March 5, 2014. David Pugliese Defence Watch

Canadian military cooperation with Russia is over.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday that joint activities, ranging from meetings to exercises, are being cancelled. That is because of Russia’s activities in the Ukraine.

“I have this morning directed that, effective immediately, all planned bilateral activities between the Canadian Armed Forces and the military of the Russian Federation be suspended,” Harper said Tuesday.

“This includes exercises, such as NORAD’s Exercise Vigilant Eagle, and scheduled meetings,” he said.

Brussels, 5 March 2014 consilium.europa.eu

Following events in Ukraine, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has decided to convene an extraordinary meeting of EU Heads of State or Government this Thursday 6 March 2014 to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the EU's reaction.

At the Foreign Affairs Council on 3 March, the European Union strongly condemned the clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces and called on Russia to immediately withdraw its armed forces to the areas of their permanent stationing. The EU also called for a peaceful solution to this crisis and full respect of international law. It remains ready to engage in constructive dialogue with all parties to this end.

In response to events, the EU and those member states who are participants of G8 have decided for the time being to suspend their participation in activities associated with the preparations for the G8 Summit in Sochi in June.

On 5 March, the Commission proposed a series of measures, notably economic and financial support, as the European Union's contribution to an international effort to support Ukraine. At least € 11 billion could be available over the next years from the EU budget and EU-based international financial institutions. This is to stabilise the economic and financial situation, assist with the transition and encourage political and economic reform.

In addition, the Council has decided to introduce EU sanctions targeting the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds. Asset freezes will apply for 18 persons responsible in this regard as of 6 March.

For full details of the EU positions on Ukraine, see Council conclusions

.

For full details about EU aid to Ukraine, see press release and memo.

Indicative programme :

9.30 Arrival of Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk

11.30 Exchange of views with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk

13.15 Press conference by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk

13.15 Working lunch among EU Heads of State or Government

15.00(tbc) Press conference by the European Council President and the Commission President

Full media programme

2/3/2014 Or Heller - israeldefense.com

The reform in the IDF Armored Corps is taking shape. The IDF Chief Armor Officer, Brig. Gen. Shmuel Olansky, in an exclusive interview with Israel Defense

I am not sure where I would rather be with all of the threats we face today," begins the IDF Chief Armor Officer, Brig. Gen. Shmuel Olansky. "On foot behind a rock, or inside the Merkava Mark-IV tank fitted with the Aspro-A/Trophy system or on board the APC moving alongside that Merkava tank."

In view of the realization that wars have changed and reality has changed, the IDF Armored Corps is changing as well. Brig. Gen. Olansky is very clear and confident about the principles of the reform he is currently leading. "Alongside the tanks, which lead the battalion combat effort, we want to prepare the combat task force for the challenges facing it by empowering the armored/mechanized infantry within the armored (tank) battalions. In each armored battalion, we are assembling a combat support company that includes a mortar platoon, a surveillance element capable of calling in and directing fire support, and a reconnaissance platoon. All of these elements, along with the tanks that will continue to lead the maneuver, will make up a battalion-size combat task force that is relevant to today's battlefield. We have here a new world of content in the Armored Corps – combat reconnaissance."

What is the timetable for the implementation of the new plan?

"We intend to recruit the first company out of the November 2013 recruitment class. These recruits will take the complete training course, thirty weeks at the IDF Armored Corps School, where they will learn the Armored Corps occupational skill and then be divided into their respective specialized skills: scout, mortar operator and observer/surveillance operator. The graduates will make up the combat support companies within the armored battalions. We are currently reorganizing the entire tank OrBat of the IDF."

Will you be making adjustments in the Armored Corps training courses and seminars?

"Certainly. I am currently assembling armored/mechanized infantry companies just like those of the infantry brigades, possessing the same capabilities with the exception of extended operations on foot, as they will operate near the tanks. We have an opportunity here to empower the remaining elements. Today's armored/mechanized infantry warfighter looks exactly the same as an infantry warfighter, with the exception of the purpose-specific weapons, which they do not need."

The Aspro-A/Trophy system has, until now, operated effectively on the Gaza line in isolated and rare incidents of antitank fire. But how would this system operate during the third Lebanon war opposite a rainstorm of antitank missiles fired at each tank?

