Asian Defence

Iran To React Immediately If Attacked : Says Iran's UN Ambassador Mohammad Khazaei

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:51:00 +0000

Iran's United Nations Ambassador Mohammad Khazaei

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei has warned that any aggression against the Islamic Republic will be swiftly met with 'appropriate' action.

Iran would not hesitate to act in self-defense and respond to any attacks on its territories, IRNA quoted a formal letter of complaint by Iran's UN envoy to the world body's Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday.

Khazaei lashed out at the "inflammatory remarks and baseless allegations" made recently by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and underlined that the Islamic Republic would take appropriate defensive measures to protect itself.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its deep concern over such remarks, and strongly condemns the provocative, unjustifiable and irresponsible comments," the senior Iranian diplomat noted.

Sarkozy warned on August 31 that Iran's alleged attempts to build long-range missiles and “nuclear weapons” could lead unnamed countries to launch a pre-emptive attack.

French president's accusations against Iran comes as the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Iran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

http://www.presstv.ir/

CAG Accuse Indian Navy For Buying MiG-29K's Without Weapons

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:50:00 +0000

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report slammed the Ministry of Defence and the Navy for buying war planes that do not have weapons. It also pointed a finger at the Indian Air Force (IAF) for having ‘let off’ three of its officers who caused a loss of Rs 302 crore when a sensitive aerostat radar got damaged.

The CAG, in its report tabled in both Houses of Parliament, said the Indian Navy followed a flawed approach in acquiring its fighter aircraft fleet by not finalising the associated weapon package. The CAG said that 11 out of 16 MiG 29K aircraft, acquired at a cost of $740.35 million (Rs 3,405.61 crore), been delivered in December 2009 and May 2011. No matching armament, for which a contract was signed in March 2006, has been delivered as on October 2010, thereby adversely affecting the operational capabilities of the aircraft.

Further, the Navy has selected a ‘beyond visual range’ (BVR) missile with an unsatisfactory track record. Lastly, the complete armament package finalised for the aircraft contains certain ammunition, worth $20.98 million (Rs 93.68 crore) which did not have the approval of the competent authority.

The MiG 29K is a deck-based fighter meant for seaborne aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov). At present, the fighters are based at a land base in Goa as the aircraft carrier itself has not arrived.

The agreement was signed under an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and Russia in October 2000 for the procurement of an aircraft carrier along with the MiGs for onboard operations. The Ministry of Defence in January 2004 concluded a contract with Russian Aircraft Corporation (RAC-MIG) for procurement of the MiG 29K aircraft. The weapons package was postponed and de-linked from the negotiations for the aircraft.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/

Israeli Hermes 900 UAV Can Reach Iran

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:49:00 +0000

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) will soon acquire the “Hermes 900” Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) manufactured by Elbit Systems Ltd.

Asenior IAF officer Said that the IAF is co-partner in the development of the model, which will be assigned to the squadron currently operating the “Hermes 450”, another Elbit Systems product.

Built as a medium-altitude long-endurance aircraft, many of the Hermes 900’s features are twice the size of those in the older model. With its 15- meter wingspan, carrying capacity of 350 kilograms (maximum), and cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, Hermes 900 can remain aloft twice as long – over forty hours - as the earlier model.

Experts believe that its long-endurance capability and satellite communication systems will enable it to operate in ranges of thousands of kilometers, thus reaching countries as distant as Iran.

Hermes 900 carries equipment under its belly and wings. Cameras and other visual devices can be quickly replaced for daytime or nighttime missions.

The air force is testing the UAVs in the designated squadrons. The “UAV Intelligence and Space Department” is responsible for the technical aspects of operating and maintaining an allweather aircraft on a 24-hour a day basis.

Elbit Systems has announced that three “Hermes 900s” will be delivered to the IDF.

“In the future, one third of the IAF’s aircraft will be UAVs”, a senior air force officer Said.

www.israeldefense.com

After The Merkava: The Isreali Next Generation Tank

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:48:00 +0000

The Merkava Tank Planning Directorate has set up a team to study the principles of the tank of the future. The defense establishment has yet to make a decision or even establish a direction for the systematic development of a new tank, as production of the Merkava Mark IV tanks nears completion. The team has been requested to present ideas for an armored fighting vehicle (AFV) that would provide massive mobile firepower on the future battlefield.

The team includes IDF officers and members of the defense ministry. Basic questions are being raised: Should the future tank be lighter than the 70 ton Merkava? Can the thick layers of armor be dispensed with, because of new active defense systems capable of intercepting antitank missiles in flight? Will the tank of the future be operated by a four-man crew, or perhaps less? Will it require a cannon or will an advanced recoilless firing system, launched from the turret or rear of the tank, suffice? The team is also considering the future AFV's horsepower capabilities and track systems (heavy or light) versus the option of putting wheels on the chasis.

"Changes in the battlefield are beyond our imaginations and issues concerning the tank of the future are only in their initial stage; at this point [the discussions] are almost abstract in nature," admits a defense source. "We're trying to envision the direction of developments on the future battlefield, and then we'll formulate suitable ideas. At any rate, the tank of the future is still very far off and if sweeping changes are introduced then it’s doubtful that the armored vehicle will still be called a 'tank'."

www.israeldefense.com

US reconnaissance plane under jamming attack bu North Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:46:00 +0000

A US military reconnaissance plane came under electronic attack from North Korea and had to make an emergency landing during a major military exercise in March, an aide to a lawmaker said Friday. The aide said the plane suffered disturbance to its global positioning system (GPS) by jamming signals from the North's southwestern cities of Haeju and Kaesong as it was taking part in the annual US-South Korea drill, Key Resolve.
The incident was disclosed in a report that Seoul's defence ministry submitted Thursday to opposition lawmaker Ahn Kyu-Baek of parliament's defence committee, the aide to Ahn told AFP.
Spokesmen for the defence ministry and US Forces Korea declined to comment.
Jamming signals, sent at intervals of five to 10 minutes in the afternoon on March 4, forced the plane to make an emergency landing 45 minutes after it was airborne, the aide quoted the report as saying.
They also affected South Korean naval patrol boats and speedboats as well as several civilian flights near Seoul's Gimpo area, according to the report.
Seoul mobile users also complained of bad connections and the military reported GPS navigational devices malfunctioning as the South and the US were staging the drill, which was harshly criticised by the North.
The communist state has about 20 types of jamming devices mostly imported from Russia and it has been developing a new device with a range of more than 100 km (62 miles) near the heavily fortified border, Yonhap news agency has said.
The North is also believed to have been responsible for the intermittent failure of GPS receivers on naval and civilian vessels along the west coast in August 2010.
South Korea's then-defence minister Kim Tae-Young said at the time that the devices could disrupt guided weapons and posed "a fresh security threat" to Seoul.
The UN's International Telecommunication Union in April urged the North to stop disrupting signals in the South.

MiG Denies Stealth Technology Transfer To China For J-20 Fighter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:39:00 +0000

Russia has never transferred any stealth technology to China to assist it with its J-20 Black Eagle fifth-generation stealth fighter prototype, Russian plane maker MiG said.

"We are not delivering any equipment to China, and never have," MiG spokeswoman Yelena Fyodorova said.

MiG's statement follows claims in the Russian and foreign press last week that China's J-20, unveiled over six months ago, is based on technology and components from the Russian Mikoyan Article 1.44, a stealth technology demonstrator aircraft, development of which was suspended.

Some analysts say the aircraft have close similarities.

"The back end of the J-20 looks awfully like the 1.44, as does the overall layout with delta canards," said Douglas Barrie, an air warfare specialist at the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies.

"If it's a coincidence, it's a striking one. Russia may have provided technical support, but there is nothing substantial to prove that. China has however relied on Russia for much of its defense procurement for a decade and a half," he added.

