MELBOURNE, June 3 (UPI)

Australia and BAE Systems have reallocated some hull construction work for the government's $8.55 billion destroyer project from BAE shipyards to reduce production delays.

The move is designed cut down on a potential two-year delay to the first of the three Air Warfare Destroyers being built by the AWD Alliance, which consists of three partners: ASC, formerly called the Australian Submarine Corp.; the government's Defense Materiel Organization; and Raytheon.

The first of the three Hobart-class vessels, the 7,000-ton HMAS Hobart, is due for delivery in December 2014. The other two ships -- the Brisbane and Sydney -- are to be in service by 2017.

The Hobart class is a derivation of the Spanish firm Navantia's F105 design. Navantia was awarded the design work in June 2007.

Construction of the ships involves 90 separate steel hull blocks being built at three shipyards -- ASC's Adelaide shipyard, Forgacs' shipyard in Newcastle and BAE Systems Melbourne shipyard.

But BAE realized as early as last year it was coming under increasing production schedule pressures because of other work at its Melbourne shipyard. BAE Systems also is building 14 steel hull blocks for the superstructure of two new 27,066-ton Landing Helicopter Dock ships due for delivery starting at the same time as the first of the destroyers.

BAE notified the alliance that its AWD work was slipping behind schedule as a result.

"To assist the AWD project schedule, earlier this year the AWD Alliance reallocated construction of nine steel blocks from BAE Systems in Melbourne to the Forgacs shipyard in Newcastle," Minister for Defense Stephen Smith and the Minister for Defense Materiel Jason Clare said in a statement.

The statement said, "The Melbourne BAE Systems shipyard remains stretched, working on two major projects at the same time -- steel blocks for the Air Warfare Destroyers and the superstructure and integration of the Landing Helicopter Dock Ships."

Earlier this month BAE Systems presented the AWD Alliance with a plan to adjust its AWD workload.

"The advice of the AWD Alliance is that if no action is taken to relieve the pressure on the Melbourne BAE Systems shipyard the first ship would be two years late, approximately 25 percent over schedule," the statement said.

Up to 13 of BAE's steel blocks for the AWD project will be reallocated to ASC's Adelaide shipyard and Forgacs' shipyard in Newcastle. Also, up to five steel blocks will be reallocated to Navantia in Ferrol, Spain.

However, the reallocation involves blocks for the first two AWD ships only "and are subject in the usual way to satisfactory commercial arrangements with the shipyards," the statement said.

"BAE will complete the structural steel and initial outfitting work on the seven steel blocks it is currently working on, as well as all its work on the 14 blocks for the superstructure of the Landing Helicopter Dock Ships and the integration work."

A decision on the reallocation of blocks, if any, on the third AWD will be made later in the project, the Defense statement said.

Even with the reallocation of blocks away from BAE, there remains a potential delivery delay to the first AWD ship of one year.

In May 2010, the Defense Department chose Thales Australia as the preferred supplier for $7.5 million worth of satellite communications equipment for the three AWD ships. Thales will design and make the equipment at its Garden Island site in Sydney.

June 03, 2011 by Shiv Aroor LIVEFIST

June 03, 2011 by Shiv Aroor LIVEFIST

Indian Defence Minister AK Antony today said the country must have a ballistic missile with 5,000-km range. After presenting the DRDO awards today, Antony called upon the organisation to quickly deliver the Agni-V missile.

"DRDO must demonstrate its capability to reach the range of 5,000-km at the earliest. The interceptor missile development programme has taken India to an elite club of nations that possess the capability to demonstrate and deploy missile defence. DRDO should now work towards developing a credible ballistic missile defence for our country," Antony said.

Speaking to reporters later, DRDO chief Vijay Kumar Saraswat said that the Agni-V test launch will take place before the end of this year.

Indonesian Marines Corps during parade (photo : kamushukum)

03.06.2011 DEFENSE STUDIES

(The Jakarta Post)

June 1, 2011 washingtonpost.com AP

McLEAN, Va. — Two Chinese aerospace executives pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to attempting to violate the U.S. arms embargo against China by purchasing thousands of military-grade microchips.