"That's just it. This system is excellent. The technology was considered fictional ten years ago. I suggest we refrain from terrorizing ourselves. Antitank fire does not come as a rainstorm. Even in antitank-saturated scenarios we have a range of capabilities for coping with the threats. As our maneuver becomes more substantial, the capabilities of the Aspro-A/Trophy system will come more significantly into play. Additionally, our range of capabilities will include a surveillance capability – for spotting the antitank threats; our surveillance elements will be able to call in and direct the fire of Keshet 120mm mortars; our reconnaissance platoon will possess the ability to recognize the antitank threats in advance, and our tanks will possess the ability of firing a round at the threat."

"Do Not Mourn the Syrian Army"

What do we know about the state of the Syrian armor after more than two and a half years of a bloody civil war? Is it still a significant player?

"Firstly, we know that it is much better trained now, as it has been fighting. It brushes with the opposition forces in the context of the civil war. At the same time, they have also experienced wear as a result of the on-going fighting, but it still exists. I do not know how many tanks the Syrian Army has lost in the civil war, they have been fighting for two and a half years. On the other hand you realize that people who fight become more proficient and stronger. The Syrian armor is definitely a significant player in the Middle East. I would not hasten to mourn the armored divisions and the land maneuvering capability of the Syrian Army."

But even in your presentations you focus on the fact that the fighting has shifted from the front line into the depth of the territory, namely – a war of rockets and missiles against the Israeli rear area, so how does the Armored Corps fit in?

"Even before the civil war in Syria broke out, we had observed those trends in the Syrian Army. The Syrian Army disbanded armored units and established commando units instead. They acquired antitank systems and demolition capabilities. The Syrians developed a substantial rocket layout. These were not just the trends within the paramilitary organizations. We observed the same trends in the Syrian Army, too. At the same time, they still have armored divisions and tank brigades that use T-72 tanks. They are there, and they are well-trained."

How would an encounter between a T-72 tank and a Merkava Mark-IV tank look in 2013? Is there any chance here for a fair fight?

"There is no fair fight here. The Merkava Mark-IV tank is a true masterpiece. It possesses capabilities that are superior to those of any other tank worldwide, and no one even comes close. This applies to crew protection, to trafficability and to fire control. In some aspects it is 'only' in first place. With regard to most aspects, however, it is far beyond anything else out there."

If the third Lebanon war should break out tomorrow morning, in what way will the maneuver executed by the Armored Corps be different in view of the lessons derived from the summer of 2006?

"The maneuver will be much stronger and faster, with a complete envelope of structured and precise intelligence gathering and fire employment activities. We will see combined operations of tanks with infantry and assault engineering elements, but a maneuver is still a maneuver. Its objective is to transfer strength from the contact line deep into the enemy territory. Just like in all of the wars that we had, that is what we will see in our future wars – a battalion-size combat task force with massive strength and firepower, which protects itself and reaches the point where its strength is utilized to maximum benefit – through firepower, through its scoring capabilities. In view of the threats we face today, I believe there's no escaping the need to maintain a strong and fully-prepared ground layout and to employ it when necessary in order to bring the campaign to an end as soon as possible.

"We would not be able, opposite Lebanon, to maintain a campaign of wearing out the opponent through the use of fire, like we did in Operation Pillar of Defense, for instance. Many people say 'here, we saw during Operation Pillar of Defense that a maneuver is no longer necessary.' But in Operation Pillar of Defense, the very fact that the maneuver was poised and ready to launch cut the duration of the fighting short. Secondly, Lebanon and Syria are not the same as the Hamas in Gaza. They will not be influenced by strategic players (like Egypt) as Hamas was. In Lebanon and Syria, if we want to bring about a prompt conclusion of the campaign, we will have no other choice but to maneuver into the enemy's centers of gravity, and the armored forces will execute and lead that maneuver, as they know how to do it quickly and forcefully."

How will a task force maneuver if it is made up, theoretically, of Merkava Mark-IV tanks fitted with the Aspro-A/Trophy antitank missile interception system on the one hand, while the infantry elements still ride in the outdated and vulnerable M113 APCs?

"I think that if you examine the land solution, you will realize that it is a good solution. Would I prefer something better? Of course I would. We do not live in a bubble and we realize that the defense budget is a derivative of the economic situation. It is a restriction that applies to us which I cannot ignore. Where I would have liked to invest the extra money is a question I ponder all the time. I think that as long as the M113 APC operates in the environment of a complete battalion system, I will have no doubts about committing to battle the battalion combat task force and all elements thereof."