China's J-20 Black Eagle is thought to be conceptually similar to the U.S. F-22 Raptor and the Russian T-50 jets, but is likely to be just a technology demonstrator or prototype rather than a viable fighter.

China has been working on a future fighter program since the mid-1990s, but the J-20 is not expected to enter service before 2018-2020.

Earlier in the month, Mikhail Pogosyan, the head of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation said that China's fifth-generation fighter program is more for effect than substance and branded the maiden flight as a "show-off."

China relied on the Soviet Union for much of its aviation technology until the Sino-Soviet split after 1961. China then carried on developing copies of Soviet and Russian aircraft.

Beijing also relies on Russian engines, radars and electronic components for many of its other aircraft, such as the JF-17 fighter it developed jointly with Pakistan.

"We are not delivering any equipment to China, and never have," MiG spokeswoman Yelena Fyodorova said.

indrus.in

India Prepared To Face The Chinese Threat : IAF Chief

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:37:00 +0000

In response to the US official reports of China deploying nuclear-capable missiles along the borders with India, the Air Force chief said the country was not 'worried' over these developments as it has own plans to deal with the situation.

"These are all known, it is nothing that we are worried about. We have our own plans and we are moving ahead with our own plans. These are the realities we have to deal with," Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne said in reply to a query.

The Air Chief Marshal was releasing the brochure for the upcoming two-day 6th International Conference on Energising Indian Aerospace Industry beginning from September 22, 2011 in Delhi.

The US Pentagon reports have said that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has deployed nuclear missiles along the borders. The Chinese government has, however, denied the US reports.

The Indian Navy also denied reports of a London-based newspaper that a Chinese warship had confronted its assault vessel in the disputed South China Sea after it left Vietnamese waters in late July.

"The INS Airavat returned from its scheduled official deployment to Vietnam without any confrontation with a Chinese vessel," Navy spokesperson Commander PVS Satish said in a release.

When asked what India can learn from China in developing its indigenous aerospace industry, the IAF chief said: "One thing that one could learn from them is that they don't attempt to do everything themselves."

"Once you start the Research and Development and then wait and wait, then you make it the test-tube model, it takes you 20-30 years to finalise the project," Browne said.

However Browne was of the view that China got a fair amount of technology from outside.

He said that Chinese were spending a lot of money on R&D. In case of Indian Defence public sector units the investments in R&D is comparatively low.

Browne was of the view of cooperation with the private sector. But he said that the private sector need to upgrade its R&D.

In the recent past, India has deployed its fighter aircraft including the frontline Su-30MKI in Assam and is in the process of upgrading its Advanced Landing Grounds in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

Asked about its plans to upgrade the Nyoma ALG into a full-fledged airfield, Browne said the proposal was with the Government.

He said that the deal for 126 medium multi range combat aircraft is likely to be signed by the year end.

“The Naresh Chandra Committee is likely to recommend better coordination between the service headquarters and the Defence Ministry,” he said.

The Indian aerospace industry is currently undergoing a phase of rapid growth and progressive transformation. With compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% over the last five years, India has emerged as a major aerospace market. Driven by the increased defence spending, the booming commercial aviation market, rising technological and manufacturing capabilities of Indian industry and robust economic growth, the Indian aerospace industry (civil, military and space), is expected to grow at minimum 12 to 14% annually during the next five years. The changing dynamics of this sector has eventually been unraveling new sets of challenges and opportunities for the industry players prompting them to restructure their short to long-term business strategies.

With maintenance, repair and overhauling (MRO) activities picking up mainly due to the significant and sudden rise in the total fleet size, India is expected to become the hub for aviation MRO facilities. The aviation MRO market in India is expected to outspace the growth in the global as well as in the Asian market very shortly.

The rapid growth of opportunities in this sector has been able to attract major global aerospace companies into Indian aerospace market. As per some estimates, India would require about 1,300 commercial planes worth $150 billion in the next two decades to meet the growing demands. With growing passenger movements and increasing military aviation demand, Indian aerospace sector is going to be the epicenter of opportunities for both domestic and international business communities. The upcoming 6th International Conference on Energising Indian Aerospace Industry in Delhi is likely to deliberate on all these issues.

www.mynews.in

Nato Offers Missile Defence Cooperation To India

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:37:00 +0000

In a move that holds great strategic significance, Nato has offered to share its missile defence technology with India to build its capability to shoot down incoming enemy missiles, realising the commonality of threats faced by the 28-nation grouping and South Asia's pre-eminent power.

India, thus, becomes the only nation, apart from Russia, outside of the Nato that the US-led military alliance is willing to work in the critical missile defence technology sector.

The Nato missile defence project, launched in May 2001, aims to work with member-countries to meet the group's responsibility of defending itself from missile attacks. India too is in the process of developing its own ballistic missile defence system based on its Prithvi ballistic missile platform considering the missile threats it faces from rivals in the region.

"You (India) have a missile threat that confronts you. We (Nato) have a missile threat that confronts us. Our need to defend against these missile threats might be the same," a senior Nato official told a group of Indian journalists on a visit to the group's headquarters here.

Asked to specify the area that Nato can cooperate with India on missile defence, the official, who did not wish to be named, said: "One will be in the technology of defence."

The official noted that the threats that India and Nato faced may come from different directions and Nato doesn't necessarily see the threats that India sees.

"Because your strategic situation is different from ours. But the technology of discovering and intercepting missiles is the same," he said.

However, he admitted that the cooperation will have to be led by the Americans. The US has an advanced Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) development project than any other member-nation in the Nato, though India has equally robust bilateral relations with most of them including France and United Kingdom.

"The fact is it is more Indo-US than Nato-Indian relationship. But we are getting into ballistic missile defence in a pretty big way. As a result, there is a repository of knowledge that we can share and we can train together. There are experiences that we can talk about," the official said.

India's BMD programme, launched in the middle of the previous decade, is a two-tiered shield system consisting of two interceptor missiles -- the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile for lower altitude interception. It tested the PAD for the first time in November 2006 and the AAD in December 2007.

With these tests, India became the fourth country to have successfully tested the anti-missile system after the US, Russia and Israel. However, the Indian BMD, mainly focusing to counter missiles with less than 5,000-km range, is far from being perfected and further tests of the BMD system are being planned.

The US has a multiple-missile threat defence system called the National Missile Defence (NMD) intended to shield an entire country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles of over 7,500-km range and other shorter range ballistic missiles.

Nato is conducting three missile defence-related activities -- theatre ballistic missile defence capability for short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats, missile defence for the entire Nato territory, and missile defence cooperation with Russia.

The Nato-Russian cooperation is a by-product of the group expanding its membership post-Cold War beginning 1989, to make allies out of former enemies from the Warsaw Pact countries such as Poland and Czech Republic.

The Times Of India

BrahMos Cruise Missile Project Sets The Gold Standard For Russian-Indian Joint Defence Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:35:00 +0000

There has been a lot of talk recently about growing competition on India’s arms market, which is crucial for Russia. In Soviet times, Russia supplied some 75-80 per cent of the weapons for India’s Army, Air Force and Navy but now, as India matures financially, it is opting increasingly for more expensive western armaments. Back in the 1980s, German and French supplies brought India submarines and Mirage 2000 fighters and, in 1990, Israel broke in, making India one of its biggest sales markets, along with the US. Finally, the last ten years have seen a significant boost to Indian-US military and technical ties, with US’s sales of military transport and antisubmarine aircraft nearing $10 billion.

