. Abdul Aziz Zainal, the chief…

From Aviation Week [Hot on the heels of the report of a request by Israel for export of the F-22 ... ] F-22 attractive to Japan as missile threats grow David A. Fulghum/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Japanese military officials are eyeing the F-22 Raptor as an antidote to growing regional missile threats, Aviation Week & Space Technology will report on April 23. The Lockheed Martin-built fighter is expected to become a key element in missile defense because it can detect and destroy small cruise missiles and also evade sophisticated air defenses to bomb ballistic missile launch sites. Whether Japanese law might be interpreted to allow the countr…

From Navy Times Kitty Hawk returns to Japan after China snub By Eric Talmadge - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Nov 27, 2007 6:58:19 EST YOKOSUKA, Japan — The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and its battle group returned to Japan on Tuesday after being refused entry for a port call in Hong Kong, where the ships were set to mark Thanksgiving. The Kitty Hawk, which has its home port in this city just south of Tokyo, was forced to return to Japan early when Chinese authorities at the last minute refused to allow the warship and its escort vessels to enter Hong Kong harbor. “We are befuddled at this point,” said battle group commander Rear Adm. Rick Wren. …

Source: Engineers unveil long range, fuel cell-powered UAV | Korea.net News Note:

PRC navy faces issues with carrier protection By Cheng Ta-chen Taipei Times Tuesday, Apr 24, 2007, Page 8 Advertising Advertising The media have begun to hype up news of plans by China to obtain a new aircraft carrier. This kind of attention has its precedents, such as recent rumblings that China was in the process of building a nuclear-powered carrier, or that it planned to deploy two carrier groups in the Sea of Japan and the South China Sea. It is difficult to know what to make of all these developments. A carrier group requires effective integration of fighting forces in the air, on the water and below the surface. Even if China could overcome the tech…

From Navy Times Commander confident Navy can control Pacific By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Mar 13, 2007 8:11:13 EDT Forward-deploying the aircraft carrier George Washington in Japan will help the Navy keep Southeast Asia, home to the world’s most populous Muslim nation, from becoming a “front line in the war on terror,” Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Gary Roughhead said in an online chat session March 5. Roughhead chatted with readers of the Honolulu Advertiser’s Web site in a moderated question-and-answer session about his command, the world’s largest, which includes 102 million square miles, 190 ships and submarines, 1,400 aircraft, 191,000…

Excellent and informative article on China's missile forces: http://geimint.blogspot.com/2009/04/dragon...lery-corps.html

From Defense Aerospace China's Defense Budget to grow 17.6% in 2008 (Source: Chinese Government Portal; issued March 4, 2008) China plans to increase its defense budget by 17.6 percent in 2008, a parliament spokesperson said in Beijing on Tuesday. The planned defense budget for 2008 was 417.769 billion yuan, a rise of 62.379 billion yuan from last year, Jiang Enzhu, spokesman for China's top legislature's annual session, told a press conference. (ends) China Military Expansion Could Have Global Implications (Source: US Department of Defense; issued March 3, 2008) WASHINGTON --- China not only is a rising international economic power, but also …

Inter-Korean Talks Collapse After North's Walkout

From DefenseNews Posted 10/16/07 16:16 Thailand Picks Sweden’s Gripen for $1B Fighter Deal By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BANGKOK Thailand will purchase 12 Swedish-made jet fighters over the next decade for 34.4 billion baht ($1 billion), the head of the air force said Oct. 17. The first lot of six JAS-39 Gripen fighters will be bought by 2011, with a second lot of six jets purchased by 2017, air force chief Chalit Phukphasuk told reporters. The Gripens, manufactured by Sweden’s Saab, will replace aging American F-5E fighters, which will be rotated out of service in 2011, he added. "It is necessary to purchase the new jet fighters to replace the retiring fighters, …