What was your contribution as Chief Armor Officer to the staff work ordered by the decision of the Chief of Staff to disband six tank brigades using the old 'Patton' tanks?

"We are disbanding layouts that are outdated layouts that had reached the end of the road. The logic here is both conceptual and operational. It is not that we had called out a random number and then went on to look for what we could disband. Obviously, we would prefer that instead of the brigades we disband ten more Merkava Mark-IV brigades would have been established, but we live in a certain reality that we cannot ignore. The people at IDF GHQ sat down and thought and conducted discussions and carried out simulations and examinations, but eventually you realize that some layouts had reached the end of the road, like the 'Patton' and Merkava Mark-I tanks. But let's talk about the bright side – next year, the IDF 7th Armored Brigade will be converted to a Merkava Mark-IV brigade!"

Still, when there are voices at IDF GHQ who speak about the end of the armor-versus-armor battle era, what is the future you envision for the tank in the IDF?

"I think that precisely at the 40th anniversary of the Yom-Kippur War, we realized what our forefathers had understood since the days of the Bible: that the land maneuver has always been and will always be necessary in order to gain an overbalance in a war. The armored forces will be right there at the head of the land maneuver, with the tanks in front, surrounded by the envelope. We will reach the end of the maneuver era when we have reached the end of the era of wars. I still do not see an end to the era of wars. But if we do not train and practice, we will be less proficient – it's all very straightforward."

The US Army plans on cutting three of its 13 combat aviation brigades by 2019. (US Army)

Mar. 4, 2014 - By PAUL McLEARY – Defense news

WASHINGTON — US Army officials said Tuesday that as part of its wide-ranging aviation restructuring, the service is preparing to cut three of the service’s 13 combat aviation brigades (CAB) by 2019.

The service’s active component currently fields four heavy CABs, 8 medium, and 1 with “Full-Spectrum” capabilities, but Davis Welch, deputy director of the Army budget office told reporters at the Pentagon today that “the restructure will reduce the number of aviation brigades by three in the active component while restructuring aviation brigades to optimize their efficiency and quality.”

He added that under the plan, the Army’s Reserve component will be able maintain its 12 aviation brigades but they “will be restructured and optimized for assault, lift and medavac missions.”

The announcement comes on the heels of the Army’s proposal to take all of the National Guard’s Apache attack helicopters to fulfill the active army’s aerial scout mission after it divests itself of the Kiowa helicopters currently fulfilling that mission.

At the time of this posting, requests for further comment from the Army were unanswered.

Overall, the Army’s fiscal year 2015 request sees the budget for its aircraft fleet tick slightly upward from $4.6 billion ($5 billion requested) in 2014 to $5.1 billion, while the Apache helicopter’s budget will fall from $884 million — $1 billion with Overseas Contingency Operations in 2014 — to $775 million in 2015 so it can upgrade 25 birds to the latest configuration.

There is another $416 million for 55 new Lakota helicopters, with sources saying that the service will request funding to buy 45 more Lakotas in 2016.

The Army is also slated to receive $7.5 billion of the $26 billion for the Opportunity Growth and Security Initiative, 54 percent of which will go toward operations, maintenance and training accounts, while the rest will be pointed to equipment modernization, including $500 million for Black Hawk helicopter upgrades, and more than $600 million for Apache work.

Overall however, the year-by-year budget graph that accompanied the Army’s budget request showed a significant cascade down from the 2010 budget onward.

The Army is asking for $121 billion in its base budget in ’15, down only $4 billion from the $125 billion enacted for 2014 — but down significantly from the $144 billion granted in ’10 during the height of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the big cuts aren’t in the base. The biggest drop is in the wartime spending accounts, which for the Army has dropped by more than half from 2011 to 2014 — going from $99 billion to $43 billion.

That said, the requested budget remains largely flat form 2014, with about $1.3 billion less in research, development and acquisition and $1.8 billion in operations and maintenance. Personnel costs remained flat at $56 billion.

Personnel costs continue to be the albatross hanging around the Army’s neck, eating up 46 percent of the service’s budget overall even as the service continues to shed 20,000 soldiers a year in its effort to reach 490,000 by the end of 2015. It’s current end strength is about 510,000.