In this situation, the best way for Russia to retain its position in India is to revise the trade paradigm of military and technical cooperation, shifting the focus to joint projects based on risk-sharing partnership, whereby the parties invest jointly in creation, production and promotion of products. Today, Russia and India have two joint defence projects, including the BrahMos programme for designing, producing and marketing supersonic stealth cruise missiles, and a project for building the MTA multirole medium transport aircraft. During Russian President Medvedev’s visit to India in December 2010, a contract was also signed to design India’s version of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), which potentially means yet another joint undertaking.

While the МТА programme has not yet shown any impressive progress, the BrahMos project can be seen as the ‘gold standard’ for joint military manufacturing programmes, effectively combining such factors as commercial profit for Russian and Indian partners, a tangible improvement in the combat ability of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, and development of new technologies, which is particularly important for India. Perhaps the project’s most valuable result is the accumulated experience of resolving difficult legislative, organisational and financial problems. In the future, this experience will be used for new joint programmes, including for the FGFA project.

What makes this programme so unique is that India is, in fact, buying one of its first standardised weapons systems that can be deployed by all three armed services - the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

The Indian Navy was the first customer for the BrahMos missile, which can be carried by a wide range of naval platforms, including most existing and future surface ships. The first ships to be equipped with BrahMos were Project 61ME (Kashin-Mod class) destroyers. Two of them, the Ranvir and the Ranvijay, will also be fitted with 8-missile vertical launch systems. Other ships that will carry BrahMos include three Project 15A (Kolkata class) destroyers, which are currently under construction in India, the future Project 15B destroyers, future Project 17A frigates, and three Project 11356M (Talwar class Batch 2) frigates now being built for India at the Yantar Shipyards in Kaliningrad. The future Talwar class Batch 3 frigates will also be equipped with the new missile, irrespective of where they are built, be it Russia or India.

In addition to surface ships, the Indian Navy plans to deploy BrahMos on submarines and, possibly, on land-based patrol aircraft. The suitable airborne carriers include the Russian Il-38SD ASW aircraft and, in a few years' time, the Boeing P-8I Poseidon ASW, which India has already ordered from the United States. It seems that the Indian Navy wants to make BrahMos its core weapon. The new missile’s long range (up to 280 km), high speed and powerful warhead will give Indian fighters not just a military advantage but absolute dominance over Pakistan’s ship groups, also creating a significant deterrent to China’s fast-growing navy.

Another major customer is India’s land forces, which are buying BrahMos missiles in the mobile land-based configuration. These will be used not only against ships but also as high-precision weapons against land targets, such as command posts and key military, public and economic infrastructure facilities (the Block II LACM version). The Indian Army ordered 134 mobile anti-ship land-based BrahMos Block I missiles in 2006-2009 and another 240 land-attack BrahMos Block II in 2010, to a total of about 3 billion US dollars.

Finally, the Indian Air Force is awaiting completion of research and development for an air-launched version of BrahMos, to be deployed primarily on Su-30 MKI fighters, with first deliveries expected in 2012. The Indian Air Force also plans to buy the BrahMos Block II version, which is designed to engage land targets. Currently, the Sukhoi Design Bureau is carrying out research and development to deploy the air-launched version of the missile on the Su-30 MKI. This will apparently become the focus for modernising the Su-30 MKI under the Super 30 programme. Indeed, the aircraft was designed in the early 1990s and is not due for an upgrade: an active phased array radar will be installed, along with BrahMos missiles.

All this is also of interest to Russian customers. Currently, BrahMos missiles and their Russian analogue, the Yakhont, are arguably the most powerful non-nuclear anti-ship weapons deployed in Russia and India and the Su-30 MKI is the only suitable carrier. The Russian Air Force plans, therefore, to order 28 Su-30 SM fighters, which will be technically similar to the Indian version, the only difference being that the Israeli and some French systems will be replaced by Russian ones. Russia’s Navy is also considering the possibility of buying 12 such aircraft for its own purposes.

In this respect, acquisition of BrahMos missiles would come in very handy. And it is not about Russian-made Yakhont missiles, but about BrahMos. From a military and technical perspective, this would mean acquisition by the Russian armed forces of the hugely effective Su-30 SM-BrahMos system, which would revolutionise the alliance of forces, for example, in the Black Sea region. And politically, it would underline the joint nature of the project. The Indians are extremely concerned about any symbols of their industrial and technological progress and acquisition by Russia of Indian products would be very much appreciated in a country that pays billions of dollars for Russian weapons every year.

Strange as it might seem, the success of the BrahMos programme has boosted Russia’s chances of promoting its air and naval platforms on the Indian market. Normally, is the opposite would be the case: export of platforms opens up opportunities for missile supplies to be deployed on these platforms. But with BrahMos, it is the missiles that have become the driving force. So the Rubin Design Bureau is creating a special version of Russia’s new Project 677 (Аmur class) submarine to carry BrahMos anti-ship missiles as its main weapon system. This raises the submarine’s chance of winning India’s tender for six submarines worth up to $10 billion.

And last but not least, the BrahMos Aerospace joint venture has become a vehicle for further Russian-Indian projects, on an even larger scale and with greater Indian participation. The company is known to be already working on a new hypersonic missile. The unique experience accumulated since 1998 as part of the BrahMos project has paved the way for even more ambitious goals, including new strategic ballistic and cruise missiles.

http://indrus.in/

Design Freeze For Indo-Russian Hypersonic BrahMos II Missilies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:35:00 +0000

China's Next Generation Fighter Projects-g J-20,J-19 And J-16 Fighter Jets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:26:00 +0000

CAC didn't get all the projects. SAC also got its own 4th gen. Navy's 4th gen will be a competition between the two. Eventhough SAC has more experience with J-15, CAC will be looking to take their pie.

Both design institutes have their proposals (for navy's 4th gen), but competition hasn't start yet. SAC's convention design has more advantage in this area, since it requires little modification. CAC's design require significan altercation. Navy has requirement for stealth and supercruise, as well as supersonic manoevurability. One more thing, navy's 4th gen will be a heavy fighter.

Decent and objective article. J-20's paylod is quite good compared to its size. It's roughly about the size of T-50 and F-22, smaller than Su-27. Competition for avionics is basically done. If it enters service in about 6 or 7 years, its avionics will be roughly on par with F-35 today. And the dimension of its radar will be the largest among all 4th gen (including F-22, F-35 and T-50).

SAC's avionics will be slightly inferior to CAC's. CAC's avionics were chosen from a competitive process. In terms of payload, SAC's design has more flexibility.

2007's competition was between canard design of CAC and tri-wing design of SAC. It is different from current conventional layout project ongoing at SAC at the moment.

Competition for J-20's sub-systems is already over. We're waiting to intergrate and test them on 03 and 04 prototypes.

When completed, we estimate J-20 will have better avionics than current F-22. Among the 4S requirement, two will likely exceed it. Of course, F-22 will still be better in terms of stealth.

J-20's design philosophy is to meet stealth requirement, while emphasizing on manovurability and supercruise, similar to Mr. Song's (designer of J-10) article.

Even if our turbofan engines are on the same level as Americans, we're still likely to use canards in our design.

WS-15 engine will be equipped with 3D TVC. Russians will do the same thing with their engines. Only Americans will use 2D TVC. Each has its pros and cons, depending on what's more suitable for the user, so don't expect F-22 style nozzle on J-20.

CAC and SAC's projects will both be produced, and used in conjunction. All 4th gen are part of our future air combat network.

Originally, SAC did not plan to install TVC on their project, but now the plan has changed.

Don't expect J-20 to carry anti-ship missiles. It's both impossible and unneccessary. J-20's sole focus is air superiority, carrying 6 medium range and 2 short range air-to-air missiles.

Iran Unveils Shalamche Surface To Air Missile

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:25:00 +0000

Tehran: Iran on Sunday unveiled a new domestically manufactured surface-to-air missile, the Mehr news agency reported.

