Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Defense Aerospace Air Warfare Destroyers – The Foundation Laid (Source: Australian Minister for Defence; issued Oct. 4, 2007) I am pleased to announce the signing of the final contracts to build three Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) for the Royal Australian Navy. At a total cost of approximately A$8 billion, this is the largest naval shipbuilding project ever undertaken in Australia. The signing follows two years of hard work by the AWD team in the design selection phase of the project that resulted in the Australian Government choosing the Spanish Navantia F-100 warship as the platform for Australia’s next generation Hobart-class AWDs. The first o…

From Air Force Magazine, August 2012 [excerpt]

From Navy Times Fallon seeks quick agreement on Kitty Hawk replacement Associated Press (Kyodo) The commander of U.S armed forces in the Pacific told Congress on Wednesday he wants to reach an early agreement with Japan on a replacement of the retiring Japan-based aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. ”I’d like to have some agreement on the issue with Japan,” Adm. William Fallon, commander of the Hawaii-based Pacific Command, told a House of Representatives Armed Services Committee hearing. With the Kitty Hawk slated for retirement in 2008, Congress is urging the military to quickly set out an overall naval deployment plan to offset China’s growing naval power in …

From RIA Novosti 03:50 02/06/2010 Russia will transfer its Nerpa nuclear-powered attack submarine for a 10 year-lease to India in the autumn, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation has said. "The training of the crew has been concluded, most of the tests have been carried out — everything is almost at the finish line," Mikhail Dmitriyev told journalists in New Delhi after a meeting of the Russian-Indian high-level supervisory committee on military and technical cooperation on Tuesday. He said India would receive the K-152 Nerpa submarine in October or November 2010. The lease follows an agreement inked between N…

From http://www.defensenews.com Indonesia Sends Warships to Waters Claimed by Malaysia By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, JAKARTA Indonesia has dispatched three warships to a maritime border area also claimed by Malaysia amid rising tensions in the Sulawesi Sea, a navy spokesman said March 2. The warships were now in the disputed area off the coast of Malaysia’s Sabah state and the Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province, Navy Spokesman First Admiral Abdul Maliki Yusuf told Agence France-Presse. A fourth ship will leave for the area later March 2, Yusuf said, adding the navy also was considering sending a submarine to the area. “It is normal for the Indonesian nav…

From Carnegie Endowment (pdf) [excerpt]

From Defense Aerospace Korea to Develop Super-Fast Flying Boats (Source: Korea Information Service; issued June 23, 2005) The Korean government plans to invest 170 billion won to develop a large-sized watercraft that can cruise at a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour just above water, starting 2006. It will also spend about 70 billion won to establish an Antarctic research center by 2011, in addition to the existing King Sejong Station. The ambitious plans were endorsed on Thursday (June 23) at a meeting of science-related ministers, presided over by Science-Technology Minister Oh Myung. To build watercraft, called wing-in-ground (WIG) veh…

From Defence Talk China To Use Galileo Satellite Navigation System Xinhua News Agency Dec 8, 2006 - 6:17:20 AM Nanjing, China: The European Union's Galileo satellite navigation system, a rival to the reigning global positioning system (GPS) of the United States, is expected to be operational in China in 2008. The 30-satellite system, with a navigational fix accurate to within one meter, will provide safe, reliable and accurate navigational information for Chinese users in fields of civil aviation, railway, waterway and road transportation, according to a Sino-EU technology cooperation symposium in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. China …

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…

China Tests New Electronic Battlefield System By WENDELL MINNICK, TAIPEI DefenseNews China revealed its version of the “digital soldier” concept at its annual North Sword 0709 live-fire exercise, begun Sept. 18 at the Zhurihe training base in northern Inner Mongolia. According to a Xinhua press report, the exercise involved 2,000 soldiers, tanks and other vehicles equipped with electronic devices that instantly relayed data about battlefield conditions back to the command center. The system collected data on causalties, food, ammunition and supplies. “The system could let us know the exact conditions our troops are in under combat; how much ammunition, water and…