But those troops will have to get by with much less training than Army leadership has advocated for.

Training is expected to reach only to company level and, in some cases, battalion level in 2015, with the National Guard performing mostly company level and below training exercises due to lack of funding. The Army will only send those brigades through a full National Training Center rotation that are planning to deploy to Afghanistan or South Korea, or that are part of the 82nd Airborne’s global response force

03/03/2014 ASP A. LAROCHE - Armée de Terre

Du lundi 17 au vendredi 21 février, le 17e régiment du génie parachutiste a organisé un rallye des sections dans la région de Montauban. Cet exercice avait pour objectif d’évaluer et d’éprouver les savoir-faire techniques et tactiques des 8 sections qui ont été déployées.

Une marche de nuit de 30 km, en ambiance tactique, et de nombreux ateliers ont permis aux sections de mettre en œuvre leurs compétences : appui génie en zone urbaine, durcissement d’infrastructure, chantier de déminage, ouverture d’itinéraire, franchissement, tir et destruction. Les chefs de sections ont aussi été évalués sur leur connaissance des ressources humaines et des traditions du régiment.

À but pédagogique, le rallye a permis aux sections de faire le point sur leurs acquis et d’évaluer leur niveau opérationnel avant l’exercice brigade « Montauban 2014 » qui aura lieu au mois d’avril. Cet exercice servira de contrôle opérationnel au 17e RGP et au 3e régiment parachutiste d’infanterie de marine (3e RPIMa).

March 5, 2014 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Spanish Ministry of Defence; issued March 4, 2014)

(Issued in Spanish; unofficial translation by Defense-Aerospace.com)

Twenty-Five Thousand Hours of Eurofighter in Air Force

The Air Force’s fleet of Eurofighter EF-2000 aircraft has completed its first 25,000 flight hours during the month of February, to which three units equipped with this weapon system have contributed: 11 Wing at Air Base Morón de la Frontera in Seville, 14 Wing at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete and the Armaments Logistics and Experimentation Center (CLAEX) at Torrejón de Ardoz air base in Madrid.

The Eurofighter, which in the Air Force carries the designation C.16, entered service in our Armed Forces in October 2003. Since then, it has been assigned to the 11th Wing, operating mainly from Morón Air Base, in order to fulfill its primary mission of interception and air defense.

Since May 2012, it also has been operated by 142 Squadron of 14 Wing, as has the CLAEX, where it is operated for the development of operating software and weapons integration.

The C.16 fleet operated by Wing 11 and Wing 14 reached full operational capacity in January 2008 and, since then, is part of a select group of Air Force aircraft that monitor and protect our national sovereign airspace 24 hours day, seven days a week.

The primary mission of the Eurofighter units is to provide the Air Force with the required defensive and offensive air capability, to meet both national missions, as well as commitments arising from the Spanish participation in international organizations. It is equipped with latest-generation precision weapons that allow the Eurofighter to launch bombs and guided weapons with centimetric accuracy. Combined with the vast potential of its radar and air-to-air armament against aerial threats, the possibilities of this weapon system are multiplied.

The Air Force, which has 41 Eurofighter, reached this milestone with the assurance that the performance of these first 25,000 hours of flight confirms the operational and industrial success of the Eurofighter program, which has enabled the European aerospace industry and its Armed Forces to design, build and operate one of the best fighter planes that have plied the skies.

05 March 2014 by defenceWeb

The French frigate Nivose will visit Durban for four days next week, highlighting the bilateral maritime cooperation between South Africa and France. Nivose is a regular visitor to South Africa and recently took part in Exercise Oxide off Mozambique last year.

The French Navy makes use of repair facilities in Durban, Cape Town and Mauritius, with the Nivose often calling on South African ports to restock her supplies and conduct maintenance. Nivose will be docked in Durban between March 12 and 15.

Nivose is stationed at Reunion. She carries out patrols in the Indian Ocean and in the Southern and Antarctic Lands, patrolling overseas maritime areas under French sovereignty and in the deep sea to protect France’s interests.

She is equipped with a Eurocopter Panther helicopter and is armed with MM38 Exocet missiles, a 100 mm and two 20 mm guns. The 93.5 metre long, 2 900 ton vessel is powered by four 2 200 hp diesel engines and three diesel generators and has a crew of 15 officers, 61 petty officers and 21 seamen. The vessel can stay continuously at sea for 50 days. Nivose is one of six ships of the Floreal class built by DCN and Chantiers de l'Atlantique between 1990 and 1993.