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the Shalamche missile, with a maximum speed of Mach 3 (around 3,670 km per hour)), can be used in electronic warfare.

Iran unveils surface-to-air missile
The missile is equipped with sophisticated radar signal processing technology and an advanced launcher, the minister said.

Iran unveils surface-to-air missile
The range of the missile, which is 40 km at present, will increase in the future.

www.mehrnews.com

MRCA Jet Deal Could Be Split: Ex-NSA told US

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:24:00 +0000

Although US firms lost out on India's mega fighter deal, former national security adviser M K Narayanan had told US diplomats that the $10 billion buy could be split into two contracts and that he would ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to keep both price and quality in mind.

The US aircraft were finally knocked on technical grounds, but higher pricing of fighters like the F-18 series put them at a disadvantage with regard to European rivals and discussion on the deal came up before Singh's Washington visit in 2009. According to WikiLeaks, a US cable from New Delhi spoke of undersecretary Bill Burns meeting with Narayanan to preview the visit during which Narayanan expressed personal interest in "counterterrorism deliverables" and suggested the Indian government may ultimately split the tender.

Narayanan also assured Burns of progress on civil nuclear cooperation ahead of the visit, including the imminent public announcement of reactor park sites for US firms and requested lifting of restrictions on high technology trade and expanded space cooperation.

In an indication of the clout he enjoyed in the PMO, Narayanan offered his personal assistance in brokering inter-ministerial approval of the counterterrorism deliverable, the proposed Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Initiative.

In the one-on-one meeting, Narayanan suggested that the fighter tender may be split between two recipients, and that he would recommend that PM Singh take into consideration "both price and quality".

India had no "confrontation" with the US on outer space, and nothing stood in the way of further cooperation and this could fill the void left by the completion of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement.

The Times OF India

China's Mysterious VTOL J-18 Red Eagle Stealth Fighter Jet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:23:00 +0000

Recently, China's VTOL aircraft J-18 become the focus of attention. Phoenix's military observation program focused on 31 August resolve the J-18. Some people think that J-20 high-profile appearance for the J-18 to do a cover, is said J-18 is better than J-20.

The West is disturbed not only the Chinese aircraft market potential, China's J-10 fighter and other advanced technology is that they keep a close eye target. United States, "Defense News" published a news that according to reliable military intelligence revealed that China's new 4.5 generation heavy fighter J-18 (Chinese name "Red Eagle") was officially put at the Shenyang Aircraft long.

Main parameters of the J-18

J-18 China's fourth-generation air superiority fighter. With forward-swept wing design agency, China's fourth air superiority fighter. Can be a successful maiden flight over the U.S. F-22, F-35. Service time is expected around 2015.

(1), J-18 "Red Eagle" parameter:

Wingspan: 15.2 m

Length: 22.4 m

Height: 4.94 m

Total weight: 47 tons

Empty weight: 20.5 tons

Maximum payload: 12.5 tons

Maximum speed: 3100 km / h

Maximum range: 8500 one thousand meters

(2), F-22 "Raptor" parameter:

Wingspan: 13.56 m

Length: 18.92 m

Height: 5 m

Total weight: 36 tons

Empty weight: 13.6 tons

Maximum payload :6-7 t

Maximum speed: 2335 km / h

Maximum range: 4830 one thousand meters

Significance of J -18 offline

Fighter with a lot of advanced technology, complete winning contemporary Western main fighters (3 to 4 generations), the 21st century will be China's air force one mid-battle equipment. United States, "Defense News" also reported that the aircraft has a super-stealth characteristics, and installation of a laser active phased array radar, built-in weapons bay and two large thrust-vectoring engines. "Defense News" emphasized that the U.S. is also an advanced F-22 fighters that do not possess the characteristics. "
J-18 fighter prototype off the assembly line level indicates that China has fully reached the world advanced level, type of strategic intercontinental aircraft in the lead. In the United States tried to interfere in the Taiwan issue, the more voice and initiative.

As China has been outside of this advanced fighter strictly confidential, so the Western media only from other aircraft performance on China speculation. ITAR reports, when Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said China, Russia will consider the sale of Su-34 fighters to China, and does not rule out China's participation in the development of fifth generation fighter. Russia made the above statement, in addition to political relations between the two countries, but may also be because the Chinese aircraft manufacturing level has been a major breakthrough, even in some of the leading world level.

U.S. response

Fisher Heritage Foundation in the United States to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission's report said the middle of China, Shenyang Aircraft Factory production of the J -18 fighter for the U.S. military and homeland security pose a serious threat to the United States must increase the funding and scientific research, the 5th generation fighter in 2009 fielded forces, continue to maintain China's strategic advantage. United States, "Defense News" reports, the U.S. Defense Department will hold an emergency meeting to study the adjustment of the U.S. in Okinawa, Korea, mainland Japan and other Asian bases of military deployment, and is likely to increase in Asia and Taiwan region F-22, F-35's number, in response to "Red Eagle" threat.

Russia's "Global Affairs" magazine also comments that: "We have every reason to believe that China will not like the aircraft manufacturing industry in the 1950s as a replica of a Soviet factory, but go more their own special way of new business, and sincerely hope J -18 successful test flight. "

George Kennan (the U.S. military commentator): The recent disclosure of U.S. satellite photos, a secret military base in Inner Mongolia, China has a new aircraft in flight frequency tired of it! What? It is the secret of successful test flight of China's current "China's first vertical takeoff and landing fighter aircraft", following the service after the J-20 J-18.

We are here for some of the relevant information is still to us through the past to avoid some of China's "enlightened person" message. However, very little. China to take strict measures a large scale, security agencies and supervision of staff, a large presence in the test site.

The Chinese people learned the past few leaks. They do not allow those technicians to go home, communication. Even cell phones will be checked. Also not allowed to use camera phones as well as all digital cameras.

Now the top of the upper part of its plant, the application of a heavy thickness of lead, zinc laid outside the reflective material. In addition, the device uses the early development of the practice of the Mao era, systematic design is terminated into a group design.

The project includes 13 project teams. Each team can only be responsible for 1-2 projects.

To see his face in fact, unless you can put all the engineering and technical personnel, designers brought together. The overall project designer, designers. So far no detailed information is not available to the outside world.

Open a number of sheets on the network of J-18 took off picture, a picture of them clearly see the front wing, although the picture is fuzzy, blurry photos to forge such, it is very difficult. But can be sure, the U.S. F35

J-18 is a clone of the letter. J -18 fighter aircraft is a VTOL aircraft, it can be said is China's first such aircraft.

Russia, the Chinese military has taken a more mature and direct the design of supersonic cruise aircraft has an excellent ability to do battle with today's performance vehicles have a clear advantage can not be compared.

Although China has repeatedly hidden his whereabouts. However, we still know his through satellite photos on the physical state of the ground there. Test has been going on several times

US ‘CYBERCOM’ May Trigger A New Cyber Warfare: Chinese analysts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:22:00 +0000

The US’ announcement to set up a Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), which is aimed at gaining military supremacy in cyber space, might trigger a new Cyber Warfare Race, Chinese strategic analysts have warned.

“It has already had the lead in conventional military and nuclear forces. Now it is expanding this advantage to be the leading force in new fields, such as electromagnetic space and outer space,” state-run China Daily quoted Peng Guangqian, a Beijing-based strategist, as saying.

US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, recently, announced the establishment of the world’s first comprehensive, multi-service military cyber operation, called CYBERCOM, which could provide US forces a lead in new emerging strategic fields like space and outer space.

The announcement came only a few days after President Barack Obama laid out his National Security Strategy, stressing for the first time in such a document the importance of cyber security as one of the core national security interests, he said.