The guilty pleas Wednesday from Hong Wei Xian, 32, and Li Li, 33, represent the latest in a series of prosecutions targeting both traditional and economic espionage efforts from Beijing, said Neil MacBride, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

“There’s no secret that China has a healthy appetite for sensitive U.S. information” that it wants to use to modernize its military, MacBride said in a conference call with reporters after the plea hearings. “The line between traditional espionage and economic espionage is becoming increasingly blurred.”

MacBride’s office alone has prosecuted roughly a dozen people and businesses over the last several years for a variety of espionage-related activity connected to China.

In the most recent case, Xian and Li were top officers of a Chinese company called Beijing Starcreates Space Science and Technology Development Company Limited. The company procures parts for another aerospace firm controlled by the Chinese government.

In 2008, the pair tried to buy specialized, radiation-hardened microchips that work in outer space and are typically used in military systems from an unidentified Virginia company. The company contacted law enforcement, and agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement set up an undercover sting, in which an agent posed as a willing straw buyer.

Xian and Li agreed to pay $64,500 for 40 of the hardened microchips and inquired about purchasing 1,000 chips, in staggered purchases they hoped would avoid suspicion.

No sensitive technology exchanged hands, and no one in the U.S. ever acted improperly by trying to help the pair, MacBride said.

Xian and Li were arrested in September in Hungary on a U.S. warrant and were brought to the U.S. in April to face trial after they waived extradition.

Defense lawyers did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.

The two face up to five years in prison when they are sentenced Aug. 26.

CAE would provide aircrew training service for KC-30A tanker aircraft (photo : Airbus Military)

02.06.2011 DEFENSE STUDIES

(Australian DoD)

CANBERRA, Australia, June 2 (UPI)

General Dynamics Land Systems Australia has won a five-year contract to provide through-life support service to the Australian army's fleet of combat vehicles.

The $48 million contract is for maintenance of wheeled armored fighting vehicles, M1A1 Abrams tanks and M88A2 Hercules heavy recovery vehicles.

The contract, which includes a one-year phase-in period, is for spare parts, repairs, maintenance and engineering work when needed, GDLS Australia, a business unit of General Dynamics Land Systems Canada in London, Ontario, said in a statement.

In May 2010, GDLS Australia was named the preferred bidder for the contract -- then said to be worth around $107 million -- for the army's more than 300 light-armored vehicles, Abrams tanks and Hercules recovery trucks.

Gary Stewart, managing director of GDLS Australia, said the performance-based contract means Australian businesses will increase their own strategic capabilities to repair, maintain and upgrade the country's combat vehicle fleets rather than seeking foreign suppliers.

"The long-range focus of this program also presents the opportunity for Australian industry to participate in General Dynamics' global supply chain," Stewart said. "We look forward to engaging with Australian companies as part of our design, manufacturing and sustainment transfer initiatives for this contract and other programs."

General Dynamics has delivered around 15,000 military vehicles worldwide, which creates export opportunities for Australian industry, he said.

In February, GDLS Australia delivered two Eagle 4x4 light-protected vehicles to the army's Land Engineering Agency's heavy-vehicle proving ground at Monegeetta, north of Melbourne.

The vehicles are being evaluated as part of a proposal to build and support a domestically manufactured armored vehicle fleet as an alternative to importing vehicles.

The contract, called Land 121 Phase 4, is potentially worth more than $1.07 billion for the manufacture of the next-generation of protected mobility vehicles, Greg Combet, minister for Defense Materiel and Science, said at the time.

"Three Australian-based companies will be awarded up to $9 million each for the development of protected mobility vehicle prototypes, putting them in the running to land a manufacturing contract for up to 1,300 vehicles," Combet said.

A technology transfer program would be a part of any contract.

Other subsidiaries of GDLS Canada manufacture the Eagle in several countries for the nations' armies.

General Dynamics European Land Systems delivered 20 Eagle ambulance models to the German army's medical units in Feldkirchen/Niederbayern in March. The vehicles were developed, tested and manufactured over 14 months in close cooperation between General Dynamics European Land Systems-Mowag, General Dynamics European Land Systems-Germany and other German companies following an October 2009 contract award.