In accordance with a treaty between Australia and France, Nivose takes part in a cooperative fishing police and surveillance operation of French and Australian economic areas and every year Australian Customs Officers and Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) Fisheries Officers embark on board Nivose. In addition, Nivose supports the scientific missions based on Kerguelen, Crozet and Saint Paul and the French Austral islands.

France is hopeful of concluding a similar type of agreement with South Africa, whereby joint patrols will be conducted with customs and fisheries officials from each country aboard each other’s vessels. This will ensure that patrols are conducted efficiently and cost-effectively, with no duplication of patrol areas.

As fighting piracy has become a major issue, the French frigate was the first warship to participate to the European Union Naval Force’s Operation Atalanta in the Indian Ocean. Since 2008, Nivose has caught more than 80 suspected pirates aboard more than 25 skiffs during her five deployments.

Nivose also bolsters bilateral relations with regional powers through port visits and joint maritime exercises, such as Oxide with the South African Navy in 2011 and 2013.

Exercise Oxide was held between August 30 and September 6 off the coast of Maputo, Mozambique. Participants included Nivose and her Panther helicopter, the South African Navy frigate Isandlwana with its Super Lynx helicopter, the offshore patrol vessel Isaac Dyobha, the submarine Queen Modjaji, a C-130 Hercules, a C-47TP and an airborne rescue team.

Activities at sea included a submarine rescue exercise involving the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Pretoria and the Centre Regional Operationnel de Surveillance et de Sauvetage (CROSS) of La Reunion.

This third edition of Oxide (the first was held in 2008) also included Mozambican armed forces, with Mozambican personnel embarking aboard Isandlwana.

Nivose is also involved in search and rescue operations. In May 2001 France and South Africa signed a bilateral agreement on maritime search and rescue in the Indian Ocean as France needed a partner to offset the weakness of some nations in the area (notably Madagascar and countries bordering the Mozambique Channel) and to deal with the large areas to be covered.

France and South Africa have recently conducted several joint search and rescue exercises, including the Marion Dufresne providing assistance to the South African fishing vessel El Shaddai near the Crozet Islands in September. On January 7 this year the two crew of the sinking French vessel Idefix was rescued off the Cape Town Coast. French and South African maritime rescue personnel hold regular meetings and exercises.

DND will acquire 12 units 155mm howitzer (photo : Rowielip)

Mar. 5, 2014 Defense Studies

Philippine gov't to purchase 12 howitzers

MANILA (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government said Wednesday that it would acquire 12 units of 155-millimeter howitzers in its bid to upgrade the army's capability to fight leftist rebel group New People's Army (NPA) and the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

The Department of National Defense (DND) said the government is spending 438.6 million pesos (9.78 million U.S. dollars) to purchase the weapons.

The DND said it will conduct a bidding, which will be open to local and foreign contractors on March 11.

The government said the additional howitzers will be used by the Philippine Army which is at the forefront in the fight against the NPA and the Abu Sayyaf.

(Xinhua)

05/03/2014 by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

A Chinese army attack helicopter crashed on 4 March 2013, hospitalising both its crew members but without causing fatalities.

Operated by the People's Liberation Army Air Force, the CAIC Z-10 helicopter gunship came down in a farmer's field in Shaanxi province, central China. Little information on the crash's circumstances have been released but Chinese media reports indicate that it left controlled flight and descended almost vertically prior to impact.

Images subsequently published intimate that the accident wrote off the helicopter, while eyewitnesses have described how the pilots involved were extracted from the Z-10's two-place cockpit and rapidly relocated to a nearby medical facility.

CAIC Z-10 Attack Helicopter

The CAIC Z-10 attack helicopter equips only the PLAAF. First flown in 2003, it entered service seven years later, with an estimated 60 examples built to date. The Z-10 attack helicopter primarily engages in anti-tank missions but is also capable of air-to-air engagements. Armament includes ADK10 and HJ-8 anti-tank missiles, TY-90 air-to-air missiles and a 30mm nose-mounted cannon.