Meng Xiangqing, a professor with the National Defence University said there is a very thin line between a defencive and an offencive act when it comes to cyber space.

“CYBERCOM ranks high in the US military, reporting directly to the US Strategic Command, and the US is the most advanced state in cyber technology. This absolute advantage may trigger a new type of arms race,” Meng said.

Despite the US insisting CYBERCOM is mainly defencive, Meng said it “has raised a new challenge for China, and that is how to guard our national cyber security.”

States other than the US have already been planning mechanisms to guard national cyber security, including the UK, France, Russia, South Korea and Israel, which already has a military cyber force.

Song Xiaojun, a Beijing-based military strategist, said even if other countries join in the cyber arms race, they are not capable of competing with the US since it possesses the core technologies of the Internet and of all 13 Internet root servers in the world, 10 are in the US, including the only one main root server.

The newspaper also reported the comments of US Deputy Defence Secretary William J Lynn III that the potential enemy that CYBERCOM will fight has not yet been clearly identified.

“I think we need to be prepared for the unexpected. In fact, over the past several years we have experienced damaging penetrations,” Lynn had said apparently referring alleged attempts by Chinese hackers to break into sensitive defence sites.

http://www.china-defense-mashup.com/

NATO And India Would Work Together For Busting Chinese Hackers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:12:00 +0000

Faced with a common cyber security threat from Chinese hackers, NATO is eyeing India as an ally in securing its computers that hold sensitive information and data against malware and Trojan viruses.

With US already signing a cyber security collaboration pact with India this July, the 28-nation American-led political and military alliance is of the view that it can collaborate with the South Asian information technology superpower in protecting the cyber world, one of the global commons.
"You have one of the most advanced cyber industries in the world... and information technology industries. The issue of cyber security is one that affects the United States, NATO and India no matter whether we are aligned or non-aligned," a senior NATO official told IANS at the alliance's headquarters here.

"The cyber world doesn't recognise alignments. It only recognises switches and servers. As a result, we are in this cyber world together, whether we like it or not.

"We better figure out a way to cooperate, particularly since it does matter that you have a neighbour (country) next door, which is pretty much involved in cyber issues, even far away. Because in the cyber world, we are equally close," the official, who did not want to be identified because of the organisation's rules, said.

Although he did not name any of India's neighbours, it was clear he was referring to China, which is suspected of being behind spy software attacks on American, NATO, Indian and Tibetan computers in the last half-a-decade, stealing highly classified military and security data.

In 2009, an investigation by Information Warfare Monitor (IWM) comprising researchers from Ottawa-based think-tank, SecDev Group, and the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto, had blamed a spy network of Chinese hackers, called GhostNet, to have breached the firewalls of computers of NATO and other countries, including that of Tibetan leader Dalai Lama.
Their 2010 report claimed that major Indian defence establishments, including the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, National Security Council Secretariat, National Maritime Foundation, and armed forces units were targeted and secret presentations on weapons systems stolen by Chinese hackers.

A cyber security report earlier this year had suggested that the worldwide web-based attacks in 2010 were up 93 per cent from 2009.

As recently as July this year, 'Anonymous' hackers had targeted NATO in a cyber attack.
Just a month ahead of the latest attack, NATO had decided to create a special task force to detect and respond to such attacks by beefing up its cyber defence capabilities.

Its 2010 summit in Lisbon too recognised the growing sophistication of cyber attacks and set policies for the alliance to cooperation with partner countries.

NATO has already spelt out its intention of having India as a political and military partner country, considering its growing stature as a regional power.

http://ibnlive.in.com/

DRDO’s Next: Star Wars-like Weapons

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:08:00 +0000

Move aside Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, DRDO is trying to develop its own set of Star Wars-like weapons. From laser dazzlers to control rioting crowds to high-powered lasers to destroy incoming missiles, DRDO is working on a slew of directed energy weapons (DEWs).

"Lasers are weapons of the future. We can, for instance, use laser beams to shoot down an enemy missile in its boost or terminal phase,'' said DRDO's Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC) director Anil Kumar Maini, talking to TOI on Monday.

Incidentally, DRDO chief V K Saraswat himself has identified DEWs, along with space security, cyber-security and hypersonic vehicles, as focus areas in the years ahead. "LASTEC has the mandate to develop DEWs for armed forces,'' said DRDO's chief controller (electronics & computer sciences) R Sreehari Rao.

While conventional weapons use kinetic or chemical energy of missiles or other projectiles to destroy targets, DEWs decimate them by bombarding with subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves at the speed of sound. Apart from the speed-of-light delivery, laser DEWs cause minimal collateral damage.
DRDO, of course, often promises much more than it can deliver. But even the defence ministry's recent "technology perspective and capability roadmap'' identifies DEWs and ASAT (anti-satellite) weapons as thrust areas over the next 15 years, as was first reported by TOI.

The aim is to develop laser-based weapons, deployed on airborne as well as seaborne platforms, which can intercept missiles soon after they are launched towards India in the boost phase itself. These will be part of the fledgling ballistic missile defence system being currently developed by DRDO.

The US, incidentally, is already conducting tests of high-powered laser weapons on a modified 747 jumbo jet, the ALTB (airborne laser testbed), which direct lethal amounts of directed energy to destroy ballistic missiles during their boost phase.

It will, of course, take India several years to even conduct such tests. For now, LASTEC is developing "a 25-kilowatt'' laser system to hit a missile during its terminal phase at a distance of 5-7 km. "All you need is to heat the missile skin to 200-300 degree and the warhead inside will detonate,'' said Maini.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

China Made AC-313 Helicopter Hits New Heights

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:08:00 +0000

China's domestically developed civilian freight helicopter, the AC313, successfully climbed to a height of 8,000 meters, an altitude that will enable the chopper to fulfill plateau missions.

The AC313, developed and manufactured by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), hit its highest altitude to date during a trial flight on Sept. 2 at Gonghe Airport in northwest China's Qinghai Province, AVIC said in a statement Tuesday.

"The test flight has fully proven the helicopter's function and reliability, and will decide the range of its flight altitude," said Xu Chaoliang, chief engineer of the AC313.

The helicopter, with a Maximum Takeoff Weight of 13.8 tons, can be used for transportation, forest fire prevention, emergency search and rescue missions, disaster relief and medical aid.

The AC313 completed its maiden flight in March 2010.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/

Indian Navy To Get INS Kamorta ASW Corvette Next June

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:06:00 +0000

INS Kamorta, the first in a series of four anti-submarine corvettes being built by the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), a defence shipyard, will be delivered to the Navy in June 2012.

The shipyard, he said, was also constructing eight inshore patrol vessels for the Coast Guard. “We have also concluded negotiations with the Navy for construction of eight-Landing Craft Utility (LCU) for which contract will be signed shortly.”

On the offshore patrol vessel being designed and built for the Mauritius Police, he said the laying of keel for its first block would take place in September. “Although the contractual delivery period for the 75-metre-long, 1,200-tonne vessel is 42 months, we are trying to advance it.”

According to Rear Admiral (retd.) Sekhar, the construction of the Car Nicobar-class fast attack crafts (FAC) for the Navy would end this month when the shipyard would deliver the last vessel — the 10th — in the series. The shipyard was also eager to bag the contract from the Navy to build, in tandem with Mazagaon Dock Ltd., seven stealth frigates under project 17 A.

“They will be bigger than the Shivalik [class of stealth frigates], with more advanced weapon fit and better stealth features. The clearance for this is expected by year-end. We are also anticipating a follow-on order from the Navy for FACs. The FACs we have delivered have done exceedingly well and are of tremendous use in anti-smuggling, anti-poaching and anti-piracy operations,” he said.