June 2, 2011: STRATEGY PAGE

In May, two Filipino OV-10 aircraft flying off the west coast of Palawan Island (southwestern Philippines), reported they were buzzed by two "Mig type" fighters that were believed to be Chinese. Both China and the Philippines claim the nearby Spratly Islands. Less than a hundred kilometers northwest of Palawan is Reed Bank, where oil and natural gas has been discovered.

No one admitted that their aircraft had buzzed the OV-10s off Palawan. The Chinese Navy does operate nine ton J-7s, which are based on the Russian MiG-21. But none of these aircraft are stationed within range of Reed Bank. The OV-10 pilots may have mistaken a Chinese Su-27, which is also a Russian design and could be mistaken for a MiG-29 at long distance (the two aircraft share a similar shape and design features). What was most alarming to most Filipinos was that the Philippines has no fighter jets, and nothing that could resist even the older J-7s.

The Spratlys are a group of some 100 islets, atolls, and reefs that total only about 5 square kilometers of land, but sprawl across some 410,000 square kilometers of the South China Sea. Set amid some of the world's most productive fishing grounds, the islands are believed to have enormous oil and gas reserves. Several nations have overlapping claims on the group. About 45 of the islands are currently occupied by small numbers of military personnel. China claims them all, but occupies only 8, Vietnam has occupied or marked 25, the Philippines 8, Malaysia 6, and Taiwan one. China and the Philippines are trying to negotiate a settlement of their overlapping claims in the Spratlys.

Since the 1990s, the Philippines has received 32 used OV-10s from the U.S. and Thailand. The OV-10 is a 6.5 ton, twin prop aircraft that could carry over two tons of weapons and stay in the air for three hours per sortie. Wingspan is 40 feet (12.2 meters), and length is 41.6 feet (12.7 meters). The first one was delivered to the U.S. Air Force, for use in Vietnam, in 1968. The last one was produced (for export to Indonesia) in 1976. The U.S. Air Force and Marines were the primary users of OV-10s, and the last of these was retired, by the marines, in 1994. Over a hundred were exported to Germany, Thailand, Colombia, Venezuela, Philippines and Indonesia. Several dozen of these are still in use out of over 300 manufactured. In Vietnam, the OV-10 was used more for reconnaissance and directing air and artillery strikes, than in using its own firepower.

source flightglobal.com Credit: Billypix

June 2, 2011: STRATEGY PAGE

Recently, Indian border police, on patrol along a remote portion of the disputed border with China, noted a small aircraft high in the sky, apparently on the Chinese side. It appeared to be a UAV, and the only Chinese UAV that could operate that high in the Himalaya mountains, and that far from the nearest airbase, is the ASN-229A. Until quite recently, India did not expect to see Chinese UAVs over this part of the border. But the Chinese UAV situation has changed over the past few years.

In the last decade, China has closed the gap (of a decade or more) in UAV development. China now has UAVs that are comparable, although not equal, to the American Predator and Global Hawk. China still lags, however, in user experience. American troops have over a million hours of UAV air time in combat zones. But in terms of the technology, the Chinese are there, and valuable experience is being gained along the Indian border.

The Chinese government has encouraged UAV development, and there are several companies currently at it, offering over 25 different UAV models. One Chinese firm, ASN Technology, has 90 percent of the military market in China, and a large chunk of the police and civilian business as well. While ASN has produced a UAV (ASN-229A), that looks just like the Predator, it is smaller (800 kg) while having a top speed of 180 kilometers an hour and 20 hours endurance. The ASN-229A can also carry two small missiles, similar to the U.S. Hellfire.

But most of the ASN models in use by the Chinese military are older, more like the 1990s technology found in the U.S. Army Shadow 200 (now being replaced by the Predator-like, 1.2 ton Gray Eagle). One of the most numerous Chinese army models, the ASN-206/207, is a 222 kg (488 pound) aircraft, with a 50 kg (110 pound) payload. The 207 model has a max endurance of eight hours, but more common is an endurance of four hours. Max range from the control van is 150 kilometers and cruising speed is about 180 kilometers an hour. The Chinese army also have several models of smaller UAVs (50-100 kg/100-220 pounds), with endurance of 2-4 hours. The lack of persistence (the ability to stay in the air for long periods of time) means the Chinese are unable to use this most important of UAV capabilities. The Chinese now have new UAVs that are closer to current U.S. designs, but the Chinese military has not yet bought a lot of them.