Roughly the Chinese equivalent of the US-built AH-64 Apache, the Z-10 has a top speed of more than 300 kilometres per hour and an 800+ kilometre range. Like the Apache and other modern-day battlefield helicopter designs, the type has a slim fuselage, minimising its cross-section when viewed on enemy radar screens.

Chinese Helicopter Crash

According to data published by IHS Jane's, it is used by five or more PLAAF aviation regiments: the 1st, 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th. The Chinese helicopter crash site's location would suggest that this example served with the 1st Army Aviation Regiment, based in Xinxiang.

The People's Liberation Army Air Force is one element of China's PLA - the largest military forces in the world. Active since the late 1940s, the air force is equipped with a multitude of military aircraft old and new, totalling some 2,500 airframes. On the rotary front, besides the WZ-10, it also flies the Harbin Z-19 and Changhe Z-11 helicopters in the attack role.

Flight-testing of China’s Y-20 four-engined strategic transport aircraft is progressing well, according to the PLA, and has already set new national records for flight testing. (PLA photo)

March 5, 2014 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: China Military Online; published March 4, 2014)

Test Flight Frequency of Y-20 Heavy-Duty Transport Aircraft Sets New Record

BEIJING --- The Y-20 heavy-duty transport aircraft is now still at the test flight stage, and its test flight frequency and time already set new records in the test flight history of China, according to Tang Changhong, chief designer of the Y-20 heavy-duty transport aircraft, on March 3, 2014 in Beijing.

Although the commissioning time for Y-20 cannot be disclosed, Tang Changhong said it is hoped that it can be commissioned as early as possible. However, it is important to ensure that there is no risk of failure at all in the aircraft test, and the aircraft can only be put into use under the very precise conditions. The test to date is going on very smoothly. He disclosed that the training of the test flight pilots for large transport aircraft is now underway.

Tang Changhong introduced that according to the current test flight status, all the expected goals have been achieved, and the original design goals for some limit requirements including flight height and flight speed, especially the requirements that the aircraft should possess good anti-bumping performance and be more comfortable have also been achieved.

The Y-20 heavy-duty transport aircraft is the new-generation military transport aircraft independently developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Its maximum take-off weight is estimated to be 220 tons, and its maximum payload is 66 tons, which is among the top ten world’s most powerful aircraft in transport capacity.

China declared to launch its large aircraft development project in March 2007. And the Y-20 took off for the first time from China’s Yanliang base at 14:00 on January 26, 2013 for a flight period of one hour. The successful first flight of the Y-20 marked that China has its own large aircraft.

According to the estimation from foreign media, China needs at least 300 Y-20 aircraft, and at the same time, China may also export the Y-20. In this regard, Tang Changhong said that Russia has made more than 800 IL-76 aircraft, and the number of large aircraft in the U.S. is also very large. But different countries have different national conditions, China’s civil and military aviation transport is just at its beginning stage; its perfect transport system is not yet built up, which is now far behind that of developed countries. “Therefore, I believe that through the hard-working, China will have a very big room for development in the future. We also hope to establish cooperation relations with other countries,” Tang said.

As for the guess that China will develop super large transport aircraft after developing the Y-20, Tang Changhong expressed that China currently has no such plan. He pointed out that from the design perspective, the emerge of large transport aircraft not only represents an aircraft model, but more importantly represents the accumulation of a batch of basic technologies, design capabilities and production capabilities. It is actually an upgrading of the industrial level, which will make more contributions to China.

When will the brother series of Y-20 be launched? Tang Changhong replied that: “The present main work is still to carry out the test flight on Y-20’s basic stability, the brother series is not yet considered. Some plans on China’s large transport aircraft are still under discussion, which cannot be disclosed.”

Tang Changhong expressed that Y-20 with a maximum payload of 66 tons and a maximum take-off weight of 220 tons is a very large heavy-duty transport aircraft. He took the example of the U.S. large aircraft’s application and said that the U.S. large transport aircraft have played very important roles in the national construction in the U.S. Therefore, China’s Y-20 not only aims at military application, but also more focuses on civil applications including construction material and equipment transportation, earthquake relief and emergency rescue.

“The performance of Y-20 is very high. It can adapt to relatively hard conditions and can land at small airports in mountain areas. In its design, the adverse weather conditions of frigid zone, high heat area and plateau as well as the runway situation are fully considered,” he said.