He said the ongoing modernisation drive would help the shipyard speed up the construction of vessels. “We do integrated modular construction and with the new facilities, we can double our capacity to simultaneously build bigger ships.”

The yard, he said, had strengthened its Engineering Department, which had patented an easy-to-install portable steel bridge. “It's in high demand from the Border Roads Organisation as well as in the power sector. We got a turnover of Rs. 60 crore from this last year.”

The fully automated indigenous Common Helicopter Traversing System that the shipyard developed with technical support from the U.K.-based Mactagart Scott would be installed on the helicopter deck of the ASW corvettes under construction.

www.thehindu.com

Iran Develops Long Range Radar System

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:05:00 +0000

A senior Iranian commander says the Islamic Republic has succeeded in the design and production of a domestically-manufactured long-range radar system.

The advanced system can detect, intercept and destroy aircraft equipped with radar cross-section system (RCS), cruise missile and strategic long-range aircraft, the commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, said on Wednesday.

He added that the cosmos radar, designed by experts of the military base, can detect objects at a range of several thousand kilometers and will join Iran's air-defense in the near future, IRIB reported.

The Iranian commander emphasized that the Islamic Republic strongly monitors the slightest possible moves by any country.

Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base is in charge of detecting and destroying any aircraft seeking to launch an aggression against the country, Esmaili pointed out.

The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear work may consist of a covert military agenda.

Iran says its nuclear program is completely peaceful and within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which it is a signatory.

Iranian officials have warned that the Islamic Republic will give a firm and crushing response to any act of aggression by the US and Israel.

http://presstv.com/

Upgraded Mi-26 Shown As Russia Contemplates Successor with China

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:57:00 +0000

The upgraded Mi-26T2 was displayed at the recent Moscow Air Show (Photo: Vladimir Karnazov)

The Mil Mi-26T2 upgrade made its debut at the Moscow Air Show (MAKS 2011), demonstrating its higher power-weight ratio and better handing characteristics in the flight display.

This version of the heavy-lift helicopter is competing against the Boeing Chinook for an order from India, which already operates four Mi-26s. Meanwhile, a source at Russian Helicopters told AIN that China has agreed to the joint development of a next generation heavy-lift helicopter.

The baseline Mi-26 first flew in 1977 and is still the world’s largest helicopter in service with 20-ton payload capability. About 100 are flying worldwide.

The Mi-26T2 is intended for both military and civilian customers and uses “some flight control algorithms already proven on the Mi-28N,” says Aleksei Samusenko, general designer at Mil. The model passed preliminary manufacturer’s trials this year, and certification trials will start soon. Most of the funding is being provided by Rostvertol, a Mi-26 manufacturer that fell under control of the Russian Helicopters in late 2010, through purchase of a major stake.

The Mi-26T2 is powered by two Ivchenko-Progress D-136-2 turboshaft engines with Fadec, each developing 12,500 shp at emergency power mode and delivering and extra 250 shp at takeoff mode. The big helicopter features the BREO-26 digital avionics suite from the Ramenskoye PKB. It has a glass cockpit on five LCD displays, a digital autopilot and a Glonass-aided navigation system enabling IFR operations.

The upgraded model requires two flight crewmembers, down from five, but an operator is needed when cargo is carried on sling. A Transas TSL-1600 searchlight working in either standard or infrared mode allows better observation of cargo being carried on the sling, and use of night-vision goggles.

The Russian Helicopters source told AIN that the company had been seeking foreign partners to share the substantial costs of developing a new heavy-lift helicopter. “The Europeans have been developing technologies for a super-heavy helicopter of their own. Consultations with them brought little. We were luckier in our talks with the Chinese,” he revealed.

After the successful participation of Russian Mi-26s in rescue operations in China’s western provinces following the 2008 earthquake, China purchased four Mi-26s. It subsequently “filed application for joint development of a next-generation heavy helicopter on mutually acceptable terms," the source explained. "We came with a reciprocating offer, and it was accepted. The Chinese government provides necessary funding. There is a hope that after a series of false starts, the next-generation super-heavy helicopter project is now on a firm footing,” he added.

India is also evaluating the Mi-28NE and Boeing АН-64 Apache, both of which were short-listed in a competition for 22 attack helicopters. At MAKS 2011 the Mi-28NE exportable version was on static display for the first time. It is derived from the Russian air force Mi-28N version, which went into production in 2006.

US Bird UAVs crashed in Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:50:00 +0000

The mini-UAV that crashed in Pakistan close to the Afghan border was disguised as a bird. (Photo: AP/Shah Khalid)

U.S. special or covert forces are using hand-launched UAVs disguised as large birds to monitor terrorist movements along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The Pakistan Frontier Corps recovered one such UAV after it crashed on August 25 near one of its border forts in Baluchistan.

Photos released by news agencies show a propeller-driven design with a six-foot cranked wingspan and a four-foot centerbody that narrows to a rudder, topped by a horizontal fan tail. A Pakistan military spokesman identified the UAV as American, unarmed and equipped with two cameras. It developed a technical fault, and was not shot down, he added.

Some mini-UAVs operating in the region are named after large birds, but none of them closely resemble the downed craft. Thousands of Aerovironment Ravens have been built for the U.S. Army. The Pakistan armed forces themselves operate the indigenously designed and produced Border Eagle. Lockheed Martin has produced the Desert Hawk for the British Army.

The Lockheed UAV was designed by the Skunk Works, which then developed the Stalker mini-UAV for sale to “special operations communities.” The electric propulsion system of the Stalker is silent, according to Lockheed Martin. The company has just revealed a new hybrid fuel cell/battery powered version of the Stalker that can fly for eight hours.

Despite the downed UAV’s disguise, residents of the nearby village of Chaman were apparently not fooled. They told Pakistan’s The Nation newspaper that they witnessed it flying for two hours before the accident.

While unusual, bird-like UAVs are not a new concept. In the early 1970s, the CIA implemented Project Aquiline, a scheme devised to fly an eagle-like reconnaissance UAV over key intelligence targets, such as ICBM sites and nuclear test grounds in the Soviet Union and China. Although a prototype made some 20 flights over Groom Lake, Nevada, the project was canceled due to the expected high cost of further development.

China Preparing For Future Fight With US

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:20:00 +0000

The Iraqi war has convinced the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership that some form of confrontation with the U.S. could come earlier than expected.

Beijing has also begun to fine-tune its domestic and security policies to counter the perceived threat of U.S. "neo-imperialism."

As more emphasis is being put on boosting national strength and cohesiveness, a big blow could be dealt to both economic and political reform.

That the new leadership has concluded China is coming up against formidable challenges in the short to medium term is evident from recent statements by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

Hu indicated earlier this year Beijing must pay more attention to global developments so that "China make good preparations before the rainstorm ... and be in a position to seize the initiative."

Wen also pointed out in the first meeting of the State Council, or cabinet, last Saturday the leadership "must keep a cool head."

"We must boost our consciousness about disasters and downturns -- and think about dangers in the midst of [apparent] safety," he said.

Alarm bells about a deteriorating international situation have been sounded by the CCP's secretive Leading Group on National Security (LGNS), which coordinates policies in areas including diplomacy, defense and energy.

The LGNS, which is headed by Hu, has since early this month called a series of meetings to discuss ways to handle the Iraqi crisis.

In the near term, of course, the focus is on the impact of rising oil prices -- and on the need to build up a strategic oil reserve that can last at least 30 days.

However, economic concerns are not the top priority. Given the likelihood oil prices will drop after the resolution of the conflict, some government economists are saying the war's impact on this year's economic performance will be insubstantial.

Officials even cite the safe haven theory to predict foreign direct investment flowing into China will exceed the record $52 billion last year.