While many Chinese UAVs demonstrate an American influence, some appear to be using Israeli technology. That's no accident, as four years ago, Israeli UAV manufacturer EMIT got busted after it was caught shipping UAV technology to China. EMIT was not a major player in the UAV industry, having only three models; the 450 kg Butterfly, 182 kg (400 pound) Blue Horizon, the 48 kg (hundred pound) Sparrow. The twenty year old firm has been scrambling to stay in business. The Chinese helped set up a phony cooperative deal in a Southeast Asian country, to provide cover for the transfer of EMIT UAV technology to China. Most of EMIT's production is for export, but Israel has agreed to consult with the United States about transfers of technology to China. This is because Israel has been caught exporting military equipment, containing American technology, to China (in violation of agreements with the United States.) China tends to get technology wherever, and whenever, it can.

China is offering most of its UAVs for export. One of the more interesting of these is a 220 kg (484 pound) helicopter UAV. The U8E has a top speed of 150 kilometers an hour, endurance of four hours, range (from operator) of 150 kilometers and a payload of 40 kg (88 pounds). This is sufficient for day/night cameras, laser designators and the like. Police like these helicopter UAVs, soldiers less so.

Three years ago, China revealed that it was developing a new UAV, similar to the U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk. Called Xianglong (Soaring Dragon), it is about half the size of the Global Hawk, at 7.5 tons, with a 14.5 meter (45 foot) wingspan and a .65 ton payload. Max altitude will be 18.4 kilometers (57,000 feet) and range will be 7,000 kilometers. It has a faster cruising speed (750 kilometers an hour) than the RQ-4.

The Chinese Xianglong is also intended for maritime patrol, as is a U.S. Navy model of the RQ-4. The shorter range of the Xianglong is apparently attributable to the lower capabilities of the Chinese aircraft engine industry. The Xianglong is believed to be in limited service, meaning that it is still being developed. Since the Indian border guards have not yet gotten pictures, the mystery UAV over the border might have been a Xianglong, doing some field testing.

Chinese firms have also been developing jet propelled UAVs. Four years ago, Beijing Black Buzzard Aviation Technology Limited, offered for sale two such UAVs . Both are powered by a miniature jet engine, larger than the types used in remote control model aircraft. Both models are similar in appearance, and look more like target drones than reconnaissance UAVs. The HFT-40A weighs 57 kg (100 pounds), is 3.3 meters (ten feet) long, with a 2.1 meter (6.5 foot) wingspan. It has a top speed of 500 kilometers an hour, max endurance of three hours and can operate 80 kilometers from its base station. The HFT-60A weighs 90 kg (198 pounds), is 3.8 meters (11 feet) long, with a 2.2 meter (seven foot) wingspan. It has a top speed of 700 kilometers an hour, endurance of three hours and can operate 150 kilometers from its base station.

These two UAVs are unique, as most users want endurance and slow speed. It's unclear what market these two high speed, low endurance UAVs are being pitched to. But the Chinese government encourages such research, as it provides a technology base for the development of larger, combat UAVs. Some of these have begun to appear, serving as high speed recon aircraft for naval forces. Once these UAVs spot an American carrier, high speed cruise missiles will not be far behind.

June 2, 2011 idrw.org SOURCE : TNN

In keeping with the overall plan to bolster India’s air defence surveillance network, IAF will commission a spanking new Israeli medium-power radar (MPR) at Naliya in Gujarat this week. “This state-of-the-art radar, to be named Arudhra, is being inducted towards strengthening the air defence in the Saurashtra-Kutch region and constitutes an important component in IAF’s plan to achieve network-centric operations,” said an officer.

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik will be inducting the radar, which has a range of over 300 km, at the Naliya airbase on Friday after the commanders’ conference of the South-Western Air Command.