Tang Changhong, a Xi’an native, graduated from the major of aerodynamics at the Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1982. He successively participated in the development of the aircraft models including “Flying Leopard” fighter, Y7-200A, MPC-75 and AE-100, as well as the research on major pre-research subjects. He is now the chief designer of the First Aircraft Design Institute under the First Group Company of the AVIC and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

05 mars 2014 Romandie.com (AFP)

BEYROUTH - Des hélicoptères de l'armée gouvernementale syrienne ont effectué mercredi plusieurs raids au Liban près d'Arsal, une ville frontalière sunnite qui affiche ses sympathies avec les rebelles en Syrie, ont indiqué des témoins et l'agence de presse officielle libanaise.

Les raids ont visé une région montagneuse assez désertique dans les environs d'Arsal, près de la frontière, ont affirmé des témoins.

Selon l'Agence nationale d'information (ANI) les raids ont visé les régions de Kherbet Younine et Wadi Ajram.

Il n'a pas été possible de savoir s'ils ont fait des victimes.

Dans l'après-midi, l'ANI a fait état de raids supplémentaires autour d'Arsal, qui auraient fait des blessés, sans donner plus de détails.

L'aviation et les hélicoptères de l'armée syrienne mènent régulièrement des raids sur la partie libanaise de ce secteur frontalier.

En décembre, pour la première fois, l'armée libanaise avait riposté à l'aide de ses défenses antiaériennes lors d'une attaque similaire près d'Arsal.

Par ailleurs, deux obus ont été tirés à partir de la Syrie sur un secteur inhabité près de Nabi Chit, un village libanais à la frontière syrienne et fief du mouvement chiite libanais Hezbollah qui combat avec l'armée contre les rebelles en Syrie.

Les habitants d'Arsal soutiennent les insurgés contre le régime du président Bachar al-Assad. La ville accueille des dizaines de milliers de réfugiés syriens venus en grande majorité de la région de Qalamoun, proche de la frontière libanaise, où l'armée syrienne et le Hezbollah mènent une offensive d'envergure contre les rebelles.

March 5, 2014 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Congressional Research Service; dated February 25, 2014)

Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

On February 24, 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that the Department of Defense (DOD) intends to truncate the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program to 32 ships—a reduction of 20 ships from the previously planned total of 52 LCSs.

Through FY2014, a total of 20 LCSs have been funded. Under the Navy’s FY2014 budget submission, LCSs 21 through 24 were scheduled to be requested for procurement in FY2015.

As a successor to the LCS program, Secretary Hagel announced on February 24 that the Navy is to submit “alternative proposals to procure a capable and lethal small surface combatant, generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate. I’ve directed the Navy to consider a completely new design, existing ship designs, and a modified LCS.”

DOD’s desire to truncate the LCS program to 32 ships and begin work on a new ship generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate raises several potential oversight questions for Congress, including the analytical basis for DOD’s plan to truncate the LCS program, and the analytical basis and acquisition–process foundation for DOD’s plan to succeed the LCS program with a program for a ship generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate.

The LCS is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular “plug-and-fight” mission packages for countering mines, small boats, and diesel-electric submarines, particularly in littoral (i.e., near-shore) waters. Two very different LCS designs are being built.

One was developed by an industry team led by Lockheed; the other was developed by an industry team that was led by General Dynamics. The Lockheed design is built at the Marinette Marine shipyard at Marinette, WI; the General Dynamics design is built at the Austal USA shipyard at Mobile, AL.

The 20 LCSs procured or scheduled for procurement in FY2010-FY2015 (LCSs 5 through 24) are being procured under a pair of 10-ship, fixed-price incentive (FPI) block buy contracts that the Navy awarded to Lockheed and Austal USA on December 29, 2010.

The LCS program has become controversial due to past cost growth, design and construction issues with the lead ships built to each design, concerns over the ships’ survivability (i.e., ability to withstand battle damage), and concerns over whether the ships are sufficiently armed and would be able to perform their stated missions effectively. Some observers, citing one or more of these issues, have proposed truncating the LCS program. In response to criticisms of the LCS program, the Navy has acknowledged certain problems and stated that it was taking action to correct them, disputed other arguments made against the program, and (until February 24, 2014) maintained its support for completing the planned program of 52 ships.


Click here for the full report (90 PDF pages) hosted by the Federation of American Scientists.