Of more concern to the LGNS is the perceived expansion of American unilateralism if not neo-imperialism.

As People's Daily commentator Huang Peizhao pointed out last Saturday, U.S. moves in the Middle East "have served the goal of seeking world-wide domination."

State Council think-tank member Tong Gang saw the conflict as the first salvo in Washington's bid to "build a new world order under U.S. domination."

Chinese strategists think particularly if the U.S. can score a relatively quick victory over Baghdad, it will soon turn to Asia -- and begin efforts to "tame" China.

It is understood the LGNS believes the U.S. will take on North Korea -- still deemed a "lips-and-teeth" ally of China's -- as early as this summer.

These developments have prompted China to change its long-standing geopolitical strategy, which still held true as late as the 16th CCP Congress last November.

Until late last year, Beijing believed a confrontation with the U.S. could be delayed -- and China could through hewing to the late Deng Xiaoping's "keep a low profile" theory afford to concentrate almost exclusively on economic development.

"Now, many cadres and think-tank members think Beijing should adopt a more pro-active if not aggressive policy to thwart U.S. aggression," said a Chinese source close to the diplomatic establishment.

He added hard-line elements in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had advocated providing weapons to North Korea to help Pyongyang defend itself against a possible U.S. missile strike at its nuclear facilities. Forestalling the challenge Hu was elected president of China by the NPC this month. Hu was elected president of China by the NPC this month.

Even less hawkish experts are advocating beefing up the national security apparatus.

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) economist Yang Fan pointed out the recent global flare-ups had alerted China to the imperative of improving national security and cohesiveness.

"Equal weight should be given to economic development and national security," Yang said. "As we become more prosperous, we must concentrate our forces [on safeguarding national safety]."

What is China doing to forestall the perceived U.S. challenge?

Firstly, the CCP leadership is fostering nationalistic sentiments, a sure-fire way to promote much-needed cohesiveness.

While not encouraging anti-U.S. demonstrations, Beijing has informed the people of what the media calls "increasingly treacherous international developments."

This explains what analysts including Beijing scholars considered the unexpectedly virulent official reaction to the start of the Iraq war.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said the U.S.-led military campaign had "trampled on the U.N. constitution and international law" and that it would lead to regional and global instability.

Equally tough statements were issued by the National People's Congress (NPC) and the advisory Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Major official media such as Xinhua and People's Daily have run dozens of articles and analyses whose gist is that, in the words of commentator Li Xuejiang, the invasion of Iraq had "damaged the international order."

In an apparent departure from Beijing's cautious attitude at the beginning of the Iraqi crisis, authorities last weekend allowed a group of nationalist intellectuals to hold a conference condemning U.S. "hegemonism."

The corollary of boosting national cohesiveness could be the suppression of dissent, particularly politically incorrect views expressed by "pro-West" intellectuals.

The warning and punishment that party authorities recently meted out to several Beijing and provincial publications may augur a relatively prolonged period of ideological control in the interest of promoting "unity of thinking."

On the economic front, the authorities may play up the imperative of concentrating resources to boost China's "economic security" and "energy security."

"The Wen leadership is checking out why earlier plans to build up a strategic oil reserve failed to materialize last year, when prices were much lower," said a Beijing-based party source.

"It is possible that bucking the overall trend of market reforms, Beijing may bring back more government fiats to sectors deemed to have strategic and national-security implications."

It is instructive that in his 90-minute long interview with the international media last week, Wen was quite reticent about boosting economic reform such as the liberalization of state-owned enterprises.

In accordance with the theory of "the synthesis of [the needs of] war and peace," civilian economic projects in areas including infrastructure may be planned will the requirements of the defense forces in mind.

On the military front, the Iraqi conflict will kick start another season of accelerated modernization of weaponry.

Diplomatic analysts in Beijing said PLA officers and strategists had been scrutinizing the latest hardware used by American and British forces.

They pointed out the PLA's astonishment at the wizardry of American firearms used in the 1991 Gulf War was a major factor behind the Chinese army's aggressive modernization drive through the 1990s.

Academy of Military Sciences (AMS) expert Peng Guanqian pointed out that the Iraqi war would provide the Pentagon with "a testing ground for new military equipment and strategies."

The Liberation Army Daily last Friday quoted unnamed officers from the Army and the People's Armed Police as saying the PLA must "quicken the pace of military modernization."

Such developments could in turn hasten a possible showdown between the two countries that harbor deep-seated mistrust of each other even in relatively tranquil times.

Also see:
The Pentagon is preparing for the first visit to the United States by a high-ranking Chinese military officer in years.

New War Ahead: China-Pakistan vs. U.S.A

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:20:00 +0000

China has been deploying thousands of soldiers in the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan, a mountainous area in northern Pakistan, and a region historically contested by Pakistan, India and its inhabitants.
Although cooperation between Pakistan and China is not new -- it was China in the 1970s that supported Pakistan's attempts to acquire its nuclear capability -- the deployment of Chinese troops in Pakistan, however, indicates a worrying alliance for the US. The US would do well to monitor these developments before a catastrophic scenario, especially for its troops, takes place.
The presence of the Chinese People's Liberation Army [PLA] in the contested Gilgit-Baltistan region, where a nascent revolt against the Pakistani rule is taking place, constitutes the direct involvement of Beijing in the dispute over Kashmir, making any future understanding between Pakistan and India more difficult, and can only arouse a new and serious rift between New Delhi and Beijing.
According to Mumtaz Khan, director for the International Centre of Peace and Democracy in Toronto, many Western analysts who view China's stance merely as a bargaining chip against India will unfortunately soon realize that China is redefining its priorities and interests in South Asia and beyond. "The current involvement of China in Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan administered Kashmir consists of more than just providing military and diplomatic support to Pakistan. Soon, Pakistan will swap its role to take the backseat as China exerts itself as a major player in the Kashmir issue" and maybe also in Afghani one.
The Gilgit-Baltistan region borders Afghanistan to the north; China to the northeast; the Pakistani administrated state of Azad, Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to the south, and the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir to the southeast. Recently, the New York Times reported that two major developments are taking place there: a rebellion against the Pakistani rule, and the influx of an estimated 7,000 to 11,000 soldiers of the PLA.
China's Grip on Pakistani Strategic Area
"China wants a grip on the strategic area to assure unfettered road and rail access to the Gulf through Pakistan," stated the NYT. Beijing intends to create a corridor from the Indian Ocean up to the Chinese province of Xinjiang. The first cornerstone of this grandiose project has been the construction of the Gwadar Port, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and outside the Strait of Hormuz. It is near the key shipping routes used by the mainline vessels that have connections to Africa, Asia and Europe, and it enjoys a high commercial and strategic significance.
The port was financed and built by China and inaugurated in 2007 by the former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. At present, it takes a Chinese tanker about 16 to 25 days to reach the Gulf. Once high-speed rail and road links through Gilgit-Baltistan are completed, however, China will be able to transport cargo to and from Xinjiang to Gwadar and to other Pakistani port facilities, within 48 hours.
PLA's soldiers in Gilgit-Baltistan are also expected to work on the infrastructure in the region. According to reports, China is planning the construction of roads and bridges; a high-speed rail system, and nearly two-dozen tunnels. As the whole area is closed to foreign observers, news can only be obtained through intelligence information, as well as satellite imagery that shows construction activities are underway throughout the region.
Many of the PLA soldiers are supposedly currently building the railroad. Others are extending the Karakoram Highway, which connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, and engaged in activities for constructing dams, expressways and other projects.
Their presence is also apparently meant to deter any possible disturbances from the local population, within which are simmering rebellious sentiments against the Pakistani rule.
China and Pakistan's Common Interest is India
The presence of Chinese soldiers on Pakistani soil is not an ordinary matter. If all Pakistani governments have always objected to the deployment of U.S. troops in the country, why is there such openness towards the Chinese army?
The alliance between the U.S. and Pakistan appears to be becoming less and less sound. The U.S.-led war against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan is quickly deteriorating into a growing open conflict with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)., which represents the core of Pakistani military power and can also act independently from Pakistan's government. The agency is responsible for the creation of the mujahiddin movement in Afghanistan during the war against the USSR; and later, for the movements for the "liberation" of Kashmir, as well as the first attack on World Trade Center, and the attacks on hotels and a Jewish Habad Cenmter in Mumbai. . The main ISI's concern, however, is India's rule in Kashmir. This is why the ISI, in order to confront New Delhi, is providing help and shelter to Islamist groups ready to fight for the "Muslim" Kashmir.
China and Pakistan share many common interests: both have territorial disputes with India. China and India, whose populations, combined, make up slightly less than 40% of the world population. They are also both striving for strategic regional supremacy. By linking its western province to the Indian Ocean, China will not gain just a strategic stronghold and access to the Persian Gulf, but also could significantly influence the geopolitics and trade in the Indian Ocean Region, as well as in Central Asia.
A Possible War Between Pakistan/China and the US
The possible scenarios coming out of the present situation are also dangerous. A deterioration of the relations between the U.S. and Pakistan over the war in Afghanistan could lead to a direct confrontation -- in which event, the involvement of the giant China, as Pakistan's ally, might be inevitable. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports that already a delegation of the Chinese Army visited the Pakistan-Afghan Border last October[5].
The same MEMRI's analysis also predicts that in a possible war between Pakistan/China on the one hand and the US on the other, Russia would be on the side of the West. Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister, Sergei Ivanov, has said that Russia does not want the international troops to leave Afghanistan. Moscow, concerned about development in this region, has begun strengthening the Afghan police forces by supplying weapons and ammunition.
In the meantime, the relationship between Pakistan and Russia are marred by the Cold War legacy, and will take a long time to get normalized. MEMRI reports that the Urdu-language Pakistani daily Roznama Nawa-i-Waqt has warned that "another enemy of Pakistan" –. Russia – has been added to the list of the countries influencing Afghanistan; and that the presence of Russian troops in Afghan will reinforce anti-Pakistan forces in Afghanistan.
Conclusion
Before apocalyptic scenarios become a reality, it would help if Washington exerted exert maximum efforts -- and firmness -- to convince Pakistan not to continue on such a dangerous path. Two new war fronts seem rapidly to be opening: Afghanistan on one side, and Kashmir on the other.. The explosion of a possible war could involve both fronts, the Afghani and the Kashmiri, where the US ally, India, might pay a heavy price, finding itself between two enemies: Pakistan and China.
The US will admittedly have a hard role, given the fact that relations between the Washington and China are already fragile, especially since the "Star Wars arms race" launched by China in 2007, but it is urgent that serious efforts be made.