IAF has already inked contracts for 19 LLTRs (low-level transportable radars), four MPRs and 30 indigenous medium-range Rohini radars, apart from also planning a major induction of long-range surveillance radars (LRSRs) and high-power radars (HPRs) to bolster air defence coverage in “hilly terrain” in the hinterland as well as along the borders with China and Pakistan.

India is also moving towards procuring nine more Aerostat radars to add to the two EL/M-2083 Israeli Aerostats inducted earlier as well as two additional AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) to supplement the first three Israeli Phalcon AWACS bought under a $1.1-billion deal.

The overall aim of all this is to ensure that the Indian airspace, which still has several gaping holes, especially over central and peninsular India, becomes impregnable against hostile aircraft, drones and helicopters.

With advanced “electronic counter-counter measures”, the new radars being inducted will be integrated into the IACCS (integrated air command and control system), the fully-automated network being established to integrate the wide array of military radars with each other as well as with civilian radars.

IAF, in fact, has plans to establish 10 IACCS nodes to cover virtually the entire country, with quick transfer of data from different radars as well as ground stations of AWACS to one central place.

01 June 2011 DEFENSE STUDIES

Thales Groundmaster 400 mobile air defence radar for RMAF will be delivered in 2012 (all photos : Defense Industry Daily)

Source Rafale News

Jun 1, 2011 By Jay Menon aerospace daily and defense report

NEW DELHI — France and Germany are making a last-ditch effort to boost their companies’ chances to win the $11 billion Medium-Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program for the Indian air force, as authorities are set to open the bids of the two downselected firms vying for the 126-aircraft order.

French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet pitched Dassault Aviation’s Rafale during his visit to New Delhi last week, and the Eurofighter Typhoon topped the agenda during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s discussion with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 31. German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizere also met Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony on May 31.

The German companies are part of EADS, which is part of the Eurofighter consortium along with BAE Systems and Alenia Aeronautica.

Longuet and Merkel expressed full confidence in the Indian procedures and expressed satisfaction about the transparency in the selection process. Both also took jibes at the other.

“We are one single speaking country, and we have enjoyed a relationship since 1953,” Longuet says. “Dealing with one country you know well, I imagine, is better than dealing with four countries. It is just simpler.” He was referring to the rival Eurofighter consortium.

Merkel also tried to hard sell the Typhoon, claiming that it was the best plane being offered. “With the Eurofighter, we have made good proposals and want to intensify our relationship with India,” Merkel says. “The Eurofighter is the best product on offer. We will not exert any influence on the procurement process and we shall wait and see.”

German Ambassador to New Delhi Thomas Matussek also says, “EADS’s Typhoon represents the most advanced and cost-efficient machines.” EADS will be open to sharing technology besides developing second- and third-generation aircraft, he adds.

EADS has even invited India to become a partner for the Typhoon program if the aircraft wins the contract. Eurofighter’s offer to establish a production line in India could give it an edge.

The other contender, Rafale, has the advantage of being logistically and operationally similar to the Mirage 2000. The air force has already been equipped with similar fighters, and its inclusion would require fewer changes in the existing infrastructure of the force.

Ajay Lele, a former air force wing commander and currently research fellow at the New Delhi-based Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, says, “The Indian armed forces might have done calculations based on the most advanced technology. One cannot shy away from the fact that India is facing serious threats from its neighbors and it needs the latest technology to safeguard its boundaries. India is in a position to look [at] issues on face value and not get influenced by international pushes and pulls. So the deal will go in favor of the company that provides the best technology at the best available price.”

Indian authorities are expected to open bids from Dassault and Eurofighter in June, according to a defense ministry official. Under the order, the first 18 jets will be bought in “fly-away” condition and the remainder will be produced with a licensed vendor in India.

According to persons close to the project, the government has initiated negotiations with the two companies on their plans to fulfill offset commitments. India has fixed offset obligations for the MMRCA at 50% to ensure that half of the deal’s worth is reinvested in India to energize its defense industry.

Under current rules, foreign companies that receive import orders in excess of three billion rupees ($67 million) must draw at least 30% of that order from Indian suppliers or make a similar-sized investment within the country.