Plain and clear situation, from the New York Times (even show clearly Jane's Fighting Ship's open in the bridge on page 144 in "Chinese Frigates", depending on open source intelligence, possible they've a reconnaissance book with parallel failures to this of US Army recent warplanes reconnaissance guide): http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/world/asia/south-china-sea-us-navy.html?_r=0

Reuters.com February 27, 2006 US, Japan To Help Malaysia Boost Strait Security KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The United States is ready to help Malaysia boost security in the vital Malacca Strait once it concludes a pact on joint air patrols with other littoral states, a U.S. defense commander said on Monday. Separately, Malaysia's defense chief said Japan, a major user of the busy sea lane, would provide a ship next month to Malaysia's coast guard to help patrol the strait, which carries roughly a quarter of global trade. Admiral William Fallon, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States was also looking to provide defense equi…

Guam hosts talks on military buildup The Associated Press Posted : Friday Aug 24, 2007 8:30:09 EDT HAGATNA, Guam — U.S. representatives and business leaders converged on Guam this week as preparations for a $15 billion military buildup of the U.S. island territory kick into high gear. About 1,200 businessmen and women from Australia to Japan and New York to San Francisco gathered in Guam hotels to learn how they could profit from the buildup. The U.S. and Japanese governments plan to spend a combined $10 billion moving 8,000 Marines to Guam from the southern Japanese island of Okinawa by 2012. The Navy and Air Force also plan infrastructure upgrades o…

Just come across this article from yesterday. Did something go seriously wrong with the carrier groups procedures? 2 x Tu-142 Bears got within 1 nautical mile of the US Ronald Reagan. One mile!?!?! That sounds pretty close to me? I thought they would have been escorted or directed away well before they got within one mile? http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/29/politics/us-aircraft-carrier-russian-plane-encounter/

From Defense News N. Korea Threatens To Build More Nuclear Bombs By JUN KWANWOO, REUTERS, SEOUL North Korea said March 15 it would strengthen its atomic arsenal in an angry response to upcoming joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which the communist state denounced as nuclear war games. The North justified its possession of nuclear weapons as establishing a balance of power to prevent a nuclear holocaust, ahead of the joint war games in South Korea starting March 19. “The exercises will be nuclear war exercises aimed to invade the North to all intents and purposes in view of their nature, scope and contents,” a foreign ministry spokesman told t…

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 Defense Aerospace Preferred Designer Chosen for AWD Contract (Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Aug. 16, 2005) The Federal Government has chosen Gibbs & Cox as the preferred designer for Navy’s Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) - one of Australia’s largest and most complex Defence projects worth up to $6 billion. Defence Minister Robert Hill said Gibbs & Cox now joins a team made up of ASC Shipbuilder Pty Ltd, who has been selected to build the AWDs, and Raytheon Australia, selected as the Combat System-System Engineer. Senator Hill said Gibbs & Cox, a United States based company, was chosen through a competitive tender eva…

How the U.S. could lose a war with China over Taiwan World Tribune Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace inspected the honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Beijing in late March. Pace was in Beijing to hold talks with China 's top military leaders. (AFP/Elizabeth Dalziel) The Rand Corp., a leading consultant to the Pentagon and the intelligence community, has assessed that China could defeat the United States in a war over Taiwan. Rand said Beijing has developed a strategy meant to deny the U.S. military access to the Straits of Taiwan. In a report that contrasted sharply with the optimism of several U.S. mil…

From Aviation Week India Orders Eight Boeing P-8Is Jan 5, 2009 Neelam Mathews The Indian Navy ordered eight Boeing P-8I multimission aircraft on Jan. 2 to replace its eight aging TU-142s, making for the first direct military sales by Boeing to India. "Clearly, we are pleased that the government of India has selected the P-8Is. India has become the first international customer for P-8s. It is significant for us to partner with this market," said Vivek Lall, vice president and country head, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. There are 30 percent offsets that have been committed by Boeing on the deal. Boeing declined to comment on delivery schedules. "T…