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Another U.S. War? Obama Threatens China and Iran

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:16:00 +0000

The possibility of yet another U.S. war became more real last week, when the Obama administration sharply confronted both China and Iran. The first aggressive act was performed by Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who “warned” China that it must support serious economic sanctions against Iran (an act of war).

Clinton said: “China will be under a lot of pressure to recognize the destabilizing effect that a nuclear-armed Iran would have, from which they receive a significant percentage of their oil supply.”

The implication here is that China will be cut off from a major energy source if they do not support U.S. foreign policy — this, too, would equal an act of war.

A more direct military provocation occurred later when Obama agreed to honor a Bush-era military pact with Taiwan, a small island that lies off the mainland coast of China, and is claimed by China as its own territory. Taiwan has been a U.S. client state ever since the defeated nationalist forces fled there from China in the aftermath of the 1949 revolution. Taiwan has remained a bastion of U.S. intrigue and anti-China agitation for the past six decades. Obama has recently upped the ante by approving a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, including:

“... 60 Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot interceptor missiles, advanced Harpoon missiles that can be used against land or ship targets and two refurbished minesweepers.” (The New York Times, January 30, 2010).

The same article quotes a Chinese government official who responded, accurately, by calling the arms sale “… a gross intervention intoChina’s internal affairs, [and] seriously endanger[ing] China’s national security…” In 1962, When Russia supplied missiles to Cuba, nearFlorida’s coast, the U.S. interpreted this to be an act of war.

China responded harshly to the Taiwan arms deals, imposing “an unusually broad series of retaliatory measures… including sanctions against American companies that supply the weapon systems for the arms sales.” These U.S. arms manufacturers are giant corporations who have huge political influence in the Obama administration, and are likely to further push the U.S. government towards an even more aggressive response.

Obama’s polices against China have been far more aggressive than Bush’s, making a farce out of his campaign promises of a more peaceful foreign policy. Obama’s same, deceitful approach is used inSouth America, where he promised “non-intervention” and then proceeded to build military bases in Colombia on Venezuela’s border, while giving a green light to the coup in Honduras.

Hillary Clinton also threatened China about internet censorship last week, while Obama consciously provoked China by agreeing to talks with the Dalai Lama, who advocates the removal of Chinese influence from Tibet.

Still fresh in the memories of both the U.S. and China is the recent trade flair up, when Obama imposed taxes on Chinese imports; and China responded with protectionist measures against U.S. companies, which brings us to the heart of the matter.

The attitude of the U.S. government towards China has nothing to do with the Dalai Lama, internet censorship, or human rights. These excuses are used as diplomatic jabs in the framework of a larger, geopolitical brawl. Chinese corporations are expanding rapidly in the wake of the decline of the U.S. business class, and Obama is using a variety of measures to counteract this dynamic, with all roads leading to war.

This grand chessboard of corporate and military maneuvering reached a dangerous standoff yesterday, with the U.S. military provoking Iran. The New York Times explains:

“The Obama administration is accelerating the deployment of new defenses against possible Iranian missile attacks in the Persian Gulf, placing special ships [war ships] off the Iranian coast and antimissile systems in at least four [surrounding] Arab countries, according to administration and military officials.” (January 30, 2010).

The same article mentions that U.S. General Petraeus admitted that “… the United States was now keeping Aegis cruisers on patrol in the Persian Gulf [Iran’s border] at all times. Those cruisers are equipped with advanced radar and antimissile systems designed to intercept medium-range missiles.” Iran knows full well that “antimissile systems” are perfectly capable of going on the offensive — their real purpose.

Iran is completely surrounded by countries occupied by the U.S. military, whether it be the mass occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the U.S. puppet states that house U.S. military bases in Arab nations. Contrary to the statements of President Obama, Iran is already well contained militarily. Iran’s government — however repressive it may be — has every right to defend itself in this context.

It is possible that these aggressive U.S. actions will eventually force Iran’s government to act out militarily, giving the U.S. military the “defensive” excuse it’s been waiting for, so the tempers of the U.S. population can be cooled.

A separate New York Times editorial outlines the basic agreement onIran shared by the Democrats and the Republicans. It says:

“It is time for President Obama and other leaders to ratchet up the pressure with tougher sanctions.”

And:

“If the [UN] Security Council does not act quickly, then the United States and Europe must apply more pressure on their own [Bush's Iraq war strategy]. The Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would punish companies for exporting gasoline to Iran or helping Iran expand its own petroleum refining capability [another act of war]” (January 29, 2010).

The U.S. anti-war movement must organize and mobilize to confront the plans of the Obama administration. Obama’s policies not only mirror Bush’s, but have the potential to be far more devastating, with the real possibility of creating a wider, regional war. Iran and China are far more militarily capable than puny Afghanistan or Iraq; the consequences of a war with either will cause countless more deaths.

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