June 1, 2011 by DAVID AXE offiziere.ch

After more than a decade of work, China’s first aircraft carrier is nearly ready for sea trials. The U.S. Navy, which maintains five supercarriers plus an equal number of big-deck assault ships in the Pacific, has reacted calmly. In April, Adm. Robert Willard, Pacific Command commander, said the Chinese carrier, reportedly named Shi Lang after a famed Chinese general, will pose a mostly symbolic threat, influencing perceptions more than it does the actual regional balance of power.

There’s good reason for Washington’s equanimity. It’s unclear how effective the Chinese carrier will be. Shi Lang lacks a balanced air wing, a large number of capable escorts plus the ability to coordinate with China’s modest nuclear-submarine force. Moreover, it’s possible that China’s first carrier really isn’t very Chinese. An apparent high level of foreign assistance — from Ukraine, in particular — in preparing Shi Lang and her air wing could cast into doubt Beijing’s ability to support the vessel, and produce additional ships like her.

This much we know for sure: Shi Lang is actually a refurbished Soviet vessel, assembled in Ukraine in the 1980s and originally intended to commission as Varyag. She would have been the Soviet Union’s, now Russia’s, second full-size carrier, after the mechanically-troubled Admiral Kuznetsov. When the Soviet Union collapsed and the floor fell out of the Russian military budget, Ukraine in 1998 obligingly sold the incomplete Varyag to a Chinese company that publicly said it planned to turn the vessel into a casino.

The casino plan was a thin cover, of course, and tugboats dragged Varyag to Dalian shipyard in northeast China, where she began her slow transformation into Shi Lang. Workers removed Soviet electronics and weaponry, reconditioned and repainted the ship and installed systems compatible with existing Chinese naval gear.

Ukrainian assistance reportedly did not end with the sale. Varyag arrived in Dalian without engines. Powerplants for ships and airplanes have proved some of the most difficult items for Chinese military contractors to design and produce, so observers were doubtful Shi Lang would receive purely Chinese engines. By late 2010, heat could be seen rising from Shi Lang‘s stacks, a clear indication that her powerplant was active, but until this month it no one outside of the People’s Liberation Army Navy and its allies knew for sure where the motors had come from.

Then Russian media reported that the engines, like Shi Lang‘s hull, are Ukrainian — and that Ukraine moreover had sent a delegation to China’s Harbin Boiler Works to advise Chinese engineers on eventually producing its own large gas turbines, the kind suitable for naval vessels.

The revelation should not have come as a surprise. In the late 1990s, the China and Ukraine enjoyed close commercial and military ties. Besides acquiring Varyag, Beijing also purchased an Su-33 naval fighter from Ukraine that Chinese engineers later reverse-engineered and copied as the J-15. That aircraft, which flew for the first time this year, will form the backbone of Shi Lang‘s air wing.

But in subsequent years, the countries’ relationship soured, for the same reason Russia and China grew apart. Moscow has complained that Beijing illegally copies and even exports Russian-designed weaponry, robbing Russia of badly-needed revenue. A Ukrainian source told Russian media that a continuing close relationship with Beijing “is not in line with our economic interests.”

Chinese intelligence tried to steal information that Beijing earlier might have simply paid for. In February, a Ukrainian court sentenced Aleksandr Yermakov to a six-year prison term for attempting to transfer to Chinese spies classified information on Ukraine’s land-based practice landing strip for carrier planes, located in Crimea.

Despite Yermahov’s arrest, the Chinese have succeeded in creating their own practice landing field, apparently modeled on the Crimea airstrip.

By the same token, weakening ties won’t stop Shi Lang from taking to sea. Her engines are installed, her J-15 fighters are in testing and aviators are already training at the practice airfield, all thanks to Ukrainian support.

But if Ukraine withholds similar assistance in the future, Beijing could find it difficult to sustain Shi Lang‘s operations, to say nothing of building additional carriers. What happens when Shi Lang‘s engines break down? What if the J-15s prove to have design faults resulting from their Xeroxed origins?

If Chinese industry can’t devise its own fixes, and quickly, the PLAN could find itself in possession of an aircaft carrier with no aircraft, and that can’t leave port.